Iran has mocked Donald Trump’s China diplomacy after claims over the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear tensions. Meanwhile, Iranian state television is airing shocking visuals of young girls and women learning AK-47 combat drills, while a TV anchor appeared live holding an assault rifle and vowing to “fight and die” for Iran.
At the same time, reports of Cuba acquiring over 300 drones linked to Russia and Iran are triggering fresh alarm in Washington over threats near US territory and Guantanamo Bay.
This World News bulletin breaks down the geopolitical messaging, psychological warfare, military signalling, Iran-US tensions, Middle East escalation, and the emerging Russia-Iran-Cuba axis.
#Iran #Trump #China #Cuba #USIran #AK47 #MiddleEast #Russia #DroneWarfare #WorldNews #Oneindia #Geopolitics #Guantanamo #IranTV #BreakingNews
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At the same time, reports of Cuba acquiring over 300 drones linked to Russia and Iran are triggering fresh alarm in Washington over threats near US territory and Guantanamo Bay.
This World News bulletin breaks down the geopolitical messaging, psychological warfare, military signalling, Iran-US tensions, Middle East escalation, and the emerging Russia-Iran-Cuba axis.
#Iran #Trump #China #Cuba #USIran #AK47 #MiddleEast #Russia #DroneWarfare #WorldNews #Oneindia #Geopolitics #Guantanamo #IranTV #BreakingNews
~HT.410~PR.460~ED.532~GR.538~PR.282~VG.HM~
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NewsTranscript
00:02Hello and welcome. You are watching World News. I am Pankaj Mishra.
00:06Iran openly mocks Donald Trump's China diplomacy.
00:09Iranian state television is now broadcasting women and even young girls learning assault rifle drills.
00:16A primetime Iranian news anchor appears on live television carrying an AK-47 promising to fight and die.
00:23And in the Caribbean, Cuba's reported drone buildup with Russian and Iranian support is triggering fresh alarms in Washington.
00:31Details coming up.
00:33Iran has now openly ridiculed Donald Trump's recent diplomatic outreach to China and the language coming from Tehran is unusually
00:42sharp.
00:43A senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader mocked Trump by claiming the U.S. president sold very expensive things to
00:50China and got back.
00:52Quote, bottles of air.
00:54The remark came after Trump suggested that China had agreed to cooperate on keeping the Strait of Hormuz stable and
01:01preventing nuclear escalation involving Iran.
01:04But Tehran's response was blunt.
01:06Iranian officials say Hormuz is a public good, comparing it to air and questioned how any country can sell air
01:15to others.
01:15Iran also repeated its long-standing position that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, insisting that accusations come primarily from
01:24the United States and Israel only.
01:26The deeper message here is geopolitical.
01:29Tehran is signaling that China may engage Washington diplomatically, but Beijing is unlikely to abandon its strategic balancing with Iran.
01:38For Iran, this is also about narrative warfare.
01:42Tehran wants to project confidence, despite sanctions, military pressure, and growing regional isolation.
01:50Donald Trump returned from Beijing claiming diplomatic victories.
01:55But tonight, Iran is openly mocking him, and the insult is now spreading across global headlines.
02:02An advisor to Ali Khamenei has launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump over his high-stakes summit with
02:09Chinese President Xi Jinping.
02:11The message from Tehran, Trump gave away expensive concessions and got back, quote, bottles of air.
02:20The sharp remark circulated widely on May 18th and appears aimed directly at Trump's claims that the Beijing summit produced
02:28major breakthroughs on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
02:33Trump has repeatedly insisted that China now agrees the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to international shipping.
02:41Calling the waterway a public good, Trump argued no country should be allowed to control access or impose what he
02:49described as illegal toll systems.
02:51The White House also emphasized that both Washington and Beijing oppose militarization of the Strait,
02:58and Trump suggested China could buy more American oil to reduce dependence on Gulf shipping routes controlled by Iran.
03:05But Iran is not impressed.
03:08The advisor to Khamenei accused Trump of exaggerating the outcome while surrendering leverage to Beijing.
