Tom Symonds
News correspondent

Image source, PA Media

I'm at Heathrow, where an Etihad Airways Airbus A380 carrying hundreds of passengers from Abu Dhabi has arrived. Exhausted passengers say they watched missiles pass overhead while hoping to get a flight home.

Penny Harrison, on a trip with friends in Dubai, tells me: "We heard explosions, we heard the hotel shake, we saw columns of black smoke, we saw drone interceptions. While we were having breakfast there was black ash falling on the breakfast table."

An exhausted Fay McCaul, arriving with her 7-year-old son Moss, says there were a lot of military jets flying over, and little information about what was going on. "They were talking about having to do an evacuation through Saudi Arabia. I was on my own just with my son," she says.

For Alison Ager, an alarm went off on her phone on the first night, and families with children went to the basement of their hotel. "We just laid there and thought we’ve got to get through this," she tells me.

"I just wanted to get home to see the family, that's just what we kept thinking. I’ve never been so scared in all my life," Alison says.

"You go to the Middle East and you think the Emirates are safe but clearly they're not," she adds.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

I just asked Rubio what the administration knows about Iranian reports that a school was struck on Saturday, reportedly killing dozens of civilians including children.

He said he had seen the reports and the Department of Defense would be investigating "if that was our strike".

I pressed him whether they knew it was the result of a US strike. He said: "The United States would not deliberately target a school," accusing the Iranians instead of targeting civilians in the region. I asked for his response if children had indeed been killed. He said that would be "a tragic outcome if it’s happened" but said he didn’t have the details about what led to it.

Iranian officials on Saturday said a girls' school was struck in Minab, while video showed distraught crowds gathered around a destroyed building. The site is near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base which has previously been a target.

Iranian officials said least 153 people including children were killed. The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said on Sunday it was looking into reports of the incident.

Rubio's justification miles away from Trump's speech on Saturdaypublished at 21:51 GMT

21:51 GMT

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

The administration says it struck Iran, when it did, because it was pre-empting Iran’s response to an Israeli attack.

This is a curious, evolving explanation that is likely to meet heavy scepticism from opposition lawmakers among those being briefed by Rubio here in Congress.

He just told us gathered reporters that people seemed confused about the offensive and its timing. He offered the justification: The administration knew there was going to be Israeli action against Iran and the US would suffer "much higher casualties" from Iran’s response if the US didn't strike first.

This is a pre-emptive defence argument that appears to pin the initiative on Israel, not Trump. This is miles away from Trump's combative speech on Saturday, which at least in part framed the US action as timed to draw on popular discontent and bring about regime change.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US attacked Iran "pre-emptively" on Saturday because they knew Israel was going to strike, which he says would have meant Iranian retaliation against US forces.

Speaking a little earlier, he tells reporters: "We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces.

"And we knew that if we didn't pre-emptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed," Rubio continues.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

An Iranian official says Iran will "set fire to anyone who tries to pass through” the Strait of Hormuz.

The warning comes from Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), speaking on state TV.

He says that the strait is closed and warned ships: "They should not come to this region. They will certainly face a serious response from us."

Jabbari also says Americans are "thirsty for the region's oil" and that Iran will "strike their pipelines in the region and will not allow oil to be exported from this area".

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and the most vital oil transit choke point. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes through the strait.

An update from the US Central Command (Centcom) says six US service members have been killed in action as of 16:00 eastern time on Monday.

The update says US forces recovered the remains of "two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region".

"Major combat operations continue," the update adds.

Image source, Reuters

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just been speaking.

He tells reporters: "Our mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities, and their ability to manufacture them, as well as the threat posed by their navy to global shipping. That's the objective."

"That said," he continues. "We would not mind, we would not be heartbroken, and we hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible.

"But the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities, and their naval capabilities," he says.

The US embassy in Jordan has issued a statement saying all personnel have "temporarily departed" due to a security threat.

The message, posted on the embassy's website, contains no other details. But yesterday, the embassy posted a similar memo, instructing personnel to shelter in place at the compound "as it may be targeted".

Danielle Kaye
New York business reporter

Oil and gas prices surged on Monday as tensions escalate in the Middle East and the conflict disrupts global supply chains. At the same time, gold futures rose as investors seek assets that are seen as safe havens in times of volatility.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was more than 6% higher in afternoon trading at nearly $78 (£58) a barrel. It had briefly hit $82 (£61) a barrel earlier in the day.

At least three ships were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, fuelling concern about access to the crucial waterway through which about 20% of the world's oil and gas is shipped.

"The market will be watching for signs that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz returns, which would see oil prices subside again," Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, tells the BBC. But some analysts have warned prices could keep surging in the event of a prolonged conflict, which could have a knock-on effect on inflation and interest rates.

In the US stock market, reaction to the attacks by the US and Israel - and Iran's retaliatory strikes across the Middle East - was relatively muted by the afternoon. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had opened sharply lower, but both indexes pared back their losses over the course of the day.

