Move could lead to escalation of war as Donald Trump has already called Mojtaba Khamenei an unacceptable choice
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as his successor.
Members of the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran’s highest authority announced the decision on Sunday, calling on Iranians to rally behind him and preserve national unity.
Continue reading...Chris Wright says price increase would last weeks, not months, and that US would not target Iran’s energy industry
Chris Wright, the US Department of Energy secretary, said on Sunday that the spike in energy prices would last weeks, at the worst, not months, and that the US would not target Iran’s energy industry.
His comments come amid rising anxiety that Iran’s response to the US-Israel strikes, which caused a reduction in shipping through the strait of Hormuz and production slowdowns in some oil and gas producing states in the Middle East, may cause broad economic turbulence and higher inflation.
Continue reading...Israel says it will target any figure chosen to succeed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes
The body in charge of selecting a new supreme leader for Iran says it has reached a decision – although the name was not immediately announced.
Israel has warned it would target any figure chosen to replace Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war with Iran.
Continue reading...As Masoud Pezeshkian tries to de-escalate conflict, hardliners urge installation of new supreme leader to marginalise the president
The surprise offer by the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, not to attack countries in the neighbourhood so long as their airspace and US bases within their territories are not used to attack Iran has provoked a storm inside the country as the military appeared to contradict him, if not outright overrule him.
There were also calls for a new supreme leader to be installed as quickly as possible, as a means of marginalising the president. Attacks on facilities in Bahrain and elsewhere have continued, and there were unconfirmed reports that Bahrain had become the first Gulf country to fire back at Iran.
Continue reading...Masoud Pezeshkian issues rare apology to neighbouring Gulf states for Iranian strikes as war enters eighth day
The president of Iran has rejected Donald Trump’s call for the country’s unconditional surrender as a “dream”, while issuing a rare apology for Iranian attacks that hit neighbouring states, even as missiles and drones continued to strike Gulf countries.
In a prerecorded address broadcast on state television on Saturday, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said the country would never capitulate, responding to remarks by the US president, who said on Friday that only Iran’s total submission could bring the war to an end.
Continue reading...Royal Navy readying HMS Prince of Wales so it can be quickly deployed if decision made to mobilise it to region
The UK is preparing an aircraft carrier before a possible deployment to the Middle East, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Royal Navy workers in Portsmouth are readying HMS Prince of Wales, the navy’s flagship, meaning it could be deployed more quickly if a decision is made to mobilise it to the region.
Continue reading...Senate blocks war powers measure and House follows suit – now president can bomb Iran free from congressional interference
Before US troops invaded Iraq, George W Bush asked Congress to pass a resolution authorizing military force against Washington’s longtime nemesis, a request that lawmakers obliged.
Twenty four years later, the United States is at war with a different Middle Eastern rival – Iran – under a different Republican president – Donald Trump. But this time, the president did not bother to seek permission from the Senate and House of Representatives before joining Israel in launching the air and naval campaign. And far from objecting, Congress’s Republican majorities have simply stepped aside.
Continue reading...Asif Merchant accused of trying to recruit people in 2024 plan to target Trump, Biden and other politicians in retaliation for killing of Qassem Suleimani
A Pakistani man has been convicted of planning to kill Donald Trump and other prominent US politicians two years ago at the behest of Iran.
Asif Merchant was accused of trying to recruit people in the US in a plan targeting Trump and others in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani in 2020, during Trump’s first term as president.
Continue reading...US president again calls on Iranian people to overthrow government or face ‘absolutely guaranteed death’
Donald Trump has said only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” will bring an end to the offensive launched seven days ago, as the US and Israel carried out some of the heaviest bombardments so far in the conflict.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday, when US strategic bombers were in action over Iran and intensive Israeli strikes in Lebanon forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes.
Continue reading...People tell of scenes of panic during airstrikes on Iran’s capital, with several saying they feared they would die
Sleeplessness, fear and exhaustion gripped residents of Tehran as successive waves of strikes struck the Iranian capital, judging from messages sent by people in the city after the latest overnight onslaught, which several described as the worst bombardment in six days of war.
With Iran imposing a near-total internet blackout, information emerging from inside the country is fragmentary and difficult to verify. But in a series of accounts sent through proxy connections, and calls with friends abroad, Tehranis described a night of intense explosions.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister says while jets currently only shooting down missiles, there is legal basis for them to do more
Hello and welcome to the UK politics blog.
Royal Air Force jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites being used to attack British interests in the Middle East, David Lammy has said this morning.
It is entirely legal to protect our people and protect our staff, and therefore all operational capability is available to us in those circumstances.
It is my understanding that that would be legal.
