It may seem that the US and the Middle East are currently embarking on yet another forever war. But the truth is that this is just the latest instalment of an undeclared military conflict between the two nations that has been ongoing since the 1980s.

For Americans, the war began in 1979, when Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. For Iranians, it began with US support for the Shah and its subsequent backing of Iraq throughout the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The conflict has claimed many civilian lives. On July 3 1988, the US warship Vincennes downed Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian flight bound for Dubai. The USS Vincennes misidentified the Airbus as a military aircraft and shot it down, killing all 290 people on board. More recently, on 28 February 2026, a US-Israeli missile hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, killing over 150 civilians, most of them children.

Iran also shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on January 8, 2020. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mistook the civilian plane for a US military flight, and fired two surface-to-air missiles that killed all 176 passengers, mostly Iranian civilians.

Each side has, at different moments, made catastrophic errors under conditions of escalation. But these tragic incidents are not just history. For Iranians and Americans alike, they have deeply reinforced the popular and institutional view that peace can never really be achieved between the two nations.

The 1980s: tanker war

In 1984, Iraq initiated the “tanker war” with Iran when its air force attacked oil tankers bound for Iranian ports. The tanker war continued for years, and eventually involved the US Navy when, on May 17 1987, an Iraqi plane accidentally struck the American frigate The Stark, killing 37 crew members.

The US chose to refocus attention away from Iraq and on Iran, arguing that the Islamic Republic was responsible as it had failed to agree to negotiate an end to the war.

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The US then provided naval protection for Kuwaiti oil tankers moving through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz by requiring them to hoist an American flag. But violence only escalated. Iran targeted the American-reflagged ships, and the US retaliated by striking Iranian offshore platforms and speedboats used by the Revolutionary Guards. It also sank two Iranian frigates, eliminating half of Iran’s navy.

It was amid these hostilities that Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down. How this incident occurred during the fog of war is still the subject of intense debate. For Iranians, the attack confirmed they were in a de facto war with the US, who they saw as lashing out in vicarious vengeance for the 1979 hostage crisis.

Ultimately, the downing of its airliner brought Iran to accept the ceasefire that ended the Iran-Iraq War. Iran’s conflict with Iraq ended, but its war with the US did not.

The 2000s: proxies and ground war

The 1980s episode of this war was fought by naval vessels in the Gulf, but the second phase was a proxy conflict fought on the ground.

After 2001, George W. Bush included the Islamic Republic in an “axis of evil”, alongside Iraq and North Korea.

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In March 2003, after the invasion of Iraq under Bush, Iran suddenly found US troops on two borders (Iraq and Afghanistan). Tehran feared that the Bush administration would seek regime change, and that the US or Israel would bomb its nuclear facilities.

One tool at Iran’s disposal was its support of a variety of Iraqi insurgents to target American forces. One of its Iraqi proxies, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, formed in 2006, targeted US military vehicles with improvised explosive devices, challenging American control of the motorways.

This low-intensity conflict only wound down when American forces left Iraq in 2011.

The 2010s and 2020s: air war over Iraq

During the 2010s, the Obama administration entered a de facto alliance with the Islamic Republic to combat ISIS. The US provided air cover while Iran fought alongside Iraqi Shi’a militias on the ground.

In October 2017, two months before ISIS officially lost the vast majority of its territories in Iraq and Syria, Donald Trump announced the US’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Relations quickly soured, as Tehran retaliated by targeting US forces in Iraq, ushering in an air war. Rockets were fired at American targets in Iraq by Kataib Hizballah, an Iran-allied militia, and the US retaliated with air strikes.

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Violence spiralled further on December 27 2019, when the same militia attacked the al-Taji base, an Iraqi military facility housing US forces, killing an American contractor. Two days later, the US responded with an air raid on several targets related to the Iraqi militia, killing at least 25 of its members.

On December 31 2019, the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone was stormed by Iraqi demonstrators affiliated with the militia.

Trump, faced with optics reminiscent of the 1979 hostage crisis, ordered a drone strike on January 3 2020 that killed General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, as well as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, leader of the militia. Iran retaliated by launching 22 Fateh ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing American forces on January 8.

Soleimani’s death was the first time the US had directly killed a senior Iranian state official. It crossed the threshold from proxy war to direct state-on-state targeting.

In the aftermath, Iran’s military accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 outside of Tehran, mistaking it for US retaliation. It was a tragic echo of the Vincennes incident.

