1 week ago Iran delivered ‘heavy slap to US’s face’, says Khamenei as he threatens further attacks on American bases – Middle East crisis live

In his first comments since the ceasefire, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US ‘gained no achievement’ when it joined the war with Israel against TehranIsrael’s national security minister called for a “complete halt” of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Thursday, claiming that Hamas is taking control of the supplied goods and food.Itamar Ben-Gvir says that he will “demand” Benjamin Netanyahu put a new vote to the country’s cabinet on the issue of the introduction of aid to Gaza.The humanitarian aid currently entering Gaza is an absolute disgrace. What is needed in Gaza is not a temporary halt to the “humanitarian” aid, but a complete halt to it.When I warned and warned, and unfortunately the only one who voted a month and a half ago against the introduction of the aid, it was clear to me that it would give oxygen to Hamas.With all due respect and gratitude to the president of the United States, he’s not supposed to intervene in a legal process of an independent state.I hope and suppose tha...

Events

1 week ago Did Trump's strikes set Iran's nuclear plans back decades? Here's what the papers say

Cheat the Week: What are the papers saying about this week’s stories?

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1 week ago Trump said he crippled Iran’s nuclear plants — but US intel tells a different story | Debunked

A leaked preliminary intelligence assessment reportedly found that the US military strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend did not destroy the nuclear programme, despite Donald Trump repeatedly claiming the US “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

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1 week ago Iran finally reveals what happened to its nuclear programme in strikes as Nato chief fawns over 'daddy' Trump: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Trump compared the Iran strikes to the two nuclear bombs dropped on Japan at the end of WWII, claiming his strikes also ended a war by pushing Iran to the negotiating table.

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1 week ago ‘We made history’: Mamdani celebrates after shocking Cuomo in New York City mayoral primary – US politics live

Andrew Cuomo concedes as progressive left-winger builds substantial lead over former governorZohran Mamdani declares historic victory in New York City mayoral primary after Cuomo concedesWe have more from The Hague.Reuters is reporting that when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme, Donald Trump said: “Sure.”Donald Trump hit back at a leaked preliminary US intelligence assessment which cast doubt on the success of US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump said Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades” by the strikes despite the reports suggesting they had only set it back by months. Ahead of meeting with other world leaders at a Nato Summit in the Hague, he said he believed “total obliteration” was achieved. “This was a devastating attack,” Trump told reporters. Asked about the intelligence reports, Trump said “they really don’t know.” He added: “The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelli...

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1 week ago Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons has only been spurred on by US strikes – no matter what Trump says

As leaked US intelligence suggests Trump’s strikes only put Iran’s nuclear programme back by a few months, Tehran will feel the incentive to secure a weapon more than ever, world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes from Tel Aviv

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1 week ago The Guardian view on Trump’s vacillating approach to Iran: a ceasefire is welcome, but the danger isn’t over | Editorial

Better diplomacy than war, but the US president’s inconsistency and Benjamin Netanyahu’s political needs increase the dangers in this Middle East crisisDonald Trump declared a ceasefire that would last “for ever”. Or perhaps not. Within hours, he had attacked both Israel and Iran for breaking the deal he took credit for, though there seemed to be a precarious peace. But the volatility of events owes much to the unpredictability of Mr Trump’s own rhetoric and actions. The Middle East crisis will continue to overshadow the Nato summit in The Hague, intended to shore up support for Ukraine.It is just over two weeks since Mr Trump told Israel’s prime minister not to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, hoping for a deal with Tehran. Benjamin Netanyahu ignored him – and within hours, as Fox News celebrated the Israeli offensive, the president sought to associate himself with it. He demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender and threatened its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...

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1 week ago White House hits out at ‘leaked’ intelligence assessment on Iran strikes

Trump administration rejects finding that attack only set back nuclear programme by months

Events

1 week ago Iran makes chilling vow to kill '50,000 US soldiers' as British sites on high alert

US President Donald Trump warned if Iran does not stop its nuclear enrichment programme and strike a deal for peace that regime change could be a distinct possibility

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2 w. 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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2 w. ago Iran strikes back: Foreign minister brands Trump a 'lawless bully' who 'betrayed diplomacy' after US blew up three nuclear bases in overnight strike

In a press conference after the strikes, US President Donald Trump said he had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear weapons programme, and warned of the possibility of more attacks to come.

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2 w. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Iran: Netanyahu’s war has no visible exit | Editorial

The US president promised to keep his country out of conflicts. The Israeli prime minister has other ideasThe maxim that wars are easy to start and hard to end does not appear to be troubling Benjamin Netanyahu. For the Israeli prime minister, conflict is an end as much as a means, extending his political survival. Under international pressure – however belated and insufficient – over the slaughter in Gaza, he launched the attack on Iran. Initially presented as essential to prevent Tehran from the imminent acquisition of a nuclear bomb, a claim running counter to US intelligence, it is increasingly discussed as the path to bringing down the regime. The defence minister, Israel Katz, has said that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “can no longer be allowed to exist”.Donald Trump has generally seen armed conflict as a trap rather than an escape route. He said that the US would “measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the war...

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2 w. 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

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Netanyahu’s Iran war: long planned, recklessly pursued – and perilous for all | Editorial

Israel’s strikes against Tehran risk spiralling conflict, flout legal norms and may permanently bury the last chance for nuclear diplomacyIn late 2020, Gen Mark Milley – then chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff – urged Donald Trump not to attack Iran and to ignore pressure from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pushing hard for military action. Mr Trump backed down after the general warned that attacking Iran would start a war, with the risk of US officials being “tried as war criminals in The Hague”.Five years on, Israel’s prime minister has the fight with Tehran that he has spent decades preparing for, bolstered by Mr Trump’s claims that international law no longer applies. After all, why worry about red lines when The Hague’s already got a warrant out for you and your allies pretend not to notice? It helps when the US treats the international criminal court like a rogue actor. Mr Trump has even gone after the court’s judges and prosecutor for ...

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3 w. 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

3 w. ago The Guardian view on Iran’s nuclear programme: Trump undid a crucial accord. A new deal is urgently needed | Editorial

Diplomacy can do more to slow Tehran’s alarming progress than threats from IsraelA year into his first term, Donald Trump pulled the US out of the hard-won international deal that had slowed Iran’s advance towards nuclear weapons, and imposed punishing sanctions. Europe tried to keep the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) on life support. But the strangling of Iran’s economy, and the US assassination of Qassem Suleimani, the powerful head of its Quds force, undermined the country’s moderates and the progress on non-proliferation.The fallout of Mr Trump’s Iran policy is still becoming evident. On Thursday, the UN nuclear watchdog found, for the first time in two decades, that Tehran was not in compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Iran vowed to “significantly” increase production of enriched uranium in retaliation, following a pattern of escalation in response to International Atomic Energy Agency criticism. US and European officials say th...

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last month War of words between president and former adviser escalates – as it happened

This blog is closed. Musk calls for Trump to be impeached as extraordinary feud escalatesTesla share plunge amid Trump feud wipes $152bn off companyMusk says SpaceX will retire Dragon spacecraftPresident Vladimir Putin told US president Donald Trump that he was ready to use Russia’s close partnership with Iran to help with negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.Trump said after a phone call with Putin on Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to make a decision on its nuclear programme and that he believed Putin agreed that the Islamic Republic should not have nuclear weapons. Continue reading...

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