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This episode of Newstrack examines the escalating tensions between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump has issued a blunt, expletive-laden warning to Tehran, threatening to bomb power plants, bridges, and critical infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within a day.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille.
00:02U.S. President Donald Trump is back, not with clarity, not with a plan, but with threats yet
00:07again. This time, the warning to Tehran isn't just tough, it's loud, blunt and laced with
00:14expletives. In a fresh outburst, Donald Trump has threatened hell for Tehran over the continued
00:21closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He says, open the strait-of-face bombings of power plants,
00:26bridges and critical infrastructure. But here's a pattern. Deadlines, threats, ultimatums and then
00:33silence or a shift in tone. Just days ago, there was talk of de-escalation. Now we are back to
00:40doomsday rhetoric. Is this strategy or is this brinkmanship on the repeat? Because the stakes
00:48this time are far too high. The Strait of Hormuz is a lifeline for nearly a fifth of the world's
00:53oil
00:54and it remains choked. Global markets are jittery, oil prices are volatile and every new threat is
01:01simply adding fuel to an already raging fire. Any strike on Iran's critical infrastructure won't
01:08just be a warning shot. It could trigger a chain reaction across West Asia, pulling in multiple
01:15players and pushing the region to the edge of a full-scale conflict. And here I differ with
01:21Donald Trump. Wars don't run on tweets and timelines. They spiral fast and often beyond anyone's control.
01:28In just a short while from now at 10.30pm Indian Standard Time, all eyes will be on Donald Trump's
01:35once again address to a nation or a crucial press conference. Will it be the same like last time or
01:43will President Trump set a new deadline? Or is the state set for another U-turn by the U.S.
01:50President? Before I ask these questions to my guests, here's a report.
02:04If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very
02:10hard and probably simultaneously. A dramatic escalation in war of words between U.S. and Tehran.
02:24U.S. President Donald Trump in an expletive-filled post has warned Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
02:31or face devastating consequences. Trump issued yet another threat to Iran but this time it is an
02:38unhinged expletive laden one. He has threatened to hit Iran's power plants and bridges within a day
02:45if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened. He also reiterated his earlier threat to unleash hell if
02:54Iran does not meet his deadline ending later today. The warning came shortly after Trump announced what
03:01he called a miraculous and one of the most daring rescue operations in U.S. history involving the extraction
03:08of a downed American fighter jet crew member inside Iran.
03:15Almost over five hours later, Trump put out another cryptic post on Truth Social.
03:21The post only said Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time, leaving the world to imagine what it meant.
03:29But Iran has remained defiant, threatening to target U.S. and Israeli assets across the region
03:35and turned the entire region into hell in retaliation if U.S. escalated war.
03:44There is no doubt that all these victories and achievements of proud Iran have come under the
03:49special care and exceptional grace of Almighty God and we are certain that God's promise in the final
03:54victory at the front over truth over falsehood will be fulfilled.
04:02Iran dismissed Washington's threats as nothing new and asserted that they are prepared to respond.
04:09Iran mocked Trump's threat reminding how he said he would end the war within three days but now it has
04:16been
04:16more than a month. At the heart of the crisis is the Strait of Hormuz, now effectively blocked by Iran,
04:24disrupting vital oil and gas shipping routes. Strait of Hormuz remains choked, global markets are on edge
04:32and the risk of a wider conflict is growing by hour. Tonight at 10.30 p.m. Trump will be
04:39addressing
04:39a crucial press briefing. In the crucial briefing tonight, Trump may reveal details of how F-15E crew
04:47member was rescued. Trump may also issue a do-or-die warning with a bombing campaign across Iran. Trump
04:54may also announce strikes of Iran's key infrastructure or announce a truce deal with Iran even as U.S. media
05:01reports say Iran has been pushing for a 45-day truce. For now, it's a battle of words, warnings and
05:10war
05:10memories. But in a region this volatile, even a single move could change everything. Bureau Report, India Today.
05:23And joining me first on the show is Professor Elham. She is Assistant Professor of West Asian Studies at
05:29the University of Tehran. Professor Elham, how does Tehran view this Islamabad proposal? On one hand,
05:38there are talks of ceasefire negotiations, but on the other are direct threats coming in from the U.S.
