our chief internndional correst lyse doucet has more. lyse: this morning in the gulf, the first oil tankers set abla, ignited by an explosio crew members on this norwegian ssel were rescued by a passing cargo ship. these scenes filmed by iran's navy. an hour later, another tanker, japanesewned, hit by an explosion. it is still not clear what caused these latest atin one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. today in washington, unequivocal undemnation of iran. sec. pompeo: therovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by iran. lyse: the attacks took placee cl the strategic strait of hormuz, vital to world trade,io where te have been mounting for months between regional rivals. on one side there are arab states including key u.s. allies in the gulf. on the other side is iran. at the narrowest point, the strait of hormuz is 21 miles wide, and there are two lanes for tankers to pass in opposite directions. a fi

the bbc's chief international correspondent lyse doucet starts our coverage. lyse: america builds its case the u.s. military says their deo shows iran's islamic revolutionary guards removing a mine from thstricken tanker. their photos of the ship's hahull shows wthey say is the mind that didn'txpde and the damage from one that did. one of two attacks on tankers in the gulf on thursday. others concluding the u.n., calling for an investigation -- others, includinthe u.n., are calling for an investigation for the but this morning president trump took to his favorite tv show to say that iran is to blame. pres. trump: well, iran to do it u know they did it becau you saw the boat. one of the mines didn't explod it has iran written all over it. lyse: tonight britain's foreign secretary back him u jeremy hunt says responsibility lies certainly with iran. iran dens that. the president took aim at the united states. pres. rouhani: the u.s. government has acted against all laws the last two years by adopting an aggressive policyos ig a threat to regional and international

lyse doucet, bbc news. jane: immediately after mr. pompeo accused iran the attacks, my colleague katty kay asked former defense secretary ash carter for his reaction. mr. carter: secretary pompeo said quite clearly we reached the conclusion and he cited e sources that it was the iranians. less -- let us assume that is done. he said as far as the u.s. reaction was concerned that we would continue the political and economic, and interestingly left out military. i assume that was intentional. i myself don't think it would be safe for the iranians to rule out a military component to ther u.ction eventually. clearly were they to take one of the actis he mentioned, action against a u.s. naval vessel, as against a vessel involved in international trade, i'm quite certain that would very quickly result in a s. military response. but secretary pompeo seemed to ping his powder dry in that regar which is appropriate in the early stage of a crisis like this. and he did go some way towards explaining what is otherwise the odd iranian behavi, which

here's our chief international correspondent lyse doucet.his morning in the gulf, a first oil tanker set ablaze, ignited by an explosion. crew members on this norwegian vessel were rescued by a passing cargo ship. these scenes filmed by iran's navy. an hour later, another tanker, japanese owned, also hit by an explosion. it's still not clear what caused these latest attacks in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. today in washington, unequivocal condemnation of iran. these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by iran. the attacks took place close to the strategic strait of hormuz, vital to world trade, where tensions have been mounting for months between regional rivals. on one side there are arab states including key us allies in the gulf. on the other side is iran. at its narrowest point, the strait of hormuz is just 21 miles wide, and there are two lanes for tankers to pass in opposite direction

lyse doucet, bbc news.dent mark lowen is at a port in the united arab emirates on the gulf of oman with more. tension was already very high after tankers were attacked off this port last month. it has eased since then, but now that tension has rocketed back up with the attacks on these two ta n ke rs back up with the attacks on these two tankers yesterday. one of these two tankers yesterday. one of these two tankers, the japanese owned one, is currently being tugged here where it will be assessed when it reaches port. even before that assessment, these barbs and accusations of lying between the two sides. what this has exposed very clearly as the deep chasm, deep divisions in this region. on the one side you have the uae and saudi arabia, backed by the us. on the other you have iran backed up by russia and turkey, and caught quite literally in the middle of the world's oil industry. about one fifth of the world's crude oil passes through these waters. today, the world's largest ship owners association warns

