Today, we discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East after an eventful week. Paddy and Laura are joined by Baran Abbasi, reporter and presenter for BBC Persian, to discuss Iran’s role in the conflict in the Middle East. They also discuss how Iranians feel about Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning that "Iran will pay a heavy price" after launching almost 200 missiles at Israel. And, Laura has interviewed Idit Ohel, who’s son Alon was taken hostage from the Supernova music festival in Israel on October 7th 2023. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Paddy O’Connell and Laura Kuenssberg. It was made by Miranda Slade with Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham