By Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has organized nearly 50 flights to return U.S. citizens from the Middle East since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began, a State Department official said on Thursday, and officials said demand for the flights has declined.

The State Department was criticized in the days after the conflict began on February 28 for its late preparations to relocate diplomats and offer assistance to U.S. citizens as Iran's strikes led to airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region.

By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - An FBI alert to law enforcement agencies last month warning of the possibility that Tehran might try to retaliate for any U.S. strikes on Iran by launching drone attacks in California was based on a single unverified tip, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, adding that there has never been such a threat to the U.S. from Iran.

By John Irish

PARIS, March 11 (Reuters) - A senior official from a Paris-based Iranian opposition group said on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would not topple the clerical leadership, arguing that only a popular uprising backed by internal resistance could do so.

Almost two weeks of bombing have killed around 2,000 people in Iran including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and damaged much of its military and security apparatus.

BEIRUT, March 12 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes hit a building twice in central Beirut less than a kilometre from the government headquarters, Reuters video footage showed on Thursday, shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun a new wave of strikes on the Lebanese capital.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Writing by Yomna Ehab, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

US President Donald Trump warned Iran's football team Thursday their "life and safety" would be at risk if they took part in the upcoming World Cup in North America.

Trump's comments came just two days after he told FIFA chief Gianni Infantino the Iranian players would be welcome despite the Middle East war.

"The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

By Ahmed Eljechtimi

RABAT, March 12 (Reuters) - Morocco is developing plans to repatriate its nationals who fought for Islamic State in Syria and were transferred by the United States into Iraqi detention, a senior security official said on Thursday.

The U.S. began moving detained IS members out of Syria in January after the collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had been guarding around a dozen facilities holding IS fighters and affiliated civilians, including foreigners.

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Britain is exploring additional options for deployments to the Gulf after Iran stepped up attacks on vessels, defence minister John Healey said on Thursday, adding that the UK already has autonomous mine hunting systems in the region.

The Royal Navy (RN) said last week its last minehunter HMS Middleton, which was based in Bahrain, had arrived back in Britain on March 1. The vessel, which was more than 40 years old, was no longer certified to sail, it said.

Two crew on the USS Gerald R. Ford -- the world's largest aircraft carrier currently deployed for the war against Iran -- were injured Thursday in a laundry room fire, the US Navy said.

"Two sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition," a statement from US Naval Forces Central Command said.

The Navy said the fire, originating "in the ship's main laundry," was "not combat-related and is contained."

European countries have stepped up domestic security since US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked the Middle East war, with fears Tehran could be plotting "terrorist" attacks as part of its retaliation.

The Islamic republic has been accused of seeking to orchestrate incidents in the past, and three such attacks have occurred in the United States and Europe since the start of the war on February 28.

When an air strike hit their Beirut neighbourhood, people were angry with Israel, but they reserved their deepest rage for Hezbollah, for dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war.

Israel and the United States launched huge strikes on Iran on February 28, killing its supreme leader and sparking a massive retaliatory campaign.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, already weakened by war, attacked Israel in support of its sponsors, pulling Lebanon into a new cycle of strikes, death and mass displacement.