Why US-Iran strikes are raising fears of a wider conflict
Iran launched missile strikes on a US base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation on Monday evening, with Iran's Tasnim news agency confirming the operation.
There are also growing fears Iran may target the Strait of Hormuz, Trew explained.
'If they do that, because the shipping lane goes through Iranian territorial waters, it could impact global oil prices and the global economy,' she says.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN GLOVER: Starmer is right to reject demands to recognise a Palestinian state. But how long can this master of the U-turn hold firm?
When the Prime Minister meets Donald Trump in Scotland today they will have many more pressing matters to discuss than the American President's golf swing. Gaza faces the prospect of mass starvation. The decision of Israel 's government on Saturday night to let in limited humanitarian aid will provide some relief but the crisis certainly hasn't passed.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Syria's hopes and fears: stability can't be built without the people
After five decades of Assad family rule, and almost 14 years of civil war, Syrians knew that establishing a brighter future was likely to be as fraught a struggle as removing their dictator had been. Many greeted the new president – Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida fighter and leader of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – with excitement, while minorities viewed him with a cautious optimism. Now sectarian violence threatens frail but genuine hopes of a better tomorrow. In March, hundreds of mostly Alawite civilians were massacred along the coast, after an ambush of security forces by supporters of the ousted dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a member of the sect. Then, this month, a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority in the southern region of Sweida swiftly escalated into horrific sectarian mass violence, involving Syrian government forces. Armed clashes, bombardments, summary executions and then Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds of people, including civilians. What is perhaps most alarming is the speed with which incidents can spiral, and the inability or unwillingness of the new government to control what is less an army than a ragbag of militias and warlords. Mr Sharaa has been adept at winning over his international audience, but much less so at addressing his domestic one. He has made gestures towards inclusivity, but substance has been much less evident. His leadership must straddle a fundamental contradiction: he needs to keep an extremist sectarian base on side – with Islamic State and others trying to lure members away – while reassuring the rest of a fragmented and deeply scarred country that he can protect them and meet at least their basic needs. The Assads weaponised intercommunal divisions to bolster their rule. Many people are seeking redress or retaliation for abuses committed under the old regime. The ubiquity of weapons after years of war and the desire of militia leaders to defend their interests adds to the danger, as does competition for scant economic resources. Israel's intervention this month – purportedly in defence of the Druze, a significant minority in Israel – has deepened the crisis. It has occupied additional territory and has clearly been working to reduce Syrian military capabilities and to undermine the leadership. Striking the defence ministry in Damascus didn't just send a message 'regarding the events in Sweida' but about its broader intentions. The US, which recognises that Syria's disintegration is not in its interests, has sought to rein Israel in and must continue doing so. Amid this bleak outlook, there are still notes of hope, especially in persistent grassroots efforts to tackle intercommunal violence through dialogue and to pursue transitional justice. These two priorities are interconnected: without ending impunity for the events of recent months and past decades, Syria cannot hope to establish the trust on which effective discussions depend. The government has paid lip service to transitional justice but has yet to name those it believes accountable for the slaughter in March – despite evidence on social media as well as from witnesses. It says there will be 'no tolerance' of abuses by anyone in Sweida. Terrified minorities will want to see proof of that assertion. Improved accountability, and commitment to building relations between communities, are not indulgences for happier and more prosperous times, but the foundation stones required for a successful nation. A Syria that is not inclusive and protective cannot hope to survive and thrive. Do 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 email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Israel challenges UN to deliver more food to Gaza
Israel challenged the United Nations on Sunday to carry out its pledge to deliver more food to the starving people of Gaza after announcing a U-turn in its aid policy. After two months of restricting UN aid convoys in favour of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israel Defence Forces said they were implementing new 'humanitarian pauses' in fighting to allow in more UN aid. They stopped daytime military operations in three locations: Gaza city, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi. In addition they set up 'secure routes to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine to the population across the Gaza Strip'. They also allowed three Jordanian and Emirati supply planes to drop aid supplies into the strip, though the quantity delivered, 25 tonnes, is a fraction of what the UN can deliver on the ground. The World Food Programme (WFP) said that it distributed 4,200 tonnes last week, even before Israel eased restrictions. Israel also staged its own air drops. Israeli ministers have alternated between denying the existence of famine conditions in Gaza, despite the mounting numbers of images of emaciated children, and blaming Hamas. On Sunday Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, gave an ambiguous interpretation of whether the IDF's reversal amounted to a concession to international pressure, including from Britain and other western governments. 'Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies,' Netanyahu said. Speaking from the Ramon air base in the Negev desert, he added: 'There are secured convoys. There have been all along, but today it is official. There will be no more excuses.' In line with warnings from aid officials, the first convoys seen to enter Gaza under the new regimen, including from Egypt for the first time in months, were mobbed by desperate crowds. Apart from the aid situation, the prospect of a ceasefire will be high on the agenda when President Trump meets Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, especially after the announcement by President Macron of France on Friday that he intended to recognise Palestinian statehood. Starmer has so far resisted pressure to follow suit but ministers were keen to show they were paying attention to growing concern about Gaza by focusing on aid. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, reiterated promises to join the Israeli air drop scheme but also insisted that ground convoys were the only way to get enough food into Gaza to feed its people. 'Access to aid must be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days,' he said. 'Whilst airdrops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza. These measures must be fully implemented and further barriers on aid removed. The world is watching.' Although aid agencies say that only a ceasefire will allow Gaza to obtain all the aid it needs, they welcomed the easing of restrictions yesterday. 'We have enough food in, or on its way to, the region to feed the entire population of 2.1 million people for almost three months,' the World Food Programme said. 'These new commitments to improve operating conditions come on top of earlier assurances from Israel to strengthen facilitation of humanitarian assistance.' UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said aid restrictions appeared to have eased by Sunday evening, citing initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads of aid were collected. He warned in a statement, however, that 'sustained action' was needed to 'stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis'. In Israel, a boat attempting to bring a symbolic amount of aid into the territory was brought into the port of Ashod, along with its 21 crew members from the Pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition activist group – including two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists. Israeli forces seized the vessel in international waters earlier in the weekend. In Gaza, six people died from malnutrition in 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday, with the World Health Organisation stating that the condition remained 'on a dangerous trajectory, marked by a spike in deaths in July'. AHMED JIHAD IBRAHIM AL-ARINI/ GETTY IMAGES It said it had recorded 63 deaths from malnutrition this month, including 24 children under five, one child over five, and 38 adults. That compared with a total of 11 deaths over the first six months of the year. Mervat Najm, 53, who has nine children, said she felt more secure, even if she had yet to receive more food herself. 'We woke up and for once we felt some psychological relief,' she said. 'But no organisation has contacted us. We're glued to our phones, trying to keep them charged, just in case we receive a message saying we can collect aid. 'We just want the aid to come in safely. A few days ago my 17-year-old son Abdel Rahman was carrying a bag of flour when someone pulled a knife on him and stole it.' A key marker of confidence is the price of food on what remains of the open market in Gaza. 'Just two days ago I bought a pack of pasta for 35 shekels (£7.75). Today, I found the same pack for 15 shekels,' said Doaa Masoud, a teacher and father of three who has been displaced to Muwasi. 'Traders are beginning to lower prices. Flour was selling for 100 shekels per kilo a few days ago. Today some sellers are offering it for 25 shekels. But for us, as displaced families, we're still living off promises, not real assistance.'
