Strikes on Iran military targets completed - Israeli army
Israel hits Iran with 'precise and targeted' air strikes
UK says Israel has 'right to self-defence'
Reacting to news that Israel has launched air strikes on Iran, a UK government spokesman says London is "monitoring this situation closely".
"We support Israel’s right to self-defence and to protect itself in line with international humanitarian law. Further escalation is in no-one's interest," the statement adds.
Strikes on Iran military targets completed - Israeli army
BreakingThe Israel Defense Forces says strikes on Iranian military targets have finished.
"A short while ago, the IDF completed precise and targeted strikes against military targets in a number of areas in Iran," a statement said.
"Our planes have safely returned home."
Iran closes airspace
Iran has closed its airspace amid the Israeli strikes, Reuters reports, citing the country's state media agency Irna.
The country cancelled all flights until further notice, a spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation told Irna.
US defence secretary speaks with Israel counterpart: officials
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken to his counterpart in Israel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, according to two defence officials who spoke with CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.
Did Israel heed US warnings on Iran strikes?
Sebastian Usher
Middle East regional editorIranian state media has acknowledged that there have been explosions in and around the capital, Tehran. But there's no clarity as yet in precisely what the targets have been and whether they have been successfully hit by Israel.
News sites close to the Revolutionary Guards have said that some military bases were targeted. But for now at least, Iranian media is playing down the impact.
The true nature of what has happened is only likely to trickle out bit by bit from the Iranian authorities. Israel may move more quickly to disclose the details of its attack, but that my depend on whether or not it plans to carry out another wave.
The Pentagon has given a briefing that the US was made aware of Israel's plans beforehand, and that there was no US involvement in the operation. That's significant in Washington's efforts to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating into a confrontation that could move ever closer to all-out war. The US will also be waiting for the dust to settle to see if Israel's targets were limited to military targets or went beyond that to include facilities linked to Iran's nuclear programme - which could trigger another major response from Tehran.
For now - on the scant evidence that is available - Israel may have heeded Washington's warnings and reined in some of its more ambitious plans to cause maximum pain to the Iranian authorities.
Iraq suspends air traffic at all airports until further notice
Iraq's Minister of Transport says it is closing the country's airspace amid the ongoing military operation in the region.
All air traffic at all airports has been suspended until further notice "due to regional tensions," Reuters reported, quoting Iraqi state news agency INA.
Watch: Iranians 'woke to very loud sounds of explosions'
BBC Persian reporter Bahman Kalbasi describes how residents of Tehran woke up from loud sounds of explosions early on Saturday morning, with many taking to social media to discuss what they had heard.
While Kalbasi explains that Persian social media was filled with such posts, there are not yet many verifiable images available of the situation in Tehran following the strikes.
00:59 Watch: Iranians ‘woke to very loud sounds of explosions’
What do we know so far?
If you're just joining us, here is what we know so far about Israel's air strikes in Iran:
- Israel has confirmed it launched "precise strikes on military targets in Iran". It is unclear what sites were hit and the extent of the damage. The US has previously warned Israel to avoid striking nuclear and oil sites that could trigger a widening conflict in the region.
- The strikes come after Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Israel earlier this month. Israel had said it would strike back but did not detail when or what sites it might target. Iran's attack had come following Israeli strikes that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran Revolutionary Guards Corp Quds Force operations commander Brig-Gen Abbas Nilforoushan.
- So far, Iranian state media has dismissed the attacks as unsuccessful, which experts tell the BBC is a typical response from Iran after such incidents. But, experts warn, that might change if reports of severe damage or deaths surface
- Blasts have also been reported in Syria, though Israel has not claimed responsibility in those attacks. Syrian air defence forces intercepted missiles and shot them down, according to Reuters and AFP news agencies, citing Syrian state media
- The US was not involved in the attack, according to the Pentagon. The White House called the strikes an "exercise of self-defence". US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the strikes and are following developments.
