Trump briefed on new military options for Iran

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1:17Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 15 hours GMT on Friday the 1st of May. The deadline has passed for the Trump administration to get approval for the war on Iran, even as the president is briefed on new military options. Ukraine hits oil facilities in a Russian Black Sea port for the fourth time in two weeks. And one of the world's largest manufacturers of fertiliser warns of serious disruption to food supplies. Also in the podcast... Anything can happen really within the prison, outside the prison. I just feel as if we are wasting our lives in here and rotting away to a degree.

1:57We hear from a British couple detained in Iran.

2:05According to US law, President Trump must get congressional approval for any military action longer than 60 days. The war on Iran began 62 days ago, but Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says it's currently on hold because of the ceasefire, so there's no need to go to Congress. Democrats and some Republicans disagree, while Iran says the US blockade breaches the truce anyway. At the same time, there are reports that the president has been briefed about options for new strikes on Iran, and that the US military may deploy a hypersonic missile called Dark Eagle for the first time. I asked our diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, whether this was all an attempt to put pressure on Iran, or if the ceasefire was genuinely threatened.

2:50I think the ceasefire is always under threat because, you know, you've got two sides, both maintaining a kind of ceasefire but continuing the conflict through these competing blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, with always the possibility that one side will lose patience and decide to revert to overt hostilities. It's not surprising that we hear, you know, talk from the United States of military planning, of the deployment of new and devastating weaponry, such as the one you just mentioned. And I think it all points to frustration, certainly a frustration in the White House, that the blockade has yet to bring Iran to its knees.

3:34I think there is a calculation going on at the Pentagon about how long it can maintain the military pressure. It's got three carrier strike groups in the broader region at the moment. How long can those remain on station before decisions have to be taken about bringing them home? And all of these sorts of things are constantly going through the minds of those planners in Washington. And that's why I think we do hear from time to time these reports that the United States might simply return to some kind of military action in an effort to force the pace. President Trump says he has already won, but just wants to win by a bigger margin.

4:12How much pressure is the Iranian regime under at the moment? It's under enormous pressure and it is mounting pressure. The blockade that the US Navy has imposed has certainly increased the economic pain being felt by the Iranian regime. There is talk about the point at which the blockade will force Iran to reduce its oil production. That is going to cause hardship. It's felt possibly in the next couple of weeks. Some of the workarounds that the Iranians are using, increasing their trade with Russia across the Caspian Sea, exporting oil to China via rail. All of these things can help to kind of ease the pressure somewhat, but are no substitutes for the proper functioning of the Strait of Hormuz.

4:58And so, you know, clearly Washington's hope is that this will ultimately bring Iran to its knees. I think a lot of Iran watchers say that simply doesn't really show an understanding of the kind of pressure that Iran is willing to put itself through. And of course, this is a regime which just a few months ago killed tens of thousands of its own citizens. Does it really mind if ordinary Iranians feel a bit more economic pressure? Probably not. So the question is, who blinks first? And briefly, will the passing of the 60-day War Powers Act deadline make any difference? There's a legal debate going on in Washington about this.

5:37You heard Pete Hegseth saying the administration's understanding was that the clock stopped when the ceasefire came into effect some weeks ago. That is not the view of legal scholars. And I think it is clear that some Republicans who have so far stuck with the administration may reconsider it at the point at which they feel that the administration has gone beyond what the war power, the 1973 war powers resolution allows for. That remains an ongoing debate in Washington. Paul Adams. And there's more from Paul about the likely direction of the conflict in Iran on the BBC News YouTube channel. You'll find us in the podcast section there.

6:17The war in Iran has already caused huge disruption in world energy markets, with the price of oil hitting a four-year high this week. Now there's a warning about how the conflict could harm global food supplies. The assessment has come from the boss of Yara, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of fertilisers. Svein Holsetter has been talking to our business editor Simon Jack. Fertiliser is not just any other commodity. It's responsible for half of the food production in the world. And given the importance of the Strait of Hormuz for fertilizer exports, it has huge consequences for every day that passes.

6:55And right now, it's not only a matter of not getting product out. It's also a matter of not being able to produce in that part of the world as well. And it's very difficult to put exact numbers. No one has full overview of that. But if I try to estimate, it could be that we're up to about half a million tons of nitrogen fertilizer not being produced in the world right now because of the situation that we're in. And if I try to translate that into, OK, so what does that mean for food production? and again using some standard calculations on that I would get to up to 10 billion meals that will not be produced every week as a result of lack of fertilizers.

