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Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Telegraph
Take advantage of China's new ‘transit visa' to see its most charming water town
It was only at the very end of last year that China relaxed its previously byzantine visa requirements, meaning that British citizens can now – under certain circumstances – visit for up to 240 hours (10 days) without a visa. Quite the revelation. The policy does, however, come with some conditions. Firstly, China cannot be your final destination – you must be breaking your journey there, and travelling onwards to a third destination (ie. not straight back to the UK). You must also enter through one of the 60 approved entry ports, be prepared to show either a boarding pass (or proof of purchase) for your onward flights, and have at least six months of validity remaining on your passport. But that's it – it's just that easy. This means that you could, for example, fly from London to Beijing, spend ample time exploring the capital, then stop off afterwards in, say, Hong Kong, Tokyo or Singapore on your way home – going, in effect, on a double city break. With a population comfortably over 20 million, Beijing is double the size of most cities anyway, and you quickly get used to the crowds (and the interminable queues) when visiting such sights as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. If, however, after all the must-sees, you want to get away from all those crowds, it is surprisingly easy. In fact, in China, escapism can be summed up in just two words: water town. These ordinarily sit far off the usual tourist radar – but are much beloved by the Chinese. Originally to be found mainly in the south of China, water towns were villages that grew up around rivers. City dwellers were drawn to them for the tranquillity that came with canals, lakes and rivers, lined by charming old houses and cobbled streets. The Summer Palace itself was perhaps the first northern water town, albeit exclusively for the use of the Emperor and his court. There are several popular examples close to Shanghai – Zhujiajiao being the most famous (known as the 'Venice of Shanghai'), with the likes of Tongli, Zhouzhuang and Xitang also drawing sizeable crowds. But the loveliest of them all – and an ideal option for tourists visiting Beijing – is surely delightful, overlooked Gubei, just two hours from China's capital. The first thing you see as you approach Gubei Water Town are its highly decorated dougong roofs, pagodas and temples, presiding over pretty ponds covered with water lilies. This is Chinese medieval architecture at its finest – you could have arrived on the set of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And 'set' is perhaps the clue here. Because Gubei was, in fact, built just a little over ten years ago. Those new to China might find this surprising. Most water towns are found in the south of the country as, in the north, winters are very cold and open water freezes. Undaunted, Gubei's planners prevailed, gently pointing out that the frozen water would itself offer other charms – maybe skating? Charm certainly proliferates. The River Tang flows through the centre with smaller canals and waterways, lakes and ponds branching off it. Occasionally, boats, a little like covered gondolas, glide silently by. There are cobbled streets, pretty bridges, open-air theatres, tea houses, street food sellers (chestnuts, hot pears and cakes so delicious they are limited to two pieces per person), restaurants and shops. Purists might argue that a facsimile lacks authenticity, yet it's a place that's hard to dismiss or pin down quite so simply. A town designed for tourism it may be, but it's certainly not sterile or characterless: it's hardly Las Vegas, nor is it Disneyland – the attention to detail in recreating the architecture and materials of medieval China is faultless, and the emphasis in the shops is not on Hollywood-style merchandise, but on handmade crafts such as silk painting and calligraphy. You can even attend a fan painting workshop or learn to make a paper kite. So, yes, it's undeniably escapism, but the Chinese version appears to be a very different concept from the western one. Here, instead of rollercoasters and one-armed bandits, you slow down the pace to discover the joys of traditional culture: Chinese opera and marionettes, martial arts and tea ceremonies. There are no motorised vehicles allowed on these cobbled streets and, if you get tired, there are attenuated golf carts that take you to drop-off points around the perimeter. The greenery – there are lots of gardens within the town which is itself surrounded by forest – is restful to the eye and it's very quiet (most people seem to speak here only in hushed tones). The architecture is delightful. Up rustic steps I find myself in a series of courtyards that lead to the 'Asian School', where open air pavilions are divided by narrow channels filled with lilies and a couple of ladies sit beneath paper umbrellas, quietly chatting. Even in early June it's hot, and outdoor tea houses and restaurants are shaded, the atmosphere cooled, too, by the sound of water falling over the weir and playing fountains, while just below the surface of the water, hundreds of koi carp are a flash of gold. On the outskirts of Gubei Water Town, there are modern luxury hotels, but in the town itself, it's all B&Bs or small hotels. Mine is the William Edgar Boutique Hotel, where you step over a high threshold (useful for keeping out ghosts) and into a small courtyard where a huge decorated screen protects the privacy, as custom demands, of the real entrance beyond. Decorated with antique painted cupboards, fine porcelain and a moon gate, even the lift interior here is lacquered red with a scrolled scarlet bench inside, perfect for imperial posteriors. Beyond my room is a stone terrace from which I can watch a light show against the background of the mountains. At the start, I'm convinced I'm watching traditional scarlet Chinese lanterns rise into the night sky, until they arrange themselves in '2025' with the '0' as a heart. This, of course, is China – and they're drones. Now, William Edgar may seem an unlikely name for a Chinese hotel, but it turns out he was an early American visitor here who played a prominent role in the preservation of the Great Wall. And this is perhaps Gubei Water Town's most important USP – it is surrounded by what is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful stretches of one of the world's seven 'new' Great Wonders (despite originating from the 7th-century BC), with ten watchtowers and a cable car to reach them. Unlike the crowds you'll find if you visit the parts of the Wall closer to Beijing, here – especially if you visit fairly early in the day – you get the place pretty much to yourself. And solitude at the Great Wall is surely reason enough to try escapism Chinese-style. Essentials Bamboo Travel has a tailor-made package from £5250pp, based on two people travelling in October 2025, including flights (from London Heathrow to Beijing with Air China, and Beijing to Hong Kong and then back to London with Cathay Pacific). Also included are nine nights at the Peninsula Beijing; full day private tours of Beijing, the Great Wall and Gubei Water Town; four nights at the Peninsula Hong Kong; and all transfers. If you want to spend the maximum time in China and see as much of the country as possible, Nihao China has a nine-day private tour in October and November from RMB33,000pp, staying at the Peninsula hotel in Beijing and Shanghai and the Ritz Carltons in Xian and Chengdu, with tours of Beijing, Gubei, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base, and Shanghai. This includes all internal travel but not international flights. For more information, see
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Can YOU pass a UK citizenship test? Brits joke they 'better pack their bags' after struggling to answer the general knowledge questions
