- 11 minutes ago
US President Donald Trump has issued a final ultimatum to Tehran, stating on Truth Social that a whole civilisation will die tonight as an 8 PM Eastern Time deadline for regime change and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz approaches.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:01a whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again i don't want that to happen
00:11but it probably will now you'll wonder what is this this is what u.s president donald trump
00:19is writing on his social media platform truth social what's he writing a whole civilization
00:27will die tonight never to be brought back again i don't want it to happen but it probably will
00:33however now that we have complete and total regime change where different smarter and less
00:40radicalized minds prevail maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen who knows
00:46these are words of u.s president donald trump as before that deadline is to expire so president
00:55donald trump is threatening iran that that entire civilization will be wiped out it will die
01:01tonight never to be brought back now he thinks that total regime change has happened where a smarter
01:09and less radicalized minds will prevail but something revolutionarily wonderful can happen who knows
01:15iran knows and iran has said there is no communication whatsoever with the united states of america
01:21just imagine this is where the world is at this moment we are speaking at 8 o'clock 7 57
01:30indian standard time by 5 30 tomorrow morning that would be the deadline and we have that countdown
01:37clock also playing america says 47 years of extortion corruption and death will finally end he says god
01:44bless the great people of iran so the first sentence is the entire civilization will be wiped out the last
01:51sentence
01:51says uh you know god bless the great people of iran his deputy jd vance he is brief journalist just
01:58a short while
01:59back in hungary where he says the us is confident of getting a response before 8 pm that's eastern time
02:06jd vance says the ball is in iran's court
02:09he believes iran not the fastest negotiators before the war started certainly not the fastest negotiators now
02:18we recognize there are some delays sometimes in transmitting messages from one person to the other
02:23but we feel confident that we can get a response america's hoping there would be a response and on india
02:30today
02:30we'll get to iran's response iran says all channels of communication are shut there is no communication
02:37with the united states of america so this is the situation right now
02:44us hopes iran will make the right decision we want a world where oil and gas is flowing freely is
02:51what the united states says
02:53where people can afford to heat their homes and cool their homes where people can afford to transport themselves to
02:59work
02:59this is the american thinking us and israel they're raining fire on iran despite hours to go for the deadline
03:06to end
03:07at least 10 major rail and bridge heads have been targeted in iran they've been targeted systematically by israel
03:14the aim is systematically degrade iran's war fighting capabilities infrastructure is being targeted
03:22the roads the bridges the railway track that's being used according to israel and america by the irgc or the
03:30iranian army or the islamic revolutionary guard corps
03:32the train lines that are being used to transport weapons and systems and other military equipment
03:38all of them are being targeted and we are showing you those images reports suggest u.s has launched
03:43at least 50 strikes on military targets inside the kharg island iran's crown jewel that handles nearly 90
03:52percent of iran's oil exports both the united states and iranian media reporting that power has been cut off
04:00in the kharg island in the aftermath of the strikes and that marks massive escalation by the united states of
04:07america
04:08the latest attacks have left the world on edge crude prices have shot up
04:13that uncomfortable 115 dollars a barrel mark has been breached iran refuses to back down
04:20tehran has listed out a series of preconditions america says there should be no conditions
04:26tehran says we have at least five preconditions before we get back on the talks table according to
04:32reports from tehran a ceasefire is possible but the focus must be on lasting peace they're demanding an
04:40immediate halt on all strikes not just on iran but even on hezbollah in lebanon and houthi forces in
04:49yemen and a guarantee that neither the united states nor israel will target either iran or the hezbollah
04:56and the houthis iran demands compensation for war it wants reparations it's adamant that it will impose
05:06tolls a toll on ships that pass through the strait of hormuz so it wants international recognition
05:12of its control over the mouth of the strait of hormuz iran's president masood pazishkian he took to
05:19social media platform x hours after u.s president donald trump said that an entire civilization will
05:26be wiped out or it will die tonight pazishkian said 14 million people including him that's 1.4
05:36crore iranians they've signed up to give their lives for iran they've literally signed a petition
05:45reports cite iranian officials saying that if america can and words to the effect that if america
05:52is threatening to wipe out a civilization what are iran's options not just the strait of hormuz
05:58they will close the babal mandab and that is an artery a very crucial choke point of yemen connecting
06:07arabian sea red sea the strait of hormuz uh the strait uh the suez canal and that would be a
06:14disaster
06:14that would be a disaster for global shipping and sea lanes of communication and the situation will then
06:19spiral out of control senior iranian officials insisted the u.s were to attack power plants energy
06:26infrastructure tehran will respond in kind across the region across gcc countries iranian media claims
06:35that iran has closed all diplomatic and indirect channels of communication with the united states
06:41of america that's a big step being taken by iran the moment america said it'll be the end of a
