Good morning.
Iran launched a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening in retaliation for a series of attacks against its proxies. Officials in Tehran cited the assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders â including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on Friday â and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
It is Iranâs second attack on Israel this year, although this one is widely considered to have been more aggressive and is likely to be more consequential.
Guardian reporters in Jerusalem witnessed dozens of missiles darting through the sky towards the countryâs coastal cities. Most of the missiles were intercepted by Israelâs air defences, supported by western allies, but there have been multiple images of craters in central and southern Israel.
Two people have reportedly been wounded in Tel Aviv. Elsewhere, the only reported fatality was Sameh al-Asali, a 37-year-old Palestinian from Gaza living in the occupied West Bank, who was killed by falling shrapnel.
Israelâs prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Iran has âmade a big mistake tonight, and will pay for itâ, although US officials have said that Israel has not made a decision yet on the scope or timeframe of this reprisal.
Meanwhile, overnight, the Israeli military continued to pound Lebanonâs capital, Beirut, with at least five strikes hitting the cityâs southern suburbs.
Todayâs newsletter takes you through the last 24 hours in the Middle East, as the crisis intensifies. Thatâs right after the headlines.
Five big stories
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US election | JD Vance refused to say whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and sidestepped questions over whether he would certify a Trump loss this autumn, bringing out sharp attacks by his Democratic opponent, Tim Walz, during the vice-presidential debate last night.
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Surveillance | UK government ministers have been warned not to resurrect Conservative plans to tackle welfare fraud by launching mass algorithmic surveillance of bank accounts. Rights and privacy groups fear the government is poised to deliver a âsnooperâs charterâ using automation and possibly AI to crack down on benefit cheating and mistakes that cost £10bn a year.
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UK news | A 14-year-old girl was left with potentially life-changing injuries while a 16-year-old boy was in hospital after a substance â believed to be acidic â was thrown at them by a male who approached them on the street outside their London school, police have said.
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Lucy Letby | A senior doctor said he was âashamedâ he failed to stop the nurse Lucy Letby from harming babies and that police should have been contacted a year earlier. John Gibbs told a public inquiry that doctors received âvery firm pushbackâ from senior nurses when they raised growing suspicions about Letby in early 2016.
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Space | A comet that has not been seen from Earth since Neanderthals were alive has reappeared in the sky, with astronomers saying it might be visible to the naked eye.
In depth: Israel readies for reprisal as âforces of restraintâ weaken
Iranâs surprise attack lasted for just under an hour and came after its supreme national security council (SNSC) chair, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, declared that Iran was at war. Around 180 ballistic missiles were launched, just hours after the US warned that Iran was preparing an imminent attack.
To bolster Israelâs defence, US forces shot down Iranian missiles. President Joe Biden later said that the attack appears to have been âdefeated and ineffectiveâ, and Israel said that most of the missiles were intercepted.
Iranian officials, however, announced that 90% of its missiles successfully hit their targets. The extent of the damage caused by the missiles remains unclear.
The order to launch the strike was made by Iranâs supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the backing of the SNSC and the Iranian defence ministry. Iran has said the attack was a âlegal, rational and legitimate response to the terrorist attacks of the Zionist regimeâ.
This attack is far more aggressive than Iranâs one in April, which was largely considered a symbolic strike. Iran gave several daysâ notice then and the main target was a military base in the underpopulated Negev desert. This time, the missiles themselves seem to be much faster and the targets appear to have included dense cities.
The Guardianâs defence and security editor Dan Sabbagh has useful insight into Iranâs military strategy now: âFiring so many ballistic missiles in a few minutes also represents a serious effort to overwhelm or exhaust Israelâs air defences. Because they are sophisticated, the interceptor missiles are expensive â and their stocks uncertain,â he writes.
Why did Iran do this?
In late September, Iranâs president, Masoud Pezeshkian, insisted that the country does not âwish to be the cause of instability in the region.â It seems the impending threat of war has lost its deterrent power, with the spokesperson of the parliamentâs national security and foreign policy commission saying that Iran is ânot afraid of going to war. We are not warmongers, but we are ready for any war.â
Iranâs risky and unprecedented retaliation âreflects a growing consensus inside the Iranian elite that its decision not to mount a military reprisal after the assassination of [Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh] in Tehran in July was a strategic mistakeâ, Patrick Wintour writes.
The perceived inaction has led to a growing frustration among some hardliners in Iran that Tehran has become âpassiveâ in the face of Israeli aggression. Instead of placating Israel, they say, it has emboldened Netanyahu to mount further attacks and has weakened its image as the leader of the âaxis of resistanceâ.
Iran held off from ordering a reprisal for the assassination of Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July, because of US assurances that a ceasefire deal in Gaza was imminent and restraint from Iran would be key in making sure it happens. (Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyehâs death). No such deal materialised. Early last month, Pezeshkian accused the US of lying, adding that Israelâs actions would not go âunansweredâ.
