israel says the strikes are in response to �*months of continuous attacks�*. if the regime in iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we would be obligated to respond. our message is clear. the us and uk call for restraint — urging iran against hitting back in an attempt to dismantle the cycle of violence. iran should not respond. we will continue to work with allies to de—escalate the situation across the region. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. israel has launched multiple air strikes on iran in response to what the israeli military called "months of continuous

attacks" from tehran and its proxies. this is the moment israeli missiles could be seen and heard heading over the iranian capital. the idf says it struck �*military targets�* in iran, which it accuses of "relentlessly attacking israel" since october the 7th 2023. it comes after tehran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles towards israel on 1st october, in what the country said was a retaliation for the killing of hamas�*s political leader on iranian soil back injuly iranian state iranian state media say the iranian air defense command issued a statement — saying that israeli airstrikes against military centres in tehran, the western province of ilam, and the southwestern province of khuzestan have been intercepted and countered successfully. but it conceded two soldiers were killed and some locations suffered "limited damage". the israeli government released

these pictures of prime minister benjamin netanyahu and defence minister yoav gallant following the strikes from the operation room at the israel�*s defense ministry in tel aviv. earlier the idf spokesman daniel hagari made this statement about the air strikes. the israel defense forces have fulfilled its mission. if the regime in iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we would be obligated to respond. our message is clear: all those who threat in the state who threaten the state of israel and seek to drag the region into wider escalation will pay a heavy price. we demonstrated today that we have both the capability and the resolve to act decisively, and we are prepared on offence and defence to defend the state of israel and the people of israel.

our correspondent sebastian usher is injerusalem where he says reaction so far is muted. there isn�*t really very much reaction at the moment. it�*s shabbat. if you look down around me, the streets have been very quiet until now. there�*s some traffic appearing, but you�*re not going to hear anything very, very strong from the religious nationalists who make up a very, very important part of the prime minister benjamin netanyahu�*s cabinet and who, one would suspect, will be very outspoken in their criticism of this attack, not having gone far enough. i mean, they have called again and again, people like ben—gvir smotrich, for israel to go for the maximalist pressure on its enemies, whether it be hamas, hezbollah or iran. and i think they sensed that there might be an opportunity this time to really go after some of the targets that mr netanyahu himself has wanted

to — the iranian nuclear programme, for example, and to really inflict the kind of damage on the iranian authorities, on the iranian leadership, that it would find hard to come back from. again, as lyse was saying, i mean, the one reaction that i�*ve seen, and i think it gives an indication of where the more right wing, even far—right elements might go, is from the opposition leader, yair lapid, who is seen as a moderate and who has said that the operation should have gone further, that it should have hit economic targets. it should have really hit iran where it hurts. it hasn�*t made iran pay enough for what it did on october the 1st. and within that, also back in april, its missile, drone and rocket attack on israel then and its use, its manipulation of its proxies in the region, whether it be hezbollah, hamas or the houthis. so if mr lapid is saying that from his position, you can just imagine what

the reaction will be from some of those who are far more to the right of him. mr netanyahu, who is riding high, i think at the moment compared to a month or two ago on what is seen in israel as military victories, the way that the hezbollah leader, hassan nasrallah, the leader being killed, much of the rest of that leadership being taken out, being eliminated. and the same with hamas. but there�*s no sense that those two conflicts that israel is deeply engaged in, are about to come to their end. the talk we�*ve had over the last few days of trying to reanimate the process towards a gaza ceasefire, the release of hostages — that hasn�*t so far elicited a great deal of optimism beyond the hopes expressed particularly by the us. but the other mediators, egypt and qatar, also have tried to push forward on this. but in practical, concrete terms, there hasn�*t really been any sign, either from hamas orfrom israel, that they are in a rush to accept

