Iran considering US proposal to end the war

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1:09This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jaleel and at 15 hours GMT on Thursday the 7th of May, these are our main stories. Iran considers a US proposal to end their war as President Trump predicts it will be over soon. Three women with links to the Islamic State group who've spent years in a Syrian detention camp are arrested after arriving in Australia. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo at a time of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the Vatican. Also in this podcast... Most women lose the first 10 pounds within weeks of starting.

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2:06A day after oil prices fell and stocks surged following President Trump's announcement that good progress was being made on a deal to end the Middle East war, Iran says it's still considering the latest US proposal. U.S. media reports say that a 14-point memorandum of understanding has been presented to Iran, which could set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations. Speaking at a virtual campaign event on Wednesday evening, President Trump described the war as a skirmish and said he was optimistic it would soon be over. We're dealing with people that want to make a deal very much, and we'll see whether or not they can make a deal that's satisfactory to us.

2:48we have it very much under control. The blockade is unbelievable. The Navy's been incredible. The job they did, it's like a wall of steel. Nobody goes through. In particular, the Iranians are not getting anything through one way or the other, so they're out of business. And we'll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don't agree, they'll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. So that's the way it is. Pakistan is playing a key role as a mediator that is trusted by both sides. Its foreign minister said his country was endeavouring to convert the ceasefire into a permanent end to this war.

3:26I asked our Pakistan correspondent Caroline Davies what more we know about what's in the memorandum. A lot of this reporting is coming through the news website Axios but they have said that this is a 14-point memorandum on one page. The suggestion is that this would set up the further discussions for sort of more detailed discussions particularly around nuclear and of course we know that nuclear has been a key sticking point at least that's what the vice president jd vance said when he concluded the only round of talks we've had so far since this conflict began in islamabad that was back in april and he said that the sticking point had been that they weren't able to uh come to uh the the point that the us wanted on iran having nuclear weapons or having the ability to get to nuclear weapons of course we also think that sticking points are likely around the Strait of Hormuz.

4:12Many analysts look at what has happened in the course of this conflict and seeing that Iran has clearly realised how much leverage that they can exercise over the Strait of Hormuz and that it's unlikely that they're going to go back to exactly the way things were there, where there was just free passage through. But what that exactly looks like, we don't know. At the moment, we are still waiting for an Iranian response to this proposal? Yes, because the Strait of Hormuz was not a problem before this war started. And the Iranians have been able to charge, what,$2 million per vessel. So it's hard to see them going back given all the losses that they've suffered.

4:51And a senior Iranian lawmaker has been quoted as saying that this US proposal memorandum is simply a wish list. It's been very difficult to know exactly what Iran would necessarily want in the Strait of Hormuz, how that could be managed, whether that would be done bilaterally with Amman. Some of the noises suggest that maybe Amman isn't interested in something like that, whether that would want to be done multilaterally with other countries. How would that work? How would that operate? But yes, given that Iran has seen the leverage it has, it's hard to think that Iran would want to go back to a position where it didn't have any of that kind of ability and control anymore.

5:24And in terms of the Iranian response, yes, we've heard that it's been described as a wish list, but we've also heard discussions as well from the Iranian side saying that they've still got their finger on the trigger if things deteriorate, which is not totally dissimilar language to the sort of language we've heard from President Trump. Because both sides also have a lot to lose. President Trump's got the midterms looming up. Iran has huge economic challenges. Pakistan is continuing to play a central role in all this. So perhaps there is a will to come to some kind of deal, but without losing face.

5:58Yeah, and I think it's interesting. we've just heard from the foreign ministry spokesperson for Pakistan who has a weekly press conference and he has said that Pakistan expects an agreement sooner rather than later on a US-Iran deal. Now I point that out because it's slightly unusual in the sense that we haven't really heard Pakistan say many of these things on record before. There's been lots of anonymous sourcing suggesting that they think things are moving and developing differently. So do we think that things are genuinely moving and in a new direction and that there can be this common ground or do we think this is sort of discussion that's coming out in the open people are trying to willing things forward but could that momentum disappear as quickly as it seems to have appeared?

