growing calls for de—escalation from around the world. egypt, qatar, the us, and uk are among countries urging iran to show restraint. iran should not respond. we will continue to work with allies to de—escalate the situation across the region. cheering. in other news, with less than two weeks to go until the us election, beyonce endorse kamala harris�* bid to become president. i am not here as a celebrity. i am not here as a politician. i am here as a mother. cheering. hello, i'm martine croxall. israel has fired missiles into iran overnight, saying it hit military targets in the country. in the last few hours,

iran's foreign ministry responded to the attacks, saying it's entitled and obligated to defend itself against what it called external aggressive acts but also said it recognised its responsibilities towards regional peace and security. it said two of its soldiers had been killed in the attacks. israel says the strikes were on 20 military and missile manufacturing sites by three waves of fighter jets, with some reports of up to 100 israeli jets involved. the specific locations of the attacks are yet to be confirmed but iran's state media said sites in the capital tehran and in the provinces of ilam and khuzestan in the south west of the country were targeted. these pictures show iran's air defense system working to intercept israeli missiles as they head over the iranian capital. according to the pentagon, the us was briefed on the strikes beforehand, but didn't have any involvement in the operation.

both britain and the united states have urged iran not to strike back. russia says an explosive escalation in hostilities risked spiralling out of control. qatar expressed deep concern about the serious repercussions that may result. here's sebastian usher from jerusalem with the latest. weeks of anticipation ended as israel launched its retaliation on iran, lighting up the skies over tehran. waves of israeli strikes targeted military sites. the israeli army said it had aimed at facilities that produce the missiles that have been fired at israel. the idf said it had accomplished its mission after several hours and delivered another strong warning to iran. translation: if the regime in iran were to make - the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we would be obliged to respond. all those threatening israel will pay a heavy price. on the streets of the iranian capital, some expressed

their growing nervousness over the situation. translation: i was working a night shift, and at work - we heard the sound of cannon fire and explosion. in fact, the sound echoed across the sky. it was a terrible and horrifying sound. translation: war is frightening. - everyone has concerns about what happens during a war. the harms of war worry everyone, but i don't believe a terrible war will happen in iran. that sense of trepidation is also being felt here in israel for weeks, where many fear that the showdown with iran could embroil the country ever deeper in a dangerous cycle of escalation, a concern also voiced by the prime minister. i am clear that israel has the right to defend itself against iranian aggression. i'm 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. the iranian foreign ministry has said the country is entitled and obliged to defend itself. the israeli strikes were in direct response to iran's ballistic missile attack at the start of the month. the ball is now back in iran's court. following israel's retaliatory strike on iran overnight, let's remind you of how we got here. tensions rose in lebanon last month when at least 32 people were killed and thousands injured in lebanon, as dozens of hand—held devices like pagers and walkie—talkies — some owned by members of hezbollah, a group backed by iran — spontaneously exploded. ten days later, hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah was assassinated in israeli airstrikes on southern beirut in lebanon.

three days later, israeli tanks crossed the border into southern lebanon — opening up a new offensive in the conflict. within hours, iran had launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards israel. most were intercepted by israel's air defences, but mr netanyahu vowed then that israel would respond. two weeks later, the leader of hamas, yahya sinwar — who masterminded the 7th october attacks on israel — was killed in a chance encounter with israeli forces in rafah in southern gaza. it's seen as israel's biggest victory so far in its war against hamas. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell gave us her assessment from jerusalem. it was very carefully calibrated, this response, and it does seem that israel heeded the warnings from its closest allies, the us, not to hit iran's most sensitive site, its nuclear site, its oil production facilities because that could have had a big knock

effect economically and it really could have tipped the region into a full—scale regional war. we have had, you know, iran coming out, saying that it is going to respond to what happened, and we've got one of the semi—official news agency is talking about a proportional response the iranians are really saying that israel broke international humanitarian law here. but when they are thinking about what to do next, i mean, i will be reflecting, the iranian leadership them on the fact that this was limited damage with two soldiers killed, they say, but they know that israel has the capabilities to have done much more major damage inside iran. there have been these warnings coming from the us as well, really saying that now the strikes and counter strikes between these two countries, the direct fire has to stop. so, what is there in the way of international support for israel?

