sky.com / .sky-com-world

Donald Trump talked up regime change as a reason for attacking Iran, but in a White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt talked it all the way back down.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth says US forces killed an Iranian official who led an effort to assassinate the US president, which Tehran denies. Three men have been charged in the US over the alleged plot.

???? Listen to This Is Why on your podcast app ????

The president's ideas include naval escorts for shipping, especially tankers, but industry experts say such action could make things worse.

The US president had already threatened a trade war after being refused the use of Spanish bases for his war with Iran. But Spain won't budge.

The Trump administration has been waging war on drug cartels, and the president has pressured countries he deems responsible for illegal substances crossing the border to co-operate.

Trump says the conflict could last for weeks, but stockpiles might not. And there will be adversaries far from the Middle East keeping count.

????Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app????

General David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA, told lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim that Iran has widened the war by hitting airports, seaports, gas and oil loading stations in Gulf states.

Artificial intelligence can parse vast amounts of data and use it to flag targets, rank threats and suggest priorities. But experts are worried human oversight could be eroded to a dangerous form of "rubber stamping".