- 47 minutes ago
On Day 32 of the West Asia conflict, the United States intensified military operations against Iran, conducting over 200 strikes within 24 hours. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed B-2 stealth bombers utilised GBU-57 bunker buster bombs to target ammunition depots and missile bases in Isfahan.
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00:02Good evening, it's day 32 of the war in West Asia and there's massive escalation in the past 24 hours.
00:09The United States has bombed Isfahan and repeatedly more than 200 strikes inside Iran in the past 24 hours.
00:19In fact, US Secretary of War Pete Hexit, he's given details of the dynamic strikes.
00:25Once the pilots took off, that's the time they were given coordinates of additional areas to target.
00:32The US continues to unleash fury on Iran, targeting major ammunition depot.
00:37The image that you see on your television screen is the image that has been released by US President Donald
00:42Trump
00:43of not just the targeting of a massive missile base in Isfahan,
00:50but the secondary explosions and multiple secondary explosions,
00:55it is being seen as one of the biggest US hits inside Iran in the past 32 days.
01:03The US is now using the B-2 bombers deep inside the Iranian airspace.
01:11They say there's absolutely no threat.
01:13They're on top and they're taking out targets.
01:16Now, he's boasted of the new bunker busters that are being used.
01:21And we'll get you details of the GBU-57 massive penetration bombs to destroy enemy infrastructure.
01:28The bomb dropped on Isfahan is GBU-57.
01:33Now, this is a bomb that's used exclusively by the US Air Force.
01:38It's actually a 13,600 kilogram precision-guided bomb that actually penetrates not the usual 20 meters.
01:48This goes in more than 60 meters deep.
01:51So, the bomb, when it drops, it drills a hole and it penetrates 60 meters deep.
01:58And then it detonates.
02:00Then there's a secondary detonation.
02:02And that led to that missile factory, that silo being completely destroyed.
02:07The bomb travels underground before exploding and can only be carried on this long-range stealth bomber,
02:14signifying the US is now unleashing its big guns and how.
02:19President Trump, of course, continues to lash out at NATO countries, at NATO partners,
02:24for refusing to support the United States in this war on Iran.
02:28In a very strongly worded post on social media, Truth Social,
02:33Donald Trump gave two suggestions to countries like the United Kingdom.
02:39Suggestion number one, buy from the United States because the United States has plenty of oil.
02:44Suggestion number two, build up some delayed courage and then go to the strait and just take it.
02:52President Trump also threatened that the US will stop helping these allies, these nations,
02:58countries like the United Kingdom, countries like France, telling them to go get their own oil.
03:03He also lashed out at France for refusing to permit US jets to fly over their territory.
03:08And these were aircraft that were flying to Israel, carrying a heavy armament.
03:13Donald Trump called France very unhelpful in the ongoing war, warning that the United States will remember these actions.
03:22Secretary of War Pete Hexet, he's warned Iran there will be more attacks, there will be further intensification of operations.
03:29He's claimed US troops have asked for bigger and better bombs to strike Iran and complete the job.
03:39The United States says it saw the lowest number of missile and drone strikes by Iran in the past 24
03:46hours.
03:46This, according to Pete Hexet, US Secretary of War, signifies depleted Iranian arsenal.
03:53Pete Hexet said US President Donald Trump is willing to make a deal and end the war.
03:58But he warned the new regime in Iran, led by Mujtava Khamenei, should be wiser and take this opportunity.
04:07I'll get you much more on the story, but first listen in to US Secretary of War Pete Hexet on
04:12the operations and the proposed deal.
04:16I asked each young American, what do you need?
04:20And nobody said better equipment.
04:22Nobody said more comfortable living conditions.
04:24Nobody said send me home.
04:26Well, of course, eventually we want all those things.
04:29They do too.
04:31But what those Americans said to me, young and old, officer and NCO, male and female, black and white, was
04:40let's finish the mission.
04:42Get us even more bombs, bigger bombs, more targets.
04:46Let us finish this.
04:48But if Iran is wise, they will cut a deal.
04:52President Trump doesn't bluff and he does not back down.
04:56You can ask Khamenei about that.
04:58The new Iranian regime should know that by now.
05:01This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last.
05:09President Trump will make a deal.
05:11He is willing.
05:12And the terms of the deal are known to them.
05:15If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity.
05:22Since on the Strait of Hormuz, there are many more vessels flowing through today than there were, as the president
05:28has arranged.
05:29The president's been clear to Iran, open it for business, or we have options, and we certainly do,
05:34even though we have done the lion's share of preparation to ensure that that strait will be open,
05:39which is an outcome the president's been very clear on.
05:44So, the United States is warning Iran, either you take the deal or prepare to be bombed even further.
05:52Tehran has absolutely no trust in Washington, D.C.
05:55And they've repeatedly said, including Syed Abbas Haraqchi, the foreign minister of Iran,
06:00that twice they were in conversation with the United States.
06:04Negotiations were on.
06:05And in midst of those negotiations, America bombed Tehran.
06:09So, where is the guarantee that next time there's a negotiation, the U.S. is not using it as an
06:15opportunity to regroup, rearm,
06:17and then relaunch attacks on Iran?
06:20What Iran fears is this ceasefire proposal could be a deception tactics, quite like what was happening on the 27th
06:28of February.
06:28Remember, there were talks on in Geneva?
06:30Now, the U.S. used that time to build up and then launched an airstrike with Israel.
06:37And that is why Iran is actually trying to involve other global powers in this conversation, perhaps to have more
06:44leverage.
