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Russian spy satellites linked to Iran strikes · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A new CNN investigation reveals how Russian spy satellites orbiting
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: over the Persian Gulf likely helped Iran hit U.S. assets
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: with devastating precision. Personnel were injured and key resources destroyed,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: including AWACS, Washington eyes in the sky in this region.
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  Speaker 1: CNN's Tamara Kiblawi now reports.
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  Speaker 2: This is the launch of Cosmos 2573, one of Russia's
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  Speaker 2: elite spy satellites currently collecting intelligence across the globe. Now
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  Speaker 2: CNN has learned that these satellites have likely given Iran
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  Speaker 2: a considerable advantage in its fight against the U.S., capturing
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  Speaker 2: not just what U.S. military sites look like, but also
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  Speaker 2: exposing their inner workings. Our sources, including two U.S. officials,
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  Speaker 2: tell us they have evidence that those satellites are feeding
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  Speaker 2: some of that intelligence back to Iran. aiding at least
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  Speaker 2: some precision strikes. The apparent synergy between Russian satellites and
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Iran's rockets is laid bare here, Prince Sultan Air Base.
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  Speaker 2: Then we begin with the breaking news, Iran striking a U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Base.
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  Speaker 2: Iranian state media releasing this image, which shows a strike
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  Speaker 2: at the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
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  Speaker 2: A major Iranian attack on March 27th. The U.S. has
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  Speaker 2: had a strategic presence here for decades. According to our sources...
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  Speaker 2: Russian satellites played a vital role in these strikes, which
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  Speaker 2: wreaked havoc on the base and injured 12 U.S. personnel. Now,
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  Speaker 2: we do not have access to Russia's satellite images, but
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  Speaker 2: we looked at the orbital data, tracking satellites and assessing
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  Speaker 2: their visibility over sites of interest with help from space
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  Speaker 2: technology experts Project Aurora and Cahan Space, who provided us
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  Speaker 2: with the images you see. Here's the Cosmos 2573 again,
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  Speaker 2: just two days before the attack. It flies over the
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  Speaker 2: base along with 13 other Russian spy satellites. Our analysis
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  Speaker 2: shows that these spacecrafts moved in both a perfect sequence
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  Speaker 2: and had a perfect view to collect rich, multisensory data.
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  Speaker 2: Each of these satellites contributes a different part of the
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  Speaker 2: intelligence picture. Cosmos 2573 captures deep and detailed military-grade satellite imagery.
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  Speaker 2: These eight are signal satellites. They can intercept radio and
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  Speaker 2: radar emissions, allowing them to locate air defenses that can
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  Speaker 2: shoot down the incoming missiles. These two are infrared satellites.
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  Speaker 2: They pick up heat signatures, the kind that comes from
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  Speaker 2: rocket launchers. And finally, three synthetic aperture radar satellites, known
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  Speaker 2: as SAR. They're able to see through clouds and darkness
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  Speaker 2: and flag physical changes. showing, for example, where a movable,
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  Speaker 2: high-value asset might be repositioned. Like this plane, the Airborne
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  Speaker 2: Warning and Control System, AWACS for short, America's eyes on
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  Speaker 2: the skies in the Middle East. Crucially, the AWACS was
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  Speaker 2: not parked in its pre-war location. On March 27th, Iran
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  Speaker 2: destroyed it, an aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars
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  Speaker 2: and very, very difficult to replace. The scale of the
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  Speaker 2: damage to the base And the accuracy of the strikes
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  Speaker 2: would have been nearly impossible without Russian geospatial intelligence, according
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  Speaker 2: to our sources. And this isn't an isolated incident. Now,
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  Speaker 2: there is some debate among U.S. officials over just how
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  Speaker 2: consequential Russian support has been. But our sources broadly suspect
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  Speaker 2: that Russian satellites gave Iran targeting information several more times
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  Speaker 2: over the course of the war, including at a CIA
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  Speaker 2: facility in the Saudi capital. We wouldn't be in this
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  Speaker 2: situation today.
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  Speaker 3: The war wouldn't be where it is today if it
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  Speaker 3: wasn't for the unique capabilities that the Russians.
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  Speaker 2: Gave to the Iranians. According to experts like Dr. Nawaf Obeid,
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  Speaker 2: one of the reasons Russia has been helping Iran, Moscow
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  Speaker 2: calls this fake news, is because the U.S. is working
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  Speaker 2: with Ukraine in a similar way, through intelligence sharing to
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  Speaker 2: support strikes similar to these.
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  Speaker 3: You have to see it in this way. This is
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  Speaker 3: Russian payback with interest.
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  Speaker 2: It's monumental in terms of the consequences of what this
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  Speaker 2: has done to not just to the U.S.
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  Speaker 3: Standing in the.
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  Speaker 2: Region, but to the security architecture of the region going forward.
