Global News Podcast - Iran warns it will block Gulf and Red Sea

Episode Date: April 15, 2026

Iran warns that it will block trade through the Red Sea as well as the Gulf and the Sea of Oman, if the United States continues its own blockade of Iranian ports and shipping. The head of the Iranian military command centre says the US blockade is a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire. Also: a day after peace talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon, the Iranian backed group, Hezbollah, and Israel exchange fire again. On the third anniversary of the civil war in Sudan, an international donors conference takes place in Berlin. At least four people are killed in a school shooting in southern Turkey. A new German online search engine is helping people to discover if their ancestors were members of the Nazi Party. President Trump criticises Pope Leo again following his condemnation of the war in Iran as well as US immigration policies. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, meets the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Xi praised the close cooperation between Russia and China. And, ahead of the men's football World Cup, Brazil's first official tartan is formally unveiled in Scotland, designed by a six-year-old Scottish schoolgirl. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and at 14 hours GMT on Wednesday the 15th of April, these are our main stories. Iran has warned that it will respond in kind to the US blockade if this continues. Officials in southern Turkey say at least four people have been killed in a shooting at a secondary school. China's Xi Jinping calls relations with Moscow precious as he meets Russia's Foreign Minister. Also in this podcast, I've already found two close relatives, which destroys the myth that no one in our family was involved. To have my perspective changed at the age of 71 is a bitter shock.

The search engine, which tells Germans if members of their family were Nazis. Iran has warned that it will block trade through the Red Sea as well as the Gulf and the sea of Amman if the United States continues its own blockade of Iranian ports and shipping. Iran has no coastline along the Red Sea, although it supports coastal-based Houthi groups in Yemen. The U.S. military says it is completely halted Iran's sea trade, though it's hard to confirm this. Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, Tehran says it's still talking to Washington following last weekend's failed talks in Pakistan. As we record this podcast, Iran has said a Pakistani delegation is expected to arrive in Tehran for talks.

On Fox News, President Trump said the war was nearing an end, and he defended starting it in the first place. I had to divert, because if I didn't do that, right now you would have Iran with a nuclear weapon, and if they had a nuclear weapon, you would be calling everybody over there, sir, and you don't want to do that. Well, you keep saying was, is this war over?

I think it's close to over. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what? If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we're not finished. We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly. The two-week ceasefire is holding, but in a separate interview,

he indicated he wasn't minded to extending it, a statement met with skepticism by these Tehran residents. Trump said he will not extend the ceasefire, but I say he's lying as. usual. This is a mockery that has been started for all these political games. Yes, it will continue. Trump also says he was mistaken, but he has messed up the world. So what are the chances for another round of direct U.S. Iran talks? Greg Kalsstrom is the Middle East correspondent for the Economist newspaper. There's a lot of optimism that there will be

another round. There's nothing confirmed at this point. The Pakistanis are insisting that in the next couple of days, there will be talks. Now, they have an incentive to do that as the mediator. They want to make it seem as if the process is moving forward. We've also heard from Trump himself, who told an interviewer yesterday that she should stay in Islamabad because there might be something happening in the next few days. Now, Trump says all sorts of things and who knows what's true or what's not. But The mood amongst diplomats that I have spoken to in the region, other officials in the region, everyone does think there's still some space here for another round of diplomacy. It's not clear if that will be at a high level again with J.B. Vance and Hamar Khalibath,

the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, or if it will be at a lower level, sort of more technical talks. But it does seem quite possible something will happen in the next few days. Now, the way President Trump talks, it sounds as though there are conversations going on. Do we assume that to be happening? I think it's fair to assume that. I think despite the narrative of failure after that 21-hour session in Pakistan over the weekend, I think they actually did make some progress towards at least the framework of an agreement. The Americans seemed as if they were a bit flexible on the question of Iran's nuclear program,

dropping their insistence that Iran permanently swear off uranium enrichment and instead suggesting that they might accept a time-bound compromise of X number of years where the Iranians will not enrich uranium. So if there's some flexibility on questions like that, I think there is space to get to a deal. And that's progress compared to the previous two rounds of talks where the U.S. said zero enrichment. The Iranians said no, and nothing progressed. No, I think we still have almost a week left of ceasefire. Do we assume that that will just continue even if it's beyond a week?

