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The West Asia war has intensified as Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced the elimination of Iran's Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, in an airstrike.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today, your prime time destination news, newsmakers, talking points this Wednesday
00:08night.
00:08Our big question, what lies ahead in the West Asia war?
00:13Top geopolitical expert, Fareed Zakaria, will join me on the show tonight to tell us what to expect in the
00:20next few weeks.
00:21Also, another big exclusive tonight, our newsmaker, Pradyud Bordoloy, quits as an MP of the Congress, joins the BJP.
00:30Why did he do it? We'll tell you more. As always, we'll bring you the news without the noise.
00:37And first, it's the nine headlines.
00:40After Ali Larijani, another top Iranian official, is killed in an Israeli strike.
00:46Iran confirms Intel Minister Ismail Khatib is killed. President Peseshkian slams the cowardly assassination.
00:59Iran launches major crackdown on a spy network in the country.
01:04111 suspected spies arrested.
01:07Man accused of spying for Israel also executed.
01:12Iran threatens now to target energy as assets amidst revenge strikes.
01:21Donald Trump slams non-responsive allies for refusing to support the ongoing military ops.
01:29Claims that the U.S. does not need the straits of Hormuz and countries using it should now find their
01:35own solution.
01:40The Lebanese ambassador question strikes in Beirut amidst the escalating war.
01:45In an exclusive interview to India today, Ambassador Hadi Jabbar asked that this is not Lebanon's war.
01:50Why are we being attacked?
01:54Day after killing over 400 people in Kabul, Pakistan announces a temporary pause in the ongoing operation against the Afghan
02:01Taliban in view of Eid and at the request of other countries.
02:10In a big setback for the Assam Congress ahead of polls, Member of Parliament, Pradyut Bordalojj jumped ship to the
02:16BJP, likely to contest assembly elections from this poor constituency.
02:24Actor turned politician Vijay says it's going solo in the Tamil Nadu elections Vijay says TVK is a people's team.
02:33There's no question of compromise or negotiation with anyone.
02:41At least nine people, including children, are charred to death in a fire at a four-story building in Delhi's
02:48Falam area.
02:49Magisterial inquiry ordered to ascertain the cause.
02:55Actor Nora Patehi welcomes the backlash over a controversial vulgar song, says she was unaware of the Hindi lyrics of
03:03the song.
03:04Nora thanks people for pressurizing filmmakers to take down the song.
03:21For our top story and the breaking news at this moment, Iran's president has now spoken out and has slammed
03:28what he called the cowardly assassinations of Ali Lani Jani, the national security chief of Iran,
03:34and now the intel minister also, who's been killed today.
03:38Iran has instead threatened to target energy assets in Saudi, Qatar and Kuwait.
03:43Oil prices have surged after the strikes on an Iranian gas field.
03:48Iran targets Tel Aviv airport.
03:50Three private planes have suffered severe damage.
03:53So Iran hitting back, but clearly also under pressure after its top leadership.
03:59Many of them have been taken out by the Israeli strikes.
04:05Remember, it's day 19 of the war in West Asia with no end in sight.
04:09Let's tell you all that's unfolded.
04:11In another big blow to Tehran, Israel says it eliminated Iran's intelligence minister, Ismail Khatib, in the airstrikes.
04:19Israel's defense minister, Israel Khatib, has said that Khatib and other senior ministry figures were killed in an overnight attack.
04:28However, Iranian officials are yet to formally confirm his death.
04:34Iran held a massive funeral today for slain security chief Ali Lari Jani and Basij force commander Gholam Reza Soleimani
04:43in central Tehran.
04:44Thousands filled the streets waving Iranian flags.
04:47They also mourned the loss of the crew on board Iris Dena.
04:55Iran has launched strong retaliatory strikes on Israel.
04:59Missiles have hit Tel Aviv, damaging buildings and killing two people.
05:04While key infrastructure, including a train station, was also struck.
05:10Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, has ruled out a ceasefire, saying the war will continue across all fronts.
05:22Dubai is once again under threat, with multiple missiles intercepted over the city by UAE air defenses.
05:32Explosions were heard as burning debris fell near key areas, including the Dubai International Convention Center.
05:42After allies blatantly rejected Donald Trump's call for help, he has put out a fresh warning telling non-responsive allies
05:50that he could finish off the strait of Hormuz, leaving them to fend for themselves.
05:57Trump said that American allies would rush to the defense of the strait if he does so.
06:24And as events in the West Asia conflict move at breakneck speed, I'm joined by a very special guest,
06:30journalist, author, anchor at Fareed Zakaria, GPS on CNN.
06:35Fareed, appreciate you joining us at this very difficult time in a way.
06:39But the fact is that the last 24 hours have seen lots of developments taking place.
06:47Let's go one by one with them.
06:50More Iranian top leaders linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards have been killed.
06:55Their national security official, top national security official, Ali Larijani.
07:00Today, the Israelis are saying they've killed the intelligence chief.
07:04How do you see it?
07:05Is the entire Iranian leadership being decimated?
07:09And what does that then suggest?
07:12It does appear that Israel is targeting, you know, one by one, the entire leadership structure
07:19of the Iranian state.
07:21And it is extraordinary that they are able to do this.
