7 h. ago Western leaders call for diplomacy, but they won’t stop this war – they refuse to even name its cause | Nesrine Malik

The political centre sees the US and Israel’s war on Iran as a crisis to be managed, while the gap between their detached rhetoric and bloody reality widensSince the war on Gaza started, the defining dynamic has been of unprecedented anger, panic and alarm from the public, swirling around an eerily placid political centre. The feeble response from mainstream liberal parties is entirely dissonant with the gravity of the moment. As the US joins Israel in attacking Iran, and the Middle East heads toward a calamitous unravelling, their inertness is more disorienting than ever. They are passengers in Israel’s war, either resigned to the consequences or fundamentally unwilling to even question its wisdom. As reality screams at politicians across the west, they shuffle papers and reheat old rhetoric, all while deferring to an Israel and a White House that have long taken leave of their senses.At a time of extreme geopolitical risk the centre presents itself as the wise party in the fracas,...

Politics

18 h. ago Alarm in Middle East over US strikes on Iran amid fears of widening conflict

Leaders of UAE, Qatar and Oman criticise attack and urge de-escalation as EU and UN call for immediate diplomacyMiddle East crisis – latest updatesCountries in the Middle East and beyond responded with alarm after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as the EU and the UN called for immediate diplomacy, with fears mounting that the war could trigger a wider escalation that could spiral out of control.Gulf states, which historically have been regional rivals with nearby Iran and critical of its nuclear ambitions, expressed serious concern at the US strikes, amid the risk of retaliation against US military bases hosted in their countries. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago Global alarm at US strikes on Iran amid fears conflict could spiral out of control

Politicians express ‘grave concern’ and urge all parties to de-escalate and return to talks on Iran’s nuclear programmeMiddle East crisis – latest updatesNations in the Middle East and beyond responded with alarm after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday night as the EU and the UN called for immediate diplomacy, amid mounting fears that the war could trigger a wider escalation that could spiral out of control.Qatar, which hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East, said on Sunday that it feared there could be serious repercussions regionally and internationally. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago An implosion, a collapse or a transition: what would regime change in Iran look like?

Some western leaders have welcomed the idea of the toppling of Iran’s supreme leader, but no planning has been made for the aftermath if it happensAt the G7 in Canada, differences within Europe about the wisdom of regime change in Iran could not have been more stark.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, warned against toppling a government “when you have no idea what comes next”. Insisting that he had no time for the Iranian government, Macron argued that it was for the people of Iran to choose their rulers. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. 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

5 d. ago Israel and Iran strikes continue into fifth day as Trump demands ‘complete give

US president says he is looking at something ‘better than a ceasefire’ after leaving G7 in CanadaLiving in Israel: how have you been affected?Living in Iran: how have you been affected?Donald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.There is indeed an offer to meet and e...

Politics

8 d. ago Leaders at G7 summit need to challenge Trump without ganging up on him

America’s allies fear US policy is risking a global recession but they have to take care not to alienate the presidentThe G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada is likely to be dominated by efforts to persuade Donald Trump to dilute an America-first strategy, which world leaders fear may put the global economy into recession, and entrench the war in Gaza, Ukraine and Iran – three conflicts Trump once promised to solve.The summit represents the first collective opportunity for western leaders to challenge Trump with the consequences of his unilateralism, but with the world on a knife-edge, the six leaders cannot risk being seen to gang up on him and spark a presidential explosion. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Starmer and Trump call for ‘diplomacy and dialogue’ in Israel and Iran conflict

The two leaders spoke on Friday evening, as western nations began a diplomatic flurry to calm the burgeoning conflict.

Politics

9 d. ago BORIS JOHNSON: Starmer's leading the most abject and craven British government of the past 100 years. They are so weak they make Neville Chamberlain look positively robust

As they pounded the Iranian nuclear ­facilities yesterday, the Israelis were finally doing what so many Western leaders had expected they would do for years, if not decades.

Politics

1 week ago Blix Not Bombs review – former UN weapons inspector revisits the Iraq war

Greta Stocklassová’s documentary films Hans Blix, aged 97, and asks about his role in the war, WMD, and why his world of diplomacy has now disappearedAt the age of 97, entirely lucid, still writing books and physically spry enough to be shown swimming in a Norwegian lake, former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has given an extended interview to the Czech-born Swedish film-maker Greta Stocklassová about his life and times, about George W Bush Jr, Saddam Hussein and the weapons of mass destruction that were not there. The result is insightful and a vivid time capsule for the grim and mendacious era of the “war on terror”, during which Blix was tasked with discovering the truth about Saddam’s supposed weapons. The film is also unexpectedly spiky, with Blix at one stage threatening to walk out, as Stocklassová presses him on his apparent fence-sitting, then as now, insisting on an absence of evidence for WMD but also reluctant to commit himself definitively to this being evidence of abse...

Events

3 w. ago Poland presidential election 2025: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins as Rafał Trzaskowski concedes election – live

Nawrocki’s victory over Warsaw mayor Trzaskowski is a blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Polish governmentNawrocki wins presidential election runoff in blow to TuskAnalysis: Nawrocki win threatens Poland’s standing in EuropePresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects “very good cooperation” to continue between the EU and Poland under the presidency of newly elected Karol Nawrocki.In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she said:I’m confident that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland. We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.I congratulate Karol Nawrocki on his election as Polish President. I believe that under his leadership, Poland will continue to develop its democratic and pro-western orientation and that our countries will continue mutually beneficial cooperation. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Poland presidential election 2025: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins, official results show – live

Nawrocki’s victory over Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski is a blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Polish governmentPoland: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki ahead in presidential election runoffPresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects “very good cooperation” to continue between the EU and Poland under the presidency of newly elected Karol Nawrocki.In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she said:I’m confident that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland. We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.I congratulate Karol Nawrocki on his election as Polish President. I believe that under his leadership, Poland will continue to develop its democratic and pro-western orientation and that our countries will continue mutually beneficial cooperation. Continue reading...

Politics