Pepe Escobar | MBS wants Pakistan. Trump needs Iran. What did Munir deliver? Munir in Tehran | Transition Protocol | Oct. 21, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description:
MBS wants Pakistan. Trump needs Iran. Pakistan’s Field Marshal Munir is in Tehran — and our host’s sources say MBS gets a no. Pepe Escobar says what Munir carried: a quiet return of IAEA inspectors, for little more than the interest on Iran’s $6 billion in Qatar.
— 06:10 The offer: IAEA inspectors back in Iran, and what Iran would get in return — according to Pepe Escobar.
— 14:21 “Show us the money”: why Escobar says Tehran won’t take it — before the 3 November midterms.
— 30:01 What MBS wants from Pakistan, and why our host’s sources say Islamabad will refuse.
What you’ll learn: what Field Marshal Asim Munir carried into Tehran · why Washington wants a concession from Iran before the midterms · how sanctions, the IMF and the border gates squeeze Pakistan · what Lavrov proposed in Tehran · what our host’s sources say about China’s backing, the Riyadh war room and Saudi pressure.

Sourcing note: The Qatari–Pakistani IAEA idea and its price are Pepe Escobar’s account; we have not located them in public reporting. The Pakistan–MBS and China reports are our host’s own sourcing from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and cannot be independently verified. 

The Najran delegation, the three Black Hawks and the Article 2 wording are as Escobar describes them; we have not located them. Escobar’s Balochistan remarks are a scenario, not a report. Public record: Fars said Munir’s trip was finalised on Monday 19 October; Reuters reported on 20 October — after this recording — that Mohsen Rezaei told Munir there would be “no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met”, and that Iranian officials see “little prospect of a breakthrough before the November 3 vote”; Trump has said the US would not strike Iran again before 3 November. The 1934 Treaty of Taif was signed between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Pepe Escobar | Ansarallah Captures Strategic Mountain, Munir in Tehran and Hegseth in Israel | Oct. 20, 2026

Source: Dialogue Works youtube



Description: 

Nima Alkhorshid says Ansarallah has captured Jabal Han, a strategic mountain in the encirclement of Taizz, and that the siege is closing on Saudi-backed forces in a city of at least two million people. Pepe Escobar says a Najran tribal delegation pledged allegiance in Sanaa, and that Sergei Lavrov went to Tehran before Munir.

Pepe Escobar | Pakistan Navy warns off US Black Hawks; Iran locks 400 targets, porous border, open routes | Transition Protocol | Oct. 18, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description:
Pakistani military sources say Pakistani naval aircraft warned US helicopters away from the coast off Karachi. The same weekend, trade across the Iran–Pakistan land border crossings was halted — and our host’s sources say Iran has 400 targets locked, many of them in Israel. Zulfiqar Ali brings both accounts, checked in Islamabad and Tehran; Pepe Escobar, from Bangkok after midnight, brings the dollar-bypass talks the closure interrupted — and the one country whose cargo still crosses.

— 07:57 The Black Hawk encounter, per Pakistani military sources.
— 16:30 Except China: the cargo that still crosses, per our host’s sources.
— 27:17 Iran’s 400 locked targets: the warning our host’s sources relayed.

What you’ll learn: why Pakistan and Iran suspended trade at their border, and what officials on both sides say it was for · whether Washington pressured Islamabad — and the answer our host was given · what the US Navy is doing off Pakistan’s coast · why Chinese cargo is still moving · where Iran stands on the Mecca defence pact · what Egypt and the OIC are doing about Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.

Sourcing note: The Black Hawk encounter, the Chinese-cargo exemption, the saboteur arrests and the position of US naval assets are our host’s own sourcing from Pakistani military, naval and coastal officials and cannot be independently verified; we found no public report of the encounter. “3 nautical miles” is the distance as reported to our host; Pakistan’s territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles, and the host says the helicopters did not enter Pakistani territory. 

A Pakistani brigadier told our host the detained saboteurs were financed by the UAE; that is one officer’s allegation and has not been independently verified. The 3,000-truck figure and its banking cause are Pepe Escobar’s information. 

Public record: Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce suspended trade through the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings (memo of 16 October, announced 17 October); Pakistani officials cited security, counterterrorism and smuggling and said the border is likely to reopen soon; Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman called the closure temporary and cited “technical issues”; more than 2,000 containers were reported stranded at Gabd-Rimdan, while passenger traffic continued at Gabd-Rimdan. 

The 400 locked targets are our host’s sourcing and cannot be independently verified. The Iran–Pakistan central bank meeting is Escobar’s reporting; the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings ran in Bangkok on 12–18 October. Iran’s interest in the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is contested: our host’s sources say Iran has expressed interest; Escobar says it is not being discussed in Tehran; Iran’s foreign ministry said in August it had received no formal invitation.