7:38And are there any particular areas in the world where this is more urgent? Is it Europe? Is it Asia? Is it Africa? Where are the hot spots? It will have the biggest impact where there's the least fertilizer application already. And what I mean by that, the soil conditions in Europe are such that you can reduce somewhat in Europe, but not that big consequences on the crop yields. Now, if we move to Africa, Africa is under fertilizing. So you're not replacing the nutrients in the soil. And when you then reduce just slightly on fertilizer application, it will have a much bigger impact on the crop yields.

8:21As we see this scarcity of fertilizer supply, which has a direct impact on food production, could you see us in a bidding war for fertilizer and, in fact, a bidding war for food? And that would be a very dramatic situation if there is a bidding war on food and one that Europe is robust enough to handle. handle. But what we need to keep in mind in Europe is, okay, in that situation, who are we buying the food away from? And that is, again, a situation where the most vulnerable people pay the highest price for this in developing nations where they cannot afford to follow that. And that leads to food affordability, food scarcity, and hunger.

9:05And that's why it's important that we do our part in Europe right now and grow as much food as we possibly can. Sven Holsutter talking to Simon Jack. Russia has deployed nearly 800 emergency workers in the Black Sea port town of Tuapce after it was hit by Ukrainian strikes for the fourth time in two weeks. Ukraine is targeting the port's energy infrastructure to try to prevent Russia benefiting from the high oil prices. Jessica Parker in Kiev told me more about Ukraine's tactics. Ukraine is clearly trying to hit the Kremlin's pocket here. They have been intensifying hits on Russian oil interests, using particularly this evolution in drone technology, being able to reach inside Russian territory.

9:51And as you mentioned there, the port city of Tuapse now reportedly experiencing its fourth hit, this time on the seaport and hits on the refinery. Earlier in the week, there were residents reporting seeing black rain in the city, oil spills. And from Ukraine's perspective, they say, look, Russia targets our energy infrastructure and the money that is being made out of Russian oil exports is being used to finance the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which, of course, the full scale invasion began back in 2022, now into its fifth year. Moscow, though, has accused Kiev of destabilizing energy markets.

10:29We're just obviously hearing what's been happening in the Middle East and has accused the West as well of ignoring the environmental cost that's been resulting from these strikes. But Ukraine certainly managing to make a number of successful strikes, it seems, over the past couple of weeks as part of this intensified campaign. Yeah, how damaging is this to Russia's war effort amid suggestions that some people there are beginning to wonder how long this conflict is going to go on? Yeah, I mean, it has gone on a long time now. And in terms of how damaging, obviously, it's difficult to say for sure exactly what this is costing Russia or indeed costing the Kremlin.

11:06Ukrainian estimates are putting it at billions and billions of dollars in terms of the amount of cost that these strikes are having. But then there is also that matter you're referring to of morale in Russia. Ukraine must have that on its mind as well. And it's interesting, there's the upcoming Victory Day parade in Moscow on the 9th of May, which of course commemorates Russia's role in defeating Nazi Germany towards the end of World War II, it's going to be scaled back this year because of what the Kremlin calls a terrorist threat from Ukraine. So there is this sense, I suppose, of the war coming home to Russia, even though, of course, the actual fighting between troops is going on largely in, of course, eastern Ukraine, where the war keeps raging.

11:52Jessica Parker in Kiev. Weight loss drugs could help people with alcohol problems cut down on harmful drinking, according to a new Danish study. Published in The Lancet, it looked at the impact of semaglutide on patients with alcohol abuse disorder. The study was led by Professor Anders Fink-Jensen of Fredericksburg Hospital and the University of Copenhagen. We had a randomized controlled trial where every patient involved had to have a BMI of 30 or higher and diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder. And all of these patients over six months time period got psychotherapy. And on top of that, they got either placebo or semaglutide weekly.

12:35What we find was quite potent effect, a reduction in number of heavy drinking days, total alcohol consumption, craving and so on. So why do you think those taking these drugs were drinking less? With this compound, we haven't investigated. We have looked at it in an earlier study. We put people also in scanners and measured the brain activity when they were shown pictures of alcohol. And the pictures of alcohol increased the activity in the reward center of the brain. And the group that was treated to have reduced activation. It's also what rodent experiments indicate. and we believe at least there are overlapping brain circuits involved in appetite regulation and involved in the rewarding effects of alcohol and food and also other drugs of abuse.

