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Iran's police chief says anyone thinking of protesting against the government will be dealt with "in the same way we deal with the enemy"
It comes as Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the "people of Iran" on X, urging them to "remove the Ayatollah regime and gain your freedom" – here's what else he said
The Israeli military says it has launched a new wave of strikes on targets in Tehran; the UAE says it's responding to a "missile threat"; in Lebanon, smoke rises above Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike
Meanwhile, President Trump says the US has destroyed 10 "inactive mine laying boats", after telling Iran not to "put out any mines" in the Strait of Hormuz
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that Tuesday would be the "most intense" day of US strikes on Iran
And White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms the US Navy has not escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, after the US energy secretary said it had happened in a now-deleted post
Edited by Sam Hancock and Imogen James, with correspondents across the US and Middle East, and reporting from BBC Persian
Another flight chartered by the UK government to bring British nationals home from the Middle East left Dubai earlier on Tuesday.
It's the second such flight to have departed the city in the United Arab Emirates, the first having landed in the UK this morning.
In recent days the government has also arranged three charter flights from Oman, the third of which landed in the UK on Monday morning.
Officials estimate that more than 45,000 British nationals have left the Middle East since 1 March across commercial and charter routes.
"Air defence systems are currently responding to a missile threat" in the United Arab Emirates, the country's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority says.
In an update on X, it asks the public to remain in a safe location and follow official guidance.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has begun an "additional wave" of strikes on targets in Tehran, Iran.
It comes after the IDF said earlier today that it had struck key command centres of the Iranian armed forces.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian
Iran police chief Ahmadreza Radan has warned those Iranians who might protest on the streets against the establishment “at enemy’s bidding” that they will be treated as the “enemy”.
“If someone comes at the enemy’s bidding, we do not regard them as a protester or anything of the sort; we treat them as we would treat the enemy, and we deal with them in the same way we deal with the enemy", Radan said on state TV.
"All our forces also have their fingers on the trigger, ready to defend the [Revolution]”, he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued a direct message on 8 March to the Iranian people urging them to stand up against the establishment.
Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have publicly said they hope the ongoing conflict could lead to regime change in Iran.
Iran has recently seen a wave of nationwide anti-establishment protests that started in late December, prompting the deadliest crackdown in the Islamic Republic's history.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had confirmed the killing of at least 7,000 people during that wave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a thread on X addressed to the "people of Iran", calling for them to overthrow the Ayatollah regime and "gain your freedom".
"The Ayatollah is no more, and I know you don't want him replaced with another tyrant. So you must act. We are creating the conditions for you to do so," the thread reads.
The prime minister adds that he respects the Iranian people's sovereignty, and that he wants them to take action as the US and Israel aim to topple those in power.
"In the coming days we will create the conditions for you to grasp your destiny," he writes, adding later: "When the time is right, and that time is fast approaching, we will pass the torch to you."
Netanyahu posted a similar message on 8 March.
Families who have fled Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have taken shelter in stadiums and schools.
In Beirut's southern suburbs, Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, the home ground of Lebanon National Football Team, is among those being used as a makeshift shelter for displaced people.
A woman, who has been displaced by the conflict, cries following an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs
Children play at a shelter on the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, as smoke rises from the strike
Israel announced on Tuesday that it has launched fresh strikes towards the Lebanese capital. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was targeting "Hezbollah infrastructure" in the Dahieh suburb of the city
Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, has formally accused Israel of killing four Iranian diplomats in an attack on the Ramada Hotel in Beirut on Sunday.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iravani says the attacks were "deliberate" and "targeted" after the diplomats had moved from their official residences to the hotel.
"The targeted killing of four Iranian diplomats while they were serving as official representatives of a sovereign Member State on the territory of another sovereign State constitutes a grave terrorist act and a serious breach of international law," the letter says.
The strike hit the fourth floor of the hotel in central Beirut. The Israeli military said a secret meeting of Iranian operatives was under way inside.
The Israel Defense Forces said the five men killed in the strike worked for Iran's elite Quds Force – the overseas operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
An initial toll by the Lebanese health ministry said four people had been killed and 10 injured in the strike, but it did not identify them.
US forces have struck 10 Iranian boats attempting to lay naval mines, President Donald Trump shared just now on social media.
"I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow!" he writes.
The president also made an edit to his earlier social media post about Iranian mining efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, adding two lines in which he promises to take out boats 'violently'.
"Additionally, we are using the same Technology and Missile capabilities deployed against Drug Traffickers to permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait," he writes. "They will be dealt with quickly and violently. BEWARE!"
For context: US forces have also been targeting vessels they suspect of smuggling narcotics through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September. More than 100 people have been killed so far in the strikes, which some legal experts say violate international law.
Nadine Yousif
Senior Canada reporter
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says that the G7's strategic petroleum reserves should be made available to help offset the Iran war's shock to oil prices.
