Also in Lebanon, the Iranian ambassador has been expelled from the country and declared "persona non grata", according to Lebanon's ministry of foreign affairs.

In a statement, the ministry says Mohammad Reza Shibani had been asked to leave Lebanese territory by 29 March, later adding that the decision did not constitute a "severing of diplomatic relations" with Iran.

The department also says it has summoned its ambassador to Iran, Ahmad Sweidan, back to Lebanon due to "Tehran's violations of the norms".

Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, is calling for the country to "immediately reverse" its decision against Shibani and calling it a "national and strategic sin", according to a statement carried by Lebanese state media.

Hezbollah - considered a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and some other nations - is a Shia Muslim political and military group. It has strong backing from Iran and opposes Israel's right to exist.

The number of people killed in Lebanon since Israel began its latest operations against Hezbollah has risen to 1,072, according to the country's health ministry.

That's up from 1,039 on Monday, meaning 33 more deaths have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

The ministry says the number of people wounded has also increased, to 2,966 - up by 90 on Monday's figure.

Photographs from Tuesday show the damage caused to cities being hit by strikes.

In Tel Aviv, Israel, balconies were sheared off residential buildings and walls were seen shedding masonry into a crater, following what officials are saying was a direct hit from an Iranian missile.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

In Beirut, Lebanon, vast piles of rubble have been pictured in the southern suburbs following overnight strikes from Israel.

Image source, Reuters

Across Iran, some 82,417 "civilian units" (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies) have been damaged by air strikes since the start of the war, according to the president of the Iranian Red Crescent.

Images coming out of Tehran show some residents making preparations for future strikes.

Image source, Getty Images

A village in the north of Lebanon has been targeted by an air strike, according to unverified reports from Lebanese media.

The country's National News Agency says one of its correspondents reported the strike, while the LBCI claims a missile exploded mid-air, sending fragments across the area.

Reuters news agency says there were no immediate reports of casualties in the town of Sahel Alma.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the claims.

Sahel Alma is a town in the Keserwan district of Lebanon, north of the capital Beirut.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent, reporting from Doha

Bahrain has suffered one of its worst attacks of the war so far, after an Iranian missile hit a military base in the west of the island.

Bahrain said the attack on Hamala base killed a UAE military contractor (a Moroccan national) and injured over a dozen others, with four in critical condition.

All the injured are Bahraini or UAE military personnel.

A senior Gulf official said the attack marked "a dangerous escalation".

"We will not be intimidated; our partnership with the Gulf, the United Kingdom and the United States is further strengthened," the official adds.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet but that base was evacuated days before the war began, with ships leaving port to spread out at sea.

The island nation, which has often been "claimed" by Iran as a lost province, has debatably the worst relations with Tehran of all the six Gulf Arab states.

It continues to suffer nightly drone and missile attacks from Iran, the vast majority of which are intercepted. Other attacks have hit oil storage tanks, the airport and a residential apartment block.

Bahrain has a large and sometimes restive Shia population, some of which are known to have sympathies with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Bahrain is the only Gulf Arab state to deny entry to the international media.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

People in Iran have been speaking to BBC Persian about the Middle East conflict, one woman in her 20s says she "just wants to blink and have it all done and over".

"I don't know how to feel," she says, adding: "I don't even want to think about the next steps."

If the war ends and explosions stop, she tells the BBC, Iran will be left with a "regime that is very weak", but one that "still has power over their own people". She thinks the regime could "become even more violent".

Meanwhile, a man in his 20s from Tehran finds Iran's denial of negotiations with the US "interesting", adding: "Literally anything that happens they deny it."

"I don't care when it [the war] ends. I do care about how it ends," he adds.

• BBC Persian is the Persian language service of BBC News, used by 24 million people around the world - the majority in Iran - despite being blocked and routinely jammed by Iranian authorities.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

In our previous post we brought you images of daily life continuing in Tehran, but it comes amid the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Since the start of the war in Iran, 82,417 "civilian units" across the country have been damaged by airstrikes, according to the president of the Iranian Red Crescent.

The humanitarian organisation's president says that "a total of 281 hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies have also been targeted".

Due to rolling internet blackouts and government restrictions on independent journalism, we have less access to imagery showing the impacts of this conflict in Iran than we in other parts of the Middle East.

While we don't yet have verified photos of Israeli attacks on Iran today, images from inside Tehran show that daily life continues despite the ongoing conflict.

Image source, WANA via Reuters

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Aragchi.

In translated text from Chinese state media, Aragchi reportedly told Yi: "Iran is committed to a comprehensive ceasefire, not just a temporary one".

He also explained that "Hormuz is open to all, and ships can pass safely, but countries currently at war are not being considered".

The state media-provided readout of the conversation says Yi stressed: "Talking is always better than fighting" and urged for all parties to "seize every opportunity and window of opportunity for peace and initiate the peace process as soon as possible".

Image source, Reuters

The Lebanese presidency says the war "could have been avoided" if Israel had responded to calls to withdraw its occupancy in parts of southern Lebanon.

Earlier, Israel announced its intention to take control of a large part of southern Lebanon - up to the Litani River. The waterway connects the region to northern Lebanon and lies around 30km (19 miles) from the country's border with Israel.

Israel has blown up five bridges in the region, which it says were being used by Hezbollah.

In a post on X, the Lebanese Presidency account cites President Joseph Aoun as saying that "Israel's bombing of bridges aims to isolate villages and towns south of the Litani from the rest of the Lebanese regions".