06:48civilization tonight iranian media says iran has closed all diplomatic and indirect channels of
06:54communication with the united states of america any on all message exchanges with the united states
07:00of america directly indirectly through interlocutors it's been suspended this basically means any
07:07possibility of a ceasefire peace deal or agreement it's come to a standstill unless all of this is public
07:16posturing and behind the scenes before the deadline there's a desperate effort being made to find a
07:22solution so that it's not a face loss either for the u.s president or for the iranian president
07:28the indian embassy in iran has issued an advisory to all indian nationals living in iran not just in
07:33tehran across iran they have been directed to remain indoors remain where you are for the next 48 hours
07:40avoid all electric military installations being close to any power generation plant any military installation
07:48do not travel on trains just remain indoors for the next 48 hours before we get into specifics and
07:55the latest in war but before i get you more on the story and it's a very fast-paced developing
08:00story
08:00just listen in to u.s vice president jd vance he was hopeful just till some time back that there
08:08would be
08:09some communication some response from iran listen in i hope that they're smart the president has set
08:15a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the united states we're going to find out but there's going
08:20to
08:20be a lot of negotiation between now and then and i'm hopeful that it gets to a good resolution what
08:25one
08:25thing i will say is that uh the iranians are not they were not the fastest negotiators before the war
08:31started and they are certainly not the fastest negotiators now so we recognize there's some delay
08:36sometimes and transmitting messages from one person to another but we feel confident that we can get
08:42a response whether it's positive or negative we're going to get a response from the iranians by eight
08:46o'clock tonight there's lots that's happening the strikes have already started are they symbolic are
08:55they intended to send a message i'll get you more on that story uh rohit sharma joins me from washington
09:00dc
09:00pranayopadhyay joins us from tel aviv uh with me in the studio is senior journalist and our colleague
09:06sandhi punnithan we'll talk to them in greater detail but first i want to cut across to rohit sharma
09:11rohit bring us details what should one make of president trump's very clear message tonight would be the end
09:19of a civilization or words to that effect
09:28right can you unmute yourself
09:33okay give me a moment we haven't we have an audio uh link with the issue with the rohit
09:38geetha mohana foreign affairs editor will just join us in a moment uh it's the situation in tel aviv
09:43right now pranay uh iran's is perhaps letting their missiles do all the talking right now what's
09:50the situation in israel since morning uh almost four times sirens blared alerts did come on mobile
09:58phone sirens did blare in city of tel aviv and in fact if you see last 24 hours over 640
10:04times
10:05alerts have been issued in different parts of israel and this remains a reality of this conflict
10:10zone but having said that gaurav uh you know just a while ago uh israeli prime minister benjamin
10:15netanyahu has issued a statement and he said that we are changing the power dynamics of this entire
10:19region iran is no longer the same iran and israel is not no longer the same israel we have changed
10:25the
10:26power dynamics israel has become more powerful and meanwhile just few minutes ago idf has issued
10:32another statement and they have said that they have stuck almost eight bridges in iran including the
10:38the bridges in our portions of that those bridges in courage in kirmes in in tehran and various other
10:44cities of iran and they are hitting out at the different infrastructure facilities including railway
10:49bridges in iran very very critical so even before the deadline approaches even as the deadline approaches
10:58bridges are being targeted and multiple bridges uh number of bridges have been taken down and i'll get
11:03you that entire list why these bridges are so critical um sandeep this would indicate that
11:09president trump is not waiting for the deadline or as president trump waits for the deadline
11:15israel is sending out a signal you talk negotiate or some bridges have gone down more will go down in
11:22just four hours after the deadline absolutely you know and there's a steady drum roll to this uh
11:27deadline as it passes about nine hours to go but as you said the bombing is already begun uh the
11:34u.s israel
11:35uh they've you know launched this series of attacks and i think what what is happening gorov here is that
11:41the u.s has realized the limits of its air power right uh there's no boots on the ground yet
11:47and air power
11:49alone cannot achieve objectives we've seen that in the past it's rarely happened it's happened just once in
11:54history in 1945 where the united states had to resort to nuclear weapons to get japan to surrender
12:00that and god forbid this doesn't come to that stage the kind of rhetoric that president trump has been
12:06using suggests that you know end of civilization these kind of things are uh you know the kind of
12:11language we've not heard from any u.s president uh at least not in the last century or so so
12:16this
12:16points to a sense of frustration a sense of desperation and the fact that you know time seems to be
12:23running
12:23out and that is the reason they're engaging in this kind of uh brinkmanship gorov before i get
12:28details of all the bridges railway line and why it's so important uh for israel and america to do
12:34what they intend to do and why it's so dangerous uh for iran i want to bring our foreign affairs
12:39editor gita mohan into this conversation and gita that entire messaging um about telling all indians to
12:47remain indoors do not come out of your homes for the next 48 hours are we to understand that even
12:52india i mean everyone realizes next 48 hours are likely to be extremely critical well absolutely