During this period, Iran generally showed restraint in its air attacks on the US. During the 2025 12-Day Israel-Iran War, for instance, it launched a single, choreographed military strike against the al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar which was housing US forces, very similar to its carefully orchestrated 2020 missile strikes.

Today, that restraint is no longer in place. What we are seeing now is widespread Iranian retaliation throughout the entire region.

A long, undeclared war

For Iranians, the circumstances that led to the downing of its airliner in 1988 resonate with the present: the direct military action of June 2025, Trump ordering the assassination of Soleimani in January 2020, and economic warfare through sanctions.

The 2015 Iran deal was the first attempt to end the conflict between the two nations that began in the 1980s. The deal was Barack Obama’s major diplomatic triumph, and Trump has been fixated on undoing the policies of his predecessor.

However, the recent escalation between the US and Iran was also a legacy of the Biden administration, which had the chance to de-escalate the long war between Iran and the US after winning the November 2020 elections.

US deployment to the Gulf in the 1980s was disproportionate to the threat to shipping, and was seen by many as a flimsy pretext to seek out war with Iran. A similarly dubious justification – that Iran was just weeks away from a nuclear weapon – was made by Israel to justify its 12-Day War in June 2025.

As of February 2026, the US has initiated the latest round in this conflict. To date, both states managed to escalate without crossing into total war, but that equilibrium may now be breaking down.

The Other Bennet Sister has finally arrived and Jane Austen fans can’t wait to watch

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The Other Bennet Sister, inspired by Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, has finally arrived on screen.

Adapted from Janice Hadlow’s bestselling novel of the same title, The Other Bennet Sister places Mary Bennet centre stage – the often-overlooked middle sister from Pride and Prejudice.

Its official synopsis playfully observes that “whilst we dream of being Lizzy, in reality most of us are more like Mary..”

As BBC viewers prepare for this highly anticipated period drama’s debut, here’s everything you need to know before The Other Bennet Sister launches.

The Other Bennet Sister start time

The Other Bennet Sister will be available to watch on Sunday, March 15, from 8pm on BBC One.

Even better news is that the BBC will broadcast a double bill, with the half-hour episodes shown consecutively, reports the Mirror.

The Other Bennet Sister episode count

The Other Bennet Sister comprises 10 episodes altogether, with the drama returning each Sunday at 8pm for a double bill.

This means the concluding two episodes will air on Sunday, April 12, provided there are no scheduling changes.

For those unwilling to wait that long to discover how events unfold, there is another option.

At 6am on Sunday, March 15, the opening five episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer, allowing audiences to watch ahead of schedule.

However, episodes six through 10 won’t be accessible on BBC iPlayer until their broadcast on Sunday, March 29.

What’s The Other Bennet Sister about?

As previously noted, The Other Bennet Sister is a television adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel, centring on Mary Bennet, the middle sister from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Set in Regency England during the early 19th Century, the official synopsis hints: “The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way.

“Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention.”

Police have released a pictured of Rayan Otthman Mohammed, 25, hasn’t been seen since early February.

He was potentially last seen near Redcar, with a possible sighting reported at a church on Wednesday, February 18, Cleveland Police said.

The force has released a picture of Ryana, described as around 5’9″ tall, with a slim build, black hair, and possibly a moustache.

He is known to wear a woolly hat and typically dresses in dark clothing; however, it is unknown exactly what he was wearing when he was last seen.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: “Police are concerned for his wellbeing and are asking anyone who has seen him or knows where he is to get in touch.”

Members of the public are advised to ring 101 quoting reference SE26046422 if they have any information about Rayan.

Wayne Rooney has called on Manchester United to give Michael Carrick the manager’s job permanently.

The 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday took United clear in third place in the Premier League.

Since he was named head coach for the remainder of the season in January, Carrick has guided his side to seven wins in nine games.

Across his two spells in charge, only Sven Goran Eriksson, Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini have eclipsed his record of six straight home wins at the start of their first Premier League job.

United chiefs want to assess all options before making a decision in the summer and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe refused to be drawn on Carrick’s future when he was asked about it in Shanghai before this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Ratcliffe did say Carrick was doing a good job and Rooney – who was on holiday with his former United and England team-mate when Ruben Amorim was sacked – has no doubts what should happen next.

“100% he should [get the job],” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I knew this was going to happen with Michael Carrick. I know him very well. I know his character and his personality.

