Mega Tunnels of Iran Have Been Collapsed! Secret Materials STRANDED Underground & Others

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]US just dropped 40 tons of bombs on Iran's heavily fortified nuclear facility and missile depots. This time, it wasn't just the tunnel entrances and exits that were hit. It went deeper. The targets were a stockpile of 540 kg of 60% enriched uranium and the missile production lines used to turn it into bombs. The night of March 31st, 2026, Iran's underground fortress in Isvahan was shaken by massive fireballs and mushroom clouds rising from the depths of the ground. Isfahan is not just Iran's third largest city and a cultural capital with a population of 2.3 million. It is also the heart of Iran's nuclear program and missile production.

[00:00:43]According to CSIS, Isfahan is not a single facility but a vast interconnected network. A uranium conversion plant which converts yellow cake into uranium hexaflloride, a fuel production plant, a centrifuge production unit, metal processing facilities, and the Isvahan missile complex, Iran's largest missile assembly and production complex. According to the nuclear threat initiative, this complex is Iran's largest missile assembly and production site. A significant portion of all this is hidden in underground tunnels carved into the mountain. Inside lay a tunnel network stretching over 50 km containing tons of ballistic missiles, precision guidance kits, drone engines, and high explosive rocket fuel.

[00:01:29]And there is something else beneath Isvahan. Perhaps the most important thing. According to an analysis published by the bulletin of the atomic scientists in March 2026, Iran had moved a stockpile of approximately 540 kgs of 60% enriched uranium, enough for 11 nuclear bombs into the underground tunnels in Isvahan prior to the June 2025 attacks. An image from the Airbus Played Neo satellite dated June 9th, 2025 shows a truck heading toward the southern tunnel entrance carrying 18 blue containers. According to experts, these containers may contain highlyenriched uranium hexaflloride.

[00:02:11]The IAEA has still not been able to visit this facility. As of March 2026, the facility's status, capacity, and whether it contains nuclear material remain unknown.

[00:02:24]Three massive tunnel entrances carved into the mountains 1,700 m high slope, each lined with thick reinforced concrete, completely buried under earth in recent months and marketed as an impenetrable labyrinth. Iran had placed its trust in the strength of this mountain and its underground cities.

[00:02:43]However, on the night of March 31st, a US air strike leveled this massive facility. The first bomb fell 10 minutes past midnight. US and Israeli forces first disabled the Bavar 373 and S300 air defense radars at the Isvahan airport, blinding the city's defensive eyes. With its eyes blinded, bomber aircraft slipped into the skies over Isfahan completely silently and without a trace. They used 2,000lb bunker busting bombs primarily deployed by B2 Spirit stealth bombers as well as F-15 E Strike Eagles and B1B Lancers. The air strike was so devastating that the Wall Street Journal cited a US officials description of a high volume of penetrator munitions. Satellite imagery, Maxar/Planet Labs, explosion videos, and the intensity of secondary detonations have led independent analysts to estimate that over 40, some estimates range between 45 and 50, GBU31/Blu 109 munitions were used. Yes, exactly.

[00:03:51]Over 40 BLU 109 and GBU31 JDAM equipped monsters turned the tunnel network kilome deep inside the mountain into hell in a matter of seconds. The high volume mentioned by the Wall Street Journal likely involved the use of 36 to 41 tons of pure bunker busting bombs that night. Then a chain reaction of hell began when these 2,000lb munitions struck the surface. Instead of exploding, they penetrated the 1.83 m thick reinforced concrete and rock layers, penetrating deep into the mountain. Thanks to the delayed fuse, the bombs detonated at the heart of the underground tunnels. And this is where physics comes into play. A bomb exploding in a closed underground system creates a pressure wave that cannot escape. This trapped pressure wave triggers tons of rocket fuel, ballistic missile munitions, and explosive materials within the tunnels. The massive secondary explosions shown in the videos are evidence of this chain reaction. The tunnel system may have acted as an amplifier, multiplying the bomb's effect. Even a single bunker busting bomb appears to have caused far greater destruction than it could have on its own by triggering the underground stockpiles. The mountains seem to explode from within. Collapses, fires, columns of smoke. The massive underground complex at the foot of Mount Safur is riddled with red craters.

[00:05:23]Uranium enrichment plants, fuel fabrication facilities, bad air base, and all critical facilities in the surrounding area. Trump made a shocking statement immediately after the attack.

[00:05:35]>> We're $4. Yeah. And we have a country that's not going to be throwing a nuclear weapon at us.

[00:05:40]It is noteworthy that a statement was made at this very moment implying that Iran's nuclear bomb production had ended and that the American people were now safe because the target struck that night was no ordinary facility. Based on Trump's statement regarding nuclear and missile production capabilities which we mentioned at the outset and considering the effects of previous attacks, all of these critical facilities may have been obliterated or rendered inoperable. The story of Isvahan's bombardment did not begin in March 2026. It began a year earlier, and each time the strikes went deeper.

[00:06:19]Iran's most dangerous weapon doesn't fly. It doesn't explode. It doesn't carry a warhead.

[00:06:26]11,000 km of steel rail, over 16,000 freight cars, and thousands of tons of military cargo moving along these tracks every day. missile components, solid fuel, engine parts, technical personnel.

[00:06:40]This vascular system was what made Iran's ballistic arsenal undetectable, untouchable, and unstoppable for 20 years. But on the night of April 7th, US and Israeli air forces simultaneously struck eight critical railway bridges from Tehran to Kar to Breeze to Comm and simultaneously paralyzed approximately 1 million Iranian soldiers and militia forces in underground tunnels and above ground without touching a single warhead. To grasp the strategic depth of this operation and how much Iran lost, you first need to understand how Iran's 20-year system worked. Disperse, hide, transport, launch. The IRGC's four-phase missile operations cycle, a Cold War legacy. The Soviets played this game with SS20s. North Korea still plays it with the Hasang series. The principle is simple. Never keep your missiles in one place. No fixed silos, no fixed launchpads, dispersed depots, camouflage tunnels, constantly relocating teal platforms. Enemy intelligence can't detect the entire arsenal at once because the arsenal isn't a point. It's a moving organism. Iran used its railway as the vascular system of this organism, a network exceeding 11,000 km, all converging on a single hub, Tehran.

[00:08:04]Trees from the northwest, Mashad from the northeast, Isvahan Bandar Abbas from the south, Kerman Sha from the west.

[00:08:11]Every line meets in the capital. A logistical advantage in peace time, but a structural vulnerability in wartime because cutting a few key bridges leading to the center is enough to shatter the entire network. The coalition read this vulnerability within 6 weeks and planned the operation with surgical precision. For weeks, Iran's railway traffic was monitored using satellite imagery, signals, intelligence, and likely ground source data to identify which lines carried military cargo, at what times IRGC shipments were made, and which bridges were irreplaceable choke points. From the 11,000 km network, only eight points were selected. But these eight points were the nodes controlling the entire network's strategic function. Moreover, the strike was designed in two phases.

[00:09:01]The day before, air logistics had been cut. Transport aircraft and dozens of military helicopters were destroyed. The next day, ground logistics were cut. Two legs disabled back to back. The IRGC's only remaining transport option was highway truck convoys, the slowest, most vulnerable vehicles and the easiest to detect under satellite surveillance.

[00:09:25]Now, let's look at what each of these eight points carried and what cutting them meant. Treeze line, Iran's oldest railway connecting to the outside world, operational since 1916.

[00:09:38]During the Soviet era, 350 cars crossed the border daily on this line with annual freight capacity reaching 3.5 million tons. Today, it serves as the main outlet of the IRGC's northwestern storage network. Missile components, solid fuel materials, and technical personnel flowed through this artery.

[00:09:59]When its bridge was struck, all depots in the Northwest were cut off from Tehran and from launch points. A 110-year-old artery severed in a single night. Cutting this line didn't just halt material flow. It severed the logistical connections of at least four of the IRGC's 31 provincial commands in the northwest. Units at TRIZA and surrounding bases, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 personnel can no longer be supplied from the central resupply network.

[00:10:31]Karage Line, Thran's western gateway.

[00:10:35]This corridor opening to the Albor's mountain pass connected western Iran's largest weapons production centers to the capital via the Tehran Kermanshaw line completed in 2017. Ammunition and missile parts from Kerman Sha factories were distributed along this line. When the bridge was struck, Tehran's military resupply line to the west was severed and due to the geographical narrowness of the Albor's pass, alternative road routes are extremely limited. A single bridge destruction effectively isolated all western production capacity from the capital.

[00:11:12]A careful look at the maps clearly reveals that the balance of power on Earth is generally dependent on narrow sea passages. The straight of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, is the most critical artery, handling the passage of approximately 20 million barrels of oil daily and accounting for 1/5if of global energy trade. And the straight of Hormuz has long been a powerful tool of blackmail for Tehran. Virtually the entire world is dependent on this narrow passage. However, Gulf countries are now planning to build a canal that would completely bypass the straight of Hormuz. A direct channel from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Look, the Musandam Peninsula at the northern tip of Oman extends toward the Straight of Hormuz, and the distance between them is surprisingly short, just a few dozens of kilometers of land. What if you cut through that land and dug a canal?

[00:12:07]Tankers leaving the Persian Gulf would completely bypass the straight of Hormuz, heading directly out to open sea without passing through Iranian territorial waters. A route that would render all of Iran's mine threats, fast boat attacks, coastal missiles, and GPS jamming meaningless because the ships would no longer be within Iran's range.

[00:12:29]The idea has been on the table for decades, but the 2026 crisis made it a serious consideration for the first time because Iran went beyond mere threats and actually closed the straight and the world experienced the cost of it firsthand.

[00:12:44]3,200 ships were stranded. A daily flow of 20 million barrels came to a halt and Asia's energy imports were paralyzed.

[00:12:52]And all of this stemmed from the closure of a single waterway just 21 mi wide.

[00:12:58]The route is as follows. The canal will start at the narrowest point of the Musandam Peninsula along the Gulf of Bazra coast on the Ras Alka UAE side.

[00:13:08]Cut through the Hajar mountains and reach the Casab or Dber region on the Gulf of Oman coast. The total length varies between 20 and 50 km depending on the route. But these 20 to 50 km are not flat desert. It requires passing through the sharp limestone peaks of the Hajar mountains which rise to 2,000 m. These mountains consist of aulite and limestone layers compressed and folded by millions of years of tectonic activity. One of the world's geologically hardest rock types. For modern VLCC tankers, over 300 m long and weighing more than 300,000 tons, a channel at least 25 m deep and 200 to 300 m wide must be carved out. Millions of tons of rock must be blasted, cut, and removed. The entire mountain range will need to be reshaped. However, the technical challenges of this mega project become even more complex when combined with the massive scale of the modern shipping industry. First, the cost. The figure of $100 billion is cited in many sources, but this is an optimistic lower limit. Engineering analyses and calculations suggest the realistic cost could range between 200 and $300 billion. Because rock excavation in Musandam requires 40 to 60 times the labor of the Panama Canal. The Panama expansion cost $5 billion.

[00:14:39]Musandam's geology, depth requirements, and seismic risks multiply that figure.

[00:14:45]This construction process fraught with massive seismic risks, environmental impacts, and logistical challenges, is poised to go down in history as one of humanity's most daring operations against geography.

[00:14:58]Advanced data models emphasize that such a dredging operation would irreversibly alter the region's ecosystem and natural rock structure. However, the geopolitical gains on the table carry such significant strategic weight that they overshadow this massive engineering bill. Musandum isn't the only option. A 950 km canal through the empty quarter is being discussed. It would start at Saudi Arabia's southern coast, cross the Rubalcali desert, and reach the Gulf of Oman. No mountains, flat terrain. From an engineering perspective, it's far more feasible than Musandam. But the 950 km distance is massive. Water evaporation, the risk of silting up and maintenance costs are astronomical.

[00:15:45]In a 2008 Saudi backed feasibility study, the cost was estimated at $200 billion. There are elevations of up to 700 m along the route. The perception of a flat desert is misleading, and its proximity to the Yemen border creates a separate security risk. But the Rubalci is one of the least populated regions in the world. Land acquisition issues are minimal and the environmental impact is lower than in Musandum. The canal is a project for decades from now. But the Gulf States aren't sitting idle today.

[00:16:18]There are already infrastructure projects underway that are beginning to neutralize Iran's Hormuz threat. The 48-hour ultimatum issued by the US president on March 26th to keep the straight open triggered a deep sense of alarm in regional capitals. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are putting Sharah's core fakan port into operation without even waiting for Trump's 48-hour ultimatum.

[00:16:42]This natural deep water port with its sheltered location surrounded by the rugged cliffs of the Hajar mountains opens onto the Gulf of Oman completely outside the straight of Hormuz. It is operated by Gulf Tainer and has infrastructure capable of handling large tankers. The new pier and pipeline integration costs between approximately $200 million and $500 million. Peanuts compared to canal projects, but the fastest solution in the short term. But the true potential of core fakan and Fujira isn't limited to just Saudi and UAE oil. Consider this. Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar lack their own bypass pipelines. But it is possible to transport these count's oil over land by truck, via inland pipelines, or by coastal tankers to UAE territory and from there bypass the straight of Hormuz through Fujira or Core Fakhan to reach global markets. Iraq cannot export from its southern ports in Bazra because the straight of Hormuz is blocked. But transporting Iraqi oil by road through Uwait to the UAE and from there to Fujira is technically feasible. Kuwait's oil can similarly reach bypass ports in the UAE via trucks or short distance pipelines. Qatar's LNG is more complex.

[00:18:04]Liqufied natural gas requires specialized ships and cannot be transported by road. But Qatar's crude oil and condensate exports can be transferred to the UAE via pipeline.

[00:18:16]This transforms the bypass ports from being merely export gateways for the host countries into a regional energy hub. Fujira and Corfakan could now serve as a collective bypass point for all Gulf oil, not just UAE oil. By bypassing the straight of Hormuz, of course, there are capacity limits. Transporting millions of barrels a day via truck convoys is a logistical nightmare and the existing pipeline infrastructure isn't sufficient to meet this demand.

[00:18:47]But the crisis is accelerating infrastructure investments that would normally take a decade, completing them in a matter of months. New pipeline connections between Gulf countries, Kuwait UAE, Iraq UAE, and even Qatar UAE lines are currently on the table.

[00:19:07]A 5,000lb bomb, the first of its kind ever fired in the history of warfare, collapsed Iran's coastal underwater and underground missile tunnels.

[00:19:18]>> It was nearly impossible to detect the missile launchers in these tunnels.

[00:19:22]Hidden within the mountains, beneath concrete, and at the bottom of the sea, they were invisible.

[00:19:29]Even if found, the number of powerful bombs required would have exceeded the capacity of any army.

