Latest / INSIGHT TODAY / It is time for the US to ‘GO IN HARD’ on Iran, retired general warns
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: All right, big story today. Breaking right now in Saudi Arabia,
- 0:04Speaker 1: they are confirming that hours ago they intercepted an incoming
- 0:08Speaker 1: ballistic missile. This is today, Monday. The kingdom has been
- 0:13Speaker 1: entangled in a wider regional conflict that has been escalating.
- 0:17Speaker 1: This warning for you now, because the video we're about
- 0:20Speaker 1: to show you about what happened over the weekend, is graphic.
- 0:23Speaker 1: Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for these vicious attacks. at
- 0:28Speaker 1: the airport in Riyadh, huge international airport, tons of business
- 0:33Speaker 1: commerce in and out of this airport. 13 people were killed.
- 0:37Speaker 1: In this explosion, including one American, over 300, I mean,
- 0:41Speaker 1: these are just stunning, awful images here. You can see
- 0:45Speaker 1: the ceiling coming down. We remember other incidents like this,
- 0:48Speaker 1: one we saw in Turkey not too long ago, another
- 0:51Speaker 1: one in Moscow. Those were attributed to ISIS and to
- 0:55Speaker 1: Chechen rebels. We need to learn more, obviously, about who
- 0:58Speaker 1: pulled this off. But this is the deadliest attack in
- 1:01Speaker 1: the kingdom in over a decade. And it shut down, obviously,
- 1:04Speaker 1: this second busiest airport in the country. Here's President Trump
- 1:07Speaker 1: speaking to Fox. Our military panel is standing by, but
- 1:11Speaker 1: first to Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yinks with the very
- 1:14Speaker 1: latest from Tel Aviv.
- 1:15Speaker 2: Hi, Trey.
- 1:26Speaker 3: Martha, good afternoon. Yet another Houthi missile attack against the
- 1:29Speaker 3: Saudi capital of Riyadh tonight, triggering alerts there. This comes
- 1:33Speaker 3: as Houthi rebels are now issuing a direct warning to
- 1:37Speaker 3: foreign airlines against using Saudi airspace or airports inside the kingdom.
- 1:44Speaker 4: We reiterate our warning to all international companies, experts, employees,
- 1:49Speaker 4: workers and travelers from all over the world to not
- 1:53Speaker 4: operate flights to Saudi airports as they are unsafe except
- 1:57Speaker 4: for the airports and airspace of the holy cities of
- 2:00Speaker 4: Mecca and Medina.
- 2:03Speaker 3: The warning comes after 13 people were killed and more
- 2:05Speaker 3: than 300 injured when the Houthis launched a missile attack
- 2:08Speaker 3: against a Saudi airport on Saturday. The target of the attack,
- 2:11Speaker 3: Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport. At least one ballistic missile
- 2:15Speaker 3: slammed into Terminal 3 as it was packed with passengers.
- 2:19Speaker 3: First responders rushing to the scene in ambulances and helicopters,
- 2:22Speaker 3: evacuating many of the hundreds who were injured. Another attack
- 2:25Speaker 3: occurred just a day later against Terminal 4, killing an
- 2:28Speaker 3: additional person. The strikes against the airport and energy infrastructure
- 2:32Speaker 3: in the south raised questions about if the United States
- 2:35Speaker 3: could come to the defense of Saudi Arabia and launch
- 2:37Speaker 3: a new round of strikes against this Iranian proxy group.
- 2:41Speaker 1: The events of recent weeks are serious. Our response must
- 2:46Speaker 1: be equally serious. While remaining focused on the decades ahead,
- 2:52Speaker 1: Vision 23 must continue. Investment must continue.
- 3:00Speaker 3: Condemnation for the attack is poured in from world leaders
- 3:03Speaker 3: and officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said
- 3:06Speaker 3: in a statement these reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard
- 3:10Speaker 3: for innocent civilian life. They must stop now. Rubio goes
- 3:13Speaker 3: on to say, we stand with the Kingdom of Saudi
- 3:15Speaker 3: Arabia and its people and extend our condolences to the
- 3:18Speaker 3: victims and their families. Ironically, the Iranians are speaking out
- 3:21Speaker 3: about the escalation despite the fact they fund and support
- 3:24Speaker 3: the Houthis. The question now is how the Saudis will
- 3:27Speaker 3: respond and if the United States could be involved. Martha?
- 3:31Speaker 1: That is the question, Trey. Thank you very much. Joining
- 3:34Speaker 1: me now, retired four-star General Charles Wald, former U.S. European
- 3:37Speaker 1: Command deputy commander and fellow at the Jewish Institute for
- 3:40Speaker 1: National Security of America, and retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward,
- 3:44Speaker 1: former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command and member of
- 3:47Speaker 1: the Iran Policy Project at Jinza. Great to have both
- 3:50Speaker 1: of you with us. General, well, let me start with you.
- 3:52Speaker 1: And I want to bring up call for number three.