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz says troops will establish a security zone up to the Litani River, and displaced residents will not be allowed back until northern Israel is safe.

It comes as Israeli strikes continue to hit parts of the country's south, and Israel's Defense Forces say a new wave of strikes on Lebanese fuel sites has been completed.

A civilian contractor working for the United Arab Emirates armed forces has been killed in Bahrain, the UAE's ministry of defence says.

In a statement, it says the serviceman, a Moroccan national, was killed "following an Iranian missile attack" that targeted Bahrain.

The ministry of defence says the attack also resulted in five injuries to members of the UAE military.

Image source, Reuters

The Israeli military says it has completed a wave of strikes across Lebanon "targeting fuel stations" that it says were being used by Hezbollah.

Over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says, it has targeted fuel stations belonging to the company Al-Amana.

It says this organisation is "controlled" by Hezbollah and "serves as significant financial infrastructure" supporting its activities.

"As part of the strikes, fuel stations in various areas of Lebanon were targeted and rendered inoperable," the IDF adds, explaining the stations had been used to fuel trucks transporting weapons and fighters.

Image source, Getty Images

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has volunteered his country as a venue for peace talks between Iran and the US.

"Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict," he writes on social media.

Meanwhile India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he has had a phone call with US President Donald Trump, in which the pair "had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia".

Modi says he and Trump agreed to keep in touch "regarding efforts towards peace and stability", and stresses that ensuring the Strait of Hormuz "remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world".

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business correspondent, in Manila

The Philippines has become the first country in the world to formally declare a state of national energy emergency in response to the Middle East conflict - and few nations are more exposed to the disruption to oil supplies.

The country imports 98% of its oil from the Gulf, and Filipino consumers have already endured multiple fuel price hikes over the past three weeks. The price of diesel and petrol has more than doubled since the war broke out.

In the Executive Order President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cited an "imminent danger" to the country's energy supply, saying the declaration would give the government the legal authority to impose measures to ensure energy stability and protect the broader economy.

Under the order, a committee has been formed to oversee the orderly distribution of fuel, food, medicines, and other essential goods. The government has also been empowered to directly purchase fuel and petroleum products to shore up supplies.

On Tuesday, the energy minister said the Philippines has roughly 45 days of fuel supply at current consumption levels.

The order remains in force for one year, unless extended or lifted by the president.

Image source, House of Commons/PA

Away from the UK's defence efforts in the Middle East, the economic impact of the conflict has been a key talking point in the House of Commons today.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has had numerous potential impacts on the UK economy, with the price for a barrel of oil moving back to above $100 this morning.

Such increases in oil costs could push petrol prices up by about 7p a litre, according to analysts, while natural gas price increases could raise energy bills and the price of food for households.

Speaking in the Commons, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says "the full economic impact of the war remains uncertain".

She adds that the government is bringing in a new "anti-profiteering framework" for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) - effectively stopping companies from "exploiting the crisis" through price hikes to customers.

• Follow our live page on UK economy for more updates on the topic

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

British forces shot down 14 drones overnight at a coalition base in Erbil in northern Iraq - the largest number in recent weeks.

Members of the RAF Regiment have been protecting the base with an Air Defence System known as Rapid Sentry.

The Coalition base in Erbil has come under repeated attacks from Iranian drones over the past three weeks.

We're briefly turning our attention to the UK, as Downing Street says British pilots have flown nearly 900 hours defending the UK and its allies in the region during the past four weeks.

Overnight, the UK defended allies in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan from attacks, the PM's official spokesman says, quoting Defence Secretary John Healey.

In our next post we'll bring you more from our correspondent on the UK's defence efforts in the Middle East.

Image source, AFP

As we've just reported, Israel's defence minister Israel Katz says it will take control of a large part of southern Lebanon.

We're seeing images from Lebanon of smoke rising in the southern city of Tyre and the villages of Hanniyeh and Kfar Tebnit following strikes.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israeli troops will take control of a large swathe of southern Lebanon as part of their campaign against Hezbollah.

Katz says troops will establish a security zone up to the Litani River, about 30km (19 miles) from the Lebanon-Israel border and displaced residents will not be allowed back until northern Israel is safe.

Five bridges "used by Hezbollah for the passage of terrorists and weapons" have been blown up, he says.

The latest escalation began after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the frequent Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite the November 2024 ceasefire.

Read more in our full story here.

At least one blast seen in video from Iran's Isfahanpublished at 12:50 GMT 24 March

12:50 GMT 24 March

Image source, X

By Richard Irvine-Brown and Emma Pengelly

BBC Verify has been looking into video and still images shared online late yesterday showing at least one explosion at Isfahan in central Iran. Some posts have claimed the blast was linked to strikes on an Iranian air base and energy infrastructure.

However, based on our geolocation of the images - checking landmarks and physical geography with satellite imagery - we can see the scene of the blast was at least 20km (12.5 miles) from the city's major power plant, 8km (5 miles) from the nearest air base and 22km (14 miles) from the entrance of the Isfahan nuclear facility.

The video (above, left) puts an explosion in line with the summit of Ghaémiyeh Mountain Park, seen from the north. The power plant would be out of shot to the west, the air base and nuclear site out of shot to the east.

One of the stills (above, right) shows how close the explosion was to the hills. Based on the angles from which these images were taken it would appear the explosion is in the approximate area of a local police headquarters and a 60-acre industrial site.