welcome to bbc news now, 3 hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, has reiterated the importance of de—escalation in the middle east after an apparent israeli strike on iran. and the head of the un, antonio guterres, is appealing to the international community to prevent any developments that could lead to "devastating consequences for the entire "region and beyond". speaking at a g7 meeting in italy, mr blinken refused to comment on reports that israel had informed washington of its plans strike before they were effected. according to us officials, israel was responsible for air strikes here,

near the city of isfahan — which is at the centre of iran's nuclear programme. it appears to be the latest tit—for—tat exchange between the two arch enemies. for days, israel has been threatening to retaliate — after it was targeted last weekend by 300 iranian missiles and drones. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, reports. lighting up the night sky over isfahan. this appears to have been israel's answer to iran's unprecedented missile attack last week. triggering iranian defences. not long afterwards, this amateur video was put out from a nearby nuclear site. a man showing his watch as he indicates it's safe and secure. iran's state tv quoted military officials downplaying the strike, saying there were only aerial interceptions. triggered by the presence of three small drones that were present in that area.

other than that, nothing has happened. but israel took iran's strike early on sunday very seriously. more than 300 drones and missiles were launched. 99% were downed. iran said it was hitting israel in response to a deadly air strike on its consulate in syria. suddenly, the long shadow war between two old enemies was out in the open. this morning, in tel aviv, israelis said their country had to react to iran to deter further assaults. attacking iran is a necessary action in our environment, which is much harsher than the jungle in africa. hope people in iran will understand, we're not seeking for war, but we're seeking for peace, and we want to be here safe — so, understand that. however, not all were satisfied. 0n social media, the far—right national security minister itamar ben—gvir gave his view with one

word — "lame". but world leaders worried about triggering a wider regional war have been urging israel to show restraint. we are committed to israel's security. we're also committed to de—escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close. back in isfahan, life for iranians appears to be going on as normal. what is not yet clear is whether what has happened here will end the latest dangerous round of violence in the middle east. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. let's bring you some breaking news from paris. authorities in france have detained a man after surrounding the iranian consulate in the city. let's show you the live pictures from near the consulate, and that was where a man was reported to be threatening to blow

himself up. you can see the police presence outside there now. special police forces are on the scene, as well as the worlds media gathering, and police have asked the public to avoid the area. a police source says that a man was seen entering the consulate with what appeared to be a grenade as well as an explosive belt. there you can see the entrance there, police van outside, and it has been cordoned off as well. we will have more on that story and developments from france, butjust a reminder that french authorities have detained a man after surrounding the iranian consulate in the french capital. the eyes of the world are on the middle east region, and many are questioning what might happen next. to help us untangle this, let's speak to dr aniseh bassiri tabrizi from the control risks analysis group.

welcome to bbc news. i guess one of the main questions a lot of people watching this want to know is what might come next. i am not expecting you to know the answer to that, but we have heard a little bit from iran, a sense that there might not be an immediate retaliation. correct. i think first of all, thank you for having me, i think what we have seen is that iran has seemingly taken stock of de—escalation from israel. if reports are confirmed, israel. if reports are confirmed, israel seems to have chosen to send a message regarding provoking further escalation and responses from iran. this was obviously one of the scenarios that was possible, and we have been developing several scenarios that might happen

following this attack. i think what is likely is that... provided limited damage towards the iranian facilities and is not seen as provocatively by iran, we might look into a return to tit—for—tat confrontation between iran and israel in a way that took place between october the 7th and israel's attack on the iranian consulate which has triggered more escalation. tensions are still high between the two countries but i think we are seeing a little bit of a loading of the temperature. find seeing a little bit of a loading of the temperature.— seeing a little bit of a loading of the temperature. seeing a little bit of a loading of the temerature. �* ., ~ ., ., , the temperature. and do we know any more about what _ the temperature. and do we know any more about what people _ the temperature. and do we know any more about what people in _ the temperature. and do we know any more about what people in iran - the temperature. and do we know any more about what people in iran are i more about what people in iran are making of this recent escalation? we just sort the state media there again trying to downplay what happened overnight. i wondered if you have been able to monitor whatever media is saying in the

country and what other people on the streets are saying is well? 0bviously streets are saying is well? obviously there is concern about a potential war, and people have been concerned about that, especially after the 13th of april attack by iran against israel. that was the first in terms of escalation that we have never seen... after that attack tensions were really high also inside iran and i think from an iranian perspective both at the official level and state media level, trying to minimise the cost and say that they do issues in response to the april the 1st attack. i think from the population point of view, obviously there is already a lot of concern with regard to the state of the economy and the

