- 12 hours ago
Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to manufacture long-range attack drones, named Sky Wasp, inspired by Iran's Shahed system, signalling a shift in Gulf military strategy.
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00:22hello and welcome you're watching statecraft with me Gita Mohan now is West Asia entering a
00:26dangerous new era where cheap drones can change the balance of power faster than fighter jets
00:32ever could and as China and Pakistan once again raise Kashmir together is this really about
00:38diplomacy or about building strategic pressure on India at a sensitive geopolitical moment tonight
00:44two stories about shifting security equations Saudi Arabia now reportedly plans to manufacture
00:50long-range attack drones inspired by Iran's Shahid system signaling how drone warfare is reshaping
00:57military thinking across the Gulf and then shift East China and Pakistan revive Kashmir rhetoric after
01:05Shahbaz Sharif's Beijing visit prompting a sharp response from India over sovereignty CPEC and
01:11territorial claims one story about the future of warfare the other about strategic signaling all
01:17this and more but first up the headlines Iran state broadcaster says it has obtained a preliminary
01:24document outlining a framework for a potential memorandum of understanding with the US the
01:30framework includes withdrawal of US forces from Iran's vicinity while Iran would allow commercial
01:35transit through the Strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels within 30 days Iran Iran is very much
01:43intent they want very much to make a deal so far they haven't gotten there that we're not satisfied
01:47with it Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Senator John Cornyn in a Republican runoff primary on
01:53Tuesday night it marks a stunning defeat for an incumbent who served in Congress for 23 years
01:59including 12 years as a high-ranking member of the Senate Republican leadership team the United Nations and its
02:06partners are scaling up their response to an ongoing Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and
02:12appealing for more funding to fight the outbreak as cases keep rising and violence hinders humanitarian
02:17delivery there are more than 900 suspected cases and over 220 suspected deaths linked to Ebola in the DRC
02:25since the outbreak was declared on the 15th of May India has become the world's second largest solar
02:31market US is still number two in total installed solar capacity but India surpassed US in actual
02:37deployment amid hopes of a possible peace deal between the US and Iran and as the world continues
02:45to reel under heavy economic pressure an Iranian delegation had traveled to Qatar to find a lasting
02:51solution to the West Asia crisis Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi parliament speaker
02:57Mohammed Ghalibov and central bank governor Abdul Nasser Hamati were in Doha to discuss the sticking
03:03points related to a potential deal the talks come after US president Donald Trump repeatedly pushed for
03:10a meaningful agreement threatening that there was no alternative it also came days after Trump had claimed
03:17that an agreement with Tehran had been largely negotiated as both sides continue to defer in the language of the
03:24MOU drafted for nuclear weapons as talks were conducted in Qatar US forces attacked missile launch sites
03:31and mine laying vessels in southern Iran describing it as self-defense strikes in retaliation Iran's
03:38Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that's IRGC says it has downed a US Reaper drone that entered its
03:45airspace Iranian media earlier reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas Iranian
03:52president Masood Pazashkian hailed Iranian military's defensive capabilities after the US conducted what
03:58it called defensive strikes in southern Iran Iran's foreign ministry said the US attacks represented a
04:05gross violation of a tenuous ceasefire in place for nearly seven weeks according to Iran's semi-official
04:12Tasneem news agency Iran demanded the release of its frozen assets worth 24 billion US dollars during
04:18the talks the news agency also said according to the text of a potential 14 point MOU being finalized
04:25between Tehran and Washington Iran's frozen assets must be released during peace talks Iran also insisted
04:32that half of the amount must be made available upon the announcement of the MOU and the rest transferred
04:38within 60 days a source described the outcome of the visit is favorable adding the talks during the
04:44trip were generally good and led to progress in the overall negotiations according to Reuters news agency a
04:51senior Trump administration official said Iran had agreed in principle to dispose of its highly enriched
04:57uranium and open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its naval blockade these latest
05:03developments come at a crucial time when President Trump through his post on truth social announced
05:09mandatory signing up of Muslim majority countries across the Middle East or West Asia and beyond to
05:17Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel as part of an agreement with Iran Iran certainly has not
05:23accepted that mandatory requirement in one of the greatest achievements since October 7th attacks Israel's IDF
05:33that's Israeli Defense Forces eliminated Mohammed order in Gaza the new leader of Hamas's military wing
05:39al-qasim brigades and one of the masterminds of the October 7th massacre a joint statement issued by
05:46Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel cats said order served as head of
05:52Hamas intelligence during the October 7th massacre he was also responsible for the murder abduction and
05:58wounding of many Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers meanwhile two airstrikes hit Gaza City on Tuesday
06:04evening on the eve of Eid al-Adha killing at least three people and injuring 12 West Asia may be
06:13entering a
06:13dangerous new drone age because the biggest lesson from the Iran war was not just about missiles it was
06:20about cheap drones causing expensive damage Iran's shahid drones changed the battlefield low cost long
06:28range hard to stop and now one of Tehran's biggest regional rivals may be trying to copy the model
06:34Saudi Arabia is now reportedly planning to manufacture attack drones inspired by the same shahid system that
06:41once threatened its own critical infrastructure according to reports a new Saudi US defense partnership is
06:49planning to build a drone manufacturing facility near Riyadh the project involves Utah based vector defense and
06:57Saudi startup SR to defense systems under a joint venture called SR to vector and the drone they want to
07:05manufacture is called sky wasp a one-way attack drone reportedly capable of striking targets up to
07:121,500 kilometers away that is roughly the distance from Saudi Arabia's eastern coastline to Tehran and
07:21that range is significant because it shows how Gulf nations are fundamentally rethinking warfare after
07:27months of regional instability Iran's drone campaign demonstrated something militaries around the world
07:32already feared modern warfare is no longer only about advanced fighter jets or billion-dollar missile systems it is
07:40also about mass-produced low-cost drones that can overwhelm air defenses and exhaust expensive interceptors
07:48Iran's shahid drones became one of the defining weapons of recent conflicts across West Asia and beyond
07:55simple design cheap engines relatively low manufacturing costs analysts estimate some variance cost as little as
08:04as 20,000 to 35,000 dollars but intercepting them can cost several million dollars using sophisticated air
08:12defense missiles that imbalance changed military calculations across the region suddenly countries spending hundreds of
08:20billions on defense realized they could still face serious vulnerability from relatively inexpensive unmanned systems and Saudi Arabia knows that
08:30threat
08:31personally over the years the kingdom's oil infrastructure has repeatedly faced drone and missile attacks energy facilities
08:38airports strategic installations the attacks exposed a harsh reality even advanced air defense systems struggle when faced with large volumes
08:49of low-cost drones
08:51So now Riyadh appears to be adapting not just defending against drone warfare but entering the drone warfare
08:58business itself the proposed factory reflects a much larger shift underway across the Gulf regional powers are now racing to
09:06build
09:06indigenous defense industries instead of depending entirely on foreign imports Saudi Arabia remains one of the world's largest
09:14military spenders but under crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's vision 2030 strategy the kingdom wants to localize half
09:22of its defense spending before the end of this decade that means manufacturing weapons domestically building local expertise creating defense
09:32supply chains inside the kingdom and increasingly investing in drone technology but there is another important dimension here the United
09:41States of America
09:42America because this is not just a Saudi project it is a Saudi American defense partnership and it highlights how
09:49Washington's regional allies are adjusting to a new security environment after months of confrontation involving Iran Israel and the US
09:59the Gulf states are no longer
10:01thinking only about deterrence they are thinking about sustainability scale and
10:06affordability in future warfare and that is exactly why drones have become so attractive
10:12they're cheaper to build easier to mass produce harder to fully intercept and
10:18increasingly capable of precision strikes over long distances in many ways drones are becoming the new artillery of modern
10:26conflict the concern now is that the region could witness a drone arms race more countries producing loitering munitions more
10:35cross-border
10:35and more pressure on already fragile regional stability because once low-cost attack drones become widespread the barrier to projecting
10:48military power drops dramatically countries no longer need massive air forces to threaten infrastructure hundreds of kilometers away a swarm
10:57of relatively cheap drones can suddenly challenge oil facilities ports airports communication hubs and even data
11:05are centers and that changes the security equation for the entire region
11:11the bigger
11:12the bigger message is this Iran's drone strategy may have done more than just
