Trump held a meeting Tuesday afternoon in the White House Situation Room with his national security team on the Israel-Iran conflict, external.

He is considering joining, external Israel's strikes of Iranian nuclear sites, including at a facility in Fordo, external, five sources familiar with the matter told BBC's US partner CBS News.

The topic was expected to be discussed at the meeting in the Situation Room. There is not full agreement among Trump's closest advisers, CBS's sources added.

Iran has launched its "Fattah-1 missiles" towards Israel, according to the semi-official state news agency Mehr on X.

State-owned Press TV also reported the launched the missiles, with both outlets attributing the claim to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

"The IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a 'turning point,' saying the deployment of first-generation Fattah missiles marked 'the beginning of the end' for Israel’s 'mythical' missile defence systems," Press TV reported.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says that it launched a Fattah-1 ‘hypersonic’ missile at Israel tonight. During Iran's 1 October 2024 attack in Israel, it also launched dozens of Fattah-1 missiles toward Israel. However, this appears to be the first time the Fattah missile has been used in the current war.

The Fattah missile was first unveiled in 2023 and was named by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

The IRGC has referred to the missile as the “Israel-striker” and, during its unveiling, a large banner was installed in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with a message written in Hebrew: “400 seconds to Tel Aviv.”

Although the IRGC claims the Fattah is hypersonic missile, military experts remain skeptical about its actual hypersonic capabilities.

Image source, Getty Images

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump shared a text message he received from Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee praises Trump in the message, and encourages him to listen to the voice of God as he weighs how to respond to the ongoing hostilities between Iran and Israel.

"God spared you in Butler, PA to be the most consequential President in a century - maybe ever," Huckabee says, referencing Trump's survival of an assassination attempt on him in 2024.

"The decisions on your shoulder I would not want to be made by anyone else," the ambassador says.

He goes on to express his support for Israel and his position as ambassador, writing that he "Will not abandon this post."

"Our flag will NOT come down!" Huckabee says.

Trump shared this message without additional context. He met with his national security team earlier today, and reportedly spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also comes as the US embassy in Jerusalem will reportedly be closed from Wednesday to Friday.

Huckabee, who is also an ordained pastor, has been serving as the US ambassador to Israel since April.

It is the role of Congress to declare a state of war against another nation, however this has not been done since World War 2 – despite the US entering into several wars since then.

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says in his speech on the floor of the Senate that at the time that the Constitution was written, most countries left it up to their kings to decide when war was needed.

"The framers of our constitution in 1787 decided we're going to be different," he says about America's founding fathers. They wanted debates to be held "in full view of the American public" to determine whether war was necessary, he said.

The US is already inching towards war, he says, given that there is already "actual kinetic hostility" happening via Israel's use of US-made weapons.

He says he believes that the US should continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, but adds: "In my view there is no compelling security reason for the US to go to war with Iran."

Trump's Republican party controls both houses of Congress, making it unclear whether the resolution has the votes necessary to pass.

Lawmakers in Congress are debating a bill that would limit Trump's ability to enter into a direct war with Iran.

The so-called War Powers Resolution says that Trump cannot engage in "unauthorised" strikes against Iran, without getting approval from Congress first.

Debating the bill on the floor of the Senate, Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said that if the US were to fight against Iran, it would be the third war that the US has fought in the Middle East since 2001.

He says that such a war with Iran would be a "a catastrophic blunder for this country" and would lead to widespread attacks on US bases in the Middle East.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards has issued an evacuation order for neighbourhoods in Tel Aviv, Israel, according to Iranian media.

The warning comes as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it "intercepted" two drones flying from the east, which had triggered sirens in the Dead Sea area of Israel.

US fighter jets have left a base in eastern England as reports grow of plans for the United States to get involved militarily in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

Photos taken by an amateur photographer show F-35 fighter jets departing from Royal Air Force Lakenheath. They were accompanied by an air refuelling tanker plane.

Image source, Instagram/g.lockaviation

Image source, Instagram/g.lockaviation

Image source, Instagram/g.lockaviation

Image source, Getty Images

It is unclear so far what role the US will play in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. But how much power does President Donald Trump have in choosing whether the US will join the fighting?

Under US law, the president does not have the sole power to formally declare war on another country. Only Congress - lawmakers elected in the House of Representatives and the Senate - can.

