Global News Podcast - US gives Iran 48 hours to make deal or open Strait of Hormuz

Episode Date: April 5, 2026

President Trump has given Iran 48 hours to make a deal or open up the Strait of Hormuz - an ultimatum Tehran has rejected. Both countries are trading threats to unleash "hell" as the search continues for a missing American aviator. The diplomatic fallout has also seen the US revoke the green cards of two women thought to be related to the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. We'll get analysis from our correspondents on the ground and a military expert. Also: Bangladesh launches an emergency measles vaccination programme; the Ukrainian project creating dishes from demined fields; how the manosphere is poisoning the atmosphere in British classrooms; and the Artemis II astronauts catch their first glimpse of the far side of the Moon. 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]

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This week on Good Bad Billionaire, Toto Wolf made his billions. Listen wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton and in the early hours of Sunday, the 5th of April, these are our main stories. Donald Trump ramps up the diplomatic pressure warning all hell would rain down on Iran if they don't make a deal by Monday. Tehrans responded with similar threats. The hunt for a missing American aviator continues inside Iran. A former hostage interrogator tells us what Iran might be planning. And in Ukraine, mines are being cleared so farmers near the front lines can get back to

the land. Also in this podcast, there's a lot of happiness. And then, you know, right away, you are humbled. The fact that four of us get to be out here, but let me assure you, it is another level of amazing up here. The four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission are thrilled to be moving ever closer to the moon. Let's start with the latest exchange of threats between the U.S. and Iran. The president of the United States wrote on social media that all hell would rain down on Iran if it didn't make a deal within 48 hours. He'd previously said he would move ahead with attacks on Iranian energy plants.

Tehran's pushback with similar words, with a spokesperson saying, saying that if hostility escalates, the entire region will turn into hell. Also, as we go to air, an American aviator is still believed to be missing inside Iran. That person landed an enemy territory on Friday after ejecting from a U.S. fighter jet when it was shot down. American rescuers are searching for their compatriot to find that person before the Iranians do, but it's a high-risk mission. One U.S. crew member from that downed jet was found on Friday in a disqualmie. dangerous operation that saw a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter come under fire. And a second

military jet involved in the rescue crashed, with the pilot in that plane ejecting safely. As that hunt is happening in a remote area in southern Iran, people across the country are coping with the effects of war. Communications networks are down, but some inside Iran have sent some messages through to our colleagues in BBC Persian. Here are some of their words voiced by our producers. Let's just wait to see what Donald Trump actually does. I fear that things could swing pretty sharply in favor of the Islamic Republic if he actually decides to destroy energy infrastructure after this. The U.S. has done things they hadn't done before in Iran, I think. The situation is not normal. I hope they don't take the pilot as a hostage. Our correspondent in Washington's

Simi Jalawa show told me more about President Trump's latest ultimatum. His latest This Truth Social Post was a reminder of this 10-day deadline that he gave Iran two weeks ago. And he's threatened that if they don't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday, 6th of April, the U.S. would launch attacks on its energy infrastructure. But bear in mind, his deadlines have shifted repeatedly. And they've come amid his claims that talks with Iran are going very well and are productive. But these are talks that Tehran has denied. And it also comes in the midst of this military buildup we're seeing.

in the Middle East of American paratroopers and Marines. So there's a lot of speculation whether this is simply a pressure tactic or this is a preparation for an escalation, such as further attacks along Iran's shoreline to push them to free up the strait of Hormuz or even for possible ground invasion. And this is all happening, we should say, as an American aviator is missing inside Iran, What have you been hearing from the American side? So we haven't received any updated information from Central Command and how the search for this missing aviator is going. The White House simply told media the president has been briefed. President Trump said this incident wouldn't affect any negotiations with Iran.

When asked what his response would be if the service member is found and is found harmed, he simply said he hopes that wouldn't be the case. In terms of reaction from the public, well, there's this growing concern of a risk to U.S. service personnel in this war, particularly with all this talk about a possible ground invasion. Across the political spectrum, there's little appetite for another so-called forever war in the Middle East, but also for further American casualties. Simmy, you're in the United States. You're seeing the media coverage of the missing aviator there. What's that coverage like? Is it wall to wall? What are ordinary Americans saying?