12:57uh more than more than that i mean less than uh the next 48 hours they're saying the next 48
13:03hours
13:03because it's going to be very critical post the deadline ends but it has already begun uh more
13:09importantly stay indoors where gaurav kum is a place which is a religious city right and you have a lot
13:15of
13:15indian students in kum mashad another place where you have a lot of indians you have a lot of indians
13:21studying in various medical uh uh institutes as well uh but they have not spared universities so
13:29indoors where home if attacked uh will see a lot of not just damage and loss but also a lot
13:36of loss of
13:37lives uh the the universities if they're identified as uh structures that are pro irgc or or regime or so
13:46on and so forth and they strike it they're all going to be people and that certainly should worry
13:51india and the indian mission there indian mission has already put out an advisory uh but they're not
13:58and and the advisory is to ensure that uh indian students and indians who are living in iran
14:03do not really take public modes of transport which is what you see are is hit or be outside in
14:10public
14:10spaces which also could be hit uh but should they start attacking infrastructure civilian infrastructure
14:16there's only that much that room next 48 hours next 48 hours and especially after the expiry of
14:22the deadline and we're giving you that uh countdown clock it's almost like the doomsday clock nine hours
14:2819 minutes and eight seconds the bombing has already started let me take you through some of the targets
14:33that may be acquired the nuclear sites now that is america's primarily a primary role uh right now
14:40primary target both for america and for israel the united states and israel have already started
14:46striking nuclear hubs in the first phase which was the 12-day war in 2025 till as recently as the
14:55last 48
14:56hours natanz ishfahan and yesterday bushair now they're reiterating their commitment
15:03that they will prevent tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons but iran says bushair is the only
15:09working nuclear power plant that cannot be targeted and it's dangerous for america and israel to try to
15:14do that there's a growing possibility that these strikes could intensify and there are apprehensions
15:19of a radioactive leak iran's warning against it bridges very critical infrastructure some reports coming
15:27in idf claiming as uh friday was just telling us bridges are already being targeted even before
15:33donald trump's latest warning to obliterate critical infrastructure including bridges the united states and
15:40israel have destroyed a number of bridges including iran's most critical bridge the largest bridge 136 meter
15:49high 400 million dollar b1 suspension bridge connecting tehran to karaj donald trump has since warned
15:59tuesday would be a bridge destruction day energy infrastructure so far the united states had largely
16:09refrained from targeting iran's energy hubs however that could change israel has already started targeting
16:15portions of for example the south powers infrastructure in several warnings trump has indicated potential
16:23strike on power plants oil fields and gas fields and that will send global fuel prices
16:29in a tailspin israel has continued to strike iran despite trump's proposed 15-day pause the critical aspect
16:37right now is the railway network israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu
16:42his forces have warned iranians against traveling by train by 9 pm tonight 9 pm deadline do not be
16:50either in a train or on a track or at a railway station after 9 pm tonight across iran an
16:58imminent
16:58strike on the railway network one strike has already taken place it's being seen as a signal either talk
17:04negotiate come to a settlement or prepare for the entire railway network of iran to be
17:11destroyed because that is the backbone the railway network in any country is so critical for the
17:19movement of men material economy and in wartime soldiers and warlike stores so tehran's economic
17:25and military infrastructure is being targeted gas fields israel has already targeted the south
17:30power's gas field first in march and then again in the past 48 hours with the deadline approaching
17:37israel resumed targeting energy sites it struck a key petrochemical facility in south powers it's
17:43threatening to escalate the attacks to take on the key energy infrastructure airports airfields again
17:50dual use can be used for civilian movement can be used for military movement israel is targeting iran's
17:56aviation infrastructure the khuramabad airport is believed to have been targeted already there are more
18:02attacks on other airfields that are threatened iran is retaliating iran is threatening a broader escalation
18:10across the region including energy sites across gulf tehran has already struck multiple energy hubs in
18:17the gulf region in response to us and israeli airstrikes and missile strikes it's now one of more such
18:23attacks they intend to intensify the attacks and this will potentially disrupt all regional
18:31gas and oil supplies for a much longer period of time not just weeks not just months in the case
18:38of qatar remember they've said damage to their gas fields will take three to five years to restore
18:45u.s linked assets could be targeted even more any location associated with the united states so far
18:51they've targeted military installations but iran has officially said we know what hotels your marines are
18:56staying in what hotels your staff are staying in even those hotels are fair game across the gulf region
19:03u.s technology firms u.s business centers across the gulf region are on target but for the moment i
19:10want to
19:10focus on the bridges bridges that have already been targeted and bridges that may be targeted so let's talk
19:17about the b1 bridge this is the bridge that connects tehran to karaj there is similar infrastructure
19:25that will be targeted so that's to ensure that there can be no movement from one province to the other
19:31one state to the other one region to the other let's start with the persian gulf bridge on the