Britons have revealed their struggle to answer general knowledge questions about the nation for a UK citizenship test, with some only getting one question correct. Self-proclaimed ' TikTok quizmaster' Mahan Lankarani often creates various brainteasers and quiz videos. He recently challenged his 1.6million followers to see if they could successfully complete a UK citizenship test, with the pass mark being 75 per cent. It was inspired by the general knowledge test that immigrants must take to prove they know about the British way of life in order to move to the UK. Some of the mock questions include 'who is the Head of State in the UK?' and 'what are the three colours of the Union Jack?' But despite some of these questions being related to politics and everyday life in Britain, citizens struggled to pass, with some of them only getting one out of ten right. Another question, which asked about the capital of Wales baffled one TikTok user, who wrote in the comments: 'I thought Wales was the capital of Wales.' Another penned: 'Right I'm an English citizen and I only got the union jack colours right.' A third said: 'Nah bro I'm literally 100 per cent English and I didn't pass. How are people expected to know this!!!' A fourth commented: '7 and 10 wrong, I better pack my bags,' while another chimed in and said: 'I'm fully British and I didn't know half of these.' Another said: 'Bro I've lived in London for so many years and I didn't know most of these. I sent this to my friend (who has lived in the UK her whole life) and she didn't even know.' Last year, it was reported that just 42 per cent of those who took a sample version of the Life In The UK quiz achieved the 75 per cent pass rate that would-be citizens need to hit. Britons' pass rate falls well short of that achieved by migrants. In one recent year, 82 per cent of the 171,000 people who sat the test passed it. The research by financial services company Remitly put 300 residents in each of seven nations to the test to see it they would pass their own citizenship test. Brits had the sixth worst success rate with only Canada, with a pitiful seven per cent pass rate, faring worse. Australia came top on 96 per cent followed by Germany on 95 per cent, the US on 93 per cent and France and Spain joint fourth on 61 per cent. The test is below and answers will be at the end of the article The average pass rate needed to pass the test in the UK, Australia, France and Canada is 75 per cent but it is just 60 per cent in the US, Spain and Germany. Would-be British citizens have to answer 24 questions in 45 minutes, and pay £50 to take the test. Applicants can also re-sit it as often as they wish, with one man taking it a whopping 118 times, spending £5,900 in total. The Independent reported in 2022 that the man took 118 tests in a two year time period, despite there being guidance stating it should not be sat more than once every seven days. This means if this guidance is adhered to, nobody should be able sit the test more than 52 times year. The man took the tests across 2015 and 2016 and it is unclear whether he passed on the 118th attempt. Conservative MP Kevin Foster told the outlet: 'This is a unique case and the vast majority of customers pass by their third attempt.' 'Whilst the test provider does not disclose which answers they got wrong if they fail they are advised which parts of the handbook they need to study in more depth to help them pass future tests.'
LBCI
23-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
UK flight takes British nationals out of Israel
Britain said on Monday that a Royal Air Force flight carrying 63 British nationals and their dependents out of Israel had left Tel Aviv in the afternoon. "Today's flight will bring British nationals and their dependents safely back to the UK," foreign minister David Lammy said in a statement. Following the outbreak of the Iran-Israel conflict last week, Britain appealed to its nationals in the region to register their presence. Lammy said that 4,000 British citizens had registered their presence, of whom 15%-25% had indicated a preference to leave. Reuters
Sky News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Iran asks Putin for help at Kremlin meeting; watch our live Q&A on what happens next after US strikes
16:47:00 Qatar shuts airspace temporarily after US and UK warnings We've reported today that both the US and UK have warned its citizens in Qatar to shelter in place. The US has said that warning is out of an "abundance of caution", and Qatar had said the advice doesn't reflect the situation. But the Qataris have now temporarily shut down its airspace, the foreign ministry has just confirmed. It added the move has been done to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. This comes as Iran repeated earlier threats to retaliate against the US after strikes on its nuclear sites. 16:22:01 UK confirms RAF flight has evacuated British citizens from Israel Foreign Secretary David Lammy has confirmed that an RAF flight evacuated British citizens from Israel to Cyprus today. Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, he says the group will be brought home "this evening", and more flights will follow. Lammy says a booking portal opened yesterday for those British citizens in Israel who want to leave. Going forward, he says those with the "greatest need" will be prioritised. The foreign secretary again urged people in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to register their presence with the British embassy to receive the latest updates. Sky News understands that the UK's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, was aboard the flight as he had been in Israel. 16:08:22 UK follows US in telling citizens in Qatar to 'shelter in place' The UK's Foreign Office has followed the American example by telling British citizens in Qatar to "shelter in place". Earlier, the US issued the same warning to Americans in Qatar. Qatar's foreign ministry insisted the advice did not reflect the situation in the country. The Foreign Office said: "Following a US security alert for US nationals in Qatar, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. "Follow instructions from local authorities." Further updates will be issued as the situation develops, the Foreign Office added. 15:55:01 Iran could attack American forces 'soon', sources tell Reuters The US believes Iran could carry out retaliatory attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, two US officials have told Reuters. One of the officials said the attack could happen within the next day or two. But the sources also told Reuters that Washington was looking for a diplomatic resolution. Trump's intervention over the weekend has raised fears of an escalation in the region. While Trump repeatedly said on the presidential campaign trail last year that the US should not be involved in what he called "forever wars", over the weekend the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran. Trump then warned against retaliation by Iran, saying it would be "met with force far greater than what was witnessed" over the weekend. 15:42:54 IDF warns Tehran residents to 'stay away' from military areas The IDF has issued a warning to residents in Tehran, telling them to stay away from certain areas in the coming days. In a message on X, the IDF said Israel's army would "continue to strike military targets in the Tehran area". "For your safety, we ask you to stay away from weapons manufacturing plants, military headquarters, and security institutions affiliated with the regime," the IDF said in a statement. 15:38:31 Watch foreign secretary update MPs on Israel-Iran conflict David Lammy, the UK's foreign secretary, is updating MPs now on the Israel-Iran conflict. It comes following weekend strikes by the US on Iranian nuclear sites. You can watch and follow the speech via our Politics Hub - just click below. 15:36:01 US strikes on Iran 'did not violate international law', Rutte says Back to Mark Rutte, who has been taking questions from reporters ahead of the NATO summit. Asked about the US strikes on Iran over the weekend, he has said America did not violate international law. Trump said over the weekend that the strikes caused "monumental damage". However, the scale of the destruction is not yet clear. 15:20:01 Watch: Will Putin step in to support Iran? As we've been reporting, Iran's foreign minister met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin earlier today. Abbas Araghchi brought Putin a letter from Iran's supreme leader, asking for more help from Russia after the attacks by Israel and the US. The Kremlin described it as a good meeting. But prior to the visit, sources in Iran suggested they had hoped for more support from Russia. Ivor Bennett, our Moscow correspondent, explains the background to the Russian-Iranian relationship, and what Putin is likely to do next.
Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Israel-Iran war live: first RAF evacuation flight departs for Cyprus
The Israeli military said on Monday that it would keep up its air strikes on targets in the Iranian capital, urging residents to stay away from security installations. The army 'will continue to strike military targets in the Tehran area in the coming days,' read a statement posted in the Persian language on X, adding: 'For your safety, we urge you to keep your distance from the regime's weapons manufacturing facilities, military headquarters, and the security institutions.' David Lammy said an RAF A400 has flown British citizens from Tel Aviv to Cyprus, where they will be brought back to Britain on Monday night. The flight became possible with the reopening of Israeli airspace. Lammy said: 'Further flights will follow in the coming days, security allowing. We will prioritise those with greatest need, and contact those allocated a seat directly.' He urged British citizens to register with the Foreign Office, and said further updates would be sent to them. The UK has joined the US and other nations in warning citizens in Qatar to 'shelter in place until further notice'. 'Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. Follow instructions from local authorities,' the Foreign Office advice states. 'The FCDO is in contact with local authorities and international partners, and will provide further updates as the situation develops.' Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said earlier that the security situation in the country remained stable. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has confirmed that a British citizen has been injured in Israel during missile attacks by Iran. Lammy told MPs that the RAF had evacuated 63 British citizens from Israel to Cyprus, and there were more flights to come. Marc Bennetts in Jerusalem Jerusalem's old city, home to some of the most sacred sites for Arabs, Christians and Jews, has been sealed off to non-residents since the start of the war with Iran. Armed police stand guard at checkpoints, while shops and businesses inside its ancient walls have been ordered to close down because they lack bomb shelters. On Monday afternoon, an air raid siren wailed in central Jerusalem, sending people running for shelter. There have been no Iranian strikes on the city, however. Critics say that while police have ordered all businesses in Jerusalem without shelters to close down, the rule is being enforced only in the old city. The US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were deeply unpopular among the city's Palestinian Arabs. 'Trump has done a very dangerous thing: he didn't think this through,' said Abed, a middle-aged man. Iranian authorities arrested a European citizen on Monday on suspicion of spying for Israel, state TV reported. Judicial authorities were citied as saying that a spy for Israel had been arrested in the western province of Hamadan, adding that the 'spy is a citizen of a European country'. 'The spy entered the country disguised as a tourist and continued the mission of networking, gathering information, and disrupting offensive and missile systems in Iran,' the report added. Iranian media has reported multiple arrests of individuals accused of spying for Israel in several parts of Iran. On Friday a German citizen was reportedly arrested on suspicion of espionage in Markazi province, west of was also accused of approaching an 'ammunition depot, an army barracks, missile tunnels and an air base to get information from them'. Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato, stressed that Tehran should not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb and suggested that US strikes on the Fordow uranium enrichment facility did not violate international law. He said his 'biggest fear' was that Tehran had a nuclear weapon which would give it a 'stranglehold' on Israel and the rest of the world. 'When it comes to Nato's stance on Iran's nuclear programme, allies have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon,' Rutte said before a Nato summit in the Hague, which starts on Tuesday. He also noted that Iran was 'heavily involved' in Russia's war against Ukraine. Pressed on the legality of Washington's strikes against Iran, the Nato chief replied: 'I would not agree that this is against international law, what the US did.' President Trump's suggestion of regime change in Iran was intended as a call for the people to overthrow their leaders, rather than a statement of US intent, the White House has said. Trump wrote on Truth Social last night that 'if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox News on Monday: 'The president's posture and our military posture has not changed. 'The president was simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking: if the Iranian regime refuses to give up its nuclear program or engage in talks … if they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn't the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?' Video from a security camera circulating online appeared to show a drone crashing in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. According to early reports, the drone was launched by Iran towards Israel but fell short of its target, injuring two bystanders. President Trump has appealed for oil prices to be kept down. In a message on Truth Social, he posted: 'EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!' The White House has defended the legality of the US bombing Iran's nuclear facilities. 'The president was acting within his legal authority under article two of the constitution as commander-in-chief of the president of the United States,' Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, said. This refers to the clause that gives the president power to direct military operations. However, elsewhere in the constitution, Congress is given the sole power to declare war. A three-man committee tasked with choosing a successor for Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has accelerated its planning in recent days since Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate him, according to Reuters. Citing five insiders with knowledge of the discussions, the news agency said that Khamenei, 86, was being regularly briefed on the talks. Two frontrunners have emerged, according to the report: Khamenei's 56-year-old son Mojtaba, long seen as a continuity choice, and a new contender, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the father of the Islamic revolution. The sources said the ayatollah had repeatedly opposed the idea of his son taking over in succession discussions in the past, because of concerns about Iran returning to the kind of hereditary rule that ended with the ousting of the shah. The committee planning for an eventual handover was created two years ago, but officially the supreme leader must be named by the Assembly of Experts, 88 clerics who are appointed in national elections. President Trump will push Nato members to increase defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP when he attends the alliance's summit on Tuesday, the White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. 'One of the main topics of discussion will be that 5 per cent threshold that our Nato allies have to hit. The president has been calling on our Nato allies to do more for quite some time. He got them to step up and do more in his first term, and you'll hear the president talk about that on this next historic trip to Europe,' Leavitt said on Monday in an interview with Fox News. Britain and other Nato members have reportedly agreed to the new target, if it is broken down into 3.5 per cent of GDP spent on pure defence and 1.5 per cent of GDP spent on related areas. