Dan Hoffman: This is an UNPRECEDENTED level of pressure

McCORMICK, THANK YOU SO MUCH. FOR JOINING US ON "SUNDAY. MORNING FUTURES.". >>> U.S. E ENVOYS STEVE WITKOFF. AND JARED KUSHNER ARRIVED IN. KYIV EARLIER TODAY AFTER HOLDING. TALKS YESTERDAY WITH RUSSIAN. PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IN. MOSCOW AS THE UNITED STATES. SEEKS TO END THE FOUR AND A HALF. YEARS OF WAR BETWEEN THE. NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. JOINING ME NOW IS THE FORMER CIA. STATION CHIEF IN MOSCOW AND. FORMER -- AND FOX NEWS. CONTRIBUTOR DAN HOFFMAN. DAN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING.

US. GIVE ME YOUR HOT TAKE ON THE. MEETINGS WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN. I KNOW THERE'S AN ELECTION. COMING UP FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN. MAYBE THAT WAS PART OF THE. CALCULUS, BUT WHAT SHOULD WE. READ INTO THE MEETING WITH. MUTING? AND THEN THE IDEA THAT STEVE. WITKOFF AND -- WITH PUTIN? AND THEN THE IDEA THAT WITKOFF. AND KUSHNER ARE IN KYIV AS WE. SPEAK? >> WELL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON. THE PROGRAM, JASON. A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU. LOOK, FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN, HE HAS. DEMONSTRATED ZERO INTEREST IN.

STOPPING THIS BARBARIC WAR THAT. HE LAUNCHED ON UKRAINE OVER FOUR. YEARS AGO. AND WHAT HE'S TRYING TO DO. CONSISTENTLY IS TO CREATE THE. ILLUSION THAT THERE'S SOME. POTENTIAL FOR PEACE TO TRY TO. ENCOURAGE THE UNITED STATES NOT. TO GO ALL IN ON SUPPORTING. UKRAINE WHETHER IT'S WITH. PATRIOT MISSILES OR FINANCIAL. ASSISTANCE OR ATACMS. AND THAT GOES BACK TO THE BIDEN. ADMINISTRATION. SO I THINK THAT WAS PUTIN'S AIM. AT MEETINGS THERE WITH OUR. SPECIAL ENJOYS -- ENVOYS.

AND I THININK THE ELECTIONS IN. RUSSIA, THOSE ARE PSEUDO. ELECTIONS. THEY'RE ALL KREMLIN-CONTROLLED. CANDIDATES. THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS. DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA WHERE THE. KGB OPERATIVE IN THE KREMLIN, VLADIMIR PIEWPT, KIND OF. CONTROLS -- PUTIN, KIND OF. CONTROLS VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING. THAT HAPPENS IN THAT COUNTRY. POLITICALLY. AS FOR THE MEETINGS TODAY IN. UKRAINE, THAT'S A REALLY. IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE. OPPORTUNITY FOR JARED KUSHNER. AND STEVE WITKOFF TO WALK THE. GROUND TO SEE HOW RUSSIA HAS.

DESTROYED IRAN'S ENERGY AND. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW RUSSIA. HAS TARGETED UKRAINIANS IN THEIR. HOSPITALS AND MATERNITY WARDS. AND NEIGHBORHOODS WITH. JET-POWERED DRONES AND MISSILES. AGAIN, PUTIN HAS THE POWER TO. STOP THE WAR, BUT HIS GOAL IS TO. DESTROY UKRAINE AND PUT A. KREMLIN PUPPET REGIME IN POWER. IN KYIV. AND I HAVE IS SEEN NO EVIDENCE. THAT HE CONSIDERS OTHER OPTION. OPTIONS. JASON: DO YOU SEE ANY EVIDENCE.

THOUGH THAT THE UKRAINIANS ARE. MAKING SOME PROGRESS? IF YOU HEAR AND SEE SOME THINGS. ABOUT THE DRONE ATTACKS, THE. UKRAINIANS ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN. DOING PRETTY WELL. OR IS THAT JUST A FACADE? >> NO, THE UKRAINIANS -- FIRST. OF ALL, RUSSIA WAS SUPPOSED TO. WIN THE WAR AND BE IN KYIV IN. THREE DAYS, AND HERE WE ARE IN. THE FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR, THEY. HAVEN'T DONE THAT. RUSSIA'S SUFFERED OVER A MILLION. CASUALTIES. THEIR ECONOMY IS IN HORRIFICALLY. BAD SHAPE, AND THEY'RE ON THEIR. KNEES BEGGING CHINA TO IMPORT. THEIR HYDROCARBONS, AND THEY'RE.

RELYING ON NORTH KOREA FOR. ARTILLERY AND CANNON FODDER. NORTH KOREAN TROOPS. SO IS, CERTAINLY, RUSSIA HAS. FAILED. AND UKRAINE, YOU'RE RIGHT, HAS. TAKEN THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY AND. FORCED RUSSIANS NOW TO PAY THE. PRICE FOR THE WAR THAT PUTIN HAS. LAUNCHED ON UKRAINE. RUSSIANS ARE WAITING IN LINE FOR. GAS BECAUSE UKRAINE HAS LAUNCHED. DRONE ATTACKS DEEP INTO RUSSIAN. TERRITORY. JASON: SO GOING BACK TO, I MEAN, LOOK, YOU WERE A STATION KYIV, CIA.