06:44Iran wants countries like Russia and China.
06:48Now, they have to be the guarantors of security.
06:52So, clearly, no faith in either bilateral conversation or conversation just through countries like Oman.
06:59Because the foreign minister of Oman had also gone on record publicly post the 27th of February
07:04to say Iran had agreed to every condition or words to that effect.
07:09And yet, the United States went and bombed Tehran.
07:13Now, Tehran's strategy is very clear.
07:15Dilute American influence in the region.
07:18Ensure stronger enforcement with international security guarantees.
07:22And avoid being locked into a deal that's driven solely by Washington, D.C.
07:27And this also explains why Iran has issued public statements against negotiations.
07:32It's now buying time.
07:34It's trying to secure, clear up backing both from Moscow and from Beijing
07:40before committing to moving forward on dialogue.
07:43But this shift is not happening in isolation.
07:45Iran, Russia, China, they're part of what is being described as access of evasion,
07:52a growing network aimed at bypassing Western sanctions.
07:55Beijing and Moscow appear to be supporting Tehran through this shadow trade network,
08:01front companies and indirect supply chains.
08:03China is playing a very key role here.
08:06China is seen to be supplying dual-use technology, electronics, navigation systems,
08:13while also acting as a transit hub for restricted Western components.
08:18Russia, meanwhile, is deepening military cooperation with Iran.
08:21Remember, it's not just about Shahid drones.
08:23From sharing satellite imagery to targeting inputs to collaborating on drone technology,
08:28advanced missile technology, combat-tested upgrades of the same Shahid drones,
08:34lessons learned from the Ukraine war,
08:36even missile and rocket fuel inputs are being sourced through covert networks.
08:40So, it's highly likely that the next move undertaken by Iran will depend almost entirely on whether Russia and China
08:48step in
08:49and want to be a part, either directly or indirectly, on the negotiating table.
08:54What does Washington, D.C. think about the reported help from Tehran?
08:58That reported help that Tehran is perhaps receiving from both Moscow and Beijing.
09:06Listen in to what U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hexitt, said just a shot like that.
09:13President Trump's been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of
09:18Iran.
09:18It's not just our problem set going forward, even though we have done the lion's share of preparation
09:23to ensure that that strait will be open, which is an outcome the president's been very clear on.
09:29As far as Russia and China, we know exactly what they're doing, what they are or are not doing.
09:33We don't have to air publicly what all of that is.
09:36But where necessary, we're addressing it, we're mitigating it, or we're confronting it head on.
09:44That's a very big statement that comes from U.S. Secretary of War.
09:48We know exactly what Russia and China are doing, and we are taking steps to mitigate it.
09:54Let me quickly bring into this conversation India Today's Foreign Affairs editor, Geeta Mohan.
09:59And also with me is my colleague Sandeep Unnithan.
10:02And joining me now on the show is Ashraf Vani.
10:04And Ashraf Vani is just back from Beirut.
10:07He was in Lebanon for close to a month, and he's been tracking every twist and turn of this battle.
10:13And Ashraf, welcome back.
10:14And thank God you're back.
10:15Safe, Ashraf.
10:16Stay with me for a moment.
10:17Geeta, what do you make of Pete Hexitt saying, we know what China is doing, we know what Russia is
10:24doing, and we're taking steps to mitigate it?
10:26Well, the fact that they have unsanctioned Iranian oil, they have unsanctioned Russian oil,
10:33and the fact that Russia has become the biggest beneficiary of this war when it comes to the earnings,
10:40$150 million a day is what Russia is earning.
10:44China over here, for them, they have to monitor very closely because they do not have the aircraft carrier in
10:50that theater that has been moved out.
10:52And the fact that you have all your missiles, importantly, Patriot missiles, being moved from South Korea, again, keeps their
11:01allies, South Korea, vulnerable.
11:03Japan, very, very vulnerable at a time when there were reports of China and China's expansionist ambitions.
11:11In such a scenario, yes, China would be looking at how it can consolidate its position.
11:17But in the war theater, I do not see China entering the war anytime soon.
11:22Yes, I have been speaking to a few people, and yes, they have been saying that watch the China and
11:27Russia peace.
11:28If the war prolongs, there will be certainly some movement on that front when it comes to China and Russia,
11:35and that will be very important to see because what China, if Washington is monitoring something, Gaurav,
11:41what China is monitoring is how depleted are the American arsenal and weapon systems looking like.
11:48So when you look at 850 Tomahawks spent, when you're looking at Patriot missiles being called from various other countries
11:57that they were sent to,
12:00then we are looking at a serious scenario where we do not know how long can America sustain a war
12:05such as this one.
12:06And what would China's options then be when you're looking at a more weaker or a depleted American military?
12:13That's a very interesting take if you're looking at a weaker United States with depleted war stocks or reserves.
12:22Sandeep, this would be a very alarming picture.
12:27Is the United States actually seeing depleted hardware, the Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Patriot missiles, the other military hardware?
12:35Because Pete Hexitt seems to give that impression in that media briefing that he had just a short while back,
12:42that they're working almost around the clock, they're building pretty fast.
12:45But how fast are they spending it, Sandeep?
12:48Well, it takes several months to build all of these missiles and interceptors that the United States has, Gaurav.
12:55And I'm sure the U.S. did not anticipate this war.
12:58It's very clear that this was a war that they had not planned to go on for four and six
13:03weeks.
13:03They thought it was going to be a quick operation.
13:05It would be over in a matter of hours.
