Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:27We have just learned about this attack. We will decide about it. We will do this
00:00:30quickly. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack
00:00:33on Riyadh International Airport. Will the escalation of attacks
00:00:37on Saudi Arabia draw the United States into the Yemen war?
00:00:39We ask a former British diplomat in the region what he thinks
00:00:42of the current situation on the Arabian Peninsula.
00:00:46We ask a media activist close to the Houthis why they target
00:00:49civilian areas. Also in tonight's program.
00:00:53The US Treasury Secretary emphasized the continuation of the devastating siege and sanctions against Iran. Tehran threatened to target internet data centers, cables,
00:00:56and AI infrastructure in the region if the war resumes.
00:01:10Trump's claim about a Kiev-Moscow agreement on a ceasefire
00:01:13in attacks on energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian president said
00:01:17he had no information that Russia
00:01:18had attacked again.
00:01:23Floods in northern Iran killed at least one person,
00:01:26damaged infrastructure, and displaced
00:01:29a number of people. A look at the devastating effects of war
00:01:32on children's learning
00:01:34and mental health
00:01:38in Iran. 60 minutes live
00:01:42from the BBC in London. Hello, I'm Jamaleddin Mousavi.
00:01:45After the first Houthi attack
00:01:47on Riyadh International Airport, reports now indicate
00:01:50a second attack
00:01:51on the airport
00:02:04in two days. Flight tracking and airline information
00:02:07also show that several flights to Dammam
00:02:11have been canceled, and flights at this airport
00:02:15have also been delayed for at least an hour.
00:02:18Before that, hundreds of flights to or from Riyadh
00:02:22were either canceled or rerouted to Dammam Airport.
00:02:25In addition, the Houthis say they have again
00:02:29targeted Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
00:02:33The attacks on Saudi Arabian airports have been met
00:02:37with widespread international condemnation. Saudi Arabia
00:02:40says the Houthis will pay for these attacks.
00:02:44US President Donald Trump has said that Saudi Arabia
00:02:47can defend itself. The situation
00:02:50is becoming more complicated. What new implications
00:02:54will this situation have? We will talk more
00:02:58about this. First, a report
00:03:01from Kasra Naji. Shortly after yesterday's attack
00:03:05on Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia,
00:03:08at least 12 people
00:03:09were killed here.
00:03:13More than 300 people were injured, and the condition of some of them
00:03:16is reported to be critical.
00:03:19An attack in broad daylight on the heart of the capital.
00:03:23Saudi Arabia. These are images from surveillance cameras
00:03:26of the moment of the explosion. It is reported that the domestic flights
00:03:30terminal was targeted. The target was at least one
00:03:34drone. This is the third drone and missile attack on this airport
00:03:38in the past 8 days. The bloodiest on Saudi soil
00:03:41since a suicide terrorist attack 11 years ago.
00:03:44An attack that was attributed to ISIS. The Houthis
00:03:48have now claimed responsibility for this attack and say
00:03:51that Donald Trump told reporters that he is thinking about
00:03:55how to respond to this incident. He said any action
00:03:58by the United States
00:05:12would be immediate and swift. He later
00:05:16added that Saudi Arabia could defend itself.
00:05:20Saudi Arabia today intensified its attacks on the Houthis
00:05:23in Yemen, who are supported by Iran. These are images
00:05:26of the bombing of Houthi positions
00:05:29around Taiz, Yemen's third largest city,
00:05:33which has been under siege by the Houthis for two weeks.
00:05:36A city that is under the control of government forces
00:05:40supported by Saudi Arabia. Developments in the Strait of Hormuz
00:05:44and its surroundings are also concerning. Iran says that an oil
00:05:47tanker in the eastern Strait of Hormuz
00:05:50near the port of Khorfakkan
00:05:53hit a mine and caught fire.
00:05:57A large fire, if Iran's report of it hitting a mine
00:06:00is true. I think it is very important
00:06:03to point out that yesterday's attacks on Riyadh International Airport
00:06:07were very adventurous
00:06:10and destructive.
00:07:09Their effects, apart from the dead and injured,
00:07:13will be felt for a long time.
00:07:16But here on the Arabian Peninsula and in Saudi Arabia,
00:07:19there is a strong sense of resilience.
