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00:00:08MUSIC
00:00:13I'm Caitriona Perry in Washington and this is BBC World
00:00:17World News America. Russia hammers
00:00:20hammers Ukraine for another night night as Ukraine's president vows
00:00:23vows retaliation if Russian strikes
00:00:24strikes on the country's energy grid
00:00:27grid continue. The BBC goes inside
00:00:30inside Yemen as Saudi backed government government forces work to regain
00:00:33regain control of coastal land from from the Houthis as the ongoing war
00:00:37war takes a toll on the population.
00:00:40population. This whole area has just
00:00:42just been retaken by pro-government pro-government forces. They captured
00:00:46captured it at about three days ago.
00:00:48ago. Until then, the Houthis were
00:00:50were in control here. US Congresswoman
00:00:54Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemns condemns the raid on her home, believed
00:00:56believed to be part of an ongoing
00:01:00ongoing federal criminal investigation.
00:01:12Hello. You're very welcome to
00:01:15the programme. Well, let's start start in the Ukrainian capital because
00:01:18because as we go to air, Kyiv is
00:01:20is facing yet another night of deadly
00:01:23deadly Russian air strikes. Local Local officials say one person has
00:01:26has been killed in a strike on an an apartment block. It's unclear,
00:01:29unclear, though, just how many have have been injured. We heard from
00:01:32from one Ukrainian MP who had just
00:01:34just left an emergency shelter. We
00:01:37We had like four ballistic missile missile strikes. Unfortunately, we
00:01:40we had to leave this office, but
00:01:41but now things feel relatively safe.
00:01:44safe. But relatively safe is always
00:01:46always quite relative. Well, this this is just the latest development
00:01:50development in what's been a tense tense and uncertain 48 hours. On
00:01:54On Saturday, President Trump appeared appeared to unilaterally announce
00:01:57announce an energy ceasefire had had been agreed between Russia and
00:02:00and Ukraine. President Zelensky said
00:02:02said he would support it but accused
00:02:04accused Russia of attacking six energy energy facilities less than 24 hours
00:02:08hours after that deal was announced.
00:02:11announced. This was in Kharkiv neighbourhood neighbourhood that residents think
00:02:14think was destined for its power
00:02:16power station. Now these strikes, strikes, said President Volodymyr
00:02:20Volodymyr Zelensky, were Putin's Putin's answer to President Trump.
00:02:22Trump. There's been no confirmation confirmation from the Kremlin of
00:02:25of any agreement relating to a ceasefire, ceasefire, and the Russian foreign
00:02:29foreign minister said Ukraine doesn't doesn't deserve any respite. Now
00:02:33Now on Monday, the Ukrainian leader leader told the Warsaw Security Forum
00:02:36Forum that Kyiv would retaliate if
00:02:38if Russian strikes on the country's
00:02:40country's energy grid continued.
00:02:43continued. It was clear that Putin
00:02:46Putin does not read Truth Social.
00:02:49Social. Russia is trying to use another
00:02:52another winter, another period of
00:02:54of cold weather against our country
00:02:57country attacking our power plants,
00:02:59plants, power grids and all parts
00:03:02parts of our energy infrastructure.
00:03:04infrastructure. Every single day. day. Well, as President Zelensky
00:03:08Zelensky said, there Ukrainians are
00:03:09are facing yet another bitterly cold
00:03:12cold winter without power. Trump
00:03:14Trump should hurry up and put Putin
00:03:16Putin in his place instead of pretending
00:03:18pretending to be friends. Sorry,
00:03:20Sorry, little technical issue there there because the latest wave of
00:03:24of strikes on Kyiv's energy grids
00:03:26grids have caused new power outages
00:03:29outages across three Ukrainian regions. regions. Some of the residents there
00:03:32there say President Trump should
00:03:34should see first-hand the impact.