“It needed a calm head, but someone who knows the place. The players needed some love, and he has given them that.

“We have seen the players play with more quality, more together as a team, and they look like a very strong team. Why would you change?”

Typically, Carrick would not be drawn on Rooney’s comments. Neither is he getting distracted by the “noise” around his time in charge.

“There’s not that much noise, is there?” he said. “I don’t mean Wayne. I just mean in general.

“It’s only noise if you listen to it. It doesn’t affect me one bit, to be honest.”

Carrick confirmed he had spoken to chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox after the Villa win, but says his sole focus is Friday’s trip to Bournemouth.

“I’m in this position at the moment, doing the best I can, and I’m loving it, obviously,” Carrick said.

“But whatever’s going to happen is going happen. It’s all pretty calm.

“We can definitely enjoy the win and look forward to Friday night. But other than that, that’s all I’m thinking about really.”

American TV host, comedian and writer Conan O’Brien, 62, is hosting the Oscars, for the second year running, after his return was announced just two days after last year’s event

The biggest night of the year for Hollywood is upon us, and the host of this evening’s 98th Academy Awards is American TV host, comedian and writer Conan O’Brien. Conan, 62, is at the helm of this year’s Oscars, for the second year running, after his return was announced just two days after his success of the 2025 ceremony.

Over the past 20 years, the likes of Chris Rock, Regina Hall, Jimmy Kimmel and Amy Schumer have secured themselves the top job. Here we look at this year’s Oscars host, Conan, who previously hosted the Emmys in 2002 and 2006.

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Just two days after he hosted last year’s Oscars, Conan was announced to be returning in 2026. Academy CEO Bill Kramer and its president, Janey Yang, said it was an “honour” to work with Conan in 2025, saying that he was “the perfect host – skilfully guiding us through the evening with humour, warmth and reverence.”

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Conan joked at the time: “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” taking a jab at The Brutalist star’s speech after he won Best Actor.

Outside of his Oscars hosting, Conan has been involved in pretty much every section of the media. At the moment, he has been working on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, since 2018, where he chats with celebrities.

He has also been working on Conan O’Brien Must Go, a travel series where he visits fans he met through his spin-off podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan. He also founded Team Coco, a media brand that produces his content – it was acquired in 2022 by SiriusXM.

Conan is also set to make his film debut in the movie If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, so who knows – he may be a future nominee at the Academy Awards. Previously, he cut his teeth as a writer in the late 1980s, writing for Saturday Night Live and then The Simpsons.

He is best known State-side for hosting Late Night with Conan O’Brien between 1993 and 2009, The Tonight Show from 2009 to 2010 and Conan from 2010 to 2021. Conan spoke before the 2026 Oscar nominees were announced in January, telling fans they could expect “a lot of magic” from tonight’s show.

He said: “We have a lot of possibilities. Early on, you just generate possibilities for the show: ‘What might we do?; You have to wait and see which movies are nominated, what’s in the zeitgeist, so there’ll be a lot of ideas that come in late. Sometimes those are the best ideas.”

He added: “There’ll be some explosions, CGI will be used. I see this second Oscars as an opportunity to take things up a notch.”

Who is Conan O’Brien’s wife?

Conan married his wife, Elizabeth Ann ‘Liza’ Powel in 2002, after they met in 1999, when she was a copywriter at ad agency Foote, Cone & Belding. She appeared in a sketch on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, with the pair hitting it off, and dating for almost 18 months.

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The couple tied the knot in Liza’s home city of Seattle, and had two children, daughter, Neve, 22, and son Beckett, 20. The couple fought to raise their children out of the public eye, with Conan explaining in 2014: “I don’t take my children to premieres. I don’t want my kids living in a zero-gravity environment just because I happened to get lucky. I think I’m a good dad, but I don’t want them around show business.”

How much is Conan O’Brien paid for the Oscars?

Although no official amount has been revealed about a fee for the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel previously claimed he was paid $15,000 to host the awards – so it’s likely Conan will be receiving similar. Wanda Sykes, who hosted the Oscars in 2022 with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2022.

They were discussing their roles, with Jimmy saying: “I got paid $15,000 to host the Oscars. And there was one of me! You know it probably sounds like a lot for one night, but it’s months of work leading up to it. You’re getting robbed.”

