Global News Podcast - US and Iran trade strikes in Gulf

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

The US has carried out a second wave of airstrikes on Iran after Tehran attacked tankers in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week. The perimeter of Iran's main nuclear plant, at Bushehr, was reported to have been hit. Iran said attacks on its civilian infrastructure could be war crimes. Tehran ordered retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Bahrain and Kuwait. Also: the toll of the war on tanker sailors in the Gulf; scandal forces a leading US Democratic Senate candidate to suspend his campaign; Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler dies at 75; rising false claims about the Ebola outbreak in the DRC; why young people may be best placed to take advantage of AI; the danger facing a little-known desert rain frog; and scores to settle: Morocco take on France again in the World Cup.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] Photo: Explosion at unknown location, Iran Credit: Reuters

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How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hi, I'm Ankara Desai and at 16 GMT on Thursday the 9th of July. These are our main stories. The latest from the Middle East as the US and Iran trade strikes for a second night.

It comes as large crowds aligning the streets in the city of Mashad, where Iran's late supreme leader is due to be buried later. The BBC finds, Force claims about Ebola are fueling violence against health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the president of Microsoft says young people are best place to take advantage of an AI revolution, reshaping jobs and the workplace. Also in this podcast. People often ask me, you know, don't I get fed up of singing total cliff? Of course I don't. I love it, you know. We mark the life of singer Bonnie Tyler, who has died at the age of 75.

And the quarterfinals of the World Cup begin today. France and Morocco kick it all off in Boston. The prospect of a proper peace between the US and Iran is looking even dimmer after a second series of American strikes on Iranian targets and defiance from Tehran. The US military says it struck 90 sites, some near the very strait of Hormuz, which is now at the center of the conflict. There are also reports of explosions in Boucher, where Iran's main nuclear plant is located.

Iran suggested some attacks had hit civilian infrastructure and accused America of a war crime. President Trump spoke about the latest strikes on Air Force One as he returned from a NATO summit in Turkey. We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit up 20 to 1. Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20. And we did it last night.

It did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night. They hit actually three boats, not two. And when they hit, we hit back much on. But the American military might wasn't deterring Tehran in response to the U.S. attacks. Iran targeted American assets in neighboring Bahrain and Kuwait, all of which appears to suggest we're close to being back where we were. Earlier, our global affairs reporter and Middle East experts, Sebastian Usher, talked to me through the latest developments. But do appear still to be strikes going on reports in the Iranian media saying that the coastal city,

of Band of Abbas, there have been explosions. In Boucher, which is where Iran's main nuclear power plant is, we've heard differing accounts, but one account saying that the perimeter of it was hit. So this is certainly causing concern over that memorandum of understanding and how long it can withstand this kind of pressure. We have been here before. It's a question of how much is it being calibrated, despite the talk from President Trump that, you know,

they're going to hit harder and harder, that essentially that memorandum is now over. it's what he actually does, what the US does, that matters. And I think from the other side, from the Iranian side, it's how much this is the hill that they're going to die on in terms of a Strait of Hormuz. If they give up all control of that, which I think is what they're concerned about at the moment, and they don't carry out some drone or missile strikes on ships that they say are going in areas that they haven't authorized.

This is Iran, you know, nobody else. Then that shows that they are losing that group and that's their key card. and they feel that they haven't got what they want yet from the deal, so that they have to continue doing this. And of course, all the while with the backdrop, Iran is on to the last day of the funeral of its former supreme leader. Yes, I mean, we're hearing just now in Mashad, which was his birthplace and also one of the holiest cities in Iran.

Again, tens of thousands of people lining the streets. This has been six days that the Iranian authorities, I think, will have been quite happy with. They've allowed foreign journalists to come in. Now, of course, over the years, there's been a sense that people are being bust in for these shows of solidarity with the regime. But certainly, there is a genuine element to this as well. It's what comes after. Does this show a country that has been united to some extent, despite the huge divisions there were, the mass protests that there were just back in January,

or does it show that temporarily there can be a sort of coming together, but beneath that, those divisions are going. And that's reflected in the leadership. We really don't know if the leadership now has become more hardline with the Revolutionary Guards now completely calling the shots, or whether those who signed a member of understanding of the president, the Speaker of Parliament, those who are more pragmatic, whether they had the upper hand. That really, while their intentions are still going on, while strikes are still being carried out, we're not able to see through that. And I think today, again, will be a moment in which the...

the Ayatollah Ali Hamenei, though he certainly wasn't popular amongst many in Iran. His death, his assassination, does seem to have pulled people together to some extent right now, but that unity, as I say, could be short-lived. Sebastian Asher. Well, unsurprisingly, the renewed fighting and the uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz is taking its toll on shipping in the region. Not just on the number of ships using the straits, but on the lives of the sailors in the oil shipping industry in the region.