11:16challenge its rivals militarily it may force them to imitate the very model
11:21they once feared Saudi Arabia's reported sky wasp project shows how modern
11:27warfare is rapidly evolving cheap drones long-range
11:31attacks indigenous weapons production and regional powers preparing for an era where unmanned systems dominate the battlefield the irony is
11:41impossible to ignore the same type of drone warfare that once threatened Gulf states may
11:47now become part of their own military doctrine and if that happens
11:51West Asia's next arms race may not be fought with fighter jets alone it may be fought with swarms of
11:58low-cost drones filling the skies
12:02a new nuclear equation may be taking shape behind closed doors reports now suggest Iran could move its 60 percent
12:09enriched uranium stockpile to China under a fragile
12:12US Iran ceasefire understanding Beijing has not denied the possibility
12:17Washington is watching nervously and the world may be entering a moment where nuclear diplomacy collides directly with US China's
12:24strategic rivalry
12:25here is a report
12:35a high-stakes nuclear twist is unfolding in the fragile US Iran ceasefire
12:40talks reports suggest that Iran may be considering a dramatic move transferring
12:46its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to China as part of a broader ceasefire
12:52arrangement this is not ordinary nuclear material 60 percent enrichment sits dangerously close to weapons grade levels and in the
13:01wrong conditions it can be rapidly upgraded to a nuclear weapon threshold
13:06the uranium in question is also believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of bombed Iranian nuclear facilities a stockpile
13:14that survived recent strikes but remains strategically active now it is emerging as a bargaining chip
13:21in one of the most sensitive negotiations in the world the proposal according to multiple media reports has not been
13:28denied outright by Beijing instead China has responded in carefully worded diplomatic language leaving room for interpretation
13:36at a press briefing at a press briefing China's foreign ministry said it is maintaining close communication with all parties
13:43including Iran and is working to stop the fighting and promote peace it added that Beijing will continue to follow
13:50for president Xi Jinping's four-point proposal and push for stability in West Asia China said it supports a peaceful
13:58resolution through dialogue and negotiation and most significantly it stated it is willing to continue to play a constructive role
14:05in resolving Iran's nuclear issue and safeguarding the global non-proliferation regime no denial no rejection just controlled ambiguity that
14:16silence is now being closely watched in United States policy circles
14:20because this is where the proposal becomes geopolitically explosive under the original 2015 nuclear framework Iran's enriched uranium was partly
14:30shipped out notably to Russia to reduce breakout risk and extend the timeline for weaponization but that system of trust
14:39has largely collapsed
14:40U.S. Russia nuclear cooperation has eroded after years of political rupture and the war in Ukraine and unlike the
14:48Cold War era there are no established nuclear inspection frameworks between Washington and Beijing no joint verification regime no mutual
14:57facility access only deep suspicion that makes any transfer of near weapons grade material to China a diplomatic minefield the
15:07central question now is simple would the United States ever
15:10accept Iran's most sensitive nuclear material being moved into Chinese territory even under international supervision for Washington the core demand
15:20in these stocks remain unchanged remove or neutralize Iran's 60% enriched uranium stockpile it is seen as the fastest
15:28pathway to a potential nuclear breakout capability and that concern is not theoretical but the introduction of China into this
15:37equation changes everything
15:39it shifts the issue from regional containment to global power competition because this is no longer just about Iran's nuclear
15:47threshold it is about who controls the world's most sensitive nuclear materials and under what rules and right now those
15:55rules are being written in real time behind closed doors in one of the most dangerous negotiations on this planet
16:05China China and Pakistan have raised Kashmir once again after Shahbaz Sharif's China visit calling it an issue left over
16:15from history in their joint statement India pushed back immediately the MEA rejected the references to Jammu and Kashmir repeated
16:23that Jammu and Kashmir and Radhaq have been are and will always remain integral parts of India and also slammed
16:31CPEC projects that CPEC projects that pass through Indian territory as if it's their own but this was not just
16:37another routine diplomatic exchange the timing matters Sharif's visit focused heavily on deepening China Pakistan economic ties expanding one based
16:47trade and strengthening long term strategic coordination so why bring Kashmir into this right now was this really
16:55about concern for Kashmir or Kashmir's or was it a carefully timed signal aimed directly at India first why did
