lyse doucet in cabot, thank you.g from the us secretary of state and president trump. president trump says the us has 52 targets. international law says it is illegal to target cultural sites and could be seen as a war crime. speaking on american tv in the past hour, the us secretary of state mike pompeo clarified washington's position. the american people should know that every time we stroke will be lawful target. trump has been diligent about that. he does not want war, he isa about that. he does not want war, he is a reluctant participant in this but he will never shy away from protecting america. it is interesting, jane, the language we are hearing now. we are starting to get feeling around the questions of legality about what has taken place. the legality has been questioned in america from the start. we have been hearing words about whether or not this was an assassination which was illegal or a targeted killing which is what the white house says it was, but now we have the situation complicated by donald trum

let's go to lyse doucet, the bbc's chief international correspondent. lyse: i wasth there a moment. the crackle of electricity in the room, the diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy after talks, haainstaking finally succeeded. look at the expressions on their faces. noit is hanging by a thread. ros: and the amount of effort that went into that deal helps us understandhe angst these e3 feel about triggering the mechanism. hours of negotiation, and they brought scientists to dealith this as well. iranian and american scientistss bethey knew this had to be a deal which was watertight. are compromises, because that is the nature of a deal. both sides have to get it but of course predent trump's adnistration has empcisized the decies of the deal rather than the strengths of the deal. it is interesting listening to boris johnson's comments, because the fact that he said, oh,t is a deal done by president obama, which is one of the main reasons president trump doesn't liket. president trump from the beginning said "i will do a better deal." many ask how long will that take come and can you real

lyse doucet, thank you. prime minister, scott morrison, has warned that the bush fires emergency could last for months and that a new recovery agency will help those who've lost homes or businesses. some of the worst fires are in australia's most populous state, new south wales, where clive myrie is now. clive. good evening. so much of the landscape here has been transformed by these devastating fires. this area of nowra, where we are at the moment, resembles a first world war battlefield with so many of the trees blackened and charred and the earth scorched and that heavy, acrid smell of smoke hanging in the air. temperatures have come down a little, providing a bit of respite for the emergency services but they are expected to spike well over a0 degrees towards the end of the week. that leaves the fear that scores of fires could merge into one huge disaster which could claim more lives. look at that road. this bushfire season is like no other in modern australian history. i mean, this is unprecedented, wha

lyse doucet, thank you.ke to dr renad mansour, a senior research fellow in the middle east programme and project director of the iraq initiative at chatham house — a foreign affairs think—tank. i asked him what he thinks could happen next after iraqi mps passed a non—binding resolution calling forforeign troops to leave. this resolution, i would say, is more political messaging, political signalling. everyone is expecting a response, a retaliation, almost revenge for what happened and the iraqi government, and in particular the iraqi prime minister wanted to come out immediately with some kind of response, and barring the kind of security, it has wider implications on many levels. this is the first time, if it goes through, that the iraqi government is foretelling, forcing american troops to leave their territory. until now, there was a small group of iraqi politicians close to iran who would constantly be saying this but it was often thought that many of the other sides understood the importance that the us

that was lyse doucet, our chief international correspondent.a ke international correspondent. i want to take you live to iran. this is friday prayers in a mosque. it is just past midday in tehran. that is a cleric talking to the congregation. earlier, you could see genuine mourning and tears from many people who are listening to the imam giving friday prayers. let's bring in the professor of international relations at the london school of economics and the author of making the arab world. where does this leave us? so many questions. this could be something that brings about a cataclysmic reaction in the region. by all measures, this is a declaration of war by the trump administration against iran. that is how it will be seen in iran and that is how it will be seen throughout the region. the enemies of iran will see it as such and celebrate, and iranian allies are probably planning retaliation. it is a massive escalation on the part of the trump administration. the escalation is based on the idea that it will likely deter iran. in fact, i doubt

thank you very much, lyse doucet live in cobble for us.stralia, nearly 3000 army reserve troops are being called up to help fight the bushfires burning across the country. australian fire chiefs have warned that high winds and soaring temperatures could potentially push fires into heavily populated areas this weekend. since late september, 23 people have died and land more than twice the size of wales has been burnt. shaimaa khalil reports. the hellish combination of high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions have made some of these fires too vast to control. a relentless battle for the firefighters. in victoria, as the blazes continue to rage, evacuees from mallacoota were getting ready to board the navy ship taking them to safety. a moment of relief after a harrowing few days stranded in the fire—ravaged town. the prime minister, scott morrison, has said 3000 reserve troops will be deployed to help tackle the raging bushfires across the country. the first time this has happened in australia's history. we have seen this disaster e

let's talk to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet in kabul.as in iran. and why he was such an important figure. anyone with any knowledge of the middle east knew about qasem soleimani, huge myths swirl around him, this shadowy commander who seemed to appear on the front lines, taking selfies with his troops, seemed to be the hidden hand august trading operations involving a proxy, a network of proxy militias across the region that he himself helped create both in iraq, lebanon, syria, he used fighters from afghanistan where i am now. and so he was regarded, for iran, the most powerful military figure in the region, cia officials have been quoted as saying he was the most important operative in this region. which is why on more than one occasion, both the united states and israel contemplated a targeted killing against him but then decided that it was simply far too risky. he is not just a that it was simply far too risky. he is notjust a military man, an intelligence man, is also a senior political figure intelligence man, is also a senior pol