But the law also states that the president is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. That means he can deploy US troops and conduct military operations without a formal declaration of war.

For example, Trump's decision to conduct airstrikes in Syria in 2017, external against the Bashar Assad regime did not require approval from Congress. Instead, Trump acted unilaterally, citing national security and humanitarian reasons.

Some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now trying to limit Trump's ability to order US strikes on Iran.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, introduced a measure on Tuesday to attempt to block such a move without approval. "This is not our war," he wrote on X. "Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our constitution."

Image source, Reuters

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Iran "will never compromise with Zionists", in a series of posts on X.

"We will show the Zionists no mercy," a translation of the post reads. In a different post, he says "the battle begins".

The posts, across Khamenei's several different language accounts, are among his first public comments since US President Donald Trump said that the US knew where he was but would not "take him out... at least for now".

Earlier this week, we reported that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei.

Israel is conducting a series of strikes in the Tehran area, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says.

Explosions have been reported in parts of the Iranian capital, Iranian media is reporting, according to the Reuters news agency.

The IDF had recently issued a warning to residents of District 18 in Tehran, which said they should leave "immediately".

BBC Newshour
BBC World Service

BBC Newshour's Tim Franks has been speaking with Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

"I witnessed horrendous attacks, they are hitting infrastructure, a lot of civilian deaths … It was one of the worst and terrifying experiences that we have had," Mohammadi said.

Mohammadi says she has left Tehran and has called on Israel to stop airstrikes.

"I deeply believe that democracy, human rights, and freedom cannot come through violence and war," she told the BBC through an interpreter.

For her activism, Mohammadi was previously imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, but was later released for medical reasons.

In a recent op-ed for the French outlet Le Monde, Mohammadi called for Iranian authorities to end its nuclear programme. She said "the people of Iran have not benefited from uranium enrichment", referring to rolling blackouts and the absence of promised medical research from the programme.

As another round of Iranian missiles are fired towards Israel, Iranian media, cited by Reuters, reports that explosions have also been heard in Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, west of the capital.

And in a social media post in Farsi a few minutes ago, the Israeli army warned people in District 18 of Tehran that there will be incoming attacks in the coming hours on Iran's military infrastructure in the area.

"Dear citizens, for your safety and health, we ask that you immediately leave," a translation of the IDF post says. "Your presence in this area puts your life at risk."

Iran does not share a border with Israel, but its airstrikes have been able to penetrate Israel's Iron Dome, resulting in casualties and extensive damage to buildings.

Iran's war arsenal contains several types of missiles. Some are short range, and are only able to travel as far as the countries directly neighbouring Iran.

But the Shahab 3, a ballistic missile developed by Iran, can travel up to 2,000km - as far as Egypt's border with Libya.

More missiles have been fired from Iran toward Israel, the IDF says.

Iran's Irna news agency says that according to its sources, Kheiber-Shakan (Castle Buster) missiles were among those launched.

The IDF told people to seek shelter in protected areas, adding that sirens have been sounding in several areas around the country.

This is the second time in less than an hour that the IDF has instructed people in Israel to seek shelter because of Iranian missiles.

We're getting some photos showing some of the latests volleys of Iranian missiles above Israeli cities:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says that the latest barrage of Iranian missiles appears to be over, and residents can leave bomb shelters.

Earlier, sirens sounded across Israel as a fresh wave of missiles were launched from Iran toward Israel.

US President Donald Trump has spoken on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US and Israeli media are reporting.

The BBC has contacted the White House for details.

In a post to social media, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has identified missiles launched from Iran.

Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat, the post says.

It further urges people in Israel to seek shelter.

Less than an hour ago, Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said that Tehran's air defences were active over the capital's airspace.

Israel says one of its main goals is to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities - including the Fordo nuclear site, which is buried inside a mountain.

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

As BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner wrote earlier, this is the 30,000lb question. Because that, (13,600kg), is the tonnage of the weapon that would be needed to reach some of Iran’s most secretive and valuable nuclear apparatus, buried 90m (295ft) deep under a mountain.

The weapon, to give it its full name, is the GBU-57 MOP, standing for Massive Ordnance Penetrator and it can hit targets as deep as 61m underground, or deeper with repeated strikes.