Iran appears to be entering one of its most volatile phases in recent years.
An alleged assassination plot near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s residence.
A dramatic ballistic missile launch showcasing underground launch complexes.
Rising questions over China’s strategic role amid escalating US-Iran tensions.
And a mysterious military helicopter crash in Isfahan — a province central to Iran’s nuclear and air force infrastructure.
In this edition of World News, Pankaj Mishra breaks down the power dynamics shaping the Middle East, and the global stakes behind the headlines. Watch!
#Iran
#USIran
#ChinaIran
#MiddleEast
#Khamenei
#IRGC
#MissileLaunch
#Geopolitics
#WorldNews
#BreakingNews
#GlobalTensions
#Oneindia
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An alleged assassination plot near Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s residence.
A dramatic ballistic missile launch showcasing underground launch complexes.
Rising questions over China’s strategic role amid escalating US-Iran tensions.
And a mysterious military helicopter crash in Isfahan — a province central to Iran’s nuclear and air force infrastructure.
In this edition of World News, Pankaj Mishra breaks down the power dynamics shaping the Middle East, and the global stakes behind the headlines. Watch!
#Iran
#USIran
#ChinaIran
#MiddleEast
#Khamenei
#IRGC
#MissileLaunch
#Geopolitics
#WorldNews
#BreakingNews
#GlobalTensions
#Oneindia
~HT.410~GR.510~PR.152~ED.194~PR.282~
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to One India. You're watching World News. I'm Pankaj Mishra.
00:04Iran is at the edge. An alleged assassination plot near the residence of the Supreme Leader,
00:09a dramatic ballistic missile display aimed at adversaries, China's shadow looming over a
00:15potential US-Iran confrontation, and now, to top it all, a military helicopter crash in a province
00:22central to Iran's nuclear and strategic infrastructure. We begin in Tehran, where
00:27the regime claims to have foiled what could have been a defining moment in Iran's modern history.
00:36The People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the MEK, claims that nearly 100 of its members were
00:43arrested and several killed during an Iranian security operation near the residence of Supreme
00:48Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, early Monday. The allegation? An attempted assassination.
00:54Iranian authorities have not officially detailed the operation, but the proximity to the Supreme
01:00Leader's residence is significant. The MEK, long designated by Tehran as a terrorist organization,
01:06has operated in exile for decades, but an attempt on Khamenei would mark a dramatic escalation in
01:12internal resistance at a time when Iran is already facing external pressure. Take a look at this report.
01:20At dawn on Monday, February 23rd, supporters of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran,
01:27also known as the MEK, claimed their resistance units launched a large-scale armed operation.
01:34The target? A highly fortified compound in Tehran's District 11, the Motahari Complex,
01:41near Pastor Street. This is not just any building. This is a sensitive security zone linked to offices
01:49associated with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including institutions tied to his son, Mojtaba Khamenei,
01:56the Guardian Council, the Judiciary, Intelligence Bodies, and National Security Centers.
02:02According to MEK-aligned reports, over 100 of their members were killed or arrested in clashes with
02:09Iranian security forces. They claim around 150 fighters withdrew safely after disabling surveillance
02:16cameras and engaging in firefights. They also say they inflicted substantial casualties on regime
02:22forces. But notice something. No numbers. No independent footage. No confirmation. Iranian state media has
02:30remained silent. And major international outlets have not verified the incident. So what do we know?
02:36The claims have spread rapidly on X, formerly Twitter, through pro-MEK accounts and opposition
02:42channels. Unconfirmed reports speak of ambulances rushing in, heightened security, and unusual movement
02:48in the area. There is also a claim of a hack into the Iran Cell mobile network. Messages reportedly
02:54flashed, Viva Rajavi, down with Khamenei, a reference to MEK leader Mariam Rajavi. But again,
03:00these claims remain unverified. And in Iran, verification is never easy. Internet restrictions,
03:07blackouts during unrest, tight security around sensitive sites. The information war is just as
03:13intense as any gunfire. Now, to understand the gravity of this claim, you need context. The MEK is
03:19not a new player. Founded in the 1960s, it fought the Shah, then turned against the Islamic Republic after
03:25the 1979 revolution. In 1981, a bomb attack injured Khamenei. The regime labels the group as terrorists.