13:07But that clearly hasn't played out.
13:09And this has seen a depletion, as Geeta mentioned.
13:12It's literally hundreds of Tomahawk missiles that have been fired.
13:15Patriots have been fired. They have thinned out their stocks.
13:18Now they're pulling stocks from elsewhere.
13:20This is a breakthrough for China, which is looking at it.
13:24Because all of this war stocks was meant to deter China.
13:27Let's not forget, Gaurav, that China built up its military capacity.
13:32It hid its strength, bided its time.
13:34When the U.S. was busy fighting in Iraq and in Afghanistan,
13:38that 20-year global war on terror is the window that China used to build up its military capabilities
13:45to arrive to the point that it is today.
13:47And when the United States realized that China had become this huge dragon,
13:52the first military economic superpower that the United States has ever faced since the Second World War,
13:59that is when this realization started creeping in.
14:01And now you're looking at the U.S. being dragged into yet another unending war in West Asia from the
14:07looks of it.
14:08And this would worry the planners immensely.
14:10Regardless of what Pete Hexits is saying, his generals possibly think otherwise.
14:15This could end up being a forever war.
14:18And Ashraf was on ground zero.
14:19Ashraf, give me a moment, I'll just come to you.
14:21But I won't talk about this conversation around putting boots on ground.
14:25For several days now, the conversation has been about the United States
14:30actually considering putting boots on ground in Iran.
14:34But not a full-scale invasion.
14:36Plans under discussion perhaps point to a limited, maybe a couple of weeks-long operation involving the special forces,
14:44the commandos, the U.S. Marines, the 82nd Airborne, the paratroopers,
14:50targeted infantry raids at vital assets, vital points,
14:55taking control of the strategic points including the Khark Island
14:58or perhaps some of the islands at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.
15:02The Pentagon has begun building up forces in the region.
15:05There already are about 50,000 troops stationed across West Asia.
15:09The 10,000 more than usual levels are being put in place.
15:14The additional 10,000.
15:162,500 Marines.
15:17That's part of the Marine Expeditionary Unit that's coming from Okinawa in Japan.
15:23There's another Marine Expeditionary Unit that's on its way.
15:26Ex-San Diego.
15:27Then 2,500 sailors.
15:29More than 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Enroute.
15:33More deployment under consideration.
15:35The objective, take control of strategic locations.
15:40Vital assets and vital points.
15:41The top targets include, and we'll list out some of the targets.
15:45The Khark Island, that's Iran's key oil export hub.
15:50Then the coastal missile batteries and speedboat bases
15:53near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and other VAVPs all along the route.
15:59The aim is to secure critical shipping lanes and stabilize global energy flows
16:03as disruptions continue across the region.
16:06But the risks are significant.
16:08U.S. forces could face drone strikes, missile strikes, IEDs,
16:13sustained ground resistance.
16:14Experts also warn that capturing targets may be easier.
16:18But they could be drawn in.
16:21And once they're drawn in, there could be an ambush.
16:24They could be flanked.
16:25And holding those vital assets and vital points would be far more difficult
16:29than taking control of them.
16:31Khark Island, while critical, is highly exposed and vulnerable
16:35to swift counter-attacks and a series of counter-attacks that Iran could mount.
16:40Then there's also a clear divide in the strategic community in the United States of America.
16:45One option is to seize territory and hold territory.
16:49Take control of 90% of Iran's oil exports by holding on to Khark Island.
16:54The other, take control, fasten, raid, and then limit your losses and come back.
17:01You've made a point, and then you've come back.
17:03For now, Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump is weighing his options.
17:08But clearly, all indications, and listen in once again to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hexitt,
17:14they're not ruling out boots on ground.
17:18As far as President Trump and boots on the ground, I don't understand why the base,
17:25which they have already, they understand, wouldn't have faith in his ability to execute on this.
17:29Look at his track record of pursuing peace through strength, America first outcomes.
17:34What he's simply saying, and it's exactly true, and I've said from this podium too,
17:39we're not going to foreclose any option.
17:40You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do
17:46or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground.
17:49Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground.
17:55And guess what? There are.
17:56So if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the President of the United States
18:01and this department.
18:02Or maybe we don't have to use them at all.
18:04Maybe negotiations work, or maybe there's a different approach.
18:08The point is to be unpredictable in that.
18:10Certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do.
18:13But if anybody has internalized the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan
18:17as the first one, President Trump, to call them out for what they are,
18:20he's not going to repeat those lessons.
18:22And I think I've been very clear about that from the podium.
18:25I want to quickly bring in Sandeep.
18:27Sandeep Pete Hexett says if anybody's internalized lessons from the Iraq war, it's President Trump.
18:33If anybody, Sandeep, has truly internalized lessons from that Iraq war of 2003,
18:39it's Iran and made a strategy around it which the Americans are unable to overcome even after 32 days.
18:45Absolutely, Gaurav.
18:46You know, it's taken Iran more than 23 years.
18:48That's almost a quarter of a century to prepare for the war that they're fighting currently.
18:53Everything about, you know, making those underground missile cities, building up drones, building up ballistic missiles,
18:59all of it was drawn from those lessons of Iraq 2003.
19:03They've converted all of Iran into a fortress.
19:07They've built up all their forces.
19:08They've focused on their strengths.
19:09They've not gone after massive air forces, which they anyway didn't have the capability or the capacity to do.
19:14And they've prepared for this war, including the very low cost option for them, which is to use very old
19:20tech like sea mines to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.
