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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and in the early hours of Saturday, the 14th of March, these are our main stories. President Trump says the US has carried out strikes against military targets on Haag Island, Iran's main export terminal for oil in the Gulf.
There's defiance in Tehran as thousands of protesters turn out for a pro-government rally. And we hear from Iranian Kurds in Iraq who want to return to Iran. Also in this podcast, Cuba confirms that negotiations with the US are underway. And we hear how, in a medical first, spider silk has been used to repair broken nerves. It bridges the gap that's made between these two nerve ends.
And then the new nerves try and grow out. It's almost like a plant sprouting from the ground. But they attach to the silk and then they grow along it. Our silk dissolves and the nerve is able to then regenerate. Haag is an island, only eight kilometres long, located just off the coast of Iran. It's small in size, but not in significance.
It's Iran's main export terminal for oil, and tonight President Trump announced the US had obliterated military targets on the island. It comes as reports swirl that the White House is preparing to send reinforcements to the Middle East including thousands of Marines. The war is now entering its third week, something President Trump was asked about before boarding Air Force One.
How long now do you think the war is likely to last? I can't tell you that. I mean I have my own idea but what good does it do? It'll be as long as it's necessary.
Our North America correspondent, David Willis, told me more about the significance of Haag Island. It lies, Charlotte, about 25 kilometres off the coast of Iran in the northern Gulf, and around 90% of Iran's oil exports come from there, making it potentially very significant. It hasn't been targeted up to now, and oil tankers have been seen filling up with oil there since the conflict began.
It's been described as the economic lifeblood of the Iranian regime. And in a post on Truth Social, President Trump said that the U.S. military had destroyed every military target in what he called Iran's crown jewel, Karg Island.
excluding its oil infrastructure, but he went on to say that should Iran do anything to impede the safe passage of vessels through the vitally significant Strait of Hormuz to the southeast of Haag Island, he would, as he put it, reconsider that decision.
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Chapter 2: What military actions did the US take against Iran's Kharg Island?
The country's health ministry says at least 1,300 people have been killed since the start of the war. Iran has also continued to attack its Gulf neighbours. Qatar has in the past few hours issued an evacuation order covering parts of Doha, saying it's a precautionary measure. Here's our diplomatic correspondent, Caroline Hawley.
From an embattled Iranian regime, a show of defiance, loyalists came out in large numbers, just as their new supreme leader had asked. And many carried his image, though Mujtaba Khamenei himself has still not been seen. State-run TV showed Iran's president, Massoud Pazeshkian, out on the streets, even looking relaxed.
And another very powerful figure in the regime, who had a message for Donald Trump.
The problem with Trump is that he's not intelligent enough to understand that Iranians are a mature and strong and determined nation.
Chapter 3: How are Iranian citizens responding to the US strikes?
The more pressure he exerts, the stronger our nation's willpower will become.
This is the Al-Quds rally held every year to oppose Israel. Suddenly, an explosion nearby. Another airstrike took place as state-run TV was interviewing Iran's hardline head of the judiciary. People are not afraid of these attacks, he says. We will not back down in any way. But many Iranians are very afraid as the human cost of this war and the humanitarian consequences grow.
The Red Crescent says nearly 20,000 homes have now been damaged, along with businesses, schools and 16 of its own facilities. Iranians are continuing to flee. More than three million of them have left their homes so far, according to the UN. At Turkey's border with Iran, one man said bombs were raining down on his homeland.
Near the central city of Isfahan, one glimpse into the intensity of the bombardment. The man filming is clearly happy to see regime targets hit. Duck down, someone says, as airstrike follows airstrike. And Donald Trump says Iran will continue to be hit very hard.
Caroline Hawley. But what do we know about the overall destruction in Iran from Israeli and US attacks? The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, says Iran has no functioning air force, air defence or navy and that its missile volume is down by 90%. But two weeks on, Iran is still firing missiles and drones. The BBC's John Sudworth has been verifying the damage in Iran so far.
What we can say with certainty is that for 14 straight days now, Iran has been hit by a huge and sustained bombardment. The US and Israel say they've struck more than 15,000 targets so far. In terms of what's being hit, the list is a long one. Across multiple cities and other towns, other locations, the targets include military bases.
