Iran says Strait of Hormuz 'open' as Trump says blockade will continue until deal reached — BBC News

[0:05] Hello, I'm Rajini Vaidyanathan and this is the Iran War Today. It's our daily briefing [0:10] where we bring you up to date on all you need to know on day 49 of the US-Israel war with Iran. [0:17] Well, let's start with some of today's main developments. [0:21] Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial shipping until the end of the ceasefire, [0:27] ending a blockade of the crucial waterway which has sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing. [0:32] But President Trump says an American blockade of Iranian ports will continue. [0:38] Reports of one person killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon as the fragile ceasefire with Israel holds for now. [0:47] With a ceasefire in Lebanon, President Trump's reiterated optimism that the US and Iran could reach a deal to end the war. [0:54] Meanwhile, an Iranian official has told the Reuters news agency that a preliminary agreement could be reached with the US within days. [1:02] Well, over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, we'll get the latest from our teams across the world. [1:13] We'll be live with our correspondents in Jerusalem, in Beirut and in Washington. [1:18] We'll also hear from our teams inside Iran, Pakistan and in Paris. [1:24] And we'll get analysis from our correspondents monitoring developments from here in London. [1:30] Well, let's start with the latest pictures inside Iran. [1:33] A government imposed a near-total internet blackout, which is continuing. [1:38] That makes it difficult for us to get a true sense of what life's like on the ground. [1:42] Well, the ceasefire with America and Israel is continuing. [1:46] But the lasting impact of American and Israeli bombing has changed life for millions. [1:52] Well, our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette, is inside Iran. [1:56] She's in the capital, Tehran, and her team are reporting from there on the condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian service. [2:04] These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran. [2:11] These are unprecedented times. [2:14] If you would have asked Iran watchers just weeks ago that there would be high-level face-to-face talks in Islamabad between Iranian and American officials, they would have said impossible. [2:26] So much more seems possible now. [2:29] But to think that a deal could be done in days on what are highly technical, highly political, deeply sensitive issues really seems hard to imagine. [2:39] In Iran, the leadership is still consolidating after so many top officials were assassinated during the war. [2:47] They're under pressure from hardliners within their own ranks not to do a deal with the United States and certainly not so quickly. [2:54] They're under pressure from many Iranians who want to end this enmity with the United States. [3:00] And all Iranians want those crippling sanctions lifted. [3:03] But despite the military and economic losses of this war, Iran doesn't think it has lost this war. [3:11] So it's not ready to surrender to what it sees as a deal on Washington's terms. [3:17] At least you said there. [3:18] Well, Iran's foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz will remain open to commercial shipping for the remainder of the ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran. [3:27] Well, the announcement had an instant impact on the price of oil, which dropped quickly and significantly on news of that announcement. [3:36] But President Trump has said that the US blockade of Iranian ports around the strait will continue until a deal with Iran is reached. [3:44] Well, this is the latest look at traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. [3:47] We've already heard from Hapag Lloyd, one of the world's biggest shipping companies, and they've said that their ships won't pass through the strait until they have fully assessed the potential risks. [3:58] Meanwhile, the Danish firm Mesk says it was studying the Iranian announcement. [4:04] Well, in a moment, we will be live in Washington. [4:06] But first, let's discuss the impact on oil and global shipping. [4:10] I'm joined here in the studio by our deputy economics editor, Darshini David. [4:14] So, Darshini, oil prices seem to have dropped on the announcement from Iran. [4:20] They have, indeed, and dropped quite sharply, quite immediately. [4:23] It really underscores how important that very narrow waterway is to everybody's economic fortunes around the world. [4:30] But what your chart there didn't actually show was that even though it's dropped by more than 10% and below $90 per barrel, it remains much higher than it was prior to the war. [4:39] And it was around $70 per barrel. [4:41] And there's a good reason for that. [4:43] And you mentioned there, of course, the caution that shipping companies are exerting at the moment. [4:48] And when you look at that limited nature of the reopening, it actually means that only the ships that are currently stranded there will be able to pass, if at all. [4:56] New ones won't be