00:07:23I must say that one of my very
00:07:27close friends was at this airport
00:07:31when the attack happened. And he was describing
00:07:34the very professional and calm
00:07:36demeanor of the airport staff. How those who were waiting
00:07:40for planes to land evacuated the passengers
00:07:44from the airport runway. That calmness
00:07:48and professionalism of the Saudi staff was truly remarkable.
00:07:51This is something we have noticed throughout the city.
00:07:55It is easy to say that life goes on,
00:07:58but life here is not normal,
00:08:02and we are in a very critical period.
00:08:05But the resilience shown by the people is truly
00:08:09remarkable and commendable. People from different countries
00:08:13were killed in this attack. The latest of them,
00:08:16who perhaps passed away an hour ago,
00:08:20was an Indian national. And an American national
00:08:24was also killed. Is it possible that this
00:08:26will eventually lead the US to engage in the war
00:08:30with Yemen and actively intervene
00:08:34in support of Saudi Arabia? You referred to
00:08:38those two foreign nationals. For example,
00:08:41the Indian national. I read a report that he and his family
00:08:45were on their way
00:08:55to Medina; they were pilgrims.
00:08:59So one of these victims was a pilgrim.
00:09:02But regarding the American who was killed,
00:09:05this is the question: what will the Americans
00:09:09do? But it's more about what the US
00:09:12will do defensively and security-wise,
00:09:15because Americans are involved anyway.
00:09:19But the main question that needs to be asked
00:09:23is the other way around. We should ask what Saudi Arabia
00:09:26is doing. Saudi Arabia has tremendous capabilities.
00:09:29Early last week, Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led
00:09:33coalition, under the command of General Maliki,
00:09:36reminded that Saudi Arabia has more than 100
00:09:40fighter jets on mission in the region.
00:09:44So I'm not sure in answer to your question
00:09:48if the Americans can deploy more military forces
00:09:51into the region, but I don't know what their goal
00:09:55would be if they wanted to do that. But anyway, the goal here
00:09:59is that any military conflict
00:10:02and intervention should aim
00:10:06to create a basis for political
00:10:09negotiation and agreement.
00:10:13To reach an agreement or return to
00:10:16the state that existed before the war.
00:10:19We will get to negotiations, of course. But before that,
00:10:23I wanted to ask this as well:
00:10:27Saudi Arabia's efforts have so far
00:10:30not yielded results. For example,
00:10:34Dammam Airport was targeted an hour ago.
00:10:37Many flights to Dammam Airport have been suspended.
00:10:41They may resume, of course. But can Saudi Arabia's
00:10:45other allies, besides the US,
00:10:48for example, the Europeans, help it?
00:10:51There is a meeting in Riyadh in the coming weeks
00:10:56between the European Union and the member states
00:10:59of the Gulf Cooperation Council, where the regional situation,
00:11:02the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and Middle East
00:11:05security issues will be discussed.
00:11:09Well, I think regarding the attacks
00:11:11you mentioned,
00:11:16given that it is a regional war, no country
00:11:20will be immune from the consequences of these attacks.
00:11:23We have seen in the past that countries like the United Arab Emirates,
00:11:27Bahrain, and Qatar
00:11:31have also been targeted. So no country will be immune.
00:11:34However, despite this issue,
00:11:38the efforts of the Saudi air forces,
00:11:42as well as the ground forces, have, to be honest,
00:11:45been truly commendable. Yes, perhaps
00:11:49weapons with Saudi Arabia's allies will discuss the issue,
00:11:52and ultimately, it comes back to the partnerships
00:12:07Saudi Arabia has with other countries. It's not just the US;
00:12:10there's Britain. Britain has also said
00:12:13it will help its strategic ally,
00:12:17Saudi Arabia. The efforts are generally
00:12:20from the Europeans to act as specific
00:12:23countries, and also as the European Union,
00:12:26to examine where they can get involved.
00:12:30What is important for the Europeans is that when they come
00:12:33to Saudi Arabia in the near future,
00:12:36they enter the country as a partner.
00:12:40Saudi Arabia is not a country that simply wants to follow
00:12:43a path. And when it comes to
00:12:47trade and international transactions,
00:12:51they also need to see how they can be involved there.
00:13:11You alluded to negotiations. Two views are put forward
00:13:14regarding the Houthis: some say that the Houthis
00:13:17should be militarily weakened to the point
00:13:21where they cannot pose a threat,
00:13:25while others say that the issue should be resolved
00:13:27at the negotiating table. You are very familiar
00:13:31with the Middle East, and you are currently
00:13:34in Saudi Arabia. What do you think? Which
00:13:38of these solutions do you think might be effective?