It depends on what happens with the diplomacy. I mean, if there is another round of talks and there's further progress, then I think both sides would have an interest in extending that ceasefire, which they can do by mutual agreement. But if there isn't another round of talks or if they reach an impasse in those talks, we do still have additional American troops coming to the region. There's a third aircraft carrier group making its way around the Horn of Africa right now that should arrive probably the next week to 10 days. There are amphibious warfare units that left California last month that will arrive in the Middle East towards the end of April.

So even as these talks are going on, America continues to build up forces. And it reminds me a bit of what we saw in February in the run up to the war, where in parallel with the negotiations, you also had. this massive American deployment in the region. Greg Kastrom speaking to Sarah Montague. At least four people have been killed in a shooting at a secondary school in southern Turkey. School shootings are rare in the country, but this is the second in as many days. Hilken Boran from the BBC's Turkish service gave us this update. At least four people have lost their lives.

Three of them are students. One is believed to be a teacher. And the governor of the southern province of Kauramamaras has told reporters, that the attacker themselves have also died during this incident and that they were an eighth grader who conducted attacks on two classrooms. There are reportedly 20 people, at least 20 people who were injured during the attack. And the governor also said that the father of the attacker was a former law enforcement officer and the attacker was carrying five guns and seven magazines, all believed to belong to their father.

We've heard of a scene where there's pure chaos, a lot of gunfire, concerned parents waiting outside the school, special forces, ambulances flocking to the scene, and authorities have announced that they launched an investigation into the attack, and they've also introduced a broadcast ban, which means that certain vital information won't be able to be broadcast on national television and media outlist for the time being. Just yesterday, 16 people were injured in another southern province of Shannulurfa, where a similar case took place. A former student of a high school undertook an attack in that high school

and injured 16 people with gunfire. And four admins have been expelled in the aftermath of that attack. And President Erdogan said those who were negligent and at fault would be held accountable. Hylken Boran in Istanbul. On this day three years ago, Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces attacked bases belonging to the regular army. It triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis. of thousands have been killed and millions displaced. The United Nations says there have been the

hallmarks of genocide in the Darfur region. An international donors' conference for Sudan is now taking place in Berlin. It's hoped the conference will raise more than a billion dollars in aid and explore ways to bring the war to an end. One of those at the meeting is the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. What people have endured, what women in particular have endured is absolutely horrific. Rape was used in Al-Farsha as a weapon of warfare. Abductions, people missing, people tortured mass executions. There is a pattern, an all-too-familiar pattern that plays out in the country on an almost daily basis. What we have also seen recently is an increase in drone strikes. My office documented since the beginning of this year until end of March,

700 civilians who got killed as a result of drone strikes. And drone strikes, they become more and more modern. We are in a very horrific situation. And it is a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. And I hope that this conference today will send a very clear signal to the parties that this absolutely needs to stop in the interest of the people of Sudan. Our Africa correspondent Barbara Pledasher has been covering the conflict extensively. I began by asking her if the world had forgotten Sudan. You know, it's always been a struggle to get Sudan high up on the diplomatic agenda because of other wars dominating like Ukraine and Gaza, and now, of course, Iran. It should be said, it's true. There have been many UN meetings, resolutions,

investigations, statements. The US continues to push for a ceasefire, but frankly, the diplomatic success rate is zero. And in the meantime, the scale of humanitarian suffering grows while international aid budgets are cut. And the atrocities continue with complete impunity for sides. Can you sum up what has happened in the conflict so far? Well, it began in Khartoum three years ago today, triggered by that power struggle between the regular army and the paramilitary rapid support forces and then it spread to other parts of the country. Now, the army has since recaptured the capital, but the main front line now is in the south, in the Kordofan states, centered on several cities where the army still has its bases. And the warfare has shifted to an increase in drone

strikes, which has led to quite arise in civilian casualties that get caught in that drone fire. One key obstacle to ending this is that the army has set absolutist preconditions for a ceasefire or even for peace talks, which in effect amount to an RSF surrender. But actually both sides seem quite convinced they can still win by military means. And both of them are backed by regional powers which enable the fighting to continue and are not using high level pressure on them to engage in a deal. Will this conference in Berlin achieve anything? It'll probably achieve more humanitarian aid.