state of the repression and with the state of the repression and with the state of the ongoing concerns that the iranian people have. the potential escalation and potential even for a war in a israel does not obviously represent good news for the iranian population. i think there was a sigh of relief from the iranian population today. bier? iranian population today. very briefl , i iranian population today. very briefly, i wanted _ iranian population today. very briefly, i wanted to _ iranian population today. very briefly, i wanted to ask- iranian population today. very briefly, i wanted to ask you what some of the other countries in the region make of the events of the night. countries likejordan who actuallyjoined two other forces like the uk and the us to help defend israel at the weekend. we have defend israel at the weekend. - have still not had comments from all of the countries in the region but i think from everyone's perspective, all of the countries in the region do not want an escalation of tensions between iran and israel. that has been clear. any attack and

any escalations between the two sides. i think it is because... i think from their perspective seeing tension return to tit—for—tat and a lower level of escalation between the two will prevent an outbreak of the two will prevent an outbreak of the confrontation into the open, thatis the confrontation into the open, that is something that they are looking for. that is something that they are looking for-— that is something that they are lookin: for. . ~ , ., , . that is something that they are lookin: for. . ~ , . ., looking for. thank you very much for shafinu looking for. thank you very much for sharing your — looking for. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts _ looking for. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and _ looking for. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and coming i looking for. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and coming to j sharing your thoughts and coming to a flight from abu dhabi. earlier i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent james landale injerusalem, and our north america correspondent nomia iqbal. i started off by asking nomia to tell us a little more about that statement from antony blinken, earlier on today...

he kept using the word or two, and thatis he kept using the word or two, and that is actually what sums up the biden administration's approach to this. eversince biden administration's approach to this. ever since the attack on israel by iran last weekend america has been very keen to de—escalate. mr biden and other world leaders urging israel not to retaliate in a way that would inflame a wider middle eastern war. yesterday the us did impose this new round of sanctions on iran, one of the most sanctioned countries in the world, this time aiming at its missile and drone programme, aiming at executives of that programme, people who america said delivered those missiles to iran's proxies throughout the middle east. i think it was america's way of saying to iran, look, there are ways that we can respond, sorry, to israel, there are ways that we can respond to iran that does not involve a military response are certainly a widescale military response which we

understand some israeli leaders had wanted to begin with. having said that, america is always keen to say we cannot tell israel what to do. but given the sort of relatively small response by israel in the grand scheme of things and the even smaller response by iran, i imagine that the biden administration will breathe a little bit more easily. they will know that tensions will not disappear between both countries anytime soon but it has lowered that immediate risk of an escalation. stay with us, nobby. let's bring james in from jerusalem. james, we just reported that that tweet on x from it are mad men give ear, the far right national security minister, one word, it was the hebrew word for scarecrow, intimating that perhaps the attack was feeble. what has been the reaction in the israeli cabinet and amongst israeli officials to the events overnight?—

amongst israeli officials to the events overnight? well, the first oint to events overnight? well, the first point to make — events overnight? well, the first point to make is _ events overnight? well, the first point to make is overwhelmingly j point to make is overwhelmingly absolute — point to make is overwhelmingly absolute silence. there has been no response _ absolute silence. there has been no response from the israelis at all. the prime — response from the israelis at all. the prime minister has said nothing, the cabinet _ the prime minister has said nothing, the cabinet has said nothing. all we have of— the cabinet has said nothing. all we have of substance so far on the record — have of substance so far on the record and _ have of substance so far on the record and at one word tweet by the security— record and at one word tweet by the security minister, which most people are translating as meaning lamer. and the _ are translating as meaning lamer. and the response from that prompted from israel's opposition leader who furiously— from israel's opposition leader who furiously accused the security minisier— furiously accused the security minister of causing huge, heavy damage — minister of causing huge, heavy damage to israel's reputation, opening — damage to israel's reputation, opening up to ridicule, he said in a security— opening up to ridicule, he said in a security minister had evidence of much _ security minister had evidence of much damage to israel and that is because _ much damage to israel and that is because of— much damage to israel and that is because of this, the assumption is that this _ because of this, the assumption is that this attack, if it is indeed by israel. _ that this attack, if it is indeed by israel. was — that this attack, if it is indeed by israel, was designed to send a message _ israel, was designed to send a message. it was limited but it was also designed to say, look, israel can target— also designed to say, look, israel can target iran deep within its territory— can target iran deep within its territory and it can strike targets pretty— territory and it can strike targets pretty close to where its nuclear

