All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2026E18.A.Journey.Across.Iran.1080p.WEB-DL.x264-W4N70Ks_track3_[eng]

This programme contains some scenes

which some viewers
may find upsetting.

Hello and welcome to Global Eye.

Every week, we bring you the very
best of the BBC World Service,

from ground-breaking investigations

to remarkable stories
of hope and resilience.

I'm Nawal Al-Maghafi,
and this week we're in Iran.

It's a conflict that has sent
shock waves across the Middle East

and the global economy,
with deadly attacks from both sides,

but there's still no sign
of a lasting peace deal in sight.

Has this war weakened
or empowered the regime?

And how are people here
feeling about their future?

And later in the programme,
we'll be heading to Balochistan,

where the knock-on effects
of the war in Iran

have given new life
to an old smuggling route.

BBC Eye has gained exclusive access
to bike riders

who risk their safety
to carry flammable fuel

on the long
and highly dangerous journey

across Pakistan's poorest province.

This is Minab in southern Iran.

It was here, during
the opening salvos of the war,

that, according to multiple
independent investigations,

a missile strike killed 156 people,
including 120 children.

The US government
hasn't accepted responsibility

and says it's still
investigating the incident,

but it was one
of a series of seismic events

that would shape
the conflict's opening days.

The deaths of Iran's Supreme Leader,
Ali Khamenei,

and its security chief,
Ali Larijani,

deprived the regime
of two of its most powerful men.

Yet, months later,
it remains firmly in power.

I've travelled across the country
to see how it emerged from this war

and how that has affected
its people.

We're starting
a 25-hour rail journey through Iran.

The route cuts through some of
Iran's most strategic landscape,

from Tehran, via nuclear sites
Natanz and Fordow,

to Bandar Abbas
on the Strait of Hormuz.

On the train are people from
every corner of Iranian society,

each with their own story.

Azadeh is a lawyer,

Sepideh a beautician.

They were cautious
to speak to us in public,

but agreed to an interview
in their cabin.

You know, we saw before this war
a lot of young people,

a lot of people across Iran,
go out and protest.

There were a lot of people
that had hope

that this war would mean
a big change would happen in Iran.

What do you think about that,

and how do you feel
about how things have played out?

I'll start with Azadeh first.
Have a think about it.

She doesn't
want to answer.

She doesn't want to answer this?
No. No, that's fine, that's fine.

Tensions are high, and talking
about politics makes people nervous.

In January,
years of crippling sanctions,

soaring inflation
and anger at Iran's leadership

pushed people onto the streets.

Hundreds of thousands
joined protests

demanding the regime's downfall.

Speaking out against the government
can come at a heavy cost,

so we've gathered
some anonymous testimony.

SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE

Then came a communication blackout
across the country,

imposed by the regime.

Truckloads of bodies arrived
to open-air morgues like this one.

The full death toll has never
been independently verified.

Several thousand were killed
and many more forcibly disappeared.

On February 28th,
after weeks of threats,

the US and Israel launched
a military campaign

and President Trump
made this statement.

The United States military

is undertaking a massive
and ongoing operation

to prevent this very wicked,
radical dictatorship

from threatening America and our
core national security interests.

He said Iran could never be allowed
to obtain a nuclear weapon

and called on Iranians
to seize the moment.

America is backing you
with overwhelming strength

and devastating force.

Now is the time to seize control
of your destiny

and to unleash
the prosperous and glorious future

that is close within your reach.

Within 24 hours,
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei,

was killed in
a joint US-Israeli strike.

HE SOBS

A few doors down, a football team.

Aref and Abdollah
are heading back home to Minab.

On the first day of the war,
Abdollah's home town of Minab

became the scene of one of
the conflict's defining tragedies.

Almost two hours away from the train
station in Bandar Abbas is Minab,

known for its vast date palm groves,

which have sustained the small city
for centuries.

Wherever you go, there are reminders
of what this city has lost.

Pictures of the children killed
in the attack are everywhere.

We're on our way to
the Shajareh Tayyebeh school.

This attack has become
the regime's case to the world -

their way of saying,

"This is the true cost of America
and Israel's campaign on Iran."

Five months on,

and they're still searching
for the remains of one young boy.

It looks like
he wants to show me something.

Did you just get this
from the rubble?

A student. Maya Salari.

He's just found a little girl's
notebook in the rubble.