00:03:37impact. Trump should hurry up and and put Putin in his place instead
00:03:40instead of pretending to be friends friends with him. All those phone
00:03:44phone calls between them, he should should come here to Ukraine and see
00:03:48see our homes, see how badly they've
00:03:50they've been destroyed. As a resident resident there, speaking to the BBC
00:03:54BBC now, it's unclear whether in in fact an energy cease fire between
00:03:58between Russia and Ukraine, if agreed, agreed, could actually hold. But
00:04:02But European allies have warned that that Washington's recent diesel agreement
00:04:05agreement with Moscow could encourage
00:04:07encourage further aggression on Ukraine. Ukraine. Last week, President Trump
00:04:11Trump announced that the US would would temporarily ease restrictions
00:04:14restrictions on Russian diesel fuel fuel exports. Now this would allow
00:04:17allow Russia to supply some diesel
00:04:19diesel to US and global markets for
00:04:22for the next six months. The US leader leader says it's the right choice
00:04:26choice for Americans, but it has has faced intense criticism abroad
00:04:30abroad and here at home in the US
00:04:32US on Capitol Hill because a bipartisan bipartisan group of seven lawmakers
00:04:36lawmakers released a joint statement statement calling on the Trump administration
00:04:40administration to reverse course. course. It said in part, the United
00:04:44United States should not provide provide Putin with a financial lifeline.
00:04:46lifeline. While Russia continues
00:04:48continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. civilians. Now, Democratic senator
00:04:52senator from New Hampshire, Jeanne Jeanne Shaheen, is the ranking member
00:04:55member of the Senate Foreign Relations Relations Committee. She's one of
00:04:57of the signatories on that statement. statement. And I spoke to her earlier
00:05:01earlier and began by asking her whether
00:05:04whether President Trump could, in
00:05:05in fact, agree to such a deal on
00:05:08on diesel with Russia. Well, Congress
00:05:10Congress passed a law in 2022 that
00:05:13that said we would not allow the the imports of any Russian fuel.
00:05:17fuel. And if for some reason the the administration were thinking
00:05:20thinking about it, they needed to to come and consult with Congress. Congress. And if Congress had conditions
00:05:24conditions to put on it, then they
00:05:26they had to listen to those conditions. conditions. So the reality is they
00:05:30they are in violation of that law.
00:05:33law. And how can the US proceed with with that deal while at the same
00:05:37same time asking other countries countries to step away from Russia
00:05:41Russia to not buy Russian oil, even
00:05:43even the new powers to levy sanctions
00:05:45sanctions under the Lindsey Graham
00:05:47Graham law? Well, I don't think the
00:05:50the United States, the administration administration should be doing that.
00:05:52that. I think the fact is they're they're enabling Vladimir Putin.
00:05:56Putin. They're helping him fund the
00:05:58the war in Ukraine in a way that
00:06:01that is killing thousands of innocent
00:06:02innocent civilians. That is not in
00:06:05in America's national security interests.
