Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz but ships linked to Israel or the US cannot pass, a military spokesman told Iranian state TV. After war broke out last Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it would “set ablaze” any western tanker attempting to transit the strait, a body of water through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes on tankers.
Cyprus’s foreign minister has said there are “questions” over the future presence of UK military bases on the island after the drone strike last Sunday. The drone strike on RAF Akrotiri, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, caused minimal damage and did not result in casualties. Further drones were intercepted and the Ministry of Defence temporarily moved family members from the base. The attack has triggered a diplomat fallout, with the Cypriot high commissioner in the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, acknowledging the country was “disappointed” with British failures to warn people on the island of the impending strike. The Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, openly criticised the failure to stop the drone. His spokesperson said last week: “All necessary steps will be taken to communicate our dissatisfaction, both with the way this message was communicated and the fact that yesterday there was no timely warning to citizens of Cyprus living near the Akrotiri bases.” The foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said on Friday there now needed to be a “conversation” about removing the UK’s two bases in Cyprus. “Right now we have the British bases on the island. There are questions. There are issues. There are concerns, Kombos told BBC’s Newsnight. “Our displeasure was shared leading up to the incident and immediately afterwards. We are now focusing on the current situation and how we can manage the crisis. “And there will be, of course, a reflection as to lessons learned and issues that are of serious concern after the crisis.” Asked if he wanted the airbases to be removed, Kombos said: “I don’t think anyone anywhere in the world would be in any position of accepting the presence of bases on the island without having given a clear concern given the current or the way things have moved forward.” He added: “As to the future of the bases in Cyprus, this is something that has been on the agenda for a long time from both sides. “But I believe this is a conversation that one needs to have after we have a careful reflection as to what has transpired, especially in recent days and hours.” In a separate television interview, the deputy prime minister, David Lammy, erroneously described Cyprus as a member of Nato. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Lammy said: “We will do everything we can to protect our airbase, to protect our staff and people but also alongside our allies because Cyprus is part of Nato.” The Labour MP later clarified to Sky News: “Cyprus is a Nato ally, so we coordinate also with other teams and other close allies on how we equip the area.” Cyprus is one of four EU countries not currently a member of Nato along with Austria, Ireland and Malta. The British warship HMS Dragon, which has air defence capabilities, is sailing to Cyprus next week following criticism over the UK’s response to the drone attacks and accusations that it has insufficient military assets in the Middle East. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there. “We will always act in the interest of the UK and our allies.”
Three women have been interviewed under caution on suspicion of facilitating one of Britain’s worst sexual abuse scandals, involving the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed and his alleged attacks over four decades. Scotland Yard said 154 women may have been raped or sexually assaulted by Fayed, or been subject to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The Metropolitan police said the three female suspects, aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s, were interviewed under caution in the last fortnight. Under pressure from those representing victims, the Met said the allegations against the suspects included the human trafficking of women, at least some of whom went on to be attacked by Fayed. The Met said: “They were questioned on suspicion of the following offences: aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault, assisting the commission of sexual offences, human trafficking for sexual exploitation.” Police said no arrests had yet been made. The Guardian understands detectives have identified several more suspects who will be questioned in the coming months over allegations that they may have facilitated or enabled the abuse. Commander Angela Craggs, of the Met, said: “Victims remain at the centre of this investigation. Today’s update marks an important step in a complex and far-reaching investigation. “While Al Fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution, we have always been determined to bring anyone who is suspected to have played a part in his offending to justice. “We encourage anyone with information, whether you were directly affected by Mohamed Al Fayed actions or have concerns about others who may have been involved or committed offences, to contact us.” It is alleged that Fayed, who died in 2023, aged 94, used his wealth and power to attack scores of women over four decades, with his youngest victim being 13. Police, reeling from claims they missed his offending while he was alive, are hunting for those who helped Fayed become one of Britain’s worst sexual offenders. The alleged crimes span between 1977 and 2014, and the Met said about 400 offences may have been committed. Before his death, 21 allegations about Fayed were made to police but he evaded justice. Police said they had now examined more than 50,000 pages of evidence, including victim statements, and retrieved “significant amounts of material” from previous reports about Fayed stored in their archives. A scheme to compensate victims has been set up by Harrods and closes on 31 March. So far the owners of the upmarket London store said they had received 180 claims. The Met said: “Over the past 18 months, officers have taken detailed accounts from victims and witnesses to build a comprehensive picture of the alleged offending. “Information shared during these conversations, together with continued partnership