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Middle East crisis live: Hegseth says today will be the ‘most intense day of strikes’ in war against Iran

Karoline Leavitt was also just asked why Trump’s energy secretary earlier claimed that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the strait of Hormuz, before deleting the X post a few minutes later. She replied: I know the post was taken down pretty quickly, and I can confirm that the US Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though of course that’s an option the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time.

Iranians living in UK tell Starmer that war will only strengthen Tehran regime

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is among three of Iran’s former political prisoners and more than 100 Iranians living in the UK who have urged the British prime minister not to get drawn further into the Iran conflict. They are all signatories in a letter to Keir Starmer saying the way the war is being conducted is strengthening the regime in Tehran. The letter acts as a counterpoint to those in the diaspora backing Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former pro-western monarch, and who support the attacks on Iran as a prelude to regime change. Pahlavi has offered to lead a democratic transition, but Trump has said he is looking for an internal candidate to lead the Middle Eastern country. In their letter, they say: “Nobody can claim to want the end of the Islamic republic more than we do. But attacking the country in this way will have the opposite effect. It will entrench the authoritarians and give life to the fiction that has sustained them internally for decades: that they are fighting western imperialism. “When Netanyahu – a man charged with international war crimes after killing countless civilians in Gaza – assassinates Iran’s dictator, that kills the man but immortalises the myth. Iranians wanted him tried and punished for his crimes, not given the martyr-ending he craved.” The 86-year-old supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,was assassinated along with many in his family in Israeli airstrikes on the first day of the war. He has been succeeded by one of his sons, Mojtaba Khamenei. In the letter, the group set out a series of peaceful and practical steps to help the internal opposition, including those held in prison, such as providing Starlink to end the continued communications blackout inside Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, was held in a jail on espionage charges mainly in Tehran for six years from 2016. Other signatories include the Iranian political prisoner Aras Amiri, a former British Council worker kept in jail for three years in Evin prison in Tehran, and Nasrin Parvaz, who spent eight years in Iranian jails from 1982. Others include high-profile artists within the Iranian community as well as academics and writers. They write: “A pro-democracy policy would protect political prisoners and ensure that Israel and the US do not bomb prisons like Evin. It is in those cells where the future democratic leaders of Iran reside. A pro-democracy policy would smuggle internet devices – not weapons – across the border, and break the blackout that is blanketing the country. A pro-democracy policy would call out Israel’s assassination policy even when it targets leaders we despise. There is so much that can be done in solidarity with Iranians. But joining in with Netanyahu’s forever wars is not it.” Starmer adjusted his policy of refusing any cooperation with the US attack on Iran when he said it became necessary to stop Gulf states coming under attack from Iran. The Iranian group say in the letter they are “overcome with grief. For decades we have been hoping for the day when Iranian democracy can finally flourish. Many of us have not been able to visit Iran for years for fear of imprisonment or worse.” And they criticise the Israeli leader, arguing that racism underlay his policy when he called on Iranians not to “sit with your arms crossed and instead rise up to finish the job”. They reject the presumption behind his remarks that “90 million people had been idly waiting several decades for his bombs”. They add: “This is of course not just Netanyahu’s war, Trump and the US are a significant part of it. But as US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said: ‘The president made the very wise decision – we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.’ So the US followed Netanyahu into this war.”

Tehran endures ‘worst night of strikes’ amid mixed US messages about more to come

