TOP STORIES
The US and Iran Trade Missile Barrages as Hopes Dim for a Quick Resolution | Associated Press
“The United States and Iran each fired barrages of missiles Thursday, as the pattern of back-and-forth strikes took hold again and hope dimmed for any quick resolution. . . . Jordan said Thursday it intercepted Iranian missiles for the second consecutive day, while Kuwait said a strike in the northern part of the country killed one person. . . . The attacks came after the U.S. military said it completed ‘a heavy wave of strikes against Iran,’ conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ after it targeted the base. The military’s Central Command said in a social media post that the U.S. struck ‘dozens’ of targets belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including military command centers as well as missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance and defense sites.
Trump ‘Exasperated’ on Iran as Top Officials Can’t Agree on Strategy, Sources Say | NBC News
“As President Donald Trump weighs his next move on Iran, his top aides and allies can’t agree on a path forward, according to people familiar with the discussions.”
Yemen’s Houthis Considering Fees for Ships Sailing Through Red Sea, Sources Say | Reuters
“Yemen’s Houthi group is considering imposing fees on commercial ships sailing through the southern Red Sea, a week after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, regional sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. . . . Houthi officials travelled to Iran in July for the funeral ceremony of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where Iranian counterparts discussed with them the issue of imposing fees on Bab el-Mandeb transits, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters. The objectives of such a move would be to normalise the practice of imposing fees on international waterways and increase pressure on the United States, the sources said. Chinese ships would be exempted from such fees and the Houthis were supportive of the arrangement, they added. China has held direct talks with the Houthis to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked, sources have told Reuters.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
“An Islamic charity accused of being an outpost of the Iranian regime in London has the right to bring workers into Britain. . . . Kasra Aarabi, director of research on the IRGC at United Against Nuclear Iran, a non-profit organisation, called its inclusion on the Home Office list ‘truly appalling.’ He added: ‘This is no ordinary mosque or charity. It operates as the UK office of the Iranian regime's supreme leader. The situation is far worse than has been reported.’”
Interview with UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky | i24 News
“There have been longstanding concerns that Pickaxe Mountain could be the site of a breakout should Iran’s leadership decide to manufacture a nuclear weapon.”
“United Against Nuclear Iran reports that Iran ‘regularly carries out executions in public. In many of these cases, the victim is publicly hanged from a construction crane, an especially slow and painful execution method.’”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
The U.S. Commander with a Two-Week Plan to Escalate Strikes in Iran | Wall Street Journal
“[Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper] has prepared an option for a punishing air campaign against Iran that could take up to two weeks, people familiar with the matter said. Now, as Trump moves to strike back after Iran’s surprise missile attack Tuesday, the president will decide how far to go. He could greenlight Cooper’s option of 10 to 14 days of intensive airstrikes intended to cripple Iran’s missile capability despite warnings that the U.S. is running low on air-defensive munitions. Or, he could opt for a more limited military strike in the hopes diplomacy could be pursued.”
Egypt Suffers First Drone Attack, Widening the Iran War | Wall Street Journal
“An explosion at a port on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast that set fire to two ships, including a U.S. gas-storage tanker, was caused by a drone attack, Egyptian authorities said Thursday, the first targeting of the country during the current Iran war and a new threat to a vital energy corridor. The Egyptian cabinet said the fire at Damietta Port, which houses a key liquefied natural gas hub, had been brought under control with no casualties reported. It said that no party had claimed responsibility for the incident, which took place Wednesday. Initially, Egyptian authorities blamed Iran for the attack and viewed it as an attempt to widen the conflict, Egyptian officials familiar with the matter said, signaling that Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has a higher risk appetite even with countries deemed friendly to Tehran.”
Kuwait Says Iranian Strike Hit Chinese Company Building, Killing 1 | Agence France-Presse
“Kuwait’s defense ministry says an Iranian strike that hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in the country’s north has killed one person.”
Iranian Newspaper Reports Four IRGC Advisers Killed in Iraq Strikes | Fox News
“Four Iranian Revolutionary Guards military advisers were killed in overnight U.S.-Saudi strikes in Iraq, Iran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported Wednesday. The claim has not been officially confirmed by Iranian, Iraqi, U.S. or Saudi authorities.”
Iraqi Armed Groups Condemn ‘Dangerous Escalation’ After US-Saudi Strikes | Al Jazeera
“Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) has said at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded in joint Saudi-US strikes on its sites across the country. . . . The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a self-proclaimed resistance armed group backed by Iran, had denied any role in the attacks on Saudi Arabia. It said Saudi claims were ‘fabrications’ and that ‘any foolish Saudi action will be met with a harsh response.’ In a statement, the PMF, which is an umbrella group for Iraqi militias backed, trained and loyal to Iran, said the US-Saudi attacks in Iraq represent a ‘highly dangerous escalation’ and a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and official security institutions.”
“Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah militia said Wednesday it would give the Iraqi government until Aug. 6 to demonstrate that it can defend the country’s sovereignty following U.S.-Saudi strikes. The Iran-backed group said retaliation for the attacks was ‘inevitable’ and warned that any response could target U.S. ‘tools’ in Saudi Arabia.”
