Iran War Today: BBC reports from inside Iran — BBC News

[0:00] Start inside Iran. Just what is life like in the country with less than a week left until [0:05] the current fragile ceasefire expires? Well, the BBC's chief international correspondent, [0:10] Lise Doucette, has made it to the capital, Tehran. Now, we should say she's reporting [0:15] from Iran on the condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian service. [0:21] Those restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating inside Iran. [0:26] Well, Lise joins me live now from Tehran. Lise, great to talk to you. Tell me what exactly [0:33] people have been telling you inside Iran. Well, Maryam, on the surface, you could think that [0:41] Tehran has returned to some of its normal rhythms. The traffic is flowing again. Some of the shops [0:48] are open. Restaurants are doing business again. But Tehran is a different place now. And it's really [0:54] a place which is plunged into uncertainty. Almost everyone we meet tells us they don't believe the [1:01] ceasefire will last. And it feels more like a pause. The airports are still shut. The schools are closed. [1:08] Students are still learning online. And that near total internet blackout is still enforced. [1:15] It hasn't been eased. But most of all, you can really feel how security is much, much tighter. [1:22] We see more security forces, both uniformed and played in clothes on the street. There are even [1:27] armoured personnel carriers positioned at some of the main squares. And at other squares, [1:33] there is a forest of Iranian flags and photographs of the dead. They've been transformed into gathering [1:40] places for mourning and for government supporters to send defiant messaging. But for the most part, [1:48] people just get on with it day by day. When we came here in February, we reported how prices here were [1:54] already sky high, 60% inflation. Well, they're even higher now. And some of the small businesses here, [2:02] they didn't survive the shock of the shutdown. So you really feel it's a place where people [2:08] are holding their breath to the next blows. And of course, Lise, it's a place that's been under [2:13] attack. There's been an internet blackout as well. Have you seen much evidence of those attacks from [2:19] Israel and the U.S. around the city? Well, driving in yesterday, driving in, of course, [2:27] is the only way to get into Tehran. It was a 12-hour journey. And on the main northern road, [2:32] we could see, we saw some of the barracks and bases of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, [2:38] the IRGC, completely flattened, just a few pillars of concrete protruding into the sky. We also had to [2:46] take a main detour because one of the main bridges had been basically cut in two by an Israeli airstrike. [2:55] Today in the city, we visited, this was this narrow street in a leafy residential area, [3:01] and in the middle of it, a huge gaping hole, whatever that was there before, had completely [3:06] collapsed under the force of an attack. On the other side of the street, all of the facades of [3:12] the building, residential, apartment blocks, they were completely gone. And everyone we spoke to said [3:19] this was a civilian target. No one could say to us that there was an office there, that senior commanders [3:26] perhaps lived in some of the apartments. Of course, it's impossible for us to know. But on that street, [3:32] you could feel, and people were still coming to the street and looking at it, looking at it, because [3:37] if anything, it symbolizes the huge civilian cost of this war, and even more the risk if this fragile [3:44] truce doesn't hold. Lisa, I want to give people a bit more context about you inside Iran. We have to be [3:52] very clear, don't we, with those watching, there are restrictions to what you can do and where you [3:56] can go. Just talk us through those, please, if you can. Well, we need to apply for a visa, and there are [4:05] not many foreign journalists who are allowed in, but there have been several before us working for [4:11] British or American broadcasters who came in during the war, and then when that five weeks of war ended [4:18] and were replaced by what was at the start a two-week ceasefire. It's always been the case in Iran for [4:24] many years that foreign journalists have to work through media houses, but we choose our own translator, [4:30] our own person who's with us when we travel around. We do have to get permission anywhere we film, and I [4:36] have to say it is especially important now that we are being questioned everywhere we go, because obviously, [4:43] as I mentioned, security is tight. Suspicion is running high, and there are some of our requests [4:53] aren't fulfilled, but when we ask to go see what we think is necessary to show, most of them [4:58] are granted, but we're not going freely as we do it in