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Jan. 12, 2026 - Ron Paul Liberty Report
27:20
Will Trump Use US Military For Iran 'Regime Change' Operation

President Trump has pledged to use force against the Iranian government if he decides that too many protesters in that country have been killed. Is it a realistic threat? Will he launch yet another regime change operation in just the first month of the year? Also today, US oil executives pledge to invest in Venezuela - with American government guarantees.

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Netanyahu's Influence Questioned 00:14:02
Hello, everybody, and thank you for tuning in to the Liberty Report.
With us today, we have Daniel McAdams, our key co-host.
Good morning, Dr. Good to see you.
How are you this morning?
Doing well.
All right.
And looking at foreign policy, and I do what I've mentioned to some people, what do you look at first thing in the morning?
Well, I've had a habit of looking at the gold price, and it's more than just the price of one piece of metal, one type of commodity, because it has a great deal of significance monetarily and foreign policy, budgets, and the whole works.
So today, it was a little bit different than average.
It's been going up a lot, which means our dollar is going down a lot, and that we still have a lot of problems.
But today, over $100 means there are some problems going on.
And we're going to mention a couple of those today, as usual, on foreign policy.
And I want to start off with a quick quote from Andrew Day from American Conservative.
He's one of the editors there.
And I thought he made an important point without being too provocative about what's going on.
But I think it's an important point because he's obviously a conservative when it comes to spending.
He says, Trump's distinguished himself in the 2016 campaign by lambasting neoconservatives and pledging to avoid wars that don't serve the national interest.
Excellent idea.
One decade later, Trump's foreign policy may depend on his ability to convince Americans that the national interest would be served by more wars.
Obviously, we've made this point.
You know, why are the neoconservatives still there?
And there was a lot of excitement and even the first couple of months, excitement about, you know, the neoconservatives abroad under rain.
But if you watch the regular news items for sure, if you look around, you can find the truth of what's going on.
But I think the neocons have way too much power and influence.
But for instance, on foreign policy, you know, and just concerns that we've had.
And we're going to talk a little bit today again about Iran and all about Venezuela.
Those wars aren't over yet.
Who knows what's going to happen of them as they go on?
And the Middle East, that's going to continue.
They say, well, not today.
We don't have big numbers, but that's a big problem.
It has big numbers over a period of time.
And so that one's going to continue.
And Ukraine, oh, well, maybe Ukraine's winding down.
A little old war we'll have up there and we'll rearrange things and everything will be okay.
Well, you know, there are people who still are trying to say that, but not many people believe it.
So the influence in the Middle East and even in Ukraine and these different places with Hamas and Israel, they're continuing.
So there's a lot of big problem.
But then I think we've seen evidence already, which is something that we've talked about that you can always expect it, is once the bombs stop or lighten up a little bit, we have to start rebuilding.
Sometimes they argue over rebuilding before the bombs stop.
Just get in on the money-making deal.
So that is the case.
But I do want to start, Daniel, with another update on Iran.
And, you know, there's things going on there.
Headline and zero heads.
Trump already receiving briefings on military strike options for Iran as protests death soar.
I didn't hear that they had these tremendous number of deaths.
But that's the biggest job and frustration I have is you like to read the news, but the biggest job is who's saying it when and why are they saying it?
And where, and I think you're real good at finding some of the journalists that we can trust, and that information is very important.
So this is one job that we have.
And the whole thing is, these talks, I assume, are how are we going to deal with Iran before Iran takes over the world?
We have to do something about it.
And that unfortunately seems to be moving rapidly in that direction.
Even though if you listen, you would hope that some of the things that Iran is saying are truthful, that they'd like to talk.
But I'm sure they can't win a war against all those odds.
They'd like to talk, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen today.
Yeah, you know what's important in this, Dr. Paul, is a timeline.
And it's easy to get caught up in the news cycle and forget even just a week or two ago what was happening, what precipitated what's going on.