conditions that they haven�*t accepted up until now and on which previous attempts have foundered. just talk us through public sentiment there, i suppose. in the views of ordinary people there in israel with regards to strikes on iran, because we have had a fairly good idea on public opinion with regards to conflict in gaza and the specific splits and the difference there, again, with the conflict with lebanon and hezbollah specifically — what about strikes against iran? i think there�*s definitely much greater nervousness because, of course, iran has now twice launched these attacks directly on israel itself. now, thanks to the defence system, the air defence system that israel has in place and the help of its allies, particularly the us, it was able to withstand both those attacks,

i mean, israel has painted and its allies and its supporters have painted as being, you know, a monumental attempt by iran to cause chaos, damage and death. in reality, perhaps that was never quite going to happen in the way that iran mounted those two attacks. but that doesn�*t limit the nervousness of israelis who had to rush to shelters. obviously, many in the north are relatively used to that, but in many other parts of israel that hasn�*t been the case, and that�*s been happening more and more often. that was the biggest moment, of course, on october the 1st. but hezbollah in lebanon has been firing longer distance missiles too. so i think, as you were saying, perhaps at the moment, and this could easily change if the tide doesn�*t run as smoothly for israel as it has been, perhaps in the last few weeks in its operations in lebanon and in gaza, the support there may begin to weaken. but as i say, this trepidation, this nervousness that the israeli government

that mr netanyahu may be taking the israeli people themselves into uncharted waters with its confrontation with iran is certainly there. so, i mean, there may be some relief amongst many israelis that he doesn�*t seem to have taken that step, and they may not be expecting or anticipating an even bigger missile attack barrage from iran in the coming days or weeks. ijust want i just want to talk you through these pictures we have been showing. these pictures we have been showina. , ., ., showing. these are from overnight _ showing. these are from overnight from _ showing. these are from overnight from iran. - they are the iranian air defence is and hitting israeli missiles. those on the flashes in the sky.

these pictures are coming through from a picture agency to us here at the bbc from tae rand, the capital of iran. you can see the continued flashes in the sky. there is another piece of footage as well that we have been showing which we mayjust we have been showing which we may just get to we have been showing which we mayjust get to in just a moment. we chose a darker sky which again is filled by someone. but bbc verify have verified these pictures showing the same thing — iranian air defences hitting israeli missiles in the sky. let�*s take a listen. it is pretty quiet and pretty dark. you can see these pictures but they have been verified by bbc verify, basically showing similar is so dense as the previous footage that we were showing.

let�*s bring you a line that we have brought you just a few minutes ago, that iran is, quote, entitled and obligated to defend itself against external, aggressive acts. the foreign ministry said this on saturday. this is after the israeli air strikes on a israeli air strikes on a israeli military targets. they called the israeli attack a violation of international law and the ministry said in a statement that iran recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security. that is coming from reuters and we previously reported that iran has said that it has the right to defend itself from the foreign ministry saying it is entitled and obliged to defend itself after israel launched

retaliatory air strikes against the country overnight. there has been plenty of international response including from prime minister keir starmer. let�*s take a listen to his response to this. i am clear that israel has the right to defend itself against iranian aggression. i am equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. iran should not respond. we will continue to work with allies to de—escalate the situation across the region. earlier i spoke to our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. a number of iranian

media now reporting the death of two soldiers, saying that they died while confronting the projectiles fired by, as iran puts it, the zionist enemy. the fact that it�*s been quoted by tasnim, which is, as you say, semi—official, but it�*s widely regarded as being linked to the islamic revolutionary guard corps, so they wouldn�*t have put it out unless they were certain there was even a photograph of one of them now coming out on one of the iranian agencies. this is a big question, louis, because this will be part of the damage assessment by iran. now — what sites were hit, including what israel says, that air defences were hit, missile production sites were hit, launch sites were hit. we heard from some israeli sources that 20 sites were hit in from. iranian officials are denying that. they are saying this is false news, that 20 sites were hit. they said so far there�*s limited damage, so they will want to look at the damage. they�*re unlikely to reveal the full extent of it, whatever that is. and also the casualties. are they higher than these two soldiers?