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution, has called for regime change in Iran, suggesting 'this is our Berlin Wall moment'. At a press conference in Paris, he condemned the Islamic Republic for its oppression of the Iranian people, and addressed this message to Ayatollah Khamenei: 'Step down. And if you do, you will receive a fair trial and due process of law. Which is more than you have ever given any Iranian.' Pahlavi, 64, who is a figurehead for some, but not all, critics of the Islamic Republic, announced that he would be forming a communications channel to strengthen Iran's opposition. 'For those patriotic members of our armed forces, the time is now to join the nation. If you do, I will make sure your service to Iran is not forgotten and is celebrated,' he said. So much remains unclear about the American bombing of Iran on Sunday and its potential consequences. President Trump's decision to allow the US to join the Israeli offensive against Tehran has made the situation more volatile and examine the key questions: • Read in full: Can Iran block the Strait of Hormuz — and other key questions President Putin said on Monday that the world was moving 'to a very dangerous point' amid conflict in the Middle East. 'We see how the situation in the Middle East has sharply worsened, and extra-regional powers are being drawn into the conflict,' he said in a televised address to a graduating class of military cadets. He accused Nato of 'provoking global militarisation and an arms race' and said that Russia would continue to develop its armed forces and increase combat capabilities in response, including ramping up production of high-speed Oreshnik ballistic missiles. The Kremlin earlier condemned US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, calling them a violation of international law and saying they signalled a 'dangerous new escalation' in the conflict. At least two supertankers have reversed course near the Strait of Hormuz after the US strikes on Iran, ship-tracking data shows, while others have also diverted away from the area. Sentosa Shipbrokers, based in Singapore said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf were down 32 per cent while loaded tanker departures were down 27 per cent from levels in early May. Vessels changing course dramatically in the past week include the Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier that veered away from the strait on Sunday before turning back again on Monday, and the South Loyalty, which made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, while en route to Basra. Italy opposes suspending the pact that governs the relationship between EU and Israel over alleged human rights violations in Gaza. Spain earlier called for the EU to suspend the agreement and proposed an embargo on weapons sold to Israel as well as sanctions on individuals who are undermining the two-state solution. The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said 'our position is different from that of Spain,'and argued that it was important to keep relations open with Israel. The US embassy in Qatar emailed a message to American citizens in the Gulf state on Monday recommending that they shelter in place until further notice. The message noted that this was 'out of an abundance of caution'. Al Udeid air base, the largest US military base in the Middle East, is in Qatar. The IDF carried out an air strike on Monday to obstruct access routes to the Fordow enrichment site in western Iran, Israel's military said. The US bombed the facility, much of which is buried underground, on Sunday as it joined Israel's military campaign. • Offer of talks went unanswered — so Trump sent bombers instead An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran is 'completely irresponsible' and 'puts our loved ones in mortal danger,' Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is detained in Iran, said on Monday. 'We have no news, we don't know if they are still alive, we're panicking,' Kohler told AFP, urging the French authorities to 'condemn these extremely dangerous strikes' and secure the release of the French prisoners. The clock started ticking down towards the US bombing of Iran after the Iranian regime failed to respond within a 60-day deadline set in a private letter from President Trump to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even as military preparations were in full swing over the past week, senior officials said Trump remained open throughout to a meaningful overture from Tehran, as indicated when he told his press secretary to announce on Thursday that he would decide 'within two weeks' whether or not to join Israel's campaign. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, went even further, saying on Sunday that the bombing mission could have been aborted while the planes were in the air if circumstances had changed. • Offer of talks went unanswered — so Trump sent bombers instead One key issue underlying the debate over whether to attack Iran in the United States, Israel and beyond is the long-running question of how determined the regime is to actually build a nuclear weapon, and when it could do so if it chose to. For well over a decade most western intelligence services have held two paradoxical but not contradictory positions on Iran's nuclear programme. The first is that Iran, as a result of a nuclear agreement with European powers in 2003, had formally halted its nuclear weapons programme, and has not since made an actual attempt to build a nuclear weapon. • How close is Iran to actually building a nuclear bomb? President Putin has condemned 'unprovoked aggression' against Iran which he said was 'unjustified'. Putin shook hands with Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, as they met to discuss the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, as well as recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The Russian leader did not single out the US attacks, talking instead broadly of 'strikes' against Iran, though the Kremlin had earlier on Monday said it condemned and regretted the 'new escalation of tensions' following the US strikes. Passing on a message from Ayatollah Khamenei, Aragachi said Iran thanked Russia for being on the 'right side of history'. Earlier, Reuters reported that Khamenei had personally written to Putin to ask for more support from Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed 'deep regret' over the 'new escalation of tensions in the region,' but dodged a question about whether Russia would offer military support to Iran, saying that any Russian assistance would 'depend on what Iran needs'. 'Hundreds' of IRGC members may have been killed in Monday's strikes on Tehran, Israeli media are reporting. The Jerusalem Post, citing an Israeli security assessment, said that the 'extensive' strikes had caused mass casualties. Footage on social media showed large explosions and clouds of smoke over the Iranian capital. However there was no immediate confirmation of any deaths from the Iranian side. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Israel's defence minister has confirmed the air force has been attacking symbolic targets in Tehran on Monday. Israel Katz said the targets included Evin prison, a clock counting down to the 'destruction of Israel' in Palestine Square, the headquarters of the IRGC and Basij militia and 'other regime targets'. The clock referred to was installed in the centre of Tehran in 2017, counting down to Israel's ostensible demise by 2040. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Ongoing Israeli strikes in Tehran on Monday are hitting headquarters belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, an Israeli military spokesman has said. The IRGC is both Iran's elite military force and a powerful political and economic influence in the country. Sir Keir Starmer has come under renewed pressure from MPs to designate the corps as a terrorist organisation since the conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated. Even if its nuclear programme has been crippled for now, Iran still has a formidable weapon at the ready: geography. On Sunday, hours after the attack on its nuclear sites, Iran was disrupting GPS signals on the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is an energy chokepoint, as narrow as the eye of a needle: barely 24 miles wide, it is the route through which 25 per cent of the world's oil and 30 per cent of its liquefied natural gas travels. There has already been talk of Iranian submarines planting mines along the way. A crude way of turning what started as a war between Israel and Iran, which mutated into the US and Israel versus Tehran, into Iran versus the world. • Iran has the most to risk if it declares war on the world An Israeli airstrike hit Tehran's Evin Prison on Monday, according to reports from Iran. The opposition news outlet Iran International said the strike hit the entrance gate to the prison, apparently to allow prisoners to escape. The heavily fortified prison is where the Iranian regime has incarcerated political prisoners, journalists, academics and human rights activists since 1979. Among those previously held there were British-Iranians accused of spying, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was released in 2022. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. US bombing probably caused 'very significant' damage to the underground areas of Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment plant, though no one can yet tell the extent, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said. Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that 'given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme(ly) vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,' following the attacks by US B2 stealth bombers, which dropped bunker buster bombs on the site early on Sunday. Israel carried out a fresh strike on Iran's underground Fordow nuclear site south of Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Monday. 'The aggressor attacked the Fordow nuclear site again,' Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesman for authorities in Qom province where the site is located. Shortly after midnight on Saturday, a large 'strike package' of American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers set off from the Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, under a mission codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer. The task for many of the pilots was to fly some 7,000 miles, into Iranian airspace undetected and destroy Tehran's nuclear programme. Their mission was like no other that had gone before. 'The scope and scale of what occurred last night would take the breath away of almost any American if you had an opportunity to watch it in real time,' said Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, describing the operation as 'bold and brilliant' in a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday. • Operation Midnight Hammer: how the US strikes on Iran unfolded The 14 GBU-57 'bunker-busters' dropped by the Pentagon's B2 stealth bombers on Iran's nuclear facilities will have done a lot of damage, with about 200 tons of heavy munitions. They may not have 'fully obliterated' all three sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow as President Trump claimed, but they probably did cause 'severe damage' in the more modest assessment of the Pentagon. That does not mean, however, that Iran's nuclear programme is dead and buried. Apart from anything else, somewhere in Iran is probably a deadly cargo of canisters in secure storage. • Can Iran still build nuclear weapons after the US bombing? Iran's judiciary on Monday announced the execution of a man convicted of espionage for Israel. Mohammad-Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh was hanged for allegedly collaborating with the 'Zionist regime,' as Iran refers to Israel. He was accused of having connections to Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, and was also found guilty of working with Iran International, a London-based Persian-language TV channel critical of the Iranian government, which Iran claims has ties to Israel. Israel is currently attacking 'regime targets' in the heart of Tehran with 'unprecedented force,' defence minister Israel Katz said. Vowing to soon reveal the extent of the damage with photos, Katz said for every Iranian strike on Israel, Iran will be 'punished.' 'The IDF is now attacking regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran with unprecedented force — for every shot at the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be punished and the attacks will continue with full force,' a statement published to media read on Monday. The message comes after a heavy barrage was shot into Israel on Monday morning, causing minor damage and injuries. Israeli forces overnight launched a drone strike that hit an ambulance in Najafabad county, central Isfahan province, Iran, killing all three on board. 'The ambulance … was en route to transfer a patient when it was severely damaged by a drone strike,' the Iranian news agency reported. Some reports online suggest that the vehicle contained members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Israel's bombing campaign against Iran began with strikes on nuclear facilities and military commanders on June 13 and has continued with daily attacks on missile launchers, air defence systems and even a state television channel. Now the United States has directly entered the conflict by bombing three nuclear sites. Iran responded to Israel's attacks in kind by firing salvos of ballistic missiles at Israel, including some which have penetrated the Iron Dome missile defence system and sending the population hurrying for shelter at the sound of air raid alerts. • The Iran-Israel conflict in maps, video and satellite images Unverified video on social media showed the moment of impact of a ballistic missile sent from Iran that reportedly hit a power station in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Explosions are now being reported in Iran on the eleventh day of Israel's military campaign against the country. Several large blasts were heard in the capital Tehran, as well as Karaj, a city to the west. The Israel Electric Corporation has reported power cuts in the wake of Iranian ballistic missile strike near a 'strategic infrastructure facility' in southern Israel. 'Teams are on their way to several locations on the ground with the aim of restoring power supply as soon as possible. The operations include infrastructure repairs and the removal of safety hazards, and are being carried out in coordination with security forces,' the IEC said. An Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be dangerous and 'not good for anybody', the European Union's top diplomat said on Monday. 'The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge, especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,' Kaja Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers. Iran's Press TV reported on Sunday that Iran's Supreme National Security Council needed to make a final decision on whether to close the strait, after parliament was reported to support the measure. About 20 per cent of global oil and gas demand flows through the channel. China urged Iran and Israel on Monday to de-escalate in order to prevent the 'spillover' of their conflict. 