President Trump is confronting a crisis that is not bending to his narrative of a “pretty reasonable” new regime in Iran and all-but-assured U.S. victory.
At the end of 2025, Patrick Wintour wrote a compelling essay for Guardian Weekly in which he described an interregnum in global history, where the rules-based order had been eroded and great powers once again jostled for control and influence.
This week’s edition sees Patrick return to a key aspect of that theme, the deteriorating global standing of the United States after a period of high-stakes brinkmanship with Iran. Donald Trump’s aborted threat that Iranian civilisation would “die … never to be brought back” unless it ceded to his demands exposed the limits of his apocalyptic foreign policy. It also pointed to the wider decline of American influence in a world where the US appears untrustworthy and strategically isolated.
Spotlight | Hungary’s new dawn After 16 years, Viktor Orbán’s populist grip on the country’s politics is over. But will his successor Péter Magyar be much different? Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi report amid jubilant scenes in Budapest
Science | The man who was bitten by snakes 200 times – on purpose Tim Friede put his “ass on the line” to help stop snakebite deaths – whose numbers appear to be rising amid the climate crisis. Oliver Milman met him
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Opinion | Netanyahu-ism has achieved nothing for Israelis It is the voting public in Israel that will settle their PM’s fate later this year. But, argues Jonathan Freedland, all they have heard are promises of “total victory” that prove to be hollow
Culture | Jim Jarmusch, the darling of indie cinema The 73-year-old has been at the cutting edge of US independent movies since the 1980s. As Father Mother Sister Brother opens in the UK, he tells Amy Raphael about grief, greed and “doing crazy shit” with Steve Coogan
President Trump told Fox Business that the war was “close to over.” Iran threatened to expand its influence over shipping routes if a U.S. blockade continued.
The vice president, who is Catholic, took issue with Pope Leo XIV’s statement that disciples of Christ never side with “those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
Ship-tracking data showed that several vessels, including some that had been docked at Iranian ports, had moved through the strait as the U.S. military began its blockade.
As the war in Iran extends into its seventh week and a truce feels shaky, many Americans expressed bewilderment about a conflict that came with little warning.
Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, and his right-wing playbook were embraced by parts of the American right. Now some are worried by his defeat.
The regime in Iran has not changed and the nuclear and missile threats have not been eliminated, leaving many Israelis to wonder what this was all for.
Pope Leo XIV said he was unafraid of the Trump administration, hours after President Trump lashed out at the pontiff on social media, calling him too liberal and “weak on crime.”
The U.S. had demanded that Iran immediately reopen the strait, but Iran said it would do so only after a final peace deal, according to Iranian officials.
Israel’s campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a source of tension in the U.S.-Iran cease-fire. Israeli and Lebanese officials plan to meet for rare talks in Washington this week.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party has repeatedly tweaked Hungary’s electoral system to its advantage, making Sunday’s vote free, but not entirely fair.
The exact format of the talks in Pakistan was unclear. The White House declined to comment about Vice President JD Vance’s potential meetings with the Iranians.
Israel said it would continue striking the Iran-backed militia. Iran said it would not attend talks with the U.S. in Pakistan if the truce was not extended to Lebanon.
President Trump is citing European nations’ unwillingness to back the U.S. in the war as a reason to scale back or abandon the alliance. And he still wants Greenland.
The Consumer Price Index for March will reflect the rising costs for energy and other goods affected by disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East.
An irony of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power in Hungary is that his Fidesz movement was originally founded by pro-democracy, change-seeking young voters, even initially requiring members to be below the age of 35.
Now, in a crossroads election on 12 April, a new generation of Hungarians may be on the cusp of removing the rightwing populist prime minister, much to the dismay of his admirers in Moscow, Washington and Europe’s populist movements.
Orbán may have once described Hungary as “a petri dish for illiberalism” – as reflected by Harry Haysom’s cover art for us this week – but polls suggest his opponent Péter Magyar, a former top member of Fidesz who favours a closer relationship with the EU, could be the new change agent.
Spotlight | Was Trump conned by Netanyahu’s promise of an easy war? Senior US officials now consider the Israel PM’s pitch to have been overblown, creating potentially far-reaching consequences for both countries, writes Peter Beaumont
Science | The 21st-century moon prospectors Helium-3 is so rare that a palm-sized amount could be worth millions. As Artemis II flies by the moon and businesses look to the skies, is mining Earth’s satellite ethical? Oliver Holmes investigates
Feature | Can the UK’s cargo theft crisis be stopped? It costs the UK economy £700m ($920m) a year, and criminal gangs are operating with near impunity. Every time a lorry gets robbed, raided or hijacked, it’s Mike Dawber who investigates. ByStuart McGurk
Opinion | Ten years after Brexit, Trump is pushing Britain back towards the EU It’s the silver lining from this terrible age of Donald Trump, argues Gaby Hinsliff: his disdain and insults are fuelling the belief that the UK should renew ties with Europe
Culture | James McAvoy, froma Glasgow council estate to Hollywood stardom In his directorial debut, the X-Men actor is challenging stereotypes about his Scottish homeland via the remarkable tale of a real-life hip-hop hoax. Libby Brooks met him
Israeli forces killed more than 200 people in strikes against Hezbollah on Wednesday. Top European diplomats called for Lebanon to be included in the cease-fire.
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