A world on edge as Trump bombs Iran and triggers war in the Middle East. There was no need for this | Simon Tisdall

A world on edge as Trump bombs Iran and triggers war in the Middle East. There was no need for this | Simon Tisdall

We cannot know where this foolish, reckless attack will end – but new hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown and, ultimately, little will be achieved They never learn. Once again, a bellicose US president has unleashed overwhelming military firepower to force a sovereign nation to its knees. Once again, blatant lies and exaggerated claims are being propagated to justify the attack. Duplicitous American diplomacy became a fig leaf for premeditated aggression. The cautionary advice of allies was spurned. The UN, international law and public opinion were ignored. Democratic consent is lacking. And once again, there are few defined goals by which to gauge success, and no long-term plan. Now, as in the past, the predictable result of today’s renewed, expanded and apparently open-ended US-Israeli aggression against Iran will be instant, spreading chaos. Civilians will be killed, children orphaned, families torn apart. Regional turmoil and international oil-price panic will follow the Iranian retaliation that has already begun, and which may be backed by Tehran’s Hezbollah and Houthi allies. New hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown. The west’s foes will rejoice. And nothing of enduring value will be achieved. That was the bitter outcome of the failed US-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, it’s Tehran’s turn to reap the whirlwind. Continue reading...

Starmer chairs Cobra meeting after strikes by US and Israel on Iran

Starmer chairs Cobra meeting after strikes by US and Israel on Iran

Prime minister leads emergency committee to decide on UK’s response to latest fighting in Middle East US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran: what we know so far Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the UK government’s Cobra emergency committee as Britain decides how it will respond to the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against bases in the Gulf. The UK did not participate in the first wave of strikes overnight but had deployed RAF Typhoons to Qatar to protect the al-Udeid airbase in the country and other allied military facilities in the region. Continue reading...