To find out more, my colleague, Sean Farrington, to Phil Belcher from the International Organization for Independent Tanker owners into TANCO. He says very few vessels are choosing to use the route. The number of ships who are going through overnight is sort of about single figures in the southern route, which is maintained off the coast of Oman by the US. At about 20 going through a northern route done by Iran, the central main kind of highway through the strait is currently closed due to the mine threat. which is going on there.

So we've got about 30 ships or so going through when the normal number would be about 130 ships. So you can see the impact has been enormous at the moment. And this has fallen from about 70 or so just a week ago. So we really need to look to the future. So there has been a drastic change in the last couple of days compared to where you were a week ago. Yes, there has been falling from about 70,

which was about half the amount of the oil and gas which we were seeing going through before the conflict back in February, starting there. And so the drop has been dramatic, yes. And so has the confidence, the mood changed around about shipping in the region? You know, speaking to consultants advising businesses about the region this morning, they've been saying that in a way the advice hasn't changed in recent weeks because volatility has been expected. But is that the case with shipping?

it sounds like there was some optimism. Yeah, and I think there was an exuberance of optimism following the signing of the MOU between Iran and the US. There was this quite a large increase in number of ships. The threat assessment was reduced to the lowest it's been for four months or so. But now the threat is very much there. I mean, on Monday night, nearly half the ships, which were on the way out in the southern parts,

were struck by the Iranians who were shot at there with a real flagrant disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers on board those ships. This cycle of violence, this cycle of up and down, positive, negative news, it's having an enormous impact, both on the business, but on the seafarers themselves, these are civilian seafarers coming from the Philippines, from the UK, from Norway, India, etc., who know all that's going on, their families at home are hearing all of this as well. So the support we have to give across the border but the seafarers ashore, as well as onboard the ship, it's going to get worse now over the next few days. Hopefully we can have some call-aheads looking at this,

and we can break this cycle, but at the moment the strait is not very open. Phil Belcher, and we have more on this on our YouTube channel. Search for BBC News on YouTube, and you'll find a global news podcast in the podcast section. There's a new story available every weekday. to the U.S., where a scandal-plagued Democratic candidate, Graeme Platner, has announced he suspended his campaign in Maine's U.S. Senate race after days of mounting pressure over allegations of rape and sexual assault. He has denied the allegations. He posted an emotional video on X, explaining his decision. We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made. And for that reason, We are suspending campaign operations.

This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not. We're not doing it because of the allegations. We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power. North America correspondent Anthony Zerker has more on what led up to this announcement. It was a gut-wrenching video. He clearly was very emotional. He had to pause multiple times as he was delusely.

delivering his remarks, it didn't even seem like it was all that scripted. He blamed the system. He denied that there was any truth to the accusations being made against him, but he said that it was the system and the structures of the system that were being denied to him that forced him to announce his suspended the campaign and his withdrawal from this race. Of course, earlier this week, multiple individuals, leaders of the Democratic Party had rescinded their endorsements. But even more importantly, the Democratic committees that were funding his campaign, spending millions of dollars to support him, all of that had been frozen. So he would have had to fundraise and finance on his own. And with his support collapsing nationally, that would have been a very difficult task, essentially forcing his hand here.

He entered the race last August and built a remarkable grassroots movement in Maine. Over 15,000 volunteers in that state. He campaigned. in all of their counties. He defeated the incumbent Democratic governor who was running against him. But from the very beginning, there were also all of these allegations dogging him, allegations, evidence of incendiary posts, anti-woman, anti-gay posts he made on social media. There was a report shortly before the Democratic primary last month about him being verbally and even physically intimidating during his relationships with women over his dating career.

There was a report about after he got married in 2024, that he was sexting, sending text messages to other women. And, of course, he had a Nazi-themed tattoo on his chest that was revealed. He since had it covered up and said that he didn't know the origins of the skull and crossbones on his chest. He denies most of these most serious allegations, but the social media posts, the text, or once he confirmed. Anthony Zerker.

Now, you might be familiar with the classic power ballad, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Well, its singer Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75. She'd been unwell for some time after having emergency surgery in Portugal. Total Eclipse of the Heart topped the charts in the United States and across Europe in 1983.

