Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from West Palm Beach

It's early morning in West Palm Beach, where President Donald Trump is for the weekend.

I was travelling with Trump yesterday to an event in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Trump - despite repeated questions from the travelling press pool - gave no indication that anything was imminent.

In fact, at one point I very specifically asked him about the potential timeline of when he believed he would decide on strikes.

"I'd rather not tell you," he replied. "You would have had the greatest scoop in history, right?"

Most of the reporters travelling with Trump speculated that attacks were imminent, but unlikely to happen once darkness had already fallen in the US.

Before the strikes took place, the only plan today was a MAGA Inc dinner in the evening. During the day, there were no public events planned, and I expected we would spend much of the day at a nearby golf course where he often spends his weekend.

We have yet to hear otherwise, but that is very likely to change.

Already, reaction is coming in from US lawmakers such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who wrote on X that "the biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years is upon us".

"This operation has been well-planned. It will be violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful," he added.

This conflict could still get a whole lot worsepublished at 10:59 GMT 28 February

10:59 GMT 28 February

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

From up and down the Gulf reports are coming in of explosions, sirens, air defences going into action and plumes of smoke.

Iran always said it would retaliate against US bases in the region and it has, wasting little time before sending a volley of missiles at America’s Gulf Arab allies.

"It’s really scary", a British expat resident in Bahrain tells me as he watches a Patriot missile battery intercepting an incoming missile right overhead.

This is not the first time that the Gulf states, which include the UAE’s hugely popular destination of Dubai, have experienced war.

There was the Iran-Iraq war in 1980-88, Desert Storm in 1991, the Iraq invasion in 2003 and last year Iran briefly targeted the US airbase in Qatar.

But this is different. It’s bigger and more dangerous than anything previously.

Which is why the leaders of Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia earlier urged the Trump administration not to attack their big neighbour across the water.

This conflict could still get a whole lot worse.

Mallory Moench
Live reporter

A resident in Jerusalem, who asked to remain anonymous, tells me she has been inside her bomb shelter for three hours, since the first alert from the government around the time Israel announced it had launched an attack on Iran.

For the past hour or so, she has heard sirens, tons of impacts that seemed like interceptions from Israel's defence system, and planes overhead.

"I had thought I remembered how terrifying this situation is from the last time, but I'm unpleasantly surprised by how frightening this is. The knowledge that there is a real threat that a missile could kill me or my loved ones is terrible, and I had forgotten how terrible it feels," she said.

"I have the convenience of staying here comfortably, which so many Israelis don't have, although I know that this room will not protect me in the case of a direct hit. So I'm trying to figure out if I should go to the public shelter which may be slightly better at withstanding a direct hit," she wrote in a message on WhatsApp.

About her reaction to Israel's attack on Iran today, she said: "I feel a huge amount of distrust towards my government. I don't believe that they are acting in my interest as a citizen or in the interests of anyone other than themselves in their own fight to remain in power.

"In short I'm feeling afraid and also extremely angry that we are once again being put in this position - expendable pawns in this absurd jostling for power."

Jiyar Gol
BBC Persian

Numerous explosions have been heard in Tehran and number of cities across Iran.

The office of Iran’s Supreme Leader and the presidential office in Tehran were also reportedly targeted.

Military sites have been targeted in Kermanshah, Qum, Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj and as well as at Iranian naval facilities in Kenarak in the south of the country. A video we have received from the small city of Kamyaran in Kurdish region, shows an IRGC base is bombed.

The Israel Defense Force warned Iranian civilians to evacuate areas near military sites and installations ahead of the strikes.

There are images from Tehran shows that a residence in Narmak neighbourhood of Tehran, where former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lives, has been hit. It is not clear whether the former president is hurt.

The Iranian interior ministry said the security forces are ready to keep the situation calm and many hospitals across the country are on standby.

The defence ministry of the United Arab Emirates says in a statement that the country has been subjected to a "blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles".

"UAE air defence systems dealt with the missiles with high efficiency and successfully intercepted a number of missiles," it adds.

However, the ministry says debris fell on a residential area in Abu Dhabi, causing some material damage and killing a civilian with Asian nationality, who it does not name.

It condemns the attack as “dangerous escalation” and “cowardly act”, and stresses that the UAE “reserves its full right to respond".

The US Air Force operates from Al Dhafra Air Base, south of Abu Dhabi, along with the UAE Air Force.