able to enter. [4:58] And then, of course, there's that issue about the wider production in the region that's been so damaged in recent weeks. [5:04] That's got to come back on stream, and that is going to take years. [5:06] So even though we've seen sort of prices trickling down and now falling quite sharply, this doesn't mean we're back to business as usual by any means. [5:14] And there will be an economic impact when it comes to growth, when it comes to prices. [5:18] Having said that, if this is sustained, of course, there is going to be relief for consumers and for businesses around the globe. [5:24] But I suppose your point there, Darshini, is even if Iran says it's open, it'll take time for vessels to move through. [5:30] It will absolutely take time for vessels to move through. [5:33] And when you look at the kind of disruption we have seen in recent weeks, and we talk about oil and gas, right, but it's other things as well. [5:40] When you talk about the production of plastics and the export of plastics, for example, fertilisers, all those kind of things, the Middle East is a big source or a big sort of transport route for those kind of things. [5:50] And that is causing disruption around the globe. [5:52] And when you talk about that kind of disruption, you don't feel it as immediately as you do petrol prices. [5:56] It sometimes takes weeks or even months to feed through, which is why I say what's happening right now, we're not going to feel that for some months to come. [6:04] Okay, Darshini, thank you very much for the latest there. [6:07] That's our Deputy Economics Editor. [6:10] Now, let's get the view from Washington. [6:12] Let's speak to our North America correspondent, Simi Jolla Osho. [6:17] Simi, good to talk to you. [6:19] Just tell us more about what we are hearing from the White House in reaction to Iran saying that the strait is now open. [6:26] Yeah, President Trump has been giving a sort of upbeat assessment of the war and of the Strait of Hormuz, which he dubbed the Strait of Iran. [6:36] He said it's fully open and that Iran agreed never to close the strait again. [6:42] He even said that the U.S. is helping Iran to destroy any sea, any mines that it's laid in that Persian Gulf. [6:51] Now, we know the Strait of Hormuz was a central pressure point for President Trump in this war. [6:55] It made it difficult for him to end this war on his own terms, so he would definitely be seeing this as a win. [7:01] But he says that the U.S. naval blockade in the Persian Gulf of Iran's ports and its coastline will remain in place until a deal has been reached between the two countries. [7:13] And let's talk about that deal between Iran and America. [7:18] Some optimism from the White House that there could be more talks. [7:21] There's still a lot of speculation about when they might take place. [7:25] Of course, they're likely to be in Pakistan. [7:27] What are you hearing your end on all that? [7:30] Yeah, President Trump has come across very positive with regards to the talks. [7:35] He said that they are going swimmingly. [7:37] He said a second round of talks is imminent. [7:39] We are hearing reports that it could happen as soon as this weekend. [7:45] President Trump has said that most points have been agreed upon by the two sides. [7:50] And he's also spoken specifically about Iran's nuclear ambitions. [7:55] He says that Iran has agreed to give up its what he's dubbed its nuclear dust, which is its enriched uranium. [8:03] Going as far as telling two media outlets, Bloomberg and Reuters, are reporting that President Trump has said that the U.S. [8:12] will go into Iran, excavate and collect its enriched nuclear material and bring it back to the U.S. [8:20] They're also reporting that President Trump has said that Iran will suspend all its nuclear activities and its nuclear program indefinitely [8:29] and will not receive any of its frozen assets from the U.S. in return. [8:36] Now, we haven't heard anything from Iran yet with regards to the president's claims. [8:40] And it's quite extraordinary. [8:42] These would be huge concessions being made by Iran because we know these were the sticking points within those first round of talks. [8:51] But a lot still hangs in the balance. [8:53] President Trump is saying that any deal is not connected to Lebanon. [8:57] Meanwhile, Iran is saying that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is dependent on that ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. [9:05] OK, Simi Jolle-Osho, for the moment, thank you very much. [9:09] Well, Simi mentioned there that ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. [9:13] Well, it is holding just a day after the 10-day pause in fighting was announced by President Trump. [9:20] Well, tonight, Lebanon's president says he's working on a permanent agreement for peace. [9:26] Tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese people have taken advantage of the pause, [9:30] many of them moving south, returning back to where they once lived. [9:34] It comes despite warnings from Israel's defense minister that those who return to their homes [9:39] could be told