Verified video shows drone strike in Iraq town close to Iranian borderpublished at 20:11 GMT

20:11 GMT

By Peter Mwai

We’ve verified a video of a drone strike in the Iraqi town of Koy Sanjaq, close to the Iranian border.

The video shows a delta-wing object falling from the sky and exploding close to a small lake as gunshots and the distinctive sound of a drone can be heard in the background.

The person filming the video dives to the ground at the moment of impact and then turns back to film smoke rising near the lake.

We were able to pinpoint the location from where the video was filmed by matching two nearby pylons to satellite images of the area.

Koy Sanjaq sits in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It is reportedly home to many Assyrian families displaced from the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, when the so-called Islamic State seized the city from the Iraqi army.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

There's been mixed messaging coming from the White House and the wider administration on how the war in Iran ends.

A short while ago, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the campaign could last between four and six weeks - similar to what President Trump said in the days immediately following the initial strikes last week.

Pentagon officials and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, have largely declined to offer any timeline, saying that the strikes could drag on longer if the president deems it necessary so that the United States military can achieve its various objectives.

Earlier today, Trump took to social media to say that he expects "unconditional surrender" from Iran - a suggestion that Iran's government so far seems, at least publicly, unwilling to consider.

These shifting timelines are likely to prompt more questions about the administration's "day after" planning - the metrics by which they will assess success and how exactly they see the campaign progressing.

The longer the fighting continues, the more politically complicated these questions will become for Trump, who campaigned on a promise of ending the type of "forever wars" that the US found itself embroiled in during the "Global War on Terror" that began after 9/11.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Beirut

Schools here in the Lebanese capital Beirut have been transformed into shelters as growing numbers of people are forced from their homes.

At one housing dozens of displaced families, a mother and daughter grinned as they were told this evening that there was room for them to stay.

“We’re trying our best to carry on… we didn’t want this to happen but it’s not in our hands,” 45-year-old Hamida from the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh told me. “God knows [how long this will go on]. Maybe longer than the last war,” she said.

Another woman who had fled from the southern city of Tyre said she stayed here during the last war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“Because of that we knew to come here straight away this time,” 65-year-old Hala al-Zein said. “Of course, everyone is afraid, but we always have to have hope - we have to have hope for our kids.”

At another school in the city, volunteers this evening prepared mattresses for displaced families.

Fifty-five-year-old Bassima was among those staying there, after fleeing from her home in Dahieh on Monday, bringing her pet bird Bulbul and a bag of essentials with her.

“We’re really overwhelmed… this is always happening and we’re getting tired but this is our destiny. Hopefully in the end something good will happen."

President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun is calling on his allies to help stop Israeli attacks on his country.

One of the latest attacks directly struck a site in southern Lebanon belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping force Unifil, with injuries caused among a Ghanaian contingent serving there, the president said in a statement.

The Ghana Armed Forces says two soldiers are critically injured and another has been traumatised by the attack, which also completely burnt down the officers' mess facility.

Image source, Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned "the stakes could not be higher" as he calls for an end to the spiralling conflict.

"All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people," he says in a post on X.

"The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher."

Tom Fletcher, who is the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, also hit out at the "staggering amounts of money" being spent on the war "while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those most in need".

"We are seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity," he says.

For most Israelis, this is a just warpublished at 19:13 GMT

19:13 GMT

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem

In Israel, Iran has been described as an existential threat for decades and, among Israeli Jews, there’s near consensus in favour of taking military action.

Air raid sirens still sound across the country, sending people to shelters. But the intensity of the Iranian retaliation has diminished and most missiles are intercepted by the air defences.

As a reflection of that, emergency restrictions have now been relaxed.

In a sunny Tel Aviv, streets and shops were busy – a stark contrast with the situation in both Iran and Lebanon.

Domestically, there has been very little criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to go to war, even from his opponents, or debate about what might come next.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has identified missiles launched from Iran heading towards Israel.

"Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the IDF says in a new statement.

