welcome to bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories: president trump defends the killing of iran's top military commander in an airstrike. the us says general qasem soleimani was actively plotting an attack — and their decision saved hundreds of american lives. we took action last night to stop a war. we did not take action to start a war. as iran vows revenge, tens of thousands of iranians take to the streets in protest. in other news: safe at last — relief as the australian navy rescues 1000 people who'd been trapped on the coast by bushfires.

hello. iran has vowed ‘severe revenge‘ against the united states after the killing of iranian military commander qasem soleimani. he was blown up outside baghdad airport in the early hours of friday morning, on the orders of president trump. us officials say the general had been plotting to kill americans in the region. iranian leaders have called the killing an "act of international terrorism". the pentagon is sending an extra 3,500 troops to the region. here's our middle east editorjeremy bowen. this was the moment that the us assassinated qasem soleimani and pushed the middle east into a new year and new decade of uncertainty and more danger. the pictures came from a tv station controlled by iran. the attack, from a missile fired from a drone, hit his motorcade as he was being driven out of baghdad airport.

the us and iran were already fighting a war in the shadows. neither side wants uncontrolled escalation, but the chances of miscalculation and a lurch into a bigger war have increased. qasem soleimani was no ordinary foe. for a generation, he was probably america's most capable enemy. his death delivers a blow to the heart of the iranian regime. for many years, soleimani built up iran's power outside its borders and made it, and himself, a major player in iraq, syria and lebanon. he was a talisman for iranian hardliners who have been rocked to their core. they'll want to get even — perhaps more than that. last sunday, american air strikes killed 25 members of kata'ib hezbollah, an iraqi militia armed and trained by soleimani's quds organisation,

after an american contractor was killed in a militia attack. the militiamen, undoubtedly on soleimani's orders, marched on the us embassy in baghdad and attacked its perimeter. the militias he created were a vital part of the fight against thejihadists of islamic state but they are also one way that iran projects power abroad. the huge american compound is a fortress and it wasn't breached but the attacks goaded and threatened the trump administration. the americans are rushing in reinforcements to the middle east — 3,750 so far. us civilians told by their government to get out as soon as they can. but trump wanted to press home an american advantage. his reign of terror is over. soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilise

the middle east for the last 20 years. what the united states did yesterday should have been done long ago. we took action last night to stop a war. we did not take action to start a war. in baghdad, some iraqis celebrated the killing. for weeks, anti—government demonstrators have been demanding an end to iranian influence in iraq. in tehran, ayatollah ali khamenei, iran's supreme leader, visited qasem soleimani's widow. he said severe revenge awaits the criminals. iranian hardliners are devastated. the spokesman for soleimani's republican guard corps was highly emotional in a tv interview. so were regime supporters on the streets. qasem soleimani was their hero at a time when they see themselves surrounded by enemies.

iran was already under severe pressure from us sanctions. president trump might be gambling that he has so weakened iran that it will rage but not hurt the us badly. that assumption could be dangerous and wrong. jeremy bowen, bbc news. iran's foreign minister has condemned the killing of qasem solemaini. speaking to a persian tv channel, mohammad zarif said his country will respond to the attack. translation: iran has the right to retaliate whenever it wants to end whenever it feels it is the right time. we will not be blackmailed by the americans. we will act whenever and however our leadership wants.

so iran is vowing to avenge general soleimani's death — what kind of retaliation could there be? here's our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. iran has many ways and many means to strike back and judging by its past military operations, its response will be carefully calibrated. it will want to be seen to reply in equal measure to what it has described as a declaration of war but it wants to avoid a direct military confrontation with the united states, which it knows could push this region into an ever more unpredictable and deadly escalation. so its next move could possibly, through some of its many proxies across this region, possibly in iraq, whether us forces, us targets, where i am now in afghanistan where us forces are also based. but given that iran's vast intelligence network, it could also take place in another part of the world, far from iran's borders, but iran will want to have an operation that shocks and surprises at a time of its own choosing but stopped short of an all—out war. but the repercussions of this major turning point other

question of days, weeks, or even months. this will play out across this region for many years. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, told me more about the reaction in washington. president trump makes the point that the american operation that killed qasem soleimani will "save american lives" while his detractors contend the exact opposite. mr trump also making the point today that qasem soleimani was planning a big offensive against military personnel or diplomats in the middle east, therefore making the point that by killing him, the us was taking defensive measures. the united states though has

