of general qasem soleimani injanuary in terms of impact?ed in different worlds. fakhrizadeh was the leader of the nuclear weapons programme in iran and qasem soleimani was responsible for iranian operations overseas, special operations. qasem soleimani had a higher profile than mohsen fakhrizadeh. they both contributed significantly to their parallel fields. i think their parallel fields. i think their absence as iran heads into 2021 will be quite missed. if this was israel, what is its long—term strategy here? the israeli goal is twofold. i would say it is more short—term than long—term. there are two time periods. the next two months while president trump is still in office. the goal is when you have a us administration that is as strongly by your side as president trump is, from the israeli point of view, you want to get as many things, as many operations going as possible, and try to degrade as significantly as possible the iranian nuclear programme. you saw that over summer with the attack with the bombing at the nuclear facility, and

future calculations based on their own interests not on the style just for this individual or qasem soleimaniconversations almost exactly plenty of conversations almost exa ctly o n plenty of conversations almost exactly on these lies after the assassination of qasem soleimani, at the time everyone was wondering whether that would change the complexion of the middle east. did it? no, in a nutshell, at least not yet. let us acknowledge the iranians are patient and tragically they are good at what they do, others in the most corrupt and lethal parts of the infrastructure and they may be biding their time, they may be biding their time, they may be biding their time, they may do something in the months and years we do not like. iran will —— has been waiting forjoe biden to win and for politics to move to their advantage. they have a p pa re ntly their advantage. they have apparently been pretty restrained and have not wanted to provoke donald trump or anyone else working with him like prime minister netanyahu. i will expect the iranian cactus will be along those same lines of restraint. a funera

iran vowed to retaliate after america killed major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary.do so. with another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden's already difficult job, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. shahir shahidseles is an iranian foreign policy analyst and an expert on the country's nuclear programme. he gave me his take on the country's reaction so far to the assassination of mohsen fakhrizadeh. rohani is very clear about it, in his analysis, i believe, as a person who has been in the highest security protections for the last several years is very important to take into consideration. h

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january.n's recent progress in its nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden‘s difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. i'm joined now by dennis ross, former us special envoy to the middle east. iran public president says the country will respond in due course. “— country will respond in due course. —— run‘s president lula but that is so dahsa iran's president. that is vague. what president rouhani is someone who would clearly prefer a nonconfrontational approach was not there are those in the revolutionary guard who i think prefer much more of a confrontational approach to the rest of the world because it justifies stricter internal controls on the inside. what is not clear is whether they will do anything at all they will do anything at all the top you are quite right to ask the question when you say they respond in due course, that creates

as you said, the killing of qasem soleimani is a major issue.rump. president trump, a few weeks before the elections went on television saying the first call he will receive would be from the iranians suggesting negotiations. it was not going to happen because it was too humiliating for iran to do that and they couldn't possibly negotiate with someone who killed qasem soleimani. but biden doesn't have that baggage for the iranians and the iranians would like these negotiations to start. the issue is whether president—elect biden would start these negotiations in a few months‘ time or not. but the general feeling is, he might use the pressure of sanctions to extract quite a bit before he agrees to sit down and negotiate with the iranians. see you in istanbul. thanks very much. the transition period between president trump and president—elect joe biden is under way. i‘m joined now by tony fratto, who served as deputy assistant and deputy press secretary to former united states president, george w bush. forgive me for saying, but mr bush, at times,

based on what happened in the killing of qasem soleimani, they obviously retaliated by attacking a u.s in iraq. so that could be on the cards. we just don't know. guy: thank you for the update. really appreciate it. motevalli joining us, covering iran for bloomberg. this is bloomberg. ♪ - i sent your new prescription to the pharmacy. - any idea how much it will cost? - you have a choice. insurance or goodrx. - i have insurance. - insurance is not what it used to be. people struggle to get their prescription covered and prices keep rising. i recommend goodrx. you get free coupons to save on your prescriptions. - [narrator] compare prices to get the best discounts. - goodrx, smart. - [narrator] stop paying too much for your prescriptions. download the free app today. guy: we are wrapping up the session and we are wrapping up the week -- nearly wrapping up the month. we leave that for monday. let's talk about the sessions in your. much of the u.s. is out. -- the sessions in europe. much of the u.s. is out. up .4%. 3.93 is where the stoxx 600 is. awful close to the 400 line. that was a big