19:38kesham island now this is key military and civilian infrastructure the persian gulf bridge is a 3.4
19:45kilometer long project which is currently under construction it connects or will ultimately
19:51connect the kesham island to the iranian mainland it's valued at 700 million dollars it's designed to
19:57enhance trade commerce efficiency reduce transit time strengthen connectivity between the island's free
20:04trade zone and the mainland logistics networks that bridge could be targeted then you have the lake urmia
20:11bridge now the lake urmia bridge again we're showing you those bridges and the location of those
20:16bridges and that's how you'll understand how strategically important are these infrastructure
20:21projects so the lake urmia bridge is a 1.7 kilometer uh long bridge across a salt lake it forms
20:27the crucial
20:28east-west transport link in the northwestern part of the country it significantly shortens travel time
20:35between provinces improves regional mobility improves connectivity it's very important for economic
20:40integration of iran that bridge could next be targeted the sadar multi-level expressway in tehran and
20:47this is something that tehran actually shows uh with a lot of pride uh the the again that's the uh
20:54multi-level uh expressway on tehran that you see we put a picture there it's about 11 kilometers long
20:58it's supported on 234 pillars it's a key urban transport artery it it eases congestion improves traffic
21:06flow supports high density movement within the iranian capital it's seen as the pride of iran
21:11however once targeted it sends out a very important message uh to the people of iran that the state is
21:18no
21:18longer in control then there is the crown four arch bridge again look at that bridge 378 meters long
21:25built over a major dam plays a very important role in regional connectivity facilitates movement across
21:32difficult terrain supports access to energy infrastructure then there is the ghadir bridge the ghadir bridge
21:38in the ahawaz area it spans across one kilometer on the karun river vital part of the city's road network
21:45supports again urban travel urban connectivity access to key services across different parts of the city
21:52and these are some of the very crucial bridges that america and israel intend to target
22:00why this focus sandeep on key bridges across the country if a couple of bridges are brought down
22:07what does it do to iran well uh gaurav what it does is basically it isolates iran iran is the
22:13last
22:13large country it's uh the size of afghanistan and iraq put together that's how big the country is
22:18it's uh sparsely populated in comparison just about nine crore people but then what these uh bridges do
22:25is it basically stitches the country together and what the united states is threatening to do with this
22:30bridge destruction campaign is to isolate all the provinces to make it very difficult for the regime
22:36to move forces or personnel from one province to the other that's what it's doing with this kind
22:42of campaign targeting this dual use infrastructure especially that bridge over keshim island which
22:48uh when completed would allow iran to easily move uh to and fro keshim island keshim as you know is
22:54on the mouth of the persian gulf at the strait of homo it's a very vital uh island that is
23:00from where
23:01the irgc operates its naval forces so these are all key targets that uh the u.s has drawn up
23:07and the idea
23:08is to degrade the regime's capability to rule iran gaurav the fact that it weakens the grip of the uh
23:15regime over iran so even if there is a an end to operations the regime will find it very difficult
23:21to control iran the way it did uh prior to the attacks on february 28th korup so is there a
23:28method
23:28to this madness i want to once again try and reconnect with rohit sharma joining us live from
23:33washington dc rohit the kind of language president trump has used in the past calling for an end of a
23:40civilization it's a 5 000 year old civilization and president trump once is warning that it could
23:46end at the end of the deadline should we just look at these as as rhetoric words and more words
23:53or because it's america's reputation at stake because there are many who are saying iran is
23:59winning america isn't that's why he'll just continue to go down this this very slippery slope
24:05called the escalation ladder or the escalation trap rohit well you know he has threatened in the
24:12past and he's followed to his actions now uh you know would he actually go and do this and what
24:18level of strikes would he order you know that obviously would be you know remains to be seen
24:22but one can be rest assured that he's not going to target the civilians as being pointed out
24:27by other reports as well what we've learned gaurav in the past hour or so is that the talks are
24:32taking
24:33place there has been positive steps uh in fact some are encouraged that we could even see a deal
24:38before the end of the day today so i think we have to you know we have to obviously give
24:42respect to
24:43what president trump has said he is the president of america states after all and he will follow through
24:46his actions so the deal is not reached but uh at the same time there are negotiations taking place
24:52ambassador whitkoff is in touch he is leading these conversations in fact he's also keeping
24:57vice president jd vance in loop and i i'm again i was told uh that there are there is a
25:03very good
25:03possibility of something good emerging before the end of the day but if it doesn't come through gaurav
25:09then we'll have to wait and watch but you know i i would seriously doubt that president trump would
25:14actually go ahead and attack civilians i don't think he would do that he would escalate it he would
25:18carry out other stripes but would not attack civilians okay but civilian infrastructure gita is is seen as
25:26a war crime president trump clearly doesn't seem to think so well that's right the deadline the the
25:33messaging uh the action that we're seeing right now uh do not seem to suggest that uh anything is uh