[00:19:35]The Iranian military relied on this, but it took just one night to shatter that confidence. On March 17th, Sentcom announced that reinforced underground tunnels and facilities along the Iranian coastline near the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by numerous 5,000 lb deep penetrating bombs that had never seen combat. That night, under the cover of darkness and low-hanging clouds, the massive strike package moved in. EA18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft led the way, jamming the remaining radar and communication systems along Iran's coastline, rendering the strike fleet invisible. Following them, B1B Lancer bombers took off from longrange bases, while F-15 E Strike Eagles took off from bases in the region, likely Muafak Salty in Jordan or Al- Uade in Qatar, and simultaneously headed toward the target.

[00:20:29]Both were carrying the same bomb, the GBU72.

[00:20:33]The F-15E has a dual role, both air superiority and precision bombing.

[00:20:39]Pilotsg guided GPS guided bombs directly into the tunnel entrances, opening several meters wide. Targets: Underground missile complexes belonging to the IRGC Navy, hidden along the mountainous coastline near Bandar Abbas and the Hormuzan province, known as missile cities. These complexes are the heart of Iran's asymmetric warfare doctrine. The tunnel's features are impressive and intimidating. Typically 6 to 10 m high and 6 m wide, meaning a truck could easily pass through them.

[00:21:13]Their total length spans dozens of kilome. Some sections feature shafts descending to depths of 100 to 500 m.

[00:21:21]Part of these tunnels lies underwater.

[00:21:24]Iran has actually shown its underwater missile tunnels to the public. Inside them are Carter 380L cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 km. Weapons capable of flying parallel to the sea surface to evade radar and sinking a super tanker on their own. A single missile launched from Bandar Abbabas keeps the entire Gulf from Oman to the UAE and from Qatar to Bahrain within range. And these missiles aren't stationary. Mobile launchers move along rail systems, emerging from a tunnel, firing, and returning within seconds.

[00:22:00]And the real target of these missiles wasn't the tankers. The tankers were just bait. The real target was the US Navy. Iran's plan was this. Force the US to intervene by closing the straight to civilian ships. Let the world apply pressure. Let oil prices skyrocket. And let the US say, "We have to open the straight." When US warships enter the narrow passage to open the straight, a 21-m wide corridor, strike them simultaneously with missile attacks from the shore, from tunnels, and from underwater.

[00:22:34]Sink an American destroyer, or better yet, damage an aircraft carrier, and break the US's will to fight. Just as in Vietnam, just as in Somalia, inflict sufficient casualties, and the US will withdraw. Hormuz was a trap. Commercial ships were the bait. The US Navy was the real target, and the coastal tunnels were the trigger for this trap. However, that night, B1Bs and F-15E dropped GBU72s at the tunnel entrances. Each bomb weighs 2.3 tons, 2.5 times the weight of standard munitions. The bomb does not detonate on the surface. It burrows into the ground, penetrates more than 50 m, and collapses the structure from within.

[00:23:19]The blast wave becomes trapped in the tunnel corridor, creating a far more destructive effect than it would in open terrain. A GBU72 entering through a tunnel entrance can render everything unusable all the way to the launch gallery at the end of the corridor. A B1B can carry 34 tons in a single sorty. A single aircraft can shut down multiple tunnel entrances in a single pass. F-15ES targeted specific entry points with more precise strikes.

[00:23:49]And for deeper targets, B2 Spirits provided support with 14 ton GBU57 giants. But now the key question. Iran claimed these tunnels went down to depths of 100 to 500 m. The GBU72, however, penetrates only 50 m. So how did the US Air Force manage to destroy these launch sites? Because the US didn't target the bottom of the tunnels, it didn't have to. It's impossible to launch a missile from 300 m deep. It has to emerge at the surface or into a shallow gallery. Launch points, tunnel entrances, exit corridors, all are below 50 m. The US struck precisely those points. You might not be able to demolish the castle wall, but you can demolish the gate. An army can hold its ground inside a castle with a demolished gate, but it cannot exit or fight. The missiles might be deep underground, but if the launch routes have collapsed, they're just piles of expensive metal. A missile that can't be launched. It exists, but it's useless. But the hardest part of the operation wasn't dropping the bomb. The real challenge was finding the target. The regime's most powerful weapon, the famous missile cities, has become the greatest death trap in modern military history. The epic fury operation, which began on February 28th, 2026, was a rare display of force in American aviation history.

[00:25:18]And the most devastating moment of this operation took place on March 2nd, 2026.

[00:25:24]The targets were the massive ballistic missile complexes carved into the mountains near Kuramabad in Lorestan province and Tre in East Azabaijan province which cost billions of dollars to build. The first target was the Kuramabad underground facility known as the Imam Ali base. This facility was Iran's largest ballistic missile complex.

[00:25:48]a massive underground city consisting of tunnels ranging from 36 to 50 km in length, a labyrinth where hundreds of Shahab 3 variant missiles were stored, launchpads were concealed, and ammunition depots were lined up. This was the backbone of Iran's regional deterrence. The operation was nearly impossible for a bomber like the B-52.

[00:26:11]However, Iran's air defense network, which relied on early warning radars based on copying technologies, was rendered blind in the first hours of the operation by simultaneous cyber attacks and electronic warfare elements. This initial phase prevented personnel hundreds of meters below ground from grasping the scale of the danger on the surface. With the radar screens blacked out, the Iranian military could not see the impending destruction and its defense systems were disabled. When this window of complete vulnerability in the airspace opened for just 48 hours, the US Air Force deployed the B-52 Strato Fortress, the heavyweight of its strategic bomber fleet to strike Iran.

[00:26:56]Saudi Arabia had anticipated this situation 45 years ago. While the entire world was in a panic over the closure of the straight of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia had a pipeline ready for use. Stretching 1,200 km through the middle of the desert from Abcake, Saudi Arabia's largest oil processing facility to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, a route that bypasses the straight of Hormuz and never touches the Persian Gulf. In the early 1980s, tanker attacks during the Iran Iraq war were ravaging the Gulf. Ships were being sunk, ports bombed, and oil trade paralyzed. No one paid much attention, and someone in Riyad quietly asked, "What do we do if the Straight of Hormuz closes?" The answer was a 1,200 km long twin pipeline. In 1981, Saudi Arabia quietly began building a pipeline. And 45 years later, that one day when Iran would close the straight of Hormuz had arrived. For decades, Iran has threatened to choke off the world's oil supplies. And a cleverly devised project, quietly implemented decades ago, is now closing the straits that have long been Iran's greatest trump card. The Straight of Hormuz is a narrow waterway just 21 mi wide, connecting the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.

[00:28:17]Approximately 21 million barrels of oil flow through this narrow passage every day, 1/5if of global maritime trade. Oil and natural gas from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran pass through this straight. It is the lifeblood of the global economy. And Iran controls the northern shore of that lifeblood. The strait's narrowest point, 21 mi, is so close to the Iranian coast that a missile launched from the shore could strike any tanker within minutes.

[00:28:50]mines, speedboats, coastal defense batteries, kamicazi drones. Iran's arsenal of asymmetric weapons is designed specifically for this geography. Major naval powers may hold the upper hand in the open ocean, but in this narrow straight, the geography works in Iran's favor. For decades, this has been Thran's strongest trump card.

[00:29:12]If you strike us, we'll close the straight of Hormuz and paralyze the global economy. This threat was the primary reason the west hesitated to intervene militarily against Iran because everyone knew if the straight of Hormuz closes, oil prices will skyrocket, supply chains will collapse, and inflation will soar. No one wanted to take that risk until February 2026.