00:06:07interests. And that undermines our
00:06:11our efforts to combat Russian aggression aggression across this region. For
00:06:14For example, I've been in the Western Western Balkans for the last week,
00:06:18week, and what I've heard in country country after country that I visited
00:06:21visited is the impact of malign Russian
00:06:25Russian influence, the misinformation, misinformation, the effort to stir
00:06:27stir up ethnic tensions here in the the region and the impact that that's
00:06:31that's having. And we should be doing doing everything possible to put
00:06:35put pressure on Vladimir Putin to
00:06:36to get him to the table because that's
00:06:40that's the only way the war in Ukraine Ukraine is going to end is if Putin
00:06:44Putin gets serious about negotiating, negotiating, and he's not going to
00:06:47to get serious as long as he can
00:06:49can persuade Donald Trump and play
00:06:51play him, which he has been doing
00:06:53doing like a fiddle to help him in
00:06:56in every way possible against the
00:06:59the Ukrainians. Is there a sense sense where you are there or indeed
00:07:03indeed with your congressional colleagues colleagues that the US position is
00:07:06is shifting away again from Ukraine
00:07:09Ukraine and towards Russia in doing doing this deal and even suggesting
00:07:12suggesting that the Ukrainian strikes strikes on Russian energy sources sources are one of the reasons that
00:07:16that US oil and gas prices are so
00:07:19so high. Well, we are making it very
00:07:22very clear, and I think on a bipartisan bipartisan basis in Congress, it's
00:07:26it's very clear that it's not the the US position that's shifting away
00:07:30away from Ukraine. It's Donald Trump's
00:07:32Trump's position and the White House House position that's shifting away
00:07:35away from Ukraine. And that, again, again, as I said, is not in America's
00:07:39America's interest. What President President Trump is doing is looking
00:07:43looking for a scapegoat because he he went to war in Iran. And it's
00:07:46it's a war that's not turning out
00:07:48out so well. It's driven up prices
00:07:51prices on everything from gasoline
00:07:53gasoline to energy to groceries in
00:07:55in the United States. American families
00:07:57families are feeling it. They're They're upset and they're looking
00:08:01looking to take it out on the President President come the November elections.
00:08:04elections. So he's looking for someone
00:08:06someone else to blame when it's his his responsibility and his policy
00:08:10policy that went to war in Iran. Iran. He needs to get back to the
00:08:13the negotiating table. He needs to to negotiate an end to this war so
00:08:17so that prices will stop going up
00:08:19up and people will stop being hurt hurt because of his decision. As
00:08:23As you said there there's bipartisan
00:08:26bipartisan objection to this in Congress. Congress. You've signed a letter letter with some of your Republican
00:08:30Republican colleagues calling on on the administration to not go ahead
00:08:33ahead with this deal, but is there
00:08:35there anything that Congress collectively
00:08:38collectively can do to stop it or
00:08:39or to change things? Well, I think
00:08:42think we'll probably see legal action
00:08:45action against this. And, you know, know, the other reality is Russia
00:08:49Russia doesn't have excess diesel diesel fuel. Cars are queuing up
00:08:52up in long lines in Russia because
00:08:54because they don't have enough oil oil and gas in Russia. They don't
00:08:58don't have enough diesel fuel because because the Ukrainians have been
00:09:02been very successful at taking out
00:09:05out their oil and gas infrastructure infrastructure in the country. So
00:09:08So the idea that Russia is going going to be able to provide enough
00:09:11enough diesel fuel to lower the market
00:09:13market price and to do it any time time before November is just pie
00:09:17pie in the sky. The President, as
00:09:19as I said, is looking for someone
00:09:21someone else to blame. Looking for
00:09:24for some answer. When people are
00:09:27are experiencing the direct result result of his actions in the war
00:09:30war in Iran. Senator, I just want want to ask you about something else
00:09:34else briefly before you go. And that that is the Houthi strikes that we're
00:09:37we're seeing on Saudi Arabia escalating escalating in recent days. The Saudis
00:09:41Saudis had asked the US for more more help. They hadn't given it.
00:09:44it. But should the administration administration be looking again at
00:09:47at that decision? Well, I think the
00:09:50the Saudis are being hit very hard
00:09:53hard by this war in Iran, not just just by the Houthis and what they're
00:09:57they're doing in Yemen, but also also by strikes coming directly from
00:10:00from Iran. We know that an American American was killed at the attack
00:10:04attack on the airport. So I think think we should be talking to the
00:10:08the Saudis about what more support
00:10:10support we can provide to them because
00:10:13because they are directly being affected
00:10:17affected by the result of this war war in Iran that President Trump
00:10:20Trump started. US Senator Jeanne Jeanne Shaheen there. Now, back to
00:10:24to these. Have said that the US will will receive what they said would
00:10:27would be a swift and painful response
00:10:30response if it gets involved in that that war in Yemen. The warning comes
00:10:33comes as Saudi authorities report report that they've intercepted further
00:10:36further Houthi missiles and drones drones on Monday, Riyadh's main international
00:10:40international airport will remain remain closed until Saturday after
00:10:43after two deadly strikes there in
00:10:45in as many days. Our security correspondent,
00:10:48correspondent, Frank Gardner reports. reports. A normal day in Riyadh airports
00:10:52airports busy departure terminal.
