Nick Beake
Europe Correspondent, reporting from Dubai

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The port of Fujairah, which was targeted by a drone strike earlier, is a very significant location for the United Arab Emirates and one of the largest oil storage facilities in the Middle East.

It’s also a key location for bunkering - the refuelling of ships.

Fujairah sits on the Gulf of Oman, rather than the Gulf, and so vessels don’t need to navigate the Strait of Hormuz - which has been practically closed to marine traffic since this war began a fortnight ago.

Footage shared online today shows huge clouds of smoke rising across the complex on the UAE’s eastern coast.

It comes as Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said US interests in the UAE, including ports, docks and military locations had become legitimate targets in light of American attacks on Kharg island, which is so crucial to Tehran’s oil industry and the wider economy.

• We'll bring you more on the strike on Kharg Island in our next few posts

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Two weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran, the impact of the conflict has spread across the Middle East. The conflict has quickly escalated and Gulf countries have found themselves in the firing line.

As the war enters its third week, we've taken a brief look back:

Strikes, counter-strikes and Iranian leadership

• The war began on 28 February, when the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran. Trump said the aim was to eliminate "imminent threats"
• Iran launched counter-strikes, targeting Israel and Gulf states in response
• After mounting speculation, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead a day after the conflict began
• Tehran was then hit by an extensive bombing campaign - satellite imagery shows damage to nuclear and missile facilities. Oil depots and refineries are also struck, with photos showing black rain in the aftermath
• Israel launched strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon, and conducted commando raids inside Lebanese territory - it has said the campaign will continue until the Shia militia group Hezbollah is disarmed
• The late supreme leader's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was announced as Iran's next leader. He has not been seen in public. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he is "wounded, and likely disfigured"

Wider repercussions

• The human cost of the war continues to grow, with thousands of deaths reported across the Middle East
• Thirteen US service members have been killed in operations against Iran - including all six members of the crew on board a military refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq
• Oil prices have been taken on a rollercoaster ride, exceeding $100 (£75) a barrel, prompting inflation fears and economic uncertainty

• Travel chaos persists as a result of airspace closures and commercial jets being grounded - over 170,000 Britons register their presence in the region

For more on how the bombing of Iran sent shockwaves around the world, our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams has taken a closer look.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued an update in the last few minutes, saying it hit Hezbollah command centres in Beirut in strikes carried out yesterday.

It says it has struck approximately 110 command centres since the start of the war.

"Prior to the strikes, measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians," the IDF says.

It has issued sweeping evacuation orders in southern Lebanon in recent days, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents.

Image source, EPA

We're seeing some new images from Shoham, central Israel, where an overnight missile strike hit a residential area, taking the roof off a building.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it detected Iranian missiles targeting Israel overnight.

Home Front Command members and emergency services can be seen inspecting the damage at the scene.

Image source, EPA

Hamas has called for Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries and called for nations and international organisations to work towards halting the war immediately.

The Palestinian militant group says it is following the ongoing war in the Middle East with "deep concern" and adds that it "threatens peace and security in the region and the world".

Hamas adds that the US-Israeli aggression against Iran violates international law and international humanitarian law in a statement on Telegram, and urged all states in the region to co-operate and stop the aggression.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Israel and many other countries.

The media office of the government of Fujairah, in the northwest of the United Arab Emirates, says the local civil defense is working to contain a fire in the area.

Authorities say the blaze is the result of "falling debris following the successful interception of a drone by air defenses". "No injuries were reported," they add in a post on Facebook.

The statement comes after Bloomberg reported that some oil loading operations at the port of Fujairah, which is located just off the Strait of Hormuz, had been suspended after a drone attack and a fire.

Qatar's evacuation order focused on areas hosting US economic interestspublished at 09:15 GMT 14 March

09:15 GMT 14 March

Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Doha

Shortly after midnight in Doha, people living in the central Musheireb district got phone alerts to evacuate immediately to the "nearest safe place" as a "precautionary measure".

Some residents and hotel guests rushed into underground car parks for shelter.

Then around 01:30 (22:30 GMT) a thunderous boom echoed across the city. A member of the BBC's team here saw the explosion as the missile was intercepted, briefly lighting up the city skyline. That was followed by distant bangs in the opposite direction.

Later this morning, the Qataris shot down a second missile.

If you look at the areas receiving evacuation orders, it seems the aim was to protect places which host US economic interests. Iran said earlier this week these were legitimate targets.

Offices for Google and American Express are located in Musheireb, as are some Qatari government offices.

Parts of a 12-acre campus known as Education City were also evacuated, possibly because Microsoft has a presence there, as do branches of six American universities.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

I’ve been hearing from residents in the north, east and west of Tehran who tell me that the Iranian capital was "hit hard" last night.

"Something exploded nearby and it shook the house to the core. It was never like this. My heart was pounding," said a woman in her 20s in Tehran last night.

"I was trying to sleep and woke up with the sound of explosion," added a man in his 20s.

"I didn’t go out at all. It seemed to be such a dangerous day," said a man in his 30s.

While a woman in her 40s told me:"“It’s like calm before the storm right now."

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

On Friday, Donald Trump announced that the US "totally obliterated" military targets in Iran's Kharg Island, which he called the country's "crown jewel".

The island, situated 22 miles (35km) off the coast of Iran, is a critical economic lifeline for Tehran as one analyst says around 90% of Iran's oil exports pass through the island.

Iranian state media says there were more than 15 explosions on the island but no damage to oil infrastructure has been reported.