03:32Thousands of suspected members and supporters have been executed over the decades. Today, the group
03:37operates largely from exile, based in Albania, through its political wing, the National Council
03:42of Resistance of Iran. It claims to run resistance units inside Iran, engaged in protests, graffiti
03:47campaigns, and occasional sabotage. And it has a history of making bold claims, claims that the
03:52regime often dismisses or ignores. So why now? This alleged operation comes weeks after major
03:57nationwide unrest. December 2025 to January 2026 saw one of the bloodiest crackdowns in modern Iranian
04:03history. The regime admits around 3,000 deaths. Opposition groups claim the number is much higher.
04:08In response, Iran's intelligence apparatus, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security,
04:12and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tightened its grip. Espionage for Israel or the United
04:17States now carries an automatic death penalty. Executions of alleged Mossad spies have increased,
04:21and every protest, every uprising is framed as a foreign plot.
04:25Iran has released footage of what it describes as a mass ballistic missile launch, multiple launch
04:31sites, mobile launch platforms, a coordinated barrage. The message is unmistakable. Across several
04:38Iranian provinces, mountains conceal vast underground missile complexes, long tunnels storing weapons
04:45deep beneath the surface. Heavy reinforced doors embedded into terrain, systems designed for rapid-fire
04:52deployment within seconds of command. More details in this report.
04:58Iran has released dramatic footage of a coordinated ballistic missile launch, multiple sites, mobile
05:05launchers, and what appears to be a full barrage sequence. The unmistakable message, as Washington
05:11weighs military options, Tehran is demonstrating that any strike could trigger a rapid and wide retaliation.
05:18The footage lands at a moment when diplomacy is fragile, and the region is already on edge.
05:25Iran's missile demonstrations are not just military drills. They are political signals. The country has
05:32repeatedly used large-scale launches to showcase its ability to strike regional targets quickly and in numbers,
05:40a tactic meant to complicate any U.S. strike planning. Military planners warn that unlike smaller adversaries,
05:47Iran's network of missiles, proxies, and regional allies could turn any attack into a prolonged conflict.
05:54For Tehran, deterrence is about scale, not just capability. President Donald Trump has given Iran
06:01a limited window to accept a nuclear deal, while also confirming he is considering military action
06:08if negotiations fail. Washington insists on zero uranium enrichment, a red line Tehran has long rejected.
06:16Iranian officials say they are preparing a counter-proposal based on mutual respect, but warn any attack
06:23would trigger strong retaliation across the region. The standoff is now being measured not just in
06:29diplomacy, but in military readiness. The United States has already moved significant forces into position.
06:37Two aircraft carriers, hundreds of aircraft, and expanded air assault readiness across the Middle East,
06:43signal Washington is preparing for multiple scenarios. Analysts say such deployments are designed to pressure
06:50to Turalin, but also to reassure allies like Israel, which has raised its own alert levels. The build-up suggests
06:57the military option is no longer theoretical. At sea, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain high,
07:05following Iranian live-fire drills. Israel is holding urgent security consultations. And inside Iran, protests
07:13and political pressure are adding uncertainty to the regime's calculations. The missile footage, then, is not just a test.
07:20It's a warning, a reminder that in this confrontation, escalation could move faster than diplomacy.
07:27For Washington, overwhelming force may promise a quick result. For Tehran, the strategy is different.
07:48As tensions between Washington and Tehran simmer, attention is turning eastward. How far would Beijing go to
07:55support Iran diplomatically, economically, or militarily? Speculation is mounting. Is China quietly
08:03reinforcing Iran's strategic capabilities? Could Beijing provide systems designed to counter advanced
08:09U.S. assets, including B-2 stealth bombers? Officially, China maintains a calibrated position,
08:16calling for restraint while deepening energy and trade ties with Tehran. But geopolitics is rarely linear.
