A three-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition after allegedly being thrown into a crocodile enclosure at Johnson’s of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire, as a 30-year-old man has been arrested

A zoo owner’s wife leapt into a crocodile enclosure in a desperate bid to rescue a seriously injured three-year-old boy who was allegedly hurled in by a stranger.

Police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after being called to Johnson’s of Old Hurst, in Huntingdonshire, at 1.24pm on Thursday to “reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure”, Cambridgeshire Police said.

A local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the zoo owner’s wife, Tracey Johnson, leapt into the enclosure in an attempt to rescue the youngster.

A villager said: “Apparently, the wife of the zoo owner, Tracey Johnson, jumped in to the enclosure to save the child.”

The boy was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries and remains critical but stable, the force confirmed. A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.

Detective Inspector Verity McCann said: “At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances. We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other. Officers are supporting the boy’s family at hospital and our thoughts remain with them.”

In a social media statement, Johnson’s announced that “out of respect to the family” Tropical House will remain shut until further notice. They added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today.”

The ambulance service confirmed that an ambulance, a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance officer vehicle and an air ambulance were sent to the scene. A uniformed officer was standing guard at an entrance to the site on Thursday evening, with a marked police vehicle parked nearby in the car park.

The zoo sits off a quiet, tree-lined country lane in the village of Old Hurst, surrounded by residential properties, and also boasts a tea room, farm shop and steakhouse on site.

The attraction is home to over 100 animals, amongst them lions, tigers, sloth bears, capybaras and meerkats. The crocodiles are housed inside a tropical building within a converted cattle shed, while other animals are kept in outdoor enclosures.

The Johnson family has been caring for and working with crocodiles for the past two decades. Current owner Andy Johnson has been involved in producing a “European published dossier on the farming, welfare and husbandry of crocodilians”, according to the zoo’s website.

Neighbour Mike Annicelli, 52, who lives near the zoo, said he had visited before and felt perfectly safe there. Describing the crocodile enclosure, he said: “Everything is elevated, you’re far away from the animals.”

He described a “raised platform” and estimated the crocodiles were roughly 15ft below, adding that fencing ran along the walkways, which he believed stood around 4ft high.

Local councillor Charlotte Lowe admitted she “can’t fathom” how the young boy ended up inside the crocodile enclosure.

Speaking outside the attraction on Thursday evening, the Huntingdonshire District Council councillor for Warboys ward said: “I can’t fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there.” She went on to say: “This incident, I think it’s shocked an awful lot of people, especially the locals.”

Ben Obese-Jecty, the MP for Huntingdon, said: “I am aware of the incident at Johnson’s of Old Hurst and have been liaising with senior officers at Gold Command who are treating this as a critical incident.

“This is now a live criminal investigation and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online. The police will provide an update with further information in due course. My thoughts are with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time.”

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Alastair Torrance, deputy chairman of Old Hurst Parish Council, said: “I do feel enormously for the family of the child. It must’ve been absolutely terrible for the child and the family.”

A spokesperson for Huntingdonshire District Council said: “We are aware of the serious incident that has taken place today at Johnson’s of Old Hurst. Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family at this very difficult time. We are working closely with partners, including Cambridgeshire Police. We urge people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding this incident while inquiries are ongoing.”

The police were called at around 4pm today (Thursday) by concerned members of the public who had seen the main apparently holding the gun in Church Street, Norton.

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A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “We are aware of this incident and enquiries are ongoing.”

“Earlier today (18 June), we received reports of a man acting suspiciously on Church Street in Norton.

“The man has come forward to assist with our enquiries as we continue our investigation into the incident.

“We would like to reassure you all that there are no risks to the public and thank you to everyone who called in with their concerns.”

Anyone with further information should contact police on 101 quoting 12260112863.

Residents have taken legal action against the operators of the North Wales landfill site, but some councillors recently said complaints have decreased

Residents in a long-running battle with a landfill site over the unpleasant smell coming from it are taking legal action against the operators. More than 140 households impacted by the odour coming from Hafod Landfill Site in North Wales recently joined a group legal action against Enovert after legal firm Hugh James agreed to support their case.

