- 5 weeks ago
West Asia tensions are escalating as President Trump declares the interim agreement with Iran over, following fresh military strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
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00:00Just when West Asia appeared to be stepping back from the brink, the region has been thrust into uncertainty once
00:09again.
00:09The fragile hopes of diplomacy have given way to fresh military strikes, sharp rhetoric and escalating tensions.
00:16U.S. President Donald Trump has declared the interim agreement or the MOU with Iran over and has warned more
00:24attacks tonight.
00:25Tehran has also hit back, saying that it will not back down and will hit enemy targets at least twice
00:32the number of targets hit.
00:34With both sides trading accusations and the Strait of Hormuz once again at the center of the crisis, fears are
00:40growing that the road to peace may be giving way to another dangerous phase of confrontation.
00:46Before I bring in my guests, here's a report.
00:54The path to peace is filled with attacks, threats and U-turns.
00:59Just when we thought the West Asia war is heading towards its end, U.S. President Donald Trump has upended
01:06the narrative.
01:08Declaring the interim MOU with Iran is over.
01:13To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum. You know what scum
01:19is? They're scum. They're sick people.
01:22Donald Trump has also said that it's just a waste of time dealing with Iran.
01:27As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars. We make a deal.
01:34And if I make a deal with him, we have a deal. And he goes out, he talks. We make
01:38a deal. Everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon.
01:41We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press. They say we never even talked about it. There's
01:46something wrong with them. They're cuckoo.
01:47And then came a barrage of insults. He called Iran's leadership scum, sick people, liars, cuckoo, vicious and violent people.
02:04To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum. You know what scum
02:10is? They're scum. They're sick people.
02:13They're led by sick people. And they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it.
02:20As far as I'm concerned, it's over.
02:23Trump made the comments on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit in Turkey's Ankara, and hours after striking
02:30Iran in what the U.S. described as retaliation for strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
02:38He warned Washington was prepared to strike again.
02:43They launched a couple of drones and one rocket, one missile, and chips, because they were in the Strait, which
02:53they have every right to be. And so we hit them very hard last night. Very, very hard. Probably hit
02:58them hard again tonight. I'll give them a little warning. We're going to hit them hard tonight. But we'll see
03:03how it all works out. No, I'm not happy with them.
03:06Reports suggest that the latest U.S. strikes were far bigger than those carried out just 10 days ago.
03:15Iran's farce news agency has released visuals, it says, shows U.S. strikes on Shahid Haqqani port in Bandar Abbas.
03:25Multiple explosions and thick smoke can be seen. Meanwhile, Tehran has accused Washington of violating the ceasefire by restoring sanctions
03:33on Iranian oil exports,
03:35calling it a material breach of the agreement.
03:39Remember, the strikes came just hours after three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz were targeted by Iran.
03:46According to reports, the ships ignored Iranian warnings to follow a designated safe route along Iran's coastline.
03:54At the NATO summit in Ankara, General Secretary Mark Root has backed Washington, saying the U.S. strikes were absolutely
04:02necessary.
04:07I think it was absolutely necessary. Because when you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire,
04:15we've seen what happened yesterday with ships being attacked. I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully
04:21react.
04:23The 60-day MOU had raised hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough after months of conflict.
04:30Amid recent round of escalation, President Donald Trump said in Turkey that agreement with Iran is essentially over.
04:38He even said that engaging with Iran is like a waste of time for him.
04:43Though mediators are still insisting that negotiations should be given chance.
04:48Nobody knows that whether this deal will survive or not, which already got breached multiple times in past 20 days.
04:56But with fresh strikes, renewed sanctions and Trump's declaration that the deal is over, those hopes are fading fast.
05:05Even as he says his negotiators can keep talking, Washington's next move and the future of the peace process remain
05:13deeply uncertain.
05:25Now, the Minister of External Affairs has reacted to the recent developments in West Asia.
05:31The MEA has said that India is deeply concerned over the recent attacks and escalation of tensions in West Asia,
05:37which have followed fresh targeting of commercial shipping, transiting international waterways in the region.
05:44India has gone on to say that these developments risk undermining regional peace, security and stability.
05:50India has called upon all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and ensure protection of civilians
05:57as well as the uninterrupted flow of energy and supplies and commerce.
06:02We urge the parties to return to dialogue and diplomacy to achieve a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict,
06:10is what the MEA has said.
06:13The Ministry of External Affairs here in India is showing a statement.
06:18And let me bring in my guest now, Michelle Plitnik, is a president of Rethinking Point Policy and co-author
06:25of
06:25Except for Palestine, Middle East and U.S. foreign policy expert.
