Merlyn Thomas
BBC Verify senior reporter

Israel says one of its main goals is to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities. The Fordo nuclear site, which is buried inside a mountain, is one of the most heavily fortified.

There's only one conventional weapon that could destroy it - and only the US is known to have it.

I’ve been investigating the weapon that could change the course of the conflict.

Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The issue of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has just come up in Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

To get an idea how many people are making the crossing and how the numbers compare with previous years we run a rolling tracker that can be used across BBC News.

But where do we get this data from?

The figures come from Border Force agents who are on the ground counting the number of people and vessels arriving in the UK each day.

The Home Office then uses the figures to produce daily updates, external (usually published the following day in the afternoon).

It also publishes small boat arrivals data going back to 2018, which is when they were first recorded by the government.

It is an offence to enter the UK without permission so small boat crossings are considered to be a form of illegal immigration.

Most of those who cross the Channel in small boats claim asylum - which they are legally entitled to do under international law - and about half of those who applied were granted refugee status or another form of protection over the last 12 months.

Image source, Reuters

Thomas Spencer & Alex Murray
BBC Verify

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday, we reported on BBC Verify Live how we have been monitoring the movement of 30 US military tanker aircraft as they left bases in America and flew towards Europe.

While some of the flights that headed towards the eastern Mediterranean turned back we noticed several planes landed at the Chania airport on the Greek island of Crete. Other aircraft had already flown directly there from the US on 16 June.

At least five KC-135 tanker aircraft - used to refuel US fighter jets and bombers - have recently landed at Chania, and according to the latest data, are still there.

Col Brendan Kearney - a former chief of staff of US Marine Corps forces in Europe - told BBC Verify the plane’s “refuelling capability is critical for the long distances that the bombers have to cover” and was “a strong indicator that something is up”.

Flight data, external also shows the recent arrival of other significant US military aircraft at Chania in the last few days. They include a C-17 Globemaster transport jet and two RC-135V Rivet Joints which "eavesdrop" on signals and electronic intelligence.

The flights are part of a wider movement of US military assets as speculation continues over American involvement in Israeli strikes on Iran. You can read more here.

Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify journalist

The BBC along with other international media cannot report from inside Iran so satellite imagery is a key tool for us to see and verify what is happening in Iran as Israel’s attacks continue.

The latest pictures have come to us from the specialist satellite imaging firm Maxar which appear to show extensive damage to Tabriz missile base with at least nine buildings and two tunnel entrances destroyed and several others are heavily damaged.

Maxar’s imaging has also captured potential evidence of strikes against Mashhad airport about 750km (470 miles) east of Tehran. We can see a large aircraft has been destroyed with only the tail left intact.

Another image shows what Maxar describe as Shahed drones stored on trailers and fighter aircraft at Dezful air force base in western Iran.

We’ve shared these images with experts to get a better understanding of what’s been targeted, and what impact this will have on Iran’s military capability.

Tom Edgington
BBC Verify senior journalist

The BBC understands French authorities will bring in new rules next month to allow their police to intercept migrant boats up to 300m (1,000 ft) offshore.

Currently, the French police's operational rules prevent them from wading into the water to prevent boats from making the crossing to the UK (although they are allowed to intervene to stop people drowning).

A BBC reporter in Calais counted 18 French gendarmes watching one boat from the shore without intervening.

The UK government has made a series of pledges on migrant crossings - including “smashing the gangs” behind them.

But despite the pledge, 16,545 people have arrived in the UK in small boats so far in 2025 - up by nearly a third compared with last year and the highest total for this time of year on record.

BBC Verify has been tracking the government’s progress against its illegal migration and asylum pledges, which you can read here.

Peter Mwai
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, Vahid Online

We’ve been sourcing and authenticating videos showing a series of loud explosions overnight in eastern Tehran following another night of Israeli air raids.

The footage we’ve verified shows huge plumes of smoke rising into the night sky above the Iranian capital.

We can tell where the strikes have taken place by looking at physical features in the footage such as mountain ranges and matching them against online mapping services like Google Earth.

In the footage we can see smoke coming from slightly behind the mountain range to the east of Tehran which matches the location of the Khojir missile production complex - an expansive military installation near the town of Hajarabad.

The location also matches heat sources captured by Nasa satellites, external that are used to track wildfires and other thermal signals.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning from the newsroom in London.

We have a number of stories to chase and verify today as the team continues to update and inform the BBC's reporting on the conflict between Iran and Israel.

Because BBC News cannot operate freely in Iran we use verified footage and images to get a better understanding of what is happening in the country.

So today we're looking at:

• Footage posted overnight showing a series of explosions across the capital Tehran as Israel continues to carry out air strikes on what it says are military and nuclear facilities
• What the latest satellite imagery tells us about the impact of Israeli strikes on Iran's weapons development facilities
• The location of US military equipment such as aircraft and warships that have been moved to the region as speculation continues about American military involvement

We'll also be updating our data on the number of English Channel small boat crossings by migrants as the UK government warns the situation is "deteriorating".