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Jimmy also revealed in August 2024 that he turned down the Oscars job for 2025, telling Entertainment Weekly: “It’s hard and it’s a lot of work and the show suffers a little bit to be honest.

“When I’m focused on the Oscars, I’m less focused on the show. And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year. You wind up pushing everything off till after the Oscars, then you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars after the Oscars.”

Conan O’Brien’s net worth

It seems the fee for the job of hosting the Oscars would be of little interest to Conan, who is worth an eye-watering $200 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. After his years of presenting, podcasts, media brand and now acting – he is not short of cash.

His wise move of selling Team Coco to SiriusXM in 2022 reportedly earned him a tidy $150 million, and he reportedly receievd a $32.5 million settlement form NBC after leaving The Tonight Show in 2010. Outside of his media money-making, Conan has made a fortune from real estate, after investing in various properties in New York and California.

The Oscars will air on ITV1 and ITVX tonight at 10.15pm

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The UK military is considering the deployment of two drone types to the Middle East after the US asked allies for help to secure a key shipping lane in the region, it is understood.

Donald Trump has urged the UK and other countries to send warships to the region to help secure the Strait of Hormuz after Iran closed the shipping route, causing oil prices to spike.

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“We are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region,” the government said in a statement to Sky News.

Which drones could be deployed?

As the situation in the Middle East is heating up, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told Sky News that the government “will explore” using interceptor drones – which proved successful against the Iranian Shahed-type drones used by Russia in Ukraine – for the UK armed forces in the future.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that another type of drone being considered for deployment is mine-hunter drones.

“There are a range of things that we can do, including autonomous mine-hunting equipment. And that’s something we’re obviously looking at,” he said.

He added the government was “intensively” looking at what it could do to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, vowing the UK will “work with our allies” to do so.

What are mine-hunting drones?

Several oil tankers have come under fire when they tried to pass through the strait, which lies to the south of Iran, and there is speculation Tehran has started placing mines in the passage.

The UK could deploy autonomous mine-hunting drones to counter this threat.

Defence Secretary John Healey said earlier this week: “Now I’ve already got prepositioned in the region from before this conflict some autonomous mine hunting systems, and I’ve been talking to the planners today about additional options that we could bring to bear alongside allies if action is needed.”

The Royal Navy has four mine-hunting drone systems either in operation or development, including the Sweep system, made up of an uncrewed surface vessel and sophisticated payloads, SeaCat, which has two uncrewed surface vessels and three sets of uncrewed underwater vehicles to search for underwater threats, and the MMCM programme.

Another is the Wilton system, which contains crewed and uncrewed surface vessels, mine-detection payloads and remote command centres. This is already in operation in the Clyde area of Scotland and the Gulf, according to the MoD.

“The Royal Navy does have this capability, which is developing very fast,” Sky News’ military analyst Michael Clarke said.

Not tested in combat

With the Sweep system, instead of using specialist minesweeper ships, the military could use robots – “but it’s a fairly young system”, Clarke added.

“It’s never been tested in combat, as far as I know. This might be its first test, if the government is prepared to deploy it.

“So the government is certainly interested in offering this. I think what we can’t offer is minesweeping ships. The last one, HMS Middleton, was withdrawn about a week ago, so we don’t have any ships we can offer.”

The drones could be deployed from the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group, which is currently stationed in the Middle East, according to The Sunday Times.

It is not known how many drones are in service and could be deployed, the paper reports.

How do they work?

The drones scour seabeds using sonar technology to detect explosive threats in the water at depths of nearly 1,000ft (304m).

Mine-hunting systems can replicate a ship’s signature, which tricks sea mines into detonating safely.

Read more:
How Iran can block the Strait of Hormuz
Why US was careful when bombing Iran’s ‘crown jewel’

They can be operated remotely from land or sea, keeping sailors out of danger, according to Jonathan Reed-Beviere, Mine Hunting Capability Programme Director for the Royal Navy.

What are interceptor drones?

Interceptor drones are easier and cheaper to produce than long-range strike drones.

They cost less than 10% to produce than the Iranian Shahed drones they are designed to intercept in Russia, which have an estimated cost of up to £36,000.

The UK announced in September that it would begin large-scale production of advanced interceptor drones to help Ukraine defend against Russian aerial assaults.

The Octopus drones, designed by Ukraine with support from British scientists, are highly effective at destroying the Shahed drones Moscow continues to launch at Ukrainian cities, according to the MoD.

