The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has struck a third petrochemical complex in Iran.

It says it hit the plant - located in Shiraz, in southwestern Iran - on Monday.

According to the IDF, it was a facility that produced nitric acid used in ballistic missile production.

It adds that this third attack follows two separate strikes on petrochemical complexes also on Monday. These were on the South Pars petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh, in the south of Iran, and the Marvdasht Petrochemical Complex in the Fars province.

Daniel De Simone
Reporting from Jerusalem

In a post in Farsi on social media this morning, the Israel Defense Forces gave what it described as an "urgent warning to train users and passengers in Iran" (see our previous post).

The "warning" suggests imminent Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian rail network. But there is a weeks-long internet blackout in Iran, meaning social media posts will be seen by very few people.

The Iranian rail network is extensive and runs throughout the country. People will almost certainly already be travelling by rail this morning, travelling long distances, or be located near rail stations or lines.

Overnight, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in Iran, with "regime infrastructure" described as the target.

President Trump is threatening to obliterate Iranian civilian infrastructure unless Iran fully opens the Strait of Hormuz by tonight, something widely viewed as constituting a threat to commit war crimes.

Trump has ignored questions about war crimes, and claimed - without evidence - that Iranian people want the US to “keep bombing".

But the UN is warning that airstrikes in Iran have already caused high numbers of civilian casualties and extensive damage to homes, schools and health facilities, with strikes on critical infrastructure having disrupted basic services.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've just reported, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says that more than 3,500 people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began, including at least 1,665 civilians.

It says that 49 civilians were killed across Monday 6 April, and 58 others were injured, in an update issued overnight.

This 24-hour period "marks the highest rate of attacks seen in the last 10 days", it says.

Monday saw several major attacks across the country, including on a residential building in Baharestan, Tehran's Sharif University, and a petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh, in the southern Bushehr province.

The HRANA says it compiles its statistics through a combination of field reports, local contacts, medical and emergency sources, civil society networks and open source materials such as photographs, videos and relevant official statements.

Image source, US CENTCOM/Handout

As Israel reports hitting more sites in Iran (see previous post), the United States Central Command (Centcom) says it has struck more than 13,000 targets since the war began on 28 February.

Giving an update on Operation Epic Fury - its code name for the US military operation against Iran - it also says it has damaged or destroyed more than 155 Iranian vessels.

Centcom says that the targets it has struck include Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters, air defence systems, ballistic missile sites, and Iranian navy ships and submarines.

Meanwhile, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says more than 3,500 people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began, including at least 1,665 civilians. We'll have another post on the impact on Iranian civilians soon.

Image source, NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is warning people in Iran not to take the train today.

In a post shared on the military's Farsi social media account, it tells people in Iran "for the sake of your security" to "refrain from using and travelling by train" throughout the country "until 21:00 Iran time".

It adds that "presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life".

It comes as US President Donald Trump threatens to strike civilian infrastructure targets across Iran, if the regime refuses to allow free passage through the Strait of Hormuz by 20:00 EDT Tuesday (01:00 BST Wednesday).

In updates issued overnight, the Israeli military also said it completed a wave of air strikes targeting "infrastructure in Tehran" linked to the regime, and killed people it said were members of Hezbollah.

Separately, the military also said it had intercepted missiles launched towards Israel by Iran.

Image source, EPA

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold a vote later on the Strait of Hormuz, the key Gulf shipping route that has been effectively blocked for most vessels by Iran throughout the war.

The vote, which was put forward by the Security Council president, Bahrain, had originally been scheduled for last week but was postponed. It's now on the agenda for 11:00 local time in New York (16:00 BST).

The resolution text has been amended since its original submission.

The original wording states that the resolution "authorizes" member states "to use all defensive means necessary and commensurate with the circumstances" to secure transit through the strait.

The new text says it "strongly encourages" to "coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances, to contribute to" ensuring navigational safety.

Image source, Reuters

As Anthony Zurcher just reported, Donald Trump has set a number of "deadlines" for Iran in recent weeks - before then shifting them. Here's a recap:

• Deadline 1: On 21 March, Trump said he would "hit and obliterate" power plants, "starting with the biggest ones first", if Iran didn't reopen the waterway within 48 hours
• Deadline 2: Two days later, he said there had been "very good and productive conversations" between the countries and postponed strikes against energy infrastructure for five days
• Deadline 3: On 27 March, Trump said he would postpone attacking energy plants for 10 days, "as per [an] Iranian government request", bringing the deadline to 6 April
• 48-hour warning: On Friday, with the 6 April deadline looming, he warned that Iran had "48 hours" before he unleashed "all hell"
• Latest threat: In a Sunday post peppered with expletives, Trump reiterated this threat, saying that "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day" - in a later post he said "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!"

Clock ticks on Trump's Iran ultimatum with little sign of breakthroughpublished at 06:01 BST

06:01 BST

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

As the final hours tick down, there has been little indication that Iran is ready to agree to Trump's ultimatum.