failed to back that claim, the claim that soleimani was plotting a new offensive with any sort of intelligence information however thus far, despite calls from congress for it to do so and some misgivings among certain elements of congress that they were not briefed in advance of this attack on qasem soleimani. yeah, 3,000 further trips being sent by the united states to the area, that is not going to stabilise tensions, is it? i guess they are there to defend us interests and allies, and it is not an offensive move, that? exactly, and of course we have a president here who was elected on a promise, let's not forget, to withdraw american troops from the region and end american involvement in wars overseas. here we have more troops going in, the pentagon talking of 3000—plus as a result of the increased tensions

following this attack, and of course there are about 5000 american troops still in iraq, who are perhaps potential targets, now, should there be any sort of response, any reprisals, from the iranians. so i don't know what's going to happen now as far as that is concerned but certainly there is a lot of concern on the part of democrats in congress, that this could prove to be a reckless move on the part of the trump administration, simon. you mentioned the democrats there. i guess the reaction to this in america has been somewhat along party lines. has it been that simple? very much so. we have seen democrats content this attack is a reckless event. joe biden, who was in

the rest of his party's presidential nomination said that the action against qasem soleimani has tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, there has been similar reactions from bernie sanders and eliza bath warren, and calls, of course, for the white house to articulate its overall strategy as far as iran is concerned, where does the white house go from here and what does it do, if indeed, iran does decide to retaliate. lieutenant general david deptula was formerly deputy chief of staff for intelligence with the us air force. he's now dean of the mitchell institute for aerospace studies, a think tank. he joins me from washington. how do you expect your own, its allies in the quds forced to respond to this attack? well, nice to be with you, simon, i would first like to tell you that the strike was

measured and appropriate response, after 18 months of restraint by the trump administration, to a series of aggressive actions in violation of international law by iran. i think even iranians are well familiar with iran seizing oil tankers, attacking other oil tankers, downing an unarmed us drone in international airspace, and then attacking saudi arabia's oil infrastructure. president trump set a redline, that redline being injury or loss of us lives, he warned iran not to cross it, they did and he responded accordingly to defend american personnel and interests. now, you previously took a bit about strategy, and i would tell you that the action is part of a longer term

strategy to constrain iran's malign activity. rollback iran's influence in iraq and ultimately deterfurther iranian aggression. you have been involved very closely in operations similarto involved very closely in operations similar to the one we saw about 2k hours ago, from your experience, how long will the us have been tracking soleimani and why do you think they struck when they did? well, once again, the intelligence is a key element of the timing of the attack, as well as the fact that it has been articulated by both secretary pompeo as well as the president in the context of immediate threats to us personnel and interest in the region. so i think what you saw is the combination of extremely an extraordinarily accurate intelligence information in a very timely way, to eliminate the cause

of those threats, and that was soleimani, and that attack turned out to be very precisely executed. precisely executed and a big step to ta ke precisely executed and a big step to take in terms of us policy and donald trump's us policy, how do you think the killing of qasem soleimani will affect us policy in the area now? it depends on if iran wants to become treated as a viable nationstate, they may need to start acting like one. not as a terrorist state. so it depends on exactly what the iranians are going to do. you earlier asked about the us response andi earlier asked about the us response and i talked about the number of troops that have been deployed, those are going over there for defensive purposes, but i would also suggest that we have got to stop equating strategy with a number of us boots on the ground. large numbers of troops in the region

simply plays into iran's hands. the best way to deter iran now is to supplement the large number of us air forces supplement the large number of us airforces in the region by forward deploying six or seven fully armed and loaded stealth d2s to diego garcia, and the mullahs will get the message. thank you forjoining us, interesting to get your views on that. and within the past few hours iraqi television says there's been another air strike, this time targetting a convoy of vehicles belonging to an iranian—backed militia. it happened on the taji road north of baghdad. a paramilitary group known as iraq's popular mobilisation forces reportedly claimed that an air strike hit a convoy of medics. stay with us on bbc news. we'll have the latest on the australian wildfires next.