"The public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice. Leaving a protected space is permitted only after receiving explicit instructions."

The statement adds alerts have been sent to phones.

Image source, Getty Images

In an operational update on the Middle East, the UK Ministry of Defence says the four additional Typhoon fighter jets pledged to defend British interests in the region are scheduled to arrive in Qatar overnight.

It comes after Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities were shown arriving in Cyprus earlier today.

The MoD also says that last night its F-35 and Typhoon jets were involved in air patrols over Qatar, Jordan and the eastern Mediterranean.

Iran's attacks are pushing its Gulf neighbours to close ranks with the USpublished at 18:51 GMT

18:51 GMT

Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Doha

It appears that Iran’s attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours are pushing them to close ranks with the United States.

They lobbied hard in Washington to try and prevent this war and refused to let the Americans launch air strikes from US bases on their territory.

But analysts say they are so angry at Iran’s barrage of missile and drone attacks that they are considering lifting those restrictions.

It’s unlikely though that they would themselves go on the military offensive. And their very deep concerns about the economic impact should matter to the US.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times newspaper today that the war could “bring down the economies of the world”.

He predicted that all Gulf energy exporters would shut down production within days.

Some regional states are considering a review of current and future investments because the war is straining their budgets, the Times newspaper has also reported.

It didn’t name them, but Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have promised hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in the US.

We can bring you footage now of explosions near Tehran's Azadi Tower - one of the city's most famous landmarks.

The tower's surrounding plaza is often used as a backdrop for significant events such as national celebrations and demonstrations.

The tower is 50m (165ft) tall and located in the west of the city, very close to an airport.

Sources have told the BBC's US partner, CBS News, that Russia is providing intelligence on US positions to Iran.

It cites three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, including a senior US official it says has direct knowledge.

The Washington Post initially reported that Russia is providing intelligence on US positions, citing three unnamed officials.

Russian state media reported earlier that Vladimir Putin's spokesperson said Russia was in "dialogue" with Iranian leadership.

Reuters reports that the Kremlin declined to provide details when asked by reporters whether Moscow was helping Tehran.

Two British Wildcat helicopters have arrived in Cyprus today after Prime Minister Keir Sarmer pledged to bolster defences on the Mediterranean island.

Starmer said on Thursday the UK was sending the helicopters, which have anti-drone-capabilities, along with HMS Dragon due to arrive Cyprus in the next few weeks. The UK is also sending four additional Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar.

In images released by the Ministry of Defence, a helicopter is seen being unloaded from a Royal Air Force C-17 in Cyprus.

Image source, UK Ministry of Defence

Image source, UK Ministry of Defence

A freelance teacher in Tehran tells BBC Persian: "Many people are happy, they were expecting this for a long time."

The war has "affected my job and income", he says, but it is "worth it for a free Iran".

He says that even if were able to do virtual classes amid the internet outages, "no one has the energy or will to learn or pay for a class in this climate".

The teacher has stayed at his home in Tehran because, "on top of everything else" he "cannot endure the pain of being displaced".

There are no shortages "just yet", but he says "a period of turmoil and conflict" is "undeniably ahead".

"This is the price that any revolution or change requires," 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.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

I received a message from a friend who I’ve known since we were six. She’s turning 28 tomorrow.

She says: "I’m in Tehran. Tomorrow is my birthday, and it’s the strangest birthday of my life.

"I’m spending a fortune just to stay connected to the internet. Every few hours there are strikes again, almost every day. My work hasn’t stopped either… I work remotely.

"At night I sleep on the floor next to my bed so if another strike hits, there’s less chance of broken glass falling on me. But strangely, I’m not really sad. I’m only sad for the civilians who are getting killed."

