you're watching bbc news. welcome to viewers in the uk on the news channel. the top story. a stri keforce has channel. the top story. a strikeforce has targeted and killed iran's is military commander, the commander he was responsible for iranian military foreign operations and is understood to have answered directly to the country's supreme leader. he has declared three days of national mourning in iran and promised harsh vengeance. mourning in iran and promised harsh vengeance. he mourning in iran and promised harsh vengeance. he was mourning in iran and promised harsh vengeance. he was killed along with others in iraq near baghdad's airport. it follows just days after iranian backed militia leaders

encourage their followers to attack the us embassy in baghdad. this is all that was left of a convoy of cars carrying iran's most senior military commander. his killing by the united states will shake the middle east to its core. qasem soleimani was head of the elite quds force of the iranian revolutionary guard and is a hugely influentialfigure in the region. in a statement, the pentagon said: the immediate aftermath of the attack, which happened near baghdad international airport, was filmed by passers—by. several other people with military ties to iran were also killed. it comes in a week where simmering

tensions between iran and the united states has boiled over. the american embassy in baghdad has been under siege as pro—iranian militiamen and demonstrators tried to breach its walls, angry at united states‘ airstrikes in the region. and yesterday, the united states defence secretary hinted america may take further action against iran. it is important to not make this a united states versus iran issue. it is really iran versus the world. it is really iran versus the world. it is iranian bad behaviour that has been going on for a0 years. last night, more than 650 united states troops arrived in neighbouring kuwait to provide reinforcements. all eyes will be on iran's response. in a region already riven with conflict, some will fear this could mean another war in the middle east. jon donnison, bbc news. the american action was taken at the direction of president trump. he

hasn't directly tweeted a comment yet, but he has tweeted this image of the american flag, an image which he has pinned to the top of his twitter feed. so, is he has pinned to the top of his twitterfeed. so, is it a defensive action, as the us describes it, or was it a deliberate provocation in the region? i put that question to lyse doucet, our chief international correspondent. it depends where you look at it in this long simmering crisis between iran and the united states. this is not a crisis which began with these unprecedented attacks in recent days, with iranian backed militias attacking the us embassy in baghdad. it didn't even begin when president trump pulled out of the iran nuclear deal in 2018. there has long been tension between the united states, its commanders in the field and the man they regarded as their most telling adversary, qasem soleimani, who they held responsible for ordering attacks on american forces and bases in iraq and other countries in the

middle east and held personally responsible for killing american soldiers and others across the region. but for iran, in terms of the coverage, which isjust beginning, this is a hugely significant moment. it crosses a massive red line for iran. qasem soleimani was not just massive red line for iran. qasem soleimani was notjust the most important military figure, but also a senior political figure important military figure, but also a senior politicalfigure in iran, regarded as only second to iran's all—powerful supreme leader ayatolla h all—powerful supreme leader ayatollah khamenei. he had hero status among his men, both in terms of iran's islamic revolutionary guard corps and the proxy militias that he helped create across the region, and he had a celebrity status in iran, whether or not they liked or loathed qasem soleimani. this is a moment which will bring iran together and for iran, the first act of retaliation will be to organise a massive public funeral to send a strong message that this, for

iran, is an act with massive consequences. how iran, is an act with massive consequences. how difficult will it be for iran to mobilise its foreign policy, given that its foreign policy, given that its foreign policy strategist is now dead? iran has many ways and means to attack. qasem soleimani certainly had a commanding role. he was the man who was always in the field. there were these myths that grow around him. people would whisper and there would be rumours. is he in the front lines in iraq? where has he been spotted? at times he seemed to taunt the united states by taking selfies with his forces in iraq or syria or lebanon. he would hurl twitter barbs personally at present in donald trump, insulting him as if to say, come after me. but there will be many others who will be able to follow in his wake. they may initially not have all the skills of qasem soleimani, but he isn't the only one in iran's that intelligence

network and its military as well as the islamic revolutionary guard corps. and its reach is very long both in terms of being able to react in terms of a proxy confrontation against american forces in iraq, even american forces in afghanistan, where i am, where afghans are now worried about where this crisis will 90, worried about where this crisis will go, but even as far—reaching as in european capitals. there is now a sharp of breath to say the retaliation will come, but where and how will it unfold? that is the key question many people are asking themselves, especially in terms of how difficult the situation is within the persian gulf and the proxy war being fought between iran and saudi arabia. our viewers will remember that month after month in 2019, we reported on the tensions in the persian gulf, the fear of another war, how they came to the