25:41uh off limits uh that everything is fair game is a very scary scenario that uh the president of the
25:48united states of america has posted that an entire civilization will die he's also spoken about how
25:55uh he hopes that before the deadline ends iran will come uh to the negotiating table and accept america's
26:02terms and conditions so what i my reading of the post uh gaurav is that he's trying to really push
26:09iran
26:09into a deal uh iran for now has rejected quite a few of the proposals president possess can has said
26:16that he along with many others have pledged that they're ready to uh sacrifice their lives for iran
26:22but uh the the cost is going to be very high should uh that the should the deadline end and
26:28the two sides
26:29not come to a conclusive result an agreement so to say uh and the and the price uh the ones
26:37who really
26:37have to pay the price are not just is not just the regime it's the people of iran whether if
26:43you
26:43disrupt uh through through attacking civilian infrastructure power plants uh you're going to
26:49see a lot of suffering even if it's not direct attack and killing civilians with a bomb by bombing
26:55the power plants by bombing the desalination plants you are gradually and very slowly actually killing
27:02civilians and that would be a disaster uh should that happen but our first steps already being taken
27:08in that direction uh because rohit president trump has seen the moment let's say a desalination plant is
27:16is targeted in one part of iran there is a result a desalination plant is targeted in one of the
27:23gcc
27:23countries a power plant targeted in iran will have the same impact for example south power's gas was
27:29targeted north power's gas was targeted so if iran bled qatar bled if iran bled saudi arabia bled if
27:36iran bled united arab emirates bled so america's friends in the region are bleeding and america's
27:42reputation is bleeding rohit well uh i probably would i mean you know here's here's a fact right i mean
27:49it's
27:50it's not that the president of trump and and pentagon is not aware of the uh of the actions that
27:56iran can
27:56and will take look you know this is what president trump has said i'm pretty sure they're also
28:00anticipating that if they were to target these these infrastructures civilian also in this case
28:05iran will retaliate uh but uh i think the belief in the white house and the pentagon is that you
28:12obviously have the most powerful uh military in the world you have all these resources and we can you
28:18know take them down if we needed to we don't want to go there but we can and in doing
28:22so you know if
28:23it provides uh you know a swift end to the war either by a deal or by bringing iran down
28:29to their
28:29knees so be it we can all you know i mean we all disagree with with the the approach but
28:34i think that
28:35is what people in the white house believe in fact there are leaders within the republican party who
28:39are now calling out and saying you know that they hope that president trump donald trump does not
28:43back those civil infrastructures but i'm pretty sure the white house has taken into account that there
28:47would be retaliatory action if america were to do such a thing in iran tonight four hours is what
28:55president trump is warning sandeep four hours the moment that deadline is out to take iran back to
29:02stone age will take only four hours plus the past 39 or days they didn't succeed what will they do
29:10differently in the next four hours after deadline that did not work in the past 39 hours 39 days
29:15well uh you know what the us hasn't done in the last 39 days is to target civilian infrastructure
29:22and so far a lot of the targets were basically military irgc primarily uh weapon storage sites uh
29:29you know the so-called missile cities nuclear uh enrichment plants all of those which are classified
29:36as military targets or dual use targets but now if you go on to civilian targets i mean iran a
29:43country of
29:43nine crore people it is what you would call a target rich uh environment and these targets are
29:49you can define them as you know dual use targets because you know the irgc after all draws its sustenance
29:56from the same power plants that also uh it supplies uh you know civilians that lights up uh homes of
30:02civilians now that argument can be extended to start targeting power plants across the country and that
30:08is possibly what they have in mind like you mentioned the bridges are on their targeting list
30:13the the power plants could be next and who knows what else desalination plants uh all of it to weaken
30:20the regime to an extent that it will collapse even if there is an agreement made at the end of
30:25all of
30:25this the regime will find it very hard to continue over the next couple of months and the aim is
30:31to uh hollow out
30:32the country to such an extent gaurav that it eventually collapses and we've seen these kind of
30:37collapses happen uh in over the past decade whether it's libya or syria uh countries that you know were
30:44once uh you know uh geographical holes entities that cease to exist as uh independent countries and that
30:52is possibly what he means by the collapse of iran as a civilizational uh state gaurav when sandeep talks
30:59about target rich environment let me take you through some of the major energy infrastructure
31:05across iran and god forbid that too could possibly be targeted by the united states and israel after
31:12the end of the deadline i want you to look at some of those images the dama one power plant
31:17for example
31:18it's near tehran it powers the iranian capital has a combined cycle natural gas facility with a capacity of
31:26about 2868 megawatts it's one of iran's largest power production centers it plays a very critical
31:33role in supplying energy supplying electricity to the capital tehran and surrounding industrial region
31:41now also situated along the caspian sea coast in neka is the shahid salimi power plant now that
31:49again is huge 2215 megawatts runs primarily again on natural gas a key energy hub for
31:56northern iran it supports not just residential uh electricity requirements in the region but also