Missile launch sites, weapons factories and the Iranian Navy, of course, with more than 60 ships damaged or sunk so far. And the targeting in recent days of the citywide checkpoints set up by the Basij, Iran's feared volunteer militia, out on the streets to crack down on any hint of dissent. But beyond the military targets, the strikes are also aimed at civil infrastructure.
such as government leadership facilities. That's how Ayatollah Khomeini was assassinated on the first day of the war, of course. But those civil targets also include state media, airports and energy facilities.
And what about the effect on Iranians, the loss of life?
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of Trump's comments on the Strait of Hormuz?
He also has never been the subject of an FBI investigation. Our correspondent, Helena Humphrey, reports from Michigan.
Temple Israel's congregation north of Detroit is coming to terms with an attack that could have claimed the lives of worshippers and children at an on-site preschool. Ayman Mohammed Ghazali, a naturalised US citizen born in Lebanon, rammed his truck through the synagogue's doors and drove down a hallway,
The mayor of Dearborn, where Ghazali lived, said he had recently lost several family members, including a niece and nephew, in an Israeli strike in Lebanon. A Lebanese official told the AP news agency that they were killed last Thursday as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
While the motive is still under investigation, a rabbi at Temple Israel says the congregation had practiced an active shooter drill just weeks earlier.
Look, American Judaism is such these days that every synagogue is a target and every synagogue is well aware that we need to take precautions to keep our people safe. So we have regular active shooter drills.
We offered one a few weeks ago for our clergy, our staff, our security team, and our teachers run by the FBI that walked us through over and over again what to do in case of an active shooter situation. And I can honestly say that that protocol saved lives.
Amid the war between the US, Israel and Iran, President Trump says he's not worried about the threat of domestic terrorism. But for many American Jews going about their daily lives, their sense of safety has been shaken.
That was Helena Humphrey reporting from Michigan. There was a significant announcement on Cuban national television on Friday. In those talks, we have expressed our willingness to continue the process under the principles of equality and respect for the political systems of both countries. That's the moment we're in now in relation to dialogue with the United States.
That was President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirming that talks between Cuban officials and the U.S. government are underway. The U.S. embargo has choked off oil supplies, triggering a severe energy crisis on the island nation. But it's hoped these negotiations will bring an end to the economic hardship that swept across Cuba.
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Chapter 5: What reports are emerging about US military reinforcements in the Gulf?
Well, talk to us a little bit about the problems that people are facing. You have to put this in context of the fact that the Cuban government has been bankrupt for several years now since the pandemic. This is a communist state. People were used to being able to go to the bodega, get their ration of beans, rice, etc., etc. That has now pretty much disappeared. The bodegas are emptying.
There has been increasing problems with electricity supply. There is rolling blackouts, but there's also been a sort of countrywide blackouts. The system is very antiquated. Blackouts means the water doesn't come in. It means they can't sleep at night because there's no fans. It means the food, which is very expensive for most people, goes off in their refrigerator.
The cars have stopped running. There's no gas. The state offices have closed. The power cuts have become very much worse. Friends of mine are getting up in the middle of the night to cook because that's the only time, the two hours that they get electricity. The situation could get very bad indeed. And by that, I mean starvation. I mean disease.
It really is that bad?
It's not at the moment. There's food in the shops. But again, because of the economy being in tatters, there's been hyperinflation for the last few years. So if you work for the state, which is about half the people, or you're on a state pension, which affects an awful lot of people, then those have been reduced to between $5 and $10 a month. But you know, a bag of beans could be $3.
If you're getting $5 a month, that's a disaster. So when people hear that there have been talks, what would they want from any of these talks? Well, they want change. They want to be able to have enough money to buy things or get things and feed their children. The point I now hear from most Cubans is, I really don't care who's to blame. Can somebody give us a break?
Marco Rubio has said he wants regime change. Is it possible to gauge what the ordinary person, to use that phrase, would want? Would they take a view on regime change? I've not yet heard Cubans say to me that they want the Americans to come in. That just doesn't happen. Cubans here certainly don't want some sort of armed invasion. Rory Nicol speaking to Jane Hill.
Mr Nobody Against Putin is a documentary about propaganda in Russian schools and how teachers were forced to repeat government scripts about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A filmmaker at one school took great risks to smuggle footage out of Russia to show the world and he could win an Oscar this weekend. The BBC's culture editor Katie Razzell went sightseeing with Mr Nobody in Hollywood.
From a self-styled Mr. Nobody to Mr. Somebody in Hollywood, Pasha Talankin had never left Russia until he was forced into exile two years ago. Now, on his 35th birthday, I've joined the Oscar nominee on a bus tour of L.A.
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