other places, visiting families, setting up our [5:04] own interviews, and quite frankly, we would also think twice about that, because we wouldn't want to put [5:09] people at risk at a time when there is a lot of surveillance. But I have to say, Maryam, I know [5:15] people say, well, you shouldn't go to Iran. It just affirms for us the importance of good old-fashioned [5:20] journalism being on the ground, being able to meet people face-to-face, and to try to get a real sense, [5:26] a real feeling of what is happening here and what could happen next. Absolutely, Lise. Incredible work. [5:33] One of the few, very few journalists allowed into Iran. Lise Doucette, thank you once more. You can read [5:39] more from Lise on the BBC News website, or indeed on the BBC app. She'll be in Iran for a few days, [5:46] reporting from on the ground for BBC News. Well, next, to news of that ceasefire in Lebanon. [5:55] President Trump says the Israeli and Lebanese leaders have agreed a 10-day truce beginning [6:00] within hours. It follows six weeks of war in which Lebanon says more than 2,000 people have been killed [6:06] from Israeli strikes and more than a million people forced to leave their homes. The announcement [6:11] came, as many have, from the President in a post on True Social. Well, Donald Trump wrote that he had [6:17] had excellent conversations with the President of Lebanon and the Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, [6:23] adding, these two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve peace between their countries, [6:27] they will formally begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5pm US Eastern time. That is, of course, 10pm UK time, [6:35] just a few hours' time from now. Well, President Trump also invited the two leaders to the White [6:39] House to hold talks. There was, however, no mention in his statement of Hezbollah, that is, of course, [6:45] the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon with which Israel has been exchanging fire. Well, earlier today, [6:51] a series of Israeli strikes hit the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatea. Israel said [6:58] it was hitting Hezbollah targets. Some of the most recent attacks reportedly destroyed the last [7:03] bridge between Sidon and Tyre in southern Lebanon. It's a key link connecting the south with the rest [7:09] of the country. Well, early signals from Hezbollah suggest the group is likely to abide by the deal. [7:15] An Israeli security official has said the Israeli military has no plans to withdraw [7:20] from Lebanon during any truce, however. Well, let's cross live now to Jerusalem [7:23] and our correspondent Nick Beak. Nick, what more are we hearing from the Israeli government tonight? [7:28] Hi, Marianne. Well, we know at the moment the Security Council is meeting. They're going to have [7:34] a vote on this ceasefire that's supposed to kick in in about just over three hours and 20 minutes, [7:40] so midnight local time here. But, of course, President Trump seems to have done their work for them, [7:45] hasn't he? He's announced this. He's very clear that this is going to kick in, that there will be this [7:50] agreement that's been reached. And as you say, Hezbollah are indicating that they would be [7:55] abiding by this ceasefire that would last for 10 days. But already we can see some real potential [8:02] conflict and problems. And of course, that's to be expected with two sworn enemies. Hezbollah [8:07] saying that there can be no free movement, as they put it, of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. [8:13] The thing is, there are thousands of Israeli troops there at the moment, at least five divisions of the [8:19] IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces. And what military sources are saying tonight is that the Israelis [8:24] have no intention of moving them out, moving them across the border back into Israel. So already, [8:30] before this has started, you can see down the line lots of potential problems, which could potentially [8:36] torpedo everything. Absolutely. A very fragile ceasefire like the one between Iran and the US. And we [8:43] mentioned earlier that last bridge destroyed linking the south of Lebanon with the rest of the country. [8:48] What do you think that means now going forward in terms of southern Lebanon? [8:55] Well, from the Israeli perspective, they say they have been targeting bridges because Hezbollah have [8:59] been bringing fighters and weapons across them, and they've been making good use of them. That's what [9:04] the Israelis say. Others have been pointing out that hitting civilian infrastructure, including bridges, [9:10] can amount to a war crime. Certainly, the Israelis until now have been talking about expanding [9:16] their operations. You had the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night saying that they were going [9:21] to