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in afghanistan.he potential consequences. iran is vowing revenge. what kind of retaliation could there be? well, 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 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 be through some of its many proxies across this region, possibly in iraq, where there are us forces, us targets, where i am now coming in afghanistan, where us forces are also based. but given iran's vast intelligence network, it could also ta ke intelligence network, it could also take place in another corner of the world, farfrom take place in another corner of the world, far from iran's take place in another corner of th

was ‘an extremely he wrote on twitter: let's speak now to our chief international correspondent, lyse doucete iran likely response this? you just quoted the foreign minister zarif who want of a dangerous and foolish escalation. he's called it an act of international terrorism. of course, the complete the opposite view of the complete the opposite view of the pentagon which is saying they targeted qasem soleimani to deter iran's future attacks and it involves him responsible for the deaths of hundreds of american soldiers and many other lives in the middle east. the response of iran are starting very slowly, very diplomatically. it is already summoned the swiss envoy in the iranian capital. it is the swiss embassy which represents the american in interest since united states closed its embassy after the iranian revolution in 1979. there is also a top meeting taking place in tay run right now to discuss what options will be next but it is widely believed this will escalate what is already an extremely tense and volatile situation in the middle east, a major crisis between iran and the united s

here's our chief international correspondent lyse doucet.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. 0u

let's speak now to our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. thank you forjoining us., there is. how significant is the story, do you think, for us — iran relations and the region at large? it is impossible to exaggerate the significance of the killing of qasem soleimani, the head of iran's elite quds force. there is already a major and growing crisis between iran and the us, which is playing out in an ever more volatile region. the killing of their top commander for iran would have been a red line. in iran would have been a red line. in iran he is regarded as the most significant personality beneath iran's all—powerful supreme leader, ayatolla h iran's all—powerful supreme leader, ayatollah muhammad ali. there are so many ways in which qasem soleimani has been described in the middle east, and certainly by cia officials, as the most powerful operative in the region. he was seen as the mastermind between iran's vast regional ambitions, one of the principal architects of the war in syria, one of the ongoing conflicts in iraq, and iran's ambitions right across the region

lyse doucet is our chief international correspondent. shejoins us now from kabul. welcome.has said it will roll back on any nuclear deal commitments. we know that donald trump walked away from this deal in 2018 so what do you think iran means by this? it is not as dramatic as it was first reported. it seemed to apply -- it first reported. it seemed to apply —— it seemed to imply that iran was com pletely —— it seemed to imply that iran was completely abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal but the detail say something else. this is the fifth step that iran has taken to play kids —— break its commitments under the deal. the foreign minister said this was the last step. the bargain in the deal was that iran would limit its enrichment of uranium under its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, many of them by the us. now it has said there are no limits to oururanium now it has said there are no limits to our uranium enrichment, but it did not, as was feared, names, for example, 20% enrichment. it has kept open the possibility of either escalating or de—escalating

thank you. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kabul.oviet revenge but what kind of retaliation could that be? —— severe revenge but it has many means and many weight and it could retaliate butjudging by its past military operations, we expect it will try to carefully calibrate its response. it will be a retaliation in equal measure to what it has described as the us‘s declaration of war but not so spectacular that it draws a run into a direct military confrontation with the united states which could set this entire region on a dangerous and unpredictable cycle of escalation. its next move could be carried out by proxy militias in a country like iraq where there are us forces and other us targets. it could take place in somewhere like afghanistan where i am now, next door to iran where there are thousands of us and other nato forces based. it could also, given the vast reach of iran's intelligent networks, take place farfrom iranian borders in another part of the world. iran will certainly want to carry out an operation which will shock

bbc news. let's pick up on some of those points now with our chief international correspondent, lyse douceteat agreement on the fact that this is a high—risk strategy. great agreement on the fact that this is a high-risk strategy. you have heard the warnings from iran's top political and military officials, that there will be a crushing response of severe retaliation, in the words of the supreme retaliation, in the words of the supreme leader of iran, the big question now is when will i ran respond and how will it respond to? it will certainly be a moment of its own choosing, and if wejudge by iran's previous operations in the region, including all of last year, when there was escalating tensions, iran will try to have what it will see as a carefully calibrated response. in other words, retaliation which is in equal measure to what it has described as an act of war by the united states, but it will also not want to be drawn into a direct military confrontation with america, and sent iran in the region into a dangerous and unpredictable spire of escalation. so, its next move could be through