Tehran residents say the Iranian capital has endured what they described as its worst night of aerial bombardment, as the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, followed Donald Trump’s suggestion on Monday the war could soon be over with a warning of more strikes to come. “We are under heavy bombardment and I can hear back-to-back explosions. The place they hit has caught fire. It’s not clear where it exploded, but the buildings are shaking,” Niloufar, who lives in east Tehran said early on Tuesday, speaking under a pseudonym for security reasons. “They are destroying Iran,” they added, saying there were low-flying jets above. Israel, which launched an air campaign against Iran with the US on 28 February, on Tuesday said it had hit a weapons development facility among a wave of strikes. Other residents told the Guardian of rolling blackouts, and that much of Iran’s communications were down. The World Health Organization has urged Iranians to stay inside, saying “black rain” falling after strikes on oil facilities could cause respiratory problems. One Tehran resident described the city as “the last stop before hell”. At least 1,245 civilians have been killed, including 194 children, by the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran group. In Lebanon, at least 486 people have been killed by Israeli bombing, while 11 have been killed in Israel. Seven US troops have been confirmed dead. As jets bombed Tehran, US officials issued contradictory messages as to how long the war could last. Trump said on Monday that “the war is very complete”, in a call with CBS News. Hours later, Hegseth said the war would end on “our timeline” and that the US would not stop until “the enemy is totally and decisively defeated”, promising Tuesday would see the most intense strikes in Iran yet. “It’s not for me to posit whether it’s the beginning, the middle, or the end, that’s [Trump’s decision] and he’ll continue to communicate that,” Hegseth said. Gen Dan Caine, chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, said US forces had hit more than 5,000 sites in Iran in a campaign aimed at destroying Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capacity, degrading its navy to reopen the strait of Hormuz, and hitting “deeper into Iran’s military and industrial base”. Iranian officials, meanwhile, said that they would not accept an end to the war until they had inflicted a painful price on the US and Israel. Iran’s head of the national security council, Ali Larijani, said in a social media post that the “nation of Iran does not fear your empty threats”, while implying Iran could target Trump himself. “Even those bigger than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself,” he wrote, responding to the US president’s threat that Iran could be hit “20 times harder” if it blocked the flow of oil through the strait of Hormuz. Trump’s remarks came as US consumers began to feel the pain at the pumps and investors the world over reeled at the skyrocketing price of fuel. Economists said a continued disruption to Gulf oil production and to shipping out of the strait of Hormuz – a choke point for a fifth of the world’s oil transit – could plunge the world into an energy crisis not seen since the 1970s. Iran continued pounding Gulf states and Israel on Tuesday, part of its strategy to inflict as much pain as possible on the US’s influential Gulf allies and on the world economy to raise the price of the war. In Bahrain, a woman was killed and eight more people wounded in an Iranian attack on a residential building in Manama, while firefighters in the UAE tried to put out a blaze near petrochemical plants after an Iranian drone strike. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said they had intercepted drones over their territory. In the glitzy Gulf city of Dubai, despite the bombardment residents said life was continuing much as normal. People still flocked to the beaches, malls and rooftop bars, although many tourists had fled. Commercial flights also restarted as the country’s airspace tentatively reopened, even as UAE’s leaders condemned the continuing “blatant Iranian aggression”. So far, four people, all migrant workers, have been killed by falling missile debris in the UAE. Nader Farid, 30, who moved from Egypt to Dubai five months ago to work in real estate, interviewed on the beach, said: “They say it’s a war but it’s caused no problem for us, we don’t really see it at all. “The first day was scary when they warned about incoming missiles. But now it’s been more than a week and life here just goes on, only business is a bit slower. I’m from Egypt, I know that nowhere is safe from war, but this one does not feel bad. We are very protected here.” In Tehran, US and Israeli jets operated virtually unchallenged. A resident of central Tehran said: “The air was clearing up a bit yesterday, but last night’s strikes, which I can tell you were the most intense in the past 10 days, were so scary that our buildings were shaking. The glass windows also shattered even though the explosions were not on my street. “Even in the past hour, I heard several explosions, and those planning to flee today are forced to stay home. The sky right now is grey and so polluted … there’s a burning smell of gunpowder in the air,” they added. The skies over Tehran have been grey for the past two days as smoke billowed out of oil facilities in Tehran and the nearby province on Alborz, which Israel targeted on Saturday. Residents reported “black rain” falling from the sky. “The black rain and the acidic rain coming with it is indeed a danger for the population, respiratory mainly,” a WHO spokesperson, Christian Lindmeier, said in Geneva. The WHO backed the advice by Iranian authorities for people to stay inside while air quality remained poor. Many people have fled Tehran in search of safety in rural areas, but older and less able-bodied residents were unable to leave. In Lebanon, Israel continued its strikes against what it described as Hezbollah targets, hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut and the south of the country on Tuesday. Hezbollah continued to target Israeli troops in the south of the country and to launch rocket salvoes and drone swarms at northern Israel, prompting Israel reportedly to consider a widened offensive against the group. The Lebanese Red Cross condemned an Israeli strike on one of its ambulances in the Tyre district of south Lebanon on Monday night, which injured two emergency workers.

