The Republican president has said new strikes on Iran are an option after the midterms and is sending more military resources to the Middle East, despite initially promising Americans a military campaign that would last only a matter of weeks.

His chief rival should reject the prime minister’s anti-democratic vision and work with Palestinian Israeli parties

Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his mandate but not, so far, power. While final votes are still being tallied, most voters picked his opponents on Tuesday. His bloc’s share of seats remains the largest, but appears to have slumped by around 10, leaving it below the 61 needed for a majority in the Knesset. Palestinian Israeli parties surged, and are projected to almost double the 10 seats they held. The result is that Mr Netanyahu’s main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, a former head of the military, now faces a choice: fall into line with Mr Netanyahu’s racist fearmongering or work with Arab-led parties.

The prime minister who oversaw shocking security failures ahead of the Hamas atrocities of 7 October 2023 still pitches himself as “Mr Security”. On trial for corruption, he has persistently attacked democratic institutions, especially the judiciary. He embraced and then indulged the ultra-right as they cheered on brutal settler violence in the occupied West Bank. (Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich lost ground in these polls, but perhaps due to their vision’s permeation of mainstream politics more than a revolt against it.) Mr Netanyahu’s war on Iran has destabilised the region. The tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by his government’s genocidal war on Gaza have barely featured in the election campaign, but its cost for Israeli hostages and international support for Israel have been noted by voters.

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© Photograph: Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Charges against him are unclear after return to Iran despite being sentenced last year for ‘propaganda activities’

An Iranian court has handed the award-winning film director Jafar Panahi a new prison sentence of five years and one month and ordered the seizure of all his assets.

The 66-year-old, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year for It Was Just an Accident, was sentenced in absentia, his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, told the Iranian news outlet Emtedad. The court also imposed a two-year travel ban and barred him from using social media for two years, Nili said.

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© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

Charges against him are unclear after return to Iran despite being sentenced last year for ‘propaganda activities’

An Iranian court has handed the award-winning film director Jafar Panahi a new prison sentence of five years and one month and ordered the seizure of all his assets.

The 66-year-old, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year for It Was Just an Accident, was sentenced in absentia, his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, told the Iranian news outlet Emtedad. The court also imposed a two-year travel ban and barred him from using social media for two years, Nili said.

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© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

OBR cautions about Middle East war dragging down growth and triggering a fresh cost of living crisis

• Healey offers £100 payment to households to help navigate ‘global economic storms’

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British households face a “pretty grim picture” for living standards as the war in the Middle East drags down growth and triggers a fresh cost of living crisis, the government’s independent forecaster has said.

In a report as John Healey announced his first budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) issued a sharp downgrade for growth in 2027, household disposable incomes and the public finances despite the measures taken by the chancellor.

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© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Few countries in the Middle East expect a turning point in relations with Israel. But the outcome of the vote has implications for the regional conflict with Iran.

© David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Talks are aimed at reopening strait of Hormuz and lifting sanctions on Iran, and for Houthis to withdraw in Yemen

A multipronged peace deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within four days of sanctions being lifted and for the Houthis to withdraw substantial forces inside Yemen are at the heart of Gulf states’ plans to avert what they regard as a disastrous renewal of war between Iran and the US.

The US is aware of the talks’ progress but is holding out for a concession that European powers suggest could involve Iran allowing UN weapons inspectors back into the country.

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© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

Talks are aimed at reopening strait of Hormuz and lifting sanctions on Iran, and for Houthis to withdraw in Yemen

A multipronged peace deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within four days of sanctions being lifted and for the Houthis to withdraw substantial forces inside Yemen are at the heart of Gulf states’ plans to avert what they regard as a disastrous renewal of war between Iran and the US.

The US is aware of the talks’ progress but is holding out for a concession that European powers suggest could involve Iran allowing UN weapons inspectors back into the country.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

© Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP

Israelis will go to the polls on Tuesday in what many describe as the most consequential election in years. It's the first vote since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel's war in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been campaigning that he'll keep Israel safe. But the opposition says Netanyahu failed to prevent the 2023 attack and is blocking an investigation into it. Nick Schifrin reports.

Israel’s military chief resisted the prime minister, who then pressed in recent days for a separate action, short of an overt strike, according to an official and a person briefed on the matter.

© Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Iran says diplomacy remains possible but rejects U.S. demands for surrender.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan made a rare joint visit to Tehran amid reports that the U.S. and Israel were drawing up plans to renew their attacks on Iran.

© Mohammed Salem/Reuters

The U.S. Army is training Apache pilots to shoot down drones as militaries around the world assess the efficacy of 20th-century technologies in a new era.

© Lena Mucha for The New York Times

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a close vote Tuesday, says Iran's leadership must be eliminated. U.S. President Donald Trump vows to "finish the job" in Iran eight months after the war began, as a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops make their way to the region.

The Yemeni militia is using the culture of its sworn enemies in the renewed fighting with Saudi Arabia.

© Osamah Abdulrahman/Associated Press

The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni militia, launched several deadly attacks on the airport this month.

© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

With new intelligence and the possibility of all sides seeking pretexts for action, the war in Iran is entering a dangerous phase ahead of elections in the United States and Israel.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

The United States and Israel have drawn up plans to renew strikes against Iran, creating a sense of dread among war-weary residents.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

In a memo sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said his teams "have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel."

The U.S. government has ordered diplomats and other federal employees to leave Saudi Arabia. It is also drawing down staff at other missions in the region.

© Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images