19:24They've activated their proxies like the Houthis to block the Bab el-Mandab and possibly target the Suez Canal as
19:31well.
19:31So if you look at it from Iran's perspective, they have the ability to shut down the entire Arabian Peninsula,
19:38commerce all around the Arabian Peninsula.
19:40And that's what really matters.
19:41At the end of the day, you can be hit with 15 or 16,000 targets.
19:45But if you retain the ability to strike at places like this, the choke point warfare that Iran is waging
19:52currently, Gaurav,
19:54the United States does not have an answer to.
19:56And which is why they're hitting them with the biggest bombs that they have in their arsenal.
20:00Sandeep, stay with me for a moment.
20:01There's breaking news coming in.
20:02Iran's revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened the United States of America.
20:06A statement has just been issued by the IRGC.
20:10They are saying that they will target U.S. business interests, U.S. companies across GCC countries starting the 1st
20:19of April.
20:20That's tomorrow morning.
20:22This is retaliation for the attacks on Ishfahan late last night.
20:27So the IRGC is upping the ante.
20:30This is truly, truly going up the escalation ladder.
20:33And we'll talk about this in greater detail.
20:35I quickly want to bring in my colleague Ashraf Vani into this conversation.
20:39And Ashraf Vani has just come back from Lebanon after spending close to a month in the war-torn territory.
20:46Ashraf, if America or Israel thought that Iran, after the decapitation or the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
20:54will fold, will collapse, that clearly hasn't happened, Ashraf.
20:59Iran is now threatening to hit U.S. business interests in the region.
21:02Not only that, Gaurav, actually, what is the difference between the American narrative and Iran narrative?
21:09Iran, so far, in this more than months war, whatever has said, they have delivered it.
21:14But since day one, the Americans have changed the goalpost.
21:18The war started from the change of regime, then to the nuclear capabilities, then finally, now it has shrunk to
21:25the state of hormones.
21:27And also, they have not only fulfilled what they wanted, they have also shown that what kind of strategic targets
21:36they are going to make.
21:37Particularly, the target in Saudi Arabia, there are only six such aircrafts with the U.S.
21:44Of so much cost and so much technology, the flying radar, one of them has been so specifically hit and
21:50damaged.
21:52That gives the sense, what Sandeep was saying, that how they are prepared for this war and how they are
21:59committed towards what they are saying.
22:02This century, AVAX is what you are talking about, hit at the Prince Sultan airbase, struck right at the center,
22:11causing maximum damage, Gita, but this would mark major escalation.
22:15Iran is very clearly saying, starting April 1, which is under 12 hours from now, they will hit U.S.
22:22business interests across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,
22:26across GCC countries, and that will be a huge loss for the United States of America, for the GCC countries.
22:33Well, that's right, there has been an escalation ladder when it comes to retaliation.
22:38Sandeep has been doing the escalation ladder from day one, Gaurav, but the areas where we are looking at escalation
22:44also has to do with what Iran is saying.
22:46Iran had warned of attacks much earlier.
22:50They had said that we will go beyond the U.S. bases, anything that's American is kosher.
22:55Ironically, I'm using that word, but anything that's American will be fair game, is what Iran had said.
23:02And then they said that they're looking at U.S. bases.
23:05Then the power plant versus power plant, which includes desalination plants.
23:10Then they said that because American bases were being emptied out, any hotel that houses or hosts American soldiers are
23:19also fair game.
23:20And they listed some of them outside the bus or actually actually put out a tweet saying that hotels are
23:25now looking at the history of a guest and canceling the reservations if they know that they're from a U
23:34.S. base or they're working with American companies, so on and so forth.
23:38Then they went ahead and threatened Google offices in West Asia, again, American company.
23:44And now they're saying any American company or companies affiliated to American companies are fair game.
23:52You know, when you talk about the escalation ladder, Sandeep, Iran clearly is not letting America get on top of
23:59that escalation ladder.
24:00If America hit Isfahan and hit it with those GBU-57, those massive bunker busters, Iran says, stand by, tomorrow
24:08we'll hit your business interests.
24:09And each time they've said we'll hit, they've hit, and with precision strikes.
24:14You know, Gaurav, that is the biggest takeaway from this conflict, that an inferior side, that is Iran, which has
24:19been under every manner of global sanctions,
24:21bombing by two of the most powerful air forces in the world, the U.S. Air Force and the Israeli
24:27Air Force, for over a month, nonstop, round the clock, 200 targets, 15,000 targets is what we've seen so
24:35far.
24:36Its command and control, its C2 is intact.
24:39It has that capability to retaliate and keep up on the escalation ladder.
24:43That's a very big takeaway that clearly shows that the U.S. has, despite hitting all of these thousands of
24:50targets, has not been able to sever the command and control line that Iran has built up,
24:55these networks that they've built up, these underground cities that they've, you know, established.
24:59Even a month later, Iran is still in the fight.
25:03And that is what worries me, Gaurav, is that what after the MOP?
25:07Because the U.S. explosive yield thing, conventional explosives, ends with a massive ordnance penetrator, the GBU-57.
25:15After that, you're looking at a very, very dangerous escalation ladder when you're looking at tactical nukes and then even
25:23strategic nuclear weapons.
25:24So, this is a very, very dangerous thing.
25:27Will things come to such a pass?
25:27Will things come to such a pass?
25:29God forbid.
25:30Remember, we've seen this only once in our history, again, by the United States of America, to bring the Second
25:37World War to an end, to bring Japan to its knees.
25:39Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed in 1945.
