Donald Trump has just posted on his Truth Social messaging platform.

He says "the United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East".

"That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer - But we will remember," Trump says.

"We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!" he adds.

For context: The UK government has not joined offensive operations or given any commitment to do so. Earlier, the BBC reported one aircraft carrier had been put on an advanced state of readiness in case it needed to be deployed to the region. The UK has allowed the US to use its bases for defensive operations.

As we reported a short while ago, an oil depot in southern Tehran has been been struck, according to the Fars News Agency.

We've now seen video footage from Tehran that has been shared online showing huge flames above the city. The video has been authenticated by BBC Verify.

It is unclear whether there are any casualties.

Image source, Europa Press via Getty Images

As Tehran continues to face US and Israeli air strikes, Spain has evacuated the last of its staff from its embassy in the Iranian capital.

Writing on Saturday night on social media, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares confirms: "We have just successfully evacuated the Spanish Embassy in Iran".

He says this is after the ambassador and other essential personnel who had remained in Tehran have now crossed the border into Azerbaijan.

"The rest of our embassies in the region and the crisis room remain fully operational 24 hours a day through the emergency phone lines," he adds.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has spoken out against Donald Trump's attacks on Iran, who says his government's position is "no to war".

Faren Taghizadeh
Senior Journalist, BBC Persian

Despite Iran’s internet blackout, I regularly receive text and voice messages from within the country - people talking about life under attack. One was from a forty-something man, who sounded really low.

"I’m freaking out," he says. He describes seeing "a lot of fighter jets" and hearing "five or six explosions".

Although the war itself is in the headlines, "the people inside Iran have been forgotten", he says.

In his view, all the media talks about is what Trump has said and how Iran responded. "Even Iranians abroad are mostly either dancing and congratulating Israel, the US, and Trump, or tearing each other apart," he says.

Meanwhile, inside Iran, he is seeing people "nearly break from fear" at the sound of a door slamming. "When I call someone and they don’t answer, I almost have a heart attack," he says.

BBC Persian is the Persian language service of BBC News, used by 24 million people around the world - the majority in Iran - despite being blocked and routinely jammed by Iranian authorities.

An oil depot in south Tehran has been been struck, according to the Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

It follows the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announcing a short while ago that it had begun a "wave of strikes" toward the city.

Nikos Papanikolaou
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Authorities at the British-administered Akrotiri Sovereign Base areas in Cyprus, in co-ordination with the local government, have decided to extend evacuation measures in the Akrotiri area until next week.

Following a new security assessment, the British bases say the area will remain evacuated as a precaution, with the measures now expected to remain in place until next Friday. The situation will be reassessed again on Saturday morning.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Dover, Delaware

I'm currently in a small briefing room at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where President Trump is privately meeting with the families of the six US soldiers killed early in the conflict.

It's a solemn occasion, and the mood is very sombre. Upon arrival, a US Air Force officer briefed us on the proceedings.

The six soldiers will be brought off the C-17 transport aircraft in two groups, starting with the most senior, Maj Jeffrey O'Brian, and ending with the lower ranking Sgt Declan Coady.

They will be brought out in "transfer cases", which are used to transport the fallen to Dover, and are later placed in caskets to be transported to the soldier's final resting place.

Two came from Iowa, while one each came from Nebraska, Minnesota and Florida. All six were from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, and were killed in an Iranian strike on their base in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.

We have been repeatedly told that terminology is important - and that this is not a "ceremony", and ultimately, the event is about the families that lost their loved ones.

Image source, Getty Images

We're just seen images of President Trump and some senior administration officials - including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth - arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the president is expected to witness the return of the bodies of American service members killed in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

First Lady Melania Trump and other members of the administration are expected to be there as well.

It is unclear if all six US service members who were killed in Kuwait last week will be arriving today or just some of them.

Image source, Getty Images

A resident of Dubai has been killed after shrapnel from an "aerial interception" fell on to a vehicle, the Dubai Media Office has announced.

It says the incident occurred in the Al Barsha area of the city, resulting in the death of a driver.

It follows the United Arab Emirates announcing a short while ago that it was responding to "incoming missile and drone threats from Iran".

We're hearing that the UK government will charter a commercial flight out of Dubai to help British nationals hoping to leave the Middle East.

The flight is scheduled to leave the United Arab Emirates early next week, and there is expected to be a charge for seats.

British nationals, their spouses or partners, and children under the age of 18 are eligible to register their interest through the gov.uk website.

The Foreign Office will contact people directly to issue them a ticket and will prioritise those who are vulnerable, such as those with urgent medical needs.

The government says it is working with commercial operators to increase their capacity so more Brits can get home, and says they will continue to work with the airlines to find more routes for people to return. 

More from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who warns US President Donald Trump that if he seeks escalation, "it is precisely what our powerful armed forces have long been prepared for".

"Responsibility for any intensification of Iran's exercise of self-defence will lie squarely with the US administration," he adds.

It comes after Iran's president earlier suggested that Tehran would not target its neighbouring Gulf states, "unless attacked first".

