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Israel says it is starting next phase of war, as Iranians express tiredness over conflict – BBC News

  • Macron urges Netanyahu ‘not to expand the war to Lebanon’published at 20:42 GMT

    Emmanuel Macron holds his hand out to the camera. He wears a black suit jacket and tieImage source, Getty Images
    French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to expand the war to Lebanon”. Macron calls for the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, which operates inside Lebanon, to stop firing towards Israel, put down its weapons, and “show that it is not a militia taking orders from abroad”. He also calls on Israel to refrain from putting troops on the ground or launching a “large scale operation” in Lebanon. He says: “The Lebanese authorities have given me their commitment to take control of the positions held by Hezbollah and to fully assume responsibility for security across the entire national territory. “I give them my full support. France will strengthen its co-operation with the Lebanese armed forces and will provide them with armoured transport vehicles, as well as operational and logistical support.” He adds that “everything must be done” to prevent Lebanon “once again being drawn into war”. For context: Hezbollah is a non-state military force that operates in Lebanon, supported by Iran.

  • ‘I didn’t even bring milk’, says mum forced to flee home in Beriut with baby daughterpublished at 20:29 GMT

    Alice Cuddy Reporting from Beirut
    People sleeping on grass in Beirut with buildings in the backgroundImage source, BBC/Alice Cuddy
    It’s night-time here in Beirut and I’ve been speaking to people sleeping on the streets and in their cars after being forced to leave their homes in the city’s southern suburbs. “We’re going to stay in our car tonight. There’s nowhere else to go. The shelters are full,” one man says as he smoked shisha with his family on a pavement in central Beirut. Nearby, a 23-year-old woman sitting with her two-month-old daughter said she fled immediately after Israel issued its unprecedented order telling hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. “I just brought nappies. I didn’t even bring milk,” she said, adding that she was worried about what the night would bring. Another woman in the park who arrived from Dahieh – a stronghold of Iran-backed group Hezbollah – cried as she spoke of her fear over what was happening. “I got used to the sounds [of bombing] in the house. I didn’t want to leave,” Monira Hassan said. “I don’t know what to say anymore. I just wanted to stay at home.” Others voiced their support for Hezbollah, with one man saying he was not afraid to die to “defend and protect our land”.

  • Iranians describe a mix of sorrow and hope to BBC Persianpublished at 20:22 GMT

    People run for safety as smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, IranImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    A resident in eastern Tehran has told BBC Persian they are being woken up to the sound of explosions and shaking windows. “I am deeply sorrowful that with every explosion, part of the country’s human and material capital vanishes into thin air, and with each day the war continues, we fall another year behind in economic development,” Amir says. Mim, who is based in Isfahan in central Iran, says Israel and the US have attacked all defensive industries that existed there. “War brings nothing but destruction, death, and the annihilation of a country’s national and human resources,” they add. Meanwhile, Javad, who is based in Mashhad in the north east of Iran says that the area has become quieter than usual after explosions were heard during the first few days of strikes. Elsewhere, Davoud says there is a different atmosphere in Kurdistan. He says that Sanandaj in the west of Iran has been bombed more than 10 times but people remain hopeful for the future. 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.

  • IDF says it’s ‘moving to next phase of operation’ against Iranpublished at 20:11 GMT

    Breaking
    The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it is “moving to the next phase of the operation” against Iran, insisting it will “further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities”. IDF Chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says Israel and the US have been “strategically isolating” Iran and bringing it to a point of weakness “unlike any it has known”. He says that for six days Israel has been striking Iran “without pause” and the “operation is proceeding at the pace we planned it to advance at”. He writes in a statement: “After completing the surprise strike phase, in which we established air superiority and suppressed the ballistic missile array, we are now moving to the next phase of the operation. “In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead which I do not intend to disclose.” His statement then moves to the situation in Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah made “a strategic error” for joining the fighting and that Israel are “striking with force, on the front line and deeper in Lebanon”.