US President Donald Trump has said his main concern is “freedom” for the Iranian people, and that the US is working to make Iran a place that’s “safe.”

“All I want is freedom for the people,” Trump has told the Washington Post, speaking with the newspaper in a brief phone call just after 04:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Pressed by the Post on what he hoped the legacy of the military operation would be, he says: “I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have.”

Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Doha

Here in Doha we’ve been hearing explosions as Qatar’s defence ministry said it intercepted several missiles, apparently targeting the al Udeid air base, the largest American military base in the region.

The interior ministry said the attacks caused no damage.

We’ve been getting emergency alerts on our phones warning people to stay indoors. There’s still traffic on the roads, but less than on other days.

Explosions have also been heard in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The UAE’s state news agency said one person had been killed after the Emiratis intercepted Iranian missiles.

In Bahrain the state news agency announced that missiles had struck the US naval base, headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.

It’s not clear what the damage was. Iran had vowed to target US bases in the region if it was attacked and its carrying out its threat.

Soroush Negahdari
BBC Monitoring

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has promised a "crushing response" following joint US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, noting the attacks occurred "once again during negotiations" with Washington.

It added that the "enemy" wrongly assumed the Iranian people would "surrender to their petty demands through such cowardly actions".

The SNSC said Iran's armed forces had already begun retaliatory measures and pledged to "continuously keep the dear people informed".

It warned that operations by the US and Israel could continue in Tehran and other cities, urging citizens, "while maintaining calm", to travel to safer areas where possible to avoid danger.

The council also reassured the public that the government had "prepared all societal needs in advance" and that there was "no concern regarding the supply of essential goods", advising people to avoid crowded shopping centres.

Schools and universities will remain closed until further notice, banks will continue services, and government offices will operate at 50% capacity, the SNSC said, adding further updates would be announced in due course.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian

Iran's foreign ministry says in a statement that although Iran was aware of the "intentions" of the US and Israel to carry out attacks, they entered the negotiations regardless.

It acknowledges that the strikes happened "while Iran and the United States were in the midst of a diplomatic process".

The third round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US was held two days ago, on 26 February, in Geneva - without any breakthrough.

Iran and the US also held five rounds of talks also without progress in May last year, and a sixth round scheduled for June 2025 was cancelled after Israel launched surprise strikes on Iranian targets, triggering a 12-day conflict in which the US hit three key Iranian nuclear sites.

David Gritten
BBC News Middle East

Explosions and air raid sirens have been heard in Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Qatar’s defence ministry said it had "successfully countered a number of attacks targeting the country's territory", according to state media.

A Qatari official told AFP news agency that a US-made Patriot battery had intercepted an Iranian missile.

Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the region.

It is understood that the UK did not participate in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee on Saturday.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

A government spokesperson says the UK does "not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict" following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The statement adds: "Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance, available 24/7."

"As part of our longstanding commitments to the security of our allies in the Middle East, we have a range of defensive capabilities in the region, which we have recently bolstered. We stand ready to protect our interests."

'Near-total' internet blackout in Iranpublished at 09:42 GMT 28 February

09:42 GMT 28 February

By Merlyn Thomas

Iran is now under a near-total internet blackout, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring agency, as the US and Israel carry out strikes on Iran.

This isn’t the first time the country’s internet has been shut down.

Just last month, the country was plunged into a near-total internet blackout during nationwide protests that swept across the country, which were brutally crushed by the government.

Some people briefly managed to access the internet using methods such as SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet and virtual private networks (VPNs). It's likely those who have access will try to use these same methods again.

At BBC Verify we’re continuing to monitor and verify footage of these strikes across the region. We’ll have more on that for you soon.

Image source, NetBlocks

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says its air force is conducting "a broad strike on a number of military targets" in western Iran.

Earlier this morning, explosions were reported in the western cities of Kermanshah and Tabriz.

Trump's threats and nuclear negotiations: How did we get here?published at 09:29 GMT 28 February

09:29 GMT 28 February

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

The justification for the US and Israeli attack on Iran will be the subject of intense debate in the hours and days ahead.

Trump first threatened to bomb Iran last month as security forces brutally repressed anti-government protests, killing thousands of people. But since then, his focus has largely turned to Iran's nuclear programme, although he has not fully explained why the issue has become an emergency requiring the use of military action.