32:02industrial demand across that region the shahid rajai power plant now that's located
32:09near kazwin again a very major natural gas-based facility with a capacity of about 2043 megawatts
32:16strategically positioned to supply power to central iran including urban and industrial sectors
32:23then the karun 3 dam now this is in the kuzistan province hydroelectric power um again huge capacity
32:312000 megawatts one of iran's most significant hydroelectric assets contribute both power generation and water
32:38management to this region now this could have disastrous consequences if this is targeted then in the
32:46south eastern part of iran is the karman power plant again natural gas has the capacity of about 1912
32:54megawatts plays a very critical role in ensuring energy supply to the region geographically as you can
33:00see iran is a huge country uh we started from the north went to the center now we've come to
33:05the southern
33:05part of the country uh the raman power plant uh with the capacity of 1903 megawatts one of the largest
33:12thermal
33:12power stations in the country again very crucial in powering the energy rich kuzistan kuzistan province
33:19area this host major oil and industrial infrastructure now once you start taking out these power infrastructure
33:28the power supply to iran's civilians military besiege uh islamic revolutionary guard corps all of that
33:36gets crippled but the crown jewel when it comes to power generation in iran is the bushher nuclear power
33:43plant now this is located along the persian gulf capacity is about 1000 megawatts but that's iran's
33:49only operational nuclear power facility and represents a key component of the country's civilian nuclear energy
33:56program this is something that iran just doesn't want to um you know want any international targeting of
34:05this area now just a complex very close to it was targeted some buildings were damaged some one
34:11security person was killed some people were injured but no radiation leak and no damage to the main
34:16building iran's big apprehension is if this is targeted it could have disastrous consequences
34:23there's more breaking news that's coming in and that just shows how dangerous the situation is right now
34:28iran has cut off direct diplomacy with the united states of america the wall street journal has just
34:35found a report course quoting mid-east officers in the mid-east saying iran has cut off its direct
34:42communication with the united states of america there is no dialogue happening currently on ceasefire
34:50not even through mediators the move has for now i mean that's a temporary complication
34:55for now it's temporarily complicated efforts to have a deal by president trump's 8 pm eastern time
35:03deadline it hasn't ended the talks entirely is what the report says iran intends to send a signal of
35:10disapproval and defiance by serving by telling the united states that you cannot bully us into a dialogue i
35:20once again want to bring in geeta mohan into this conversation uh geeta from the beginning iran actually
35:26listed out what it intends to do should it be targeted and it's done exactly what it said it will
35:34is iran sending out a message you can't have dialogue with us with a gun put to a head well
35:39most of the
35:40missions if you go by what uh the what the messaging of iran has been gaurav uh the iranian missions
35:47across
35:47the world have been very very active if you've noticed all of them have been putting out uh
35:52statements to whatever president trump puts out yesterday there were a flurry of messages from
35:59every uh iranian mission abroad mostly those that are very active and they said uh that these threats
36:06and today also the messaging is just that these threats do not help be polite and they've been asking
36:13america to be polite they've been asking america to dialogue and they've been telling america that we
36:19told you exactly what we're going to do uh you went ahead nonetheless and so we are not going to
36:25be
36:25the ones backing out uh we do not know what iran has uh planned for itself and for america because
36:33certainly uh to be cornered in the manner in which they've been cornered and i say cornered because uh
36:39gaurav look to rescue two pilots one pilot the first one was rescued to rescue one pilot 150 aircraft
36:47entered iranian airspace that's the power right now military power that america holds over iran
36:54because iran's air missile defense systems are down completely and in such a scenario uh we have the
37:02foreign minister we have the president and we have the speaker and the irgc commanders of iran
37:09all of them saying we are not backing out we are not backing off so uh there is some conversation
37:14that america is having um direct channels of communication having uh now they're announcing
37:21is not going to continue any longer is a major blow it's messaging to a washington let me bring
37:27rohit sharma into this conversation rohit should this be seen as a major blow to president trump because
37:32iran says you can't words to the effect you can't talk to us with a gun put to our head
37:36you have to be
37:36polite when you talk to us president trump has been anything but polite he's being very forceful and
37:43i think you know i mean from what i've learned i mean they're still talking so maybe there is public
37:47messaging coming out of iran we've seen that public messaging from iran where people are now you know
37:52trying to guard those civil infrastructures so that's working the domestic messaging is working
37:57but at the same time they are negotiating with the americans they are speaking with the americans and i
38:02think iranians do understand nobody wants to go down this route where you can you know have uh
38:07somebody attack you mercilessly as it's been indicated by president donald trump so i believe
38:12i think there is the public messaging and there's the private conversation in private conversations
38:15we've been told as of last hour there are significant positive steps we'll have to wait and watch if a
38:21deal is reached but some people in the administration are hopeful that there would be a deal reached
