TOP STORIES
US Strikes Iran for Second Straight Night | Axios
“The U.S. military launched strikes on Iran on Wednesday for the second consecutive evening. U.S. officials said the intent was to pressure Tehran to sign a deal, but the strikes also carry a risk of military escalation. . . . U.S. officials said they expected an Iranian response, possibly targeting U.S. bases, as happened Tuesday. Tehran announced Wednesday night its military had targeted the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain with drones in response to the latest American strikes — though it wasn't immediately clear whether it had struck anything.”
Iran Responds to a Second Day of US Strikes by Firing at Gulf states and Jordan | Associated Press
"The U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage. An Indian official said a U.S. attack on an oil tanker allegedly trying to violate Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports killed three Indian mariners, underscoring the danger to seafarers."
U.S. Military Helping Ships Through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Official Says | NBC
“The U.S. military has been coordinating with the commercial shipping industry to provide support, advice and coordination for the safe and swift transit of their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. has helped coordinate more than 200 transits to date, including ships moving in and out of the strait, the official said. This effort has supported moving more than 100 million barrels of oil through the strait and out to the global economy over roughly the past month, the official said. President Trump alluded to the operation while speaking at the White House earlier, saying that ‘every night, we’ve been taking out oil’ via the strait, citing the destruction of Iran’s radar capacity. Trump later said on Truth Social that ‘this wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
"United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) submitted a letter to Rubio presenting what it describes as substantial evidence that Tehran intends to exploit the tournament for hostile purposes. The group's concerns centre on a send-off ceremony held in Tehran on 13 May, where an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander addressed the players. According to UANI, the commander declared the World Cup a 'war battlefield' and stated the Iranian team would be playing in memory of those who 'stood by Iran's missile defence systems and ballistic missile launchers.'"
US Military Attacks Iran Again | Jewish News Syndicate
"Jason Brodsky, policy director for United Against Nuclear Iran, said the strikes highlight 'the erosion of the Islamic Republic’s deterrence.' 'Even its attempted closure of the Strait of Hormuz has not fully deterred outside powers from military action,' he said."
"Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told JNS that 'it’s an endurance contest.' 'The Iranian regime feels it has all the time in the world to wait out President Trump, and I think it’s incumbent on the Trump administration to try to change that calculus,' he said. 'I think that’s why you’re seeing President Trump get starting to get publicly impatient with the Iranian regime’s stall tactics and the negotiations.' Brodsky told JNS that 'after Iranian aggression aimed at American forces, the U.S. administration is increasingly targeting Iranian soil, and that’s a sea change in how we operate.' 'It really demonstrates the eroded deterrence of the Iranian regime,' he said. 'The Iranian regime remains a threat, make no mistake, but it has been weakened as a result of American and Israeli operations. Its defense industrial base has been eroded. Its missile and drone capacity has also been damaged. The Iranian regime, for the first time in years, is not enriching uranium, and that’s because of risk taking and courageous decisions by the Trump administration.'”
"Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, argues that the Trump administration has gone further by pairing military action with intensified economic pressure. 'The marrying of significant economic and military pressure against Iran's regime is a distinct feature of the Trump administration's approach,' Brodsky told RFE/RL. According to Brodsky, the latest operation follows a familiar pattern in Trump's dealings with Tehran. 'It's another chapter of the same coercive diplomatic dance the Trump administration has employed since 2025: the president lays out his terms, sometimes sets a deadline, if Tehran taps him along and stalls, the president strikes,' he said. 'This pattern will continue until there is a satisfactory outcome for the Trump administration.'"
MILITARY MATTERS
Trump Says U.S. Will Launch New Attacks on Iran | Wall Street Journal
“President Trump said the U.S. would resume attacks on Iran later Wednesday after a drone fired by Tehran hit a U.S. Apache helicopter, prompting several waves of American strikes in retaliation. Any renewed attacks would follow strikes by both the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday following the incident.”
White House to Meet Defense Firms to Talk About Ramping up Production - Sources | Reuters
“The Trump administration plans to meet executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House as soon as next week to discuss accelerating production, as U.S. strikes on Iran and other recent military operations draw down supplies, sources said.”
Iran Accuses US of ‘Calculated War Crime’ for Attack on Water Reservoirs | The Guardian
“Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs, on Wednesday accused the US of ‘deliberately targeting the lifeblood of the Iranian people’ when it struck two reservoirs in the Bemani area of Sirik in southern Iran. The attack has left 20,000 people without drinking water. ‘This is not collateral damage — it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law,’ Baghaei said in a post on X. ‘The US must be held accountable for committing such systematic brutal attacks on civilian life-sustaining infrastructure.”
