The Global Story

As the US and Israel war with Iran enters its fourth week, there are growing number of people in the United States calling for it end. But the military operations are increasing, not winding down.
This is a critical moment where the war could turn into a long drawn-out conflict. Or it could be a moment where Donald Trump dashes for a quick exit.
The BBC’s world affairs correspondent Joe Inwood and the BBC’s Persian service’s Ghoncheh Habibiazad discuss with Tristan where this could all go next?
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One, March 20, 2026. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Social media platforms this week have been flooded with a wild rumour: that Benjamin Netanyahu was dead (which he is not). Fake photos and videos of his body, coated with dust and debris, seemed to show that the Israeli prime minister had been killed in an Iranian air strike.
The rumour was false – Netanyahu had not died, nor been involved in a strike. The photos and videos were AI-generated. But when Netanyahu posted several videos of himself, debunking and mocking the rumour, some people on social media still refused to believe these were really him.
Today on the show, Thomas Copeland from BBC Verify explains how the economics of social media drive the creation of AI-generated fake videos – sometimes by people with no strong feelings about the war itself. And we speak to Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible, who says the essential strategy behind wartime disinformation remains unchanged since ancient times.
Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows his hand as he speaks at a cafe Credit: Benjamin Netanyahu/Reuters)

Shortly after the US-Israeli war with Iran began, a second war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities say that more than 900 people, including at least 111 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March. More than a million others have been forced to leave their homes.
On Wednesday, Israel widened its air strikes from the southern suburbs of Beirut into the city centre. And there are fears that what Israel has called a “limited” ground operation could lead to an occupation of the south. Israel says it is targeting not only Hezbollah fighters and leaders, but also businesses it claims are linked to the group and help finance its military operations.

From his post in Beirut, BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega explains the long history of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, and we ask what could come next.
Producers: Chris Benderev and Aron Keller
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo Credit: Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in central Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, 12 March, 2026. Creit: Claudia Greco/Reuters

Since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, The Global Story listeners have been contacting us with questions: about the causes of the war, the legality of it, and how other countries are responding. As Gulf states get drawn further into the conflict, might they send military reinforcement? And if the Iranian regime were to fall, could islamist groups such as Isis seize an opportunity to claim more power?
In today’s episode, we answer all of these and more, with BBC world affairs editor, John Simpson.

Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: A woman marches with an Iranian monarchy flag during a 'Freedom for Iran' protest in New York, New York, USA, 15 March 2026. Credit: Olga Fedorova/Shutterstock

For nearly forty years, Fergal Keane has reported for the BBC from some of the world’s most brutal conflicts – in Gaza, Iraq, Rwanda, Sudan, Ukraine and beyond – and in that time interviewed scores of children who are the innocent victims of adult wars.
As he came to understand the impacts of trauma on young minds, Keane began too to experience his own mental breakdowns – the result of a troubled childhood and a career spent running towards danger – and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD.
In today’s episode, he reflects on what he has learned from his own experiences and reporting about how childhood traumas can be treated, and the hope for those living through today’s wars.

Producer: Hannah Moore
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Displaced children play in Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Haitham Imad/ EPA/ Shutterstock.