Ayatollah says Iran 'slapped America in the face' after bombing in fresh threat
Iran 's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered his first televised address after a US bombing raid on Iran's nuclear sites.
Khamenei claimed Iran "slapped America in the face" with a missile attack on a US airbase in Qatar and warned of future retaliatory actions.
His prolonged public absence since 13 June, following Israeli attacks that killed key military and security advisers, has fuelled concerns about his health and future.
Discussions are reportedly underway among Iranian leaders to plan for a future without Khamenei, with analysts suggesting a potential shift to military-led rule.
An official from Khamenei's office acknowledged public inquiries about his wellbeing, urging prayers for the leader.
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The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Everything is opportunistic': how will Iran war affect Netanyahu's polling?
When Benjamin Netanyahu described the opportunities for peace that Israel's successes in its brief war with Iran might bring, supporters took him at his word. 'This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm,' Israel's longest-serving prime minister said on Thursday in a pre-recorded statement. Critics of the 75-year-old leader saw something else. 'Whatever he does, he tries to turn everything to his advantage … This is a guy who never takes responsibility but only credit … Everything is opportunistic and everything is transactional,' said Prof Yossi Mekelberg at Chatham House in London. Quite how long Netanyahu will stay in power is now a burning question in Israel, as the country recovers from the rollercoaster of fear and elation of the last weeks. With the Iran war apparently over, the conflict in Gaza has returned to the headlines. On the day after the US declared a ceasefire, seven Israeli soldiers died in an attack on an outdated armoured vehicle in the south of the devastated territory, prompting further urgent calls within Israel for the hostilities there to be brought to a close. Back in the headlines, too, are the deep divisions in Israeli society and within the coalition Netanyahu put together after elections in November 2022. This is the most rightwing government ever seen in Israel, and has survived multiple challenges since the 7 October 2023 Hamas raid into Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. For Prof Tamar Hermann, a specialist in public opinion at the Israel Democracy Institute, the war has changed little in terms of Israel's polarised domestic politics. 'Netanyahu's supporters support him even more and opponents oppose him like before. They see the [war against Iran] as very successful but don't credit Netanyahu. He gets some points … but not so many,' Hermann said. Netanyahu loyalists hope for a major boost in the polls. Udi Tenne, a strategic adviser and campaign manager for ministers in the current government, said: 'The operation [against Iran] led by Prime Minister Netanyahu was unquestionably justified, but it also, undeniably, benefited him politically. To put it metaphorically, the missiles launched at Iran also landed on the Israeli opposition.' A key question is whether the perceived victory over Iran will convince enough voters to forget that the 2023 attack – Israel's worst ever security failure – not only occurred on Netanyahu's watch but can be attributed in part to policies he had pursued over a decade or more. 'Since that horrific day, Israel's security situation has dramatically improved: the Iranian threat has been neutralised, Syria has collapsed, [the Lebanese militant group] Hezbollah has been severely damaged, and Gaza lies dismantled. We are living through a profound security transformation – and for that, great credit is due to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and to the government,' said Tenne. Others are less convinced, and recent polls are inconclusive. The relatively minor gains made by Netanyahu's ruling Likud party have largely been at the expense of other coalition parties, notably the far right, and would not necessarily guarantee a win at any election. And a requirement for a 90-day gap between a dissolution of parliament and new elections means a snap poll would be a big risk for Netanyahu, even if his personal ratings have risen. 'People are going to give Netanyahu a lot of credit for the operation against Iran and polls show this. But they haven't forgotten [the 7 October attack] and politics have not become less divisive,' said Lahav Harkov, a senior political correspondent at the US-based Jewish Insider. Netanyahu's tactical instincts have never been in doubt throughout his long and controversial career. They are still admired by his supporters and bitterly regretted by detractors. 'One of his greatest political talents is he knows how to delay and come up with temporary workarounds so he can live another day,' said Harkov. Advisers to leaders of Israel's opposition parties said last week they were encouraged by recent polls and believed that the many other issues that have riled voters – persistent corruption allegations, Netanyahu's ongoing graft trial, a bitter row over whether Orthodox Jews should be exemption from conscription and the rising cost of living – will come to the fore as new elections loom. Others point out that Netanyahu's political base is far from monolithic, and that his comments about the cost to his family of the recent conflict have provoked much anger. Netanyahu's political demise has been often predicted, most recently in October 2023. However, he has not only retained power but consistently outmanoeuvred rivals and opponents. A bid to bring down his government was only narrowly defeated a day before he launched Israel's warplanes against Iran. 'He desperately needed some success. I don't think it was a coincidence that it happened as he was being cross-examined in his corruption trial,' said Mekelberg. Loyalists have no doubt who will be in charge in the coming years. 'He has returned to power with a firm grip,' said Tenne. 'If David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's independence, then it is Benjamin Netanyahu who is now securing its future.' Netanyahu appears convinced, too. With only weeks of the parliamentary term to go before a three-month summer recess, he has at least bought himself time until the late autumn. 'I have many more objectives, and as long as I believe I can fulfilthem, I will,' he said last week.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