sort of thicken, to use his word, thicken this buffer zone that they're trying to set up, [9:25] trying to push back Hezbollah fighters. So, I mean, the reality is that a lot of Israelis wanted this [9:32] to continue. They wanted the fight against Hezbollah to prevail, to continue, and ultimately, [9:37] for Hezbollah to be removed. Of course, that would be something that's incredibly difficult to do, [9:41] because Hezbollah, not just an Iran-based militant group, it's woven into some aspects of society in [9:47] Lebanon. It's a really powerful force. So, yeah, lots of really complicated things to play out, but for [9:52] now, we wait and see what happens at midnight. Good to talk to you, Nick. Thank you. Nick Beak there. [9:58] Well, let's remind you the situation inside southern Lebanon. We mentioned it there with Nick. After weeks [10:05] of cross-border fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, new satellite images obtained by BBC Verify [10:11] reveal towns and villages in southern Lebanon are being levelled by Israeli demolitions. Our analysis [10:18] found more than 1,400 buildings have been destroyed since the 2nd of March, based on verified visual [10:24] evidence. Merlin Thomas reports. Lebanese hilltop border towns and villages, once characterised by [10:30] their winding streets overlooking sweeping valleys, have turned grey from the dust and debris of explosions. [10:37] BBC Verify has obtained exclusive satellite imagery and verified videos, [10:41] which reveal the scale of the destruction in towns and villages across southern Lebanon. [10:46] Now, watch this. At first glance, you might think it's an airstrike, but these are controlled Israeli [10:53] demolitions. We verified videos like this, and by analysing satellite imagery obtained by BBC Verify, [10:59] we found Israel has destroyed more than 1,400 buildings in towns and villages since March. It comes [11:07] after the Iranian-backed armed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel in [11:12] retaliation to the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the war with Israel and the US. [11:18] Our analysis found, Israel has been carrying out these detonations in at least seven villages and [11:23] towns. This town was one of two where we found more than 400 buildings were destroyed. In Taibe, about [11:31] four kilometres from the Israeli border, multiple aerial videos we verified show detonations of buildings [11:38] after explosives were planted by Israeli troops. It's worth saying this is just a snapshot of the [11:43] overall damage. The true scale of the Israeli attacks is likely to be much higher. And it's part [11:50] of an operation that has also displaced more than 820,000 people across Lebanon's south. That's according to [11:57] the UN. Israeli troops have occupied southern Lebanon since mid-March, when they invaded to attack what it [12:03] called key Hezbollah strongholds. Israel has continued to order those living in the Lebanese border villages [12:10] and south of the rivers to move north. Meanwhile, the military says it's created a security buffer zone [12:16] up to the Litani River, covering about a tenth of the entire country. Israel's defence minister, [12:23] Israel Katz, has said he ordered the military to accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes [12:28] in the border villages in line with what he called the model in Gaza. We spoke to multiple legal experts [12:36] who said the systematic demolition of these towns and villages may amount to a war crime. The IDF, [12:42] in response, said that it operates in accordance with the law of armed conflict and does not allow [12:47] the destruction of property unless there is an imperative military necessity. More than 2,000 people [12:54] have been killed in Lebanon since the war began. That's according to the country's health ministry. [12:59] The Israeli authorities said 13 soldiers and two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah over the [13:04] past six weeks. Well, the US Defence Secretary Pete Hexeth has warned Iran America is locked and loaded to [13:13] resume bombing if Tehran doesn't agree to a peace deal. Peace negotiations between the two countries [13:19] failed to reach an agreement last weekend but are expected to resume before the ceasefire expires next week. [13:25] Mr. Hexeth told Tehran to choose wisely. The world watched and so did you as the US military moved [13:33] seamlessly from major combat operations to a world-class blockade. We can make that transition again very [13:40] quickly and even more powerfully than ever. At the direction of President Trump, the war department will [13:47] ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon, never. We'd prefer to do it the nice way, through a deal led by our [13:56] great vice president and negotiating team, or we can do it the hard way. We urge this new regime to choose wisely.