Iran: The war Western media always wanted
The US-Israeli war with Iran is spiraling into a regional catastrophe, and the number of dead is rising quickly. While President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the war hawks in their cabinets are responsible for this illegal war, they are not the only ones with blood on their hands. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, and Adam Johnson, co-host of Citations Needed, about how Western media and American politicians in the Democratic “opposition” have helped manufacture the conditions for war with Iran.
Guests:
Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy.
Adam Johnson is a writer, media critic, co-host of the podcast Citations Needed, and a columnist for TRNN.
Credits:
Video Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Podcast Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez: Welcome everyone to the Real News Network. My name is Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor-in-chief here at The Real News, and it’s so great to have you all with us. Urged on by Israeli Prime Minister and Genes Adair, Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump thrust the United States into a war with Iran on Saturday, committing what critics say may be the worst foreign policy decision in history. US and Israeli forces have been accused this week of seemingly indiscriminate bombing of Iran as the country’s Red Crescents said that at least 555 people have been killed amid reports of fresh mass
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The chilling truth behind ICE’s detention warehouses
The Trump administration is moving forward with its plan to convert former industrial warehouses around the US into massive immigration detention facilities capable of holding thousands of people at a time. In rural Western Maryland, near Hagerstown, the Department of Homeland Security purchased a giant warehouse for over $100 million and claims the retrofitted facility will hold upwards of 1,500 human beings. In this on-the-ground report filmed outside the Hagerstown warehouse, immigrant data expert Austin Kocher breaks down the chilling truth about ICE’s detention reengineering program.
Additional links/info:
Austin Kocher Substack, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
Project Salt Box, Substack, “A 1,500-bed detention facility is coming to rural Maryland. We’re calling on ICE to account for what that means — and asking you to do the same”
Austin Kocher, Substack, “92% of ICE detention growth in FY 2026 driven by immigrants with no criminal convictions”
Marina Dunbar, The Guardian, “Ice director wants to run deportations like ‘Amazon Prime for human beings’”
PBS NewsHour, “ICE spending billions to turn warehouses into migrant detention facilities”
Credits:
Filmed by Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production by Maximillian Alvarez and Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Austin Kocher:
I’m Austin Kocher, a research professor at Syracuse University, and we are standing in front of the Hagerstown warehouse where ICE plans on holding upwards of 1700 people or more as part of its massive immigrant detention re-engineering program. The government has already spent over a hundred million dollars acquiring this facility and $30 million on design services to refigure the facility to hold human beings. The utilities are not at all equipped.