Iran threatens to ‘rain fire’ on American forces

[0:05] Hello, I'm Geetha Guramuthi. It is day 30 of the US-Israel war with Iran and over the next 10 or [0:11] so minutes we'll bring you our daily briefing with the key updates on the conflict. Let's start with [0:17] some of today's main developments. Iran's parliament speaker accuses the United States [0:22] of secretly plotting an invasion after reports the US may put troops on the ground. US Central [0:29] Command has confirmed the warship USS Tripoli has arrived in the region with around three and a half [0:34] thousand military personnel. An industrial site in southern Israel is on fire after an Iranian [0:40] missile attack. The military says that was caused by missile shrapnel. Tehran threatens to strike [0:47] American and Israeli universities in the region after two Iranian universities were hit in the [0:53] past 24 hours. The funeral for three Lebanese journalists killed in an Israeli strike is held [1:00] in Beirut. Well as the war enters its fifth week there is growing speculation that US ground [1:08] troops will be killed in the war. The war is being held in Beirut. The war is being held in Beirut [1:09] and the US troops may be deployed in Iran. A move that would significantly raise the stakes. A report [1:14] from the Washington Post says the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations. On that [1:20] Tehran has responded accusing Washington of secretly plotting a ground invasion and threatening to [1:25] quote rain fire on US soldiers. Well with me is the BBC Persian's Paham Gabori. Paham tell us more [1:33] about the regime's response so far to the current reports. Iranian parliament speaker [1:39] Ali Bof has said that his message was a message of defiance. He has said that as you said there's [1:46] going to be fire raining on American soldiers. We're waiting for them actually in Iran if they [1:51] there is a ground invasion. But right now the most important the most important development [1:57] is that the war has entered into a new phase that each side is targeting the infrastructures [2:04] and that can have dire consequences for the parties involved. [2:09] And also for the world's economy. They have Iranian universities have been hit. Iranian steel [2:16] companies one of them Fulad Mubarak is the biggest one in the Middle East has been struck. After that [2:21] Iran started striking aluminium productions in UAE and in Bahrain. And then now we are hearing that [2:29] universities are being struck. Iran is threatening to strike universities. So this is one thing that [2:34] is extremely dangerous and we are entering uncharted territories. The other thing is the [2:39] Hormuz and those waterways. Not only the Strait of Hormuz is now blocked but Houthis also joined [2:44] the war. And they are threatening to block the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb which is another important [2:50] waterway. And if they do that that can add to the pressure on Donald Trump and the American [2:56] administration. However this strategy has worked for Iran so far but it may backfire because we [3:04] are Iranians are dealing with a president who is known for being unpredictable. So we do not [3:09] know what's going to happen next. We're going to have to wait and see. We're going to have to wait [3:09] and see. We're going to have to wait and see. We're going to have to wait and see. We're going to have to wait [3:09] and see. We're going to have to wait and see. We're going to have to wait and see what he's going to do afterwards. [3:11] Thank you very much indeed for being with us. [3:13] Speculation about US soldiers on Iranian soil has been fuelled by the arrival of an American warship [3:20] in the region carrying about three and a half thousand sailors and marines. The USS Tripoli, [3:25] an amphibian assault ship, arrived on Saturday, adding to the growing US military presence in [3:30] the Gulf. The BBC's contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment. The Trump administration's [3:35] messaging has been mixed and often at odds with US actions in the region. [3:39] Well, our correspondent Simi Jaloso is in Washington. [3:44] Simi, just tell us more about what the U.S. administration is saying [3:47] about the possibility of troops being used on the ground. [3:53] Well, as you've mentioned, Geeta, the USS Tripoli, [3:56] which is an amphibious assault ship that carries a unit of 3,500 Marines and sailors, [4:02] arrived in the Middle East on Friday. [4:04] We also know paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division [4:08] have been deployed to the Middle East. [4:10] So it's clear that the U.S. is ramping up its military presence in the Gulf. [4:15] When asked about this, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio said [4:18] that this is all about giving President Trump as many military options as possible [4:22] and has said that the U.S. can achieve its objectives in the Middle East [4:27] and in its war against Iran without the use of ground troops. [4:32] Last week, President Trump said he wouldn't deploy ground troops, [4:35] but he also said even if he were to, he wouldn't say. [4:40] Now, it isn't clear whether this is a sort of tactic being used by the U.S. [4:45] to put pressure on Iran amidst talks, [4:48] or whether this is a sign of a possible escalation, [4:52] potential raids along Iran's shoreline near the Strait of Hormuz [4:55] or potential seizure of Haag Island. [4:58] This is an administration that has dithered between saying that