Labour MP suspended after husband arrested on suspicion of spying for China

A Labour MP has said she has “voluntarily” suspended herself from the Labour whip “until internal investigations are concluded” after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

David Taylor, married to East Kilbride and Strathaven MP Joani Reid, was detained alongside two other men by counter-terrorism officers.

The arrests took place at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday.

In a statement, she said: “This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family.

“I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong. I love my country. To serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven as their MP and the Labour Party has been – and continues to be – the privilege of my life.

“I understand that speculation and gossip is fevered at a time like this. I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government, of which I am proud and in whom I believe. I also do not want my children – who have nothing to answer for and who deserve privacy and compassion – to find themselves subject to intrusion.

“Following discussions with the Chief Whip, I am voluntarily suspending myself from the whip this evening and will not sit as a Labour MP until internal investigations are concluded. I will welcome and cooperate with any questions and worries the party may have.

“I, and my team, will continue to serve my constituents in the normal way as their Member of Parliament.”

It comes as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar confirmed the party is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrest.

Following the arrest, Ms Reid issued a statement asserting she had “never seen anything to make me suspect my husband has broken any law”.

The Scottish Labour MP also clarified her position, adding: “I am not part of my husband’s business activities.”

Mr Sarwar, while addressing journalists at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, said the situation was “deeply concerning” and stated his intention was to “get to the bottom of these matters”.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “These are incredibly serious allegations. We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Taylor, 39, alongside two other men, aged 43 and 68, were arrested by counter-terrorism officers at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday and have been released on bail until May, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was listed as a “lobbyist” on Ms Reid’s registered interests.

Jimmy Lai will not appeal conviction and 20-year sentence, lawyer says

Jimmy Lai, the prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media tycoon, won’t appeal his conviction, his legal team said on Friday.

Lai was sentenced to 20 years in jail last month – the heaviest penalty ever handed out under Hong Kong’s national security law. The 78-year-old British citizen was found guilty in December of two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under a China-imposed national security law, as well as a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Lai, a pro-democracy campaigner and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has denied all wrongdoing.

On Friday, a member of Lai’s Hong Kong legal team said: “We can confirm we have clear and definitive instructions not to lodge an appeal against conviction or sentence.”

Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, has called the trial “politically motivated” and said that his father was “ludicrously found guilty in Hong Kong of trying to destroy the city he made his home in and which he loves”.

Lai’s legal team did not elaborate on why they are not appealing.

Once a penniless teenage refugee who arrived in Hong Kong as a stowaway, Lai rose to become one of the city’s most influential media tycoons and is now its most prominent political prisoner.

In late January, UK prime minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing and said that he would “raise the issues that need to be raised” on human rights with Xi Jingping, China’s president.

On the flight to China, he told reporters at the time: “…But part of the reason for engaging with China is so that issues where we disagree can be discussed.”

Mr Starmer had come under mounting pressure from rights groups to push for the release of Lai. Later, Lai’s son accused the PM of not doing enough to secure his father’s release.

Earlier, Yvette Cooper, the UK foreign secretary, said: “For 78-year-old Jimmy Lai, 20 years is an effective life sentence, following a politically motivated prosecution under a law that was imposed to silence China’s critics. The Hong Kong authorities must end Jimmy Lai’s appalling ordeal and release him to be with his family.”

Volker Turk, the UN rights chief, said at the time that the verdict “needs to be promptly quashed” as it is “incompatible with international law”.

“Jimmy Lai is a publisher sentenced to 20 years in prison for exercising rights protected under international law,” he said in a statement.

“This outcome highlights how the vague and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong’s national security legislation can lead to being interpreted and enforced in violation of Hong Kong’s international human rights obligations.

“I appeal for Jimmy Lai’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds, given his advanced age, health, and the impact of the more than four years he has already spent in detention.”

Last December, US President Donald Trump said he asked Mr Xi to consider releasing Lai. “I feel so badly,” Mr Trump told reporters. “I spoke to President Xi about it and I asked to consider his release.”

UK’s Eurovision contestant Look Mum No Computer unveils his song

Ready, set, go! The UK’s Eurovision contestant Look Mum No Computer is ready at the starting line with “Eins, Zwei, Drei”, the song he’ll be performing at this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria.

German for “one, two, three”, the track will get its first play on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show today (Friday 6 March) on BBC Radio 2, having been released to streaming platforms at midnight.

