Image source, Reuters

In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron says he's spoken to President Masoud Pezeshkian and called on Iran to end its attacks on Gulf countries.

Macron says he also emphasised the importance of "restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz", and "preserving energy and civilian infrastructure".

The French leader says he urged Iran to engage in negotiations in "good faith" - adding this would "open a path towards de-escalation".

Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog says he's also spoken to Macron. In a social media post, Herzog’s office says the president reiterated the importance of continuing its operation "in order to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon and dismantle its ballistic missile capabilities".

The Israeli president is also said to have told Macron that "a vision of peace with Lebanon is the right objective", but this requires Israel to dismantle Hezbollah’s capabilities.

The Israeli military has issued a fresh warning to residents in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut to evacuate.

In a social media post, spokesperson Avichay Adraee says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is continuing its operations and attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in the region.

Adraee lists neighborhoods including Haret Hreik, Laylaki, Haddad and Borj el-Branjeh, from which he warns residents must "evacuate immediately" to avoid harm.

Earlier, Lebanon's health ministry said the number of people killed since the beginning of this conflict had risen to 1,072.

The New York Times, Reuters news agency and Israel's Channel 12 are reporting that the US has handed over a 15-point plan to Iran, via Pakistan, which earlier offered to host peace talks between the warring countries.

The outlets are citing unnamed sources. The BBC has not seen the document and is working to verify the reports.

Channel 12 lists some of the demands the US has reportedly made to Iran, including that the Strait of Hormuz is open and constitutes a free maritime zone. It also details what Iran would reportedly receive if it were to accept the plan, including the removal of sanctions.

We've asked the White House for more information and will bring you more details when we get them.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Israel's emergency responders say they are treating six children among nine people injured after a strike in the central city of Bnei Brak, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom says a 23-year-old man with shrapnel injuries is in a "moderate condition" while eight others, including six children, have suffered mild blast and shrapnel injuries following an explosion.

In a post on X, the responders also say they have rescued a boy, 7, with glass shrapnel injuries, and are conducting searches across a number of sites that have been struck.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

The Public Relations Office of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) says in a statement published by Iranian outlets that the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant has been attacked again today.

The statement alleges that the strike was "in continuation" of the attacks carried out by the US and Israel. It adds the incident caused "no financial or technical damage, and no casualties", and "no part of the facility" was affected.

The AEOI says the same nuclear power plant was hit on 17 March, but that incident also resulted in no casualties or damage.

It condemns the attacks on what it described as "peaceful nuclear facilities" and warns such actions could have "dangerous and irreparable consequences" for regional security and safety, "particularly for countries along" the Gulf.

Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant, in the southern city of Bushehr, was completed with Russia's assistance.

Iran’s nuclear programme has long been a point of contention, leading to extensive international sanctions. The US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February, two days after a third round of indirect US–Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.

Image source, Reuters

We're now moving away from Donald Trump's latest comments and turning back to what's happening across the Middle East.

Through the day, we've been seeing reports of Israeli strikes continuing to hit Lebanon.

The Lebanese health ministry says a further 33 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, while vast piles of rubble have been pictured in the capital Beirut.

Israel's military has now blamed Iran for a missile that fell in Beirut.

In an update, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says: "a ballistic missile fired by the Iranian terror regime fell in Beirut". It explains that this has been established "following an assessment and based on the data available to the IDF, alongside the launches carried out toward the State of Israel earlier today".

Iran has not commented.

Trump strikes positive tone on Iran negotiations, but lacks clarity on specificspublished at 19:35 GMT 24 March

19:35 GMT 24 March

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone in the Oval Office just now, doubling down on negotiations and publicly suggesting that this conflict will end through negotiations.

From a purely military standpoint, Trump clearly believes the US has already prevailed, saying the war "has been won" and blaming any ongoing questions about that on the media.

For the first time, we heard Trump directly confirm that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are taking part in negotiations.

Who they are negotiating with, however, remains unclear, as does the substance of the negotiations or any clarity on how far along they are.

Trump has also not, so far, publicly specified what exactly he wants from the Iranians as far as concessions, other than a firm commitment - which he says the US has - that Iran will abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

Other US war aims - such as an end to Iran's support for proxy organisations in the Middle East or an end to its ballistic programme - garnered little mention.

Importantly, Trump also made no mention of Israel, or how a negotiated settlement would support their own military and geopolitical objectives in the region.

Image source, Reuters

• Trump said his administration was "talking to the right people" in Iran, and "they want to make a deal so badly". He also said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are involved in the discussions
• The president said the Iranian regime have agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon - a claim he has made before. He also said strikes on Tehran have led to "regime change"
• He hinted at a "very significant prize" gifted to the US by Iranian negotiators, adding it was related to oil and gas, and the Strait of Hormuz. No further detail was given
• Asked how hopeful he was that a peace deal with Iran would work, Trump responded: "This war has been won". Though as our White House reporter noted, there was little mention of how the war could actually end

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

As we said in our last post, the issue of a potential deployment of US ground troops to Iran, or to secure the Strait of Hormuz, did not come up during Trump's Oval Office comments.

I've been pressing the White House for several hours on the topic, and just moments after Trump's event ended, I received a response.

"All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. "As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal."

Earlier today, the BBC asked the Pentagon for comment on the potential troop deployments, but was referred to the White House.

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Donald Trump gave wide-ranging remarks about the war in Iran on Monday in a lengthy exchange with reporters in the Oval Office.