Salari? Maya Salari. Maya?

Her name is Maya Salari.

She was eight years old.

Her mother had just arrived
to collect her and her brother, Ali.

He was in the first grade.
They were all killed in the attack.

I meet one of the teachers,
33-year-old Amaineh Nademi.

She taught in the school
for six years.

These hallways once echoed
with the sound of children,

but now the classrooms
have gone quiet.

Experts say the evidence indicates
it was a US strike

that hit the top floor
of the school that day,

collapsing the girls' classrooms
into the boys'.

Independent investigations
into the strike

also questioned
whether the school was hit

because of its proximity to a site

used by Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,

which is a major military, political
and economic force in the country.

These are the faces
of those killed in the attack.

Maykel, who was nine years old
and in year three.

Fatemeh,
who dreamed of becoming a doctor.

Samira was killed in the attack.

Her brother,
Sadra Malahi, survived.

And this is seven-year-old Mahdis,

seen leaving for school
with her father for the last time.

Reza was one of the first
emergency responders at the scene.

I remember that I came here
and saw one of my relatives.

He was begging,
"Just find my child...

"..find my son."
And it was very hard.

And I know that there
is no-one alive.

And I couldn't tell her
that your son is not alive and...

When I close my eyes,
even nowadays,

I just remember these things
that I have seen here.

It's very hard for me.

For many of those
who welcomed foreign intervention,

Minab changed everything.

At the cemetery in Minab,

siblings growing up beside
the graves of brothers and sisters

whose lives were cut short.

Masoumeh lost her nine-year-old
daughter, Setayesh, in the attack.

Like many of the parents here,

her grief has become
intertwined with anger.

Bandar Abbas and Minab
are two places

that tell very different stories
about this war.

Minab is shaping the government's
narrative of this conflict.

But here is where
it projects its power.

Bandar Abbas is the gateway
to the Strait of Hormuz.

For months, this waterway
has been a global bottleneck.

Iran hasn't sealed
the strait entirely,

but by carrying out
unpredictable attacks,

it's become too dangerous to cross
without their permission.

We are right at the heart
of the Strait of Hormuz,

and behind me
is an international ship

that's been captured
by the Iranians,

and there are many more
that are waiting to get through.

It's easy to forget
how vital what they're carrying is

for day-to-day life -
things like fuel and fertiliser -

and when they're being held,
prices go up for all of us.

In peacetime, more than 100 ships
pass through these waters every day.

Now only a handful
are willing to make the crossing.

Bandar Abbas is home
to the conventional Navy

and the IRGC Navy,
making it a key target.

Heavy strikes have hit the city.

An Israeli strike targeted key
naval commander Alireza Tangsiri

in this residential building.

Three other people were also killed.

Fatima's business was destroyed.

For some, this war hasn't achieved
what they'd hoped for.

During a brief pause
in the fighting,

Tehran prepares
for the Supreme Leader's funeral.

His presence is felt
throughout the capital.

PRAYERS RECITED OVER TANNOY

Millions of Iranians have made
the journey to pay their respects,

four months on from his death,

in what is a carefully choreographed
show of unity to the world.

CHANTING

We have a message
for Bibi Netanyahu,

for the madman in the White House,

and for anyone who wants to see
the people of Iran on their knees.

We will not back down.

We will never, ever
let this country down.

Just days after the funeral,
the ceasefire collapsed.

Iran is no stranger
to political friction.

The tensions between
Tehran, Tel Aviv and Washington

have been decades in the making,

but they are only now playing out
on the battlefield.

And as both sides compete
to shape the legacy of this war,

its impact is being felt
across the world.

About 2,000km in that direction
is Balochistan,

a rugged, mountainous region
on Iran's border with Pakistan.

Two months into the war with Iran,

a series of videos from Balochistan
went viral on TikTok.

They showed thousands
of motorcyclists

massing at the border,
some as young as 15.

They're fuel smugglers,

risking their lives
transporting highly flammable cargo

across a long, dangerous route
through the lawless terrain.

The World Service has gained

rare and exclusive access
to these riders,

revealing how the war in Iran

has led to a new and deadly
fuel smuggling boom.

Pakistan's southwestern province
of Balochistan

is a remote, mountainous region

plagued by armed insurgencies
and entrenched smuggling networks.

