00:25Western Tehran.
00:27Late Thursday night into Friday morning, the streets are packed. Cars honking, flags waving, and one chant rising above everything
00:36else. Hit them, you'll hit them well. Iran just claimed it attacked three American warships in the Strait of Hormuz,
00:45and its people took to the streets to celebrate.
00:48Here's what set this off. News broke that Iran's IRGC Navy had launched a massive operation, anti-ship ballistic missiles,
00:58cruise missiles, and suicide drones, targeting the USS Truxton, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Mason as they transited the world's
01:08most critical oil choke point.
01:09Iranian state media declared a decisive victory. Significant damage, American ships forced to retreat. Then, air defense systems activated over
01:21Tehran itself.
01:22The city heard the alarms, felt the tension, and instead of fear, crowds poured into the streets with flags. For
01:30many here, this wasn't a moment of dread. It was a moment of pride.
01:34One resident, speaking right there in the crowd, said it simply,
01:39Our forces are standing strong. They are hitting back and hitting well. This is what external pressure does inside Iran.
01:47It doesn't fracture the public mood. It fuses it.
01:51Every time American forces fire, every time sanctions tighten, every time a ceasefire frays, a segment of Iranian society doesn't
02:01turn on the IRGC. They rally behind it.
02:04Tonight, in western Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz felt like a victory parade, the chant echoing through apartment blocks and
02:12side streets.
02:13Here is the complicated reality. CENTCOM says no American ship was damaged. All missiles intercepted. The destroyers completed their transit.
02:24U.S. forces struck back, hitting Iranian missile sites, command nodes, and drone launch positions near Bandar Abbas and Keshe
02:33Island.
02:33Washington says it won. Tehran says it won. And yet, the celebrations in Tehran are real, regardless of who is
02:42telling the truth.
02:43The Strait of Hormuz moves a fifth of the world's oil. Oil prices are spiking. Shipping is on edge. And
02:50in western Tehran, they're honking horns and chanting into the night sky.
02:55Whatever actually happened in those 21 miles of water, the battle for the story is already being fought on the
03:03streets of Iran's capital. And tonight, at least, Iran thinks it's winning.
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