7 h. ago Netanyahu outplayed Trump on Iran. Now the US risks being mired in another war | Mohamad Bazzi

If Trump wants to be the peacemaker he claims to be, he must negotiate a new deal with TehranBefore dawn on Friday, Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes against more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and air defense systems. The surprise Israeli attack also killed some of Iran’s most senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Iranian regime called it a “declaration of war” – and western powers raced to prevent a wider regional conflict that could draw in the US along with other countries in the Middle East.While the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims that he’s trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the attack is as much intended to blow up ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Donald Trump’s administration. While Trump’s overall foreign policy has been a disaster, for months he had resisted Netanyahu’s pleas to give Israel a green light to attack Iran, with US assistance. Trump insiste...

Events

12 h. ago SNP minister Mairi McAllan claims Scots don't like party members 'sniping' at John Swinney

Some Nationalists have questioned their leader's future after the party suffered a shattering loss at the recent Hamilton by-election.

Politics

18 h. ago Donald Trump's historic second state visit to the UK is still on course for autumn, Starmer confirms

The Prime Minister, who has forged an unlikely bond with the US President, said he was 'looking forward to welcoming him' to the UK later this year, adding: 'He will be coming.'

Politics

20 h. ago Minister asked to comment on detention of Irish politician in Egypt

The partner of an Irish politician who was detained in Egypt has called on Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister to make a statement on the matter.

Politics

21 h. ago Iran launches retaliatory missiles at Israel after Iranian supreme leader vows revenge for nuclear site attacks – live

IDF says defense system is operating to intercept missiles from Iran; explosions in Tehran and surrounded areas reported by Iranian state mediaFears of full-scale war as Israel says attack on Iran is ‘just the beginning’Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation, saying the IDF had targted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb.He said that Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz had been targeted.This operation will continue for as many days as it takes We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Israel military operating to intercept new ‘threat’ from Iran after further airstrikes reported in Tehran – live

IDF says defense system is operating to intercept missiles from Iran; explosions in Tehran and surrounded areas reported by Iranian state mediaFears of full-scale war as Israel says attack on Iran is ‘just the beginning’Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation, saying the IDF had targted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb.He said that Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz had been targeted.This operation will continue for as many days as it takes We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Continue reading...

Events

22 h. ago Starmer tells Netanyahu Israel and Iran must pull back from the brink

Israeli prime minister calls for downfall of theocratic regime as attacks raise prospect of all-out war

Politics

23 h. ago Further airstrikes reported in Iran as Trump says ‘we knew everything’ about Israeli attacks – live

Iranian state media reports explosions in Tehran and surrounded areas, more than 12 hours after Israel launched overnight attack targeting Iranian nuclear sitesFull report: Israel targets Iran’s nuclear facilitiesIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation, saying the IDF had targted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb.He said that Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz had been targeted.This operation will continue for as many days as it takes We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Continue reading...

Politics

23 h. ago The Guardian view on Israel’s shock attack on Iran: confusing US signals add to the peril | Editorial

The recklessness of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the incoherence of Donald Trump’s deepen the crisis in the Middle EastUS presidents who thought they could easily restrain Benjamin Netanyahu have quickly learned their lesson. “Who’s the fucking superpower?” Bill Clinton reportedly exploded after his first meeting with the Israeli prime minister.Did Donald Trump make the same mistake? The state department quickly declared that the devastating overnight Israeli attack on Iran – which killed key military commanders and nuclear scientists as well as striking its missile capacity and a nuclear enrichment site – was unilateral. Mr Trump had reportedly urged Mr Netanyahu to hold off in a call on Monday, pending US talks with Iran over its nuclear programme due this weekend. The suspicion is that Israel feared that a deal might be reached and wanted to strike first. But Israeli officials have briefed that they had a secret green light from the US, with Mr Trump only claiming to oppos...

Events

24 h. ago Republicans back Israeli attack on Iran but some Democrats say it sabotages nuclear talks

Trump and GOP cheered the strikes, but others say Israeli PM deliberately harmed nuclear program negotiationsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump and Republicans in Washington on Friday cheered Israel for carrying out long-threatened strikes on Iran, but several Democrats accused that country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of deliberately sabotaging talks to resolve the question of Tehran’s nuclear program peacefully.Iran has few friends within the American political establishment, while Israel retains widespread support in Congress, even as some Democrats publicly condemn its conduct in the war in Gaza. Republicans lined up behind the president in praising the attack, which seems certain to put an end to weeks of thus-far fruitless negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Continue reading...