And it's still popular today passing a billion streams on Spotify earlier this year. It was written and produced by Meatlos regular collaborator Jim Steinman. the Wagner of Rock and Roll, according to the LA Times, who brought his trademark operatic bombast to the track. This is Bonnie, speaking about it to the BBC in 2023. Well, I've done a lot in the last 40 years,

but I never get tired of singing total eclipse of the heart. The very first time I sang that song was with two of Bruce Springsteen's musicians, and it was just awesome to be singing with this band. Oh, my God. I never thought, you know. I mean, I'm grown up in a council house, and believe it or not, I was a very shy little girl, you know.

So how on earth I got to where I am now, from where I was then, is, you know, it's a bit of a journey. My mother always brought me up to believe in myself, right? Believe in yourself, if you think you've got a talent, go for it. People often ask me, you know, don't I get fed up of singing Toll Cliff? Of course I don't. I love it, you know. Born in Wales to a coal mining family, Bonnie Tyler's breakthrough came in 1976,

when Lost in France made the UK top 10. Her other hits included Hold It Out for a Hero, which featured in the film's Footloose and Shrek, and her breakout single, It's a Heartache. She also represented the UK in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. A friend of Bonnie Tyler's, the Welsh musician Mal Pope, said her personality matched her distinctive musical style. She needed that big voice to be able to carry those James Steinman songs. She was big all round, okay?

She had that big voice, big hair, but she had a big character. And, you know, if you're going to go into that world, you would need that. The humility is knowing how to treat people in a local super store here in Swansea, and she would be the same to everybody. But she knew she could sing with the best. You know, she knew who she was. She'd take no nonsense from anybody. But she wasn't one to fling it about either.

Our entertainment correspondent, Liso Mizimba, Hasmore. People will be very shocked by today's news because she was a much-loved singer. Those songs were absolutely huge. And she was one of those people. When you heard that voice, you knew exactly who it was. And, you know, those raspy vocals, you know, that gravelly voice, that was actually the result of, in the 1970s,

she had an operation on her throat for nodules. And one day afterwards she kind of screamed in frustration. And that kind of produced this permanent. an incredible voice. Now, it would have been easy to think with a voice like that. All you did was kind of belt out these kind of like power songs and action-packed hits. But actually, what she had the power to do was bring a huge range of emotion into that. I mean, totally clips of the heart.

I mean, what a song. And, you know, the songs ranged from, you know, just kind of real action images to real genuine, heartbreaking emotion. She could do all that within the range of her voice. and she was somebody who just loved what she did. Liseo Mazimba. Still to come in this podcast, this desert rain frog is an endangered species.

Now, we tell you why its habitat is threatened by open cast mining and human encroachment. Who has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250-year anniversary we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment

and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. BBC Verify has found evidence that false and misleading claims about Ebola a fueling violence against health workers and making it harder to tackle a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 1,700 infections have been reported and 600 people have died from the virus since May. Yet doctors and aid workers say some people in affected communities falsely claim that Ebola doesn't exist

and distrust those trying to treat it. Marco Silva is the reporter who's been looking into this story for us. So fundamentally we identify 12 different incidents where Ebola misinformation appears to have fueled real world violence. Seven of them we verified using social media footage. Others were confirmed through local news reporting. And just to give you a sense of the types of incidents that we're talking about here, we're talking about attacks on treatment centers and equipment. We're talking about assaults on health workers, but also repeated attempts to disrupt the safe burial of people who died of Ebola.

In one incident in particular, four Red Cross volunteers were attacked and severely injured as they attempted to safely bury someone who had indeed died of Ebola. I spoke to one of these volunteers. His name is Daniel Willow. They grabbed me from behind and started punching me, hitting me with spades and machets. So the crowd turned on Daniel and his colleagues on that day. because of a rumor, a rumor that the coffin being buried that day was actually empty. Daniel told us as well that some of the people at the cemetery on that day,

the people who attacked him. Some of them didn't believe Ebola was real. Others thought that the Red Cross was only there to make money, which was clearly not the case here. So what impact then is this having on efforts to try to contain the disease, Marco? So for this report, I spoke to several organizations that are involved in the response to this particular Ebola outbreak, they all say that rumors and falsehoods about Ebola are having a very tangible effect on their ability to do their job. And this isn't just about the safety of

those response teams. These organizations say that because of misinformation, some people also aren't seeking treatment until it's way too late. And of course, they are dying as a result. And that misinformation is also making it harder to stop the virus from spreading. further in this part of the DR Congo. Just have a listen to Dr. Aimebonda Nula. He's with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Bunya-Ituri province. When communities don't believe on the disease, when communities don't believe on our action,