i mean, we've had strong messages of support from the likes of the us, which was kept very much aware of what was going on, it said that it was told about israel's operation in advance but did not take part in it. they have been defending, along with the uk and others, israel's right they say to defend itself against what is seen as iranian aggression. now, that said, within the region you get a very different reaction. you've got the likes of saudi arabia talking about how this was a violation of iranian sovereignty, a lot of condemnation of israel, and jordan, a neighbouring country, making clear that its airspace was not used to carry out this attack, it says. let's get some reaction from the us. 0ur north america correspondent rowan bridgejoins us from washinton dc.

what has the white house said about these strikes by israel? we had a briefing from a senior administration official late last night, and they have viewed these as what they call precision and precise strikes on military targets, so i think there will be a level of relief within the administration over where israel has targeted. they have clearly been putting pressure particularly and privately on the israelis about the risk of attacking nuclear installations or oil installations. and the risk that that could escalate the situation in the middle east. they are clearly hoping, from the language that was being used, that this will draw a line under this skirmish, if you like, between iran and israel. the ball somewhat is in iran's court but the americans have been asking countries to put pressure on iran not to respond to the israeli dry, and they have been warning the iranians that there will be, in

their words, consequences, they do take any further action, and i have also been stressing their willingness to look at their willingness to look at the solution to the problems within lebanon and gaza as a kind of carrot as well as a stick of warning of consequences of —— if iran takes retaliatory action. consequences of -- if iran takes retaliatory action. what would that — takes retaliatory action. what would that look _ takes retaliatory action. what would that look like, - takes retaliatory action. what would that look like, response from the united states, if iran takes by that measure is? the? takes by that measure is? they have been _ takes by that measure is? they have been ambiguous - takes by that measure is? they have been ambiguous as - takes by that measure is? they have been ambiguous as to - takes by that measure is? tie: have been ambiguous as to what that would look like, i suspect deliberately so because they don't want to lay their cards on the table. they have put in place extra sanctions in on iran following the 180 missile strikes on israel back at the start of the month but they have been vague, in terms of what they would mean by consequences, if iran did take any retaliatory action. rowan, thank you _ any retaliatory action. rowan, thank you very _ any retaliatory action. rowan, thank you very much, - any retaliatory action. rowan, thank you very much, rowan l thank you very much, rowan bridge, in washington. let's speak to alex vatanka, director of the iran program at the middle east institute in washington.

thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. how different has the response being between iran and israel to what we have seen overnight?— overnight? great to be with ou. overnight? great to be with you- look. _ overnight? great to be with you. look, the _ overnight? great to be with you. look, the biggest- overnight? great to be with you. look, the biggest sort| overnight? great to be with i you. look, the biggest sort of difference is that i can pick up difference is that i can pick up immediately is that last time israel hit back at iran in april, for a long time iranians officials denied that such a israeli operation had happened. not so much this time. clearly, if you were following iranian media, they were essentially reporting alive, saying the israeli attack is happening as we speak, they are targeting certain sites, but it is not going to be something that is going to be something that is going to be devastating. that was the message, and i think it was the message, and i think it was more aimed at showing that iran is strong and to say to the iranian public that everything is under control. but it will no doubt have been shocking to see these scenes in

tehran, which people there haven't witnessed since the iran iraq war.— haven't witnessed since the iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have — iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have to _ iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have to go _ iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have to go back- iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have to go back to - iran iraq war. absolutely. you really have to go back to the i really have to go back to the 19805 really have to go back to the 1980s when the iraqi air force were targeting cities like tehran. this is a new era for the islamic republic. essentially, a government that for the last 45 years has chosen to have this ideological foreign policy with enmity towards israel at the top of its list. but a long time, the islamic republic could say to the people of iran that this is a fight against israel that has been fought out of there in lebanon, in syria, in gaza, and now that is lying on the case, the fighting is actually happening over the skies of tehran, and this, one has to wonder, has the potential to maybe, if you are hopeful, change the calculating of the iranian regime and give them reason to perhaps think some of their strategic foreign policy is that they have stuck to over the last few decades.-

