Six O'Clock News

Sir Keir Starmer, who's been criticised for his response to the crisis, insists he is providing calm level-headed leadership in the face of chaos in the Middle East. Also: The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has unveiled plans to offer families whose asylum claims have failed up to 40 thousand pounds to leave the UK voluntarily. And the BBC says it's prepared to consider reducing the cost of the licence fee, in return for getting more people to pay.

The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said America was winning the war "decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy". Also: The Iranian president has told neighbouring states his country had to defend itself from US and Israeli attacks. And the warship the UK is deploying to the region, HMS Dragon, is not expected to head to Cyprus until next week.

President Trump has again criticised Sir Keir Starmer for not initially allowing the US to use British military bases to attack Iran. Also: Thousands of people are trying to flee Tehran. And Britain is sending a Royal Navy warship to help protect UK military personnel in Cyprus.

As the US-Israeli war against Iran continues to widen, President Trump's defence secretary has declared the American military action the "most lethal, most complex and most precise aerial operation in history". Also: Iran launches fresh attacks on targets across the Gulf. And the Iranian Red Crescent says more than 550 people have been killed in Iran.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at targets across the Middle East, after announcing that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in US-Israeli attacks. At least 200 people -- most of whom were at a girls' school in the country's south -- have been reported killed in Iran. Three US service personnel have been killed in Iran's response, as well as ten people in Israel. Donald Trump has suggested that Iran's new leadership wanted to talk. Meanwhile, UK government officials are understood to be working on plans to potentially evacuate British nationals from the Middle East.