1 00:00:16,820 --> 00:00:20,740 The Strait of Hormuz is closed, the United States embassy in 2 00:00:20,740 --> 00:00:25,100 Saudi Arabia has been struck, a UNESCO World Heritage site in 3 00:00:25,100 --> 00:00:28,940 Tehran has been bombed, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio 4 00:00:28,940 --> 00:00:32,299 is warning the world that the hardest hits on Iran are yet to 5 00:00:32,299 --> 00:00:35,460 come. Day five of Operation Epic Fury 6 00:00:35,940 --> 00:00:39,260 and every single day this conflict has widened further 7 00:00:39,260 --> 00:00:43,360 than the day before. This is episode 5 of Epic Fury, 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,600 the US Iran war podcast. There is an enormous amount to 9 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,360 cover today. Let's get straight into it. 10 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,480 The single most consequential development of the last 24 hours 11 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,480 is not a military strike. It is 3 words from Tehran. 12 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,920 Iran has formally closed the Strait of Hormuz after days of 13 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,680 threats. Iran made it official on Monday. 14 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,560 The Strait of Hormuz, the 21 mile wide waterway through which 15 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,440 approximately 20 million barrels of oil flow every single day, 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,800 1/5 of the world's entire daily oil supply, is now closed. 17 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,480 Iran deployed naval assets and issued formal warnings to 18 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,360 commercial shipping that any vessel attempting to transit the 19 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,520 Strait does so at its own risk. The consequences were immediate 20 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,160 and severe. Qatar Energy, the world's 21 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,640 largest producer of liquefied natural gas, announced they had 22 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,120 halted production after Iranian attacks on its facilities. 23 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,400 Iraq's oil ministry announced it had been forced to stop 24 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,640 production and pumping from the southern Ramela oil fields near 25 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,960 Basra, citing a critical shortage of tankers caused by 26 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,040 the closure of the Strait. Storage levels at Iraq's oil 27 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,360 warehouses, the ministry said, had risen to critical levels 28 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,440 with nowhere left to put the oil that can no longer be exported. 29 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,360 Brent crude oil surged above $90.00 a barrel on Tuesday 30 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,880 morning for the first time since 2023. 31 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,400 That is up more than $17.00 a barrel since Operation Epic Fury 32 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,440 began just five days ago. Every $10 increase in the price 33 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,800 of oil sustained over a year reduces global economic growth 34 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,000 by approximately 0.2%. Every family in Britain, the 35 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,240 United States, Europe and beyond will feel this in their petrol 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,160 bills, their energy costs and the price of goods on 37 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,520 supermarket shelves. Trump responded to the closure 38 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,360 on Truth Social. He wrote Iran has just closed 39 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,080 the Strait of Hormuz. Big mistake. 40 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,880 The United States Navy will reopen it, and Iran will pay a 41 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:45,000 very heavy price for doing this. United States Central Command 42 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,280 confirmed on Tuesday that the Navy had been directed to begin 43 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,120 operations to reopen the Strait. CENTCOM declined to provide 44 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,480 specific details of those operations, citing operational 45 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,120 security. But the deployment of 2 carrier 46 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,880 strike groups to the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS 47 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,840 Gerald R Ford, was always understood by analysts to 48 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,760 include exactly this contingency. 49 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,200 The Strait of Hormuz is now, in effect, a naval battleground. 50 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:14,480 The geopolitical implications of a prolonged closure are 51 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,960 staggering. Japan, South Korea, China and 52 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,120 India collectively import hundreds of millions of barrels 53 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,520 of oil through the Strait of Hormuz every year. 54 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,480 China alone sources roughly a third of its oil imports through 55 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,240 this waterway. If the closure extends for weeks 56 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,880 rather than days, the economic damage will spread far beyond 57 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,640 the Middle East. Asian economies will be among 58 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,000 the hardest hit, and China, which has been loudly condemning 59 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,880 the strikes on Iran, faces the excruciating irony of watching 60 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,280 its own economy damaged by the actions of its opposed partner 61 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,120 in Tehran. The world's most important oil 62 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,680 choke point is closed and the United States Navy has been 63 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,440 ordered to reopen it, by force if necessary. 64 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,800 The death toll inside Iran has now risen to at least 787 65 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,000 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. 66 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,040 That figure, released on Tuesday morning, marks a significant 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,960 increase from the 555 reported on Monday includes Supreme 68 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,760 Leader Khamenei and members of his own family. 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,760 Khamenei's wife was confirmed on Monday to have died of injuries 70 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,360 sustained in the same strike that killed her husband. 