in iraq and syria. they hit 85 targets in total. white house national security spokesmanjohn kirby also added that three facilities were hit in iraq and four were hit in syria. president biden has issued a statement on the strikes, saying, "this afternoon, at my direction, us military forces struck targets at facilities in iraq and syria that the irgc and affiliated militia use to attack us forces. our response began today. it will continue at times and places of our choosing." "the united states does not seek conflict in the middle east or anywhere else in the world. but let all those who might seek to do us harm know this — if you harm an american, we will respond." "the strikes are in retaliation for the drone attack that

killed 3 us soldiers and injured dozens." iran denies involvement, calling the accusations "baseless" and saying it was "not involved in the decision—making of resistance groups". reuters is reporting that an iraqi spokesman has called the strikes a violation of iraqi sovereignty and pose a threat that could lead iraq and the region into dire consequences. now let's turn to elise labott, a us foreign affairs journalist and founder of zivvy media. thank you forjoining us. this is the first part of the us response as we have heard from the administration, is it what you would have expected to see? it is what i expected to see. i think the us knew that it could notjust make a pin attack. that is basically what it has been doing all along. we've had around 160 attacks since october the 7th against, by these proxies against us forces in iraq and syria. some of the

only responded around seven times. 0bviously iran and its proxies thought they could keep pushing. so the us really needed to send a signal here that said, you are getting really close. let's show you what we can do if you want to continue this. i think president biden was clear that the us does not want war, but what the iranians to get a clear message to, cut it out. so i also think the job clear message to, cut it out. so i also think thejob is clear message to, cut it out. so i also think the job is to degrade these iranian proxies. so i think that is what you are going to sealfor several so i think that is what you are going to seal for several next days. notjust to send a message, but a real effort, days. notjust to send a message, buta real effort, not just to degrade, but to defang these proxies they don't pose a threat to the usa and its forces overseas. figs threat to the usa and its forces overseas.- forces overseas. as he mentioned _ forces overseas. as he mentioned there - forces overseas. as he - mentioned there president biden, sec. blinken, the use of initiation as a whole has repeatedly said, it is not in favour of war with iran. iran also saying that prior to tonight. does that potentially change now? we

tonight. does that potentially change now?— tonight. does that potentially change now? we have to see if those change now? we have to see if these attacks _ change now? we have to see if those attacks by _ change now? we have to see if those attacks by iranian - those attacks by iranian proxies against the us continue. i expect they will not stop completely, but probably continue at a lower level. this was a message from the us, that it wants to de—escalate the situation. sometimes when it comes to military and sending these messages, you need to escalate a bit to de—escalate. i certainly do not think the iranians but they would see the kind of response from the us that it did today. 85 targets, but certainly, the us wanted to rip it up and show iran that it is not messing around any more. maybe the us was taking its time and trying to stop things from de—escalating and i think thatis from de—escalating and i think that is what caused the iranians and its proxies to continue to keep pushing. now what president biden is saying with these attacks is, don't keep pushing. £31 with these attacks is, don't keep pushing-— with these attacks is, don't keep pushing. of course the president — keep pushing. of course the president responding - keep pushing. of course the president responding to - keep pushing. of course the i president responding to these houthi attacks following the killing of the three soldiers

last weekend but these houthi attacks began in solidarity with the situation in gaza. that began with those attacks by hamas on october the 7th. how does what we have seen tonight feed into that broader picture? i tonight feed into that broader icture? ., tonight feed into that broader icture? ~' ., , picture? i think the houthis, there is a — picture? i think the houthis, there is a question - picture? i think the houthis, there is a question to - picture? i think the houthis, there is a question to extent there is a question to extent the houthis are really, the iranians are really pulling the strings on the houthis. the iranians certainly give military and financial support, we have found over the last year or so, that the houthis are not really taking iran's direct orders and have ambitions of their own. i think thatis ambitions of their own. i think that is one of the problems. the us took the houthis off of the terrorism list and it did not respond when the houthis when after saudi arabia. the united arab emirates. all of a sudden, the houthis have emerged as the biggest threat. so now with the us is seeing here, the it really needs to degrade these proxies to make sure that they are not a threat. i do think you are