  • British Iranians tell the BBC what they’ve heard from loved ones inside Iranpublished at 20:03 GMT

    Sadaf Maruf and Kris Bramwell BBC News BBC Your Voice has been speaking to British Iranians in the UK who have managed to get in touch with friends and relatives in Iran amid internet outages. Cyrus, an ambulance driver in London, says the family and friends he’s speaking to in Iran are both happy and scared about the attacks. Yesterday he managed to get a message from his mother, Zizzi, in Tehran, through a friend who contacted him. She says she is staying put, and if the regime falls she will be out cooking food for whoever takes over. Kian, not his real name, is a 35-year-old British Iranian who says his family is worried about his elderly grandmother who lives alone, after finding out there was an explosion on the road adjacent to her block. Getting through to her is difficult, he explains, and if they’re lucky they may get a quick call from a landline before it cuts off after a minute. Kian also says there’s a lot of disappointment within the Iranian diaspora around how the strikes have been covered. He says media coverage has been one-sided, and in favour of the Iranian regime. Ashkan, a 31-year-old who lives in Birmingham, has family in the city of Mashhad, which he says has suffered fewer strikes than western Iran. A friend tells him: “People are happy, they are not scared of the regime anymore.”
    A red banner with the words ‘Your Voice’ written in white with a lighter red graphic paintbrush effect behind it
  • BBC Verify

    Iranian drone carrier captured in new satellite imagerypublished at 19:42 GMT

    By Joshua Cheetham and Barbara Metzler A new satellite image appears to show an Iranian drone carrier on the move north of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, days after the US said it had struck it. BBC Verify showed the picture, captured this morning by Planet Labs PBC, to analysts at defence intelligence firm Janes, who say it’s highly likely to be the IRIS Shahid Bagheri. On Monday, the US military said it “struck the ship within hours of launching Operation Epic Fury”. The carrier is a converted container vessel, launched in February 2025. It’s the first drone carrier to be operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy. Janes analysts say it’s unclear from the image if the ship is damaged, “but it does appear to be making way under its own power”. “It is a converted container ship and there is a fair bit of buoyancy and empty spaces built into that design, so it could have been hit and not sunk,” they add.
    A ship which resembles the IRIS Shahid Bagheri sailingImage source, Planet Labs PBC

  • Kuwait facing missile and drone attacks, army sayspublished at 19:21 GMT

    Kuwait’s army said in the last couple of hours that its air defences have been dealing with missile attacks and drones in the country’s airspace. Sounds heard in certain areas across Kuwait are coming from air defences intercepting missiles and drones, the army says in a translated post on X.
  • Analysis

    Trump’s comments indicate he plans to take an active role in shaping Iran’s political futurepublished at 19:10 GMT

    Daniel Bush Washington correspondent Nearly one week into the attack on Iran, President Donald Trump is beginning to sketch out his vision for a post-war Iran. A White House official confirmed to the BBC that Trump opposes Mojtaba Khamenei – the son of Iran’s former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – taking over as the country’s next leader. Trump told Axios on Thursday that it would be an “unacceptable outcome” for the 56-year-old Mojtaba to succeed his father, who was killed in US airstrikes in the first days of the war. The younger Khamenei has reportedly emerged as a frontrunner to become the country’s top leader. The president also told Axios and other news outlets that he wants to play a direct role in picking Iran’s next leader. Trump likened the situation to Venezuela, where he threw his support behind Delcy Rodríguez to lead the country after the US captured former President Nicolás Maduro in January. The comments were the first indication that Trump plans to take an active part in shaping Iran’s political landscape once the war is over. Trump has spoken about the United States’ military objectives since the start of the war, but hadn’t previously discussed in detail any potential replacements for Khamenei. Trump’s comparison of Iran to Venezuela was striking, especially for a president who made a campaign trail promise to disentangle America from foreign conflicts. He appointed himself the chairman of the Board of Peace, a new entity he has established and tasked with rebuilding Gaza and determining its political fate after the war with Israel. Trump waded into Venezuela’s leadership fight. And now Trump is adding Iran to the list of foreign governments he wants a direct say in.

  • Drone that hit RAF Akrotiri on Sunday ‘tiny’, BBC toldpublished at 19:03 GMT

    Jessica Parker Reporting from Cyprus The drone that hit RAF Akrotiri last Sunday night was “tiny”, the BBC’s been told, which is why it was harder to detect. The payload was apparently correspondingly small, creating a hole in a hangar on the base.

  • HMS Dragon will arrive in Cyprus ‘within the next couple of weeks’ – Healeypublished at 19:00 GMT

    John Healey speaking while standing on airfield
    UK Defence Secretary John Healey says the British warship HMS Dragon, which is being sent to Cyprus, will arrive “within the next couple of weeks”. The UK has “got more jets in Cyprus than any other nation” and “400 air defence specialists on top of what we would normally have”, he says. “That’s because we want to make sure we can defend our British personnel, we can defend our British base, we can defend this island of Cyprus and we’re defending also allies across region,” he says. Asked if he could rule out the UK joining the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, he does not directly say. “The nature of any war, and any conflict, is that it changes,” he says. “We just don’t know for sure what the Iranians will do,” he says, adding that the UK will adapt its action to ensure the protection of the British people, forces and allies. He also confirms that a siren went off while he has been visiting a UK base in Cyprus. He was in a windowless room preparing for a Cobra meeting with the prime minister when a siren went off, he says.