07:26My guess is what it means, Rajdeep, is that the regime will get more and more hard line.
07:34Because when something like this happens, who is going to take over?
07:39The people who have been warning about Israeli plans, the ones who can best respond to these
07:48attacks.
07:49You know, the people who want negotiations are not the people you go to when you're in a
07:56bunker fielding bombs.
07:57So already what you have seen is an IRGC coup of sorts, in that the younger Khamenei was
08:06the Revolutionary Guards candidate.
08:09So what you're seeing is now, I think, is Iran turning into a hardcore military dictatorship
08:16with a clerical facade.
08:19And I suspect that that will only intensify as this continues.
08:24Obviously, there is a possibility that the whole regime collapses.
08:29But, you know, in an army structure, there are many, many layers.
08:34And so for each layer you kill, presumably there are, you know, there are colonels waiting
08:40to become generals and lieutenants waiting to become colonels.
08:43So what you're saying is that if this continues, carries on, the prospect in a way for an off-ramp
08:49solution would become even less.
08:50Who is there to have a dialogue with off-ramp?
08:53And is that one concern, that either the regime completely collapses and there's a vacuum
08:59left, or as you say, the regime becomes even more hardline and threatens even more destruction?
09:06I think you have it exactly right, that the off-ramp solution depends on some credible negotiators
09:13with whom you could talk.
09:16Larijani was actually the main person whom the Arab states, like Qatar and Oman, had been
09:25dealing with.
09:26He had credibility in Iran.
09:28He had credibility with some of the Gulf Arab countries.
09:32Now that he's gone, they'll have to search for somebody else.
09:36And I think, remember, this is an Israeli strike, and the Israelis are really decapitating the
09:43regime.
09:43The Americans are hitting hard military assets for the most part, and they do not seem to
09:50be trying aggressively to decapitate the regime.
09:53So there's a kind of interesting difference here, which tells me that maybe the Americans
09:58are trying to leave the door open for some kind of off-ramp, but the Israelis are closing
10:05it.
10:05Now, maybe that's part of a good cop, bad cop routine.
10:08It may also be a bit of strategic incoherence.
10:11But does that mean, stemming from what you just said, that Israel is now driving, in a
10:16way, the war?
10:18Netanyahu is driving the war because his goal has been very clear that he wants this regime
10:24to be completely, to use his words, decapitated, carry out these assassinations, or Ali Khamenei,
10:31Lari Khamenei, one by one, even as America, perhaps simply is not sure how far to go.
10:39I think Bibi Netanyahu has been driving this war from the start.
10:43I think the reason the United States jumped in, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said,
10:50was that the Israelis were going to attack.
10:52And Trump decided that he wanted to, you know, in a sense, get in on the action.
10:59I think that the Israeli goals are, as you say, not just decapitation, but I think essentially
11:05the kind of destruction of the deep state in Iran, the military core of it, which means
11:12leadership, which also means assets like they've been attacking police headquarters, not just
11:18army headquarters, which tells you they're trying to weaken the capacity of the regime
11:22to actually govern Iran.
11:24And so that could lead to chaos.
11:27That could lead to a power vacuum, which from Israel's point of view, I think it's not the
11:32preferred outcome, but it's an acceptable outcome.
11:35It would mean Iran would turn into a kind of Syria for the next 10 years.
11:39And that kind of chaos takes an adversary off the battlefield for Israel.
11:45For the United States, I think you have it right again.
11:48It is unclear and has been unclear from the start what America's goal here is.
11:54President Trump began by talking very forcefully about regime change, very quickly switched
12:00to talking about a Venezuela-type operation, then switched to unconditional surrender.
12:06And now, you know, sort of almost by the hour changes.
12:11So it does leave him in a strange way with some flexibility, I suppose.
12:16He could declare that the goals have been achieved since he's outlined so many goals.
12:22One of them he could claim has been achieved.
12:24But there is a degree of strategic incoherence in the American approach, whereas the Israelis
12:30are dead clear.
12:32I'll come to the American approach in a moment also.
12:34But Iran today has also threatened energy assets in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, claiming
12:40that there has been an attack on their gas facilities.
12:42Therefore, the danger at the moment, as you say, the more Iran gets attacked in this manner,
12:47their leadership taken out, they could get even more reckless, to use one word, or certainly
12:52more aggressive, whichever way you look at it, and draw in even more countries into this
12:57battle.
12:57Is that a real threat?
12:59I think there's no question that as Iran fears, as the regime fears that it is, you know, going
13:06to be destroyed, it will go for more and more extreme measures.
13:10The question is, do they have the capacity?
13:12Remember, Iran is very weak.
13:14They really have been destroyed.
13:16Their military capacity is substantially down.
13:20I mean, drone attacks even are down 75%, 80%, missile attacks down 90%, 95%.
13:27But they can, you know, that's not 100%.
13:31They can shoot a missile here, a missile there, a drone here, a drone there.
13:35And if they start targeting oil facilities, that is going to change the nature of the escalation,
13:44moving it substantially higher.
13:45What will take oil to $150 a barrel, Rajdeep, would be a tax on oil facilities, which so
13:54far have been spared.
13:55And if the United States were to attack Iranian oil facilities, that would also have the effect
14:01of driving up prices.
14:03Because after all, Iran is a big supplier of oil on the world market.