the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow, in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil, as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump defends the killing of iran's top military commander qasem soleimani, insisting that washington is not looking for regime change. iran's supreme leader has vowed "severe revenge" on those responsible for the death of the iranian general. other news now: the australian prime minister scott morrison has confirmed that 23 people have died in the bushfire crisis since september. among the latest victims are two people who were killed on kangaroo island, off the coast of south australia, where an emergency warning has been issued. this fire tornado was filmed on the island and is feared that bushfires could consume the entire national park. meanwhile, more than 1,000 people have been safely evacuated by navy ships from the town of mallacoota. mr scott morrison says the country is entering a critical few days and has announced greater military support will be provided

to help firefighters across the country. there are now scores of fires burning across new south wales and victoria. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil reports now from sussex inlet, just over 100 miles south of sydney. for the first time in days, nearly 1,000 tourists and residents can breathe a little more easily as they're finally moved to safety. the navy has stepped in to rescue those who were stranded on the beach in mallacoota when they were encircled by an uncontrollable fire on monday. a state of disaster has been declared in eastern victoria ahead of tomorrow's extreme conditions. up to 100,000 residents are being told to evacuate. if you can leave, you must leave. that is the only safe thing for you, yourfamily, and, indeed, for others who may be called to your assistance. we cannot guarantee your safety. in new south wales,

the message is the same. fire authorities have said that saturday's blazes could be as bad as, if not worse, than those of new year's eve. in the coastal town of batemans bay, firefighters are racing to protect those who have decided to stay. despite the warnings, geoff and pamela zorbas decided they are not leaving their small town of sussex inlet. hopefully, it's not going to be as bad as they're predicting, but we've got the hoses ready and we'lljust hose the house down if the embers come. and if the fires do hit hard, we've got a boat here. we're going tojump in the boat and we're going to get out to sea. i'lljust take the family and the dogs, and away we go. jay martin is also staying put to defend his house and help friends and neighbours. he tells me the anticipation of disaster is what worries him. waiting — that's the hardest part. we've been at it for two weeks and it's just waiting. and there's people doing it a lot tougher than me.

i've just been waiting and helping out, just getting through tomorrow and hope it all passes and we get a bit of rain on monday. a blaze has just started in the bush in this area, just beyond that treeline. firefighters are watching closely here. their concern is that with the wind picking up, this could travel very fast and get here. they've been patrolling the area and making sure that properties are protected. that's really the main aim. politically, this has been a rough ride for the prime minister, who's been regularly criticised for how he has handled the bushfire crisis. and it's notjust the residents who have made their feelings clear. i don't really want to shake your hand. scott morrison said he understood the anger but was focusing on the task in hand. 0ur concerns are obviously now looking out over the next sort of 24—48 hour period. this is a ferocious fire that is still out there and the climatic conditions are going to be very difficult to contain that in the next 2a to 48 hours. that is why the evacuation messages

are so incredibly important. there is a real sense of dread here about what will happen in these coming hours. at a time when many had planned family holidays, australians now wait for yet another firestorm to blaze through. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, on the southern coast of new south wales. john roseterolla is the owner of foodworks in mallacoota and hejoins me now along with one of his staff members, yana drobeck, who's lost her home in the fires. thank you forjoining us. john, starting with you, tell us about your situation, your shop and your home. 0k, your situation, your shop and your home. ok, so we were one of the lucky ones, we survived. the shop is still trading, although... few days off because we had no—one, obviously, because they were out

fighting, trying to save their homes. at this time of the year... there is 6— 9000 people here so a big evacuation happening, i have evacuated 1000 people yesterday and are planning on more. it is quarter past two here in the afternoon and the sky is black outside, it looks like nighttime, so we'rejust in the sky is black outside, it looks like nighttime, so we're just in the middle of firestorm coming through, the ember tax, everyone is outside with hoses —— ember attacks. further down the eastern seaboard, fires are raging so we are getting all of the smoke, that is why it is dark here. that is exactly what it was like. you were one of the lucky ones, of course, john, but yana, not you. how devastating been for you, yana? not

really. i only bought the house seven months ago, so it is not been a fun ride but... what else can you do, really? just try to stay on, stay strong and try to keep everybody else's house safe now. and what has the support that you guys have been given because we hear so many stories about people losing everything and obviously, the hard to come to terms with that but you are alive and that is important so what is the support you guys have been given from the local community and the authorities? it has been beautiful. everybody, even the people that are only left with a handful of clothes, they are out there, working at the op shop or the wildlife centre and when i was there this morning, yesterday morning, and there were so many people out there. it has been beautiful. mallacoota always has been beautiful in that way, we can all help each other. we have lost about 70 odd houses.

