Netanyahu orders more strikes on Lebanon despite threat to Iran peace deal — BBC News

[0:00] Now, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's seeking direct talks with the Lebanese government [0:06] amid controversy over whether the conflict against the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah [0:11] is part of the ceasefire deal agreed between Washington and Tehran. [0:16] Mr Netanyahu says he hasn't agreed to a pause in the fighting in Lebanon, [0:20] but is willing to discuss an agreement which includes disarming Hezbollah. [0:25] Lebanon's health ministry is now saying 300 people were killed in Israeli strikes just yesterday. [0:31] Meanwhile, Iranian state television has broadcast a message said to be from the country's new supreme leader [0:37] warning of retribution for U.S. and Israeli attacks with more. Here's Paul Adams. [0:44] Fresh agony for the people of Beirut. No sign of a ceasefire here. [0:49] Israel has instead stepped up its attacks, warning anyone left in the capital's southern suburbs to evacuate [0:56] while it targets what it calls the military infrastructure of Hezbollah. [1:00] Israel and the U.S. say Lebanon was never part of the ceasefire. [1:05] Iran and Pakistan, which brokered the deal, insist that it is. [1:09] But with fighting threatening to wreck chances of a wider peace, a change of tone from Israel's Prime Minister. [1:17] Following repeated approaches by the Lebanese government to open peace negotiations with us, [1:22] I instructed the Cabinet last night to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon [1:26] in order to achieve two objectives, first, the disarmament of Hezbollah, [1:30] and secondly, a historic sustainable peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon. [1:36] The Prime Minister says there is no ceasefire, but it seems Washington has asked Israel to scale back its attacks [1:43] to give this weekend's talks in Islamabad a chance of making progress. [1:47] But there are other sticking points, including Iran's stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz. [1:54] It's still not properly open. Iran now determined to formalise its control. [2:00] This body of water is Iran's territorial water. [2:03] You know that this Strait of Hormuz is purely in Iran's territorial water, Oman and Iran. [2:08] So this is what, by goodwill of Iran and Oman, that was, [2:12] we're actually allowing everything for the safe passage. [2:15] In Mumbai, a tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas arrives after passing through the Strait [2:22] in the last couple of days. Iran says vessels must now use new routes to avoid mines. [2:30] The Prime Minister is still touring the region, telling Gulf allies Iran should not hold the [2:35] Strait of Hormuz to ransom, Britain among several countries searching for a diplomatic solution. [2:42] In Islamabad, preparations for this weekend's crucial talks. [2:46] Despite the yawning gulf between the U.S. and Iran, Pakistan says there's a growing hunger [2:52] for a way out. [2:53] I was not there 37, 38 days ago. [2:57] Pakistan and our leadership has played a very key role in bringing about this desire. [3:01] So you have this desire. I'm very hopeful this will reach fruition into something concrete. [3:09] In Tehran, commemorations to mark 40 days since the assassination of Iran's former supreme leader, [3:15] the image of his son and successor looming over the streets, but he still hasn't been seen. [3:23] This evening, a statement supposedly from Mojtaba Khamenei read out on state TV, [3:29] a defiant call for compensation for families of those killed, [3:33] as well as management of the Strait of Hormuz. [3:37] Iran says it's ready for talks, but there's no sign yet of what concessions, [3:41] if any, it's prepared to make. [3:42] Paul Adams, BBC News. [3:46] Well, human rights groups estimate that around 254 Iranian children have been killed [3:52] since the start of the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign. [3:55] The regime in Tehran is also recruiting children as young as 12 into a militia [4:00] run by the Revolutionary Guards. [4:03] More than 20% of Iran's population is under the age of 14. [4:07] That's approximately 20.4 million children. [4:10] Using trusted sources inside Iran, the BBC has been able to obtain testimony [4:15] from children and their parents about the cost of the war to the young. [4:19] We've protected their identities in this report from our special correspondent, [4:23] Virgil Keane. [4:24] When a child's mind is exposed to this, this, this and this, [4:36] they learn to fear the world that grown-ups have made. [4:39] Ali is in his early teens, at home, as schools are closed. [4:44] He's come to know the sound of war. [4:46] Before the war, I had no stress at all. [4:50] But now, even the smallest sound causes my brain to react very badly. [4:54] The sound of explosions, the shockwaves, and the sound of fighter jets flying over the city [4:59] can have a very serious effect on the mind. [5:02] I should be able to study, to work, and become an independent person in the future, [5:07] not to be constantly worrying about politics, living in stress, [5:11] thinking about bombs falling, and endless fears. [5:14] Although the regime has imposed an internet blackout, [5:18] we've been able to obtain testimony of some of the war's child