05:46President of hell and bombing infrastructure. Is trust already broken there?
05:55Of course, trust is broken. Iran respects all our neighbors, especially the ones that are trying to
06:01somehow negotiate or be intermediaries to a peace plan. But the problem here is that we have tried
06:08this many times. At least two times we were in the middle of negotiations and the Americans attacked us.
06:14Even when they speak of the possibility of talks or even when Trump talks about the fact that his idea
06:21that
06:22talks are being carried out. At the same time, simultaneously, we see that politicians,
06:29individuals and civilians in Iran are being bombed. So it's not really believable for the Americans to
06:37have peace in mind. And for Iran, I think the idea here is that we have to, on the ground,
06:43remain strong.
06:44And we cannot take any consideration of talks or peace or negotiation seriously, given the current
06:52situation that we are in, given the realities on the ground. And given the pace of escalation we are
06:58seeing in just last few hours, how close are we to a point where one miscalculation pushes this
07:04into a full-scale war? Or this is already a full-scale war, would you say, Professor Elam?
07:12Of course, this is already a full-scale war. Iranians, civilian Iranians are losing their
07:19lives each and every day. Infrastructure is being damaged. Today, we Iranians woke up to find out that
07:25the Sharif University, which is one of the most prestigious Iranian universities, one of the oldest
07:31ones, has been bombed by bunker busters. So I think we already are in the midst of war,
07:39and the Americans are going to attack us and bomb us, whether or not negotiations are on the way.
07:45So I think Iranians are choosing this time not to be fooled by any talks of negotiating with them.
07:51Okay. When you look at what's happening-
07:53Maybe I can add that on the first day of this war, all this began with the assassination of the
07:59supreme leader in Iran. So when you assassinate the most important and the most high-ranking
08:06leader in a country, that definitely means that full-scale war has already started.
08:11So when you look at what's happening right now, missile strikes, assassinations, threats on oil
08:17routes, is this conflict being driven by actual military compulsions, or by entrenched narratives
08:24where both sides are logged into roles they can't step out of?
08:30I think the reality here is that the Americans are to a great degree influenced by the Israeli regime.
08:39In this case, I believe that no American interests have been accomplished, or will be accomplished,
08:46by continuing this war. Well, the excuse for the start of this war was Iran's nuclear program,
08:54in the previous round of war, in the 12-day war, Trump very clearly stated that he had destroyed
09:00Iran's nuclear program. But then again, he's attacking Iran for the same—you know, based on the same
09:05excuse. So I think what many analysts are somehow referring to is the fact that, to a great degree,
09:12Israel has been influencing American decision-making into sending their troops into a kind of a quagmire,
09:18where absolutely no American interest is ensured by this military involvement. So I think we are in a
09:26situation where, if you are looking at things from the perspective of the Iranians, well, we have no other
09:33choice but to defend our country, to defend our territory, because we are being threatened. If you just
09:38refer to some of the tweets or some of the social media posts that Trump has been posting, you see
09:46that he is threatening the Iranian people, he is threatening the Iranian civilization, he is
09:50threatening Iranian infrastructure. So I think that's very natural for us to be concerned, first and
09:58foremost, with defending our people and defending our territory. But I think it's on the Americans to
10:05quickly realize that this is getting out of control and somehow manage to get themselves out of this
10:11quagmire. Also with our neighbors in the Persian Gulf, I think they need to, in a very serious way,
10:20stop their territory from being used by the Americans and the Israelis to bomb Iran. That's how this war can
10:27end. Ma'am, the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of the world's oil flows, is now at
10:33the
10:34heart of this conflict, with threats, naval buildups, and global anxiety also rising at the same time. So
10:41my question to you is, from Tehran's perspective, is this still strategic signaling meant to deter,
10:47or are we approaching a point where Iran could actually act on these threats, despite the enormous
10:53global consequences?
