2 h. ago Trump and Netanyahu aim to remake the Middle East with bombs. Iran shows why that will always fail | Sina Toossi

The US has rashly followed Israel into a war that will not end Iran’s nuclear programme or topple its governmentSina Toossi is a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International PolicyThe joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend – targeting nuclear facilities, infrastructure and symbolic state institutions – reflect the bankruptcy of a decades-long approach to Iran that has hinged on pressure, coercion and destabilisation. This latest gambit appears less a strategic gamechanger than a desperate bid to regime-change Iran and prop up a rickety regional status quo built around unchecked Israeli dominance.The timing of Israel’s initial surprise attack on 13 June was no coincidence. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu – who has long sought to sabotage any prospect of US-Iran detente – appears to have steamrolled Donald Trump into the escalation he has always wanted. The result looks like a trap: Trump, once again, manoeuvred into a destabilising Middle East con...

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3 h. ago House Democratic veterans back moves to limit Trump’s military authority

Letter from 12 members demanding congressional approval for war follows Trump’s unauthorized bombing of IranUS politics live – latest updatesA group of 12 House Democratic military veterans have thrown their weight behind efforts to constrain Donald Trump’s military authority, announcing they will support a War Powers Act resolution in response to the US president’s go ahead for airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.The veterans – some of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan – were strongly critical of Trump’s decision to launch what they called “preventive air strikes” without US congressional approval, drawing explicit parallels to the run-up to some of America’s longest recent wars. Continue reading...

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4 h. ago Watch live: David Lammy addresses parliament after US strikes Iran

Watch live as David Lammy addresses parliament on Monday (23 June), following US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in the early hours of Sunday.

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5 h. ago Watch: Putin condemns Trump for ‘aggression’ of Iran strikes

Vladimir Putin says there was “no justification” for the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, labelling the attacks on Saturday (21 June) as “unprovoked aggression”.

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8 h. ago How Iran can retaliate after Trump strikes nuclear facilities

On one hand, the Islamic Republic will be loath to provoke a full-scale war with the United States, a conflict it cannot hope to win. But total inaction is also intolerable for Khamenei and his clerics.

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9 h. ago Putin vows to back Iran and condemns 'groundless, unprovoked aggression' following US strikes on nuclear facilities

Putin made the comments at the start of Kremlin talks and said Russia was ready to help the Iranian people.

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9 h. ago Vladimir Putin hits out at Trump's strikes and says Russia is 'helping' Iranians

Russian leader Vladimir Putin branded the US military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites as an "unprovoked aggression" that has "no justification" as he scrambles to defend his interests in the Middle East

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10 h. ago British services bases on high alert for Iran drone attacks following US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities

Security has been increased at key British installations in the region since Sunday's early-morning raid, with troops now on high alert for drone attacks, as well as missile and rocket bombardments.

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11 h. ago David Lammy repeatedly declines to say whether British government believes US strikes on Iran were illegal – UK politics live

Keir Starmer backs strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and calls on Tehran to return to negotiations but warns of ‘risk of escalation’ in Middle EastArmed forces minister Luke Pollard also appeared on the media round today, and stuck to the government line of not commenting on US action against Iran.He told viewers of Sky News that “it’s not for me to comment on the particular US action, but we’re assessing the battle damage at the moment to understand the true extent of the strikes.”I’m sorry that (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) has since been breached, of course I am, but that’s why the international community is ultimately committed to this. And let’s be clear, if Iran is able to enrich beyond 60%, is able to get a weapon, what we will see is nuclear proliferation across the Middle East, the world will be seriously more dangerous than it is at the moment, that’s why it must be stopped.I went straight to Geneva to sit with the Iranians. I spent seven hours in Geneva to ta...

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11 h. ago David Lammy refuses to say whether US attack on Iran was ‘right’ or ‘legal’

In an awkward interview, the foreign secretary refused four times to say whether Donald Trump’s regime’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilites would pass the legal test

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12 h. ago The Latest: Trump muses about regime change in Iran after U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities

Israel’s military says it is striking around Iran’s western city of Kermanshah, as fears of a wider regional conflict loom large after the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war by attacking Iranian nuclear sites

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12 h. ago Oil prices surge as Iran maintains threat to close global shipping route after Trump bombed its nuclear facilities

Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97 per cent to $78.53 a barrel as of 6am UK time. US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04 per cent to $75.35.

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19 h. ago Pope Leo condemns Trump's bombing in Iran, warns of 'irreparable abyss'

Pope Leo XIV warned of an "irreparable abyss" as US forces continue to bomb Iran after President Donald Trump made the decision to attack the Middle Eastern nation's key nuclear sites

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22 h. ago Starmer and Trump call for Iran to return to negotiating table after US strikes

The two leaders spoke on Sunday night after the US launched air raids and missile attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

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23 h. ago US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities is Trump’s biggest gamble yet as president

Much could go wrong for the US and the Middle East as Trump and Netanyahu pursue the disempowerment of Iran Middle East crisis – latest updatesDonald Trump, a self-confessed risk-taker, has taken the greatest gamble – not just with his political reputation and the future of the Middle East, but arguably with the whole concept of military intervention as a way to solve intractable geopolitical problems.If the US president succeeds – and there will be many rival interpretations and metrics of success in the weeks ahead – it is possible he will have disempowered Iran, and diminished the global influence of a regime that has for 40 years sponsored threats against the west. In the process his personal authority will have been enhanced, and his next three years in office will be a triumph that may exacerbate some of his worst authoritarian and impulsive traits. Continue reading...

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26 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump bombing Iran: an illegal and reckless act | Editorial

The US president has chosen war at Israel’s behest. He may imagine he has scored an easy win, but the world is likely to pay a steep priceDonald Trump was predictably quick to claim victory following the illegal US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities: “Completely and totally obliterated,” he crowed. Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and sycophants at home rushed to fawn over his “courageous” and “brilliant” decision. The most senior US military official, Dan Caine, offered a more muted assessment: it was “way too early” to know the full outcome despite severe damage. We cannot yet know whether the blow has ended Iran’s nuclear aspirations – or will spur it to pursue the bomb. It may be weeks or months, too, before Iranian retaliation plays out, with all its potential repercussions.Two nuclear-armed states have gone to war on the unevidenced claim that a third state is on the verge of acquiring its own nuclear arms. In March, the US director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said I...

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26 h. ago Shocking new satellite images show damage to Iranian nuclear sites after US's precision attacks on facility

President Donald Trump last night ordered six B-2 stealth bombers to drop a dozen 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs on the base hidden deep inside a mountain.

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27 h. ago Starmer backs Trump’s bombing of Iran saying it ‘can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon’

Prime minister backs US president as he bombs Iranian nuclear sites and says key facilities ‘completely and totally obliterated’

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27 h. ago DAVID PATRIKARAKOS: The US strikes in Iran leave the world in a new political reality. The question now is: What next?

Last night, Donald Trump did what he threatened he would do and what his predecessors refused to do and deployed bunker bombs to take out Tehran's nuclear facilities.

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28 h. ago US WW3 fears as officials 'do not seek war with Iran' despite missile strikes

The United States does not seek war with Iran, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday after a missile attack on the country's nuclear facilities, while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran a chance to negotiate

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