Newspaper headlines: 'World waits for Iran's revenge' and 'Gulf War 3' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 4 January

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One story dominates Saturday's papers - the fallout from the US assassination of Iran's top military commander.

A senior UK security source tells the paper that Britain had not been told by Washington about the attack, despite the fact that hundreds of British troops - deployed to train Iraqi armed forces - are "virtually surrounded by heavily armed and dangerous militia who hate them".

The Daily Express is critical of US President Donald Trump for keeping Boris Johnson in the dark about the attack.

Under the headline, "Allies should surprise our foes not each other," the Express says that if "the fabled US-UK special relationship means anything it should include the right to be consulted and warned".

The Sun meanwhile calls General Soleimani a "brutal terror chief" who was responsible for thousands of deaths after directing terrorist operations across the Middle East for decades

The paper says his fighters trained in unconventional warfare also targeted UK forces in Iraq, often with roadside bombs.

Miliband 'decision'

A report in the Daily Telegraph says the SAS was ready to kill General Soleimani in 2007 when he was identified as the man running the campaign against British troops.

A senior military commander, based in the south of Iraq at the time, told the paper that - after Soleimani was located - Mr Miliband said he wanted to talk to the Iranians, not to kill them.

Mr Miliband has yet to comment.

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The Labour MP, Lisa Nandy - who has entered the contest to succeed Jeremy Corbyn - argues in the Guardian that the party's next leader has to be "up for a scrap" - willing to run to the places where the party is "loathed" and to" take anger on the chin".

Another new contender in the leadership race, Jess Phillips, features in the Daily Telegraph , saying the party needs a leader who understands why it lost the election, rather than someone who believed Mr Corbyn's claim that he had won the argument.

Everton bid

The Financial Times has interviewed the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov , who says he is considering investing in Everton football club, a year after he abandoned an attempt to take control of Arsenal.

Everton's majority owner is his long-time business partner Farhad Moshiri, and the club is struggling both financially and on the pitch. Mr Usmanov said he could become Everton's sponsor or a shareholder.

Sir Robbie Gibb, who was Theresa May's director of communications, is urging the BBC to, in his words, "wake up to its bias"

Writing in the Daily Mail the former BBC editor says ministers will continue to refuse to be interviewed on Radio 4's Today programme as its election coverage "spectacularly misread the politics".

Sir Robbie says Today had "endless outside broadcasts in universities, full of left-wing, entitled, virtue-signalling students".