00:00 We had a statement from the US military central command.
00:03 They say that rockets and ballistic missiles hit that Al-Assad air base in northern Iraq.
00:11 Now, this base has been targeted previously by a lot of different rocket attacks as the
00:16 tensions over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip has been going on.
00:20 But one thing to keep in mind is this involved ballistic missiles.
00:24 This is definitely a different style and weapon of attack.
00:27 Typically, ballistic missiles are associated with nations rather than militant groups.
00:32 So it's interesting that the US central command specifically said Iranian-backed militants,
00:37 perhaps giving a little bit of space between what happened at the base and Iran.
00:42 But it is serious.
00:43 They say that there were several soldiers who were hurt.
00:46 Some are being screened right now for traumatic brain injuries, like we saw after the death
00:52 in -- a few years ago of that Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.
00:55 The Iranians launched ballistic missiles at that same air base, and dozens of US personnel
01:00 did suffer traumatic brain injuries.
01:02 Again, Iran has not directly claimed this, but this is part of a growing cycle of attacks
01:06 that we have seen in the Middle East that have really raised concerns about a wider
01:09 regional war breaking out over what's going on in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
01:14 And at this point, we're just waiting to see what happens next, Paul.
01:19 And John, the Israeli foreign minister is in Brussels, and he's due to make an address
01:24 to the EU or EU officials.
01:27 What might he say?
01:30 Yeah, this is a visit by Foreign Minister Katz to Brussels to speak to the European
01:37 Union, and it's going to be a tough crowd for him to talk to.
01:41 Largely speaking, the EU's position has been that they want to see a two-state solution
01:46 with the West Bank, Gaza Strip, as well as East Jerusalem, where I am right now, as part
01:52 of a future Palestinian state.
01:54 But we've heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other hardliners within
01:58 his government who say that's not going to happen.
02:00 They say they want control of everything west of the River Jordan.
02:04 That means all of this Palestinian territory.
02:07 That's something that the American allies of Israel don't want.
02:10 That's something that the EU doesn't want.
02:12 And that's something that Arab nations don't want either.
02:14 So it's unclear exactly what Katz can come and offer at the table.
02:19 We've heard from Joseph Burrell, who's the EU policy chief, and he's really said that
02:22 the two-state solution has to be what solves this problem.
02:26 We've also heard from individual European leaders calling for ceasefires or a pause
02:31 in fighting in the Gaza Strip, which today we've seen the death toll there tick over
02:36 to over 25,000 Palestinians killed since this war started back on October 7.
02:42 So it's really a tough audience.
02:43 It's a tough crowd for him.
02:44 And it's really going to be interesting to see what, if anything, he can say to assuage
02:49 the concerns of a Europe that has seen mass protests calling for a ceasefire in this war.