00:10:55terminal. Then this with no warning. warning. A Houthi missile fired from
00:10:58from Yemen. 13 people killed on Saturday,
00:11:01Saturday, hundreds injured. Three
00:11:03Three strikes over four days. Saudi
00:11:06Saudi air defences penetrated. All
00:11:08All this while Saudi Arabia is hosting
00:11:11hosting a major international energy
00:11:12energy conference. Resilience gives
00:11:15gives us the capacity to sustain
00:11:18sustain progress and continue shaping
00:11:21shaping our future. The events of
00:11:23of recent weeks are serious. Our
00:11:26Our response must be equally serious
00:11:29serious while remaining focus on
00:11:31on the decades ahead. But the Houthis
00:11:36Houthis have other plans. Responding Responding to recent Saudi air strikes,
00:11:40strikes, Yemen's Houthis have launched launched a barrage of missile and
00:11:43and drone strikes right across the
00:11:45the Saudi kingdom. Saudi Arabia spent
00:11:49spent more than $83 billion on defence defence last year. That made them
00:11:53them the eighth biggest defence spender
00:11:55spender in the world. Over the years, years, they've bought typhoon jets,
00:11:59jets, Patriot missiles and third
00:12:01third interceptors. So how is it
00:12:03it then, that with all of this expensive
00:12:05expensive kit, they can't seem to to prevent these devastating Houthi
00:12:09Houthi missile strikes? The Houthis Houthis have a mixture of ballistic
00:12:12ballistic missiles, cruise missiles missiles and drones that all require
00:12:15require a lot of different defences. defences. So you can spend millions millions intercepting weapons that
00:12:19that cost a fraction of that. You You can shoot down lots of them,
00:12:22them, but you still suffer crippling crippling damage from the ones that that get through. The Saudis can
00:12:26can bomb Yemen extensively to try try and stop this, but it's really
00:12:30really hard to track down every launcher, launcher, every possible missile
00:12:33missile site, every small factory.
00:12:37factory. Especially in a country country wracked by its own ongoing
00:12:41ongoing conflict forces loyal to to the ousted, internationally recognised
00:12:44recognised Yemeni government have have retaken land in places they've
00:12:48they've lost it in others. But all
00:12:50all the while, Iran is strengthening
00:12:53strengthening its hand, ready for for an eventual deal with America.
00:12:56America. To end this widening war.
00:12:59war. Frank Gardner, BBC News. Let's
00:13:02Let's take a closer look at the current current situation in Yemen, because
00:13:06because that civil war in Yemen began
00:13:09began in 2014 when Houthi fighters fighters backed by Iran, as you heard,
00:13:12heard, gained control of the capital
00:13:14capital Sana'a. Since 2015, a Saudi
00:13:16Saudi led coalition has been trying, trying, with heavy air strikes to
00:13:19to restore to power the internationally internationally recognised government.
00:13:23government. Now, in recent weeks, weeks, the Houthis have taken over
00:13:26over part of the west coast of the
00:13:28the country. Although Saudi backed
00:13:30backed government forces have since since retaken some of that territory.