the war could wind down [5:03] and then saying or threatening to amplify it. [5:08] But what is clear is that here in the U.S., [5:10] talks of ground troops being introduced to this war [5:13] is sowing division amongst Republicans who have largely supported President Trump [5:18] since the start of the war. [5:20] But they say one thing that they will not support is having boots on the ground. [5:25] And they also feel that there isn't a clear strategy on how the U.S. will exit this war. [5:31] Simi Jaloso in Washington, thank you. [5:34] Let's focus on the impact the war is having across the Middle East region. [5:38] The universities are among the latest targets in this conflict. [5:41] There's two of them in the U.S. [5:41] There's two of them in the U.S. [5:41] There's two of them in the U.S. [5:41] There's two of them in the U.S. [5:41] Two Iranian universities have been struck by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours, [5:47] including Tehran's University of Science and Technology. [5:50] Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to retaliate by striking regional universities [5:54] unless the U.S. condemns the bombings by Tuesday. [5:58] Meanwhile, the Gulf region has seen repeated attacks, including a major infrastructure. [6:03] Here's our correspondent Katie Watson in Doha. [6:06] It's the beginning of a new working week here in Qatar, as well as the wider Gulf. [6:10] And already it's started. [6:12] It's the beginning of a new working week here in Qatar, as well as the wider Gulf. [6:12] And already it's started. [6:12] With the region coming under quite a few attacks. [6:16] So in Saudi, they've intercepted 10 drones. [6:19] The UAE says that their air defense systems have been actively engaging with missiles and with drones. [6:25] An aluminium plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE, was also attacked, as well as another one in Bahrain. [6:32] Now, here in Qatar, they say they've also been engaging with drones. [6:36] And a TV station owned by a Qatari company that was based in Tehran was also attacked. [6:42] And a TV station owned by a Qatari company that was based in Tehran was also attacked. [6:43] We don't know whether it was targeted and who is responsible. [6:47] But this is a part of the Middle East that has long felt very isolated from the conflict elsewhere in the region. [6:53] But it's very much being drawn into it right now. [6:57] On the diplomatic front, foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan [7:02] are meeting in Islamabad to discuss a potential de-escalation in the Middle East. [7:07] It comes as Iran has agreed to allow 20 more ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. [7:12] Our Pakistan correspondent, Carol, [7:13] has more from Islamabad. [7:17] The foreign ministers will meet here to discuss de-escalation in the Middle East. [7:21] Overnight, we heard from Pakistan's foreign minister, [7:24] who said that Pakistan had agreed with Iran to allow the safe transit [7:27] of 20 ships flagged under Pakistan through the Strait of Hormuz. [7:32] Now, he referred to this as a harbinger of peace, [7:35] something to try to build on in the course of this process. [7:37] And we know that Pakistan has played an intermediary role between the US and Iran, [7:42] passing messages back and forth between the two. [7:44] We know that Pakistan has also offered to host talks between the US and Iran, [7:48] were both sides to want to be involved. [7:51] However, at the moment, we've not heard anything from Iran about whether they view this in the same terms. [7:55] And there is no indication at the moment that the US and Iran are going to be involved in any talks, [8:01] whether here or elsewhere. [8:03] Now, the big question for the foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey [8:08] that are meeting here is whether they can make any meaningful progress, particularly at a point when the demands, [8:14] in public, from the US and from Iran, seem completely incompatible. [8:19] Now, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he's ordered the Israeli army to expand a buffer zone [8:27] it's created in southern Lebanon. [8:29] Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of three Lebanese journalists [8:32] killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike on Saturday. [8:35] Our Middle East correspondent, Hugo Bochega, has more. [8:38] A lot of people have come here, despite the heavy rain, to pay their final respects. [8:45] There's been a lot of commotion. [8:47] A lot of anger in this country. [8:50] Criticism and condemnation of Israel over this attack. [8:56] The Lebanese president, Joseph Fon, has condemned this attack as a blatant crime, [9:03] saying that it was in breach of international law by targeting reporters. [9:09] Ali Sha'eb was a well-known journalist for Al Mana'a, which is the television station owned by Hezbollah, [9:17] and the Israeli military said he was an intelligence operative for Hezbollah, [9:23] even though he hasn't provided any evidence to support the claim that he had a military role within the organization. [9:30] Fatima Fotouni and her brother, cameraman Mohamed Fotouni, both worked for the Al Mayadeen television channel. [9:39] The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued a strong statement saying that this fits a decades-old pattern [9:46] by the Israeli military. [9:48] They are accusing journalists of being militarily involved in these organizations, in these armed groups. [9:55] As the war continues to push