Araghchi follows up by suggesting that Iran's "openness to de-escalation" provided its neighbour's territory is not used to attack Iran has been "almost immediately killed" by Trump's "misinterpretation" of Iran's capabilities and intent.

Earlier, Trump appeared to characterise the Iranian president's comments as "surrender" to its neighbours, and warned the US would hit Iran "very hard".

Image source, Getty Images

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran's "openness to de-escalation" has been "almost immediately killed" by US President Donald Trump.

In a statement following Trump's comments earlier today, Aragchi says Trump has misinterpreted Iran's "capabilities, determination and intent".

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Around the Gulf states

After Iranian President Masoud Pezekshian promised Gulf states that Tehran would not attack them "unless attacked first", Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have continued to report drone attacks through the day.

The UAE's president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan says his country is in a "time of war" but stresses they are "no easy prey" as footage shows a drone strike near Dubai International Airport.

In Iran

Satellite images show damage to numerous aircraft at Tehran's Mehrabad airport - where the Israeli military says it struck 16 aircraft in an overnight bombing raid.

As the war continues, there are reports that a new supreme leader could be chosen within 24 hours.

In Lebanon

In Lebanon, where Israel continues its ground and air campaign against Hezbollah fighters, 294 people have been reported killed by the country's health ministry. It says a further 1,023 have been wounded.

There are few signs the offensive in Lebanon is set to slow; the Israeli military today warned residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate while it targets Hezbollah.

In the UK

HMS Prince of Wales, one of the UK's two aircraft carriers, is being readied to sail, raising speculation it might be sent to the Middle East to defend British interests.

And, five US B-1 bomber jets have been seen landing at RAF Fairford, after Donald Trump declared today that the US "knocked out 42 Iranian navy ships" in three days of the conflict.

The UAE says it's responding to "incoming missile and drone threats from Iran".

Officials say air defence systems are intercepting ballistic missiles, while fighter jets are targeting drones and other aerial vehicles.

This is another attack, following the one reported about two hours ago.

Image source, Getty Images

A woman living in Tehran has told BBC Persian that she and her three-year-old are "just trying to get through the bombing".

"This love of war that some people have is something I just can't stand," she says, adding that she hasn't stepped outside since arriving in the city.

Another Tehran resident, a man in his 40s, tells us that no media is reporting on the "ordinary people inside Iran".

"You know what’s strange? That the media only talk about the war… what Trump said and how Iran responded. About where the US bombed and which American base Iran targeted."

"I'm watching with my own eyes how people are breaking down and collapsing inside themselves. When I call someone and they don't answer, I almost have a heart attack," he says.

A man living in Isfahan says the situation has become "really, really, really terrifying", as he can see F‑35s circling the city with his own eyes.

"My cousin and his wife were killed in Tehran. We never imagined a day like this for Iran, not even in our worst dreams," he says.

Satellite image shows damage to numerous aircraft at airport in Tehranpublished at 17:29 GMT

17:29 GMT

By Paul Brown

Numerous aircraft were damaged in overnight Israeli strikes on Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, new satellite imagery has revealed.

The image, captured by Planet Labs PBC at 11:20 GMT (14:50 Tehran time) shows damage to 17 aircraft, some of which appear completely destroyed.

At least seven of these aircraft are situated around the airport's main apron and runway. Others are spread out in other parts of the airport. It is unclear how many of these were operational when targeted.

In addition to planes, a number of small buildings also appear to have suffered damage.

Verified footage from last night showed fires in various parts of the airport.

Earlier today the Israel Defense Forces said it had "destroyed 16 “Quds Force” aircraft that it said “were transporting weapons to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah" at Mehrabad.

Amira Mhadhbi
BBC Arabic

There were 250 people in the small Christian village, on the Lebanese borders with Israel.

After the Israeli evacuation orders earlier this week, 96 of the residents decided not to leave their town.

I've spoken to the Mayor of Alma al-Shaab, Shadi Sayah, who tells me that “the evacuation orders, brought back memories of leaving in 2023 and returning in 2025 to find 60% of the town destroyed”.

The villagers feel they are not ready to live through the same experience again. They say they have a feeling that if they leave this time, they would never be back.

In the town’s church, 96 people, including children and elderly, gather to spend the night praying and supporting each other. Sayah says they do this despite the feelings of “injustice done to them - paying the price while they were not part of the decision making".

For lack of bedding, the villagers take sleeping shifts, prioritising the elderly. Small amounts of food are available to them and some in reserve, which they are not sure how long it could last, while no-one knows when all this would will end.

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry has announced that a ballistic missile has been launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, near the city of Al-Kharj, but that it fell in an "unpopulated area".

The Israeli military has been striking Lebanon as its offensive against Hezbollah continues.

As we've reported, the Lebanese health ministry says so far 294 people have been killed since Israel's attacks began.

From the east of the country, Wyre Davies reports at the scene of a missile strike.

The Lebanese health ministry says the number of people killed since Israel's recent operations began in the country has risen to 294.

It adds that a further 1,023 have been wounded. The BBC is unable to independently verify these figures.