00:13:34territory. Now our senior international international correspondent Orla
00:13:37Orla Guerin reports from the Yemeni Yemeni coast. And just a warning
00:13:40warning her report contains distressing
00:13:43distressing images. Crossing the
00:13:46the desert, a remote battlefield
00:13:48battlefield in a civil war that is
00:13:50is fast becoming a major regional
00:13:52regional threat. We travelled with
00:13:56with Yemen's southern forces fighters fighters loyal to the internationally
00:14:00internationally recognised government. government. In this landscape of
00:14:04of harsh beauty. They have regained
00:14:07regained lost ground and took us
00:14:08us to see it here. The wreckage of
00:14:12of a Houthi drone shot out of the
00:14:14the sky. How much damage could this
00:14:18this have done? Commander Tawfiq
00:14:19Tawfiq Al Haboun says it contained
00:14:23contained explosives. And could kill
00:14:27kill 10 to 15 people. This whole
00:14:31whole area has just been retaken retaken by pro-government forces.
00:14:35forces. They captured it about three
00:14:38three days ago. Until then, the Houthis Houthis were in control here. They've
00:14:42They've been pushed back. And we've we've been told that there are Houthi
00:14:45Houthi fighters in position up in in the mountains. About 500 of them.
00:14:49them. And since we've been here, here, the forces are keeping an eye
00:14:52eye on the sky just to make sure
00:14:54sure that there are no more drones
00:14:56drones coming. And here, scenes from
00:14:59from the battle to retake this territory.
00:15:04territory. No military precision
00:15:06precision in this desert campaign.
00:15:09campaign. Just a loose alliance of of pro-government fighters. Some
00:15:13Some of them barefoot. As we left
00:15:19left front lines about a mile from
00:15:21from the Houthis government reinforcements
00:15:24reinforcements were heading in. Along
00:15:28Along the way, a tableau of suffering
00:15:31suffering for some of those who have
00:15:33have fled the fighting. The only
00:15:36only shelter is the trees. Aisha
00:15:38Aisha tells me she has been here
00:15:41here for 30 days with no money, no
00:15:44no food and no water. Not even a
00:15:47a blanket. Yemen's civil war is casting
00:15:51casting a shadow well beyond its
00:15:53its borders. The Houthis are a threat
00:15:56threat to international shipping shipping and increasingly a threat
00:16:00threat to Saudi Arabia. But for their
00:16:02their backers in Iran, they provide
00:16:07provide leverage in operating rooms
00:16:08rooms in the city of Aden. Geopolitics
00:16:11Geopolitics feels remote. Night and
00:16:13and day, doctors are treating wounded
00:16:16wounded fighters. That includes the
00:16:19the enemy. This man is a Houthi.
00:16:22Houthi. But most here are from the
00:16:25the government side. When you get get a real sense here of how fierce
00:16:28fierce the fighting is, this hospital
00:16:31hospital alone has received 51 wounded
00:16:34wounded fighters today. Every bed bed in the intensive care unit is
00:16:38is full. They've been arriving with
00:16:40with gunshot wounds with shrapnel.
00:16:43shrapnel. Some have had limbs amputated. amputated. And the casualties keep
00:16:46keep coming. We've been told there
00:16:47there are three more on the way.
00:16:51way. The battles in Yemen are ebbing
00:16:54ebbing and flowing with no clear
00:16:56clear victor, but plenty more trauma.
00:16:59trauma. For some, the war will always
00:17:01always be with them. Some still have
00:17:05have their fighting spirit. Like Like Ahmed Ali Mahmoud. He wants
00:17:09wants to get back to the front. Despite
00:17:13Despite multiple fractures. I'm not
00:17:18not waiting to be fully recovered, recovered, he told us. I just want
00:17:21want to be able to stand. I think
00:17:24think it's a religious duty and a
00:17:26a national duty. The Houthis have
00:17:28have destroyed the country. In the
00:17:33the next ward, Ali, who is 121 year
00:17:36year older than Yemen's war. He was
00:17:38was injured by a drone and is now
00:17:41now facing a complicated surgery.
00:17:44surgery. There is shrapnel near his
00:17:46his spine, says Doctor Amur Al-sakkaf.
