America’s military strikes on Iran have probably set the country’s nuclear programme back by only a few months, according to a leaked preliminary intelligence assessment by the Pentagon. Donald Trump dismissed the report as “fake news”, telling a press conference at the Nato summit in The Hague that the attack had put Tehran’s nuclear ambitions back “decades”. British fighter jets will carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cold War. The government has signed a deal to buy a dozen American-made F35A stealth fighter jets, as part of its new commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Currently, Britain can only launch nukes from its four Vanguard-class submarines. Two million parents will take their children out of the classroom to go on holiday this term, according to a new survey which found that almost a quarter (23%) were willing to risk a fine of up to £2,500 to avoid the crowds – and vastly inflated costs – of travelling during the school holidays. Since 2022, British parents have paid £41m in fines for unauthorised school absences.

What Donald Trump really wants from Iran

We got a glimpse of the real Donald Trump this week, says Anthony Scaramucci on The Rest is Politics US, when the president angrily told a reporter that Iran and Israel “don’t know what the fuck they’re doing”. And you can understand his frustration. White House officials tell me the real, long-term aim behind Saturday’s strikes is to bring Tehran back into the “family of nations”. The Trump administration has mooted this idea to officials in Moscow and across the world, “adversaries and allies” alike. There is even hope – and “this is a wild thing to say” – that Iran can one day be signed up to the Abraham Accords, the landmark US-brokered agreement normalising relations between Israel and several Arab states. But first, Israel and Iran need to stop firing rockets at each other. Hence Trump dropping the F-bomb on the White House lawn.

The key to all this is Saudi Arabia, says Karen Elliott House in The Wall Street Journal. Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” has long terrorised what it calls the “small and puny Satan”: the mullahs covet not only the Gulf state’s oil, but also its guardianship of Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. The Saudi foreign minister – still fearful of Iranian retaliation – this week reiterated his “great concern” for the Islamic Republic of Iran. But be in no doubt: “Riyadh is thrilled”. A weak Iran will bolster Saudi Arabia’s long-term aim of stabilising Syria – a goal shared by Israel – and make it easier for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to focus on transforming his country’s culture and economy. The Saudi leader isn’t one to miss opportunities. “If you don’t stand out, you might as well disappear,” he once told me. “If you see something to do, do it.”