03:15The phrase, bottles of air, has now become symbolic of Iran's attempt to portray the summit as politically hollow.
03:23The criticism didn't stop there.
03:25Trump also claimed China shares the U.S. position that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons.
03:31But Iranian officials quickly pushed back.
03:34The advisor insisted Iran is not pursuing nuclear bombs and accused the United States and Israel of spreading false narratives
03:42to justify pressure on Tehran.
03:45The exchange highlights the increasingly complex triangle between Washington, Beijing, and Iran.
03:52While Trump presented the summit as a sign of growing U.S.-China cooperation, China continues buying Iranian oil, despite Western
04:01pressure.
04:01Beijing has also repeatedly criticized the broader U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, while carefully avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
04:12Analysts say China's strategy remains highly calculated.
04:16Beijing wants stability in the Gulf, because its economy depends heavily on Middle Eastern energy.
04:23At the same time, China does not want to abandon Iran, a major strategic and economic partner.
04:29So while Trump talks about partnership, Tehran sees contradiction.
04:34And Iran's leadership is now using mockery as part of a wider information war.
04:39The rhetoric also reveals how diplomacy itself has become another battlefield in the ongoing Middle East crisis.
04:47Military tensions may have eased slightly after the ceasefire, but politically, the war of narratives is intensifying.
04:55And tonight, Iran's message to Trump is loud and clear.
04:59You came back from Beijing with headlines, but not necessarily with leverage.
05:04Sample this.
05:06Iranian state television is under intense global scrutiny after broadcasting footage of young girls and female basij volunteers learning to
05:15assemble and disassemble AK-47 rifles.
05:19The broadcasts, linked to Iran's IRGC-backed media ecosystem, show combat-style drills, weapon-handling sessions,
05:27and ideological training exercises amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.
05:33Tehran describes these programs as civilian preparedness and national resistance.
05:38But critics see something far more troubling.
05:41The normalization of militarization among youth.
05:44The basij force, historically used as an ideological mobilization arm of the Iranian system,
05:51has long played a role in internal security and wartime propaganda.
05:55But the visibility of these new broadcasts suggest Iran wants the world to see a society psychologically prepared for confrontation.
06:05The images have now spread rapidly across global social media platforms,
06:10fueling debate over propaganda, nationalism, and the youth imagery during periods of geopolitical escalation.
06:17Picture this.
06:18You're walking through downtown Tehran, Vanek Square, Haftetir Square, and instead of the usual foot traffic, you see lines.
06:27Long ones.
06:28Boys who look like they should be in school.
06:31Grandfathers with weathered hands.
06:33Middle-aged workers still in their work clothes.
06:36All of them waiting for one thing.
06:39Their turn to hold an AK-47.
06:42Iran is mobilizing its civilian population visibly, loudly, and on live television.
06:49The campaign is called Jan Fedah Beraye Iran, roughly translated Sacrifice Life for Iran.
06:57It's run through the basij, the IRGC's vast paramilitary volunteer network, and right now it is everywhere.
07:05IRGC instructors and basij coordinators have set up outdoor training kiosks in some of Tehran's most recognizable public squares.
07:14They're teaching ordinary civilians, no military background required, how to assemble and disassemble AK-47s, how to load them, how
07:22to aim, how to be ready.
07:24State broadcaster IREB is airing it all, live segments, step-by-step tutorials, presenters in military fatigues, walking viewers at
07:34home through the same drills happening on the streets outside.
07:38This is a deliberate, organized, televised national mobilization.
07:43But it's who is showing up that's making the world pay attention.
07:46Young boys, some reportedly as young as 12 to 15 years old, are among the most eager participants.
07:54In widely circulated footage, you can see them gripping rifles with intense focus, listening closely to instructors, practicing handling drills
08:02with visible determination.
08:04The minimum age requirements for certain basij volunteer roles have reportedly been lowered specifically to accommodate this surge of younger
08:12participants.
08:12And standing right next to them, their fathers, their grandfathers, men old enough to remember the Iran-Iraq War of
08:20the 1980s, a conflict where the basij famously sent waves of volunteers, including children, to the front lines.
