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The death toll inside Iran has 
crossed 1000. the United States 

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submarine has sunken Iranian 
warship off the coast of Sri 

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Lanka in the first torpedo 
attack by an American sub since 

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the Second World War. 
The Iranian Air Force has been 

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described as no more, and 
Secretary of Defense Pete 

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Hegseth stood at the Pentagon 
podium and told the world that 

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America is winning decisively, 
devastatingly, and without 

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mercy. 
It is Thursday, March 5th, 2026,

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Day 6 of Operation Epic Fury, 
and the scale of this conflict 

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has now surpassed every 
comparable modern military 

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operation in American history. 
This is episode 6 of Epic Fury, 

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the US Iran War podcast. 
Let's get straight into it. 

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The headline number from today 
is 1045. 

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That is the confirmed death toll
inside Iran as of Wednesday 

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morning. 
According to Al Jazeera's live 

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tracker, citing Iranian official
and Red Crescent figures, 1045 

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people confirmed dead inside 
Iran in six days. 

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That number includes Supreme 
Leader Khamenei, members of his 

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family, senior military 
commanders, Revolutionary Guard 

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officers, and hundreds of 
civilians. 

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It does not include the 87 
Iranian sailors confirmed dead 

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off the coast of Sri Lanka. 
It does not include the 11 

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people killed in Israel, the six
American service members, or the

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nine people killed the Cross 
Gulf states. 

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The total death toll across all 
parties to this conflict now 

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exceeds 1100 people. 
And the bombs are still falling 

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inside Iran. 
The Israeli Air Force dropped 

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more than 1200 munitions across 
24 of Iran's 31 provinces in the

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past 24 hours alone. 
The 10th wave of strikes against

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Iran was confirmed by the IDF on
Wednesday morning. 

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Tehran has been at the center of
that wave, but Carriage and 

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Isfahan have also been heavily 
targeted. 

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The holy City of Calm, one of 
the most sacred sites in Shia 

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Islam, was struck for the second
time. 

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Massive explosions were heard in
Tehran at dawn on Wednesday. 

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Iranian state television showed 
the rubble of a building in 

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central Tehran, though it did 
not identify what the building 

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had been. 
United States Central Command 

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confirmed on Wednesday that 2000
strikes have now been carried 

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out inside Iran since the launch
of Operation Epic Fury 6 days 

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ago. 
That figure, 2000 strikes in six

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days, is roughly double the pace
of the shock and awe campaign in

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Iraq in 2003, which has until 
now been the benchmark for the 

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most intensive aerial campaign 
in modern history. 

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 
confirmed this comparison 

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directly at his Pentagon 
briefing on Wednesday. 

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He said Operation Epic Fury has 
delivered twice the air power of

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shock and awe, He added. 
We are accelerating, not 

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decelerating. 
Hexetha's briefing was one of 

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the most significant military 
press conferences in recent 

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American history. 
He stood before reporters 

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alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman 
General Dan Kane and delivered 

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an assessment of unambiguous 
confidence. 

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He said. 
I stand before you today with 

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one unmistakable message about 
Operation Epic Fury. 

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America is winning decisively, 
devastatingly and without mercy.

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He described Iran's senior 
military leadership as dead, 

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missing or cowering in bunkers 
too terrified to even occupy the

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same room. 
He said Iran's senior generals, 

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mid level officers and enlisted 
ranks cannot talk or coordinate,

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let alone mount a sustained and 
coordinated offensive. 

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And then came a statement that 
will be remembered as one of the

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defining lines of this conflict.
He said the Iranian Air Force is

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no more, built for 1996, 
destroyed in 2026. 