13:26What do you make of the fact that those who didn't have the drug but had a placebo still drank less? There was absolutely an effect and I think it's because everyone was treated with psychotherapy which is a documented effective treatment of alcohol use disorders and probably also combined with the fact that you asked them to measure how much they were drinking. This is known to have a reducing effect on consumption. Now, there have been some cases where people who lost weight as a result of being on these drugs put it on once they stopped taking them. Could the same thing happen here? Yeah, that could easily happen.

14:02That is exactly what we see in rodents and in monkeys too. And then a very interesting thing is it looks as if lower doses than those used for weight loss may be effective here. And also the price, which is, of course, an issue, would be lower probably. So that's what is needed to be looked into. And might you be able to use this for treating other addictions? Yeah, this is what laboratory experiments from Denmark and Sweden, especially from the US, has indicated, where it seemed that there could be an effect on nicotine, on cocaine, on cannabis, basically on all drugs of abuse. That could be really interesting because a lot of our patients actually are not only dealing with alcohol, they also take different drugs on top of each other.

14:46So if it holds true would be the first time that there was medication that actually would work on different kinds of addiction. Danish psychiatrist Anders Fink Jensen. and still to come on this podcast you've got thousands and thousands of different types of cells and you're faced with this very intricate anatomy it's this beautiful structure with lots of worlds and different kind of tunnels in the nose so you've got to try and figure all of that out in 3d what mice knows is tell us about our sense of smell

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16:30You're listening to the Global News Podcast. New footage has been published of the security breach outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday night. It shows the moment the gunman burst through a checkpoint. not far from where President Trump and other officials were dining. Our North America correspondent, Peter Bowes, told us more. Several minutes of security video showing the crucial few moments when the gunman Cole Allen sprints through the security point, the metal detector. This is much clearer video than we saw in the hours after the shooting.

17:05It also shows what happened in the seconds before, with the suspect apparently wearing a large overcoat as he approached this area. He dips into a doorway for a few seconds. When he emerges without the coat, you can see the long gun that he's holding and what follows appears to be the exchange of gunfire with a Secret Service agent. Now, we don't see him being detained, but according to the head of the Secret Service, Sean Curran, who's been speaking to Fox News, the suspect then falls after hitting his knee and that's how they were able to subdue him near the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom where Donald Trump and the guests were just starting their dinner.

17:47I suspect that in releasing this video on X, Janine Pirro, who's the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, the Chief Federal Prosecutor, she wanted to make the point, she writes, there is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire and she is referring to the shooting of the Secret Service agent who wasn't seriously injured. His bulletproof vest saved him. And there's been much speculation in the media here that he may have been hit by a bullet fired by one of the other agents. But officials, including President Trump earlier in the day, now appear to be saying categorically that that was not the case.

18:22Sean Curran from the Secret Service in his interview said that one agent was shot at point-blank range by the suspect, and that agent fired five times, but the alleged gunman, Cole Allen, was not injured. Our North America correspondent, Peter Bowes. Hundreds of people have taken part in a wave of anti-migrant demonstrations in South Africa in recent days. Protesters blame undocumented migrants for unemployment and pressure on public services and are calling for stricter immigration enforcement and mass deportations. As a result, several businesses owned by migrants from other African nations have closed amid fears of xenophobic attacks.

19:03Shamari Mukandjwa is a trader who moved to South Africa from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He recorded this message for us. I am married to South Africa and I've been living in South Africa for 24 years. I am a trader who helped myself trading in order to support my family. I had shops, that was back in 2004, but my shops were all bloated in 2017 when it was xenophobia again in South Africa. I just want to highlight a few incidents what happened in these marches that occurred in Pretoria because I am living in Pretoria. The marches in Pretoria, they did not start in Pretoria. They started in KwaZulu-Natal, which is Teben, and they caused many havoc.

19:51These marches never started yesterday. They started, in fact, last year, August, when the very same organization, Merchant Merchant, Operation Dudula, they started protesting, blocking access to healthcare to all foreign nations. They claim foreigners, they have occupied the hospital space, school space, women's space. Therefore, they don't need foreigners anymore, they must leave. We have been engaging with the authorities, including the United Nations Commission for Refugees, in order to find the solutions. Recently, we wrote a letter asking for a dialogue between foreign national and local people, of course with the other stakeholders, so that we can find a solution together.

