Iran-Israel live: Trump says US bombs ‘obliterated’ key Iranian nuclear sites; Tehran says ‘dangerous war’ has begun – UK Times

The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:

The Israeli Air Force struck “dozens” of military targets in Iran yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces has claimed.

In a statement it said: “Yesterday, (Saturday), approximately 20 IAF fighter jets, struck dozens of military targets in Iran, following the precise direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate.

“Among the targets struck were a military site containing components to produce explosive materials, weapons storage, and production facilities, and Iranian aerial defense systems.”

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Former Tory foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind suggested that Trump had prevented a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

He told Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “Every Arab state, every other country of the Middle East, has been terrified of the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons, not just because they there is a traditional hostility between Iran and the Arab states but because there was an assumption, indeed a clear step, by Saudi Arabia, that if Iran ever did get nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would have to see them.

“Turkey would contemplate that too, Egypt would have an extraordinary amount of nuclear proliferation in what is already a very volatile region. So I think what the Americans have done, assuming they have been successful, either in destroying Iran’s nuclear capability or in the Middle East, pushing it back very, many, many years, that is something which actually contributes to peace and nuclear non proliferation, not just for the benefit of Israel, but for the region as a whole and for the world.”

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Tom Tugendhat, a former Tory security minister who fought in Iraq when he was in the army, has insisted that Trump was right to attack Iran last night.

He said: “This was a nuclear capability that is built specifically and totally for the murder of Jews in Israel. That is literally what it’s designed to do.

“That’s why it was placed under the IRGC and not under the civilian regime. It was entirely designed to create weapons.

“It was not designed for any civilian purpose at all, and actually, by destroying it, it’s keeping the British people safer as well, because the missiles that the IRGC have been developing would reach as far as London and would threaten us as well.”

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Independent MP Zara Sultana, who was suspended by Labour last year, told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC that the UK was acting like America’s “poodle” supporting the attack on Iran last night.

She compared the attack to the Iraq War duringTony Blair’s leadership.

She said: “This is a dangerous escalation. What we’re seeing is a rerun of the 2003 Iraq playbook, where we were told that we were 45 minutes away from an attack on UK soil.

“We know that the dossier around weapons of mass destruction was fabricated. It was an illegal war and it was wrong, and we’re seeing the same manufacturing of consent happening right now.

“We’re being told it’s about national security. The same institutions that told us that it was right to go into Iraq, are doing the same thing again, and they cannot be trusted. And this is wrong. The UK should not be America’s poodle in its imperialist foreign policy. We should stand against it.”

Iran has spent decades building multi-tiered military capabilities at home and across the region that were at least partly aimed at deterring the United States from attacking it. By entering Israel’s war, the U.S. may have removed the last rationale for holding them in reserve.

Thet could mean a wave of attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East, an attempt to close a key bottleneck for global oil supplies or a dash to develop a nuclear weapon with what remains of Iran’s disputed program after American strikes on three key sites.

A decision to retaliate against the U.S. and its regional allies would give Iran a far larger target bank and one that is much closer than Israel, allowing it to potentially use its missiles and drones to greater effect. The U.S. and Israel have far superior capabilities, but those haven’t always proven decisive in America’s recent history of military interventions in the region.

Here’s a look at what Iran’s next move might be:

Kemi Badenoch has called for the UK to “stand firmly with the US” following Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran.

The Conservative leader said: “By targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, the US has taken decisive action against a regime that fuels global terror and directly threatens the UK.

“Iranian operatives have plotted murders and attacks on British soil.

“We should stand firmly with the US and Israel.”

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were “absolutely essential”.

Dame Priti told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “America’s actions were absolutely essential.

“We have got to the stage, as we’ve seen in the last nine days or so, where Iran coming to the negotiation table simply was not happening in any constructive way. We had the IAEA report disclosing the extent to which Iran’s capabilities on nuclear were just increasing and they went beyond civilian capabilities.

“So these strikes were essential, I think the strikes from both Israel and from the United States – it’s quite clear that the American military was the only military capable of literally dropping those bombs on Fordo.”

The Witham MP added: “Iran is a terrorist state. They sponsor proxies.

“They harm us, for a start, they harm the UK and our interests, as well as chants of ‘death to America’ and their objective, which has always been to eliminate the state of Israel, which is simply not acceptable.”

A dangerous escalation between Iran and Israel is now “more real and more likely than ever before”, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.

Simon Harris, who is also the Irish foreign affairs minister, called for a de-escalation and negotiated solution on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

He said that staff from the Irish embassy in Tehran left Iran on Friday, and that he was being updated on Irish peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon.

“I am closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East following military action by the United States on three nuclear facilities in Iran overnight,” Mr Harris said.

“The risk of an extremely dangerous spiral of escalation in relation to Iran and Israel is now more real and more likely than ever before.

“There is an urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. This has been the focus of my engagement with EU partners and countries in the region since this current crisis began. It will remain Ireland’s priority in the hours and days ahead.”

Most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow was moved to an undisclosed location before the US’s attack, a senior Iranian source has claimed to Reuters.

They also said the number of personnel at the site had been reduced to a minimum.