  • Additional 400 UK personnel deployed to Cyprus in past weeks – defence sourcespublished at 18:44 GMT

    A jet taking off in the night skyImage source, MOD Crown Copyright 2026/PA
    Image caption,The RAF F-35B aircraft taking off for operations on Tuesday
    We can bring you an update now on UK defence operations in the Middle East. Defence sources say:
    • RAF F-35B and Typhoon fighter jets took part in further defensive operations overnight, including over Qatar and Jordan
    • Across the UK’s bases in Cyprus, 400 additional UK personnel sent over past weeks are supporting air defence activities
    • British counter-drone specialists who have worked closely with Ukrainian experts have deployed to the region
  • BBC Verify

    Verified footage shows destroyed buildings in southern Lebanonpublished at 17:56 GMT

    A screenshot of footage shows a smouldering wreckage in front of several rural buildings
    By Emma Pengelly and Richard Irvine-Brown BBC Verify has been examining videos showing destruction from reported Israeli strikes in rural southern Lebanon today. In the town of Toul, one verified video shows at least two buildings damaged, one of which has been partly destroyed, with rubble stretching across the major road through town. The partly-destroyed building is listed online as a sweet shop. In Kfar Tebnit, around 7.5km (five miles) to the east, a video shows destruction across large area. About a third of an acre of land is still smouldering, with nothing left standing. According to recent high-resolution satellite imagery, at least two buildings former stood on the site, one listed online as a shoe shop.

  • Photos show scenes on the ground in the Middle Eastpublished at 17:42 GMT

    Mourners plan their hands on coffins which have been covered with the flag of Iran. The coffins have been decorated with flowers and pettlesImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,People mourn over a row of coffins in the city of Qom in central Iran
    The metal structure of a sports stadium is exposed following a strike. Smoke rises in front of the damaged buildingImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,The Azadi sports complex was destroyed following heavy bombardment in Tehran, Iran’s capital
    A flock of birds fly beneath clouds of smoke created by intercepted missiles above the sky over DohaImage source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Image caption,Smoke from intercepted missiles pictured in the sky over Doha
    Black smoke rises from among residential buildings in BeirutImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,The Israel Defense Forces earlier issued an urgent evacuation alert to residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut
    The rubble from a destroyed building is seen in a square in front of several tall blocksImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,The remains of a build following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh
  • BBC Verify

    About 1,000 vessels held up near the Hormuz strait, expert sayspublished at 17:33 GMT

    By Kayleen Devlin The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), which represents insurers operating in the London insurance market, has welcomed US engagement to support the movement of non-sanctioned vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, saying safe passage is vital for global trade and economic stability. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the US Navy will protect ships in the Middle East “if necessary”, as well as announcing he had ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation to provide risk insurance “at a very reasonable price for trade traveling through the Gulf. Neil Roberts, LMA’s head of marine and aviation, tells BBC Verify that about 1,000 vessels – half of which are oil and gas tankers – remain in the Gulf and surrounding waters. “Most ships remain anchored primarily due to the understandable concerns of shipowners and masters for the safety of their vessels and crew,” he says, adding that insurance cover “is and remains available”. Since Sunday, Roberts says about 40 ships have transited the strait. Data from shipping analytics firm Kpler, shared on Wednesday, indicates traffic through the waterway is around 90% lower compared to the previous week.
    Media caption,Timelapse shows change in the flow of ships in the Strait of Hormuz

  • ‘All the windows in the house started shaking’: Iranians describe fear and fatiguepublished at 17:23 GMT

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad Senior reporter, BBC Persian It is very difficult to know exactly what is happening in Iran amid internet outages, but the BBC has managed to speak to some people inside the country who are able to connect momentarily. A woman in her 20s​​ says: “This internet situation is making people even angrier. Some people watch the strikes from their rooftops. The city has become very quiet and empty.” Some have left the city for fear of the strikes. A man in his 20s, who has left the capital with his family, says: “I’d never seen an explosion up close before. I actually saw it with my own eyes from inside the house. “I saw a light suddenly shoot up into the sky. All the windows in the house started shaking. My family was so frightened you wouldn’t believe it.” But some have not been able to leave the city. “It is tiring and I’m feeling trapped. It feels tiring and entrapping because I have to stay mostly at home to avoid getting caught in the middle of an attack, just to save my life,” a man in his 30s, from Tehran, says. “And the sound of ongoing blasts is fatiguing in some sense. Each one just swallows a chunk of your energy.”