00:13:41It is in such situations
00:13:43that I always like
00:13:50to recall the military theorists.
00:13:53A person named Clausewitz was the one who said
00:13:56that war is merely
00:13:59the continuation of politics by other means.
00:14:03Your question should be viewed
00:14:06differently. The issue is not
00:14:09that we have to choose between military
00:14:13and diplomatic options. They are all different options
00:14:16on a spectrum. I think in conflicts
00:14:20like this, the military
00:14:23and defensive aspects are very important,
00:14:27but their goal should be to create
00:14:31the conditions for negotiation and political agreement.
00:14:34Do you ultimately think that these issues can really
00:14:37be resolved without referring to the issue of Iran?
00:14:41It seems that after the US
00:14:44and Israeli attacks on Iran,
00:14:48the situation in the Middle East took a direction
00:14:51not seen in the past. to change the current situation
00:15:25and return to the state,
00:15:28to the era when the Houthis
00:15:31were on the sidelines. When conflicts
00:15:35were happening elsewhere, but the Houthis were on the sidelines anyway.
00:15:38This should be a priority for Saudi Arabia now.
00:15:42Saudi Arabia's focus should now be on
00:15:46continuing its 2030 development plan,
00:15:49its economic development plan,
00:15:52and somehow finding a way to return
00:15:55to the pre-war situation. Now, apart from
00:15:58the conflicts that exist in the region,
00:16:02it is very important that we keep these conflicts
00:16:05as separate as possible, even though they are interconnected
00:16:09anyway. Despite the fact that Iran also supports the Houthis,
00:16:13each issue should be resolved separately.
00:16:17Then we can see what the areas of common interest
00:16:20or common concerns between Saudi Arabia
00:16:23and the Houthis are, and resolve that.
00:16:26I think this is the best solution. Joe Walker-Cousins,
00:16:30former Head of the British Embassy Office in Benghazi
00:16:34and Senior Expert on Middle East Affairs. Thank you very much
00:16:37for joining us on the program. Yesterday's attacks
00:16:40on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh were the deadliest
00:16:44in Saudi Arabia in recent days. The number of those killed
00:16:48reached 12 or 13. According to Flightradar24 data,
00:16:52nearly 260 inbound and outbound flights
00:16:55to Riyadh were canceled yesterday following the attack.
00:16:59219 other flights were delayed.
00:17:02Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is reported to have attacked
00:17:06various provinces in Yemen today.
00:17:10Gonche Habib Azad from our fact-checking section has taken a look
00:17:12at recent attacks. Clashes between Saudi Arabia
00:17:16and Ansar Allah of Yemen, known as the Houthis,
00:17:19are still ongoing. According to reports,
00:17:23at least three provinces in Yemen were targeted today:
00:17:27Saada, Taiz, and Sanaa. Yesterday's attack
00:17:31on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which we are now seeing
00:17:34images of, was apparently a continuation
00:17:38of attacks that targeted at least three other
00:17:41airports in Saudi Arabia in recent days.
00:17:45The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced on Wednesday
00:17:49that two people were killed and 28 injured
00:17:52in an attack on Abha International Airport in the south of the country,
00:17:56but did not specify the date of the attack. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Airport
00:17:59and Najran Airport were also targeted on Monday,
00:18:03with no casualties reported. Yemen's Houthis
00:18:06had issued a statement warning against the use
00:18:10of Saudi Arabian airports. King Khalid Airport
00:18:14had been attacked at least twice before
00:18:17in recent days, killing three people. The first attack on Thursday,
00:18:21October 16th, targeted the airport, while the second attack
00:18:24hit an empty plane belonging to the state-owned airline Saudia.
00:18:27At that time, the Houthis announced that they had targeted
00:18:31King Khalid Airport with cruise missiles. The Saba news agency,
00:18:34affiliated with the Houthis, had warned that Saudi Arabian
00:18:38airspace would become a scene of operations for their armed forces.
00:18:42That was Gonche Habib Azad from our fact-checking section.
00:18:45Hossein Bakhtiari, media activist and political analyst
00:18:49close to Yemen's Houthis, from Sana'a. Mr. Bakhtiari,
00:18:52this airport was a civilian airport. Now, most of those
00:18:56killed, according to the information we have, were also civilians.
00:18:59Why are the Houthis attacking
00:19:02civilian facilities?
