TOP STORIES
Trump Says He Is Reimposing the U.S. Blockade of Iran | Wall Street Journal
“President Trump said Monday he is reimposing the U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping, escalating a standoff over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. . . . Trump asserted that the strait remains open under American protection and said the U.S. would charge 20% of every cargo shipment as compensation for its costs. He didn’t detail how that would work but said procedures would be formulated immediately. In a statement posted later on social media, U.S. Central Command said American forces would resume the blockade of Iranian ports at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.”
US, Iran Trade Strikes After Trump Blockade Threat | The Hill
“The U.S. and Iranian militaries exchanged fire early Tuesday following fresh threats from President Trump to take over the Strait of Hormuz. . . . The U.S. military struck targets across Iran in an effort to ‘further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping,’ according to the military command. ‘CENTCOM forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities,’ Centcom wrote on social media. . . . Tehran responded to these attacks with retaliatory strikes on U.S. allies in the region.”
Indian Seafarer Killed in Iran Tanker Strikes, Says UAE | Seatrade Maritime News
“One Indian seafarer has been killed and eight Indian and Ukrainian seafarers injured, four of them seriously, in Iranian attacks on two tankers, according to the UAE Ministry of Defence. The ministry said tankers Mombasa B and Al Bahyah were hit by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, causing material damage to both tankers and fires onboard which have since been brought under control.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Trump: Attacking Iran Capabilities Related to Strait of Hormuz | Newsmax
“Trump also said Monday that the United States was investigating whether Iran has military drones in Cuba. . . . The comments came after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush warned at a United Against Nuclear Iran event that Cuba may have acquired Iranian-made Shahed drones, which have been used by Iran and its partners in conflicts overseas.”
Trump Vows Swift Action on Possible Iranian Drones in Cuba | CubaHeadlines
“On July 8, the organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) showcased a replica of the Shahed-136 in Miami, with former President Jeb Bush and Ambassador Mark Wallace in attendance. Wallace warned, ‘Miami, Florida, is within the range of Iranian drones collaborating with the Cuban regime.’”
Oil Surges Most Since 2020, Reflecting Bet That Strait Won’t Go Back to Normal | Wall Street Journal
“The massive amount of Iranian oil that is already on the water outside of the U.S. blockade line will make it harder to inflict pain on Iran’s economy this time around, compared with the spring. . . . June shipments were close to prewar levels, according to United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit.”
“The core problem is that the conflict between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran is of the kind that . . . Secretary of State William Seward, once famously characterized as ‘irrepressible.’ Iran wants to control the energy resources of the Persian Gulf, and there is no local coalition of states powerful enough to block it without American support. The U.S. has believed for 80 years that ensuring the free passage of Middle Eastern oil and gas to world markets is essential to America’s prosperity and security.”
You Can’t Negotiate with Iran | UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky in the Spectator
“Conventional wisdom has framed the collapse of the Memorandum of Understanding as down to drafting mistakes, bad negotiating, and mistrust between parties. But that is a misreading. The agreement collapsed because of the nature of the Iranian regime as an international pariah, a regional bully, and a domestic dragnet that is not seeking peace. As President Trump recently told a radio show, the MOU was a test for Iran, and it failed. The regime in Iran does not view diplomacy as a means of solving problems with the United States as Washington does. It views diplomacy as an extension of its conflict with America.”
Interview with UANI Research Director Daniel Roth | Al Arabiya
“President Trump is realizing this is a completely, qualitatively different regime, government, administration—however you wish to call it —to all others he’s dealt with . . . a fundamentally theocratic radical regime, and the things they want are completely out of the mindset of the average Westerner.”
Did Mossad Recruit Iran’s Holocaust-Denying President? | Iran International
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, said it was plausible that Ahmadinejad attracted the attention of foreign intelligence services after becoming estranged from Iran’s leadership. ‘Do I think Ahmadinejad was a person of interest to certain foreign intelligence organizations because of his status as someone who has been burned by the Iranian leadership? Yes,’ Brodsky told Iran International. ‘Do I believe that Mossad and other intelligence agencies were interested in talking with him? Yeah, I do. . . . Does that mean that he was the grand Israeli regime change strategy for the Islamic Republic? Not necessarily,’ he said.”