going to see the us go after the houthis. this is notjust about fighting back now. this is about actually degrading, defining them and eliminating the threat. defining them and eliminating the threat-— the threat. many individuals here in the _ the threat. many individuals here in the us _ the threat. many individuals here in the us were - the threat. many individuals . here in the us were clamouring for a robust response to the killing of those three servicemembers. what do you think what we have seen tonight, how will it feed into that, what will the response to it be? ., that, what will the response to it be? . ., ., ., it be? there are a lot of calls by republicans, _ it be? there are a lot of calls by republicans, for - it be? there are a lot of callsj by republicans, for instance, to hit inside of iran. it is very crowd pleasing in an election year, on social media, twitter, but the truth is, going to war with iran would be hitting inside of iran. by going after iran and its proxies outside of iranian territory, the us is able to send a message and to degrade their capability. i’m send a message and to degrade their capability.— their capability. i'm sorry, ou their capability. i'm sorry, you have _ their capability. i'm sorry, you have a _ their capability. i'm sorry, you have a cough - their capability. i'm sorry, you have a cough there. l their capability. i'm sorry, i you have a cough there. we their capability. i'm sorry, - you have a cough there. we are coming to the end of our segments i will let you go get

a call to leave my glass of water there. thank you for joining us. we arejoined not to discuss this escalation. this response. live now to discuss the escalation is brendan kearney — a retired colonel with the us marine corps. let's first talk about the timing of this, a response had been signalled all week long what is your viewing of the timing, that it took so many days and indeed so many days after president biden said, he was going to do something that was going to do something that was signalled.— was signalled. good to be with ou. i was signalled. good to be with yon i am _ was signalled. good to be with you. i am disappointed - was signalled. good to be with you. i am disappointed in - was signalled. good to be with you. i am disappointed in the l you. i am disappointed in the timing. we telegraphed from sunday with the incident there in jordan sunday with the incident there injordan that sunday with the incident there in jordan that we sunday with the incident there injordan that we were going to strike back. that basically allowed our adversaries an opportunity to reposition themselves, to scatter, so to

speak. and degraded some of our, probably, bettertargets our, probably, better targets if our, probably, bettertargets if we had late sunday or early monday would probably be more effective. the actual effectiveness of these strikes

it's just a it'sjust a beginning, not it's just a beginning, not the end, what will we see coming

next? continuing strikes, folks have to realise that these targets, this list of targets chosen by the combat and command and the white house, they are hopefully weighing in a little bit in approving, because they don't know what they're doing. i think they'd probably dispute that but i am... ., , probably dispute that but i am, , , ., , ., ., probably dispute that but i am... . ., ., ., am... years ago, i told some of my predecessors _ am... years ago, i told some of my predecessors exact - am... years ago, i told some of my predecessors exact same i my predecessors exact same thing. they had to agree with me. we're going to have to go ahead and keep at this. at the same time, rocket areas, anything we can identify where these are being built, where their supply lines are and if

we can get a good handle on where some of these read god —type folks are located in syria. —— red type. -type folks are located in syria. -- red type.- syria. -- red type. the administration - syria. -- red type. the administration said - syria. -- red type. the| administration said this syria. -- red type. the i administration said this is syria. —— red type. the administration said this is not about message sending but degrading capabilities. do you think there is a risk that the us tonight with this beginning now? , ., ._ , us tonight with this beginning now? , . , ., us tonight with this beginning now? n, . now? there is always a risk, ossibl now? there is always a risk, possibly a — now? there is always a risk, possibly a risk— now? there is always a risk, possibly a risk against - now? there is always a risk, possibly a risk against us i possibly a risk against us forces in the region but that's been going on for years. they struck the marine barracks in beirut, so there is a risk but sometimes you get to a point

where you have to say, ok, i accept risk and i'm going to push this even further when it comes to the violence we have to weigh in on our adversaries. iran has been pushing the envelope with the proxies for years and it could be time that they get hit very hard. if it does not get the message to them then we will be revisiting this again further down the road. , ., ., ., this again further down the road. , ., ., ~ ., this again further down the road. , ., ., , road. lets look at that tense situation _ road. lets look at that tense situation in i road. lets look at that tense situation in the i road. lets look at that tense situation in the region i situation in the region involving iran although it's denied any direct involvement in that attack. we know there is some pro—iranian grapes in