if there are significant casualties this obviously ramps up the pressure domestically among the ultra conservative base of the iranian government that they or the iranian islamic guard corps and the supreme leader to retaliate. but right now, iran has a bit of room to manoeuvre because they�*re saying, "nothing really much to see here". some of the television stations are showing pictures of the traffic flowing in those parts of the country. three parts of the country where israel is said to have hit in the early hours of this morning. so it is a wait and see. you�*re watching bbc news. we have continuous coverage.

israel has launched air strikes on iran. , ., , . , on iran. these are the pictures we are seeing _ on iran. these are the pictures we are seeing in _ on iran. these are the pictures we are seeing in the _ on iran. these are the pictures we are seeing in the flashes i we are seeing in the flashes you can see in the sky are iranian air defences firing, effectively, presumably intercepting israeli missiles over the skyline. these pictures from overnight showing the same thing. you can sometimes hear the blast in the sky and you can see the flashes. we have got some details from the israeli military, saying the military says that the strikes were on a rainy and military targets and that its planes have now returned safely to israel. military bases in the west and south—west of the iranian capital were targeted. that is according to iranian news agency which is close to the country�*s revolutionary guards. iranian state media are also reporting that two soldiers were killed. the idf, which is the israel defense forces, says the israel defense forces, says the strikes are in response to

months of continuous attacks. there has been plenty of international response from countries in the region. plenty, effectively criticising israel and citing this as a potential escalation. iran has responded in words, it�*s foreign ministry, saying it is entitled and obliged to defend itself. there is a statement saying israel�*s attack, it describes it as a clear violation of international law. the islamic republic of iran, is the quote, considers itself entitled and obliged to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression. let�*s the director of the iranian centre for policy

studies iplomat to both the uk and the united nations and director of the iranian center for policy studies, dr mehrdad khonsari, who�*s lived in london since the iranian revolution in 1979. what you make of the scale and scope of these attacks? it what you make of the scale and scope of these attacks?- scope of these attacks? it was redicted scope of these attacks? it was predicted that _ scope of these attacks? it was predicted that nothing - predicted that nothing extraordinary was going to happen. these really prime minister had sent a message to people of iran asking them to stand up against the regime and so it was obvious that any action taken by the state of israel was not going to be one which would provoke the iranian people in a negative way. so listening to advice suggested by the united states and others not to target energy, for example oil and gas or electric facilities, which would have provoked the nation against israel has been avoided, as has

the nuclear sites. so i think that, in all it was a gesture on the part of israel to say that we can penetrate your aerospace. we can inflict damage upon you and of course serve as a warning to the iranian regime for reactions they have taken. certainly i think that it places israel in the upper as matters progress as we move forward. find the upper as matters progress as we move forward. and what ou as we move forward. and what you make _ as we move forward. and what you make of — as we move forward. and what you make of iran's _ as we move forward. and what you make of iran's response i you make of iran�*s response from it�*s foreign ministry, saying that it has the rights and obligation to respond? obviously that is something thatis obviously that is something that is bound to come up and they have called is really action and act against international law and the fact they have launched hundreds of missiles and projectiles against israel themselves. this is something that is to be expected but the fact is the iranian regime realistically is

not in a position of retaliating in a way could be effective in any meaningful way, or sustainable for a long period of time. the country is economically in dire straits and it is politically isolated. i was listening to one of your earlier guest who were saying they could be some kind of knew, you might say security architecture in the region. i don�*t think any of the members in the region are particularly dismayed at what has happened although obviously they would not say it publicly. i think iran feels isolated and its regional policy, the proxy policy is on the verge of total collapse with what is transpiring over at le levant with gaza and the jewel of its crown, hezbollah being degraded to such a level that it has been. so i think they will try

to sound, as you might say, effective and robust and at the same time to down downplay the damage they have suffered so they are not expected by the public to respond and reply immediately.— public to respond and reply immediately. thank you very much for _ immediately. thank you very much for coming _ immediately. thank you very much for coming on - immediately. thank you very much for coming on the - much for coming on the programme. let�*s just remind you of some of the areas targeted by israel. iran�*s state media says the iranian air defence command issued a statement — saying that israeli airstrikes against military centres in tehran, the western province of ilam, and the southwestern province of khuzestan have been intercepted and countered successfully. let�*s speak to our security correspondent frank gardener. what do we know about what has happened here, what has been successfully targeted and what has been hit and what hasn�*t? .