Ahmadinejad Slams Mossad Plot Report as ‘Hollywood Claims’ | The Week
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, also believes that it was plausible that Ahmadinejad attracted the attention of Mossad after distancing himself from the Islamic regime. ‘Do I think Ahmadinejad was a person of interest to certain foreign intelligence organisations because of his status as someone who has been burned by the Iranian leadership? Yes,’ Brodsky told Iran International. But he argued that Ahmadinejad lacked support inside Iran’s security establishment capable of triggering defections. ‘Defections would be part of any regime change strategy,’ he said.”
MILITARY MATTERS & STRAIT OF HORMUZ SITUATION
US Military Targeted in Iran War Phone-Tracking Campaign | Financial Times
“Middle Eastern mobile networks were repeatedly hit with cyber attacks to track the locations of US personnel and contractors during the Iran war, according to telecoms data and people familiar with the matter. The prospect that adversaries were stalking US forces has alarmed some American lawmakers, who have warned roaming systems and smartphone ad tech have left the military vulnerable to attack.”
Trump Previews Additional Military Strikes on Iran | CNN
“During an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump suggested the US is closely tracking Iranian targets but declined to discuss operational details. ‘We’re going to hit them very hard tonight, and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow,’ the president said. Hewitt asked whether the US or Israeli military knew the whereabouts of Iran’s remaining military leadership and whether they could target them, and Trump responded: ‘Yeah, I do, but we don’t want to talk about that. But we certainly are watching.”
U.S. Uses Sea Drones in Combat for First Time to Attack Iranian Naval Base, CENTCOM Says | CBS News
“The U.S. military said it used one-way attack sea drones for the first time in combat Sunday in an attack on an Iranian naval port. In a statement shared Monday, U.S. Central Command said forces used multiple sea surface drones to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first time the weapons had been used in combat operations.”
Qatar Gives Green Light as Gulf States Join Strikes on Iran | Israel Hayom
“Gulf states are taking part in US attacks on Iran. Put simply, they have had enough. After a brief period in which Washington pursued a diplomatic track, with most Gulf states adopting a wait-and-see approach and Qatar playing an active role in mediation efforts, they are returning to their fundamental position: seeking the removal of the Iranian threat by force. Two Gulf diplomatic officials told Israel Hayom that a unified message to that effect was delivered to Washington over the weekend, including full support for the resumption of strikes. Israel Hayom has learned that Gulf states joined attacks on Iran over the past 48 hours. Their involvement has not been extensive, but they are now active participants in offensive operations. The shift in policy was partly driven by Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf states, including Qatar and its natural gas facilities. Qatar, which had previously blocked a unified Gulf position against Iran, withdrew its opposition following the attacks on its territory. Doha has also stopped working to secure the release of frozen Iranian funds.”
Explosions Heard in Southern Iran as US Launches More Strikes | CNN
“Three explosions were heard in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported early Tuesday local time. … The Hormozgan provincial government said a projectile hit the western part of Bandar Abbas but that no casualties were immediately reported, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. Explosions were also heard on the islands of Kish, Qeshm and Abu Musa, according to Fars. Farther west, explosions were also heard in Jam and Kangan in Bushehr province.”
Iran Says It Targeted US Vessel and Military Facilities in Kuwait | Iran International
“Iranian state television, citing the Iranian army, says Tehran has targeted a ‘hostile’ US vessel with cruise missiles and launched drone attacks against US military facilities and equipment in Kuwait. The claims have not been independently verified, and there has been no immediate comment from the United States.”