25:42Are things escalating?
25:44Is the U.S. getting desperate?
25:46We'll show you those GBU-57 and we'll explain what these massive bunker busters are.
25:52But even as the U.S. demonstrates its complete military might, or conventional military might, Iran is fighting back.
26:01But it's a very different kind of a battle, very different response.
26:05So, one, the U.S. is using massive force.
26:09So, they're bringing their fighter jets, their tactical bombers, their strategic bombers, their ships, their submarines, their aircraft carriers, using
26:17their Tomahawk missiles, everything that they have.
26:19How is Iran hitting back?
26:21It's using those Shahid drones.
26:23They go slow, they evade the radars, but with pinpoint accuracy, they go and destroy the target.
26:30Low cost, high impact, designed to stretch Washington, D.C.'s billion dollars military infrastructure, destroying it.
26:40Here is how Tehran is turning this asymmetry, its weakness, into its strength.
26:46We get you more in this report.
26:51No billion-dollar fighter jets.
26:53No massive aircraft carriers.
26:56Instead, swarms of low-cost drones.
27:00Iran's strategy is simple.
27:03Fight smart, not expensive.
27:08This strategy has its roots in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
27:13After years of costly conflict, Iran realized it could not sustain an expensive, conventional war in the future.
27:25Instead of taking on the stronger enemies in a direct battle, they came up with a strategy to make the
27:31war costlier for the opponent.
27:35And this is called the classic asymmetric warfare, where a weaker power uses unconventional tactics to counter a stronger opponent.
27:46You hit the enemy where it hurts the most.
27:51So instead of competing with American aircraft carriers or stealth bombers, Iran turned to cheaper drones, missiles and tactics to
28:00overwhelm sophisticated defense systems.
28:08For example, a single advanced U.S. fighter jet can cost around 80 to 100 million dollars.
28:15An Iranian drone, just a few thousand.
28:19And it is this cost imbalance which allows Iran to launch repeated attacks, forcing the U.S. and its allies
28:27to spend heavily on air defense systems.
28:32Instead of investing in fighter jets, Iran invests in long-range missiles and drones.
28:39When launched in large numbers, it definitely makes the enemy tremble.
28:47Iran, in fact, used this strategy to target U.S. bases in UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, therefore making the Gulf
28:55nations bleed mathematically.
28:59Even choking the Strait of Hormuz is part of the asymmetric warfare.
29:05Here Iran, instead of building a navy similar to America, relies on smaller boats equipped with missiles and torpedoes.
29:15These small boats can move quickly and create problems for the large ships in the region.
29:22What's more interesting is Iran's military structure.
29:25It's different and can function under immense pressure.
29:29Why?
29:30Because IRGC or the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliated forces are allowed to function independently, if needed.
29:39So even if some leaders or crucial bases are targeted, Iran can function like it is now.
29:48Several key leaders, including its former supreme leader, Khamenei, gone.
29:53But Iran continues to fight.
29:56In the 21st century, war is fought not just on battlefields, but in the mines as well.
30:04Bureau Report, India Today.
30:10There's a war that's raging on another front and that war is as bloody, if not more.
30:16I want to get to these images from Lebanon.
30:19This is where Israel is targeting the Hezbollah.
30:23Not just from the air, but they've now committed troops on ground.
30:26In fact, they want to widen this buffer zone all the way to the Litani River, creating a much wider
30:32buffer zone than before.
30:34Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he's instructed the army to push deeper, push harder.
30:40The goal is to create a new security zone all along Israel's northern borders to ensure it's much safer.
30:46According to the IDF, Israeli Defence Forces, and to Israel Katz, their Defence Minister,
30:50this buffer zone will extend up to the Litani River, significantly expanding the current area of operations.
30:57But on ground, the Hezbollah are fighting back.
31:00They've now started guerrilla operations.
31:02Not only are they firing rockets deep inside the northern part of Israel and all the way up to Haifa,
31:07but they're also targeting Israeli ground forces.
31:11My colleague Ashraf Vani is on ground zero.
31:14He was on ground zero for close to a month.
31:17Lebanon's health ministry said over 1,200 people had been killed in this conflict since the 2nd of March.
31:23120 of them are children.
31:253,500 have been injured, if not more.
31:28Journalists have been targeted, journalists have been killed.
31:32More than 600,000 and by some accounts more than 700,000 people and more have been displaced.
31:38And this operation is all set to intensify.
31:42Ashraf, welcome.
31:43One of the most difficult assignments, perhaps, Ashraf, even more difficult than you were there last time.
31:48Is it likely to get even bloodier now with ground troops committed?
31:53Yes, absolutely, Gaurav, this is going to be limited only between Lebanon and Hezbollah and Israel.
32:00Because, actually, what this fight between the Hezbollah and IDF on the ground is giving a kind of a sense
32:08also to the U.S. troops
32:10that how tough they are going to face the IRGC if they are going to make their boots on ground,
32:18maybe on the island or in any part of the Iran.
32:23Because, already, the tactics that were adopted by the Israel earlier in the ground invasions are being adopted by the
32:30Hezbollah itself.
32:31As I earlier in your bulletin said that when the Israel was planning to put the ground invasion to carry
32:40out the ground invasion to south Lebanon,
32:42Hezbollah carried out a massive drill of installing the cameras in the southern Lebanon.
32:49Those became their eyes and ears. What movement is going on without any population there, with the devastated and bombed
32:57buildings?
32:58Hezbollah is tracking each and everything of Israeli ground troops.
