Trump threatens Iran's infrastructure as US team heads to Pakistan for talks — BBC News

[0:05] Hello, welcome. I'm Kasia Madeira. This is the Iran War Today, our daily briefing bringing [0:10] you up to date with all you need to know on day 51 of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. [0:16] So over the next 15 minutes or so, we'll get the very latest from our teams across the [0:21] world. We're going to be live with our correspondents in Washington and Jerusalem. We're going to [0:26] start with some of today's key developments. [0:29] President Trump says a U.S. team is heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran, but he's [0:34] again threatened to strike Iranian power plants and bridges if a deal isn't reached soon, [0:39] saying no more Mr. Nice Guy. [0:42] Security's tight in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, but Iran is yet to confirm if they'll participate [0:48] in the talks. The U.S. president also accuses Iran of violating the ceasefire by continuing [0:54] its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian official calls for him to lift the foolish American [1:00] blockade on Iran's ports. And we'll have the very latest from inside Iran with the [1:06] BBC's chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette. [1:10] I think the only bit of light in this dark is that behind the scenes and this war of words, [1:16] the mediators are still exchanging messages. [1:20] And in Lebanon, the ceasefire there is allowing authorities to continue work to repair infrastructure [1:26] in the south of the country. [1:32] So we're going to start with the news from President Trump that a U.S. delegation is [1:35] heading to Pakistan on Monday for Iran negotiations. [1:40] And as we've become used to, this news came from the president in a post on his Truth Social [1:45] account. In his message, he didn't say who'd be taking part in the U.S. delegation, but [1:51] he did say it was time for the Iran killing machine to end. [1:56] And he again urged the Iranians to make a deal, posting, we're offering a very fair and reasonable [2:02] deal and I hope that they take it because if they don't, the United States is going to [2:06] knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran. No more Mr. Nice Guy. [2:14] While speaking to ABC News, Mike Walz, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, denied that [2:19] the threat to hit infrastructure from President Trump could amount to a war crime. [2:25] This is just a ridiculous argument we've heard in the media and from the Iranians and frankly [2:32] from some lawmakers here at home. [2:34] Well, President Trump also accused Tehran of a total violation of the ceasefire agreement [2:42] in the Strait of Hormuz. There's no traffic sailing through the strait, which is under [2:47] an effective blockade by both Iran and the U.S. Now, you'll recall, until the war, one-fifth [2:53] of the world's oil and gas normally passed through Hormuz. Iranian state media showed pictures [2:59] of vessels near Larrakh Island. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard says its forces have today [3:04] turned back two oil tankers sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola. On Saturday, [3:11] several vessels said that they were fired on or hit by projectiles near the Narrows. [3:17] Well, Iran has also accused the U.S. of breaching the truce agreement with its naval blockade. [3:22] Here's the Iranian parliamentary speaker. [3:25] We even stated it to them explicitly. We will close the Strait of Hormuz and we will certainly [3:32] pursue war. We will utilize all our tools. In this way, we were able to impose our will [3:37] and our demand. [3:40] So let's get the very latest. Let's cross over to Washington on North America Correspondent. [3:44] Simi Jolaosho joins us live. And Simi, lots of fighting talk from both the Trump administration [3:50] and also we heard from the Iranian side there. When it comes to the negotiations, what do we know? [3:55] Who's going? And what do they hope to achieve? [4:00] In terms of who's going, well, the BBC has been told that the vice president, J.D. Vance, [4:06] will be leading these talks alongside special envoy Steve Whitcoff and President Trump's son-in-law [4:12] and senior advisor Jared Kushner. In terms of what they're hoping to achieve, well, we know [4:17] the key demands by the U.S. is firstly for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent [4:23] end to Iran's blockade there. Secondly, constraints on Iran's nuclear program, including them giving [4:31] up their enriched material, dismantling all their major nuclear enrichment facilities. And thirdly, [4:39] an end to Iran's funding of its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon. Now, the U.S. has framed [4:46] these talks as a final, sort of final diplomatic off-ramp before a potential return to a full-scale [4:54] regional war. And when it comes to the potential of these negotiations not getting anywhere, [5:00] we heard that really strongly worded threat from Donald Trump. [5:05] Yeah, President Trump has again dialed up his rhetoric, saying that he could knock out all of [5:11] Iran's power plants and bridges. He even said that it would be his honor to do what has to be done. [5:19] There have been concerns from legal experts here that this could constitute a war crime. [5:23] But what we're seeing out of the U.S. is the naval blockade remaining in place. We're seeing [5:29] additional sanctions being imposed. And then these threats from President Trump on civilian [5:36] infrastructure, it's clear that the U.S. is continuing to apply pressure, economic pressure [5:42] on Iran into a deal. But these threats raises the stakes considerably, especially at a moment where [5:50] the ceasefire and these negotiations are