Matt Murphy
BBC Verify senior journalist

BBC Verify had elsewhere been looking into demonstrations that have broken out in at least 17 of Iran's 31 provinces, sparked by fresh currency devaluations which have exacerbated the country's economic woes.

BBC Verify has examined more than 100 videos circulating online, showing that protests have now occurred in almost every major Iranian city. Some 53 towns and cities have seen demonstrators take to the streets since 28 December 2025.

The initial focal point on the unrest was in Tehran, where protestors - mostly shopkeepers - demonstrated against what they said was the government's systemic corruption and mismanagement of the economy.

But BBC Verify has confirmed footage even showing unrest in Qom and Mashhad. The cities, which are both important sites in Shia Islam, the country's dominant religion, have usually been seen as being exceptionally loyal to the Islamic Republic.

Prof Sina Azodi, Director of Middle East Studies at George Washington University, said that unrest in those cities was "very telling" and amounted to evidence that the government's "base of support is also suffering under the economic hardship".

You can read our full piece here.

Joshua Cheetham, Thomas Spencer and Alex Murray
BBC Verify

Image source, US Air Force

BBC Verify has been monitoring several military flights over the North Atlantic, in the area where Marinera is reportedly being pursued by US authorities.

Tracking data from sites such as FlightRadar24 show a US Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker departed from RAF Mildenhall at 08:54 GMT and is currently off the west coast of Scotland flying towards Iceland. This type of plane is generally used to provide aerial refuelling.

Three Pilatus U-28A Draco aircraft have also departed from the same air base and are flying north along Scotland’s east coast. These are used by US Air Force Special Operations Command for reconnaissance and other specialist missions.

Since the start of January, BBC Verify has identified an increasing number of spy planes - including P8 Poseidons - flying around an area of the Atlantic between the UK and Iceland.

It is unclear if the flights are involved with monitoring the vessel. But their area of operation corresponds with the reported location of Marinera during this period.

Kayleen Devlin
BBC Verify senior journalist

The Marinera tanker reportedly being pursued by US forces changed the flag under which it was registered from Guyana to Russia mid-voyage on 24 December.

As we reported yesterday, several other sanctioned tankers have made similar registry changes to Russia in recent weeks. Michelle Bockmann, a maritime intelligence analyst at Windward, says vessels do sometimes change their flag mid-voyage but that "it’s highly unusual and only seen with dark fleet tankers”.

Brockman told BBC Verify that changing ship’s flag to a Russian registry can “complicate US enforcement efforts”.

The US Coast Guard tried to board Marinera/Bella 1 last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. It was on a list of tankers under US sanctions.

Brockman added: “With Marinera, it was previously flying falsely under the flag of Guyana. Under United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, there’s a provision called Article 110 that allows a stateless vessel to be boarded by authorities. By reflagging to Russia, the vessel is no longer able to be boarded under this provision.”

Since the US seizure of Skipper on 10 December - the first oil tanker seized by the US Coastguard - BBC Verify has identified a total of 18 US-sanctioned oil tankers that switched to a Russian registry, with many of them having previously been sailing under a false flag.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

Image source, Hakon Rimmereid via Reuters

Today we’re monitoring the oil tanker pursued by US authorities across the North Atlantic as new reports suggest Russia has deployed navy assets to escort the ship, according to CBS News, the BBC's media partner in the US.

According to AIS location data from ship-tracking platform Marine Traffic, the reported location of Bella 1 as of 1100 GMT about 200km south-east of the Icelandic coast. Previous AIS tracking data for the vessel suggests it travelled north past the western coast of the British Isles over the past two days.

The US Coast Guard tried to board Marinera, formerly the Bella 1, last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. It had a warrant to seize the ship, which was accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil. It then dramatically changed course, changed its name, and re-registered as a Russian vessel. It had previously been falsely registered under a Guyanese flag.

Russia says it is "monitoring with concern" the situation around the ship. Two US officials told CBS News earlier on Tuesday that American forces were planning to board the ship, and that Washington preferred to seize it rather than sink it.

Adam Durbin
BBC Verify Live senior journalist

Hello from BBC Verify Live, where we started the day covering the Marinera oil tanker as it was being pursued by the US Coast Guard and planned to look into other key stories. Once the ship was seized, we shifted our coverage to exclusively examine this incident. Normal BBC Verify Live coverage will resume tomorrow.

Here's how we started out:

We’re tracking activity around a US-sanctioned oil tanker reportedly being pursued by the US Coast Guard. Marinera, formerly called the Bella 1, is currently around 200km (120 miles) south of Iceland in the North Atlantic and Russia is reported to have deployed navy ships to accompany it.

We’re monitoring the situation in Venezuela following the US attack and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro last week, as well as the ongoing diplomatic row between the US and Denmark over Greenland. We’ve looked at whether the US has any legal right to take over the Arctic territory.

The team is also monitoring the situation in Iran, where deadly anti-government protests have spread to most provinces in the country since unrest broke out on 28 December. We’ve already examined more than 100 videos which have emerged online of the protests which show they have spread to many major cities in Iran, including those regarded as particularly loyal to the Iranian government.