Israel attacks Iranian petrochemical complex
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There is "extensive damage" from missile attacks on the Ras Laffan industrial site, Qatar's state-owned petroleum company says. The site was among those listed by Iran in a warning that it would take "decisive action" after its South Pars gas field facilities were reportedly hit by Israeli strikes. Earlier, Israel launched a series of strikes on Lebanon's capital Beirut, as it continues its offensive against Hezbollah. We hear voices from across the Middle East.
Also on the programme: Senegal has called for an international investigation after its national men's football team is stripped of its African Cup title, following January's chaotic match against Morocco; and we hear from the researchers using maths to understand why some clothes designs keep coming back into fashion.
(Photo: A view of the South Pars gas field in Assalooyeh on Iran's Persian Gulf coast south of Tehran Credit: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.3 | Hello and welcome to NewsAff, the BBC World Service. |
| 0:12.8 | We're coming to you live from London. |
| 0:14.8 | I'm James Menendez. |
| 0:16.5 | And we're going to begin with the war in Iran and two major developments today. The first is |
| 0:22.1 | reports that Israel has carried out airstrikes on an Iranian facility in the world's |
| 0:26.8 | largest natural gas field, the South Pars field, which it shares with Qatar. It's promised to |
| 0:33.7 | retaliate against facilities across the Gulf region, potentially exacerbating the |
| 0:38.9 | energy crunch caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. |
| 0:43.0 | The second is the killing of another senior Iranian official. |
| 0:46.3 | This time, the country's intelligence minister, that was in an overnight strike. |
| 0:51.8 | As ever, it's hard to communicate with people inside Iran and we cannot report |
| 0:55.7 | freely there. But this woman contacted the BBC and her words have been voiced by a colleague. |
| 1:00.9 | She says people are now getting desperate. Our lives have fallen back due to the war. We can't |
| 1:06.2 | leave the house because it is dangerous and we can't work. How are we supposed to make a living? It's a really |
| 1:11.6 | bad situation. Everyone is facing the same difficulties. Our Czech's getting bounced back. |
| 1:16.8 | We can't go on like this for much longer. |
| 1:19.2 | And these Iranians contacted the BBC following news of the death of the intelligence minister. |
| 1:24.1 | He's called Ismail Khatib. Again, they've been voiced by my BBC colleagues. |
| 1:29.0 | It seems like this killing of Khatib might help the people since he was among the leadership. |
| 1:34.1 | It might be that when people come out after a call to protest, the likelihood of them being |
| 1:39.6 | killed is lower now. I've honestly never gone to a protest at all. My family wouldn't let me. If I decide to go |
... |
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