08:23The report shows how.
08:26Just days after new U.S. carrier movements into the Middle East and fresh warnings from Washington,
08:33a quiet but massive shift is happening inside Iran's defense network. This isn't about a new missile
08:39test. It's about radars, satellites, and software. And it's China at the center of it.
08:48After Israel's 2025 strikes exposed gaps in Iran's air defense and cyber systems, Tehran didn't just patch
08:55holes. It rewired the system. First, the radar. China has supplied Iran with multiple YLC-8B long-range
09:04UHF-band surveillance radars, developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology.
09:10These aren't ordinary radars. They operate in the UHF-band, longer wavelengths. And that matters.
09:16Most stealth aircraft, like the F-35 Lightning II or the B-2 Spirit, are designed to avoid detection
09:23by high-frequency X and KU-band radars. Their shaping, their coatings, their angles, all optimized
09:29for those frequencies. But UHF waves behave differently. They diffract, they bend, they reflect back more
09:36easily. Meaning, stealth isn't invisible, just harder to see. The reported range? Over 500 kilometers
09:44for conventional aircraft. Around 350 kilometers, sometimes more, according to claims, for stealth
09:50targets. And up to 700 kilometers for ballistic missile early warning. This is not fire control
09:56precision. It won't guide a missile to impact. But it does something critical. It shrinks the invisible
10:02window. If Iran can see a stealth jet earlier, even imperfectly, it can scramble defenses, disperse
10:08assets, prepare missiles, activate systems like the HQ-9B. And that changes timing.
10:14Analysts say this is one of the few systems capable of continuous, long-range stealth
10:18surveillance. Skeptics note, UHF radars have limitations. Lower resolution, less precision.
10:24They've existed for decades. The U.S. and Israel have electronic countermeasures. But even so,
10:29the bar just got higher.
10:33Second, navigation. In mid-2025, Iran fully switched off nationwide GPS reception and transitioned
10:40to China's Beidou navigation satellite system. This is huge. GPS is U.S. controlled. In a conflict,
10:47it can be degraded, spoofed, jammed. By moving to Beidou, Iran reduces that leverage. Its missiles,
10:53drones, naval assets now run on a system designed to be more resilient in contested environments.
10:59Chinese officials called it a boost to Iran's digital sovereignty. Strategically, it makes precision
11:04strikes harder to disrupt. Third, cyberspace. After Mossad-linked hacks and database breaches during
11:12and after the June 2025 clashes, China's Ministry of State Security, the MSS, pushed Iran to replace
11:19Western software stacks, cybersecurity tools, databases, civil registries, command networks.
11:24Out U.S. and Israeli-linked systems. In closed encrypted Chinese alternatives.
11:28The goal? Harden against infiltration. Past sabotage, like radar blinding or targeted assassinations,
11:35depended on digital access. This move closes doors. Not perfectly, but meaningfully.
11:42All of this fits into a bigger picture. The 2025-25-year China-Iran agreement, worth around
11:48$400 billion, locked in Chinese investment in oil, gas, and infrastructure. Iran is a major supplier to
11:54China, and 20-30% of global crude passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing has no interest in a
12:00collapsed Iran, but it also avoids direct combat, so it provides tools, not troops. Meanwhile, the U.S.
12:06has moved carrier strike groups into the region, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, with the USS
12:11Gerald R. Ford reportedly en route. This is coercive signaling, not panic. Defense Secretary Pete
12:17Hexeth put it clearly, quote, Iran should make a deal. Everything is on the table, end quote. He pointed to
12:22January 2026, when the U.S. launched Operation Absolute Resolution in Venezuela and captured
12:27Nicolas Maduro, calling it quick and decisive. But Iran is not Venezuela. It has ballistic missiles,
12:32proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, control near the Strait of Hormuz, backing, indirect but real,
12:37from China and Russia, and an advanced nuclear program. A strike here risks regional war,
12:42oil shocks, global economic fallout.
