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The West Asia conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States has entered its fourth day, marked by continued military actions and expanding diplomatic involvement.
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00:07good evening you're joining us here on our rolling coverage of the west asia conflict day four
00:13and it's showing no signs of dying down you had the u.s president donald trump suggesting
00:18that this conflict could go on this war could go on for the next four to five weeks how long
00:24will
00:24this war continue we're going to be focusing on that but we begin with an exclusive conversation
00:28joining me on this broadcast is the israeli defense forces deputy spokesperson lefnit ben kohan
00:34lefnit kohan thank you very much for your time the question i'll begin with to you is about what i
00:40referred to u.s president donald trump suggesting that this war could go on for four to five weeks
00:45there are some assessments that also suggest that this could be a long-drawn war a never-ending war
00:51of sorts what do you think lefnit kohan
00:55thank you for having me so the idf opened on saturday morning in operation roaring lion a
01:01joint operation with the u.s armed forces intended to eliminate an existential threat on the state of
01:07israel and the united states and the world at large and that is the iranian terrorist regime
01:11including its ballistic missiles program its advancement towards achieving a nuclear bomb and
01:17its proxies all across the middle east and we will continue to operate for as long as we need in
01:23order to eliminate that existential threat i won't give any specific time frame to anyone on the
01:28other side but i will tell you specifically we are ready for as long as we need to to achieve
01:32that
01:32goal what about the fact that you know you're seeing the theater of war expanding and in that sense
01:38iran you know attacking several other countries attacking u.s bases in those countries you are saying
01:44you cannot give us a specific timeline because it's all about you know achieving your mission reaching
01:49your goal ultimately but there is that aspect of the fact that many other countries are also now
01:54getting involved in this conflict so i think if anyone had a shadow of a doubt that the iranian
02:00terrorist regime was a threat to a lot more than just the united states and israel then they've seen
02:06that first and foremost over the last four days they've fired hundreds of ballistic missiles a lot of
02:11them at countries in the middle east that are not israel they're a threat to the entire region and
02:16that's precisely one of the reasons that we need to eliminate that existential threat we can't allow
02:21for them to sit with hundreds of ballistic missiles we can't allow for them to sit with their extremist
02:26agenda the argument that will be put forth uh by iranians is that this was retaliatory that there
02:35was an unprovoked attack on them and so they're merely responding to the attack the strikes that
02:39happened in their soil so i think that the key difference here main difference between the idf and
02:46the u.s armed forces and between the iranian terrorist regime is that we are carrying out a
02:50military operation against military targets to eliminate an existential threat in stark contrast
02:56the iranian terrorist regime is not responding they're targeting civilians they're targeting
03:01civilians it's their goal it's not just a message we have concrete intelligence that says that they are
03:06trying to target civilians in israel and all across the middle east they want to kill civilians to
03:11create panic to create stress that doesn't sound like a response to me what's the evidence of that
03:17uh lefnit kohan you're saying that there is concrete proof of the same iran says we're targeting u.s bases
03:22in these countries so i can tell you we have seen concrete intelligence behind the scenes i can't share
03:29it with you out of security classification interest but i can tell you that i've seen with my eyes
03:32real intelligence that points to the fact that this is their strategy they want to kill civilians
03:37and it's proved a few days ago when a missile hits bechemish and kills nine civilians in a synagogue
03:43including multiple including brothers that doesn't sound to me like a military target
03:49okay there was also the incident of course in the school though there was a statement that suggested
03:54it was a misfire of what happened in iran lefnit kohan you say that this is an ongoing operation
03:59what's the end game here you know what's the ultimate goal is it a regime change in iran and in
04:05which
04:05case is that something that you're even close to right now so the idf's goal is to eliminate that
04:12threat that includes the ballistic missile program that the iranian regime set out a goal to build
04:178 000 missiles 8 000 ballistic missiles by 2027 we can't allow for them to have them to prevent them
04:23from achieving a nuclear bomb and to prevent them for activating their proxy network as they have over
04:28recent days with hezbollah joining that's our goal it's a military objective to prevent that threat