IN -- CHIEF, CIA. MOSCOW, FOR GOODNESS SAKE. JUST GUESSING, YOU AREN'T. GETTING THE CLASSIFIED. INTELLIGENCE THAT YOU USED TO, THE IDEA THAT WITKOFF AND. KUSHNER CARRYING A MESSAGE FROM. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED. STATES, ARE WE -- WHAT ELSE. SHOULD WE READ INTO THAT? >> WELL, I THINK WE'RE. CONTINUING TO DELIVER THE. MESSAGE THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE AN. END TO THE WAR. THAT MESSAGE ISN'T ONLY TO. VLADIMIR PUTIN. IT'S TO ALL OF HIS SENIOR. ADVISERS, THE GUYS WHO REALIZE. THAT PUTIN HAS SPILLED SO MUCH.

BLOOD AND TREASURE IN THIS. FAILED WAR. AND SOMEDAY PUTIN WILL BE GONE. OR HE WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE. KREMLIN. AND THOSE SECURITY OFFICIALS. WILL REMEMBER THAT THE TRUMP. ADMINISTRATION WAS OFFERING. RUSSIA A LIFELINE, A RESET WITH. THE WEST, AN OPPORTUNITY TO. DEVELOP COMMERCIAL. RELATIONSHIPS, THAT COULD BE. INCREDIBLY VALUABLE FOR RUSSIA.. THOSE OPPORTUNITIES DON'T EXIST. TODAY, BUT THEY MAY DOWN THE. ROAD. AND I'M SURE THAT THOSE RUSSIAN. OFFICIALS WILL REMEMBER. OPPORTUNITY AND PERHAPS BE IN A. POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF. THAT.

JASON: THE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE. THAT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS. ALLOWING FOR THE FREE FLOW OF. COMMERCE CONTINUES. THE UNITED STATES TAKING KINETIC. ACTION BUT ALSO ECONOMIC. SANCTIONS UNDER THE DIRECTION. OF, OBVIOUSLY, PRESIDENT TRUMP. BUT SECRETARY BESSENT. THAT FINANCIAL PACKAGE THAT. THEY'VE PUT TOGETHER, THAT. STRANGLEHOLD, WHAT'S YOUR READ. ON THAT? HOW, HOW DEVASTATING IS THAT. GOING TO BE, AND WILL THAT BE. ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE. POINT WHERE THEY DON'T DO. ANYTHING ELSE AND THEY CAN'T DO.

ANYTHING ELSE IN THE STRAIT OF. HORMUZ? >> SO THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED. LEVEL OF ECONOMIC PRESSURE ON. IRAN. I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUOUGH THE. IMPORTANCE OF THIS BLOCKADE. WHICH HAS DENIED IRAN THE. OPPORTUNITY TO EXPORT OIL. THERE'S SOME COST TO THE WORLD. ECONOMY, FOR SURE, BECAUSE THE. STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS THE NEW. CENTER OF GRAVITY FOR THIS. CONFLICT. IRAN HAS THREE OPTIONS WHILE. THEIR ECONOMY IS IN FREEFALL AND. THEIR CURRENCY IS RUTHLESS -- IS.

WORTHLESS. IRAN CAN ESCALATE THE CONFLICT. WHICH THEY HAVE LIMITED. CAPABILITY TO DO THAT. THEY HAVE SOME DRONES AND THEY. HAVE SOME BALLISTIC MISSILES. DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE. COUNTRY, SO THEY CAN DO A LITTLE. OF THAT, BUT WE'VE BEEN VERY. EFFECTIVE AT TARGETING MILITARY. SITES. IRAN COULD CAPITULATE. THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT THE. IRGC-DOMINATED HARD-LINE REGIME. IS INTERESTING IN DOING THAT, OR. THEY COULD SEEK TO WAIT US OUT. AND RUN THE TALIBAN PLAYBOOK.

AGAINST US, HOPING THAT AS A. RESULT OF THE MIDTERMS PERHAPS. THAT WE WOULD DECREASE THIS. PRESSURE ON IRAN. I SEE NO EVIDENCE, NO MATTER. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MIDTERMS, THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS. GOING TO TAKE THEIR FOOT OFF THE. GAS PEDAL AND PRESS IRAN AS WE. HAVE WITH ECONOMIC PRESSURE AND. MILITARY STRIKES WHEN NEEDED. JASON: WELL, IT WOULD BE NAIVE. TO THINK THAT THEY DON'T CARE. ABOUT THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS HERE. IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I THINK THEY MISS THOSE DAYS. WHEN PALLETS OF CASH WOULD SHOW. UP OR ON THEIR DOORSTEP COURTESY.

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. FORM.