Caine says all three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were hit between 18:40 Eastern time (23:40 BST) and 19:05 Eastern time (00:05 BST).

He adds that the Tomahawk missile was the last to strike at Isfahan to make sure the US kept "the element of surprise".

"It appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us," he says, adding that during the mission, the US was not aware of any shots fired at the group as they left.

More from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who provides further technical details about last night's operations.

Caine says only a small number of "planners and key leaders" were informed about the plans. He says seven B-2 bombers were involved in the 18-hour flight into the target area.

Once the bombers reached Iranian airspace at approximately 17:00 EDT (22:00 BST), a US submarine launched "more than two dozen" Tomahawk cruise missiles against "key targets" at the Isfahan nuclear site.

Image source, Reuters/Department of Defense

We're now hearing from Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Caine begins by going over what happened in the overnight strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and thanks the military personnel that was involved in the attack.

He says: “This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan."

Caine then directs reporters to a screen in the room as he explains the operation in more detail.

Hegseth is now outlining the military equipment that the US used in its strike on Iran.

He says that America's B-2 stealth bombers "went in and out, and back, of Iran's nuclear sites without the world knowing at all".

For context: The large jets are considered to be the only aircraft capable of carrying weapons that can strike Iran's most secure nuclear facility, in Fordo, which is buried deep underground below a mountain.

"The strike included the longest B-2 spirit bomber mission since 2001 and the first operation employment of the MOP - Massive Ordnance Penetrator," he adds.

He reiterates Trump's assertion that the "US does not seek war", but he adds "we will act swiftly and decisively when our people, partners and our interests are threatened".

"Iran should listen to the president and know that he means every word he says".

• We have more on the US weapons in our earlier post from our weapons analyst Chris Partridge

Image source, Reuters/Department of Defense

Hegseth thanks all military personnel involved in last night's operations - describing them as "warriors, all of them".

He says every American participating in the strikes performed "flawlessly".

The defence secretary also recognises "our allies in Israel" for the support given, adding that the operations took months and weeks of planning.

More now from the US defence secretary, who stresses that President Trump "seeks peace".

"President Trump said no nukes, he seeks peace, and Iran should take that path," Hegseth says.

Hegseth then reads out Trump's social media posts from last night, which warned that any retaliation from Iran would be met with force "far greater".

"Iran would be smart to heed those words, he said it before, and he means it," Hegseth says.

Hegseth continues saying that many presidents "dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran's nuclear programme, but none could until Trump".

He adds that the operation on Iran was "bold and brilliant".

"When President Trump speaks, the world should listen," he says, adding that "no other country other than the US, could have done this".

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth starts the Pentagon briefing by saying the strikes last night were designed to "degrade" and "destroy" Iran's nuclear capabilities.

He says the attack "devastated" the Iranian nuclear programme, but didn't affect Iranian troops or civilians.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth is now speaking at a Pentagon briefing.

We'll bring you all the key lines here on this page and you can also watch live above.

After the Pentagon briefing, we'll be hearing from some of our correspondents on the BBC News Channel, as they answer your questions on the US strikes on Iran.

Geeta Guru-Murthy will be taking your questions from 14:00 BST - you can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

Tackling your questions will be:

• Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent
• John Simpson, World Affairs Editor
• Mark Lowen, BBC Correspondent in Irael
• Gary O’Donoghue, Chief North American Correspondent
• Mikey Kay, Military analyst

You can get in touch at bbcyourvoice@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp us on 07756 165 803, external.

Alex Lederman
Reporting from the Pentagon

I’m here in the Pentagon briefing room, where US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine are set to brief the press about the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities overnight.

Secretary Hegseth stood behind President Trump last night as he announced the strike, alongside Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but he has yet to address the bombings himself.

This is a rare appearance in the briefing room from Pentagon officials.

Press access has been curbed under the Trump administration, with only one briefing held since the president took office and several restrictions imposed on media.

We can now bring you some fresh comments from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on last night's strikes on Iran.

Starmer reiterates the US has taken action to "alleviate" the threat the Iranian nuclear programme poses but says he remains focused on "de-escalation".

He confirms the US gave the UK "due notice" before striking, adding that his government has taken action to ensure British assets, personnel and interests in the region are protected.

Asked whether the UK could become involved should Iran directly attack the US under Article 5 of the Nato agreement, the prime minister says he's "not going to speculate".

