Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

If you're just joining, here are the updates we can bring you today on the US and Israel's war with Iran:

• Iran has acknowledged the death of Basij militia commander Gholamreza Soleimani, whose death Israel claimed credit for earlier today
• Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is lashing out at Nato allies, claiming "we no longer need or desire" their help in the Iran war after previously asking them to lend support
• A growing list of nations, including many European powers, turned down his request to help protect the Strait of Hormuz - after which the president said his asks were a "test"
• Tumult within the Trump administration too. The director of the US's National Counterterrorism Center has resigned - saying he "cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran"
• Kent's boss, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, has since defended the president in a social media post

• Earlier in the day, Israel also said it killed another Iranian leader, security chief Ali Larijani
• Multiple countries in the Gulf including Qatar and the UAE say have intercepted Iranian missiles today
• Israel said it is working to intercept several Hezbollah rockets
• In Lebanon, the death toll from the Israeli offensive has climbed to more than 900, the health ministry reports

Image source, Getty Images

Trump's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has come out in defence of the president after her employee, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, resigned in opposition to the war in Iran earlier today.

"Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief," Gabbard writes on social media. "As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country."

In his resignation letter, Kent said "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation".

Gabbard, who has a history of cautioning against war in Iran, did not mention the country, the conflict or Joe Kent specifically in her post.

"After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion," she writes.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Iran's IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) has acknowledged the death of Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij militia. The statement says that this "cowardly assassination" shows the "importance and role of Basij" in their "battle" against the US and Israel.

The IDF claimed that today they targeted Basij forces in "more than 10 different locations" across Tehran.

The Basij is a volunteer militia whose estimated one million members are often called out onto the streets to use force to suppress dissent. It is controlled by IRGC.

As Israel, the US, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah continue to trade missile attacks and airstrikes, we can bring you these photos which show how people are affected on the ground - children are rescued from a building in Tehran and displaced people are camping out in the streets of Beirut.

Image source, gett

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee says Hezbollah has launched "rocket projectiles" toward several areas in Israel.

"In parallel with interception efforts, the Air Force is currently targeting rocket platforms and additional Hezbollah infrastructure in various parts of Lebanon," Adraee wrote on social media.

He added that the IDF will "respond forcefully to every threat to the State of Israel".

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Joe Kent has not been a prominent name in the Trump administration but he held a senior role in counterterrorism intelligence and his verdict is damning.

He says the US government’s basis for going to war - that Iran was an imminent threat to the United States - was a lie.

He’s not, however, accusing the president of being at fault.

He accuses "high ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media" of "deceiving" Trump to abandon the America First strain of his movement and sow "pro-war sentiments" without an endgame.

Kent is a former Army Green Beret and was not a career civil servant - his resignation from his role will be seen by some in the administration in a political context.

He was nominated by Trump last year for director of the National Counterterrorism Center and only narrowly confirmed by the Senate.

Democrats heavily criticised his appointment pointing to him having embraced conspiracy theories (he argued 6 January rioters were "political prisoners" and maintained the false claim the 2020 election was stolen from Trump) - they argued he was unfit to serve due to "past associations with white-supremacist and far-right extremist groups".

Kent’s criticism echoes the current fracture within Trump’s Maga movement, an influential part of which outright opposes the war on Iran arguing Trump has been dragged in by Israel against America’s own interests.

Image source, Getty Images

Civilians in countries across the Gulf are at "grave risk" amid Iran's ongoing strikes in the region, according to Human Rights Watch.

In the face of the US-Israel operations against Iran, the Iranian leadership has responded by striking Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait among others.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has apologised to Iran's neighbours for the strikes, saying Tehran would not attack them "unless attacked first", but hits on infrastructure have continued.

Now, Human Rights Watch says many of the Iranian attacks have struck civilian residential buildings, hotels, civilian airports, and embassies, and have unlawfully targeted civilian objects such as financial centres".

As of 16 March, it says, the strikes have resulted in "at least 11 civilian deaths and at least 268 injuries".

“Rather than pretending to apologise, Iran’s authorities should immediately take all possible measures to protect civilians across the Gulf," says Joey Shea, a senior Saudi Arabia and UAE researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Image source, Getty Images

The number of people killed in Lebanon since the Israeli offensive in the country began on 2 March has risen to 912, according to the country's health ministry.

A further 2,221 people have been wounded.