6:41Caroline Davies. Meanwhile the economic costs of the war are growing daily. The chief executive of the Danish shipping giant Mesk says the surge in energy prices is costing the business an extra half a billion dollars a month. In a BBC interview, Vincent Clercq said cargo shipments had been massively disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. And he said some of the burden is going to have to fall on customers. We can do some on pressing the cost agenda further, but for us what is really important is actually to pass on these cost increases to our customers as much as possible so that we can protect our margin and the operation's integrity going forward.

7:26It's been extremely difficult to communicate with people inside Iran for the past couple of months because the authorities have imposed an internet blackout since being attacked by the US and Israel. My colleague, Niko Kelbakiani from BBC Monitoring, has been looking at what's been happening on the ground. According to the Iranian media, the state-affiliated media, they have dismissed these suggestions of an imminent deal. They've cited Iranian officials who are saying that Iran is still reviewing the latest U.S. offer, so they haven't yet sent their response to Pakistan. At the same time, yes, as you mentioned, there is an internet shutdown in the country, so we are not hearing from most Iranians who don't have access to the internet.

8:12However, we still see, even from the official Iranian media and state broadcaster, these economic concerns that are existing in the country. For example, the same person, Khalibov, the parliament speaker, argued that the enemy is pressuring Iran through this economic means to break it after the war. President Pazeshkan has warned about these rising prices and selling things at higher than authorized prices. The judiciary is announcing its measures to tackle this. So we are seeing these signs that there is a serious economic struggle inside the country, especially for ordinary Iranians. But at the same time, it seems that the Islamic Republic feels more confident that it can control the situation inside the country, that it has the geographical advantage, for example, over the Strait of Hormuz.

9:07And also it feels that it can withstand this economic pressure better and longer than the US and global markets and also the regional countries. Niko Kelbakiani of BBC Monitoring. And we have more on this on our YouTube channel. Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News Podcast in the podcast section. There's a news story available every weekday. Three women who returned to Australia from Syria today have been arrested on arrival. Two were detained in Melbourne, one in Sydney. They're part of a group of 13 women and children who've spent years in a Syrian detention camp because of their links to the Islamic State group, but have managed to return now thanks to their Australian nationality.

9:55The Australian government says it won't provide help to any citizens who joined IS. The Assistant Commissioner of Australia's Federal Police, Stephen Nutt, gave this update on one of those arrested. It is expected a 53-year-old woman will be charged tonight or tomorrow with the following four Commonwealth offences. Crimes against humanity, enslavement. Crimes against humanity possess a slave. Crimes against humanity use a slave. Crimes against humanity engage in slave trading. These offences each carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment. Our reporter Simon Atkinson was at Melbourne Airport when some of the women and children arrived there.

10:41We do know that there's another woman who came into Melbourne. We're not quite sure as yet what is happening with her. We assume that she hasn't been arrested as she's not included in those figures. and also no word as yet on what is happening to the children. There are nine children across these two flights who arrived. There's no suggestion that they're going to face any kind of legal action, of course, but we're yet to hear whether they've left the airport. We understand that they're going to see extended family both here in Melbourne and in Sydney. And in fact, at least one of the children was born in the detention camp in Syria where they've been held in horrible conditions and some are questioning why the children are being punished for their mother's actions.

11:25Absolutely. I think of the nine children who've arrived back today, the vast majority of them, this is their first time on Australian soil, although they're Australian citizens. They've got valid passports, which has allowed them to come back. They've never actually been to Australia. They were born in Syria either during the war or, as you say, in detention camps after the collapse of Islamic State. But this is it. There's been a lot of split opinion, I say, on whether the women should be allowed back. Certainly the politicians have been quite vocal on the whole that they shouldn't be, but certainly more sympathy for the children, that they shouldn't be punished for decisions that their mothers made several years ago.