victims, [5:23] and of those trying to help them. [5:26] We're seeing a lot of sleep disturbances, [5:28] nightmares, reduced concentration, and even aggressive behaviour. [5:33] When you struggle so much to raise a child, [5:35] only for that child to then be killed, [5:37] whether in protests or in war like this, [5:39] I believe no parent would be willing to bring a child into the world. [5:43] Not only are children at risk from US and Israeli airstrikes, [5:50] they're frequently marshaled by the state for its propaganda. [5:54] And the government recently called on every child over 12 [6:00] to join the regime's militia and stand guard at checkpoints. [6:04] Do you want your son to become a man? [6:10] Asks the official on television. [6:12] Send your children at night to the roadblocks. [6:15] These children will turn into men. [6:18] It is the rhetoric of militaristic masculinity with lethal consequences. [6:23] 11-year-old Ali Reza Jafari was killed by a drone strike while guarding a checkpoint. [6:29] Other children have been killed by airstrikes in their homes [6:32] or lost parents to the guns of the regime. [6:36] Tehran mum, Noor, has a teenaged boy here with him at the beach before the war. [6:42] She's determined to protect him from the war and the state's indoctrination. [6:47] A 12-year-old child never has the ability to make proper decisions. [6:52] They do not truly understand what is happening. [6:56] For example, they may think it is some kind of game. [6:59] When they are given weapons and told to go to war, [7:02] they imagine they are playing a video game. [7:05] When a child goes down that road, there is no way back. [7:09] The war may end with this ceasefire. [7:12] It may not. [7:14] But there is no end to the damage caused to young bodies and minds. [7:20] Fergal Keane, BBC News. [7:25] Oil prices have started to climb again with the knock-on effect on petrol and diesel costs [7:30] because of all the uncertainty over a ceasefire and access to the Strait of Hormuz. [7:34] Motorists are being warned that prices are unlikely to come down any time soon. [7:39] Well, Simon Jack is here with more details on that, Simon. [7:42] Thank you, Clive. [7:42] Yes, that wave of relief, almost euphoria that swept through financial markets yesterday [7:47] as the US and Iran declared a ceasefire is starting to wear off. [7:52] People are now questioning, has anything really changed? [7:55] Now, oil prices have been shooting up since the start of the war, as you can see here. [7:59] But after that announcement of the ceasefire, just over here, there was a massive 15% fall. [8:04] That's the biggest one-day drop in five years to around $90 a barrel. [8:09] But it started creeping back up again towards $100. [8:13] Why? [8:13] Well, primarily because nothing much has changed here on the Strait of Hormuz. [8:17] Now, plans to reopen it, announced at the time of the ceasefire, have not yet happened, [8:21] as you were hearing from Paul Adams there. [8:23] But with no increase in the trickle of ships getting through. [8:26] Now, you can see the oil tankers are the ones in red here. [8:29] The container ships are the ones in green. [8:32] Now, just 11 Iran-friendly vessels have got through in the last 48 hours. [8:37] Usually, it would be about 140 a day. [8:38] Most of those that got through were on their way to China. [8:42] But most shipping owners right now see no reason to risk it with concerns [8:46] that parts of the shipping lanes may be mined. [8:49] One of the key questions is, how secure is the passing? [8:53] If it's not 100% secure, we wouldn't even ask our captains to switch on their engines. [9:00] If there is any danger, no insurance company will insure your ship [9:04] and we wouldn't go through the Strait without an insurance, right? [9:08] And insurance costs have quadrupled or, I mean, even more. [9:12] We pay for an insurance now as much in a week as we pay normally for a year. [9:16] And as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, [9:21] prices at the pumps are likely to continue to rise. [9:24] Today saw average prices rise again. [9:27] Now, unleaded was £1.33 a litre before the war. [9:31] It's now £1.58, according to the RAC. [9:34] While diesel was £1.42 before the war, it is now over £1.90. [9:39] And if you think filling up the car or a lorry is getting expensive, [9:42] try fuelling a plane. [9:44] Jet fuel supplies are particularly tight, [9:47] which means air travel is likely to get more expensive. [9:50] There's almost a direct correlation, if you look historically, [9:53] between oil prices and ticket prices. [9:56] So, you know, if the oil price stays high, ticket prices will stay high. [10:00] As the oil price, particularly jet fuel, not just crude, [10:03] but jet fuel prices come down, [10:05] then you would expect ticket prices to start recovering towards where they were. [10:09] But I expect fuel prices to remain elevated for some months to come. [10:14] Now, while the diplomatic exchanges go back and forth, [10:17] it's what actually goes back and forth through the Gulf. [10:20] What rules will apply, whether there will be tolls, [10:23] those are the things that will matter for the energy prices [10:25] that work their way into just about everything, Clive. [10:29] A lot of uncertainty. [10:30] All right, Simon, thank you. [10:31] Simon Jack, our business editor there.