Thirteen killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, health ministry says — BBC News

[0:05] Hello, I'm Lauren Taylor. This is Iran War Today, our daily briefing, bringing you up to date with [0:10] all you need to know on day 64 of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Let's start with some of today's [0:16] key developments. Lebanon's health ministry says 13 people have been killed in Israeli strikes [0:21] on southern Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire. A senior military officer in Iran says that [0:28] renewed fighting with the U.S. was likely. It comes after President Trump says he's not happy [0:33] about the latest peace proposals from Iran. And a rise in jet fuel prices contributes to [0:39] the American carrier Spirit Airlines announcing it's shutting down. First today, Lebanon's health [0:48] ministry says at least 13 people were killed by Israeli strikes on the south of the country on [0:53] Friday. Israeli attacks on Hezbollah have continued despite a ceasefire agreement. Hezbollah said it [0:59] targeted Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. Now the Lebanon's army chief and head of the nation's [1:05] ceasefire monitoring committee are holding what they call an extraordinary meeting in Beirut on [1:10] the security situation. Let's quickly remind you why Lebanon is also involved in this conflict. [1:16] When the U.S. and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran, they soon expanded to Lebanon, [1:21] which is a country bordering Israel. That's because Lebanon is home to a Shia Muslim political and [1:27] military group called Hezbollah. They have strong backing from Iran and oppose Israel's right to exist. [1:34] Our correspondent, Weira Davis, is in Jerusalem and can tell us if the ceasefire is still in place. [1:39] There are increasing concerns that this very fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon [1:44] is on the verge of collapsing, and that could lead to a pretty rapid resumption [1:49] of a full-scale war. To be honest, it is a ceasefire in name only, even though much of the heavy [1:55] Israeli bombing we saw towards the end of the recent conflict that hit towns like Beirut, [2:02] Tir, other parts of southern Lebanon. That has effectively stopped. Israel continues to attack Hezbollah [2:10] targets and other villages and towns in southern Lebanon. Reports from the end of the week just gone [2:17] say that 30 people have been killed in Israeli bombing, including many civilians, women and children. [2:24] Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah positions from where Hezbollah is firing rockets, not only [2:30] towards Israel, but also towards Israeli troops. It must be remembered there are significant numbers [2:36] of Israeli troops who have invaded southern Lebanon and remain there. Israel has declared a buffer zone, [2:42] an exclusion zone, a so-called yellow line, which is roughly 10 kilometers or six miles inside Lebanon. [2:50] But some of the evacuation orders that Israel has been issuing have included towns and villages well outside [2:56] this exclusion area, and people in these areas have been reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes. Now, Israel [3:04] says the ceasefire is holding, but it reserves the right to attack Hezbollah positions to stop them, of course, [3:11] firing towards Israel. Amid all of this is what should happen next. There are some elements in Lebanon, [3:18] including the President Joseph Aoun, who are said to be in favor of some sort of dialogue and negotiations [3:25] with Israel. We've seen that messaging from the Americans. They want the Israelis and the Lebanese to [3:31] get around the table and talk. But it's much more complicated than sitting down and talking. Of course, [3:36] there are several factions within Lebanese society who support Hezbollah and its positions. One of [3:43] their main demands before they would talk is that Israeli troops should leave southern Lebanon, where [3:49] they've been for several weeks now. But Israel is not about to do that, while it still sees many of [3:54] these towns and villages in the south as potential places from where Hezbollah could target Israel. [4:00] So the feeling here for now is that this very fragile ceasefire, if you can call it that, is [4:06] holding. But it is fragile and it could break at any moment. In Iran, a senior military officer has [4:13] said that renewed fighting with the U.S. was likely. It comes hours after President Trump said he wasn't [4:19] happy with the latest peace proposals Tehran has reportedly submitted to mediators Pakistan. In quotes [4:27] published by Iran's FARS news agency, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, said a renewed conflict between Iran and the [4:32] United States is likely, adding that evidence has shown that the United States is not committed [4:38] to any promises or agreements. David Albright from the Institute for Science and International [4:43] Security says he's not surprised that the White House is dismissive of the proposals being put [4:48] forward by Tehran. It's not a serious offer. For example, it demands that all International Atomic [4:55] Energy Agency Board of Governors resolutions be rescinded. I mean, it asserts this right to enrichment [5:02] that doesn't really exist. Its enrichment program is ended, destroyed, I should say, could slowly make [5:10] a comeback, but it serves no purpose other than building nuclear weapons. And so it's just not, [5:17] it's a non-starter. And I think he's correct not to engage in negotiations over proposals that aren't [5:23] serious. The ceasefire is something Donald Trump has been using to justify not getting written consent [5:30] from Congress for the war. Catherine Yon Ebright from the Brennan Center, which is a law and policy [5:35] organization in the U.S., explains. President Trump needed to secure congressional authorization [5:41] before even launching the war. But now that the war is past 60 days, it is unambiguously unlawful. [5:48] The Trump administration, for its own part, is arguing that the ceasefire that has existed for [5:55] the past two weeks of April means that the 60-day clock has been paused or even terminated. But there [6:02] is nothing in the War Powers