Trump Says US May Give Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘A Shot Relatively Soon’ | Iran International
“US President Donald Trump said Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain was a possible target for ‘a nice big fat shot right in the front door’ and that the United States would ‘probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon.’ Speaking on Monday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said the United States was monitoring the site closely and had seen no activity there. Pickaxe Mountain is believed to house a deeply buried nuclear facility that may be difficult to destroy with conventional bunker-buster bombs.”
Trump Declines to Put a Timeline on Renewed “Military Skirmish” Against Iran | CNN
“President Donald Trump on Monday characterized the US’ renewed bombing campaign against Iran as a ‘military skirmish,’ denying that it marked a new, prolonged stage in the fight even as he declined to say how long it would last. ‘We have to do what we’re doing,’ Trump said in response to questions from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. ‘We’ve cut down their capability very substantially, but they’re going to fight for a while.’ ... ‘We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We’re here for four months, so I think we’ve done a lot,’ he said. … ‘You have to get people that want to make something,’ he said. ‘We had a deal with them two days ago, and then they said, ‘Oh, we can’t make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.’”
Trump Says US Will Ultimately Control the Strait, Claims War Is Moving “Very Fast” | CNN
“President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States would ultimately control the Strait of Hormuz and insisted the war with Iran is moving ‘very fast’—even as it has blown past prior deadlines he predicted for its end. ‘We’re attacking them tonight, and we’re taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the strait, with the Hormuz Strait, and I think in the end we will end up just controlling the whole thing,’ Trump said . . .”
Iran Risks Its Most Valuable Arab Partner over Hormuz | Iran International
“Iran's attack on facilities supporting US naval operations in Oman has plunged relations with one of Tehran's closest regional partners into their deepest crisis in decades, turning a dispute over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz into a direct military confrontation.”
DIPLOMACY
Trump Says MOU with Iran Was a “Test” and “Didn’t Mean Much” | CNN
“President Donald Trump on Monday cast his much-touted memorandum of understanding with Iran as a ‘test’ that he would have preferred to skip. ‘It’s a standard tactic in the US that you go to a memorandum of understanding and then you go to the deal. I said, ‘Just go to the deal first,’ Trump said during an appearance on ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show.’ He continued: ‘But you know what? It was sort of a test, and they weren’t there. They didn’t honor the test.’ … ‘Memorandum of understanding when you’re dealing with sleazebags don’t mean much, and they don’t mean much when you’re dealing with honorable people, too, because it’s a memorandum of understanding—it doesn’t mean much,’ Trump told Hewitt.”
Trump Says Iran Broke Deal Reached After 11-Hour Meeting | Iran International
“US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that US negotiators believed they had reached a long-term peace deal with Iran following an 11-hour meeting on July 12, but Iranian leaders later introduced new demands. ‘What nobody knows, we had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,’ Trump said in the phone interview.”
Araghchi Says US Should Be Held Accountable over Hormuz Disruption | Iran International
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of illegal and provocative conduct in the Strait of Hormuz and said the international community should hold the United States accountable, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday. In a phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Araghchi said US actions had endangered regional peace and security and caused unprecedented disruption to commercial shipping.”
PROXY WARS
Trump Gave Saudi Crown Prince His Backing for Risky Strikes on Houthis | Axios
“President Trump gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) his support for a highly unusual military action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to two U.S. officials. . . . The Saudi strike on the Sanaa airport Monday and Houthi retaliatory missile attacks that followed were the most serious cross-border escalation since 2022. They could signal the collapse of a four-year, unofficial truce between the parties.”
Houthis Say They Targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abha Airport with Ballistic Missiles | Iran International
“Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthis said they targeted Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and warned airlines against flying through Saudi airspace.”
Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Countered Houthi Ballistic Missiles | Iran International
“The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Monday said it had intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Saudi Arabia’s southern region.”
Iranian Flights to Yemen Are Violation of Sovereignty, Says Yemeni Official | Guardian
“Iranian flights to and from Yemen are an unacceptable violation of the country’s sovereignty, the vice-president in Yemen’s Saudi-backed, UN-recognised government has said. Abdullah al-Alimi said in an interview that the planes contained equipment for the Houthi movement, which he said had transformed from merely a domestic threat into a regional and international threat to global security and the global economy.”