14:06And you take Iran's supply off market, it will have the same effect as reducing supply
14:12anywhere does.
14:13Because we've got Donald Trump threatening to, or at least some Americans saying Donald
14:18Trump could well threaten to take over Khark Island, that he will also step up his offensive
14:26on Iran because he wants a shorter war.
14:29He cannot allow this to go on for too long.
14:32Given that, what is the end game, Fareed?
14:35Are you seeing signs of an end game, given the fact, as you say, that Iran's military capacity
14:41has been substantially reduced?
14:44I thought I saw a sign of an end game about a week ago when President Trump was talking
14:50about the Venezuela option, when he was talking about how they wanted to talk to some of the
14:56people, but unfortunately, they had all been killed.
14:58That suggested the Americans were, you know, in the mood for some kind of negotiation.
15:05Subsequently, however, Washington has led Israel or acquiesced in Israeli strikes that have
15:14killed many of the possible negotiators.
15:16President Trump doesn't talk about that Venezuela option very much.
15:20And so one wonders what exactly he's thinking.
15:24I think Trump is always influenced by how he comes out, how this looks, how this makes him
15:31look personally. And I think he probably was sensitive to the fact that a number of commentators
15:38were beginning to say, this is another example of taco.
15:42You know, Trump always chickens out.
15:45That Trump had talked big about regime change and now was talking about accommodating himself
15:51to the regime.
15:52Trump is very sensitive to these kind of things.
15:54And so he may have switched course for that reason.
15:58But then what course are we on?
16:00It just feels still like a kind of bomb and hope strategy.
16:05The bombing is causing absolute devastation in Iran.
16:09Don't miss it.
16:11It's not just, by the way, military assets.
16:13You know, these bombs are very big and very powerful.
16:16You are destroying the infrastructure of civilian life as well.
16:22And so as this continues, my suspicion is it becomes harder to find people who are willing
16:29to negotiate and who have the capacity, you know, politically to negotiate.
16:33It's interesting what you said because, Farid, today the Wall Street Journal reports that
16:37Gulf nations want the U.S. to cripple Iran before ending the war.
16:42NYT quoting what King Abdullah said in 2015, telling the U.S. to cut off the head of the snake.
16:49So it almost seems as if there is now, just as there are hardliners emerging within Iran,
16:54there are hardliners in Israel and possibly some of the Gulf nations who just want this
16:59war to have a decisive end.
17:01And is that decisive end, therefore, a complete regime change?
17:05Well, you point out a very interesting shift in the Gulf states.
17:09My own sense, from having spoken to many people there, including senior leadership, they did
17:16not want this war.
17:17They cancelled the United States against the war.
17:19They said the Iranian nuclear program had been defanged.
17:23But once Iran began to retaliate against them, you know, targeting civilian facilities in
17:31the Gulf, that really radicalized them and made them feel, we cannot allow a wounded and
17:42enraged Iran to exist, given this history of them hitting our civilians.
17:48We have to, there has to be payback.
17:50There has to be a sense that Iran has paid an enormous price for unleashing this war on
17:56the Gulf.
17:57And so now you are right.
17:58They are, they appear to be in favor of much stronger, more punitive strikes.
18:04They don't talk about regime change.
18:06They talk about just a, you know, a really defanged Iran, you know, destroy all its ballistic
18:12missiles, all its missile capacity, all its military industrial capacity.
18:17But how do you, you know, where do you stop?
18:20This is, you know, where we are right now is that the United States and Israel are pummeling
18:26Iran.
18:27But it's not clear where you stop.
18:30Do you run out of targets?
18:32I mean, this has been the most intense air campaign in 20 years.
18:37This is like the Iraq war, the first weeks of the Iraq war.
18:42It's on that scale.
18:43Now, what happens, you know, at some point, you are going to run out of targets that are
18:48really military.
18:49And then you get into dual use and civilian.
18:52And then you do have the possibility of a total collapse of the state and of a kind of
18:59civil war emerging or some kind of power vacuum and chaos.
19:03Because the civil war, as you said at the outset, could lead to a Syria-like situation where
19:08the state collapses and you have an extended period of a civil war.
19:13A regime change also has the uncertainty.
19:16Who is the new regime?
19:18Netanyahu keeps telling the people of Iran to rise against the regime.
19:22So does Donald Trump.
19:24But there's no sign yet of that, particularly given the scale of the bombing that's going
19:28on, do you therefore foresee a possible scenario at all of are we now back at regime change
19:36once again becoming the goal number one?
19:38It's no longer about dismantling Iran's nuclear capability.
19:42That's probably already done.
19:43It's now taking out one by one, as we said, leaders of the regime and hoping that there
19:49is a more moderate leadership that emerges with whom Israel and the United States will
19:54be happy to deal with.
19:56I think that is the hope.
19:58But I think people are misunderstanding the nature of the Iranian regime.
20:03It is very deeply institutionalized.
20:06It has its tentacles into society.
20:09It's been around for 47 years.
20:12I mean, just think about the number of people who are armed within this state.
20:17200,000 strong Revolutionary Guard.
20:21By some accounts, 500,000 besiege, the paramilitary force.
20:27400,000 strong army.
20:29Let's say even half of those people are willing to fight.
20:33They all have, you know, guns.