12:06As you say, they've been living in terrible conditions, very basic access to health care, limited education. And so there's already a lot of thought being given to how life is going to be for them now they're back in Australia. And briefly, what measures are going to be taken to reintegrate them back into Australian society? Well, we've heard they're going to get some psychological support. I mentioned they've got extended family here who have been lobbying for them to come back. They're also going to be asked to undergo courses to kind of make sure they haven't been radicalised during their time in Syria.

12:36Simon Atkinson. My heart is broken into a million pieces. The words of the mother of a five-year-old girl read out at a vigil in Alice Springs in Australia. She was my little princess, my princess who loved the colour pink. Tributes of flowers, toys and messages have piled up outside the town camp near Alice Springs where the little Aboriginal girl was abducted last month. Nala Mansell from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre led another vigil in Sydney. Aboriginal children and all children have the right to live, to be loved and to be protected. We're here because a child, Kumunjay little baby, should still be here.

13:23A child who was loved, who deserved safety and who deserved a future. the man accused of killing her who's also aboriginal was attacked by locals before being arrested and charged a riot erupted outside the hospital where he was being treated amid reports that concerns about the girl's welfare had been repeatedly raised in the weeks before she died our australia correspondent katie watson was at the vigil in alice springs she told me more about the little girl, now known as Kumanjai little baby. It's a pseudonym that her family chose because many Aboriginal families, communities don't want to say the name of somebody who's died because it may disturb their spirit.

14:05Now she went missing after her mother put her to bed at an Aboriginal community just outside Alice Springs at the end of last month and it sparked one of the biggest searches ever here in Australia's Northern Territory but unfortunately five days later her body was found not far from the town and it's really broken Alice Springs speaking to people here I spoke to one person earlier today who said the community was numb but it's also shocked Australia as a whole and that's why I'm at a vigil here in Alice Springs it's just started but there are other vigils there's one in Sydney there's one another in many of the big cities across Australia.

14:49And Katie, describe some more for us, a scene at the vigil where you are. It's at a sports ground in the centre of Alice Springs. There are hundreds of people. People have been asked to bring a candle and light one and they've been asked to wear pinks. There are children with pink balloons, pink ribbons in their hair, dogs with pink bows, people with pink jumpers. It's getting quite nippy because in the winter in the outback, it gets quite cold when the sun goes down and the sun's just setting. Then now there's a series of talks and speeches of families expected to talk or representative of the family and community leaders.

15:27So I think that's something that people have said to me as well is that Alice Springs is often known for crime statistics, for violence. That's kind of the headlines that come out of it. But actually what's happened has brought the community together and has brought, you know, people all came out to search for come and join a little baby. And it has clearly upset people, but has brought people together as well. And this case has also highlighted how poorly Aboriginal children are protected in Australia. Many Aborigines feel like they're second class citizens. And I think that's one thing that people here feel constantly let down.

16:01I mean, if you look at the number of young Aboriginal men in the jails here in Northern Territory, they far outnumber the proportion of Aboriginal people that are here in Australia. They are overrepresented in prisons, in different social services, and that is what people are saying is a failure of the system. People are not being looked after enough to be able to help vulnerable communities, poorer communities that face more difficult challenges in getting jobs and that sort of thing, and perhaps that could improve things after this death. Katie Watson in a windy Alice Springs. Still to come in this podcast, the head of the Global Health Body reassures the public that the hantavirus outbreak on board a cruise ship poses a low risk to the public.

16:52WHO is working with multiple governments and partners on the response. Our priorities are to ensure the affected patients receive care and to prevent any further spread of the virus.

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19:49This is the Global News Podcast. The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has met Pope Leo at the Vatican at a time of increasing tension between President Trump and the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the Pope, who has expressed his concerns about the US-Israeli war against Iran. Mr Rubio spent more than two hours with the Pope for what were described as friendly and constructive talks in which they discussed the Middle East. Our reporter, Davide Guglione, told us more. I'm standing in St Peter's Square, just a few hundred metres from the Apostolic Palace, just behind me, where the meeting between the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Pope took place.