The firm said it had agreed to support residents’ action to “ensure that the landfill is operating with due respect to its neighbours without emitting excessive odour levels” following a Senedd Petition’s Committee report published earlier this year.

That inquiry found that monitoring data showed clear breaches of nuisance odour threshold as defined by the World Health Organisation, but not enough that it was considered a risk to public health. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

Now families from Johnstown, Ruabon and Rhos are looking to take the matter to court. Stephanie Eedy, Partner in the Environmental team at Hugh James, said: “For years, residents have described the serious impact this alleged odour nuisance has had on their daily lives.

“The Senedd committee’s findings now underline the scale of that failure. We are acting for residents in a group claim for loss of enjoyment of their homes and gardens.

“This action is about securing redress for those affected and pushing for proper steps to protect residents going forward.

“This is not about shutting a site down or threatening jobs. It is about accountability, fair treatment and ensuring the community does not have to endure an unreasonable nuisance.

“Some of our clients have described the odour as ‘a very strong gas and rotting stench’ and a ‘smell like rotten eggs and burning’ which is pungent and lasts all day.

“Some have had to cancel gatherings on several occasions, claiming it is impossible to sit outdoors and enjoy weather because of the odour, which lingers on clothing meaning they cannot hang washing outdoors.”

One of the lead campaigners against the landfill site, Steve Gittins, said the problem which has blighted residents for 19 years has not been resolved and claims residents are still fighting to get good air quality data to see exactly what is going on at the site, which has an environmental permit to operate until 2062.

“The air quality data that is supposed to be posted to the citizens page as part of Enovert’s engagement with the community has been unavailable for two months because apparently you need an Enovert password to access it.

“The measurement of fugitive emissions outside of the perimeter of landfill by AQ Mesh pods (technology that samples air quality in real-time) seems intermittent. Then the recent rainfall has led to more leachate – smelly, contaminated water running off the site into the drains. It is still creating real problems for residents.”

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) which enforces Enovert’s environmental permit, said: “We take residents’ concerns about odour from Hafod Landfill, operated by Enovert, very seriously and recognise the impact this can have on the local community.

“We continue to regulate the site in line with its environmental permit and will investigate reports of potential pollution. The site operator is required to minimise odour at all times, including during planned works, and we expect them to comply with these requirements.

“Ambient air quality monitoring is not required under the environmental permit and data from AQ Mesh pods are not used when assessing compliance.

“The operator has been progressing actions specified in site action plans, including the installation of new landfill gas wells, capping works, and the development of a new cell.

“These measures are intended to enhance landfill gas capture and reduce the potential for emissions and off-site odours. We are monitoring this through regular inspections, data review, and compliance checks.

“Where permit breaches are identified, we will consider appropriate action in line with our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy. We will continue to keep the site under close review and take further action where necessary to protect the community.”

More recently, Wrexham Council councillors said complaints against the landfill site have decreased in recent months. Enovert was commended by members of the local authority’s homes and environment scrutiny committee on Wednesday for initiatives over the previous 17 months to bring emissions under control.

Complaints about nuisance odour have dropped from 548 in 2025 – reaching a peak in January that year of 260 – to 294 thus far this year – once more peaking in January with 174. The overall trajectory of complaints submitted by the public is downward.

Speaking to the committee, James Hladkij, Enovert’s Group Environmental Manager, said: “We had a massive spike in air quality complaints in January 2025.

“As the year went on, odour complaints declined. Unfortunately, they’re still well above the levels that we want and expect.

“In January 2026 again we saw a peak and complaint numbers have slowly reduced.

“For 98% of the time the two off-site community pods measured below the effective detection limit of eight parts per billion of Hydrogen Sulphide, which is the annoyance level.

“Around 96% of the time, the pods were well below that on-site too. So that gives you an indication of the levels we’re receiving.

“Every complaint Enovert receives is investigated where possible and all are logged on our internal systems. We don’t want to damage the community around Hafod.

