Latest / DEEP INSIGHT / US launches STRIKES on Iran

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US launches STRIKES on Iran · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: Right now, the U.S. is launching strikes on Iranian targets
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  Speaker 1: near the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM posting on X just
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  Speaker 1: moments ago, today at 12 p.m. Eastern, U.S. forces began
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  Speaker 1: striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran. The strikes
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  Speaker 1: follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping
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  Speaker 1: in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members
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  Speaker 1: deployed to the region. We have team coverage, Chief National
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  Speaker 1: Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin in D.C. But first, we begin
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  Speaker 1: with Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yankst. Trey, to you with
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  Speaker 1: the latest.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Mali, good afternoon. We are tracking these latest U.S.
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  Speaker 2: strikes that appear to be ongoing right now against southwestern Iran.
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  Speaker 2: According to U.S. Central Command, these strikes are in response
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  Speaker 2: to Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz,
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  Speaker 2: in addition to that attack earlier this week against U.S.
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  Speaker 2: forces in Jordan. Remember how this recent exchange began early
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  Speaker 2: this week? In the week, the United States conducted strikes
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  Speaker 2: against Iran's Larak Island when, according to U.S. Central Command,
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  Speaker 2: the Iranians were preparing to launch rockets with sea mines
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  Speaker 2: attached to threaten once again this critical international waterway. When
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  Speaker 2: those strikes took place, the Iranians responded with eight ballistic
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  Speaker 2: missiles being launched toward U.S. forces stationed in Jordan. And
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  Speaker 2: the president said that there would be a response to
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  Speaker 2: that attack on U.S. forces, and it appears this response
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  Speaker 2: is underway right now. The latest information that we have
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  Speaker 2: from the ground inside of Iran, these appear to be
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  Speaker 2: relatively widespread strikes, not just targeting that southern city of
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  Speaker 2: Bandar Abbas, but also initial reports of explosions on Keshem Island.
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  Speaker 2: and areas even further south of this area next to
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  Speaker 2: the Gulf of Oman. It's an indication that once again
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  Speaker 2: the United States is trying to send a message to
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  Speaker 2: the Iranian regime that threats against this international waterway will
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  Speaker 2: not be tolerated. They've been watching using Space Force and
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  Speaker 2: also the U.S.
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  Speaker 3: Navy.
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  Speaker 2: That is positioned there at that blockade line in the
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  Speaker 2: Gulf of Oman. Whenever any of the Iranian forces try
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  Speaker 2: to move air defense systems or radars, they are watching
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  Speaker 2: very closely, and likely these are the targets that are
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  Speaker 2: being hit right now as we speak. But again, the
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  Speaker 2: latest information that we have, U.S. strikes against Iran are
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  Speaker 2: ongoing at this hour, targeting specific areas in southwestern Iran
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  Speaker 2: in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait
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  Speaker 2: of Hormuz and that attack on U.S. forces earlier this week.
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  Speaker 1: Molly. Trey Yanks, thank you very much. Clearly, the month-long lull,
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  Speaker 1: the month-long lull is over now. We now go to
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  Speaker 1: our chief national security correspondent, Jennifer Griffin.
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  Speaker 4: Jennifer, to you.
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  Speaker 3: Molly, just to add to Trey's reporting, I've spoken to
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  Speaker 3: sources at CENTCOM, and we can confirm that those strikes
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  Speaker 3: are ongoing, targeting areas along the Strait of Hormuz where
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  Speaker 3: they have seen some activity of late in terms of
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  Speaker 3: rockets and missile launchers that appeared prepared to target those
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  Speaker 3: ships in the Strait of Hormuz. It's important to point
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  Speaker 3: out that last night there was another Iranian projectile fired
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  Speaker 3: at a Saudi tanker that was passing through the strait
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  Speaker 3: or toward the strait. And that is the fourth such
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  Speaker 3: ship that has been targeted by Iranian cruise missiles and projectiles,
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  Speaker 3: drones and other missiles since last Monday. There have been
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  Speaker 3: eight ships who have been targeted or struck by Iranian
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  Speaker 3: missiles since July 14th. So this is an ongoing problem.