00:17:49Al-sakkaf. The operation won't be be easy, but God willing, our staff
00:17:53staff will be able to handle it.
00:17:56it. But will war follow Ali into
00:17:59into adulthood? Orla Guerin, BBC
00:18:02BBC News Southern Yemen. Well, let's
00:18:05let's talk about the latest developments developments in the region. Now we're we're joined by David Goldwyn, former
00:18:09former US special envoy for international international energy affairs, now
00:18:13now president of Global Goldwyn Strategies Strategies and chairman of the Atlantic
00:18:16Atlantic Council global Energy Centre's Centre's energy advisory group. David, David, thank you very much for joining
00:18:20joining us here on BBC News. For
00:18:23For much of the world, what's happening happening in Yemen and Saudi Arabia
00:18:26Arabia in Iran is about an energy energy crisis, a war without a seeming
00:18:30seeming end. But it's also causing causing a major humanitarian crisis.
00:18:33crisis. We heard a man saying there there from his hospital bed that
00:18:36that the Houthis have destroyed his his country and he has to get back
00:18:39back to fight as quickly as he can.
00:18:45can. Yes, it's a terrible humanitarian humanitarian crisis that's been going
00:18:48going on for quite some time. And And I think the Houthis have been
00:18:52been very clear that if the US gets gets further involved in this by
00:18:56by directly attacking them, that
00:18:58that the casualties could be worse.
00:19:00worse. So it is indeed a humanitarian humanitarian crisis as well as an
00:19:03an energy crisis. And I think the the key point for energy markets
00:19:06markets is it's not one that's quickly quickly likely to be resolved. And
00:19:09And just on that point of the US US getting re-involved, I mean, we
00:19:12we know the Saudis have asked for for the assistance last month. The
00:19:16The US has said no. President Trump Trump says he is considering it again.
00:19:20again. How would that change the
00:19:21the calculation for what we're seeing?
00:19:24seeing? Well, so far the Houthis Houthis have only attacked Saudi
00:19:27Saudi shipping. They're not looking looking at other shipping coming
00:19:30coming out of the Suez, the Suez Suez Canal, at least at this time.
00:19:33time. But the threat is there almost almost anything that goes through through the Bab el Mandeb is capable
00:19:37capable of being attacked by by their
00:19:40their drones and short-range missiles. missiles. And so so that's the threat
00:19:43threat is things could get a lot lot worse and it could be a lot worse
00:19:46worse for more than energy for virtually virtually all kinds of shipping.
00:19:48shipping. So the US Saudi is an ally,
00:19:51ally, but and so providing we provide provide them with a tremendous amount
00:19:53amount of arms. So it's not like like they are unsupported by the
00:19:57the United States, but the US has has been in and out of this conflict.
00:20:00conflict. And without an effective effective diplomatic strategy, all all you're doing is creating more
00:20:04more loss of life on both sides. sides. We don't have an effective
00:20:07effective strategy right now for for displacing the Houthis or for
00:20:11for creating reconciliation in Yemen. Yemen. Nor do we escort ships through
00:20:14through the Bab el Mandeb. So the the US is not really well positioned
00:20:17positioned to provide security of of shipping far less than it is even
00:20:21even in the Strait of Hormuz. And
00:20:23And so I think the Houthi message, message, which President Trump is,
00:20:27is, is looking at carefully is that that things could get a lot worse,
00:20:29worse, both for energy and for other other goods. Well, just on that,
00:20:32that, because we're seeing the re-emergence,
00:20:34re-emergence, I suppose, of a longstanding
00:20:37longstanding conflict between the the Houthis and the Saudis. You're
00:20:40You're long, many years studying studying the region. Do you think
00:20:43think this escalation is just set
00:20:45set to continue? I think it is really
00:20:48really these are they're the Houthis Houthis are well entrenched there.
00:20:51there. Neither the Yemeni government government nor the Saudis are really
00:20:54really capable of dislodging them. them. The UAE was in this fight for
00:20:58for a while and decided it was really really ineffective and counterproductive.