“We’ve provided all the data and reports to Public Health Wales, who came back and said that they weren’t concerned at the current levels. They did say if there was an escalation in levels they would want to know about it and investigate.”

Rhys Ellie, NRW’s Industry and Waste Regulation Team Leader, noted that monitoring of the site had shifted its primary focus to leachate management.

“Since the start of January, we did 48 off-site odour monitoring assessments,” he said. “These determined that landfill gas odours are more prevalent around New Hall Road and the site entrance.

“The main headline is concentrating on leachate management and infrastructure. We will continue to monitor progress with a key objective of reducing leachate levels to within current permitted limits.”

Cllr Paul Pemberton, who last year criticised Enovert about the odour coming from the landfill site, also acknowledged that progress had been made.

“It’s come on leaps and bounds,” he said. “I have Just one question, do you think the reduction in complaints is caused because complainants felt they were being ignored or feel it’s not worth complaining going forward?”.

“It can take a long time for them to restore their faith in the system.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, lead member for strategic planning and public protection, stated that the decline in complaints was consistent with the data showing reduced odour emissions.

“When you look at the data the odour, which is the source of most of the complaints in the residential areas, is virtually down to zero level and has resulted in zero complaints.

“The data behind the complaint confirms that the smells are effectively disappearing and therefore the source of the complaints has disappeared.”

Cllr John Phillips concurred that conditions in the area were considerably improved compared to January 2025.

“From where we were 18 months ago to where we are today, it’s improved,” he said. “I’d like to pass my thanks on to everyone at Enovert and NRW.

“It’s about keeping that momentum going, continuing to be a good neighbour. I think that is important. I don’t live in Johnstown, but I’m in Johnstown virtually every day and in all honesty, from a personal point of view, I’ve seen a difference.”

Dyson’s handheld fan doesn’t look like a regular bladed model. Tall and cylindrical, it doesn’t have spinning blades but a precision nozzle with a honeycomb mesh liner that can be rotated 360 degrees so you can point it whichever direction you like.

You can place it on your desk or attach the included lanyard and wear it around your neck – and it’s probably the best wearable implementation I’ve seen on a handheld fan so far.

Coming in ink/cobalt, carnelian/sky and stone/blush – I’ve been testing the latter, a delicate pink colour that matches Dyson’s other vibrantly-coloured gear. A doddle to set up, it charges via USB-C at the base of the fan. Flick the switch up to turn it on and out comes a nice, strong airflow.

What’s special about Dyson’s handheld fan compared to most is the sheer power it delivers – not a surprise, given Dyson’s cooling heritage and its range of fans for the home. There are six different fan speeds. The sixth (boost mode) can only be activated by holding down the plus button. Dyson obviously doesn’t want you to use it all the time.

Inside the fan is a brushless DC motor that Dyson says spins up to 65,000RPM, and on boost mode, that delivers wind speeds of 55mph. It’s really impressive. Boost mode is so intense and actually gives me a little shiver whenever I used it. Most of the time, level five has been sufficient enough to keep me adequately cool.

It does get quite loud on level five and boost mode, but I’ve tested a lot of handheld fans for The Independent, and the hushjet mini cool is one of the quietest I’ve tested at its high airflow speeds.

You get six hours on a single charge when using the lowest fan speed – a setting I barely touched in the heatwave. On the higher settings, it’ll only last an hour. You can charge the fan and use it at the same time, but annoyingly, it won’t let you use it beyond level one. It takes roughly three hours to charge to full once depleted. It’s an impressive bit of machinery, but worth the price?

At £99, I’m not too sure. My favourite handheld fan (the Commem turbo fan) costs a tenner and delivers what feels to me like a similar amount of airflow on the highest setting. Although it’s significantly louder than the Dyson hushjet mini cool, I don’t really mind the noise. If you do, then the Dyson might be the better choice, but it’s just as powerful and doesn’t cost nearly as much.