The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar, as well as Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities being sent to Cyprus, Keir Starmer said in a press conference yesterday. He said the US has been allowed to use British airfields to carry out defensive missions and that HMS Dragon is heading for the Mediterranean.
Kemi Badenoch has said the UK should take offensive action against Iran after UK bases were attacked. “We need to do what we can to stop the ability for these attacks to take place,” the Tory leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Shabana Mahmood put herself on a collision course with Labour MPs after announcing a set of changes to the immigration system that one backbencher said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal. The home secretary announced her plans on Thursday, including an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law.
A small number of asylum seekers whose claims are rejected will be offered an “increased incentive payment” of £10,000 per person and up to £40,000 per family to leave Britain under a pilot scheme, Mahmood said. The home secretary said the government would seek to echo reforms introduced in Denmark, where she said there had been “great success” in using incentives.
The husband of a Labour MP and two other men have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of spying for China. David Taylor, who is married to the Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid, is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Nigel Farage has described May’s Senedd elections as a “referendum” on Keir Starmer, as Reform UK gears up to battle Plaid Cymru for the chance to end a century of Labour dominance in Wales. Launching Reform’s election manifesto in Newport on Thursday alongside the party’s newly appointed Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, Farage said: “It’s a Welsh election, but I’m afraid, whether you like it or not, it doubles up as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership.”
Continue reading...‘Stopgap measure’ designed to keep oil flowing into global market as Middle East crisis disrupts crude shipments
The US has temporarily allowed India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea in an effort to keep global supplies flowing and temper further price increases.
On Thursday the US treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil, having previously imposed heavy sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Iraq emerges as key front in new and often clandestine confrontation after launching dozens of attacks
Iran-backed militias around the Middle East are intensifying attacks against Israel, the US and their allies, in retaliation for the ongoing joint US-Israeli offensive against Tehran as the war draws in new armed actors, threatening wider chaos and violence.
Israel and the US have targeted Iran’s network of militant groups, with Iraq emerging as a key front in this new and often clandestine confrontation.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president orders equipment and expertise to be provided to US in return to diplomatic support against Russia, saying ‘we help to defend from war those who help us’
The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
Various countries, including the US, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late on Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days to the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
Continue reading...Instruction comes as Israel continues to bomb Lebanon and Iran, while Tehran launches retaliatory strikes
The Israeli military has ordered the entire population of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate, as it continued to bomb Lebanon and Iran, while Tehran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and US bases across the region.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told all residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs – more than 500,000 people – to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately”, before Israel launched airstrikes on what he described as Hezbollah targets. The area covered by the order included several hospitals and government ministries.
Continue reading...Reports of attack on US registered tanker in Gulf lifts crude by 3% to $84 a barrel as gas price also starts to climb
Stock markets have rebounded in Asia after days of heavy losses driven by the war in the Middle East, but oil and gas prices have continued to climb amid disruption to supplies.
South Korea’s KOSPI, which posted its biggest ever fall on Tuesday of 12%, rose by almost 10% on Thursday, while Japan’s Nikkei climbed by 1.9%. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan jumped by 2.7%.
Continue reading...More than 50 Australian sailors and officers serving across US attack submarine fleet as part of preparations for Aukus
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The Australian government has refused to disclose whether Australian sailors or officers were onboard the US attack submarine which torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 people.
More than 50 Australian sailors and officers are serving across the US attack submarine fleet, a training regimen that is part of preparations for Australia to command its own nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus deal.
Continue reading...Prime minister’s initial refusal to help US could constrain Britain’s ability to protect its nationals in the Gulf and reassure allies
Britain knew that the US was considering attacking Iran from the moment Donald Trump told protesters that “help is coming” in the middle of January. It was obvious to the world that the White House was serious when the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was sent to the Arabian Sea in late January.
But as Trump gradually built up his “massive armada”, reinforcing it with a second carrier strike group in mid-February, UK deployments were constrained and limited even though there was a recognition that it was likely allies and bases with British soldiers would be attacked in an Iranian retaliation.
Continue reading...Joani Reid asks for privacy after it was revealed her husband David Taylor was one of the three men arrested
Starmer begins PMQs by telling the Commons that his thoughts are with Sarah Everard “on this very painful anniversary” of her death.
He says the government is working hard to prevent boys and men from becoming abusers.
Continue reading...California governor, promoting his memoir in LA, was asked if US should rethink military partnership with Israel
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic California governor, likened Israel to “an apartheid state” on Tuesday in comments sharply critical of the country’s joint war with the US against Iran.
Newsom, seen as a frontrunner for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028, made the comment during an appearance in Los Angeles to promote his book, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery. He was asked if the US should rethink its military partnership with Israel.
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