Daniel Bush
Travelling with the vice president

US Vice President JD Vance addressed the war with Iran on Friday during a speech on the economy in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Vance was asked what advice he’s given Trump on the war, and how the conflict squares with his past opposition to so-called forever wars.

The vice president declined to share details on his private conversations about Iran with Trump, saying "it's important for the president of the United States to talk to his advisers without" those advisers "running their mouth".

Image source, Reuters

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says the group has prepared itself for a "long confrontation" with Israel, as the sides continue to strike one another.

In a televised address, he adds that Israel will be "surprised" on the battlefield.

The Iranian-backed group, based in Lebanon, has been exchanging fire with Israel since 2 March, when it launched air attacks on Israel following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has been striking Lebanon heavily, with the military saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

Image source, Reuters

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix events, both scheduled for next month, are set to be cancelled because of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

With the deadline to start shipping the freight needed for the event looming, and no sign of imminent resolution to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, it's been deemed as too great a risk to staff.

Neither race will be replaced, cutting the season to 22 Grand Prix events.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have seen Iranian retaliatory strikes on their territory.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Iranian leader press office/ Handout

Pro-establishment rallies have been held in Iran to mark Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event.

Iran’s state TV rolling news channels gave extensive coverage to marches in several cities including Tehran, Tabriz, Yazd, Qom, Ilam and Shiraz, airing vox pops and statements from senior officials at the rallies who signalled defiance towards the West.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who participated in the rallies in Tehran, blamed the United States and Israel for rising oil prices.

Reacting to a strike that Iranian media reported as having hit a crowd in Tehran, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said it showed the "fear and desperation" of President Donald Trump.

He said a strong power would not "attack a public gathering".

Iran’s state media outlet Press TV said one woman was killed by shrapnel as a result of that strike, which they blamed on the US and Israel, but without providing further details.

Iranian outlets claimed turnout reached into the millions, but the BBC cannot independently verify this claim.

Correction 26 March 2026: This post has been updated to make it clear that the report of a strike hitting a crowd in Tehran came from Iranian media. A line has also been added about the reported death of one woman

The Pentagon is expected to send a marine unit and additional warships to the Middle East, two US officials tell the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

Elements of the America amphibious ready group and the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are expected to be sent, they say, following a report on the plans in the Wall Street Journal.

The group is typically made up of 5,000 marines and sailors across several warships.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has begun more "extensive strikes" throughout Iran's capital Tehran.

The US is offering rewards of up to $10m (£7.6m) to anyone with information on "key leaders" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

A notice issued by the US State Department references 10 individuals in particular, though only six are named.

Among them are new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, who was pictured attending a pro-establishment rally in central Tehran earlier.

The US says they "command and direct various elements" Iran's IRGC military wing.

Image source, US State Department

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Getty Images

Iranian outlets have published several photos and videos of officials attending pro-establishment rallies in central Tehran to mark Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event.

They include Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani, Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan, and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

In one video, Ejei is seen giving an interview to Iran’s state TV when an explosion happens nearby, with the pro-establishment crowd chanting Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest) near him after the explosion.

In another video, Pezeshkian is seen walking down a street and taking selfies with the crowd.

BBC Persian and BBC Verify have verified footage showing an explosion in the Iranian capital near the crowd.

In his message yesterday, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Iranians to participate in rallies today to help "confront the enemy".

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said the newly-appointed Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now in hiding - "wounded" and "likely disfigured".

Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who was killed in US-Israeli strikes last week - was chosen as his successor on Sunday. He hasn't appeared in public so far, only releasing a written statement that was read out on Iranian state television yesterday.

The 56-year-old has kept a low profile, never held government office or given public speeches or interviews.

But for years there have been rumours that he held considerable influence behind the scenes in Iran.

At 17, Mojtaba served in the military for several short periods during the Iran-Iraq War, according to Iranian media. In 1999, he went to Qom to continue his religious studies.

Mojtaba remains a mid-ranking cleric, which could pose an obstacle to his acceptance as the new supreme leader.

• Read our profile of Mojtaba Khamenei

Image source, Reuters

There have been no confirmed attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy-backed monitoring group which tracks shipping incidents.

UKMTO says at least 29 maritime incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure have been reported since 1 March, the day after the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran.

Iran has since said it is retaliating by attacking Western vessels in the important shipping channel, but the monitoring group says there has been "no consistent pattern" in those targeted.

Instead, it says Iran's tactic appears to be to create "broad maritime disruption rather than selective vessel targeting".

The threat level in the Strait, as well as the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, remains critical, an update adds.

Image source, Reuters

The Lebanese health ministry has said that 773 people have been killed and 1,933 others have been injured since the conflict with Israel began.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that, up until the end of 12 March, at least 1,858 people have been killed in Iran, including 1,286 civilians and 199 military personnel.

Israeli authorities say that, as of 10 March, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire since the start of the war. Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in combat in Lebanon, according to the Israeli military.

The US military death toll has risen to 13 after six crew members on a US military refuelling aircraft were confirmed dead after their plane crashed in western Iraq.

The paramilitary Shia-dominant Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) says that 27 people have also been killed in airstrikes in Iraq since the start of the month, reports BBC Monitoring and Iraqi media.

Also in Iraq, a French soldier was killed in a drone strike in Erbil which left six other service members injured.

