Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Iran possessed “11 bombs-worth” of enriched uranium at the start of the war, and could have turned it into weapons-grade nuclear material in as little as one week, senior Trump administration officials say.

Speaking to reporters in a call on Tuesday, officials say Iran’s stockpile consisted of 10,000kg of enriched uranium, of which roughly 460kg was enriched to 60%.

That material could have been enriched to the 90% threshold generally considered to be weapons-grade in “one week to ten days,” one official says.

The officials say that Iran had also tested weapons “casements” and “detonators,” which the US officials say was evidence that Tehran would have been able to quickly take weapons-grade uranium and turn it into a weapon to be used against adversaries.

The update offers the most detailed account, since the start of the war, of the administration’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program.

It comes as US President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials make the case that the war was necessary to eliminate Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

Trump has repeatedly said that the US strikes on Iran last year “obliterated” the country's nuclear program.

But there is still enriched nuclear material at all three sites, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

A fire broke out after a drone strike near the US Consulate in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, the city's government media office has confirmed .

The fire has been successfully contained, it says. "Emergency teams responded immediately. No injuries have been reported."

Videos posted to social media show large flames and plumes of smoke erupting from the building.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran struck the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Donald Trump says "if necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible".

The US-Israel war with Iran has almost entirely halted shipping traffic passing through the sea passage, which passes between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

It's one of the most important routes in the world for global oil and gas supplies, with almost 20 million barrels of oil passing through a day.

Trump says he has also instructed a federal agency to provide "political risk insurance and guarantees for ALL Maritime Trade" through the Gulf.

"No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the World," he says.

Explosions seen at army complex in central Tehranpublished at 19:48 GMT 3 March

19:48 GMT 3 March

By Richard Irvine-Brown and Shayan Sardarizadeh

A video of several large explosions at a major Iranian military complex in the capital Tehran this morning has been verified.

The footage, checked by BBC Verify, shows huge amounts of smoke and at least one explosion, while the sound of other blasts can be heard at the site of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command centre, north of Sepah Square.

We have confirmed the exact rooftop from which the video was filmed by matching visible landmarks, like distant tower blocks and nearby rooftop furniture, to satellite imagery.

By timing the delay from seeing the explosions to hearing them, we can estimate they happened around 800 to 900m (2,600 to 3,000ft) away from the person filming - further indication the IRGC facility was hit.

Image source, X

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

As strikes continue on the Iranian capital, it seems like the opinion of some of those that I've been speaking to is changing.

Milad, a resident of Tehran, says he's "tired and confused" as to what might happen next.

Meanwhile Shahram says he counted 30 explosions today, and the smoke "filled the air inside" their house.

He adds: "What do you think will be the end of this? When will it end? I just want prosperity. And peace, for all of us.

"It’s scary. Really scary."

The internet is still down for most people, but some have managed to connect momentarily. NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet connectivity, says the current blackout in Iran has lasted for more than 84 hours.

Sarah Jalali
BBC Monitoring

Image source, IRINN

Iranian state TV has broadcast the funerals today of students killed in what Iranian authorities have said was a US-Israeli strike on a school in southern Iran on Saturday.

Coffins draped in the flag of the Islamic Republic could be seen being carried through a large crowd.

The broadcast was accompanied by a voiceover recounting the grief of mothers and fathers who had lost their daughters.

It was also claimed that more than 160 graves have been prepared for those killed in the strike.

The girls’ school is near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base which has previously been targeted.

US Central Command said it was looking into reports of what happened while the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of any operations in the area.

Hugh Schofield
Paris correspondent

France is sending its only aircraft-carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the eastern Mediterranean in response to the deepening crisis.

President Macron made the announcement in a short address to the nation. He also said France was sending a frigate equipped with air-defence systems to Cyprus.

France has defence agreements with the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, all of which have been targeted by Iran. President Macron said France would stand by its partners.

Macron says France needs to "stand alongside our friends and allies in the region", adding that the country's "responsibility is strictly defensive".

"We are aiming to restore peace as quickly as possible," he says.

Macron says France has agreed to send additional air defences to Cyprus, including a French frigate - a warship - which will arrive off the coast of Cyprus this evening.

"We are co-ordinating with our European allies and partners in order to ensure that the security of the eastern Mediterranean is ensured," he adds.