04:33from being we can't live with that threat existing so nothing to do with the regime change then that's
04:40not the ultimate goal of your mission as i stated our goal is to eliminate that existential threat
04:47all right lefnit ben kohan thank you very much for your time for joining us here on india today so
04:52you've got there the deputy spokesperson of the israeli defense forces stating very clearly that this is an
04:56ongoing operation refusing to specify an exact timeline saying that it will take as long as it
05:03does to eliminate an existential threat as they put it but joining me on this broadcast we've got what
05:09we refer to as india today's war council uh we've got pranayupadi sandeep unitan and gita moham with me
05:17uh on this broadcast we're going to be decoding exactly that question of how long this war will go on
05:22just a quick update coming in though prime minister modi has again dialed several leaders
05:27in the gulf region speaking this time to two important leaders from the gulf prime minister
05:34modi spoken with the sultan of uman uh he's also had a conversation with the crown prince of kuwait gita
05:42you want to give us more details on this well uh this comes at a time when the two countries
05:47have been hit
05:47by iran and and and there are a massive number of indians who live in these in these countries so
05:55prime minister narendra modi not only uh speaking to them and and expressing concern about the situation
06:01on the ground but also uh he spoke about the the indians residing in these countries and the safety
06:08concerns that india has with regards to indian safety in the countries we've seen several such
06:14conversations in the last few days there have been questions however of how we're tackling this
06:19particular issue diplomatically and what our stand really is on the conflict as far as this conflict
06:25is concerned uh this is concerned akshita uh if you see the statement put out by the ministry of
06:29external affairs on this issue uh when israel and uh united states launches or launched this operation
06:34india said that we have our concern about the about the violation of territorial integrity and
06:40sovereignty of iran but having said that uh you know we have our own concerns regarding our national
06:45security uh our uh you know the interest of our people and also about our energy security and if
06:50you see you mentioned about that uh you know prime minister narendra modi dialed up to many head of
06:54states and head of governments in gulf region obviously we have a concern about our people over 95
07:00lakh indians are there in that region we have our own concern about their safety we have our own concern
07:05about the uh about the energy security energy supply that's why if you see prime minister modi spoke
07:10to mbs muhammad bin salman uh in in saudi arabia prime minister modi uh spoke to mbz uh muhammad bin
07:16zayed al nahyan in uae prime minister modi spoke to king of jordan prime minister modi spoke to sultana
07:21of oman and prime minister modi spoke to a sheikh of of kuwait this clearly shows that we have our
07:26own
07:26primary concern regarding the safety and security and well-being of indians residing in the region
07:31as far as this conflict is concerned uh you know we have said how we are looking at uh this
07:37conflict
07:37uh from from the indian perspective that you know we have our concern about the national the violation
07:42of nationality uh the the territorial integrity and sovereignty but besides that and beyond that
07:47you know we do not want to get into this conflict and uh you know uh i think that is
07:53the the point of
07:53india because we have urged both parties to resolve and this is the stated position of india that uh
07:58only dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward on the side of peace essentially that's the message
08:03that's coming from india repeatedly on this conflict as well i will also highlight that there's been
08:08a lot of domestic politics or the fact that there's been no statement on the killing of khamenei
08:12but let's talk about what's really happening in this war day four of the middle east conflict
08:17and the signs are ominous what began as a fierce exchange is now threatening to also spiral into a
08:25full-blown maybe a long-drawn war you had donald trump yesterday suggesting that this war could go
08:30on for four to five weeks some question whether it will be limited to just four to five weeks or
08:35will
08:35be endless take for example the russia ukraine war which has gone on for years let's get you all of
08:41those reactions first and then we'll decode that with my colleagues
09:03us and israel continue to bomb key iranian targets
09:08it seems like the us and west asia are currently embarking on yet another forever war like russia
09:15and ukraine us b-1 bombers struck deep inside iran to degrade iranian ballistic missile capabilities
09:24u.s said it will destroy iranian nuclear stockpile and raise the missile industry to the ground
09:30u.s forces said that they are now hitting iran surgically overwhelmingly and unapologetically
09:38u.s forces also hit iran warship deployed in gulf of oman and said that they will continue to defend