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He also confirmed that the 
Iranian Navy rests at the bottom

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of the Persian Gulf. 
Two days earlier, United States 

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Central Command had confirmed 
that Iran's 11 ships in the Gulf

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of Oman had been reduced to 0. 
On Wednesday, the full picture 

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of Iranian naval losses was 
confirmed. 20 Iranian vessels 

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have been sunk since the star of
the operation, according to 

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CENTCOM data, including the new 
Iranian helicopter and drone 

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carrier Shahi Begiri. 
A significant and modern vessel,

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the frigate Sayed Shirazi, was 
also attacked near the port of 

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Bandar Abbas. 
And then came the story that 

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dominated global headlines on 
Wednesday, the sinking of the 

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Iris Dina. 
The Iranian Navy frigate Iris 

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Dina was torpedoed and sunk by 
United States Navy submarine in 

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the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, 
approximately 40 nautical miles 

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South of Gal, Sri Lanka. 
The Iris Dino was one of Iran's 

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most modern and prestigious 
warships, commissioned in 2021 

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as part of the Mudge class of 
domestically built Iranian 

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frigates. 
It had been participating in the

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multinational naval exercise 
Milan 2026 in the International 

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Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam in
India and was transiting home 

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when it was intercepted. 
The ship issued A distress call 

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between 6:00 and 7:00 in the 
morning Sri Lanka time. 

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The Sri Lankan Navy and Sri 
Lanka Air Force immediately 

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launched a search and rescue 
operation, but by the time 

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rescue forces reached the 
location, the Irisdina had 

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already slipped beneath the 
surface of the Indian Ocean. 

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Approximately 180 crew members 
were on board at the time. 32 

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survivors were rescued from the 
water and transported to the 

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Carapitia Teaching Hospital in 
GAL for treatment of blast 

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related injuries and exhaustion.
87 bodies were recovered by Sri 

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Lankan naval personnel. 61 crew 
members remain missing and are 

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presumed dead. 
Hexeth confirmed a strike at the

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Pentagon briefing, describing it
as a quiet death. 

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He said the Mark 48 torpedo used
to sink the vessel, with the 

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first such attack by an American
submarine on an enemy vessel 

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since the Second World War. 
That historical fact bears 

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repeating. 
The last time a United States 

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submarine sank an enemy warship 
in combat was during the Second 

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World War. 
The sinking of the Iris Dina off

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the coast of Sri Lanka is a 
moment of genuine military 

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historical significance, 
regardless of 1's view of the 

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broader conflict. 
The sinking prompted an 

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immediate humanitarian and 
diplomatic response from Sri 

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Lanka, a nation that had no 
involvement in this conflict and

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suddenly found itself conducting
a mass casualty rescue operation

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in its own coastal waters. 
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister 

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Vijitha Harith confirmed the 
rescue efforts to parliament and

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emphasized Sri Lanka's neutral 
stance, saying its focus was 

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entirely on humanitarian aid and
the recovery of survivors and 

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remains. 
Iran's reaction to the sinking 

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was furious. 
The IRGC vowed a renewed and 

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intensified campaign of 
retaliation, but Iran's ability 

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to retaliate at sea has been 
dramatically degraded by the 

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losses of the past six days. 20 
vessels sunk it's Navy described

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by the United States as resting 
at the bottom of the Persian 

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Gulf. 
Iran's capacity to threaten 

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commercial shipping or project 
naval power has been severely 

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diminished, though not entirely 
eliminated. 

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A significant and chilling new 
development emerged on Wednesday

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when CNN reported that the CIA 
is actively working to arm 

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Kurdish rebel groups in western 
Iran. 

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This represents A fundamental 
escalation in the nature of the 

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conflict. 
It is one thing to bomb Iran's 

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military infrastructure from 
there. 

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It is another thing entirely to 
arm internal insurgent groups 

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with explicit goal of 
destabilizing the regime from 

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within. 
The arming of Kurdish groups in 

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western Iran would open a new 
front in the conflict, one that 

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unfolds not in the skies over 
Tehran but in the mountains and 

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cities of Iranian Kurdistan. 
It would also dramatically 

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increase the risk of a prolonged
internal insurgency inside Iran,

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with consequences that could 
outlast the military strikes by 

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years or even decades. 
Iran's IRGC announced on 

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Wednesday that its ground forces
had entered battlefield 

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operations, with 230 drones 
engaged in the latest wave of 

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operations. 
The IRGC also claimed it had 

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launched attacks on 27 United 
States military bases across the

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Middle East where American 
troops are deployed, as well as 

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Israeli military facilities in 
Tel Aviv and other parts of 

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Israel. 
Iranian ballistic missiles 

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continue to fall on Israel 
throughout Wednesday morning. 