In terms of the media coverage, there's a lot of speculation as to what has happened to this crew member. But the main sort of reaction is just a lot of well-wishers for the crew member that is missing and also for the crew members that were involved in the initial search and rescue operation. They came under fire, Iranian fire, but they managed to escape out of Iranian air. space or I've been seeing in these reports. And also just speculation around how this war will end. The big question that a lot of people here don't feel like the Trump administration has answered is what would victory look like and when will that happen? Simi Jalawisho in Washington. As Washington and Tehran carry out competing searches for the

American aviator missing inside Iran, what kind of threats is that person? facing, and how have they been trained to survive an enemy territory? The BBC's military analyst, Mikey Kay, has been speaking to a former military hostage interrogator who's chosen to remain anonymous. He began by explaining the protocol to avoid capture. He or she will want to get rid of any kit they can get rid of, and if they get the chance to bury it if the grounds allows them to do that. In addition to that, in regards to

themselves, their whole persona will be extremely heightened in terms of adrenaline, their hearing, sight, smell, because what they'll be doing is wanting not to engage with anybody whatsoever. So although they'll be heading

in this case, hopefully due west, it's very important that that individual manages to stay completely out of sight. if at all possible. They found the first crew member within roughly about 12 hours. What's hindering the detection

and extraction by the combat search and rescue crews of the second crew member? Well, first and foremost, we don't know if the beacon itself is operational. Was it serviceable in the first place? Was it damaged when he or she exited the aircraft? Or was it damaged on landing? It's important to remember also

certain powers have the ability to hand information to Iran to get round that encryption. And are there any scenarios where the second crew member could have been captured, but the Iranians aren't letting onto that? Yes. The Iranians, no doubt, want to find this individual if they already haven't done so. Because if I put my nasty head on, I will have kept saying, yes, we can't find this individual whatsoever because what they will do or might have the capability to do is fire that beacon

in, draw the American forces in to take them out as well. I remember when I was operating over Baghdad, we were trained in conduct after capture. That was operating in an urban environment. What does conduct after capture look like potentially for this second crew member? As with anybody who's captured, they're going to suffer first and foremost from the shock of capture. They will be interrogated without doubt. But as I always like to say and use the term, say whatever you want, but whatever you say, say nothing. Because what the Iranians will be trying to do is trip that person up for the hope that they're going to elicit some information that's useful to them. Torture is probably put to one side because that elicits nothing. So they'll be using isolation, hunger,

sleep deprivation, but also an individual who's asked to stand or sit for all. long time in certain stress positions that will again wear that person down. And in terms from your extensive experience, you've spoken about trying to get information from that crew member, but from a propaganda perspective, what will the Iranians be doing on that front? Well, I foresee that they're going to put him in he or she in front of the cameras, which is a good thing, because that allows the individual to be known to the world, because the Iranians obviously are going to have to fess up if anything then happens to that individual he or she. But, but, you know, it's a lot of I think potentially they might even go for some sort of trial just to further embarrass the

Americans. A former military hostage interrogator speaking to Mikey Kay. Well, staying with the war, Iran's continued to fire more missiles at Gulf states, Iraq and Israel. But the fact that an American aviator is missing on Iranian soil has complicated Israel's retaliation strategy. Our reporter, Joel Gunter, is in Jerusalem. Israel is cooperating, sharing some intelligence, and has agreed to stop launching airstrikes against the specific area where this member of the American aircrew may be missing.

We've heard from a spokesman for Iran's military command that they are saying that this downing of the jet was because of a new advanced Iranian air defense system, boasting that it was a humiliation for both the US and for Israel. It does show that however badly degraded Iran's air defense systems are, that it is still capable of downing U.S. jets. Israeli defense officials had said previously that they had pulverized Iran's defense systems, and the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsef had boasted of the crushing of Iran's air defense systems, but this does go to show that they still have the capacity to potentially down an American jet. here in Jerusalem, we have had yet more sirens, followed by this sound of successive, very loud

booms, very likely detonations by Israel's interception system of missiles or drones from Iran. That's the story across the region, in a way, we've heard from the United Arab Emirates that they have intercepted dozens of drones and missiles from Iran, again showing that Iran still has that launching capacity. Israel has been continuing strikes against Lebanon and operating militarily in the south of Lebanon. And we've heard from the Israeli military that a member of the IDF was killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. We've also seen increasing strikes across the region on infrastructure, most notably in Iran, an Israeli strike which killed a worker outside an Iranian nuclear plant, although we understand that the nuclear plant itself was not damaged

and the IAEA says no higher levels of radiation detected. But it does lead to concerns about an escalation across the region in strikes against industry and civilian infrastructure. The BBC's Joel Gunter in Jerusalem. US federal agents have arrested two women who are thought to be the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani. He was a top Iranian military commander who was assassinated in a U.S. strike six years ago. The Trump administration says the women's U.S. visas or green cards were revoked and it's preparing to deport them. It's accused one of the women of voicing support for Tehran. BBC Persian's Bachman Kalbasi, who's in New York, told me more. All the information about this has come from the U.S. government, and they have said that the

