Truce remains fragile between Israel and Iranpublished at 20:33 BST

20:33 BST

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

Both Israel and Iran say they are holding fire - for now. And both countries are trying to signal that life will now return to what it was before this brief escalation.

Iran announced that flights would resume. Israel said schools could reopen and people return to work.

But it’s also clear that this fragile truce is certain to be shattered again. Both sides refer to a new equation – a reference to Tehran’s insistence that this ceasefire, which came into force in early April, includes Lebanon.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on social media, "We have disrupted the equation of a ceasefire on paper and its repeated violations in the field."

But in his comments, Prime Minister Netanyahu accused Iran, and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, of trying to impose a new equation on Israel – in his words, it was unacceptable and intolerable.

What happens in Lebanon has a direct impact on the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States – they were said to be making progress although it was never clear how close they were to a deal.

Image source, Reuters

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Iran of using his country as a bargaining chip in peace talks with the US.

In an interview with CNN that aired today, Aoun addressed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the main backers of Hezbollah, and said: "It's not your country, it's our country."

"(Iran is) using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with US."

He said: "You are not trying to help us... the people of Lebanon are paying the price... for the sake of your own interest."

Aoun said he would take "whatever it takes" to save his country from conflict and that he is "committed" to negotiations to end the war. Addressing Israel, he said: "If you are not, you will never live in peace, safety and security."

He criticised the Israeli military strategy in dismantling Hezbollah, saying they can only be "dealt with" by the Lebanese government if Israel withdraws.

“They can invade the whole country, they can flatten the whole country, but they will never be able to achieve their objective,” Aoun said of Israel.

In response to the interview, Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X that had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, "we'd have a deal long ago".

He said: "Based on Mr. Aoun's comments, one would think it's Iran that has occupied 1/5 of Lebanon, displaced 1/4 of Lebanese and bombing his country on daily basis."

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has issued a new statement in which he blames "recent tensions" on the US "violat[ing] the ceasefire" with the naval blockade.

"Our goal is to end the war and create lasting security, not to normalise relations with the United States, and we do not trust the other side," Qalibaf writes on Telegram.

He adds Iran will turn the blockade "into another defeat" for the US.

As a reminder, the US Navy sought to blockade Iran's ports after Iran looked to control passage and impose tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

An Iranian foreign minister is slamming the EU's sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities - which were announced earlier today - as "hypocritical" and "fraudulent".

"The EU member states themselves are among the biggest violators of the rights of the Iranian people and the EU has also deliberately remained silent about the US naval blockade of Iran, which is considered an act of war!" Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, wrote on X.

Gharibabadi added that Iran "does not place any value" on the EU's sanctions and that Iran will continue its sovereign rights over the Strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli military has announced the lifting of restrictions in some parts of the country.

Several areas of northern Israel including Sifsufa, Meron, Or HaGanuz and Sde Eliezer will move to a "partial activity level" beginning Tuesday morning.

This means schools and workplaces can gather again indoors or in locations close to bomb shelters. Up to 100 people may gather outdoors and 400 indoors.

The rest of Israel has no restrictions. The change comes as both Iran and Israel signalled a halt in the latest round of conflict which has seen missiles fired in each other's direction.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

The head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation has said that Iran will be resuming flights hours after cancelling them earlier today.

According to Iranian outlets, Abouzar Shiroudi has said that following the announcement earlier by the authorities that the "military operations have ended", the country's airspace has "returned back to normal" and aviation operations will "resume".

Image source, Getty Images

Here are the latest updates on the resumption of strikes between Iran and Israel.

Today, Iran said it had ceased attacks on Israel, but would resume them if Israel continued strikes in Lebanon.

Israel's defence minister Israel Katz recently said its military will continue to operate in southern Lebanon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the fight with Hezbollah and Iran was not over yet.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of military action, citing "Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement".

Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X that the country would "not retreat in the face of any threat".

Meanwhile, the White House confirmed that US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu had called to discuss the Iran-Israel exchanges of fire.

And, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged "all sides" to exercise restraint, especially when "the final objective is just about to be achieved".

In Europe, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had sanctioned Iranians over "restricting naval traffic" in the Strait of Hormuz - more about that here.

Reports emerged earlier today that Israel and Iran had both agreed to halt attacks on each other after Tehran attacked Israel in response to Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had hit a petrochemical plant in northern Israel after the IDF said it launched strikes on targets at an Iranian petrochemical facility.

Tehran senses Trump's appetite for risk is currently lowpublished at 17:45 BST

17:45 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

The Israelis will have calculated they could not let Iran's strikes - in retaliation for its attacks on Beirut - pass. But Iran's calculation here is critical too: The Iranian leadership were testing Trump as much as the Israelis.

Tehran wants at least two things from Washington as a priority: One is access to money (it is under considerable economic pressure particularly with the US blockade). The other is to deter Israeli escalation against its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

By striking Israel, Iran was also testing how far Washington would respond. Tehran senses Trump's appetite for risk is currently low, although each action may be pushing his patience. Trump responded to its ballistic missile strikes by - at least publicly - calling for restraint and by keeping the US itself out of the fight.

So Tehran's leaders will sense that they still have considerable leverage: On the battlefield by forcing some brakes on Israel's actions in Lebanon, and on the negotiating table as they press the Americans for sanctions relief and access to tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets from its oil revenues.

