the biggest election in the world is under way in india, with almost a billion people eligible to vote. and taylor swift fans are in for a double treat, as she releases two sets of songs about her love life. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the us secretary of state antony blinken has reiterated the importance of de—escalation in the middle east, after a reported israeli strike on iran. speaking at a g7 meeting in italy, mr blinken refused to comment on reports that israel had informed washington of its plans before they struck. iranian state media said explosions were heard over the city of isfahan, which it said, were iranian air defences hitting three drones.

the action appears to have been limited in scope, with no casualties or major damage reported. protestors took to the streets in tehran, denouncing israel, but iranian state media has played down the incident; one official said there were no plans for further retaliation against israel. a minister — in benjamin netanyahu's government — described the israeli action as "lame". the us secretary of state antony blinken is at the summit of g7 foreign ministers. he said his focus remains on de—escalation. let me simply first of all repeat what our focus has been and what it remains. de—escalation, avoiding conflict, and so, yes, calling on all concerned to exercise restraint. that is what we have been doing over the last couple of weeks, and, as necessary, that is what we will continue to do. and again, that is reflected in the statement that you will see coming from all of the g7 countries. on rafah, we have been very clear about this.

president biden has been very clear about this. we cannot support a major military operation in rafah. first, there are currently somewhere around 1.4 million people in rafah, many of them displaced from other parts of gaza. in the first instance it is imperative that people are able to get out of the way of any conflict. and doing that, getting people out of harm's way, is a monumental task for which we have yet to see a plan. and not only getting them out of harm's way, making sure that they can be supported with humanitarian assistance if they are out of harm's way. but second, even if people are largely out of harm's way, inevitably there is going to remain a pretty significant civilian population in rafah, and we believe that a major military operation with a large presence of a civilian population would have terrible consequences for that population.

antony blinken talking earlier. i asked our correspondent wyre davies about public reaction from israel. well, very little, if anything at all. the only comment out he has come from a far right—wing member the israeli government who called the israeli government who called the action last night, if it was carried out by israel, a hebrew word along the lines of lame or pathetic. that was criticised, itself, by other members of the government is discrediting israel internationally. we are starting thejewish sabbath now and are about to enter a week of religious holidays with passover, so i don't think we are going to see or hear any official confirmation from the israeli government. but ambiguity is often the way that israel likes to do things. we can assume there was an israeli strike somewhere in iran last night, but thatis somewhere in iran last night, but that is exactly what israel had promised after the launch of 300

projectiles towards israel by iran last saturday. the hope is of course around the region, thejordanians have called unrestrained by both sides and the hope is that this will draw a line under this particular spat between israel and iran. we have still of course got the war in gaza, the six month war, to contend with. as antony blinken pointed out, there is the impending israeli assault on rafa which again the israeli government has promised at the international community is very worried about, the humanitarian situation worsening in rafa if and when that assault on southern gaza begins. perhaps the focus i think now in israel and the occupied palestinian territories might switch towards what is happening in gaza again and perhaps this dangerous spat between israel and iran which resulted in direct fire between both sides will for the time being have been done with. let sides will for the time being have been done with.— sides will for the time being have been done with. let me stay on that exact point — been done with. let me stay on that exact point because _ been done with. let me stay on that exact point because there _ been done with. let me stay on that exact point because there has - been done with. let me stay on that exact point because there has been| exact point because there has been some suggestion that benjamin netanyahu agreed to a restrained

approach here towards iran in return for being allowed to go ahead with the rafa plan. what has been said there about that sort of suggestion? lots of suggestion, but absolutely no official confirmation or otherwise. it does appear at times to be highly choreographed, as brutal as that might seem. 0f to be highly choreographed, as brutal as that might seem. of course when israel was attacked last saturday night, the international community had urged israel to take no retaliation at all against iran and to take the win, asjoe biden put it. but it became pretty clear when david cameron, the uk foreign secretary, was he at the start of the week that israel was bent on doing some sort of retaliatory action. that was planned, it was postponed at least twice during the week, we understand, but now if it had happened last night it does appear to have been a very limited response. but israel is maintaining, perhaps separately, that it will do what it needs to do what it feels that it has to do in rafa, in