Secretary of State, Marker Rubio, has used his authority to go after their green card, and then they have been arrested to be deported. We've seen this method used before in some high-profile cases, including Mahmoud Khalid, the Palestinian American student here at Columbia University in New York, where his green card was revoked by the secretary, then he was arrested, then he was arrested, then he was in jail for number of months, but eventually the judge ordered him to be released and found the rationale not to be sound legally. But it seems like they have now reused the same authority in this case. We don't know if the allegation that they are the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani

is correct because the daughter of former Iranian general came out a few hours later denying that his father even has a niece and said that he has family members that none live in the United States and all of them are in Iran and he does not have a niece. So that to some extent has poked some holes in the story by the U.S. government. But what they did say is that these individuals were celebrating the Iranian government's victories, developments that they saw as victories and cheered for the Iranian government. So both of them are new frontiers in terms of, first, if you are a member of family with somebody that the United States find to be an enemy, but also if you express opinions

that is seen to be cheering for the other side of the war, that has crossed a certain line from the perspective of the administration and can be kicked out of the United States. I'm going to imagine that news of this green card cancellation spread like wildfire among those of Iranian descent inside the United States. What's it like for members of the Iranian diaspora in the U.S. right now? I have to say a sizable portion of the society welcomes the Iranian community welcomes these moves if it's really proven that they're members of the Iranian family. It's been an ongoing complaint by a lot of people. people in diaspora that say the Iranian government officials, oppressed people, brutally kill Iranians in Iran, but then their sons and daughters comfortably live in the United States.

So that has been a flashpoint in the diaspora politics. The problem is a lot of people are getting caught in between that have nothing to do with the regime, and that includes many people who are here legally and trying to adjust their status to become permanent residents. all of them are on this basically pause of processing. So if you're an Iranian, all your applications, while you're already in the United States, has been paused. And that has caused people to lose jobs, have caused people to lose university degrees because they couldn't finish their studies, or not be able to join their husband or wife or family member who sponsored them.

So it has caused a lot of pain in the community as well. Persians, Bahman Kalabasi. Still to come in this podcast, women are just not being listening to. So when they give instructions to boys, the boys just ignore them. Yet when they're given the same instruction by a male teacher, they will do what they're told. How the menosphere is poisoning the atmosphere in British classrooms. For the first time in more than 50 years, humans are traveling to the moon.

And 13 Minutes, the BBC Space Podcast, is following this epic endeavour every step of the way. We're telling you the story of Artemis 2 as it happens. And chatting with some of the people making it possible. 13 Minutes presents Artemis 2 from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. It's 2009 and we're in the German mountains. A man straps himself into a car on the world's service. most dangerous racetrack. He whispers to himself,

It's time to put my balls on the dashboard. As he starts the engine. In 15 minutes, he's in an ambulance, unconscious. In 15 years, he's a billionaire. This is Toto Wolf, Formula One's most powerful team boss and the breakout star of Drive to survive. This week on Good Bad billionaire, How Toto Wolf made his billions. Listen wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Ukraine is now one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and authorities are trying to clear the devices as quickly as possible. In some demined areas, farmers are able to grow produce, often close to the front line. A number of restaurants in Kiev are now using that produce in some of their dishes as part of

an initiative by the United Nations Development Program and Ukraine's Ministry of Economy. All proceeds from those meals will be donated towards demining efforts. Our Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, went to the project's launch, which included a breadmaking workshop. Don't be shy. Just take your places. This was a masterclass in Kiev with a message. Today, approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory is potentially contaminated with mines. Clearing all of that is a huge task, but it is a vital one in a country that's famed for its soil and its farming. So what better way to highlight?