Look Mum No Computer is the alias of Kent-based electronic musician Sam Battle, who enjoys crafting unusual instruments – such as organs made from Furbies and flame-throwing keyboards – while also fronting his own YouTube channel.

Speaking to The Independent, Battle revealed that the inspiration for the song originated from his performances in Germany: “I’ve got an affinity with the very friendly people out there, and it became a bit of inspiration,” he said.

“It wasn’t about trying to write for Eurovision, but just including a feeling of togetherness that I think Eurovision is about.”

“Eins, Zwei, Drei” is described as a song about “escaping the soul-crushing boredom of the nine to five, into a world of dreams and endless possibilities”, while musically it has “undertones of Britpop and Eighties synthwave”.

Battle also works a number of “uniquely UK references” into the tracks, such as the school dinner staple, “roly poly with custard”.

Asked about the persistent narrative that the UK suffers from “political voting”, he joked that it could become a “look mum, nul points” situation, even while hoping he could win over the hearts and minds of Europe.

“Who knows… we might not be everybody’s favourite, but who cares?” he said. “This year, with me, I’m just gonna try my absolute hardest and that’s all I could do. Even if it is a nul point, it will have been an amazing time and I tried my hardest.”

In terms of success, the UK has endured a mixed few years at Eurovision. Last year’s entry, country-pop trio Remember Monday, crashed into 19th place (out of a possible 26) following their performance of original song “What the Hell Just Happened?”.

It was a similarly dismal result in 2024 when pop singer Olly Alexander competed with his song “Dizzy”, coming in 18th place, and again in 2023 with Mae Muller singing “I Wrote a Song”, landing a dismal 24th place out of 25.

The most successful Eurovision entry in recent years was Sam Ryder, who dazzled with his Freddie Mercury-emulating rock song “Space Man!” in 2022, coming in second place after Ukraine’s winning entry, Kalush Orchestra.

“Eins, Zwei, Drei” was written and produced with Lasse Midtsian Nymann (NYLAN), a writer and producer on Switzerland’s 2024 winning Eurovision song “The Code” by Nemo; singer-songwriter Julie “Kill J” Aagaard, and Thomas Stengaard, a co-writer for Denmark’s 2013 Eurovision winner “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie De Forest.

Meanwhile, the staging is being overseen by Fredrick “Benke” Rydman, the man behind memorable Eurovision performances including 2024’s winner Nemo and Finland’s 2023 runner-up Käärijä.

Asked to pick his favourite out of past UK delegates, Battle immediately responded with “Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit” by Australian singer Gina G, who finished in eighth place for the UK in 1996. He also praised Ryder’s song “Space Man” as “a classic”.

Praising “Eins, Zwei, Drei”, the BBC’s Eurovision commentator Graham Norton said: “This year’s song is a real banger. Joyful and supremely catchy. Hopefully it can get the rest of Europe singing along.”

Presenter Scott Mills added: “We always get people saying we need to send something a bit different to Eurovision. So here it is! A synth banger from a mad professor of pop that will have them chanting in the arena in Vienna.”

Battle will be competing against experienced performers such as Delta Goodrem, who is representing Australia in the contest this year. She is one of the country’s bestselling singers.

This year’s event will take place under renewed controversy due to the involvement of Israel. Five countries – Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Spain – have withdrawn in protest over Israel’s participation.

This means this year’s Eurovision Song Contest will feature the smallest number of participating countries since 2003, when the semi-finals were introduced. As one of the “big five” countries making the biggest financial contributions to Eurovision (down to four due to Spain’s withdrawal), the UK is guaranteed a place in the final.

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, with the semi-finals scheduled for Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 May; the grand final will be held in Wiener Stadthalle on Saturday 16 May.

How Draper’s injury hell can fuel his Indian Wells title defence

A lot can change in a year in tennis. While the past year has only reinforced the iron grip of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on the men’s tour (and the immortality of Novak Djokovic), the wheel of potential challengers has spun again and landed on new names.

This time last year, it was Britain’s Jack Draper. He reached a first major semi-final at the US Open in 2024 and continued a meteoric rise from there, beating Alcaraz at Indian Wells before going on to win his first Masters title in the Californian sunshine. A run to another Masters final in Madrid followed; by the summer, he was ranked fourth in the world.