08:28Families are showing up together, fathers guiding sons through the drills, communities arriving as units.
08:35Women and girls have also been spotted at some sessions, though the dominant images flooding out of Tehran are of
08:41boys and older men, shoulder to shoulder, rifles in hand.
08:46Iranian officials are framing all of this around one specific threat, a U.S. ground invasion.
08:52Tehran's streets right now are a message.
08:55Whether you read it as genuine mass resolve, state-orchestrated theater, or something deeply troubling, probably all three at once,
09:03it is undeniably striking.
09:05Boys gripping rifles, grandfathers running drills, a nation telling the world, we are ready.
09:12Whether that's true and what comes next, we're watching closely.
09:25And from students to a news anchor, an Iranian television presenter carrying an AK-47 live on air has now
09:34become one of the most viral images emerging from the Middle East this week.
09:38The presenter, identified as Iranian broadcaster Mobina Nasiri, appeared on Iran's Channel 3 holding an assault rifle while declaring that
09:47Iran is prepared to fight and die if necessary.
09:50The broadcast is being widely interpreted as part of a broader wartime message campaign linked to Iran's headline media establishment
09:59and the IRGC narrative ecosystem.
10:03Supporters inside Iran describe the moment as a symbol of resistance and national resolve.
10:09Critiques, however, call it state-sponsored psychological warfare designed to prepare public opinion for prolonged confrontation.
10:16What makes this significant is not merely the image itself, but the timing.
10:22In modern conflicts, perception often shapes escalation as much as military actions do.
10:28And Tehran appears determined to show that its media networks are now functioning not just as broadcasters, but as instruments
10:36of strategic deterrence.
10:39An Iranian TV presenter holding an AK-47 live on air is now making headlines around the world after delivering
10:48a dramatic warning during a state television broadcast amid rising Middle East tensions.
10:53The presenter, identified as Iranian broadcaster Mobina Nasiri, appeared on Iran's state-run Channel 3 carrying an assault rifle while
11:03declaring her readiness to fight and even die for her country if war escalates further.
11:09In the viral clip, Nasiri says,
11:11If needed, I am ready to sacrifice my life for my country.
11:16She then adds,
11:17If, God forbid, our men fall, women, daughters of this land will stand against the enemy, weapon in hand.
11:25And finally, she warns,
11:27The enemy should know we do not retreat nor fear.
11:37The enemy should know we do not retreat nor fear.
12:00The enemy should know we do not retreat nor fear.
12:04The broadcast comes during an escalating tensions involving Iran, the United States, Israel, and regional Gulf powers amid the ongoing
12:122026 conflict.
12:14Iranian state media and IRGC-linked television channels have recently intensified what appears to be a coordinated wartime messaging campaign
12:24focused on national combat preparedness.
12:27Over the past several days, Iranian television has aired multiple segments showing civilians and Basij volunteers learning how to handle
12:36AK-47 rifles, participate in combat drills, and attend pro-government military rallies.
12:42Some broadcasts have also featured presenters firing rifles on television and publicly calling for resistance against foreign enemies.
12:51According to reports, Nasiri received the weapon during a large rally in Tehran's 1X Square before appearing on television with
12:59the rifle.
13:00The message behind these broadcasts appears clear.
13:04Iran wants to project unity, defiance, and readiness for prolonged confrontation.
13:10Iranian officials and state media continue portraying the conflict as an existential battle, requiring sacrifice from all parts of society,
13:19including women.
13:20Iran.
13:21Supporters of the regime say the broadcasts show patriotism and national resistance against foreign pressure.
13:27But critics argue the scenes are carefully staged propaganda, aimed at boosting morale, intimidating rivals, and distracting from domestic economic
13:37problems and political tensions inside Iran.
13:40The footage has now spread rapidly across X, Instagram, Telegram, and YouTube, sparking global debate.
13:47Some viewers praised the display as a symbol of resistance, while others mocked it as theatrical propaganda disconnected from the
13:55realities of modern warfare.
13:57Analysts say the imagery strongly resembles Iran's wartime propaganda during the Iran-Iraq War.