On Monday, the health ministry reported that 886 people had been killed, meaning today's update shows 26 further deaths have been recorded in 24 hours.

Verified videos show damage in Israel’s Tel Aviv following missile strikespublished at 18:24 GMT

18:24 GMT

Image source, Telegram/Magen David Adom

By Shaina Oppenheimer and Peter Mwai

BBC Verify has been checking videos and photographs showing damage at a car park, a bus terminal and a railway station in Holon, to the south of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv after what’s reported to be Iranian missile fragments fell on central Israel earlier today.

Photographs taken at the bus terminal in Holon show emergency services at the scene and a hole in the tarmac next to a car and a bus which appear to have suffered damage from the impact.

Another video shows signs of an impact in a car park near the district of Or Yehuda. BBC Verify has also seen footage showing smoke rising at the train station in Holon. Local media reports say service on some lines was temporarily disrupted.

At both sites, the location of the footage was matched with existing images of buildings including the Afridar tower, the Cinema Tower and the train station itself. We also carried out reverse-image searches to confirm the pictures and videos were from today.

Dan Johnson
Reporting from the Iran–Turkey border

Iranians crossing the border told us they’ve heard news filtering through about the latest of their leaders Israel claims has been killed.

"I’m celebrating, I’m happy" one man said, hopeful the death of Ali Larijani would bring the downfall of the regime a step closer.

"It’s very important. He’s the main leader of Iran. He was very sly and very smart - a very smart man but not for good."

A 38-year-old pharmaceutical company manager said she was messaged by a friend as she left Iran and was pleased with the news.

"We had a little bit of hope in him because he’s not that extreme in comparison with others but one by one they are going to be killed. We are already in a big disaster so let them get killed."

"I’m so happy he is dead" another lady told us, clearly angry. "I want the world to understand what killers the Mullahs [Iran's clerical leadership] are."

The 68-year-old businesswoman encouraged the US and Israelis to go further. "They have to destroy the whole regime, the judiciary, the Basij [a militia controlled by the IRGC] and the political leadership."

But there’s two-way traffic across this border and some of those heading back to Iran hold different views.

One family said they didn’t believe the reports.

"They’re lying. They say Larijani has been killed but in Iran everyone says that Benjamin Netanyahu has been killed."

Trump steps up rhetoric against Nato alliespublished at 17:49 GMT

17:49 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

President Donald Trump threatened Nato allies over the weekend in a bid to secure help reopening the Straight of Hormuz.

The effort failed, but instead of shifting gears the president stepped up his rhetoric earlier as the US searches for ways to calm oil and gas markets roiled by the war in Iran.

In extended Oval Office remarks, Trump repeated his frustration with Nato, saying members of the alliance were "making a foolish mistake" by refusing to help the US secure the Straight of Hormuz.

Iran has targeted commercial vessels in the waterway and brought oil exports to a near halt since the US-Israel war started last month.

Trump singled out French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The British leader is "no Winston Churchill", Trump said, a line he's used repeatedly in recent weeks.

How that line of attack will help Trump get the help he needs in Iran is an open question. The strategy could prove counterproductive and push allies away, leaving the US and Israel further isolated in their war with Iran.

So far Trump has made little effort to build international consensus for the war, and allies have made clear they don't want to be drawn into the conflict.

Trump insisted Tuesday that he doesn't need Nato's assistance. "We don't need any help," he said. If he continues criticizing Nato allies, he may not get it.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

To say that Iran has "blocked" the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t really do justice to the current situation.

Some traffic is passing through the vital waterway, with Iranian permission.

Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI, has been tracking the latest movements and believes a new trend has emerged.

Ships rerouting through Iran’s territorial water, hugging the coastline rather than passing through the narrow channel, further south, traditionally used by most ships.

"The new route illustrates how Iran’s selective blockade has evolved to allow allies and supporters to transit," she writes on X. "Eight ships, excluding Iranian-flagged vessels, were tracked through the Strait with their AIS (automatic identification system) on 16 March, nearly double numbers seen earlier this week," Bockmann wrote.

India has been among a number of countries negotiating permission with Iran.

Iran continues to export between 1.6m and 1.8m barrels of oil per day. Bockmann says one to two Iranian tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz every 24 hours.

Kuwait's defence ministry says it has detected two ballistic missiles and 13 drones inside the country's airspace within the last 24 hours.