up fuel prices, governments around the world are implementing emergency measures [10:02] to mitigate the impact on their economies. [10:04] In Australia, two states are offering free public transport to incentivize people not to drive. [10:10] And Egypt has introduced a 9pm curfew for its shops and restaurants as a temporary measure to curb energy bills that have more than doubled. [10:18] Let us round up where we are today. [10:20] Our World News correspondent, Joe Inwood, is with me. [10:23] Joe, just first of all on the speculation about whether the U.S. will use its ground forces in some way. [10:29] Three and a half thousand extra troops have just arrived. [10:31] Speculation about whether there could be more. [10:33] What is the assessment at the moment of the foreign policy community on whether the U.S. is just using this as a threat or whether it is a real possibility? [10:44] So the big development today was an article by the Washington Post where they said they've spoken to Pentagon insiders [10:49] and their reputable news organization, obviously, and say that their plans are being put in place. [10:54] They really are working out exactly what they could do to do some sort of ground offensive. [11:00] The truth is we do not know and I think we will not know for certain until it actually happens. [11:05] I mean, the White House have repeatedly said kind of slightly contradictory things, [11:09] but basically lines roughly that we're not going to do it, but if we were, we wouldn't tell you. [11:15] So I think we can probably say we don't know at this point. [11:18] I think what there really does seem to be consensus about when you speak to analysts and you kind of, as you say, [11:23] speak to experts and the foreign policy community is it would be a very, very risky thing to do. [11:29] What they're talking about is some sort of, whether it's an amphibious assault or a helicopter assault or an airborne assault, [11:36] there are a range of options, but any of those taking out some sort of either coastal positions, [11:42] targeted raids or trying to hold a small island, that kind of thing. [11:45] And I think the consensus is that they would be, [11:48] they would be very, very dangerous operations. [11:51] And the point of them would be to what? [11:53] Well, it depends. [11:54] So if you were to go, for example, to Karg Island, which is this kind of strategically important, [11:58] it's an oil and gas facility up kind of the north of the Persian Gulf. [12:03] If you do that, you would hold it, it would be economically really damaging to Iran. [12:07] It's where 90% of the oil and gas flows through. [12:09] The idea is you use that as kind of economic leverage potentially. [12:13] There are other islands in the Strait of Hormuz near the kind of the narrowest point of the strait. [12:18] And those have been long disputed between other Gulf nations and Iran. [12:22] There are air bases there. [12:23] There would be kind of political leverage from that. [12:25] Or the idea is that I think you could do special forces coastal raids [12:30] and try and target the Iranian bases where they think maybe that their small drones, [12:35] their attack craft, all the material that are used to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, [12:41] threaten shipping, where those are held. [12:43] So there's a range of possible reasons to do this. [12:46] But the risks, I think, will remain in all of them. [12:48] And what is known about the strength of Iran's capacity to fight any of those options? [12:53] So the Iranian armed forces are very, very large. [12:56] They've got hundreds of thousands of members just of the IRGC. [13:00] They're more hardened troops or certainly more hard-line troops. [13:04] So there's no shortage of manpower from Iran. [13:07] What's really significant, though, I think, [13:09] and this is a point I was speaking to an analyst earlier, [13:11] and he was saying that the problem is that you are going to be, [13:14] if you go on those islands, whether it's Karg Island [13:16] or one of the islands in the Pacific, [13:18] Strait of Hormuz, you're going to be within range [13:20] certainly of short-range missiles, in range of drones [13:25] and probably even in range of multibarrel rocket launchers, [13:29] of artillery systems, the sort of things that we've seen used [13:32] to devastating effect in Ukraine by the Russians. [13:36] Imagine that. [13:37] Imagine you've got a force of, say, a few thousand American Marines [13:41] on a small island and the Iranians decide, [13:43] well, we can use indirect fire to just flatten the place. [13:47] That could have huge consequences. [13:50] I mean, if there would be significant death toll, [13:52] we're talking entirely hypotheticals here, [13:54] but it could be that that's an incredibly dangerous mission [13:57] for those men. [13:58] If you start to see a lot of US service personnel killed, [14:01] well, that is going to be escalatory from their point of view, [14:04] whereas for the Iranians, having their territory taken, [14:07] that would be escalatory for them. [14:09] So whichever way you look at this, if that happens, [14:12] it could be a new and dangerous phase in this conflict. [14:16] Joe Inwood, thank you very much indeed [14:18] for talking us through some of those options [14:21] that we've been discussing today. [14:23] Well, whether you are joining us on YouTube, TikTok, [14:26] sounds, radio or television, thank you for your time. [14:29] We'll be back at the same time tomorrow with the Iran war today.