- 3:54Speaker 1: This is a map of the Houthi attacks on Saudi
- 3:57Speaker 1: airports since October 5th, just last Monday. You can see
- 4:01Speaker 1: that they are peppered really all across the country. And
- 4:05Speaker 1: we heard what the representative, the military spokesman of the
- 4:08Speaker 1: Houthis said. This is a warning to everyone. all international companies, experts, employees, workers,
- 4:14Speaker 1: and travelers from all over the world to not operate
- 4:17Speaker 1: flights to Saudi airports. General Wald, what do you see
- 4:20Speaker 1: at work here?
- 4:24Speaker 5: Well, I think the Iranians are pretty desperate. They're going
- 4:27Speaker 5: after infrastructure that is pretty critical, obviously, to the Saudis
- 4:32Speaker 5: and other Middle East nations, as well as the economy there.
- 4:36Speaker 5: So It kind of strikes me that, you know, the
- 4:40Speaker 5: United States had a significant error at the beginning of
- 4:43Speaker 5: the attack on Iran on a girls' school. And we've
- 4:47Speaker 5: heard extensively about how that was some people call a
- 4:51Speaker 5: war crime, whatever. I'm sure it was an accident. The
- 4:55Speaker 5: Iranians go after civilian targets with impunity. This attack on
- 4:58Speaker 5: the airport in Riyadh should be the end for the Iranians.
- 5:03Speaker 5: I think the United States and our allies, that includes
- 5:06Speaker 5: all the GCC countries in the Middle East, as well
- 5:09Speaker 5: as you see France, England, Australia, and the U.K. are
- 5:16Speaker 5: becoming pretty upset, too. I think it's time for us
- 5:18Speaker 5: to go after Iran, go after their infrastructure from the
- 5:21Speaker 5: standpoint of their oil and their economy, as well as
- 5:25Speaker 5: continue to take out their missiles. And I think it's
- 5:27Speaker 5: time for us to go in hard after them.
- 5:31Speaker 1: So the president was asked that question, General Harward. Should
- 5:34Speaker 1: the United States enter the fight against the Houthis? And
- 5:38Speaker 1: General Wall brings up the excellent point of the Gulf
- 5:41Speaker 1: states and the Saudis have, you know, sort of had
- 5:45Speaker 1: requests to the United States to help them against the Houthis.
- 5:49Speaker 1: What is your take on this? What kind of involvement
- 5:51Speaker 1: do you think is necessary, if any?
- 5:55Speaker 2: I think, as the general indicator, a broader coalition needs
- 5:58Speaker 2: to be involved. There's no doubt about it. This is
- 6:01Speaker 2: an extension of the conflict with Iran through one of
- 6:04Speaker 2: their surrogates, who have been enabled with funding, training and weapons,
- 6:09Speaker 2: be it missiles and drones. And you'll note already, just recently,
- 6:13Speaker 2: the Mecca Joint Security Agreement was signed between Turkey, Pakistan
- 6:18Speaker 2: and Saudi, and that's indicative of the type of coalitions
- 6:22Speaker 2: that need to come together, and let's see how they're
- 6:25Speaker 2: going to respond as well. But again, I have been surprised,
- 6:28Speaker 2: especially with the Bambel and Dab, the Red Sea and
- 6:32Speaker 2: the Houthis, the threat they pose to Europe, going after
- 6:37Speaker 2: their energy supplies, that Europe hasn't come to the table
- 6:40Speaker 2: here yet. And yet with their conflict in Ukraine, they're
- 6:45Speaker 2: pretty busy at the moment as well. But both of
- 6:47Speaker 2: these conflicts are linked together. This is no doubt a
- 6:51Speaker 2: conflict between the East and West in so many ways
- 6:55Speaker 2: because of the energy supplies that are in the region.
- 6:59Speaker 2: If you look at two-thirds of the known oil reserves
- 7:02Speaker 2: on this planet, Iran, Saudi, UAE, and Kuwait, then you
- 7:09Speaker 2: can see why China has such a focus on all this.
- 7:13Speaker 2: So this coalition that's going to be dealing with the
- 7:16Speaker 2: Houthis needs to come together with Iran as well. And
- 7:20Speaker 2: it's broader, not just the conflict with the Islamic revolution,
- 7:24Speaker 2: but also between the East and West. And they're both
- 7:27Speaker 2: inextricably linked together.
- 7:30Speaker 1: Admiral Harward, General Wald, great to have you both here. Obviously,
- 7:35Speaker 1: it's a very fast-moving story and a terrible attack at
- 7:38Speaker 1: that Saudi airport over the weekend. Lives lost, including an American,
- 7:42Speaker 1: as you point out. And now we're tracking another story
- 7:45Speaker 1: of a missile, a ballistic missile, landing in Saudi Arabia
- 7:48Speaker 1: as well. Thank you so much, gentlemen. Good to have
- 7:51Speaker 1: you with us today.