Well, if we take ourselves back to the end of December, we remember that Netanyahu came to town for the fifth time in a year of Trump's presidency, unprecedented.
It was widely reported across the news that Netanyahu came to DC to convince Trump to take another strike at Iran.
Widely reported that that was number one on the agenda.
Coincidentally or not, the day Netanyahu arrived to DC, protests broke out throughout Iran.
Now, ostensibly, these protests were about the economic situation, and that is understandable.
At first, as we understand it, they were business people on the street complaining that the Riyal, the currency of Iran, was losing its value.
I think there's 42% inflation.
The country's economy is in a mess.
Now, part of that's due to sanctions and all of that.
That's certainly the case.
But a lot of people believe, especially in Iran, from what we understand, we're not there, but there's been mismanagement of the economy.
People are frustrated.
We would be frustrated with 40% inflation.
Sometimes it feels like we have 40% inflation.
Nevertheless, these protests started, but almost immediately, you saw the influx of radical, violent, Molotov cocktail-throwing, gun-wielding protesters, completely subsuming this economic protest, this relative, this peaceful economic protest.
Mosques have been burned, libraries have been burned, marketplaces in the middle of towns have been burned.
It was completely taken over by this other group.
And it looked like regime change was on the horizon.
So it's very clear that this was an operation from the outside, just as we see every few years in Iran.
I think the last one was in 22 or 23.
These things, you know, they percolate to the top.
They're driven by a lot of outside forces in Iran, and they're eventually put down.
But this time, President Trump, perhaps feeling his oats a little bit upon his successful operation and regime change, or at least leadership change in Venezuela, he decided to wade into this protest with the weight of the U.S. government.
Now, put this first one up.
Now, this is what he said on the first.
So just a couple of days after the protests break out, President Trump jumps in on the side of the violent protesters.
If Iran shots, Imet shoots, if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.
We are locked and loaded and ready to go.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, President Donald J. J. Trump.
Now, Dr. Paul, what would you think if you were throwing Molotov cocktails around inside Iran and the president said, if you basically keep it up, I'm going to come in on your side.
You're going to be emboldened.
So that's how we started the year in Iran with Trump making threats to attack Iran.
Ironically, coincidentally, just what Netanyahu had ordered him to do a few days earlier.
You know, the founders thought about these kind of problems.
And one thing they said, well, don't call the feds.
You know, if there's problems within your country, the local people are supposed to have police officers to engage and sort it out.
And maybe they know better than the people coming from the outside.
And then when you send them in from the central government, and they might have a different perspective.
They might have a different understanding, but they might have different goals too.
So I think it's a question that's very difficult to answer because of the way the setup is.
And even though the Iranians never promised they'd run their country like the founders thought it should be, but I think the founders had a point here that when these kind of conditions exist, there's something wrong when people peacefully say, hey, look, there's something wrong with this Federal Reserve system, and we'd like to call your attention to it.
But this looks like there's some outside interference.
And I keep thinking, well, why don't they go back?
They ask him about 1953.
That was a wonderful, you know, SWIFT coup.
And we changed, we threw out an elected, participated in throwing out an elected leader.
But they did this.
But eventually it has led to, what, how many years?
All these years has been aggravated by this very thing.
Everything from the hostages on and also was fodder for Israel to use to keep the fires burning, the military fires burning.
And that's been festering for a long time.
And I think there's a better way of doing it.
One, is I'd like to see less outsiders pretending that they know what's best.
And that's why, you know, whether it's the United Nations or NATO or somebody who says, we're going to come, we're going to hear, we're from the United States and we're here to help you.
And maybe some people are starting to ask that question.
Is that true?
Well, you use the word hostage, which is a pretty appropriate word.
I think a lot of Americans are starting to wonder if Trump is hostage to Netanyahu, you know, because right after this happens, of course, he starts threatening.
Well, if he feels so emotional about some protesters being hurt, and obviously that's not something to celebrate.
Although, if you do throw Molotov cocktails and shoot police officers, you tend to get shot back, right?