20:36Who is going to take power from them?
20:38They're not going to go into the night quietly.
20:41They're not going to hand over power to some Iranian Democrat.
20:45They are going to hold on with their guns just in the way the Baathists fought in Iraq for
20:5115 years.
20:53So that, to me, is the great danger, that you will get some kind of regime.
20:58Probably it will be one of those Revolutionary Guard commanders who will emerge triumphant.
21:04And then maybe he is more moderate.
21:06Maybe he is not.
21:07But it's a very large gamble to assume that out of this, out of this massive bombing campaign
21:15will emerge a moderate Democrat.
21:18That just seems to me wishful thinking more than strategic planning.
21:23Just for a moment, let's look at the United States now.
21:26We've seen in the last 24 hours the National Counterterrorism Chief John Kent resign.
21:31And a very stinging letter saying this war brings no benefit to America.
21:36There was no imminent threat posed by Iran to America.
21:39Virtually questioning the rationale for the war.
21:42Questioning whether it's a just war in the first place.
21:46Do you get a sense, particularly with even domestic numbers not looking good for Donald
21:51Trump and those who support the war, could that have an effect on the way he decides the
21:56end game?
21:57You say he's sensitive to his own image.
21:59Is he also sensitive to public opinion?
22:01The fact that a top official of his within that Magas coalition also seems to have broken
22:07away.
22:09What's fascinating about Trump in the second term, Rajdeep, is that he is very sensitive
22:14to public opinion, but really only with his base.
22:18So if you look at his immigration actions, they have been quite unpopular.
22:24Even though he started out with the public with him on immigration, the heavy handedness
22:29with which they handled it led to it becoming quite unpopular.
22:35He persisted for the most part because with his base, it remains very popular.
22:40Similarly on tariffs.
22:42Tariffs are unpopular in America.
22:44Sixty five percent of Americans are opposed to tariffs.
22:47But with his base, it remains popular.
22:50And so what I noticed in the numbers, you're right, there isn't much public support for
22:55this war.
22:55In fact, the lowest number of support for this war in 30, 40, 50 years, you really don't
23:04find it.
23:05I think it's under 50 percent for the first time.
23:07But if you look at Republicans, they support the war.
23:12Now, that's partly because it's his war.
23:14But I don't see the pressure yet from the right.
23:17And that's why the director of counterintelligence is interesting.
23:22Tucker Carlson is interesting.
23:24There are figures within the right who are breaking ranks.
23:27But so far, as Trump always seems to do, he has his connection with his base.
23:33And Republicans, the last poll I saw, more than 85 percent support this war.
23:38But if oil prices continue to rise, if there is a sense across the world, and we are seeing
23:44it again with the NATO allies, they do not want to send their warships into the Strait
23:49of Hormuz.
23:49The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has been very clear, this is not our war at the
23:54moment to fight.
23:55Do you believe that will make Trump even more belligerent?
23:58At least that's what his responses have been.
24:00Or do you believe that eventually he will have to find some kind of a way out?
24:06He cannot seemingly go against the tide of allies in Europe or indeed in different parts
24:13of the world, most of whom would want a quick end to the war, particularly if it starts hurting
24:17their economies.
24:20So far, he doesn't seem to care much about what the allies think.
24:23As you say, it seems to get his back up and make him more defiant.
24:28The tragedy is, as you put it, Rajiv, that this war started by America.
24:34The effects are being felt much more strongly in other parts of the world, particularly
24:38in Asia and places like India, which are much more dependent on this imported oil.
24:43But if oil prices stay high, and again, we seem to be moving into a path where oil prices
24:51will stay high.
24:52And at some point, the destruction of the facilities, the shortage of production becomes
24:58very hard to restart quickly.
25:00So then you're looking at oil prices staying high for three to four months at least.
25:06And that is going to cause a recession in large parts of the world.
25:10If it causes a recession in America, if it causes a substantial even downturn, a slowdown,
25:17I mean, that might get Donald Trump's attention.
25:20So far, nothing has.
25:22But that might get Donald Trump's attention.
25:25Because at the outset, Farid, Donald Trump had said four weeks.
25:28He expected this war to be four weeks.
25:30We are in well into week three.
25:32Could that be the timeline once we cross four weeks?
25:36Would Donald Trump have a rethink?
25:37Does Israel, on the other hand, decide how to end the war now?
25:40Given what we've seen, particularly in the last 24, 48 hours, this intensive, the intensification
25:46of these very precise strikes, does Israel decide when the war ends?
25:51Or will Trump decide after four weeks that I've achieved most of my objectives?
25:55I can perhaps call victory that I've decimated the Iranian leadership and slowly find a way
26:01out?
26:01Is it as simple as that?
26:03I think the key problem is the way Trump defined the war from the start and the way Netanyahu
26:09defined the war from the start.
26:11It was clearly about regime change.
26:13So that shadow looms over the war.
26:16And if you stop bombing without having achieved that, it's clear you are settling for something
26:23less than your original objective.
26:25And then what is that new objective?
26:29How do you define what you have achieved?
26:31And will Iran stop the war?
26:33Will Iran stop all its, you know, even though it's a missile here and a drone there, what
26:41if it's enough to keep the strain of Hormuz closed?