immediately when we are coming to support the communities, we will not be received in the community. They will immediately be resistance. So all of this misinformation are directly affecting our operation. on a daily basis and also affecting the security of our volunteers, but also of our staff. So it's incredibly difficult and challenging, I imagine, to tackle this disinformation. How do you fight it? Well, experts say that part of the reason why these claims are spreading so far and wide in the Eastern DRC is because within some of these communities, there is a profound sense of distrust,

not just of the central government, but of outsiders in general. As a result, if the response teams really want to get into these communities, experts say they need to tap into local voices, local networks, trusted community voices that can make the case that this is indeed a real virus and that there are ways that you can protect yourself from this virus. Slowly, some say, you know, perceptions are already changing, but this is painstaking slow work. Another idea that is being put forward involves telling the stories of Ebola survivors. Of course, if people see that people have been infected and survived the disease, then perhaps they will also seek help from the authorities and from health workers. Marcus Silva reporting. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has told the BBC that young people,

are best place to take advantage of the AI revolution, despite concerns about its impact on entry-level jobs. He said the challenges they had faced included being educated during the COVID pandemic, as well as being digital natives meant that they were in a very strong position to be able to adapt and work with the new technology. He's been speaking to our tech editor, Zoe Kleinman. We need a future where AI can be used to create better jobs for more people. And if we don't do that, then I think we're letting not just ourselves down, but future generations down as well. There is a backlash, though, isn't there? Particularly among younger people who are very concerned about the impact of AI on their futures and on the planet and everything else. What do you say to

those people? You were made for this moment. You've had to endure hardships that the rest of us did not, including going to school through a pandemic, learning through a screen. Those things were not easy. seen the pros and all the cons of social media, including its impact on mental health. But because you've been through all of that, you were made for this moment. You are a digital native. You can master new skills faster than somebody like I can. Go to work, learn everything you can, act with ambition, make the world a better place. You two will leave work for your successors. do. But I think the young people today can use AI and ensure that it is better for the planet

and every country and help us all build the future that we would be proud to create. Microsoft this week has announced that it's cutting nearly 5,000 jobs. Now, that is not as a result of AI. Is it that the gaming department has been hit hard? Sometimes you have to restructure a business when it's not doing well. And that was true with our Xbox business. So we're restructuring it. We all need to. to adapt, and we are adapting to remain successful. What I'm more enthusiastic about is the 4,000 people in the last year who we retrained and moved from one job that we didn't need to a new job that we did. And I think that's got to be the ultimate measure. We're bringing in entry-level workers

in new ways. We're exposing them to broader disciplines so they have a broader range of skills. we're supplementing that with AI skills. In that way, I think we're building a workforce for people. The president of Microsoft Brad Smith speaking to Zoe Kleinman. Now that's a sound of the desert rain frog, which is about the size of a ping pong ball. It's sand-colored and speckled with bulging eyes, and it lives in a narrow 10-cometer wide part of coastal southern Africa.

But its habitat is threatened by open-cast mining, as well as human encroachment. It's one of the nearly 175,000 species, which are included in the new Red List report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Almost 50,000 of them are heading towards extinction. Our science correspondent, Helen Briggs, has been reading the report and told us more about it.

It's the latest update from the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation for Nature, their red list. So they're a sort of global health check of all the plants, animals, and fungi on the planet. So they go through species in a very rigorous way and just look at how they're faring on the planet,

how close they are to extinction. And they update and talk about the things they're most concerned about, one of which is this desert rain frog, which lives in southern Africa. And I guess we want to know and understand why this is happening. Do you know why it's happening? The point they're making, really, from this latest update is that nature is under pressure across the world,

and it's now starting to affect even the creatures that live in the most hostile and unusual habitat. So they've survived in really unusual places like deep sea, mollus, tiny sea creatures living around hot vents on the seafloor. And this desert rain frog, now it's confined to just a small stretch. of coastal dunes in Namibia and South Africa. And it survives by burying into the sand. So really, it's not like a normal frog in terms of it doesn't live in water. It actually lives in sort of wet sands and burrows down and it only comes up to eat and to breed. So it's very rare and obviously scientists find it very, very difficult to come across.