is that they have stuck to over the last few decades. how might iran miaht the last few decades. how might iran might be — the last few decades. how might iran might be giving _ the last few decades. how might iran might be giving itself - the last few decades. how might iran might be giving itself of - iran might be giving itself of way out of not retaliating, even though it says it is obligatory to do so? the first thin to obligatory to do so? the first thing to watch _ obligatory to do so? the first thing to watch out _ obligatory to do so? the first thing to watch out for, - obligatory to do so? the first thing to watch out for, and i thing to watch out for, and again it is early days, is to see what will come out of the supreme leader. the last two rounds in iranian retaliation is followed when he came out and very explicitly said there will be retaliation, iran will hit back. we haven't had that yet, again early days, let's see what comes out of iran in the next few days. but so far, i haven't seen a single iranians see official that would suggest they would do what they did on october the 1st when they fired the 181 ballistic missiles towards israel. �* ., ~ ., israel. alex, thank you for our israel. alex, thank you for your time- _ people in georgia are voting in what many see as one of the most important parliamentary elections since independence from the soviet union more than 30 years ago.

these are live pictures of people casting their ballots in many —— one is that many polling stations that has opened up. the georgian dream party — which has governed for 12 years — is hoping to extend its hold on power. it's being challenged by a number of opposition groupings who accuse georgian dream of jeopardising moves to join the european union — and adopting increasingly pro—russian policies. these are the live pictures from the polling station in the capital tbilisi. less than two hours now before the vote is over. 0ur south caucasus and central asia correspondent, rayhan demytrie, sent us this update from a polling station. georgian citizens are electing their new parliament, and this parliamentary election has been described as the most consequential for the country's european future. the choice that the voters have is between the incumbent georgian dream party, in powerfor the past 12 years, which has campaigned with the message that this election is about a choice between war and peace,

suggesting that a vote for opposition would undermine this country's peace and stability. while the opposition is represented by four pro—western coalitions, and they have accused the incumbent georgian dream of pushing pro—kremlin policies here in georgia. and they're saying that a choice is between georgia's future as part of the european union or with russia. tina khidasheli is the former defence minister of georgia, and a member of the pro—eu georgia's republican party. she gave us her take on these elections and what to expect. it is two hours before the polls close and the turnout is really high, which was one of the biggest hope is that we had,

that lots of people would understand the urgency and importance of this vote. but the problems we are expecting, and right now i am in front of a polling station in a minority populated village in eastern georgia is that the government will try by all means to manipulate. all morning, all day, we have been finding in these polling stations for not allowing people with fake ids, fake passports to enter and vote on behalf of others who are not in georgia, who are not right now in the country and the government obviously... that is one of the major concerns, that if the observers are not up to the standards and are not ready to be very strict and very clear at the polling stations, then we might get lots of people voting for the others, lots of fraud, lots of fake ids. how split is the sentiment in georgia, then, given that

many people do not want to provoke any conflict with moscow, even if they are not necessarily leaning towards russia? nobody wants to provoke conflict with moscow. we have witnessed the experience, we have lived through three different wars over the years and georgia knows first—hand what is the quality of war, how it ends, what happens with their families, nobody wants a war with russia. but we also understand that there is no other safeguard for georgia than being very closely tied up with nato, the european union, with our western allies, to have them safeguarding our freedom and our democracy. maybe not everybody but a big majority of people in georgia share this sentiment, that we need to do everything possible and impossible as well, to get closer to the european union and nato as soon as possible.

the last polls or any poll that was ever conducted in georgia for 30 years is 85% grateful for european union and nato, so it speaks for the sentiment in the country, it speaks for the desperate desire of 85% of people want to be with the european union, and this vote is exactly about that. for the first time in 30 years, georgia actually faces a serious problem of turning back to russia and putin's world, and i hope that our country will not allow for that to happen. a rally of supporters of prominent far—right activist tommy robinson has begun in central london but mr robinson himself isn't attending because he's been detained by police since friday.

