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.
00:00:24The headlines: I can say that
00:00:26we have now reached a two-day plan.
00:00:30Tehran declares readiness to open the Strait of Hormuz in
00:00:3448 hours. Mohsen Rezaee spoke with Putin.
00:00:37Beijing said it supports Iran's right to self-defense.
00:00:40A wave of criticism
00:00:42of the attack on the Qatari gas tanker in the Persian Gulf. The Revolutionary Guard claimed to have targeted
00:00:4611 vessels in the past
00:00:499 days. Controversy
00:00:52in Michigan.
00:00:57One day before the midterm elections in the US, a Democratic representative
00:01:01supported the Republican candidate over the Arab-American
00:01:05candidate of her own party. An Italian makes history
00:01:09in Formula 1 racing.
00:01:39Monday, November 2.
00:01:42Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that
00:01:46as a result of ongoing talks with Qatari mediators,
00:01:50Iran's proposed seven-day plan has now been reduced to two days,
00:01:53so that if the US meets Iran's conditions on the first day,
00:01:57the Strait of Hormuz will be opened on the second day.
00:02:00On the other hand, in continuation of Tehran's diplomatic efforts, the Secretary of
00:02:04Iran's Supreme National Security Council spoke by phone today with the Russian President,
00:02:08and his deputy also met with the Chinese Foreign Minister. Simultaneously with these
00:02:11developments, however, several other commercial ships
00:02:15were targeted in the Persian Gulf. One of these
00:02:18vessels was carrying Qatari gas, and the attack on it
00:02:21has been met with widespread condemnation.
00:02:25Kasra Naji reports.
00:02:27What were the bilateral consultations?
00:03:00The talks are ongoing, in any case. The issue is a complex
00:03:03one, or rather, I should say, the issues are very complex,
00:03:06and the passage of time, given
00:03:10America's actions, has added to the complexities.
00:03:14You cannot talk about the Strait of Hormuz,
00:03:18be concerned about insecurity in the Strait
00:03:21of Hormuz, but still continue the economic
00:03:24siege of Iran and
00:03:27put aside everything that you accepted
00:03:31in the Islamabad agreement and expect
00:03:34Iran to unilaterally accept
00:03:38commitments. In
00:03:40America, these are the latest words of President Donald Trump.
00:03:44The only reason we're not finishing the job immediately
00:03:48is because I want to do them a favor. I want to try to save many lives.
00:03:52They're sitting there doing nothing. Eventually, at some point, we have to deal
00:03:56with them with an iron fist.
00:03:59Iranian newspapers today are busy preparing public
00:04:02opinion inside Iran. It has been said that in case
00:04:06the war resumes, it will attack not only targets in the region,
00:04:09but also beyond. Some countries in the region
00:04:12have, unfortunately, I must
00:04:16say, some of them have even encouraged the Americans
00:04:20to attack Iran.
00:04:22I hope that they too have learned their lessons.
00:04:26The best way is for friends in America to
00:04:30warn against a new war starting, because
00:04:33we are forced to defend ourselves. China,
00:04:37with its close ties with Iran, is concerned about the consequences
00:04:41of such a war for the region and the world. This meeting today
00:04:44between the Chinese Foreign Minister and the Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme
00:04:48National Security Council in Beijing. China is expected to
00:04:51soon send a special envoy of the President to Iran and
00:04:55the region. China wants the Strait of
00:04:58Hormuz to return to the pre-war arrangements.
00:05:01In Tehran, days of anticipation are combined
00:05:04with concern and anxiety about the start of another war,
00:05:08probably after the outcome of the US midterm
00:05:11elections. Tomorrow. Kasra Naji, BBC.
00:05:14Nafiseh Kohnevard, our senior correspondent for Middle
00:05:18East affairs, is with us from Beirut. Nafiseh, well, there's a lot of talk
00:05:22about the discussions and negotiations mediated
00:05:25by Qatar. Mr. Araqchi also said that
00:05:28if an agreement is reached, they might open the Strait of Hormuz within
00:05:3248 hours. Is there any difference
00:05:35compared to the past? Jamal,
00:05:38here,
00:05:41the discussion is about Qatar's
00:05:44weight. You yourself have followed it many times. When
00:05:48negotiations were taking place
00:05:50between the Taliban and the US, which ended
00:05:54a US military presence after 22 years,
00:05:58there, and effectively extended a hand of friendship
00:06:01to a group they were fighting, there's such an image
00:06:04of Qatar that its capability is superior to
00:06:08other mediators in the region, be it Pakistan
00:06:12or Oman. What I hear from diplomatic sources is that
00:06:15Oman also has some weight, but
00:06:18for example, many in the region believe
00:06:22Pakistan could not play that role well.
