Key points
- Qatar 're-assessing its role as mediator' as talks hit stumbling block
- Striking Iran's nuclear facilities on the table, says ex-Mossad official
- Israel considered Iran strike on Monday but decided to wait - report
- 'Tiniest move' against Iran will spark 'fierce and painful' response, president warns
- Dominic Waghorn analysis:The coming hours could decide whether the Middle East is plunged into a widening war
- Michael Clarke analysis:All Israel's options for retaliation come with complications
European Union leaders to step up sanctions against Iran
European Union leaders have decided to step up sanctions against Iran.
The move comes afterTehran's missile and drone attack on Israel left world powers desperately scrambling to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.
The EU's 27 national leaders met in Brussels earlier - the first time the group has met since Saturday's attack.
They condemned the Iranian attack, reaffirmed theircommitment to Israel's security and called on all sides toprevent more tensions, including in Lebanon.
"The European Union will take further restrictivemeasures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerialvehicles (UAVs) and missiles," they said in a jointstatement.
In pictures: Israeli warship patrols waters
These images show an Israeli Sa'ar-6 corvette warship patrolling the waters of the Israeli city of Eilat.
The vessel is believed to be carrying an Iron Dome anti-missile system - one of a reported 10 that Israel owns and operates to defend its skies.
Italy would contribute to any UN peacekeeping force in Gaza
Italy's foreign minister says Rome would be willing to contribute troops to any possible United Nations peacekeeping force in Gaza, even though no such proposal is on the table and Israel has previously rejected the idea.
In an interview with AP, Antonio Tajani suggested that a UN force under Arab command could help provide security if Israelis and Palestinians made headway on an eventual two-state solution.
"If there is the solution and for a short time we need the presence of the United Nations under Arab control, we are ready for sending Italian soldiers," Mr Tajani said ahead of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in the past ruled out a foreign peacekeeping force in Gaza after the war, saying only Israel is capable of keeping the territory demilitarised.
Lebanon at a crossroads as it awaits Israel's response to Iran - with fears growing revenge will trigger 'bigger war'
By Alex Crawford, special correspondent
Lebanon is balanced as though on an earthquake faultline right now - whatever Israel decides to do next will have massive repercussions throughout the entire region.
That's how critical the situation is inLebanonand the surrounding countries, as described by one seasoned Lebanese political analyst.
Khodor Taleb is also the former adviser to three different Lebanese prime ministers, so knows a thing or two about what is at stake.
Lebanon - like the entire region - is at the crossroads and it isIsraelin the driving seat over which road is travelled.
'The situation will be totally out of control'
"I can tell you 100% thatHezbollahdo not want war. The ball is in the Israeli court," Mr Taleb told Sky News.
The militant group Hezbollah is backed byIranand has strong ties with both the Iranian leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
It is very much seen as the strongest and most powerful of Iran's proxies which operate in multiple countries.
It is therefore potentially in the Israeli crosshairs as it considers how orwhether to retaliate against Iranand its network in response to themissile and drone attacksat the weekend.
Mr Taleb is not an isolated voice in warning that an Israeli attack could tip the region into all-out war.
"It will be a huge risk for Israel because it will lead to a big war in the region," he said.
"It will not be limited to Lebanon. It will definitely spread to Yemen and most probably to the Syrian Golan and the situation will be totally out of control of any international power," he continued.
"It will be damaging to the whole region."
His point: Any large-scale Israeli attack against the Lebanese Hezbollah or Iran risks drawing the entire so-called Axis of Resistance into war - and that would involve the Yemeni Houthis, the Iraqi Hezbollah and the various Syrian militias - all of which have links to Iran or Hezbollah.
Read more of Crawford's piece here....
Watch: Funeral for Hezbollah chief killed in Israeli strike
The funeral for Hezbollah commander Ismail Yusaf Baz has been held in Chehabiyeh, Lebanon.
The head of the militant group's coastal sector was "eliminated" in a strike in the Ain Ebel area yesterday, the Israel Defence Forces said.