It is understood that the UK government is now considering using the interceptor drones against Iran’s Shahed drones in the Middle East.

“While Octopus production is for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East has shown the benefits of Ukrainian technology, and, in the future we will explore use for the UK Armed Forces,” an MoD spokesperson said.

“Production of British-built Octopus interceptor drones has begun and we are accelerating this work to boost Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian drone attacks.”

But this option is understood to be at a much earlier stage of consideration than a potential mine-hunting drone deployment.

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Ukraine’s drone interceptors

Would leave Ukraine short

“Ukrainians, with quite a lot of British help, have developed a couple of super-accurate and very potent interceptor drones. They don’t have to explode anything, just hit it,” military analyst Clarke said.

“If they can be produced in big enough numbers, they could have potentially quite a big role to play in this conflict. If they could be transferred to the Middle East quickly enough, and they could be ready within weeks, they could have a major potential impact.”

But Clarke said deploying interceptor drones to the Middle East would have one major downside.

“Ukraine needs all the drones it can get. It is not good for them if the stock gets rerouted for political reasons and it would be quite a sacrifice for Ukraine to send 20,000 to 30,000 drones to the Middle East and would leave themselves short of them,” he said.

How do interceptor drones work?

Interceptor drones like the Octopus drone can reach speeds of around 186mph (300kmph) at an altitude of up to 14,800ft (4,500m).

“Octopus interceptors use frontline battlefield data to defeat Shahed-style drones before they reach homes, hospitals and power stations,” the MoD said.

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UK considering options to help defend shipping in Strait of Hormuz

They do so by directly colliding with the target or detonating in close proximity to it after the incoming enemy drone is picked up by a radar.

Read more: Meet Ukraine’s underground drone interceptor squad

They are equipped with four rotors, a camera and automatic targeting.

Interceptor drones can be launched from mobile or stationary platforms in quick succession and have sensors and navigation systems onboard to be able to quickly pivot in pursuit of a target.

The US and Israel assassinated Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a joint operation in late February. In a post on social media, Donald Trump boasted that Khamenei was “unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems”. Trump added that “there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do”.

The US helped plan the operation, provided key intelligence to identify Khamenei’s location and destroyed Iranian defences to pave a path for his executioners. But the US did not pull the trigger. Israeli warplanes launched the strikes that ultimately killed Khamenei.

While the rationale for this division of labour is unclear, it is not unusual for US assassination plots. Declassified documents, some of which we have published ourselves at the National Security Archive, a research institute at George Washington University, reveal striking details about the long history of the US seeking allies and proxies willing to cooperate to kill.

However, these previous operations offer a clear warning. More often than not, they made matters worse – prolonging wars, fuelling local chaos, straining US relations with the targeted state and creating the conditions for future violence.

Cold war assassinations

During the cold war, the US relied on Cuban exiles and the American mafia in its many assassination attempts against Fidel Castro of Cuba. The failed attempts between 1960 and 1962 contributed to moving Castro closer to the Soviet Union and paved the way for the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, which is widely considered the cold war’s most dangerous episode.

Around the same time, the Eisenhower administration entered into confrontation with Patrice Lumumba, the first elected prime minister of Congo. President Dwight Eisenhower and the then-CIA director, Allen Dulles, came to see Lumumba as unable at best and a communist stooge at worst.

While the US started working on a coup with Belgium, an ally and the former colonial power in Congo, assassination emerged as a policy option. US intelligence officials created the poison that was supposed to kill Lumumba, which was to be injected into his food or toothpaste by a local ally.

When that plot fizzled out, the US government contributed to the manhunt that delivered Lumumba to a firing squad of his domestic enemies in 1961. CIA officials later admitted that, while they were squeamish regarding the use of poison, they had no problem in delivering Lumumba to his enemies – even if this entailed a certainty of his killing.

Also in 1961, the CIA armed and supported local proxies – including by reviewing their plans – for the assassination of the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo. Chaos ensued in the following years, contributing to a full-scale US invasion in 1965.

Setting the conditions for a military coup that was likely to lead to assassination was also at the centre of the 1963 killing of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr, the US ambassador to South Vietnam at the time, told President John F. Kennedy that the US had planted the seed for the coup and created a fertile ground where it could flourish.

While top CIA officials were initially reluctant to support a military coup, the agency had an operative, Lucien Conein, in close contact with South Vietnamese generals as the events took place. Kennedy was apparently shocked in learning that Diệm had been brutally murdered. To this, his chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Maxwell Taylor, remarked: “What did he expect?”