Did Netanyahu defy Trump? Almost certainly notpublished at 17:23 BST

17:23 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

After Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel, Trump spoke to several journalists, telling one he was "going to call [Netanyahu] right now and tell him not to retaliate". The implication was an Israeli attack on Iran could jeopardise his already perilously fragile diplomacy with Tehran.

Hours later, Israel attacked Iran with waves of airstrikes targeting air defences and a petrochemical complex.

Did Netanyahu defy Trump? Although that's one prevailing narrative, the answer is almost certainly no.

The US currently has its biggest military presence in the region since the invasion of Iraq. It has hundreds of military personnel in Israel liaising with the IDF. In this case Israel would have needed to coordinate with US forces based in the region over air routes. The IDF briefed Israeli journalists after the strikes there was "full coordination" with US Central Command. It said the US military also helped shoot down missiles fired by Iran at Israel.

It is inconceivable that Israel could have attacked Iran without at least Trump’s tacit consent. As the veteran US negotiator Aaron David Miller told the BBC this morning, Trump would have given Netanyahu a "blinking yellow light".

The Israel Defense Forces has issued an "urgent alert" to residents of southern Lebanon, particularly those in the Ziqoq Al-Mufdi area, urging them to evacuate their homes and move north.

"In light of the terrorist Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Defense Army is compelled to act against it forcefully," Arabic-language spokesman for the IDF Avichay Adraee wrote on X. "The Defense Army does not intend to harm you."

"Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means is endangering their life!"

We have just heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a televised statement, he describes Iran and Hezbollah as weaker than ever, and says Israel is holding off attacks on Iran for now, but suggests a fight with them is not yet over.

"At the moment, the fire is contained," because Israel has responded to Iran's strikes, he says.

He says that if "Iran makes the mistake and attacks us again - we will respond forcefully," adding "Israel has a full right to self-defence and we exercise it to the extent necessary".

Netanyahu also mentions his conversations with US President Trump, who he is known to have spoken to since strikes began on Sunday.

Israel's defence minister Israel Katz says that the country's military will continue to operate in Lebanon, after exchanging strikes with Iran over the last day.

Katz says that the IDF will continue to operate against Hezbollah and Israel rejects threats from Iran.

Earlier Iran said that it had ceased its attacks on Israel, but would resume them if Israel continued strikes in Lebanon.

Verified videos show aftermath of strikes in southern Lebanonpublished at 16:13 BST

16:13 BST

Image source, Telegram

By Kellie Highet and Kumar Malhotra

We’ve verified two videos from today showing the aftermath of apparent Israeli strikes in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon.

One was filmed from the port in Tyre and shows a large cloud of smoke rising up from elsewhere in the city. Buildings and other features on a jetty enabled us to confirm the location it was filmed from.

Another video was filmed in Burj al-Shamali, east of Tyre, which shows extensive damage to buildings along one of its main streets. We matched some of the buildings to satellite imagery on Google Earth.

As well as checking where the footage was filmed we also confirmed the videos were taken and uploaded today.

We've received pictures from Reuters showing the damage caused to a building in an Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

It comes after Iran launched missiles towards central and southern parts of Israel, which Israel says were intercepted.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

A White House official has confirmed to the BBC that President Trump called Netanyahu to discuss the Iran-Israel exchanges of fire.

No further details have been provided.

Earlier, Israel's Channel 12 news outlet reported that Israel would stop attacks on Iran "at Trump's request", citing a senior Israeli official.

The IDF says a projectile struck an area in southern Lebanon where its soldiers are operating.

The strike triggered sirens in the nearby area of Zar'it, close to the border in northern Israel, but no injuries were reported, it added in a statement on Telegram.

In a few moments, our correspondents will be answering your questions live.

Among those will be our diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley, Siavash Ardalan from BBC Persian, North America correspondent Tomos Morgan in Washington DC and Samira Hussain.

You can watch along by clicking Watch live above.

After the exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel reports are emerging that both countries will halt attacks against the other.

Meanwhile, a semblance of normality is present in daily life in Tehran, as these pictures from today show:

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images

Our colleagues at BBC Persian have been hearing from people in Iran today.

One person says that Iranians are "exhausted" as they ask "both sides to end the war".

"People will suffer greatly in all this, whether they support it or oppose it," another adds.

"But the reality is that Iran, our homeland, is becoming a victim of greed and excessive ambitions."

One man says he is "constantly worried" the internet will be cut off - "and we don't know where this war is heading".

Another person says: "The country's situation is already chaotic, and people are paying an even greater price for this endless conflict between Iran and America. Most people just hope it ends as soon as possible so the country can return to some degree of stability."

Image source, EPA/ Shutterstock

Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is urging "all sides" to exercise restraint in the pursuit of peace, especially when "the final objective is just about to be achieved", in a message on social media.

Iran's military said it would stop strikes on Israel earlier, but warned that if attacks on Lebanon continue that it would respond more severely than before. Israeli media has also reported that Israel would stop attacks on Iran "at Trump's request".

In a post on X, Shehbaz says: "The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to.

"As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance."

Pakistan has been a key mediator between Iran and the US.

One round of negotiations between Iranian and US delegations mediated through Pakistan happened on 11-12 April in Islamabad.

The capital prepared for further talks later that month though these did not materialise.