The UAE Ministry of Defence says six people have been killed since Iran began its attacks. And in Oman, two Indian nationals were killed in a strike in Sohar, India's Ministry of External Affairs has said.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Iran police have arrested a person in the southern Fars Province over allegedly “set[ting] up a network across several provinces of the country to sell unfiltered internet via Starlink”, according to a report by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

The deputy commander of the Fars Province Police has identified the person as a 37-year-old man, adding that a “Starlink device and related equipment were discovered at the suspect’s hideout”.

It is still very difficult to contact those inside Iran amid the internet outage imposed by the government at the start of the war, but some tech-savvy residents have been using Starlink devices and sharing their connection with others.

Using Starlink in Iran carries a punishment of up to two years in prison, and authorities have reportedly been searching for the dishes to stop people from connecting.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says its air force "struck and eliminated several soldiers" that were part of the Basij forces at roadblocks in Tehran overnight.

The Basij is a loyalist volunteer paramilitary force, often used to crack down on protests against the regime. Its forces have been operating checkpoints in Tehran.

The IDF says the strikes were part of its goal to destroy Iran's military systems and operatives.

Israel has said throughout the conflict that they urge Iranians to protest against the regime.

Emergency services have been tackling a fire on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched missile attacks on Israel jointly with Hezbollah, according to Iranian state media.

Air alerts sounded in Tel Aviv, central Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Questions still unanswered on war's timeline and endgamepublished at 16:40 GMT 13 March

16:40 GMT 13 March

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, EPA

We still do not have much in the way of insight from Donald Trump or members of his administration on how long this conflict will take, or what the end might look like.

In an interview with Fox News earlier, Trump said only that the conflict will end "when I feel it in my bones".

Defence officials, including Pete Hegseth, have previously only said that US military operations will continue until its objectives - which include the destruction of Iran's naval and missile capacity - are achieved.

And while Trump has said he expects "unconditional surrender" from Iran's government and a hand in choosing a new leader, there is very little indication from the administration of what that might look like.

Trump has previously suggested that he hopes a figure from within Iran's government - someone "internal and eternal" might emerge to serve as the country's equivalent of Venezuela's Delcy Rodriguez.

But so far, Iran's leadership has remained defiant and seemingly so far unwilling to come to a negotiated end to the conflict.

Verified images show damaged US tanker jet in Israelpublished at 16:31 GMT 13 March

16:31 GMT 13 March

By Peter Mwai and Rob Corp

BBC Verify has confirmed as genuine images showing a US Air Force KC-135 refuelling aircraft with damage to its tailfin at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.

It is so far not clear what caused the damage nor whether this particular aircraft was involved in an incident on Thursday where another US KC-135 crashed over western Iraq, killing all six crew onboard.

The first image shows the aircraft on the ground at the airport next to a white car, which has an Israeli number plate.

Additional images published by Israeli public broadcaster Kan show the other side of the aircraft where the damage to the tail can be clearly seen. Checks on the pictures show they were taken at Ben Gurion Airport and were not uploaded before today.

Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft over Jordan before it headed towards Israel. It was seen circling several times before tracking stopped short of the airport. The aircraft was broadcasting the 7700 emergency code to air traffic control.

Image source, Getty Images

The US has loosened sanctions on Russian oil in a bid to reduce the global economic impact of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, the world's busiest oil shipping passage.

What's changed?

• The US has introduced a waiver that will allow countries to buy up Russian oil which, under current sanctions, has been floating at sea, unable to be sold
• The waiver will be active for one month

• It applies to oil which was loaded onto vessels before Wednesday

Until now

• US sanctions have been in place preventing countries from purchasing Russian oil as a result of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
• The US has retaliated against countries it thinks might be violating the sanctions. In August, Washington imposed a 50% tariff on imports from India over allegations the country was helping to finance Putin's war in Ukraine by buying Russian oil

A British counter-drone unit has shot down "multiple drones overnight" following recent strikes on coalition bases in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence says.

It comes after a French soldier was killed in a drone attack in Iraq's Erbil region last night, and a base housing UK and US forces in the area came under attack on Wednesday.

Overnight, UK Typhoon jets flew air defence operations over Bahrain for the first time, the ministry adds.

It says: "British Typhoon and F-35 jets are now flying in defence of British interests and allies across Qatar, Cyprus, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has launched missile attacks on Israel jointly with Hezbollah, reports Iranian state-linked news agency Tasmin.

The Iranian military wing says the IRGC navy and drone unit were involved alongside the Lebanese armed group, with which it is allied.

Air alerts have been triggered in Tel Aviv, central Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank.

There have been no reports of casualties or damage from this latest wave of strikes so far.

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has been speaking to Fox News, in an interview that aired on Friday.

Here are the key lines:

On when the war with Iran might end: When asked when he will know the war is over, Trump replies: "When I feel it, okay? I feel it in my bones"

On Iran's new supreme leader: "I think he's damaged, but I think he's probably alive in some form," Trump says of Mojtaba Khamenei, who is yet to be seen in public

On the Strait of Hormuz: The US would escort oil tankers through the Strait "if we need to", but "hopefully things are going to go very well. We'll see what happens", Trump says

On damaging Iran: He says over the next week "we're going to be hitting them very hard". He adds: "We've already damaged them so badly it would take years for them to ever rebuild"

On Gulf allies: Trump says the "unity is tremendous", and he has spoken to most of them today. They're "doing a very good job in protecting themselves", he adds