Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over continued US blockade of ports, state media says — BBC News

[0:02] Hello and welcome. I'm Samantha Simmons. Confused messaging today on the opening of the Strait of [0:07] Hormuz. Iran's military is now saying it will close the vital waterway again after the authorities [0:13] in Iran said on Friday it would be completely reopened to commercial ships for the remainder [0:17] of the ceasefire. Well, Iran's parliament speaker had said it would shut again if the U.S. blockade [0:23] on Iran ports continued. U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed the blockade earlier this week [0:28] and despite Iran saying it would reopen the strait, Mr. Trump said the blockade would continue [0:33] until a peace deal is reached. Well, the Strait of Hormuz is a crucial route for global shipping and [0:39] there have been reports that around 20 ships including oil tankers and container vessels [0:44] had started to sail. Reports now say they've been ordered to turn around. Well, let's speak to our [0:50] correspondent Nick Beak in Jerusalem who's following all the developments for us. Nick, try if you can [0:55] to make sense of all of this for us. Yeah. Hi again, Samantha. I think what we've got to go on [1:03] at the moment is this report that's coming from Iranian state media saying that the Strait of [1:08] Hormuz will be closed once again, if not completely closed, returning to what they're describing as [1:15] strict management. So this is what we saw before this arrangement was reached yesterday whereby the [1:21] majority of vessels were able, were not able to pass unless maybe they were paying some sort of toll or [1:27] they were getting the explicit permission of the Iranians to do so. Why is Iran saying this now? [1:33] As you say, there was confusion this morning. They were suggesting that the strait was open. [1:37] What the Iranians are saying is that the Americans have failed to fulfill their obligations. They [1:43] haven't been more explicit about this. But certainly if we look at what happened yesterday, there was this [1:49] great fanfare as the strait was announced as being reopening. President Trump saying it would be a complete [1:54] reopening. But at the same time, the Americans said that they would keep up this blockade of ships, [2:01] any sort of vessel heading to an Iranian port. So what it seems now is the Iranians say that the [2:07] Americans have not kept their side of the deal. And so as a consequence, the strait to all intents and [2:12] purposes will be closed once again. [2:15] Nick, in the past short while, Pakistan's prime minister has said that he's completed a three [2:21] country diplomatic tour aimed at Iran peace statement. That's coming in on the AFP news agency. [2:27] Of course, Pakistan hosted those talks last weekend between the US and Iran. So one week on and with [2:34] this ceasefire running out in days, where are we at diplomatically? [2:42] Hard to tell, Samantha. Certainly President Trump is suggesting that we're on the brink of some sort of [2:48] deal. He said repeatedly that the Iranians have basically agreed to a lot of what the Americans [2:53] want, whether that's their enriched uranium supplies, the idea of the Iranians giving them up and [2:59] potentially not doing anything more in terms of a nuclear program for a number of years to come. [3:05] The Iranians have denied this publicly. So, I mean, it's really hard to see if any sort of behind [3:10] the scenes agreement has been reached or if there's been progress towards one which would justify both [3:16] teams coming back to Pakistan, for example, and having a second round of talks. We know there was [3:22] a marathon negotiation last weekend. It didn't amount to anything. So certainly it's not good [3:27] news if the Strait of Hormuz is being shut, because this is something which has been so crucial to this [3:32] whole conflict and has sent out reverberations around the world with so much oil normally passing [3:38] through. So it could be the case that there is a lot of bravado. There's a lot of social media noise. [3:44] And we hear that talks will take place. But at the moment, I think no one has any real confidence [3:50] that things are going in the right direction. One thing I should say is that this ceasefire in [3:55] Lebanon between the Israelis and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group in Lebanon, is holding for [4:02] now. And I think that is certainly sort of easing some of the pressure here. But let's see what is [4:07] done with that window of opportunity. [4:09] Yeah, and we'll get more on the situation in Lebanon coming up very shortly. But to what [4:14] extent there in Israel do you think that Prime Minister Netanyahu believes he's achieved his [4:19] goals? [4:23] Well, I mean, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been changing his position in some respects. [4:29] He said right at the outset of the Iran war, when the Americans joined the Israelis in those [4:34] strikes on Tehran and other parts of Iran, he said really