The one issue that didn’t come up? A possible US troop deployment to Iran.

In the hour before Trump’s appearance, several news outlets reported that the Pentagon was close to finalising an order to send thousands of US troops to Iran.

But Trump wasn’t asked about the potential troop deployment by the press during the event. He didn’t bring it up on his own, either.

Trump said the US was negotiating a potential end to the war with Iran and that, as part of those talks, Iran has agreed to abandon its nuclear programme. Iran is yet to respond.

The last bit of this White House event we're going to bring you comes from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who Donald Trump asks to come to the microphone.

"We negotiate with bombs," Hegseth says, after Trump took questions on potential negotiations between the US and Iran.

He adds that "never in history" has a modern military force such as Iran's been so quickly "obliterated".

That's it for our live updates of this event - we'll bring you a round-up of the key points shortly.

Donald Trump - speaking to reporters at the White House - is asked for further comment on the Gulf states during the Iran war.

He says the UAE has been "excellent", and describes Qatar as "great".

Asked again how hopeful he is that a peace deal with Iran will work, Trump responds: "This war has been won".

Trump says Iranian negotiators have given the US a "very significant prize" related to oil and gas.

The gift, the US president says, is related to the Strait of Hormuz - but he doesn't give any further detail.

He says this showed him that "we're dealing with the right people".

Image source, Reuters

The Iranian regime has agreed the country will never have a nuclear weapon, Trump says - a claim he has made before during this conflict.

He is also asked to give a sense of who his teams have been negotiating with in Iran.

"We killed all their leadership, and then they met to choose new leaders and we killed all of them," Trump responds.

"Now we have a new group... let's see how they turn out."

Trump says that the US-Israeli strikes have led to "regime change" - but warns: "I don't trust anybody".

There's little to no mention of how war in Iran could endpublished at 18:43 GMT 24 March

18:43 GMT 24 March

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Trump has so far shed very little light on his thinking regarding a ceasefire, or the negotiated end to the war in Iran.

As recently as last week, Trump said that he was not interested in a ceasefire, and remained bullish on the conflict until yesterday's announcement that US forces would hold off on attacking Iranian energy facilities if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Asked what prompted him to change his mind, Trump said that the Iranians are now "talking to us" and "talking sense".

This claim, however, stands in contrast to public remarks from Iranian officials, although it may well be that initial overtures are taking place behind the scenes.

Trump's red line for negotiations continues to be that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

So far on Monday he has not made any mention of Iran's ballistic missile programme or its support for proxy groups in other parts of the Middle East - both of which were stated war aims of the Trump administration early on in the conflict.

Trump is asked about sending his senior adviser Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for direct negotiations with Iran.

The president says they are in negotiations "right now", alongside Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He claims Iran "would like to make a deal...and who wouldn't if you were there?"

Trump says Iran's navy, air force, and communications are "gone", and the fact that they can't communicate poses "the biggest problem".

US president seems optimistic about Iran's willingness to negotiatepublished at 18:30 GMT 24 March

18:30 GMT 24 March

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

While Donald Trump's initial remarks focused on the topic at hand - the swearing-in ceremony for Markwayne Mullin - the US president quickly praised the military success of Operation Epic Fury.

As we reported in our last post, Trump also said the US is "talking to the right people" and Iran wants "to make a deal so badly".

The Trump administration has so far publicly not specified who they would negotiate with in Iran, and various figures within the Middle Eastern country have denied such talks are taking place.

It is also not clear what form Trump believes the Iranian government will take once the conflict ends, or whether he stands by his previous remarks that the US should have a hand in choosing Iran's future leader.

On multiple occasions, Trump has suggested that he hopes for an Iranian equivalent of Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's acting president who took over governance of the country after Nicolas Maduro was captured by the US in January.

Trump's now answering questions from reporters, so we'll see if we get any further detail.

Image source, Reuters

Back in the White House, Donald Trump addresses the conflict in the Middle East while swearing-in his new secretary of Homeland Security.

He repeats claims made before, that Iran has no remaining navy, leaders or radar - and calls the US operation a "tremendous success".

On peace talks, he adds: "We're talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so badly."

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

We're continuing to listen into a White House event where Donald Trump is speaking (see our last post) and will bring you any updates on the war, but in the meantime BBC Persian has been speaking to Iranians about the conflicting reports surrounding talks between Iran and the US.

Most have been expressing their disbelief at the reports.

"I don't think that they will negotiate," says one man in Karaj, a city near Tehran.

"Even if the war stops, it will start again at some point," he says, adding that the Islamic Republic is "very much in place right now".

A woman in Tehran shares a similar view: "Trump is buying time for himself to take the war to another phase... I don't think that he's going to make a deal with them".

"I don't think that any negotiations are happening," says another Tehran resident. "[Trump] sometimes says various things. I think his games are complex."

• For context: On Monday, Iranian officials denied any contact with the US had taken place after Trump said there had been "productive" talks between Iran and the US. Iran's parliament speaker branded the comments "fake news".

Donald Trump is expected to appear at a White House event soon, where he'll be swearing-in his new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.

We've heard very little from the US president, so far, today. Earlier, on his Truth Social platform, he shared without comment an X post from Pakistani Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif, who has offered to host US-Iran peace talks.

We'll keep an eye and ear across the event, and bring you any key lines should Trump give an update on the war in the Middle East. You can also watch the event live at the top of the page.