On Saturday, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings in western Iran while Tehran's state media says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have launched their 48th wave of attacks against Israeli targets.

Across the Middle East, strikes continued overnight.

Earlier the US embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad was attacked, with flames and thick smoke filmed rising from the building.

The Lebanese health ministry says at least 12 medics were killed in the town of Burj Qalawiya when a healthcare centre was hit.

Meanwhile, residents in the heart of Doha have received phone alerts telling them to immediately evacuate.

We're seeing some new pictures from southern Lebanon, where an Israeli air strike has caused damage to a building in the Haret Saida area of Sidon.

It is not clear if there have been any casualties.

More than 770 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it has struck a weapon storage facility in southern Lebanon.

The IDF says it spotted members of Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah carrying rockets into the facility in the Al-Majadel area on Friday.

Minutes later the Israeli Air Force struck the warehouse and "eliminated" those Hezbollah members, it says in a post on social media.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps says it has launched the 48th wave of attacks against Israel, Iranian state media reports.

The Islamic Republic News Agency says that the attacks have been launched simultaneously with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning to individuals in an industrial area of the western Iranian city of Tabriz.

The warning was accompanied by a map outlining the designated zone and says the Israeli army will be "active in this area in the coming hours".

It said the attack would be similar to recent actions in Tehran targeting Iranian regime military infrastructure.

It urged people to immediately evacuate the specified area for their safety and well-being, warning that remaining there would put lives at risk.

As we reported earlier, smoke has been rising above the US embassy in Baghdad following an attack on the building in the Iraqi capital.

Reuters and the Associated Press news agencies report that a missile struck the embassy, while the AFP news agency quotes sources saying damage was caused by a drone strike.

The attack took place shortly after two Iran-backed fighters were killed in strikes on Iraq's capital, AFP also reported, citing several sources.

Image source, Reuters

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said the US military had bombed Iran's Kharg Island.

He said that he did not target the oil infrastructure. The island is a critical economic lifeline for Tehran as one analyst says around 90% of Iran's oil exports pass through the island.

The Fars News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, says that more than 15 explosions were heard on the island during the US attacks.

The attacks targeted air defences, a naval base, airport control tower and a helicopter hangar, the agency says in a post on Telegram.

There was no damage to oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, Iranian state media reports.

Wyre Davies
Reporting from Lebanon

Reports from southern Lebanon say that more targets not directly related to Hezbollah have been hit in Israeli airstrikes.

The Lebanese health ministry said that at least 12 medics, including doctors and nurses were killed in the town of Burj Qalawiya when the town's primary healthcare centre was hit overnight.

Israel has also bombed other civilian infrastructure, including roads and bridges. It has almost doubled the size of its self-declared evacuation zone in the south, urging hundreds of thousands more people to evacuate and head north, where charities and the Lebanese state are struggling to cope with the influx of displaced people.

Tensions in Lebanon are rising and, with uncompromising language both from Israel and Hezbollah, the fear here is that a wider conflict may be unavoidable.

Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Doha

Image source, EPA

Qatar's interior ministry made an announcement earlier saying it was evacuating a number of areas as a precautionary measure.

The nature of the threat is still unknown at this stage, but Qatar did intercept two missile attacks overnight and this morning.

It seems the aim is to protect places that host US economic interests after Iran said earlier this week these were legitimate targets.

Locals received phone alerts to immediately evacuate Doha’s central Musheireb district, where offices for Google and American Express are located. Witnesses said some residents rushed to underground car parks for shelter.

Guards are also said to be stationed at Microsoft’s Qatar headquarters, and the Reuters news agency is reporting that authorities evacuated part of an area that hosts branch campuses of six US universities.

Elsewhere American embassies remain under threat. Security officials in Baghdad say the mission there has been hit in an attack; and the State Department is ordering non-essential government employees to leave Oman.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier, we started getting details about an attack on the US embassy in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

A missile struck the building, causing smoke to rise from the embassy's building, Reuters reported, citing sources, without providing details on the damage.

Associated Press reports that a missile struck a helipad in the US embassy compound.

Meanwhile, AFP quotes sources saying a drone struck the embassy.

The attack took place shortly after two Iran-backed fighters were killed in strikes on Iraq's capital, AFP reported, citing several sources.

We'll bring you more updates as we get them.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

It’s being widely reported in US media that the American military is sending additional forces to the Gulf, including what’s known as an amphibious ready group (ARG), with up to 5,000 Marines and sailors.

The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli will join the substantial armada already operating off the coast of Iran.

It’s not clear which other vessels will accompany the Tripoli, but an ARG typically includes ships capable of carrying landing craft, as well as large numbers of helicopters.

The latest deployments suggest the Pentagon is considering an expanded range of options. These could include protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and conceivably some kind of limited amphibious landing.

One possible objective is Iran’s tiny Kharg Island, in the northern Gulf.

Lying 22 miles off the Iranian mainland, Kharg is a vital oil hub, where tankers have been seen filling up with Iranian oil since the war began two weeks ago.

More US Marines and warships are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, two officials confirmed to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

The officials said the reinforcements were to come from an amphibious ready group and its Marine expeditionary unit, with one official adding that the group would be led by the Japan-based USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship.

The unit headed by the USS Tripoli typically consists of around 5,000 sailors and Marines distributed across several warships.

The movement of US personnel was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, external.

The BBC has approached the US military and the Pentagon for comment, though future troop movements are usually not confirmed publicly.