Carney made the comment in response to a question in the House of Commons about how he intends to support Canadians who are hurt by inflation related to the war.
"The best option is de-escalation, to have peace," Carney says in French.
He then adds: "We need to use the G7 oil reserves".
His comments come as the International Energy Agency (IEA) prepares to meet on Tuesday to discuss the release of strategic oil reserves, in a bid to bolster supplies and calm energy markets.
As we have been reporting, the war has effectively closed a key shipping route for Persian Gulf oil — the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran — spiking oil prices to their highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Earlier in the day, G7 finance ministers met to discuss the issue, but stopped short of ordering the release of the strategic reserves, ordering the IEA to review market conditions and the security of supplies before deciding.
Donald Trump says that consequences "will be at a level never seen before" if "Iran has put out any mines" in the Strait of Hormuz, but claims that the US has "no reports of them doing so".
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president says: "If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!
"If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.
"If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Oil prices around the globe have spiked in recent days over concerns about the passage of oil through the key shipping lane.
US intelligence assets believe Iran is preparing to deploy naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports. According to information obtained by CBS, Iran is using small craft which carry two to three mines each.
Russia says its consulate in Isfahan, Iran was damaged over the weekend as a result of strikes on the local governor's office located nearby.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the incident as a "flagrant violation" of international law but did not accuse any particular country.
"The conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, directly or indirectly affecting the interests of an increasing number of states and their civilians," she said.
There were no casualties or serious injuries, she added.
Nick Beake
Reporting from Dubai
The most significant Iranian attack so far on Tuesday has been a drone strike at the UAE’s Ruwais Industrial Complex – home to the biggest refinery in the Middle East.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office posted that a fire broke out and no injuries were reported. No further details were given.
Both Reuters and AFP news agencies said sources had told them the refinery had halted operations out of precaution.
Abu Dhabi state oil company ADNOC runs the site which can produce 922,000 barrels of oil per day.
Meanwhile, eight ballistic missiles were intercepted along with 26 drones on Tuesday, according to the defence ministry. It said nine drones got through air defences.
The country has now changed its national early warning system so that alerts sent overnight to mobile phones are much quieter.
Earlier, in Dubai, it was a standard text message ping, rather than a loud and repeated long beep that notified people of the latest attack.
Back in the White House, here's the final snippet of the briefing that we're going to bring you.
The US press secretary is asked about strikes on an Iranian school and how long an investigation will take to determine if they were carried out by the US.
Leavitt says the US's Department of Defence is handling the investigation and it's ongoing.
Away from the White House briefing, the Pentagon's just released a statement, saying around 140 US service members have been wounded since the beginning of the Iran war on 28 February.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell says "the vast majority of these injuries have been minor", and 108 service members have already returned to duty.
"Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care."
We've heard US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt address a now-deleted social media post from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The post said the US Navy had "successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz".
When asked about this, Leavitt says the Navy has not escorted a tanker through the strait, and that she's yet to speak to Wright about his post.
She defers any further questions to the energy department.
Asked by reporters how long the war in Iran will last, Trump's press secretary says the initial timeline was four to six weeks to destroy Iran's missiles and its Navy, eliminate its nuclear capabilities and wipe out its proxies.
The operation is ahead of schedule, she says, echoing comments made by Trump on Monday, but the war will not end until Iran's "complete and unconditional surrender, whether they say it or not".
Trump will be the one to determine when Iran does not pose a direct threat, Leavitt adds.
Leavitt now says "the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary, and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term".
She says the US military is drawing up additional options following Trump's directive to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Leavitt won't say what these additional options are, but "just know the president is not afraid to use them".
Back in the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is talking about the "success" of Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East.
She says Iran's ballistic missile attacks are down more than 90% and their drone attacks are down by around 85% since the start of the operation. She also says the US has destroyed more than 50 Iranian naval vessels.
Meanwhile, President Trump is committed to allowing the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, Leavitt says.
"It is a good thing to wipe out terrorists who indiscriminately target civilians and attempt to hold the global economy hostage," Leavitt says of the operation.
Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Chuck Schumer
While we listen in to a White House briefing, top Democrats in the US have been saying they're furious at what they're calling "Donald Trump's war", which they say is raising prices for ordinary Americans.
"Donald Trump is risking the lives of our troops, the safety of the American people, the stability of the world economy, and blowing a billion dollars a day based on whims, feelings, and contradictions," says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "His incompetency is dangerous and destructive."
Hakeem Jeffries, the highest-ranking Democrat in the US House, criticises the president and his Republican party for raising the cost of living.
He says the government isn't willing to "spend a dime to lower your grocery bill". But, he goes on, "they are raising gas prices on working class Americans".
Karoline Leavitt is speaking now, updating the world's media on the war in the Middle East.
We'll bring you any key lines on Iran, and remember you can watch Leavitt live at the top of this page.
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