09:45their assets the israeli air force eliminated soldiers from the defense array of iran and now
09:52the war is only expanding israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu approved israeli defense forces
09:59to advance and seize additional controlling areas in lebanon to prevent firing on israeli border
10:05settlements israeli forces have won hezbollah of a heavy price israeli forces have been given a free
10:14hand to advance and seize additional controlling areas in lebanon and to defend border settlements from
10:20there lebanon meanwhile has evacuated advanced positions but despite the widening war theaters
10:28israeli prime minister netanyahu has said that u.s and israel's war against iran will not be an
10:34endless one and that it will involve quick and decisive action i hear the people are taking we're
10:41going to have an endless war here you're not going to have an endless war now of course it's up
10:44to the
10:45people of iran in the final count to uh to change the government but we are creating america and israel
10:51together are creating the conditions for them to do so and i think peace between israel and saudi arabia
10:56would be uh really possible and probably uh very close substantially ahead of our u.s president trump
11:05meanwhile said that u.s boots would be on the ground only if necessary we have the strongest and most
11:12powerful
11:13by far military in the world and we will easily prevail we're already substantially ahead of our time
11:24projections but whatever the time is it's okay we have capability to go far longer than that we'll do
11:31it whatever somebody said today they said oh well the president wants to do it really quickly after
11:37that he'll get bored i don't get bored there's nothing boring about this u.s state secretary marco rubio
11:45has said that the hardest is yet to come hardest hits are yet to come from the u.s military
11:50the next phase
11:51will be even more punishing on iran than it is right now someone was screaming how long will it take
11:56i don't
11:56know how long it'll take we have objectives we will do this as long as it takes to achieve those
12:00objectives and we will achieve those objectives the world will be a safer place when we're done with this
12:05operation the conflict has widened beyond direct u.s iran exchanges into a border crisis in west asia
12:12crisis involving proxies gulf states and energy infrastructure threats with no indications of a
12:19ceasefire or resolution is west asia heading towards a russia ukraine-like prolonged war bureau report india today
12:31is this going to be a war that now goes on for the next many years the new normal essentially
12:37like
12:37the russia ukraine war has become or as trump says it'll end in the next few weeks or will it
12:42wrap up
12:43in a few days will we see some sort of talk some sort of middle ground being reached sandeep i'll
12:48begin
12:48with you what do you think uh you know the u.s president says four to five weeks do you
12:52think it'll go on for
12:53that long well you know uh the uh rhetoric emerging right now is that we're going to fight this war
12:59for
12:59as long as it takes and my sense is that they get got into this war thinking that it would
13:04be a very
13:04swift operation it would be a decapitation strike it would be a leadership change none of that seems
13:09to have played to plan because uh ayatollah khamenei died in the first 24 hours of that operation it was
13:15decapitation strike but the iranians seem to have something else in their minds when they launched
13:20over a thousand projectiles a day and they have been relentlessly targeting uh the gcc countries
13:26the gulf cooperation council countries and of course they've expanded the arena of conflict
13:32from cyprus to oman over three thousand kilometers all this wasn't part of the original plan they
13:37thought they would be able to confine the operations to iran they would bring so much of
13:42pressure on iran and uh iran would hopefully fold up that hasn't played to plan yet iran has
13:47in fact expanded the theater of operations dragged in more countries and it has now begun a very
13:53dangerous phase which is targeting commercial interests targeting oil supplies and the straits
13:58of hormus so are you suggesting essentially that iran won't be ready to have any sort of conversation
14:02right now that they're going all out iran is going all out because they have no other option
14:07they're fighting with their back that's right now but sandeep that's right now what about let's say a
14:12week from now will they still be in a position where they can go all out my sense is that
14:15uh the us and
14:17uh israel is playing to try and exhaust iran uh get them to expend all of their missiles their
14:23ballistic missiles their drones destroy their stockpiles destroy their ability to launch missiles
14:28because right now the only card that iran has on its hands is the ability to inflict uh damage using
14:35their drones using their ballistic missiles once that stops iran is helpless it's defenseless that's what
14:41this long game appears to be the fact that they want to play this for the next three four
14:46weeks in the hope that their air power will be able to uh overpower iran's ability to launch all of