When comparing the Dyson hushjet mini cool to Shark’s £130 three-in-one chillpill, I found that, while it isn’t as powerful as the Dyson in terms of raw fan speed, it actually made me feel cooler. That’s largely down to the misting feature, which sprays a fine mist of water at your face. The Dyson hushjet mini cool is more of a traditional handheld fan – the airflow is incredibly strong, but when the air itself is hot, it sometimes feels as though I was simply having warm air blown back at me.

That doesn’t make the hushjet mini cool bad – far from it. It has excellent build quality, powerful airflow and quiet operation at higher speeds. But it’s very expensive for what it is. If you just want something to keep you cool, cheaper options will do the same job, making the Dyson a tricky handheld fan to recommend.

Key specifications

• Speed settings: 6
• Battery life: 5 hours on lowest speed, 1 hour on highest speed
• Weight: 212g

The chillpill has, let’s say, a rather unique design – it looks a bit like a compact pair of binoculars, with two rounded barrels sitting side by side and connected by a hinge. The smaller barrel houses the controls and charging port, while the larger one contains the motor and interchangeable attachments. There’s a dial around the LED display on the smaller barrel too, letting you crank the fan speed up from one to 10.

You can angle the fan exactly where you want it, or twist it into a right angle and sit it on a desk, using the smaller barrel as a base. Shark also sells accessories, like a crossbody strap (£9.99, Sharkclean.co.uk), so you don’t have to constantly hold it in your hand.

While it’s kind of awkward to hold at first, the tech is actually pretty neat. Unlike most handheld fans, which just blow a nice breeze in your direction, the chillpill uses a modular attachment system – yes, exactly like you’d get with a Shark vacuum.

It ships with the standard fan head attached, but you also get a misting attachment and a cooling plate in the box, so you can swap between them depending on how you want to cool down. The cooling plate is the most power-hungry of the three, lasting around an hour and a half per charge, which makes sense given it’s actively generating a cooling effect. With the fan and misting attachments, you can get up to 11 hours of battery, depending on the speed setting.

With Shark’s experience in airflow, it’s no surprise the fan is seriously powerful – far more so than the cheap handheld ones you’d buy off someone on Oxford Street in July. It does get loud at higher speeds, but that’s the trade-off for that extra punch.

I think the most interesting attachment is the misting spray. You open the lid, fill it up with cold water, then screw it onto the barrel. Turn it on and you get a fine spray of water, along with the airflow. It feels like a cold shower just for your face. Having used it in 23C heat, it’s easily the device’s best feature. The airflow and mist deliver a really refreshing cooling effect, and it makes a noticeable difference compared to a standard handheld fan. That said, while you can turn down the fan speed, it still releases the same amount of water, so it’s easy to get bathed in water if you leave it running continuously.

Thankfully, you can switch between a constant spray and an intermittent mode, which helps rein it in a bit (and saves battery too).

I was most excited about the cooling plate, which is one of the interchangeable attachments designed for direct, contact-based cooling rather than airflow. Once you screw it on, you can choose between two cooling settings, and the metal plate gets noticeably cold to the touch.

It’s great for targeted relief – press it against your neck or wrist and you get an instant cooling effect, but unlike Sony’s reon pocket pro, you have to hold it in place. That makes it less effective for longer, hands-free cooling, even if the sensation itself already feels nice.

Key specifications

• Fan speeds: 10
• Weight: 350g
• Battery life: Up to 11 hours

Lewis Burns pleaded guilty after deliberately driving his car towards his victim in Edinburgh in February.

A man has been jailed after using “his car as a weapon” in an attempt to murder a man in Edinburgh. Lewis Burns, 31, pleaded guilty to a number of charges in May following the murder bid in February.

Emergency services were called to Lochend Drive in the city’s Lochend area shortly before 10pm on Tuesday, February 3 after Burns deliberately drove his car at a 36-year-old man twice.

Burns made off from the scene and the victim was taken to hospital for treatment.

Nine days after the attack, Burns was one of two men arrested by police. The second man, a 35-year-old arrested in connection with attempting to pervert the course of justice, was later released.

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In May, Burns pleaded guilty to assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and attempted murder. At sentencing today, Burns was jailed for six years for the murder bid and banned from driving for eight years.