But already things were beginning to unravel. His short senior career had previously been stalled multiple times by injury and a persistent pain in his all-important serving arm, which he first felt during the clay season, turned out to be bone bruising, an innocuous-sounding issue compared to the likes of an ACL rupture, but one which has refused to go away.

The rest of his 2025 was fragmented. A decent grass swing came to a juddering halt with a second-round loss at Wimbledon. He did not play singles again until the US Open, where he only played four sets, then withdrew before the second round. One step forward, two steps back.

His 2025 season ended in September; the hiatus continued through the Australian Open – evidently going from zero court time to best-of-five was a bad idea – and he only returned to the ATP Tour in Dubai last month. He has won one and lost one ATP match this year. An auspicious beginning to a title defence, it is not.

Draper arrives in Indian Wells after a year of flux, both on and off the court. He has a new coaching set-up, having dispensed with the services of longtime coach James Trotman late last year and brought in Jamie Delgado, best known for coaching Andy Murray to a second Wimbledon title and the year-end No 1 in 2016.

He has signed a new clothing deal with Californian brand Vuori, reportedly worth $5m, and started a YouTube docuseries with his sponsor detailing his comeback. Venturing into other fields – he is also a Burberry ambassador – has provided him with an off-court outlet but is also indicative of how much players have increasingly become products, and how much control young players across the board are now taking over their image, with career longevity never guaranteed.

His physical struggles have obviously been a source of enormous frustration, and no doubt recall the issues which hampered him earlier in his career. The 24-year-old plays with a huge amount of force: a whip-cracking forehand and a violent serve that puts significant strain on the body. A growth spurt in his late teens and bulking up over the last couple of seasons have made him a more complete player, but it has come at a cost, almost as if the speed of that improvement has outstripped his body’s ability to cope with it.

But the lengthy layoff has given him time to work on his game, and to strip things back to the fundamentals. He has a remodelled serving stance, and said before Indian Wells: “I’ve worked a hell of a lot on my transition game, my volleys. And I’ve actually hit more serves than I’ve ever hit because I’m hitting them 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent and so on.”

If those changes can round out a game which has hitherto largely been based on power, it may conversely make him more of a threat against the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner – players who are difficult to physically batter off the court. And it may help his physical resilience too. Delgado, too, brings a depth of experience in working with injury-prone players, from the famously creaking Murray to Grigor Dimitrov.

In California last year, Draper was part of a new generation on the charge; this time around, he is something of an unknown quantity. He has not been handed a favourable draw, with Djokovic his likely quarter-final opponent.

He was equal parts confident and realistic in his pre-tournament press conference, as if trying to convince himself as much as the watching media. He said: “I feel like I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be in the tournament, if I didn’t feel like I could go all the way again”, but then added: “I do recognise that I have been away from the game and it is a bit of a step up in level to just come straight back to it after that amount of time out of the game. So let’s see what happens. I’m not overthinking things too much.”

Last year’s final offered a cautionary tale. It was a lopsided affair as Draper swept past another bright young thing and former Masters champion, Holger Rune, in straight sets. The 22-year-old is another who has been tipped to challenge the duopoly of Alcaraz and Sinner, another to reach a best ranking of No 4, and another victim of the brutal impact of the tennis tour on athletes’ bodies. The Dane endured a horrific Achilles injury in October and has been sidelined since then.

The tennis tour needs serious reform to avoid feeding yet more young talent into the meat grinder, but that’s a topic for another day. As things stand, Draper is in a position he has been in many times before: out of injury hell, but with a long road ahead to get back to his best.

His own stratospheric rise over the last couple of seasons, followed by all the frustrating setbacks, will no doubt have given him a more realistic, pragmatic viewpoint going into this season than simply charging in, desperate to defend his title. It may be that rather than a glorious new dawn, this Indian Wells campaign will be something less flashy but more sustainable: two steps forward, and maybe only one step back.

Spurs self-destructed against Palace. Relegation is a real prospect

Tottenham’s precarious Premier League plight worsened significantly after a calamitous period culminated in a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

The loss leaves the north London club staring down the barrel of relegation, having started the night just a single point above the bottom three following West Ham’s midweek victory over Fulham.

The match began with an early scare for Spurs when Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed for offside, but hope briefly flickered five minutes later as Dominic Solanke netted a 34th-minute opener.

However, any momentum was swiftly extinguished by a moment of inexplicable folly from stand-in captain Micky Van de Ven, whose blatant pull-back on Sarr inside the area earned him a straight red card.