26:44So they have now entered into a much less, you know, we've entered into an unknown area.
26:53And this is such a perfect example of why you should go to war only when you have absolutely
27:00clear objectives that can be defined, that can be achieved, and then allow you to know
27:06when you can stop.
27:08I think what we are in right now is a period of kind of a no man's land where the
27:17United
27:17States and Israel are using military force and hoping that there's some clarity will
27:23emerge which allows them to declare victory and leave.
27:28Trump does have one superpower, which is that he can switch and turn on a dime and declare
27:35victory and his base will be fine with it.
27:39Trump has that power with his base where he can suddenly completely reverse himself, contradict
27:45himself, and he'll be fine.
27:48So that may end up being the magic power he uses to end this.
27:53But what you're saying is very clearly, as The Economist had a cover story, this is a war
27:58without a strategy.
27:59This has been war driven, perhaps some would say, by the desire of Israel to establish complete
28:06dominance and have a completely decapitated Iran.
28:09And Trump keen to sort of also secure his legacy.
28:13Am I correct?
28:15It does appear that way.
28:16And I think, you know, to be fair to the Israelis, the Israelis have a plan, they have
28:21a goal, and they don't mind if the result is the destruction of the Islamic Republic and
28:28the destruction of the Iranian state.
28:31The problem is the United States has joined in without clear strategic objectives, without
28:37markers of success, and has articulated several different goals simultaneously.
28:45And so it is American strategic and coherence that is really the kind of looming shadow
28:52over this war that makes one feel it has a kind of unending future or amorphous future.
29:00Because the Iranians have vowed revenge.
29:02I'm just reading what the foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, has said.
29:06He said we are going to, the world is going to see repercussions they've never seen.
29:10Is that bravado?
29:11Or do you believe Iran still has the strength to prolong this war as they did many years
29:16ago when it came to the Iraq war, where everyone had written off Iran for a long time?
29:21I think it's bravado in the sense that just look at what they are doing.
29:25And you have to assume that they're doing the best they can because they're under tremendous
29:30pressure.
29:30It's really very minimal.
29:33It is true, however, that they have found two vulnerabilities.
29:38The first is the passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
29:42Even a small number of pinprick strikes or mines have the effect of scaring insurance
29:48companies.
29:49The whole game here is about insurance.
29:52As long as you can ensure that the insurance companies won't provide insurance, 75% of
29:59the traffic shuts down.
30:01And the second is that the Gulf has a lot of unprotected sites.
30:07You know, and the model, the business model of Dubai and Doha, to a certain extent, is come
30:15to Dubai, come to Doha.
30:16You will be as safe as you are in Europe, and you will have all these, you know, these
30:21modern facilities.
30:23There was never a prospect of danger.
30:27And now that prospect is real.
30:29And so it's causing a certain kind of panic.
30:32Those two can be achieved with very minimal strikes.
30:37But don't mistake that for some grand Iranian strength.
30:42The Iranians are weak, but the weak can sometimes, through asymmetrical ways, disrupt things in
30:51a way that has significant effects.
30:54Given this asymmetrical war in conclusion, what about India, Fareed?
30:58Does India, how, can India really be neutral?
31:01India was accused in the early days by, in the early days of this war by its critics of
31:05being too far in support to the Israeli-American axis.
31:10Now we've reached out to the Iranians primarily because of our concerns, many believe, over
31:15oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
31:18What role, if any, does India have to play?
31:21Can we play even the role of any kind of a backroom negotiator at all?
31:25Well, I doubt, because I think the fact that Prime Minister Modi had that trip to Israel
31:32was so warm.
31:34Many people believe he was given some indication that there would be some kind of intervention
31:43has, I think, led the Iranians to lose trust in India.
31:50And therefore, I don't think they could play that role of an honest broker.
31:55But look, India has to serve its own interests, and its interests are in ensuring that it has
32:03energy.
32:04And therefore, dealing with Iran makes perfect sense in trying to make sure that they can
32:08get energy supplies.
32:10India is deeply dependent on this.
32:12If oil goes to $150 a barrel, there's no question the Indian economy will go into a recession,
32:18and a pretty bad recession.
32:20So for India, you know, it is now a matter of necessity to find a way to get energy.
32:28That is the number one, two, and three priority for India.
32:32I think it should worry less about playing some role as an honest broker.
32:37Look at how the Europeans and other Asian countries are reacting.
32:42They're all trying to keep a distance.
32:44None of them seem enthusiastic about joining in in any way in the American war effort.
32:50And they're all looking out for themselves.
32:53And, you know, perhaps that is the role for India as well.
32:56So therefore, in conclusion, what does this, what these three weeks of war, what does it
33:00tell us about the state of global warfare?
33:02You've got all these bunker bombs and the kind of weaponry that's being used to try and
33:08virtually decimate, not just destabilize a country.
33:12And you've got the theater of war, despite the asymmetry expanding as Iran has shown by
33:19targeting the Gulf nations.
33:20What does it say about conflict in the 21st century and about any attempts being made to
33:28try and add conflict resolution?
33:30We've seen Ukraine, the war persisting for four years, and now we've seen the war here
33:35for three weeks showing no signs, at least immediately, of letting up.
33:40I think you're seeing something very profound, which is a revolution in military affairs produced
33:47by technology.