71 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,360 The most painful single figure within that toll remains the Min 72 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,360 of school air strike. The death toll from that single 73 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,960 incident has now risen to 168. According to Iran state news 74 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:39,240 agency IRNA, 168 people killed in a single strike on a girl's 75 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,480 elementary school. Among the dead are students, 76 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,440 teachers and parents who had come to collect their children. 77 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,840 95 others were injured. It is the single deadliest 78 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:52,640 single incident civilian casualty event of the entire 79 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,280 conflict so far. It continues to drive 80 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:58,480 significant international criticism of the operation, even 81 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,440 among countries that broadly supported stated objectives 82 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,040 beyond Iran's borders. The total picture of deaths in 83 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,120 the conflict continues to grow. 11 people have been killed in 84 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,080 Israel. 6 United States service members are dead. 85 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,480 Eight people have been killed across the Gulf states in the 86 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,760 UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. Inside Iran itself, United 87 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,840 States and Israeli strikes have now hit targets across 24 of 88 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:28,840 Iran's 31 provinces. The IDF confirmed that Israeli 89 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:33,160 aircraft dropped more than 1200 munitions across those provinces 90 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,920 in the past 24 hours alone. Among the targets struck were 91 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,120 the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting headquarters in 92 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,120 Tehran. The head of Iranian State 93 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,320 Broadcasting, Payman Jabelli, confirmed the building had been 94 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,600 hit, though he said broadcasting was continuing due to pre 95 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,280 prepared contingency measures. And in a strike that generated 96 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:56,320 immediate international outrage, the historic Gholston Palace in 97 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,200 central Tehran was damaged. Gholston Palace is a UNESCO 98 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,040 World Heritage site, a 19th century royal complex that is 99 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,960 one of the oldest and most important historical monuments 100 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,600 in Iran. Photos circulating on social 101 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,360 media showed debris across the ornate tiled courtyards of the 102 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,880 palace. Iran's cultural Heritage 103 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:17,920 organization confirmed the damage. 104 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,640 UNESCO issued a statement expressing profound regret. 105 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,520 The Israeli military did not comment on the specific strike 106 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,480 but is maintained that all its targets were military in nature. 107 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,360 Secretary of State Marco Rubio appear before reporters on 108 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,320 Monday and delivered a message that sent a chill through 109 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,800 capitals across the world. He said. 110 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,880 And I am quoting directly, the hardest hits on Iran are yet to 111 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,400 come. Rubio explained the strategic 112 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,320 logic behind the pre emptive launch of Operation Epic Fury on 113 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,040 February 28th. He said that American 114 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,000 intelligence had determined that within an hour of the initial 115 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,720 Israeli strike on the Iranian leadership compound, Iran's 116 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,800 missile forces in both the north and the South had already been 117 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,800 pre positioned and activated to launch. 118 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,520 He said if we stood and waited for that attack to come first 119 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,120 before we hit, we would have suffered much higher casualties. 120 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,080 The president made the very wise decision. 121 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,240 Rubio's statement that the hardest hits are yet to come, 122 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,480 combined with the deployment of the two Spirit stealth bombers 123 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,440 and the now confirmed targeting of deeply buried underground 124 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,520 facilities, suggests the most intensive phase of this air 125 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,080 campaign may still lie ahead. That is an extraordinary 126 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,040 statement given the scale of what has already been done in 127 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,840 five days. Trump, speaking at a Medal of 128 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,080 Honor ceremony at the White House on Monday, delivered his 129 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,240 most expansive public justification for the operation 130 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,720 to date. He told attendees that Iran had 131 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,800 ignored repeated warnings against continuing to pursue 132 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,800 nuclear enrichment. He said the purpose of Iran's 133 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,720 fast growing missile program was to shield its nuclear 134 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,840 development and make it difficult for anyone to stop it. 135 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,120 He blamed former President Barack Obama for the nuclear 136 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:01,920 deal. He said it given Iran the 137 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,640 pathway it needed. He said I was very proud to have 138 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,000 knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Barack Hussein 139 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,320 Obama. And he said the strikes would 140 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,520 continue until every United States objective had been met. 141 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,000 Trump also made a statement that stopped many people in their 142 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,520 tracks. He told reporters the United 143 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,960 States military is knocking the crap out of Iran, but the big 144 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,240 wave of attacks is yet to come. When pressed on whether he would 145 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,040 consider deploying ground troops to Iran, Trump did not rule it 146 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,440 out. He said I don't think it will be 147 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,320 necessary, but I never say never. 