If you're just joining us, here's what been happening:

• Overnight, the US killed Iran's most powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani and other Iran-backed militia figures in a targeted air strike, representing a dramatic escalation of tensions
• The US said it had carried out a drone strike at the direction of President Donald Trump "to protect US personnel abroad" from a man they had long considered a threat
• The surprise move came after weeks in which Iranian-backed militias killed a US civilian contractor in Iraq - prompting violence outside the US embassy in Baghdad, which Mr Trump blamed on Iran
• Soleimani was the leader of the Quds Force (the Iranian military abroad), was close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and was widely seen as the second-most powerful man in Iran

• Iran immediately condemned the attack and warned of consequences - while protesters in the country have taken to the streets, destroying US and Israeli flags
• Amid the escalating tensions, politicians from other countries appealed for calm as oil prices initially jumped

US President Donald Trump has tweeted his first comments since the strike on Soleimani.

"Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!" he wrote on Twitter early in the morning in Washington.

The previous night, the president simply tweeted a picture of the US flag as news of the strike broke, which he then pinned to the top of his Twitter profile.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed the US strike that killed Soleimani, saying President Donald Trump "deserves all the credit for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively".

"Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security and self-defence," he said.

He also said the US had the right to defend itself.

"Qassem Soleimani is responsible for the death of American citizens and many other innocent people. He was planning more such attacks."

Mr Netanyahu is returning early from a trip to Greece following the US strike.

Image source, EPA

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Iraqi Shia militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in the air strike along with Iran's Qasem Soleimani.

On Friday, leaders of several Iraqi militias vowed to avenge their deaths.

Influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr described the strike against Soleimani as "targeting jihad, the opposition and the revolutionary spirit of the state".

Shia cleric and leader of Al-Hikma movement, Ammar al-Hakim, said it was a "flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty". This strike "puts the region on a hot tin roof", he warned.

In Iraq, users re-tweeted what they said was a photocopy of a statement by Qais al-Khazali, the secretary-general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq (the League of the Righteous) militia, in which he pledged to avenge the death of both leaders.

And Al-Nujaba Movement, a major Shia group that is said to be funded by Iran, issued a statement in which it warned that the US would "regret the foolish act it committed".

The statement also pledged that the "pain and grief" over the death of Soleimani and Muhandis would turn into "enthusiasm, rage and revolution".

Image source, AFP

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held phone calls this morning with both UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

In both cases, according to readouts of the calls, Mr Pompeo "made clear the United States remains committed to de-escalation".

He also thanked Mr Raab for his earlier statement "recognising the the continuing aggressive threats posed by the Iranian Quds Force", and thanked Mr Haas for expressing "concern over the Iranian regime’s continued military provocations".

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani and protest against the US.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Oil prices have risen sharply following Soleimani's death.

The price of Brent crude - one of the main benchmarks used for prices - jumped by more than 4% to hit $69.50 (£53.17) a barrel at one point - the highest price since September.

The price spike also pushed oil stocks on the London stock exchange higher.

Iran is one of the world's largest oil producers, with exports worth billions of dollars each year.

Read more about how oil prices could be affected

Image source, Reuters

Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was among those killed in the strike.

Muhandis, whose real name is Jamal Jaafar Ibrahim, was a senior figure in Iraq's Popular Mobilisation forces.

Popular Mobilisation is a powerful Iran-backed paramilitary force in Iraq, which is dominated by Shia militias.

Its fighters played a key role in the war against the Islamic State group, but the US says several of its Shia militias are directly controlled by Iran and has accused them of targeting US installations.

Muhandis was a sworn enemy of the US and had a reputation as Iran's man in Iraq.

A Kuwaiti court sentenced him to death in absentia for involvement in a series of bombings targeting the US and French embassies in 1983.

He was also wanted by US authorities on charges of committing "terrorist acts".

Muhandis commanded the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group, which Washington blamed for a rocket attack which killed a US civilian contractor in northern Iraq last Friday.

France and the Netherlands have issued advisories to their citizens over the situation in Iran.

The French embassy in Tehran warned French citizens to stay away from any gathering or crowds during the three days of mourning announced for Soleimani. It also recommended "prudent and discreet" behaviour, especially when travelling.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, warned of increasing violence and unrest in Baghdad, telling its citizens to leave the city if possible.

And in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokeswoman called for a de-escalation of tensions - but also seemed to offer support of the decision to launch strikes.

"The American action was a reaction to a series of military provocations for which Iran is responsible," Reuters news agency quoted Ulrike Demmer as saying.

"We also see with great concern Iran's activities in the region. We stand before a dangerous escalation," she said.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

A spokeswoman from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, says the United States "wanted to change the balance of power in the region" by killing Gen Soleimani.

"This will lead to nothing but an escalation of tensions in the region which will affect millions of people," she wrote on Facebook (in Russian), external.

Separately, the head of the Russian lower house foreign relations committee, Leonid Slutsky, said: “The Americans have crossed a red line, and this time it can lead to very serious consequences.”

The outgoing leader of the UK's main opposition party has said the "assassination" of Gen Soleimani by the US "marks a dangerous escalation of conflict".

He said the UK government should "urge restraint". Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for all sides to "de-escalate".

While US President Donald Trump's domestic political opponents widely condemned the air strike, some of his allies in his own party have applauded the decision.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-standing vocal supporter of the president, thanked Mr Trump for "standing up for America", and said "the price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up drastically".

And Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said it was a reminder that "we will not let attacks against Americans go unpunished".

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani has been named as the new commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Fars news agency.

Qaani served as the second-in-command to Soleimani, the agency affiliated with the IRGC reported.

The head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has called for the death of Gen Soleimani to be avenged.

"Meting out the appropriate punishment to these criminal assassins... will be the responsibility and task of all resistance fighters worldwide," Hassan Nasrallah said in a statement.

"We will carry a flag on all battlefields and all fronts and we will step up the victories of the axis of resistance with the blessing of his pure blood," the leader of the Shia group added.

Profile: Lebanon's Hezbollah movement

Image source, Reuters

The UK's foreign office has issued a statement on the death of Gen Soleimani.

“We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani," said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

"Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests.”

The statement did not address a report from Sky News, which claimed that the UK military had increased its "security and readiness" in the region. The Ministry of Defence is also yet to confirm the report.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is attending a meeting of Iran's National Security Council following the death of Gen Soleimani.

Iranian media says decisions will be made in the meeting.

Democratic candidate for the US presidency Bernie Sanders - like his fellow candidates Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden - has criticised the decision to launch the air strike.

Pointing to his long-running opposition to the war in Iraq, he said the strike "brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to return early from a trip to Greece following the death of Gen Soleimani.

The prime minister had travelled to Athens to sign an agreement to build a gas pipeline with Greece and Cyprus.

His decision to return comes as Israeli officials meet to discuss the security situation. The country's embassies and consuls around the world have been put on high security alert over concerns of Iranian attacks, according to local media.

Iran considers Israel its arch-foe.

Mr Netanyahu has not yet commented on Gen Soleimani's death and has asked ministers not to discuss it publicly, The Jerusalem Post reports.

An Israeli army spokesperson told AFP news agency that it had decided to close a ski resort in the occupied Golan Heights following a security assessment.