68 m. ago Iran's cratered nuclear reactor after Israel's precision strike revealed as Tel Aviv threatens to assassinate supreme leader and Trump considers joining war

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared 'no one is immune' from an Israeli attack after his defence minister insisted Iran 's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist'.

Events

2 h. ago What are the legal issues around Britain helping Trump bomb Iran?

Keir Starmer is weighing up whether to back the US and – as a lawyer – will be aware of the legal landscapeMiddle East crisis – live updatesUK politics live – latest updatesAs Keir Starmer considers whether Britain should support the US if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iran, the attorney general, Richard Hermer, has reportedly warned him that UK involvement could be illegal. The prime minister was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war when he was a human rights lawyer in 2003 and will be well aware of the thorny legal issues around engagement in strikes against Iran. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Ministers urged to publish legal advice on UK involvement in Israel

Calls follow news that attorney general advised government to limit its involvement to defending alliesUK politics live – latest updatesMiddle East crisis – live updatesMinisters are facing calls to publish legal advice given to the government on Israel’s war against Iran after reports emerged that the attorney general had warned that any UK involvement beyond defensive support would be illegal.Richard Hermer, the government’s most senior legal officer, is said to have raised concerns internally about the legality of joining a bombing campaign against Iran. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Tories warn Starmer not to 'hide' behind legal advice amid claims Attorney General has been 'restraining' UK from backing Israel

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel urged the PM to take the right decision for 'national security' as the Middle East crisis threatens to escalate.

Events

8 h. ago Attorney general warns UK joining war on Iran may be illegal

Lord Hermer is said to have cautioned against British engagement unless UK personnel are targeted

Events

21 h. ago Iranian opposition supporters grapple with US and Israeli regime change plans

‘We want freedom on our own terms,’ says one Tehran resident, while another writes, ‘Someone is helping us’Despite a substantial internet blackout, news spread quickly in Iran on Tuesday night: the US was considering joining Israel in its war on Iran. The US president, Donald Trump, wrote on Truth Social: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now Our patience is wearing thin.” Three minutes later, in a second post, he added: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”When Mehnaz*, a 24-year-old student activist in east Tehran, heard the news, she did not think of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Instead, she thought of her fellow students who were detained, shot and executed by Iranian security forces during the “woman, life, liberty” protests in 2022. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago The Guardian view on Israel, the US and Iran: you can’t bomb your way out of nuclear proliferation | Editorial

The age of disarmament is over. But military action only increases the dangers instead of ending the threatEighty years after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and 40 years after the US and Soviet Union pledged to reduce their arsenals, the threat of nuclear war has resurged with a vengeance. The age of disarmament is over, a prominent thinktank warned this week: “We see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric and the abandonment of arms control agreements,” said Hans M Kristensen of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.The world’s nine nuclear-armed states have amassed the equivalent of 145,000 Hiroshima bombs. Israel’s illegal attack upon Iran is purportedly a last-ditch attempt to prevent it joining this club – as Israel did long ago, though does not admit it. While Tehran possesses the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to, US intelligence believes it has not made that decision – and would stil...

Events

21 h. ago Trump undecided on joining war on Iran as Khamenei warns him not to attack

‘I may do it, I may not do it,’ US president says as Tehran reportedly prepares to strike US bases in responseDonald Trump said he had not decided whether or not to take his country into Israel’s new war, as Iran’s supreme leader said the US would face “irreparable damage” if it deployed its military to attack.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had made a “huge mistake” by launching the war, in his first comments since Friday. “The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” he said in a statement read out by a presenter on state TV. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Starmer considers whether to support US if Trump joins Israel’s war on Iran

Labour prime minister chaired emergency ‘Cobra’ meeting amid fears over escalating situation in the Middle East

Politics

22 h. ago Iran defies warnings to 'surrender’ as US gears up for war again

United States war machine gears up to join Israeli air attacks on Iran's nuclear programme and military sites as region hurtles towards all-out war and Iran defies White House command to 'surrender'

Events

23 h. ago Will the new Middle East crisis rock the world economy? The markets say no – but I fear they’re wrong | Larry Elliott

The oil shocks of the 1970s-90s had brutal economic impacts. As Israel attacks Iran, a moderate rise in oil prices rests on questionable assumptionsFinancial markets picked up the clear message when Donald Trump cut short his stay at the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies this week. Despite calls from fellow western leaders to de-escalate the crisis, the president’s early return to the White House was taken as a sign that the US is considering joining Israel in its military action against Iran. Trump says he wants Iran’s unconditional surrender.This is where modern summitry came in half a century ago. In 1975, the first meeting of what eventually became the G7 was convened at Rambouillet in France in an attempt to work out a joint response to the oil shock that accompanied the Yom Kippur war between Israel and its neighbours.Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by em...

Economics

24 h. ago Israel blitzes Iran suburb where Ayatollah is 'hiding in bunker' as Trump warns 'no one knows what I will do' as he considers joining war

Israel has launched new attacks across Tehran near to where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding in an underground bunker.

Events

24 h. ago Israel’s assumption US would get drawn into Iran war is being put to the test

President Donald Trump initially appeared to discourage attacks but Israeli officials claim they always had his supportIsrael’s attack on Iran was carried out with Donald Trump’s approval, government officials in Israel claim, and it appears to have been unleashed in the expectation – but not certainty – that the US would ultimately get drawn into the war.That assumption is now being put to the test as the US president weighs a decision on whether to join an assault he has increasingly embraced in his public pronouncements. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago Israel blitzes Iran suburb where Ayatollah is 'hiding in bunker' but Trump now refuses to say if US will join war after Russia warned him not to

Israel has launched new attacks across Tehran near to where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding in an underground bunker.

Events

26 h. ago Keir Starmer to chair emergency Cobra meeting as Trump considers joining Israel's war against Iran

Downing Street would not say whether British nationals should attempt to leave Israel amid its conflict with Iran

Politics

27 h. ago Iran threatens US with ‘irreparable damage’ if Trump joins war

Ayatollah Khamenei says his country will not surrender, as reports say it is preparing missiles to strike US basesIran’s supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that joining the war would lead to “irreparable damage”, as Israel ramped up rhetoric about regime change and ordered civilians to evacuate a district in Tehran.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said Israel made a “huge mistake” by launching the war, in his first comments since Friday. Continue reading...

Events

29 h. ago Iran’s supreme leader warns US of ‘irreparable damage’ if it joins war

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Tehran will ‘never surrender’ in response to Donald Trump

Events

41 h. ago US poised to join Iran war: America amasses armada of warships and fleets of fighter jets in the Middle East as Trump warns Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei 'we know where you're hiding'

At least 224 people have been killed in Iran since Israel began its bombing campaign last week in an attempt to stop the regime from producing a nuclear weapon.

Events

44 h. ago Trump threatens Iran's Supreme Leader and calls for his 'unconditional surrender' as US signals it will join war: Live updates

Donald Trump declared he wants a 'complete give-up' by Iran and a 'real end' to its nuclear program, which he suggested would not be achieved through a ceasefire deal.

Politics

45 h. ago Trump threatens Iran's Supreme Leader and calls for his 'unconditional surrender' as US signals it will join war

Donald Trump declared he wants a 'complete give-up' by Iran and a 'real end' to its nuclear program, which he suggested would not be achieved through a ceasefire deal.

Politics