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Air defenses were activated in 
Israel and explosions were heard

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around Jerusalem. 
The conflicts reach on Wednesday

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extended to a place that had 
nothing to do with the Middle 

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East. 
The Spanish government found 

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itself at the center of a 
dramatic diplomatic 

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confrontation with Washington. 
Trump had announced on Tuesday 

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that Madrid had indicated it 
would not allow the United 

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States to use certain Spanish 
bases in support of Operation 

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Epic Fury. 
Trump threatened to cut off 

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trade with Spain, accusing the 
NATO ally of failing to meet 

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defense spending commitments and
refusing to cooperate with a 

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wartime ally. 
Madrid's refusal to allow 

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offensive use of its bases was 
driven by strong domestic public

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opposition in Spain to the war 
and by the Spanish governments 

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view that the operation had been
launched without proper United 

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Nations authorization. 
Within 24 hours, Spain had 

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reversed course. 
White House press secretary 

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Caroline Levitt announced on 
Wednesday that Spain had agreed 

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to cooperate with the United 
States military after hearing 

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the president's message loud and
clear. 

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The episode was a revealing 
window into how Washington is 

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applying pressure on its allies 
to support the operation. 

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And it was a significant moment 
for European politics, with 

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Spain's governing coalition 
facing intense domestic 

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criticism for what opponents 
described as caving to American 

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demands. 
The European Commission issued a

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statement on Wednesday saying it
was ready to defend EU interests

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after Trump's trade threat 
against Spain. 

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European Commission President 
Ursula von der Leyen made clear 

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that trade threats against EU 
member states would not go 

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unanswered. 
The episode added an 

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uncomfortable transatlantic 
dimension to a conflict already 

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straining Western alliances. 
In Lebanon, the war continued to

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intensify on multiple fronts 
simultaneously. 

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Israeli forces have now 
conducted a ground incursion 

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into southern Lebanon with 
forces from the 91st Division, 

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with the stated goal of 
establishing what the IDF 

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described as a security layer to
protect Israeli settlements in 

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the north. 
The Lebanese government reported

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that Israeli forces had reached 
the villages of Kharkela and 

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Kuza, prompting the Lebanese 
army to redeploy from newly 

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established border posts. 
Lebanon's Foreign Minister 

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Youssef Raggi made a stunning 
announcement on Wednesday, 

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saying Lebanon's Council of 
Ministers had decided to ban the

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military and security activities
of Hezbollah, and it called on 

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Hezbollah to hand over its 
weapons. 

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This is an extraordinary 
development. 

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The Lebanese government, which 
has historically been unable or 

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unwilling to confront Hezbollah 
directly, has now formally 

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called for its disarmament. 
Whether Hezbollah complies is 

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another matter entirely, but the
political significance of the 

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Lebanese government taking this 
position is enormous. 

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00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:18,920
Greece announced on Wednesday 
that it would deploy frigates 

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and F sixteens to defend Cyprus 
from any further strikes by Iran

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or Iranian proxies following the
earlier drone attack on RAF 

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Akrotiri. 
An air security alert was 

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00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,880
triggered around 9:30 in the 
morning Cyprus time after a 

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00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,000
suspicious object was detected 
near the island's airspace. 

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00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,080
Two Greek F Sixteens took off 
from the Andreas Papandreou air 

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base in pathos to intercept 2 
one man drones believed to 

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originate from Lebanon. 
The alert was lifted 

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approximately an hour later 
following confirmation that the 

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drones had been shot down over 
the Mediterranean. 

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00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,040
France's President Macron 
announced that the aircraft 

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carrier Charles de Gaulle has 
been deployed to the Middle 

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East. 
He confirmed that France is 

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acting for defensive purposes 
only but is prepared to respond 

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to threats. 
He called again for renewed 

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diplomatic negotiations and for 
avoiding further escalation. 

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French aircraft were confirmed 
to have participated in 

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intercepting Iranian drones 
launched toward Gulf states, 

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marking the first direct French 
military involvement in the 

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conflict. the United Arab 
Emirates is now actively 

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considering striking Iranian 
missile facilities on Iranian 

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soil itself. 
Following the sustained Iranian 

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attacks on UAE territory, 
officials in the UAE confirmed 

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to regional outlets that the 
possibility of direct military 

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action against Iranian positions
is under active consideration. 