southern gaza, because it maintains that the war against hamas in gaza will not be brought to an end and hamas will not cease to be a threat to israel until it is defeated completely. of course that does leave two points outstanding, the humanitarian situation in southern gaza where there are well above 1.5 million people living in desperate situations, what happens to them if there is an all—out assault? and then there's the fate of the israeli hostages, about 130, probably 100 still alive, still remaining perhaps mostly in southern gaza, what happens to them if there is impending israeli attack? 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal says washington is saying little about the incident. they are very tight—lipped, quite simply, matthew. the most we got there was from the secretary of state antony blinken and the key word to use their web restraint and de—escalation. and that is actually the main message that president biden has been giving to israel ever since the attack by iran last weekend.

he and other world leaders have been urging mr netanyahu and the israeli government to not retaliate in such a way that it would inflame a wider war in the middle east. and there were some reports he had not suggested that if israel had reacted in the sort of big away which certainly some members of the israeli government wanted the country too, that mr biden would not have been able to support israel on that. yesterday the us imposed a round of sanctions on iran. iran is already hugely sanctioned anyway, but this was aimed at the missile and drone programme that iran used in those attacks. and it was also aimed at isolating the islamic republic, even more globally, but i think it was also a message by the us to israel to say, look, we can punish iran in this way, you do not have to do it in this big military way. we have yet to hear from president biden, he is on the campaign trail later on this afternoon, but i suspect that he will be breathing a sigh of relief that whilst tensions

of course will not disappear between iran and israel, the risk of an immediate escalation has been lowered for the moment. there are competing claims about the scale of the attack on the isfahan region and the extent of any damage, which iranian state media are downplaying. azadeh moshiri takes us through what bbc verify has determined. this is what our team has pieced together about the attack as well as its impact. iranian state media citing unconfirmed reports of explosions in the central province of isfahan. isfahan is a major city in iran, second only to its capital, tehran, it also hosts a nuclear site which makes it even more important to the islamic republic. here you will also find that an army air base as well as a major missile production complex. bbc persian has been receiving videos from inside iran. here are two of them.

bbc verify has analysed them and match them together. you can see here the flashes of the apparent explosion match, the timing matches, which allows bbc verify to determine this is from the same event. when it comes to the nuclear site nearby, this is an older image, and according to reports there is no damage. that is what we are hearing from iranian officials as well as the international atomic energy agency. they have said there is no damage, but we have contacted the international atomic energy agency to understand how they have been able to determine that. we are still waiting to hear back. i also want to show you this video from the news agency, they are a semi—official news agency closely affiliated to the islamic revolutionary guard. now, if you see here, a man holds up a smartwatch and if you look at the face of the watch you will see that it says friday the 19th as well as the time, he also says that verbally to confirm, or try to confirm,

that this is from the day of the attack. now, the caption says that there is no damage to the nuclear site, and as the video progresses you can see what appears to be a group of troops. there also seems to have been some flight disruption. here i want to show you a notice to air mission, and what it describes is air space on the western border of iran as being closed between 1.30, local time in iran, to 7am. and if you look at the flight tracking website, flight radar, you will see that there are two flights here that were going towards tehran in that window of time that were then diverted and turned back. you can see the loops right here. there are also reports of strikes in iraq and syria where armed groups backing iran are based. but this is typical of the shadow war that israel and iran have engaged in for years. iran has several proxies

in the region, including hezbollah in lebanon, which is a prescribed terrorist organisation, by some countries, as well as hamas, same scenario there, and these armed groups in syria and iraq. what world leaders are hoping is a return to that shadow war, to that engagement via proxies as a form of de—escalation. for now here is information keeps coming in, we are going to continue gathering it and analysing it in the aftermath of this attack. let's speak to professor at university of tehran, seyed mohammad marandi. thank you for being here on bbc news. your reaction first of all to the israeli attack? iranians were surprised that the response, the israeli response, was so lame. and i think it reflects the fact that the