Here you get shot if you're driving the car the wrong way.
So if he feels so emotional and protective towards some protester, why was he so silent when 100,000 innocent civilians in Gaza were killed?
He didn't have a single word to say about it.
So it's very selective.
When Netanyahu was upset, then Trump threatens violence.
So here he was just a couple of days ago, just yesterday, actually.
So he says, if you keep it up, we're going to come in there.
We're going to use violence.
We're going to use force.
So if you go, this is from yesterday, I think.
The United States is considering several options, including a large-scale airstrike on Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The report says U.S. officials have held preliminary discussions on how to follow through on Trump's threats, with one option being a major aerial strike targeting multiple Iranian military strikes.
And Trump said, I think that same day, that was yesterday, I believe, if you put that next one up, seeming to bolster the idea that the U.S. is going to get involved.
He said, Iran is looking at freedom.
Perhaps like never before, the USA stands ready to help President Donald J. Trump.
So obviously indicating, at least as of yesterday, that he's ready.
He, I think he, as I said, used the word, we're locked and loaded, which means we're ready to come in militarily to help your protest.
You know, and so far, there's been more acceptance of this type of policy in these last several months.
But I don't know how long it's going to last because even though today the markets were soaring, it was the protection against what was going on in the economy.
And so the regular market, when it came to stocks and are there, looks like you're an investment.
It doesn't tell you a thing about what's going to be there tomorrow or the next day.
But I think the one thing the markets are telling us that there's some major changes going on in the world, and people are looking for answers, and many people are now seeking, you know, and are hopeful that Trump can come through and bring about some of the things that we listened to during the campaign.
And he's not going to do that with an attack on Iran, an attack on Greenland, and more attacks on Venezuela.
The problem with a lot of this is that the information we get is filtered and it's not only filtered by the mainstream media, but the CIA gets involved, the Mossad gets involved, all these secret bots get involved in all this because the social media has become a battlefield, not only for Americans and people of the world, but for intelligence agencies to influence things.
Now, go to the next one.
Now, the whole thing is that if the body count is high enough, the U.S. is going in.
Mossad Spurs Iran Protests 00:02:59
So, what's the incentive to report a high body count?
Well, our friend Michael Tracy called out this news wire, which is an account on X, which appears to be completely fake.
They reported eyewitness to BBC World Service: over 10,000 dead as Iranian forces unleash automatic rifles on protesters.
So, of course, Trump will see this and get ready to bomb.
Michael Cracy points out: this is fake news from a literal fake news account.
How could a single eyewitness possibly attest to seeing 10,000 dead bodies?
Regardless, the BBC World Service has reported no such thing, just completely fake.
So, you see these news wires and other organizations like that popping up, reporting things that are incendiary to try to raise the temperature.
Well, who's behind them?
A lot of organizations are behind them.
But here's the interesting thing: if you read Israeli media, they admit their involvement.
They're not hiding it.
Go to that next thing.
This is the Jerusalem Post.
Jerusalem Post reports that Mossad spurs Iran protests, says agents with demonstrators in Farsi message.
As protests grow across Iran, the Mossad posted an unusual Farsi message urging demonstrators to act, saying it is with them in the streets amid rising economic pressure and public unrest.
We are with you in the streets, the Mossad tells Iran, and it's reported in the Jerusalem Post.
So if anyone believes that the Mossad has Iran's best interests at heart, well, you know, I've got a bridge on Lake Jackson to sell you, right?
That's for sure.
But the other thing that's happening, Dr. Paul, is just as President Trump is gearing up to intervene militarily, well, what happened is what always happens in these protests, which is that they peter out.
And unfortunately, Elon Musk, who we still have a lot of respect for, he decided to throw in his flag, literally, on the side of the protests.
And he's given them a lot of these starlink things to help them overthrow the government and all sorts of things.
But what happening today, put on Max Blumenthal, and there's plenty of evidence of this, is that the protests have petered out.