brink with attacks on tankers in the gulf and how president trump would a lwa ys gulf and how president trump would always pull back at the last moment, even when there was an attack widely blamed on iran and saudi oil installations. president trump kept saying, i do not want to have another war. leaders in the region don't want another war. they don't wa nt to don't want another war. they don't want to lead a war against iran. everyone will suffer if there is a direct confrontation in the middle east and beyond. but with this killing of qasem soleimani as well as the head of a senior militia leader in iraq, this is a new and dangerous chapter and all bets are off. that was lyse doucet, our chief international correspondent. i want to ta ke international correspondent. i want to take you live to iran. this is friday prayers in a mosque. it is just past midday in tehran. that is

a cleric talking to the congregation. earlier, you could see genuine mourning and tears from many people who are listening to the imam giving friday prayers. let's bring in the professor of international relations at the london school of economics and the author of making the arab world. where does this leave us? so many questions. this could be something that brings about a cataclysmic reaction in the region. by all measures, this is a declaration of war by the trump administration against iran. that is how it will be seen in iran and that is how it will be seen throughout the region. the enemies of iran will see it as such and celebrate, and iranian allies are probably planning retaliation. it is a massive escalation on the part of the trump

administration. the escalation is based on the idea that it will likely deter iran. in fact, i doubt whether this massive escalation will deter iran. it will bring about the reverse , deter iran. it will bring about the reverse, which further escalation. we are bringing in these pictures are friday prayers in this mosque in tehran. also hearing that rallies are being organised by the government which will be held across iran today to express what they describe as anger at the united states following the death of qasem soleimani. the state run news channel in iran said people across the country would hold anti—american, anti—zionist rallies after friday prayers. he can see here that grown men are in tears over this. general soleimani was a huge figure in iran. he was notjust the top general of the elite force in the revolutionary guard, but he

was the most popular intelligence political leaders in iran, the second most powerful man after ali can many, the supreme leader. he was being groomed to be the future leader of iran even though he was a military leader. in the attack itself, regardless of how you see it, is a shattering blow to iran. this is an attack against the heart of the iranian leadership and he was not the only one killed. 0thers of the iranian leadership and he was not the only one killed. others were killed as well. so this is an attack against the iranian leadership and also in iraq itself, the government will see this as an attack against iraqi sovereignty. iraqi leaders will say this undermines sovereignty inside iraq itself. my take is that the political and military presidency in iraq will likely become untenable. the iraqi government will most likely ask the americans to pull out if not in the next few hours, but probably the next few hours, but probably the next few hours, but probably the next few days and weeks. we have had

news from iraq. the iraqi prime minister has condemned the assassination and the iraqi military commander was that he says the strike is a dangerous escalation thatis strike is a dangerous escalation that is the spark of a devastating war in iraq. interestingly, us citizens have also been asked to leave iraq immediately by the us embassy in baghdad following the strike. we have been talking about the mass protests being organised in iraq today. today is friday. friday prayers in iran will also likely see massive protests in iraq in the next few hours. today is also a day of prayers in iraq. so it is notjust about iran, it's about iraq, lebanon, syria. iran has tremendous influence throughout the region. if you ask me what it means, iran probably does not want a direct confrontation with the united states

because iran is not up to taking on the united states directly. what you will see is massive escalation throughout the region itself. but i fear that both sides, the united states and its allies and iran and its allies, are locked in a spiralling escalation that could lead to war itself. lets listen to what is being said. said the cleric was talking about syria and lebanon and the far reach of general soleimani. the crowd are obviously chanting in reaction to

what he says a lot of anger in what he was saying in the tone of his voice, but also his words. he mentioned syria and lebanon. he mentioned syria and lebanon. he mentioned the wider middle east. very significant in terms of general soleimani because he was the chief foreign policy strategist for iran, so foreign policy strategist for iran, so where does that leave the region? the region now has already been in turmoil. in the past few years, we have seen a shadow war between the united states and iran. the shadow war is now becoming a regionwide war and has the potential to become a direct war even though neither side wa nts direct war even though neither side wants war. this is where the fear is. we have to see what kind of reactions and counter reactions iran ta kes reactions and counter reactions iran takes on the next few days. let's imagine that iran retaliates against american military bases and further american military bases and further american casualties. this could serve as a trigger for a greater and

broader confrontation between iran and the united states in the region. but of course, america's position in iran is untenable now. my take and it is that the iraqi government now finds itself in a very difficult and dangerous position. the only way for the iraqi government to respond to the iraqi government to respond to the public backlash is to try to ask the public backlash is to try to ask the americans to leave iraq. we will have to wait and see. we are speculating at this stage. this is pure speculation. what about the role of saudi arabia, what with the saudi government be thinking? saudi arabia, after the attacks against the saudi company, this was a major attack either by iran or iranian allies. the consensus was that iran carried out the attacks. at the end of the day, saudi arabia does not wa nt of the day, saudi arabia does not want warand iran of the day, saudi arabia does not want war and iran does not want war. any war in the gulf, imagine the gulf region sitting on billions of