appearing quite fragile. [5:56] They are indeed. Simi, as always, thank you so much. Simi Jola Osho, thank you. [6:01] Well, the Pakistani capital is again being placed in lockdown in preparation for these negotiations. [6:07] Our correspondent Caroline Davies is in the capital, Islamabad. [6:11] Even before the President's post on social media, we were starting to see this across many of the [6:16] streets in Islamabad, barbed wire stopping the roads. And you can see here that there are also [6:21] police, we've seen army and also paramilitary groups, the rangers, stopping these roads. [6:26] Islamabad police have also said that they are stopping heavy vehicles coming into the city. [6:31] And as we were driving around, we saw a lot of traffic as many of those main entrances into [6:35] the city were closed. Here you can see this road, which is one of the main central roads, [6:40] arterial roads in Islamabad. It's been entirely closed off for about a mile. [6:44] At the other end is the diplomatic centre of the city. Down there as well is the hotel where [6:51] these talks were taking place last weekend. And we know from this morning that guests there [6:56] were being told that they needed to vacate their hotel. So already a lot of expectation. [7:01] Now this confirmation from the President that talks will be taking place, but still waiting [7:05] for more details about exactly what that entails. [7:08] So what's the mood like inside Iran as the days tick down towards the end of the two-week ceasefire [7:14] between the U.S. and Iran? Well, our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette, [7:19] is in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Now she's reporting on condition that none of her material [7:24] is used on the BBC's Persian service. These restrictions apply to all international media [7:29] organisations operating in Iran. And Lise says that the only bit of light is that mediators [7:36] are still exchanging messages. It's hard for people here to be hopeful. They're living day by day. [7:43] We've been here just a few days. And, you know, try to put yourself in their shoes. They lived through [7:49] a war last year. They've lived through five weeks of a devastating war where missiles slammed into this [7:55] capital. And we've been seeing some of them, even though the U.S. and Israel said they were only [7:59] targeting military sites. They did crash into homes. Civilians were killed. Iranians are also living [8:06] under that near total internet blackout, which is now one of the longest in history. So they have [8:13] no sense as to when their own lives are going to improve. In fact, prices which were high before the [8:20] war are even higher now. This is being decided by leaders which they may or may not support and by [8:29] great powers far from Iran. They just, they're not optimistic that this ceasefire is going to hold. [8:36] So that means how can they be hopeful that this war will end and a deal which will benefit them [8:41] will be agreed. There are Iranians who go out in response to their government's call to support the [8:48] government, to show signs of defiance. Of course, they're among the government supporters. They will [8:53] condemn President Trump. There are others who I have to say that we've met are deeply disappointed. [8:59] We went to one neighbourhood here in Tehran where a large stretch of the street had essentially been [9:05] wiped out. The target had been a building, which was just a gaping hole. No one in the neighbourhood [9:11] could say that it was a military attack. They said that only civilians had been there. They hadn't seen [9:16] any military activity. And the graffiti on the wall said Trump's help has arrived. Death to America. [9:24] And the owner of a building, which had also collapsed with the force of that blast, said [9:30] President Trump said he would send help to the people of Iran. Is this the gift he wanted to give [9:36] to us? So people have very, very different views. I suppose there are some who are still hoping that out [9:42] of this something good will come. But right now it's very hard in what many would say would be the [9:49] darkest days in modern Iranian history. Very uncertain times, very hard for them to see any [9:56] kind of way out. Lise Doucette in Iran. Now in Lebanon, the shaky ceasefire remains under pressure. [10:04] The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, says that the IDF has been instructed to, in his words, [10:09] use full force in Lebanon should Israeli troops face further threats. The 10-day ceasefire, [10:17] which came into effect on Thursday, is allowing authorities there to continue their work to [10:21] reopen and repair infrastructure in the south of the country. The Lebanese military says it has [10:26] fully reopened a road linking the city of Nabatia with the Haudali area and had partially reopened the [10:33] Burj Rahal Tire bridge. Well, let's cross over to Jerusalem. My colleague Nick Beak joins us [10:39] live. So, Nick, just talk us through the warnings coming from Israel Katz. [10:46] Hi, Katz. Yes, we know that the Israeli government didn't want this ceasefire and public opinion [10:51] suggested that most people didn't as well. And so ministers have been in an awkward position where [10:56] they promised that the fight against Hezbollah would continue until the communities, particularly [11:01] in the north of the country, were safe. But then, of course, they had to basically accept this [11:05] ceasefire because President Trump told them to do so. So what we've been seeing is this very tough [11:11] language from ministers, including Israel Katz, the defence minister, saying that the full force [11:16] will be used by Israeli soldiers if they are faced with threats. And if you look at the wording [11:21] of this 