That's a key focus because of the vast shortfall. So we're looking to expect pledges of aid from international donors. There will be a political element, an update on these efforts to get a ceasefire. Masad Bulis, who's the US envoy, will be there, is there. Although there isn't an expectation of a diplomatic breakthrough. Previous such conferences had neither warring party invited, neither does this one, and that has made Sudan's military-led government quite angry. There is a new element of trying to give greater weight to Sudanese civilian actors

who want a civilian-led transition. But frankly, that's actually, I think, quite complicated because the civilians are not united. They're also on different sides of the divide. Barbara, why is more pressure not being put on those rich countries which are backing the RSF and the army in this war? Yeah, we're talking primarily about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. So Saudi Arabia increasingly becoming more public about backing the army

and the United Emirates, Arab Emirates, although it denies it, widely believed to be supplying the rapid support forces. Egypt also backing the army. I think the main reason is because they have important diplomatic and financial ties with Western countries who would not put the kind of pressure on them that is being asked to stop the arms supplies or to stop the support. But also I think it's because they're seen as important to have at the table because they are the ones who could pressure the parties. And they are involved with the U.S. in formulating a peace plan in a mechanism called the quad. But, you know, in that quad, they have to agree among themselves on what would be an acceptable outcome before they can seriously pressure the parties. And they haven't done that. In fact, Saudi Arabia and the UAE,

tensions have increased significantly between them since the beginning of the year. And now, of course, they're otherwise engaged with this war, the Iran war, so their bandwidth is much smaller on the Sudan file. Barbara Plet, Usher, Germany has long grappled with its past, and there's an ongoing effort to confront the atrocities. of the Nazis. Now a new German online search engine is helping people to discover if their ancestors were members of the Nazi Party, as Rebecca Wood reports. Just over 10 million Germans became members of the Nazi Party between 1925 and 1945. And since the end of World War II, many families in Germany have been left questioning whether their relatives were involved during that era. It's often a subject

long shrouded in silence. But now, at the click of button, people can confront the perhaps unsettling reality. An online search tool has been created that allows people to look through millions of Nazi party membership cards. Set up by the German newspaper did cite, in cooperation with archives in Germany and the United States, the paper says that since its launch at the start of the month, it's been accessed millions of times. We voiced up one of those users' reviews. I've already found two close relatives, which destroys the myth that no one in our family. was involved. To have my perspective changed at the age of 71 is a bitter shock.

You might be wondering how this massive paper trail survived the war. As Allied forces closed in, Nazi officials frantically tried to erase their tracks. Many documents were shredded or burnt. But not everyone went along. One man, Hans Huber, the managing director of a paper mill, defied orders to pulp the cards, later handing them over to the Americans. It was a single act that went on to play a key role in the denazification process in post-war Germany. And eight decades later, is now helping families find out the truth. Rebecca Wood. Still to come in this podcast.

I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance appears to back Donald Trump on his row with the leader of the Catholic Church. This is the Global News podcast. A day after peace talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon, the first such negotiations in more than 30 years, the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire again. This morning, Israel issued evacuation orders for people in southern Lebanon. Israeli soldiers there are pressing ahead with the ground operation

to try to clear Hezbollah fighters from the area and create a security buffer zone along Israel's northern border, which has come under attack from the group, More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the US and Israel's war against Iran. Our correspondent Nick Beak is in the town of Matula in northern Israel. We're right on the border and from our high up vantage point we can see right across the valley because visibility is very clear today. You can see the snow-capped mountain range. And also into Lebanon you can see some of the communities that have been hit before by Israeli operations.