Starting in the 1980s, the US government turned its attention to the Libyan and Iraqi leaders, Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. The Reagan administration supported the National Front for the Liberation of Libya in its ultimately unsuccessful efforts to overthrow and kill Gaddafi.

And in its confrontation with Hussein, the Bush Sr administration often called for a “palace coup” that could lead to the elimination of the Iraqi leader – although not necessarily of his regime. This confrontation spilled over into Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990s.

The US government supported Kurdish forces – something the Trump administration is considering in Iran – and members of the Iraqi opposition in a series of efforts to mount a coup. Many of these plots were deeply infiltrated and some were dismantled before they could start. A plot against Hussein involving the Kurds in 1996 was marred by betrayals. They all ended in disaster.

‘War on terror’

The “war on terror” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the opportunities that new technologies such as armed drones had created meant the US became engaged more directly in the assassination of terrorist leaders. And yet, even at the height of the war on terror, the US at times showed an unwillingness to pull the trigger itself.

Israeli investigative journalist Ronen Bergman has reported that the Bush Jr administration agreed to cooperate with Israel to kill Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in 2008. But they agreed to do so on three clear conditions: the strike should be kept secret, Mughniyeh alone would be killed and Americans would not do the killing. Mughniyeh was killed by a car bomb placed in his SUV by Mossad agents with key American assistance.

Trump has shown a proclivity for assassinations with what appears to be little concern for the implications of his actions. In his first term, again in collaboration with Israel, the US did pull the trigger in the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. This act escalated matters with Iran and made it more likely that a war would materialise in the future.

With Khamenei, the US preferred to let Israel do the actual killing. The assassination is likely to make Khamenei a martyr and provides the Iranian regime an avenue for cohesion when its internal legitimacy was under severe strain. Collaborating to kill can lead to tactical success, but the costs are often grim.

Steve Borthwick will enter next week’s Rugby Football Union’s investigation into England’s worst performance in Six Nations history with the support of his players, according to Jamie George.

England finished fifth in the table following a 48-46 defeat by France in Paris on Saturday night, with their victory over Wales in round one the solitary win from a tournament that began amid high expectation but ended in crushing disappointment.

The RFU reviews every campaign using an anonymous panel of internal and external individuals, including former players, but on this occasion Borthwick will be asked to provide the explanations and fixes for the team’s four-match losing run in the knowledge he is fighting for his future.

England’s head coach has already been backed by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney, although the statement released after the 23-18 loss to Italy in round four declined to look beyond the build-up to the Nations Championship, which begins against South Africa on July 3.

On March 13 1996, a man walked into a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, armed with four handguns and several hundred rounds of ammunition. In the school gymnasium, he killed 16 young children and their teacher, and injured many others. This horrific tragedy prompted significant gun control reforms, including a ban on civilian possession of most handguns.

But 30 years later, the UK’s gun safety issues have not been fully solved. Two mass shootings in subsequent years, in Cumbria and Plymouth, add to the evidence that gun law reform in Britain has largely been event-driven. Changes only happened following tragedies – preventing future tragedies has been overlooked.

À lire aussi :
After the Plymouth attack, British gun laws under scrutiny

Shotgun regulation has been a particular problem. Shotguns are far more frequently criminally misused than other types of licensed firearm. In the year ending March 2025, 346 shotguns were criminally misused, compared to just 76 rifles. Shotguns are also far more frequently lost or stolen, thereby contributing to illegal firearm supply.

Over the last two decades, there have been 68 domestic firearms deaths, murders and murder/suicides. The perpetrator is almost always a male gun owner, with victims disproportionately female, and most likely to be shot using a licensed firearm.

At the root of these problems are gaps in the process by which police grant firearms certificates. All of Britain’s mass shootings have been perpetrated using licensed, legally owned firearms.

Since Dunblane, police firearm licensing has attracted increasing scrutiny from many quarters. There are concerns about the diligence shown by police firearm licensing units when assessing the suitability of applicants or renewals. Until 2021, very few gun licences were revoked. However, in recent years the number of revoked certificates has increased.

Police have failed to identify disqualifying factors, or overlooked falsehoods made on gun licence applications. And in a number of recent domestic shooting tragedies, police have carelessly returned confiscated firearms to unsuitable people.