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This would represent a 
fundamental shift in the UAE's 

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posture and would mean that yet 
another country had moved from a

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defensive to a potentially 
offensive position. 

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In response to Iran strikes. 
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince 

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Mohammed bin Salman, with United
States backing, vowed to employ 

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military force against further 
Iranian incursions into Saudi 

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territory, calling the Iranian 
strikes cowardly. 

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Saudi airspace has been closed, 
the United States and Israeli 

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attacking aircraft, a constraint
that complicates certain 

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operational routes. 
But Saudi Arabia's commitment to

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intercepting and retaliating 
against Iranian strikes on its 

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own territory now appears firm. 
Inside the United States, a 

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00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,800
remarkable human interest detail
emerged that capture the spirit 

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of the American forces carrying 
out this operation. 

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Photos released by United States
Central Command showed sailors 

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00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,320
aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln 
marking ordinances headed for 

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Iran with their names, bombs, 
missiles and munitions bearing 

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the handwritten names of 
American sailors heading toward 

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Iran. 
CENTCOM posted the images with a

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caption. 
These are the men and women 

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defending America. 
The images were widely shared 

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00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,680
and generated significant public
reaction, both from those who 

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00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:54,800
saw them as a powerful symbol of
American resolve and from 

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critics who found them deeply 
troubling. 

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A long range precision strike 
missile, known as a PRSM, was 

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used in combat for the first 
time in history during Operation

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00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,400
Epic Fury Sin Com confirmed. 
The PRSM is an advanced Army 

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00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:13,120
tactical missile system with a 
range significantly greater than

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00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,640
its predecessor, capable of 
striking targets deep inside 

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00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,240
enemy territory with 
extraordinary precision. 

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Its first combat deployment 
marks another milestone in the 

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00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,040
technological history of this 
conflict. 

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00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,080
B52 bombers also carried out 
strikes inside Iran over the 

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00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:33,160
past 24 hours, joining the B2 
Spirit stealth bombers already 

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00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,080
confirmed to be operating in the
campaign. 

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The combination of B2 stealth 
capability and B52 long range 

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00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:43,000
payload capacity suggests the 
United States is striking both 

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00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,240
the most deeply buried hardened 
targets and a wider range of 

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military and infrastructure 
sites simultaneously. 

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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas 
Arachi issued his most 

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00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,440
politically charged public 
statement yet on Wednesday. 

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He posted on social media that 
Trump had betrayed diplomacy and

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Americans who elected him. 
He wrote when complex nuclear 

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00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,720
negotiations are treated like a 
real estate transaction and when

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big lies cloud realities, 
unrealistic expectations can 

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never be met. 
The outcome? 

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00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,800
Bombing the negotiation table 
out of spite, Arachi said Trump 

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00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,360
bombed Iran out of spite. 
He said he had betrayed the 

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00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,120
Americans who voted for him. 
The language was extraordinary 

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00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,160
in its directness. 
Iran's foreign minister, whose 

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00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,520
country is being bombed into 
rubble, accusing the President 

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00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,200
of the United States of spite. 
Iranian state television made a 

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00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,400
significant announcement on 
Wednesday. 

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00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:40,920
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told 
state TV that Iran is close to 

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00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,960
choosing a new Supreme leader. 
He said the Supreme Leader will 

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00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,400
be identified at the closest 
opportunity. 

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00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,880
We are close to a conclusion. 
However, the situation in the 

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00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:55,040
country is a war situation. 
Those words we are close, 

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00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,360
represent the most specific 
public timeline yet offered by 

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00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,080
any Iranian official on the 
succession question. 

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00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,920
But what close means under 
conditions of active bombardment

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00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,840
and communications blackout is 
genuinely unclear. 

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00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,640
The succession question is being
watched intensely by analysts 

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00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,520
because of its direct 
implications for the war itself.

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00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,200
A new supreme leader who is a 
hardliner could double down on 

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00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,680
the retaliatory campaign. 
A new supreme leader who is a 

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00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,280
pragmatist or who lacks common 
A's personal authority could 

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00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,800
struggle to hold the IRGC in 
check. 