Pepe Escobar | Iran's Two Answers: Ready to Strike. Preparing to Bypass the Dollar | Oct. 16, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar with Zulfiqar Ali on Transition Protocol. Escobar says Iran is like a coiled cobra, ready to strike, and preparing to bypass the dollar.

A participant in Iran's Friday leadership meeting told Ali that if an attack comes from Dubai, Dubai will be finished as a commercial center. They also cover Iran's and Pakistan's central bank heads at the IMF meeting in Bangkok, and a report that Iranian oil may move to China over land.

The host says the Tehran meeting account, the Dubai and Oman lines, and the claim that Israelis have left Riyadh's war room are his own sourcing and cannot be independently verified.

Timeline:
00:02:59 Why Iran is a coiled cobra
00:15:42 IMF meeting in Bangkok
00:25:14 What Iran's leaders decided on Friday

Pepe Escobar | Pakistani Officers: Israel Picks Saudi Targets, MBS Won't Leave His Bunker | Transition Protocol | Oct. 13, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Pakistani officers in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh war room say they sit in the same room as CENTCOM and Israeli officers — and that target selection in the war on Yemen is done by CENTCOM and the Israelis. Host Zulfiqar Ali brings their account; Pepe Escobar, from Bangkok after midnight, brings Yemen's next targets and Iran's clock.

Sourcing note: The war-room and MBS reports are our host's own sourcing from Pakistani military personnel and cannot be independently verified. The "Mossad" and "17 people" remarks are Pepe Escobar's information; the host said on air he could not report it. 

The Saudi spokesman's Eilat statement is as Escobar describes it; we have not located it. Public record: Riyadh airport was attacked on 6–8 October and operations resumed on 9 October; an Aramco facility south of Riyadh burned on 3 October; Turkey's foreign minister said on 8 October the Mecca pact is "not an offensive agreement"; Pakistan called the New York Times report of PAF strikes "fake and fabricated" on 8 October. An April report said Pakistan had deployed ~10,000 troops to the Yemen border; our host's sources deny it.

Timeline:
00:02:49 The next round: Aramco headquarters and King Khalid Airport, according to Pepe Escobar.
00:28:58 Pakistan's real role: 15 advisers, "not even a team" — per our host's sources.
00:35:39 Same room: what Pakistani personnel in the war room are reporting home.

Pepe Escobar | Iran and Yemen Escalate. The House of Saud Will Collapse | Oct. 13, 2026

Source: Glenn Diesen youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar on Iran and Yemen escalating, and why he says the House of Saud will collapse.

Pepe Escobar is a journalist, a political analyst, and author.

Pepe Escobar | Trump Sends Navy as Yemen Smashes Saudi Airport, Iran Blitzes Hormuz | Oct. 12, 2026

Source: Danny Haiphong youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar breaks down Trump secretly deploying US Navy SEALs to the region as Iran blitzes the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen's fierce resistance to US-Saudi aggression has led to major strikes on Riyadh's airports. Trump is now seriously considering a US intervention into the Yemen front, even as his administration struggles to stop Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

Pepe Escobar | MBS Called Beijing for Help Against Yemen. His Muslim Allies Said No, a Major General in the Room | Oct. 11, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Israeli intelligence officers — including a major general — have been seen inside Saudi Arabia's war consultations in Riyadh, Transition Protocol's Pakistani sources say. Here is why Riyadh needs them, who is refusing to fight for it, and what Yemen does next.

In this week's edition of The Week Ahead, Pepe Escobar — speaking from Bangkok after midnight — joins host Zulfiqar Ali three weeks before the US midterms.

Timeline:
00:02:08 Riyadh's appeal to China
00:03:22 The confirmation
00:20:09 Yemen's plan
00:24:44 Who won't fight
00:27:55 Iran

Pepe Escobar & Larry Johnson | Not Pakistan: Who Is Really Behind Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen? Trump Says No Iran Strike | Oct. 9, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar and Larry Johnson with Zulfiqar Ali on Transition Protocol. A senior source in Pakistan's military establishment told the show, in answer to five questions, that no Pakistani aircraft entered Yemeni airspace — "None. Zero." — and that the foreigners inside Saudi Arabia's war are mostly American: 110 American advisors, two Pakistani radar specialists and two Turkish technicians. 

CNN has separately reported more than 100 US military advisers supporting the Saudi campaign. On 8 October Pakistan's Information Ministry called a New York Times report of Pakistani jets "fake and fabricated". The source says every Pakistani unit is around Mecca and Medina, under Pakistani command, not Najran. 

Escobar says any move toward the border would make Pakistani forces "legitimate targets". Also Saudi Arabia's money, Trump's pause on Iran until after 3 November, and what a senior Iranian source told the host two hours before recording.