As we reported in our 8.39pm post, Hezbollah responded today by launching missiles and drones at a military facility in northern Israel - injuring some 14 IDF troops.
In pictures: Iran shows off weapons during National Army Day parade
Iran is currently holding its National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran.
Drones and missiles were paraded as soldiers marched alongside them, some carrying the Iranian flag.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other top military officials are also in attendance.
The annual event was established by the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.
At least 14 IDF soldiers injured in Hezbollah strikes
An update on our 12.40pm post - in which we reported that strikes from Lebanon had injured people in northern Israel.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group has since claimed responsibility, saying it launched missiles and drones at a military facilityin northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes thatkilled Hezbollah members yesterday.
At least 14 Israeli soldiers were injured in today's attack, with six in serious condition, according to the Israel Defence Forces.
The Israeli Ynet news site said the soldiers were in a community centre in the village.
The IDF in retaliation said it "struck the sources of fire" afteridentifying several anti-tank missile and drone launches fromLebanon towards the Bedouin village of Arab al Aramshe.
For context: Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which means "Party of God" in Arabic, openly calls for the destruction of the "Zionist regime in Palestine" and is deemed a terror organisation by most Western powers.
The militia has long aligned itself with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and has frequently clashed with IDF forces on the Israel-Lebanon border since the most recent conflict broke out on 7 October.
But the violence has largely been contained to areas at theborder, shaped by what observers have called unwritten rules ofengagement between adversaries that have long threatened eachother with catastrophic damage in the event of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously warned thatBeirut would be turned "into Gaza" if Hezbollah started anall-out war.
What missiles could Israel use in an attack - and would Iran be able to defend itself?
By Ben van der Merwe and Saywah Mahmood, Data and Forensics Unit
Iran's president has vowed Israel would face a "massive and harsh response" if it attacks, as US officials believe it is planning to do.
Iran launched more than 330 missiles and drones towards Israel on Saturday in response to Israel's alleged bombing of its Syrian consulate.
On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said he hoped that Israel's potential retaliation "does as little as possible to escalate this conflict".
Experts told Sky News that Israel is likely to be considering an airstrike on critical Iranian infrastructure, including air bases and nuclear facilities.
Israel is well-equipped for such an operation. The country possesses 39 state-of-the-art F-35 stealth fighter jets, the fifth largest inventory in the world.
Sky News security and defence analyst Michael Clarke says the planes are "pretty well invisible".
"It is rumoured that Israeli F-35s have already been around and about Iranian airspace on surveillance missions," he says.
Read more here...
G7 will be united on response to Iran, Hunt says
The chancellor has said that the G7 will be "united" in its response to Tehran, amid reports that the West is weighing up major sanctions on Iran.
"When Iran attacked Israel, Western support was rock solid," Jeremy Hunt told our economics and data editor Ed Conway.
"If Iran takes action that destabilises the global economy through what it does in the Middle East, then they will face concerted response from Western countries," he warned.
"I think G7 countries will be united in our response to what Iran has done and anything Iran may plan to do."
Earlier, Israel's ambassador to the UK urged the West to hit Tehran financially so its grasp on the region via its proxies might slip.
"This is the time to be hard on Iran [and] there are a number of diplomatic ways to do that." Tzipi Hotovely said (see 7.00pm post).
Israel considered Iran strike on Monday but decided to wait - report
Israel considered a near-immediate response to Saturday's attack by Iran, but decided against it, according to a report.
Israel considered conducting retaliatory action on Monday night, before eventually postponing it, five Israeli and US sources told Axios.
The report is unverified.
The Israeli officials reportedly told the outlet that the war cabinet changed its mind on military action "for operational reasons", while American sources said the US was not sure of the scale of Israel's planned response, but thought it was likely it would provoke Iran into escalation.
The officials reportedly said IDF chief of staff General Hertzi Halevi and the the cabinet's other former generals — defence minister Yoav Gallant and ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot were pushing hardest for a military for a response, whilePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, Aryeh Deri, were said to be "more cautious".
