Shanaz Musafer
Business reporter

Europe's benchmark gas price is up 33% today, while the UK benchmark is also up 30% - both are trading at their highest levels since January 2023.

Gas prices had jumped about 50% on Monday after QatarEnergy, one of the world's biggest exporters, halted production following "military attacks" on its facilities.

According to Trading Economics, the UK is "particularly exposed due to limited storage capacity and heavy reliance on imports, with domestic inventories below 30% at the end of February".

Image source, UGC

In Oman, a fuel tank at the Port of Duqm has been targeted in a drone attack, according to the country's state news agency.

"The resulting damage was brought under control without any human casualties being recorded," an unnamed security source is cited as saying.

The same port was targeted by drones over the weekend. One worker was injured, according to reports.

In nearby Qatar, production of liquefied ⁠natural gas was halted on Monday - about a fifth of global supply - after Iranian attacks on some of its facilities. Saudi Arabia also suspended ​production at its largest domestic refinery.

Oman has been a key mediator for years in US-Iran talks - the most recent of which took place in the country last month, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi describing the mediated discussions as a "good beginning".

We've a few more lines to bring you from Darren Jones, chief secretary to Keir Starmer, who's been talking to BBC Breafkast.

He says the British armed forces are now involved in the Iranian conflict - in a defensive capacity - because British citizens are "at risk".

"We were not involved in the initial American and Israeli strikes in Iran, but now that British citizens are at risk... it is right that we do everything we can to reduce that risk and to defend British citizens," Jones says.

What does this involvement look like? It includes RAF pilots being in the skies "shooting down missiles", he says, and allowing the US to use British air bases. (Starmer explained that latter decision to MPs yesterday - read more on that here.)

Asked if he believes the US's actions have been illegal, Jones says this is a question for the US.

This morning, new comments from Donald Trump have been released by the Sun - in which the US president says the US relationship with the UK is "obviously not what it was".

Now the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, says the relationship "remains important".

"I understand the president has not been satisfied that we were not involved with the first wave of strikes," he tells BBC Breakfast.

However, Jones says the UK "will only commit British armed forces when there is a legal basis to do so, a clear plan of action and when it is in the interest of our country".

He adds that the US-UK relationship "operationally" remains the same, as their militaries are continuing to work closely together "right now".

"I recognise the president has taken a different view... but as I say our military personnel are collaborating now in the interest of British citizens in the region," he adds.

"That's a reflection of our special relationship, working as the public would expect us to."

As a reminder, the UK initially said the US couldn't use British bases for strikes on Iran - then said they could be used for "defensive" strikes.

Israel's ground advance a new blow to Lebanese sovereigntypublished at 07:56 GMT

07:56 GMT

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

As we reported moments ago, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz says the Israeli military will seize "strategic areas in Lebanon" to stop fire on Israelis living along the border in the north of the country.

The move is a new blow to Lebanese sovereignty, and to the 2024 US-brokered ceasefire deal that brought an end to a year of full-on fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Lebanese reports say that Lebanon’s army is beginning to pull back from its positions in the south.

Donald Trump has criticised Keir Starmer for his role in the US attacks on Iran.

Speaking to the Sun, Trump says the prime minister "has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK."

In a telephone interview, Trump adds: "It's very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was."

On Monday, Starmer told the Commons the government "does not believe in regime change from the skies".

The UK initially did not allow the US to use British bases to attack Iran, but then opened its bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian sites.

Trump tells the Sun: "France has been great. They've all been great. The UK has been much different from others."

Image source, Reuters

We're just seeing a statement, translated from Hebrew, from Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz.

He says he and PM Benjamin Netanyahu "have authorised the IDF to advance and seize additional strategic areas in Lebanon in order to prevent fire on Israeli border communities".

He continues: "The IDF continues to operate forcefully against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The terrorist organisation is paying - and will continue to pay - a heavy price for its fire toward Israel."

Katz adds Israel is determined to "defend the border communities", saying: "We promised security to the communities of the Galilee, and that is what we will deliver."

Image source, Reuters

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, says it has attacked three Israeli military sites "in response to the criminal Israeli aggression that targeted dozens of Lebanese cities and towns".

In three separate posts on Telegram, Hezbollah says it hit the Nafah base in the Golan Heights with a "large missile salvo", as well as the Meron and Ramat David air bases, in northern Israel, with drones.

The Israeli military has not commented on the apparent attacks.

As black smoke is pictured above Beirut - see our previous post - the AFP news agency reports loud explosions in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Israel announced earlier this morning that it was launching new attacks on "military targets" in both cities.

Israel says it's attacking "military targets" in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

We have just received these pictures of thick black smoke rising above Beirut's southern suburbs.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

On the fourth day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, here are the latest developments:

• Israel has launched a fresh wave of "extensive airstrikes" on what it calls "military targets" in Tehran and Beirut
• The US embassy in Riyadh has been hit by two drones, according to the Saudi Ministry of Defense, causing a "limited" fire
• Iranian state media says a command and staff building at a US air base in Bahrain has been destroyed

• An Iranian official has threatened to "set fire" to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz - a key route for global energy supplies
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday "the hardest hits are yet to come" from the US military on Iran. He was speaking after Donald Trump called Saturday's strikes "the last, best chance" to eliminate "threats" from Tehran
• Six US service members have been killed since the war began. Three US fighter jets were shot down yesterday in Kuwait an "apparent friendly fire incident" - the crews survived
• Yesterday, UK PM Keir Starmer told MPs he "does not believe in regime change from the skies". But he is allowing the US to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites

As for what happens next? "It is way too soon to have any idea of when or how the war will finish," says the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen.