TERRORISM & INTEL
Germany Investigates Suspected Iran-Linked Spying and Attack Plans | Iran International
“German security authorities are investigating indications of possible surveillance activities and preparations for attacks linked to the Iran war, German-language newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday, citing the Interior Ministry. . . . The review comes after the publication of an Iranian ‘retaliation list’ that included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among a number of foreign leaders identified as targets for revenge.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Says Oil Exports Continue Despite Cancellation of US Waivers | Reuters
“Iran’s oil exports are continuing as usual despite the cancellation last week of a 60-day waiver of U.S. oil sanctions, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on his official Telegram account on Tuesday. Paknejad said the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms for years to neutralise the impact of U.S. sanctions and that Iran’s oil exports would face no problems despite the removal of the waivers.”
“A Massachusetts man was found guilty Monday of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who worked at the global electronics company Analog Devices, was accused of helping an Iranian business associate get around American export control laws. U.S. prosecutors say the business associate’s Tehran-based company makes navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Authorities say the scheme included the creation of a front company in Switzerland.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Ahmadinejad Rejects Mossad Recruitment Report as ‘Fabrication’ | Iran International
“The office of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected reports alleging that Israel’s Mossad had recruited him for a regime-change plan and that he had later been placed under house arrest. In a statement, the office said The New York Times’ ‘Hollywood-style claims’ did not merit a denial and described the newspaper as ‘known for publishing fake news and fabricating lies.’ It also accused the newspaper of being willing to publish fabricated articles and reports in exchange for payment. The statement said Ahmadinejad remained active and was continuing his daily work.”
Iran Lawmaker Tells Trump to ‘Guard Graham’s Grave’ Instead of Hormuz | Iran International
“The spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee said US President Donald Trump should ‘guard [deceased U.S. Sen. Lindsey] Graham’s grave’ after Trump said the United States would become the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Iran’s parliament removed two outspoken critics of negotiations with the United States from the leadership of its National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on Tuesday, a day after lawmakers returned to the chamber for the first time in more than four months. Mahmoud Nabavian lost his position as the committee’s first deputy chairman, while Ebrahim Rezaei was replaced as the committee’s spokesperson, according to the committee's annual leadership vote.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Trump Formally Informs Congress of Iran War Resumption | The Hill
“President Trump formally notified Congress last week that the U.S. has resumed military strikes against Iran, providing the Pentagon an extra 60 days to utilize U.S. forces in the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) theater absent congressional approval.”
RUSSIA & IRAN
Pezeshkian Urges Faster Implementation of Iran-Russia Agreements | Iran International
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Russia’s energy minister that Tehran was ready to remove obstacles delaying joint projects with Moscow, calling for strategic agreements between the two countries to move rapidly from negotiations to implementation. Speaking during a meeting with Sergei Tsivilev on Monday, Pezeshkian highlighted cooperation in energy, oil, gas, petrochemicals, industry, trade and transit corridors. He said the political will expressed by senior officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, meant joint projects should not be allowed to proceed slowly.”
GULF STATES & IRAN
Trump Says to Deliver ‘Speech to the Nation’ Thursday as Iran Tensions Escalate | France 24
“US President Donald Trump said he would make a primetime address to the nation on Thursday, in an announcement that comes amid a major flare-up of hostilities with Iran. . . . Trump did not reveal the subject of the speech, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for details.”
Trump Says He Wants the US to Be “Reimbursed for Protection” | CNN
“President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States should be reimbursed by ‘the countries that we’re helping’ in the conflict with Iran, naming several allies in the region. ‘I want to be reimbursed because we’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,’ he said. ‘We’re spending money, and so what we’ve done is—we are going to be reimbursed for protection.’ ‘We don’t need it, but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies,’ he added, insisting that the US has done a ‘a very effective job’ at protecting Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.”