[00:29:36]On March 4th, Iran played that card. The revolutionary guards declared the straight closed. They said ships attempting to pass would be set ablaze and they followed through. Attacks on commercial vessels began with 21 confirmed attacks by March 12th, resulting in five crew members killed.

[00:29:56]Tanker traffic dropped by 70% and over 150 ships anchored outside the straight.

[00:30:02]War risk insurance was withdrawn. Brent crude surged from $65 to $14.

[00:30:09]According to the IEA, this month's global oil supply loss is 8 million barrels per day, the largest energy disruption in history. And the scenario Iran has been threatening for 40 years has finally come to pass. It was right in the midst of this chaos that Saudi Arabia's move came into play. Petrol Line, the East West crude oil pipeline.

[00:30:31]The name is ordinary, the impact is massive. Construction began in 1981. Its capacity was increased to 7 million barrels over the years. But the pipeline never operated at full capacity. Before the crisis, it carried only 2.8 million barrels per day. Some called it overinvestment. It seemed like an unnecessary insurance premium. On March 10th, 2026, Aramco CEO Amin NASA announced the pipeline is being brought up to full capacity, 7 million barrels per day. The bulk of Saudi oil exports now flows through the Red Sea rather than the straight of Hormuz. An investment deemed unnecessary for 45 years has overnight become a lifeline for the global economy. The pipeline, which carried 2.8 million barrels per day before the crisis, reached full capacity within a few days, meaning Aramco had maintained the pipeline's upkeep, testing infrastructure, and expansion capacity for years. In other words, the Saudis didn't just lay the pipeline. They ensured for 45 years that it could be activated at any moment. And Saudi Arabia isn't alone. The UAE's Habshan Fujira pipeline running from Abu Dhabi fields to the Gulf of Oman transports an additional 1.5 to 1.8 million barrels per day. It also bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Together, the two pipelines provide an alternative capacity of 8.5 to 9 million barrels per day. That doesn't cover the full 21 million barrels passing through the straight of Hormuz. But let's put the numbers into perspective. Saudi Arabia's daily exports are approximately 7 million barrels and nearly all of that is now independent of the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, Saudi oil continues to flow to the world.

[00:32:29]The crisis isn't hitting Saudi Arabia.

[00:32:31]It's hitting countries without alternative routes. Iraq exports 3.3 million barrels a day, all of which are reliant on the straight of Hormuz. Q8's 2 million barrels are in the same situation. Qatar's massive LNG exports, 25% of global LNG trade, must pass through the straight of Hormuz and are currently largely halted. These countries don't have a plan B like Saudi Arabia's. Years ago, they evaluated similar bypass projects and abandoned them. The cost was too high and it was said that the straight of Hormuz would never truly close.

[00:33:08]2026 showed just how wrong that assumption was. Oil is above $100 but hasn't reached $200. The global economy is shaken but hasn't collapsed. And the biggest reason for this is those pipelines buried in the desert 45 years ago. For 40 years, Iran has said, "We'll close the straight of Hormuz." It did, and now it's facing the consequences.

[00:33:33]Geostrategically, the regime has collapsed. As Sentcom commander Admiral Kooper stated, "There isn't a single Iranian vessel left sailing in the Gulf, the Straight of Hormuz, or the Gulf of Oman. Over 100 Iranian vessels are sunk or damaged. Iran's naval capacity has been reduced to zero. The defense systems on K Island were wiped out in a single night. B2s, B-52s, and B1s destroyed 90 military targets in 2 hours. US Defense Secretary Hegth's assessment is even harsher. Iran's missile stockpile has dropped by 90%.

[00:34:10]Its singleuse drones have decreased by 95%.

[00:34:14]We're dealing with Iran's desperate moves in the Strait of Hormuz. The regime is now relying not on its offensive capabilities, but on its survival capabilities. Geopolitically, Iran has punished its own allies. 45% of China's oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing is now pressuring Iran to open the straight.

[00:34:36]Qatar's LNG is dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, and that has also stopped.

[00:34:42]India acted pragmatically and secured transit permission through a bilateral agreement with Iran. Russia has won in the short term. Oil prices have risen and demand for Russian oil has increased. But the global recession will hit Moscow as well. While Iran sought to harm its enemies, it has alienated its own allies. And the most painful aspect is the geoeconomic one. By closing the straight of Hormuz, Iran has locked up not only others oil but its own as well.

[00:35:11]A daily export loss of 2 to 3 million barrels. Foreign exchange reserves are dwindling. Inflation is skyrocketing.

[00:35:19]Scenarios project a GDP decline of up to 22%.

[00:35:24]Oil revenue accounted for 40% of the regime's budget. That revenue is now nearly zero. Sanctions are intensifying.

[00:35:32]The real is at historic lows. As millions of Iranians flee their homes and head north, the state treasury lacks the funds to provide shelter for those people. The regime pursued a mutual destruction strategy. I'll burn, but I'll take the world down with me. But the rates of destruction are not equal.

[00:35:51]The Saudi bypass averted a global catastrophe.

[00:35:56]US strategic reserves are in play.

[00:35:59]Europe and Asia were shaken but did not collapse. Iran, however, lost its military capabilities, naval power, oil revenues, and the straight of Hormuz leverage. In other words, it was largely destroyed by its own actions. The US Treasury Secretary statement, we are allowing Iranian tankers is the pinnacle of this irony.

[00:36:21]>> Well, the let's pull that apart. So, we we are seeing more and more the fuel ships start to go through. The Iranian ships have been getting out already and we've let that happen to supply uh the rest.

[00:36:36]>> Iran's ability to export its own oil to the world now depends on its enemy's permission. The regime closed the straight but also handed over the key to its own oil to Washington. For 40 years, Iran said closing the straight of Hormuz is our nuclear weapon. It used the weapon and the weapon backfired. The actor hit hardest by this crisis is China. As the world's largest oil importer, it sourced 45% of its imports through the Strait of Hormuz. With the straits closure, this flow has stopped.

[00:37:10]Beijing's response is multifaceted.

[00:37:13]Diplomatic pressure on Iran to reopen the strait, strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia, and shifting toward alternative energy sources. China has banned the export of refined fuels. It is trying to protect its own stockpiles.

[00:37:27]But China's problem isn't limited to the straight of Hormuz. As we analyzed earlier, the Venezuela route closed in January. Russia is under pressure. Iran is under blockade. China's three major alternative oil sources have been systematically reduced over the past 6 months. And when the Strait of Hormuz closes, it's not just Iranian oil that stops. Qatari LNG also halts. a significant source of China's natural gas imports.

[00:37:56]China's response to Trump's call for a Hormuz coalition is intriguing. It is not joining, but is negotiating with Iran on its own. According to Reuters, China is discussing both crude oil and the safe passage of Qatari LNG tankers with Iran. Beijing is seeking to secure its own energy security through bilateral agreements with Iran without joining the US coalition. And these negotiations are proceeding with the US's knowledge. Bessant's trade talks with China in Paris indicate that Washington does not want to completely alienate Beijing. This is the latest and most complex dimension of US China competition on the energy front. The global picture is grim. The IEA estimates this month's global oil supply shortfall at 8 million barrels per day.

[00:38:45]A 400 million barrel strategic reserve has been released, but it's not enough.

