Global News Podcast - US strikes Iran’s key oil island

Episode Date: March 14, 2026

President Donald Trump says the United States has carried out strikes against military targets on Kharg island, Iran's main export terminal for oil in the Gulf. Writing on social media, he said he'd decided not to destroy the oil infrastructure on the island. US media report that amphibious ships carrying 2,000 Marines are being sent to the Gulf, but the Pentagon has declined to comment. There have been explosions in the capital Tehran, as thousands of Iranians took part in a rally in support of the regime. And in Lebanon the health ministry says an Israeli strike has hit a health centre in the south of the country. Also: Cuba confirms talks with Trump officials amid US blockade; how spider silk has been used to repair broken nerves; and a school videographer turned Oscar nominee who took great risks to smuggle footage out of Russia.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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car gurus at car gurus.ca. Go to car gurus.ca.cairu's.cairu is the best deal. That's c.ar, g-U-R-U-S.ca.cairuos.ca. It's the Oscars on Sunday. And while American movies have long been America's great cultural export, the Academy Awards are increasingly nominating international films, not made in America.

I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. How did Hollywood's biggest night become so international? 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. I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and in the early hours of Saturday, the 14th of March, these are our main stories. President Trump says the U.S. has carried out strikes against military targets on Haarge, Iran's main export terminal for oil in the Gulf. There's defiance in Tehran as thousands of protesters turn out for a pro-government rally.

And we hear from Iranian Kurds in Iraq who want to return to Iran. Also in this podcast, Cuba confirms that negotiations with the US are underway. And we hear how, in a medical first, spider silk has been used to repair broken nerves. It bridges the gap that's made between these two nerve ends and then the new nerves try and grow out. It's almost like a plant sprouting from the ground, but they attach to the silk and then they grow along it. Our silk dissolves and the nerve is able to then regenerate.

Haag is an island, only 8 kilometres long, located just off the coast of Iran. It's small in size but not in significance. It's Iran's main export terminal for oil. And tonight President Trump announced the US had obliterated military targets on the island. It comes as reports well that the White House is preparing to send reinforcements to the Middle East, including thousands of Marines. The war is now entering its third week, something President Trump was asked about before boarding

Air Force One. How long now do you think the war is likely to last? I can't tell you that. I mean, I have my own idea, but what good is it is? It'll be as long as it's necessary. Our North America correspondent, David Willis, told me more about the significance of Harg Island. It lies Charlotte about 25 kilometres off the coast of Iran in the northern Gulf, and around 90% of Iran's oil exports come from there, making it potentially very significant. It hasn't been targeted up to now, and oil tankers have been seen filling up with oil there since the conflict.

began. It's been described as the economic lifeblood of the Iranian regime. And in a post on truth social, President Trump said that the U.S. military had destroyed every military target in what he called Iran's crown jewel, Kag Island, excluding its oil infrastructure. But he went on to say that should Iran do anything to impede the safe passage of vessel through the vitally significant Strait of Hormuz to the southeast of Hague Island, he would, as he put it, reconsider that decision. In other words, he's using a potential attack on Hark Island as leverage, if you like, in an attempt to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping. And what more do we know about these media reports, David, about President Trump potentially

sending thousands of Marines and other personnel to the region? That's right. A naval task force, made up of additional troops and machinery is being deployed to the Middle East from its base in Japan. And that's between 2,500 and 5,000 Marines and sailors, apparently, members of an expeditionary unit. And the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli will be accompanying them, form part of the deployment. An amphibious ready group typically includes, I'm told, vessels capable of carrying landing craft, as well as large numbers of helicopters. And the deployment suggests that the United States is considering perhaps an expanded range of options,

possibly occupying Harg Island, possibly protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and conceivably some kind of limited amphibious landing. Now, the Pentagon has declined. to comment on these reports, as you'd probably expect, but it's thought the deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or about to take place, although President Trump himself hasn't ruled that out. And throughout this time, President Trump and the Defence Secretary Pete Hegzeth have said quite contradictory things. Do we get a sense now that this operation is nearing an end, or maybe it's the opposite completely? Well, it might be the opposite.

I mean, President Trump again insisted today that the United States was, as he put it, way ahead of schedule in regards to its operation in Iran, but he wouldn't be drawn on how much longer the conflict would last, saying simply that it would go on for, as he put it, as long as it's necessary. But this is now about more than simply attacking Iran. The Trump administration has its work cut out defending the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil. is transported and President Trump conceded that the US could start escorting oil tankers through the strait soon, as he put it. David Willis. There were explosions in the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday, while thousands of people were taking part in a rally in support of the regime.

