The Sri Lankan navy and air force have been sent to rescue Iranian sailors, who sent a distress call after their ship began sinking near the island, the Sri Lankan authorities say.

The foreign minister, Vijitha Herath, told parliament that a distress signal from the vessel "IRIS Dena" was received at dawn. There was reportedly 180 people on board.

Herath said 30 injured sailors on board had been transported to a hospital in the Sri Lankan port of Galle.

The cause of the sinking is not known. An opposition MP asked whether the ship had been bombed as part of the US-Israeli attacks against Iran - there has been no official response.

Image source, Reuters

Qatar has been targeted by two Iranian ballistic missiles, says its defence ministry.

One of these missiles was intercepted by Qatar's air defence systems, and the other struck the US air base at Al Udaid - the biggest American base in the region.

There have been no casualties, says Qatar.

Israel has hit dozens of military targets across Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee has announced.

The strikes targeted Basij headquarters - a paramilitary force linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards - in addition to missile launch pads and defence systems, as well as "the supply and logistics directorate affiliated with the regime's ground forces".

He adds that the IDF will continue to "intensify their strikes" on the Iranian regime's infrastructure.

Since the US-Israeli attacks began on Saturday, Iran has launched a series of attacks on US bases and allies across the region.

Images authenticated by BBC Verify show the US consulate building in Dubai in flames after being hit by a drone on Tuesday evening.

One video, filmed from a junction metres away from the consulate, shows what appears to be a drone slamming into the consulate, while another shows fire burning inside the compound and black smoke billowing into the sky.

Speaking to reporters last night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed a drone had struck a "parking lot" next to the to the consulate's chancellery building.

"All personnel are accounted for," said Rubio, adding: "We've been very fortunate, obviously, but our embassies and our diplomatic facilities are under direct attack from a terrorist regime."

The Israel Defense Forces have issued an urgent warning for civilians in parts of south Beirut to evacuate, as they continue targeting buildings they say are affiliated with Hezbollah.

Those in the Haret Hreik area should evacuate "immediately", says IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee.

Image source, EPA

Iran

Israel's military says Iran has been retaliating to its fresh wave of strikes. In the last few hours, Israel sounded alarms, warning of missiles launched from Iran.

Lebanon

Israel says it also monitored projectiles launched from Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have targeted Hezbollah. The missiles and projectiles were intercepted and there were no immediate reports of casualties, Israel says.

Shipping

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre says it has received a report of an "unknown projectile" striking a ship off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It said the strike damaged the vessel's steel plating, but there "has been no fire or water intake". The crew are reported safe, and authorities are investigating, the UKMTO added.

Kuwait

An 11-year-old girl has died after shrapnel fell on her in a residential area of Kuwait, a spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Health says. Four members of her family, including her mother, have been taken to hospital, the spokesperson said.

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

The US military says it has struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran since launching its joint bombing campaign with Israel, while, it says, Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones.

The US and Israel are continuing to use intense firepower against Iran. In a video statement, Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, said the first 24 hours of their joint operation had been nearly double the scale of the shock and awe strikes that began the US-led Iraq War in 2003.

With the mission involving more than 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers and bombers, he said this represents "the largest build-up by the US in the Middle East in a generation".

He said American forces had destroyed 17 Iranian ships, sinking the entire Iranian navy. Now, he added, the focus was "on shooting all the things that can shoot at us".

The US and Israel say they've targeted Iran’s air defences and hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones.

In the past few hours, Israel said it was carrying out "a broad wave of strikes" on Iran while simultaneously attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon. It also said its air defences had intercepted more missiles fired from Iran and Lebanon.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says 1,097 civilians have been reported killed in Iran since 28 February.

Of those, 181 were children under the age of 10 years old, the agency says. The number of civilian injuries has reached 5,402, including 100 children, HRANA adds.

It says there has been at least 104 attacks in the past 24 hours alone. They have hit military bases, medical centres and residential areas, HRANA says.

Hundreds more reported deaths are being reviewed.

The UK is not the only country preparing to repatriate citizens stranded abroad. Here is what other counties have said about the situation:

Australia

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was in discussions with airlines to help the 115,000 Australians stranded in the Middle East, but that evacuations would be difficult while much of the region's airspace remains closed.

France

A French government official said there were about 400,000 French nationals affected by the situation. Having urged travellers to register on the Foreign Ministry's "Ariane" system, more than 25,000 have signed up, the official said.

Germany

The German government said the tourism industry was responsible for bringing home most of roughly 30,000 Germans stranded in the region and that military repatriation is only a last resort.

Italy

A first charter flight carrying 127 Italian citizens stranded in Oman, or moved there from Dubai, landed in Rome's Fiumicino airport late on Monday. Passengers arriving in Rome credited the Italian embassy with helping them return.

Spain

Spain has begun evacuating its citizens from the Middle East, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.

United States

The US Department of State on Monday called on Americans to immediately exit more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, but has not yet announced repatriation flights.

Image source, Reuters

A little while ago we learnt that the UK government has chartered a commercial flight out of Oman to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East.

The flight is scheduled to leave Muscat on 4 March at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT), and will take the most vulnerable people first.

The Foreign Office says British nationals who have registered their presence in the UAE and are currently in Oman should urgently fill out this form, external if they would like a seat on the flight.

It urged people not to make their way to the airport unless they have been called by the Foreign Office.

It adds that it will continue to work with airlines to find more routes for people to return to the UK.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries, where much of the air space is closed.

Stock markets across Asia are seeing red this morning, but South Korea is having an especially tough time.

Its Kospi exchange was forced to halt trading for 20 minutes on Wednesday after stocks fell by more than 8%. Trading has since resumed but the Kospi is more than 10% lower.

The pause is part of an automatic mechanism called the circuit breaker, designed to prevent extreme market volatility if share prices fall drastically.

It was the first time the country's index circuit breaker was activated since August 2024.

A circuit breaker will kick in again if share prices fall by 15%.

Seoul is a big importer of Middle Eastern oil and its export-reliant economy is especially vulnerable to geopolitical shocks that can put shipments at risk.

Click here for details about today's trading

Image source, Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry has said it intercepted two cruise missiles south of its capital, Riyadh, news agencies Reuters and AFP are reporting.

Separately, the official Saudi Press Agency is reporting that nine drones have been intercepted.

Saudi officials did not say where the missiles and drones were launched from.

Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Israel has launched new strikes on targets in Iran, and warned of retaliatory attacks.

Several people were also reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. Israel says it was targeting Hezbollah operatives and facilities.

And the UK government has chartered an evacuation flight out of Oman on Wednesday to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East.

The flight, the first specifically arranged by the UK government, is currently scheduled to leave Muscat International Airport on Wednesday night at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT) - and will prioritise the most vulnerable people.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.