Max Blumenthal said just three days ago, Zionist fraud masters across the site were gleefully proclaiming that these cities were on the verge of failing.
And it's a post from the Middle East Observer saying, Iran, from the massive rallies in support of the Islamic revolution in Iran, this is in Tehran, Mashhad, Esharan, Hamadan, throughout the country, people pro-government rallies are being held that eclipse the rallies of the protesters.
Oil Price Fixing Conspiracy 00:09:15
So, you know, it's the age-old thing.
We saw it in the Maidan as well, Dr. Paul.
What gives the right of maybe 1,000 or 5,000 people who protest, who don't like their government, maybe legitimately?
Who gives them the right to overthrow it when there's millions who don't want to have an overthrow?
Because they see what happens when these overthrows are done.
Look at Libya.
That always ends up worse than it started.
So this is something that will not be easily solved because the propagandas have a step up on a lot of people.
They can get that out there.
Just this stuff they get out there and they put it in there.
They say they are wrong.
But, you know, for building up emotions, that one false statement on how many people got killed and this sort of thing, it's really tough for we have a we have a tough time trying to figure it out.
I don't can't be sure of all this thing.
You can imagine some other people who are more remote from it.
And some people, you know, most Americans, I think, are very, very decent and don't like war.
And they just soon, you know, just drop the whole thing.
And I know I meet people who, you know, I used to think about this stuff and worry about, I'm just so tired of it, you know, that who's going to die this week?
Where are the bombs going to be?
How much money is this going to cost?
And it's over and over again.
But eventually we end up continuing to support all these groups, even though they advertise a new war.
Oh, this is an easy war.
We'll just do it.
A couple of months will take care of this.
We've gone through that before.
And it doesn't work that way.
So these things linger.
So somebody, you know, they're claiming it's over and done with Ukraine.
I would suspect that we probably might be at the beginning of some problems that could evolve out of what's going on in Ukraine.
Exactly.
And that's a perfect line.
We don't know.
We don't understand Iran.
Not just you and I in this room, but the experts, the think tankers.
None of them understand what's going on.
And so that's why our default as non-interventionists, or even just as human beings, should be just leave them alone.
We don't understand the dynamics of the society of the culture.
So leave them alone.
So anyway, this is our new intervention, but the old one is still going on, Dr. Paul.
And this may surprise you, but Venezuela is not settled either.
And so put up that next clip.
Brought President Trump brought the oil companies into the White House over the weekend.
In addition to showing them his new construction of the ballroom, which was a weird clip, if you want to watch it, he says that they are willing to kick in some money.
This is the headline from, I think this is the Independent, which is a UK outfit, but reporting from DC.
Trump says major oil companies will invest $100 billion in Venezuela.
And he promises them government security assistance.
So I don't know.
What is your take on this meeting at the White House, Dr. Paul?
Well, it sounds to me like people are conspiring.
And I think there's people who know very much what the deep state is like when they want to develop a system called corporatism, crony capitalism.
And if you go along, you get to share an elude.
And I think as part of that, they're getting together and they may be sincere on peace, but a bomb here and bomb there in order to make the lines drawn and make sure that we get piece of the action.
So that's why they come and they hot with the president and he says, well, I'll take care of you guys.
And $100 billion.
The other thing is, what if they were very sincere?
See, I don't even think there's a way you could tell me or prove that these people are sincere, that these companies are really, really thinking about giving $100 billion to Venezuela under the conditions.
All of a sudden, just think of what has transpired in the last month or two on the understanding about oil in Venezuela.
It's just not, you know, a nice little, they don't have it in carts and boats.
If they do, we've already captured them.
Well, the funny thing is, even President Trump himself seems to understand that.
But there's, as we did the other day, there's the old Trump and then there's the new Trump.
And actually, look at that second video if you want to grab your earpiece, because here's Trump himself contradicting Trump himself.
Skip that first one.
Let's watch the second video.