has been hit and what hasn't? . i think it is fair to say that everything they wanted to hit they will have hit. they have very precise intelligence, both from inside the country and from inside the country and from satellite data and from signal intelligence intercepts. they will have known what they wanted to hit and that was from a range of targets. it is a fairly limited list and they have gone for essentially two things— iran�*s air defences, which plays the way for any future attack, should they decide to escalate this further. or particularly if there is an iranian response in there is an iranian response in the meantime. and secondly they have gone for factories that have gone for factories that have produce the kind of missiles that hit israel on october the 1st. missiles that hit israel on octoberthe ist. it missiles that hit israel on october the 1st. it was relatively calibrated, restrained, relatively restrained, relatively

restrained, notwithstanding the fact that countries in the region and many of them are condemning this as dangerous escalation and a violation of iran�*s sovereignty. escalation and a violation of iran's sovereignty.— escalation and a violation of iran's sovereignty. what you make of iran's _ iran's sovereignty. what you make of iran's defences? . iran's sovereignty. what you | make of iran's defences? we make of iran�*s defences? we have been seeing pictures overnight, seemingly showing iranian air defences intercepting, certainly some israeli missiles over the skyline. what is your assessment of the state of iran�*s defences? assessment of the state of iran's defences?— iran's defences? they are certainly _ iran's defences? they are certainly not _ iran's defences? they are certainly not 100% - iran's defences? they are certainly not 100% and i iran's defences? they are | certainly not 10096 and not iran's defences? they are i certainly not 10096 and not of certainly not 100% and not of course our israel�*s. as we saw on october the 1st that this was always the fear in israel that iran has such a huge arsenal of ballistic missiles that should it decide to do a mass attack as it did on october the 1st, that some of them would get through, as indeed they did. so it�*s too early to say exactly what the so—called bond damage

assessment is here. but certainly some things were hit and some things got intercepted. i don�*t know the exact numbers yet but there is a degree of hesitation about this. i am not going to call it theatre but there is a degree of public perception that is incredibly important here for both sides. they both need to look tough and try to act as a deterrent to the other. iran has a vested interest in telling its population, don�*t worry, we repelled the aggressor. they were sent packing, we have a strong country and nothing can hurt us, nothing to fear here, which of course iranians are very concerned about future escalation into a war. and as far as israel is concerned they are flinging their weight around the region currently fighting a war in lebanon, in gaza — a lease that is how it is perceived. and now in iran, determined to take out their

enemies. and to weaken, if not destroy, iran�*s so—called axis of resistance which is leading to a lot of attacks on israel. meanwhile let�*s not forget, behind all of this, as well as the gaza war raging, there is a lot of conflict happening in the west bank. we don�*t see or hear quite so much of it internationally but it�*s a deeply unhappy place where illegal settlements are still continuing and settlers are trying to oust palestinian families that have lived there for generations. and that has really been lost in the bigger conflicts that are happening around the region. find conflicts that are happening around the region.- around the region. and 'ust sta in: around the region. and 'ust staying in i around the region. and 'ust staying in the i around the region. and 'ust staying in the region i i around the region. and just staying in the region i just i staying in the region ijust want to get your thoughts on some of the responses. egypt says it is deeply concerned with escalation. qatar expresses its strong condemnation. saudi arabia also contends the strikes. what have you made of that?— contends the strikes. what have you made of that? some of these