20:37We are concerned with South African demand. We are concerned with joblessness. We are concerned with almost the demand they make. But what is more concerning for us is the safety of the refugee, the safety of foreign national who are attacked without anyone condemning the attacks that are going on. And that's why, as Sarov, we wrote a statement calling this kind of xenophobia which are going on as a coordinated, silent xenophobia. And therefore, we're still making the very same call to the authorities in the provinces, the authorities on national level to come on board so that we can have a conversation to address the matter that are raised by South Africans.

21:22Of course, also to look into the matter of the safety and security and the protection of all the people, including refugees and asylum seekers who are living in South Africa. Jamari Mukandjwa in South Africa. Along with millions of Iranian civilians, two travellers from Britain, Lindsay and Craig Foreman, have been caught up in the conflict in Iran. They were arrested in January 2025, accused of spying and sentenced to 10 years in Ivin prison, which was hit by deadly Israeli strikes last year. Until last August, their relatives had heard nothing from them. But now the couple are able to call out and spoke to our correspondent, Caroline Hawley.

22:03I'm with Lindsay and Craig's son, Joe, and we are waiting for them to call in by payphone from Evan Jail. These phone calls are a lifeline in so many ways for them and for us. Hi, Lindsay. How are you today? I'm just kind of dealing with the realisation that we are unlikely to be here for a long time yet. Hi, Craig. I hope you're OK. Hiya. How are you doing? I'm all right. How are you, more to the point? No, I'm not too bad. You've said in the past that you feel abandoned by the government. What do you want the government here to be doing? And what do you think they realistically can do? I don't actually know what they can do with this country here.

22:45We want help. We need to be removed from this place. We are innocent people. We have committed no crime. The phone calls are constantly interrupted by a recording which says This call is from Evan Prison and the caller is a prisoner. Craig's used to it and carries on. It seems to me we're sitting here like we are almost sitting ducks. Anything could happen really within the prison, outside the prison. I just feel as if we are wasting our lives in here and rotting away to a degree. The war brought its own fears and risks, with explosions going off close to the prison. And you've got the physical bombing.

23:29I was on the phone to Joe when there was one that came so close. The after effects of being so you realise how hyper alert you were during that whole period. Lindsay, how do you spend your days? Reading mainly. Running is my salvation, always have been. So I continue to do that. And yoga, again, one of my salvations that I choose to keep doing. I wonder how you stay positive. Well, I thank God I studied positive psychology because without that I don't know how many people have been here. But it is, and it is shockingly under. We'll get through it together. And sometime, I hope soon, we will be on the other side of these four walls.

24:14Ooh, look how beautiful Iran is. We are here. Lindsay and Craig Foreman had crossed into Iran in late December 2024, only planning to spend a few days there before continuing their motorbike journey towards Australia. I feel content I'm in Iran having an amazing time. I'm super grateful for being here just in this lovely country with these lovely people. They were posting prolifically about their trip before their arrest. Along their route they've been talking to people about what it means to live a good life and it's these conversations that seem to have got the pair into trouble. In February, they were both sentenced to 10 years in jail for spying.

24:53Lindsay, I know you were aware of Foreign Office advice not to go to Iran, but could never have imagined you would wind up in this situation. I wonder if you have regrets. The short answer is no, and Craig and I have discussed this, and we did research prior to coming and assessed the risk. I did not imagine doing a St Taurus that we would end up in prison for this long with no evidence. And Lindsay, you genuinely have no regrets? No, it is, and I won't swear, but it is really, really tough. But then so is running a marathon that people do that. You know, I take responsibility for the choice I made to be here and I have to live with the consequences.

25:39How about you? Do you wish you'd never crossed the border from Armenia into Iran?

26:09or a crime in England or a different country, you may have got a caution. Four of your cellmates have been executed? Yes, four people have been taken. And I know they've been executed because they publicise it on the TV the next day. Craig and Lindsay Foreman talking to Caroline Hawley from Evin Prison in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Researchers have mapped the nose of a mouse for the first time, detailing the position of more than 1 ,000 smell receptors. The study reveals a few surprises about their sense of smell, as Anna Foster heard from Professor Matt Grubb, neuroscientist at King's College London.