It’s not just influencers who move to Dubai | Letters

Regarding Gaby Hinsliff’s article (Influencers sold the world a fantasy Dubai – and now it’s gone in a puff of missile smoke, 6 March), Dubai has certainly been marketed as a place of aspiration, often through social media. But the suggestion that recent events somehow represent a moral reckoning for those living there feels glib. Most residents are ordinary professionals and families who have built lives in Dubai over many years. When tensions rise in the region, their first concern is the safety of their families, not the preservation of a “fantasy lifestyle”. Many people move to places like Dubai not out of frivolity but because they are seeking a tax and regulatory environment that allows them to keep more of what they earn. Rather than dismissing those who leave as participants in a lifestyle fantasy, commentators might usefully ask why so many skilled workers are drawn to jurisdictions with simpler and often lighter tax regimes. Mark Husbands Nottingham • I cried when I saw the cartoon in the Guardian depicting an expat in Dubai – cried with fear and distress. My son is currently “sheltering in place” in Dubai as a result of the current crisis in the Middle East. He’s not an influencer or a tax dodger. He moved there during the pandemic for a graduate job opportunity when there were very few opportunities in the UK – a situation that sadly continues. He’s not asking for sympathy or demanding to be brought back to the UK, he’s showing incredible courage and continuing to work while under fire to pay off his student loan. I wonder whether the cartoonist has ever had been in imminent danger from missile and drone attacks? I doubt it – otherwise how to explain the lack of empathy shown in this cartoon published only three days after the crisis broke? Jessamy Hadley Ascot, Berkshire • 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.

Britain must end all participation in the US-Israel war on Iran | Letter

The US-Israel war on Iran is a catastrophic escalation in an already devastated region, and Britain must not be involved. It is causing appalling death and destruction in Iran and risks plunging the area into wider war. Already it is causing economic convulsions around the world. Its aims seem to change daily, but it is clearly an illegal and unprovoked war, one that started in the midst of negotiations. Its organisers have learned nothing from the carnage and chaos caused by previous wars on Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Unsurprisingly, the war is deeply unpopular here and around the world. We call on our government to end all participation, to stop allowing the US to use British bases to pursue it and to join others in calling for an immediate end to the attacks. Jeremy Corbyn MP Andrea Egan General secretary, Unison Maryam Eslamdoust General secretary, TSSA union Lindsey German Convener, Stop the War Coalition Jon Trickett MP Zarah Sultana MP and 50 others

Shots fired at US consulate in Canada in what police call ‘national security incident’

Two men fired multiple shots at the US consulate in Toronto early on Tuesday in what police described as a “national security incident”, prompting beefed-up protection for US and Israeli diplomatic buildings in the city. The individuals approached the consulate in downtown Toronto at around 4.30am ET, exited a white SUV and fired several rounds from a handgun at the consulate, Toronto police deputy chief Frank Barredo told reporters. There were people inside at the time, but “this building is highly secure, highly fortified, and there were no injuries,” Barredo said. Chris Leather, chief superintendent of Canada’s federal police, said the shooting was “definitely a national security incident because we had the US consulate ... struck by gunfire”. “Whether it’s a terrorist [event], that will be subject to the investigation,” said Leather, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Leather also told reporters that security protocols are being enhanced at US and Israeli diplomatic buildings in Toronto and in the Canadian capital Ottawa. “I think it’s fairly obvious based on the incidents in Toronto and elsewhere that these consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance and security at this time,” Leather said. There were protests outside the consulate last weekend to denounce the war in the Middle East triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Three Toronto-area synagogues have also been hit by gunfire in recent days, but no injuries have been reported. Asked about a possible link between the synagogue shootings and gunfire at the US consulate, Barredo said it was “too early” to establish a link. But, he added, “we do not look at (the incidents) in isolation. We look at them collectively.” Leather said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on the consulate shooting, as well as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Doug Ford, the Ontario premier, described the incident as “an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbors”. He said: “Everyone at all levels of government and across Canada needs to make clear that there is zero tolerance for this sort of intimidating and dangerous behavior.” In a statement, the state department said it was aware of the incident and was closely monitoring the situation in coordination with local law enforcement. The incident follows the explosion of an improvised device at the US embassy in Oslo on Sunday. Norwegian police were still searching for a suspect, with a possible link to the Iran war among the lines of inquiry.