We've just been hearing from French President Emmanuel Macron, who says he agrees with the leaders of Germany and the UK that a rapid resolution of the conflict in Iran is desirable.

The French leader then says he hopes the Iranian people will be able to make their own decision about the country's fate.

Macron says the French military is working to protect its own national interests in the region and is enhancing security at its embassies.

Nearly 400,000 French nationals are in the region in short or long-term stays, Macron adds, and says repatriation flights are under way - two will arrive in Paris this evening.

Fact-checking Trump’s claims of Sharia law in the UKpublished at 19:13 GMT 3 March

19:13 GMT 3 March

By Tom Edgington

During Donald Trump's White House news conference with German Chancellor Merz earlier, the US president criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he was a “terrible mayor”.

He went on to claim Sharia law was operating in Britain, saying “you have Sharia courts adjudicating law”.

Sharia law is an Islamic legal system and Sharia councils do exist in the UK. There were an estimated 85 across the UK in 2009, according to the UK-based think tank Civitas, external.

However, most of their work deals with religious marriage arbitration and they may also rule on financial matters but the UK government has previously been clear that their rulings are "not legally binding".

British Justice Minister Sarah Sackman told MPs in September that Sharia law “forms no part of the law of England and Wales”.

She went on to say that when people choose to put themselves before such councils, it is “part of religious tolerance which is an important British value”, external.

Last month, the government said “there are no Sharia law courts”, external, when specifically asked how many operate in the UK.

It’s not the first time the US president has made a claim like this. In September he was criticised for saying London wants to "go to Sharia law", in an address to the United Nations.

Guy Hedgecoe
Reporting from Madrid

The government of Spain has responded to US President Donald Trump’s threat to “cut off all dealings” with the country, by underlining its significance and reliability on the international stage.

“Spain has been terrible,” Trump said earlier today, in reference to the refusal by the left-wing government of Pedro Sánchez to allow the United States to use its military bases to attack Iran. Madrid has said the attacks are an “unjustified and dangerous military intervention”.

Trump also repeated criticism of Spain’s decision not to join Nato allies in raising defence spending to five percent of GDP, in line with his demands.

“So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain,” Trump said, adding "we don’t want anything to do with Spain”.

A Spanish government source pointed out that Spain is “a key member of Nato” and that it fulfils its commitments.

They also said that if Washington wants to review its trade relationship with Spain “it should do so while respecting the autonomy of private companies, international legality and bilateral accords between the EU and the United States”.

History reminds us that UK-US disagreements can blow overpublished at 18:58 GMT 3 March

18:58 GMT 3 March

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Reuters

Ooodles of diplomatic energy have been expended on the unlikely relationship between the human rights lawyer and the real estate magnate turned reality TV star.

It was a political double act that long appeared unlikely and, for a while at least, appeared much stronger than many would have anticipated. It looks rather less strong tonight.

President Trump’s belittling and mocking tone – comparing, deeply unfavourably, Starmer with the UK’s most celebrated wartime leader, Winston Churchill – is a remark that will wind and wound.

Precedent suggests noisy bust ups with President Trump don’t always mean a relationship is doomed – these moments can blow over. And history reminds us big stand offs between London and Washington.

The UK resisting American pressure to send troops to Vietnam, for instance, didn't banish relations to a perpetual deep freeze.

But 80 years to the week since Winston Churchill first used the phrase ‘the special relationship’ to describe the UK and America’s friendship, another page in the contemporary chapter of its history is written.

Image source, UK MOD

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has shared new images and video footage on its website of British F-35 jets, which it says have shot down hostile drones over Jordan, Iraq and Qatar.

The MoD says it's the first time British F-35s have shot down targets during an active operation.

An F-35 is a fighter jet, designed to be incredibly difficult to detect or track.

UK forces are "actively defending partners across the region as part of co-ordinated defensive action", it says.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Beirut

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Here in Lebanon, tens of thousands of people have now been displaced from their homes as hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah continue to escalate.

In the capital Beirut, volunteers at shelters and food kitchens tell me they were concerned they would not be able to meet the needs of the growing displaced population, which the United Nations says currently stands at at least 30,000.

People are sleeping in displacement camps, on pavements, in parks and in their cars.

“Last time [I was displaced], I stayed for 26 days in a tent. We were humiliated. God knows how long [it will last this time] - two months, three months, maybe it will end tomorrow,” one woman, still dressed in the pyjamas she fled her home in, tells me.

At a different shelter, 32-year-old mother of two Fatima says she is angry at Hezbollah for firing rockets and drones into Israel.

“I wish Hezbollah had not done it. Now we are homeless and humiliated. Who is happy now?”

Elsewhere, a man sleeping in his car says he had grown used to being displaced by air strikes.

“The sound is normal for me and leaving my home is normal for me. It’s difficult but we’re used to it,” says 53-year-old Jamal.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Ben Wright
Political correspondent

What we used to call the special relationship has never looked less so... at least not in recent years.

The increasingly fractious relationship between London and Washington is on full display here over the Chagos deal, which Trump has been blowing hot and cold about for the past few months.

But it's also specifically about the United Kingdom's decision not to grant the United States permission to use Diego Garcia, the US-UK joint base in the Chagos Islands, to launch bombing raids in those first attacks on Iran on Saturday.

The prime minister's reasons: he doesn't think that the US-Israeli effort is lawful and he doesn't think there's a plan underpinning it.

Twenty-four hours or so later, he said the base could be used for defensive actions to defend UK interests in the region.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

Over the past 24 hours, RAF F-35 jets flying over Jordan have shot down an Iranian drone.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) said it was in defence of the Kingdom of Jordan and the first time a UK F-35 has shot down a target on operations.

British forces in Iraq have also taken down an unspecified number of drones in Iraqi airspace, said to be heading towards coalition bases in the country, using counter drone systems on the ground.

On Monday, an RAF Typhoon jet shot down and Iranian attack drone said to be directed at Qatar. RAF Typhoons have been operating from Qatar as part of an enhanced defensive posture in the region.

The US says it has hit more than 1,700 targets in Iran since it began its military operations in the country on Saturday, according to an update from the US Central Command (Centcom).

The targets hit include missile sites, navy ships, submarines and control centres, it says.

Centcom adds that the US used aircraft - including multiple fighter jets - as well as missile systems and ships to carry out the attacks.

The update, which provides information of the first 72 hours of the operation, adds that Centcom is prioritising "locations that pose an imminent threat".

Building linked to Iran leadership watchdog destroyed in attackpublished at 18:04 GMT 3 March

18:04 GMT 3 March

By Shayan Sardarizadeh

Two videos filmed in the city of Qom today show the aftermath of a strike on the secretariat building of the Assembly of Experts, Iran’s main leadership watchdog.

The clips, which BBC Verify has confirmed were filmed near Qom’s Basij Square, show the secretariat building has been almost completely destroyed. A building nearby was also heavily damaged in the attack.

According to Iran’s constitution, the Assembly of Experts is made up of 88 senior clerics and is tasked with appointing the next supreme leader following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reports the building was old and not being used for the assembly’s sessions. State broadcaster IRIB says “these buildings had been evacuated beforehand” and no casualties had been reported.

Image source, Telegram/VahidONline

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's White House news conference has now finished. But here are some of the key lines we heard:

• The US president says he believed Iran was "going to attack first" after negotiations with the US failed to reach agreement on its nuclear programme
• "Just about everything's been knocked out in Iran," Trump also says
• After eliminating the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump says the worst case scenario in Iran is that "somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person". This leaves questions unanswered about future leadership, our White House correspondent writes
• Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, is one option but Trump said the best case scenario is that "somebody already there" takes over

Trump also heavily criticised two US allies, accusing the United Kingdom and Spain of being "very uncooperative" since the US launched strikes on Iran.

• "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," Trump says of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• It's the most barbed comment from Trump about Starmer to date, our political editor Chris Mason says, since the pair clashed over a deal for the Chagos Islands - more on that in this post
• On Spain, he says is "going to cut off all trade" with the country, adding that he has told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all dealings"

Chris Mason
Political editor

Downing Street are resisting the temptation to offer an on the record response to President Trump’s broadside.

Instead, senior folk I talk to are repeating the thrust of the argument we heard from Keir Starmer in Parliament yesterday, when he said he was a British prime minister acting in the British national interest, with a sense of where British public opinion is.

A poll by YouGov suggests substantially more people in Britain are opposed to America’s military action than they are in favour of it.