20:34Now, as usual, as it usually happens at the Vatican with papal audiences, the meeting was behind closed doors, but obviously there's been a lot of speculation around the Vatican on what the two have been discussing. We do know that Rubio, before leaving the United States, said there's a lot to talk about at the Vatican. And the US State Department, in a written statement, said that Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere. Now, Rubio is also meeting the Vatican's Secretary of State, Parolin. Rubio is also meeting Giorgia Meloni, Italy's Prime Minister and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs.

21:17Hopefully tensions will be eased. But Giorgia Meloni has been seen as the Trump whisperer, as Trump's closest ally in Europe. This has obviously changed after Meloni defended the Pope and she was, as a consequence, attacked by Trump. So hopefully there will be some clarification and the tensions will be eased. That's what the Italians are hoping for at the very least. Davide Guglione. The Israeli military has said that it's investigating after a soldier was photographed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon. This comes weeks after international condemnation of a previous image in which another Israeli soldier was seen smashing a statue of Jesus.

22:03From Jerusalem, here's our Middle East correspondent Yolande Nell. The latest photograph circulating on social media appears to show an Israeli soldier with his arm around a statue of Mary holding a cigarette up to her mouth. The Israeli army said it views the incident with utmost severity and that the soldier's conduct completely deviates from the values it expects. It said that an initial review showed the image was taken several weeks ago. Last month, the Israeli military said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty due to the destruction of a statue of Jesus in the Lebanese village of Debel.

22:40Israeli troops remain in a wide area of southern Lebanon. where they say they are rooting out Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure. Residents have been told to leave. Yolande Nel. The World Health Organization says five of the eight suspected cases of hantavirus linked to a deadly cruise ship outbreak have now been confirmed. The head of the global health body, Tedros Ghebreyesus, gave this update shortly before we recorded this podcast. WHO assesses the public health risk as low. WHO is working with multiple governments and partners on the response. Our priorities are to ensure the affected patients receive care, that the remaining passengers on the ship are kept safe and treated with dignity, and to prevent any further spread of the virus.

23:30Meanwhile, health officials from a number of countries are working to trace passengers who left the MV Hondias before the Hunter virus outbreak on board was confirmed. Three people have died and several others who were taken ill have been taken off the ship for urgent medical treatment. Nearly 150 others remain on board. They're due to disembark in Tenerife in the Canaries this weekend, despite the objections of the local authorities. Our health correspondent Dominic Hughes told James Menendez more. We know that 30 people disembarked from the ship at St Helena on the 24th of April. So contact tracing for those people is underway.

24:09So they'll be looking at immediate family members, people who might have sat next to them on a long haul flight, for example, as they traveled home. We know that around 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries remain on board the ship. There are no new cases on board as far as we know. In an update on Thursday, the cruise operator said There were no symptomatic individuals present on board. And the World Health Organization, in fact, says that no other passengers or crew on board are symptomatic at the moment. We also know that three people were evacuated yesterday and are now being treated in isolation in the Netherlands, as well as a British gentleman, there is a 41-year-old Dutch crew member and a 65-year-old German passenger as well.

24:55Those that they managed to trace, I mean, what's going to be the advice? So they're going to be asked to isolate at home. Yes, they will be. So they'll be asked to either isolate at home or in some cases they will be put in sort of specific quarantine. So when the ship, the MV Hondias, docks in Tenerife in a couple of days, passengers will first be screened for symptoms. And then if all is well, they'll be flown back to their countries of origin. I know those who are coming back to the UK are coming back on a specially chartered flight, for example. Then they'll be asked to self-isolate. Some of those people may need to be put into quarantine, but it depends on when they were last exposed to the virus.

25:36And one of the complicating factors is that the incubation period for this Andes strain of the Hantavirus, which is thought to be behind this outbreak, now that can be up to eight weeks. So people will be asked to isolate for at least, I think, 42 days, maybe six weeks in order to make sure that they are through that period. And are health officials any closer to working out how this outbreak began? They are getting a bit closer, I think. The Andes virus was first identified in 1995 in Argentina, and then in Chile the same year. And it's thought that the initial cause of infection, like all other hantavirus strains, is linked to rodents, particularly in the case of the Andes virus.