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Iran reports Hormuz mine strikes despite US clearance assurances

The bulletin also examines Qatar's turn to American gas and a UN expert's warning that military strikes and domestic repression are compounding each other.

Channel: BBC News ·

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Ships on fire after hitting mines in Strait of Hormuz | BBC News

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1:11Iran says four tankers caught fire after mine strikes, contradicting US assurances that the shipping route had been cleared.
2:01Qatar's US gas imports suggest prolonged disruption; Trump describes Vance's reported letter as concerning medical supplies, not peace talks.
5:09A UN report finds that war has intensified repression inside Iran, including arbitrary arrests and executions.
6:36Iran's UN representative rejects the findings and accuses the US and Israel of military and economic aggression.
8:03Sally Nabil reports on Yemen fighting, Saudi airstrikes and missiles intercepted over Riyadh.
10:35Israel's absentee-ballot count continues, with Netanyahu's bloc short of a majority and Arab-led parties potentially pivotal.

Iran says four oil tankers caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz, despite American statements that obstructions had been cleared from the shipping route.

The United Kingdom's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC News) leads its program The Iran War Today with the conflicting accounts. Presenter Maryam Moshiri and Persian-service journalist Parham Ghobadi explain the dispute between Washington and Tehran. The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, making safe passage crucial to energy shipments from the Gulf.

The economic consequences extend to Qatar, a major natural gas exporter before the war. The report says it has signed a long-term agreement to import American gas. Analysts cited in the broadcast interpret that reversal as a sign that disruption could last well beyond the immediate fighting.

Diplomatic contact is continuing, though its purpose is contested. Vice President JD Vance reportedly sent a letter to leaders in Tehran. President Donald Trump says the message concerns getting medical supplies into Iran, rather than peace negotiations.

The program then turns to conditions inside Iran. A United Nations report finds that the war has intensified repression, including arbitrary arrests and executions. Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, describes civilians facing military strikes while also being threatened and punished by their own authorities. "External aggression and internal repression, neither has displaced the other. Each has compounded the other," she says.

Iranian UN representative Ali Karimi-Makam rejects the findings and accuses the United States and Israel of coordinated military and economic aggression.

From Cairo, correspondent Sally Nabil reports on clashes between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed forces. She says Saudi Arabia launched more than a hundred airstrikes over the preceding day, hitting civilian targets. The segment also covers fighting around Taiz and missiles intercepted over Riyadh.

The bulletin closes in Jerusalem, where Hugo Bachega reports that absentee ballots are still being counted in Israel's election. He puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist-religious bloc short of a governing majority. Arab-led parties could be pivotal to forming a government, while Netanyahu's allegations of election interference add another dispute to the unfinished count.

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