the most significant assassination carried out in iran this year was of qasem soleimani, and that wasy the united states, so there are other possibilities in this field. >> the timing of this is raising eyebrows. iran says it thinks the u.s. knew about this and mike pompeo was just in israel. is there anything connecting these ts. >> it was not just that he was here. it was an important and unusual visit to the israeli prime minister. benjamin netanyahu went to saudi arabia and spoke there. the current saudi arabian leader, mike pompeo representing donald trump's government, and benjamin netanyahu. i know there are concerns about what will happen during this period. normally there is not a period with things like this take place, but there are concerns there could be attacks, so it is unusual, and you do have to look at the unusual nature of this presidency, what is going on in washington during this period as well. >> thank you so much for your reporting. for more on where iran could take this from here, our correspondent joins us in the studio. could you tell us more about why this

qasem soleimani commanded the shadowy quds force. tehran has vowed to take revenge.ranian regime can strike anywhere. for the past two years, i have been investigating bomb plots and assassinations on european soil. what concerns me, in this city an assassination was conducted. the trail of destruction leads from denmark to the netherlands. we saw my dad lying on the ground covered in his blood. this is the extraordinary story of iran and the mystery murders. my investigation starts here, in the small dutch city of almere, near amsterdam. one quiet morning, five years ago, two hitmen lie in wait. shots ring out, killing their target instantly. the assassins escape in a stolen black bmw, later found abandoned and burned out just a few blocks away. the victim was a middle—aged electrician, but who was he, and why did he have to die? normally, assassinations are one criminal assassinating another criminal, but this time it was an electrician. that is why i kept asking questions. how come? paul vughts is an investigative journalist known for his inside stories on amsterd

comes nearly a year after iran's leading commander of the islamic revolutionary guards corps, qasem soleimaniis time, as with the earlier killing, the question is, how will iran respond? it comes at a very significant, very delicate moment, only weeks left in the administration of donald trump. we already know that president—electjoe biden has talked about rejoining the iran nuclear deal that mr trump pulled out of in 2018. this move is being seen notjust as an effort to strike a blow against iran's nuclear programme — a programme, it must be emphasised that iran has emphasised it does not have a nuclear programme. but mohsen fakhrizadeh, for years now, particularly by israeli and american intelligence, was regarded as associated with the covert programme. and this kind of an assassination — we don't know who carried it out — but this kind of move will possibly complicate the efforts of the new us administration to try to open a new chapter with iran — as difficult as that was going to be even without this assassination. lease to set there, much more details and our analysis on our website. t

this year following the killing injanuary of iran's most influential military figure general qasem soleimaniities or its ambitions? well, so far, they have not really had that much impact on either. if anything, iran seems to be more successful than the united states in winning influence in iraq. that is still reversible. but they certainly have made major progress using the popular militia forces there. you are watching assad essentially on the edge of completing his control over syria. which is now tied closely to iran. you see iran able to deploy precision—guided systems in yemen. so, these two assassinations have certainly had a political impact, increased tension, but it is not a case where iran has somehow lost military momentum. and you saw also these strikes earlier this year on key saudi facilities, precision strikes. that is the source of about 20% of the world's oil imports going through the gulf. and, ifanything, iran has demonstrated it has far more sophisticated strike capabilities now than it did in 2015. after trying to prevent protesters from entering delhi for two days, ind

iran vowed to retaliate after america killed general major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary.ith another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden‘s already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. more than 2.5 million vulnerable people in england will be offered free vitamin d this winter. this follows the lead of scotland, which is also providing free supplements to some people. the vitamin helps to keep bones, teeth and muscle healthy, but a new clinical trial has just started looking at whether it can also protect against coronavirus. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. a dose

their main military operative qasem soleimani was assassinated in january.eir main nuclear facility was exploded in september, and now this guy, i think that the iranian regime is playing far more pragmatic than they leave —— then people believe. and the israeli regime is trying to pass it without getting into an all—out military confrontation with united states. —— and the iranian regime. just waiting for maybe their point of view a better policy or a different kind of exchange with united states and joe biden. different kind of exchange with united states and joe bidenm different kind of exchange with united states and joe biden. it is interesting you mention that because i wonder about the timing of this. do you think this is interesting that this happens out in the midst ofa that this happens out in the midst of a transition between one us presidency to the next? well, of course it might complicate the possible new policy of the president—elect when he is back in the white house. he was one of the main supporters of the jcpoa the white house. he was one

iran vowed to retaliate after america killed major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary. so. with another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden‘s already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. a largely peaceful protest in paris has been marred by clashes, with police firing tear gas at protesters opposing a bill which would restrict the public‘s right to film police officers‘ faces. the demonstrations come days after footage emerged showing police racially abusing and beating a black music producer. 0ur correspondent sangita myska's reports contains images from the start which some vie