Detective Inspector Gavin Howat said: “Burns deliberately drove at his victim not once but twice. He used his car as a weapon that day and he is now facing the consequences of his actions. I hope today’s outcome affords the victim a degree of justice as they continue to move forward with their life.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to more than six years for attempted murder and other offences at the High Court in Edinburgh.

“Lewis Burns pleaded guilty in May this year to assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and attempted murder.

“It follows an investigation into an incident which occurred on Tuesday, February 3, when police were called to a report of a collision involving a pedestrian and a vehicle on Lochend Drive.

“Burns was also banned from driving for more than eight years.”

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A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident

A councillor said she hopes the family of a three-year-old boy in critical condition gets “some closure” after an incident involving a zoo’s crocodile enclosure. An investigation has been launched after police were called to the zoo at 1.24pm on Thursday, June 18, to reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy.

A force spokesperson said the boy “ended up” in the crocodile enclosure. It is not yet clear exactly how this is believed to have happened.

The boy has been taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with serious injuries and is critical but stable. Specially trained officers are at the hospital supporting the boy’s family.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Detectives from the Major Crime Unit are investigating. The force does not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.

Councillor Charlotte Lowe, who represents the Warboys Ward on Huntingdonshire District Council, spoke to CambridgeshireLive at the scene. She said her “stomach just dropped” as she heard the news.

The councillor said she “just couldn’t believe it”. She said “I just thought, it can’t be here, it can’t be Johnson’s”. Cllr Lowe, who became aware of the incident at around 5pm, said her thoughts automatically questioned “how on earth has this happened?”

The moment she was told, Cllr Lowe said she “just had to show her support” even if “it was to give somebody a hug”. Cllr Lowe added: “I couldn’t not come with something like this. It will affect everybody, the locals, the villages especially, and all the villages around.

“Everybody that comes here is going to think ‘Oh my, how could this happen?’ It is like all other incidents that have happened in Cambridgeshire; you remember it.”

Cllr Lowe described the incident as “unbelievable”. She said she hopes that the investigation will give the family “some sort of result, and some closure” by answering the questions of what has happened and why it has happened?

Explaining her thoughts, the councillor added that “with the health and safety, you can’t possibly think that something like this would happen”.

Just days before the incident, on Tuesday, June 16, Johnsons won an award for ‘Best Family Experience’ across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Cllr Lowe said she “just can’t imagine” what everyone involved is feeling, adding “not just the family” but the “workers here and the owners”.

Det Insp Verity McCann said: “At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances.

“We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other. Officers are supporting the boy’s family at hospital, and our thoughts remain with them.”

A local resident, who asked not to be named, described the incident as “horrendous”. They said there are dangerous animals at the zoo but “I don’t think anyone could have predicted it”, the resident added. They feel as though this will “not be good” for Johnson’s.

Johnsons has confirmed that the Tropical House part of the site will be closed until further notice. A spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today.

“Out of respect to the family, our Tropical House will remain closed until further notice. If you have any questions about the incident, please direct enquiries to Cambridgeshire Police Constabulary. The rest of the site will remain open as normal.”

Two people are in custody

Two people have been arrested after a man was stabbed in Piccadilly Gardens tonight (Thursday, June 18).

Emergency services attended shortly after 7.20pm after reports of a ‘large disturbance.’

Officers found a man in his 20s with injuries ‘consistent with a knife’, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

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He was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.

A 24-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of affray. They are both currently in custody for questioning.

Tony Farrell, 55, who lives in the Northern Quarter, was passing the Gardens earlier this evening and said he suddenly heard ‘sirens coming from all directions.’

He said: “I saw a man on the floor. I didn’t think much of it at first but then I saw police officers around him, tending to him and giving him first aid.

“He looked like he was holding his back. Paramedics attended as well and police taped off a big section of the Gardens, near the tram stop. There were detectives there as well.”

“It was just shocking” he said. “But it’s no surprise. It looks like there’s no end to it.”

A dispersal order has been authorised for Piccadilly Gardens and the surrounding area following the incident.