14:52these uh weapons systems so it's essentially you're looking at a war of attrition in the short term in
14:57the next couple of weeks who runs out of interceptors first will america and israel run out of interceptor
15:03missiles first or will the iranians run out of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and drones first
15:08uh sumit what do you think well i agree with a few of the points with this sandy but there
15:13are there are
15:13more possibilities that yes americans and israelis are not able to handle all these attacks which
15:19have been done by the iranians that is why we can we can say that they can might extend
15:25these operations for next four or five weeks but are they able to handle all these attacks on their
15:31embassy's consulate for a longer period the answer will is is definitely no so we can say that yes the
15:37the the the only agenda of all these extended attacks is not only to to exhaust their air power
15:44or their missile power their drone power this is also to get all those ground inputs from the iran
15:51just only to get the where is the enriched uranium sites where where they have dispersed all these
15:59uranium which they are not able to track so they are buying all these times for that particular reason
16:03also and moreover they are also uh getting the ground reports are they able to achieve what they
16:09have not able to achieve in last year in 2025 so these time is only tell them what exactly the
16:16next
16:17plan of action then only they can proceed further for all these ground reports so the suggestion is
16:22geeta you know there's been a lot of questions about this but whether there's actually been a strategy
16:27for us there's been talk about whether iran has been underestimated by us and israel in the manner
16:33in which they've gone all out but the suggestion from sumit is that they've got this planned that
16:37this is very much in the plan that this will go on for a few days and then they'll wrap
16:41it up
16:41so are you saying maybe four five days and then iran will come to the talking table well i think
16:46he's
16:46what sumit was trying to say is not that they had planned it for the next few days but just
16:52that they
16:52will not be able to sustain it beyond uh the next few days what we're looking at is the ticker
16:58that
16:58is running on our channel the chinese foreign minister has spoken to the iranian foreign minister
17:01that's an important piece the russians and the chinese are an important piece they might not join in
17:08militarily but they have stakes and the stakes are very very high so what happens now that's that's going
17:15to be an important one and then and a very important piece akshita uh having said that i agree with
17:21sumit
17:21that there's a cost to pay west asia is burning does the arab world have the stomach to to endure
17:28a conflict iran has had that iran has been hardened iran knows uh uh knows how to live and survive
17:35with
17:35very little means uh the arab world has not had that it's been no it's been known to be comfortable
17:42prosperous peaceful a haven of sorts when it comes to not this so right now um we are seeing the
17:51uk base uh the american bases we are also now looking at hits at and precision strikes by the
17:58way at uh the american no schools being hit over here no civilian uh population that is in israel of
18:03course but that's part of iranian strategy but here in west asia uh embassies um bases and the cost of
18:12war can they sustain so it's i don't think it's just about military hardware whether the two sides have
18:18uh and how long can they sustain it's also about how how long can they bear the cost or economic
18:24cost
18:25of war rana you want to make a point because i also want to highlight the cost of war we'll
18:29come back
18:29to that but go ahead but akshita i would want to take forward from the the point agita made and
18:33i
18:34would like to read from the chinese foreign ministry which has just come let's put out the news break as
18:38well and in fact the china china said chinese foreign minister spoke to the iranian foreign minister and
18:43china says that china supports iran's in safeguarding its sovereignty security territorial integrity and
18:48national dignity and support iran in upholding its legitimate and lawful rights and interests this
18:54opens up another dimension altogether this will drag this will change the timeline that the last
19:00paragraph where he's where where uh wangi has said that they've urged us and israel to immediately stop
19:08the war this is on the similar lines because if you see the statement put out by the sayyed abbas
19:13or
19:13rakchi iranian foreign ministers that we are only defending our interest and it is the onus lies uh
19:19for any truce any ceasefire on america and israel because they initiated it and as you you you spoke to
19:26ban kohan he says and if uh you know since sandy mentioned about the lexicon about the semantics that
19:32they are saying that we will take it as long as it goes because iran israel has been preparing and
19:39waiting for this moment for long for years they want to finish the agenda and the agenda but that's