US attacks on Iran redraw calculus of use of force for allies and rivals around globe
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While Trump has pulled back from his earlier warnings about potential regime change in Iran, going from tweeting 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' to 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' within 72 hours, he has nonetheless reinforced Russian perceptions of the United States as an unpredictable and aggressive rival that will not unilaterally abandon its ability to use force abroad. 'It has some pretty dire warnings for Putin himself about what could happen at a time of weakness,' Hill said. 'It will just convince Putin even more that no matter what the intent of a US president, the capability to destroy is something that has to be taken seriously.' It also shows a shift in the calculus in Washington DC, where hawks – along with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu – were able to convince Trump that launching a strike on Iran was preferable to pursuing negotiations that had not yet failed. That could have knock-on effects for the war in Ukraine, where Republicans and foreign policy hardliners have grown more vocal about Putin's attacks on cities and the need for a tougher sanctions strategy. Although he hasn't changed his policy on resuming military support to Ukraine, Trump is publicly more exasperated with Putin. When Putin offered Trump to mediate between Israel and Iran, Trump said he responded: 'No, I don't need help with Iran. I need help with you.' In the immediate term, however, the strikes on Iran are unlikely to have an impact on Russia's war in Ukraine. 'I don't see it as having a big impact on the Ukraine war, because although Iran was very helpful at the beginning stages in providing Russia with [Shahed] drones, Russia has now started manufacturing their own version and have actually souped them up,' said Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, during a roundtable discussion. 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Trump had promised a tough line on China, and many of his top advisers are either China hawks or believe that the US military should reposition its forces and focus from Europe and the Middle East to Asia in order to manage China as a 'pacing threat'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Yet his previous hesitancy to use US force abroad could have emboldened Beijing to believe that the US would not come to the direct aid of Taiwan if a military conflict would break out – the one wild card in what would otherwise probably be a lopsided conflict between China and Taiwan. Experts cautioned that the stakes were far different, and the conflicts too far removed, to draw direct conclusions about Trump's readiness to intervene if a conflict broke out between China and Taiwan. Trump's administration appears further embroiled in Middle East diplomacy than it wanted and its pivot to focus on China has been delayed as well. And while some close to the military say the strikes have regained credibility lost after some recent setbacks, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, others have said that it won't send the same message for military planners in Moscow or Beijing. 'We shouldn't conflate willingness to use force in a very low risk situation with deterring other types of conflicts or using force when it's going to be incredibly costly – which is what it would be if we were to come to the defence of Taiwan,' said Dr Stacie Pettyjohn of the Center for a New American Security during an episode of the Defense & Aerospace Air Power podcast. Around the world, US rivals may use the strikes to reinforce the image of the US as an aggressive power that prefers to use force rather than negotiate – a message that may break through with countries already exhausted with a temperamental White House. 'The fact that it all happened so fast, there wasn't much multilateral involvement or chance for diplomacy, I think, is something Russians can point to as an indication of, you know, imperialism to the global south,' said Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings during a conference call. 'But also in their talking points to United States and western allies, they will definitely make a point of highlighting this as something great powers do, and in a way that normalizes Russia's language on its own [conflicts].
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I shot Osama Bin Laden. I'm ready if Trump asks me to take out the Ayatollah... but there's a more sinister Iran threat that needs dealing with first
If asked to join an operation to kill Iran 's Supreme Leader, former US Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill says he would be ready. The decorated veteran - who shot Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in one of the most famous raids in US military history - exclusively told the Daily Mail that his 'boots still fit' when asked about a potential mission targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