33:02Where are they getting that replenishment from?
33:05If Israel now is in control of the Golan Heights, if it's controlling, you know, Mount Hermon or that area,
33:12if they've moved into the Syrian territory, Bashar al-Assad's regime is no longer there.
33:16How are supplies coming in from Iran? Is it coming via Iraq, some part of Syria, and then into Lebanon?
33:23Also, the calculation is what Benjamin Netanyahu had thought before launching this war on Iran with America.
33:31Probably they first thought that, first of all, when there will be the war, the Gulf states, because there are
33:38bases,
33:38they will be targeted, and probably Gulf states will come against Iran. That didn't happen.
33:44Then they thought probably it will be the chosen president of Syria, which has been, which was much praised by
33:51the Donald Trump,
33:52Shara, that he will help us in that he's also putting his hands up, that he is not want to
33:59bring another civil war in the Syria,
34:02what after a long time they have gone it out. And as far as the supply line is created, it
34:07takes years.
34:08If the IDF is not able to overcome the tunnels in Gaza, which is in the control of IDF,
34:15how they could be able to come on those missile cities as well as the tunnels, what we are getting
34:23on the report.
34:24So the supply chain is continuously Iran. From Iran it comes to the Malaysias of Iraq, then from Malaysias of
34:30Iraq,
34:30who are pro-Iran, it goes to the pro-Iranian groups in Syria, and from Syria they pass on via
34:40Bekaa Valley to Hezbollah.
34:42So the supply line is continued. Otherwise, how you can think that continuously for last one month,
34:49equivalent number of missiles as well as drones are being fired by the Hezbollah,
34:54when last year after the ceasefire, IDF claimed that we have completely vanished Hezbollah.
35:01That's a very interesting point to make, Ashraf. Stay safe. I'm glad you're back now.
35:05We'll get more reports from you. Geeta, Sandeep and Ashraf, for the moment, many thanks for joining me.
35:11But this war is now threatening to expand to another front, and that is the Bab al-Mandab choke point.
35:19The Houthi forces in Yemen have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandab,
35:24and the Houthi forces operate in tandem with the Iranian regime.
35:30India's energy security, trade, not just for India, but South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia,
35:38and trade to Europe and the United States, that would be adversely impacted,
35:42because that's the route that leads all the way up to the Suez Canal.
35:46Now, what is India doing to secure our interests? Not just along the Strait of Hormuz, but Bab al-Mandab.
35:52I spoke to Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command.
35:58Now, India has several warships on op deployment, not just close to the Strait of Hormuz,
36:03but also close to the Bab al-Mandab, to ensure that if there's any potential disruption,
36:10Indian interests can be best protected near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
36:16Listen in to some excerpts of that conversation that we had on Business Today, Mind Rush.
36:27There is trouble at the Strait of Hormuz, and for a moment, I want to show you the map,
36:33because this part of the world is becoming extremely dangerous.
36:37Now, one blockade is there at the Strait of Hormuz.
36:41I believe there's a second trouble that's coming up at Bab al-Mandab,
36:46and that's the second choke point.
36:48So, Iran dominates one directly, and the other through Houthi rebels.
36:54Again, your area of responsibility, how difficult does that make your task?
36:57How difficult does that make energy security for the country, and trade for the country?
37:02And all the big CEOs who are sitting here, they'd be very worried looking at this picture.
37:08So, firstly, I'd like to tell all the CEOs who are looking at the picture, please don't get worried.
37:13One of the things we recognize is that geography is a reality of life,
37:18and, you know, choke points like that are a reality of geography.
37:21So, we've got to make our plans, we've got to make our force level building,
37:24everything based on the geography that we have.
37:26Geography is something we cannot change.
37:28So, we're very cognizant of the importance of choke points and straits, and constricted sea spaces.
37:34And, you know, of course, there are coastal states that either straddle the strait,
37:39or they flank the strait, or they rim the strait somewhere,
37:42and they have better access to the strait than anybody else.
37:45And, in a way, they get the leverage to impact happenings in the strait more than anybody else.
37:51But, that's something that we know, the way to ensure that the shipping passes peacefully and safely through the strait,
37:58there are several options that are available to us.
38:01As a person who's charged with the responsibility of making sure that, you know,
38:06our trade is unimpeded through the strait of Hormuz and the Babal Mantab, I've got my forces there.
38:13One of the things the Indian Navy did several years back, and all this predates the current war and the
38:19previous war,
38:19is that we have adopted a philosophy of having what we call mission-based deployments.
38:26And, one of our missions, one of the missions, one of the things we have mandated by the government for,
38:32is to ensure the safety of sea lanes, the safety of our trade,
38:35because, you know, all of us know this is common knowledge.
38:39More than 75, maybe 75% of our trade by value and 90% by volume comes by sea.
38:46So, we are a trade-dependent economy, you know, and for economic growth, the sea lanes being saved,
38:52the ocean spaces being somewhat stable and predictable is very, very important.
38:56And, the Indian Navy, as the biggest and primary manifestation of the nation's maritime power,
39:02has been given that responsibility.
39:04And, therefore, for several years, we have been locating our ships,
39:08pre-positioning them, in fact, in many places on what we call mission-based deployments.
39:12We also keep tracking global development, so it's not very difficult for us to know
39:16where a hotspot is going to be or where a potential hotspot is going to be.
39:21And, it's not very difficult for us to pre-position a ship there with, you know,
39:24a ship that's capable of looking after our own interests there.
39:27So, we've been doing that for several years.