33:48The enormous asymmetrical power of small players to stay in the game, to inflict damage, to
33:56widen the conflict, to take it to civilian areas, all because of these autonomous vehicles,
34:05aerial, you know, drones, naval drones.
34:09Effectively, the human being is being taken out of the battlefield.
34:13Think about how this war is being fought.
34:16It's being fought by the Americans and the Israelis using smart missiles, incredibly precise
34:22targeting is being played by the Iranians with somewhat less smart, but flurries of drones.
34:29There are very few human beings involved.
34:31And that means that you have much greater capacity to inflict damage because you can do things
34:38that you wouldn't do if you had to use human beings because you'd put them in harm's way.
34:43And the Iranians have shown, as the Ukrainians have before, that even if you are weaker,
34:48you can keep the fight up, you can expand the battle.
34:52It makes you wonder about the economics of all of this.
34:56You know, a $15,000 Iranian drone is usually shot down by two Tomahawk missiles that each costs
35:05$2 million.
35:05So that's $4 million of hardware to shoot down a $15,000 drone.
35:13The economics of that suggests the world is going to see an absolute bonanza of drone production
35:20of every kind.
35:22And the future of war is going to be fewer humans involved, more machines, more smart machines,
35:28more AI.
35:29And whether that means war becomes more and more likely, that's the thing I worry about.
35:35Think about Pakistan and the Kashmir situation.
35:38If India and Pakistan could have regular, you know, deep, intensive strikes with very little
35:47fear of human beings being killed, will that result in more or less violence?
35:54You know, it's fascinating the way you put that, Fareed, because the other concern is while
35:58humans may be less involved in the actual warfare, they're the ones taking the decisions.
36:04And you've got these leaders like Netanyahu and Donald Trump.
36:08Many of their critics call them narcissists, obsessed with themselves, their own legacy.
36:13But these sort of strongman leaders, does that worry you?
36:17We've seen it with Putin in Russia as well and across the world.
36:21Leaders who seem to believe that they can change the destiny of nations.
36:25They don't care about what the United Nations says or any rules-based world order.
36:30Should that not worry all of us if today it's Iran, who knows it'll be some other country
36:34tomorrow?
36:36There's no question that what this reflects and represents is one more weakening of that
36:42rules-based international order.
36:44The United States, for the first time in decades, did not try to make this case to the United
36:49Nations, did not appeal to broad international principles, did not try to assemble a legal case,
36:56as by the way it did in Iraq, did not try to assemble a coalition as it did in Iraq.
37:01So this is a very big body blow in that way.
37:05And while there are leaders making the top decisions, Rajdeep, the future of war might be
37:11with AI that at the tactical level, actually human beings aren't making the decisions.
37:17The machines start making the decisions.
37:19And you have to let the machines make the decisions because they're faster and maybe
37:25better than humans.
37:26And if you don't do it, your adversary will, and he'll win.
37:30So you don't want to let him win.
37:32That may be the future of war.
37:34Top-down decisions from leaders, but bottom-up, all tactical decisions made by machines.
37:41Farid Zakaria, for giving us that wonderful overview of what are troubling times for the world.
37:49No one really wants conflict.
37:51No one wants to see civilian casualties.
37:53No one wants to see cities and states being bombed in this manner.
37:57I appreciate you joining us here and taking the time out.
38:01Thank you so much, Farid.
38:03Always a pleasure, Rajdeep.
38:06Let's turn from there to an area or a country which finds itself deep in the crossfire of
38:13this West Asia conflict because Israel has widened its offensive in Lebanon as it looks
38:18to eliminate the Hezbollah.
38:20Today, an airstrike flattened an entire apartment block in central Beirut just an hour after residents
38:26were told to evacuate.
38:27The dead toll in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon is touching the 1,000 mark.
38:32India today's Ashraf Vani has been in Beirut covering the conflict from the ground.
38:37Take a look at this report.
38:44I am currently here in the central Beirut's Pashura area.
38:48This is the most significant area of the Beirut city.
38:52It is not the part of the southern Beirut, which is the sit-downhold of Beirut city, but in
38:57fact, it is the periphery where most of the offices of the Lebanese government are situated
39:06around it, including the Social Justice Ministry and the Municipal Corporation of the Beirut city.
39:12Here, one of the 22-storey toll reading has been brought down by the IDF 14.
39:20As you can see, now the rest of the work is going on here.
39:24The two of the buildings, the rest of the building, the rest of the building, which was targeted for last
39:40three days continuously,
39:41with the missiles, but today, one of the bigger bombs had been penetrated by the idea of aerial forces.
39:51I will tell you, you can see how much damage has fallen around this area here in the central Beirut.
39:59Ashraf Vani, for India today, in Beirut.
40:03Horrifying scenes there, coming in from Beirut.
40:05Let's turn to our other big story, because ahead of the Assam elections, another major setback for the Congress.
40:12Just weeks ahead of those polls, senior leader and the sitting MP, Pradyut Bordoloye, quit the party today and joined
40:19the BJP.
40:20It only highlights the deepening cracks within the state unit.
40:23He's not the first Congress leader to quit the party in Assam in recent weeks.
40:27His exit follows what he claimed was humiliation and internal discord.
40:32Those defections have now put the Congress on the defensive.