00:21:01counterproductive. And so they have have pulled out of it. Diplomacy Diplomacy is typically how you would
00:21:04would approach this. And so what what we don't really have an effective
00:21:08effective diplomatic strategy. We We don't even have very effective effective diplomatic representation representation in the region right
00:21:12right now. And so I think force has has to be married with diplomacy.
00:21:16diplomacy. And that's missing right right now. It's certainly possible
00:21:19possible to have a ceasefire to have have some sort of reconciliation reconciliation in Yemen, but that
00:21:23that is far off the administration's administration's diplomatic agenda. agenda. And the Saudis have not been
00:21:26been particularly effective at prosecuting prosecuting it for many, many years.
00:21:30years. So if the Saudi defences are are stretched, then across those
00:21:34those Houthi attacks on oil, on military
00:21:37military installations, on transport transport facilities, does that mean mean that energy prices are just
00:21:40just going to keep rising? Yes. Sorry
00:21:43Sorry to sorry to say, but the reality
00:21:46reality is that this kind of volatility volatility where we have, you know,
00:21:49know, a roller coaster of attacks attacks on ships, rising insurance
00:21:52insurance rates, rising tanker rates, rates, disruption of supply really
00:21:56really is the new normal. And the the only way that this gets resolved
00:21:58resolved is if we have some sort sort of arrangement in the Strait
00:22:02Strait of Hormuz that resolves this this crisis. Now, the President created
00:22:06created this by attacking Iran, and and so now he needs a nuclear agreement. agreement. He needs a freedom of
00:22:10of navigation agreement, and he needs needs a non-aggression non-aggression
00:22:14non-aggression from Iran agreement. agreement. So he's got a lot on his his plate. And it's clear that the
00:22:17the Iranians are not going to deal deal in any serious way before the
00:22:21the US mid-term elections, nor does does the US have really have an effective
00:22:25effective off ramp for Iran right right now. And this is the way this
00:22:28this works. I mean, you military military force is very effective,
00:22:31effective, but all wars end through through diplomacy. So we have to
00:22:34to have a strategy and the US has has to decide whether that's regime
00:22:38regime change, which is pretty hard hard to sell to the Iranians, that
00:22:41that unconditional surrender is your your off ramp or we have to come
00:22:45come up with another diplomatic strategy,
00:22:47strategy, one which our Gulf allies allies support, which marries the
00:22:51the US threat of force and the blockade
00:22:54blockade with some sort of a diplomatic diplomatic solution. We haven't seen
00:22:57seen that. And until that happens, happens, Iran is going to continue
00:23:00continue to insist on harassing trade trade as best it can in the Strait
00:23:04Strait of Hormuz, insisting on getting getting paid as a price of releasing
00:23:07releasing that harassment. And it's it's going to tell its allies or
00:23:11or supporters like the Houthis and and like some of the militias in
00:23:14in Iraq to keep punishing energy energy trade until they get what
00:23:17what they want. So until that we we have some effective diplomacy diplomacy to try and address this,
00:23:21this, we're going to see this volatility. volatility. And most of the buffers
00:23:24buffers that we have had strategic strategic reserves, commercial reserves
00:23:27reserves are gone. So we're certainly certainly looking at higher prices
00:23:30prices for petrol, for diesel, for for jet fuel over the next the next
00:23:34next six months or so. None of the the solutions we have seen right
00:23:37right now are likely to be long-term long-term solutions. And indeed that's
00:23:40that's the big question of when to to all of that, isn't it? David Goldwyn,
00:23:44Goldwyn, thank you so much for joining
00:23:45joining us here on BBC News Now here
00:23:48here in the US Democratic Congresswoman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has condemned
00:23:51condemned a raid on her Washington,
00:23:53Washington, DC., home by US Homeland Homeland Security agents. Federal
00:23:57Federal officers executed a search search warrant on Monday morning. morning. The raid is believed to
00:24:00to be part of an ongoing federal federal criminal investigation. Now,
00:24:04Now, according to reports, the years years long probe partly focuses on
00:24:08on alleged immigration fraud. Omar, Omar, who is running for re-election
00:24:12re-election in Minnesota, immigrated immigrated to the US from Somalia
00:24:14Somalia as a child and has been a
00:24:17a vocal critic of President Trump.