work across the United Kingdom and overseas, has broadened the scope of the inquiry to cover all reported offences, including human trafficking.” The police said information could be shared anonymously with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Nawaf Salam, said his country was drawn into a war “it did not seek or choose”. In a speech during a meeting with Arab and foreign ambassadors, he warned that “a humanitarian disaster is looming”. Donald Trump posted on social media that there would be no deal with Iran except “unconditional surrender”. The US president said following “unconditional surrender”, there would be “the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s)” – earlier, Trump had said he must “be involved in the appointment” of Iran’s next leader as he was in Venezuela, and dismissed the idea of the assassinated ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeding his father as supreme leader as “unacceptable”. US investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children on Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion, according to a Reuters report citing two unnamed US officials. Iranian forces fired seven attack drones at residential neighbourhoods in Bahrain overnight, said US Central Command (Centcom), which accused the Iranian government of attacking 12 different countries and “deliberately” targeting civilians. The Israeli military announced a “new stage” in its campaign against Iran, with US and Israeli officials hinting at escalating strikes. The IDF said it had “additional surprising moves” as part of this new phase, without elaborating, while the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced that strikes on Iran would “surge dramatically”. The IDF claimed to have destroyed the underground bunker of the killed Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which it said was still being used by senior Iranian officials. The Israeli military said approximately 50 fighter jets dropped about 100 bombs at the site in Tehran, which it claimed spread across multiple streets and included “many entry points”. There was no immediate comment from Iran. The UN said nearly 100,000 people had been displaced within Lebanon and tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the country had fled back over the border. It follows a mass evacuation order by the IDF for people to flee a vast swathe of Beirut’s southern suburbs as it bombs what it says are Hezbollah targets in the area. Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, raised concerns that the Israeli military causing the mass displacement of people in Lebanon may be violating international law, the AFP reports. “Lebanon is becoming a key flashpoint,” Turk said.er”. Officials in Azerbaijan said they were withdrawing diplomatic staff from Iran for their own safety. It comes a day after Azerbaijan said four Iranian drones had crossed its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), sought to allay fears over a global oil crisis, saying there was “plenty of oil” in the markets. “We have no oil shortage … there is a huge surplus,” he said. Boril’s comments were at odds with the remarks made by Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, who said it could take “weeks to months” for energy exports to return to normal levels even if the war ended immediately. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” he told the Financial Times. Four people in the UK have been arrested by counter-terror police on suspicion of spying on the Jewish community for Iran, the Metropolitan police said. The men, one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals, were arrested on Friday morning shortly after 1am in Barnet and Watford. The UK deputy prime minister, David Lammy, said 6,500 people had returned to the UK from the UAE. Emirates airline said it anticipated a return to full network operations in coming days.
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. Zahra, a teacher and mother of one living in central Tehran, said the strikes, in what she said was the heaviest attack to date, had left her deeply worried for civilians who found themselves in danger not just from Iran’s attackers but from their own government. “This is the first time since the war began that I am genuinely scared for my fellow Iranians,” said Zahra*. “We are trapped between the regime that is killing us with machine guns, and a foreign power has likely decided that we are collateral damage.” Although she had protested against the government in January and had celebrated the killing of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in the first few seconds of the war a week ago, she has become increasingly fearful of the civilian toll. “The initial joy of the regime’s leaders paying the price is soon turning into fear. Who will be left in free Iran if we all get killed?” Zahra said. She described Thursday night as being unlike anything she had experienced before. “I don’t think I have ever experienced a night like this before or even seen [anything like it] in the movies. I am really scared, especially because I am in total information blackout.” “If they don’t stop now, Tehran will turn into Gaza,” said Farzad*, a 36-year-old who has fled the city. “We can now tell the difference between the sounds of fighter jets, air defence, and missiles. Sometimes we stand together and watch the trails of hypersonic missiles in the sky.” “It saddens me that most people around me are happy with this situation, the pro-regime ones too and those against the regime too. Both for different reasons. No one cares about innocent lives,” Farzad said. “In the end, it feels like what people say: ‘Whether the wolf is killed, or the wolf devours the shepherd, everyone is caught in the tragedy.’” A Tehran-based reporter in the eastern part of the city described being woken by violent explosions. “I was asleep, and somehow over the past few days I got sleep because we got used to the sounds of explosions. But early this morning, the situation has turned really scary. The windows were shaking and I could hear people shouting. “We were not hit, but I thought the ceiling would fall on me and I would die. I am devastated to see my beloved city being destroyed like this.” The reporter later went offline and could not be reached for updates. Other messages relayed to the Guardian through contacts abroad described