  • Tehran residents describe mood on the groundpublished at 17:15 GMT

    People run for safety as smoke rises after an airstrike in central Tehran, Iran on March 5Image source, EPA/Shutterstock
    Contacting people within Iran is difficult because of the internet shutdown in the country – but BBC Persian has been in touch with some residents of Tehran about strikes in the capital city. Names have been withheld due to concerns for the safety of sources in Iran. One man, living in east Tehran, says “it’s not even comparable to the recent protests. But when a bomb hits and the house shakes, it is frightening”. A woman, also in east Tehran, tells BBC Persian that at around 09:00 local time, people go up to their rooftops and sit there “waiting for the strikes to happen”. “When fighter jets pass overhead, people wave goodbye to them and whistle. They say they simply can’t tolerate the Islamic Republic anymore,” she adds. Another woman says from what she can see in Tehran “everyone’s happy” even though they’re “stressed because of the sounds” of the strikes. “People are saying they hope the rest of the officials get hit so we can be rid of them. Then maybe it’ll turn into a situation where people come out into the streets,” she adds. 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.

  • Trump says ‘I have to be involved’ in selecting Iran’s next leader – reportpublished at 17:05 GMT

    Donald Trump.Image source, Getty Images
    Donald Trump has said he needs to be “involved” in the appointment of Iran’s next leader, according to a report from Axios, external, which has interviewed the US president. According to Axios, Trump referenced reports that the son of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on Saturday, could be named as his successor. “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump is quoted as saying. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.” Delcy Rodríguez is the current interim president of Venezuela. She replaced Nicolás Maduro after he was seized by US forces in January. The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment.

  • The BBC is on the ground across the Middle East – here’s what we’re seeingpublished at 16:37 GMT

    A view shows the rubble of a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, LebanonImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,The rubble of a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs
    We’ve got correspondents across the Middle East as this war unfolds – here’s a quick recap of their latest reporting. Lebanon Alice Cuddy is in Beirut, where huge queues of traffic have been piling up as residents flee after Israel warned people to immediately leave their homes. In Lebanon’s capital people are scouring through the wreckage of a residential buildings damaged by strikes. “We moved away on Monday because of fears that something would happen. Today we were supposed to come for a shower and to pick up our stuff and we found this,” one resident told Alice next to the wreckage. “Thank god it was just our things and not us.” Qatar Barbara Plett Usher heard the rumble and bang of anti-aircraft fire above Doha earlier today. Alerts buzzed on phones as the security threat was elevated. She said it’s clear that Qataris don’t want to take any chances as the threat of strikes in the region persist.
    A plume of smoke rises over buildings in DohaImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,A plume of smoke rises over buildings in Doha
    Israel Yolande Knell earlier said Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport reopened after it was shut down five days ago. She reported that the first repatriation flight from Athens landed at the airport this morning bringing home Israelis who were stranded abroad. Northern Iraq Orla Guerin has said Kurdish Iranian opposition parties have roundly denied reports that some of their forces have crossed the border into Iran. Hanna Hussein Yazdan Pana, of the Kurdistan Freedom Party told Orla: “This is not true. Do not believe it, not a single Peshmerga (fighter) has moved. No one moves alone.” They called for a no-fly zone to provide protection for Kurdish forces. “The regime is very brutal,” she says, “and the most advanced weapon we have is a Kalashnikov.”

  • UAE issues emergency alert across the countrypublished at 16:26 GMT

    Sameer Hashmi Reporting from Riyadh The UAE’s interior ministry has issued an emergency alert across the country, warning of potential missile threats and urging residents to seek immediate shelter in the nearest secure building. Residents have also been advised to stay away from windows, doors and open areas. This comes around an hour after the UAE’s defence ministry said it was responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran. Earlier, the UAE said it had intercepted six Iranian missiles and 131 drones today. One missile and six drones landed on its territory, it said.

  • WHO suspends operations at Dubai emergency logistics hubpublished at 16:22 GMT

    Sameer Hashmi Reporting from Riyadh The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has suspended operations at its global emergency logistics hub in Dubai because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at a news conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says operations at the facility are currently on hold due to security concerns. Last year, the hub processed more than 500 emergency orders for 75 countries worldwide, according to Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean. The WHO says that the hub’s operations are “temporarily on hold due to insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions affecting access to the Strait of Hormuz”.

Source: Israel says it is starting next phase of war, as Iranians express tiredness over conflict – BBC News

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