International journalist Yunus Soner offers a detailed analysis of the escalation of violence in the Middle East following Israel's attacks on Iran and Iran's forceful response with missiles on Tel Aviv and US military bases in several countries in the region. Soner explains how the situation has led to a partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, mobilizations by allied groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, Iraqi militias, and Hezbollah, as well as diplomatic reactions at the UN and in Gulf countries. He also describes the Iranian people's spirit of resistance in the face of the bombings, even in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, and warns of the serious economic and security repercussions that a prolonged conflict could have globally.
#TeleSUREnglish #Iran #Israel #MiddleEast #UNSecurityCouncil #Ramadan
#TeleSUREnglish #Iran #Israel #MiddleEast #UNSecurityCouncil #Ramadan
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00:05Hello, join us as we go live to the Middle East as Iran is yet again under attack by
00:11U.S.-Israel collision in an unprovoked war that seeks a regime change in the Persian
00:17nation.
00:18Let's recall we are seeing at this moment images of what it is, the aftermath of bombings
00:23that were falling back and forth from Iran and also Israel and also key military units
00:32from the U.S. in several nations of the region.
00:36This is happening despite the ongoing negotiations that were being held between the U.S. and Iran
00:45and Trump's statements, let's recall, about allowing space for dialogue, Israel and the
00:51United States yet again launched the war during the negotiations as the same that happened
00:58a few months ago, not even one year before this attack, the U.S. also and Israel as well harmed
01:08and halted as well negotiations violently that were underway in a space in which they were
01:15trying to reach consensus regarding the nuclear program of Iran.
01:20This is happening at this moment, just a few hours after the first attack, unprovoked bombing
01:30that was launched by U.S. and Israel coalition towards a sovereign state, towards Iran that
01:40has been the target for a second time of these violent and terrorist incursions that have
01:47as the sole purpose to achieve a regime change in the nation.
01:52Let's recall that today, on February 28th, 26th, the U.S. and Israel held joint operations.
02:05Both of them launched a major combat operations as President Donald Trump assured just a few
02:13moments after the news became an event worldwide and also these attacks were launched against Iran,
02:25the Persian nation.
02:27This includes as well pre-emptive strikes on military targets according to U.S. authorities
02:35in Teheran and other provinces nationwide.
02:39Let's recall, Iran has responded by firing missile barrages at northern Israel.
02:46Explosions have been also reported in Haifa and other northern regions as the Israel's defense
02:54forces are also were struggling as well to intercept incoming bombings.
03:01State of emergency.
03:04State of emergency.
03:04Both Israel and Iran as well have closed their airspace.
03:08Israel declared as well a state, a national state of emergency moving from full activity
03:15to essential activity only.
03:18Also, other nations from the region have also closed their airspace as well as a way to prevent
03:26any collateral actions on their airspace as well.
03:32Let's recall reports indicate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the moment being.
03:40This is the official report.
03:42He is alive according to Iranian authorities and has been moved to a secure location.
03:48Meanwhile, U.S. and Israeli leadership as well have called for the Iranian people
03:55to rise up against the government of Iran.
03:58This is a coordinated action that was actually premeditated.
04:04According to U.S. authorities, they already had previously the date set for this attack,
04:11even in the midst of the ongoing negotiations that were being held by both nations in Geneva, Switzerland,
04:18and that was as well abruptly interrupted on Friday afternoon, according as well to reports.
04:28So far, in these back and forth retaliatory actions and in the first actions as well,
04:34the military actions and terrorist actions of the U.S. in Iran, so far has left a death toll
04:42of 201 people killed across 24 provinces that were targeted by military U.S. and Israel military bombings.
04:54A strike on a school is perhaps the most outrageous attack performed on the nation
05:03because it has left 108 people in this elementary school.
05:09And in this moment, we're going to have a contact, a telephone contact with our correspondent in the Middle East,
05:17Junos Sooner.
05:18He is there and he's going to be sharing with us all the latest updates
05:22regarding this highly concerning event in the Middle East.
05:26Hello, Junos. What can you share with us at this hour?
05:30Hello, Alexandra. Good evening from here, from the West Asia.
05:35The latest news is that the response of the Islamic Republic of Iran against one of the attackers on its
05:45territory,
05:46on its leadership, Israel, is ongoing pretty strong.
05:51We have recent reports of several impacts of Iranian missiles inside Israel.
05:58We have reports from the major city, Tel Aviv, and also from other places.
06:05We have reports that emergency services in Israel have been mobilized to assess the damage.
06:12And there are a number of sirens calling all the residents to take shelter inside Israel as a huge missile
06:24barrage is being directed towards Israel.