Sarr calmly converted the resulting spot-kick, and the Eagles capitalised further during a chaotic end to the first half. Jorgen Strand Larsen added a second for Palace with a low effort, before Sarr grabbed his brace, leaving the home side shell-shocked and facing an uphill battle with 10 men.

Manager Igor Tudor, who had controversially dropped big-money signings Conor Gallagher and Xavi Simons for the visit of Palace, now faces intense scrutiny.

His tactical gamble failed to pay off, with Guglielmo Vicario forced into an early save from Adam Wharton within the first minute.

Debutant Souza was booked after just seven minutes for a poor tackle that saw Daniel Munoz limp off, setting a tense tone.

Despite a snapshot from Mathys Tel in the 15th minute, Tottenham struggled to gain a foothold.

Palace thought they had scored just before the hour mark when Sarr raced onto Evann Guessand’s through ball, but a lengthy VAR check ruled it offside, prompting loud cheers from the home crowd.

These cheers soon turned to despair as Solanke’s opener, set up by Gray after a deflected Tel strike, was quickly overshadowed.

Four minutes after taking the lead, Van de Ven’s red card and Sarr’s subsequent penalty completely shifted the dynamic.

Tudor introduced Gallagher and Yves Bissouma, but the changes couldn’t stem the tide. Wharton was instrumental in Palace’s late first-half surge, threading a pass to Strand Larsen, who fired past Vicario, and then delivering a clipped ball that Sarr poked in, exposing a static Tottenham defence and leaving Pedro Porro looking foolish.

Loud boos greeted the half-time whistle, but the 10 men of Spurs showed some resilience in the second half.

Kevin Danso was denied by Dean Henderson, and Gray had an effort blocked.

Substitutions including Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Xavi failed to alter the scoreline, as Tottenham set an unwanted club record of 11 Premier League matches without a win, deepening the crisis for Tudor and the club.

PA contributed to this report

Why Gran Hotel Taoro is Tenerife’s must-book luxury stay for 2026

Tenerife’s iconic Gran Hotel Taoro holds a special place in Spanish history. As the first luxury hotel in Spain, opening its doors in 1890, it was a glamorous haven for high society, welcoming everyone from King Alfonso XIII and the Duke of Kent to author Agatha Christie.

Now, after a complete renovation, the landmark hotel has been reborn as an elegant 21st-century destination that’s ready to welcome you for the ultimate five-star break.

The hotel’s carefully preserved neo-classical architecture exudes old-world elegance, while colonial-inspired interiors in earthy tones and modern five-star comforts promise a stay that feels both timeless and contemporary.

Set on a lush hilltop in northern Tenerife and overlooking the historic town of Puerto de la Cruz, the hotel’s 199 rooms and suites make the most of its enviable location, featuring breathtaking panoramic views of Mount Teide – the highest point in Spain – the Atlantic Ocean, and the palm-dotted greenery of its terraces and surrounding botanical parks.

Prepare to embark on an unforgettable culinary journey throughout your stay, with exceptional restaurants celebrating local and international flavours.

At fusion restaurant OKA, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Ricardo Sanz, Japanese fine dining is given a mouthwatering Mediterranean twist.

Two-Michelin-starred chef Erlantz Gorostiza is the mastermind behind two more restaurants: Spanish gourmet bistro Amalur, with a menu inspired by the four elements; and fine dining restaurant Lava, whose exclusive setting includes a Chef’s Counter for six guests.

Breakfast at Atlantico Buffet is the perfect way to start the day as you savour delicious dishes alongside terrace views. For leisurely poolside lunches, La Carola is the place to be, serving Mediterranean flavours and crisp Canarian wines with a generous side of Tenerife sunshine.

Secure your holiday to Gran Hotel Taoro with British Airways Holidays and enjoy a great-value holiday with quality and peace of mind. You’ll benefit from ATOL protection from the moment you book, a 24-hour helpline and a generous checked baggage allowance. Book your holiday with a low deposit and spread the cost with flexible payments* – so all that’s left to focus on is enjoying your holiday in style.

If you upgrade to Club Europe, you’ll enjoy a host of additional benefits including lounge access,** increased checked baggage allowance, and priority check-in and boarding. Members of The British Airways Club benefit from collecting Avios, earning tier points and using Avios towards the cost of holiday packages.