00:19:05I must point out
00:19:11that there was a slight delay. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
00:19:15In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Yemeni armed forces
00:19:18had warned five days ago
00:19:21that they would launch attacks against Saudi airports.
00:19:24They had also warned all airlines
00:19:27not to use Saudi airspace. They had told airlines
00:19:31inside and outside Saudi Arabia not to use Saudi airports.
00:19:34Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has imposed
00:19:37an aerial blockade on Yemen. They destroyed all Yemeni airports.
00:19:41They targeted many of our funeral
00:19:44processions. Our factories, our bridges.
00:19:48That's why the Houthis were forced to take
00:19:52this action. An eye for an eye.
00:19:55They destroyed us. We warned them that if
00:19:59they continued these attacks, we would also attack
00:20:02their oil facilities in Aramco.
00:20:04But Saudi Arabia did not heed these warnings
00:20:14and continued its attacks. Over the past two months,
00:20:1897 Yemeni civilians have been killed, including women
00:20:22and children, and 180 have been injured.
00:20:25This happened only in the past two months.
00:20:29The number of civilian victims of Saudi airstrikes
00:20:33has been much higher. This is the first time
00:20:35that in a war,
00:20:38a country like Yemen has issued a warning
00:20:42in advance. They, Saudi Arabia,
00:20:45targeted all our airports. They killed 20,000
00:20:48Yemeni civilians
00:21:50through airstrikes. They blockaded Yemen by sea.
00:21:53We are now suffering from malnutrition here.
00:21:57We have thousands of different diseases. We don't have clean water.
00:22:01More than 400,000 civilians have been killed.
00:22:05These are according to UN estimates.
00:22:08Because of Saudi Arabia's actions. We warned them
00:22:12that we would besiege them. We warned them that
00:22:16we would not allow any flights to enter
00:22:20Saudi airports. Who is responsible
00:22:23for this situation? Saudi Arabia itself.
00:22:27They cannot protect their civilians
00:22:30at their own airport. They should not enter
00:22:34into war with Yemen. When you compare
00:22:38this to Israel, we are saying that there is
00:22:41a very simple solution here now. The solution is that Saudi Arabia
00:22:45should not attack Yemen, and Yemen will not attack Saudi Arabia.
00:22:49But when you compare
00:22:54it, the ceasefire was established between
00:23:09you and Saudi Arabia, and... they started attacking Saudi Arabia.
00:23:13No, Saudi Arabia violated the ceasefire. They themselves
00:23:17said that they violated the ceasefire. They themselves
00:23:23said that our forces... We know that it was Saudi Arabia
00:23:26that targeted our airport. We signed a ceasefire
00:23:30in 2020. But since then, Saudi Arabia
00:23:34has carried out several attacks against Sanaa Airport.
00:23:37It is clear that they deny it. It is clear that they deny
00:23:41breaking the ceasefire and blame
00:23:44the Yemeni government, which they themselves support.
00:23:47We know that the Yemeni government... But suppose their claim is true
00:23:57and the Yemeni government violated the ceasefire.
00:24:00But between whom was the ceasefire signed?
00:24:03It was signed between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia and the forces
00:24:07supported by Saudi Arabia. Therefore, whoever violates
00:24:11the ceasefire is responsible.
00:24:14Regarding the ceasefire and the war, it was Saudi Arabia
00:24:18that destroyed all of Yemen. The solution is very simple:
00:24:22don't attack Yemen, and Yemen won't attack you.
00:24:26Otherwise, Yemen can destroy all of Saudi Arabia's oil facilities
00:24:29and target all its airports, except for the airports
00:24:33in Mecca and Medina, which are holy cities.
00:24:37You mentioned Mecca and Medina. Today, the images
00:24:40coming from Riyadh, the images coming from Saudi
00:24:44airports, many of those injured were pilgrims to Mecca.
00:24:47These were people in Ihram. Mr. Bakhtiari,
00:24:50are you not concerned that despite being a religious
00:24:54movement, you are harming pilgrims to Mecca?
00:24:57Look,
00:24:59why
00:25:08is the international community and various media outlets,
00:25:11including BBC Persian, so concerned about civilians
00:25:14in Saudi Arabia, while hundreds of thousands
00:25:18of Yemeni civilians have been killed or injured
00:25:21or died of hunger? This was Saudi Arabia's
00:25:25doing. Saudi Arabia was responsible for killing
00:25:29civilians. If civilians are killed at those airports,
00:25:33it's Saudi Arabia's fault. Regarding the pilgrims
00:25:36you are asking about, why is Saudi Arabia
00:25:39bringing these pilgrims to its airports
00:25:43when we have warned them? We said that we would not
00:25:46target the airports in Mecca. Why don't the pilgrims
00:25:50go through the airports of Mecca and Medina?