at least 3,000 people are outside downing street after mr robinson announced on his x page that he was "coming home to unite the kingdom once again." the 41—year—old is in police custory charged with terrorism offences after refusing to tell police the code to access his mobile phone. meanwhile, a counter protest is also taking place at piccadilly with people against the far right and welcoming refugee communities. with marc edwards. now it's time for a look at today's sport with marc edwards. england have a suffered a chastening nine—wicket defeat in rawalpindi to give a resurgent pakistan a 2—1 series win. yet again, it was the hosts's spinners noman ali and sajid khan, who combined to dismiss england for 112 all out, their lowest ever total in pakistan. it left them needing just 36, as they secured their first home series win in almost four years. but it's a third test loss in four matches for stokes and his side. the last couple of tests we have been thrown some challenges.

i think it is pretty easy to assess that we weren't able to stand up to those challenges thrown at us. but the great thing about sport is that those challenges are always going to come along. throughout this tour, and in particular the last two games, we weren't able to match what pakistan had thrown at us. we have another challenge in new zealand so we need to put behind the disappointment of these last two games and move on to new zealand. we just thought if we could stay — we just thought if we could stay calm, be patient, sometimes, you know, when you play against england the game can move quickly and be chaotic, _ can move quickly and be chaotic, so we just felt if we could — chaotic, so we just felt if we could stay calm and patient, things— could stay calm and patient, things could work in our favour. _ things could work in our favour, and we are fortunate that — favour, and we are fortunate that these last two test matches have worked out for us. new zealand created history by winning a test series in india for the first time.

mitchell santner was their star bowler in pune. he took six wickets, including the key one of virat kohli. india were chasing 359 to win but finished well short, all out for 245. it means the black caps end india's unbeaten home record that's lasted for 12 years, taking an unassailble 2—0 lead in the three test series. four games are under way in the premier league. manchester city are at home to southampton and a win will take them top with leaders liverpool playing arsenal tomorrow. they lead 1—0 through erling haaland. elsewhere, fourth—placed aston villa host bournemouth 0—0, newly—promoted ipswich are looking for their first win of the season at brentford 0—0, brighton can break into the top four with a win against bottom—side wolves 0—0. later, everton are at home to fulham. it's the biggest game in spanish football later on saturday as real madrid host barcelona in el clasico. champions real madrid

are the one's that trail their rivals currently in the league. they're three points behind the catalans and will be hoping kylian mbappe shines in his first clasico. they will need to stop robert lewandowski who tops the scoring charts in la liga with 12 goals. it's also hansi flick�*s first taste of the fixture since taking charge of barca in the summer. when you play football, you want to play el clasico but it is the real clasico. in germany, we have some they call the clasico but it is not like this, real against barca, so it is el clasico and everyone is happy and they have to enjoy it. to enjoy it, you have to work hard, and we will do that. two south koreans are leading the way heading into the final round at the genesis championship in incheon on the dp world tour. tom kim's round had a bit

of everything with a double bogey and an eagle in it. he finished with a 5—under par round of 67 to put him on 12—under overall. that's tied at the top with 0lympics team—mate ben an who shot one under for his third round. and that's all the sport for now. superstar performer beyonce, alongside former bandmate kelly rowland, has endorsed kamala harris, in the us election at a campaign event in texas last night. as the race for the white house enters its final stages, donald trump is also campaigning in the traditionally republican state. 0ur north america correspondent, emma vardy, has more. # tell me how you feel about this...# - entering the stage as the presidential race nears its final act, beyonce is the latest musical icon to bring her star power to the kamala harris campaign.