the problem than a baking class. Denise, the baker, is mixing together in a huge wooden trough. Flower, water, and the sourdough starter. And the main thing about all of this is that the baskets of flour that he's using have come from land in Ukraine that has been cleared of the landmines that have been planted in huge numbers by the Russian military. So what's your name? Roman Primus, Deputy Head of State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Brilliant. So you know all about the problem of landmines? When we have liberated the territory, unfortunately we saw that so many territory was mined, especially it's an agricultural territory, that's why it's one of the priority to clear this territory as quick as possible. It's a problem for Ukraine because we have more than 600 died or injured because the Russian use booby traps, cluster munitions. Maxim supplied the flour for the master. class from up in the Sumi region near the Russian border. He says many farmers there can't access their fields at all anymore

because the mines blow up their tractors. And even if the soil's clear, he says there are Russian attack drones overhead almost constantly. Maxime tells me he keeps going on sheer enthusiasm. The amateur bakers in the class do seem to appreciate that. I'm super happy. That's my first bread in my life. I've never done before and especially to know from where this flower being collected. It's super important to have it in my hands. As part of the effort to raise awareness about the problem of minds, some restaurants in Kiev have included items on their menus that are made using ingredients from decontaminated land. And we've come to one of them to find out a bit more. more. So this is the demining menu, soul of soil, it's called. Yeah, it's our special dish with Octopus and with sweet potatoes and papaya, but the onion and the carrot is from these territories.

And all the money that we have from this dish helps for the money territories more and more. Chef Constantine is just chopping up the ingredients and preparing a frying pan. So these ingredients are from near the border area? Yeah, these are the ingredients from the fields. It's great. First of all, this project shows that we are able to take back our land and also people who are not there fighting on the front, they can donate money and get a delicious dish.

The guests are just starting to arrive now for lunch and the big hope has to be that they actually order the special land wine dish from the menu. Of course, as the war is still ongoing, every day more and more mines are being laid, more and more clustered munitions being used, creating huge challenges for many years into the future. Sarah Rainsford in Kiev. We've heard a lot about falling vaccination rates leading to children around the world dying unnecessarily from diseases like measles.

Now, Bangladesh is about to launch an emergency vaccination program. 38 children there have died from measles already this year. The fear is that the real number of deaths from measles could be even higher as many cases go unrecorded. Our global affairs reporter, Embarrassin, Etirajan, told us more. It's a big outbreak in Bangladesh. The authorities are really worried because we are now only in the first week of April,

and they're talking already about 38 cases. And the Bangladeshi media is reporting close to 100 days. because many of them had to be tested. Of course, they can add to the official figure. But beyond that, the doctors are worried because in many villages, people may not even bring the children to hospital and probably they would have died. So the numbers could be much higher.

Now, why this year, particularly in Bangladesh, it's a country of 175 million people. And they managed to reduce the number of deaths measles. You know, it is highly contagious. The kids get mostly running. nose, very watery ice, high temperature, and then they get rashes, and that also they lose bit of immunity than other diseases attack. So it's a really a nightmare situation for parents. You know, Bangladesh witnessed a big political crisis in 24 and 25, and also there were some

strikes by health workers. So once in four years, they're supposed to have this vaccination program. It has to be given in two doses. So they somehow missed the figures. And last year, probably around 40% of the kids did not get the vaccination. Unfortunately, because of this political turmoil in the last two years. And also, remember, the international funding stopped for many of these aid agencies, especially for health sector in the last two years. You see the spike in Africa and other places. So in Bangladesh's case, they ran out of money at some point late last year.

Embarrassed to Rajan. There's been a lot of talk in recent years about the impact on young people of the Manosphere, a collection of social media accounts that promote a hyper-masculine, misogynistic view of the world. Now, one of the UK's largest teaching unions is drawing attention to the issue and its effects on pupils and on female teachers. According to a survey conducted for the union, a quarter of those teachers have been subjected to misogyny by students in the past year. Sally Reese is a teacher and a former president of the union. From its annual conference, she told James Kamara Sami more about what's been happening inside UK schools. Women are just not being listening to.

So when they give instructions to boys, the boys just ignore them. Yet when they're given the same instruction by a male teacher, they will do what they're told. And then what we're seeing is that rise in sort of technology-assisted abuse. So the use of AI where we've teachers reporting that they are being sent, sexual messages like on Google classrooms to women teachers telling them exactly what they want to do to them and how and where. And then when that's reported, the teachers are still expected to teach that pupil. Because we can't or refuse to teach a pupil, there is also that kind of intimidation of female teachers. We had a case recently here in Northern Ireland where 19 boys were suspended for one day for surrounding and intimidating the female principal.

there was an immediate onslaught online of parental complaints that their sons were then being villainised. And then in the same week we had reports of AI images of girls being generated and shared among male pupils. And it certainly got worse because of the access to online extreme misogynistic content, which has then normalized the way in which you engage with women and girls in schools and colleges and how you speak to them. What has changed over the years that you have been teaching?