39:29We know the geography very well.
39:31We are positioned there even as we speak.
39:34And so, should the government require us to bring our shipping safely from there,
39:38I think we are more than equal to the task.
39:40So, are we in a position to say that things may improve, you know,
39:45this one-on-one conversations that are happening?
39:49Is it also happening at maritime diplomacy level?
39:53Is it government-to-government level that personal conversations also help get our ships through?
40:00So, to the best of my knowledge, much of this, I mean, our Prime Minister has gone on record several
40:05times
40:05and said that all of this, you know, needs to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
40:10So, I'm a military man.
40:11My job is just military.
40:13I'm a soldier.
40:13So, I don't, I'm not talking to any government.
40:16I'm not talking to any Navy.
40:17But, I know that I'm deployed there in strength.
40:20And, should the government or the naval headquarters or my boss, the chief of the naval staff,
40:24require me to do anything, then I'm ready and my ships are ready.
40:28Now, what is also very heartening right now is, in a very difficult situation, India's projection of strength.
40:41We are the only country in the world that has an ocean named after us.
40:46We are a maritime power.
40:49But, compared to what is expected of us, the North Arabian Sea to South China Sea area of responsibility,
40:57do we have the capabilities or a lot more needs to be done in that regard?
41:05Well, that's a very interesting question.
41:08Certainly, you know, one of the views that we have always held as a Navy is that, you know,
41:12first and foremost, we are a maritime nation.
41:15You know, we are surrounded by the seas.
41:17We have a very, very advantageous geography.
41:20You know, we straddle the Indian Ocean region where there's a lot of trade passes.
41:24We are located in a place where a lot of important international sea lanes crisscross.
41:30And so, we are in a position to take advantage of our geographical location.
41:35And, you know, because we are a maritime nation, our linkages, for example, you know,
41:40if you see India as a country, as a landmass, our linkages to the North are blocked by either,
41:47you know, inimical countries to the West and the North or the mountain ranges.
41:51The only expression that we have of our connectivity is through the sea.
41:56And so, you know, we will, it will be ill-advised of us as a nation not to recognize the
42:01fact that we are a maritime nation.
42:03All our outflows of our, you know, our cultural exchanges, our diplomatic exchanges, our economic exchanges are all through the
42:10sea.
42:10We are crucially dependent on the sea for our economic well-being.
42:14And I think all of us as a nation need to recognize that, you know,
42:17we need to give a lot more importance to the sea and our own engagement with the sea.
42:23And so, you know, in the last several years, one of the things I have noticed in my own career
42:29in the Navy
42:30is that the role, importance and relevance of the Indian Navy to Indian security
42:35and India's long-term well-being and economic prosperity,
42:41that, you know, the relation between what the Indian Navy does for the nation, for national security,
42:48is being recognized year after year.
42:50Our role is expanding.
42:52Our force is expanding.
42:53You know, purely by way of statistics, we are something like a 140-ship Navy.
42:58And in our own vision, we hope to be something like a 270-ship Navy or so.
43:04We have said that we'd like to be that by 2035.
43:07It's unlikely to happen.
43:09But certainly by 2047 or 2050, we'd like to be a 270-ship Navy
43:13so that we can do justice to the aspirations of the country.
43:16We can do justice to the security requirements of the country.
43:19And wherever the country needs us, we are available in strength
43:22and we can support every other country's needs.
43:24So, if you ask me a straight question of whether our force levels today are enough,
43:30I would only say that the force levels have grown based on our own analysis of our requirements.
43:38Our requirements continue to increase.
43:40And therefore, there is a need for our force levels, both in terms of numbers
43:43and in terms of technological capability, to rise.
43:47And we are very much engaged in that exercise even as we speak.
43:50I want to show us a map.
43:52And this map is more for the rest of the country to reimagine India.
43:59Now, how do we imagine India right now?
44:02We imagine India like that.
44:05That's the way we've been traditionally taught we are.
44:08Is it time for us to imagine India like that?
44:13That will project our real maritime power.
44:18We've had this conversation a long time back, by the way.
44:23So, thank you so much for showing this map.
44:26You know, this is something that the Indian Navy has been showing wherever it can
44:31and to whoever who cares to see it for many years, for the longest time of our conversation.
44:37We'd like to see India.
44:39You know, we are naturally oriented to looking towards the north and saying,
44:43that's the north and this is the south.
44:44But the fact is, you know, it escapes our attention very easily that we are surrounded by such a huge
44:50ocean mass.
44:52And therefore, you know, this is the picture that we need to see
44:55because all the outflows from India, all our intellectual energies, all our cultural associations,
45:01all our trade links, they need to flow out from the peninsula of India.
45:04And I think this is a very good depiction of how important the seas that surround us is to our
45:10security and our national well-being.
45:13When we imagine India like this, I want, you know, since all the top CEOs are here,
45:22industry partnership is required for you to become that 270 ship navy.
45:27What is it that you expect from the industry?
45:29Because the industry says, if we invest so much and we don't get orders, then we are stuck.
45:35Our investment is stuck.
45:36You want it and it has to be Atmanirwar Bharat.
45:39How do you bridge that gap?
45:41Thank you so much.
45:42That's such an important question and kindly give me two minutes to answer that.
45:46One, of course, you know, this is an Atmanirwar Bharat.
45:49But, of course, like most of us know, the Indian Navy has been an indigenous force
45:53or we aspire to be an indigenous force for the longest part of our history.