148 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,880 When asked if the United States was prepared to go longer than 149 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,960 the four to five week timeline he had previously outlined, he 150 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,600 said whatever it takes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 151 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,160 addressed the nation at a Pentagon press briefing 152 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,080 alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Cain. 153 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,880 Hegseth stressed that Operation Epic Fury will not become 154 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:00,160 another Iraq. He said this is not endless, but 155 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,160 he declined to rule out the possibility of ground troops 156 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,400 being deployed. He said the goals of the 157 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,600 operation remain what he described as laser focused, 158 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,960 destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian 159 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,720 missile production, destroy their Navy and other security 160 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:21,520 infrastructure, and ensure Iran never, ever has nuclear weapons. 161 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,680 Hekseth also provided the most detailed technical account yet 162 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:27,560 of the opening moments of the operation. 163 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,120 He said that more than 100 aircraft launched from land and 164 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,840 sea simultaneously at 1:15 in the morning Eastern Time on 165 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,360 February 28, fighters, tankers, airborne early warning 166 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,920 platforms, electronic attack aircraft, bombers flying from 167 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,160 the continental United States, and unmanned platforms all 168 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,360 forming what he called a single synchronized wave. 169 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,440 He said United States Cyber Command and Space Command 170 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,880 initiated non kinetic actions to disable Iran's communications 171 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,480 ability beginning hours before the physical strikes, creating a 172 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,440 window of confusion and blindness in Iran's military 173 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,800 command systems before the 1st bomb fell. 174 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,800 One of the most significant and troubling developments of the 175 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,520 last 24 hours involves not Iran but America's own ally. the 176 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,560 United States Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was struck by two 177 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,320 suspected Iranian drones on Tuesday morning. 178 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,160 Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed a strike to 179 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,840 CNN. The United States embassy is 180 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,840 sovereign American territory. A strike on an American embassy 181 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,440 is, under international law, an act of aggression against the 182 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,680 United States itself. Saudi Arabia condemned the 183 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,400 strike in the strongest terms. the United States has not yet 184 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,840 formally attributed responsibility, though the 185 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,320 attribution to Iran or an Iranian proxy is considered 186 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,040 certain by officials familiar with the intelligence. 187 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,560 Saudi Arabia's position in this conflict is becoming 188 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,240 increasingly significant. Riyadh had initially maintained 189 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,840 a position of study neutrality, committing only to intercepting 190 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,880 Iranian missiles that entered its airspace and refusing to 191 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,120 allow offensive use of Saudi territory or airspace. 192 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,520 But after the strike on its capital's American embassy and 193 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,640 following Sunday's Iranian targeting of the Rasta Neuro oil 194 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,600 refinery, Saudi Arabia issued a statement on Monday saying it 195 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,760 reserves the right to respond to aggression. 196 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,360 Saudi Defense Ministry sources told regional outlets that the 197 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,200 Kingdom is now actively considering direct military 198 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,200 action against Iranian positions. 199 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,000 If Saudi Arabia formally enters this conflict on the side of the 200 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,400 United States and Israel, the strategic picture changes 201 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,320 dramatically. Saudi Arabia has one of the most 202 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,560 powerful and well equipped air forces in the Middle East. 203 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,440 With F15 Strike Eagles purchased from the United States and 204 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:44,960 hundreds of advanced munition stockpiles built up over 205 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:49,080 decades, Iran and its proxy forces have now struck targets 206 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,640 across an extraordinary geographic range. 207 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,600 In addition to Israel and the Gulf states, Iran backed Qadab 208 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,160 Hezbollah in Iraq issued A veiled threat on Tuesday against 209 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:03,120 Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, claiming that American 210 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,520 aircraft that struck their positions earlier in the 211 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,200 conflict had taken off from a United States air base in 212 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,600 Jordan. This is the first direct threat 213 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:14,440 by an Iranian proxy specifically directed at Jordan, which has 214 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,560 until now attempted to remain on the periphery of the conflict. 