00:06:25Apart from that, apparently in these
00:06:28negotiations, every sentence that is spoken is also
00:06:32recorded in writing, something that was interesting to me
00:06:35was that apparently regarding Pakistan, there was more exchange
00:06:39of words and sentences, which led to
00:06:42many contradictory statements from both sides
00:06:45later being published in the media about what message was actually
00:06:49exchanged through Pakistan. Alongside this view that
00:06:52now if Qatar can, it can.
00:06:56There is an atmosphere
00:06:59of concern and a negative outlook
00:07:03dominating the region. As Kasra also mentioned, many in
00:07:06Iran are worried. That worry is exactly felt
00:07:10very easily here
00:07:12in the region, and I am hearing this from various sources
00:07:16that in fact, the perception is
00:07:20that unless a miracle happens and Qatar succeeds
00:07:24in establishing an agreement,
00:07:26otherwise, war is at the door. Well,
00:07:30when we talk about war, Iran is not alone. There are groups
00:07:34that are considered allies of Iran. How likely
00:07:37is it that these groups will indeed participate more than
00:07:41in the past in a coordinated movement with the Iranian
00:07:45government?
00:07:49Jamal, what caught attention in the region's
00:07:53media these past few days
00:07:55was Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei's message. That sentence he said about
00:07:59the unity of the fronts. Well, this was widely reflected
00:08:03in the region, and it was understood
00:08:06that he is effectively sending this message, like his father,
00:08:10who had said that this war will be a regional
00:08:13war. Now, he's sending a much clearer message that all
00:08:17fronts will enter together,
00:08:20meaning all those fronts or groups
00:08:23known as the "Axis of Resistance" will all
00:08:26enter together, or well, in this
00:08:30field, they will help each other in sequence. This
00:08:34perception exists, but which group will enter
00:08:38first, or if they will all enter simultaneously, this is a
00:08:40question. In fact, it's a million-dollar question, because here,
00:08:44with all that is
00:08:47being said in the media, no one still knows what Hezbollah's reaction
00:08:51will be. The channels to the main military
00:08:55decision-making branch of Hezbollah seem to have
00:08:59been cut off in a way. Hezbollah officials or
00:09:03representatives have not been told anything through mediators
00:09:06such as France or other voices, even Spain, who have been sent
00:09:10with direct messages.
00:09:12evidence
00:09:19In Iraq too,
00:09:22shows that the situation is similar. All these groups
00:09:26are essentially preparing because there is a reality
00:09:29that there is also a compulsion, because
00:09:32all these groups know that if the Islamic Republic
00:09:36of Iran becomes weaker or collapses,
00:09:39then these groups will not be able to
00:09:43stand. But which group will enter first
00:09:47is unclear, because last time everyone thought that the Houthis
00:09:51would enter first. The Houthis were the last group to actually
00:09:54enter this battle, and Hezbollah
00:09:57entered the battle first, and you were in Israel,
00:10:01so you probably heard that they are preparing for
00:10:04a widespread war, even with Hezbollah, because their assumption is that
00:10:08Hezbollah will inevitably enter this field.
00:10:13Thank you, Nafiseh Kohnevard, our senior correspondent for
00:10:16Middle East affairs, from Beirut.
00:10:20Aaron David Miller, senior scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International
00:10:23Peace, and former US State Department official who advised
00:10:27both Republican and Democratic parties on Israel's negotiations with Arab
00:10:31countries, is with us from Washington. Mr. Miller, welcome to the program. What do you think?
00:10:35Many say that these midterm elections,
00:10:38compared to past ones, are very important for the US,
00:10:42given what's happening in the White House.
00:10:46What is your assessment?
00:10:49We can say
00:10:50with confidence that the Democrats will take
00:11:12the House of Representatives, and there will be
00:11:15a very clear path for them to also take the Senate.
00:11:19Only twice in the past 100 years
00:11:22has a president in office
00:11:26been able to see another party take over.
00:11:29So there's no doubt
00:11:32that this administration is heading towards a complete
00:11:35defeat. But how big this defeat will be,
00:11:39especially when it comes to foreign policy,
00:11:42these are two completely separate issues. In a situation where
00:11:46even if the Democrats take the Senate, they can, for example,
00:11:50conduct investigations at certain levels
00:11:53regarding the policies
00:11:57of the current administration, but in the current situation where these
00:12:01conflicts that we are involved in, that the US
00:12:04is involved in, I don't see
00:12:07a very big impact
00:12:10on those. One is Russia and Ukraine,
00:12:13the second is the US and Iran, and the third
00:12:17is the Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza or
00:12:21other places. The issue
00:12:24of creating policy and
00:12:27action without congressional approval
00:12:30has been done before, not just in this
00:12:34administration, but in previous administrations. Most
00:12:38of the administrations I worked with were Republican, and
00:12:41sometimes some of them were
00:12:43Democrats.
