By Sean Rayment The UK has imposed sanctions on 71 Iranian individuals and organisations linked to Tehran’s nuclear programme amid concerns that it is developing nuclear weapons. The move follows a decision in August by the UK, France and Germany to revive sweeping UN-backed sanctions on Iran after efforts to restart diplomatic talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme stalled. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the sanctions package targeting Iranian financial institutions and energy companies “sends a clear message” to Tehran that Britain “will continue to take every step necessary to prevent Iran ever developing a nuclear weapon”. Iran has said its…

By Sean Rayment British-made unmanned air vehicles will be deployed to create a “drone wall” to protect Nato from Russian aggression, the UK government has revealed. The new low-cost unmanned craft, developed in collaboration with Ukraine, are part of a strategy to deter Russian jets and drones from attempting to penetrate the alliance’s eastern flank. European ministers are concerned about a spate of Russian incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace, which prompted Britain to deploy RAF Typhoons over Poland in a show of force to Moscow. A suspected Russian “hybrid” incursion of drones this week took place in Denmark and…

By Adam Treger The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, once the world’s pre-eminent seafaring force and largely responsible for the country’s historic prosperity, today boasts more admirals than warships ready for deployment. While this is symbolic of the country’s wider decline in hard power, the UK can take solace in the knowledge that its soft power continues to endure and even flourish thanks to Shakespeare, Harry Potter, the Beatles, and the Royal Family. British football and the Premier League, perhaps the country’s biggest export, have attracted billions in foreign direct investment. Another key tenet of the UK’s soft power is its…

By Sean Rayment A former head of MI5 has said it may be right to say that the UK is at war with Russia, citing cyberattacks, sabotage and covert operations on British soil. Baroness Manningham-Buller, who led the Security Service between 2002 and 2007, told the Lord Speaker’s Corner podcast that she agreed with foreign policy expert Fiona Hill’s warning that Moscow is waging a new kind of conflict against Britain and the West. “Fiona Hill may be right in saying we’re already at war with Russia,” Manningham-Buller said. “It’s a different sort of war, but the hostility, the cyberattacks, the…

By Ben Farmer Mali’s Russian-backed military junta has been tipped into crisis by a militant blockade of fuel supplies, highlighting its weak authority in the West African nation. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has, over the past fortnight, torched scores of tankers as it attempts to lay economic siege to parts of southern and western Mali. The attempted stranglehold marks an escalation of the militants’ long campaign and comes as extensive Kremlin military backing has done little to halt the insurgency. Mali, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has in recent years fallen to a military coup and pivoted…

By Isabella Egerton Russia has launched an extensive information campaign to disguise its economic vulnerabilities, following US President Donald Trump’s description of the country as a “paper tiger” and his suggestion that Ukraine could reclaim occupied territory with Western backing. A report released by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the Kremlin’s messaging has coalesced around three themes: restating its original war aims as necessary for Russian security, portraying Russian victory as inevitable, and highlighting the supposed benefits of renewed US–Russia economic ties. ISW assessed that Moscow is also dangling trade incentives to coax Washington toward normalising ties…

By Isabella Egerton Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have taken their defence partnership, which spans over fifty years, to a new level. Last week in Riyadh, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement. According to Islamabad’s official statement, the accord “demonstrates the shared commitment of both nations to bolster security in the region. It is intended to expand areas of defence cooperation between the two countries and to strengthen their joint deterrence against any aggression.” The agreement further states that “an attack on either country will be regarded as an attack…

By Sean Rayment US President Donald Trump said Russian planes intruding into Nato airspace should be shot down, in a marked hardening of tone towards Moscow amid frustration over his stalled attempt to end the Ukraine war. In remarks after a fiery speech to the United Nations in which he ridiculed Russia’s failure to defeat Ukraine, Trump said that direct US involvement in attacking Russian incursions would “depend on the circumstances.” Before his meeting with President Zelensky, Trump was asked by a reporter: “Mr President, do you think that they should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?”Trump replied: “Yes,…

By Sean Rayment Thousands of Cuban mercenaries are being recruited to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine, Kyiv’s military intelligence agency has revealed. Andriy Yusov, an official within Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, said that at least 20,000 Cuban citizens had travelled to Russia to join the war against Ukraine. The agency said it had uncovered evidence of both men and women signing contracts with the Russian military, adding that Cuba is “at the very top” of the list of countries supplying foreign mercenaries to Russia. The use of Cuban fighters follows reports that Russia has also recruited troops…

By Staff Writer South Africa is facing a wave of escalating cyber threats that mirror global trends but expose uniquely local vulnerabilities. From record-breaking distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaigns to surging ransomware and banking trojan infections, the country’s digital infrastructure and economy are increasingly at risk. Yet law enforcement and regulatory capacity remain dangerously out of step with the scale of the challenge. A global storm hitting local shores According to security researchers at Netscout Systems, over eight million DDoS attacks were recorded globally in the first half of 2025. The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region bore…

By Sean Rayment MI5 will issue guidance to MPs for the first time to help protect them against espionage and foreign interference. The disclosure comes just days after charges were dropped against a Westminster researcher accused of spying for China. The security service will advise all parliamentarians and political staff — described as “high-risk individuals” — about the growing threat they face from hostile states and will suggest various safeguarding measures. The guidance is expected to warn MPs and peers to be cautious about the motives of the people they hire and meet, and to think carefully before making connections…

By André Pienaar The United States and the United Kingdom have always shared a special bond—one forged in history, tested by war, and renewed through shared democratic values. Unlike their authoritarian adversaries, Western democracies build their security on long-term, enduring alliances. The late 6th Duke of Westminster once remarked that every generation faces the challenge of renewing the commitment and strength of those alliances which matter most for national security. Last week, that bond was not only reaffirmed but given fresh vitality during President Donald Trump’s historic second state visit to the United Kingdom. At the heart of this diplomatic…