40:35The big question, is this just another isolated switch or a sign of a larger exodus that could attempt,
40:42impact the party's prospects in poll-bound Assam?
40:52And joining me now is one of our newsmakers of the day, Pradyut Bordoloye.
40:57A two-time Lok Sabha member, also a four-time Assam MLA, three-term cabinet minister,
41:03now has switched, though, from the Congress to the BJP.
41:07Pradyut Bordoloye, you've created quite a stir by doing that and suddenly doing that on the eve of the election.
41:13All these years, you were very comfortable in the Congress.
41:16What has suddenly changed for you to say you've been humiliated and chosen to join the BJP?
41:22Well, actually, it seems that I have taken an overnight decision.
41:26It's not really.
41:29I have been associated with this Congress party for a very long, long time.
41:36I joined Congress party when I was barely 16 years old and joined NSCY.
41:43And I must say that whatever I am today is because of the Congress party.
41:47Congress party had given me a lot of opportunities to grow.
41:51And then I always take pride when...
41:53And yet you're saying all that and yet what do you go and do?
41:57You betray that same party on the eve of the election and joined the BJP?
42:01No, no.
42:02What I'm trying to say is this.
42:04Congress, one always blames about being a party full of diners.
42:10But I took pride in the matter that I have been the first generation politician.
42:17You know, I grew and then I grew with the Congress party.
42:20But of late, I was feeling suffocated.
42:27I was feeling isolated.
42:29And then there were a series of, you know, actions or activities that made me feel as if
42:37I am unwanted in a party.
42:39Tell us more specifically, is your problem with Gaurav Gogoi, with the new generation of
42:44the Congress, did you feel isolated in this new generation?
42:48I want a direct answer.
42:50Well, maybe Gaurav, after Gaurav's coming, Gaurav probably doesn't have the culture of camaraderie.
43:00You know, there has been, I found that, I may be wrong, but I found that there was a trust
43:06deficit
43:07among, you know, a few of us that still remain in the party.
43:12And then somehow the decisions were being made on our back as if we were unwanted.
43:19That feeling was quite palpable for quite some time.
43:23No, but is the answer to that to join the BJP?
43:26You see, I'm going through your tweets in Parliament.
43:29You would take on this same BJP government.
43:32You would raise all kinds of questions on 10-2-2026.
43:37Shame on you, HBS.
43:40That's Hemantabhiswa Sarma.
43:41Never before we saw such fanatical reinvention of a politician who has single-handedly damaged
43:46and ruptured the legendary social fabric of Assam.
43:49You said that on 10th of February.
43:51What have you done today?
43:52You've joined hands with Hemantabhiswa Sarma.
43:54I mean, Pratio, is this opportunism of the worst kind?
43:57No, no, let me answer this.
43:59Please.
44:00See, Hemantabhiswa Sarma had been a colleague.
44:04He was in the Congress Party much before we formed the government in 2001.
44:09But we were working together in the most turbulent days of Assam,
44:13when Assam was conflict-ridden.
44:15And then both Hemantabhiswa and I worked, you know, shoulder to shoulder.
44:20And then when we formed the government in 2001, I was given home.
44:25And it was, you know, when Tarun Gokweji was the chief minister,
44:29I was inducted in a ministry.
44:31Hemantabhiswa joined me later in the cabinet.
44:33But we were working together.
44:35And then, you know, I can tell you,
44:39Hemantabhiswa Sarma has obviously gone far ahead of us because...
44:43Sir, sir, you have said shame on you, HBS.
44:49This was, of course, when the video came out of him
44:52targeting seemingly a Muslim man.
44:54I want to tell you something.
44:55No, no, I can tell you something.
44:57The sword has two edges.
44:59I know that Hemantabhiswa, you know,
45:03the stamina and then his creativity,
45:07his, you know, he can really work wonders.
45:11But if it is channelized to, you know, wrong direction,
45:14obviously, as a friend, as a well-wisher,
45:17I could always point it out.
45:19Because the Assam social fabric has to be maintained.
45:22And I call it Okhomiato.
45:24So Okhomiato has to be maintained.
45:26And then obviously, I have criticized Hemantabhiswa many times before.
45:30Just one month ago, you seemingly thought that he was destroying
45:33legendary social fabric of Assam.
45:34Now you're saying you all can bring it together.
45:36Naturally, people will think that you're being opportunistic.
45:39You want power.
45:40You think the Congress won't win.
45:41That's why you're going with the BJP.
45:43Don't you think, even if you are on the other side,
45:46don't you think as a friend, you cannot criticize,
45:49can't you point it out that what has been our actually social fabric,
45:54that we have to maintain.
45:55And we cannot allow, you know, to dissect the social fabric,
46:00the rupture of social fabric.
46:02And then if that happens, it will be most unfortunate thing.
46:05So this is what our Okhomiato.
46:08So I have discussed all these in details.
46:11With Honorable Chief Minister of Assam.
46:13And then probably, I can always, you know, work together.
46:17Because we worked together earlier.
46:19You know, I want to ask you in conclusion,
46:21you're not the only congressman who's left.
46:23There are others also, Bhupen Bora,
46:25among others who've left in the last few weeks.
46:28What does this say about the state of the Congress?
