Tuesday briefing: ‘An historic rupture’ as the Middle East crisis spreads

In today’s newsletter: senior international correspondent Julian Borger on what next as Iran targets its Gulf neighbours and the conflict escalates Good morning. The regional war many countries had long feared is here. On Saturday, global attention turned to Iran after an extraordinary joint aerial assault by the US and Israel. The intense bombardment was followed with news of the assassination of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with large numbers of Iran’s military and political leadership. Middle East | Israel’s determination to attack Iran and the certainty US troops would be targeted in response forced the Trump administration to take pre-emptive strikes, Marco Rubio said, in a new explanation for Washington’s surprise entry into the conflict. Travel | More than 100,000 Britons were stranded in the Gulf on Monday, with airspace in the region still closed to most flights and overland evacuation regarded as risky . UK politics | Nigel Farage has been accused of Donald Trump-style election denial by the Green party’s new MP for Gorton and Denton, after he claimed her Reform rival “came first” among British-born voters in last week’s byelection. UK news | Scotland has become the first part of the UK to legalise hydrolysis, an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation or burial, reflecting increasing demand for more sustainable funeral arrangements. Environment | UK programmes to protect nature and the climate in developing countries are suffering budget cuts despite ministers’ promises, the Guardian has learned . Continue reading...