to leave once again if the war resumes. [9:43] Well, Corinne Torbe is a correspondent for BBC Arabic and she sent an update from a neighborhood [9:48] which has suffered significant damage as a result of Israeli strikes in southern Beirut. [9:54] This is Nobatiye Market, one of the main landmarks of this very important city in the south. [10:02] This was a very vibrant place and a place that everyone knows around in the south. [10:09] But during the war, it was completely deserted following a relentless campaign of bombardment by the Israelis. [10:18] This is the site of one of what seems to be a very heavy strike that hit this area. [10:26] We were told there were a series of shops here and above them there were numbers of apartments. [10:35] Everything was reduced to this. [10:38] Now, all the people coming back with their cars at the moment are people coming for the first time in many weeks [10:47] to check on their properties. [10:49] They have left this place during the war and this is the first day when they're back to this city. [10:59] Of course, there is this sense of relief that there is a ceasefire. [11:04] But also, there is very, very cautious optimism about whether this ceasefire will last. [11:12] Well, let's take you live to the region. [11:15] Let's speak now to our correspondent Nick Beek, who is in Jerusalem and in Beirut. [11:20] I'm joined by the BBC's Arabic services, Rami Rahayem. [11:24] Welcome to both of you. [11:26] Rami, I'm going to start with you because we've actually been hearing from the Lebanese president in the last hour. [11:33] Talking a little bit about prospects for a lasting agreement between Israel and Lebanon. [11:39] Just tell us more about what he's been saying. [11:44] I'm just going to mention first of all that about two hours ago, [11:49] an Israeli drone struck a man on a motorbike and killed him and wounded two others, [11:55] according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. [11:58] And this is one incident. [12:00] It's the only fatal incident so far. [12:03] But there have been other incidents which have led to Lebanese people, including rescuers, [12:09] being wounded in Israeli attacks. [12:13] And of course, these are things which most people might say are a violation of the ceasefire. [12:18] But the American, the paper issued by the U.S. Department of State, actually says, [12:24] Israel shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense at any time [12:29] against planned, imminent, and ongoing attacks. [12:32] And it also says the text of the following statement was agreed to by both governments, [12:38] the Israeli government and the Lebanese government. [12:40] Now, of course, Hezbollah does not agree at all to this paper. [12:45] And there is a huge division in Lebanon over all the circumstances that led to the ceasefire, [12:54] what the ceasefire is about, and what should happen next. [12:57] Now, the president, you asked me about what he said. [12:59] He said that negotiations are not a weakness. [13:03] They do not mean we will give up any of our rights. [13:06] He said, I am prepared to go anywhere to liberate my land. [13:09] And this is most likely a reference to the invitation by the American president, Donald Trump, [13:15] to the Lebanese president to come to the White House and meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. [13:21] And he also said, to the forcibly displaced, I say you will return. [13:25] And this is the biggest division in Lebanon is over how to achieve that. [13:31] And many will say that he will not be able to achieve that [13:33] by going to negotiate with Netanyahu under American supervision. [13:40] OK, thank you for the moment, Rami. [13:41] Let's go to Nick Beak, who is in Jerusalem. [13:45] If you look at President Trump's true social posts, [13:49] it's clear that from his perspective, he's been putting a lot of pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu [13:54] to agree to this and to maintain it. [13:56] And, of course, we've heard about one violation example from Rami there. [14:00] But just tell us what the mood is in the Israeli government [14:03] and whether there are agreements about what Netanyahu's agreed to. [14:09] Well, Eugenia, I think the prevailing mood here was that President Trump wanted a ceasefire [14:14] and Israel could not do anything about it. [14:16] Worth reminding ourselves that there are thousands of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, [14:21] five divisions of the army, and all the talk was of expanding operations. [14:26] But we now see that there is a ceasefire. [14:30] And I think, as well as the element of surprise, [14:32] if you look at the northern communities in particular, [14:34] just near the border with Lebanon, [14:36] they're first in the firing line when Hezbollah fired their rockets, [14:40] they're talking about a sense of betrayal, [14:42] that they weren't involved in these discussions. [14:44] And their fear is that nothing really changes at the end of this ceasefire, [14:48] that the threat from Hezbollah remains, [14:50] that their weapons aren't taken away, [14:52] they're not