Iran Gambles on Escalation with Surprise Attack on U.S. Forces | Wall Street Journal
“Iran’s surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan shows Tehran’s military leaders would rather risk ramping up the war than play defense or accept a peace deal that would expose them to greater domestic political pressures.”
DIPLOMACY
Inside Bibi’s Pivotal White House Meeting with Trump | Axios
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed skepticism during his meeting with President Trump about the chance of a deal with Iran and discussed increasing economic pressure on Iran ‘through kinetic and non-kinetic means,’ a senior Israeli official said in a briefing with reporters. . . . The Israeli official said they discussed three options Trump is considering for next steps: 1. Reaching a deal with Iran. . . . 2. Continuing the naval blockade on Iran while increasing economic pressure. 3. Resuming and intensifying military strikes.”
ASSASSINATION THREATS & PLOTS
“A 19-year-old Norwegian [Johannes Kongsnes Natland] has been found guilty of traveling to England to kill someone on behalf of a Swedish crime group that is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for its links to Iran. . . . The target of the assassination remains unknown, but police say ‘a significant amount of evidence’ showed ‘Natland was fully aware he was being asked to kill someone.’ . . . Police say Natland had been tasked with the murder by a Swedish organized crime group called the Foxtrot Network. The group—along with its leader, Rawa Majid—is under British and American sanctions for acts of violence against Israeli and Jewish targets across Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.”
Salman Rushdie’s Attacker Found Guilty of Aiding a Foreign Terror Group | New York Times
“A man who stabbed the author Salman Rushdie more than a dozen times was found guilty on Wednesday of aiding a foreign terrorist group and carrying out the orders of the Iranian government, which had called for Mr. Rushdie’s death more than three decades ago. Hadi Matar, a young man who had been enraged by Mr. Rushdie’s work, rushed onstage at a retreat in western New York in August 2022 and stabbed him repeatedly. Mr. Rushdie survived the attack, but was left with severe nerve damage and blind in his right eye.”
INTEL
The Hunt for Khamenei: How CIA and Mossad Are Trying to Trace Mojtaba | Times of London
“It is the covert operation that is never officially discussed or confirmed but the hunt for Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is preoccupying Mossad and the CIA. While President Trump considers his next move in the war with Iran, Israel’s foreign intelligence service and their American counterparts are jointly trying to trace the supreme leader who took power after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on February 28. The challenge for the world’s most sophisticated intelligence agencies is that the target has gone silent. Mojtaba appears not to have picked up a phone or opened a laptop for about 150 days. He is somewhere in a deep shelter, his face disfigured from injuries sustained in the airstrike that killed his father, and he does not dare emerge into daylight for fear of being spotted by an American spy satellite.”
Veteran of Secret IDF Unit Charged with Spying for Iran | Times of Israel
“An Israeli civilian who previously served in the military in a classified unit has been arrested and charged with spying on behalf of Iran, Israeli authorities announce. . . . The investigation found that the man, who served in the classified unit during both his mandatory service and reserves, was in contact with ‘an individual who identified himself as an Iranian intelligence agent.’ The statement says the suspect at one stage was also asked to assist with recruiting a soldier ‘to establish contact with those [Iranian] agents.’”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Public Executions in Iran Spark Anti-Regime Protests | France 24
“In a rare public execution, the Iranian regime hanged two protesters, Abolfazl Sepahi and Amir Safari, in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on July 28. . . . Although the regime had organised the executions as a public event, events did not unfold as the authorities intended. An angry crowd gathered at dawn and began chanting against the police, prompting anti-riot officers to intervene. Police dispersed the crowd and chased people through nearby streets and alleys, using Tasers and tear gas and firing warning shots, according to several witnesses. Short videos posted on social media appear to corroborate their accounts.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Issues New Iran-Related Sanctions Targeting Insurers, More Tankers | Reuters
“The United States on Wednesday issued another round of Iran-related sanctions, taking aim at Iran's efforts to ‘monetize the Strait of Hormuz’ with designations of 10 entities and eight more tankers, the U.S. Treasury Department said. Six of the entities targeted for sanctions were based in China, it said.”
Iran Signals Gas Price Hike as Fuel Crisis Looms | Deutsche Welle
“Iran is moving closer to politically sensitive changes in gasoline pricing as the government struggles with a widening gap between domestic fuel production and consumption, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict with the US. On July 25, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said changes to fuel prices or rationing are ‘certain and unavoidable,’ although officials have yet to confirm whether the response will come through new quotas, higher prices or both.”
CHINA, GULF STATES & IRAN
Can China Restrain Iran? Gulf States Test Beijing’s Influence | Reuters
“As the Iran war escalates again, Gulf Arab states are looking to China—not Washington—to use its economic leverage over Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, testing how far Beijing is able and willing to pressurise Tehran. . . . But Beijing has refrained from publicly challenging Tehran's threats to shipping, fuelling doubts about how far China is prepared to go to secure the Gulf and its exports. ‘The Chinese are trying to be more involved, they are trying to be more helpful,’ a second Gulf source said. ‘But China has turned out not to be as influential as we thought—whether that is a lack of will or a lack of capacity is debatable. What seems to happen when America enters the fray is that superpower calculations dominate over everything else.’”