06:31But Trump just declared the MOU with Iran over after fresh strikes and Hormuz attacks.
06:38Is this a calculated return to maximum pressure?
06:42Or would you say that this is more of an impulsive move that Donald Trump is known for?
06:54Well, I think it's a little bit of both.
06:56I think we're looking at a reaction to the fact that Iran responded very forcefully to an American and Gulf
07:04Arab attempt to circumvent Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz.
07:09I think that's what this really comes down to.
07:12So the ceasefire can still be restored.
07:17I don't think it's all over, and I don't think this was necessarily the outcome that Donald Trump was looking
07:25for.
07:25But I think once Iran fired on commercial ships, Trump felt compelled to respond and respond with, I think, overwhelming
07:34force.
07:35Whether he realizes it or not, by cutting off the contract that allowed, or the license that allowed Iran to
07:42start selling oil again, he has severely escalated matters, and it may be difficult to turn back.
07:48The MOU, which was signed between Iran and U.S., was a fragile ceasefire.
07:56With now evidently the talks having collapsed, what leverage do you think the U.S. really holds now, and how
08:03does this affect nuclear negotiations and regional proxies?
08:10Well, I don't think the nuclear negotiations are particularly affected here.
08:14They have been put off until a later date anyway, and so that can either commence or not.
08:23And it's not of an immediate concern because Iran is not right now doing much to generate more highly enriched
08:34uranium.
08:34So I don't think that's a very big deal.
08:36I think what is more of a concern is that the next step in escalation will inevitably be Iran striking
08:43much harder against other Gulf Arab states than it already has, and that will escalate everything, plus the fact that
08:52the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed once again.
08:55So we're saying, you know, we're back to this place where oil prices are going to spike and the global
09:00economy is going to suffer.
09:02Mr. Plutnik, you have long pushed for rethinking the U.S. Middle East policy.
09:09Does Donald Trump's use of words like scum, the rhetoric, and the MOU pullout show the limits of both confrontation
09:17and rush deals, or is de-escalation still possible?
09:26Diplomacy is always possible, and I think the nature of the MOU shows that the United States is capable of
09:32making very bold concessions that should end 47 years of hostility
09:38and really frame a different approach towards the Middle East of the United States, but it requires political will, it
09:47requires determination, and it requires sticking with your principles and with your strategy,
09:53which is not something the Trump administration is good at. Having said that, future administrations that are more capable of
10:00sticking to a strategy now have a blueprint
10:02for how they might be able to reintegrate Iran into the region and finally resolve decades of conflict.
10:09So let me ask my last question here. What's the real cost for civilians, oil flows, and alliances?
10:15And what do you think would be a sustainable off-ramp, actually, that Washington can think about?
10:28The cost is, you know, is obviously enormous if we go back to war. I think that Iran has made
10:36it clear that, you know, if war does resume
10:40and all-out bombing on a consistent daily basis is something they're experiencing again, they're going to target Gulf oil
10:49infrastructure in a way that they didn't in the initial stages of this war.
10:54That will lead to a global economic meltdown. So it is, I think it's imperative to avoid that situation.
11:01I think it's imperative to make sure that that does not happen. And, you know, one can only hope that
11:07somebody in Washington and people in Tehran both recognize what a disaster that would be for everybody.
11:15Really appreciate your time. Thank you so much, Michelle Plitnik, joining us there.
11:20Let me bring in my next guest, Reza Khan-Zadeh, Professor of Middle East Islam and Politics at George Mason
11:29University.
11:30Professor Khan-Zadeh, President Trump has said today at the NATO summit that as far as he's concerned, the U
11:37.S.-Iran MOU is over and dealing with Tehran is a waste of time.
11:41Those are his words. And he has gone on to, you know, name call Iranian leaders, calling them scum and
11:48sick people.
11:48How do you read this sharp reversal from his earlier praise of the agreement?
11:57Yeah, so I look at this through the lens of the psychology that is Donald Trump, where from one statement
12:05to the next,
12:06and most often within one, you know, press briefing, he gives contradictory statements.
12:13So we saw him earlier in the NATO summit make those comments.
12:19But then if we saw him in the bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Ukraine, and then later on with
12:26his counterpart from Syria,
12:29his comments on Iran were a bit softer in tone compared to earlier in the day.
12:35And that just shows that he has a type of knee-jerk reaction when it comes to certain conflicts,
12:42and in this case, it being with Iran.
12:45And he doesn't really think through what he's going to say.
12:50He's, you know, very, you know, very reactionary.
12:55He's not a seasoned, you know, diplomat.
12:59He's not a politician.