'The Chinese side urges the parties to the conflict to prevent the situation from escalating repeatedly, resolutely avoid the spillover of war, and return to the path of political resolution,' foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had urged China on Sunday to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route, following American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. There are reports that an Israeli power station in Ashdod was among up to seven locations in the country hit during Monday's missile attack. Pictures posted online showed a large plume of smoke following the attack, but the power station apparently suffered only minor damage. Fires also broke out in open areas in northern and southern Israel after the strikes, but health services said no injuries were immediately reported. The regime's response to Israel's operation, Rising Lion, has underscored the limitations of Tehran's missile programme. Many of its missile sites were destroyed before Iran even fired a shot in response. And that was before the United States entered the conflict with devastating bombing raids on its nuclear sites. What was left has so far been used with devastating effect, levelling apartment blocks and killing at least 24 people over three days in a series of strikes that have pierced Israel's much-vaunted protective shield, the Iron Dome defence system. Iran, however, cannot maintain the intensity of these attacks which, in turn, have little to no impact on Israel's ability to strike back at will. • What weapons does Iran have and how long can it attack Israel? Israel's search and rescue teams headed to reported impact sites from Iranian missiles on Monday morning after air raid sirens sounded nationwide for an unprecedented amount of time. Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and in southern Israel after at least two missile salvos were fired from Iran. Blasts have reportedly been heard over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after the Israeli military warned of incoming missiles. Britain does not need to take a view on the legality of US strikes because we were not involved, the foreign secretary said. David Lammy said that 'is for the Americans to discuss those legal issues' as he accepted it was legitimate to ask if the military action breached international law. Asked why Britain had nothing to say on the issue despite criticising Russia so strongly for attacking Ukraine, he said: 'This was not the UK's action. We were not involved. We were clear when this began and Israel's attacks began that we were not involved.' The former defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said the UK should treat the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 'like the terrorists they are'. 'I think we've seen the IRGC for too long reach way out of the realms of a conventional force and into terrorism and into disrupting our friends and our allies,' Wallace told Times Radio when asked if the UK government should now proscribe the IRGC. A proscribed organisation is an organisation or group that is illegal to join or show support for due to its links to terrorism. 'The IRGC will be active in Yemen, helping support the Houthis, attack our friends, the Saudi Arabians and our other allies in the region, the UAE. And we should treat them like the terrorists they are.' He added that in retrospect the West should have 'been tougher early on, then maybe we wouldn't have got to this position'. Air raid alerts sounded in northern Israel on Monday after the IDF said missiles were being launched from Iran towards the country. 'At this time, the Air Force is working to intercept and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat,' the IDF said. About 1,000 Britons are asking for government help getting out of Israel, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy said he was negotiating with Israel on opening the country's airspace to evacuate stranded British nationals, saying he hoped it would happen 'in the coming days'. Lammy told BBC Breakfast: 'We've got about 4,000 or so people who have indicated that they are in Israel, and a quarter of those have said that if we can help them to get out, they would like to take that. So we are negotiating with the Israeli government to ensure that the airspace is opened up to allow us to do.' The armed forces minister has refused nine times to say if Britain supported the US attack on Iran. Luke Pollard was challenged repeatedly on the question but insisted he could not comment. Asked six times by LBC, Pollard said: 'The American activity has now happened,' adding that Britain's 'focus is on the diplomatic solution'. It came after he was asked the same question three times by Sky News, saying: 'I'm not going to be able to comment given that question.' The foreign secretary said he was 'an optimist' and believes diplomacy 'must and can prevail' in the Middle East. Asked how worried he was about the situation, David Lammy told BBC Breakfast: 'I'm an optimist. You have to be an optimist if you're the chief diplomat for a wonderful country like the United Kingdom. 'Of course, this is a stressful time. I said it was perilous on Friday, but I still believe that diplomacy must and can prevail.' David Lammy told BBC Breakfast that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was 'somewhere in Iran, in a bunker'. 'Messaging to him cannot be easy, but I would urge them to step back at this point and — given that Iran no longer has any air defences at this time, given that they no longer have the proxies in Hezbollah, Hamas is degraded for all of those reasons and their own vulnerability — let's deal with the nuclear programme. 'Let's take the diplomatic off-ramp. Let's get serious and calm this thing down.' David Lammy said he had told Iran it would be a 'catastrophic mistake' to attack US military bases or blockade the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, adding that he thinks the country's leadership 'gets that'. The foreign secretary said he had urged his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday to 'be very careful about not escalating in response to the attack on their nuclear sites', and that the minister had said 'he would take that to the supreme leader'. Lammy suggested that a harmless symbolic retaliation by Iran could be a face-saving way for Tehran to end the crisis in the Middle East, citing Iran's response to Israel last October. 'You will remember that they did fire missiles into Israel, but it was a calibrated response that allowed those missiles to be taken down,' he told BBC Breakfast. Recent hostile action by the United States started a 'war' with Iran, a spokesman for Iran's military has said. Ebrahim Zolfaqari said on Monday that the American strikes had expanded the scope of legitimate targets for Iran's armed forces. 'Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,' Zolfaqari said in English at the end of a recorded video statement. The head of the Iranian army has threatened reprisals against US forces. General Amir Hatami said every time US 'committed crimes, they received a decisive response, and it will be the same this time too', Iran's Fars news agency reported. The general was speaking to other senior Iranian military commanders and claimed that Israel had 'been forced to call upon' the US and 'drag it into a direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran'. Some 40,000 US personnel remain in the region. In previous attacks, US bases in Iraq, for example, have previously been targeted with unguided rockets by Iranian-aligned militia groups. The armed forces minister has declined to say the UK supported America's strikes on Iran. Asked whether Britain endorsed the military action taken over the weekend, Luke Pollard told Times Radio: 'That was a decision that the US has taken. Our focus has been on the diplomatic effort that is necessary to get a lasting peace. 'That's why that's been the focus of the prime minister's actions over the last few days, it's why the defence secretary, myself, the foreign secretary and the minister for the Middle East have been engaging in diplomatic activity in the region, because we need to make sure that there is a route to a lasting peace here. 