Good afternoon. It's 3PM, Monday, 2nd March. The headlines: #Israel and #Hezbollah have traded blows after an #Iranian assault. #Iran has escalated tensions with regional strikes. The #UK permits US forces to use its bases for operations against Iran. The US Defence Secretary briefed on the conflict, noting the aim is to neutralise Iran's missiles and naval capabilities. Fresh Iranian attacks are reported across the Middle East. #MiddleEast #BBC #News