The five answers and the 110 / 2 / 2 figures come from that Pakistani military source. The Iranian remarks are a senior Iranian source speaking to the host. Larry Johnson's account of damage at Abqaiq and on the East–West pipeline has not been independently confirmed.

Pepe Escobar | No One Negotiating with the US | Oct. 8, 2026

Source: Judge Napolitano youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar talks with Judge Andrew Napolitano on no one negotiating with the US.

Pepe Escobar | Iran Rejects Trump's Offer and Changes Price of Hormuz, Iran's New Toll Rule: Rials Only | Oct. 6, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube, Pepe Escobar telegram



Description: 

Iran has refused Trump's last counteroffer in full and decided that ships crossing Hormuz will pay in rials only, Transition Protocol's sources say — decisions taken hours before this recording and not yet announced.

Host Zulfiqar Ali and Pepe Escobar, speaking from Bangkok after midnight, on what Tehran just decided, why the last diplomatic channel may be dead four weeks before the US midterms, and why Pakistan's diplomats see the Yemen war as the biggest threat yet to the House of Saud.

Timeline:
00:03:13 The rial rule: nothing other than Iranian currency, cleared through China's CIPS
00:04:34 The refusal: the Qatari-carried counteroffer rejected categorically
00:06:34 The clock: Escobar says the channel is dead; four weeks to 3 November
00:12:15 The Mecca question: an alliance to defend Saudi Arabia, but none for Gaza?
00:19:21 Pakistan's troops near Yemen: defence only, the host's sources say
00:30:01 Brazil's 25 October runoff, after Flávio Bolsonaro's first-round lead

Pepe Escobar | Yemen Declares Saudi Airspace Unsafe as Taizz Encirclement Is Complete | Oct. 5, 2026

Source: Dialogue Works youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar on Yemen declaring Saudi airspace unsafe as the encirclement of Taizz is complete.

Pepe Escobar | Iran's Leaders Expect US Attack. Only Question Is When | Transition Protocol | Oct. 4, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Iran's leaders say they expect a U.S. attack and are ready for it, according to Zulfiqar Ali's contacts in Tehran and Islamabad.

Pepe Escobar puts a "possibility of some sort of adventure" in the next few days at roughly 20–30%, and "nearly 100% certainty" of a U.S. move after the midterms, four weeks away.

In this episode of The Week Ahead, recorded Sunday 4 October 2026, Zulfiqar Ali reports what he says he was told by people making decisions in Tehran and Islamabad: that the civilian and military leadership expect an attack; that Iran says it has stocked food, medicine and housing for at least six months; that Russia, China and Pakistan are helping; and that Iran's targeting is "locked in." 

Pepe Escobar, speaking from Thailand, explains the offer he says Iran put on the table through Qatar, what he says Xi Jinping offered Washington and how he expects China to reply, why he says diplomacy is dead for now, and how he reads the odds.

Pepe Escobar | MBS wanted Pakistan’s army. Pakistan won’t join Saudi Arabia’s war on the Houthis | Sept. 29, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description:
Pakistan will not fight Saudi Arabia’s war against Ansarallah (the Houthis) in Yemen — that is the answer Transition Protocol received from sources at the highest levels in Islamabad. And, per the host’s sources, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir told MBS that Saudi Arabia would be spared Iranian strikes only if it kept its territory out of any US attack on Iran.

Pepe Escobar and Zulfiqar Ali on the deadline week: Iran’s 30 September marker, Netanyahu’s unannounced flight to Abu Dhabi to meet MBZ, the off-ramp Escobar says Xi Jinping offered Trump in the Oval Office, and the “November non-surprise” — the war Escobar expects after the US midterms if Washington says no again.

Sourcing note: Pakistan’s decision and the Munir–MBS exchange are reported from Transition Protocol’s sources and have not been independently confirmed; publicly, Saudi Arabia says joint efforts with Pakistan under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement continue. The host describes the agreement as tentative and still being negotiated. Netanyahu’s 27 September visit to Abu Dhabi was confirmed by UAE state media and his office. Forecasts in this episode are the speakers’ analysis 

Johnson, Escobar & Viktor Bout | Russia's big Arctic bet: what's being built in the North — International "National Unity Club" | Sept. 29, 2026

Source: International "National Unity Club" youtube



Description:
Larry Johnson welcomes Pepe Escobar and Viktor Bout on the International Unity Club. Bout, back from 12 Russian regions, says voters are focused on the conflict with the collective West on Ukrainian territory, and on the everyday problems he heard from business people, students, and families.

On the Arctic, Johnson names four openings: the northern transport corridor, fisheries, oil and gas, and rare earth minerals. He says U.S. academics could not agree which should come first, and that the United States has only two old diesel icebreakers. Bout says the priority is the Northern Sea Route. 