How are EU and member states reacting to energy crisis triggered by Iran war?

The Iran war has thrown global oil and gas flows into chaos and the prospect of Donald Trump easing US sanctions on Russian oil to fill the gap is causing a nightmare for the EU. The European Council president, António Costa, who represents the EU’s leaders, said on Tuesday the only winner from the ongoing conflict would be Vladimir Putin, who could step into the gap created by the throttling of Gulf supplies. So how are Brussels and individual member states reacting to a crisis that in just 24 hours sent the oil price to almost $120 a barrel, before swinging back to nearer $90? European Union The European Commission urged the US on Tuesday to strictly enforce the G7 price cap on Russian oil after Washington said on Monday it was waiving certain oil-related sanctions as a way to cool the global oil price surge. While Russian crude oil was capped by the EU and the UK at $44.10 per barrel on 1 February to ensure it remains 20% below the trading price, other countries not covered by the sanctions – including China – are buying at market rate, filling the Kremlin’s coffers. “It is very important to strictly enforce the G7 price gap and potentially move to the full maritime services ban to limit Russia’s war revenues, because the opposite would be self-defeating,” said the European economic commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis. EU commissioners discussed potential measures last Friday to ease the burden of high oil and gas prices on consumers and industry, including changes to energy taxes and amending the EU carbon price, which accounts for roughly 11% of industries’ power costs. They were due to hold a video call on Tuesday afternoon to discuss joint responses such as potentially cutting taxes on oil in a coordinated manner. Data from Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, shows that so far this year the EU buys the largest portion of its oil by value from the US, with 15% coming across the Atlantic, followed by Norway at 14%, Kazakhstan 13% and Gulf states 12%. But with energy prices already among the highest in the world, the global price shock has exposed key vulnerabilities in the bloc’s economies. France The government is to carry out inspections in 500 petrol stations amid fears of excessive fuel price rises. The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said inspectors would visit sites across the country between Monday and Wednesday to ensure companies were not exploiting the situation. “The war in the Middle East must not become a pretext for abusive prices at the pump,” he said. Italy Italy has threatened to raise taxes on companies seen to be profiteering from soaring wholesale prices for oil. “I am very determined to do what I can to prevent speculators from exploiting the crisis at the expense of families and businesses,” the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, told Italian TV. Taxes are, however, a significant part of the cost of energy to consumers and small businesses, making up 25% of the total. Germany and Austria Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the country saw no reason to consider easing sanctions on Russia, arguing that solidarity with Ukraine must take precedence despite pressure from global energy markets. If the US-Israeli war with Iran ended quickly “we will also see a relatively rapid return to normalisation on the oil and energy markets” so there was no need to reduce the pressure on Moscow, he said. “Faced with the choice between sanctions and solidarity, our position is clear: we stand with Ukraine and are prepared to endure such a phase if necessary,” Merz added. Austria’s conservative chancellor, Christian Stocker, who heads a three-party ruling coalition, called on Monday for taxes on petrol to be cut temporarily to counter the effect of oil prices driven up by the war in Iran. Hungary and Croatia These are the first two EU countries to announce a price cap, with Croatia setting the price in forecourts at €1.55 per litre and €1.50 for unleaded. In addition to a similar cap in Hungary, the pro-Russia Hungarian leader, Viktor Orbán, announced the government would release state reserves. He also urged the EU to suspend sanctions on Russian energy, although Hungary along with Slovakia already have exemptions from EU restrictions on Russian gas imports, and more recently got a one-year exemption from US-imposed sanctions in exchange for commitments to buy liquefied natural gas from the US. Other EU states The Sweden-based airline SAS said it would introduce a temporary price increase due to soaring oil prices. In Ireland there is concern about the soaring cost of heating oil, with natural gas only available in about a third of homes and many rural properties reliant on paraffin for hot water. However, the coalition government is resisting calls for immediate intervention. In the past it has acted against price gouging at petrol pumps.

