Ceasefire on brink: Trump says Iran will be “blown off face of earth” it it hits US ships — BBC News

[0:00] The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is on very shaky ground tonight [0:04] after what the United Arab Emirates says was a major attack on its territory. [0:09] Officials say four cruise missiles fired from Iran [0:12] were intercepted over Emirati territorial waters [0:15] and a drone attack ignited a fire at an oil terminal. [0:18] Three people have been injured. [0:19] The blaze at the port in Fujairah is the first strike on the UAE [0:24] since a ceasefire was agreed between Iran and the U.S. at the beginning of April. [0:28] Today's sharp escalation of violence came after the U.S. said [0:32] two American guided missile destroyers and two U.S. flagged merchant ships [0:37] had sailed through the Strait of Hormuz [0:39] and six Iranian small boats were attacked and destroyed. [0:43] In a moment, we'll get the view from Washington with Sarah Smith [0:46] and our international editor, Jeremy Bowen, [0:48] will give his assessment of the state of the ceasefire. [0:51] But first, Joe Inwood has our top story tonight. [0:55] Rising over the Gulf, smoke from Fujairah, the UAE's biggest oil port. [1:01] Said to be the result of an Iranian drone [1:03] and a sign of things to come. [1:07] The last time the Emirates came under attack [1:08] was back in the middle of March, [1:10] before a ceasefire which has seemingly held until now. [1:16] This is the result of a potentially significant day in this war [1:19] in which President Trump effectively announced [1:22] the U.S. was going to break the Iranian blockade [1:25] on the Strait of Hormuz [1:26] in what he called Project Freedom. [1:29] And it's working out very nicely. [1:31] They have no Navy. [1:32] They have no Air Force. [1:34] They have no anti-aircraft equipment. [1:37] They have no radar. [1:39] Writing on social media, the President said, [1:41] Iran has taken some shots at unrelated nations [1:44] with respect to the ship movement, [1:46] Project Freedom, including a South Korean cargo ship. [1:50] We've shot down seven small boats, [1:52] or as they like to call them, fast boats. [1:55] It's all they have left. [1:56] Other than the South Korean ship, [1:59] there has been, at this moment, [2:01] no damage going through the Strait. [2:03] The U.S. has a huge number of Navy ships in the region. [2:08] According to U.S. Central Command, [2:10] guided missile destroyers, [2:12] over 100 aircraft, drones, and 15,000 personnel [2:15] will be involved in the operation [2:17] to get ships out of the Gulf. [2:19] Today, the U.S. said some of its destroyers [2:22] pass through the Strait of Hormuz, [2:24] part of a multi-layered defense against Iranian attacks. [2:27] If any of the drones or missiles [2:30] are able to penetrate the air defense system, [2:33] the layered defense, [2:34] there would be terminal defense [2:36] right inside the Straits itself [2:39] to defeat any penetration of a drone or a missile. [2:42] Any attack from the land, [2:44] shoulder-fired missile or the like, [2:46] would be defeated by the dome defense. [2:49] But Iran has promised retaliation. [2:54] State TV says its Navy fired warning shots [2:57] at American warships. [2:59] U.S. Central Command denied Iranian claims [3:01] that one of its destroyers was hit. [3:04] In the Gulf, hundreds of ships [3:06] and thousands of sailors remain stranded. [3:10] Donald Trump says this plan will get them to safety, [3:13] but with it comes the very real risk [3:15] of further escalation and a return to war. [3:19] Joe Inwood, BBC News. [3:22] Well, let's talk to Sarah Smith, [3:24] who's live in Washington for us. [3:25] Is the ceasefire, [3:26] as far as Donald Trump is concerned, Sarah, [3:28] still in place? [3:32] Officially, yes. [3:33] Neither Donald Trump nor Iran [3:35] have said that it is over. [3:38] And I have to say, [3:39] when Donald Trump launches Project Freedom, [3:41] I don't think he was trying [3:42] to deliberately provoke the Iranians [3:44] or trying to disrupt the ceasefire. [3:47] What he wanted to do [3:48] was tackle his biggest domestic problem, [3:50] which is the way the blockade [3:51] of the trade reform is putting prices up here [3:54] in America and around the world. [3:55] And that is, of course, [3:56] what is making his war in Iran [3:58] so very unpopular with the American public. [4:01] So the thing is that it was inevitable. [4:05] If the U.S. was going to try [4:06] and get tanker ships moving through the strait, [4:08] that this was going to risk the exchange of fire, [4:11] which is, of course, exactly what happened today, [4:13] that that threatens the fragile ceasefire. [4:16] And on top of that, [4:17] we've had Donald Trump saying [4:18] that the U.S. is ready to launch new attacks on Iran [4:21] from the American bases in the region [4:23] if that's what is required. [4:25] But as I say, [4:26] I don't think that that was his purpose. [4:29] The reason that he has been taking this action [4:31] has got more to do with lowering prices [4:33] than it has to do with restarting hostilities. [4:35] It's just that if that was his aim, [4:37] that hasn't been very successful either [4:39] because as a result of what's happened today, [4:41] the oil price has gone up [4:42] and the value of the U.S. stock market [4:44] has gone down a bit. [4:46] All right, Sarah, thank you. [4:47] Sarah Smith, our North America editor, [4:49] live in Washington. [4:51] Well, Jeremy Bowen is with me now. [4:53] Just how dangerous a moment is this? [4:55] It's a dangerous moment, Clive. [4:58] It's dangerous because both sides [5:00] are trying to put pressure on each other, [5:03] the Americans for all the reasons [5:04] you've just been hearing, [5:05] and also because the Iranians see the strait, [5:08] they know it's, [5:09] they've demonstrated [5:10] that it's everything from an offensive weapon [5:13] to a great insurance policy for them. [5:15] So they wanted to show [5:17] that they could continue to threaten it. [5:19] So it was inevitable [5:21] that something like this was going to happen. [5:23] And this is the way that wars escalate. [5:26] These are moments where miscalculations [5:29] about each other's motives, [5:30] which you've just been hearing about too, [5:32] are likely and possible and dangerous. [5:36] And that is the problem [5:38] that they're facing at the moment. [5:40] America's strategic binders, [5:41] they need to get that straight open. [5:43] The Iranians want to show [5:44] that they're going to keep it closed [5:46] or at least controlled. [5:47] And the foreign minister today [5:48] has been saying to MPs [5:51] that not only are no nuclear talks [5:52] going on with the Americans, [5:54] but there will be no going back [5:55] to the way things were [5:56] before the war started on the 28th of February, [5:59] that no hostile vessels from hostile nations [6:02] would be allowed through, [6:04] that there would be new mechanisms [6:05] to control the strait. [6:08] Let us not forget the strait was open [6:10] before America and Israel attacked. [6:14] And now actually opening it [6:15] has become a major war aim of the war [6:18] that didn't seem to have much, [6:20] have clear strategic reasoning behind it [6:22] when it stopped. [6:23] As for the Gulf states, [6:24] deeply alarming. [6:27] Sources I've been speaking to [6:28] absolutely reflect the public statements as well [6:31] that they're saying, [6:32] the UAE particularly said publicly, [6:34] they will not be intimidated. [6:36] They brought a whole lot of new weapons [6:37] from the Americans. [6:38] So, look, this is a time [6:40] for steady and calm leadership [6:43] in Tehran and in Washington. [6:46] Are we going to get it? [6:48] Good question. [6:49] Jeremy, thank you. [6:50] Jeremy Bowen, our international editor there.