00:12:46This Congress can shut down,
00:12:50and the Supreme Court can
00:12:53also shut down, but never does a president's
00:12:56work shut down. It's a job that works 24/7.
00:13:00Based on international
00:13:03laws, domestic laws of
00:13:07the US, and the
00:13:09nuances that exist
00:13:12in Congress, I very much
00:13:16doubt that even if
00:13:19the administration loses both houses of Congress,
00:13:22this will have a very
00:13:25big impact on US
00:13:29foreign policy. I say this
00:13:32especially with regard to
00:13:35the current situation between Iran and the US. This is very true.
00:13:39Well, Mr. Miller, but we know that Congress has the budget
00:13:42in many areas. With the money it can
00:13:46provide or not provide to the government, it can put pressure on
00:13:49the government. And besides that, Mr.
00:13:53Trump has placed great hope
00:13:55that in this
00:13:58election, even if he loses,
00:14:01it won't be a heavy loss. If your prediction comes true,
00:14:05will the American
00:14:07people and public opinion not put more pressure
00:14:11on Mr. Trump than before regarding the
00:14:15war with
00:14:15Iran?
00:14:22No, I don't think so, because this president
00:14:25doesn't answer to anyone and doesn't
00:14:28respond to anyone. The Iranian regime is making
00:14:31a fundamental mistake if it thinks that
00:14:35these midterm elections are going to stop this president.
00:14:39No, that won't happen. Everything that
00:14:42is being agreed upon through these mediators
00:14:44now, the result will
00:14:47be known anyway until
00:14:49people go to the polls tomorrow. I think
00:14:53the duration of this conflict, which has now
00:14:57passed 8 months,
00:14:59is that it's so big that it can't just be
00:15:02abandoned. I don't think the president is under
00:15:06much pressure,
00:15:08but an ordinary president could
00:15:12be like that, but this president is not a normal and ordinary
00:15:15president. Now,
00:15:18the situation is very different.
00:15:21Diesel prices have become much more expensive, but
00:15:25none of this seems to have changed
00:15:28his calculations about the war. A war in which,
00:15:32after all, to some extent,
00:15:35the US
00:15:38army has managed to somewhat open the energy route.
00:15:41I'm not saying it's back to normal.
00:15:45No, it's not normal. It costs $3
00:15:48per barrel to be able to bring
00:15:52oil out of there,
00:15:55and also consider the fragility of this
00:15:58infrastructure that is there. In any case, what Iranian
00:16:02drones and missiles are creating, I don't think.
00:16:06Perhaps the military situation
00:16:19will reach a point in the next
00:16:23few days where he will
00:16:25want to withdraw, but I think he doesn't want to step
00:16:29aside right now unless it's a victory.
00:16:32Thank you very much, Mr. Miller. Aaron David Miller, senior
00:16:36researcher.
00:16:40One of the most sensitive and controversial US election races is the fight for
00:16:44a Senate seat from Michigan. Polls show the two rivals,
00:16:47Democrat and Republican, neck and neck. On
00:16:50one side of this race is a Muslim Arab-American who has
00:16:54been nominated by the Democratic Party, and from the US President to
00:16:58his fellow party members, many have criticized him, some believing it stems
00:17:01from Islamophobia. Our correspondent, Sam Farzaneh, is in
00:17:05Michigan.
00:18:15are either Arab-American or Muslim. Muslims
00:18:18in Dearborn are concerned about the increase in Islamophobic
00:18:22views. Even someone like Mike Hashem, who was
00:18:25working on Mr. Trump's election campaign just two years
00:18:29ago.
00:18:31I was born here. My mother has been here for over 36 years. She
00:18:35traveled to different states and...
00:19:07Arabs and Muslims who voted for Mr. Trump in the last round, because they
00:19:11thought he would keep his promise to end the war
00:19:15in Gaza and Lebanon, are now upset
00:19:18and want to make up for their vote two years
00:19:21ago.
00:19:24President Trump made a promise and did the exact opposite. He
00:19:28dragged us into another endless war, this time with Iran. He
00:19:32can't run again, but I won't vote for him or
00:19:35anyone he suggests.
00:19:38Like anywhere else in the US, economic issues have also caused
00:19:42many Dearborn Arabs to turn their backs
00:19:45on Republicans. The result of the war
00:19:49in the Gulf, due to the war in the Persian Gulf, transportation costs have significantly
00:19:52increased. Fuel costs have doubled.
00:19:55The rise of Abdul Sayed among Democrats
00:19:59who had volunteered to run for the Senate seat
00:20:02from Michigan caused many Muslims and
00:20:06Arabs in
00:20:37who said they didn't trust Democrats, and that Abdul's name
00:20:41is Islamic, and here I had to come and say that he was born
00:20:44and raised in Detroit, and I talked about his
00:20:46record. Tuesday's election
00:20:50might determine the fate of the US
00:20:53Senate, but at the same time, it's also a good test
00:20:56to see if a Muslim can win
00:21:00votes from the entire state in a state that's neither
00:21:03very liberal nor very conservative.