[00:38:50]Brent is at $14 WTI in the $95 to $100 range. A gas crisis in Asia, inflation in Europe, and the risk of stagflation in developing countries. The metals, agriculture, fertilizer, and automotive sectors are taking a chain reaction of blows. The Congressional Research Service estimates that in a prolonged war scenario, the global GDP loss could reach trillions of dollars. US Treasury Secretary Bessant's prediction that oil prices will drop below $80 once the war ends signals Washington's view that this crisis is temporary. But when will the war end?

[00:39:30]Israel says at least three more weeks.

[00:39:33]Trump says it will end soon. Iran's foreign minister says we will defend ourselves as long as necessary. Saudi Arabia's petrol line is averting a global catastrophe, but it's not perfect. First, capacity is insufficient. 21 million barrels per day used to pass through the straight of Hormuz. The Saudi UAE bypass totals 8.5 to 9 million barrels, less than half the loss. Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar have no alternative route. These countries oil remains dependent on the straight of Hormuz. Second, the Red Sea route is not risk-free. The Yanboo port reached by the pipeline is on the Red Sea coast and the Babel Mandeb Strait is under Houthi threat. Iran could also threaten the Red Sea through the Houthis. Since 2024, the Houthis have been attacking commercial ships. The Saudi bypass eliminates the straight of Hormuz risk but carries the Bab Elm Mandeb risk. Third, the pipeline itself is vulnerable. An infrastructure stretching 1,200 km through the middle of the desert is open to drone or missile attacks. The 2019 Houthy attack which struck the Abcake facilities temporarily halted half of Saudi production. The same scenario could repeat itself and recent developments have brought this risk into sharp focus.

[00:40:59]On March 16th, Saudi Arabia announced it had intercepted 35 Iranian drones targeting its eastern region, the area housing major oil facilities. On the same day, a fuel depot near Dubai International Airport caught fire following a drone attack. Iran is attempting to strike not only the straight but also the exit points of bypass routes and the Oman alternative has also been targeted. Oman's Dukeham and Salala ports, deep water ports outside the straight were targeted by drone attacks in March. A fuel depot in Dukam sustained damage. The port of Soha, meanwhile, fell within an area insurers have designated a war risk zone. Iran is trying to ensure that none of the alternative routes remain safe.

[00:41:47]But despite all these risks, Petroline's existence has changed the rules of the game. Iran's assumption that if I close the straight, the world will collapse proved wrong. The world was shaken but did not collapse. And this means that Iran's last strategic trump card has largely lost its value. Saudi Arabia's Petroline story demonstrates the power of long-term thinking in geopolitics.

[00:42:13]In 1981, in the midst of a war, they laid 1,200 km of pipeline beneath the desert to prepare for a future crisis.

[00:42:22]For 45 years, the pipeline sat there, partially used, never reaching full capacity. Some called it an unnecessary investment. And in 2026, just as that crisis arrived, the pipeline came online in seconds. 7 million barrels a day, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, averting a global catastrophe. For 40 years, Iran said, "We'll close the Strait of Hormuz." For 40 years, Saudi Arabia quietly prepared. Iran used the threat.

[00:42:54]Saudi Arabia used the plan, and the plan proved stronger than the threat. But the story isn't over yet. The straight remains in limbo, neither fully closed nor fully open. Iran is weaponizing diplomacy through its selective transit policy. Trump is trying to build a coalition, but allies are reluctant.

[00:43:14]>> NATO is making a very foolish mistake, and I I've long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So, this is a this was a great test.

[00:43:25]>> China is charting its own course. Oil prices are above $100. Qatar and Iraq remain dependent on the straight of Hormuz. Bypass routes don't even cover half the total demand. And no one knows when the war will end. One thing is certain, Iran's ability to play the straight of Hormuz card has been permanently weakened. Pipes laid beneath the desert 45 years ago have largely neutralized a 40-year-old threat.

[00:43:54]Saudi Arabia didn't shut down Iran's throat, but it threw Iran's throat card in the trash. And one of the most important chapters of that story begins with a pipeline laid beneath the desert in 1981.

[00:44:10]First wave. As part of Operation Rising Lion, which began on June 13th, the Israeli Air Force struck the Isvahan Nuclear Technology Center, four critical structures, including the uranium conversion plant, fuel plate factory, metal production unit, and central chemistry laboratory, were damaged or destroyed. But Israel had a problem. It lacked munitions capable of penetrating deep underground facilities. It could strike the surface, but couldn't reach beneath the mountain. The second wave.

[00:44:44]On June 22nd, the US stepped in. During Operation Midnight Hammer, 7 B2 Spirits took off from Whiteitman Air Force Base and reached Iran after an 18-hour non-stop flight. A total of 14 GBU57A/B bombs were dropped on Fordo Natans and Isfahan, the world's heaviest conventional bombs weighing 13,600 kg and measuring 6 m in length. At Fordo, 12 bombs were dropped sequentially into two ventilation shafts, plunging deep into the mountain. The first bomb shattered the concrete cover while the subsequent ones descended at 300 m/s through the shaft, detonating within the underground complex.

[00:45:28]30 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a US submarine also collapsed the tunnel entrances in Isvahan. Trump wrote that night, "All planes are returning safely.

[00:45:38]Time for peace." But the uranium stockpile could not be located. 9 months later, the IAEA still does not know its whereabouts. Third wave. When Operation Epic Fury began on February 28th, 2026, Isfahan was among the targets from the very first night. The air base and military facilities were struck. On March 1st, the entrance buildings at Natans in Isvahan province were targeted again, and satellite imagery confirmed that at least three buildings sustained heavy damage. On March 2nd, the IRGC regional headquarters in Isvahan was struck. On March 3rd, Israel targeted a secret underground nuclear weapons development facility known as Minszad Dehai. On March 9th, strikes in Isvahan's historic center damaged UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Nakshi Jan Square, the Chahel Sultan Palace, and Ali Kapu. The intensity of the attacks was even affecting the city's historic fabric. On March 27th, Israel launched a new wave of strikes against nuclear facilities targeting the Mubarak steel plant in Isfahan, one of Iran's largest steel facilities. According to CSIS, there are unverified reports that additional strikes were carried out against the Isfan nuclear complex during this period. In other words, Isvahan was being struck nearly every week for a month. the air base, the IRGC headquarters, the entrances to nuclear facilities, the defense industry, and the steel plant. But all these strikes were focused on the surface or the entrances. The real target beneath the mountain, the munitions depot and uranium stockpile was still intact. On the night of March 31st, the fourth wave arrived and this time the target was directly underground. Unable to protect its airspace, underground facilities, and nuclear assets on the battlefield, Iran responded with an asymmetric countermeasure. On March 31st, the revolutionary guards struck the Kuwaiti super tanker Al-Salmi, which was waiting in the Anchorage Echorage off the coast of Dubai to sail to the port of Ching Dao, China with a kamicazi drone. This massive tanker was carrying 2 million barrels of oil and was worth over $200 million at current prices. The tanker was one of hundreds of ships stranded in the Gulf for over a month. This attack contains a critical detail. The Al-Salmi was struck not in the narrow waters of the Straight of Hormuz, but in the waiting area of the port of Dubai, which ships consider safe. According to UK MTO data, 24 incidents involving ships have been reported since the conflict began.

[00:48:25]Iran's message is clear. The waters outside the straight of Hormuz are not safe either. Simultaneously, the Iranian parliament approved a bill linking transit through the straight of Hormuz to a real-based transit fee and completely banning US and Israeli ships.