similar scenes of panic across the capital. “Tonight was the worst! I woke up to the sound of fighter jets and then felt like the bombing was happening right in my ears. I really thought I was going to die,” one resident said. Another short Telegram message read: “I wasn’t far from dying tonight in the bombardment. But messaged to let you know we have fled the capital since.” Once the sun had risen on Friday, residents said the city felt subdued and partially deserted. Only a handful of grocery shops were open in the neighbourhoods of those who could be contacted, while many families were trying to leave the capital after the overnight strikes. “I hope I don’t come back to ruins,” one person said. Saeed, a Tehran University student, pleaded: “Please use your voice to ask Mr Trump if there is a plan to keep us safe while they go after military targets, because we are terrified that this morning’s strikes, which genuinely felt like the heaviest since Saturday, must have killed so many people.” A former political prisoner in west Tehran said fewer Tehranis had left the city than in the 12-day war last June, and that most shops had remained open despite the bombardment. “Since the 12-day war, people are stuck at a historical crossroads: on one side they are killed by their own government, and on the other side by the state of Israel,” she said. “The reality is that the finger of blame should be pointed at the government that caused this destruction and devastation, and that is now burning in the very fire it lit itself. What I or ordinary people think about the war, or what situation we are in, doesn’t really matter when it has no effect on the equation.” She added: “Last night they hit central Tehran with B-2s. This morning, for the second time, I really felt very close to death.” A human rights activist in central Tehran said: “Now, it’s strange that because of the propaganda, most people think that the more they bomb, the weaker this government will get. That’s their opinion. In the intellectual class there are many anti-war individuals, but at the grassroots level, no. People have seen so much hardship that they think the more they bomb, it seems the majority of people on the streets are actually happier.” * Names have been changed
International law has evolved a lot since the 17th century, when sovereign nation states became the agreed structure of Europe. The United Nations charter, agreed after the second world war, aimed to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. While some European leaders still mention it in their social media posts and it gets a tick‑box mention in many official statements, clearly international law is today in critical condition. Many think it hopeless, pointless and even naive to try to save it. But international law is not something abstract, not a creed for pacifists, nor old-fashioned liberal legalese. It was chiselled into history, decade after decade, by people hardened and scarred from the cruelty of violent nationalism. It is meant to restrain the “strong man” leader. As the legal framework for two great peace projects, the European Union and the Good Friday agreement, it still restrains a lot of strong men. The UK is also still, thankfully, part of the European convention on human rights. International law is the invisible glue binding nations together, to resolve their disputes in peace, without resorting to the bombing of a girls’ primary school. Barry Andrews Chair of the development committee, European parliament • Rafael Behr’s article on the dilemma facing Keir Starmer and the government during the present Iran conflict (Starmer’s position on Iran pleases no one, but that is because there are no good options, 3 March) is an excellent description of the difference between being the people responsible for decisions and those shouting from the sidelines with easy answers. Dealing with a US president as fickle as Donald Trump is an almost impossible task, but deal with him we must, as the relationship with the US is too important to risk with glib comments and slogans. That we as a country need to move closer to Europe’s economies, politics, defence and security is of utmost urgency, but this cannot happen overnight and, especially with the situation in Ukraine, could have disastrous consequences for our and European security. Alan Hobbins Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire • Donald Trump’s comparison of Keir Starmer to Winston Churchill when speaking about Iran is unfortunate, given that it was Winston Churchill who set about destroying parliamentary democracy in Iran in the 1950s (Trump rebukes Starmer again for not letting US attack Iran from UK bases, 3 March). Under the then prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iran wanted more of the proceeds of Iranian oil to go to the people of Iran, rather than to British-controlled Anglo-Iranian Oil. Churchill persuaded the Americans this move represented the “growth of communism in the Middle East” and a coup was planned against the elected government, which was then overthrown in March 1953. The shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was then installed, and the sorry cycle of repression and torture began, which continued, for different reasons, under the so-called Islamic revolution. Since the destruction of democracy in Iran by Britain and America, a culture of repression of one kind or another has continued to blight the lives of the Iranian people, without respite, right up to the present day. Tim Rossiter Crickhowell, Powys • And Trump is no Eisenhower, who, at the end of his presidency, warned against the influence of the military-industrial complex. Karen Barratt Winchester • Donald Trump is clearly ignorant of Churchill’s remark that “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.” Lawrence Forrester Dorchester, Dorset • Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, claimed that the attack on the Iranian warship is “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II” (US submarine sinks Iranian warship as conflict spreads beyond Middle East, 4 March). This is demonstrably untrue as the Royal Navy submarine HMS Conqueror torpedoed and sank the Argentine cruiser the General Belgrano in 1982. Dr David Lowry Senior international research fellow, Institute for Resource and Security Studies • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.