Spend your days at the Gran Hotel Taoro relaxing by three heated pools, set amidst beautifully landscaped gardens and providing a postcard-perfect setting for some downtime.

If you want to up the relaxation factor further, head to the serene sanctuary of the Sandara Wellness Center, which offers a range of exclusive treatments in partnership with luxury French brand Anne Semonin.

Guests who want to explore the history, culture and natural wonders of the local area – including Puerto de la Cruz, the oldest tourist destination in the Canaries – can take advantage of the hotel’s new X-Plora programme, offering a range of tailor-made experiences both within and beyond the hotel grounds through the dedicated concierge team.

More than a luxury retreat, Gran Hotel Taoro is a grand hotel reborn: a destination where heritage, culture and five-star service come together in one of Tenerife’s most treasured and authentic settings. Book with British Airways Holidays to experience this Spanish icon’s remarkable return in 2026.

British Airways Holidays packages include a generous checked baggage allowance for each customer and come with full ATOL protection for complete peace of mind. Secure your Tenerife holiday to Gran Hotel Taoro with a low deposit and enjoy flexible payments until you fly*.

*Based on two sharing. Full balance due four weeks before departure. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply. **Subject to availability

• Secure your holiday with a low deposit and spread the cost with flexible payments.*

• All holiday packages include a generous checked baggage allowance.

• ATOL protection from the moment you book your holiday package giving you financial reassurance.

• Quality car hire with no hidden fees, 24-hour support and roadside assistance.

• Upgrade to Club Europe (Business Class) for a host of additional benefits including lounge access,** increased checked baggage allowance, delicious food and drink options and dedicated check-in and priority boarding.

• Members of The British Airways Club benefit from collecting Avios, earning tier points and using Avios towards the cost of holiday packages.

UK’s care sector blasted as ‘utter s****’ by inquiry chief

People in need of adult social care are sometimes being charged for “utter shite”, the government’s social care tsar said as she called for a “reckoning” over the sector.

Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading an independent commission on adult social care, described social care as a “creaking, inconsistent and impenetrable” system held together with “sticking plasters and glue”.

Speaking at a Nuffield Trust summit on Thursday, Baroness Casey suggested sometimes people are charged for “utter shite” care, although she said some services were “brilliant”.

During her speech, Baroness Casey also criticised the NHS for “winning” over social care when it comes to funding, and blasted the NHS medicines regulator, NICE, for rejecting a new expensive Alzheimer’s drug.

“New breakthrough drugs are ‘too expensive’ to deliver on the NHS for what they call the ‘small benefits’ they’ll give,” she said in her speech.

“I know the NHS can’t afford every drug, but if I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and a treatment would give me six months to talk to my family and get my affairs in order before the disease took hold, I’m not sure I would call that a small benefit,” she added.

In a letter to Wes Streeting published on Thursday, Baroness Casey called for new backing to “scale up investment in dementia trials”.

“As a first step, I am asking the government to fund a small trial that is ready to proceed, using funding that is already available,” she said.

Baroness Casey also called for Wes Streeting to create a new government dementia tsar.

The baroness criticised the social care waits for patients with Motor neurone disease (MND), which affects 5,000 people in the UK at any given time. She explained patients face long waits for home care packages, warning some wait more than a year for changes to their house, yet the life expectancy from diagnosis is just under two years.

During her speech, Baroness Casey said there has not yet been “a moment of reckoning” as to how society supports and cares for “an older, sicker population and greater levels of disability”.

She described the current system between the NHS and social care as “drawn-out discussions on who pays for what”, as “simply anxiety-laden and confusing”.

The peer, who has previously headed a number of major reviews including into rough sleeping, culture and standards of behaviour in the Metropolitan Police, and a national audit into grooming gangs, added: “I have been in Whitehall long enough and I have run enough cross-government programmes to know that when responsibility is shared it can end up being no-one’s responsibility.”

Labour faced criticism after it was elected in 2024 for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, having argued the proposals were not “deliverable” in the time frame.

Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use and challenges of meeting high care costs have sometimes meant people have been forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.

Responding to Baroness Casey’s speech, Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said: “The Commission will now need to convert understandable outrage about the state of adult social care into actionable recommendations for wider reform that live up to the language of a ‘moment of reckoning’ Baroness Casey put forward today.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The government is taking decisive action by establishing a new National Safeguarding Board to better protect vulnerable adults, fast‑tracking access to care for people with motor neurone disease and accelerating work to transform dementia care and research, including by creating a dementia leadership role to drive forward action.”