disbanded. [14:53] And this keeps on going, this cycle of violence [14:56] and this cycle of uncertainty for people living there. [14:59] OK, Nick Beak in Jerusalem, thank you very much. [15:02] Rami Rahayem in Beirut, thanks to you as well. [15:10] Now, the announcement from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen [15:14] came as several world leaders were gathering in Paris. [15:17] They were at a meeting, [15:18] chaired by the British Prime Minister, [15:19] Sakhir Starmer and the French President, Emmanuel Macron. [15:23] Named the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Navigation Initiative, [15:27] the summit was aimed at finding ways to guarantee safe [15:30] and toll-free passage through the strait [15:32] once the war in Iran is over. [15:35] Well, my colleague Helen Humphrey's been following that meeting [15:37] from Paris and sent us this update. [15:40] Well, this was quite the turn of events here in Paris [15:42] because Sakhir Starmer came to the French capital [15:45] to co-chair a meeting which was aimed at securing [15:48] freedom of navigation on the Strait of Hormuz in the long term. [15:52] It was while that he was here meeting with the French President, [15:55] a summit which attended by dozens of countries by video link, [15:59] that Iran announced that it was reopening [16:01] that key waterway effective immediately. [16:05] That was a development which was welcomed by leaders gathered here. [16:09] And we also had that announcement from the French President [16:12] and the UK Prime Minister [16:13] that they would be leading a multinational operation [16:16] to secure the waterway in the long term. [16:20] Take a listen to some of those details from Sakhir Starmer. [16:23] I can confirm that along with France, [16:26] the UK will lead a multinational mission [16:29] to protect freedom of navigation as soon as conditions allow. [16:33] This will be strictly peaceful and defensive as a mission [16:37] to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance. [16:42] We invite all nations with an interest [16:45] in the free flow of global trade to join us. [16:49] Some have already indicated their readiness to contribute. [16:53] We will take this forward with a military planning conference [16:56] in London next week, [16:57] where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission, [17:02] and over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets. [17:08] But look, reopening the strait is a global necessity [17:12] and a global responsibility. [17:15] Now, the French President said that France would be deploying [17:19] military assets to the region purely for that defensive operation, [17:24] for patrolling the state. [17:26] Sakhir Starmer said that there would be a planning meeting [17:29] in London next week to sketch out more of the possibilities. [17:33] But I think the devil will be in the detail here, [17:35] because certainly the war in Iran has laid bare the fact [17:38] that there are many militaries around the world [17:41] that are seeing their assets severely stretched right now. [17:44] And the overarching message from the European leaders gathered here [17:48] that the success of all of this will be contingent [17:51] on securing a lasting peace in the Middle East. [17:54] That's Helena Humphrey in Paris there. [17:57] Well, hours after President Trump announced that ceasefire [18:00] between Lebanon and Israel, [18:02] he reiterated his belief that the war between the US, Israel and Iran [18:06] would also soon come to an end. [18:08] Well, we're now nine days into the 14-day ceasefire in Iran, [18:13] but there's so far been no more developments [18:15] on a second round of peace talks. [18:17] Earlier this week, the White House said discussions were underway [18:20] with the Iranians over another meeting in Pakistan. [18:23] But as the end of the ceasefire grows ever closer, [18:26] there's still no clarity on when that might take place. [18:29] Our Pakistan correspondent, KV Carrie Davis, [18:31] pardon me, has been monitoring developments from Islamabad. [18:34] And she's been visiting the location of last week's talks [18:37] between the US and Iran to see if there's any sign [18:40] of an imminent summit again. [18:41] So I'm in the hotel where the US-Iran talks took place [18:45] over the weekend. [18:46] It's now Friday evening. [18:48] And we still have no confirmation that the talks are going ahead. [18:50] But let me show you a little bit about what I can see here now. [18:53] So this is the area that the talks took place in over the weekend. [18:59] And you can see there's a lot of activity to get it ready. [19:04] Down here, this is the staircase where Vice President J.D. Vance [19:09] came up to meet Pakistan's Prime Minister. [19:12] As you can see, it's being recarpeted. [19:14] And through here, furniture from inside the meeting rooms [19:19] is all being brought out. [19:21] And that is because if you go through to these rooms, [19:25] and this is the meeting room that I understand [19:27] that the delegations from the US and Iran met face-to-face. [19:32] As you can see, there are dust sheets all