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january. nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden's difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. the uk and france have agreed to double the number of officers patrolling french beaches in a bid to stop migrants crossing the channel to england. the home secretary, priti patel, and her french counterpart, gerald darmanin, said they wanted to make the route, used by more than 8,000 people this year, unviable. simonjones reports. destination dover. despite commitments by both britain and france to stop these dangerous crossings, the attempts have continued. now, britain will give france £28 million, some to pay for extra french officers to patrol the beaches, and their equipment. the home office won't say how many patrols there will be but it is being described as a major uplift. people are putting their lives at risk and sadly we have seen fatalit

iran vowed to retaliate after america killed major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary.et to do so. with another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden's already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. britain and france have agreed to double the number of police officers patrolling french beaches to stop migrants crossing the channel to england. in a joint statement, the two countries said bolstering patrols along one hundred and fifty kilometres of coastline next month would help prevent dangerous illegal crossings. the eu

iran vowed to retaliate after america killed major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary.h another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden‘s already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... tense clashes in paris as thousands demand more scrutiny of the police, following the beating of a black music producer. a warning that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, if mps don't back new restrictions. the uk and france have agreed to double the number of officers patrolling french beaches, in a bid to stop migrants crossing the channel

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january.rogress in its nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden‘s difficultjob — coaxing iran back into negotiations — that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. earlier i spoke to professor matthew bunn, a us nuclear and energy policy analyst, and professor of practice at the harvard kennedy school. i asked him what the current state is of iran's nuclear programme and what its ambitions might be. well, 0nce well, once upon a time, iran had a serious programme to design and any fracture actual nuclear weapons and carry out nuclear weapons and carry out nuclear tests. mohsen fakhrizadeh was ahead that programme. that actual nuclear weapon design programme was endedin weapon design programme was ended in late 2003. but the effo rts ended in late 2003. but the efforts to establish the ability to produce the material continued. those were what was limited primarily by the nuclear deal that donald

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january.his attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden‘s difficultjob — coaxing iran back into negotiations — that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. i'm joined now by professor matthew bunn, a us nuclear and energy policy analyst and currently a professor of practice at the harvard kennedy school professor, thank you so much for joining professor, thank you so much forjoining us we often make brief references to iran's nuclear programme and then move on assuming everyone knows about it. can you help us understand what is the state of iran's nuclear programme and what might its ambitions be? 0nce what might its ambitions be? once upon what might its ambitions be? 0nce upona what might its ambitions be? once upon a time, iran had a serious programme to design and manufacture actionable nuclear weapons and carry out a nuclear test. mohsen fakhrizadeh was the head of the programme. that nuclear weapon design programme was ended in lead

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january.n's recent progress in its nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden‘s difficultjob — coaxing iran back into negotiations — that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. today marks another record high for the number of covid hospitalisations in the us. according to the covid tracking project, there are now more than 91,000 people in hospital, and that number has been rising almost every day since late october. the current surge of the outbreak is showing no sign of slowing down and on friday, the number of people infected by the virus surpassed 13 million. 0ur north america correspondent david willisjoins me now from los angeles. david, take us through the significance of these latest numbers. highly significant, james. as you mentioned there more than 91,000 americans now hospitalised and off that total, more than 18,000 are in intensive care. it is an indication of the surge that we hav

iran has yet to retaliate for the death of qasem soleimani, killed by a us drone strike in january.in its nuclear programme may have triggered this attack — a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it's also likely to make joe biden's difficultjob — coaxing iran back into negotiations — that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. the ethiopian prime minister, abiy ahmed, and the army chief of staff have issued statements claiming that federal government troops are now in total control of mekelle, the capital of tigray province. there's been no independent confirmation of the claim with regional communications cut off. tigrayan leader has indicated his forces would fight on. mark lobel reports. a big military win trumpeted on ethiopian state tv. there's praise for the heroic national defence force on capturing tigray‘s capital in what is described as its peoples' liberation. but is it that simple? translation: our forces have freed more than 7000 members of our northern command and taken back control of our base. we have recovered tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy wea

e ere would be some who thought the response to ath of qasem soleimani -- iran will need to reestablisherrents and show national pride is bing protected. at the same time, ey won't want to undertake an reaction that upsets the prospect of financial relief to the return of the nuclear deal. so iran is going to have to decide exactly what they do that walks a very fine line. >> reporter: norman roule, thank you very much. >> mr. my pleasure. >> nawaz: there are now more than 90,000 peopleed hospitaln the country with covid-related illness, the highest number since the pandemicegan. hoital i.c.u.s are nearly filled in some places. the u.s. currently averages more than 1,500 deaths a day-- a number that could rise once reporting resumes after theek holiday d. all of this is putting enormous stin on healthcare workers, including nurses. here with more on that is bonnie castillo. she's the executive director of country's largest nurses union, representing 170,000 registered nurses. bonnie castillo, welcome to the "newshour". as we see cases surgin ag, the grap astounding. you see the number o

