As we reported earlier, the US embassy in Baghdad has issued a fresh warning for its citizens to leave Iraq after a missile hit the embassy building earlier on Saturday.

In its warning, the US embassy said citizens should "leave Iraq now".

"US citizens choosing to remain in Iraq are strongly encouraged to reconsider in light of the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups," the embassy wrote.

As Iran has launched strikes at US targets across the Middle East, the US has urged its citizens to leave more than a dozen countries.

Separately, the US said on Saturday it had ordered non-emergency government employees and the relatives of government employees to leave Oman, according to Reuters.

The Israeli military says it has been intercepting missiles launched from Iran in the early hours of the morning.

The missile barrage was targeted at central Israel, emergency services say.

No injuries have been reported so far by Israeli authorities.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

Tokyo has not officially responded to Trump's call for its warships to be sent to the Strait of Hormuz.

But the Japanese government believes the issue could be on the agenda during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's upcoming trip to the US, which starts on Wednesday, according to local media.

A defence ministry official told Japanese outlet NHK on Sunday morning that Japan could be "forced to make difficult decisions" if it dispatches its Self-Defence Forces.

The official added that the government needs to "carefully assess" whether there will be special requests regarding this during the Japan-US summit.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry official told the outlet that Tokyo will not immediately dispatch naval vessels just because Trump asked.

"Japan decides its own response, and independent judgment is fundamental," the official said.

The US Department of Defense has identified the six soldiers who died in a military refuelling aircraft crash in Iraq on 12 March.

A statement released on Saturday named them as John A. Klinner, Ariana G. Savino, Ashley B. Pruitt, Seth R. Koval, Curtis J. Angst and Tyler H. Simmons.

They were crew members of a KC-135 aircraft, a tanker that was involved in ongoing US operations against Iran.

The Pentagon has said the incident is under investigation. The US previously said neither hostile nor friendly fire was involved in the loss of the aircraft.

Image source, Reuters

Iraq’s football team plans to travel to Mexico by private plane for their World Cup play-off, though coach Graham Arnold has asked to postpone the match because of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Iraq’s team is due to play either Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on 31 March, with the winner of the inter-continental play-off booking their place at the 2026 World Cup.

Airspace across much of the Middle East has been closed since 28 February.

In a video statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency, Iraq Football Association chief Adnan Dirjal said he had written to Fifa to explain the "difficulty of the journey" because of the war.

"The national team will depart at the end of the week to Mexico via a private plane,” he said.

"My message to everyone: only 17 days remain, and we must focus and prepare for the match. We have one goal, which is qualifying for the World Cup," Dirjal added.

• Read more here: Iraq taking private plane to Mexico for World Cup play-off

In that interview with NBC on Saturday, Trump also raised questions about the fate of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's slain former leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said, because Khamenei issued his first statement via writing rather than speaking on camera on Thursday.

“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump added, before describing the news of his death as a "rumour".

In a telephone interview with US outlet NBC News on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to make a deal, but he was unwilling to do so now "because the terms are not good enough yet".

Though he refused to say what those terms would be, Trump said that an Iranian commitment to abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of a potential deal.

In the same interview, Trump also said that several countries have committed to helping secure the Strait of Hormuz, though he refused to name them.

Trump also said that the US had "totally demolished" Kharg Island - a critical hub for Iranian oil exports - but added that "we may hit it a few more times just for fun".

He also shrugged off fears about rising oil prices. "There’s so much oil, gas - there’s so much out there, but you know, it’s being clogged up a little bit. It’ll be unclogged very soon," he said.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

As we learned a little earlier, Iran's Ministry of Sports has officially confirmed that three more members of Iranian women's national football team withdrew their asylum applications to Australia.

According to the statement published by the website of reformist daily Shargh, Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali, and Zahra Meshkeh Kar - two players and one member of the coaching staff - are returning to Iran.

The statement says that another player, Mohaddeseh Zolfi, had previously announced her decision to return to Iran.

"The national spirit and patriotism of the Iranian women's national football team defeated the enemy's plans against this team", the statement says, also accusing Australia's government of "playing in Trump's field".

US President Donald Trump had said that on Truth Social platform that Australia should "give asylum" to the women or "the US will take them if you won't."

• For more on this story: Three more Iran football team members change minds over asylum

Switzerland has denied two requests from the US to fly over its territory as part of the military action in the Middle East.

It cited its law of neutrality, which "prohibits overflights by parties to the conflict that serve a military purpose related to the conflict", the government's statement says.

However, the Swiss government says it did allow three other flights, one for maintenance and two for transport aircraft.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

It's still very difficult to contact those inside Iran amid the internet outage imposed by the government at the start of the war, but some residents have been finding ways - such as using Starlink devices and sharing their connection with others - to get in touch with the outside world.

I asked a few of them for their reaction to the US strikes on Kharg Island.

"I strongly disagree and I’m worried. I think at this pace we will end up with a ruined Iran," a man in his 20s, from Tehran, tells me.