This places the American president in a delicate position. If there is no agreement, Trump could extend his deadline – for the fourth time in the past three weeks.

But backing away after such detailed threats, punctuated with expletives and dire warnings, could undercut his credibility as the war grinds on.

The other option is for Trump to follow through with his threats. On multiple occasions on Monday, he said that was a course he did not want to pursue.

While Trump said that the Iranian people were willing to endure the ongoing US military campaign – and, in fact, welcomed the bombs falling on their cities – he also acknowledged that anything the US destroys now would eventually have to be rebuilt and that the US might ultimately contribute to that rebuilding effort.

Read more here.

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

The International Committee of the Red Cross, the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, has warned against "deliberate threats, whether in rhetoric or in action", describing wars fought without limits as "indefensible, inhumane and devastating."

The statement comes in the wake of repeated threats from President Trump to attack Iran’s power stations and even its desalination plants.

Deliberate attacks on infrastructure that is essential to life, such as water and power services, are prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.

Here's a recap of what Trump has said at the White House press briefing on Monday, in which he threatened to take out Iran "in one night":

• Trump said there needs to be a deal that's "acceptable" to him before his Tuesday deadline, and that part of the deal would involve "free traffic of oil"

• Once the deadline passes, Trump added, Iran would be sent back to the "Stone Ages". "They're going to have no bridges," he said. "They're going to have no power plants"
• "The entire country can be taken out in one night – and that night might be tomorrow night," he said
• He expressed optimism that "reasonable" leaders in Iran were negotiating in "good faith", but the outcome remained uncertain
• When asked about the impact of US targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran, Trumps said Iranians would be "willing to suffer to have their freedom"
• He said he was very disappointed in Nato countries, especially with the UK, after US allies refused his request to join his Iran mission
• Speaking on the mission to rescue two US fighter pilots, after their aircraft was downed in Iran last Friday, Trump said not everyone in the military was convinced about the wide-scale efforts - but he "felt it was worth it"

US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit Iran hard if it failed to make a deal to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz shipping route by 20:00EDT (00:00GMT) on Tuesday.

But even before Trump's latest threat, some countries - particularly in Asia - had secured deals with Tehran for their vessels to safely cross the channel.

In recent weeks - several Asian countries including Pakistan,India and the Philippines - have made agreements with Tehran to letsome ships pass through the strait safely.

China has also acknowledged that their vessels have also used the channel.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome back to our live coverage.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to take out Iran "in one night" if it fails to make a deal before the deadline he set for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Here's what else to know:

• Trump's deadline for an "acceptable" deal - one that includes the free flow of energy through the Gulf - is set for 20:00, Washington DC time on Tuesday (00:00 GMT Wednesday)
• "The entire country can be taken out in one night – and that night might be tomorrow night," Trump said on Monday at a press briefing

• Iran has rejected proposals for a temporary ceasefire, calling instead for a permanent end to the conflict and the lifting of sanctions
• Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have all been involved in efforts to mediate
• The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway, through which much of the world's oil passes. Since Iran effectively blocked the strait after US-Israeli attacks, countries around the world have been affected by a fuel crisis

Thanks for joining us as we restart our live coverage of this story. More updates to come - stick with us.

Trump takes triumphant tone, but still searching for meaningful solutions in Iranpublished at 23:59 BST 6 April

23:59 BST 6 April

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Donald Trump's news conference with his top military and political officials Monday afternoon felt triumphalist, especially given it was about a rescue operation, but it was perhaps an unsurprising response from the president.

Trump repeatedly praised himself and his senior leaders for going through with the rescue even though he said some military officials warned it could lead to many casualties. He was prepared to take the risk.

This was presented as a determination to leave no service member behind, which is indeed the US military ethos, but in reality it will also have been a highly political decision - to throw everything at the operation in order to deny the Iranians the chance to take an American service member prisoner. That would have greatly added to Tehran's leverage over Trump as he grapples with finding meaningful solutions to deal with Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz - beyond threatening annihilation to civilian infrastructure.

That's likely a big part of the apparent relief felt at the White House and why Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth are presenting the rescue as an embarrassing humiliation for Iran - which on Friday created the thorny dilemma for Trump by shooting down the F-15, damaging many other aircraft and leaving a number of Americans wounded.

Hegseth at one point drew a parallel between the airman's Easter Sunday rescue to the resurrection of Christ, referring to "a pilot reborn." This war has frequently seen the administration fuse political and military strategy with religious language.

Even though Trump's rhetoric appeared triumphant, Winston Churchill - an object of the president's admiration - warned after Britain’s Dunkirk evacuation in World War Two: "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations."

We are pausing our live coverage of this story for now, but you can stay up-to-date on the latest developments here: Trump threatens to take out Iran in 'one night' if no deal before deadline

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in its latest update that the humanitarian situation in Iran is worsening as hostilities spread throughout the country.

Between 17 March and 3 April, civilian casualties rose sharply with reported strikes on airports, hospitals, residential areas, markets, schools, industrial sites, and cultural heritage locations, the group says.

