00:02Tonight, Donald Trump says Iran's supreme leader is dead as fears grow for all-out war in the Middle East.
00:15U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have targeted operations in Iran and it's called epic fury.
00:25The president tells the Iranian people now is the time to overthrow the regime.
00:32When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.
00:41Iran has retaliated, hitting many countries in the Gulf, including their residential buildings.
00:52This was the scene in Dubai tonight as a large hotel was struck.
00:58There are concerns for people living in and visiting the whole area.
01:03And this is the scene, live right now in Tel Aviv, which has continued to be hit by Iranian missiles
01:11tonight.
01:15We are here to tell you all we know about the situation and what it might mean after a momentous
01:20day for the Middle East and the world.
01:37Hello to you from Tel Aviv, a region on edge tonight over fears of a wider Middle East war.
01:46In the last hour, Donald Trump says Iran's supreme leader is dead.
01:50If confirmed, it is a seismic moment for this whole area.
01:55So far, Iran has rejected the claims that he has been killed on what is a dramatic day,
02:02with Israel and America launching a wave of airstrikes on targets right across Iran.
02:08Several sites were hit in what Donald Trump has described as a successful mission.
02:14The Iranians have, however, hit back themselves with force right across the region.
02:21Plumes of smoke were seen in an area of Bahrain, near the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
02:28An airbase in Doha was also hit, where there is a significant US military presence.
02:35And this missile was captured on camera over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
02:42Thousands, including tourists, have been caught up in the strikes.
02:46We'll have full coverage and assess what the implications could be for the Middle East.
02:51But first, Jeremy Bowen, our international editor, has the very latest on what's been going on today.
02:58This was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the tomb of his predecessor at the end of January.
03:03If Israel has killed him, as Donald Trump says, the Islamic regime in Iran will have taken a huge blow.
03:09One analyst called him the superglue keeping the system together.
03:16Israel and the US will hope that if he is dead, the regime will come unstuck.
03:23Benjamin Netanyahu said he was killed in a powerful strike on his compound in Tehran.
03:29For three and a half decades, this tyrant dispatched terrorism across the world,
03:34made his own people miserable and worked constantly and tirelessly on a program to annihilate the state of Israel.
03:42That plan is there no longer.
03:44And there are many signs that this tyrant is also no longer.
03:50Satellite images show the destruction of the compound used by the supreme leader in Tehran.
03:55The Iranians say he was not there when it was attacked
03:58and told ABC News in America that he was safe and sound.
04:06The Americans believe that this time their raw power can impose regime change on an enemy without creating a disaster.
04:16The removal of Iraq's Saddam Hussein in 2003 led to a catastrophe.
04:22Long years of war that incubated jihadist extremist movements that still exist.
04:29The Americans released video of their targets.
04:32With Israel, they believe the economic and political weakness of the Islamic regime in Iran
04:38gives them an opportunity to strike that they have to take.
04:45Israel and the U.S. went back to war with Iran just after breakfast time in Tehran,
04:50hitting the capital and sites across the country.
04:54It's hard to get information about what's happening there.
04:57Video of an attack on a school in southern Iran is circulating.
05:02Iranian state TV was reporting 85 killed.
05:05This is a dangerous moment with unpredictable consequences in the world's most turbulent region.
05:12Israel said the whole operation is a preemptive attack.
05:18Without producing evidence of an imminent threat.
05:22Sirens sounded immediately in Israel.
05:25War is political and this is a war of choice aimed at changing the regime in Iran.
05:35Iran tried to deliver on its threat of a devastating response aimed at the extensive network of U.S. bases
05:42in the Gulf.
05:43This was Qatar as well as Israel.
05:47Go, go, go.
05:48Get in, get inside.
05:50In Dubai, tourists looking for winter sun had a nasty reminder of the region's realities.
05:58Close by, in Bahrain, this appears to be a strike aimed at the big U.S. naval base.
06:03Iran says it will use more powerful missiles than the ones it fired in last summer's war.
06:10An interceptor rocket went up.
06:12Iran will hope that as the days pass, the U.S. and Israel will start running out of defensive missiles.
06:21In Tehran, regime supporters rallied around the flag.
06:24It would take more than killing the supreme leader to destroy the regime.
06:29It has a complex political system underpinned by ideology, corruption and the ruthless use of force against dissent.
06:38In January, big protests against the regime and the economic crisis were crushed with live bullets that killed thousands of
06:47people.
06:47Donald Trump promised to protect them and seems to believe that the regime will fall if they try again after
06:54America and Israel's onslaught.
