STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Coming up, how the war against Iran looks from your neighborhood gas pump. Gas prices are up. Stock prices are down, or rather, they were down until yesterday afternoon when President Trump abruptly talked of ending the war. Before the markets closed at 4 o'clock, the president told CBS the war is, quote, "very complete" and stocks immediately soared. Billions of dollars in value that had vanished reappeared.
Later, the president gave a news conference, at which he seemed to declare victory in the war while also saying the United States may go after more targets. So we do not know how this war ends, but we do have some idea of its destruction so far. Iranian health officials contend the U.S. and Israeli campaign has killed 1,200 people there. Lebanese authorities report 500 deaths in an Israeli assault. And we go next to Lebanon, where NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has been covering this from Beirut. Hi there, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: OK, so we heard from President Trump. What do you hear from the other side in this war?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that President Trump is trying to put, quote, "psychological pressure" on Iran. And they vowed to continue standing up to the U.S. and Israeli aggression with, quote, "courage and strong will." It also said that the Iranian armed forces are waiting for the U.S. Navy at the Strait of Hormuz. The reaction elsewhere in the region has been pretty muted. But we know that the Gulf is calling for an end to the war and a return to negotiations. The price of oil soared yesterday as Iran targeted oil installations in the Gulf.
INSKEEP: Now, where you are, in Beirut, we know there have been Israeli airstrikes. There's been an Israeli ground force that has moved into southern Lebanon. And the president of Lebanon wants direct negotiations with Israel. What does that mean?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah, so Lebanon and Israel have been at war for decades. The first-ever direct talks were just three months ago, actually. And then yesterday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for more direct negotiations with Israel and for an end to the bombing. He asked once again for help from the international community to provide the Lebanese armed forces with equipment and what he called logistical support, to help in the Lebanese government's campaign to try and disarm and distance itself from the Iranian-backed militant group, Hezbollah, which operates mainly out of southern Lebanon.
Now, just last week, security authorities in Lebanon actually issued arrest warrants - it's unprecedented - for those who they believe launched the rockets into Israel, which dragged Lebanon into this war. And the justice minister even proposed to the Lebanese cabinet to issue an arrest warrant for the leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem. Now, these are some of the strongest rebukes ever by the Lebanese state towards Hezbollah.
But again, whether they're able to follow through remains to be seen. You know, the Lebanese army says it's outgunned by Hezbollah. And there are actually questions about political will within the army to go through with the disarmament.
INSKEEP: So how has Israel responded to this Lebanese effort at peace?
AL-SHALCHI: So an official briefed on the matter speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic affairs told NPR that Israel sees positive signs from the Lebanese government in its approach to Hezbollah, but that the war is continuing and will continue. Hezbollah is still showing it has capabilities, the official said, with rocket fire toward Tel Aviv yesterday. They also said that Israel has no patience to enter a war with Hezbollah every few months.
But let's remember that Israel has been striking southern Lebanon for 15 months now, even though a ceasefire was brokered last year. The Israeli military is also pushing further into Lebanese land. And there are fears for a wider ground invasion into Lebanon.
INSKEEP: Now let's talk about Iran itself. Of course, the Israeli campaign continues there. The U.S. campaign continues there. They have a new supreme leader. President Trump has talked about assassinating him, too. What are the Israelis saying?
AL-SHALCHI: The Israelis are being a little bit coy about that particular point. In a post on social media yesterday, the Israeli foreign ministry posted a photo of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei carrying a gun with his son, who is the new supreme leader, also carrying a gun. And the caption was, like father like son. But when asked whether Mojtaba Khamenei should be worried, the Israeli military spokesperson said that they don't comment on specific targets and they, quote, "leave some room for surprise." What we do know is that the war continues. Bombs fell on Tehran just this morning.
INSKEEP: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi. Thanks so much.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