"I just hope energy facilities are not attacked. It’s unclear how many years it would take to rebuild them, but I really don't care about military sites," says another man in his 20s, from Karaj.

"I went there once, years ago. It’s a very small island with kind people, but even then the situation wasn’t very good," a man in his 30s from the capital tells me. "I felt the island hadn’t progressed much, and I think it’s the Islamic Republic fault that they were neglected."

• 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 Israeli strike on a health centre in southern Lebanon on Friday killed 12 medical workers, including doctors and nurses, Lebanon's ministry of public health says.

The strike has been condemned by the chief of the World Health Organization. "These incidents highlight the ongoing assault on Lebanon’s healthcare system, which is crucial for the populations it serves," Tedros Ghebreyesus says.

"WHO condemns this tragic loss of life and emphasises that health workers must always be protected."

The Israeli military says it's aware of reports of a strike in the Borj Qalaouiye area in southern Lebanon, and the incident is under review.

Image source, Reuters

A little earlier, UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh told NBC News her country had responded well to a "really disgusting, illegal onslaught" from Iran, which has included strikes "shockingly aimed at civilian infrastructure".

The UAE did not want this war but will "fully and assertively" defend itself, she added, accusing Iran of "attacking the peacemakers in the region".

Commenting on Iran's ballistic missile programme, she said the past 14 days have shown there is no world in which countries can safely coexist with Iran while it has those capabilities.

Despite this, Nusseibeh described life in the UAE as "pretty normal" given the circumstances, albeit "tense".

Six people have been arrested in Bahrain for posting videos of the aftermath of Iranian strikes, the country's interior ministry says.

In a statement, it says the detainees were glorifying Iran's actions and "spreading false information".

"The Interior Ministry stated that the videos were circulated through their social media accounts, which could mislead public opinion, spread fear among citizens and residents, and undermine security and public order," it adds.

Earlier we shared that at least 45 people have been arrested the United Arab Emirates, for sharing images on social media related to Iranian attacks on that country.

The Fujairah Government media office says they are still trying to put out a fire caused by debris that fell on the port after a targeted strike.

In a statement, it adds that a Jordanian citizen sustained minor injuries in the incident.

The UAE port Fujairah was targeted by a strike earlier on Saturday. It's a key location for the refuelling of ships and one of the largest oil storage facilities in the region.

Image source, Getty Images

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Strikes have been heard in Tehran's centre and west, as air defence sounds are heard in the east, three sources in the Iranian capital city tell me.

Nick Beake
Europe Correspondent reporting from Dubai

Police in Abu Dhabi, the federal capital of the United Arab Emirates, say they have arrested 45 people for filming and sharing images on social media related to Iranian attacks on the country.

Officers said those who’d been detained were of various nationalities.

The UAE authorities have warned they will crack down on activity that "provokes public opinion and spread rumours.”

Yesterday, the British Embassy in the UAE shared a message on its social media about the risk of prosecution for people taking photos or videos where there had been Iranian attacks or of recording at military or sensitive locations.

Here in Dubai, a 60 year-old British man was charged under cyber-crime laws in Dubai after allegedly filming Iranian missiles over the city.

Few details about the case have emerged.

It’s a reminder that while the UAE may market itself as a global hub and beacon of business, there are often greater restrictions on what you can say and post in Gulf states than in most of the western countries many expats have left for Dubai.

Sirens are sounding across Bahrain, the interior ministry says.

In a post on X, it says citizens should head to the nearest safe place.

Kuwait's government says a drone attack has targeted its international airport, damaging the airport's radar system.

The airport announced this week it was suspending all flights due to the ongoing war.

Donald Trump has posted on social media for a second time in the last few hours about the Strait of Hormuz - the oil shipping channel through which 20% of the world's oil passes.

Earlier, he called on a host of nations - including the UK, France and China - to join the US in sending warships to help secure the passage after threats from Iran to block it.

Now, he says "the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help - A LOT!"

"The US will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well," he says in the post. "This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be."

Trump adds that add the situation will "bring the world together toward Harmony, Security, and Everlasting Peace!"

Lebanon is being forced to live a war that not all its people wantpublished at 19:13 GMT 14 March

19:13 GMT 14 March

Lina Sinjab
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Beirut

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Israel's strikes continue to hit the south of Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and other neighbourhoods.

Hezbollah is adamant it will continue fighting until the end, ignoring constant calls from the government to end the war and stop its military activities.

Diplomatic efforts are under way to put an end to the war. As French President Emmanuel Macron offered to host direct talks between the Lebanese and Israelis, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres travelled to Lebanon on Saturday to show solidarity with the country and call on all parties to respect international law.

But the warring parties are not adhering to this approach.

Israel appears to want to finish what it started in 2024 - that is to eliminate Hezbollah.

On the other hand, many see Hezbollah as acting under the order of Iran, which now says they are co-co-ordinating strikes on Israel.

This co-operation has put Lebanon and its government under immense pressure, as people are forced to live a war they don’t want.