the bbc‘s chief international correspondent lyse doucet was there in 2015 when the deal was signed.in the room, the diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy, after years of painstaking talks had finally succeeded. but that the expressions on theirfaces. and now it's completely hanging by a thread. and the amount of effort that went into that deal, i guess it helps us understand the angst, the use of e3 feel about not triggering this mechanism. yes, the hours and hours of negotiation and they brought scientists to deal with this as well. the iranian and american scientists because they needed this but on the radio which was watertight and president obama said these deals are compromises because that's the nature of a beer. —— deal. both sides have to give but of course president trump's administration has emphasised that decisions of that year my dad than the strengths of video and it's interesting listening to borisjohnson‘s comments because the fact that he said it's a deal done by president obama which is one of the main reasons why president trump does not like it. president trump in th

earlier i spoke to our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet.s the killing of qassim solemani has had a rallying effect in iran. i think people are watching with great interest what is unfolding on the streets, major cities of iran and it isn't even the day of the final burial, this isjust the and it isn't even the day of the final burial, this is just the first of three days and even in areas which were the flash points for unprecedented protests in iran, against the government, against people like qasem soleimani, today it said millions and millions of people have flooded into the streets across iran to mourn him on tojoin iranians in condemning this killing of qasem soleimani so it has had an extraordinary effect of blowback in that it came at a time when the iranian leadership was facing significant dissent at home but at the moment it seems to have rallied iranians and across the region there has been some very important developments today. first of all, we've heard the first reaction from the leader of lebanese hezbollah, his first reactio

operations against so—called islamic state of iraq and syria. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucets interesting to see some calling for de—escalation, as one would expect, but others recognising that this escalation that has been going on in recent weeks between iran and the united states has now moved into a different game entirely. no one, most of all the people of the wider region, andi most of all the people of the wider region, and i am in afghanistan, which is also potentially going to be drawn into this expecting escalation, nobody wants another war in the middle east. president trump has said that repeatedly or through 2019. that is why we are still hearing voices today, we had a statement from the british foreign secretary calling for de—escalation. everyone knows how much suffering, how much of a price will be paid if there is an all—out confrontation between iran and the united states and even if there is a proxy war carried out either in iraq or here in afghanistan, where there are us forces, or in lebanon, anywhere where there is a network of the proxy militias that qa

we're joined now by our chief intenational correspondent lyse doucet, who is in kabul.if you could, of the significance of this killing?m you want to think of this in british terms, it would be the equivalent of having the head of m16, the chief of the armed forces and downing street's top national security adviser killed at once. that was customs of the money. his official job was to had iran's elite could force, the external wing of iran's revolutionary guard corps. —— force, the external wing of iran's revolutionary guard corps. -- quds force. he was basically responsible for the revolutionary guard's activities outside of iran, which made him the mastermind of iran's ambitions across the middle east. he has been the principal architect of all the complex iran was involved m, all the complex iran was involved in, from the war in syria, the war in iraq, he campaigned against islamic state and many conflicts beyond. and inside iran he was regarded as the most powerful personality just below iran's supreme personality just below iran's supreme leader. from iran this mor

we can speak now to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. on their way to the region, but we are also getting state m e nts the region, but we are also getting statements from britain, from germany, from the european union, from many other saying please, the region cannot afford another war, we must urge restraint, and you heard president trump saying we did not do this to start a war, we killed qasem soleimani to end a war, in other words they are accusing him of being in the process of organising more attacks against american targets, against american personnel in the region. there is a fear in the region, an already volatile region, where tensions kept escalating last year, thenjust at where tensions kept escalating last year, then just at the moment where the region seemed to be on the brink of another confrontation, the tensions would subside, now the tensions would subside, now the tensions have been ratcheted up again, and! tensions have been ratcheted up again, and i think it is anyone's guess as to what happens next. yes, just lookin

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is here. have been trying to keep the deal alive but iran said you are not doing enough, even though europeans protested it is hard. this was coming, especially iran in the last year has taken five steps away from the deal, including the last one in which it says, there are no more limits on our enrichment of uranium to make into nuclear processing. the europeans had no choice. but they have been clear, they don't want to join the maximum pressure of the united states, the pale sanctions on iran, they want a fight in the crisis in the middle east and they are going to try to make this work. the door of diplomacy has not shot and there is the threat. british prime minister borisjohnson seems to be opening the door towards washington. thinking the answer is going to be with donald trump. what ever the prime minister said today is music to president trump's is. donald trump has made it clearfrom the beginning and across the board, he doesn't like anything that has president obama's name on it so

correspondent gary 0'donoghue in washington but first let's speak to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet this point that president trump is trying to make, that this was a defensive, pre—emptive strike, this charge that qasem soleimani was responsible for killing or wounding thousands, he says, of americans, is there any evidence for that? qasem soleimani was generally seen by the united states as their most cunning adversary when american troops were on the ground in greater numbers in iraq. he was certainly seen as being the force between the unprecedented attacks by pro—iranian militia in the iraqi capital of baghdad in recent days. this was the first detailed message we have received from president trump as to why he personally ordered the targeted killing of qasem soleimani but there have been slightly different version given throughout the day by the secretary of defence mark esper and the secretary of state, mike pompeo, who talked about future threats against american personnel in the region, others talked about current threats, ongoing, that were notjust in iraq but the wider re