19:44the question also pranasi for israel this is something that they wanted yes has u.s fallen essentially for
19:50a narrative created by israel then many people thinks that it is israel which which draw uh you know
19:57they have drawn united states into this conflict and this is for the second time uh on during the
20:0312-day war united states announced that we have bombed these nuclear facilities and this should be
20:07the end point and let us go back to the business as usual or rather uh let's explore the diplomatic
20:12rules but now you know israel again initiated it yeah and they have drawn united states into it and they
20:19would want to finish and they are not going to talk to if you go by their statement they are
20:24not going
20:24to deal with the same regime because in any case in any negotiation say about like two weeks or another
20:29if they have to deal with same say the bus or masood pazashkian then they would be they will be
20:35protecting their interest about their their missile facilities their nuclear facility enrichment
20:39facilities and they do not want to go down the same road again but also you know the other argument
20:45of way akshita is this and very quickly maybe sandeep would want to weigh in if this regime goes
20:50then it it it creates an argument that any country that they think is an existential threat china
20:57russia you're talking about dictatorships and i'm just saying that's the argument
21:02they can't afford to hit those heads of state but that's the argument
21:04nuclear might
21:05who's deciding who's deciding that's the law of the jungle now exactly
21:10what uh i agree nothing sacred anymore the rules-based order that you know post 1945 is over and
21:18we have to thank the canadian prime minister mark khani for saying that that today in 2026
21:23if you're not uh at the dining table you're on the menu yes and that's any state and they are
21:29looking
21:29at that russia and china are looking at that this is a jungle threat to the block itself unfortunately
21:36this is the era of war this has turned into an era of war and you know that was a
21:42question i was
21:42asking earlier whether the new normal is war now yes you see conflict so multiple of them some of them
21:47raging on for years it's almost and we should also call out the ineffectiveness we should also call
21:52out the ineffectiveness of the world bodies where is u.n and so ineffective u.s has turned out into
21:57no but come on united say united nation security council meeting was held and the first lady led the
22:05conversations there that's that's telling by itself about how much really these world bodies can do
22:10you know there was a point geeta made on cost of war i just want to focus on that sandeep
22:14if you'll
22:14come with me we'll just put out the numbers are on our screens right now of what exactly is the
22:19cost
22:20of war here for us it's about 779 million dollars this is for the initial 24 hour strikes alone so
22:29overall if you look at it sandeep total cost of the entire operation epic fury alone yes is 210
22:34billion dollars now this is an estimate this is so far yes right as far as israel is concerned it's
22:40about 2.5 billion dollars and that's spent on the war till day three till yesterday yes this is an
22:46expensive war for both sides as well you know you can talk about iran running out but for us domestic
22:51pressures can they afford to keep this up well uh you know just to go back into history very quickly
22:56actually the wars in iraq and afghanistan cost the u.s five trillion dollars it cost them five
23:02trillion dollars eight trillion dollars if you add the cost of looking after veterans and all of that
23:07so the u.s has been here before this is like groundhog day you're repeating the mistakes of the past
23:13you're going into a war which you thought would be a quick win but now you're slowly uh you're experiencing
23:19mission creep and the costs are going to pile up donald trump is not going to be able to turn
23:23to the
23:24american people and say i saved you so much money i got you so many uh billion dollars in tariffs
23:29how
23:29much did you spend in the war and was it worth it that destruction that's been inflicted across
23:34west asia that's going to take a lot of billions of dollars to repair and so sumit is that some
23:39uh
23:40thing that's also being considered right now if you can join me here what exactly are we looking at as
23:44far as the costs are concerned for iran you know there's not much clarity at this point or exactly how
23:50much of a cause to iran is incurring yes please what exactly do you think is the impact of this
23:55war on iran financially well iran from very long period have been facing these sanctions so they're
24:01already facing all these sanctions but exactly all these equipment all these drones or all these
24:05ballistic missiles have been indigenally indigestionally developed by the iranian side so there will be a
24:11more impact on iran because they have already facing all these sanctions they have been facing a protest
24:16all across the country but but most important point is are they able to stop all these processes no
24:22they are not going to stop all these processes because this is the only safeguard which they have