com plete have lost about 70 odd houses. complete streets. there may be one house standing in a complete street. the rest of the street is gone. it does not pick and choose. it wipes the lot out. guys, the line is a little bit dodgy but thank you so much for coming on. it is heartbreaking to hear your stories and obviously you are both safe and thatis and obviously you are both safe and that is the important things i thank you so much for coming on, yana and john, and telling us stories and about the bushfires in mallacoota. thanks a lot. let's get some of the day's other news. indonesian authorities are turning to the technique of cloud seeding to try to stop more rain falling in the flood—hit capitaljakarta. planes have been sent to inject chemicals into clouds in an effort to alter the storms that have left large areas underwater. at least 43 people are known to have died, with some 192,000 evacuated from their homes. french police have shot dead a knife man who killed one person and injured at least two others in a suburb south of paris. police said the man attacked several people in a park in the town of villejuif, which is five miles from central paris. he then fled the scene

which was near a supermarket before police said the knife man was neutralised. a former mexican security minister, genaro garcia luna, has pleaded not guilty in a new york court to accusations of taking bribes to allow the sinaloa cartel to ship drugs into the united states. he was arrested in texas in december after a former cartel member testified that he had twice met him to hand over suitcases holding at least $6 million. several people have been injured after a bull ran wild at a new year's festival in peru. it happened in the city of huancavelica. bullfighting and running with bulls are popular in the country, but animal rights groups say they are cruel and inhumane. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. even by the standards of this festival, this scene is pretty chaotic. screaming.

the bull is let loose in an open field and is allowed to pretty much run wild. screaming. this, the almost inevitable result — people thrown around like rag dolls. screaming. others are gored, lucky that only their clothes had been torn. it is all part of a four—day religious festival held to celebrate the new year. locals call it a much—loved tradition. critics insist it is cruel and the animals are clearly distressed. 0ften following an event like this, the bulls are taken away to face a matador and almost certainly an untimely demise. this, a controversial and, some say, upsetting end. a raging bull that rages no more. tim allman, bbc news. that is just

about it from me. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @sipusey. in 04 watching and do stay tuned to bbc. -- in 04 watching and do stay tuned to bbc. —— thanks for watching. hello there. despite some early morning rain on friday in the south—east and gale force winds in the northern isles, for many, it was a better day and more sunshine for many that we have seen this year. we can see this from the weather watch picture that has been sent in from cambridgeshire, not a cloud in the sky. taking a look at friday's weather — there was the early morning clouds that eased away. clear skies behind and just some showery clouds from the far north. with those clear skies continuing overnight, it means a chilly start to our saturday morning. low single figures in the south—east, a touch of light frost in sheltered rural parts as well. saturday shaping up to be a reasonable day. as high pressure builds from the south, across the top

of the high, we have those weak weather fronts and always a bit more of a breeze with the isobars squeezing together here. generally speaking, it is not looking like a bad weekend at all. sheltered eastern areas perhaps seeing the best of the brightness. some sunshine across eastern scotland and england. the cloud thick enough in the west for a spot or two of drizzle and into the far north—west with that weather front never too far away maybe some persistent showery rain and strengthening winds here. temperatures at around 8—10 degrees, and that is down from what we've seen of late but still not too bad, really, for this time of year. as we move out of saturday and into sunday, a high—pressure system starting to drift off into the near continent. again, these weather fronts creeping in across the top of the high and again, those isobars still a feature. the winds will strengthen and start to swing around to more of a south—westerly direction on sunday. again, always the risk of more clouds along the west facing coasts. thick enough for some drizzle and persistent rain in the far north—west but again,

sheltered south and north—eastern areas seeing some sunshine and temperatures at around 9—12 degrees as the high. as we move out of sunday and into the start of the new working week, we have to look high up into the atmosphere. yes, the jet stream. it looks like it may turn into quite a powerfuljet and that is going to be responsible for driving areas of low pressure across the uk. it does look as though we are set for an unsettled spell of weather at the start of the new working week. not one weather front to sweep through, only to be replaced by another and it does look like it's going to be wet and increasingly windy with plenty of isobars on the chart. potentially on tuesday, quite a stormy spell with gales likely, and some of that rain quite heavy. enjoy the weekend if you can.

we'll have the latest on the australian wildfires next.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump says the us killed iran's top military commander qassem soleimani to "stop a war, not to start one." in a televised address, mr trump said the us had killed "the number one terrorist in the world." he said soleimani had been plotting imminent attacks. the iranian government said it would retaliate against what it called an "act of international terrorism" by the united states at a time and place of its choosing. many world leaders have said the killing of general soleimani could lead to serious consequences for regional and global security. new south wales' fire commissioner has warned saturday will be a long and difficult day for everybody — as bushfires continue to burn out of control. there's been a similar warning from the fire chief in victoria as australia faces possibly its worst day yet in a summer of wildfires. three energy companies have agreed

to pay more than £10 million