They are now ghost towns. People have moved out. and I can see an Israeli flag has been put up in one of those communities. In terms of what's been happening today, we've heard more than a dozen loud booms of Israeli artillery leave this side of the border and fly across to Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. Also at the same time, Hezbollah say they've fired at 10 different locations in northern Israel. The Israelis saying that about 30 rockets have been fired.

In terms of what's been happening on the Israeli side, no reports of any casualties, any deaths, the Lebanese authorities saying that nine people have been killed in the latest Israeli airstrikes. It's hoped there will be further talks between Israel and Lebanon, but can the government in Beirut persuade Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire? And does Israel really want one? Yes, I think those are two really crucial aspects to this. In terms of the strength of Hezbollah, of course, worth pointing out, it's not just an Iran-backed militant group. It's something which is woven into the fabric of of society for a lot of people there. It's a really powerful force socially as well. And it's generally agreed that the Lebanese state is not in a position to tell it to lay down its weapons at

this point. And the government in Beirut acknowledges that. In terms of whether Israel really wants to ceasefire at this point, well, certainly Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, did not want there to be a pause in the fighting. He thought he'd fulfilled a lifetime political ambition when he got Donald Trump to join him on these joint strikes on Iran. Certainly the mood in Israel, according to the latest polling, is that people are against the ceasefire, but at the same time, they don't think the war objectives have been achieved. Is Israel going to reoccupy parts of southern Lebanon? Yes, I think in terms of reoccupation, the public mood here would be that if something can take place, which is pretty brief, in which there is an end to Hezbollah, however difficult that

may be to achieve, then that may be supported by the public. But certainly, if you've got a whole generation of young people in here in Israel being drafted into the military, doing their military service, going across the border into Lebanon, and a conflict which is bogged down, I think a lot of people certainly wouldn't see that as the way forward for now. Nick Beek. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has been in Beijing, where he's met the Chinese president Xi Jinping. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Xi praised the close cooperation between Russia and China. In the face of an international situation, intertwined with change and disorder, the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly precious.

Mr. Lavrov said Moscow could make up for China's energy shortages, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains choked by the Iran War. China is the biggest buyer of Iran. China is the biggest buyer of Iran. oil. Mr Lavrov is the latest in a string of senior officials and heads of government to travel to Beijing in recent days. He and President Xi also talked about the expected visit later this year of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Our China correspondent Laura Bicker has more details. When it comes to this visit, it comes at a time when both Russia and China are having discussions about what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz. We were expecting Vladimir Putin to arrive. Sometimes

this year, perhaps May or June, we did expect that visit to come after Donald Trump's expected visit in the middle of May. So that's what we're hearing right now, that the two are coordinating plans, but also discussing potential peace plans for the Middle East. Now, we know behind the scenes, and I had it confirmed, that China is trying to push Tehran to get back to the negotiating table. And I think that's China's key priority here. They want peace in the Middle East in order for global stability and order for its own export-driven economy to work effectively. And I think this is the kind of annual check-in between Vladimir Putin and President Xi. They like to kind of meet regularly.

But I think it will take on added importance as Russia and China try to collaborate. What China is trying to do is build a kind of loose alliance, a coalition, where it is there for the beacon of stability in comparison to the unpredictability of current Washington administration. Laura Bicker. President Trump has once again criticized the Pope on Tuesday following Pope Leo's condemnation of the war in Iran and U.S. immigration policies.

