US strikes Iran’s key oil island
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Donald Trump says the United States has carried out strikes against military targets on Kharg island, Iran's main export terminal for oil in the Gulf. Writing on social media, he said he'd decided not to destroy the oil infrastructure on the island. US media report that amphibious ships carrying 2,000 Marines are being sent to the Gulf, but the Pentagon has declined to comment. There have been explosions in the capital Tehran, as thousands of Iranians took part in a rally in support of the regime. And in Lebanon the health ministry says an Israeli strike has hit a health centre in the south of the country. Also: Cuba confirms talks with Trump officials amid US blockade; how spider silk has been used to repair broken nerves; and a school videographer turned Oscar nominee who took great risks to smuggle footage out of Russia.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.4 | We definitely do not have quiet days anymore in American politics. |
| 0:12.5 | Our podcast will help you cut through all the noise. |
| 0:15.9 | Make sense of what's happening in the US, with new podcast episodes arriving throughout the week. |
| 0:20.8 | AmeriCast, Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.5 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:30.9 | I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and in the early hours of Saturday, the 14th of March, |
| 0:36.0 | these are our main stories. President Trump says the U.S. has carried out strikes against military targets on Hague Island, Iran's main export terminal for oil in the Gulf. There's defiance in Tehran as thousands of protesters turn out for a pro-government rally. And we hear from Iranian Kurds in Iraq who want to |
| 0:56.7 | return to Iran. Also in this podcast, Cuba confirms that negotiations with the US are underway. |
| 1:06.8 | And we hear how, in a medical first, spider silk has been used to repair broken nerves. |
| 1:13.3 | It bridges the gap that's made between these two nerve ends, |
| 1:16.5 | and then the new nerves try and grow out. |
| 1:18.7 | It's almost like a plant sprouting from the ground, |
| 1:20.4 | but they attach to the silk, and then they grow along it. |
| 1:23.4 | Our silk dissolves, and the nerve is able to then regenerate. |
| 1:37.1 | Haag is an island, only 8 kilometres long, located just off the coast of Iran. |
| 1:40.7 | It's small in size but not insignificance. |
| 1:43.6 | It's Iran's main export terminal for oil. |
| 2:02.6 | And tonight President Trump announced the US had obliterated military targets on the island. It comes as reports well that the White House is preparing to send reinforcements to the Middle East, including thousands of Marines. The war is now entering its third week, something President Trump was asked about before boarding Air Force One. How long now do you think the war is likely to last? |
| 2:08.1 | I can't tell you that. I mean, I have my own idea, but what good is it is? It'll be as long as it's |
| 2:13.3 | necessary. Our North America correspondent, David Willis, told me more about the significance of |
| 2:19.5 | Harg Island. It lies Charlotte about 25 kilometres off the coast of Iran in the northern Gulf, |
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