OCHA says that from the start of the war through 30 March in Iran:

• Over 2,100 civilians have been killed
• Over 27,900 people have been injured
• Over 3.8 million people have been "impacted"

And, from the start of the war through 1 April, more than 115,000 civilian units have been damaged, it adds.

OCHA also says, "Strikes on critical infrastructure and industrial sites have disrupted basic services including electricity, water and telecommunications, also leading to increasing immediate and longer term environmental and health risks."

Fifteen Americans were injured in an Iranian drone strike on Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base overnight, US officials tell the BBC's US partner CBS News.

The majority of them have already gone back to work, one of the officials tells the outlet.

In total, 373 US military personnel have been injured since the war in Iran began - including 330 who have returned to duty and five who remain seriously wounded, a spokesperson for US Central Command tells CBS.

Who is at the helm in Iran's negotiations?published at 22:43 BST 6 April

22:43 BST 6 April

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Before 28 February, when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed, he made constant remarks about Iran’s nuclear talks with the US. The latest round was held two days before the war started.

Iran's nuclear programme has long been a point of contention, leading to extensive international sanctions. The current war began on 28 February, two days after a third round of indirect US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.

Khamenei never travelled with Iran's negotiating team to engage in nuclear talks with the US held in third countries, but the team had often said that they were following his guidelines for negotiating with Washington.

But his son, Iran’s third Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, is yet to be seen publicly since his succession early last month, although from his messages it seems he’s following the same hardline, anti-West path of his father.

Iran has not officially announced the names of those within the establishment who are, according to them, "communicating messages via friendly countries" with the US.

But some officials have been more visible than Iran's Supreme Leader, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was himself involved in several rounds of nuclear talks.

Another official who has been active is Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf’s account on X has been posting occasional memes recently as well, while he himself was last spotted on state TV on 17 March.

When it comes to other officials, Iran has a highly complex system of governance. While the president heads the government, there is also a parallel government in the form of the IRGC, an institution whose influence extends far beyond a conventional military role, particularly in wartime.

Several high-ranking IRGC commanders have been killed during this war and in last summer's conflict. However, officials have repeatedly said that for every commander lost, a replacement is ready to take their place.

Image source, Getty Images

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said he condemns the targeting of civilian infrastructure by any party during a call with Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry wrote on social media that the two leaders spent the call discussing the ongoing escalation and its impacts on the region.

During the call, Al-Thani reportedly expressed his displeasure at the continued Iranian strikes on Qatar and other neighbouring countries "that have distanced themselves from the war".

"His Excellency also stressed that targeting civilian infrastructure and the resources of peoples is unacceptable and condemned behavior from any party and under any circumstances," the Foreign Ministry went on to say.

Image source, Reuters

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel has destroyed the largest petrochemical plant in Iran.

"We are systematically dismantling the IRGC's (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) money machine," a post on the Prime Minister of Israel's X account says.

In a separate statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it struck Iran's two largest petrochemical complexes, rendering more than 85% of its petrochemical exports inoperable.

The IDF claims a site at Asaluyeh was used as a hub for making "essential components for the Iranian regime's missile industry".

Also, during his briefing earlier, President Donald Trump said he spoke to Netanyahu on Sunday.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

We've been bringing you lines from Trump at the White House, now let's take a look at the situation on the ground in Iran.

A written message attributed to the third Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been issued following the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief Majid Khademi.

In the message, the killing was condemned and blamed it on the US and Israel. Israel has confirmed that it targeted Khademi.

Khamenei repeated the rhetoric of Iranian officials, stating that the deaths of commanders would not cause any “disruption” to the ideology of Iranian forces because the “ranks are vast”. Several IRGC commanders have been killed since the war began on 28 February.

There have also been several written messages attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei recently, but since succeeding his father around a month ago, he has not appeared in public or in any recent photos or videos on Iranian state TV.

Donald Trump has said Mojtaba was “either dead or in very bad shape, because no one has heard from him”.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva said Khamenei’s absence was due to “security considerations”, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has insisted he is “in good health and fully managing affairs”. No audio or video evidence has yet emerged to support these claims yet.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Live reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

We have heard from President Donald Trump, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine at the White House.

They gave more detail on the mission to rescue two US fighter pilots after their aircraft was downed in Iran last Friday.

Here are some main lines from the news conference:

• President Trump says not everyone in the military was convinced about the wide-scale rescue efforts especially as the search for the second pilot continued for almost 48 hours
• He says he was told it was "a very dangerous mission" but "felt it was worth it"

• Trump says the mission was compromised and made difficult after a news story reported one pilot missing leading Iranian officials to launch their own search for his capture. He says US officials are working hard to find the original source of the information
• Trump also says any new deal with Iran to end the fighting must include allowing the "free traffic of oil" through the Strait of Hormuz

• Following threats about the US attacking Iranian infrastructure, Trump suggests the US campaign is beneficial to ordinary Iranians who he says are "willing to suffer to have their freedom"