06:58At dusk, the Fairmont Hotel on Dubai's palm was hit.
07:03It isn't clear if it was targeted or if this was caused by missile debris from an interception.
07:12And this was Bahrain.
07:15More devastation.
07:16Iran has a big arsenal of accurate short-range missiles.
07:21Iran's leaders will now be calculating how to ride out the war, how to survive and how to manage its
07:28consequences.
07:28Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.
07:34Well, tonight, the United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss today's extraordinary events.
07:42And these are live pictures from the session in New York.
07:46The Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warned that today's military action risks triggering uncontrollable consequences for the Middle East.
07:57Well, this evening, Donald Trump said he believes a large number of Iran's leaders have also been killed.
08:03The president said the operation has been a success.
08:06Let's go live to Sarah Smith, who's at the White House for us tonight.
08:11Sarah, the president seems happy with today's events.
08:15He has dealt a blow to the Iranian regime, taken out some of the leadership and, he says, taken out
08:23the supreme leader, too.
08:27Yeah, he announced that on his Truth Social social media site.
08:32And when he said that Ayatollah Khomeini had been killed, he described him as one of the most evil people
08:38in history
08:39and then went on to say this is now the single greatest chance for Iranians to take back their country.
08:43And he's also been talking on the phone to a number of American journalists, describing the operation so far as
08:49a tremendous success
08:51and saying he believes that quite a large proportion of the Iranian leadership have now been killed.
08:59The White House has released photos of President Trump monitoring operations in a specially constructed facility in Mar-a-Lago.
09:07Alongside him are the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
09:12Vice President J.D. Vance is seen in the White House Situation Room in Washington.
09:16A short time ago...
09:17Donald Trump posted a video on social media at 2.30 in the morning to inform the American people he
09:23had launched a massive attack on Iran.
09:25Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,
09:34a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.
09:40Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.
09:50Just hours earlier, he was campaigning in Texas in a hamburger joint, giving no hint of the planned assault.
09:56I'm going to get some stuff for Air Force One and I'm going to get the hell out of here,
10:01all right?
10:02I took you hamburgers for the whole place, OK?
10:06Not much later, he was describing how he plans to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon.
10:11We are going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground.
10:18It will be totally, again, obliterated.
10:23Last year, President Trump addressed thousands of American troops stationed in the Middle East,
10:27telling them his priority is to end conflicts, not start them.
10:31Now he's warning of casualties and fatalities.
10:33The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties that often happens in war,
10:41but we're doing this not for now, we're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.
10:49When the U.S. launched B-2 bombers to attack Iran last year, the action was limited to nuclear sites.
10:55Now, he says, the Iranian people have the chance to overthrow the ruling regime.
10:59Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future
11:05that is close within your reach.
11:08This is the moment for action.
11:10Do not let it pass.
11:13Donald Trump has railed against previous American attempts at regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan.
11:19He is not planning to invade Iran.
11:21He hopes he can overthrow its leadership without putting American boots on the ground.
11:26Sarah Smith, BBC News, Washington.
11:30Well, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, there's been loud cheers to celebrate the reported death of the country's supreme leader,
11:38Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been the figurehead of the Islamic Republic for more than three decades.
11:45Seven missiles hit the presidential palace and there have been strikes around his compound.
11:50Baran Abassi from the BBC's Persian Service reports now on a warning.
11:54It contains distressing images.
11:58Cheers ringing out from residential buildings in Tehran after Israeli media reported the death of Iran's supreme leader,
12:06Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claims Tehran has dismissed as psychological warfare, news that, if confirmed, would be welcomed by many Iranians
12:17who suffered under his rule for nearly four decades.
12:22This is how the day began.
12:25This is how the day began. Panic on the streets of Tehran, around 9.40 a.m., a working day
12:29in Iran, when loud explosions were heard across the country.
12:35War has started, near our office, down in Palestine Street. All the buildings were shaking. The streets are full of
12:41terrified people.
12:45At the same time, a sense of relief for some.
12:49And at this school, teenagers celebrate.
12:55In early January, shocking pictures were shared with the world of thousands of people killed when government forces opened fire
13:03on protesters calling for regime change.
13:05The brutality left many believing only military intervention could topple the regime.
13:12But public sentiment could shift sharply if civilians are killed in the attacks.
13:17Many Iranians reacted with anger after state media reported that an Israeli struck on a girl's skull killed dozens.
13:25The first victims of this war are girls in Minab, hit by a missile attack. Is this the war you
13:31cheer for?
13:32A mixture of emotions. For some, a fear that more violence is yet to come.
13:37For others, a sense that the regime's hold could finally be challenged.
