Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

It used to be said that Iran prided itself on “strategic patience”, responding to actions against it at a time of its own choosing.

A new approach is playing out now in its attacks on Israel and its response to Israeli actions in Lebanon. The new leadership which emerged in Tehran this year took a lesson from last year’s 12-day war with Israel: restraint will be seen as weakness.

“They’re accusing us of being naïve,” an Iranian official told me of the hardliners’ criticism shortly after that confrontation ended.

Now those critics are calling the shots. Iran’s cautious supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, assassinated on the first day of this war, no longer sets the rules.

Iran, which had long tried to avoid a direct war with Washington, has now seen that war close-up.

Even more, despite its major military and economic cost, Tehran survived.

And, after decades of a “forward defence” strategy which relied on proxies and partners like Lebanon’s Hezbollah to prevent conflicts from reaching Iran, now Tehran is attacking in defence of its ally.

War is creating a new kind of conflict.

US President Donald Trump has said final negotiations on "peace" are proceeding but are "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".

He says in a post on Truth Social: "Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!"

"The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a 'Final Deal' is reached. Things should move quickly," he adds.

Image source, EPA

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for Iran and Israel to "get back to a ceasefire" after strikes resumed between the two countries.

Starmer says he is "deeply concerned about the resumption of violence" in the Middle East, adding that "serious negotiations" are going on towards "a lasting peace".

The conflict is having "a huge impact across the world", including in the UK, Starmer says.

"So I say to all parties, we all have a responsibility to get back to that ceasefire and it’s really important we’re very clear about that.”

Image source, Reuters

Hezbollah says it fired a rocket barrage at a group of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers in southern Lebanon earlier this morning.

In an update on Telegram, Hezbollah claims it targeted a "gathering" of military personnel on the outskirts of Beit Yahoun in response to Israel's "violation of the ceasefire and its attacks on villages in southern Lebanon".

Israel has not yet commented and the extent of any damage or injuries is currently unclear.

The Israeli military is carrying out ground operations in southern Lebanon in what it says is an attempt to stop Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel.

The BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen says "the Middle East is in turmoil on every level right now and there is no sign that that turmoil is easing".

You can listen to his report on the US-Israel war with Iran and the consequences it could have for years to come in the video below.

US President Donald Trump says Israel and Iran must immediately stop “shooting", in a new post on Truth Social.

Prior to Israel's retaliatory strikes, US President Donald Trump told several US and international media outlets that he was urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran's attack.

Verified footage shows missiles launched from Iranpublished at 10:28 BST

10:28 BST

By Shayan Sardarizadeh and Paul Brown

BBC Verify has been looking at two videos showing what appears to be the launch of Iranian missiles heading towards Israel last night.

One clip, filmed from a pro-government rally in the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, shows two projectiles in the sky as a crowd waving Iranian and Hezbollah flags chant “Allahu Akbar” in approval.

Another video, also filmed from the same pro-government rally, shows a projectile flying over the city.

We’ve checked that both of these videos are new and they have not been created or manipulated with AI.

Image source, Mehr News Agency

Iranian air defences have reportedly downed a drone that was flying over Tehran, according to Iranian news agency Mehr.

It follows reports of multiple explosions being heard in the Iranian capital.

We can now bring you more from Iran's foreign ministry spokesman.

Esmali Baghaei told a press conference that the US bears responsibility for aggression from Israel, according to a translation from Iranian state media.

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting quotes Baghaei as saying the actions of Israel and conflicting stances from US officials "have cast a shadow over the negotiation atmosphere".

The state-run Islamic Republic news agency also reports that the spokesman said the consequences of escalating tensions will "also be on the US".

Before Israel's strikes, US President Donald Trump told several US and international media outlets that he was urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran's attack on Sunday night.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, said during a press conference today that the exchange of messages between Iran and the US “had not stopped”.

Baghaei did not clarify whether the exchange of messages has been happening since yesterday or not.

He added that one of the reasons that Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran two days ago was to “help continue the talks and carry out mediation-related matters".

Pakistan has been a key mediator between Iran and the US, and Naqvi reportedly delivered a written message from Pakistani leaders to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

There had been some reports since 1 June on Iranian outlets close to the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) that Iran will halt exchanging messages with the US in protest at Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Tehran and Washington have been reportedly exchanging messages since the ceasefire on 8 April in order to reach a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the initial stage.

One round of negotiations in person between Iran and US delegations mediated through Pakistan happened in person on 11-12 April in Islamabad.