countries don't _ you made of that? some of these countries don't much _ you made of that? some of these countries don't much care - you made of that? some of these countries don't much care for- countries don�*t much care for the eggs alarming republic regime at all. but nevertheless they are nervous about iranians retaliation to this. if you cast your mind back about five years i don�*t know if you remember there were there was a pretty serious drone and missile strike on saudi arabia�*s petrochemical facilities and this was launched by an iranian backed militia. nothing to do with the iraqi government but it was basically a warning by iran to saudi arabia that it could hit saudi arabia that it could hit saudi facilities if and when it shows. it was nominally blamed on the houthis but i went to the site and all the holes in the site and all the holes in the petrochemical facilities... and that was a bit of a wake—up call notjust to saudi arabia but to the gulf states is to

just how vulnerable they were to a missile and drone attack from iran. and they realise they have got to live with their big neighbour. they may not agree with it idea logically. they don�*t like the actions of the iranian revolution in guard corps but they have to deal with it and they have to deal with it and they need peace in the region and not escalation.— and not escalation. frank, thank you _ and not escalation. frank, thank you so _ and not escalation. frank, thank you so much - and not escalation. frank, thank you so much for- and not escalation. frank, l thank you so much for that. just bring you up—to—date with continuing coverage. israel has launched strikes on iran. blasts have been heard in tehran. the military is saying it was targeting israeli military sites and all its planes have now returned to israel. this is bbc news. hello. we�*ll all see some sunshine at times this weekend. best of which overall will be across england and wales. lots of dry weather to come

here for the vast majority. scotland, northern ireland — whilst there will be some sun, also expect some wet and windy weather more especially during the afternoons of tomorrow and indeed, today. and today�*s wet weather comes courtesy of this bank of cloud, which earlier in the day was to the northwest of the country. also a finger of cloud, just extending out to france and towards central and eastern england. it�*s continuing to nudge its way eastwards, but will still produce the odd spot of light rain here and there. then lots of sunshine, light winds to the south and the west, making it feel quite pleasant. more of a breeze blowing across scotland and northern ireland and whilst east of scotland, dry and reasonably sunny west of scotland, northern ireland, it�*s here where the rain will become extensive this afternoon. heaviest in the highlands and islands, 11 to 12 degrees under that rain band, 13 to 16 elsewhere, so feeling reasonably warm for late october. rain this evening, then eastern scotland overnight through parts of northern england, north and west wales for a time. but a weather front, with its cloud and outbreaks of rain, fizzles out to virtually nothing as it heads towards southern england and south wales. but what it does do,

it introduces widely colder conditions thank last night. scotland, northern ireland a touch of frost tomorrow, but a sunny start again before cloud and rain starts to push in from the west. england and wales, though a lot more sunshine more widely through sunday will be a very pleasant day, although later on the cloud increases. north west england, isle of man, north and west wales too. and temperatures, after that chillier start, not as high as today. ii to ia celsius about average. now, as we go into the evening, rain will extend across the rest of scotland into northern england, north and west wales. that pushes its way southwards for monday and fizzling out a little bit. there�*s going to be a lot of cloud around on monday. a few brighter breaks to the east of high ground, but outbreaks of rain or drizzle possible just about anywhere. it will be milder again though, even with that cloud — 13 to 16 or 17. the general highs. quick glimpse into next week. high pressure is going to be more dominant, especially to the south and later into the west. that�*s going to keep things largely dry for much of the week. bit of rain at times in the far north of scotland.

what i will say though — temperatures dropping later in the week, return of overnight frost and some of the mornings could still be quite misty and foggy. sunset as well will be an hour earlier. and that�*s because tonight we set back those clocks one hour. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines. iran says it is entitled and obliged to defend itself

after it was bombarded by israel overnight but it also that it recognises its �*responsibilities towards regional peace and security�*. if the regime in iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we would be obligated to respond. our message is clear. the us and uk call for restraint, urging iran against hitting back, in an attempt to dismantle the cycle of violence. the pentagon says the us was aware of israel�*s plans but it had no involvement in the strikes. iran should not respond. we will continue to work with allies to de—escalate the situation across the region. now on bbc news. covid vaccine: fighting for a payout. the astrazeneca covid

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