For decades, the US and Israel have accused Iran of trying to secretly develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking a bomb and says its programme is only for peaceful purposes, though the country is the only non-nuclear-armed state to have enriched uranium at near weapons-grade level.

Iran says its enrichment activity stopped after its nuclear facilities were hit by the US during the war with Israel last year, although it has not allowed inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to access the damaged sites. President Trump has repeatedly said the facilities had been "obliterated" in the attacks.

Three rounds of talks between the US and Iran for a deal were held this month, and further negotiations were expected next week. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated, met with US officials in Washington yesterday, a day after discussions were held in Geneva, in what could have been a desperate last-ditch attempt to prevent a strike.

In an interview to CBS News, Albusaidi said a deal was "within our reach" and that "substantial progress" had been made in the talks, asking for more time for negotiations. Publicly discussing details of Iran’s proposal for the first time, he mentioned Iran’s offer that it would never again have a stockpile of enriched uranium, the commitment to an irreversible downgrade of the existing stockpile and to verification by the IAEA.

Albusaidi described the proposals as better than the nuclear deal signed with Iran under the Obama administration in 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump pulled out from the agreement in his first term at the White House, in 2018.

Prior to the talks, Iran had already rejected US demands to discuss limits its ballistic missile programme as well as ending its support for proxies in the region, saying those demands were a breach of its sovereignty. Albusaidi said Iran was "open to discuss everything", and that non-nuclear issues could be discussed separately with Iran’s neighbours.

David Gritten
BBC News Middle East

Bahrain’s National Communication Centre says the service centre of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet has been “subjected to a missile attack”, according to a statement quoted by the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

“Further details will be provided in due course,” it adds, without attributing the attack to any country.

“The public is urged to follow instructions issued by the relevant official authorities and to obtain information from official sources only.”

Bahrain is home to the headquarters of the 5th Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.

There was no immediate comment from the US military, although the US embassy had earlier warned citizens to shelter in place amid reported threats of missiles and drones over Bahrain.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent at Gatwick

We are currently sitting on a Qatar Airways plane at Gatwick while the pilot awaits instructions.

It was due to land in Doha this evening, which now sounds implausible. Doha sits next to the largest US airbase in the Middle East at Al Udaid.

As I write this a friend in Bahrain is sending me photos of Iranian incoming missile strikes.

Flights are being rerouted all over the Gulf region and of course nobody knows how long this will last and where it will end.

Iran always made it clear it would retaliate if attacked.

It still retains a lot of missiles and drones - at least it did on Saturday morning - and it has a large number of US military targets in the region to choose from, including US Navy warships at sea.

Explosions have been seen in Bahrain.

It came after the Bahraini interior ministry said in a series of alerts on X that emergency sirens had been sounded. It also urged residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.

Image source, Donald Trump/Truth Social

Donald Trump has announced the US has started "major combat operations" in Iran, accusing the Iranian regime of waging an "unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States".

The US president released a video on Truth Social in the early hours of the morning in the US, shortly after explosions were reported in the Iranian capital Tehran.

What did he say?

• The US president says Iran can "never have a nuclear weapon" and explains that is why Operation Midnight Hammer struck Iran's nuclear programme at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan last year
• Trump claims Iran has rejected every opportunity to renounce its nuclear ambitions and continued to develop long range missiles that can threaten allies in Europe, US troops overseas and "could soon reach the American homeland"
• He says the US is going to raze Iran's missile industry to the ground and "annihilate" its navy
• Trump says that the Iranian regime has chanted "Death to America" for 47 years

• "The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties," he adds
• "The hour of your freedom is at hand," Trump says to the people of Iran and calls for them to "take over your government"

David Gritten
BBC News Middle East

In his earlier video statement, President Trump urged Iranians to use their large-scale attacks on Iran to overthrow the country’s clerical establishment.

"When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations," he declared.

He also told members of the Iranian security forces that they would be given “immunity” if they laid down their arms, or else “face certain death”.

In early January, Trump threatened to bomb Iran as security forces cracked down on nationwide anti-government protests, killing at least 6,480 people, according to human rights activists. He warned that those responsible would "pay a big price" and told protesters that "help is on its way".

But the president said days later that he had received assurances from Iran’s government that the "killing has stopped" and his focus turned to the country's nuclear programme, which has been at the centre of a long-running dispute with the West.