Politics

24 h. ago Iran says Israel’s strikes on its nuclear facilities are a ‘declaration of war’ as Trump says ‘we knew everything’ – live

Israel launched overnight attack on Iran targeting nuclear sites after claiming Tehran was building nuclear warheads as US president says he knew about strikesFull report: Israel targets Iran’s nuclear facilitiesIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation, saying the IDF had targted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb.He said that Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz had been targeted.This operation will continue for as many days as it takes We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Continue reading...

Events

24 h. ago Netanyahu says his attack on Iran was to avert an existential threat. He may have made it worse | Jonathan Freedland

Israel has eliminated many of the brains behind Tehran’s nuclear programme. But don’t expect the regime to back downThis is a war 30 years in the making. Benjamin Netanyahu was talking about the threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb back in the 1990s and he has scarcely let up since. For decades he has believed that a nuclear Iran would represent the one truly existential threat to Israel and that military force is the only sure way to prevent it. Several times during the many years in which Netanyahu has sat in the prime minister’s chair, an all-out strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities has been weighed up, debated and planned for. In the early hours of this morning, it finally happened.Netanyahu will be pleased with the early results, including the elimination of key Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. But the ultimate consequences could look very different. By his actions, he may only have accelerated the very danger he has feared for so long.Jonathan Freedland is a Gua...

Events

24 h. ago Netanyahu attacked Iran to avert an ‘existential threat’. He may have made it worse | Jonathan Freedland

Israel has eliminated many of the brains behind Tehran’s nuclear programme. But don’t expect the regime to back downThis is a war 30 years in the making. Benjamin Netanyahu was talking about the threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb back in the 1990s and he has scarcely let up since. For decades he has believed that a nuclear Iran would represent the one truly existential threat to Israel and that military force is the only sure way to prevent it. Several times during the many years in which Netanyahu has sat in the prime minister’s chair, an all-out strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities has been weighed up, debated and planned for. In the early hours of this morning, it finally happened.Netanyahu will be pleased with the early results, including the elimination of key Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. But the ultimate consequences could look very different. By his actions, he may only have accelerated the very danger he has feared for so long.Jonathan Freedland is a Gua...

Events

24 h. ago Voices: Why Israel’s attack on Iran proves Netanyahu is an unhinged messiah

Israel’s prime minister sees himself not only as the protector of Israel, but the saviour of the West. This, he believes, is how he should go down in history, writes former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas

Politics

25 h. ago Starmer says Trump’s state visit to go ahead and hopes it will be this year

Donald Trump received a letter from the King at the White House in February inviting him to a second state visit.

Politics

25 h. ago Starmer and European allies urge restraint from Israel and Iran after strikes

The Prime Minister, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a ‘diplomatic resolution’.

Politics

25 h. ago Is Iran as close to building a nuclear weapon as Netanyahu claims?

Israeli PM alleges Tehran has capacity to make nine bombs, but this runs contrary to recent US and UN assessmentsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn justifying Israel’s attack on Iran, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had acted to pre-empt a secret Iranian programme to build a nuclear bomb, claiming Tehran already had the capacity to build nine nuclear bombs. Israeli officials also claimed to have presented information to the US that Iran had recently made the necessary technical breakthroughs.Netanyahu’s critics are saying he acted to pre-empt something else: a diplomatic agreement between the US and Iran on its civil nuclear programme, or even the demise of his own government. They point out that Israel has been saying for 20 years that Iran is on the brink of building a bomb. Continue reading...

Events

25 h. ago Former Tory MP to face trial on general election gambling charges

Craig Williams and 14 others appear in court over allegations of cheating by betting on 2024 election dateA former Conservative MP and 14 other people facing allegations of cheating by gambling on the date of last year’s general election are to go on trial.Craig Williams, who was the MP for Montgomeryshire and a senior aide to the then prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appeared in the dock at Westminster magistrates court on Friday after charges were brought by the Gambling Commission. Continue reading...

Politics

26 h. ago Voices: Will Israel’s war on Iran force Keir Starmer to raise defence spending even more?

Despite talking of moving Britain to ‘war-fighting readiness’, the prime minister has so far resisted Nato pressure to increase spending further, writes John Rentoul

Politics

28 h. ago Former MP accused of cheating at gambling on general election appears in court

Craig Williams, 39, of Llanfair Caereinion, served as the parliamentary private secretary to Rishi Sunak during his time as prime minister.

Politics