We're receiving reports that several explosions have been heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

It is unclear if these are related to the latest attacks from Israel, which has been launching strikes against the country in recent hours.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed it has launched a missile attack on a petrochemical plant in Haifa, northern Israel, according to a statement reported by Iranian Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim quotes the IRGC as saying the attacks were in response to an earlier attack by Israel on an Iranian petrochemical facility in Mahshahr, in the south-west of the country.

It warned Israel has started a "dangerous game" and further attacks on non-military and energy targets in the region would have consequences for the global economy.

Alex Gandler, spokesperson for Israeli embassy in the UK, has just been speaking to our colleagues on Radio 4's Today programme.

Gandler says the country wants a ceasefire with Lebanon and would "welcome" an agreement between the US and Iran "if it's a good deal".

He states Hezbollah "attacked us" while a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel was in place.

The conditions of the ceasefire agreement were made between the state of Israel and the state of Lebanon, "not the state of Iran of the pseudo-state of Hezbollah", he adds.

Gandler says "the job isn't done in Iran" and claims the country is "a patron of a terrorist organisation that is attacking Israel and using Lebanese civilians as cover".

Image source, EPA

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it has "completed a large-scale strike" on "strategic defence systems" in Iran.

In a new statement, it says that "dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets" were involved in the attacks in central and western Iran, adding that the systems had been dismantled.

"These strikes further enhance the Israeli Air Force's freedom of action in Iranian air space," the IDF says.

Earlier, we reported the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) as saying Iran had launched another wave of missiles towards Israel and that defence systems were operating to "intercept the threat".

Israel's emergency service organisation has since said "no casualties are known" at this stage.

Image source, Reuters

Israel's Netanyahu under growing pressure at homepublished at 08:19 BST

08:19 BST

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent

Image source, EPA

This war has weakened the Iranian regime - described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an existential threat to Israel - but has not led to its collapse.

In fact, the leadership appears to have become more confident and perhaps more confrontational.

The indications are that Netanyahu is concerned about the potential deal between the US and Iran, considering it to be disadvantageous for Israel, and many suspect he is trying to create a situation for the war to resume.

Netanyahu is under growing pressure at home.

Amid discontent with Hezbollah’s continued attacks, there is support for the war in Lebanon to continue, although it is not clear what else Israel’s attacks can achieve in degrading the group as President Trump has limited Israeli actions in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict.

Finally, elections in Israel are due to be held before October, and the prime minister may lose his job.

Osmond Chia
Business reporter

Image source, EPA

Oil prices have continued to climb after Iran and Israel fired missiles at each other for the first time since a ceasefire was agreed between the sides and the US in April.

The price of the global benchmark Brent was up by 4.5% at $97.30 (£73) a barrel, while US-traded crude gained by 4.3% to around $94.50.

It is too early to say whether the strikes mark a full escalation of the war, but traders are again pricing in risks to global oil markets, said Associate Professor Jiajia Yang from James Cook University in Australia.

Asian markets fell sharply on Monday, with major indexes like South Korea's Kospi falling by nearly 8%.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) says Iran launched missiles towards Israel "a short while ago".

"Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat" and members of the public living "in the relevant areas" have been alerted, it added in a statement.

Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted two Israeli air bases in Nevatim and Tel Nof, according to Iranian state media.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The Houthis - the Iran-backed militia in Yemen - say they will ban all Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and any movement will be considered a target for them.

The Houthis have continually attacked Israeli ships travelling through the Red Sea throughout the conflict.

In a statement from spokesperson Yahya Sarea, the group also confirms it has attacked Israel with missiles.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Beirut

Image source, Getty Images

The latest developments are another sign of how fragile the situation in the region is and could further complicate President Trump’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran.

This war is unpopular in the US, where many still struggle to understand why it happened in the first place, while Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to an economic shock being felt around the world.

One of the obstacles in the negotiations is the conflict in Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed militia and political party Hezbollah is based.

The group started attacking Israel again after the killing of the Iranian supreme leader at the start of the war. Israel, in response, has carried out a devastating bombing campaign, killing more than 3,000 people including many civilians, and occupying a significant part of southern Lebanon.

Iran says the ceasefire there includes the conflict here, and had threatened to strike Israel if it attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahieh, where Hezbollah is based.

Israel rejects that Lebanon is part of the truce, saying its war against Hezbollah continues.

The group is increasingly isolated domestically but has rejected calls to disarm, something the Lebanese government says can only be achieved through diplomacy, not war.