Airlines, which are grappling with airport closures and widespread global disruptions, have seen sharp losses. American Airlines' shares fell more than 4% on Monday, while AirFrance-KLM fell more than 9%.

Democrats, and even some Republicans, are not happy with Trump's actionspublished at 20:40 GMT

20:40 GMT

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Here in Congress, we’re waiting for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to show up.

He’s due to brief Republican and Democrat leaders in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility - a so-called “SCIF” room.

There’s a clamour from Democrats against the way Trump launched the attack on Iran which is without Congressional approval. Some lawmakers are calling it illegal.

The Democrats are trying to force a vote later this week under the 1973 War Powers Resolution which Congress passed during the Vietnam war as a check on executive authority. That effort is almost certain not to succeed.

But perhaps a bigger problem for Trump are the loud voices in parts of his Republican base who see the military action as a betrayal of his promise not to launch foreign “forever wars”.

As of Monday morning, 18 American service members have been "seriously wounded" in its operation against Iran, the US Central Command (Centcom) tells the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Sergi Forcada Freixas
in Madrid

Image source, Getty Images

Several US aircraft have departed the Rota and Morón military bases in southern Spain after the Spanish government denied Washington permission to use the jointly operated facilities for military action against Iran.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain would not authorise the use of its territory for “anything that is not in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations”.

The decision places Spain at odds with several European partners.

Although Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte told BBC News that Europe is “absolutely supportive” of US action in Iran, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has condemned what he called the “unilateral military action” carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran.

Image source, Getty Images

US Central Command (Centcom) has issued a fact sheet providing further details on "Operation Epic Fury".

In the first 48 hours since the launch, it says US forces have been "striking targets to dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus" and "prioritising locations that pose an imminent threat". Here's more from Centcom's breakdown:

• The operation is described as having launched at 01:15 ET on 28 February
• More than 1,250 targets have been struck in the first 48 hours, according to Centcom
• A list of US assets employed includes B-1 bombers, F-16 fighter jets, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and guided-missile destroyers
• The US also says it has employed "special capabilities we can't list here!"
• As for types of targets, Centcom says this includes Iranian Navy ships and submarines as well as integrated air defence systems and anti-ship missile sites
• Also listed as targets are the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps joint headquarters, and the IRGC aerospace forces headquarters

Satellite imagery indicates damage to Iranian Navy vessel in portpublished at 19:51 GMT

19:51 GMT

By Barbara Metzler

Satellite images captured today show damage at an Iranian naval port on the Strait of Hormuz, near the city of Bandar Abbas.

In the imagery, at least one vessel appears to have sustained damage, with dark smoke rising from it.

At about 230m (750ft) in length, it is among the larger ships typically seen at the port in southern Iran and has visual characteristics matching a Makran-class forward base ship operated by the Iranian Navy.

US Central Command (Centcom) says it has sunk 11 Iranian ships in the Gulf of Oman, leaving Iran with no ships left in the area.

"Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO.

"The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over. Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. US forces will continue to defend it," Centcom writes on X.

Image source, Reuters

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says "49 of the most senior Iranian regime leaders" have been killed in the strikes on Iran.

In a social media post, she outlines the objectives for the US operation, which include "preventing this radical regime" from threatening the US.

"Killing terrorists is good for America. 49 of the most senior Iranian regime leaders - including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - have already been wiped off the face of the Earth so far in the opening strikes of Operation Epic Fury," she says.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokeperson says that "all options are on the table" when asked whether Israel is going to expand its operation in Lebanon to a ground operation.

In a briefing, Effie Defrin says that Israel will finish the campaign with Hezbollah having sustained "very severe damage" - adding that operations won't conclude until "the threat from Lebanon is removed".

Image source, Reuters

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has spoken about the operation against Iran at the organisation's headquarters in New York.

He says Israel will not stop its operation against Tehran until Israel achieves its objectives - which he lists as: "No nuclear weapons, no ballistic missile threat, destroy their navy and crash the regime's proxy network."

Danon says the joint operation will last "as long as it takes" and Israel will do "whatever is necessary to protect our people and borders".

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Developments in the Middle East have been fast-moving today, with multiple countries in the region affected. Here's the latest.

Lebanon:

• There have been numerous Israeli strikes across Lebanon's capital, targeting what are believed to be Hezbollah positions
• The country's death toll has risen to 52 people
• The Lebanese government has banned the military activities of Hezbollah, after they undercut the government by firing rockets towards Israel without state consultation

Qatar:

• Qatar's Ministry of Defence says it shot down two aircraft coming from Iran, as well as seven missiles and five drones
• The country's state-owned energy company, QatarEnergy, has halted the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) earlier after strikes on some of its energy facilities

Kuwait:

• The US says three US fighter planes that crashed earlier, while involved in US operations against Iran, went down "due to an apparent friendly fire incident"

Iran:

• Iranian state media report that the wife of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, has also been killed

Israel:

• Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the site of a fatal Iranian ballistic missile strike that killed nine Israelis on Sunday - he told reporters Iran would threaten "all of humanity" if they acquired nuclear weapons