'The way to do that is with a diplomatic solution that brings Iran back to the negotiating table.' The US is on high alert over concerns of retaliation from Iran after its strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. On Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory warning of low-level cyber-attacks from 'pro-Iranian hacktivists'. It also warned of larger attacks if Iranian leaders issue a religious ruling 'calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland.' 'The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks,' the advisory said. Ben Wallace has said if the US strike were successful, 'it was worth it,' but if not 'it's going to be pretty dangerous territory for the next few months and years'. 'There's no point starting down this path if it's done by half,' the former defence secretary told Times Radio. 'And that's the big question for the intelligence assessors right now, the people who'll be looking over, gathering, looking at the photographs, gathering intelligence, did it, was it successful? If it was successful, then many of us, including myself, would say, well, it was worth it. 'If it isn't, it's going to be pretty dangerous territory for the next few months and years, because I suspect what you'll do is harden the regime and bring the Iranian people together rather than disperse them,' he added. Six airports were hit in Iran in the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes, according to Israel's military. The IDF said: 'The strikes damaged runways, underground bunkers, a refuelling plane, and F-14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft belonging to the Iranian regime.' The IDF said the aircraft were intended for use in attacks against Israel. The US State Department has issued a 'worldwide caution' alert due to the potential for attacks against US nationals abroad. 'The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution,' the US State Department wrote. 'There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad.' Advertising billboards reading 'Thank you Mr President' have appeared in Tel Aviv in the wake of Donald Trump ordering US B2 stealth bombers to attack Iran's nuclear sites with bunker busting bombs. The president earlier claimed that the targets had been 'obliterated' in a social media post, adding 'Bullseye!!!' An Israeli drone was shot down over western Iran this morning, the IDF confirmed, following Iranian media reports. 'During operational activity, an Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle was downed in Iran. There is no fear of information leaking,' the Israeli military said. Iranian media reported that the drone, shot down over the Khorramabad area, was a Hermes model. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Iran apparently launched a single missile towards Israel overnight, which was shot down, according to Israeli media. The overnight launch triggered sirens throughout central Israel, sending millions to bomb shelters around 3 am. It was intercepted, the military said, and there were no reports of injuries as a result of the attack. Despite another intense night of Israeli airstrikes against targets in Iran, the Islamic Republic's own retaliation was more limited than previous exchanges of fire. Oil prices eased back after an initial spike in trading in Asia as investors waited to see how Iran will respond to US attacks on its nuclear sites. Brent crude prices rose close to $80 a barrel at one stage but is now trading at $77.90 — still a rise of 1.13 per cent — as many analysts still do not expect Tehran to act on its threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, in part because it would be likely to harm Iranian allies and customers more than it would hurt America. • Business live: Oil price eases back after spike Charu Chanana, the chief investment strategist at Saxo, said: 'That said, any sign of Iranian retaliation or threat to the Strait of Hormuz could quickly shift sentiment and force markets to reprice geopolitical risk more aggressively.' Oil prices will surge above $100 a barrel if Iran blocks the world's most important crude shipping route in retaliation for America bombing its nuclear sites, analysts believe. Iran's parliament voted on Sunday to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint through which tankers carry about a fifth of global oil supplies. All eyes are on whether Iran's Supreme National Security Council decides to approve the often-threatened but never-implemented step, which analysts described as a 'worst-case scenario'. • Read in full: Oil 'will surge above $100 a barrel' if Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz Israel launched strikes on military sites in western Iran's Kermanshah on Monday, as fighting enters its 11th day. The Israeli air force 'is currently striking military infrastructure sites in Kermanshah in Iran', the country's military said. Earlier, Israel's air force said it intercepted an unmanned aircraft launched towards Israeli territory. It added: 'The air force intercepted, a short time ago in the Eilat area, an unmanned aircraft before it crossed into Israeli territory. In accordance with policy, no alerts were activated.' Pakistan has condemned President Trump's bombing of Iran, less than a day after declaring he deserved a Nobel peace prize for defusing a recent crisis with India. Intense diplomatic efforts, led by the US, resulted in a truce between the two nuclear-armed south Asian countries for which Trump took credit. Pakistan announced its formal recommendation for the US president to receive the Nobel peace prize on Saturday night. However, less than 24 hours later it condemned the US for attacking Iran, saying the strikes 'constituted a serious violation of international law' and the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Canberra backed the US intervention but wanted to avert a spiral into 'full-scale war' in the Middle East, the Australian government said Monday. 'The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, and we support action to prevent that. That is what this is,' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference. 'We don't want escalation and a full-scale war. We continue to call for dialogue and for diplomacy. 'Iran didn't come to the table, just as it has repeatedly failed to comply with its international obligations. We urge Iran not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.' Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said that the US attacks had crossed every red line. 'The warmongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,' he said. Araghchi had met David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and European counterparts on Friday for talks aimed at averting Trump's strikes, but they failed to make progress. Monitors are concerned over the whereabouts of 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium, enough with modest further refining for nine nuclear warheads. The uranium, which Iran has declared to the United Nations, is believed to have been moved to a safe location. JD Vance, the US vice-president, appeared to confirm this, telling ABC News: 'We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel. They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium.' Of more immediate concern is the 400kg of enriched uranium. 'I think those cylinders of 60 per cent highly enriched uranium are the most valuable asset in Iran right now,' said Ian Stewart, who monitors Iran's nuclear programme at the James Martin Centre for Non-proliferation Studies in Washington. He said that Iran could have kept some enrichment centrifuges at a separate location, to enable the uranium to be processed further for a warhead. As it is at present, it could be fashioned into a crude bomb. Around 950 Iranians, including security force personnel, have so far been killed by Israeli strikes, a Washington-based human rights group has said. Over 3,400 people have also been injured, according to the Human Rights Activists group, which cross-checks local reports with its sources in Iran. It said it had identified 380 of the dead as civilians and 253 as members of the Iranian security forces. It did not identify the remainder Iran's health ministry said on Saturday that 400 people had been killed across the country and another 3,000 injured. Air defence systems were firing early on Monday in Tehran, state media reported, while explosions were also heard in the nearby city of Karaj. A social media account associated with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave little indication that Tehran was preparing to surrender. The punishment continues,' read a post that was illustrated with an image showing missile strikes on Israel. Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian foreign minister, is expected to hold talks in Moscow today with President Putin over the war with Israel. Iran, which has provided Russia with drones and missiles for its war in Ukraine, is a major Kremlin ally. Russia also maintains close links with Israel, however. Although Moscow and Tehran signed a strategic partnership deal in January, it does not include a mutual defence pact. The point was highlighted on Sunday by Russian state television, which stressed that: 'In the event either party is subject to aggression, the other party shall not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor.' Although Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who is now a senior national security council official, has said 'a number of countries' are prepared to provide Iran with nuclear warheads, Putin has been far less bellicose in his comments. 'Judging by Putin's statements in recent days, he is extremely cautious. Maximally so,' said Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of Russia's Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, which advises the Kremlin. Praise for President Trump came from his estranged former vice-president Mike Pence, who campaigned against him in last year's contest for the Republican nomination. 'I couldn't be more proud of President Trump's decisive leadership in this moment or the extraordinary professionalism and courage of our armed forces that brought about this historic mission,' Pence told Fox News, adding that he knew Trump was prepared to bomb the nuclear sites in the absence of real concessions from Iran. It was 'really a continuation of the policies of our administration where we isolated Iran as never before,' he said. Pushed in whether he regretted saying he would not support Trump's reelection, Pence added: 'I'm not in the rearview mirror today … I really do want to commend President Trump and his entire national security team for doing what really needed to be done. The very idea that the most dangerous regime in the world would have possession of the most dangerous weapons on Earth has been intolerable.' Iran launched missiles towards Israel, including at Tel Aviv, early on Monday as the conflict between the two countries entered its 11th day. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the Israeli military gave the all-clear after just a few minutes. It was unclear how many missiles Iran had launched. At least 24 people have been killed in Israel, but there have been no fatalities since June 16. When Iranian missiles have evaded Israel's air defences, they have caused massive damage to civilian infrastructure, including at a hospital in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel that was hit last week. In Tel Aviv, some people, especially those with small children, left the city when Israel first attacked Iran on June 13, sparking the biggest conflict in the Middle East for years. Others immediately rush for bomb shelters or safe rooms when air raid sirens wail. The Israeli military has also produced an app that gives warnings of incoming missiles. North Korea condemned the US strikes on Iran, calling them a violation of the United Nations charter and blaming the tension in the Middle East on the 'reckless valour of Israel'. 'The Democratic People's Republic of Korea strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US, which severely violated the UN Charter with respect for sovereignty,' said a spokesperson of the North's foreign ministry, according to a statement carried by the state news agency. 'The just international community should raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel's confrontational acts,' the statement said. Some of President Trump's most loyal Maga cheerleaders are trying to make sense of his post last night suggesting a change of regime for Iran. Trump posted that 'if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' The idea of a US-sponsored regime change is anathema to a swath of Trump's support base who are perplexed by his post on Truth Social. It also contradicted flat denials that a regime change is a consideration, made by JD Vance, the vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state. Charlie Kirk, founder of the pro-Trump youth movement Turning Point USA, chided Maga supporters criticising Trump, interpreting the post as talking about a 'bottom-up revolution' which 'rises from the will of the people.' But he warned: 'America cannot get involved in a forceful decapitation effort in Persia.' Matt Gaetz, a former Florida congressman Trump nominated but withdrew for US attorney-general, cautioned on X: 'Just remember: every regime change war has been extremely popular at the start. But the historical trajectory isn't good.' President Trump responded to growing debate about the extent of damage done by the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in a post late last night. 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!' Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to his own description of the impact in the immediate aftermath. His senior general, Dan 'Razin' Caine, was more cautious on Sunday morning, saying that 'final battle damage will take some time but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.' In his post, Trump continued: 'The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane, as the world braces for retaliation for President Trump's bombing of the regime's three key nuclear installations. The parliament in Tehran voted to block the strait, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil supply passes, but Iran's leaders also said they may pause and plan more devastating responses. Although Saturday night's strikes are presumed to have caused huge damage to the three sites, Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, Iran said that its nuclear programme would continue. Israel's prime minister said Israel will not end the war with Iran before it has eliminated its nuclear and missile threat. Speaking in a prerecorded press conference broadcast on Israeli news channels late Sunday, Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel is 'committed to achieving our goals. When those goals are met, the operation will end and the fighting will stop,' with the caveat that the war would not continue 'beyond what is necessary.' Netanyahu said Israel had taken out over half of Iran's missile launchers as the country's air force operated in new Iranian territory on Sunday. He also vowed a new dawn in the Middle East, with a 'massive expansion of peace agreements,' hinting at a much sought-after normalisation with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. David Lammy said he had told Iran it would be a 'catastrophic mistake' to attack US military bases or blockade the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, adding that he thinks the country's leadership 'gets that'. The foreign secretary said he had urged his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Aragachi, on Sunday to 'be very careful about not escalating in response to the attack on their nuclear sites', and that the minister had said 'he would take that to the supreme leader'.