It will be in force until 8.40am tomorrow morning (Friday) and it covers Princess Street, Miller Street, Great Ancoats Street, the Mancunian Way, Fairfield Street and Whitworth Street as well as the Gardens.

Initially a large section of the Gardens including the track next to Piccadilly Gardens tram stop was taped off.

That led to Metrolink services being disrupted. The cordon has now been scaled down with services running again.

The Bee Network website says however: “Due to an earlier police incident, we are experiencing a minor delay on the Altrincham, Bury, Ashton, and Eccles Line.”

Two key players have been included in the Kingdom’s match-day 26 for Saturday’s huge Round Three clash with Ulster champions Armagh in Killarney

Kerry have been handed a major boost ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Armagh with two key players returning to their match-day squad.

All-Star goalkeeper Shane Ryan and fellow All-Star Sean O’Shea have been named in Jack O’Connor’s 26 while the Kingdom have one change in their starting team from last weekend’s victory over Kildare with Paul Murphy replacing Evan Looney.

Skipper Paul Geaney was a late replacement for Tony Brosnan the last day and retains his place.

O’Shea has been sidelined with a foot injury since the League final loss to Donegal while Ryan hasn’t played in 2026 so far with a quad injury.

Dublin, meanwhile, have made two changes for Sunday’s clash with Donegal in Croke Park with Eoin Kennedy and Sean Bugler favoured in place of Lee Gannon and Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne.

Elsewhere, Monaghan boss Gabriel Bannigan has named an unchanged team for Saturday’s clash with Leinster champions Westmeath in Clones.

The Farney return to St Tiernach’s Park one week on from beating Connacht champions Roscommon and Bannigan has kept the faith with the same starting 15 with Stephen Mooney and Stephen O’Hanlon retaining their places after being drafted in prior to throw-in against the Rossies.

There are three changes to the Dublin hurling team for their All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Clare in Thurles on Saturday with Eoghan O’Donnell, Sean Currie and Ronan Hayes replacing Liam Rushe, Darragh Power and Brendan Kenny.

Kerry (v Armagh): S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; B Ó Beaglaoich, M Breen, G O’Sullivan; M O’Shea, S O’Brien; J O’Connor, P Clifford, D O’Connor; D Clifford, P. Geaney , D Geaney. Subs: S Ryan, E Healy, E Looney, K Evans, T Brosnan, C Trant, A Heinrich, G White, K Spillane, T Morley, S O’Shea, T Kennedy.

Dublin (v Donegal): E Comerford; G McEneaney; N Doran, D Byrne; S MacMahon, C McMorrow; E Kennedy; T Clancy, B Howard; S Bugler, C O’Callaghan, N Scully; P Small, C Kilkenny, C Costello.

Monaghan (v Westmeath): R Beggan; R Wylie, K Lavelle, D Byrne; D Ward, R O’Toole, C McCarthy; M McCarville, K Gallagher; S O’Hanlon, M Bannigan, O McGorman; J McCarron, A Woods, S Mooney

Dublin (v Clare): E Gibbons; C McHugh, P Smyth, E O’Donnell; C Crummey, P Doyle, C Burke; B Hayes, C Donohoe; F Whitely, D Burke, S Currie; R Hayes, J Hetherton, C Ó Riain.

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After dining lavishly on lobster, caviar and truffles in the opulent surrounds of the Palace of Versailles last night, Donald Trump affixed his signature to the much-anticipated memorandum of understanding that will, all being well, begin a 60-day ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran.

The document was subsequently signed in Tehran by the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

“This was not easy,” the US president reportedly remarked as he wielded his trademark Sharpie marker pen – a statement that may go down as a huge understatement. The text of the deal reveals the Iranian negotiators drove a very hard bargain in return for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which the world now hopes will enable the global economy to recover from the considerable disruption of the past three and a half months.

This war has been an utter disaster for the US and Israel, writes Arshin Adib-Moghaddam of SOAS, University of London, who has been researching and writing about Iranian affairs for many years. Trump and his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have failed to secure any of the outcomes they set out to achieve when they attacked Iran on February 28. In fact it has arguably left Iran, while battered, stronger strategically than it was before the war.