38:25regardless of what and what the tone has been of the president of united states gaurav okay okay is
38:32is israel also bracing for more pranay because if iran is targeted in the past 38 days and more
38:40iran has demonstrated the ability to strike quite deep inside israel
38:46you're absolutely right gaurav but in fact as far as the u.s situation is concerned the choice which
38:52for us president donald trump remains that whether he go forward and commit a war crime at a situation
38:58when iran has mobilized large number of people to safeguard their civil and their public and power
39:03infrastructure on the other side if you see as far as the israeli position is concerned for long you
39:08have also covered from this this country they have absolute clear clarity and in fact even if this this
39:13war ends or there is some kind of a negotiation or some kind of uh you know arrangement which is
39:19worked out the window is narrowing down narrowing down which is closing and that's why there is a
39:23push from idf there is a push from israel they want to to achieve they want to gain maximum ground
39:28they want to eliminate maximum targets and i think that's why there is an intensification in the the
39:34air you know you mentioned intensification of operations i want our viewers to just take a look
39:39at iran's train network that's being targeted what is this train network it actually connects key
39:45ports to the center of the country enabling seamless movement of cargo between the sea and the center
39:52of the country now that's iran that you see on your television screen i want to show you different
39:57ports in that country bandar abbas port imam khumaini port khurram sheher port uh you know that's on
40:04the persian gulf side then i take to take a look on the caspian sea side the amirabad port and
40:09the
40:09anzali port which is under construction there are trains that connect the ports to the heart of the
40:15country now why are trains being targeted why are railway lines being targeted because through russia
40:21when supplies are coming in through the caspian sea route it's the trains that transport them to
40:26different parts of the country to take on the united states of america and israel so bandar abbas
40:31port located on the persian gulf bandar abbas serves as iran's primarily southern maritime gateway
40:36fully integrated with the national rail network imam khumaini port again southwestern part of the
40:41country major petrochemical hub connected to the rail to inland centers and cities khurram sheher port
40:47strategic river port near iraq border linked to the railway network facilitates train and logistics
40:53movement in the western part of the country amirabad port located on the caspian sea route on the northern
40:58part of the country connected by rail forms a very key north-south transport corridor of iran the
41:05chabahar port which is under construction iran's only deep water port on the arabian sea is being
41:11connected by rail networks significantly enhancing the strategic value remember india had a key role
41:16in chabahar now the anzali port which is under construction again on the caspian coast anzali is
41:22also being integrated into the rail network to strengthen the north-south connectivity and sandeep
41:26that is why for america and israel to break replenishment of warlike stores targeting the rail
41:34network is so essential absolutely you know and it basically aims to weaken the regime's hold over
41:40the country uh if the regime would be left in a situation where it won't be able to move supplies
41:46around very easily either men or material or you know obtain replenishments from other countries like
41:52the caspian ports for instance israel has been uh you know attacking the caspian ports very intensely
41:58over the last couple of weeks the caspian ports fall under israel's uh you know a bombing area the
42:04area of responsibility that's allocated to israel that basically severs the link the maritime link
42:10between the russian federation and iran so the idea is to isolate iran even more than it is already
42:17physically isolated that's the big effort that's on uh and we'll track that story very closely
42:23in a landmark achievement for india's energy security through nuclear energy program the 500 megawatt
42:30prototype fast breeder reactor the pfbr has successfully attained criticality that is start of control
42:38fission chain reaction and this is a historic milestone in providing long-term energy security and
42:44advancing india's indigenous nuclear technology capabilities so with this achievement india has
42:50officially entered the second stage of a three-stage power nuclear power program a vision that was
42:57conceived by dr homie jahangir bhava the architect the father of india's nuclear program this milestone
43:04carries substantial global significance do keep in mind once fully operational this is stage two
43:10once fully operational india will become only the second country in the world after russia to operate
43:15a commercial fbr or a fast breeder reactor as of now it is a prototype the pfbr or the prototype
43:23fast breeder reactor has a capacity of 500 megawatt electricity generation which is enough electricity
43:29to power roughly four to five lakh homes in the country simultaneously now that is step one india holds
43:38limited uranium reserves but one of the largest thorium reserves in the world so to make most of these
43:46resources the atomic the department of atomic energy it's designed a three-stage nuclear power program
43:52it's built on a closed nuclear fuel cycle the goal is to progressively multiply domestic fissile
43:58resources and secure long-term energy independence prime minister narendra modi took to social media
44:04platform x to say india takes a defining step in its civil nuclear journey advancing the second stage
44:11of its nuclear program the indigenously designed and built prototype fast breeder reactor at kalpakam
44:17has attained criticality this advanced reactor capable of producing more fuel than it consumes reflects
44:25the depth of our scientific capabilities and the strength of our engineering enterprise it's a decisive
