Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei – three angry old men who could get us all killed

Flames from an Israeli attack on an oil depot in Tehran, Iran, 15 June 2025.

Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters

Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei – three angry old men who could get us all killed

Simon Tisdall

Whether inept, driven by survival or corrupt, they are unfit to lead their countries, let alone make decisions that imperil the whole world

Simon Tisdall 

Sunday 15 June 2025

This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel’s continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim – permanently ending Tehran’s presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons – and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases.

After six months, the war in Gaza is making Israel a pariah state

 

‘Failure to bring the hostages home is the focus of growing anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel.’ Demonstrators outside the Knesset on 31 March. Photograph: Léo Corrêa/AP

After six months, the war in Gaza is making Israel a pariah state

Netanyahu’s decisions have brought death to Palestinians and harmed his own people. Hamas laid a trap and he walked right in

Jonathan Freedland

Friday 5 April 2024

Six months after the attacks of 7 October, and it’s time to count again the losses. They begin with the dead, with the 1,200 Israelis killed on that day and the estimated 33,000 Palestinians killed in the 182 days since. Some are sceptical of a Gaza figure that comes from a health ministry controlled by Hamas – while others suspect those numbers are, if anything, an underestimate, fearing that many thousands of uncounted Palestinian dead lie under the rubble.