Iran widens retaliatory attacks in Gulf countries
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the fourth day of the US and Israel's war against Iran, Tehran has widened its retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region, with two of its drones hitting the US embassy in Saudi Arabia. Iran has threatened to ''set fire'' to any ship passing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and gas shipping route. The cost of hiring an oil supertanker from the Middle East to China has doubled since last week, reaching an all-time high of more than $400,000 a day. In the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells journalists "the hardest hits" on Iran are "yet to come". Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance insists that the conflict will not drag on for years. As the Trump administration seeks to justify its military campaign, what do Americans make of the decision to attack Iran? We hear from voters in Texas.
Also: US lawmakers have released Bill and Hillary Clinton's video testimonies about Jeffrey Epstein, totalling around nine hours' worth of footage. A long-lost painting by the Dutch Master Rembrandt has been traced and authenticated by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. And Ethiopia unveils Africa’s first unmanned smart police station, powered by artificial intelligence.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.6 | I'm Janet Jolil, and in the early hours of Tuesday, the 3rd of March, these are our main stories. |
| 0:17.6 | On day four of the US and Israel's war on Iran, it widens its retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region with two of its drones hitting the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia. |
| 0:29.0 | The Iranian Red Crescent says more than 550 people have been killed in the past three days of U.S. and Israeli strikes. |
| 0:38.0 | Tehran threatens to set fire to any ship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, |
| 0:43.6 | a crucial transit route for oil and gas. |
| 0:49.1 | Also in this podcast, videos of the Clinton's testimony to Congress about the late convicted sex offender |
| 0:55.8 | Jeffrey Epstein are released as the former president says he did nothing wrong. |
| 1:01.5 | I swam around, I sat in the hot tub for five minutes, I think it was, and I got it and went to bed. |
| 1:07.7 | And I have to ask this, did you engage in any sexual activities with this person? |
| 1:16.2 | Iran has broadened its retaliatory attacks on American targets in the Gulf region |
| 1:20.9 | as the U.S. Israeli strikes on Tehran and other Iranian sites enter their fourth day. |
| 1:27.7 | The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two Iranian drones, causing a fire to break out. |
| 1:33.9 | Explosions were heard and clouds of smoke seen in Riyadh's diplomatic quarter. |
| 1:38.9 | Qatar's Defence Ministry intercepted two ballistic missiles early on Tuesday. |
| 1:43.8 | Oil and gas facilities have been hit as well as cities and airports. |
| 1:48.6 | Washington has urged Americans in the Gulf to leave as soon as possible. |
| 1:52.8 | Lebanon has also been dragged into the conflict as Israel continues to carry out strikes on Hezbollah targets. |
| 1:59.9 | The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says that the U.S. launched its war in Iran on Saturday |
| 2:04.7 | as a preemptive measure because it knew that Israel was going to attack the Islamic Republic. |
| 2:11.1 | It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, they were going to respond |
... |
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