44:31step towards harnessing our vast thorium reserves in the third stage of the program a proud minute
44:38for india congratulations to our scientists and engineers i quickly want to bring into this conversation
44:46dr anil kakotkar former chairman of the atomic energy commission and now chancellor of the homie jahangir
44:54bhaba national institute sir welcome sir i want to understand from you you know this historic milestone we're
45:03becoming only the second country in the world to operate the fbr the fast breeder reactor in layman's term
45:11what would this mean uh once this is no longer just a prototype and starts generating uh energy what does
45:18this mean for the country uh yes see one is so india has been pursuing the three-stage program
45:29and the this event yesterday's pfbr achieving the criticality for the first time signifies beginning of
45:40the second stage of the three-stage program so that's one important milestone secondly fast breeder reactor
45:49which would be the mainstay of the second stage uh they do a double job all reactors they produce electricity
45:59from nuclear fission but fast reactors in addition to that they also produce additional nuclear fuel
46:07they convert fertile materials into fissile materials which can lead to nuclear energy release so the second
46:16stage is actually aimed at enhancing the energy potential out of the nuclear resources that we have on indian
46:26landmass primarily thorium and so for india to become energy secure or for that matter
46:36energy independent this second stage comprising of fast breeder reactors is extremely important
46:45and eventually it will allow leveraging vast thorium resources that we possess which are the largest in the world
46:53and what is the time frame you see for that sir uh and what would this mean for uh for
47:00india's
47:01strategic capabilities because after russia will we are only the second country to be able to do that uh
47:07with the pfbr uh uh the prototype gaining criticality criticality sir
47:13yes as a eventually as a first step we will have to use the reactors either fast breeder reactors and
47:23they have
47:23to be a totally you know accumulatively large capacity one can do that also in thermal reactors so but
47:34you have to irradiate thorium to produce uranium-233 and once you have requisite quantities of uranium-233
47:44energy one can indeed become independent to support the energy requirements of vikasid bharat for all time to come all
47:53time to come meaning
47:54a few hundred years like that
47:57so in fact that's the question i was coming to sir with india targeting large-scale nuclear energy
48:03capabilities in times to come and clean energy and uh you know facing uranium constraints in the past
48:11perhaps in the future will the fast breeder reactor reduce import dependence or uh at least for some
48:19time to come uh uranium imports remain unavoidable well i'll put it this way see india for it to be
48:30developed to be counted among the developed countries would require something like four times more energy
48:38compared to the energy that we use today now in that
48:44so while we want additional energy we are also making transition to clean energy
48:53but nuclear power has the potential to meet all that that is to support the transition to clean energy
49:00and also enhance the total energy supply by four times and so it is as large as that so
49:08uh it's it's really huge and the important thing is we have to develop requisite technologies
49:16to be able to do that and the first criticality in pabr marks a important milestone in that process
49:27now uh sir these fast breeder reactors there have been reports of setbacks in other parts of the world
49:35there were there were safety concerns there were uh you know how viable are they there were economic
49:41concerns are there lessons for india lessons that can be incorporated to ensure our uh you know prototype
49:48fast breeder reactor program uh and future reactors avoid some of those pitfalls
49:54well number one of course one of the reasons for delays are precisely that because fast
50:00reactor technology has evolved quite a bit as a result of experience on fast reactor but also experience with what
50:13okay so that is one part but uh our people both developers of technology as well as the safety regulator
50:28they have gone through a lot of due diligence and lot of uh sort of refinement of technologies
50:36so i would imagine that uh the indian systems are quite safe uh the pabr would be quite safe just
50:46as the
50:46heavy water reactors have been operating in a very safe manner so i'm sure that we will demonstrate the same
50:53thing but of course it's an evolution so you know you have to mature this technology fast reactor technology
51:01and also go through scalar so there are some steps to be done but getting the first reactor on is
51:09an important
51:10thing sir you mentioned some steps and uh you know you've spoken about it in the past but i want
51:16to
51:16understand from you whatever we've been able to achieve so far given our uh our country's experience
51:21in in this should we simultaneously be pushing towards stage three uh work on stage three parallelly
51:30rather than wait for full maturity of stage two and then move to stage three uh to speed up this
51:37process for clean energy and to achieve our goals of clean energy by 2070 what's your appreciation of this sir
51:45well i think we should move in parallel because going ahead with thorium in my view
51:51is an important and urgent matter so we should get on with thorium and also start development of
51:59third stage while the the stage two is kind of mature gets mature and gets scaled up so this thing
52:09must
52:09move in parallel
52:11dr dr kakotkar for joining me here on india today many thanks it indeed is a great day and as
52:18you
52:18mentioned um india has the largest thorium reserves this is the path we should have moved on and are
52:25finally moving on we'll be tracking the story very very closely dr homie jahangir bhava's dream finally
52:32coming true moving in that direction that is all i have for you on india first this evening many
52:36thanks for watching news and updates continue on india today
Comments