This is Trump on Venezuelan oil before and after we overthrew the government.
But now we're buying oil from Venezuela, so we're making a dictator very rich.
Can you believe this?
Nobody can believe it.
You know where the oil, you know, their oil is garbage.
It's horrible.
The worst you can get, tar.
It's like tar.
And to refine it, you need special plants.
Venezuelan oil, which is a heavy oil, very good oil, great oil.
It's fantastic for certain things like asphalt roads.
Best there is in the world for asphalt roads.
You can take it off.
Venezuelan oil is garbage, and now it's the breast in the world.
It's almost like he reads the newspapers and decides what his policy is going to be.
But I don't know who's the funeral.
So, but when he calls in the oil executives and they agree to give money, I think the first reaction to people should be, well, how much is it going to cost?
And if you put on that second clip from the article, at that meeting, the U.S. government will guarantee security for the companies.
I don't know what that will cost, and I don't know what it means, Dr. Paul.
But he certainly is trying to get them to invest in it.
And they seem reticent.
If you go to the next one, the largest oil company in the world, ExxonMobil, the CEO Darren Woods said the country was, quote, uninvestable.
It's not worth investing.
But the other thing, Dr. Paul, is the old saying, instead of what, Trump's whole plan for Venezuela relies he wants to keep oil below $60 a barrel.
I'm not an oil expert, but what we do know is that $60 a barrel, American oil companies aren't even at break-even.
So if he actually lowers the price of world oil because of Venezuela, our own oil companies are going to be losing money hand over fist.
So why would they have the incentive to cooperate to lower the prices and destroy the profits?
And even if they could establish this, it's not long-lasting because conditions change all the time.
And it's another form of price fixing.
They believe that you can regulate prices and controls.
They're economic interventionists.
I mean, this administration is really, really strong on intervention in the marketplace.
And it works for a while, and you can switch it around.
You can put a tariff on for 100, then remove 90%.
Say, boy, they just did us a big favor.
Yeah.
This sort of thing.
So I don't think all the fault of tariffs and price fixing has been noticed in the market yet, but maybe it is.
Maybe that's what these negative signs are on.
Some of the other economic statistics this weekend were not that good.
And I suspect that there may be some more surprises in the bill.
Yeah, absolutely.
I guess we have to take Greenland and then we'll know because then we'll be rich.
Well, I'm going to close out, Dr. Paul.
And I mean, somewhat in jest, we are always kind of criticizing Trump.
I think lately he deserves it.
He does some things that we're happy about.
But this late stuff is knucklehead stuff.
But this is sort of funny in a sort of a sick way.
Put up that very last clip.
President Trump changed his profile picture on his Truth Social, and he listed his profession as 45th and 47th president of the United States and acting president of Venezuela.
You can see it right there under his picture, acting president of Venezuela.
The thing is, Dr. Paul, I don't know if he's joking or not.
It'd be kind of funny if he was, but he may not be joking.
He may actually think that.
So anyway, I want to thank everyone for viewing our program.
Dr. Paul and I are slowly on the men.
There's some nasty bugs going on down here in the swamp in Lake Jackson.
I'll tell you what, but we're dosing up on some sea, feeling a little bit better, looking forward to the new year.
Allies in Liberty Preservation 00:01:02
We got a lot of wars to stop this year and prevent.
So we thank you for coming along with us for the ride.
Over to you.
Very good.
And I want to express my deep appreciation for all the people that have supported us over the years.
This is something that is very dear to my heart because I think it's so important.
And I happen to enjoy the issue, the issue of meeting with people, going to our conferences, because we know that we're allies in doing something that we consider very important.
That's the preservation of liberty.
And figuring if you want to allow a better society to develop, you have to maximize the amount of personal liberty and let the people decide what's best for them.
It's not complicated.
It's very simple.
And all you have to remember is everything should be voluntary.
Nobody using force against another person.
And we would all be much better off.
I want to thank everybody for tuning in today to the Liberty Report.
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