Russia has been building icebreakers and ports from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, opening regions such as the Yamal gas fields. He argues Siberia and the North are part of Russia, harsh to live in, and that only Russia is in a position to develop them while keeping the languages and way of life of the northern peoples. 

Pepe Escobar | US Bomber Attack Foiled? Iran Hammers US Warship, 8 Marines Hit | Sep. 28, 2026

Source: Danny Haiphong youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar discusses breaking developments including Iran's role in the US RAF Base attack that targeted US B-1 bombers and the bombshell report that US marines suffered massive casualties in a recent strike plus what it all means for the multipolar world.

Pepe Escobar | Iran’s Next Front Is the Indian Ocean and Clock Starts This Week,Naval Breakout Next? | Sept. 27, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description:
Iran is prepared to take the war beyond the Strait of Hormuz and into the Indian Ocean if nothing moves this week — that is what Pepe Escobar’s contacts and three separate decision-level sources in Tehran are telling Transition Protocol. Here is the way out Washington did not take, the deadlines that start the clock, and who will and will not fight.

In the first edition of THE WEEK AHEAD, Pepe Escobar — speaking from Bangkok at 1 a.m. Monday — joins host Zulfiqar Ali to map the seven days that could decide the Iran war.

— Xi’s off-ramp: according to Escobar, Xi Jinping told Trump face to face to go back to the memorandum both sides signed. Chinese state media reported Xi backed a return to the June 17 Islamabad memorandum.

— The clock: Mohsen Rezaei’s four-to-five-day window runs out Monday 28 September; Wednesday 30 September is a second deadline, as Escobar describes it.

— Hormuz on Iran’s terms: pay the fee, get IRGC Navy clearance — or be attacked.
— Yemen: the Saudi strike on a market in Taiz, and what comes next.
— Pakistan’s answer: will Islamabad join a Saudi–Pakistani–Turkish campaign against Yemen? The host’s sources say no. On Tuesday he brings the answer from a decision-maker. 

Pepe Escobar | Iran’s Hormuz Offer: 3 Conditions, 7 Days, Sep 30 Deadline. Xi Gave Trump One Way Out | Sep. 25, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Iran has reportedly put a conditional offer on the table for reopening the Strait of Hormuz — but the proposal comes with terms, a seven-day sequence, and a September 30 deadline. 

In this emergency briefing, Pepe Escobar breaks down the reported New York diplomatic channel, the conditions tied to the Strait of Hormuz, China’s reported message to Donald Trump, the aviation-ban confrontation, the Red Sea front, and the parallel military and diplomatic tracks.

This episode distinguishes on-record analysis, attributed reporting, source-based claims, and forecasts. Claims about an Iranian offer, China’s position, and regional alignment are presented as statements made in the conversation unless independently confirmed in the final edit. Viewer judgment matters: which track is moving faster, diplomacy or escalation, and who blinks first?

Pepe Escobar | Iran Will Strike First — New Weapons From China and North Korea Have Reached Iran | Sep. 23, 2026

Source: Transition Protocol youtube



Description: 

Pepe Escobar and host Zulfiqar Ali on Transition Protocol, the night of the UN General Assembly: a source close to Tehran's leadership told the host that Iran has ordered its forces to strike first once an attack is confirmed, and expects that attack in October rather than after the midterms. 

They cover what that source says has arrived from China and North Korea, why Pakistan has stepped back as mediator but not away from Iran, three demands Araghchi handed Steve Witkoff in New York, and a diplomatic door China is trying to hold open before Xi Jinping meets Trump.

The channel marks the first-strike order, the weapons deliveries from China and North Korea, and Pakistani intelligence cooperation as single-source and not independently verified. Trump did not use the word "nuclear" at the UN; his words were "annihilate the Islamic Republic" and "drive them into hell."

Larry Johnson & Pepe Escobar | BRICS Is Changing from Within: China–India Clash of Interests — International "National Unity Club" | Sept. 23, 2026

Source: International "National Unity Club" youtube



Description:
From Moscow, Larry Johnson and Pepe Escobar argue that BRICS is splitting from within. Escobar says India and the UAE kept the New Delhi declaration from condemning the war on Iran, even as it denounced secondary sanctions. 

He says Narendra Modi accused China in a closed session of weaponizing rare earths, and that Xi Jinping then skipped the gala. BRICS Pay, he adds, is still only an India-Russia trial, and Sergey Lavrov's refusal of a secretariat leaves clashes such as India-China and UAE-Iran unmanaged. Johnson floats a tighter core of Russia, Iran, and China. Escobar traces the group instead to Yevgeny Primakov's 1998 Russia-India-China idea, and Johnson says Moscow has ended India's oil discount.