lyse doucet, bbc news.rt in the united arab emirates on the gulf of oman. a further ratcheting up of tension today. what are the fears there? ri two, tension was already very high afterfour ri two, tension was already very high after four tankers were attacked here of this port last month. the tensions have eased, but it has rocketed back up with the attack on the tankers yesterday. the japanese owned tank is currently being tugged here to fujairah, and of course accusations are flying between the sides. what is very clear is the deep chasm, the deep divisions in this region. on the one side you have the uae and saudi arabia, backed up by us. and on the other you have iran, backed up by russia and turkey, the court quite literally in the middle is the world's oil industry. about one fifth of the world's crude oil passes through these waters. today the world's largest ship owner association warned that tension in this region is now as high as it gets without being an actual armed conflict. thank you very muc

here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. america builds its case.s military says their video shows iran's islamic revolutionary guards removing a limpet mine from this stricken tanker. their photos of the ship's hull point to what they say is probably that mine which didn't explode — and the damage from one which did. one of two attacks on oil tankers in the gulf on thursday, which rang the alarm about disruption of oil supplies and the danger of war in this volatile region. others, including the un, are calling for an investigation. but this morning, president trump took to his favourite tv show to say iran's to blame. well, iran did do it, and you know they did it, because you saw the boat. i guess one of the mines didn't explode, and it's probably got, essentially, iran written all over it. tonight, britain's foreign secretary backed him up. jeremy hunt now says responsibility almost certainly lies with iran. iran denies that. at this regional meeting, its president took aim at the united states. translation: the us government has acted against a

here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet.rning in the gulf, a first oil tanker set ablaze, ignited by an explosion. crew members on this norwegian vessel were rescued by a passing cargo ship. these scenes filmed by iran's navy. an hour later, another tanker, japanese owned, also hit by an explosion. it's still not clear what caused these latest attacks in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. today in washington, unequivocal condemnation of iran. these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by iran. the attacks took place close to the strategic strait of hormuz, vital to world trade, where tensions have been mounting for months between regional rivals. on one side there are arab states including key us allies in the gulf. on the other side is iran. at its narrowest point, the strait of hormuz is just 21 miles wide, and there are two lanes for tankers to pass in opposite directions. a f

lyse doucet, bbc news.ou can keep up to date with the latest news, on the tanker attacks in the gulf on the bbc website. you'll also find a feature on the history of the tensions between the us and iran. that's all at bbc.com/news. all you can download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news. the man accused of carrying out the terror attacks in christchurch, new zealand has pleaded not guilty to all 92 charges against him. brenton harrison tarrant appeared by video link at the high court. he's denied 51 charges of murder, a0 charges of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism. the ukrainian captain of the cruise ship that collided with a tourist boat on the river danube, killing 28 people, has been released from police custody. he paid $50,000 bail, and promised to remain in hungary until investigations are complete. the race to lead the conservative party in the uk and become the next prime minister has been cut to 7 people in the first round of voting. borisjohnson, former foreign se

lyse doucet, bbc news.p up—to—date all with the latest news relating to tensions in iran and the middle east on the bbc website. there you will find reaction and analysis from around the world, including maps and films and other reports and articles from correspondents based in the region. that's all at bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. we will of course have more analysis later in the programme from washington. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of venezuelans have rushed to cross the border into peru hours before tough new immigration laws come into force. venezuelan citizens will now need to produce a valid passport with a visa in order to be allowed into the country. a britishjudge has ruled that julian assange will face a 5—day us extradition hearing in february next year. the wikileaks founder is wanted in the united states on charges of publishing government secrets. mr assange spent seven years inside the ecuadorian embassy in london before being handed over to british author

lyse doucet, bbc news.eep up to date all with the latest on this story on our website. there you will find reaction and analysis from around the world, including maps and films and other reports and articles from correspondents based in the region. that's all at bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news. a britishjudge has ruled that julian assange will face a 5—day us extradition hearing in february next year. the wikileaks founder is wanted in the united states on charges of publishing government secrets. mr assange spent seven years inside the ecuadorian embassy in london before being handed over to british authorities by ecuador in april. protests are taking place across brazil as part of a general strike against pension reform plans. striking workers have created roadblocks in several major cities, while some public transport has been shut down. it's the first major strike since the far—right president jair bolsanaro took office injanuary. thousands of venezuelan