13:00He doesn't really understand the, you know, detailed, intricate, you know, aspects of being a diplomat,
13:09of dealing with, you know, foreign dignitaries and dealing with international relations of such magnitude.
13:15He is a businessman, he is a charlatan, so he doesn't see things the way most people like myself, you
13:23know,
13:23experts in this field or even other types of politicians or diplomats, he doesn't see it in that type of
13:28lens.
13:28So that's how we have to understand it, which is unfortunate because he is the president of the United States.
13:33But at the same time, I don't think that the deal is done and finished.
13:39I think he does make these types of comments, you know, at the surface, but, you know, behind closed doors
13:45and once he's able to talk to his cabinet, we have seen that there are comments that, you know,
13:53technical talks are still ongoing and, you know, negotiations will still continue,
13:59even though Trump has made these comments.
14:01But, Professor, you know, you have called him a charlatan just a few seconds ago.
14:06So, but this statement of Donald Trump is coming at a time when Tehran is in a state of mourning,
14:14when Iran is mourning the assassination of its supreme leader, late supreme leader.
14:19Why would he use such harsh warnings now?
14:27Right. So it takes two, you know, different approaches.
14:35So the first approach, we have to see it again from the psychology of Trump and also Washington, D.C.,
14:40where they saw that, you know, Iran struck some ships on the Strait of Hormuz.
14:47And then in response, and this is from, you know, SECOM, you know, Washington, D.C.'s, you know, central command,
14:53that their attacks on 80 different sites at the ports and border of Iran at the Strait of Hormuz was
15:04in defense.
15:07So by Trump's calculation and Washington, D.C.'s defense, they're saying that it is Tehran's fault,
15:14even though they're in a state of mourning.
15:17During that time of mourning, Iran hit two ships at the Strait of Hormuz.
15:23But then on the other side of it, you know, Tehran makes the argument that the conflict,
15:29like the ongoing conflict in Lebanon has not really subsided.
15:33It has not calmed down. Israel is still attacking southern Lebanon.
15:38And that, for Tehran, is a violation of the MOU, which then led them to strike those two ships at
15:45the Strait of Hormuz.
15:45Because if you recall, when this time of mourning first began, the Strait of Hormuz was completely open
15:52and there was free and safe, you know, travel for ships through the strait.
15:56But once Israel started attacking southern Lebanon, that's when we saw Tehran strike those ships.
16:03And then we saw the U.S., you know, counterattack.
16:06And then obviously Tehran then, you know, attacked, I think it was bases in Kuwait and in, I think, in
16:14Qatar.
16:16So this type of back and forth, while it plays into a type of domestic narrative for, you know,
16:26for Iran saying that, oh, well, look at the United States while we're mourning, they're attacking us.
16:31If we kind of take a step back and look at the geopolitical aspect of it,
16:36those two events are kind of isolated from each other.
16:39So we can't really, you know, group them together at this time.
16:44Okay.
16:45So let me ask my last question to you, Professor Khanzadeh.
16:49The MOU was meant to provide a 60-day window for a final deal on all the issues,
16:56sanction relief or Strait of Hormuz.
16:59With fresh strikes and Donald Trump's comments today,
17:03is this framework effectively dead or could the negotiators still salvage something?
17:13I don't think the MOU in spirit is dead.
17:19Maybe in the letter, certain aspects of it is.
17:23But when you have the, you know, diplomats and you have the negotiators still willing to talk,
17:30even though Trump might say that the MOU is over,
17:33but when you have his team and you have the team out of Tehran,
17:37specifically Abbas Arochi, the, you know, foreign minister,
17:40when you have them still willing to talk, the spirit of the MOU, I don't think is dead.
17:46And I think giving it a, you know, quantitative value of, you know, 60 days is something very arbitrary.
17:57Even though we might want to hold both parties, the U.S. and Iran, to those 60 days,
18:02I don't think we should put much weight into that number because, as we have seen,
18:08there is continued, you know, tit-for-tat conflicts,
18:12and that's going to prolong that 60 days to really an undefined number of how long this might take.
18:20And the most important thing for Tehran is to ensure that, well, I shouldn't say Tehran,
18:26but the most important thing for the Islamic Republic is its own survival.
18:29So for them, if it takes longer than 60 days, that's fine with them.
18:33And it's also to their benefit because we have to keep in mind that in the United States,
18:37the midterm elections is coming up in November.
18:39And that's a lot of pressure on Trump and his political party.
18:44And once the voters come out of the summer break and we go into August, September,
18:49then all eyes, again, will be on Trump, his policies, you know, domestic and foreign.
18:55But for Tehran, none of these are a concern for them.