Iranian officials were also alarmed by Netanyahuâs announcement last weekend that Israelâs latest actions are steps towards changing âthe balance of power in the region for years to comeâ. To show restraint after the series of escalations would, they believed, put them in an even weaker strategic position.
Whatâs next?
Leaders across Europe condemned Iranâs attack and the UK prime minister Keir Starmer said that Britain stands with Israel and recognises âher right to self-defence in the face of this aggressionâ.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, condemned âescalation after escalationâ in the region. âThis must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,â he said.
Israel has already launched attacks in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria this week, indicating its willingness to keep fighting on all fronts. Analysts have noted that Israel has a much freer hand to respond more comprehensively and aggressively. What little âforces of restraintâ there were in the Middle East are âweakening with every passing day,â Julian Borger writes in his analysis. âPolitically speaking, the Biden administration cannot be seen as tying Israelâs hands in the face of an Iranian attack on Israeli cities.â
The looming fear of this deepening conflict has been a direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington, which gets closer with each attack.
As Israel readies for a reprisal and Iranâs leadership vows that any retaliation would be met with a âmore crushing and ruinousâ response, the cries for peace continue to go unheeded.
For the latest news on the region, follow the Guardianâs liveblog.
What else weâve been reading
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Barbara Walker has created beautiful, ceiling-to-floor sized charcoal portraits of victims of the Windrush scandal, which will go on show this week at the Whitworth in Manchester. Amelia Gentleman spoke to her about the physical and emotional toll of making â and then destroying â her political, personal art. Jason Okundaye, assistant editor, newsletters
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The Guardianâs foremost expert on gambling (and author of the excellent book Jackpot), Rob Davies, has profiled Denise Coates. The Bet365 mastermind is Britainâs richest woman but, asks Rob, whatâs the human cost of her mammoth fortune? Hannah J Davies, deputy editor, newsletters
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Some men went to a (cancelled) Last Dinner Party show in Lincoln and felt they were profiled by security and treated like âpervertsâ. Laura Snapes is brilliant and balanced on the state of high alert that women and minority fans are often put in when attending gigs. Jason
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George Monbiot is on top form as he questions why Just Stop Oil protesters were handed such long sentences for throwing soup at a Van Gogh (or rather, at the protective glass in front of it). Hannah
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Collagen peptides, dandelion root, vitamin C, creatine, magnesium â will the cult of self-optimisation through supplements ever end? Joel Snape takes on the latest craze, electrolytes, and what they mean for your kidneys â and your bank account. Jason
Sport
Football | First-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over PSG in the Champions League group stage. Manchester City claimed a regulation 4-0 win against Slovan Bratislava with James McAtee scoring his first goal for the club.
Formula One | Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has indicated Liam Lawson has an opportunity to make his case to replace Sergio Pérez and line up alongside Max Verstappen for the team, potentially as early as next season.
Tennis| Third-ranked Carlos Alcarazâs athleticism was again on show as he advanced to the menâs final of the China Open, with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.
The front pages
âIsrael vows to retaliate after Iran launches missile attackâ says the Guardianâs splash headline this morning. âMiddle East eruptsâ â thatâs the Times while the Daily Express has âUS threatens âsevereâ response as Iran attacks Israelâ. âRevenge from aboveâ says the Mirror describing it further as Iranâs retaliation for Israelâs incursion into Lebanon. A dramatic front page of the Daily Mail says âThe Iron Dome holds firm against Iranâs 200-missile blitz ⦠now Israel vows vengeanceâ. The Telegraph says simply âIran attacks Israelâ while the i leads with âIran missile attack on Israel sparks fears of new warâ. Business coverage is displaced on the Financial Timesâ front in favour of âIran fires missile barrage against Israelâ. The Metro calls it âIranâs new blitz at Israelâ.
Today in Focus
Who were Englandâs 2024 rioters?
Racist chants rang out, and homes, businesses and hotels housing asylum seekers were attacked â for a week this summer English towns and cities seemed on the brink of chaos. Josh Halliday reports on what we know so far about the people at the centre of the violence
Cartoon of the day | Martin Rowson
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the worldâs not all bad
Communal eating is on the menu in the culinary hotspot of Copenhagen, where pulling up a chair alongside strangers is now all the rage, as Shanna McGoldrick writes. At Absalon, a church turned community centre, McGoldrick sampled tomato and lentil soup and fried potatoes in a creamy fennel and chive sauce, as well as breaking bread â quite literally â with a group of Danish nurses, all for the affordable price of 60DKK (about £6.75). âAll around us, people are chatting in English and Danish, and though everyone looks very at ease, Iâm fairly sure weâre not the only tourists here,â writes McGoldrick of the fællesspisning dinner. âItâs a pragmatic kind of welcome, with all diners expected to get stuck in: at the end of the meal, we all stack our plates neatly and file happily back over to the kitchen.â Adds Ivonne Christensen, one of the nurses: âItâs a wonderful idea ⦠you donât have to cook, you can come here when youâre tired; itâs easy.â
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Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardianâs puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.