215 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,320 In Lebanon, the situation continued to deteriorate 216 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,720 sharply. Hezbollah issued a formal 217 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,000 statement through its senior official Mahmoud Kamati on 218 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,680 Tuesday. Kamati said that after more than 219 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:33,560 a year of abiding by the November 2024 ceasefire despite 220 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:37,120 continued Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory, Hezbollah's 221 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,240 patience has ended. He said Hezbollah had exercised 222 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,320 restraint, hoping the Lebanese government's diplomatic efforts 223 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,880 would yield results. They did not, he declared. 224 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,960 The Zionist enemy wanted an open war, which it has not stopped 225 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,400 since the ceasefire agreement. So let it be an open war. 226 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,880 The IDF struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs on 227 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,240 Tuesday that housed Hezbollah's television and radio station 228 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,720 Almana, causing heavy damage. Lebanon's Health Ministry 229 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,800 confirmed that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 230 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:12,120 people and wounded at least 149 in Lebanon, most of them in the 231 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,640 South. Thousands of displaced Lebanese 232 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,560 civilians were streaming into shelters set up in schools in 233 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:20,720 Beirut, many of them displaced for the second time in two 234 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,280 years. One entirely new dimension of 235 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,360 this conflict that has received less attention than it deserves 236 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,280 is the cyber war that has been running in parallel with the 237 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,160 physical strike since the opening hours of the operation. 238 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,920 American cybersecurity companies including Checkpoint and 239 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,680 Google's Threat Intelligence Group confirmed that Iran 240 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:42,360 aligned hacker groups resumed cyber espionage operations after 241 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,560 a brief lull in the immediate aftermath of the first strikes, 242 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,720 John Haltquist, the chief analyst of Google's threat 243 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,840 Intelligence group, said in a statement. 244 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,520 Iranian cyber espionage has resumed after a brief lull 245 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,400 during the initial military strikes, he added. 246 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,720 Much of what we see here we also saw in the June war between 247 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,880 Israel and Iran. On the other side, the opening 248 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,520 hours of Operation Epic Fury included a coordinated Israeli 249 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,960 cyber offensive that went far beyond anything seen in the June 250 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,560 operation. The Bait Sabha Calendar prayer 251 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:17,200 app, a widely used Iranian app with over 5 million downloads, 252 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:19,640 was hacked in the opening hours of the conflict. 253 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,080 Push notifications were sent to every user on the platform in 254 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,080 Persian, urging military personnel and citizens to 255 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,560 defect, to lay down their weapons and to join opposition 256 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,920 forces, the messages said. Help has arrived and it is time 257 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,960 for reckoning. Iranian state communications 258 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,640 infrastructure was targeted. Simultaneously, connectivity 259 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,680 inside Iran dropped to as low as 1 to 4% of normal levels of the 260 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,920 height of the cyber offensive, creating a near total Internet 261 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,400 blackout that lasted more than 60 hours. 262 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,680 Government communications, state media and public services were 263 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,400 all disrupted. The combination of kinetic 264 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,360 strikes and cyber warfare represents the most 265 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,600 comprehensive integrated military campaign in modern 266 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,040 history. The physical bombs and the 267 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,920 digital disruption were designed to work together, destroy the 268 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,560 infrastructure with missiles, blind the population with a 269 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,640 cyber blackout, and send messages directly to Iranian 270 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,120 phones urging them to rise up. The United States State 271 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,360 Department escalated its diplomatic evacuation operations 272 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,200 on Tuesday. non-emergency personnel and family members of 273 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:30,840 United States government staff have now been ordered to 274 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,560 evacuate from six countries in the region, Bahrain, Iraq, 275 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,200 Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 276 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,280 The UAE, which includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi and has long been 277 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,000 considered one of the safest and most stable environments in the 278 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,080 Middle East, has now been formally added to the evacuation 279 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,800 list. the United States Embassy in Abu Dhabi also issued a 280 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,960 warning that terrorist attacks targeting tourist locations, 281 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,720 transportation hubs, shopping areas and places of worship were 282 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,040 possible in the UAE and encourage American citizens to 283 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,920 exercise extreme caution. Behind the bombs and the 284 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,000 missiles, in the cyber attacks and the diplomatic evacuations, 285 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,280 there is a diplomatic track that is moving in confusing and 286 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,560 contradictory directions simultaneously. 