It has been six days since Israel began its offensive on Iran. Tehran has returned fire, sending waves of missiles towards Israel.
Here’s what’s happened since the conflict started:
On Friday, Israel hit multiple sites including a nuclear facility and residential areas in Tehran, which killed a number of senior commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), nuclear scientists, and civilians. Iran then retaliated by launching drones and a ballistic missile at military centres and airbases in Israel.
Over the weekend, strikes from both sides continued and oil infrastructure was hit. Israel said at least 20 people were killed in multiple different strikes, leading into Monday. Meanwhile, Iran’s health ministry said 224 people had been killed and 1,277 injured as of Sunday evening.
On Monday Israel issued an evacuation order for northern parts of Tehran. Later that day, US President Donald Trump posted on social media that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran”.
On Tuesday, people tried to flee Tehran – which has a population of 10 million people – and traffic jams were reported around the city. Separately in a social media post, Trump wrote that Khamenei is “an easy target”, but that they are not going to “take him out” for now.
It’s a fast-moving situation, and we’ll continue to bring you the latest.
This conflict has now reached a critical juncture. What Donald Trump decides to do or not to do could shape what happens next in the Middle East.
Today’s televised broadcast from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has dispelled any misguided hopes that the Islamic Republic was about to sue for peace.
On the contrary, the ageing Ayatollah has thrown down his own gauntlet to Trump, threatening dire retaliation if America joins in Israel’s attacks.
Iran may have been severely weakened, not just by the last few days’ sustained Israeli air strikes but by the loss or dismantling of its regional proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
But it can still do a lot of damage. Top of its target list if the US attacks Iran will be the numerous US bases spread up and down the Gulf. The US Navy’s 5th Fleet HQ at Mina Salman in Bahrain is an obvious target but so too are America’s bases in Iraq and Kuwait.
But it doesn’t end there. The September 2019 massed drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical industry was a salutary lesson in just how vulnerable the Gulf’s economic assets are to Iranian missiles and drones.
If the Iranian regime felt its very survival was in danger, or if it decided its Gulf Arab neighbours were complicit in attacking it then it could well be tempted to lash out at desalination plants, oil export terminals or even mine the strategic Strait of Hormuz, choking off nearly 30% of the world’s oil supplies.
Iran state TV just showed the televised message of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in full.
He says that “the Americans, and those familiar with the politics of this region, know that the US involvement in this matter will be entirely to its detriment and it will suffer a blow.”
“A blow that will be far more damaging than any harm that may come to Iran.
Khamenei also calls Donald Trump’s demand for Iran to surrender “irrational”, saying, “threats do not have an impact on the thoughts or behaviour of the Iranian nation”.
The BBC along with other international media cannot report from inside Iran, so satellite imagery is a key tool for us to see and verify what is happening in the country as Israel’s attacks continue.
The latest pictures have come to us from the specialist satellite imaging firm Maxar. They appear to show extensive damage to Tabriz missile base with at least nine buildings and two tunnel entrances destroyed. Several others are heavily damaged.
Satellite imagery showing the damage done to Iran’s Tabriz missile base by Israeli strikes
Maxar’s imaging has also captured potential evidence of strikes against Mashhad airport, about 750km (470 miles) east of Tehran. We can see a large aircraft has been destroyed, with only the tail left intact.
Another image shows what Maxar describe as Shahed drones stored on trailers and fighter aircraft at Dezful air force base in western Iran.
We’ve shared these images with experts to get a better understanding of what’s been targeted, and what impact this will have on Iran’s military capability.
Donald trump looks straight ahead with his mouth slightly open. he has grey-blond hair and is wearing a blue suit. it is a head and shoulders photo.
Image source,Reuters
The dilemma of whether the US should join Israel in attacking Iran, or stay out of the offensive altogether, has exposed divisions among US President Donald Trump’s supporters.
The Republican president reportedly is considering helping target the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, following a meeting with his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.
Several proponents of Trump’s “America First” doctrine have pointed out that he vowed to keep the US out of “forever wars” such as those that led to the deaths of thousands of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Other warhawks in the party are egging on Trump to target Iran.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said it was in the national security interests of the US to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes such as energy.
Read the full analysis on the divide between Republicans over the war in Iran
As Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responds to Israel’s strike in an address via state broadcasters, let’s take a look back at news from yesterday that Washington is considering supporting Israel’s offensive.
Trump is reportedly “considering” joining Israel’s strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, the BBC’s US partner CBS news reported.
One potential target could be uranium enrichment site at Fordo that is deep underground – but only the Americans have the 30,000lb bomb capable of destroying it.
Trump held a meeting on Tuesday with his national security team that lasted nearly 90 minutes in the Situation Room of the White House to discuss their next steps.
According to CBS News, the president’s advisers are still divided about how to proceed. The US joining Israel “would completely change” the dynamics of the war, Dara Conduit told BBC News earlier.
Yesterday, Trump took to social media to demand Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
Source: Reuters