i'm not here as a celebrity. i'm not here as a politician. i'm here as a mother. a mother who cares deeply about the world. deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in. a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. kamala harris came to texas to put a spotlight on one issue in particular. abortion has been one of the most divisive subjects of this election, and texas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the us. kamala harris has promised to guarantee women's rights to abortion nationwide if she wins the presidency. we are fighting for an america where no matter who you are or where you live, you can make decisions about your own body for yourself. so moving forward, all of this

is to say reproductive freedom is on the ballot in this presidential election. and in 10 states around the country, including arizona, florida and nevada. and with the work of everyone here, freedom will win. freedom will win. meanwhile, also in texas, donald trump has been on his most comfortable electoral terrain, visiting austin to return to his favourite campaign talking point — illegal immigration. over the past four years, this state has become kamala's staging ground to import her army of migrant gangs and illegal alien criminals into every state in america. this is what's going _ on in springfield, ohio, right? during the campaign, donald trump has cancelled some traditional broadcast interviews in favour of other media appearances. in texas, he spent time recording with america's most popular podcaster, joe rogan, who has a huge and

particularly male following. are we ready to say, madam president? yes! this houston crowd are. but the polls remain extremely close. it's impossible to say who'll be calling on election night with a problem. emma vardy, bbc news, houston, texas. let's remind you of our top story, and there is a tehran and other parts of iran last night by israel, which the israeli defense forces they were in response to months of continuous attacks from iran, and after a barrage of iranian missiles hit israel on the 1st of october. in response, iran is saying it has a right to defend itself. this is bbc news. hello there. the weather's looking pretty mixed this weekend, but i think a lot of places should see some dry and sunny weather. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine around tomorrow for england and wales.

eastern scotland not doing too badly, but we will see most of the wind and rain across scotland and northern ireland both today and tomorrow, and for all areas compared to the last few days, temperatures will be a few degrees down. so this weather front working its way into scotland and northern ireland will bring the heavy rain, the strong winds, whereas further south it should be drier with lighter winds. best of the sunshine towards northern and western england and for wales, a bit more cloud towards the east and south—east, but it should slowly brighten up later in the day. wetter and windy weather, though, pushes into the north—west of scotland and northern ireland and temperature—wise, a few degrees down on the last few days, generally the low to mid—teens. now, that rain in the north and the west sinks southwards across england and wales tonight, but tends to fizzle out as it reaches southern areas, so by the end of the night most places will be dry and clear and a lot chillier. a touch of frost for scotland and northern ireland. a few blustery showers into western scotland. don't forget, clocks go back one hour. so as we start sunday morning it will be chilly. lots of sunshine around and we should see a lot of sunshine in eastern scotland

before the skies start to cloud up generally here for scotland, northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain pushing in during the afternoon. but england and wales will stay dry with lighter winds, plenty of sunshine but a fresher day to come, i think — 10 to 1a degrees. so that's the weekend out of the way. into monday, we've got quite a few weak weather fronts across the country. westerly winds bringing some slightly milder air back in, but there will be a lot of cloud around, i think on monday, with some splashes of rain across central, northern and western areas. glimmers of brightness appearing to the east of higher ground generally, and temperatures will be a little higher — 15, 16, maybe 17 in the brightest spots. as we head into tuesday, we start to this area of high pressure build in, that should kill off most of the weather fronts. the winds turn lighter, so it'll be a little bit of a cloudy, murky start, i think, to tuesday. any splashes of rain across southern england will slowly ease away and then many places will be dry. we should see a bit more sunshine around central, northern and eastern areas, always a bit more cloud towards the west and again feeling quite mild. and we hold on to that settled

theme for the rest of the week. a lot of cloud around. by the end of the week, though, it turns sunnier but colder from the north. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: iran gives its first response to israel's bombardment overnight, saying it's "obligated" to defend itself, but recognises its "responsibilities towards regional

peace" and security. the iranian army said two of its soldiers were killed in the attacks. growing calls for de—escalation are pouring in from around the world. egypt, qatar and the uk are among the countries calling on iran to show restraint and break the cycle of violence. the united states has urged iran not to retaliate. iran should not respond. we will continue to work with allies to de—escalate the situation across the region. more than 29,000 people have arrived in the uk in small boats so far this year, according to the latest home office data. the government says it's working to disrupt people—smuggling gangs. i'm martine croxall. the chancellor is set to increase the national insurance rate for employers in wednesday's budget. rachel reeves is also expected

to bring down the threshold at which businesses start having to pay it.