Around half the population
belong to the Baloch ethnic group,

who also live across
Iran and Afghanistan.

Entering Balochistan,

bikes and trucks carrying
smuggled fuel are everywhere.

These videos, obtained exclusively
by the BBC,

show where that fuel has come from.

They were filmed inside Iran
in May 2026.

Hundreds of plastic containers
are loaded onto trucks

bound for one of the unofficial
crossing points along the border.

Balochistan is one of these areas

where communities straddle
multiple borders,

generations and generations
have been involved in smuggling

as a means of survival.

In relation to the oil trafficking
from Iran,

the main traffickers, we believe,

are either part of or closely linked
to the Iranian regime.

You then have their link
to the courier network,

and these are low-level couriers,

and they're connected
by familial ties or by history.

They're the ones
that take the most risk.

On both sides of the border,
you've got authority activity,

either turning a blind eye,

either directly involved,
or profiting from the trade itself.

This is very, very clear
that this activity is ongoing,

it's ramped up,

and it's an absolutely essential
survival network,

both for the Iranian regime,

but also for the communities
on both sides of the borders.

Once the smuggled fuel
enters Pakistan,

it's taken by bike - or trucks
called Zambads - to fuel depots.

From there,
it's transported to markets

and unofficial petrol stations
across Balochistan.

It also goes deeper into Pakistan,

to places like Sindh and Punjab,

and even over the border
into Afghanistan.

600km from the border with Iran,
in Mastung,

is one of Pakistani Balochistan's
biggest open air fuel markets,

locally known as Mandi.

The work is illegal,
so we have changed their names.

Mazaar is one of almost
2.4 million people

who rely on fuel smuggling
for their livelihoods,

according to a leaked
intelligence report.

He started smuggling fuel
only a few months ago.

Balochistan's severe water scarcity
has pushed farmers like Mazaar

into this dangerous trade.

People are certainly profiting
from the illegal oil trade,

but not couriers like Mazaar.

Mazaar's profits have gone down
because his sale price is fixed,

but the war has pushed up
his purchase price.

Other things
are also getting more expensive.

Like Mazaar, Irfan has also
had to turn to smuggling fuel.

Irfan's disability leaves him
at risk on the roads,

so he only transports diesel.

Mazaar is getting ready to leave.

His worn-out motorbike is loaded

with hundreds of litres
of flammable fuel.

Accidents like these are common
and often deadly.

But this
is Pakistan's poorest province,

and, due to
the decades-long insurgency,

there are few other
job opportunities in Balochistan.

Mazaar has a 12-hour journey
on risky roads ahead of him

to reach the border
with Pakistan's Sindh province.

There is no reliable data
on the scale of this trade,

but according to
a Nikkei Asia report

quoting a leaked 2024
Pakistani intelligence document,

more than $1 billion
of smuggled Iranian fuel

enters the country
via Balochistan every year.

In June 2026,

Pakistan's oil companies
warned the government

that so much fuel
was coming into the country

via unregulated supply channels

that official fuel sales
had hit their lowest in 27 years.

They also estimated
this decline in sales

was costing the government
16 billion Pakistani rupees,

more than £40 million,
in lost tax revenue every month.

The local authorities
deny smuggling is on the rise,

but admit it's an industry
which is hard to control.

Fida Hussain says
the unofficial fuel trade

is vital to the region's economy.

Mazaar is ready to leave,
but he's had a costly setback.

And you can watch
the full-length version

of Fuel Smugglers Of Balochistan
on BBC iPlayer

or the BBC World Service
YouTube channel.

Some more standout content
from the World Service this week

comes from our colleagues in India.

Pictures of Rhiya Ahir standing
in front of a police van in Mumbai

has become one of the defining
images of India's youth protests.

But who is she,
and why did she take a stand?

In an interview with BBC News India,

Rhiya recounts what happened
at a solidarity protest in Mumbai,

where demonstrators gathered

in support
of the Cockroach Janta Party,

a youth-led movement
that began online

and has since spread across India,

delivering the biggest challenge
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

since he came to power 12 years ago.

You can watch BBC India's interview
on YouTube

and access a wealth of content

on the Cockroach Janta Party
Gen Z protests

on BBC socials,
online and on BBC Sounds.

Thank you for joining me in Iran.
We want your feedback.

Let us know what you think
using the hashtag #bbcglobaleye.

See you next week. Goodbye.