10:56Well, I think first, again, America is responsible for the consequences of what's happening in the
11:04Strait of Hormuz, because prior to this attack, Iran was nowhere using its influence to control who
11:10gets in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. Everything began with the American attack. So I think Iranians
11:15have every right to use any possible method they have in their hands to be able to somehow retaliate
11:22against the attack that's been happening in our country. Now, the Strait of Hormuz is positioned in
11:28waters belonging to Oman and Iran. And I think these two countries have the right to be able to
11:35agree to how they want to manage and control this region. And if you just look back to the past
11:42few
11:42years, even to the past one or two decades, we see that Iran has constantly been faced with illegal
11:48American sanctions against our people. Now, these sanctions are not just, you know, stopping Iran from
11:54selling its oil. These extend to the everyday lives of people. The situation of the economy,
12:00the fact that many, many medicines that we need to get for some specific diseases in Iran, they have,
12:08you know, we have had no access to that because of the inhumane American sanctions, which they
12:15themselves have called crippling sanctions. So if you look at that, and if Iran sees the Strait,
12:23the control of the Strait of Hormuz as one possibility that they can use in order to be able to
12:29somehow, you know, retaliate against those sanctions and make life easier for people,
12:35for ordinary people living in Iran, that's what they will do.
12:38All right, ma'am. Thank you for speaking to India today.
12:44And let me go straight to California from where Professor Sierra Clare is joining me live. She is
12:49a foreign policy analyst. Professor Clare, I appreciate your time here on India Today. Donald Trump's
12:54latest post is a threat, but it also sounds desperate. Does that kind of pressure force Iran
13:02to comply? Or does it risk pushing this conflict into dangerous escalation that we are seeing already?
13:10Well, I think that the conflict has already escalated. I think that the response from the
13:18Iranian regime to deny that they were taking part in negotiations, when we know that they are,
13:25they do want to negotiate, because they are losing. You know, that's already, and they're continuing to
13:32keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, which is causing global effects, as well as them targeting civilians
13:40across the Gulf countries. All of these things have escalated to where it's at today. And that's why
13:46President Trump is putting out a message. He's being very clear with the Iranians, which
13:51I hope they take the message seriously. And he is saying that, you know, he wants to see
13:58a reasonable negotiation to actually start bringing this about to an end. And if they're not willing to
14:05do that, President Trump has a plan. The American military has shown their ability to operate at will
14:12in the country. So that's kind of where we're at.
14:16No, but the fact is that the Americans have suffered severe setbacks. President Trump now
14:23is openly warning of strikes on power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened.
14:30Does setting a public deadline strengthen deterrence or lock both sides into a corner?
14:38Well, President Trump, you know, that's his style.
14:41And we've as we've talked about, or I'm sure you guys have covered it as well. He does do these
14:47negotiations publicly where he does, you know, post, make posts about this and set these deadlines
14:56publicly. And so it all depends on the response from the Iranian regime or from whoever, whatever
15:03entity he's negotiating with normally. However, I think at this point in the conflict,
15:10you know, we're not going to see President Trump, when he gets a positive response or when he feels
15:15like there's something moving, that's when you'll see him, you know, say, okay, now I'm giving them
15:1910 days or, you know, these different public notes that he's announced. But right now with where we're
15:27at with the Iranian regime and the tone from his latest posts, you know, I believe that we're at the
15:33end of the line for the Iranians, I don't think they're going to get any more from President Trump.
15:39I think he's he's been very clear. This is what he means at this point. It isn't really part of
15:45the
15:45art of the deal. He's just saying what he means.
15:48And with President Trump calling the rescue, which has happened an Easter miracle, gives the war a clear
15:55religious framing. My question then is, does invoking faith and symbolism in the middle of a conflict
16:01help build public support? Or does it risk deepening divisions and hardening positions on both sides?
16:10Well, you know, from the American perspective, I can tell you most of us don't think that the Iranian
16:17position can be hardened or radicalized any further, especially when it comes to religion. These are
16:24people who have used religion as an excuse to kill innocent non-Muslims of all different religions.
16:32And America, you know, we have all religions in our country. So we were not fighting for any one
16:39religion in this war. I think we are just pointing out that, as you said, you know, the framing that
16:47we're
16:48on the right side of this, we're not the ones who are promoting, you know, apocalyptic beliefs that are,
16:57you know, completely incompatible with pluralistic society.