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  Speaker 3: How surprising is it that the Russians are providing information
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  Speaker 3: from their spy satellites? And how does that change the
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  Speaker 3: situation in this region?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, good morning, John. It's not surprising at all, actually.
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  Speaker 4: You know, these satellite constellations are basically the modern version
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  Speaker 4: of what the Russians had during the Cold War. And
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  Speaker 4: one of the things that's really key about this is
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  Speaker 4: that these satellites are able to provide information, usually imagery intelligence,
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  Speaker 4: sometimes signals intelligence, that give the Iranians precise coordinates as
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  Speaker 4: to where they can strike. So what you're seeing is
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  Speaker 4: when the satellites go over a certain area, you know,
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  Speaker 4: if they're in lower Earth orbit or even in other
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  Speaker 4: types of orbits, what they can do is they can
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  Speaker 4: look at certain areas and because of advances in technology,
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  Speaker 4: they can home in on specific areas. And those specific areas,
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  Speaker 4: of course, come with coordinates. And that then provides the
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  Speaker 4: impetus to go after places like Prince Sultan Air Base
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  Speaker 4: in Saudi Arabia and other places such as the facility
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  Speaker 4: in Bahrain, the naval facility that was destroyed. So the
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  Speaker 4: Iranians have, through the Russians, have gotten this capability and
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  Speaker 4: they're using it quite effectively.
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  Speaker 3: And Colonel, the situation in in the region has sort
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  Speaker 3: of shifted over the last couple weeks. And a lot
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  Speaker 3: of it has to do with the Iranian supported Houthi
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  Speaker 3: rebels in Yemen. Here we can see the Houthis have
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  Speaker 3: now spread their control. Actually, it does include this town
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  Speaker 3: right here. And it also includes a very key island
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  Speaker 3: in the Strait of Bab al-Amandeb right here. So effectively,
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  Speaker 3: the Houthis have much more control over this strait. And
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  Speaker 3: that can be key because oil really from Saudi Arabia
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  Speaker 3: only has three ways out, right? It can go out
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  Speaker 3: the Strait of Hormuz, which we know is constricted. It
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  Speaker 3: can go out the Strait of Bab al-Amenda, which right
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  Speaker 3: now is constricted and under Houthi control. And the third
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  Speaker 3: possible way they've been running oil out of this pipeline
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  Speaker 3: here into the Red Sea. But there have been strikes
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  Speaker 3: now here as well. And now they're constricting even there.
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  Speaker 3: So from a strategic perspective, how could the United States
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  Speaker 3: shift this back?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's going to be a real big challenge, because
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  Speaker 4: if you've ever looked at the terrain surrounding the Bab
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  Speaker 4: el-Mandeb or the Strait of Hormuz, it's pretty forbidding. It's
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  Speaker 4: very dry. There's hardly any water on that Parim island
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  Speaker 4: that you showed that the Houthis have now taken control of.
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  Speaker 4: And of course, the city of Mocha is also an
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  Speaker 4: area that is a pretty significant place when it comes
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  Speaker 4: to actually constricting the flow of trade through the Bab el-Mandeb.
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  Speaker 4: So then when you couple those two straits with the
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  Speaker 4: east-west pipeline, as you pointed out, what that does is
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  Speaker 4: it really limits Saudi Arabia's capacity to export its oil.
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  Speaker 4: And what does the United States do in a case
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  Speaker 4: like this? Well, one of the things that they are
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  Speaker 4: trying to do is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
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  Speaker 4: So there are those escort operations that CENTCOM has mounted
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  Speaker 4: that basically get about a at best, a third or
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  Speaker 4: so of, you know, the pre-war volume in traffic through
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  Speaker 4: the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab al-Mandeb, that hasn't been
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  Speaker 4: worked yet. So that's something where they may have to
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  Speaker 4: do something in that particular area. You know, that is
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  Speaker 4: one area where when you look at the volumes of
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  Speaker 4: traffic and everything, that could really constrict global trade flows.
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  Speaker 4: And then when it comes to the east-west pipeline, with
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  Speaker 4: that being cut off and potentially even the Suez Canal
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  Speaker 4: being targeted, then you run into a situation where, in essence,
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  Speaker 4: Saudi Arabia is surrounded. And if the U.S. doesn't help
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  Speaker 4: Saudi Arabia, the Saudis are either going to have to
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  Speaker 4: achieve an accommodation with the Iranians Or they're going to
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  Speaker 4: establish some other kind of relationship where they go through
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  Speaker 4: these areas and do it without the U.S.
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  Speaker 3: And the reports are the Saudis have been asking for help,
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  Speaker 3: which hasn't been coming quite as much or as quickly
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  Speaker 3: as they wanted. Colonel Cedric Whaling, good to see you
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  Speaker 3: this morning. Thank you very much.