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Whitney Wright, who is known for her criticism of Israel, posed at defunct American embassy in Tehran observing Islamic dress codeAn American pornography actor has faced accusations of promoting propaganda for Iran’s government after boasting on social media about a trip to the Islamic republic.Iranian authorities have denied being behind the visit by Whitney Wright, saying she was issued a visa like any other...

Iran-backed group says airstrikes ‘will not deter us’ after targets hit following continued Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red SeaRead all our Middle East coverageIran has denounced the latest US and UK strikes on targets in Yemen saying they “contradict” their declared intention of avoiding a wider Middle East conflict, AFP reports.These attacks are “in clear contradiction with the repeated claims of Washington...

Defence secretary says third joint UK-US assault on Iran-backed group is to protect lives and ‘preserve freedom of navigation’The UK has joined the US for a third time in conducting a wave of airstrikes on Iran-linked Houthi targets in Yemen.The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the fresh assaults were “not an escalation”, but instead were designed to “protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of...

The carefully planned raids were the largest yet against Iran’s proxies and are likely to continue until threats to US personnel are neutralisedMiddle East crisis – live updatesUS retaliation, when it came, was broad and deep, and telegraphed five days in advance.The White House, the Pentagon and state department had spent the best part of a week talking about the response to Sunday’s drone...

Head of Islamic Revolutionary Guards defiant as US prepares ‘very consequential response’ to drone attack on Jordan baseThe head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards has said the country is not afraid of war with the US, as the Pentagon weighs how directly to respond to the killing of three US military personnel in a drone attack in Jordan.The IRGC commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Hossein Salami,...

Proposed truce is the most serious peace initiative to be tabled for months; Iran reacts after Biden says he has decided on response to Jordan drone strikeOvernight the US central command reported that Yemen’s Houthis fired one anti-ship cruise missile towards the Red Sea, which was shot down by USS Gravely.The attack was at 11.30pm local time. Continue reading...

Iran-backed militia Washington blamed for attack announces it has suspended anti-US operationsJoe Biden has said he has decided how to respond to a drone strike in northern Jordan which killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens more, as the Iran-backed militia that Washington blamed for the attack said it had suspended anti-US operations.As Washington pondered its response, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all...

Lloyd Austin says president ‘will not tolerate attacks on US forces’, but Qatar warns that reprisal attacks could undermine Israel hostage talksSee all our Middle East coverageUS defense secretary Lloyd Austin has vowed to take “all necessary actions” to defend US troops after Iran-backed militants killed three US troops and wounded dozens more in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan.“The president...

Iranian backed militia took credit for attack that injured 34 troops and killed first US soldiers since start of Gaza conflictThe spectre of a direct US-Iranian military conflict drew closer on Sunday when the US president Joe Biden announced three US servicemen had been killed and more than 34 injured following a drone attack on a US service base on the border of Jordan...

Former president’s exclusion from group likely to choose next supreme leader angers reformistsThe Iranian regime has taken its crackdown on any internal opposition into a new phase by disqualifying the reformist former president Hassan Rouhani from seeking re-election to the assembly of experts, the body that chooses the country’s supreme leader.Reformists reacted angrily on Thursday to the regime-controlled guardian council’s announcement. The 88 assembly...

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has lost four members in strike on Syrian capitalMiddle East crisis – live updatesA suspected Israeli strike killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ espionage chief for Syria and three other guard members on Saturday, Iran has said, in an attack that destroyed much of a multistorey residential building in Damascus.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six people...

Israeli air force says it ‘eliminated Bilal Nofal’ in a strike in the southern Gaza stripUS Navy Seals boarded a boat heading for Yemen and seized Iranian-made missile components and other weaponry bound for Houthi forces, in an operation in which two Seal commandos went missing, the US military has said.US Central Command (Centcom) posted pictures of the missile parts on X, including what...

Pakistan says attacks killed two children in ‘unprovoked violation’ of its airspace, adding to regional instability sparked by Israel-Gaza warMiddle East crisis: latest updatesIran has launched airstrikes on Pakistan territory, apparently aimed at a Sunni militant group, in the latest sign of a wave of violence rolling across the Middle East and beyond.Pakistan’s foreign ministry said two children were killed and three others were...

Civilians killed in strikes on Erbil include a millionaire Kurdish businessman and his family, medical sources sayIran’s Revolutionary Guards say they have attacked the “espionage headquarters” of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media has reported, while the elite force said they had also struck Islamic State targets in Syria.“Ballistic missiles were used to destroy espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups...

Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani tells Desert Island Discs how she came to UK at 14 after deadly ambush of elder brotherThe Bishop of Chelmsford has told of how her brother was murdered in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, leading her to flee to Britain as a child.On Sunday, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani will tell BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs...

After second night of US-UK strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis, fears of wider regional conflict growJoe Biden said on Saturday that the United States has sent a private message to Tehran that “we’re confident we’re well-prepared”, following a second night of US and British strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Saturday morning, on his...

Beyond the conflict in Gaza it has been a violent few weeks in the wider Middle East, from attacks on shipping in the Red Sea to bomb blasts in Iran and a killing by drone in Beirut. Julian Borger explains what may happen nextIran suffered the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Islamic Republic this week when dozens of people were killed...

Afghan affiliate of IS claims responsibility for blasts in memorial crowd as Tehran tightens security on its eastern bordersMiddle East crisis – live updatesIslamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani’s...

US points towards Islamic State or Sunni extremists but Iran has accused IsraelIt is still unclear who is responsible for the double bombing of a crowd in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, but whoever is behind the outrage is clearly willing to risk igniting a regional war.In Washington, officials have been pointing towards the possible role of Islamic State or some affiliated Sunni...

Two explosions at Kerman ceremony marking anniversary of killing of Qassem Suleimani raise Middle East tensions furtherMore than 95 Iranians were killed and scores more injured in a terrorist attack at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate the assassination of a top general, further heightening tensions in the increasingly volatile Middle East.The explosions came at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary...