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Israel says it has struck almost all of Iran’s military infrastructure inside Syria in its biggest assault since the start of the civil war there.

The strikes came after 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military positions in the occupied Golan Heights overnight.

Syria’s military said the Israeli “aggression” had killed three people.

There was no immediate comment from Iran, whose deployment of troops to Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad has alarmed Israel. Iran has repeatedly called for an end to the existence of the Jewish state.

Russia, Germany and France called on both countries to exercise restraint, but the US said Iran bore “full responsibility for the consequences of its reckless actions” and that Israel had a right to defend itself.

The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, about 50km (30 miles) from the capital Damascus. Israel occupied most of the area in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that early on Thursday morning 20 rockets had been launched at its forward posts there by the Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

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Two men have been arrested over an attempt to import a “deadly haul of firearms” similar to those used in mass shootings in the United States.

The weapons, including two AR-15 assault rifles and four handguns, were found by Border Force officers at Dover in April, hidden in the floor of a van. That type of rifle was used in recent shootings at a Florida school and music festival in Las Vegas.

The men, from Essex, were held on suspicion of importation offences.

The pair, both 31 and from the Basildon area, were arrested after warrants at five locations in Essex were executed by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Houses were also searched and “several thousand pounds in cash” was recovered, the NCA said.

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Britain has “no intention of walking away” from the Iran nuclear deal despite the United States pulling out, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says.

Mr Johnson told MPs the UK would “strive to preserve the gains” made by the international agreement. The 2015 deal curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in return for the lifting of UN, US and EU sanctions.

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday he will pull out, describing it as “defective at its core”.

Labour accused the president of a “reckless, senseless and immoral act of diplomatic sabotage”. Other signatories to the agreement – the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany – say they remain committed to it. Iran has said it will try to salvage the agreement, but would restart uranium enrichment if it could not.

Mr Johnson – who had travelled to the United States in a last-minute attempt to persuade the Trump administration not to ditch the deal – told MPs the responsibility was now on the president to set out how he plans to secure a new settlement. “Britain stands ready to support that task, but in the meantime we will strive to preserve the gains made by the [agreement]”, he added.

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North Korea has freed three US citizens from prison, according to a tweet from US President Donald Trump.

The move is viewed as goodwill gesture ahead of a historic summit between Mr Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

Mr Trump said he would greet the men when they return with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been in Pyongyang to arrange the planned talks. Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul had been jailed for anti-state activities and placed in labour camps.

Mr Trump announced the release of the men in a tweet on Wednesday. “They seem to be in good health,” he wrote, adding that a date and location had been set for talks after a “good meeting with Kim Jong Un”.

Kim Hak-song was held on suspicion of “hostile acts” in May 2017. He had previously described himself as a Christian missionary who intended to start an experimental farm at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). Tony Kim, also known as Kim Sang-duk, also worked at PUST. He was detained in April 2017 on espionage charges. According to South Korean media, he had been involved in humanitarian work in the North. Kim Dong-chul, a pastor in his early 60s, was detained in 2015 on spying charges, and was then sentenced to 10 years hard labour.

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A father who pressured his 14-year-old son into taking the blame for a murder he had committed has been jailed.

Matthew Moseley, 50, shot Lee Holt in the chest when he tried to get into his home last October. After he fired the shotgun, Moseley handed it to his son, saying: “Tell them you’ve done it.”

Moseley, who had denied murder, was given a life sentence at Preston Crown Court and ordered to serve at least 26 years in jail.

Jurors heard Mr Holt had gone to confront Moseley at his home in Oswaldtwistle, near Accrington, amid a long-running dispute between the men’s children.

Moseley opened his front door and fired a Beretta semi-automatic shotgun at Mr Holt, the jury was told.

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