BBC News Briefing

5 March, 2026

Alex has short blonde hair and blue eyes. She is smiling and wearing a black turtleneck

Alex Binley

Hello. Iran's leaders and commanders have been preparing for the current conflict for years, writes BBC Persian's Amir Azimi, as he takes a look at the Islamic Republic's strategy. In Venezuela, my colleague Norberto Paredes speaks to two former political prisoners who describe the conditions inside the country's notorious El Helicoide prison. And finally, as world-famous dog show Crufts prepares to kick off, take a look at some of the four-legged arrivals.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

How Iran's high-risk war strategy seems to centre on endurance and deterrence

A woman and a girl, both with long black hair that is tied up, both wear jeans. The woman wears a red and black cardigan and the girl wears a pink gilette. They are stood next to the ruins of a building and lots of debris.

More than 1,100 Iranians have been killed, according to a US-based monitor. Credit: Getty Images

"Iran's military posture in a widening conflict with Israel and the US suggests it is not fighting for victory in any conventional sense. It is fighting for... survival on its own terms," writes Amir Azimi. Its "approach appears to rest on a belief that it can absorb punishment longer than its adversaries are willing to sustain pain and costs", he says, adding that one of its methods is to use cheap drones in attacks across the Middle East. My colleagues on the Visual Journalism team delve deeper into this here. Inside Iran, residents have told the BBC "the destruction, what is happening - it's unbelievable". While in Israel, where much of the population supports the war, a "sense of normality is slowly returning", writes Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega.

Amir's analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

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US trade court orders tariff refunds

The decision marks a setback for President Trump, who has sought to replace the import taxes and bemoaned the prospect of refunds.

More on this >

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Kristi Noem replaced as Homeland Security boss

Noem has been under scrutiny, particularly over the aftermath of the deaths of two US citizens at the hands of federal agents.

Latest updates >

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Britney Spears arrested in California

The singer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

What we know >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Nottingham attacks: A triple killer put his flatmate in a headlock after being asked to clean, two years before he carried out the attacks, an inquiry heard.

Brewdog: The company's co-founder has admitted he made "mistakes" after hundreds of jobs were lost following the sale of the brewer and pub chain.

Tuk-tuks: A police force that spent £34,300 buying four electric three-wheelers to help fight crime sold them after two years at a £28,350 loss.

AT THE SCENE

Caracas, Venezuela

Inside planned luxury shopping centre that became feared Venezuelan jail

Javier Tarazona sits in a garden wearing a pink shirt looking serious. He has short black hair which is parted on the side. Grey railings and potted plants can be seen behind him.

Rights activist Javier Tarazona was held for 1,675 days.

Originally built in the 1950s as a high-end shopping centre, El Helicoide was taken over by Venezuela's feared intelligence services, and was where people who had been arbitrarily arrested or forcibly disappeared were taken and, in some cases, tortured. Since ex-president Nicolás Maduro's capture by US forces, more than 600 people have been released across the country, but hundreds more likely remain behind bars.

Norberto's head and shoulders can be seen. He is wearing a light blue shirt and has short, black hair.

Norberto Paredes, BBC News Mundo

"They handcuffed me, beat me, insulted me, and put a balaclava on me as they put me inside a patrol car," says rights activist Javier Tarazona, as he describes the moment he was arrested in July 2021, recalling the beginning of an ordeal that would last four and a half years.

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He was taken to a tiny punishment cell, where all new prisoners were sent. It was infested with rats and cockroaches, and smelt "nauseating", he says. He was arrested alongside his brother, and the pair were held together with another activist in a cell so small that they had to take turns if they wanted to lie down, placing a piece of cardboard over a sewer hole as a makeshift mattress.

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Keep reading

El Helicoide: How an intended cultural icon became an infamous jail.

Political prisoners: Pressure is increasing on the Venezuelan government to free the remaining political prisoners.

Analysis: Under pressure from Trump, Venezuela's new president has aces up her sleeve.