The Global Story

As the US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue and the death toll continues to rise, so too does the war of words.
President Trump has described Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's choice for new supreme leader, as "unacceptable". He has also said he believes the war will be over “pretty quickly”, but it’s not clear how - or when.
Nate Swanson, a former State Department official who spent nearly two decades in the US government working on American policy towards Iran, answers our questions on how the next stage of the conflict is likely to unfold - and whether a negotiated peace with Iran is still an option.
Producers: Chris Benderev, Cat Farnsworth and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Studio managers: James Piper and Mike Regaard.
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: People walk past a banner depicting the Iran's supreme leaders since 1979. The late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and his son, the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters.

Oil prices surged to a four-year high on Monday, before dipping after President Trump said the Iran war will end “very soon”. Just days ago, Trump said that he would not stop the war until Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
Turmoil in the region had led to the near complete shutdown of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has reportedly said it will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the Gulf if US-Israeli attacks continue.
We speak to BBC economics correspondent Andy Verity about the lessons both the US and Iran might be learning from the oil crises of the 1970s, and ask whether oil could determine how and when the war ends.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Studio manager: Mike Regaard
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: 3D-printed oil pump jacks, Iranian flag, and a rising stock graph appear in this illustration. Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

As European leaders have struggled to find a unified response to the US-Israel war in Iran, Pedro Sanchez has stood out as a voice of dissent. He said in a televised address last week: “The position of the government of Spain can be summarised in three words: no to war.”
The Spanish Prime Minister and US President have butted heads on many issues; the war in Gaza, immigration and defence spending among them, but in the past week their relationship got even more fiery, with Donald Trump threatening to cut off all trade with Spain. What makes Sanchez willing to stand up to Trump? And will his gamble be worth it?
Guy Hedgecoe, a reporter for the BBC based in Madrid, joins us to discuss.
Producers: Hannah Moore, Valerio Esposito and Chris Benderev
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech during closing ceremony of the 'Spain, Vanguard in the Green Industry', in Madrid, Spain, 08 September 2025. Credit: Daniel Gonzalez/EPA/Shutterstock.

For Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the war on Iran is the culmination of a long-standing political ambition. On Sunday, Netanyahu said he was finally doing what he had “hoped to achieve for 40 years – to crush the regime of terror completely.” Polling suggests the war is popular in Israel too.
But it’s a lot more complicated for Donald Trump. He was elected on a promise to end foreign wars, and current polling suggests the war is not supported by most Americans.
We talk to the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen about whether this war, which Netanyahu says is an opportunity, complements or collides with Donald Trump’s own interests. And ask if Benjamin Netanyahu has everything to gain from this war, and Donald Trump a lot more to lose?
Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam Chantarasak
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025.

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend that the United States was launching an offensive in Iran alongside the Israeli military, comparisons to past US interventions in the region began to proliferate. Many Americans asked whether this latest military operation would become another ‘forever war’, as the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan came to be called.
We talk to Gordon Correra, security analyst for the BBC, about America’s complicated history of intervention in the Middle East and surrounding region, and ask what these past conflicts might tell us about possible outcomes for the war in Iran.
Producer: Viv Jones, Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: A US soldier watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad in 2003. Credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic