by Transition Protocol(opens in new tab) [8-19-2026] Larry C. Johnson(bio)(opens in new tab), Pepe Escobar(bio)(opens in new tab).

Trump's White House tried to buy off Iran's Revolutionary Guard with a multi-billion-dollar offer modeled on the Venezuela playbook — and got refused twice, first by IRGC commander Vahidi, who called it treason, and then by Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir, who told Trump directly that Islamabad would not help destabilize Tehran's leadership. In this episode, Zulfiqar Ali, Pepe Escobar, and Larry Johnson break down the failed bribery attempt, China's directive to Pakistan to prioritize its Iran relationship, and why the collapse of the US–Iran memorandum of understanding is now pushing Washington toward open discussion of a nuclear strike on Iran.

The panel also covers the global diesel and aviation-fuel shortage triggered by the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the UAE's public cutoff of trade with Iran days after reportedly sending Tehran billions in cash and gold, and why Oman and Qatar are now openly rejecting US pressure over who controls the strait. This episode is built on direct reporting from sources inside Tehran and Islamabad and lands the same week the US–Iran MOU formally expired (August 17–18, 2026), with Iran declaring a shift to a fully offensive posture on Hormuz.

Zulfiqar Ali reports with direct access to decision-making circles in Islamabad and Tehran; Pepe Escobar is a veteran geopolitical analyst covering Eurasia and the multipolar order from the ground; Larry Johnson is a former US intelligence and State Department official providing military and strategic analysis. Transition Protocol is a serious, source-driven geopolitical and economic analysis channel focused on evidence-based reporting and high-signal breakdowns of global power shifts and their financial consequences.

Sources: Trump Offered the IRGC Billions. Tehran Told Munir.

Opened in May, resurrected last week, answered in one word: treason. And Europe runs out of diesel first.

In the second week of May, a back channel to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was opened through Iraqi Kurdistan.

It sat dormant for three months.

The White House resurrected it a few days ago, carrying an offer of billions of dollars.

The head of the IRGC reportedly answered that taking it would be treason.

Tehran then authorised passing the whole account to Pakistan’s army chief — the man Trump calls almost daily.

Separately, the last Gulf tankers sailed on 27 February, and Europe is now first in line for the diesel shortage that followed.

Those two things are the same story.

INSIDE THE PAID BRIEFING (What You’ll Unlock Below):

• The channel opened in the second week of May, who set it up, and the two names that authorised it.
• Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan — the route in, and the exact chain the message travelled up.
• Why Asim Munir refused first, in his own reported words, and what Trump had asked him to do.
• The six land routes opened in April and the Chinese-built railway that make a blockade unenforceable.
• $3 billion in cash and two tons of gold to Tehran last week — then the UAE cut off all trade days later.
• Why Europe is hit first by the diesel shortage, and why it cannot be fixed until Hormuz reopens.

Tehran’s own estimate, relayed to us this morning, is that this resolves in a week to fifteen days — and we record again Monday with Larry and Tuesday with Pepe, which means subscribers get the next turn of it before anyone else...