the region. —— groups in the region. as a crisis in the middle east escalates, there is one country the us references all the time, we do not want this war to widen bar if iran or its proxies attack us personnel anywhere, make no mistake, we will defend our people. mistake, we will defend our --eole. ~ ., people. we will defend our security swiftly i people. we will defend our security swiftly and i security swiftly and decisively.- security swiftly and decisivel . ., , ., decisively. last weekend three us soldiers _ decisively. last weekend three us soldiers were i decisively. last weekend three us soldiers were killed i decisively. last weekend three us soldiers were killed in i decisively. last weekend three us soldiers were killed in a i us soldiers were killed in a drone attack. the target was a us military base called tower 22. the group claiming responsibility is the islamic resistance in iraq.- responsibility is the islamic resistance in iraq. our teams here are _ resistance in iraq. our teams here are continuing i resistance in iraq. our teams here are continuing to i resistance in iraq. our teams here are continuing to do i resistance in iraq. our teams here are continuing to do thej here are continuing to do the analysis but we know that iran is behind it and certainly, as we've said before on this briefing room, iran continues to arm and equip these groups

to arm and equip these groups to do these attacks. iran to arm and equip these groups to do these attacks.— to do these attacks. iran calls this baseless i to do these attacks. iran calls this baseless accusations i to do these attacks. iran calls this baseless accusations but| this baseless accusations but it said... united it says, united in its opposition against israel in the us. this axis includes the group between the tower 22 attack. iran axis includes the group between the tower 22 attack.— the tower 22 attack. iran is disrupting. _ the tower 22 attack. iran is disrupting, targeting i the tower 22 attack. iran is disrupting, targeting the l the tower 22 attack. iran is| disrupting, targeting the us and partners in a variety of ways, mostly through the efforts of its proxy militias. this disruption has taken many forms, for example, houthi rebels have continually attacked shipping in the red sea. how does this net network

of allies work and what's the relationship with iran and what's it trying to achieve? ever go back to 1979, there was an uprising against the monarchy, iran became an islamic republic and spread its influence in the region. it supported the assad regime in syria, support for large militant groups such as hezbollah in lebanon and houthis in yemen. taste hezbollah in lebanon and houthis in yemen. we have a whole range _ houthis in yemen. we have a whole range of— houthis in yemen. we have a whole range of militias i houthis in yemen. we have a. whole range of militias formed with different connections to iran. there is an umbrella group with militia involved so it's hard to establish the links and iran's support for its network comes in severalforms. first, money. in 2020, the us estimated that iran gave hezbollah $700 million a year, as well as $100 million

a year to palestinian groups, including hamas. and it estimates the houthis have received hundreds of millions of dollars too. iran doesn't acknowledge this funding, but as well as money iran is supplying weapons too. recently, two us military personnel died in an operation to intercept a boat in the red sea. the us released this image. it says the boat was transporting iranian—made weapons to the houthis — or there's hezbollah — one estimate put his arsenal at 130,000 rockets and missiles. it's believed many of them come from iran. and if iran is supplying money and weapons, is it also coordinating the actions of its allies? after october the seventh, the us acknowledged we have not yet seen evidence that iran directed or was behind this particular attack. more broadly, iran's allies appear to operate with a significant degree of independence, but that needs placing in context. iran does not necessarily exert

day to day operational control over each and every one of its proxies. but that being said, when you provide strategic direction, when you provide significant material and you provide significant training, you cannot expect you cannot avoid culpability. and given this level of support from iran, inevitably many are asking, what does it want? well, to understand this, we again need to look at iran's history. not least the iran—iraq war of the 1980s, which began when iraq invaded. iran doesn't necessarily see itself as an aggressive actor. it sees itself as deeply vulnerable. in particular, memories of the iran—iraq war, when it was very vulnerable to iraqi missiles and many people died, are absolutely key in iran's political conception

of where it sits in the region. so its whole policy is built on never again, allowing itself to be encircled or isolated. and to meet that goal — the axis of resistance is crucial. it is not looking for a massive escalation and a war outright with the us or israel. what it's interested in, however, is maintaining the kind of equilibrium and violence groups that it has across the region. in a statement this week, iran's revolutionary guard said, we do not seek war, but we are not afraid of war. iran's motivations and ambitions are a fiercely contested subject. but as the us calibrates its response to the tower 22 attack, there's no debate that the axis of resistance is crucial to iran's efforts to position itself in the region and to challenge israel and america. still getting a lot of information coming in and a lot