they said he was probably as important as general qasem soleimani, who was assassinated last decemberside of iran have reacted to this. many see this is a huge embarrassment for iran's intelligence officers. and as you mentioned, we do not have a clear picture of what exact we happened. there are so many conflicting stories. some say it was an automatic weapon, some say it was an infiltration, but whatever it was, it shows that the iranian authorities have failed to protect one of the most important architects of the nuclear programme, and that has been a huge embarrassment. hence all this overall reaction of confusion. whatever happened, it happened on a radiance oil and the reigning authorities have failed to protect their nuclear scientist —— it happened on a radiance oil. people inside and outside have not stopped criticising iran's telling his officers. thank you very much. we always appreciate you coming on. if you speak farsi, i do not, but if you do, you can get more on this stories on bbc persian. in english, go to the bbc website. on the second half of the programme, we are

from the shia perspective, iran and under qasem soleimani they came up with it it basically copying thextremists. we see what they did with -- there were certain very successful and the kind of copy that model in yemen and in iraq and they appear to successfully copy in both of these countries. now even after we spend a lot of treasure and money in iran compassing politically the iranians have more control of what's happening in the country than the united states, just using nonstate actors like hezbollah, like love these groups that actually moved into syria who support a soccer same thing with hezbollah in lebanon. it became a very important card they play in the conflict. same thing with yemen which gave him a spot, a base in the southern arabian peninsula. i think we have violent extremist groups that's reactive and very popular among a lot of, you know, a lot of people in the middle east. they danced dance to the tune f regional powers or the terrorist organizations, and this makes the region even more dangerous point plus from the terrorism perspective we see a new threat emerging

from the shia perspective, iran and under qasem soleimani they came up with the idea basically copyinghis extremists. we see what they did with hezbollah was very successful so they're trying to copy that model in yemen and then iraq, and a pair to successfully copy, replicating it in both of these countries. now even after we spend a lot of treasure and money in iran , it seems politically our brains have more of what's happening in that country than the trendy, just using nonstate actors like hezbollah, a lot of these groups that actually they moved into syria to support. same thing with hezbollah in lebanon. it became a very important card that they played in the arab-israeli conflict. same thing with the houthis in yemen which gave them a spot now, a base and the southern arabian peninsula. i think we have violent extremist groups that's very active and very popular among a lot of, you know, a lot of people in the middle east. they dance to the tune of regional powers or the terrorist organizations, and this makes the region even more dangerous plus from the terrorist perspective w

it, starting at the very beginning of the year with the assassination of iran's top general, qasem soleimanis to return to thejcpoa. i think there was actually some cautious optimism that iran was signalling as recently as the last few days that returned to the talks would be easy. the administration of president—elect biden has been packed with key officials who negotiated the iran nuclear deal. so, from all sides, except from the vantage of those who are seeking to prevent that kind of diplomacy, things were looking fairly auspicious. will iran try and play it cool? i think potentially, yes. i think we have to bear in mind that iran has been under economic blockade for the last few years. it is a country of 80 million people facing the most severe covid pandemic in the region under sanctions in which it cannot access basic medicine and health care and medical equipment for its people. it is important to bear that in mind, and the iranian government surely is aware of the extreme pressures it's facing at home. 0n the other side, what does... israel is indeed to blame for this assassination,

leland: we're watching pictures of a funeral and that's an interesting comparison to qasem soleimani. i remember the day after soleimani was killed and there were a lot of folks on the left saying this is reckless and dangerous and killing soleimani could start world war iii and obviously the iranians haven't taken this in iran and i remember a minister saying bad things happen to bad people. is there a chance bluster and talk from iranians is just that, talk, and they're not really going to do anything to respond sm. >> the iranians for sure, i have no doubt that the iranians want to respond. the question is, are they capable of doing it? because for many, many years there was this, you know, myth or maybe myth is too strong of a word, but i think that we were overestimating iranians' capability to respond and as you said we saw this after the assassination of soleimani. the response was firing missiles on u.s. spaces, but they did not burn down the entire region. leland: okay, well, they fired the missiles and some thought they intentionally had the missiles miss. you broke major ne