24:27in this region and they will continue to manufacture and made all these weapons but the main challenge for
24:34israel and america is are they only able to control or damage these equipment but they are not able to
24:41control they are not able to capture because for that particular reason they need to send their man
24:46on ground and that can only possible if america and israel going to go for a longer operation in iran
24:53is that possible pranay boots on ground trump didn't rule it out by the way you know
24:59boots on ground will open up not that dimension akshita you know boots on ground has its own long-term
25:05commitments it has its own cost and if you see it is like a like a a very difficult situation
25:14for
25:14president donald trump because he's already started losing support among the maga with whom he has
25:19campaigned and garnered their support by saying that i am the only u.s president which did not start a
25:24new war i am the peacemaker i am the deal maker and i am against for the u.s soldier
25:28losing their life in
25:29another territory and others interest six have fallen so far so six have fallen so far and now if
25:35he keeps shifting the goalposts even at this crucial point of time where he's heading towards
25:40a crucial midterm election this has its own political cost and donald trump you know if he
25:46cares about anything it is about his own image and the political cost so it has its own uh you
25:51know
25:51challenges if u.s at all commits boots on ground and if that happens that can that is only that
25:57can only
25:58happen in where in certain circumstances where they are fully sure that the region is safe for their
26:04soldiers to go in and carry out some limited tasks or maybe like as sumit was mentioning
26:09the extraction of the fissile material or the enriched uranium okay but to stabilize iran to
26:15control iran i don't see a possibility for the united states to commit its troops trump in his last
26:20address said many are suggesting i'm getting bored of this war he says no i'm not getting bored i will
26:25never get bored so i'll continue this conflict but there are and there is a conversation gita about
26:29the domestic compulsions also that perhaps could have led trump to taking this particular decision
26:34well um to go to war i don't think uh domestically it would have been uh very popular because americans
26:42uh do not because there's like going to war the you know the whole talk of a distraction tactic
26:47because of that's that's him that's that's him himself he is distracting uh domestically they would
26:54not have wanted a war but the domestic situation is so bad that to distract his own people from the
27:01inflation that they're facing uh the price rise it's it's and epstein files a lot of the a lot of
27:09the
27:09things that were happening uh on the domestic front were not in favor of trump so uh the argument many
27:15experts believe is that they this is a distractionary tactic by the uh by the trump administration by
27:23president trump himself but the cost is very high there has to be something more than just say calling
27:29it a distraction uh that would be just simplifying it there has to be more than this uh the conversations
27:35that took place in mar-a-lago between netanyahu and trump are important i wish i were a fly on
27:40the wall
27:41i was not so we do not know really what happened but uh whatever he said convinced trump there was
27:47a
27:48lot of convincing right because he actually said a few things that uh that were debunked by the foreign
27:54minister he said that they are preparing missiles to hit america that that's beyond 2000 kilometer range
28:02iraqi said we don't have any missile that is beyond we have captured at 2000 kilometers precisely for this
28:08reason because we do not want america to think that we can reach them but should they attack us we
28:14will
28:14reach them in by by reaching the u.s basis so 2000 kilometer cap means they've covered the whole of
28:22west asia that's good enough for them right and just on that there's a news break also coming in we'll
28:28cut across to uh what's happening in the uae where there's confirmation that's coming from the
28:33administration that the air defenses have dealt with 186 ballistic missiles that were launched towards
28:39the country since the start of the iranian attack with 172 missiles destroyed 13 of them fell into the
28:47sea one ballistic missile fell in the country's territory the uae uh has in fact put out a statement
28:54where they say that we possess a sufficient strategic stockpile of ammunition that ensures the
28:59sustainability of operations to confront and counter aerial threats of all types for extended periods
29:05and maintains combat readiness to protect the state security and sovereignty sandeep i'll bring you in
29:10on this because one of the aspects of what we've seen in the course of this conflict is for the
29:15first time
29:16ever you know locations like dubai and abu dhabi which are you know uh throbbing centers of activity
29:23commercial activity being hit in a war in a conflict and so there are so many questions arising here
29:29about how well equipped the uae is uh to defend themselves in such a scenario in such a case
