Image source, Reuters

Waves of strikes have been reported across the Middle East overnight. Here's the latest.

• At least six people have been killed in Israeli attacks on central Beirut, according to Lebanon's health ministry
• One of the blasts flattened a building in Beirut's city centre.This isn't the so-called Hezbollah heartland in the south, but an surrounded by businesses and hotels, writes the BBC's Wyre Davies from the scene
• In Tel Aviv, Israel, two people have been killed following Iranian strikes, after Tehran vowed to retaliate for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani
• Explosions were also reported at the US embassy compound in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, in the early hours
• Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar all reported intercepting attacks, while air defence alerts sounded in Bahrain
• Late on Tuesday, the US announced that it had struck Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz with bombs that are capable of penetrating bunkers

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait says its air defences were deployed to intercept missile and drone attacks shortly before 00:00 GMT.

At around the same time, authorities in Bahrain sounded its sirens and issued a warning for its residents to take shelter.

Qatar's Ministry of Defence says it also intercepted a missile attack targeting its territory in the early hours of Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence says it has shot down a drone that was headed towards its embassy district, in a statement on X.

We're also seeing reports of blasts in Dubai and Baghdad in Iraq this morning, as Iran renews its attacks on Gulf states.

Two blasts heard in Dubai as air defence alerts soundpublished at 06:37 GMT 18 March

06:37 GMT 18 March

Azadeh Moshiri
South Asia correspondent, in Dubai

At 10:10 local time (06:10 GMT), our team received yet another alert on our phones warning of incoming missile threats - this time, while we were on air on a balcony.

About 10 seconds later, we heard two blasts in the distance.

Dubai is far emptier than usual, but as we peered down into the city, construction workers were carrying on with their tasks. Cars were still driving.

These phone alerts, and the sound of explosions, have become a common occurrence for residents who have chosen to stay.

The UAE has had to deal with more than 2,000 missiles and drones since the start of the war. The ministry of defence insists they have intercepted most of these attacks, and these sounds are their air defence system at work, guarding the country.

But what is harder to protect is the image of safety and stability the UAE has worked so hard to build.

According to Dubai's media office, authorities say they have intercepted the attacks, with no injuries reported.

Emergency teams in the United Arab Emirates say they are "responding to missile threats", as Iran renews its attack on neighbouring Gulf countries after the death of security chief Ali Larijani.

In a statement on X, the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority says: "Air defence systems are currently responding to a missile threat.

"Please remain in a safe location and follow official channels for warnings and updates."

The Reuters news agency is reporting loud explosions in Dubai.

Image source, UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Iran fired missiles carrying cluster warheads at Tel Aviv overnight in what state television said was retaliation for Israel’s killing of its security chief Ali Larijani.

Two people were killed when their apartment building was hit by bomb fragments.

Arab Gulf states have also come under renewed Iranian missile and drone fire.

After Hezbollah kept up its rocket attacks into northern Israel overnight, an Israeli air strike caused a large explosion in central Beirut. Israel’s military has also hit southern and eastern Lebanon as it intensifies its campaign against the Iran-backed armed group.

As the US and Israel continue to attack Iran, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has repeated his call for maximum restraint to avoid a nuclear accident. On Tuesday evening a projectile hit near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, but there were no reports of damage.

Image source, Reuters

Wyre Davies
Reporting from Lebanon

This is the scene of the latest Israeli airstrike, right in the heart of central Beirut, Lebanon's capital.

We were jolted awake at around 05:00 this morning by the sound of the blast. This isn’t the so-called Hezbollah heartland of southern Beirut - this is the centre of the city, surrounded by businesses and hotels, and just a short distance from where we’re staying.

One building is now a pile of rubble. It had been targeted several times in recent days, but this morning it was completely demolished.

Israel says it is targeting not only Hezbollah fighters and leaders, but also businesses it claims are linked to the group and help finance its military operations.

Overnight, there were also intensified airstrikes in the south of the country, particularly near the city of Tyre, where thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.

The Lebanese government says around one million people have now been displaced by the conflict, and more than 800 have been killed.

These pictures from Beirut, Lebanon's capital city, show the extent of the damage after Israeli strikes overnight.

The health ministry says at least six people were killed and 24 others injured - that number was given before another volley of missiles which came after Israel issued an evacuation warning.

Lebanon was pulled into this conflict a few weeks ago when Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Muslim political and military group, launched rockets and drones into Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader and repeated Israeli strikes.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Amir Azimi
Editor, BBC Persian

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

The Israeli air strike which killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, has removed one of the Islamic Republic's most experienced and influential policy makers at a critical moment.

Larijani was not a military commander, but he was a central figure in shaping Iran's strategic decisions.

As secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, he sat at the heart of decision-making on war, diplomacy, and national security.

