>> good afternoon. i'm dawn >> good afternoon. i'm dawn neesom and this is the weekend neesom and this is the weekend on gb. news. huge apologies. on gb. news. huge apologies. we've had a slight technical we've had a slight technical hitch just for a few minutes. hitch just for a few minutes. there . thank you for sticking there . thank you for sticking there. thank you for sticking with us. really good to have there. thank you for sticking with us. really good to have your company on this saturday your company on this saturday afternoon. hope you're having a afternoon. hope you're having a lovely weekend, but we have got lovely weekend, but we have got a cracking show for you lined up a cracking show for you lined up so you don't want to go so you don't want to go america anywhere. we've got some great anywhere. we've got some great guests, great debate and some guests, great debate and some great, some great stories, great, some great stories, including american women and sex. and we are indeed kicking including american women and sex. and we are indeed kicking off in the united states, where off in the united states, where the department of justice has the department of justice has uncovered an iranian plot to uncovered an iranian plot to kill president elect donald kill president elect donald trump. the plan was apparently trump. the plan was apparently

thwarted just weeks before thwarted just weeks before america took to the polls to elect their 47th president. three suspects are facing criminal charges , including an

criminal, charges, including an very important round. and he's very important figure . and there was a very figure. and there was a very important figure with him. they were the key to the operations which had been had had had targeted american also british and other allied surveillance troops across iraq and wider, wider syria . and it's wider syria. and it's interesting on that occasion, trump later complained that the israelis didn't support him in doing that. he went for this. he was a key charismatic figure, and the iranians, it's in the collective memory of the iranian revolutionary guard corps. but it can't just be that can it.7 it's about looking at the current situation. this is what i'm trying to get at. there must be more to this than what they fear. i think about trump and it's an extraordinary plot as as outlined, i mean, that they have charged farhad shaqiri, the afghan who was employed by the

irgc, allegedly , according to irgc, allegedly, according to the he was actually in prison in america as the indictment in the in the indictment. and they put him out on bail which is quite a bit i was coming to but but but i don't think this is flaky. i think it's fascinating. i think that one of the things that will come out was the extent of the iranian and russian information operations during the election campaign, of which we learnt very little . the russians had very little. the russians had learned from their experience in 2016 and 2020, and knew that they had to be a lot more under they had to be a lot more under the wire, a lot more sophisticated , but they would sophisticated, but they would have wanted mr trump to be elected, whereas their new best, best buddies sold them drones, sell them hypersonic or sorry, drones and missiles . iran really drones and missiles. iran really don't want him on the chessboard in the middle east. why.7 because in the middle east. why? because he might take decisive action.

it might be more coherent than the biden harris anthony blinken, which was a bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of the other. and the very presence of trump being re—elected has changed things already. netanyahu is going for broke in israel, and things are happening for instance, that there is now real american pressure to kick hamas out of qatar, which has been their main gulf base, their political base, their financial base. so i hope i'm thoroughly confusing people because it's a huge stew . but what it confusing people because it's a huge stew. but what it has served notice to trump trump foreign policy is really concentrated on china and the pacific militarily , financially, pacific militarily, financially, competition, trade , tariffs. he competition, trade, tariffs. he is not. so he wants to close down in europe. he wants to close down. if he can in the middle east. donald trump does not like long wars. and that's where how he fixes it, i think,

has probably alarmed the iranians because the iranians were opening up diplomatic channels. they were moving. they had a lot of manoeuvre despite their losses with hezbollah . and their losses with hezbollah. and yeah, i think that it was an option. it's an option they didn't activate quite clearly , didn't activate quite clearly, because this seems the plot, which was against all kinds of individual jewish businessmen. yes. anti—iranian journalist, it was all over the place. and it was all over the place. and it was something probably that wasn't geared to the election campaign, but to the post election. >> do you think donald trump is in danger? yeah , i'm sure he is. in danger? yeah, i'm sure he is. >> because it is. it is it is getting worse because it's so interesting that when it's now, the world of the dominant personalities, i won't go into sort of deep freudian analysis, but i can say that. but when you take putin zigi donald trump may be the ayatollahs. not so

netanyahu, modi, and they are in dangen netanyahu, modi, and they are in danger. they're in targets. but the interesting thing about all of those, i'm just thinking this through today , they're not so through today, they're not so much in control of events. it's so complex now. they're being dnven so complex now. they're being driven by events. >> so does this put all of us in more danger ? robert. more danger? robert. >> oh, yes. this is the thing where trump being empowered more myself, my colleagues, myself particularly have failed totally. we're in a permanent state of near war now. and i'll tell you, the editorial class . tell you, the editorial class. hello. are you listening? and particularly a regime like the starmer government doesn't want to know, doesn't want to know about defence and surveillance and cyber and hacking and which is now what you're saying is basically trump being in power and starmer being in power here has made all our lives more dangerous. not necessarily. it would there would have been more dangerous. anyway. can i bring comfort to you ? comfort to you? >> no, you're not really helping here, robert. stay with us. i'm going to bring the panel in now.

former labour adviser scarlett mccgwire and broadcaster and journalist claire muldoon. i'm coming to you first on this one. scarlett , do you feel more scarlett, do you feel more frightened now? does the world feel an unsafe place? >> yeah, i think i think i think it does, because i think if you look at ukraine, where, as you say, trump doesn't like, doesn't like long wars, he wants it over with. there's only one way that it's going to be over and that's basically giving in to russia. now i do think it's over, but it doesn't finish. yeah . no, you're doesn't finish. yeah. no, you're absolutely right. but actually the problem is that if russia can claim a victory, even though you're completely right, it's the is the next step is georgia okay then. it's i mean the i mean putin is not going to stop. is putin. putin believes that the fall of the soviet union was the fall of the soviet union was the worst thing to happen. and he , he he wants he wants another he, he he wants he wants another country that is really, really dangerous. and what are we going

to do about it? and, and in a way, i mean, robert will correct me when i go wrong on this, but in a way, putin is right is at the moment there's a proxy war going on with ukraine being a proxy for nato. and actually keeping us out of it. but but i mean, it is incredibly dangerous. >> how about you, claire? do you feel safer or more worried now with the with the trump being in power with this, this assassination attempt plot by iran ? no, i'm actually i feel iran? no, i'm actually i feel actually safer with trump being in. and i'll tell you why. i think the linear approach from starmer through all of this has to be absolutely. you know, called out for what it is. and he is a very weak leader and he's got very weak people around him. he's not a man that he that you would think unconstitutionally being a lawyer for international law, he could see what would happen. he doesn't seem to be seeing what's on the chessboard . he doesn't he on the chessboard. he doesn't he doesn't seem for me to be able

to push the pawns and move the pieces, whereas trump, who we've all i think we're all in agreement, doesn't like long wars. the key to unlock some of this is ukraine. make them a member of nato. move that. why are you shaking your head, robert ? no chance. why? robert? no chance. why? >> absolutely no chance. because they would invoke article five and you anyway . anyway, it's not and you anyway. anyway, it's not possible for ukraine to join nato because a power in war cannot join. and even