of reaction. we will bring everything to you as we get it. in its first retaliatory strikes since sunday's deadly drone strike on us troops injordan, the us has targeted seven locations — four in syria and three in iraq. the us struck 85 individual targets — including groups the us believes are associated with and supported by iran's revolutionary guard corps. those targets include command and control centres, as well as headquarters buildings and intelligence centres — rocket missile and drone storage facilities and logistics and munition supply chain facilities. several manned and unmanner aircraft including b—1 bombers dispatched from the us were involved, firing more than 125 precision guided munitions over the course of about 30 minutes. and the us says — this isjust the beginning — and the strikes, quote, "will not end tonight". an iraqi spokesman has responded to the strikes saying "these air strikes constitute a violation of iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the iraqi government,

and pose a threat that could lead iraq and the region into dire consequences." he added that the outcomes will have severe implications on the security and stability in the region. we are also getting some reaction from us politicians. the speaker of the house, republican mikejohnson, released a statement... "the tragic deaths of three us troops injordan, perpetrated by iran—backed militias, demanded a clear and forceful response. unfortunately, the administration waited for a week and telegraphed to the world, including to iran, the nature of our response... we have suffered more than 150 attacks on us forces, lost american lives, and spent billions of dollars in the region since october. it is long overdue for the biden administration to admit that its strategy of appeasing iran has been disastrous for the international community and regional stability." with me is to discuss

the impending us response is barbara starr, usc annenberg centre senior fellow and veteran pentagon correspondent. thank you for being with us. if we can pick up on that point that mikejohnson makes about the timing of all of this, several days, well telegraphed over the last few days that the president had made a decision that something was going to happen. what impact do you think that will have? the speaker _ think that will have? the speaker of _ think that will have? the speaker of house, i i think that will have? tia: speaker of house, i think used the expression appeasing. i don't think the administration seesit don't think the administration sees it as appeasing iran but what they wanted to do was signal enough, message enough that iran would understand what was coming and would not see it as an extreme provocation, and extreme escalation by the us if you will. of course, then they moved out, clear leadership personnel. so we will have to see just how effective this round of strikes really were. did they barely change the

picture on the ground? really harming the militia's abilities to move forward, we will see was mark of course these are directed at iran at which you say, the us holds indirectly responsible for those attacks. they took place in iraq and syria, not iran.— they took place in iraq and syria, not iran. that is key. the us wanted i syria, not iran. that is key. the us wanted to i syria, not iran. that is key. the us wanted to be i syria, not iran. that is key. the us wanted to be clear. syria, not iran. that is key. i the us wanted to be clear they had no intention going directly into iran or iranian targets, but was interesting in the statement we initially sultanate a short time after the attacks were publicly acknowledged, there was a us reference to the quds force and that of course is the most extreme element, most militant element of the irgc in iran. i think that will be viewed as somewhat as a bit of an escalation, if you will. perhaps not catastrophic, but directly going after quds force

because it is an acknowledgement also that the us believes it had the intelligence and that quds force militant force was directly involved in the attack against the americans. because the white house said later in the white house said later in the evening, it went out after a set of targets where there was irrefutable evidence that these circuits have been involved in attacks against the americans. involved in attacks against the americans-— involved in attacks against the americans. ,, ., americans. the us government did discuss _ americans. the us government did discuss with i americans. the us government did discuss with the iraqi i did discuss with the iraqi government in advance of these attacks tonight. do we know anything yet as to whether there were casualties, civilian or otherwise? we there were casualties, civilian or otherwise?— there were casualties, civilian or otherwise? we don't., well, we don't- _ or otherwise? we don't., well, we don't. whether i or otherwise? we don't., well, we don't. whether the i we don't. whether the us government knows is another question. they will be flying reconnaissance and surveillance in daylight over the targets to see what they can determine about how much damage. there have been statements out of the region about casualties, nothing verified yet. i think it is very fair to say, everyone will be watching for the potential of a claim of

civilian casualties and we will just have to see if that even bears out. the us said, actually, one of the reasons they waited several days, they were looking for clear weather because that was their best opportunity to ensure that they were not hitting civilians. what will this mean for the region, barbara? the us been clear since the outset following in the wake of the october the 7th attacks and the israeli response to that, that it is doing everything it can to stop a regional response, to stop the spread of the conflict, will this help or hinder? i conflict, will this help or hinder? ., �* conflict, will this help or hinder?— conflict, will this help or hinder? ~ ., ., hinder? i don't know that we know in answer i hinder? i don't know that we know in answer to i hinder? i don't know that we know in answer to that i hinder? i don't know that we know in answer to that yet. l hinder? i don't know that we i know in answer to that yet. you raise one of the most critical points. we are on for the cusp, a glimmer if you will, of the potentially another hostage release deal with hamas. and how will this affect that, will it affect that? we don't know the answer to that yet. what we do know is these iranian backed militias have been supplying weapons training personnel from