17:03China and Pakistan raise Kashmir again right after Shahbaz Sharif's China visit simple optics strategy pressure Pakistan wanted diplomatic oxygen
17:14China wanted leverage against India so both countries stitched together the perfect anti India paragraph
17:20and wrapped up and wrapped it in diplomatic language Pakistan briefed China on latest developments in Jammu and Kashmir China
17:28responded with its familiar script Kashmir is left over from history and should be resolved under the UN Charter and
17:36UNSC resolutions this was Beijing telling India we can poke sensitive issues too and by now because China wants Pakistan
17:44happy very happy Pakistan is China's all-weather ally translation
17:50Beijing backs Islam about almost automatically Pakistan repeats the one China policy and says Taiwan belongs to China in return
17:58China repeats Pakistan's Kashmir language it's basically a geopolitical loyalty rewards program but there's more China also wants Gwadar to
18:09become a serious strategic hub maybe even a Chinese naval foothold near the Persian Gulf that matters huge trade routes
18:16passed through that region so Beijing keeps Pakistan
18:19close protected and politically supported now let's talk about the phrase that irritated India the most left over from history
18:28because those four words challenge India's core position India says Jammu and Kashmir is settled finished internal matter integral and
18:39inalienable part of India end of discussion but the phrase left over from history implies the issue remains unresolved that's
18:47the problem
18:48so when China repeats that line in an official joint statement Delhi sees it as an attempt to internationalize Kashmir
18:56again that's why the emir responded so aggressively and I quote no other country has the locust hand-eye to
19:02comment
19:03that diplomatic sentence basically means sit down nobody asked you and then came CPEC the real nerve hit what exactly
19:13is the issue with CPEC on paper the China Pakistan economic corridor sounds
19:18like roads ports and infrastructure but some CPEC projects pass through India's territory especially areas in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and
19:27Gilgit Baltistan India says Pakistan illegally occupies those territories
19:32so when China builds highways and strategic projects there India sees it as Beijing legitimizing Pakistan's control imagine your neighbor
19:42occupies part of your backyard and then his rich friend arrives and builds a luxury driveway there
19:48you won't call it economic cooperation you'll call it trespassing with better funding that's exactly how India views CPEC and
19:57Delhi made that crystal clear again the MEA said India resolutely opposes and rejects
20:03attempts to reinforce Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation of Indian territory notice the wording India did not call this a
20:11disagreement India called it a sovereignty issue
20:15now comes another interesting twist the so-called transboundary water resources cooperation but India immediately objected why because India pointed
20:25out something awkward China and Pakistan do not even share a direct boundary for
20:30such cooperation in the way the statement implied reverse flowing from China into Pakistan passed through Indian territory first so
20:41Delhi saw this as another indirect attempt to
20:43sideline India's position on Kashmir and territory the MEA response basically said nice try doesn't work and India also reminded
20:52everyone it never recognized the 1963 boundary agreement between China and Pakistan
20:58that agreement involved Pakistan ceding territory in the shucks gum Valley to China which is Indian territory so yes this
21:06is not just about one statement this is decades of unresolved territorial disputes
21:11packed into diplomatic paragraphs now the bigger question is China genuinely worried about Kashmir not really this is about leverage
21:22China uses Kashmir the same way countries use pressure points in negotiations
21:26Beijing knows Kashmir is politically sensitive for India so it keeps the issue alive whenever tensions rise or strategic competition
21:35grows not to forget the Dalai Lama issue and hosting
21:39of the Tibetan government of the Tibetan government in exile here in India and look at the timing India strengthens
21:45ties with the quad the US Japan and Australia China response by tightening alignment with Pakistan not subtle this is
21:53not two countries chatting
21:55over tea this is an axis forming around shared strategic goals and India knows it that's why Delhi responded instantly
22:03and firmly because once diplomatic language becomes accepted language it slowly becomes a
22:09political reality India refuses to allow that so the message from Beijing and Islamabad was clear Kashmir remains disputed India's
22:18answer was even clearer not for us
22:23that's all in this edition of statecraft before I go in Florida US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy jr. has
22:30gone viral again after posting a video of himself wrestling two snakes with his bare hands watch the video
22:37goodbye and take care
22:39goodbye and take care
22:41hey honey honey
22:44why
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23:37We'll see you next time.
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