Villagers on Principe, the ‘African Galapagos’, to be paid for protecting the ecosystem

At the crumbling colonial farm buildings in Porto Real, agricultural worker Kimilson Lima, 43, has signed the agreement and he’s happy. “With this money we can have a proper floor in the house,” he said. “And an inside toilet.” Lima is part of a ground-breaking experiment on the West African island of Príncipe, where villagers who agree to follow an environmental protection code will reap a quarterly dividend. To date nearly 3,000 have joined the Faya Foundation’s project, more than 60% of the adult population. The first payment of €816 (£708) has just been delivered, a large amount of money on the island. “This will be truly transformative, both for nature and for the people,” said the president of the self-governing region, Felipe Nascimento. The special nature of Príncipe’s flora and fauna has been known since the 20-mile-long island was stumbled upon by Portuguese navigators in 1471. Uninhabited and separated from the African mainland by over 160 miles of ocean, both Príncipe and its larger southern neighbour, São Tomé, had evolved unique rainforests where giant land snails and crabs were among the top predators. Even now, new species are still being discovered, leading to the nickname “African Galapagos”. The Portuguese started a cacao plantation economy, but after independence in 1975, that business fell apart. On Príncipe, the descendants of slaves and labourers from Angola and Cabo Verde became tight-knit communities of subsistence farmers, camping out in the increasingly decrepit colonial-era buildings. For the occasional visitor, it was picturesque, but problems were mounting for residents who were being pushed deeper into unexplored parts of the island, cutting trees and foraging. Then, in 2010, South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth arrived, looking for somewhere to build a house, an idea that was soon replaced by a philanthropic urge to help. One former plantation house was converted into a hotel with locals retrained as staff, but Shuttleworth did not stop there. His quest was to fund the type of sustainable development that also protected and improved the environment. “The normal path to development for Príncipe would be to cut down forest and grow ‘fair trade’ peppercorns,” Shuttleworth said. “But we want to reward them as stewards of their precious environment.” That dream has now reached fruition, much to the surprise of local sceptics. “They’ve been let down in the past,” says Faya project CEO, Jorge Alcobia. “They didn’t expect us to keep our promises.” There is still, however, a learning process about how to help the environment. “We have to explain that it’s not free money,” said Alcobia, “Dividends are reduced, for example, if there’s unauthorised tree-felling.” Faya is funding school improvements, organising the moribund cacao business, and giving financial advice. “A lot of people here have no bank account and little experience of handling money.” So far, however, all the money comes from Shuttleworth’s fortune, a past and future commitment that totals about £87m. Among the developments is a new village, home to Clara Gomes and her daughter. “My money is going on a new kitchen and training in carpentry,” she said. Her neighbour, Edmundo, is selling cacao to the project. “I had no one to buy it before,” he said. “I’m hoping they might take vanilla next.” He has signed up for the dividend, but others remain sceptical. “It’s a monopoly,” shouted a bystander, “Is that good? And what if everyone buys motorbikes and chainsaws?” For one man, years spent foraging in the forest have now blossomed into a career as wildlife guide. Yodiney dos Santos now leads scientific expeditions into the forest, discovering several new species, including a previously unknown owl. He knows only too well how fragile this environment is. “My ancestors came here from Angola,” he said. “And, for food, they brought the edible West African snail, which then escaped. Now those snails are pushing out the endemic Príncipe snails.” This unique social experiment will be watched closely. “If it’s successful,” said Shuttleworth, “I hope other irreplaceable ecosystems might benefit from the idea at scale.”