06:29That has today's morning, on Saturday morning, started the attack on Iran, announced by the Israeli Defense Minister, Israeli Katz,
06:40who talked about a so-called preemptive strike.
06:44So, this is the latest news we have.
06:48Also, simultaneously, we have the UN Security Council that has convened on an emergency meeting regarding the situation in the
06:57Middle East.
06:58This meeting was on the one side called upon by Russia and China, and on the other side, it was
07:05called on by Colombia and, if I'm not mistaken, France on the other side.
07:12So, there were different calls to unite the Security Council.
07:22The members, the permanent members, and the temporary members are right now holding speeches.
07:28This is just finished to make his presentation, was the ambassador of Bahrain, one of the countries in the Persian
07:39Gulf.
07:39It hosts a number of US military bases and military personnel that had been part of the attack on Iran,
07:49and the representative of Bahrain blamed the Islamic Republic of Iran for attacking Bahrain.
07:58Bahrain, but did not mention that his country harbors the attackers in this actual conflict of today.
08:06The Iranian response to this attack has been very strong and has introduced some novelties.
08:14We have, at first, the situation that the Iranian missiles have attacked US military bases in a number of countries
08:26throughout the Middle East.
08:28There was a radar station, a very important one, that has a range of 5,000 kilometers, that was, this
08:36is confirmed by footage, destroyed in Qatar.
08:40There were bases attacked in Bahrain, there were also bases, US bases attacked in Bahrain.
08:49We have under attack the US naval base, naval command position.
08:54In Kuwait, we have a US base that was also attacked, as well as in the north of Iraq, in
09:01Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the city of Arbil, and in Saudi Arabia were also attacked US military bases.
09:10All of them suffered a certain degree, there are footage showing explosions in these bases, showing smoke coming up from
09:20these bases, but we don't have any number of casualties or injured soldiers or military personnel of the United States
09:29in these bases published yet.
09:32But here, it's worth remembering that Donald Trump, the US President, had already, from the beginning, announced that the US
09:40may lose soldiers in this war, while announcing that this will be a major combat operation.
09:48So, all eyes are on the field, are on what's going on in Israel, how the impact of the Iranian
09:57missiles will be there.
09:58Also, eyes are on how Iranian attacks on US military bases will continue.
10:06In addition to that, there is a major news regarding the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
10:12The Strait of Hormuz is the exit point for a number of oil-producing countries alongside the Persian Gulf, among
10:22them Kuwait and also Iraq, major oil-producing countries.
10:27So, this Strait of Hormuz is a key strait for global energy supply.
10:33And there have been reports that the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have sent messages to the ships, to the oil
10:42tankers, that the strait has been closed and that no exit is possible nor an entry.
10:50Certainly, certain websites that follow international maritime traffic do confirm that a number of oil tankers have returned from entering
11:01the Persian Gulf via this strait, but there has been not an official announcement made from Iran on this closure
11:10yet.
11:11But if that occurs, this would cause a serious increase of oil prices and other prices in the world financial
11:23markets on Monday.
11:25And another issue that we are following closely is how movements allied with the excess of resistance will act to
11:36this Israeli-US aggression.
11:38First of all, let's remember that there has been a conflict and genocide in the Gaza Strip.
11:45So, our eyes are all on the armed movements that are connected to this struggle.
11:51Well, the Houthis in Yemen already announced that they are in solidarity with Iran and that they will also retaliate
12:01against Israeli assets in the region.
12:05Eyes are also on Hamas.
12:07What will Hamas do?
12:09Remember that there is a Trump-led Board of Peace, which is essentially a colonization of the Gaza Strip.
12:16There has not been an official statement from Hamas yet, but the Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group which is closely
12:25armed with Hamas, already declared that it is also in solidarity with Iran and will respond with military means against
12:35this Zionist attack.
12:37Also, different armed groups, militia groups in Iraq have announced that they take up arms against U.S. military bases,
12:46Israeli assets in their region.
12:49There is a number of U.S. bases in northern Iraq and very close to Iraq as well.
12:53And we are looking also what Hezbollah will do.
12:57Hezbollah made a very solidary statement with Iran, but did not announce to enter into active fighting.
13:06But on the other side of the border, Hezbollah is stationed in southern Lebanon.
13:11On the other side, on the southern side of that border, we have news that Israel has mobilized 70,000
13:19soldiers in reserve to active duty to be placed on the borders and also on the border, on the northern
13:28border.
13:28And some experts are speculating that this might be the preparation for an invasion into southern Lebanon, given the situation.
13:39So, a highly volatile situation.
13:41A lot of diplomatic issues are ongoing.
13:44Meanwhile, in the background, the Iranian foreign minister had talks with his counterparts in Turkey, in Pakistan, and also with
13:53Gulf countries.