All were intercepted, it says, but two minor injuries have been recorded as a result of falling shrapnel.

The individuals' conditions are stable and no significant material damage was recorded, it says.

The UAE and Qatar have both issued updates today about intercepted missiles - there's more on this in our previous post.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

BBC Persian has seen another warning message from inside Iran sent to residents last night by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit.

There have been several warnings sent out by the same number since the war began.

"A number of ‘soldiers of Israel’ want to exploit the last Wednesday of the year to commit acts of sabotage and disrupt peace and security," the text says, while asking Iranians to report any "suspicious cases" to the IRGC.

Iranians usually mark the Chaharshanbe Suri (Red Wednesday) festival tonight, traditionally held on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian year (ending on 20 March this year), including bonfires and fireworks.

Iran’s state TV channel is showing pro-establishment rallies in several provinces tonight, with the description: "People’s presence to counter the possible movements of Zionist mercenaries".

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, IRINN

Iranian state TV news channel IRINN’s presenter has read out a message from Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij militia, who Israel says it killed overnight.

In the message he called on people to join processions for the funeral ceremony for those who were killed on the IRIS Dena warship earlier this month.

Iran's Tasnim news agency had said yesterday that the funeral will be held today in Tehran.

Soleimani is yet to be seen in person live on state TV and Iranian outlets.

Marianne Baisnée
Reporting from Paris

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking at a defence and national security cabinet about the situation in Iran and in the Middle East a little earlier - before Trump's latest remarks - French President Emmanuel Macron said that France is ready to participate in an escort mission for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz once the situation is "calmer".

Addressing his ministers at the opening of the meeting, he repeated that France is not part of the conflict and said that "France will never participate in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context".

"However, once the situation will be calmer—and we deliberately use that term broadly—and that the core of the bombing will have ceased, we will be ready, along with other nations, to assume responsibility for an escort system," he added.

The French president underlined that "this requires a comprehensive political, technical, and operational undertaking, involving all stakeholders in maritime transport and insurers".

Macron said discussions with India, several other European and regional partners have already begun.

Macron also said it "must be entirely separate from the ongoing war operations and bombings".

"France has a simple and clear responsibility in the region: to protect our citizens and our interests, to be a reliable partner for everyone, and to work towards de-escalation and stability. It is within this framework that we wish to move forward," he said.

Before Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, his press secretary put out a response to Joe Kent, who resigned earlier as the director of the US's National Counterterrorism Center, saying he could not support the war.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media, saying Kent had made "many false claims" in his resignation letter.

Specifically on Kent's statement that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation" - Leavitt says Trump had "strong and compelling evidence" that Iran was going to attack the United States.

"This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum," she says - adding that Iran was given "every single possible opportunity" to abandon nuclear ambitions.

"President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America’s national security interests," she says.

Image source, EPA

Asked next whether he has a "day after" plan for Iran, Trump says if they left now it would take "10 years for them to rebuild".

"But we're not ready to leave yet. But we will be leaving in the near future, we'll be leaving in pretty much the very near future," Trump says.

He repeats his point that the US has had "great support" from other countries in the Middle East but "essential no support" from Nato.

On his relationship with Starmer, Trump says he hasn't been supportive - he says the prime minister was willing to send two aircraft carriers "after we won" when there was no threat for them.

"I think he's a nice man but I'm disappointed," the president concludes.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin steps in to say the transatlantic relationship between Europe and US is still "very important".

He says to Trump that Starmer is an "earnest" person that the president has the capacity to get on with.

President Trump is asked about the resignation of Joe Kent, his director of national counterterrorism, who said he couldn't remain in his job because he cannot support the conflict in Iran.

"I read his statement," says Trump. "I always thought he was a nice guy but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security."

He continues: "I didn't know him well ... But when I read his statement I realised that it's a good thing that he's out, because he said Iran was not a threat.

"Iran was a threat, every country realised what a threat Iran was."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Trump responds to a question about getting America's allies to help with escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Well we don't need any help," Trump begins, saying Nato allies had been in favour of what the US did - saying it was very important that they take out the nuclear threat from Iran.

The US has done that "very strongly", he says, adding that they have wiped out Iran's military, navy and air force.

On Nato - Trump says they are making "a foolish mistake".

"We don't need them but they should've been there."

Asked a follow up question on Macron's comments that France won't join a taskforce in Hormuz until the hostilities finish, Trump says he will be out of office soon.