Image source, Reuters

From the US

• President Trump says he won't accept any deal with Iran "except unconditional surrender"
• The US president also says Iran's next leader has to "treat the United States and Israel well"

From Israel

• The Israel Defence Forces says it has launched the 15th wave of strikes against Iran, and used 50 jets to destroy an underground bunker that was planned to be used by the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
• The Israeli military says projectiles have been fired at its territory from Iran and the Lebanese border today

From Iran

• A spokesperson for Iran's health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour says 200 people under 18 have been killed in the war
• Tehran residents have told the BBC last night was "the worst night" of the conflict so far
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said "some countries have begun mediation efforts", without specifying

From Lebanon

• There have been 217 deaths and 798 people wounded in Lebanon since the beginning of Israeli strikes on Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry
• Images show large explosions over Beirut after the IDF ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the southern suburbs, saying it is targeting Hezbollah

From the region

• A second UK charter flight carrying stranded British nationals has taken off from Oman this afternoon
• Some regional airlines, including Etihad and Emirates, have resumed limited flight schedules after reports that nearly 20,000 flights have been cancelled across the region since the weekend

The Israel Defense Forces says it has detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. The military says its defences are operating to intercept the incoming threat.

Alerts have been sent by Israel's Home Front Command to mobile phones in relevant areas, the IDF says, urging the public to follow directions and enter protected space.

Image source, Reuters

President Trump has been speaking to CNN today, where he says the US has "already figured out" how to make the Strait of Hormuz - the world's busiest oil shipping channel - safer for boats.

"We have knocked their navy because, you know, when you knock out the navy they can't do what they wanted to be able to do," he says.

Trump goes on to say that the US has struck 25 Iranian ships since the start of the war last Saturday.

Asked about rising oil prices, the president says "it'll be short term".

"They're up a little bit, not much but it will drop to record lows."

Asked if he would be open to a new religious leader taking over the leadership in Tehran, Trump says he may be.

"It depends on who the person is," he says. "I don't mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot religious leaders and they're fantastic. I'm saying there has to be a leader that's going to be fair and just, do a great job, treat the United States and Israel well, and treat other countries in the Middle East [well], they're all our partners."

On Thursday, Trump reportedly told US-based media outlet Axios that he wants to be "involved" in the appointment of Iran's next leader.

Since the start of the war, "nearly 24,000 American citizens have safely returned to the United States", a US State Department official says.

"Several flights have safely returned hundreds of Americans to the United States with additional flights scheduled to take place over the coming days, as security conditions allow," says US Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson.

Johnson adds that the figure of 24,000 does not include Americans who have safely relocated to other countries, or are currently in transit.

Trump said earlier that thousands of Americans are being "quietly, but seamlessly" moved out of the Middle East.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, EPA

Early this afternoon, US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with representatives of some of the country's largest defence firms, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Honeywell and L3Harris technologies.

This meeting was planned long ago, before bombs began falling on targets throughout Iran. But the vast expenditure of munitions has injected a newfound urgency into the meeting,

Some defence experts have warned that the current scale of the air campaign - as well as the significant demand on air defence capabilities amid continuing Iranian retaliatory strikes - could become difficult to sustain if the operation drags on.

US officials, including Trump, have sought to push back on any suggestion that weapons and equipment stockpiles could limit their operations.

"The US military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to continue demolishing the Iranian regime," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said in a statement.

"Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthening our military, which is why this meeting with defence contractors was scheduled weeks ago," she also says.

"The President will continue to call on these US companies to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the absolute best in the world,” Leavitt adds.

A spokesperson for Iran's health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, has posted on X, sharing an update about the number of people killed and injured in Iran.

He says 200 people under 18 have been killed – the youngest an eight-month-old baby. He does not give a figure for the total number of people estimated to have been killed since the war began.

He says more than 2,000 injured people are in hospital "right now". Among the injured, 552 are under 18, and the youngest is a four-month-old baby girl, he says.

"The war is also affecting the healthcare system," he says, saying eight healthcare workers have died, 30 have been injured, and 11 hospitals "affected by missiles".

US officials have denied targeting civilians. Israel has said it is targeting military assets with "precision" to protect civilians, and accuses Iran of targeting civilians.

Access to Iran is highly restricted with international news organisations often refused visas, which severely limits their ability to gather information there.