13:54And on the other side, U.S. President Donald Trump also had a number of phone calls with the Gulf
14:02countries, with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey as well, and with the NATO General Secretary.
14:09And this is an important diplomatic move that is unfolding there in the background.
14:16Each side is trying to broaden its coalition and to gain international support for its position.
14:24Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign minister, in an interview, stated that Iran is always open to talks, but that this attack,
14:35this aggression has to stop first before any talks can be considered.
14:40In the Western media, we have important speculation about the possible killing of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
14:49Trump also mentioned this as a possibly true story.
14:54Israeli media is distributing this news.
14:59Netanyahu is distributing this news strongly.
15:02But we had a similar situation when they attacked the Hamas leadership in Qatar last year, when they insisted that
15:10the entire leadership had been killed, while in truth they had left the bombed building before.
15:17And Iranian sources say that the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as well as the country's leadership, the president, Masoud Bezeshkan,
15:26and others are in command and in control of the situation, leading Iran's response to this attack that occurred.
15:34While negotiations about Iran's nuclear program were ongoing between the United States Special Envoy Witkoff and the Iranian foreign minister
15:47Abbas Araqci in Geneva.
15:49So it is a mixture of conflict on the ground, escalation, retaliation by Iran, clearly targeting U.S. military bases
15:59strongly and successfully, and also Israeli territory, while Israel also has pursued a number of airstrikes on Iranian territory in
16:09different cities during the day.
16:11And in the background, diplomatic efforts to both strengthen each side's position and coalition, and maybe open a back-channel
16:22communication channel between the two sides.
16:26But for that, there is no indication of any success yet.
16:30Also, Junos, I wanted to ask you, the U.S. and Israel, as well, are no longer disguising the real
16:38intentions of pursuing a regime change in the nation.
16:43We've seen this psychological war that they are imposing with these allegations that the main leaders of the nation have
16:49been deceased after these attacks.
16:52And also, there is an important fact, and that is that the U.S. is calling on the people to
16:57hold a social unrest against the government.
17:01But the reality is that it has happened the other way around.
17:05The people is on the streets supporting precisely the government and also the response to this clear violation of their
17:13sovereignty.
17:14How would you describe the sentiment of the Iranian people in the face of these circumstances?
17:19Yes, this is the U.S. administration's activities are without precedent.
17:26I think they are bombing a country's leadership and simultaneously calling the country's people to rise up against the government.
17:35And they also threaten the population by saying if they don't do so, they will face hard times.
17:42This is threatening openly and clearly an entire population of a country to pressure them to rise up against their
17:51leadership.
17:52We have the situation in Tehran is we have a number of footage arriving from Tehran.
17:59People take to the streets.
18:01People take to, for instance, the Palestine Square with Iranian flags in their hand, demonstrating the will to resistance.
18:11We have footage where people take out also with their cars and motorcycles where people rally to declare their support
18:22for their government, for their state, for their constitution in face of these unprecedented and unjustified attacks.
18:31So among the population, there is a visible sign of will to resist this attack.
18:39But of course, people are also concerned because there have been a huge bombing.
18:45There has been a bombing on an elementary school where more than 100 children were killed by the attack.
18:53So people are also worried about how this war will evolve and how the Americans and the Israelis will target
19:02them.
19:02And they are understandably worried about their safety.
19:08But that does not keep them from taking out to the streets and expressing their support for their government, for
19:15their armed forces, for their state.
19:18Also, the U.S. has been threatening that this confrontation could last days or even weeks.
19:27And I wanted to ask you, what could be the consequences of a long-term conflict in the Middle East
19:33for the people in the region?
19:37For the people in the region, the major circumstance, the consequence is that it broadened on security and immobility.
19:49Remember, a number of air spaces have been closed.
19:52There is no flights to Iraq nor to Iran nor to the Gulf countries.
19:56And also a number of flights to Israel have been suspended.
20:01So people are grounded and people are, of course, under a certain danger, given that there's a war going on,
20:12that there is indiscriminate bombing, as we have seen in the example of the elementary school that was bombed in
20:20Iran.
20:21So there is a huge danger.
20:23At the same time, people are looking very carefully what government will take stance.
20:31And the Middle East has forgotten the genocide against the Palestinians.
20:37So there is also a hidden joy about the fact that the Iranian missiles are targeting and successfully attacking U
20:50.S. military bases.
20:51A lot of people consider this as a delayed answer to what Israel has committed in the Gaza Strip and
21:01the West Bank since decades, actually, and in the last years more and more.
21:06So the feeling on the streets of the Middle East is to look how will this continue, how far will
21:15it escalate,
21:16and how far is Iran willing to go in its fight against Israel and the United States,
21:24and how far will its allies throughout the region join this effort.