The country's health ministry says at least 1,300 people have been killed since the start of the war. Iran has also continued to attack its Gulf neighbors. Qatar has in the past few hours issued an evacuation order covering parts of Doha, saying it's a precautionary measure. Here's our diplomatic correspondent, Caroline Hawley. From an embattled Iranian regime, a show of defiance, loyalists came out in large numbers, just as their new supreme leader had asked. And many carried his image,

though Mujtabakhamunei himself has still not been seen. Straight-run TV showed Iran's president, Massoud Pezeshkian, out on the streets, even looking relaxed. And another very powerful figure in the regime who had a message for Donald Trump. The problem with Trump is that he's not intelligent enough to understand that Iranians are a mature and strong and determined nation. The more pressure he exerts, the stronger our nation's willpower will become. This is the Al-Quds rally held every year to oppose Israel. Suddenly, an explosion nearby. Another airstrike took place as state-run TV was interviewing Iran's hardline head of the judiciary.

People are not afraid of these attacks, he says. We will not back down in any way. But many Iranians are very afraid as the human cost of this war and the humanitarian consequences grow. The Red Crescent says nearly 20,000 homes have now been damaged, along with businesses, schools and 16 of its own facilities. Iranians are continuing to flee. More than 3 million of them have left their homes so far, according to the UN. At Turkey's border with Iran, one man said bombs were raining down on his homeland.

Near the central city of Isfahan, one glimpse into the intensity of the bombardment. The man filming is clearly happy to see regime targets hit. Duck down, someone says, as airstrike follows airstrike. And Donald Trump says Iran will continue to be hit very hard. Caroline Hawley. But what do we know about the overall destruction in Iran from Israeli and US attacks? The US Defence Secretary Pete Heggzeth says Iran has no functioning air force, air defence or navy. that its missile volume is down by 90%.

But two weeks on, Iran is still firing missiles and drones. The BBC's John Sudworth has been verifying the damage in Iran so far. What we can say with certainty is that for 14 straight days now, Iran has been hit by a huge and sustained bombardment. The US and Israel say they've struck more than 15,000 targets so far. In terms of what's being hit, the list is a long one across multiple cities and other towns, other locations. The targets include military bases, missile launch sites, weapons factories, and the Iranian Navy, of course, with more than 60 ships damaged or sunk so far. And the targeting in recent days of the citywide checkpoints set up by the Basij, Iran's feared volunteer militia out on the streets to crack down.

on any hint of dissent. But beyond the military targets, the strikes are also aimed at civil infrastructure, such as government leadership facilities. That's how Ayatollah Khomeini was assassinated on the first day of the war, of course. But those civil targets also include state media, airports, and energy facilities.

And what about the effect on Iranians, the loss of life? Well, Iran says that more than 1,300 people have been killed so far, including 175 people in a school, most of them children, in a strike now widely believed, of course, to have been the result of a US targeting error. Iranian State TV has been broadcasting footage of some damaged department blocks with rescue workers on site, making the point that civilians are being targeted. Independent information is far harder to come by. Some of the big US-based satellite data companies, it's been interesting to watch them,

They provide high-resolution imagery of the kind that was once only available to spy agencies, but it's now readily available for little or no cost. But they have now introduced a time delay up to 14 days at the current time of speaking for their imagery of the Middle East. That's to stop Iran using it for surveillance, intelligence and targeting purposes. But it also makes it much harder, of course, for journalists and analysts to assess the scale of the destruction. although I think we can say without too much guessing that it's likely, of course, to be extensive. John Sudworth speaking to Paddy O'Connell.

The Lebanese Health Ministry says an Israeli strike has hit a health centre in the south of the country, killing at least 12 medical personnel. It says it was the second medical facility to be hit in a matter of hours. Nearly 800 people have been killed in the current campaign, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Aid agencies say the country is nearly at, breaking point. Our correspondent, where Davis, sent this report from Beirut. The Israeli military dropped leaflets over parts of Beirut, not areas of particularly strong Hezbollah

support, calling for people to rise up and help ensure that Hezbollah is disarmed. It was a blunt attempt by Israel to capitalize on the clear divisions and tensions in Lebanese society over the damage being done by the war and Hezbollah's decision to continue firing rockets against Israel in support of Iran. The leaflets also had QR codes that people were warned to avoid scanning for fear that their phones or other devices might be compromised.