[00:48:42]And the global cost of this move is heavy. Brent crude surged to $115 and WTI to $15.

[00:48:51]In the US, gasoline prices surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time in nearly 4 years. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index fell 13% in March, erasing all of 2026's gains in a single stroke. Analysts warned that if the straight of Hormuz remains closed, oil prices could soar to $200.

[00:49:13]Striking Isfahan was easy, but opening the Strait of Hormuz does not seem so.

[00:49:18]On March 31st, Trump issued a clear ultimatum via social media. If an agreement cannot be reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz is not opened immediately, we will completely destroy all of Iran's power plants, oil wells, Hog Island, and perhaps even its desalination plants. The second deadline given to Iran set for April 6th is approaching. However, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Trump told his aids that he might be willing to end the military campaign even if the strait remains closed. This contradiction created a brief sense of relief in the markets, but the underlying problem remains unresolved.

[00:49:58]But the Iranian side paints a completely different picture. The Iranian side, however, is rejecting the US peace proposals, labeling them excessive and irrational. With each passing day, a diplomatic solution grows a little further out of reach. Amid all this, Trump's sharing of a photo of a mushroom cloud rising from Isfahan without any explanation was more than just a military victory. This was a calculated psychological warfare move. The message to the regime was clear. We're striking you in your most trusted strongholds underground, and it's as routine for us as a social media post. The panic these images caused within the regime exposed the collapse of its the mountains will protect you promise to the domestic public. To prevent this truth from spreading, the Iranian state dramatically restricted internet access nationwide.

[00:50:51]According to some reports, it reduced it to 1%. One of the largest digital blackouts in history. But information doesn't stop at walls. Satellite internet connections and VPN usage are widespread. and videos of the explosions in Isvahan began circulating on Iranian social media within hours. The Iranian people are seeing with their own eyes that the state's long promised slogan of security beneath the mountains does not reflect reality. Most Iranians are questioning where the war is leading their country. And perhaps the most unsettling question is this. The US mobilized the world's most powerful military, reduced Iran's military capacity by 70%, dismantled its underground doctrine, and set its nuclear program back. But it still hasn't managed to open a 30 km waterway.

[00:51:41]GBU57s can blast through mountains, but there is no magic weapon to clear the mines, kamicazi drones, unmanned surface vessels, and anti-hship missiles fired from the coastline in the straight of Hormuz. A mine clearing operation could take weeks. During that time, every ship could be a target and insurance companies are refusing to provide tanker insurance. Militarily opening the straight of Hormuz is a far more complex operation than striking Isvahan because here the enemy isn't under the mountain, it's under the water and at every point along the coastline. Creating the hell beneath Isfahan was easy. Opening the straight of Hormuz and saving the global economy, however, is an entirely different challenge and the US does not yet seem to have found an answer to this challenge. This is the most paradoxical reality of war. Military victories are being won, but the strategic objective remains out of reach. The revolutionary guards lost the conventional war, but are still waging the asymmetric war. And this asymmetric capability is imposing an increasingly heavy toll on the global economy with each passing day. The ongoing tit fortat attacks on refineries, pipelines, gas fields, and tanker terminals in the Gulf indicate that the global economic pain could last for months, even years. And only the coming days will reveal who will pull the trigger.

[00:53:11]Kashan Yayya Aabad bridge strategically perhaps the heaviest blow. Kashan sits at the exact center of Iran at the intersection of north south and east west axis. Just to its south lies Isvahan, the heart of Iran's defense industry. Nuclear research facilities, missile engine manufacturing plants, IRGC technical supply centers produces. But when the Kashan Bridge was destroyed, it could no longer move what it produced north to the distribution network. A weapons factory with no exit, regardless of its production capacity, is strategically silenced.

[00:53:52]Comm line, the first critical link of the southern artery. The railway extending south from Comms to the ports of Bandarabas and Bander Imam. The same line serves as the deployment corridor for coastal defense missiles threatening the straight of Hormuz. When this bridge was cut, positions in the south were deprived of resupply. The missiles remain in place, but replacements, maintenance materials, and personnel rotation can no longer arrive by rail.

[00:54:23]Four arteries, four different strategic functions. And when all four were cut simultaneously, the third ring of the IRGC's 20-year cycle, transport, was disabled. Iran's military ammunition supply chain operated on two layers, underground and above ground.

[00:54:42]Underground, hundreds of tunnels and bunkers carved into mountains, missile depots, solid fuel stockpiles, spare engine parts. Above ground, the transportation network connecting these depots to each other and to launch points, railways, military airfields, highway corridors. The coalition systematically dismantled the above ground layer over 6 weeks, over 130 air defense systems, transport aircraft, helicopters, and now railway bridges.

[00:55:14]The underground layer may be largely intact. The tunnels still stand. The ammunition inside still exists.

[00:55:22]But as every corridor connecting underground to above ground is cut one by one, the dep depot's being full loses all strategic meaning. A full armory is no different from a locked armory. The IRGC's total armed forces exceeding 500,000 190,000 guards, 350,000 regular army up to 600,000 besiege reserves are a massive force on paper. But when the supply arteries feeding this force are severed, the numbers become meaningless.

[00:55:54]And this is exactly where the domino effect begins. A missile that can't be transported stays in its depo. A missile stuck in a depo is a fixed coordinate. A fixed coordinate is a point detected by satellite intelligence. A detected point becomes the coalition's next target.

[00:56:14]Cutting the railways isn't a direct missile destruction operation, but it indirectly renders the entire ballistic capacity immobile and defenseless. In military history, this is called interdiction, battlefield isolation.

[00:56:29]In Desert Storm, the coalition cut 40% of Iraq's transportation network within the first 72 hours. Iraqi units in the south weren't defeated in combat. They collapsed logistically.

[00:56:42]The version applied to Iran in 2026 is a far more comprehensive adaptation of the same doctrine. But the most unexpected dimension of the operation wasn't kinetic. It was psychological.

[00:56:56]Hours before the strike, a warning was posted from Israel's Farsy language account. Stay away from railway lines.

[00:57:03]Internet in Iran was largely shut down.

[00:57:06]Most of the population never even saw the message. But its effect was striking. The governor of Mashad cancelled services, Iran's busiest line, carrying over 17 million passengers annually, stopped instantly. The IRGC was unable to make any shipments during those hours. They didn't know when the line would be hit. They only knew it would be. Without a single bomb dropping, a single social media post effectively paralyzed Iran's railway network. And here, the invisible layer of the picture comes into play. For 20 years, these four rings worked. The coalition weakened the first ring with satellite intelligence, broke the second with bunker busters, severed the third with the railway operation. What remains is the fourth ring launch. Iran can still launch. The missiles falling on the Gulf for proof, but the direction of its retaliation is telling. It's hitting not the center of the coalition, but the periphery, retaliating not against the attacker, but against the attacker's neighbors. An indicator not of striking power, but of its limits. And every launch is the expenditure of a missile that cannot be replaced. The production chain is cut, transportation routes destroyed, storage facilities damaged.

[00:58:27]Iran's strategic capacity is a narrowing hourglass. still flowing, but the remaining sand is dwindling.

[00:58:37]Every new pipeline connection weakens Iran's Hormuz blackmail a little more because every country connected to the bypass is removed from the list of those Iran could hold hostage. Behind this emergency response lies a massive infrastructure network that has been quietly built over decades. Saudi Arabia has brought the 1,200 km east west petroline pipeline built based on lessons learned from the conflict environment of the 1980s and stretching from the Abcake facilities in the east to the Yanboo port on the Red Sea to full capacity.