29:35well akhita the uae and the other sheikdoms in the neighborhood the gcc uh country the six of them
29:41they're heavily equipped with a lot of patriot missiles that's the primary surface-to-air missile
29:46uh system that's been sold to them by the united states but here again there is a cost asymmetry and
29:52that's the kind of war that iran has been waging right a shahid drone which iran has produced in the
29:58tens of thousands that that costs about fifty thousand dollars to make a single patriot interceptor
30:04missile costs a million dollars that is the differential here that you're firing off million
30:11dollar missiles to intercept a projectile that cost us fifty thousand dollars for the iranians to make
30:16and eventually you will run out of interceptors the iranians have plenty of shahids to keep firing
30:22and engaging your uh you know defenses and that seems to be the strategy that iran is adopted a
30:28low-flying aerial target yes and uh that that has been the strategy all across uh to fire off these
30:34low-cost missiles to force you uh to expend your interceptor missiles so it is a kind of a interceptor
30:41depletion strategy that iran seems to be following in west asia right now but optics wise you know the
30:46it's grabbed headlines the fact that you've seen a dubai international airport being hit or some of
30:51the most iconic buildings so it's never happened not even in the gulf war of 1991 where saddam hussein
30:56targeted saudi arabia and israel but never the other gulf monarchies and this is the first time it's
31:02happening yeah dubai was built in the shadow of iranian missiles they built this fantastic singapore of
31:08west asia but unfortunately it just happens to be too close to comfort for the uh you know iranian
31:14missiles just about 100 kilometers from i have a question for sandeep sandeep um or pranay uh the
31:20fact that we they've in the press conference that was held only a while ago uh they've spoken about
31:25missiles but a lot of it also has to do with drones uh so does the same same technology same
31:31everything
31:32apply for drones as well or is it different is it more asymmetrical and therefore uae still is vulnerable
31:38well uh you know it is a combination i would you know before i give it to pranay it's it's
31:43quickly a
31:43uh it's a combination of uh three projectiles that iran has been able to master i call it their
31:49strategy their tactical triad which is cruise missiles ballistic missiles and drones so
31:54what iran has been doing has been firing three of them they fire them in groups there's usually
32:00uh you know a flock of shahids accompanied by a single ballistic missile and one cruise missile
32:05what they're doing is probing the air defenses and forcing them to expend interceptor missiles either
32:10any air defense system for that matter it has a capacity to engage certain number of targets and
32:15iran we have seen iranian strategy during those 12-day war as well and even this time they overwhelm
32:21the system and even if with the best of the efficiency no air defense system is 100 percent
32:26foolproof and that's why if you see the numbers uh they have neutralized they have engaged those
32:31targets destroyed them but certain uh you know certain uh projectiles have managed to enter their
32:36territory and they landed they they have hit the target and that's why we see those visuals uh you
32:41know often we see those visuals uh they are the visuals of the uh targets which were engaged by the
32:46interceptor beat missiles or with some engagement and they neutralize in that they fall uh as as
32:52debris and you know they cause those fires intercepted missile debris that's absolutely in some cases
32:56yes but in all i think those images is something that's one of the biggest takeaways of this conflict
33:01unfortunately that there's no city that's unbreachable per se many thought that would be dubai abu dhabi
33:07because there's such uh commercial centers for the world and yet you've seen those very telling images
33:13let's get you a sense of what's really happening in the middle east as well in what many would suggest
33:19is at least some semblance of normalcy you're seeing partial flight ops resuming uh and we get you
33:25those details of how many stranded indians have also been able now to finally head back home take a
33:31look at this report the us and israel conflict with iran has created a hole in the sky
33:46hundreds of flights cancelled
33:51thousands of tourists stranded
33:55the world's busiest airports bear a deserted look
34:01it is considered one of the worst aviation disasters since the covet pandemic
34:09after the reports of explosions and drone strikes in riyadh several west asia-bound flights made u-turn
34:16mid-air and returned to india
34:20in a bid to resume services airlines are rerouting flights and avoiding conflict zones as safety concerns
34:30of the
34:31air india has suspended its operations for uh... u-wee qatar israel iran and several of other destinations
34:39today
34:40and this uh... uh suspension of operations flight operations uh could further increase because
34:46of the airspace restrictions and the war escalations that's happening.