Two locals in the Hamra district of Beirut gave us their reaction. We were sitting when we heard a very loud sound, like a strike. We looked up and saw two batches of leaflets being dropped, one in front of us and another further ahead. There were a lot. you could say about the size of a car. That's how many there were.

If they wanted this to affect us, it would have long ago. No matter what they do, we remain steadfast, working, carrying on with our lives and earning our livelihood. Israel says it's been expanding the scale and scope of its bombing campaign hitting targets across Lebanon in a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah's weapon stores, control centers and financial institutions. It has bombed targets in southern Beirut, the Bekar Valley and an expanded exclusion zone in south Lebanon, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. The Norwegian Refugee Council says that at least 800,000 or one in seven people in Lebanon have been displaced by the war, a number set to rise further and create severe humanitarian challenges,

as Israel bombs more towns and villages in its attempt to destroy Hezbollah as a military force. We're a Davis. In Iraq, Iranian Kurdish opposition groups say their fighters are prepared to cross the border and join the war against Iran. Many Iranian Kurds have loved ones who were killed by the Iranian regime. The fighters want the United States to give them a no-fly zone so they can return. Our senior international correspondent, Ola Gurren, reports from one of their mountain bases. Across the border, war is raging. inside Iran. Here in northern Iraq,

we're heading to meet those hoping to join in. Iranian Kurdish fighters. Some in exile here for decades. Eager to return to their homeland. With the weapons

they have to hand. Woman. Woman. Life. Freedom. Freedom. The slogan of the protest movement brutally crushed in Iran. These Kurdish fighters are called Peshmerga, meaning those who face death.

Donald Trump has blown hot, then cold, on their guns coming into the fight. Very difficult to come up. Yeah. Hello, hi. Hello, hi. Orla from BBC. Hi, nice to meet you. Shaho Bluri hopes to return home soon to honour all the dead.

One of your brothers was hung. Yeah, hang. Many of our family be one by one killed and hanging. How many members of your extended family have been killed by the regime? I think directly 18.

18? 18. If you were able to go home, what is the first thing that you want to do? I will go back to my mother grave and put flowers. and all my family visit them and food flower and tell them, I remember you always.

I cry for you. The fighters here now joining forces with other Kurdish-Iranian groups, but in need of US support. Do you think there's a danger that President Trump could suddenly say, I'm finished with this war now, it's over? Personally, I don't trust Trump. I think he may decide to stop the war. No one can predict what Trump will do.

Suddenly the commander, Amjad Panahi, gets news of a strike on one of their bases, sparking fears of an attack at our location. Spread out, he warns. now man There's a cave up there guys Okay Okay let's move We've just been asked to disperse

To spread out a bit They're worried about Too many people being in the same place And being a bigger target They've had some intelligence That there may be a drone strike These camps are being hit very regularly So the Peshmerg

Let's go So the Peshmerg watch the skies and urge us to leave. They remain in position. Still on the sidelines for now. Olegeren, reporting. Still to come in this podcast, a Russian teacher who smuggled footage from his school could be in line for an Oscar.

Regarding the Oscar speech, it will be written by my students. They are already working on it. And if we win, it's going to be their speech. It's the Oscars on Sunday. And while American movies have long been America's great cultural export, the Academy Awards are increasingly nominating international films, not made in America. I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC.

How did Hollywood's biggest night become so international? Listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The US authorities have said the Lebanese-born man who rammed a truck into a synagogue on Thursday in the state of Michigan died after shooting himself. No one else was killed, though a security guard was injured. Reports say he carried out the attack soon after several members of his family were killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon. The US authorities called it a targeted act of violence and would not be drawn on a motive. Jennifer Runyon is the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation. Our team has been working around the clock to ensure that we remain focused on providing confirmed facts about this investigation,

rather than uncorroborated speculation. The FBI has forensically confirmed that the assailant responsible for carrying out this attack was Amon Mohamed Ghazali, age 41, from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. He has no previous criminal history and no registered weapons. He also has never been the subject of an FBI investigation. Our correspondent, Helena Humphrey, reports from Michigan. Temple Israel's congregation north of Detroit is coming to terms with an attack that could have claimed the lives of worshippers and children at an on-site preschool.