Different licensing standards

Many of these challenges are rooted in the complexity of the 1968 Firearms Act, which creates different licensing standards for rifles and shotguns. Rifles were originally thought to be “more lethal” because of their power and range. But of course, this means nothing in close domestic settings.

Meanwhile, the recent statutory safety guidance to police makes it absolutely clear that no-one denied a rifle certificate on safety and suitability grounds should ever be permitted a shotgun. A single licensing standard could significantly simplify matters.

After the Plymouth shooting in 2021, the coroner identified a “catastrophic failure” in shotgun licensing, and made a number of recommendations. These included improving nationally-accredited training for firearms enquiry officers, better resourcing of licensing departments, improved information sharing between police and health authorities and tighter statutory guidance. Importantly, it also included subjecting both shotguns and rifles to the same rigorous safety standards.

Following a shooting incident in Euston in 2023, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggested that the rules for the licensing of shotguns should be aligned with the more rigorous standards applied to rifles.

These proposals were broadly endorsed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. The College of Policing began a major overhaul of firearm licensing procedures and the training of firearms enquiry officers. That programme is currently being rolled out. In August 2025, the Home Office announced additional proposals to tighten the licensing process, but promised to consult on the changes.

Shooting representatives have objected to many of the proposals, voicing concerns about increased costs and further inconvenience to gun owners. They have longstanding complaints about delays and alleged inefficiencies in the licensing process. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation, effectively parliament’s own gun lobby, organised a petition and debate to resist the proposal to combine the licensing standards.

Firearms controls fit for the future

There is unlikely to be any single quick fix for the deeply-rooted problems facing firearm licensing in the UK. The key legislation is outdated and exhibits “labyrinthine complexity”.

The law has been substantially amended at least nine times and supplemented by new case law and guidance. Yet it still contains major gaps, contradictions and ambiguities. It has been outpaced by new firearm trends and technologies such as 3D-printing, online marketing and new weapons trafficking practices.

Another area of concern involves the country’s forensic science capacity, which a recent House of Lords committee report described as “dysfunctional” and barely fit for purpose.

Recent research has also exposed important information gaps undermining the capability of the National Firearms Licensing Management System. And the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, which coordinates the country’s hitherto successful national intelligence-led approach to gun crime since 2008, is not fully utilised by all police forces. This significantly affects its ability to develop a thorough intelligence-led assessment of illegal firearms in the country and reduce gun crime.

Successful firearm safety depends on many factors: clear national policies, precise laws, vigilant policing, scrupulous licensing processes and effective intelligence capabilities. In the case of Dunblane and Plymouth, tragedy energised political will and overcame opposition to firearm safety reforms. We must continue to work for public safety today, we cannot wait for another tragedy.

Having a run in the first team at such a young age does not mean that future progress will not be without potential setbacks.

Myles Lewis-Skelly broke into the Gunners team last season at the age of 18, and played and scored for England.

But this season, he has only started once in the Premier League – although he is a regular in the Champions League.

Arsenal winger Ethan Nwaneri is the only player to make his Premier League debut at a younger age than Dowman (15 years and 181 days – 54 days younger than his team-mate).

Last season, aged 17, he scored nine times in 37 appearances for the Gunners, but he joined Marseille on loan in January after struggling for game time this term.

Ward says Dowman’s family “have to get used to is the milestones of disappointment”.

“It’s important for the parents to handle it properly, to realise this could end at some point because of injury,” she said.

“There might be a point where he doesn’t get as much game time so he has to play for the under-21s or 23s. It’s how you then cope with that.

“To be fair to Arteta, when he played Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, it was a necessity because they had injuries. That experience helped Arteta because you have to be a really brave manager to play a kid.

“For Arsenal it’s about managing the ups and downs, because it’s not a straight line. Hopefully that won’t be the best thing to happen to him as a player, but for plenty of players that has been the best thing in their career.”

Many of the players in the youngest 10 Premier League goalscorers ever went on to have hugely successful careers including James Milner, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Michael Owen.

But James Vaughan, the previous record holder before Dowman, spent the majority of his career in the EFL and retired aged 32 at League Two Tranmere.

“I don’t think it’s possible to stay fearless,” Vaughan told Sky Sports in 2021., external “As you become a first-team player regularly there’s people’s wages, jobs and careers on the line.

“You know you’re responsible for part of that, and you have to take that responsibility on. But as a kid you don’t have that so you can just go out and play and enjoy your football.”