00:24:20Trump. She's called today's operation operation an attempt to target political
00:24:24political enemies and weaponise federal
00:24:25federal law enforcement by the Trump
00:24:28Trump administration. Well, here here in studio with me is our North
00:24:31North America correspondent, Ione Ione Wells Ione Wells. What is the the administration? What are the
00:24:35the officials saying is actually actually going on here? Well, they've
00:24:38they've provided very little detail detail about what evidence they have
00:24:42have against Ilhan Omar, but they they say or sources familiar with
00:24:46with the investigation say that this this is essentially about her immigration
00:24:49immigration paperwork. We know that that she came to the US first as
00:24:53as a child refugee from Somalia with with her family in the 1990s, but
00:24:56but she is now a naturalised US citizen
00:24:59citizen and has been since the year year 2000. Interestingly, Donald
00:25:02Donald Trump in the last hour or or so has spoken about this case.
00:25:05case. And I think his language will
00:25:08will probably add more fuel to the the Democrats claim that this is
00:25:11is politically motivated as well. well. Donald Trump has described
00:25:14described her as crooked, as a complainer,
00:25:16complainer, as from a in his words, words, Non-country repeating there
00:25:20there many of the criticisms that that he's levelled towards Ilhan
00:25:23Ilhan Omar over the years, but also also towards the wider Somali-American
00:25:27Somali-American community. And I I think it's words like that that
00:25:29that have led to the belief, certainly
00:25:31certainly from the Democrats perspective, perspective, that this notably three
00:25:35three weeks out from the mid-term mid-term elections is, in their words,
00:25:38words, an attempt to try and smear smear political opponents. Indeed,
00:25:41Indeed, the timing is always a question question mark, isn't it? I only thank
00:25:44thank you very much for that. And And just as we're talking, there
00:25:46there has been a rally of support
00:25:49support for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Omar in Minneapolis. In Minnesota,
00:25:52Minnesota, you can just see some some pictures coming in to us there
00:25:55there from those who are speaking speaking in her defence. Well, that
00:25:59that is it for World News America America for today. You can keep up
00:26:02up to date on our website as always, always, but for me, Caitriona Perry
00:29:39the BBC Sport website and app. My
00:29:49My dad was a farmer but he also had had a radio talk show for farmers
00:29:52farmers who called in with their their farming problems. He'd patiently
00:29:56patiently listened to every conflicting conflicting account of what was and
00:29:58and wasn't working. That was really really influential to how I approached
00:30:02approached my journalism. Building Building trust by taking the time
00:30:05time to understand a situation clearly
00:30:07clearly before reporting a story
00:30:09story in a 24 hour news cycle. Patience
00:30:13Patience can be so frustrating, but but it's a crucial tool. I'm Lucy
00:30:16Lucy Hockings on BBC News Now. Now
00:30:23Now on. BBC News. Comprehensive coverage
00:30:27coverage of the day's important national
00:30:29national and international news stories.
00:30:33stories. Newsnight. A conversation
00:30:41conversation we must have. Andy Burnham Burnham says it will be a dereliction
00:30:44dereliction of duty for the government government not to pursue closer ties
00:30:48ties with the EU. Should we brace brace ourselves for a rerun of those
00:30:51those divisive Brexit rows? And we
00:30:53we probe the extent of Russian interference interference in UK elections after
00:30:57after Andy Burnham says it's inconceivable inconceivable to think