His voice carried weight across the system, particularly in managing Iran's confrontation with the United States and Israel.

His death comes amid a broader campaign in which several senior Iranian officials and commanders have been killed within a matter of weeks. This pattern suggests a sustained effort to weaken Iran's leadership structure during wartime.

Despite his hardline stance against the West, Larijani was often described inside Iran as a pragmatist. He combined ideological loyalty with a technocratic approach, favouring calculated strategy over rhetoric.

You can read more about the impact of his death here.

Pictures have emerged from Tel Aviv, in Israel, where a man and a woman in their 70s were killed by an Iranian missile strike overnight.

Image source, Alexi J Rosenfeld via Getty Images

Image source, Ilia Yefimovich via Getty Images

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

For many Iranians, there is a fear of all sides: American and Israeli bombing of their cities as well as repression from supporters of the regime.

But more than two weeks of war has also left many hopeful that this moment could lead to the end of the current regime, which has a history of heavy-handed suppression of dissent, even as people despise the foreign bombs that have sent plumes of toxic smoke into the air.

The BBC has obtained footage and interviews from the Iranian capital Tehran which evoke a city of strained nerves, of constant waiting for the next air strike and relentless fear of the state security apparatus.

Baran – not her real name – is a businesswoman in her thirties. She is now too scared to go to work. "With the start of the drone attacks, no one dares to go outside. If I open my door and step out, it is like gambling with my life."

Read Fergal Keane's report here.

The US military says it has struck Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz with powerful bombs that are capable of penetrating bunkers.

In a post on X, the US Central Command said US forces had "successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites" along Iran's coastline of the strait.

"The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait," the US military says.

Iran’s effective closure of the waterway - through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil shipments move - has sharply disrupted maritime traffic and contributed to rising global oil prices.

The huge bombs are likely to be similar to the "bunker busters" that the US used when it attacked three underground nuclear sites in Iran last year.

Unlike conventional bombs, bunker busters are not designed to explode in the air, on the ground or surface of a target. They are encased in heavy, hardened steel and are made to penetrate deep into the ground before detonating.

Correction: We have removed an image from this post which was incorrectly captioned as the Strait of Hormuz.

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

We're hearing more reports of an Israeli airstrike in another central suburb in Lebanon's capital of Beirut.

A witness told Reuters news agency that they heard loud explosions in the city's Bachoura neighbourhood after the Israeli military issued a statement urging the evacuation of a building there.

For context: Lebanon was pulled into this conflict a few weeks ago when Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Muslim political and military group, launched rockets and drones into Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader and repeated Israeli strikes.

Image source, Reuters

There are reports of new attacks on the US embassy compound in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

AFP and Reuters news agencies reported explosions in the early hours of Wednesday.

Both say security sources and AFP journalists in the city heard explosions near the embassy, which is in the highly fortified Green Zone area, home to many diplomatic missions and international organisations.

The US outpost has been attacked several times since the start of the war.

Image source, EPA

Meanwhile, Israel says it has been carrying out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon's capital Beirut, where the health ministry says at least six people have been killed and 24 others injured.

Local media previously reported that one strike hit an apartment building in the central Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, which is close to the government headquarters and several embassies.

A second strike also hit the central Basta district, with witnesses hearing several explosions, according to AFP.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on 2 March when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Image source, Andalou via Getty Images

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami has threatened to launch a "decisive" retaliation for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli air strike.

"At the appropriate time and place, a decisive, deterrent, and regretful response will be given to the criminal America and the bloodthirsty Zionist regime," Hatami says in a statement.

He adds that Larijani's and the deaths of other "martyrs will be avenged".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which is separate from the army, says it has already launched missiles at central Israel "in revenge" for Larijani's death, AFP news agency reports.

Israel's emergency services have been responding to missiles strikes on Tel Aviv overnight.

Image source, Getty Images

Our coverage continues as Iran and its allied groups launch retaliatory strikes through the night. Here are the latest developments:

• Iran state media confirms the killing of Ali Larijani, the influential secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in an air strike. He is the most senior official to be killed since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
• Iran's army chief vows revenge for the killing of Larijani by threatening a "decisive, deterrent, and regretful response". Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which is separate from the army, says it has already launched missiles at central Israel "in revenge" for Larijani's death, AFP reports
• In Israel, a man and a woman in their 70s are dead following an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv
• Israeli military continues striking Hezbollah targets across Lebanon. Lebanon's Health Ministry says at least six people have been killed and 24 others injured in two Israeli strikes on central Beirut, AFP reports
• A UN agency says a projectile hit an Iranian nuclear power plant, but that there was no damage
• The US military says it has struck Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz
• And Donald Trump has lashed out at Nato and other allies, and claimed the US "no longer need or desire" their help in the Iran war after previously asking them for support

Stay with us for updates and analysis.