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00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,760
And a new supreme leader who 
makes an early move toward 

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00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,760
negotiations could potentially 
provide the internal political 

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00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,000
cover of Iran needs to seek a 
ceasefire without it looking 

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00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,440
like capitulation. 
Congress voted on Thursday on 

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00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,400
war powers resolutions in both 
the House and Senate. 

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00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,880
As widely expected, the 
resolutions were largely 

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00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,840
symbolic. 
They did not attract the 2/3 

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00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:53,640
majority needed to override a 
presidential veto, but the votes

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00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,400
were significant nonetheless 
because they put individual 

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00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,480
members of Congress on record 
about the most consequential 

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00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:01,840
military decision of Trump's 
presidency. 

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00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,160
A number of Republicans joined 
Democrats in voting for the 

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00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,920
resolutions, including Thomas 
Massie and a small group of 

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00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,640
libertarian leaning 
conservatives. 

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00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:14,040
The margin was narrow, but the 
symbolism was powerful. 

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00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,960
Trump addressed Congress 
directly in a social media post 

308
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,640
on Wednesday. 
He said he had briefed the Gang 

309
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,920
of 8, the 8 senior congressional
leaders who were routinely 

310
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,720
provided classified intelligence
briefings before the operation 

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00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,120
began. 
He said Congress knew. 

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00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:33,680
Critics responded that being 
briefed is not the same as being

313
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,720
asked for authorization, which 
is what the Constitution 

314
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,920
requires. 
The State Department ordered 

315
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,600
non-emergency personnel and the 
family members of United States 

316
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,120
government staff to evacuate 
from six countries in the 

317
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:49,880
region, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, 
Kuwait, Qatar and the United 

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00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,400
Arab Emirates. 
American universities in the 

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00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:57,160
Gulf region, including Texas A&M
and Doha, transitioned to remote

320
00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,480
instruction. 
More than two dozen Texas A&M 

321
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,600
students who have been flying to
Doha from Texas when the war 

322
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,480
began were diverted to Istanbul.
Qatar authorities began 

323
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,400
evacuating residents from the 
area surrounding the United 

324
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,360
States Embassy in Doha as a 
precautionary measure. 

325
00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,080
Brazil expressed grave concern 
over the attacks. 

326
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,360
Cuba condemned the United States
and Israel. 

327
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,560
Indonesia expressed regret over 
the failure of negotiations and 

328
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,440
offered its president as a 
potential mediator, saying he 

329
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,720
was willing to travel to Tehran 
personally to renew dialogue. 

330
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,880
The humanitarian picture inside 
Iran is deteriorating by the 

331
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,080
hour. 
The Iranian Red Crescent 

332
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,240
reported on Wednesday that 
hospitals in multiple cities are

333
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,960
overwhelmed. 
Medical supplies are running 

334
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,280
critically short. 
The Internet remains largely cut

335
00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,680
off, though partial mobile 
connectivity has been restored 

336
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,800
in some areas. 
This is the picture as we enter 

337
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:59,000
day seven. 1045 Iranians 
confirmed dead. 2000 strikes 

338
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,000
carried out. 20 Iranian vessels 
sunk. 

339
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,800
The Iranian Air Force described 
as no more Hezbollah at war with

340
00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:11,000
Israel on a second front, 
Lebanon under Israeli ground 

341
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,640
incursion, Greece deploying 
fighter jets to Cyprus, France 

342
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,840
deploying the Charles de Gaulle,
Spain pressured into compliance,

343
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,040
the CIA arming Kurdish 
insurgents, B50 twos and B Twos 

344
00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,520
in the skies over Iran 
simultaneously. 

345
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,240
And a new supreme leader, 
according to Iran's own state 

346
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,680
television Almost chosen Hegseth
declared America is winning. 

347
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,400
Iran's foreign minister says 
Trump bombed the negotiating 

348
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,240
table out of spite. 
Both things are happening at the

349
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:46,240
same time in the same world. 
Six days after the first bomb 

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00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,680
fell. 
That is episode 6 of Epic Fury, 

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00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:54,120
the US Iran war podcast. 
The story is moving fast. 

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00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,760
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple 
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353
00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,240
So every new episode lands 
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354
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Share this with someone who 
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355
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