yemen to iraq to syria. and the strikes tonight that you talk about the long—term impact if you will, it is hard to see how the strikes will fundamentally change very much. will the iraniansjust be able change very much. will the iranians just be able to in the next several days, start shipping and more weapons and will we see more attacks by them? ., . ., , will we see more attacks by them? . . ., , ,, them? particularly if the us is telegraphing _ them? particularly if the us is telegraphing that i them? particularly if the us is telegraphing that this i them? particularly if the us is telegraphing that this is i them? particularly if the us is telegraphing that this is not . telegraphing that this is not the end of it.— the end of it. right, right. the iranians, i the end of it. right, right. the iranians, and i the end of it. right, right. the iranians, and the i the end of it. right, right. i the iranians, and the militias, they are savvy about what the us does and the basic concept of what the traffic will bear. barbara starr, thank you for that. thank you forjoining us there on that. we will keep you up—to—date of course with all of the lead is coming from the region following on from the us launching districts on 85 targets, three in iraq and four in syria. keep up—to—date in the meantime on our website.

check out our app as well and right here on the bbc news channel. thank you for watching and stay with us here on the bbc news. mild conditions around of the moment. plenty of cloud. some sunshine and time in aberdeen sure a friday, blustery weather, temperatures near 15 degrees 15.5 in the south east of northern ireland. it's always western coasts with a different story. still mild, but great. lots of low cloud missed in murk. not a lot set to change through the weekend. certainly staying mild. blustery is well with brisk south—westerly winds blowing. saturday, high pressure remains towards the south. keeping the strength of the wind, cold front sinking gradually further south not making too many inroads into the south of england and wales where again, a mild start to saturday

morning. temperatures in double figures. claire spells throughout the night, further north, a chillier start to the day. temperatures above the average. across where we see the best of the day sometimes still strong gusty wind to the east of the pen knives, showers piling into western scotland and where we have this cold front across wales and stretching into east and live there could be some outbreaks of rain on and off. this great drizzly miles to the south of the front, 13 or 1a celsius. even in cardiff, temperatures awfully up to 11 celsius as we go through the afternoon. for the six nations abruptly will a brisk south—westerly winds blowing this will. someday if few changes. this is a warm front that will be tracking that very mild air further north with us we had throughout the day. we will see some rain to start the day in northern ireland, the ring pushing into western scotland where it will turn really quite heavy as we go into the evening post again, very mild windy conditions. 8-14 c very mild windy conditions. 8—11; c close to start the day

in northern ireland, the ring pushing into western scotland where it will turn really quite heavy as we go into the evening post again, very mild windy conditions. 8—11; c the stench is picking up from in northern ireland, the ring pushing into western scotland where it will turn really quite heavy as we go into the evening post again, very mild windy conditions. 8-14 c the very mild windy conditions. 8—11; c the stench is picking up from across the rest of the uk on monday largely try and get a few spots of drill towards the west the best of the brightness towards the east the temperatures once again for many 12—14 c. some brightness around on monday on tuesday perhaps a little bit more in wind and rain and northerly wind and rain and northerly wind developing could bring colder conditions into wednesday.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines view at the top of the hour straight after this programme. this week, we're bringing power to the flower. shona is in kenya with the drones and ai that are dealing with the changing climate of this blooming industry. when we come and we monitor these crops using the drones, we are able to, first of all, get accurate numbers because we're seeing

each and every stem. romana's in finland to see how we can keep a smarter eye on our loved ones. warm milk, wailing and walkies, lara's looking at baby gadgets. but for the star feature, let me just take the baby out. boing! not an actual child. did you reallyjust do that? tough love. works every time. and don't go in the water. james clayton meets a shark tracker who's made a great white discovery. are there any moments that you filmed where you felt nervous for the people in the water? i'd say yes. we're starting the programme in kenya, where agriculture plays a huge part in many people's livelihoods. in fact, the industry employs more than 40% of the total population. but climate change is having a real impact

on the crops there. and you might be surprised to find out what one