The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it has carried out 27 operations in the past 24 hours, employing dozens of drones and missiles "against enemy bases in Iraq and the region".

It comes as we receive reports of renewed drone strikes on a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad International Airport.

Sources told AFP that there were at least three attacks on the diplomatic and logistics hub, which they report houses US military personnel. A fire broke out near the facility following the third strike, one official confirmed to the news outlet.

For context: Iran supports militias under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) which are part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

The PMF were formed over the last decade to fight the Islamic State group.

Image source, Getty Images

US military officials are making detailed preparations for the possibility of deploying ground troops into Iran, the BBC's US partner CBS reports, citing multiple unnamed sources briefed on the discussions.

Senior Pentagon officials are making specific requests to plan for such a move, CBS reports.

The planning includes conversations about how the US would handle the detention of Iranian soldiers if there were US troops in the country, CBS cites two of the officials as saying.

On Friday, President Donald Trump said that the US was considering "winding down" its operations against Iran. He earlier told reporters that does not want a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump earlier told reporters that he was not planning to send ground troops to "anywhere", adding "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you".

The Department of Defense has not responded to the BBC's request for comment about the reported troop movements on Friday.

US Central Command, which is in charge of Washington's military operations in the Middle East, declined to speculate on potential troop movements.

Image source, Reuters

The US Treasury is temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil currently at sea, allowing it to be sold to most countries in order to keep oil prices down.

The "short-term authorization" will allow approximately 140 million barrels of oil to enter global markets, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement posted to X on Friday.

Bessent said Iran will have "difficulty accessing" any financial profit generated from the sale.

The authorisation is "strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production", Bessent said.

"In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down," he added.

Oil and gas prices have risen sharply since the war began, and after Iranian strikes hit energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

The price of Brent crude oil is holding around $112 a barrel, up 3% Friday and 53% for the past year.

‘Missile debris’ falls near al-Aqsa mosque and Western Wall in Jerusalempublished at 23:59 GMT 20 March

23:59 GMT 20 March

Image source, Telegram

By Shaina Oppenheimer

Fragments reported to be from an Iranian missile have fallen near the holy sites of the Western Wall and al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem.

Verified footage shows damage to a railing and pavement in the Jewish Quarter. BBC Verify has checked the footage is authentic by matching what could be seen in the video with satellite maps.

A reverse-image search showed the footage had not appeared online before today. Earlier this week, missile fragments fell near the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Israeli authorities have closed holy sites in the Old City - including the church and al-Aqsa mosque - citing security concerns due to the war.

Image source, Telegram

Speaking to the BBC, retired Colonel Mark Cancian lays out a timeline of when recently announced US reinforcements will be arriving in the Middle East.

The first set of Marines will probably arrive in about five to seven days, after leaving Japan about a week ago, says Cancian, a senior advisor for defence and security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Another group of reinforcements announced on Friday - about 2,500 Marines - will take at least 30 days to arrive once they depart the west coast of the US.

Another smaller group - about 400 Marines - are at sea now and will arrive in about 20 days.

"So there's going to be reinforcements, but its going to take a while for all of them to get there," he says.

Iran is threatening to strike the UAE city of Ras Al Khaimah with "decisive force" as part of a dispute over two islands long claimed by the Emirates.

In a message carried by the state broadcaster on Telegram, the spokesman for Iran's armed forces warns that any "further aggression" on the islands of Abu Masa and Greater Tunb will be met by strikes on the Emirati city.

It does not specify the aggression but comes against the background of both islands being occupied by Iran for decades but claimed by the UAE.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Former Iranian detainee Siamak Namazi tells the BBC's US partner CBS News that he worries about American prisoners currently being held in Iran.

"For a hostage or wrongfully detained citizen abroad, their biggest fear is to be forgotten, and this is a very dangerous time for them, with all that's going on in Washington's mind," Namazi tells CBS Face The Nation host Margaret Brennan in a panel interview.

"They are the easiest-to-grab punching bag right now in the hands of that rogue regime," he adds.

After being detained in a notorious Iranian prison for eight years, Namazi was freed in 2023 in a diplomatic deal between the US and Iran. He was the longest held American prisoner in Iran.

At least four Americans are currently detained in Iranian prisons, two of whom the US says are there wrongfully, CBS News reports.

Bahrain is joining the UK and other nations in a pledge to support safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports from the state-run Bahrain News Agency.

"We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces," the joint statement says.

Bahrain joins the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Romania and Lithuania.

A joint statement was first published on Thursday, and several countries have since joined - including Bahrain.

They urge Iran to "cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block" the Strait of Hormuz, and expressed a "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait".

It is not yet clear what the efforts to secure the vital shipping lane would entail, or what the timeline would be.

Image source, EPA

The Strait of Hormuz has been a point of focus for the US president throughout this conflict.

He has in turn pledged tough action to get ships moving through it again, and criticised a perceived lack of support from Nato allies.

On 3 March, after Iran threatened to "set fire" to any ships trying to go through the vital shipping passage, the US president said that "if necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers" through.