facilities — pretty close to where its nuclear facilities are. in other words, the military— facilities are. in other words, the military assault that took place in the early— military assault that took place in the early hours of this morning had a political— the early hours of this morning had a political message to it. it was sending — a political message to it. it was sending signals, right? and if you accept _ sending signals, right? and if you accept that analysis, having your security— accept that analysis, having your security minister say this attack was a _ security minister say this attack was a bit — security minister say this attack was a bit lame and undermines the strategy. _ was a bit lame and undermines the strategy, and that is the implication of the criticism here. effectively accusing the security minister— effectively accusing the security minister of undermining what israel is trying _ minister of undermining what israel is trying to— minister of undermining what israel is trying to achieve overnight, which — is trying to achieve overnight, which seem to be a modest and limited — which seem to be a modest and limited strike to respond to last week's— limited strike to respond to last week's massive strike by iran in a way that— week's massive strike by iran in a way that did not necessarily escalate but also sent a warning to iran escalate but also sent a warning to iran that _ escalate but also sent a warning to iran that israel could do more if it wanted _ iran that israel could do more if it wanted. . r' iran that israel could do more if it wanted. ., , ., iran that israel could do more if it wanted. ., ,, iran that israel could do more if it wanted. ., i. ., wanted. let me ask you both one ruestion, wanted. let me ask you both one question. the _ wanted. let me ask you both one question, the same _ wanted. let me ask you both one question, the same question, - wanted. let me ask you both one . question, the same question, before you both go. i will start with you again now, james. where do you think this leaves the dynamic between israel and the us?—

this leaves the dynamic between israel and the us? look, i think the ke thin israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now— israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now for _ israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now for this _ israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now for this is _ israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now for this is that - israel and the us? look, i think the key thing now for this is that i - key thing now for this is that i think— key thing now for this is that i think where do we go from here? and the next _ think where do we go from here? and the next phase of this story is going — the next phase of this story is going to — the next phase of this story is going to move back to gaza. there have _ going to move back to gaza. there have been— going to move back to gaza. there have been very intense talks between the americans and the israelis over what happens next, over israel's desired — what happens next, over israel's desired attack on rafah in the south of gaza, _ desired attack on rafah in the south of gaza, the americans very concerned about the impact on the many— concerned about the impact on the many many— concerned about the impact on the many many hundreds of thousands of people _ many many hundreds of thousands of people crammed into that part of southern — people crammed into that part of southern gaza. at the moment there are reports— southern gaza. at the moment there are reports of no agreement between both sides _ are reports of no agreement between both sides of this, the question is if this— both sides of this, the question is if this situation with iran dials down — if this situation with iran dials down a — if this situation with iran dials down a date, if the temperature reduces, — down a date, if the temperature reduces, does that free up israel for an— reduces, does that free up israel for an opportunity to carry out its military— for an opportunity to carry out its military operation in gaza against the remaining hamas fighters there? and i the remaining hamas fighters there? and i think— the remaining hamas fighters there? and i think that is where the focus will shift _ and i think that is where the focus will shift if — and i think that is where the focus will shift if things do indeed stay dialled _ will shift if things do indeed stay dialled down with iran. and will shift if things do indeed stay dialled down with iran.— will shift if things do indeed stay dialled down with iran. and the same ruestion to dialled down with iran. and the same question to you? _

dialled down with iran. and the same question to you? as _ dialled down with iran. and the same question to you? as i _ dialled down with iran. and the same question to you? as i mentioned, - dialled down with iran. and the same question to you? as i mentioned, i l question to you? as i mentioned, i think for president _ question to you? as i mentioned, i think for president biden _ question to you? as i mentioned, i think for president biden who - question to you? as i mentioned, i think for president biden who has i think for president biden who has not commented yet, we expect him to potentially later today, this is a sigh of relief in some respects because he did not want escalation. he had been on the phone with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, urging him to show restraint. i mentioned the sanctions that they imposed yesterday was a way of saying to israel that we can find other ways of punishing iran. you also have to remember that this is also playing out in an election year. president biden's very strong standing with israel has not gone down well with members of his democratic party, progressive members of the party who believe that there should be conditions attached to any aid that is being sent to israel. and there is more military aid that will be sent to israel. there are members of the democratic party who completely stand with biden's position also, and you have the opposition, the republican party, who are by and large very supportive of israel, many of them tweeting support for what israel did overnight. we will