barrels of oil. imagine thousands of missiles flying around the gulf, a region sitting on petroleum and gas. this could be devastating to the economies of the region and also the world economy. everyone is now anxious. everyone dreads the next few days and weeks. fawaz gerges, good to talk to you. stay with us because i want to bring you some reaction from the united states. the former vice—presidentjoe biden is among those critical of president trump's move. he started by saying that no american will mourn qasem soleimani's passing that goes on to say the administration's statement says that its goal is to deter future attacks by iran, but this action will almost certainly have the opposite effect.

matthew browser is a former us diplomat and former director for europe and eurasia on the us national security council. he says the assassination is a highly significant event. this is a dramatic development, a real turning of momentum in the middle east. i think this was an attempt by president trump to restore a sense of deterrence against iran because from his perspective, over the course of the last six months, iran has been engaged in aggressive behaviour to which the us has not really responded. there was the placing of tankers on the strait of hormuz. in september, there was the major attack on saudi oil facilities and then over the course of the last

month, attacks on 11 different military bases in iraq where there we re military bases in iraq where there were us forces. so this was an attempt by trump to restore some sense of deterrence, iran will have to react. we can expect a harsh reaction. this has been considered an act of war. as with the —— as we re an act of war. as with the —— as were the attacks on the saudi facilities. iran will not react in a head—on way. it knows the us military is too strong, so it will use its proxies around the world, which will be dangerous. do you find the timing of this interesting? very interesting. the killing of that us military contractor over the weekend was a trip wire, i think. i think president trump was waiting for the death of an american before he responded with force. the fact that the force has been behind so many actions against us diplomats, as i know from my expense as ambassador

in azerbaijan, when these militias in iraq had launched the assault on the us embassy, that was a trip wire too far. this comes against the backdrop of these large—scale protests in iraq by shi'ites, often against the very shi'ite militia which was engaged in the attack against the us embassy. it's a very combustible mix in iraq which may be president trump is trying to ship with this attack. iran has spent yea rs with this attack. iran has spent years trying to build a network of partners around itself, these strategic relationships. should some confrontation occur between the iraq and the us, is it likely that tehran, to flick the threat to iran itself, starts existing fires in the region? for sure. that is the modus operandi of the iranian government and the quds force. there could be a

reaction by hezbollah in lebanon against israel. there are thousands of rockets, several thousand of which are smart rockets, poised against israel in southern lebanon. so that could be one reaction. things could escalate, even if there is not a direct military confrontation between iran and the us. what do you think the domestic situation in iran will be in terms of bearing how iran views its foreign policy? it has a tough time right now domestically, with plenty of people demonstrating against the iranian government. it does and the islamist ideology which has powered the clerical regime of iran for decades is running out of steam. the iranian government has been turning instead to nationalism and i am afraid that an action like this, killing of one of the most senior iranian officials, may be the second most powerful person in iran after

the supreme leader, is to rally nationalism and is going to increase anti—american sentiment in iran, including or especially among people that may be president trump was hoping would keep pressure on the current regime in iran. that was the view from matthew b ryza , that was the view from matthew bryza, a former us diplomat and former director of europe and eurasia at the us national security council. i want to take you like to tehran again. this is the scene at friday prayers in tehran's main mosque. you can hear the imam giving a sermon mosque. you can hear the imam giving a sermon to the congregation. earlier, there were pictures showing grown men crying. there are three days of mourning now that have been announced by iran's supreme leader to mum the passing of general soleimani, who of course is a hugely significant figure in iran. many say he is second only to the supreme

leader and was perhaps a future supreme leader and was perhaps a future supreme leader himself, had he lived. we have had lots of reaction on twitter and beyond. we have had a reaction from the democratic presidential candidate elizabeth warren in the last few hours. she says soleimani was a murderer responsible for the deaths of thousands including hundreds of americans, but this reckless move escalate the situation with iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new middle east conflict. 0ur priority must be to avoid another costly war. we have also had another costly war. we have also had a tweet from samantha powers, the former us ambassador for the a tweet from samantha powers, the former us ambassadorfor the un. she says, the flag is not a strategy. she is referring to president trump's tweet of the us flag which he pinned to his twitter account. trump is surrounded by sycophants having fired those who have dissented. he has pledged iran's

