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The papers, which went to press before news of an apparent ceasefire in the Iran war, are dominated by Donald Trump's threats after the US president warned a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" in a post to Truth Social. The headline of the Mirror reads "World holds its breath" over a photograph of the Earth taken from space by the Artemis II crew earlier this week.
The juxtaposition of "Humanity's historic new view" from space and the conflict in the Middle East has also been employed by the Metro, which notes that on Day 39 of Operation Epic Fury, "at least 50 air strikes" were recorded on Kharg Island, an Iranian oil hub.
"Night the world held its breath and prayed" says the Daily Mail, calling it a "moment of reckoning" as peace talks went "down to the wire". The paper carries a photograph of women waving Iranian flags on a bridge in Ahvaz on Tuesday. It reports that after Trump's "unhinged declaration", people in Iran were seen forming "human shields" around bridges and power plants.
Trump's declaration that a "whole civilisation" might die is front and centre of the Telegraph, which says world leaders were calling for calm as the president's peace ultimatum drew closer. The US hit Kharg Island in tandem with Israeli strikes on railway bridges, it reports, in an "apparent show of intent". According to the paper, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a "late intervention" and was pleading for both sides to stop fighting for two weeks to "allow diplomacy to prevail".
Similarly, the Guardian has the headline: "Outrage and fear as Trump warns 'whole civilisation will die' in Iran." The front page includes a photograph of Earth as seen from behind the Moon by the Artemis II crew on Tuesday, highlighting the latest "astonishing set of images" sent down from space. Quoting Nasa astronaut Victor Glover, it reads: "It's truly hard to describe."
The Times leads with a White House declaration that it will not use nuclear weapons in Iran, issued shortly after the president posted on Truth Social. It notes Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Hungary that the US had "tools in our toolbox that we so far haven't decided to use", but Trump could decide to use them if "Iranians don't change their course of conduct". The US military has already used "most of the weapons in its conventional arsenal" during Operation Epic Fury, according to the paper.
"UK makes plea for peace after Trump threat to wipe out 'whole civilisation'" reads the i Paper, which reports that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appealed to the president to "strike a peace deal with Tehran".
The Star says this is the "end of the world as we know it", characterising the president's latest threats as an "orange manbaby tantrum".
Hedge funds are betting Europe will be hit hard by the economic fallout of the Iran war, the Financial Times says, with a record number of short positions against European stocks recorded in the first three months of this year. The paper says that as a net importer, Europe is viewed as "much more vulnerable" than the US, which is a net exporter.
One of the few papers not dominated by the war in Iran, the Sun leads with US rapper Kanye West, who is now known as Ye, being blocked from entering the UK. He was due to headline Wireless Festival in London this summer, according to the paper, despite a history that includes a "string of antisemitic remarks". The Home Office said the decision to refuse permission was made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good. The Sun reports that the entire festival has now been "axed", and thousands of fans will have their tickets refunded.
The mother of Rhiannon Whyte, who was murdered in 2024 by Sudanese asylum seeker Deng Majek at the hotel where she worked, has called the UK a "laughing stock" for failing to stop illegal Channel immigration, the Daily Express reports. Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling illegal immigration and "restoring order" to the asylum system a priority for his government.