287 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,880 Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, 288 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,200 appeared on Monday and provided the most detailed account yet of 289 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,240 how the Geneva nuclear talks collapsed in the days before 290 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,720 Operation Epic Fury began. He said that he and Jared 291 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,280 Kushner had traveled to Geneva on Trump's behalf to determine 292 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,600 whether Iran was serious about doing a deal. 293 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,360 The United States delegation proposed a decade long halt to 294 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,600 uranium enrichment. Iran's opening position, Witkoff 295 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,960 said, was to insist on its inalienable right to enrich 296 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:48,120 uranium and to boast that it's 460kg of 60% enriched uranium 297 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,840 could produce 11 nuclear bombs, he said. 298 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,160 They began the talks by telling us how many nuclear weapons they 299 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,800 could build. That is not a serious 300 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,080 negotiating partner. Despite the collapse of those 301 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,600 talks and the subsequent launch of the operation, Trump told The 302 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,119 Atlantic on Monday that the new Iranian leadership had expressed 303 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,640 interest in negotiations. He said talks with Iran will be 304 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,800 easier following the death of Khamenei. 305 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,920 Iran's position publicly remains what Ali Larijani stated. 306 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,960 We will not negotiate with the United States. 307 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,240 But Oman's foreign minister confirmed he remained in active 308 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,800 contact with both sides, and the Wall Street Journal's reporting 309 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,520 that back channel signals are being sent through Oman has not 310 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,840 been contradicted by anyone. What this means in practice is 311 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,080 that a military operation in a diplomatic process are running 312 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,280 simultaneously in parallel in opposite directions, and neither 313 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,760 side is prepared to stop the other while the other is still 314 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,400 running. Netanyahu was asked directly on 315 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,200 Fox News whether this will become an endless war. 316 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,160 He said this is not an endless war, this is in fact something 317 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,880 that will usher in an era of peace that we haven't even 318 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,320 dreamed of. He said the operation will 319 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,440 create the conditions for the Iranian people to form their own 320 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,000 democratically elected government and to free 321 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,040 themselves from the yoke of this terror machine. 322 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,440 Netanyahu also provided a specific and chilling 323 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,360 justification for why the operation launched when it did. 324 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,400 He told Fox News that Iran's new underground nuclear bunkers 325 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,880 would have become immune to attack within months. 326 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,360 The window to destroy them was closing. 327 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:26,080 That is why February 28th was the date the Quincy Institute's 328 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,400 try to Parsi, one of the most respected Iran analysts in 329 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,680 Washington, offered a sobering assessment of why Iran is 330 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,240 unlikely to agree to a ceasefire quickly. 331 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,360 He said Tehran believes it made a mistake by agreeing to a truce 332 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:43,040 in June 2025. The regime calculates that if it 333 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,880 stops fighting now, the United States will simply restart the 334 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,840 war at a later point. Iran's logic, Parsi argues, is 335 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,600 to keep fighting until the cost of the United States becomes 336 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,320 high enough that Washington commits to a durable end to 337 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,920 hostilities rather than a temporary pause. 338 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,200 Iran, in other words, is not trying to win this war 339 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,440 militarily. It is trying to make it 340 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,080 expensive enough in American lives and treasure and global 341 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,640 disruption that the United States chooses A negotiated end 342 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,800 over a prolonged campaign. Whether that calculation is 343 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,320 correct and whether the Islamic Republic survives long enough to 344 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,720 test it are the two most consequential open questions of 345 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,920 this entire conflict. That is episode 5 of Epic Fury, 346 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:30,360 the US Iran War podcast. The story is moving fast. 347 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,800 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple podcast or YouTube so every new 348 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:38,520 episode lands directly with you. Share this with someone who 349 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,200 needs to understand what is happening and we will be back 350 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:43,040 very soon.