see what president biden has to say, he is on an election campaign later today. he is on an election campaign later toda . _, , today. our correspondent in washington _ today. our correspondent in washington and _ today. our correspondent in washington and james - today. our correspondent in i washington and james landale today. our correspondent in - washington and james landale in jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's bring you more now on that breaking news from paris. and french authorities have arrested a man after surrounding the iranian consulate there. well, with more on this let's cross live to our news reporter courtney ben rich has been monitoring what has been happening from the newsroom. courtney, we are not really clear what exactly who this man is our why exactly he was inside the consulate, but what more can you tell us?— can you tell us? that is right. no clear details _ can you tell us? that is right. no clear details yet _

can you tell us? that is right. no clear details yet on _ can you tell us? that is right. no clear details yet on who - can you tell us? that is right. no clear details yet on who this - can you tell us? that is right. no j clear details yet on who this man can you tell us? that is right. no i clear details yet on who this man is what he was doing or whether it is a link to these escalating tensions between iran and israel. but i wanted to show you this area. this is the iranian consulate, here you can see this roof here, and if i zoom outjust to show can see this roof here, and if i zoom out just to show you can see this roof here, and if i zoom outjust to show you where that is in relation to the rest of paris, you can see it is right on the river there and if i move this up, many of there and if i move this up, many of the viewers will recognise this here, that is indeed the eiffel tower. this is a very central location in paris, a massive police cordon is now in place. and there are specialist officers, you can see here, br i on the back of these uniforms, these are specialist forces that were brought in very early to deal with this threat after witnesses reported seeing the man trying to enter the consulate with what they believed was a grenade and an explosive vest. that is what witnesses believe that they saw, and police were very quick to respond. i have got another photo here, you can see this was a police before the man

was detained. he has now been detained and authorities will be working to try to work out what happened. and we have some more live pictures of the scene right now which we can assure you, you can get a sense ofjust how big an operation this is, a big police cordoned. and also the metro nearby, transport has been disrupted so this is going to continue into the day and it will be very destructive until they can clear this area and ensure the threat is now over.— threat is now over. courtney, monitoring — threat is now over. courtney, monitoring events _ threat is now over. courtney, monitoring events in - threat is now over. courtney, monitoring events in the - threat is now over. courtney, - monitoring events in the newsroom, thank you so much for giving us a bit more context on where the events have taken place. now let's take you... we were going to take your life to the scene in india, as i think the polls have closed there, but i think that live shot of the polling station has gone just as we wanted to bring it to you. let's tell you more about the election and white matter so much. it is the world's largest election and it will take place over six weeks, some 969

million people across the largest population in the world and other indians abroad will vote in the general election in india. due to the country's colossal geography, voting staggered across different states for security and logistical reasons. that is to ensure that even those in the most remote of areas are able to cast a ballot. voting will end onjune the 1st and results will end onjune the 1st and results will come in a few days later on the 4th ofjune. india's current prime minister, narendra modi, who leads the hindu nationalist party, is expected to win a third term in office. let's take you straight to another story that we have been monitoring here in the uk and that is that the bbc has seen documents that lay bare the scale of the medical trial see in the uk in the 19705 medical trial see in the uk in the 1970s and 80s in which children were treated with infected blood products. the trials involved patients with blood clotting disorders, without the consent of their families. most were infected with

hepatitis c and hiv. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports now on one school where some of the secret medical research was carried out. this school in hampshire, for haemophiliac boys, there was a chance to lead as normal a life as possible, with a medical unit to treat their bleeding episodes. they thought they were being treated with blood products. they didn't realise they were taking part in trials of products used as preventative measures are known as prophylaxis. many became infected with viruses. a letter in 1973 shows the involvement of the government in the research, with the message, time is short if the trial is to begin at the start of term in april. i have been speaking to three former pupils at the school from the 1970s and the 1980s. every boy there was on a trial at some time, or continuously, from their hold period at the college, and that spanned ten years from 1975 to 1985.

they had access to our blood, our veins, whenever they wanted it, and they exploited that. how do you feel about that? when we went there in the mid—705, we were not on prophylaxis, we had not even heard of the word prophylaxis. it was sold to us, saying, we've got these new products, if you are prepared to have an injection every other day, it will make you fit, you will be able to play more, you will be able to go out more, you will live a normal life. but our parents were never informed. there was just a change from having an injection whenever you had a bleed to having an injection every other day. and we accepted it, we didn't question it, we thought it was the norm, and it was the norm, because we were all doing it. let's return to paris and that story that we were talking about earlier. that is that french authorities have

