Iran gaining supersonic cruise missiles with Russian help could allow the regime to take out US naval ships and potentially inflict a mass casualty event that leads to major escalation of the war, experts believe.
Russian engineers have supported Iranian efforts to produce missiles based on a ramjet propulsion system that are faster, harder to intercept, and cause more damage, according to a investigation, citing leaked correspondence and travel records.
The programme, which reportedly began in 2023, would mark the most significant Russian military invention on Iran’s side during its wars against the US and Israel, amid mounting evidence that both Russia and China are increasing their assistance to Tehran.
The plan to tackle ‘mega dinghies’ crossing the Channel
A new “surge team” of French police officers is to be deployed on beaches in the Channel region to tackle new “mega dinghies” being deployed by people smuggling gangs.
The rise in mega dinghies
Traffickers have responded to a security crackdown in northern France by turning to to ferry migrants. Last month, one of these vessels carried 230 people across the Channel.
Everything you need to know
- The UK and French governments have announced a team of 45 additional police will be deployed to beaches to prevent crossings.
- The unit will focus on areas further along the coast from Calais where smugglers are launching to try to avoid detection. A separate French intelligence unit targeting smugglers has also been boosted to 30 officers.
- The total number of officers involved in efforts to stop crossings in France now stands at nearly 1,050. The UK is paying France £660m to fund the operation.
Small boat crossings in numbers
Arrivals fall to six-year low but gangs switching tactics
- Between June and August, 102 migrant boats were detected crossing the Channel – the lowest summer total since 2019.
- Home Office figures show there were 7,371 arrivals in the same three-month period, the lowest since 2020, when 3,307 arrived.
- Since July 2024, the Government says 48,000 crossing attempts have been stopped and 1,100 boats and engines seized.
- The average number of people per boat has risen from seven in 2018 to 65 in the year to this June.
Burnham: ‘We cannot be complacent’
Andy Burnham is meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at No 10 to discuss issues including small boat crossings. The two leaders insist the beefed-up security operation in northern France is delivering results.
But the Prime Minister knows he will have to show a sustained fall in the number of crossings to prove to the electorate that the decades-old issue of illegal migration from France is being tackled.
What time are you on till? Uber launches UK’s first robotaxis
Londoners are able to hail autonomous vehicles for the first time after Uber launched a “small fleet” of robotaxis to operate in the capital.
Robotaxis on the streets of London
The vehicles are equipped with AI driving technology made by British firm Wayve. But while the cars are designed to drive themselves, safety regulations mean they will still have a human driver to intervene if needed.
What you need to know
- Transport for London issued the first minicab licences for self-driving vehicles last month.
- Uber insists there are at least 140,000 Londoners who would be willing to use a self-driving vehicle. The AI cars are ordered in the same way as the company’s other cabs through its ride-hailing app.
- The Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles are charged at the same rate as other Uber vehicles. London is the first city to use Wayve technology for commercial journeys.
The robotaxi revolution rolls on
While Londoners will be starting to get used to autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars are already common in other parts of the world. In the Chinese city of Wuhan, more than 1,000 robotaxis are in operation, while fleets also operate in locations including Beijing, San Francisco and Dubai.
In several locations, including Wuhan, operators have already dispensed with the human safety driver required in London.
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Dozens feared dead after boat found adrift off Canary Islands
More than 80 migrants are feared to have perished after a boat was found drifting off the Canary Islands.
Everything you need to know
- The canoe-like vessel was discovered south of the holiday islands on Thursday morning. It is thought it had been at sea for 26 days.
- The boat left Gambia in West Africa with about 128 occupants last month. Those on board are thought to be mostly from Gambia and Mali.
- Rescuers found only 44 survivors, along with five bodies. Aid workers said survivors reported that 83 people, including a baby, had died during the crossing.
Migrant route to Canary Islands one of the world’s deadliest
The Atlantic crossing from West Africa to the Spanish Canary Islands is attempted by thousands of migrants each year despite the risks posed by rough seas and long distances. According to one estimate, 1,300 migrants died in the first five months of 2026 trying to reach the Spanish coast.
Canary Islands regional leader Fernando Clavijo said on X: “It is intolerable that lives continue to be lost. The Canaries cannot get used to or accept as normal the fact that the Atlantic continues to be a death trap.”
Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92
An icon for many
Steinem was known for radically changing the rights of many women in the US so that they could eventually apply for credit cards without a man’s signature, legally get an abortion and be admitted to Ivy League universities.
4 min read
Changing lives
“Gloria’s near century on Earth were years well lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end.”
A post on her official instagram account said
A campaigner who radically changed rights for women
From legal clerk to bunny girl to activist
- Steinem was born in Ohio in 1934 and grew up in a trailer home. She attended a liberal arts college and travelling to India, where she worked as a legal clerk in the country’s supreme court.
