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Iran's president has warned against further attacks on his country after Israel targeted military sites in pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday.In a statement on X, Masoud Pezeshkian gave his condolences to the families of the four people killed in the attacks and said Iran would continue to defend itself. "Enemies of Iran should know these brave people are standing fearlessly in defence of their land and will respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence," he wrote.Analysis:Scale of any retaliation will dictate whether Iran and Israel are on path to all-out warUS pressure over Israel's retaliation against Iran appears to have paid off - for now Image: A map of where Israel struck in Iran The Israeli military said its airc...

Israel's unprecedented night of airstrikes across Iran may be just what was needed to pull the Middle East back from all-out war.That might sound odd because for hours, it seems, Israeli jets ranged freely across Iranian airspace, apparently attacking targets and air defences at will in a flagrant violation of Iranian sovereignty and provocation, you might say. It was, you might have thought, just the sort of escalation to lead to Iran upping the ante and launching thousands of ballistic missiles to rain down on Israel's towns and cities.But that is not likely to happen.Why? Because neither side wants all-out war. For months now, Israel and Iran have been trying to act tough while trying desperately to avoid one. Last night's operation is no different. The reasons are clear. Iran cannot af...

Georgia's ruling party is leading the crucial election race that could decide the country's role in Europe.The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party had won 52.99% of the vote after 97% of the electronic vote was counted. Not all paper ballots and votes cast by Georgians abroad have been counted. Both Georgian Dream and the opposition blocs trying to end its 12 years in power have portrayed the vote as an existential choice.After the polls opened Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who set up Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia, accused opposition parties of being "an agent of a foreign country that will only fulfil the tasks of a foreign country" - suggesting the West wants Georgia to go to war with Russia.He also pledged to ban all pro-Western oppositi...