specialists. he has abolished nsc businesses to review contingencies and is seen as a liar around the world. this is likely to get ugly very quickly. we have also had a tweet from mike pompeo, the us secretary of state. he has said iraq is dancing in the street for freedom, thankfulfor is dancing in the street for freedom, thankful for general soleimani being no more. let's bring in victoria fritz, our business presenter. you have been keeping a close eye on the markets. i have noticed oil prices are up. why is that? oil noticed oil prices are up. why is that? oil prices are up 3%. they spiked at 4%, almost $70 a barrel. this isn't about a supply disruption to iranian oil. there are already heavy sanctions on iranian oil, selling or buying or having anything to do with iran. and it is of course

the lifeblood of the iranian economy, of which it has been starved for years. president hassan rouhani said a couple of days ago that the sanctions have cost the country $200 billion in oil revenues and foreign investment. the country is in recession. this is not about this. this is about risk. this is being considered around the world as an act of war. this was one of the most revered and most powerful men in iran and iran has powerful allies and proxy forces. the fear is that these will be used. saudi arabia, these will be used. saudi arabia, the world's biggest producer of crude oil around the world, and we are hearing from the likes of a prominent american economist, saying that this is exactly the sort of risk and oil—price shock that could tip the world into a global recession. he is talking about

stagflation, a persistently high state of inflation coupled with high unemployment. it means you get stag na nt unemployment. it means you get stagnant demand across countries. this is what the united states or in 1973 and 1979 and 1990. this is particularly bad news for the likes of the big countries that import oil, because it will be more expensive for them, particularly if they have large trade and current account deficits, places like india. fuel prices are directly linked to what goes on with international markets for oil, and we are already seeing spikes in fuel prices in india for both petrol and diesel. it is likely that we will see this happening across the world. this is just the beginning of the year. not all the markets are open. injapan, the nikkei is closed. if i had any money, i could bet you any money that investment houses across the

world will be holding emergency risk meetings to work out what this means and whether they should be transferring more money to safe haven assets, things like gold, silver, the japanese yen, and we are already seeing those market moves. thank you for that analysis. iran's state tv channel has reported the death of general soleimani. this is how the item was shown on a news bulletin, with the presenter confirming the death and then a montage of images from the head of the quds force. iran's foreign minister has also commented on twitter saying the killing of mr soleimani was an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation. he added that the us has responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism. there is much more on our website on this story. you will find all the latest developments and background to the situation. let's leave you with these life pictures

of friday prayers in tehran as the congregation that just the of friday prayers in tehran as the congregation thatjust the news that one of the biggest generals in iran has been killed by the united states. this is bbc news. the weather doesn't look too bad, but this morning we have had some rain across england and wales. that is going to clear away to the south—east for many of us, it will bea south—east for many of us, it will be a more sunny afternoon compared to yesterday although it will feel colder. you can see from the satellite imagery, this area of cloud across eastern parts is what is bringing the rain this morning. shower clouds towards the north and west. those could be a bit wintry because we have colder air filtering in from the north—west. it is going to push away milder weather towards the south—east. the south—east of england has been in double figures, but it will get colder as the day goes on. but the rain and cloud will

clear away from the south—east. a few showers in north west england and also in scotland. some of those could be wintry. quite breezy conditions here as well. tonight, we continue with some showers across northern parts. clearer spells further south. for the weekend, quite fine for many of us. high pressure dominates things, particularly towards the south. weatherfronts are brushing northern areas of the uk, meaning there will be cloud and outbreaks of rain across scotland. on saturday there will still be cloud in western areas. more prolonged spells of rain in north and scotland. the best of any sunshine will be in central and eastern parts of england. there will not be much difference on sunday.

perhaps a bit more brightness in wales and western areas of the uk, but there will still be cloud with outbreaks of rain in the north of scotla nd outbreaks of rain in the north of scotland during sunday. next week, low pressure will become more dominantand we low pressure will become more dominant and we will see the isobars becoming closer together. there will becoming closer together. there will be spells of rain moving on from the atlantic. so certainly more rain in the forecast as we go into next week. a more windy spell of weather as well. lots of cloud around. temperatures will rise with that south—westerly wind. have a good weekend.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh — the headlines a dramatic escalation in tensions between washington and tehran, after iran's most powerful military commander is killed in a us air strike the attack on qasem soleimani — seen as the second most powerful man in iran — took place in baghdad last night — now the us tells its citizens to leave the country immediately. this is the scene in the iranian capital, tehran — where friday prayers are taking place — three days of national mourning there have been declared. the australian navy has evacuated around 1,000 tourists and residents who were trapped in the fire—ravaged town