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  Speaker 3: The IRGC either doesn't have control of the units that
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  Speaker 3: are firing these, or this is a low-level issue. asymmetric
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  Speaker 3: warfare that they are attempting. And as Trey mentioned, the
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  Speaker 3: uptick in violence really started after that ship was targeted
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  Speaker 3: by the Iranians on Saturday. On Sunday, the U.S. launched
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  Speaker 3: airstrikes against— the first airstrikes in over a month. at those
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  Speaker 3: rocket launchers that were going to place sea mines in
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  Speaker 3: the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, CENTCOM had said that
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  Speaker 3: they had cleared all the mines out of the Strait
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  Speaker 3: of Hormuz so that marine traffic could start moving through
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  Speaker 3: that southern corridor that they had cleared close to the
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  Speaker 3: Omani shoreline. That— if they had— if the Iranians had been able
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  Speaker 3: to fire those sea mines into the strait, that would
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  Speaker 3: have caused more problems for the shipping lanes. So, this
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  Speaker 3: was a preemptive and what CENTCOM is describing as defensive
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  Speaker 3: strikes to send a message to the IRGC to stop
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  Speaker 3: harassing marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
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  Speaker 1: Jennifer Griffin, thank you very much. Brian, a very significant
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  Speaker 1: update there from Jennifer, who also notes that CENTCOM had
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  Speaker 1: just recently announced that the mines had been cleared from
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  Speaker 1: the Strait of Hormuz. Is this something that perhaps created
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  Speaker 1: a great frustration with Iran and led to an end
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  Speaker 1: of what were a few weeks of relative calm?
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  Speaker 4: They're slowly losing control of the strait. That's what's happening
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  Speaker 4: from 22 to 25 to 27 to 33 ships are
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  Speaker 4: getting through. So if the ships are able to get through,
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  Speaker 4: the goal would be 100 to 115. That's what it
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  Speaker 4: was prior to the conflict that started February 27th. So
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  Speaker 4: if you get that, those ships, more and more ships
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  Speaker 4: feeling confident enough to go through the portion of the
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  Speaker 4: strait that we have carved out, then you're going to
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  Speaker 4: see the tourniquet just loosen up. And now Iran looks inside,
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  Speaker 4: and they say we have long gas lines, are real, 2.1
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  Speaker 4: million real for every $ 1. Inflation at between 60% and 75%.
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  Speaker 4: And now we have gas lines in a country that
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  Speaker 4: is floating on an ocean of oil. So, at 3
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  Speaker 4: in the morning, they have gas lines. But they say, well,
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  Speaker 4: we're in control of the Strait, and we're going to
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  Speaker 4: get tolls.
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  Speaker 1: No, you're not.
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  Speaker 3: No, you aren't.
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  Speaker 4: And now we find out the president, Pression, comes out
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  Speaker 4: and says, can we go back to the MOU that
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  Speaker 4: we had a few months ago, the deal of a lifetime, that,
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  Speaker 4: in my view, was terrible for America, because we had freelanced,
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  Speaker 4: we had freed up all the sanctions and allowed the
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  Speaker 4: Strait to open up, and they were going to eventually
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  Speaker 4: toll it? So, they blew the deal of a lifetime,
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  Speaker 4: and I don't think we're going to get it back
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  Speaker 4: until I think the noose is beginning to really do
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  Speaker 4: some damage. Now the Supreme Leader came out and said, hey,
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  Speaker 4: civilian leadership, do me a favor. Get a deal done.
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  Speaker 2: Really?
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  Speaker 4: So the tough guys, the IRGC and the Supreme Leader,
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  Speaker 4: who's a really courageous guy who's sitting in a basement
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  Speaker 4: somewhere wondering where half of his face is and his arm,
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  Speaker 4: He's the one telling civilian leadership to get a deal done,
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  Speaker 4: and that, pun intended, that chip has sailed. And I
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  Speaker 4: think that right now I sense we're in a really
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  Speaker 4: good spot. In fact, I saw Brett McGurk, who's hardly
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  Speaker 4: a Trump fan, came out and say there's nowhere— and the
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  Speaker 4: Wall Street Journal echoed this— there' s nowhere to say that the U.S.
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  Speaker 4: is losing this. What the president's doing is doing something
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  Speaker 4: that many people didn't think he had, and that is
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  Speaker 4: showing patience.
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  Speaker 1: And it's been interesting to hear Trey talk about the
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  Speaker 1: widespread nature of what's currently happening, the strikes that are ongoing.