Israel's operation still ongoing
Israel's military operation on Iran was still ongoing as of just before 5 am local time in Tehran, an Israeli official has confirmed to BBC's US news partner CBS.
Strikes in central and southern Syria - state TV
Explosions have also been heard near Syria's capital of Damascus, Reuters news agency and AFP news agency report, both citing Syrian state TV.
The strikes targeted military sites in central and southern Syria, according to Reuters, citing the Syrian state news agency Sana.
Syrian air defence forces intercepted the missiles and shot them down, state TV says, according to Reuters and AFP.
How Iranian state media is reacting
Bahman Kalbasi, of BBC Persian, has just shared some insight into what is happening right now in Iran.
He said that Iranian state media is currently denying these attacks caused any real damage and is saying they were unsuccessful. That has historically been a typical response from Iran when it has been the target of an attack, Kalbasi said.
"It could be a face-saving way for them to end this tit-for-tat," Kalbasi said. But that strategy could erode if there is proof showing the extent of the damage or if there are casualties, he added.
Biden and Harris briefed on missile strikes
Both US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is campaigning in Texas tonight, have been briefed on Israel's strike on Iran.
The president "has been briefed and is closely following the developments," a US official told the BBC's US news partner CBS.
Reuters news agency reports Harris has also been briefed and is following any developments.
Iran portrays message of calm, but social media shows anxiety
The pictures and video on Iran's semi-official regime media outlets are trying to portray a message of calm, but it stands in stark contrast to what we are seeing on social media in the country, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, tells the BBC.
It's unclear if Israel is going after just production facilities for missiles or the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) force aerospace network, says Taleblu, who focuses on Iranian security and political issues.
"Based on targets we are seeing so far, this is designed to defang - but not destroy - the Iranian long-range missile threat," he says.
'No US involvement' - Pentagon
The US had no involvement in Israel's strikes in Iran early on Saturday, a US defence official told the BBC, adding that Washington had been informed of the operation beforehand.
Will Iran feel the need to respond?
Azadeh Moshiri
Presenter, BBC News ChannelThe international community has been on edge, waiting to see how Israel would respond, in a region where the word “escalation” has been used far more times than world leaders would be comfortable with.
US President Joe Biden has made it very clear he does not support Israel targeting either Iran’s nuclear research facilities nor its oil installations.
Right now, Iranian state media is playing down the attack, as it usually does.
The main questions at this stage are:
- how much damage has truly been inflicted
- will Iran feel the need to respond, at a time when its proxies are weakened and it's suffered a series of humiliations this year
Those humiliations include the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political chief, on Iranian soil, and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
Will this be yet another moment that leads to that dreaded slippery slope in the region?
- Watch Azadeh reporting on this story live by pressing watch live above
An anticipated attack: What we know so far
Sebastian Usher
Middle East regional editorThis attack has been anticipated since Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Israel almost a month ago.
In a statement announcing that the operation was under way, the Israeli military spokesman said Israel had the "right and duty" to respond and that its defensive and offensive capabilities were fully mobilised.
Iranian state media has confirmed that explosions have been heard in the west of Tehran.
A news agency close to the Revolutionary Guards says that some military bases in the west and south west of the Iranian capital have been targeted.
The extent of the attacks and the precise targets are not yet clear.
The Syrian state news agency says that Israeli air strikes have also targeted some military sites in central and southern areas of Syria.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has released a picture of him in the operations centre of the military headquarters during the attack.
Watch live
As a reminder, you can stay up to date with the latest news from Israel, Iran and the rest of the Middle East region, along with analysis from experts, by clicking watch live at the top of this page.
Live view of Tehran tonight
We are receiving these live images from Iranian capital Tehran tonight, where it is just after 04:00 AM local time
Biden closely following developments
The US President Joe Biden "has been briefed and is closely following the developments", according to our US news partner CBS.
Unclear what sites have been hit
We're still waiting for more information about what sites in Iran have been struck. So far, Israel has only said it is conducting strikes on "military targets."
Iran state TV says operations are continuing as "normal" at Tehran's two airports, according to the AFP news agency.