iranians strike on israel contrary to the israeli propaganda that was basically repeated by most of the western media was an effective attack. the israeli strikes to claim that they downed 300 missiles and drones, but the reality was quite different. what are the iranians did was sent roughly 200 very old drones that cost almost nothing for them, maybe a couple of million dollars altogether, and when they reached near israel they also fired two sets of missiles, older missiles and a handful of newer missiles, the older missiles and the drones were decoys and they were out there to force the israelis and the americans to fire off all of their top—notch weapons and to get intelligence. and then a handful of missile struck two targets, the air base in the south and the intelligence gathering centre... ,, . ,

and the intelligence gathering centre... ,, . , ., ., centre... sure, which is all that happened _ centre... sure, which is all that happened over _ centre... sure, which is all that happened over the _ centre... sure, which is all that happened over the weekend, . centre... sure, which is all thatj happened over the weekend, in centre... sure, which is all that - happened over the weekend, in terms of what happened overnight, this attack, i know you described it as a lame, but will there be a response from tehran?— from tehran? well, since nothing ha--ened from tehran? well, since nothing happened i _ from tehran? well, since nothing happened i don't _ from tehran? well, since nothing happened i don't know. _ from tehran? well, since nothing happened i don't know. we - from tehran? well, since nothing happened i don't know. we will. from tehran? well, since nothing i happened i don't know. we will have to see what decision is made by the government. because it is a bit, i would imagine, it is problematic because the iranians said they will respond to any attack on iranian citizens and iranian assets, wherever they may be, and we don't really seem to see anything that really seem to see anything that really has happened. so i don't know what the iranian decision of the government will be, but whatever it is it is clear that the israelis recognise that iran has changed the equation and for now if they strike you, iran will hit back hard. lie you, iran will hit back hard. us officials are clear that missiles landed that the israelis fired, they weren't intercepted, does that trouble you at all that the message

that israel perhaps wanted to send out is that we can hit you wherever and whenever, and actually get through all of your air defences, and that is exactly what we saw, does that trouble you will you? ida. does that trouble you will you? no, there are does that trouble you will you? mr, there are missiles, and i think probably the americans are saying this to play up some sort of israeli response, to make it look like it was not as lame as it really was. the real reason why the americans don't want escalation is because they know that in an exchange between iran and israel, iran will definitely have the upper hand. iran has a very powerful drone and missile capability, very high—tech, what are the iranians used a few days ago, as i said, where basically for gathering intelligence and for attracting... they were decoys to force the israelis and the americans to... , . , force the israelis and the americans to... , ., , ., force the israelis and the americans to... ,., ~ , to... the israelis and americans would argue _ to... the israelis and americans would argue exactly _ to... the israelis and americans would argue exactly the - to... the israelis and americans l would argue exactly the opposite, that iran does not want to go toe to toe with israel because of their

firepower, there are any fences, let me ask you a question... but firepower, there are any fences, let me ask you a question. . ._ me ask you a question... but the israelis back _ me ask you a question... but the israelis back down, _ me ask you a question... but the israelis back down, not _ me ask you a question... but the israelis back down, not the - israelis back down, not the iranians. israelis back down, not the iranians-— israelis back down, not the iranians. ., , ., ., , ., iranians. let me ask you a question, after the attack _ iranians. let me ask you a question, after the attack last _ iranians. let me ask you a question, after the attack last weekend - iranians. let me ask you a question, after the attack last weekend i - after the attack last weekend i asked israel's former ambassador to the un what it —— was it reckless that israel actually launch that attack in damascus two weeks ago. let me ask you the same question, was it extremely reckless of iran to launch that attack with 300 drones and missiles on israel last weekend? no, i think it was very smart move, i think the west should be very grateful to iran for showing so much patience over the years when the israelis constantly killed iranians who fighting ics in al-qaeda and syria because the israelis were working with these extremist groups. 0nly working with these extremist groups. only when the israelis bombed the iranian embassy in western countries and prevented the un security council from and prevented the un security councilfrom condemning

