Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei – three angry old men who could get us all killed

Flames from an Israeli attack on an oil depot in Tehran, Iran, 15 June 2025.

Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters

Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei – three angry old men who could get us all killed

Simon Tisdall

Whether inept, driven by survival or corrupt, they are unfit to lead their countries, let alone make decisions that imperil the whole world

Simon Tisdall 

Sunday 15 June 2025

This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel’s continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim – permanently ending Tehran’s presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons – and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases.

Japanese newspapers report the victory of Donald Trump. Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe is a big loser from the election result. Photograph: Toru Yamanaka

Donald Trump's election victory: the winners and losers around the world

Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin will be celebrating Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton, but it’s not such good news for Mexico, Iran, Japan and Europe

Simon Tisdall
Wednesday 9 November 2016 21.22 GMT

Donald Trump triumphed, but so did Bashar al-Assad. Like other leaders around the world, Syria’s isolated president most likely spent the day after assessing the impact on him of the Republican’s unexpected victory. The dreadful Assad, soaked in blood after five years of civil war, is probably one of the big winners. But there are plenty of big losers, too.