21:30And this will affect a number of countries, both in terms of security, transportation, but also economically,
21:38because the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, should it happen, should it be enforced,
21:44will mean serious economic repercussions for the region, as the countries are oil-exporting countries,
21:53especially in the Gulf, but also Iraq and Iran as well.
21:58And it will have global repercussions because it will shake the global markets on Monday if that continues
22:05and might even cause inflationary tendencies in the United States, in the West, with increasing oil prices.
22:12So this is a very highly fragile situation where the Middle East is again in the spotlight of global attention
22:19and global popular attention as well.
22:22Also, the government of Turkey has affirmed their willingness to be a mediator, to be the mediator in a possible
22:30ceasefire.
22:31Is there any update on this aspect?
22:34Is there any possibility at this moment for a ceasefire indeed?
22:40Yes, President Erdogan has condemned on the one side the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran,
22:48but simultaneously he has also criticized Iranian response on third countries as not acceptable.
22:58This has called some criticism in Turkish public opinion because there was a statement from the foreign ministry
23:06that said that Iran's attacks on third countries that said that Iran's attacks on third countries were unacceptable.
23:11Well, these attacks have happened not on these countries, but on U.S. military bases in these countries.
23:19Turkey has proposed, had already before proposed to mediate in this conflict,
23:24and President Erdogan reiterated this call again.
23:28For the time being, that seems less probable because already before the U.S. aggression,
23:36Iran had preferred Oman, the country of Oman, as a mediator, because Oman has a more neutral stance,
23:44is not a direct neighbor of Iran, has no greater interest in the region, indifference to Turkey,
23:52which is a major regional power with invested interests in Syria and Lebanon and also with Iran in the Caucasus.
24:02So, Iran already had preferred Oman as a mediator.
24:06Therefore, the idea that Turkey becomes again a mediator is less likely in my view.
24:14At the same time, the Turkish people have started taking out to the streets.
24:19There have been demonstrations, protests against the U.S. and Israeli aggression today in front of the NATO headquarters in
24:29Izmir,
24:29which is a smaller land force, ground force headquarters.
24:35There have been protests in front of the U.S. embassy in the capital city of Ankara,
24:42and more are announced to happen both tomorrow in the city of Istanbul as well as during the week in
24:50front of the Incirlik military base,
24:52which is a major base in the southern part of Turkey, where also U.S. military is stationed, where U
25:02.S. airplanes are stationed.
25:03So, the public opinion is also closely watching how this will evolve.
25:09But the sentiment is growing to reject actively the U.S. and Israeli aggression and to side with the Israeli
25:19people.
25:20Junos, one last question.
25:22This attack, this tragedy is happening in the month, precisely in the holy month of Ramadan.
25:29What does it mean for the people in the Middle East to be facing these circumstances,
25:34precisely in a moment in which there must be and prevail solidarity and peace among families, among the people in
25:43the region?
25:45Yes, that's exactly a very provocative, especially provocative moment,
25:50because Ramadan is, as you mentioned, the month of coming together, families come together,
25:57people share what they have with who have not so much, people share their wealth, share their food with each
26:05other,
26:05they turn inside, they become, they get closer to God, they renounce earthly desires and it's a month of peace.
26:19And this attack occurring in this month is exactly a provocation.
26:26Some places in the context of the recent speech Rubio gave in Munich, Germany,
26:33where he called upon Europe to revive the Western civilization, the Christian civilization.
26:40This is remembered here in the Middle East, and some places conflict in that context of a clash of civilizations.
26:52Others remember that the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Huckabee, in a recent interview,
27:00sorry, to Tucker Carlson, U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson,
27:03a proof that Israel should become a greater Israel, as it is mentioned in the Bible,
27:09reaching until the Euphrates that is covering Syria and even parts of Iraq,
27:16as well as to Nile that would include the parts of Egypt.
27:21So this is also part remembered in the consciousness.
27:26And this is a very provocative situation for the Muslim population,
27:31that in their holy time, this attack occurs,
27:35this among the population creates an additional rejection to it.
27:41But of course, decisive is how the regional governments will react,
27:46how the Gulf countries will react, how they will side,
27:50whether they will take a neutral stance,
27:54or will even reject continuing aggressions by the Americans and the Israelis,
28:00or whether they will choose the side of the West.
28:04And then they will have also internal conflicts,
28:08because their populations remember how these countries lacked the support
28:14in the Palestinian cause during the last three years.
28:17Thank you very much, Yunus, for your time hearing from the South,
28:21for your insights in the context of this highly concerning event
28:25that is shaking the Middle East,
28:28but also the entire humanity at this moment.
28:32You're welcome.
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