On March 10, he threatened to hit Iran "twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far" if it "does anything that stops the flow of oil" within the strait.

But he has also said he wants to see allies involved in unblocking the shipping lane, saying on 14 March that "many countries, especially those who are affected", will be "sending war ships".

On 18 March, Trump asked "what would happen" to the Strait if the US "finished off" the Iranian regime, and "let the countries that use it, we don't, be responsible".

And earlier today, he criticised Nato countries that "complain about the high oil prices" but that "don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military manoeuvre".

Trump's latest message may not be well received by America's alliespublished at 22:32 GMT 20 March

22:32 GMT 20 March

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent, travelling with President Trump

About halfway through the flight on Air Force One from Washington to West Palm Beach, the press pool was given printouts of Trump’s latest Truth Social post on “winding down” the US military operations in Iran.

It’s the kind of treatment the president gives to social media messages that he particularly wants to amplify.

He did something similar with a post he wrote as we were flying back to the US after his South Korea meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last October.

Today’s Iran message seems carefully crafted, with its numbered list of US military objectives in the Iran War.

The president, who travelled to Florida with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appears to have chosen his words with diplomatic care.

The message, that the US will not take the lead in securing the Strait of Hormuz, may not be particularly well received by America’s allies, however.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Strikes are currently happening on Tehran, two sources tell me.

Iranian outlets are reporting that air defences have been activated in the city.

The Israeli military has put out new evacuation orders for the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

It says that residents of the southern suburbs "must evacuate immediately", specifying seven neighbourhoods: Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Haddad, Borj el-Brajneh, Tawhidat al-Ghadir, and Shiyah.

The military continues "operations and striking at military infrastructure" targeting Hezbollah "in various parts of the suburb and with increasing force", says the update - shared on X by Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic spokesperson.

We've had another update from US President Donald Trump on Truth Social.

"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," he says.

Turning to the Strait of Hormuz, Trump then says it "will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!"

"If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated.

"Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them."

Drone and missile attacks are being reported again by countries across the Gulf.

In a series of updates from the ministry of defense, Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted and destroyed six drones in the eastern region of the country.

Authorities in Dubai say that "sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations".

This follows an earlier update from the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence saying that it was "currently engaging with missile attacks and drones incoming from Iran".

Kuwait's Ministry of Defense has also said it is "dealing with hostile missile and drone attacks".

Sebastian Usher
Global affairs correspondent

We've just visited the site where missile debris fell on the edge of the Old City in East Jerusalem.

It's the first day of Eid, and normally you would have a large amount of people going to the al-Aqsa mosque.

This year, people have been kept away for security reasons, but the impact site of this missile debris is only around 300 metres from the al-Aqsa mosque, as well as the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I think this is an own goal for Iran.

The idea that they might put at risk, with their missiles, one of the holiest Islamic sites - you wouldn't have countenanced it a short while ago.

People in East Jerusalem felt relatively safe during this conflict, because of those intensely sacred sites being so close.

It was thought that Iran wouldn't risk it, until now.

The US stock market has just closed, with all three major indexes down for the day, marking their fourth straight week of losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined nearly 1% for the day, the S&P 500 slumped 1.5% and the Nasdaq fell 2%.

Brent crude oil prices are hovering around $112 a barrel, a rise of 3% for the day and 53% for the past year.

Image source, Reuters

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Keir Starmer of "putting British lives in danger" over the UK's agreement to let the US use British bases to strike Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

He warns Iran will "exercise its right to self-defence".

Posting on X, Aragchi says: “Vast majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-U.S. war of choice on Iran.

"Ignoring his own People, Mr. Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

President Tump says the UK's move on the use of its bases has been a "very late response".

Speaking outside the White House, Trump says: "I was a little surprised at the UK to be honest - they should have acted a lot faster."

Trump adds: "The relationship is so good - but this has never happened before. They were really pretty much our first ally... They didn't want us to use the island - the so-called island - which for some reason they gave up rights to it.

"I was a little surprised at the UK to be honest with you - they should have acted a lot faster".

That's a reference to Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands. The UK has agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius - and then lease back the base.

Earlier, the UK government said it had approved the use of its bases for the US to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Image source, Reuters

Trump is just leaving to spend the weekend in Florida, and is speaking to reporters at the White House.

He's been repeatedly asked about the conflict in Iran. One thing is clear: he still views Nato as not doing its part to secure global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, even as he says that Iran is being "obliterated".

"It's a simple military manoeuvre," Trump says of operations to secure the strait. "But you need a lot of help, in the sense that you need ships. And Nato could help us, but they so far haven't had the courage to do so."

As he has in the past, Trump suggested that the US does not need the strait for its own purposes - although this is only partially true.

In particular, he pointed to Japan and China.

"It would be nice if those countries would get involved," he said.

In brief comments on the UK, Trump also suggested that he has not changed his views on its role in the war following its earlier decision to allow US forces to use its bases to strike threats to Hormuz.

"They should have acted a lot faster," Trump said.

Trump tells reporters: "I don’t want to do a ceasefire."

He adds: "You don’t do a ceasefire when you are literally obliterating the other side."