I mean, 10 years ago, I was called into my... principal's office and was informed that the police had found a USB stick and that contained upskirt images and videos of me and a colleague. And I assumed that there would be serious consequences for that 16-year-old pupil, both in school and in law, but I was wrong. Basically, the school refused to see it as a sexual offence. And then they normalized his behavior by not permanently excluding him, expecting me to teach him, and then they rewarded him by making him a prefect of film. Now, that was 10 years ago. The law took a very similar view and they believed that the pupil

was just performing a funny prank despite the fact it was 14 months of targeted covert recording. He was ultimately found guilty of five counts of outrage in public decency and the NSUWT in Northern Ireland we successfully campaigned to have legislation introduced to make upskirt in a criminal sexual offence

but very little has changed for female teachers and pupils in our schools and colleges since then and despite all of the law changes and the governmental commitment to end in violence against women and girls, we just are seeing the worsening of attitudes. It's striking you say when boys are suspended for a day for something, that it is the parents who are outraged that their sons are being suspended

rather than outraged about what they've done. I think that comes down to the fact that we are still kind of excusing and minimizing boys' behaviour by saying it's just a bit of banter and boys will be boys. And I think that parental attitude is shaping that culture of misogyny that enables then harms to continue. Is this having an impact on the recruitment and the retention of female teachers? Very much so. You know, if you think you're going into a school environment day in and day out

and you don't know what you're going to be faced with in the classroom and then what happens is that behaviour isn't challenged or you're not supported or believed by the senior leaders in your school. I think that's where the issue is for teachers. It's the stress, the fear on a day-to-day basis. And it is driving the issue around recruitment and retention for sure. Sally Reese. And before we go, let's check in on NASA's Artemis 2 Lunar Mission.

So far, apart from a few issues with the onboard toilet, which I found out cost $23 million, things appear to be going well for the astronauts. The crew are now more than halfway to the moon and preparing for their next big milestone, the lunar flyby on Monday. In their latest update, just over an hour ago, the astronauts said they were managing to sleep well

and they'd spoken to their families. We've also heard the American and Canadian astronauts describing the incredible views they've seen from this spacecraft so far. To see the moon, to see the earth and to know that we are between those two celestial bodies and you can see it when you look out the window. The earth is almost in full eclipse. The moon is almost in full daylight. And the only way you could get that view is to be halfway between the two entities. It's just, it is truly awe-inspiring up here.

Last night, we did have our first view of the moon far side, and it was just absolutely spectacular. I think that one of the interesting things that happens when you look at a moon that inherently just looks different is, The darker parts just aren't quite in the right place. And something about you senses, that is not the moon that I'm used to seeing. And sure enough, we got out our lunar targeting information, and we matched up, and we're like, that is the dark side. That is something we have never seen before. We must be, no kidding, like Reed said, somewhere between the Earth and the Moon, just pairing that with how much we miss and love our families and knowing that they're looking up and seeing the same moon, it's a pretty amazing feeling.

There's been a lot of disbelief up here, just the fact that what we're seeing, where we are, it's hard to wrap your mind around. Like, I mean that sincerely. It really bends your mind. There's a lot of happiness. And then, you know, right away, you are humbled. The fact that four of us get to be out here, we're doing our best to show it with the camera, but you can't do it.

I know those photos are amazing, but let me assure you it is another level of amazing up here. The astronauts carrying out NASA's Artemis 2 Lunar Mission. 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 Hansen, The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Celia Hatton. Until next time, goodbye. Hi, I'm astronaut Tim Peake. I spent 186 days aboard the International Space Station. In the new series of 13 Minutes, the BBC Space Podcast, I'll be following NASA's Artemis II mission as it happens.

But this time, from the safety of Earth. 13 minutes is telling the story of Artemis 2, with daily updates and analysis of the first human mission to the moon, in over 50 years. We're bringing you all the latest developments, explaining mission details, and chatting with some of the people making this groundbreaking endeavor possible.

So, strap yourself in for 13 Minutes Presents, Artemis 2 from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.