- She subsequently spent decades as an activist, championing causes from abortion rights to the banning of genital mutilation.
“‘s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor.”
STatement on gloria’s foundation
Zack Polanski launches bid to run for Starmer’s seat in by-election
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, will stand to become an MP when a by-election is held in Sir Keir Starmer’s seat in the coming months.
Everything you need to know
- Polanski has confirmed he wants to be the Green Party candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election caused by Starmer’s decision to leave frontline politics.
- The leader of the Greens insisted the seat was winnable, accusing Labour of standing up for “corporations and big money”. He added: “I will stand up for people struggling to pay their bills.”
- Polanski is currently a member of the London Assembly but is unusual as a national party leader in not being an MP.
Polanski gambles on by-election battle
The Green leader’s decision to stand in Holborn and St Pancras represents a gamble as he seeks to maintain his party’s momentum in challenging Labour on the left. The party’s in recent months and a victory for Polanski would represent a valuable political prize.
Until now, Sir Keir’s central London seat has been a Labour stronghold but the Greens came second in the area in local elections earlier this year.
Protests erupt in Spain over Ceuta migrant crisis
Thousands have attended protests across Spain against the government’s handling of the arrival of thousands of migrants in the exclave of Ceuta on the Moroccan coast.
Everything you need to know
- The rallies on Wednesday were called by city councils controlled by opposition parties. They accuse Spain’s left-wing government of abandoning Ceuta’s residents.
- There have been near-daily protests in the North African city calling for remaining migrants to be returned or distributed across mainland Spain.
- Demonstrators have called for prime minister Pedro Sánchez to resign but the government accuses right-wing parties of exploiting the crisis.
Why did these protests happen?
Some 72,000 people crossed illegally from Morocco into Ceuta in July. While most have returned, as many as 5,000 remain. The Spanish government has blamed for the influx but critics claim the Moroccan authorities were complicit.
Did Morocco orchestrate the mass crossing?
A police report this week said Moroccan security forces had shown “total permissiveness” during the huge influx into the exclave on 30 and 31 July. Sánchez has insisted Morocco was not responsible but the report said the Moroccan police presence was “clearly smaller” than usual.
The police report nonetheless stopped short of directly accusing Morocco of being behind the mass influx.
The protests in pictures
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What to know as toxic haze spreads across South East Asia
Indonesia is battling , some of which have been burning for weeks and resulted in a toxic haze affecting millions.
What you need to know
Multiple locations
The fires are burning on several of Indonesia’s biggest islands, in particular on Borneo.
Health risk
Millions have been exposed to toxic smoke, with 50,000 being treated in hospital for respiratory infections.
Regional problem
Air pollution caused by the fires is affecting Malaysia and The Philippines.
Indonesia’s decades-old problem with wildfires
The forest and peatland fires engulfing parts of Indonesia are a familiar problem for the authorities. Their roots lie in a project by former ruler Suharto to rip up rainforest and drain peat bogs for plantations and logging.
Repeated investigations have shown that developers use fire as a cut-price means of clearing large areas for plantations and industrial sites.
Haze shrouds parts of South East Asia
Fans teased with new Harry Potter trailer – what we learnt
The sorting hat and Quidditch are among the familiar magical phenomena which appear in the first full trailer for the new television series due to air this Christmas.
The sorting hat returns
The eagerly anticipated HBO show based on JK Rowling’s first wizarding novel, , will consist of eight episodes and early glimpses suggest producers have been careful to retain the detail of the original book.
4 min read
What you need to know
Hogwarts is back
The trailer focuses on the magical school and Harry’s first experiences, including the trial of the sorting hat.
Friends again
Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are introduced in separate clips as the trio become friends.
Ron in a mess
Weasley is seen at home trying to read an acceptance letter covered in jam by his brothers.
Hogwarts’ teachers take centre stage
The trailer begins with Professor McGonagall, played by Janet McTeer, telling the newly arrived students they must undertake the dreaded sorting hat ceremony before enjoying a sumptuous banquet at the school of wizarding.
Severus Snape, played by Paapa Essiedu, finds time to sneer at Harry’s classroom shortcomings as he prepares to try Quidditch. But Rubeus Hagrid, performed by Nick Frost, takes the young wizard under his wing, telling him: “You’ll find your place.”
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Military experts say the weapons could allow Iran to pose a greater threat to dozens of US vessels being used to enforce a blockade against the country and its oil exports, including two aircraft carriers, each with about 5,000 crew members aboard.
The Royal Navy has steadily reduced its presence in the Middle East, withdrawing its last warship from the Gulf in January to leave the UK without one in the region for the first time in 46 years.
But in June, the destroyer HMS was deployed to support a French carrier strike group, and then prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said in July the UK was “ready” to support demining efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.
Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a missile and sea power expert at the UK defence think-tank Rusi, said the new capability could allow Iran to pose a greater threat to seafarers.
