Satellite images show Iran digging for buried missile launchers

[0:00] new satellite images and one of them is on your screen right now and this is iran and you can see [0:06] that there's earth moving equipment they're digging and they are digging for missile launchers [0:11] trapped underground amid the ceasefires our understanding from these images front end loaders [0:16] can be seen scooping up the rubble from blocked tunnels now keep in mind the context here right [0:22] yes you're you're technically in the middle of a ceasefire and it's significant that they're [0:25] digging out the launchers but also this context which is the most recent u.s intelligence [0:30] assessment that we have found that about half of iran's missile launchers were still intact after [0:35] a month of fighting so even as the president of the united states says that the war is over the [0:39] u.s has won that reality of course is important and many of those launchers may have been buried [0:45] underground not necessarily on purpose but by u.s and israeli strikes on tunnel entrances hence the [0:50] front loaders digging those out so kareem sajapur is here with me so kareem what do you see you know [0:55] you look at those images and uh obviously i'm just going to point out the significance that for a [0:59] while when the fighting was hot we weren't getting fresh satellite images now we are looking at these [1:05] you do see the front loading equipment by those tunnel entrances and we know the intelligence about [1:10] the missile launcher so what's the significance of iran doing this right now so we're in this strange [1:16] situation erin in that we've had this war which has been militarily devastating for iran yet at the [1:23] same time we've had the most senior level context between america and iran since the 1979 revolution [1:30] and when i speak to both parties both folks in tehran and here it's clear that they much prefer to do a [1:37] deal i don't think anyone really wants to go back to war that doesn't mean we're not going to go back [1:43] to war but i think there's a sense now that the momentum could be shifting more towards a transfer from [1:50] hot conflict to cold conflict iran is digging for missile launchers there's satellite imagery showing [1:56] front end loaders seen digging rubble digging up rubble digging through rubble from those tunnels that [2:03] had been um struck and blocked by us and israeli forces is that to be expected in your view in the [2:12] midst of a ceasefire or does that indicate something else i think we really learned two different things [2:20] from from this activity by the by the regime one is that as everyone expected we've been enormously [2:29] effective and successful in the strikes that have been conducted thus far in the conflict and so [2:34] if the idea was to reduce the number of ballistic missiles iran had available to it uh both by [2:41] destroying the missile storage sites and by destroying launchers we've had good success in that regard at the [2:47] same time we also learned that there's a resiliency to this regime uh and we we've known this i think [2:52] we knew it going into it uh but they're not going to give up and they're not easily and uh and so [2:58] if they have to dig through the rubble to find launchers and to be able to cobble together systems [3:03] they're going to try to try to do that and so some of those targets if this war goes on much longer [3:09] are going to have to be revisited colonel laden what do you make first of all the satellite images [3:13] and would be surprised that iran would be trying to dig out some of its missile launchers from [3:17] rubble during a ceasefire that's i assume what we would do as well yeah i think we would do it as [3:23] well anderson and i think it's not a surprise that the iranians are doing this we know for a fact that [3:29] the iranians have been preparing to dig themselves out of these kinds of things uh for a really long time [3:35] and now that they've been attacked uh and the result is that some of these underground tunnels [3:41] have been uh hit the entrances have been damaged i they are really gearing up to bring back the [3:48] missile launchers and perhaps other things as well margaret the uh the president apparently told maria [3:54] barter rome of the war is over it's a tease for her show tomorrow and he's said such things before so [3:59] i guess we'll we'll have to sort of see what that actually means the on the blockade is that legal [4:04] can we can anybody just can we can the u.s blockade ports yeah it's a kind of a complicated scenario so [4:10] of course during peacetime a blockade would be squarely illegal in the wartime scenario a blockade [4:15] is basically a lawfully recognized act of war but the significance of that is that we're not [4:20] technically in a ceasefire if we are actually executing an act of war so it is it's a very [4:24] aggressive act it basically allows you to use force against ships against third-party country ships [4:29] right not just parties to the conflict who are attempting to breach the blockade it also as you just [4:34] talked about with the colonel has really redirected a lot of our attention and our focus to the [4:37] straight-of-form moves when it seems like there's a lot of activity happening inland that we should [4:40] probably also be paying attention to talking about nuclear yes yeah um the colonel laden if if the [4:46] ceasefire expires without any deal or additional negotiations what would you expect renewed u.s [4:52] military strikes in iran to to look like to say nothing of israeli strikes yeah that's a great [4:58] question anderson i think what we would do is we would concentrate on the straight-of-form moves to keep [5:03] that open or to reopen it really i guess would be the better way of saying that the other thing [5:07] that could happen is they would go after places like karg island once again i know they've struck [5:13] these targets many times but that's something that they would probably do again and then i would [5:19] also expect them to once again hit leadership targets and that would definitely be a combination [5:24] of u.s and israeli strikes at that point i've talked to margaret general david petraeus and others [5:32] who said they expect the ceasefire to be to be extended certainly seems like the administration [5:37] is eager to get some sort of a deal you heard the vice president say he thinks the iranians want to [5:42] make a deal um nothing's in writing at this point i mean so is that normal and would the next step be [5:50] actually put something in writing does writing matter anymore that's a good question um look i don't [5:55] think anybody even knows what the terms of the current ceasefire are right like i said we're we're [5:59] actually conducting an act of war by emplacing a blockade it does it's not clear that israel [6:03] agrees to any of the terms that iran understands any of the terms so when you think about how long [6:07] it took for the jcpoa to get now down that was like over a year i think it was 18 months um and [6:11] now we're talking about just like slap dashing some agreement together in a couple weekends in pakistan [6:15] you definitely want something in writing if only to prevent what happened last time during the first [6:19] there are going to be some people who listen to this and hear that and say oh well you know look [6:22] this is not how the president makes deals and yes you can do it the antiquated slow way of like [6:28] fine points on everything but this is a new way of doing it yeah well it's a new way with pretty [6:35] significant consequences we've seen 13 service members killed a global economic crisis so certainly [6:41] there are many ways to do it but some of them are more efficient than others um colonel laden how [6:46] complicated would it be for the u.s to go into iran seize its enriched uranium stockpile because the [6:52] the president himself talked about the the complications of plane landing and wet sand [6:57] during the operation to rescue the the down u.s airman on easter sunday presumably digging up the [7:01] uranium would include i mean that that would take a long time wouldn't it uh it sure would anderson [7:09] unless we really know exactly where the uranium is and we don't know that actually uh but let's assume [7:14] we did for a second even if we did we would require building airfields it would require at the very [7:20] least clearing some of the area that we'd be working in uh it would require the provision of bulldozers [7:26] and front loaders and all other kinds of equipment uh you know basically what you'd get in a like for [7:31] road construction detail and the kinds of things that we could expect is a lot of equipment being lost [7:37] in a situation like that uh so like you saw the aircraft that were destroyed in the wake of the [7:43] pilot rescue operation the same kind of thing would happen there but it would be at least tenfold and it [7:49] would take a lot longer than the rescue of the air crew men took and that that would be a significant [7:55] thing you really can't do this kind of thing either without the cooperation of the iranians which [7:59] you're not going to get or with the element of surprise and you're not going to get that either [8:04] yeah colonel laden thanks very much margaret donovan as well appreciate it