14:04Iran is sending a powerful message to both its citizens and its rivals.
14:09Iran claims it is prepared for confrontation, and says even civilians are ready to take up arms if tensions continue
14:16escalating.
14:17Just 150 kilometers from the United States mainland, a new security concern is emerging in the Caribbean.
14:25Reports suggest Cuba may have acquired more than 300 drones with support linked to Russia and Iran, triggering fresh alarm
14:33inside Washington's security establishment.
14:35According to intelligence-based assessments, Cuban officials have explored scenarios involving asymmetric drone operations targeting strategic U.S. assets, including
14:46Guantanamo Bay and naval infrastructure in the region.
14:49No confirmed attack plans have been publicly established so far.
14:53But even limited drone capability near American territory dramatically changes the strategic conversation.
15:01The concern for Washington is not conventional warfare.
15:04It is low-cost, hard-to-detect asymmetric pressure.
15:09The Ukraine conflict and the Middle East wars have demonstrated how relatively inexpensive drones can disrupt powerful militaries, damage infrastructure,
15:19and alter battlefield calculations.
15:22And for Washington, the reality is becoming difficult to ignore.
15:26Strategic competition is no longer distant.
15:29It is moving closer to America's own shores.
15:33Cuba preparing to target U.S. bases with drones?
15:37That's the explosive concern now emerging from a new intelligence report claiming Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones
15:46from Russia and Iran and allegedly discussed using them against American targets.
15:52According to an Axios report citing classified U.S. intelligence, Cuban officials recently discussed potential drone strikes targeting U.S.
16:02naval base at Guantanamo Bay, American naval vessels in the Caribbean, and even Key West Florida, just 90 miles from
16:10Cuban territory.
16:11The report says the drones were acquired gradually since 2023 and include attack-capable systems with varying operational ranges and
16:21payload capacities.
16:23U.S. intelligence believes the drones are stored at strategic locations across the island.
16:28The developments are raising alarm inside Washington because of Cuba's growing military ties with Russia and Iran, two countries already
16:38locked in major geopolitical confrontations with the United States.
16:42According to the report, Cuban officials have recently sought additional military equipment from Moscow while also studying Iranian drone warfare
16:52tactics used against U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East.
16:56Iranian military advisors are also believed to have visited Havana in recent months.
17:03What makes the situation especially sensitive is geography.
17:07Key West lies less than 100 miles from Cuba, while Guantanamo Bay remains one of America's most strategically important military
17:16facilities in the Caribbean.
17:18U.S. officials reportedly do not believe Cuba is preparing an immediate attack.
17:23However, intelligence discussions involving potential drone operations against U.S. assets are being treated seriously due to the rise of
17:32low-cost asymmetric warfare.
17:35Officials fear that even a country with limited conventional military power could use swarm drones, surveillance systems, or explosive UAVs
17:45to create disruption close to U.S. territory.
17:47The report also links Cuba's expanding drone capabilities to the war in Ukraine.
17:54U.S. intelligence estimates that thousands of Cuban fighters may have served alongside Russian forces, where drone warfare has become
18:02central to modern combat operations.
18:05Some returning fighters reportedly shared battlefield lessons with Cuban leadership.
18:10The situation reportedly became serious enough that CIA director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana last week to deliver a direct
18:19warning from President Trump.
18:21According to Axios, Ratcliffe told Cuban officials that Cuba can no longer operate as a platform for America's adversaries, and
18:30warned against hostile actions targeting U.S. interests.
18:34Additional U.S. sanctions against Cuba could reportedly be announced soon, while the Justice Department is also expected to unseal
18:42an indictment related to former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
18:47Cuba has denied wrongdoing and accused Washington of manufacturing threats to justify pressure and sanctions.
18:54However, Cuban officials reportedly did not deny possessing the drones themselves.
18:59So, to sum up, from Tehran's media warfare to Cuba's drone ambitions, the message across today's headlines are unmistakable.
19:09Geopolitics is entering a more psychological, decentralized and unpredictable phase.
19:15And increasingly, perception itself is becoming a weapon.
19:20Thanks for watching. World News on OneIndia.
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