“A supersonic cruise missile would enhance Iran’s ability to strike ships by shortening the engagement times for on-board air defences,” he said. “This would be a particular challenge in an already congested theatre such as Hormuz where engagement times are short anyway given the short distances involved.”
“Unlike anti-ship ballistic missiles, a supersonic cruise missile like the Russian P-800, can fly at a sea-skimming altitude where the limits imposed on radar horizons by the Earth’s curvature would compound the defenders’ problem.”
But Iran’s ability to use the weapons would be constrained by its ability to track targets, which is likely to have been degraded by US attacks on its coastal radar network, Kaushal added.
Iran has made sparing use of its stockpile of anti-ship missiles in the war to date, which have also been a target of US air strikes as part of the campaign to gain control of the strait, which remains subject to targeted blockades from the US and Iran after six months of hostilities.
Tehran may already possess similar capabilities to the weapons said to be under development with Russian assistance. Iran was reportedly in talks with the Kremlin over supplying ramjet-powered Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles (P-800) to its Houthis allies in Yemen in 2024, drawing protests from the US and Saudi Arabia.
Tom Newdick, an air warfare specialist at military news outlet , said Iran appeared to be prioritising development of anti-ship weapons.
“Based on what we know about Iranian research into this area, and the potential sale of Russian Yakhont missiles to Tehran, this development appears to underscore Iran’s push to enhance its anti-ship capabilities,” he said. “This could further threaten vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The US Navy has defences capable of countering the threat “but combining them with ballistic missiles, subsonic cruise missiles, and drones, makes the maritime air defence picture more complicated”, Newdick added.
Development of such a system could take years but it was unclear how far the programme had come, he said.
While Tehran’s forces have succeeded in striking numerous US bases in the region, and shooting down dozens of US aircraft, they have yet to record a successful strike on a ship, despite several attempts.
If that changes, a war that is now being fought at relatively low intensity could become a raging inferno, said Ken Katzman, a former CIA analyst with a focus on Iran, now at the Soufan Centre foreign policy think-tank in Washington DC.
“There are certain targets that, if they were hit, are going to fuel support for a ground offensive against Iran,” he said. “Hitting and causing a mass casualty event aboard a US Navy vessel is certainly going to inflame support for Trump’s war effort.”
Michael Mulroy, who served as Middle East lead in the US State Department during the first Trump administration, agreed that successful use of Russian-assisted missiles would lead to a new phase of warfare.
“If Iran actually strikes a US naval vessel, they will likely be in for way more than they expect. The US military will likely respond by overwhelming force and expand the targets,” he said, citing infrastructure targets in Iran such as power plants that Trump has threatened but largely held back on attacking.
Iran’s ability to develop the weapons could be impaired by the damage to missile production facilities caused by US and Israeli bombardment over two conflicts since June 2025.
Satellite images show extensive damage to key missile production sites, such as complexes in the cities of Isfahan and Shahrud. Unlike some missile stockpiles buried deep under concrete, many production sites were above ground and vulnerable.
Babak Taghvaee, an author and historian specialising in the Iranian military, believes the regime will struggle to resume production of any missile, and in particular advanced new technology.
“Under these circumstances, it will not be easy for Iran’s ministry of defence and armed forces logistics even to restore production of weapons that it was already manufacturing before the war,” he said. “Many of the specialised tools, machinery, components, and production systems required for these weapons were acquired through extremely difficult procurement processes over a period of decades.”
But increasing support for Iran from Russia, and to a lesser extent China, is a growing concern for Washington, analysts said.
President Vladimir Putin pledged further support for Iran at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan this week. “During this difficult time, we are trying to provide you with the assistance you need,” he said. “We have discussed this with you and are supplying you with the necessary goods.”
Russia has already provided its ally with intelligence used to target US bases in the Gulf, according to US intelligence assessments, as well as man-portable air defence missiles, and reportedly offered to supply “jam-proof” drones. The two countries have forged a closer bond since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after which Iran supplied Russia with thousands of Shahed suicide drones.
China has also discussed supplying advanced anti-ship missiles to Iran this year, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with talks, although Beijing denied this.
Washington’s rivals have clear incentives, and intentions, to exploit America’s position of being in a drawn-out conflict in the Gulf, said Dr Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London.
“For Moscow, a prolonged but contained Iran war is actually a very attractive strategic outcome,” he said. “It pulls American air defence systems, precision munitions, intelligence platforms and political attention away from Europe. It puts enormous pressure on US stockpiles. It raises energy prices, which benefits Russia. And it keeps an important anti-Western partner alive.
“I think the idea of bleeding the United States has considerable explanatory power here,” he added.
“There is an interesting mirror image of Ukraine developing. Washington discovered that it could impose extraordinary costs on Russia by enabling another state to fight without directly entering the war. Moscow has every incentive to apply exactly the same logic against the US.”