In a post on Truth Social, the U.S. President said, someone please tell Pope Leo about the killing of protesters by Iran and for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable. The U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has also taken issue with Pope Leo while attending an event held by the Conservative Organization, Turning Point USA. I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. I think one of the issues here is that if you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth,

and that's one of the things that I try to do, and it's certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they're Catholic or Protestant. Earlier, my colleague Anita McVeigh, spoke to the Vatican correspondent at Religion News Service, Claire Zhangrove, about how those in the Vatican viewed the Trump administration's latest comments. Many of my colleagues and myself would agree that questions regarding war, the ethical implications of war, the ideas behind a just war are very much a matter of doctrine and theology and of debate. even now. What's clear is that the Pope does not seem to believe that the war in Iran is a just war, and that the administration, including its most prominent Catholic members, are pushing

back against that rating. Now, in the past, we've already seen Pope's and Vance engage on questions of theology, and it didn't work out very well for Vance when he made the argument that caring for migrants fell as less of a priority for Catholics as to caring for one's immediate family and neighbors, what's called Ordo Amorris. So we'll see how this spat continues now that Vance has once again stepped into theological matters. Yeah, and we've seen, obviously, criticism of what President Trump has been saying, his posts, and indeed of J.D. Vance, in terms of their words about Pope Leo. Do you think it matters more in America because Pope Leo is an American Pope.

Absolutely. One of the first interviews that Pope Leo did with Elise Allen of Crux, he was asked, do you feel more Peruvian or American? And he said both, as many people with his kind of background do.

But he also said, but one thing about being an American is that they're not going to be able to say, oh, this Pope doesn't understand the United States, which is what we heard a lot during the Pope Francis years. They would say, well, he's from Argentina.

He doesn't really get it. That's not really. what this Pope is really capable of speaking of, he is American. And he knows that when he speaks to the United States, in his Chicago accent, he can get directly to the people there. And he can't be easily dismissed. And we've been reporting that Pope Leo is on this very, very important for the Vatican tour of Africa. He's on his way to Cameroon today. How will the Pope and the people around him, his advisors, be handling all of this? Listen, I'm so glad you asked this question because the last time a pope went to Africa, to Mozambique, there was the latest spat between the Americans and the Trump administration and the popes.

I think right now we're going to see the pope traveling to very important places in his mission and his view for the church surrounded by the world's media. His words, his pronouncements in a way that is especially marked will be written about, explore. and looked for, you know, searched for nuance by the world's press. And I know that some of the places that he's going to go visit really are going to try and bring the message home, as he's already done, Christian-Muslim relations to improve that. That's a strong message to this administration. Actual peacework in terms of dialogue sitting at the table, we're going to see him do this in Cameroon, where there's currently strife between the Anglophone and the Francophone factions.

He's going to sit down at a peace talk showing this is how the Pope thinks peace should be managed. And it's going to be hard to not see every aspect of this trip, even when he embarks in the neocolonialism and the impact that strong superpowers in the North have had disproportionately taking advantage of poverty and communities and the environment in many of these African nations. These are all opportunities for the Pope to spread his message and his understanding of the gospel and for the world to listen. And we'll have to wait and see if Trump or Vance like what they hear. Claire Giangrove from the Religion News Service.

Thousands of Scottish football fans will be cheering on their team at the World Cup in the US this summer. Many will be proudly wearing tartan, Scotland's traditional woven and striped fabric. One of the highlights of the tournament will be their team's match against Brazil. And to celebrate, Brazil's first official tartan has been formally unveiled. It's named Spirit of Brazil and was designed by a six-year-old

Scottish schoolgirl, Indy Mingis. Danny Aberhart picks up the story. Indy Mingis won a competition held by the Brazilian consulate. Her design is bold, largely green, but incorporating yellowish and blue stripes. It evokes Brazil's national flag, but there's a touch of Scotland's blue and white flag too. Indy's a distant relation of the Brazilian-born-born-born-a-old. Indy's a distant relation of the Brazilian-born man of Scottish heritage who's seen as the father of Brazilian football. The extravagantly mustachioed Charles Miller introduced the game there in the late 19th century. But even though Indies delighted to have designed Brazil's first official tartan, she knows her stripes. She'll be cheering on Scotland in June.

Danny Aberhardt. And that's all from us. For now, if you want to get in touch, you can email us at Global Podcast at BBC.co.com. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global NewsPod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story.

This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Chris Custaris, and the producer was Daniel Mann. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time, goodbye.