lyse doucet, bbc news.dog says that nearly two thirds of the people in england who have bought their homes through the government's help to buy scheme could have purchased a property anyway without help. the scheme, which was introduced in 2013 under david cameron, offers loans of up to 40% of the house price and requires only a 5% deposit. here's our business correspondent coletta smith. help to buy loans are popular — very popular. more than 200,000 people have got a top—up for their mortgage for a new—build home. hayley is one of them. for us to be able to buy this, yeah, it was huge. we've no reason to move. this could be our forever home. the government's spending watchdog has now reviewed the whole scheme, and there's a lot to say about the three different groups who've been impacted. the national audit office say nearly two thirds of those who got a loan would have been able to buy a house anyway. that's true for hayley, but she wouldn't have been able to get this house. the houses we were looking at

lyse doucet, bbc news.dog says that nearly two thirds of the people in england who have bought their homes through the government's help to buy scheme could have purchased a property anyway without help. the scheme, which was introduced in 2013 under david cameron, offers loans of up to a0 % of the house price and requires only a five per cent deposit. here's our business correspondent, colletta smith. help to buy loans are popular — very popular. more than 200,000 people have got a top—up for their mortgage for a new—build home. hayley is one of them. for us to be able to buy this, yeah, it was huge. we've no reason to move. this could be our forever home. the government's spending watchdog has now reviewed the whole scheme, and there's a lot to say about the three different groups who've been impacted. the national audit office say nearly two thirds of those who got a loan would have been able to buy a house anyway. that's true for hayley, but she wouldn't have been able to get this house. the houses we w

here's our international correspondent, lyse doucet. cheering saudi arabia in the dock.ritain decides where to sell its arms. but sales to the kingdom, which enable its devastating campaign in yemen, are what has fuelled this legal fight. this ruling is a devastating, devastating critique of uk foreign policy. because what it's shown is that the uk government has been all too happy to put arms exports and arms company profits ahead of the rights and the lives of the people of yemen. a defeat for the government. it says it won't make any new sales, for now. we disagree with the judgment and will seek permission to appeal. alongside this, we are carefully considering the implications of the judgment for decision—making. while will we do this, we will not grant any new licences for export to saudi arabia and its coalition partners, which might be used in the conflict in yemen. today, in london, a defence from a top saudi diplomat. we work closely with the us and with the uk and with us to make sure that we are careful with regards to how the weapons are used. and so the cha

lyse doucet, bbc news. mark is at a port in the united arab, and give us this update. after four tankers were attacked here off the port of... last month. now it's eased slightly since then, but that tension has rocketed back up with the attack on these two tankers yesterday. one of the two tankers, the japanese owned one, is currently being tugged here to... where it will be assessed when it reaches the port. but even before that assessment, course, these barbs and accusations are flying between the two sides. what all of this has exposed, really committee caverns in this region, you have the one side saudi arabia backed up by the us, on the other, you have iran, backed up by russia and turkey, and cross quite literally in the middle is the worlds oil industry, about a fifth of the world's crude oil passes through these waters. today, the world's largest ship owners association warned that tension in this region is now as high as it gets without being an actual armed conflict. mark, you are watching bbc news, the headlines. the front runner for the tory leadership, bo

here's our international correspondent, lyse doucet. cheering saudi arabia in the dock.arms. but sales to the kingdom, which enable its devastating campaign in yemen, are what has fuelled this legal fight. this ruling is a devastating, devastating critique of uk foreign policy. because what it's shown is that the uk government has been all too happy to put arms exports and arms company profits ahead of the rights and the lives of the people of yemen. a defeat for the government. it says it won't make any new sales, for now. we disagree with the judgment andwill seek permission to appeal. alongside this, we are carefully considering the implications of the judgment for decision—making. while will we do this, we will not grant any new licences for export to saudi arabia and its coalition partners, which might be used in the conflict in yemen. today, in london, a defence from a top saudi diplomat. we work closely with the us and with the uk and with us to make sure that we are careful with regards to how the weapons are used. and so the charges that saudi arabia is reckless