00:21:07Sam Farzaneh, BBC,
00:21:10in Dearborn, Michigan. Bahman Kalbasi, our correspondent from
00:21:13New York, is with the program. Bahman, Mr.
00:21:17El-Sayed, or Abdul El-Sayed,
00:21:20has faced some trouble more or less
00:21:23one day before the election. Perhaps
00:21:26this trouble stems from the very competition that Sam referred
00:21:30to in his report, the intra-party competition among Democrats over who
00:21:33would be the party's candidate to compete with the Republican
00:21:37candidate. And this competition, which lasted several
00:21:40months, ended with Abdul El-Sayed narrowly
00:21:44defeating Haley Stevens, a member
00:21:47of Congress. And Ms. Stevens benefited
00:21:51from several million dollars in aid from the Israel
00:21:54lobby. Mr. Sayed, on the other hand, is a critic
00:21:58of Israel and US support for Israel, and as a result, this became one of
00:22:02the vital and main issues of this competition.
00:22:05And after that intra-party competition, after Abdul
00:22:08El-Sayed was elected, many expected
00:22:12Ms. Stevens to come out, because after all, party
00:22:15members rally behind their candidate after the intra-party
00:22:19elections. To do so against the rival team, and Ms.
00:22:23Stevens did that. That is, at the beginning, she said we'll put intra-party differences
00:22:26aside, I support Mr. Sayed. But
00:22:30in the past week,
00:22:32differences escalated over an advertisement that a
00:22:36third group had published, which again criticized Israel. Ms. Stevens
00:22:40got angry and said Mr. Sayed must condemn
00:22:43this advertisement, even though
00:22:47Mr. Sayed's campaign had nothing to do with this ad. But in any case, this
00:22:50disagreement caused Ms. Stevens to, in these last 24 hours, not only retract
00:22:54her previous support, but also go
00:22:57and support the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers.
00:23:00She went to a church in person and supported
00:23:04him, and this became a bombshell news story, and
00:23:08its impact will now be that many Democratic leaders,
00:23:11even those who didn't have a very good relationship with Mr. Sayed, including
00:23:15Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the
00:23:18Senate, who is also Jewish, have strongly condemned Ms.
00:23:21Stevens for retracting her support for
00:23:24Mr. Sayed. But the question remains: in this race that is so
00:23:28close, will Ms. Stevens' decision
00:23:31and those who might be "inspired" by her
00:23:35to vote for someone else change
00:23:38the election results or not? Polls show Mr.
00:23:42Sayed is ahead, but these polls have been wrong in many
00:23:46cases, or their margin of error has been such that it's possible
00:23:50either side could ultimately win. In any case, for this reason,
00:23:53Michigan was already in the spotlight before these events
00:23:57of the past two days. Now, after this news of Ms. Stevens' change
00:24:00of heart, it has fundamentally become the main
00:24:04Senate race that everyone will be watching from Tuesday
00:24:08night until the early hours of Wednesday to see who wins.
00:24:12Well, besides the struggles and competitions in Michigan,
00:24:15what is the overall prediction? Briefly,
00:24:18please.
00:24:23In the House of Representatives, it seems almost certain that
00:24:26Democrats will win, although that can't be said
00:24:30for sure until the last vote is counted. But in the Senate, the race is
00:24:34close, and the average of the polls shows that Democrats have the upper
00:24:37hand. For example, this morning, the New York Times, which is considered
00:24:41a reputable polling organization,
00:24:44said they have the upper hand in these seven states where the race is
00:24:48close. But we must
00:24:54wait until Tuesday evening, when all the votes are cast, before the final
00:24:57election results are known, given the bitter memories that Democrats have
00:25:01from polls. Then the counting will begin to see which polling
00:25:04institution was closer to reality. Thank you very much,
00:25:07Ahmadi, our correspondent in
00:27:02competed in a mountain climbing race.
00:27:06Here, Mount Tai, one of China's most
00:27:10famous mountains. About 90
00:27:13teams with their robots participated in a competition to climb
00:27:16thousands of stairs.
00:27:20Some robots even carried eggs
00:27:22or watermelons along the
00:27:25way. The main course of this race
00:27:29included more than 3,000 stone steps and was
00:27:33about 3 kilometers and 900 meters long.
00:27:36The elevation difference between the start and end of the course was about 600 meters.
00:27:40Climbers usually complete this route in two hours, but
00:27:43one of these robots managed to complete the same route in just 43
00:27:47minutes. Thank you for joining us for this news segment.