It’s not as if Iran-watchers haven’t warned of the danger of using blunt force against Iran. As Adib-Moghaddam notes here, he and fellow scholars and analysts have been stressing for years that the Islamic Republic was well prepared for the sort of asymmetrical conflict we have now seen it wage. And now, of course, it has demonstrated to itself – and the rest of the world – what a potent deterrent it has in its ability to shut down the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

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Iran ceasefire deal confirms what we’ve been saying for years: military might doesn’t work

The state banquet at Versailles followed the 2026 summit of the Group of Seven (G7), which has been taking place this week in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains. As Natasha Lindstaedt of the University of Essex notes, this was a clever move dreamed up by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who was desperate to avoid a repeat of last year’s summit in Alberta, Canada, when the US president walked out a day early.

On that occasion he refused to sign the usual unified G7 statement, complaining that he didn’t like the language on Ukraine. There was no such reticence this year. Macron was cock-a-hoop at what he called a “very deep change in the US approach”. It was, he said, “re-synchronisation” for the G7 on the war in Ukraine, which released a statement pledging unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity, which Trump also signed after what the US president said was a “very good” meeting with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky on the summit’s sidelines.

Key to achieving this unity, says Lindstaedt, was the approach of the other G7 leaders towards the US president: flattery. As we know, this is something that has proved highly effective in the past.

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Macron plays ‘Trump whisperer’ as the US president signs Iran ceasefire deal after a successful G7 summit

Republicans unimpressed

If Trump’s dining companions at Versailles were effusive in their congratulations for the US president’s deal, the reaction from many prominent Republicans in the US has been less than positive. “Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” commented Senator Bill Cassidy, who added that the war had been “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”. It’s a view shared by much of the party’s old guard, who see the deal as a capitulation.

Quite how Iran managed to gain the upper hand in a conflict against two of the world’s best-armed militaries will make for an important case study for students of war. Jim Lamson and Matthew Moran of King’s College London explain how Iran managed to turn the tables and emerge not only undefeated, but arguably stronger.

À lire aussi :
How Iran gained the strategic upper hand in the war with the US and Israel

Israelis livid

Meanwhile, if the US president’s critics in the US are unimpressed, Israelis – friend and foe alike – are positively livid. David Horovitz, the editor of The Times of Israel, called it “a catastrophic capitulation”. Others have been less polite.

Benjamin Netanyahu has made no public comment since the deal was signed. It has been reported that he wasn’t shown the finalised agreement before it was signed (Trump commented this week of their alliance that: “We are the big partner and he is the very small partner”, which will give him an idea of where he stands).

The fact is, writes Simon Mabon, a Middle East specialist at Lancaster University, that despite being close allies, the US and Israel – but particularly Trump and Netanyahu – are at loggerheads over what they want from the war from any peace agreement that ends it. Most Israelis see any bid by Iran to develop a nuclear weapon as an existential issue, for which there can be no compromise. The war, meanwhile, is deeply unpopular in the US, where rising fuel prices and inflation are really beginning to hit home.

The war has also hurt Trump’s popularity which is at a new low, just months before November’s midterm elections, at which the Republicans are likely to lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, if not both. Netanyahu also faces an election in October. So the idea of a ceasefire with no resolution of the nuclear issue is anathema.

To further complicate the situation, the deal stipulates an end to the conflict being waged in southern Lebanon and makes the US responsible for guaranteeing that country’s territorial integrity. This would require Israel to withdraw, something the Israeli prime minister has firmly ruled out, setting the scene for some serious discord between the two leaders.

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All of which means we may well be hearing some more fairly ripe language from Donald Trump, who has recently told the Israeli prime minister he is “fucking crazy” and that he has “no fucking judgement”.

Strong words. But not without precedent. As Andrew Gawthorpe, an expert in US politics at Leiden University notes here, Netanyahu has a long track record of moving US presidents to profanity.

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