Iran War: A sharp escalation in the Gulf

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The US-Israeli war with Iran has seen a marked escalation with strikes on some of the world’s biggest gas fields. Israel’s attack on the South Pars gas field triggered a swift response from Tehran, which launched strikes on the Ras Laffan terminal in Qatar – the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility - and other Gulf countries. Frank Gardner describes the reactions to Iran's rhetoric which he heard recently in Riyadh and Doha. In Caracas, billboards and banners of Venezuela's former President Nicolas Maduro still line the roads after he was seized in January by US special forces. His old party - the PSUV - is still in control of the country's government, although there have been signs that acting President Delcy Rodriguez is more amenable to political and economic demands from the US. There's a little more room to speak out, but many young Venezuelans are sceptical that much will change, says Ione Wells. Next week, the BBC’s Russian Service marks its 80th anniversary. The service’s editor Jenny Norton reflects on how the team have had to find ways to adapt after the Kremlin's clampdown on media freedoms and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and on the experience of leaving Moscow to set up a new base in Latvia. In South Korea, a new genre of movies is taking the entertainment world by storm: the “micro-drama.” They're one- or two-minute-long shows with intense plotlines, made to be watched on your phone - and to keep you coming back for the next episode. Jake Kwon went behind the scenes of one production in Seoul. Introduced by Pascale Harter. Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Vadon Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison (Photo: Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, at a press conference in Doha on 19 March, 2026. Credit: Mustafa Hatipoglu/Getty Images)