18:58So they actually, Tehran actually has the upper hand when it comes to these negotiations going beyond 60 days
19:06to where they could use that as leverage to get more out of this deal than what was initially thought.
19:13And for Trump, that could be one weakness when it comes to those types of negotiations
19:19where he might be forced to compromise more than Tehran is willing to compromise.
19:23All right, Professor Reza Khansa, I really appreciate your time.
19:27There's a piece of breaking news coming in now.
19:29Italy's Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, has reiterated that the nation will not take part in any military action against Iran.
19:38And she has maintained Italy's position of non-involvement in this conflict.
19:44Addressing questions over her close political engagement with U.S. President Donald Trump,
19:48the Italian Prime Minister, defended her approach and said that she had no regrets over the relationship.
19:55Her remarks came, in fact, they come as tensions continue to rise over the Iran crisis,
20:01putting diplomatic alliances and European positions under renewed scrutiny.
20:06Earlier, President Donald Trump had struck a conciliatory tone towards the Italian Prime Minister,
20:12despite their recent public spat, U.S. President Donald Trump had called the Italian leader a nice person,
20:20but claimed that she made a mistake by not helping him during the war.
20:26Let's listen in to what both the leaders said.
20:33Look, regarding the post, I said I would not return to this issue, and I won't return to it.
20:37As for the political investment, I don't regret anything I've done.
20:43I made a political investment out of conviction, let's say the unity of the West.
20:48I have stood by this wholeheartedly.
20:51It is not a strategy I adopted with the arrival of Donald Trump, and you can confirm this.
20:56I have done so with every interlocutor I have faced.
20:59Clearly, there were similarities with Donald Trump.
21:01There are similarities on certain political issues, from immigration to work culture,
21:06so I clearly thought it might be easier.
21:08Things are turning out as we have seen, but I'm not changing my mind about what is in Italy's interest.
21:14We had a bad relationship, but it became a little bad because she refused to help us.
21:20Again, I didn't put a heavy press on her.
21:22But she refused to get involved with the Hormone Strait, or you could also say just Iran.
21:29She refused to get involved.
21:31So it soured my relationship with her a little bit, but I like her.
21:36I think she's a nice person, actually, but I think she made a mistake.
21:41Shifting focus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-nation tour.
21:45Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Melbourne on the second leg of his three-nation visit.
21:51He was warmly received by Australia's Minister for Housing and Minister for Cities, Claire O'Neill.
21:58Upon his arrival, he also received a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora,
22:02who greeted him enthusiastically on a rendition of One Day Matra.
22:07Take a look.
22:07Fire at hand.
22:08Fire!
22:10Fire!
22:11Fire!
22:19Fire!
22:22Fire!
22:24Fire!
22:30Fire!
23:32The visit went beyond diplomacy and foreign policy.
23:36It highlighted the deep civilizational and cultural ties that have connected India and Indonesia for centuries.
23:43Leaving you with this report. Thanks so much for watching.
23:48After two days of meetings and major announcements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's final engagement in Indonesia was a spiritual one.
23:57Along with Indonesian President, he visited the historic Prambanan Temple complex and offered prayers at the nearly 1,000-year
24:05-old Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.
24:51A visit that celebrated not just faith, but a shared heritage.
24:55Prime Minister Modi called it a privilege to launch the temple's restoration project.
25:02He said the Prambanan is a timeless symbol of the civilization bond between India and Indonesia.
25:08Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
25:42He thanked Indonesia for preserving Hindu traditions for over 1,200 years and said, hearing the chants of Om Namah
25:49Shivai at the temple reminded him of India's own spiritual traditions.
25:53He also drew parallels with Somnath and Kashi.
26:00Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
26:34The visit also marked the beginning of a new chapter in that relationship.
26:39India, through the Archaeological Survey of India, will help to restore the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
26:48President Prabowo Subyanto also invited Prime Minister Modi to return in 2029 to jointly inaugurate the restored temple.
26:58I have a full joy of my master, Mr. Rajputji Ji, who has taken some work from his hand,
27:06so we plan very well and will complete it in the period of time.
27:12And today they have promised me that we will do this work in 29 years.
27:31remember for over a thousand years
27:33Prambanan has stood as a silent witness
27:35to a shared civilization journey
27:39now India will help preserve
27:41that legacy for generations to come
27:44as Prime Minister Modi
27:45concluded his Indonesia visit
27:48the lasting image was not from
27:49a summit table but from the steps
27:51of an ancient temple
27:55a reminder that while diplomacy
27:57builds partnerships it is shared
27:59faith, culture and history
28:01that make them truly timeless
28:03Bureau Report, India Today
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