34:50On the other side, you're also getting pictures from Delhi's IGI airport
34:53where the family is traveling to UK, Canada, Cyprus are saying
34:58that they're waiting out here for past 4-5 hours
35:01and the flight has been delayed by 8 hours.
35:28Amid the missile alerts across UAE,
35:31the West Asian nation has authorized a small number of evacuation
35:35and repatriation flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
35:42After the mild breather, Air India safely brought back 149 passengers from Dubai.
35:50Meanwhile, Indigo is operating 10 special relief flights from Saudi Arabia to India.
35:58As India is intensifying rescue operations,
36:01stranded tourists in Bahrain have urged government for help.
36:10The conflict between US, Israel and Iran has grounded an entire region.
36:17Families of Indians wait with bated breath for their loved ones to return.
36:22As the mild respite offers hope,
36:25but the crisis seems to be far from over.
36:30With Amit Bharadwaj, Bureau Report, India Today.
36:40So it's day four of the conflict and lots has happened.
36:44While flight ops have partially resumed,
36:46there's still a whole lot of strikes and counter-strikes being reported.
36:50Let's get you all of those images of what's playing out in this conflict.
36:59Let's tell you about first the attack that's been reported on Iran's Natanz nuke site.
37:05Both sides are clearly on the offensive.
37:09The United Nations nuclear watchdog has said that Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site
37:14sustained some recent damage after a US-Israeli airstrike campaign,
37:18but no radiological consequences expected.
37:25Israel has hit Iranian command centers.
37:28The Israeli defense forces has attacked the Iranian leadership complex,
37:32which constitutes one of the regime's most important and central headquarters.
37:44Iran held a funeral procession for victims of the strike on girls' school in Minab.
37:49Thousands of Iranians attended the funeral procession
37:53for over 160 Iranian schoolgirls who were killed in the US-Israel strikes.
38:06In a wave of strikes on key Hezbollah centers in Beirut,
38:11Israeli forces say that they've struck over 160 targets
38:15and hit communication components used by Hezbollah's intelligence.
38:22Saudi Arabia has expressed its rejection and condemnation of the Iranian attack
38:27that targeted the building of the United States Embassy, the capital city of Riyadh.
38:37An explosion was heard in Iran's Lavizan, a northeastern neighborhood of Tehran,
38:42where Iranian military facilities are located.
38:45Footage also that you see on your screens shows thick smoke rising from a building in the heart of the
38:51city.
38:57Iran's Red Crescent Society has said that the death toll has risen to 787 since the start of the US
39:03-Israeli attacks.
39:04The agency said in a statement that 1,039 attacks have been recorded, 504 sites have been hit.
39:14Now, visuals also show villages in a Cyprus village being completely emptied out after a drone strike
39:21so Britain's Royal Air Force Base in Cyprus.
39:35Oman Air's flight from Musket has landed in Delhi carrying Indians who travel to Musket from Dubai by road
39:42to take their flight for India.
39:47Very safe.
39:48And all...
39:58And as per government sources, India has 25 days of crude oil and refined oil stocks
40:05and the government is scouting for alternative sources for importing crude oil, LPG and LNG.
40:21So it's day four of the conflict and we've shown you a sense of what's really happening right now in
40:26the Middle East.
40:27Unfortunately, there's no sense of the conflict really dying down.
40:32With Iran making it clear they're going to continue hitting every single US base
40:37that's within their reach, within their target zone.
40:40Israel has made it clear that their operation is ongoing.
40:43As you also heard from the voices that joined us here on the show,
40:46the Israeli Defence Force saying our mission is very clear
40:50that every element, extremist element in Iran will also be removed.
40:55Anything that poses an existential threat to Israel.
40:59So expect this conflict to rage on for the next few weeks.
41:03At least that's what US President Donald Trump says.
41:05But what exactly will that mean?
41:07What's the price of this war?
41:09And I'm talking now not about the financial cost of war,
41:13but the human cost of war as well.
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