The US embassy in Kuwait is closed "until further notice" according to a post on its X account, citing "ongoing regional tensions".

The embassy says that "we have cancelled all regular and emergency consular appointments".

On Monday, the US State Department urged Americans in many parts of the Middle East - including Kuwait - to leave now via commercial means due to "serious safety risks".

Three US fighter planes crashed in the country on Monday in an "apparent friendly fire incident".

The closure of the Kuwaiti embassy comes after the US embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones overnight.

President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to comment on US stocks of "medium and upper medium grade" munitions, adding that wars "can be fought 'forever'... using just these supplies".

"We have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!" Trump writes, posting just before midnight in Washington DC (05:00 GMT).

In his latest remarks, he also accuses his predecessor Joe Biden of providing Ukraine with "so much of the super high end" US weapons.

At the end of his four-year term, Biden had allowed Ukraine to use powerful long-range ATACMS missiles, capable of striking up to 190 miles (300km).

Image source, Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed that it launched strikes on the Iranian capital of Tehran, as well as the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

“The IDF is currently conducting simultaneous targeted strikes against military targets in Tehran and Beirut,” it said in a statement.

The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said "a wave of extensive airstrikes" was underway.

The strikes come about an hour after the IDF issued an “urgent warning” to people in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in dozens of villages, calling for them to evacuate. The IDF had said it was targeting command centres and storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest on this.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued an “urgent warning” to people in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in dozens of villages.

It says people should stay away from buildings affiliated with Hezbollah and that anyone near them is at risk

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said.

As the warning was issued, thick clouds of black smoke could be seen rising into the early morning sky over Beirut and Reuters reported that loud blasts could be heard.

Reports are emerging of an Iranian strike destroying the main command headquarters of a US air base in Bahrain.

Footage posted by the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appears to show a wave of rockets exploding into distant targets.

It claims the IRGC's drone and missile attack destroyed a US command and staff building in Bahrain's Sheikh Isa region and caused fuel tanks to explode.

The US has not yet commented on the reported attacks.

Earlier, smoke could be seen billowing from a US-run naval base in Bahrain.

The US State Department has ordered American citizens to immediately leave Bahrain, along with a dozen other countries in the Middle East.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Asia and Europe stand to be the most impacted if it is confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is closed or oil and gas infrastructure continues to be hit, according to industry analysts.

The supply of liquified natural gas (LNG) is of particular concern.

Qatar had earlier said it had suspended producing LNG after a reported drone attack from Iran on one of its facilities.

"Nothing can replace Qatari LNG," according to oil analyst Saul Kavonic, Senior Energy Analys at MST Financial.

"If the shutdown is prolonged, or worse the LNG infrastructure is damaged, it portends a larger gas market shock than in 2022 when Russia turned off pipeline gas to Europe."

A fifth of the world's LNG goes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Qatar transports 90% of its LNG exports through the narrow stretch that lies between Oman and Iran.

China, India, Taiwan and South Korea are among the countries that will be left most exposed in Asia, according to experts.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson has urged the US to "get [Benjamin Netanyahu] under control".

"Sorry, it's not antisemitism. This is a head of state whose decisions are getting Americans killed and affecting the history of the world and the fortunes, but also the future of the United States," Carlson said in his latest podcast on Tucker Carlson Network.

The former Fox News host added: "The United States has to say to the government of Israel, 'You are not in charge.' ...No administration has paid a higher price for going along than the current administration."

Carlson, a Trump ally, had lobbied against military action and even met with Trump at the White House several times to dissuade him from an attack, according to the New York Times.

Several US leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, had defended Washington's actions as "pre-emptive" because they knew Israel was going to strike - though Israel's PM Netanyahu's remarks appeared to suggest otherwise.

"Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America," Netanyahu told Fox News on Monday night.

Osmond Chia
Business reporter

Global energy prices continue to climb on Monday as the conflict in the Middle East threatens to restrict supplies from the oil-producing region.

The Brent crude was up by around 1.9% at $79.25 (£59.11) a barrel, while US-traded oil was up by about 1.5%.

Global oil and gas prices have surged since the US and Israel began their attacks on Iran over the weekend.

Natural gas prices spiked on Monday after QatarEnergy, one of the world's biggest exporters, stopped production following "military attacks" on its facilities.

Daniele Palumbo and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify

Image source, Vantor

New satellite images analysed by BBC Verify show damage to a major oil refinery in Saudi Arabia after reported drone strikes.

The images, captured today by Vantor, show fire and scorch marks around cooling towers in the central area of the oil refinery, located in the eastern city of Ras Tanura.

The area is occupied by a series of pipes connecting the different storage units to the central pier of the site that is normally able to fill four tankers simultaneously. The site has a productive capacity of 550,000 barrels per day.

The Aramco oil company said today that it had to temporarily shut down the refinery due to the strike.

Image source, Vantor