Amen, Mohamed Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, rammed his truck through the synagogue's doors and drove down a hallway. The mayor of Dearborn, where Ghazali lived, said he had recently. recently lost several family members, including a niece and nephew in an Israeli strike in Lebanon. A Lebanese official told the AP News Agency that they were killed last Thursday as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. While the motive is still under investigation, a rabbi at Temple Israel says the congregation had practiced an active shooter drill just weeks earlier.

Look, American Judaism is such these days that every synagogue is, a target and every synagogue is well aware that we need to take precautions to keep our people safe. So we have regular active shooter drills. We offered one a few weeks ago for our clergy, our staff, our security team, and our teachers run by the FBI that walked us through over and over again what to do in case of an active shooter situation. And I can honestly say that that protocol saved lives. Amid the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, President Trump says he's not worried about the threat of domestic terrorism. But for many American Jews going about their daily lives,

their sense of safety has been shaken. That was Helena Humphrey reporting from Michigan. There was a significant announcement on Cuban national television on Friday. In those talks, we have expressed our willingness to continue the process under the principles of equality and respect for the political systems of both countries. That's the moment we're in now in relation to dialogue with the United States. That was President Miguel Diaz-Cannell confirming that talks between Cuban officials and the US government are underway. The US embargo has choked off oil supplies, triggering a severe

energy crisis on the island nation. But it's hoped these negotiations will bring an end to the economic hardship that swept across Cuba. My colleague Jane Hill has been speaking to Rory Nickel, who's a correspondent in Havana for the Guardian newspaper. She began by asking him about the US-Cuba talks and what everyday life is like on the island. Finally, the Cuban government have said these talks are occurring, which is a major moment. However, there is disquiet, I would say, among Cubans,

because that is all they have said. There has been no explanation about what a plan might be. And the situation on the streets in Cuba is getting worse by the day now, as Cuba sort of sits under a month-long US oil blockade. Yes, we'll talk to us a little bit about the problems that people are facing. You have to put this in context of the fact that the Cuban government has been bankrupt for several years now since the pandemic. This is a communist state. People were used to being able to go to the bodega, get their ration of beans, rice, etc., etc. that has now pretty much disappeared. The bodegas are emptying.

There has been increasing problems with electricity supply. There is rolling blackouts, but there's also been a sort of countrywide blackouts. The system is very antiquated. Blackouts means the water doesn't come in. It means they can't sleep at night because there's no fans. It means the food, which is very expensive for most people, goes off in their refrigerator. The cars have stopped running. There's no gas.

There's state offices have closed. the power cuts have become very much worse. Friends of mine are getting up in the middle of the night to cook because that's the only time, the two hours that they get electricity. The situation could get very bad indeed. And by that I mean starvation, I mean disease. It really is that bad? It's not at the moment.

There's food in the shops. But again, because of the economy being in Tatas, there's been hyperinflation for the last few years. So if you work for the state, which is about half the people, or you're on a state pension, which affects an awful lot of people, then those have been reduced to between $5 and $10 a month. But, you know, a bag of beans could be $3. If you're getting $5 a month, that's a disaster.

So when people hear that there have been talks, what would they want from any of these talks? Well, they want change. They want to be able to have enough money to buy things or get things and feed their children. What I now hear from most Cubans is, I really don't care who's to blame. Can somebody give us a break? Marco Rubio has said he wants regime change. Is it possible to gauge what the ordinary person,

to use that phrase, would want? Would they take a view on regime change? I've not yet to hear a Cuban say to me that they want the Americans to come in. That just doesn't happen. Cubans here certainly don't want some sort of armed invasion. Roy Nickle speaking to Jane Hill. Mr Nobody against Putin is a documentary about propaganda in Russian schools and how teachers were forced to repeat government scripts about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A filmmaker at one school took great risks to smuggle footage out of Russia to show the world and he could win an Oscar this weekend.

The BBC's culture editor Katie Razel went sightseeing with Mr Nobody in Hollywood. You see that Hollywood's right? From a self-styled Mr. Nobody to Mr. Somebody in Hollywood, Pasha to Lankan had never left Russia until he was forced into exile two years ago. Now, on his 35th birthday, I've joined the Oscar nominee on a bus tour of L.A. It's a long way from Carabash, where, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, school videographer Pasha was instructed to. to film and send to the authorities proof that a new militarized curriculum was being followed.