45:59You know, we set up what we call a Directorate of Naval Design in the late 1950s
46:04and we rolled out our first indigenous warship in the early 1960s.
46:09From then, we've not looked back.
46:11Of course, it hasn't been a completely successful journey.
46:14It's been a difficult journey.
46:16We've learned our lessons.
46:17We've become stronger and we've come back.
46:19Very recently, we commissioned the 102nd warship that was designed and built in India.
46:25So, it is a silent story of great success of indigenization.
46:29And I think, to the best of my knowledge at least,
46:33for the tonnage that we have, our ships, the latest ships,
46:36can compare to the best in the world.
46:39In 2009, red terror or left-wing extremism was seen as the biggest threat to India's internal security.
46:47Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke of this red corridor from Pashupati to Tirupati.
46:54Nobody thought that in our lifetime we'll see a red terror-free India or a Naksal Mukht Bharat.
47:01But India is now Naksal Mukht.
47:04Home Minister Amit Shah has declared that in Parliament.
47:07Today was the deadline, the 31st of March, 2026.
47:11Now, a large number of Maoists, armed Maoists, they surrendered.
47:16How are they being rehabilitated?
47:18How are they being integrated into the society once again?
47:22How is development reaching the heart of the red corridor?
47:26India today's Sumi Rajappan is on ground zero and she sent us these reports.
47:31I leave you with these reports.
47:37Home Minister Amit Shah declared in Parliament that India is now Naksal-free.
48:03But on the ground, the transition away from violence is still ongoing.
48:08In Banu Pratappur, in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, a former BSF camp is being converted into a rehabilitation facility for surrender
48:17Naksals.
48:19Once a high-security outpost, the site is now a part of government program focused on reintegration.
48:26Around 45 cadres are currently enrolled here.
48:30The focus is on basic education and vocational training.
48:35Sardu Nareti, earlier associated with logistical support, is now training in tailoring.
49:10Koover Singh, who functioned as a field medic, is learning woodwork.
49:41Sardu Nareti, earlier on, is now training in tailoring.
49:44Sardu Nareti is back in the classroom studying Hindi and Mathematics.
49:48Sardu Nareti, earlier on, is now training in tailoring.
50:15Officials describe this as skill development aimed at preparing former cadres for civilian
50:21life and employment.
50:22However, the transition is gradual.
50:25Many here have spent years, in some cases decades, within the insurgency.
50:30While the government maintains that Naxalism has been eliminated, rehabilitation efforts
50:36like this indicate that the process of reintegration is still underway.
50:51For decades, the name Abhujmar, the unknown hill evoked only one image, a dark impenetrable
51:00fortress of Naxalism.
51:25No, because.
51:26Only fear reigned here.
51:28But Abhujmar today is different.
51:31There is visible change in infrastructure.
51:34New roads now connect villages that were earlier accessible only by foot.
51:41In Iraq Bhatti, villagers are constructing permanent homes.
51:46I think they have started doing is different, eating and eating.
51:54There has been a lot of residents being home with their land, still there.
51:58Again, the village has changed.
51:59Many people lost their lands.
52:01But I am afraid of getting there.
52:02Now the village has fallen back and back.
52:03So many people are kept moving on.
52:05How did the village do you feel?
52:07You were always scared of that?
52:09Yes.
52:09I am very scared of that.
52:34Education, which wasn't available once, is now the biggest symbol of transformation.
52:46Now classrooms echo with something unheard of just a year ago.
52:55The school is one year old and in fact we'll show you exactly how the education is happening.
53:01We've come inside this particular shelter where school is being conducted.
53:06Right now the strength is very low.
53:08There are almost six to seven children who come to get education here.
53:12However their education is being formally executed very proficiently.
53:18How many children are here?
53:21Six children in the year.
53:23Yes, yes.
53:25How do you learn how to learn?
53:28It was first, I was also doing it.
53:32When the children came, I couldn't speak to them.
53:35I couldn't speak to them.
53:37It was a great experience.
53:38I was here with Narayanpur.
53:40I couldn't translate it and tell them.
53:43That's why children are now aware of it.
53:46Health care too is no longer limited to forest remedies.
53:52We've now come to the PHC centre that is the primary health centre which was made in the year 2024
53:59-25 and in fact the cost of making this PHC centre was 28.51 lakhs.
54:07It is mentioned outside the hospital, the basic information is given.
54:10We are here to take you through the ground reality of this particular PHC centre.
54:14And here if you see, right now the basic tests are being carried out and medical supplies are also usually
54:25provided here.
54:27All the medical supplies usually arrive here on time.
54:32I am joining here from the 16th March.
54:35The basic tests are like the sickle cell test, the HB test and the sugar test.
54:45And the BP test is normally every day.
54:48The patients come here.
54:49Usually they believe that the people of the tribal community can heal them.
54:53So now the awareness that you have to come to the PHC centre will come to the PHC centre.
54:58There is a lot of awareness from this.
55:00If we go there, we give the supplies.
55:02We give the supplies.
55:03We give the supplies.
55:04We give the supplies.
55:05We give the supplies.
55:05We give the supplies.
55:06We give the supplies.
55:08We give the supplies.
55:10What changed?
55:12Security.
55:14The arrival of forces ended fear of Mao West, paving the way for roads, schools and clinics.
55:21Abujmar is no longer the unknown hill.
55:24The shadows are retreating and for the first time in decades, the sun is finally shining here.
55:30The two look after these добавляются are retreating and gives them an airing airing EST.
55:30The ship will destroy the ship, other than their weapons.
55:30The same we do in the
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