"But I do want to reassure the public that we've taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well," he adds. "That's what you'd expect."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC News

It's early morning at the White House - but it's already buzzing with activity in the aftermath of the US Iran strikes.

Sunday is normally extremely quiet here, and more often than not, President Trump has yet to return from his weekend trips to his properties in Florida or New Jersey.

Today, however, I arrived to find reporters already outside doing television hits, giving viewers the latest on the conflict.

As things stand, we are unlikely to hear from President Trump today. There is currently nothing on his public schedule.

That is, of course, subject to rapid changes. We may also hear from him on Truth Social.

The White House press pool - which today includes the BBC - is on duty, meaning that if he does give public remarks, journalists will be in the room.

Various other administration officials will speak today, including defence secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

A UK defence source says British military personnel in the Middle East are now on their highest level of alert since the US attack on Iran. “Force protection”, which are defensive measures, have also been stepped up since the US attack.

The source said the UK was informed by the US shortly before the strikes took place.

We’re expecting to hear from US defence secretary Pete Hegseth in the next half hour.

He’ll be speaking from the Pentagon at around 08:00 local time (13:00 BST).

We’ll bring you the top lines from the briefing right here, or you can follow along by pressing watch live above.

As we've reported earlier, Iran launched a wave of missile attacks this morning.

The BBC has been at the scene and can see buildings damaged after a direct hit.

"The fear here is that, if this war continues, more attacks like this are likely to happen," reports our Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega from the site.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a Cobra meeting on Sunday afternoon following the US strikes on Iran.

Earlier, we heard the foreign secretary David Lammy confirm that the UK did not participate in the US strikes on Iran.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

Image source, Getty Images

An enrichment site - such as Fordo - takes uranium - which comes in different forms, or isotopes - and separates it into the type of uranium that’s used for nuclear reactors and bombs.

But dropping a bomb on properly stored stockpiles of enriched uranium does not mean a “nuclear incident” on the same scale as disasters that occurred at nuclear power plants in Fukushima or Chernobyl.

“Highly enriched uranium is about three times more radioactive than non-enriched uranium. But in fact, on the scale of things, neither of them are particularly densely radioactive," explains Prof Jim Smith, from the University of Portsmouth, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.

"It wouldn’t cause a major environmental contamination problem."

Smith says he's more concerned about "fission products" - "the things that uranium splits up to when it's in a reactor or in a bomb".

But because no nuclear reaction is taking place at the enrichment sites - and a blast from a bomb would not trigger one - these dangerous radioactive "fission products" would not be present, he says.

Uranium radiation also does not travel far - making any risk more of a local problem. For people close to the site, breathing in uranium particles could cause longer term health problems.

Some of the substances used in uranium enrichment are also chemically hazardous – but would only contaminate the immediate area.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - said earlier there had been "no increase in off-site radiation levels" reported after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran. But said it would provide further assessments as more information became available.

Read more on the risks of bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

The Visual Journalism Team
BBC News

We've just had an update from the Israeli military about the extent of damage at Iranian nuclear sites after the US hit facilities overnight.

One of the main targets in that attack was the Fordo nuclear facility, which lies about 60 miles (96km) south of the capital Tehran.

The underground site was thought to consist of two main tunnels that housed centrifuges used to enrich uranium, as well as a network of smaller tunnels.

It was estimated to be 80-90m (262-295ft) below the surface, meaning it was out of reach of Israel’s limited "bunker buster" munitions - but possibly within reach of a 13,000kg (30,000lb) US bomb known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

Reports in US media suggest MOPs were used in the strikes on Fordo, but experts say the bombs can only penetrate about 18m (60ft) of concrete or 61m (200ft) of earth before exploding so it’s unclear whether they would have destroyed the underground facilities.

You can read more about Fordo in our visual guide.

Image source, IDF

We've just heard the Israeli military give an update to the media.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says they are still assessing the situation and adds that it is "too early to determine" if Iran's claim that enriched uranium was removed from the nuclear sites before the US attack is true.

The IDF's Effie Defrin also says the military is examining and assessing the extent of damage caused by the US attack on Fordo - a uranium enrichment plant hidden in a remote mountainside that is vital to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

When asked if Israel might expand its targets to include civilian sites, Defrin says, "we have a plan with targets and we will continue to strike these targets," without giving a direct answer.