He was so horrified at teachers being used in President Putin's propaganda machine that he became a filmmaking whistleblower. When I started making the film, I was driven by rage. I didn't care really. I thought, let anyone do it. Let anyone show this film. Let anyone edit it. The main thing is that it exists to show what is happening. Here's co-director David Bornstein, who made the film with footage they smuggled out of Russia. In the beginning of the film, we just wanted to show what was happening in Russia because we thought it was so important for the world to see that Putin obviously has no intention of stopping with just Ukraine.

He's telling the children of Russia every single day that you need to prepare for a future of warfare and empire. Pasha fights authoritarianism with acts of resistance, changing the pro-war symbols on the school's windows, taking down the school's Russian flag while blasting out Lady Gaga singing the US national anthem. He was eventually forced to leave his motherland and his mother behind, and now lives in an undisclosed location outside Russia. He told me he believes he will return one day because the regime can't last. forever. Last month, Mr. Nobody Against Putin won best documentary at the BAFTA film awards.

Sorry, I don't speak English, but I will tell you, thank you. If an Oscar follows, he says his former students in Russia will play a key role. Regarding the Oscar speech, it will be written by my students. They are already working on it. So have you been to Santa Monica Pier before? Yes, I was. You like it? Yes. And the first time I saw it.

Wow, it looks like GTA, GTA. Yeah, that's true. Grandin, daughter, as we walked on Santa Monica Pier, it felt a long way from the horrors he charts in the film, the former students who die in Ukraine. The children taught battlefield tips by Wagner Group mercenaries, but the specter of Ukraine loomed even here.

here. Today I found out that one of my students died and I know him. He's a kind of guy and he would never have gone without propaganda. That was Pasha Talanquin, the Oscar nominee ending that report by Katie Russell. Now, you wouldn't normally associate groundbreaking surgery with spiders. But scientists here in the UK have discovered that spider silk, which is incredibly fine but also incredibly strong can help to regenerate human nerves. A British company led by a National Health Service surgeon, who incidentally was also a zoologist, has achieved a medical first by using the spider silk as scaffolding to help broken nerves regrow. Dr Alex Wood explains how the procedure is carried out. We work with quite a few patients of patients who suffer peripheral nerve

injuries, either from trauma or patients having cancer resections. But we've recently done a first in human study in people. Panama. There's a big hospital, quite well-known neurosurgeon there, and we recruited five patients into a study that started last summer. And these are patients who are going through the normal treatment that we give for patients right now. So when they're having biopsies of nerves or they're having nerve injuries normally treated, surgeons have to cut out another nerve to move it from the body. So that injury would be left untreated. So they've agreed in a trial to allow us to repair that treated nerve with our implant. Peripheral nerves are essentially like fibroptic cables.

say supply all your feeling and all your movement outside of the brain and spinal cord. And so in these patients, the nerve that we would normally sacrifice to, you know, if you fall off a motorbike and you damage a nerve in your arm and you can't move your thumb anymore, the best treatment we've got at the moment is to cut out a nerve from your leg, which would make your foot numb because we say, well, look, you know, giving someone a numb foot is better than not being able to move your thumbs. But obviously that causes extra harm. And unfortunately, it doesn't work particularly well either. Our implant, which is called silk axons, is made from the, what we call dragline silk from golden or web spiders and what that means it's the silk that if you know see a spider dangly off a stick

that's their dragline silk and we have made an implant that can go down tubes so it kind of mimics the natural or axons or scaffold that the body normally has in a nerve and what it does is it bridges the gap that's made between these new two nerve ends and then the new nerves try and grow out it's almost like a plant sprouting from the ground but they attach to the silk and then they grow along it a bit like a rose on a trellis until they bridge the gap, and then that sort of repairs the damage, our silk dissolves, and the nerve is able to then regenerate. So if you've ever sat on the toilet for a bit long

or woken up and your arm's a bit numb, your foot's gone a bit dead, that's a type of nerve injury, it's bruising of the nerve. But because the outer tubing is intact, it can always recover. If you cut a nerve, it can't recover on its own, it pulls itself apart, and although it throws out a little collagen scaffold to try and regenerate without some sort of surgery, it won't do so. Dr Alex Wood. 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. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Johnny Hall and the producer was Marion Strawn. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Charlotte Gallagher. Until next time. Goodbye.