Resolutions text or design that suggests that the clock can be paused. [6:09] Instead, that clock ran out on May 1. We wait and see what Congress will do next. But in the meantime, [6:17] no new date for in-person talks between the U.S. and Iranian delegations has been set. [6:22] Both countries continue to block sea traffic in and around the Gulf, which is having a big impact [6:27] on economies around the world. The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, reiterated the UK's position when he [6:33] spoke to Nick Robinson on the Today programme. What is the scale of the crisis you think we are now [6:40] facing as a country as a result of the fact that the lifeblood of the global economy, oil, cannot travel [6:46] through the strait of hormones? The way I'd express it is this. There are moments in history [6:50] that will define a generation. And I think we're in one of those moments. [6:56] The Iran War is not our war. We're not getting dragged into it. Whatever pressure is put on me, [7:03] I'm not going to drag the United Kingdom into a war. It's not in our national interest. [7:09] But it is impacting us. It's impacting our economy. It's impacting what happens on our streets. [7:15] As Keir Starmer mentioned, this war is having an impact globally. And today, [7:20] an airline has announced it will be shutting down. Spirit Airlines is the first carrier [7:24] to fall victim to the Iran War, which has caused jet fuel prices to double. The American budget [7:30] carrier ceased operations after failing to secure creditor support for a government bailout plan. [7:36] All these people in Fort Lauderdale in Florida gave us their reaction to the news [7:40] and whether they'd support a bailout. Hearing that Spirit is shutting down, [7:44] I think it's insane. I've never, I mean, I always thought Spirit had a bunch of customers and a [7:50] lot of support with like other people flying as well. I look at more so for the people that actually [7:55] work in Spirit as well. If that means you're bailing out Spirit, that means these people could keep [7:59] their jobs. I'm all for it. Jet fuel prices, as we've mentioned, have doubled since the start of [8:04] the war as the conflict has slowed the production and transportation of fuel across the Middle East. [8:09] This is having a huge impact on airlines like Spirit, as aviation consultant Paul Charles explains. [8:16] If you're any airline, let alone Spirit, 35% of your fixed costs come from jet fuel. So in the [8:23] majority of cases, especially in the US, you don't buy jet fuel in advance like many European airlines [8:29] do at a fixed price. You're buying them on the day at whatever price is available. And the price of jet [8:35] fuel has soared in recent weeks, pretty well doubled to $5 or so. And that's simply unsustainable [8:43] for most airlines. Spirit was already in financial dire straits and therefore the higher cost, [8:51] if you're paying double on 35% of your fixed costs, it's simply unsustainable. [8:56] Let's take a look at what might happen next and what this all might mean for the end of the war. [9:02] With me is Siavash Adalan, senior reporter for BBC Persian. So do you know anything at all about the [9:07] latest proposals that Iran has put forward? Well, we know that officially these proposals [9:12] were submitted on Thursday through the Pakistanis. We don't exactly know what the different articles in [9:19] this proposal contain, but we think it's a modification of the initial proposal that Iran [9:24] had gave just two weeks ago, which centered around ending the naval blockade on one hand in exchange [9:31] for opening up the Strait of Hormoz and then leaving the nuclear and the missile and the proxy group [9:37] issues for a later date to be discussed between the US and Israel. And people are searching online [9:44] always, when will the war end? What's your assessment to that big question? [9:48] Well, it depends, because it depends what you mean by war. Is it necessarily just military [9:53] confrontation? Because as far as some people are concerned in Iran and the US, this naval blockade [9:58] itself constitutes a declaration of war. And at any time, as far as Iran is concerned, it reserves, [10:05] as it said, the right to take action to confront this military naval blockade, which would then trigger [10:15] retaliation by the US. And then we're back to square one. So we are in a situation of no war, [10:21] no peace. If the US accepts Iran's proposal for opening up those waterways, whether it's Iran's [10:28] blockade or the Strait of Hormoz, and then to leave the talks for the bigger agreement that the two [10:35] countries want to achieve, then there is a chance that we might see an end to this war. But if it's [10:42] going to be the US position, which wants everything on the table, including the blockade, the Strait, [10:48] nuclear issue, ballistic missiles, Iran support for proxies, sanctions removal for Iran, then I think [10:55] we're quite a bit far off from that point. And in terms of the pain kind of for the economy, [11:00] the global economy, but also in Iran, how is that shaping up in terms of who will suffer most and [11:05] and essentially be put in under pressure fastest? It's difficult. Both sides are strangulating each [11:11] other. Iran is really holding the global economy hostage and the US is exerting enormous pressure [11:18] on Iran's economy. It was already bad enough before the naval blockade because of US and Israeli strikes. [11:24] Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people were laid off from their jobs. Inflation has been rampant. [11:30] Here in the West, we're talking about single digit figures for inflation, but in Iran, [11:35] it's now double digits or even triple digits. So the currency is taking a free fall. And at the same [11:40] time, people don't have internet. Internet disconnection has gone into its second months. So without internet, [11:47] without a job, without a money, you can imagine what the people are going through now. [11:52] Syavash Ardalan, thank you very much indeed for those thoughts. Thank you. [11:55] Whether you're joining us on YouTube, TikTok, sounds, radio or TV, thanks for your time. We'll be back [12:02] at the same time tomorrow with the Iran war today. Bye for now.