12:47An Iranian military helicopter has crashed into a fruit and vegetable market in Dorchet in Isfahan
12:54province, killing at least four people. The timing is notable, the location even more so.
13:01Isfahan is home to a major Iranian airbase. It also houses nuclear facilities that were struck during the
13:08Iran-Israel confrontation last June. In a moment of heightened tension with Washington and following
13:14visible missile mobilization, any military incident invites scrutiny. Here's the ground report.
13:24Last morning in central Iran, a military training flight ended in flames. A helicopter went down.
13:32Two pilots are dead. And in a country already on edge, even a routine accident doesn't feel routine.
13:43Here's what we know. On February 24th, 2026, an Iranian army training helicopter crashed in Dorchet,
13:52in Khomeini-Shar, Isfahan province. Not in a desert, not on a remote base, but inside the compound of a
14:00local wholesale fruit and vegetable market. State media, including Mare News Agency,
14:06confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot were killed. No official reports of additional casualties on the
14:12ground. No confirmed major damage to the market. Emergency crews responded quickly, and within hours,
14:19authorities framed it as a training accident. The helicopter was on a routine training flight.
14:25The type of aircraft has not been disclosed. The exact time of the crash has not been released.
14:30And most importantly, the cause remains under investigation.
14:35So far, there is no official mention of sabotage. No claim of foul play. No mechanical details. Just a
14:42straightforward description. A training mishap. But here's why this story is bigger than just one crash.
14:50Over the past month, Iran has experienced a string of explosions and incidents. On January 31st,
14:57multiple blasts rocked areas including a residential building in Bandar Abbas. Officials blamed a gas
15:03leak. Six to seven people were reported dead. More than a dozen injured. But some residents questioned
15:09that explanation, saying the building didn't even have gas piping. The United States and Israel
15:14immediately denied any involvement. Then on February 18th, a loud explosion sent a thick plume of smoke
15:21over Perant, near Tehran. Another blast was reported outside Shiraz. Some coverage called it the 13th
15:28unexplained blast of the month. No official cause confirmed. Just days ago, another explosion in
15:33Khoramabad. Authorities said it was a planned disposal of outdated munitions. Online skepticism grow.
15:40All of this is happening after the June 2025 12-day Iran-Israel war, a conflict that included reported
15:46U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Since then, mysterious fires and blasts have become more
15:53frequent. At the same time, U.S.-Iran nuclear talks have stalled. Washington is pushing for limits on
15:58enrichment, missiles, and regional proxies. Tehran is resisting broader concessions.
16:05Rhetoric has escalated. Military posturing has increased. And Israel has signaled it will
16:10continue operations inside Iran. Iranian officials, including security figures like Ali Larajani,
16:17have accused Israel of sabotage, pointing to a history of covert operations. Nuclear side explosions,
16:22assassinations, cyber attacks. U.S. and Israeli officials consistently deny involvement in these
16:27recent incidents, attributing them to accidents or internal failures. And that context matters,
16:32because Iran's military aviation has long faced real challenges. An aging fleet, part shortages due
16:37to sanctions, maintenance strains. Past crashes have been linked to weather, technical failure,
16:42or equipment limitations. So when a training helicopter goes down today, there are two parallel
16:47narratives. One, a tragic but straightforward military accident. Two, a country so tense that
16:52every explosion, every crash, feels like it could be something more.
16:57No matter Iran appears internally strained, externally assertive, and strategically entangled,
17:04but Tehran knows the stakes are high and it must deliver too. And when global powers test each other,
17:12miscalculation is often the greatest risk of all. At least that's what both United States
17:18and Iran are trying to avoid. We will get you more details. Until then, keep watching One India.
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