and prevented the un security council from condemning this, and prevented the un security councilfrom condemning this, this is unprecedented, i think,... the attack launched _ is unprecedented, i think,... the attack launched last weekend was unprecedented in scale. let me ask you a final question because we don't know if that strike last night was the start of something further from israel or the end of it. we wait to see. but if it is the start and there are further attacks, your reflections at that stage, would you anticipate that iran would respond? well, first i should say that the iranians attack was not unprecedented, it was a response to a bombing of an embassy, if it was the british embassy... i am talking about the scale _ the british embassy... i am talking about the scale of— the british embassy... i am talking about the scale of it _ the british embassy... i am talking about the scale of it being - about the scale of it being unprecedented.— about the scale of it being unprecedented. about the scale of it being unrecedented. , ., , unprecedented. does drones were there to distract _ unprecedented. does drones were there to distract and _ unprecedented. does drones were there to distract and make - unprecedented. does drones were there to distract and make the - there to distract and make the surface to air missiles moving their direction so that the missiles targeting the two bases could get through, but in any case, if the israelis strike iran, the iranians have said very clearly that they have said very clearly that they

have changed the equation. from now on it is not going to be like before where the iranians show strategic patience. from now on if the israeli strike, the iranians will strike much harder. i think that is exactly why the americans don't want for this to continue because it will be the israelis on the losing end. and israelis are already failing in gaza and they are failing in the north in lebanon and in the eyes of global public opinion they have been completely demolished. professor, we have to leave — completely demolished. professor, we have to leave it _ completely demolished. professor, we have to leave it there, _ completely demolished. professor, we have to leave it there, thank _ completely demolished. professor, we have to leave it there, thank you - have to leave it there, thank you forjoining is likely on bbc news. thank you for your time. you or thank you. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

you are alive with bbc news. let's head to new york. it's the end of the first week of donald trump's trial — and the former president is in court. all 12 jurors have now been sworn in — it's thought opening statements could start as soon as monday. donald trump is facing 3a counts of fraud — linked to alleged hush money

payments made to the adult film star, stromy daniels. he's pleaded not guilty. ..has to come off, i should be allowed to speak. every time i come out to speak to you i want to be open, because we have done absolutely nothing wrong. i showed to you yesterday 30 stories, 32 stories, of experts, legal experts, and not one the other way. 32 stories of legal experts saying very strongly there is no case, trump did nothing wrong, and they say it strongly, trump did nothing wrong. so they ought to get rid of the conflict with the judge because that is something that he cannot do anything about, it is wrong. it is wrong. donald trump as he was entering court complaining about the gag order that of course is in place. 0ur correspondent nada tawfik has more from new york.

at the end of yesterday there was one alternate juror in place along with the full jury of 12, but today is about getting the remaining five, because this judge does want to have six alternates in place. so behind me in the courtroom the same process that has been playing out over the last three days, on day four donald trump sat there with his two legal teams are prosecutors, all questioning prospective jurors to try to get to the remaining five. but it is a process that has taken some by surprise how swiftly it has moved, some were predicting it could take even two weeks. but thejudge has kept this on pace despite a few surprises yesterday when two jurors were abruptly dismissed, one a young woman who said after sleeping on it and seeing that family members had guessed, because of her public information out there, that she was a juror, she just felt that she could not be impartial any more, and another because prosecutors did not feel he was forthright with his criminal history and so he ultimately dismissed. which i think underscores that with this trial we have to be prepared for any surprises that

might pop up. the biggest election in the world is under way in india, with millions queuing to vote, despite very high temperatures. in the next six weeks, some 969 million people in the country, along with many others abroad, will vote in the country's general election. more than 13 million indian citizens who live abroad can also cast their ballots, but they'll have to return to india, in person, to do so. the result will be announced on june fourth. well these elections are very much about who is going to be prime minister, and it seems likely that it will be narendra modi who will retain his position, there is still a question about how many of his

party members from the bjp will end “p party members from the bjp will end up back there in parliament. today we saw the first of seven phases of voting, as you rightly pointed out it is going to go over six weeks, and there were 21 states that were voting in this round. that is a total of about 166 million eligible voters. that is the combined population of the uk and france and then some. and that is just one phase of voting, so you can imagine just what kind of an immense task it is to get the pulse of the people and to get everyone to cast their ballots. , . . , and to get everyone to cast their ballots. h. , ., ., ., , ballots. the scale is extraordinary. we have had _ ballots. the scale is extraordinary. we have had two _ ballots. the scale is extraordinary. we have had two terms _ ballots. the scale is extraordinary. we have had two terms of- ballots. the scale is extraordinary. | we have had two terms of narendra modi, what are the poll saying about the potential of a third term? it seems pretty likely that narendra modi will win a historic third consecutive term, but i think where