detained a man after surrounding the iranian consulate in the french capital. we can go live to paris and speak to a journalist at the french newspaper le figaro, what more do we know? i newspaper le figaro, what more do we know? ~' ., , ., , , , . know? i think there was a suspect that entered _ know? i think there was a suspect that entered and _ know? i think there was a suspect that entered and we _ know? i think there was a suspect that entered and we do _ know? i think there was a suspect that entered and we do not - know? i think there was a suspect that entered and we do not knowl know? i think there was a suspect | that entered and we do not know if he entered with grenades are a kind of terrorist vest or whatever, but he has been arrested already by a special division unit of the french police. of course, all of the district of the embassy have been locked down, it is in the 16th district near the eiffel tower, opposite to the eiffel tower, if you wish, and we don't know what yet is the motivations of this attacker, but of course french authorities to

protect the iranians embassy and consulate, and so it is why they could intervene very quickly. but i don't think that now there is any problem left after this arrest. we do not know who this man is, is it an opposition? is it... we don't know yet. an opposition? is it... we don't know yet-— an opposition? is it... we don't know et. ., . ., know yet. thank you so much for “oininr know yet. thank you so much for joining us — know yet. thank you so much for joining us from — know yet. thank you so much for joining us from let _ know yet. thank you so much for joining us from let figaro - joining us from let figaro newspaper. just a reminder there about the situation in paris. breaking news, as we were saying, authorities in france detained a man after surrounding the iranian consulate in the capital paris. we have live pictures there, we showed you earlier, the consummate where a man was reported to be threatening to blow himself up. police forces

are on the scene and they have been surrounding the consulate which has been cordoned off, they have asked the public to avoid the area. a police source says a man was seen entering the consulate with what appears to be a grenade and an explosive belt. we'll have more on that and all of the rest of the day's news in a short moment. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. high pressure is going to be building across the uk this weekend. high pressure normally means dry weather and it will be largely dry. however, it will not always be sunny. often it will be cloudy, quite chilly too. the brightest and warmest weather to be found across the west of the uk. here is our area of high pressure right now, sitting just to the west of the uk. the jet stream, the flow of winds high in the atmosphere, is running just to the north of that high and then diving down across continental europe.

the jet really meandering across europe this weekend. actually, if anything, it's going to bend back on itself and that will allow colder air in across the eastern half of the uk. through the rest of today, an old weather front is clearing the south. a little bit of rain with that. behind it some sunny spells. quite breezy close to this east coast, making it feel rather chilly. eight degrees there in aberdeen, the highest temperatures further south and west, 15 or 16 degrees. this evening and tonight it will stay fairly breezy close to this east coast. there may be the odd shower. a bit more cloud pushing into the north of scotland, but in between some clear spells, the odd mist patch and it is going to be a cold night, a touch of frost for some as we start saturday morning. saturday should start for most of us with a decent amount of sunshine. however, i think we will see cloud building as the day wears on. some showers potentially across these eastern parts, where it will stay quite breezy. cloud and some patchy rain as a weather front moves

into northern scotland. the best of the sunshine and the warmth likely to be across northern ireland. 15 degrees here. compare that with just eight, nine or ten for some north sea coasts. as we move into the second half of the weekend, yes, our area of high pressure will be with us, but this frontal system really just gets stuck in the flow. that will bring a band of cloud, maybe the odd shower, so i can't completely rule out a showerfor the london marathon. certainly, there will be quite a lot of cloud and i think it will feel very cool, particularly given this nagging breeze that will affect south—eastern parts of england. a fair amount of cloud around on sunday. there will be some bright or sunny spells. i think the best of the sunshine across northern ireland, that could lift temperatures to 18 degrees, but further east i think it will feel quite chilly.

still streaming in. netflix signed up another nine million subscribers in the past three months. but how much longer can it keep growing? also oil prices have lowered despite

what is happening in iran. welcome to world business report. i'm lukwesa burak. we start in the us — where streaming giant netflix has revealed better than expected profits — and another big jump in the number of us around the world paying for its services. netflix signed up more than 9 million new subscribers in the first three months of the year. that's almost double the number expected and it takes the total global subscriber base to just under 270 million people. joining me now is our north america business correspondent, erin delmore, in new york. hello. great news for netflix but an announcement today that could have upset investors and it comes about disclosure, basically.—

disclosure, basically. yes, what we're seeing — disclosure, basically. yes, what we're seeing with _ disclosure, basically. yes, what we're seeing with netflix - disclosure, basically. yes, what we're seeing with netflix is - disclosure, basically. yes, what we're seeing with netflix is an l we're seeing with netflix is an interesting story because