[00:59:12]With a daily transport capacity of up to 7 million barrels, this pipeline enables the kingdom to divert a significant portion of its exports beyond the straits to safe ports. Acting with a similar strategic foresight, the United Arab Emirates is also operating a massive pipeline connecting the Habshan fields in the interior directly to the port of Fujira in the Gulf of Oman at maximum capacity.

[00:59:37]These existing projects have evolved from systems that could be shut down at the flick of a switch during a geopolitical crisis into the main arteries keeping the global economy afloat. And this move by Saudi Arabia and the UAE is not merely a change of port. It signals that the Gulf no longer relies solely on the US umbrella, but is building its own strategic independence.

[01:00:00]While Trump was issuing an ultimatum, the Gulf was already putting its own solution into action on its own initiative without seeking permission from Washington. And multiple exit points are making Iran's job exponentially harder. If Fujira is hit, Corefakan operates. If Corfakan is hit, Yanbu operates. Even if all three are hit, one will remain operational.

[01:00:25]Iran cannot halt the entire bypass by striking a single target. And as every Gulf nation connects to this network, Iran's leverage erodess further. But the 11 million barrel shortfall that the pipelines cannot cover still remains.

[01:00:40]And to close this gap, the straight must be physically opened.

[01:00:44]Iran's capacity of over 5,000 sea mines poses a serious threat. Clearing mines laid in shallow waters can take weeks or even months and sweeping operations in a conflict environment are extremely dangerous. That is why the first task of the 22nation military coalition is mine clearance. While the US uses A10 warthogs and Apache helicopters to dismantle Iran's coastal missile positions and fastboat bases, mine sweeping fleets are clearing the straight meter by meter. Mine clearing operations are effective in areas like the straight of Hormuz where boundaries are defined, current patterns are known, and ships have virtually no maneuvering room. But achieving the same effect in new ports opening onto the open ocean or in a wide channel is impossible. The bypass infrastructure serves as an insurance policy. The military coalition is the primary solution and the canal is the long-term missing piece that will fully resolve this equation. Bypassing the straight of Hormuz leaves Thran's investment in asymmetric naval power in a massive void. Fast attack boat fleets, unmanned naval vehicles, and a stockpile of over 5,000 sea mines, all designed for narrow, shallow waters, will become useless piles of scrap if tankers do not pass through that narrow corridor. A weapon without a strategic target is merely an expensive piece of metal. The second wave of the shock is making itself felt in global financial markets.

[01:02:16]The risk premiums added to the insurance policies of tankers approaching the straight of Hormuz were a direct trigger for global inflation. However, rrooting oil flows to the open seas via Corfakan Fujira or a potential Mandam Canal fundamentally alters this risk pricing.

[01:02:34]With the change in route, billions of dollars in risk costs will be lifted from the shoulders of the markets. This will provide macroeconomic relief by lowering global shipping costs. Economic volatility is also deeply affecting Asia's massive industrial hubs which rely heavily on energy imports. The implementation of bypass projects and the institutionalization of alternative routes will reduce supply chain vulnerabilities in countries like China and Japan. At the same time, the US Navy will be largely relieved of the costly maritime patrol mission it has carried out in the Strait of Hormuz for decades.

[01:03:12]For western navies, which now have the opportunity to shift their strategic focus to different global hotspots, this situation represents the removal of a geographical obstacle. This engineering and logistical revolution signals a new phase in modern geopolitics, the dawn of the geoengineering wars era. States now aim to neutralize the enemy by altering the geography itself rather than fighting the enemy over the terrain.

[01:03:40]Carving a canal through a mountain or laying pipelines beneath the desert is an asymmetric move that nullifies the rivals centuries old military advantage.

[01:03:50]Instead of bombing the enemy's targets, you erase the very routes they would take from the face of the earth. When there is no pass left to defend, the cards held by a threatening power are rendered destroyed.

[01:04:02]This strategic blockade manifests as a devastating loss of power at the diplomatic table. Thran is facing this reality. The regime which has used its capacity to shut down the global economy as an explicit or implicit threat across every arena from nuclear negotiations to regional power struggles will reach its sharpest turning point when it realizes this card is now invalid. The Tehran administration has used its capacity to shut down the global economy as a covert threat in negotiations.

[01:04:36]With the Musandam channel or the Fuja roots shouldering global trade, this diplomatic shield is largely collapsing.

[01:04:44]A player at the table realizing that the big card they were bluffing with is now invalid is one of the sharp turning points in international relations.

[01:04:52]Having your strategic weapons shut down without a single shot fired creates operational panic among the military elite. On the other hand, this vision marks the dawn of a new era of strategic autonomy for the power centers of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are moving beyond their historical role as mere energy suppliers to become rulemakers who shape global trade routes according to their own will. Making their export routes independent of military threats from a neighboring country is the ultimate consolidation of sovereignty. The cost of the canal running into hundreds of billions of dollars may seem staggering at first glance, but when considering the long-term independence and unshakable reliability it will bring to global markets, it is a strategic necessity.

[01:05:40]Gulf Capital is no longer just selling oil. It is selling the guarantee of an uninterrupted, secure, and blackmail free energy flow. The maps of the Earth are sometimes redrawn with massive construction machinery and steel pipes.

[01:05:55]The waters of the straight of Hormuz will continue to airb flow between its two shores. But a waterway through which the global economy and strategic weight do not flow is nothing more than a footnote in maritime history. The engineering resolve of the Gulf States has reduced a decadesl long blackmail doctrine to gone status without firing a single missile. The lifeblood of global energy has found a new channel and that dangerous choke point has been buried in silence. The shackles have been broken.

[01:06:26]The game is starting a new.

[01:06:31]On the night of March 2nd, bombardment salvos from B-52s descended like a nightmare upon the largest underground missile arsenal in Kuramabad.

[01:06:41]The operation's core architecture was based on a layered destruction strategy.

[01:06:46]In the first phase, B2 Spirit aircraft silently infiltrated Iranian airspace and dropped 30,000lb GBU57 bunker busting bombs on the targets. These bombs penetrated deep into the mountains, destroying the main doors and critical support columns in seconds. The aerodynamic design of the GBU57 munitions combined with gravitational acceleration generates extraordinary kinetic energy. This energy capable of penetrating 60 m of reinforced concrete and hard rock creates a seismic shock wave upon impact that causes irreparable structural cracks within the tunnel systems. Immediately afterwards, B1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress aircraft arrived in the area. The B1 Lancer aircraft with their supersonic speeds entered and exited the battlefield, hunting down mobile air defense batteries one by one. Subsequently, the B-52s blasted surface support buildings, ventilation shafts, communication antennas, and power transmission lines off the map with thousands of pounds of JDAM smart munitions. More than eight main tunnel entrances were crushed in seconds by bunker busting bombs. GBU57s plunged into the mountain, collapsing key passageways. The inner parts of the tunnels collapsed. Massive explosions ejected huge fireballs from inside the mountains to the outside. Heat signatures from NASA's firm satellite systems recorded extraordinary temperature increases in the area after the attack. The chain reaction explosion of ammunition depots inside the mountains created massive heat waves that reached the surface. Hermabad fell.