10-day ceasefire, certainly according to the way the Americans have presented it, [11:26] the Israelis are able to shoot and take action if there is a threat there that they perceive to [11:32] be imminent or future. And it doesn't look like there's any monitoring or oversight at all. [11:36] And in places, they say that they are continuing to take action. Worth reminding ourselves, [11:41] of course, there are five divisions of the Israeli army still in southern Lebanon. That's thousands [11:46] of troops. [11:48] Indeed. So a volatile situation when it comes to what is happening on the ground in Lebanon. [11:53] Bring us up to date, given the uncertainty of this. [11:55] Yeah, well, it's a really dangerous picture there, Kasia, certainly for some of the one [12:02] million people who were displaced in the past six or seven weeks. And they've been trying [12:06] to get back to their homes. We know that some people have been going over bridges that are [12:10] being partially restored in places. The Israelis blew up nearly all the bridges. Well, in fact, [12:15] they said all of the bridges that linked the south with the rest of the country because [12:19] they said Hezbollah were using them to bring fighters and weapons over. So it is dangerous [12:25] there. We know that a UN peacekeeper was killed over the weekend. Two Israeli soldiers have [12:30] been killed as well. The Israeli military says that it's going to some communities and blowing [12:35] up houses because they've been used in the past by Hezbollah. At the same time, Hezbollah [12:40] saying that they are abiding by this ceasefire. They want it to continue. They say they're [12:45] going to show maximum cooperation with the Lebanese government. The government, though, has actually [12:50] come under a lot of criticism for being involved in this deal. So I think it is a precarious [12:55] situation. It is a ceasefire, which by nature is pretty fragile. And tonight, Prime Minister [13:00] Netanyahu was talking about what's happening in Lebanon, but also he's looking to the wider [13:05] picture with Iran. And he said the fight is not over. [13:09] Nick, as always, thank you very much for giving us that bigger picture there as well. Nick Beaker [13:13] there joining us live from Jerusalem. So when it comes to the bigger picture, what chance do [13:19] any peace talks in Pakistan have? Will Iran even go to them? And could we see the Strait [13:24] of Hormuz opening? Well, we're joined by Siavesh Adelan, senior reporter for BBC Persian. Let's start [13:31] with those talks. Do we even know if Iran is going to take up the offer and go? We don't. There's been [13:39] no official confirmation by Iran whether they're going to these talks or not. If anything, we've had [13:45] reports from domestic news agencies affiliated with the heartliners in Iran saying that the Iranian [13:51] team will not go to Pakistan and will not partake in these talks. And the reason they cite for it [13:57] is that the U.S. has violated, in their words, this ceasefire because of continuing on with the [14:03] naval blockade. So the question really remains, has a decision been made to go? And they're just [14:09] driving a hard bargain by not confirming it. Has a decision been made not to go? Or whether they're [14:15] still thinking about it? Because on the other hand, there's also this deep, deep mistrust of [14:21] U.S. intentions. Some in Iran are even thinking that this whole talks, this talk about negotiations [14:29] is a deception, is a ploy to let the Iranian team go there and then assassinate them somehow or escalate [14:36] the war or carry out a surprise attack. Because as you know, Iran was in the midst of talks twice when [14:42] it was attacked by America and the U.S. So it's a very, very confused picture at the moment. We're [14:49] waiting any moment now. It could be, if the talks are hit, they'll be on Tuesday. So we have till tomorrow [14:55] to receive any official confirmation as to whether Iran will go or not. So you paint really a picture of [15:02] deep, deep mistrust within the regime itself then. How is the situation there? Are you seeing, are you [15:09] witnessing any rifts? There is a rift, but let's not give too much credence to it. There's not a rift within the [15:17] decision-making circles because the Iranian position has been consistent fairly and very, you know, [15:23] they've been to the point, they haven't deviated from their initial positions. But there are many [15:27] hardliners, especially these pro-government crowds that are taking to the streets every single day [15:34] since the war began, filling the streets in Iran, demanding that the Iranian authorities and negotiators [15:41] do not, you know, concede to the U.S. that they not accept a ceasefire, that they continue this war [15:47] to the very final end, thinking that Iran has the upper hand and is in a position to really dictate [15:54] the terms of an agreement. They are the ones who are literally, you know, pouring scorn on some of the [15:59] negotiators, some of the tweets that Iranian negotiators post about the possibility of a ceasefire, [16:06] the possibility of opening the Strait of Ormos. They are saying, don't do that. And if you are counting [16:11] on us for our support to come out of the streets and back you up, we won't do this if you concede [16:17] too much to the Americans. [16:20] An incredibly complicated situation. Siavash Adelan, my colleague from BBC Persian, as always, [16:24] thank you very much for just talking us through and giving us the bigger picture. [16:28] Thank you so much on what is day 51 of this war. So whether you're joining us on YouTube, [16:35] TikTok, Sounds, radio or television, thank you so much for your time. We're going to be back around [16:39] the same time tomorrow with the Iran War Today.