Sunday newspaper round-up: Iran, 'Get Britain Drilling', London marches against far right, Labour equality overhaul

The US was said to be preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, according to The Telegraph, with plans reportedly being developed by the Pentagon including potential raids on Kharg Island, Tehran's main oil‑export hub, as well as strikes on coastal sites near the Strait of Hormuz.

Officials told the paper the operation would fall short of a full‑scale invasion but could involve special forces and infantry units. One source suggested the campaign could take "weeks, not months", while another estimated "a couple of months".

More than 2,200 US marines were reported to have arrived in the Middle East on Friday alongside strike aircraft and amphibious assault ships, giving Donald Trump the option of deploying troops ashore. Thirteen US service members had been killed since the conflict began last month.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Washington could "achieve all of our objectives without ground troops", though officials told the paper planning for a ground operation was already at an advanced stage.

Syria’s assistant defence minister said the country's forces had repelled a drone attack launched from neighbouring Iraq that targeted one of the remaining US military bases on Syrian territory. Sipan Hamo said four drones aimed at the Qasrak base were shot down without casualties.

He added that Damascus was holding Iraq responsible and urged it to prevent further attacks. The Guardian noted that the incident followed a similar attempted strike a day earlier on the al‑Tanf base in the southeast, which Syria also said it had repelled.

Seafarer support organisations were said to be overwhelmed with messages from crews stranded in the Gulf amid the Middle East conflict, with workers urgently seeking repatriation, compensation and basic supplies.

The International Transport Workers' Federation told The Guardian it had received more than 1,000 emails and messages from seafarers stuck around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region since US‑Israeli strikes on Iran began on 28 February. One email described a "critical situation" onboard, citing shortages of food, water and essential provisions.

Lebanon condemned what it called a "blatant war crime" after three journalists were killed in an Israeli strike in the south of the country, according to reports in The Guardian. The victims were named as Ali Shoeib of Hezbollah‑owned al‑Manar TV, and Fatima and Mohammed Ftouni of the pro‑Hezbollah outlet al‑Mayadeen.

Israel claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging Shoeib was a Hezbollah "terrorist" involved in intelligence work, though it provided no evidence and did not comment on the deaths of the other journalists. Shoeib, a veteran war correspondent, had reported for al‑Manar for nearly 30 years.

Kemi Badenoch was set to launch a "Get Britain Drilling" campaign aimed at boosting domestic oil and gas production as the Middle East conflict continued to push global energy prices higher, according to The Independent.

The Conservative leader was expected to call for an end to the moratorium on new oil and gas licences, the scrapping of the windfall tax, and increased financial support for the fossil‑fuel sector. She was also due to visit an offshore rig near Aberdeen as part of the campaign.

An estimated half a million people marched through central London on Saturday in what organisers described as "the biggest demonstration ever against the far right", The Independent reported.

Protesters carried signs reading "No to racism, no to Trump" and "Refugees welcome" as they moved toward Whitehall. Co‑organiser Kevin Courtney told crowds the turnout gave campaigners "confidence to carry on".

The Conservative Party claimed Labour was planning an overhaul of equality laws that would impose "socialism" on Britain, according to The Telegraph. The paper said the government was drawing up new statutory guidance introducing a "socio‑economic duty" requiring public bodies to consider reducing inequality in all decisions.

Critics argued the policy would prioritise benefits claimants and deprived households for public services, pushing middle‑income families "to the back of the queue".