17:02In fact, with the rising attacks, expanding theaters, and civilians spill over, are we still in a phase of
17:10calibrated signaling? Or has this conflict crossed into what is visibly now an uncontrolled escalation?
17:20Um, I wouldn't say it's uncontrolled. I think that the United States military has all of these phases
17:27planned out. The phase that President Trump is talking about with targeting, you know, the energy
17:36infrastructure. Um, this goes back to the nuclear program, you know, the these energy nuclear quote,
17:44quote, unquote, nuclear energy plants are, have been as well used as part of Iran's nuclear weapons
17:50program. Um, and so all of these things have been planned out from the US military. And there, this is
17:57an escalation phase, because that's what President Trump has asked for. Um, because we've seen the
18:03Iranians are not complying, um, not taking the talk seriously. But I don't, I wouldn't say that the
18:10US military, you know, is ever going to go into a phase, um, unplanned. They, they have mapped out,
18:17um, what these type of phases look like, how much firepower they need, and what the goals are that they
18:24want to achieve in each phase. Okay, that brings me to my last question, Professor Clare. Donald Trump
18:30argues he can deliver results without prolonged wars. But this approach is aggressive and urgent.
18:38Is this effective straight craft, or a sign that the strategy is under strain and could destabilize
18:45the region further? Well, it's an interesting question. Um, I think that, you know, there's been
18:53a lot of talk about President Trump's unconventional approach to straight to statecraft. And, you know,
19:00there, there are different, um, opinions on that. And, and, you know, I'm sure that there are times where,
19:07um, you could say, okay, what was this really as effective as if it had been more diplomatic,
19:12but the Iran case is such a special case. And it's such, uh, it, it's just deviates from everything,
19:21you know, that we know about dealing with diplomatically with other countries, because the
19:26Iranian regime is so radical. And they really, they've stated before that they would use these
19:33nuclear weapons if they got them. And so that's a very grave threat. And so I think President Trump
19:39is actually the right man for the job at the right time. Past American presidents have had to deal with
19:45Iran. Uh, but they, in many cases, they didn't have the military capability because our military has been
19:51chronically underfunded. So President Trump is the right man at the right time. Uh, he has all of
19:56these options on the table and he's bold enough to use them. All right, ma'am. Thank you for joining
20:02us.
20:05The US forces have just pulled off one of the most daring rescues in recent military history. They
20:10have extracted a wounded air force weapons officer from deep inside Tehran after his F-15E strike
20:18Eagle was shot down. To know how the operation unfolded, take a look at this report. I'm leaving
20:24you with this. Thanks a lot for watching.
20:34One of the most dramatic rescue operations in history amid combat. A quarter billion dollars spent.
20:41But America's resolve was firm. No man left behind.
20:46U.S. forces went deep inside enemy territory to bring back the weapon system officer of crashed
20:52F-15E strike Eagle. The airman evaded capture for 48 hours and sent a three-word message back home.
21:00God is good. This code message alerted Pentagon and confirmed the officer's presence in southern
21:07Ishvahan. Then it became a race against time for the U.S. troops.
21:12Soon, U.S. forces backed by the CIA launched an intense search using drones, surveillance and
21:18a deception operation to mislead Iranian troops. CIA floated the information that the official has
21:25already been rescued. This was done to buy more time. Meanwhile, special operations troops including
21:32SEAL Team 6 commandos went behind the enemy lines under heavy air cover to extract the injured
21:38officer from the mountains. The operation quickly turned into a full-scale air-supported recovery
21:44effort. U.S. jets struck advancing Iranian convoys to block them from reaching the downed pilot.
21:51Then the teams on ground faced the final complication when the two C-130J evacuation
21:56planes got stuck in sand at a remote makeshift airstrip inside Iran.
22:02U.S. deployed three additional aircraft to complete the mission and evacuate all personnel.
22:08Before exiting, U.S. forces destroyed the two disabled aircraft on the ground,
22:12ensuring the jets did not fall into Iranian hands.
22:16United States suffered no casualty in the entire operation.
22:21One estimate shows that the U.S. blew up quarter billion dollars in the one-of-its-kind
22:26extraction from behind enemy lines, which ensured a textbook no-man-left-behind doctrine.
22:32Bureau Report, India Today.
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