Its habitat is under pressure from diamond mining and also a future. green hydrogen project. And also, they're worried about frogs as a whole because they're under lots of pressure across the world, climate change, pollution, and also the pet trade. So can this report be catalyst maybe to help preserve and save the species? Well, I think by highlighting what's going on, that's the first step. And also, we have so many gloomy stories about conservation. They're actually highlighting some success stories, showing that if the work is put in, there are winners, and they're highlighting the numbat, which it's a little stripy marsupial that lives in Australia. And it was under threat. It was down to just a few hundred species,

again, losing its habitat, also preyed upon by cats and red foxes. But there's been this massive conservation effort to try and protect it. And now there are 2,000, 3,000 numbat. So with concerted conservation efforts, then we can save these animals and these plants and these fungi. Our science correspondent, Helen Briggs. After the first rest day of the World Cup, we are well and truly at the business end of the tournament now with the best eight teams left. The first of the quarterfinals gets underway later in Boston, with France the favourites in many people's eyes, taking on the team they knocked out in the semi-finals four years ago. That's Morocco. Now, many of the two sets of

supporters have already descended on the city, but it's going to be far rowdier than a Boston tea party. Have a listen to this. From a downtown park, more than a thousand Morocco fans set off fireworks and chanted Dima Maghreb, always Morocco, as they sang and danced. And the French fans were also celebrating in another part of the city. So let's hear from the fans. Both groups, as you can imagine, are pretty confident. The French have sauntered through the competition. with typical flair and aplomb. Morocco, well, four years ago,

they were the first African nation to reach the last four of the World Cup, and they hoped to emulate that achievement. Right now, we have to actually revenge what we did, and we're super, super excited. I think we're going to make history. We're going to go to the semi-final again. We're going to make history for first time ever for Africa.

It will be tough in the ground, in the field, but it will be tough as well in the stands. Yeah, we are here to push them until the final, for sure. So can Morocco do it? I asked our sports correspondent, Joe Curry. Well, even before this tournament started, many were tipping France to be the ones to win the World Cup. And so far, they haven't shown anything to say that that can't happen.

But Morocco are proving to be a real force themselves. If they are to win tonight, though, which they are capable of doing, they're going to have to do something they haven't done all tournament, and I just play well for 19 minutes. They were really poor and lethargic in the first half against Canada in the last round. There are a team who have spells and games where they look impressive. they just can't maintain it. They've got power, they've got skill,

but the problem for them tonight is they are without Key Ford, Ishmael Sabari. He's injured. It's a real blow and it makes them quite a bit weaker, if I'm honest. Meanwhile, we've seen some real character from France to stay calm, of course, in the face of that provocation from Paraguay last time out. We already know about their quality

and they will start as favourites, but I suspect this is going to be a much closer match than many are expecting. Yeah, really interesting one as well, contrast of styles and also contrast of development as well. We know France has been brilliant for so many years because of the investment in infrastructure. But that seems to be also the case in Morocco now. Are they on the verge of become not just an African powerhouse, which they already

are, but more of a global powerhouse potentially? I mean, certainly from the outside looking in, they are incredibly ambitious. There's been this sustained investment in the game, which has filtered down from the King. We've had significant sums of money pumped into a state-of-art training facility, a national academy, regional training centres, stadium redevelopments, and thousands of amateur pitches as well. And of course, they're building what will be the globe's largest ever football stadium ahead of co-hosting the next World Cup in four years' time. It's going to have a capacity of 115,000. To put that into perspective, that's 25,000 more than Wembley. On the pitch, of course, they've got a lot of young footballing talent coming through. Many

players are often born and raised outside of the country, but then go on to represent Morocco through their heritage. They're literally searching for any Morocco talent they can find around the world. Nineteen of the current squad. 26 players were born outside of Morocco. That gives you some perspective. And this, of course, has all been done to give the team the best possible chance to become the first African team to win the World Cup in four years' time on home soil. They finished fourth who said at the last World Cup in 2022,

if they get victory tonight, it would mean at the very least they would do the same again this time around. Yeah, I love the French-bornabwadi, who's in that centre midfield. Absolute talent. Okay, so away from this game, still fallout from the Egypt-Argentina match. Lionel Messi and Company coming from 2-0 behind, and then Egypt, unhappy with the refereeing in that one. Yes, Egypt had a 2-0 lead. They also had another goal ruled out.

They say controversially and then went on to lose 3-2 to Argentina. Yesterday, the Egyptian Football Association said it asked FIFA to kick the officials in charge of that game out of the tournament. They said they wanted an investigation into double standards of officiating. Well, today, FIFA chief refereeing officer Pierre Luigi Kalina has responded by saying nobody can question the integrity of the World Cup match officials and described Egypt's comments as unfounded allegations. Of course, there will always be an element of subjectivity in some decisions,

but FIFA are happy with how this principle has been applied throughout the tournament. So another day, another day of chaos. Our sports correspondent, Joe Curry. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at global podcast at BBC.com. And you can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Just 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 Volodymy Muzitschka, and the producer was Adrienne White, and the editor is Karen Martin. I'm Uncle Desai. Until next time, goodbye. How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250-year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways,

the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.