00:25:53But when you are bombing our country, destroying
00:25:57all our infrastructure, attacking our airports,
00:26:01besieging us, and we are resisting,
00:26:05and we have already warned you, then you are worried
00:26:07about pilgrims? I think Saudi Arabia
00:26:11is actually happy for civilians to be killed
00:26:14at its airport so that they can later
00:26:18use it as an excuse and say, "Look, our civilians
00:26:21have been killed." None of this has any
00:26:25economic cost for Saudi Arabia. The solution is for Saudi Arabia
00:26:29not to attack Yemen and not to interfere in Yemen's affairs.
00:26:32Then Yemen will have no business with them.
00:26:36Mr. Bakhtiari, well, Saudi Arabia says,
00:26:39critics of the Houthis say that there is a legitimate
00:26:42government in Yemen, a recognized government,
00:26:46and it is the Houthis who have overthrown
00:26:50that government by force of arms. Therefore,
00:26:54it is the Houthis who are the cause of the crisis.
00:26:57Ultimately, it will be the people
00:27:32of Yemen themselves who will come together
00:27:36and find a solution for their future.
00:27:39But the discussion about the legitimacy of the Yemeni government
00:27:43from 2015... They installed
00:27:45this government here. But those who are truly fighting in Yemen
00:27:49and running Yemen's affairs are this popular
00:27:53and legitimate government in Sanaa.
00:27:57Saudi Arabia and this government
00:28:00that is now
00:28:11Saudi Arabia's puppet in Yemen since 2015,
00:28:14ask whoever you want where Hadi
00:28:17is, that so-called president of this government.
00:28:20He is sitting in Riyadh and was under house arrest
00:28:24until his death. A few months ago,
00:28:27he was forced to resign and hand over his power
00:28:30to a new puppet in Saudi Arabia.
00:28:34That is why, in our opinion, such a government has no legitimacy.
00:28:38That is why no international body,
00:28:41including the UN Security Council, has supported
00:28:45such a government or Saudi Arabia's actions
00:28:48and attacks on Yemen.
00:28:51That's why these talks
00:28:54about the legitimacy of the Yemeni government...
00:28:58What about the legitimacy of other governments,
00:29:01Syria and so on? All the countries that are now
00:29:04concerned about the legitimacy
00:29:08of the Yemeni government are ignoring many
00:29:11other illegitimate governments, like the government...
00:29:14Unfortunately, our time is up. Thank you very much,
00:29:18Hossein Bakhtiari, media activist and analyst.
00:29:22The US Treasury Secretary described Iran's economic
00:29:25isolation campaign as successful. Scott Bessent, in an interview
00:29:28with Fox News, said that the blockade and sanctions
00:29:32have hit Iran so hard
00:29:37that its oil exports have reached zero, and regime affiliates
00:29:41no longer have access to their foreign currency reserves.
00:29:44At the same time, Michael Walls, the US Ambassador to the UN,
00:29:48also said that in the war with Iran, time is on the side of
00:29:52Donald Trump's administration. In contrast, Chris Murphy,
00:29:55a Democratic US Senator who recently visited the Middle East,
00:29:59says Iran's attacks have been so severe
00:30:02that US bases in Bahrain and Qatar
00:30:06are no longer usable.
00:30:09Khashayar Jenaidi, our correspondent from our studio in Washington,
00:30:12is with the program. Khashayar, tell us more
00:30:16about Mr. Trump's and US officials' statements.
00:30:20We are now in the election campaign period.
00:30:22In recent days, Mr. Trump has visited various states
00:30:26and given election speeches, and his message in these speeches
00:30:30is usually the same: that the US has the upper hand
00:30:33and will soon deal with Iran, the war will end, and the US will win.
00:30:37Yesterday and last night, he also gave a speech,
00:30:41talking about facing a "crazy country,"
00:30:45referring to the Iranian government, of course,
00:30:48and that they don't realize how quickly I have dealt with them so far.
00:30:52ش به حکومت ایران بود البته و
00:30:55اینکه خیلی زود گفت متوجه نیستن که من تا حالا.