46:30And what is your message in particular to Rahul Gandhi,
46:33the de facto leader of your party?
46:35Could he have resolved this?
46:37Could he have resolved?
46:38What would you tell the Congress leadership as someone, as you said at the outset,
46:42who spent a lifetime in that party?
46:45Razdeep, I always say things very candidly.
46:49Everybody knows about you.
46:51See, I can tell you, Congress, as I told you,
46:55I have told this as much in the BJP headquarters today,
46:59when I met the BJP stalwarts,
47:02that I have grown with the Congress party.
47:05But, but, of late,
47:07I was feeling that,
47:09Ajif, you know,
47:11the kind of,
47:12you know,
47:13warmth,
47:14the kind of treatment,
47:16affection that you get from a mother figure,
47:19mother figure like Sonia G,
47:21someone that was missing.
47:22And then,
47:23can you believe it?
47:25I,
47:25of course,
47:26I have some other regions.
47:27I was trying to contact the Congress,
47:30High Command.
47:31I was trying to meet Benugupalji,
47:34not once,
47:35but several times.
47:36And imagine,
47:37he is,
47:38he is my colleague,
47:39he,
47:39in the parliament.
47:40He's also a member of parliament in Lusabha.
47:43I also,
47:44on,
47:44and last week,
47:45as many as 20 times,
47:47I sent him messages.
47:48I wanted to meet him.
47:49Obviously,
47:50he's a very busy person.
47:51But at least,
47:52if we don't get to meet somebody,
47:56to discuss,
47:57to sort out things internally,
48:00where do you go?
48:01So,
48:01did you try,
48:02did you try and meet Rahul Gandhi at all,
48:04before you took this big decision?
48:06I didn't try to meet him,
48:08because I thought that,
48:10it is not necessary for me to meet Rahul.
48:12In conclusion,
48:14Narendra Modi ji,
48:15now your leader,
48:16are you completely comfortable,
48:18with the ideology of the BJP?
48:20See,
48:21it has been a very difficult decision on my part.
48:25I know,
48:26I cannot be a revisionist overnight,
48:30but yes,
48:31I may,
48:32I have to work,
48:34I have to see,
48:35and whatever,
48:36because I'm more concerned,
48:37about the state of affairs in my state,
48:39my region,
48:41and I have always been working,
48:43for the advancement,
48:44of the state of Assam,
48:46because,
48:46we want to take Assam,
48:48and in the path of progress,
48:50and we will continue to do this,
48:51and I'm sure,
48:52with the stamina,
48:53of the Assam state,
48:55chief minister,
48:56and then he's got a vision,
48:57so we can work together,
48:59we can work wonders.
49:00Okay,
49:00I'm going to leave it there,
49:01as I said,
49:02only a month ago,
49:03you seem to suggest,
49:04that he was a fanatical reinvention,
49:06of a politician,
49:07who had destroyed,
49:08the legendary social fabric,
49:09now you will be working together,
49:11we will see how that goes,
49:12Pradyut Bordoloy,
49:13but for taking,
49:14taking,
49:15in private,
49:16if I find any,
49:18you know,
49:18deviation,
49:19or any aberration,
49:21I can still do that,
49:22in private,
49:22obviously.
49:23I leave it there,
49:24Pradyut Bordoloy,
49:25for joining me,
49:26thank you very much.
49:27Thank you,
49:28Lazdi,
49:28thank you,
49:29good day.
49:32Election time,
49:33how things change.
49:34Okay,
49:35let's leave you tonight,
49:36with a nice little story,
49:37in Uttar Pradesh,
49:38what should have been,
49:39a routine road widening project,
49:41has turned into,
49:42a viral spectacle,
49:44that is because,
49:44there was a hand pump,
49:46in the middle of the road,
49:47so what exactly,
49:48happened next,
49:49take a look at this report.
49:55A functional hand pump,
49:57right in the middle of a road,
50:00a case of negligence,
50:01that is now viral,
50:03on internet,
50:04this is what happened.
50:10The road from Doodnath Junction,
50:12to Vidyanchal,
50:13in Mirzapur,
50:14was being widened this week.
50:16The hand pump,
50:17came in the way.
50:20Not one to be discouraged,
50:22by such minor roadblocks,
50:24the contractor,
50:24went ahead,
50:25and paved the road around it.
50:28Now that the newly laid road,
50:30is making news,
50:31officials are making amends,
50:32the hand pump,
50:34is being removed.
50:57Residents of the area,
50:58are amused.
51:01Today,
51:02they're not paying attention,
51:03because there are no time.
51:04When it comes to sleep,
51:05When the Shooter is coming to shore,
51:06they are suffering from the hotel.
51:08We are getting hungry,
51:09It's going to be nice.
51:11If you are under the дорог,
51:13the road goes to the road,
51:13the road goes to the road,
51:15and when we are growing,
51:17there will be a problem.
51:19There will have also be more accidents,
51:20and we are getting accidents.
51:21There is a cuanto per accident.
51:24There is also a colesia,
51:25and there is one condition.
51:26How can it pass?
51:26When will it happen?
51:41When the handpub is removed, it will leave a hole in the road.
51:45What happens to that?
51:47Well, that is a story for another day with Suresh Kumar Singh, Bureau Report, India
51:52today.
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