the question is is really about how much _ the question is is really about how much control will he have in parliament. part of narendra modi's election_ parliament. part of narendra modi's election campaign has been this ambitious goal of getting 400 seats out of— ambitious goal of getting 400 seats out of the _ ambitious goal of getting 400 seats out of the 532 that are available. and there — out of the 532 that are available. and there are those that believe that actually he is not going to get that actually he is not going to get that many— that actually he is not going to get that many seeds, in fact it might be a lot less _ that many seeds, in fact it might be a lot less than what the bjp is hoping — a lot less than what the bjp is hoping for. narendra modi is campaigning on three really big principles. we are looking at his economic— principles. we are looking at his economic record for growth, we are looking _ economic record for growth, we are looking at— economic record for growth, we are looking at his very successful welfare — looking at his very successful welfare schemes, and finally it is his hindu — welfare schemes, and finally it is his hindu nationalist agenda that is really— his hindu nationalist agenda that is really getting mr modi this far. he is hoping — really getting mr modi this far. he is hoping it is going to carry him into his — is hoping it is going to carry him into his third term. of course there is an— into his third term. of course there is an opposition, the largest opposition is the indian national congress — opposition is the indian national congress led by a very storied political— congress led by a very storied political party leader here in india — political party leader here in india. there have been criticisms against _ india. there have been criticisms against the — india. there have been criticisms against the opposition even though

they have _ against the opposition even though they have banded together to try to create _ they have banded together to try to create this— they have banded together to try to create this mega— alliance to counter — create this mega— alliance to counter narendra modi's popularity. there _ counter narendra modi's popularity. there are _ counter narendra modi's popularity. there are those that believe he just does not _ there are those that believe he just does not have the same charisma order— does not have the same charisma order clear— does not have the same charisma order clear messaging are really the organisational power to really counter — organisational power to really counter narendra modi and his party. briefly, _ counter narendra modi and his party. briefly, you _ counter narendra modi and his party. briefly, you are absolutely right, jobs, rising prices, there will be big issues in this election but the politics of religion, so many critics pointing out that that has led to the politics of division. absolutely, i think there was divisive politics as the opposition has pointed out has really led to a slow decline in terms of democratic principles in this country. it is actually something that human rights groups have also echoed, this kind of slow decline of democracy in india. there is a lot of concerns about that, if you look at the crackdown on journalists and other freedoms of speech, if you look at the crack down on the largest minority group here in india, the muslim population, and other

minorities, frankly, and then of course if you put this in a wider perspective on a global perspective, what kind of an impact do these sliding scales have on the way india is regarded in the world? i would just say look perhaps to the united states and the uk, both of which are still supporting india for their own interests. we still supporting india for their own interests. ~ ., . ~ still supporting india for their own interests. ~ ., . ,, , interests. we are back live in delhi later in our— interests. we are back live in delhi later in our programme. _ interests. we are back live in delhi later in our programme. you - interests. we are back live in delhi later in our programme. you are i later in our programme. you are watching 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.

some this is bbc news, the headlines... the us calls for a �*de—escalation' — after an apparent israeli attack on iran. we are committed to israel's security and we are also committed to de—escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close. families criticise the decision not to prosecute 15 former soldiers and an ira member — for alleged perjury —

at the bloody sunday inquiry in northern ireland. families criticise the decision not to prosecute 15 former soldiers and an ira member — for alleged perjury — at the bloody sunday inquiry in northern ireland. and there's a growing backlash, a day after the football association announced it was scrapping fa cup replays — with lower league clubs demanding a rethink over the scheme. let's return to our top story: world leaders are calling for restraint after what's believed to have been an israeli attack on iran overnight. 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. israel has been threatening to retaliate — after it was targeted last weekend by 300 iranian missiles and drones. here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. 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.