over us. [19:35] The whole place is being repainted. [19:38] And these dust sheets are down in all of the meeting rooms here. [19:41] These are the meeting rooms that were used [19:42] by the delegations during those talks on the weekend. [19:46] The floors have been polished. [19:47] There's new artwork that's being installed on the walls. [19:50] I've been told there's even a new candelabra that's been put in place. [19:52] All at the same time, we still don't have confirmation [19:54] that these talks are happening. [19:56] We don't know when they might happen. [19:57] We also don't know where they might happen. [19:59] But that said, there's a lot of anticipation. [20:01] There's a lot of preparation here in Pakistan, [20:03] in that same hotel. [20:05] And many people here are just waiting to find out [20:08] whether these talks are going ahead. [20:11] Caroline Davies reporting there from Islamabad. [20:14] So where do today's developments in the Strait of Hormuz, [20:17] in Lebanon and in Iran, leave the wider conflict? [20:21] Well, let's get a final few thoughts [20:23] from our diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams. [20:25] It's difficult to ask you where things are going [20:27] because no-one really quite knows. [20:29] So let's just assess what we're hearing from different quarters. [20:32] First of all, President Trump saying [20:34] things are going swimmingly. [20:36] Yeah, that's his style, isn't it? [20:38] Donald Trump is a man in a hurry. [20:41] He doesn't like to linger on these things. [20:43] And he thinks that by his force of personality [20:45] and his use of rhetoric, he can make things happen. [20:50] But look, the last time the international negotiators [20:54] tried to sort out the thorny business [20:56] of Iran's nuclear ambitions, [20:58] it took negotiators 20 months of intense negotiations [21:03] to get a deal, the 2015 JCPOA, [21:07] and the deal that Donald Trump subsequently walked away from, [21:12] which is partly why we are where we are today. [21:15] So the idea that these things can be sorted out [21:18] simply because he says they've been sorted out [21:20] is, frankly, for the birds. [21:22] The Iranians are not in a mood to give up easily [21:25] on any of these issues. [21:26] But if Donald Trump is serious about negotiations, [21:30] and it does look, as Carrie was suggesting there from Islamabad, [21:34] as if the scene is definitely set for another round, [21:37] then maybe they can start to make progress. [21:39] Indeed. [21:40] And of course, we've seen Iran's foreign minister [21:42] saying the Strait of Hormuz is completely open. [21:44] But the other kind of sticking point in all these talks [21:46] is Iran's nuclear capabilities. [21:49] It is. [21:50] Just a word, actually, on the Strait of Hormuz. [21:51] I mean, he says it's open. [21:53] But frankly, nothing today has really changed. [21:55] All the Iranians did today was to repeat something [21:58] that they said when the ceasefire first came into effect, [22:00] which was that the Strait of Hormuz would be open, [22:03] provided traffic used an approved Iranian route. [22:06] And that is essentially what they have repeated today. [22:10] Donald Trump seems to have bought it. [22:11] And he says that the Strait is now completely open. [22:14] He wants to believe that this is a breakthrough. [22:16] The markets also seem to want to believe [22:18] that it's a breakthrough, judging by the reaction so far. [22:21] But talking to maritime experts [22:23] and people connected to the shipping industry, [22:26] no one is moving just yet. [22:27] They want to see this, the detail in this. [22:31] They want to make sure that the risks are not there [22:33] before they start to send their ships through these waters. [22:36] So that's one issue. [22:38] The nuclear issue, which of course is where all of this began, [22:42] is something where, again, Donald Trump says that there is progress. [22:47] The Iranians are saying, we haven't had a negotiation [22:50] about giving up the nuclear, highly enriched uranium, [22:55] the nuclear dust, as Donald Trump likes to call it. [22:58] That discussion has not been completed, [23:01] nor have we given any undertaking [23:03] to completely abandon any form of enrichment in the future. [23:06] Iran insists that it has the right, [23:09] as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty, [23:12] to enrich uranium for domestic purposes. [23:14] So these are all of the thorny issues that still have to be thrashed out. [23:19] And no amount of posting on Truth Social, in all caps, [23:23] is going to make any of this happen. [23:24] OK. Paul Adams, our diplomatic correspondent, [23:27] thank you very much for taking us through [23:30] the latest thoughts on when and whether [23:34] the next round of talks will take place. [23:36] Well, there's more on the BBC News website [23:39] about the latest developments when it comes to the Iran war. [23:44] Whether you're joining us on YouTube, TikTok, [23:46] Sounds, radio or TV, thanks very much for your time. [23:49] We'll be back at the same time tomorrow [23:51] with the Iran War Today.