[01:08:31]Iran's largest missile depot is now a pile of rubble. As Hermabad burned, the Treereze silo complex in East Aabaijan province shared the same fate. This facility with its 100 km long tunnel network was the main source of Iran's retaliatory missiles fired at Urbil and the region. With the longest tunnel network, this facility was Iran's second largest missile arsenal. It had already suffered heavy damage during the June 2025 operations, but the regime had rebuilt it. During the first wave of attacks on February 28th to March 1st, the entrances and support points of the underground tunnel network were buried under intense bombardment.

[01:09:14]The massive compartments inside the facilities may have protected the missiles from complete destruction. But with the ventilation, electrical and elevator systems destroyed, the missiles and personnel inside were physically unable to reach the surface. They could not fire missiles, dig tunnels, or communicate with the outside world.

[01:09:35]Imagine you're in a tunnel 80 m underground in the dark without air shaken by bombs. And above them, US surveillance planes circle 24/7. Every movement is detected instantly. If someone tries to open an entrance, a GBU31 will land on that spot within minutes. And here's the most terrifying detail. According to intelligence reports, between 1,00 and 1,500 Revolutionary Guard military personnel stationed at these two facilities, Hermabad and Tabre, were left in absolute darkness and suffocation, hundreds of meters underground when the tunnel covers collapsed on top of them.

[01:10:17]This figure is only for these two facilities. When considering all the dozens of underground bases across the country, the picture is much more dire.

[01:10:27]It is reported that there are nearly 100 underground facilities across the country. This means that an estimated 250,000 military personnel could be deployed in Iran's underground bases.

[01:10:40]Iran's total military strength is approximately 960,000 personnel. This means that nearly 1/3 of the army is underground. 1/4 of a 960,000 strong army being trapped in their own shelters rather than on the battlefield is an unprecedented situation in modern warfare history.

[01:11:01]Generals have fled. Over 50 high-ranking commanders have been eliminated.

[01:11:06]Barracks have been emptied. Iran never anticipated this scenario. But it doesn't end there. Preparations on the ground point to a much larger wave to come. The economic and asymmetric intelligence displayed by the US in this process further deepens the scale of the event. In the first wave, billions of dollars worth of B2 aircraft were used to blind radars and air defense systems.

[01:11:31]However, after the gates were broken, the old but deadly B-52 Stratofortress aircraft took the stage. Another strategic dimension of the incident is the involvement of British bases. The US administration deployed three B-52H heavy bomber aircraft to the RAF Fairford base in the UK. This move proves that Operation Epic Fury is not a short-term raid, but a long-term operational campaign. Using closer bases such as the UK and Diego Garcia instead of flying from across the ocean will significantly increase the number of sorties. American bombers have begun to maintain a constant presence in Iranian airspace on a rotating basis. This creates uninterrupted psychological and military pressure on the Thran regime.

[01:12:22]Aircraft poised to drop bombs at any moment are wiped out. The military personnel's hopes of regrouping. The UK's approval of airspace access also signals that the international diplomatic front has united against Iran and that tan strategic isolation is deepening. Why were B-52s from the 1960s used instead of B2 aircraft? Because while the operational cost of a B2 aircraft runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the flight hour cost of a B-52 is around $70,000.

[01:12:58]Once air superiority was secured, there was no longer a need for expensive stealth technology. The B-52s served as flying arsenals with their massive ammunition capacities. These giants, cruising freely in the sky, relentlessly delivered cheap but effective blows to every target attempting to surface from underground.

[01:13:19]This situation clearly demonstrated how a cost-effective war machine could also economically strangle the enemy. This developing asymmetry is also a signal that the US could sustain the operation for weeks. So why is this massive destruction so important? Looking at the ripple effect, we understand that the issue is not just about a few collapsed tunnels. The heart of Iran's military doctrine was built on the concept of missile cities. Indeed, they had been preparing for this moment for 40 years.

[01:13:52]They dug hundreds of kilometers of tunnels into the mountains. They buried thousands of ballistic missiles, launchpads, ammunition depots, and command centers 80 to 90 m underground.

[01:14:05]They called this the missile cities.

[01:14:08]Silos in Corgo, 50 km tunnel networks in Hermabad, 100 km corridors in Tre, missile storage canyons in Shiraz. Each one is an underground city. The regime was so confident in this that it called on its people to prepare for a long war of 5 years. The striking of the Hurabad and Tabre complexes led to an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy and logistical disaster within the revolutionary guard corps. Collapsing mountain masses left over a thousand elite personnel working at these facilities trapped hundreds of meters underground. The immediate military consequences of this operation are presenting themselves as a logistical choke point. The closure of the facility's entrances prevented missiles from being brought to the surface.

[01:14:59]According to Sentcom's official statement, just 4 days after the Epic Fury operation began on February 28th, as of March 4th, Iran's ballistic missile launches decreased by 86% and one-way attack drone launches decreased by 73%.

[01:15:16]Admiral Brad Cooper announced that over 1,700 targets had been struck. A significant portion of Iran's missile stockpiles and UAV munitions were destroyed. In short, Iran has lost its ability to retaliate. Every ramp attempting to launch missiles from the mountains was destroyed within minutes by US drones and fighter jets waiting overhead. Every target that emerged to fire was immediately hunted down. From a tactical standpoint, the simultaneous use of three different bomber aircraft with perfect synchronization requires advanced planning skills. When the stealth of the B2s, the speed of the B1s, and the massive munitions capacity of the B-52s came together, Iran's military infrastructure was literally wiped out. US Defense Secretary Pete Hgsith summed up the situation in a single sentence. This was never a fair fight. We're punching them while they're down.

[01:16:16]Looking at the bigger picture, the domino effect of this collapse will shake regional balances. Iran's proxy forces, which it calls and funds as the axis of resistance, are watching in horror as their main headquarters suffer heavy damage. When the flow of supplies and ammunition is cut off, these proxy forces chances of holding their ground rapidly diminish. With the protective umbrella damaged, the proxy forces will be forced to fend for themselves. This situation is simultaneously challenging the regime from within and without.

[01:16:51]Iran's diplomatic hand at the Middle East table has weakened. The massive ballistic missiles it could have brought to the table are now lying useless under the mountains. While the regime struggles to maintain the illusion of strength against its own people, it will have largely lost its deterrence against its external enemies.

[01:17:10]Neighboring countries are closely monitoring the neutralization of these missile systems which they have perceived as a threat for years. This geopolitical process is a victory for technological asymmetry and data superiority over static massive structures. Iran's traditional defense approach based on concrete and mountains could not withstand satellite intelligence and high precision munitions.

[01:17:35]While one side used technological flexibility, signal intelligence, and dynamic targeting, the other relied on shelters built around rigid dogma. The B-52's JASSM missiles shattered this dogma, exposing the helplessness within.

[01:17:52]For the Iranian regime, returning to its old underground strategy at this point would pose a significant risk and cost.

[01:18:00]The mountains they took refuge in are no longer shields protecting them, but have become dangerous areas closing in on them. What happens serves as a lesson showing how inflexible doctrines can collapse in the competition between great powers and how this collapse can defeat strategic objectives. Iran's underground missile cities, considered the heart of its power projection, were transformed into strategic disaster zones under heavy bombardment by B-52s.

[01:18:29]Built with billions of dollars in investment and representing the regime's myth of invincibility, these mountain complexes collapsed meters underground along with their personnel.

[01:18:40]Operation Epic Fury not only neutralized a weapons system, it also consigned Tehran's decades old military doctrine to the dark pages of history. So, what are your thoughts on this matter? Please share your thoughts in the comments. To stay informed about PPR Global's special analysis, please subscribe to our channel and remember to turn on notifications.