there were three key aims there. [4:39] They wanted to destroy Iran's nuclear capability, its ambitions for a nuclear program, and of [4:46] course, any sort of route towards getting a nuclear weapon. He said he wanted to remove [4:50] the ballistic threat that Iran faced. And now those are two key war aims that his opponents [4:57] here say they simply haven't been realized. And the suggestion was that he wanted the war [5:03] to continue. So what we had just a couple of days ago was a ceasefire being announced by [5:09] President Trump. And a lot of people here in Israel saying that what's happening here is [5:14] that President Trump had decided belatedly that there needed to be a ceasefire so that his wider [5:19] talks with Iran could continue and potentially prosper. So in terms of the public mood in Israel, [5:25] a lot of people quite surprised by this ceasefire, seeing that President Trump is in the driving [5:31] seat. That's the analysis. And also in the north of the country, a lot of people are really unhappy [5:36] talking about a betrayal because they don't think a ceasefire will bring in a thing for them. They [5:40] worry that Hezbollah won't be disarmed, won't be disbanded, and that they'll face the threat of [5:46] rockets being fired by Hezbollah by many days, months, potentially years to come. [5:50] Okay, Nick Beak in Jerusalem for now. Thank you. Well, the Strait of Hormuz isn't, of course, [5:56] the only issue stopping the US and Iran from reaching a deal. The two countries also appear [6:00] to disagree over the future of Iran's enriched uranium, which Mr. Trump has said will be dug [6:05] up and taken to the US. While the current ceasefire between the US and Iran still appears to be [6:10] holding, it is due to run out next week, with both sides still far apart on agreeing the conditions [6:16] for a lasting peace. Lise Doucette, our chief international correspondent, is in Tehran and [6:21] reporting on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian service. These [6:27] restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating inside the country. [6:32] She told us there are signs the two sides are moving towards a memorandum of understanding, [6:37] which would open the way for more detailed negotiations. [6:40] Iran's announcement yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz was now completely open, was greeted with [6:46] cautious optimism. But then it became clear that vessels still had to take routes designated and [6:53] controlled by Tehran, and that it wouldn't remain open unless the US lifted its own blockade. [7:00] And there's also been a blizzard of contradictory statements when it comes to progress in the peace [7:04] talks. The real issue is that President Trump seems to believe that a deal between Tehran and [7:10] Washington, what would be a major diplomatic achievement, can be done in a matter of days. But what [7:16] he describes as insignificant differences amount to what would be major concessions by Iran. And [7:22] Iran's new leaders, more hardline, aren't indicating they're ready to make them. The one glimmer of hope is [7:29] that there does seem to be progress behind the scenes on a memorandum of understanding. Both sides would agree [7:35] to embark on a period of more detailed discussions lasting about 60 days. Even that may not be [7:41] enough to reach what would be a complex, comprehensive and controversial deal. But it [7:48] may be enough just to hold this fragile ceasefire in place. Well, President Trump says he's blocking [7:54] Israel from bombing Lebanon and that enough is enough as the tentative truce between the two countries enters [7:59] its second day. Israel says it reserves the right to continue targeting the armed group Hezbollah and that [8:06] it won't pull its troops out of Lebanon. Just as the ceasefire came into force, the Israeli military said it had [8:12] hit more than 380 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over a 24-hour period. One person was also killed by an [8:19] Israeli drone. Well, these are live pictures from southern Lebanon where thousands of people have started to return to their [8:25] homes after six weeks of bombing south of the Latani River. Israel's attacks across Lebanon have killed more than [8:32] 2,000 people since the beginning of the conflict six weeks ago. More than one million people have been [8:37] displaced. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a televised address on Friday that Lebanon is on the verge of a [8:44] permanent agreement with Israel but that the country won't give up its sovereignty. Let's get more on this with [8:50] The Guardian's Beirut reporter William Christou. William, welcome to you. Is there any more detail about this [8:56] proposed deal that Lebanon may be reaching with Israel? No, I think we're a ways away from that. [9:03] You know, this 10-day ceasefire period that was established on Friday, it's meant to create room [9:08] for direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon to reach that final peace deal. But at root and what [9:14] they'll have to decide at the negotiating table are two really intractable issues, which is the issues of [9:19] Hezbollah's arms and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. So just explain that a little bit [9:25] more because Hezbollah is a very well-armed military force within the country and they are a proxy of Iran, [9:34] but they're also a political force. So how would that work in terms of disarming them and who would [9:40] have authority over that? Yeah, so, you know, obviously the group is not going to give up its arms on its own [9:47] and its officials have said that. And disarming Hezbollah is, you know, in the last ceasefire, which [9:56] ended the last round of fighting in November 24. The group was also supposed to be disarmed 2006. It was [10:01] also supposed to be disarmed, but it hasn't happened. And that's because Hezbollah is a major political [10:05] force in Lebanon. It's not just one group and enjoys a wide swath of support from a lot of the Lebanese [10:11] population. And the argument for keeping Hezbollah's arms from the group is that they need to protect [10:17] the country. They're the only country that can protect, they're the only group in the country [10:21] that can protect Lebanon from Israeli aggression. Among the group supporters, that argument seems more [10:26] cogent than ever since the latest round of fighting started. Among its opponents in the country, [10:30] you know, they view the group as having dragged the country into war, that they didn't need to be a [10:37] part. So it's going to be a big challenge enforcing this sort of disarmament, particularly because [10:42] Hezbollah is not a party to these direct negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel. [10:47] Yeah. And of course, Lebanon does have its own army, doesn't it? Separate to Hezbollah, of course. [10:52] What do you think the mood is amongst the Lebanese people after yet another round of intense military [10:59] conflict with Israel that Hezbollah started, of course, when they fired missiles into Israel at the [11:06] start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran? Do you feel like support is growing or dwindling for [11:12] Hezbollah? It's a complicated question to ask because it depends on who you ask in Lebanon. [11:17] You know, it's a very diverse country with a lot of different opinions. If we, you know, [11:22] simplify it, you could say there's two groups on this issue, those who are opponents of Hezbollah [11:26] and those who are supporters of Hezbollah. Among the opponents, there's a lot of anger that they [11:30] were dragged into this war. You know, they saw this as Iran's war with Israel, not Lebanon's. [11:35] And they're very angry that all this destruction that happened over the last, you know, 44 days [11:40] had to happen to the country. And they're very eager for these negotiations to take place because, [11:45] you know, even if they aren't a friend of Israel, they just want peace in the country. [11:49] Now, among Hezbollah supporters, the last 44 days of conflict has sort of intensified solidarity with [11:56] the group. You know, in the first days when Hezbollah entered the conflict by launching those rockets, [12:00] there was even anger among the group supporters. That quickly faded as the scale of Israeli bombing [12:05] expanded and civilians started to be killed too. And now more than ever, you know, they view the [12:10] Lebanese army as unable to defend the country, either unable or unwilling, from Israeli aggression. [12:15] And so they rallied around the flag when it comes to Hezbollah. [12:18] And what's the... [12:18] Sorry, carry on. [12:21] No, just you have very split opinion. [12:23] And what's the situation on the ground in terms of territory and the areas that Israel has moved into? [12:28] So Israel remains in their positions in South Lebanon, in the central sector, in the western [12:34] sector, in the eastern sector of South Lebanon. And they said they'd stay there. And they've bombed [12:39] residents who've gotten too close to the villages. At the same time, they've said that they'll continue [12:43] detonating houses in those areas they control. They control around 55 villages in southern Lebanon. [12:49] And they said they won't leave until the safety of the northern residents of Israel is guaranteed. [12:53] Now, the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, says he's going to try to secure the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanese land. [13:01] But we'll see what happens. I mean, what's clear is that, you know, the reason for the ceasefire in Lebanon [13:05] is because both Iran and the U.S. forced Israel and Hezbollah to the negotiating table. [13:10] The statements from Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, make it clear that they wanted to keep [13:16] going in Lebanon and that they don't feel like the mission is done. But they have little choice but to negotiate when Trump asks them to. [13:23] OK, William, thank you very much for joining us from Beirut and giving us your analysis of what's happening there.