13:42In a country scarred by months of protests and deadly crackdowns, uncertainty rains.
13:47As the smoke clears, Iranians are left to face the consequences and to hope for a future beyond fear.
13:54Baron Abbasi, BBC News.
13:59Meanwhile, Sakhir Starma says the UK wasn't involved in the strikes earlier today,
14:04but said British planes and forces were actively supporting their allies as part of the UK's commitment to the security
14:11of the Middle East.
14:13Our forces are active and British planes are in the sky today as part of coordinated regional defensive operations
14:26to protect our people, our interests and our allies.
14:35This evening, Sakhir has been speaking to Donald Trump.
14:39Chris Mason is live in Downing Street for us.
14:42Do we have a readout, Chris, on what was said between the two leaders?
14:47There was a pretty brief call I hear, Clive, and certainly as far as folk here in Downing Street are
14:53concerned,
14:53they're remaining pretty tight-lipped about the specifics of what was discussed.
14:58Look bluntly here, the UK alongside France and Germany are in a different place to the US and Israel.
15:06They have neither endorsed their actions nor were they involved in any way.
15:11The Prime Minister emphasising, as you heard there, that yes, British planes have been in the sky in the region
15:17in a defensive capability
15:20and he emphasises within international law, so protecting allies.
15:26And yes, the Prime Minister has condemned in strong terms Iran generally and the retaliatory action from Iran today.
15:34As far as the political reaction domestically is concerned, broadly splits on right-left lines.
15:40The Conservatives and Reform UK suggesting the UK should be much more supportive of America.
15:45The likes of the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats very sceptical of this action.
15:51One final word tonight about the practicalities, Clive, for Britons in the region.
15:55The Foreign Office setting up what it calls its Register Your Presence system for British nationals in the region
16:01so the government here knows where Britons are and can keep in touch with them.
16:09Chris, thank you for that. Chris Mason, our political editor there in Downing Street.
16:14Well, the strikes on Iran follow months of tension in the region.
16:18Since the start of the year, the US has been building up its military presence in the Middle East,
16:24the largest deployment since the Iraq War of 2003.
16:28Thousands have been caught up in the violence, including tourists across the Gulf, as Frank Gardner reports.
16:37War has touched Dubai.
16:40Scenes like this one, a luxury hotel in the Palm hit by an Iranian missile,
16:45have shocked residents and tourists alike in the normally tranquil Emirates.
16:50It's been really, really shocking and then it's kind of built up over the day.
16:54And unfortunately, debris has landed on the Palm, which is about a mile away from where I live.
17:00And I actually could see from my balcony the black plume of smoke rise.
17:05Iran is lashing out at many of the Gulf Arab states that host US bases.
17:10This is in the UAE.
17:12And this is Bahrain, residential buildings hit by low-flying explosive drones.
17:18So far, casualties have been minimal, but Gulf states will not forgive Tehran for this.
17:27Offshore, President Trump's armada sits poised for an extended campaign.
17:31Two carrier strike groups and over 200 warplanes,
17:35enough to sustain hundreds of air and missile strikes on targets in Iran for days, maybe weeks.
17:42On paper, this is a very uneven fight.
17:45The US and Israel against a weakened and unpopular regime in Iran.
17:49But that regime has been surprisingly resilient, despite having almost no air force to speak of.
17:55And it's been hitting back with whatever weapons it still has.
18:00It's been firing missiles like these at Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors, with some getting through.
18:06The race is on for the US to hit those Iranian launchers before more missiles fly.
18:13Iran has announced it's closing the Strait of Hormuz, potentially choking off a key shipping route for global oil and
18:20gas exports.
18:24And this AI propaganda video, made by the Revolutionary Guards, imagines a mass drone and missile attack crippling a US
18:32aircraft carrier.
18:33That is still an aim, and it's still a nightmare for the Pentagon.
18:37Frank Gardner, BBC News.
18:42Well, successive US presidents, while they have desired regime change in Iran,
18:48they have feared a long, protracted, drawn-out confrontation.
18:53And so they've shied away.
18:54Donald Trump tonight believes overwhelming air power with America's ally here in Israel can win the day,
19:00and topple an obdurate leadership that has long regarded the US as the great Satan.
19:07But spare a thought for the many millions of ordinary, courageous Iranians caught in the middle,
19:12brutalized by a repressive ruling class and military apparatus.
19:17They do have the courage, but will they be able to rise up and ultimately decide their own future?
19:26That's it from me and the team here in Tel Aviv on a day that will live long in the
19:31memory of many.
19:33From us here, have a peaceful night.
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