Iran is no Iraq – it’s much worse than that

The Trump administration has been criticised for not explaining why the United States has attacked Iran. Sadly, the problem appears to be that it cannot get its story straight, offering so many different explanations that it has yet to settle on one.

That is more than a communication issue. It suggests either a lack of consensus as to what the Great Leader is thinking, or that he is thinking too many things.

Donald Trump’s original announcement, sent on social media in the middle of the night, was a clear call for regime change. The Iranian regime was “a vicious group of very hard terrible people”, he said. Fair enough. Is it uniquely awful? Perhaps. But one could easily throw Russia, North Korea and Afghanistan into that mix, and we are not attacking them.

Nor does being terrible in a domestic sense generally give other countries a right to attack when there is no imminent danger to them. And even if there is a duty to stop genocide, what is happening in Iran, though horrific, does not remotely meet the criteria.

Trump’s midnight message also made the danger argument. He said that Iran’s “menacing activities endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world”. That may have been true by Sunday, when Iran started firing missiles, but was it true on Saturday, before the airstrikes started?

There seemed to be a consensus that Iran and its proxies had been degraded, its economy was a shambles, its nuclear programme had been obliterated, and the regime was threatened from within. Its ability to project power outside its borders, and its apparent inclination to do so, were far more limited than they had been in decades. So the threat of imminent danger to the United States seems concocted.

Moving on, Trump threw in a greatest hits tour of Iranian wrongdoing: the chanting of “Death to America”, supporting terrorism, the violent 1979 takeover of the US embassy (for those not born then, that destroyed Jimmy Carter’s re-election chances, and most of the 66 hostages were not released until 444 days later, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated). Omitted from Trump’s history was the 1953 CIA coup that deposed an elected president and installed the brutal Shah, whose departure led directly to the creation of the Islamic Republic.

Trump did reference the appalling bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 by Iranian forces. To be sure, this and other actions have made Iran a uniquely awful actor, but this seems a strange time to be avenging a savage crime of more than 40 years ago. The US president also suggested that Iran knew about, and was probably involved in, the 1998 attack on the USS Cole, although al-Qaeda claimed credit for that and a US judge held Sudan responsible for the attack.

But wait, there are more explanations. Iran’s leaders have “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions”. They are trying to develop ballistic missiles that can reach “our very good friends and allies” and “could soon reach the American mainland”. The concerns about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon or firing conventional ballistic missiles are real and serious. That is why the Obama administration concluded an agreement in 2015, which was not perfect, but blocked the four paths to gaining nuclear weapons for 10 to 15 years. Iran followed the terms of the agreement until Trump tore up the deal three years later. After all, it was Obama’s deal, so how could it be any good?

But weren’t there negotiations between Iran and the United States as recently as last Thursday, after which the mediator, the foreign minister of Oman, said “a peace deal is within our reach”? The interview was pre-recorded on Friday to be aired on Sunday, by which time the attack had begun. Clearly, the planning for this invasion had started long before these negotiations, where the United States took maximalist provisions that it knew would not be accepted.

Oh, and weren’t Iran’s nuclear facilities “completely and totally obliterated” last June, along with its “nuclear ambitions”, in the words of both President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth? On Saturday, Iran was further from achieving nuclear weapons than it had been in years, by any reasonable estimation.

When the Iranian people took to the streets, the regime murdered somewhere between 3,000 and 30,000 people for protesting. The regime said they were terrorists who had attacked Iranian forces. The violence against civilians was terrible. But Trump invading another country in order to establish its citizens’ right to dissent has to be taken with many grains of salt. Echoes of Iraq in 1991, or Hungary in 1956, cannot be ignored.

On Monday, Pete Hegseth’s message was a complete 180-degree turn from the president’s. He said, “This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world will be better off for it.” On Tuesday, Marco Rubio and Speaker Johnson came up with a new talking point: Israel was going to attack anyway; Iran would accordingly retaliate against US targets anyway; so why not follow along with the Israeli agenda? It is hard to imagine a greater gift to those who claim the US is in Netanyahu’s pocket.

This war veers from one poorly thought-through justification to another, hoping one will stick with the American people. Bellicose, improvisational grandiosity is no substitute for clear and competent strategy.