Trump Says U.S. Will Hit Iran “Hard” Again Today and Iran Keeps “Playing Us for Suckers” | CBS
“President Trump, taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the U.S. is going to hit Iran "hard" again today while still looking for a deal. The president also praised the rescue of the U.S. Army members saved from the water when their Apache helicopter was shot down. ‘We'll see what happens,’ the president said. ‘We hit them hard yesterday and we're going to hit them hard again today in case you miss it, in case you don't turn on your television set. And we'll see what happens with a deal. We were — we were really close to a deal but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers because you know what, they dealt with some very stupid presidents. I have to say that, I'm embarrassed to say that, some very stupid people were sitting here."
Iran Says It Will ‘Stand Firm Against Any Pressure or Threat' | ABC
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the country will ‘stand firm’ amid threats from the U.S. of more attacks against the country, denouncing threats against Iranian infrastructure. ‘Threats to target them – from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries – are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,’ he said. Pezeshkian’s post comes after President Donald Trump said his administration would be ‘attacking [Iran] very hard.’ Iran ‘will stand firm against any pressure or threat,’ Pezeshkian said.”
Iran’s Fanatical Regime Would Rather Embrace Death Than Peace | Telegraph
“So the US war with Iran isn’t over, after all. The resumption of direct hostilities between Tehran and Washington, prompted by the Iranians downing a US Apache helicopter, has the usual suspects in the West once again claiming the conflict was a momentous mistake. They have ignored the extent of the damage done to Iran’s military infrastructure and nuclear programme, they have downplayed the threat the Iranians pose not just to their neighbours but to the rest of the world, and they have treated the ayatollahs as victims of unprovoked American aggression.”
DIPLOMACY
Iran to ‘Reassess’ US Talks Following Latest Strikes, Spokesperson Says | ABC
“Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters Wednesday that Tehran will need to reassess negotiations with the U.S. following the latest exchange of strikes. ‘What happened last night demonstrated that Iran's brave armed forces do not hesitate when it comes to defending the country,’ Baghaei said, as quoted by the IRIB state television channel. Unfortunately, the United States is undermining this process through contradictory messages, frequent shifts in its positions and demands, and repeated violations of the ceasefire,’ he added.”
“Efforts to reach an interim deal to end hostilities between Iran and the U.S. have intensified, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters on Thursday, despite strikes launched by both sides, as the warring parties discuss how to release frozen Iranian funds. The sources said Iran and the United States were still exchanging messages over details of a memorandum of understanding amid the ongoing confrontation between Tehran and Washington.”
“Qatari negotiators have departed Tehran following discussions on the Middle East war, a diplomat tells AFP, as the US and Iran traded strikes once more. ‘The Qatari delegation departed from Tehran this morning following talks with Iranian officials… that lasted into the early hours of this morning,’ the diplomat says on condition of anonymity, adding the discussions were ‘conducted in coordination with the United States.’”
Trump's Iran Strikes Follow Two-Week Waiting Game in Negotiations | Axios
“The trigger for President Trump's strikes on Iran was the downing of a U.S. helicopter, but behind the scenes Trump had been growing more and more frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for an Iranian response to his latest offer that still has not arrived.”
Iran Decries U.S.-Backed Resolution to Declare Uranium Stocks | NBC
“A U.S.-backed resolution passed by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that called for Tehran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them was “devoid of professionalism expected from a technical body,’ Iran said in a statement today. Iran questioned how the IAEA could ‘be trusted when instrumentalized by warmongers, and decapacitated in a way that is not even able to express a simple concern over the most extensive unlawful armed attacks — unprecedented in its history- on peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities of a member State?’ ‘The resolution hypocritically expresses support for a diplomatic solution, while the U.S. simultaneously engages in further acts of aggression including against Iranian civilian infrastructure and promotes confrontation,’ Iran said. ‘Iran will protect its inalienable rights including in response to this flawed resolution,’ it added.”
SHIPPING
Three Indian Sailors Killed in US Strike on Oil Tanker | BBC News
“Three Indian sailors who were reported missing have been killed after the US military struck a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, a federal minister has said. The Palau-flagged MT Settebello came under attack on Wednesday after the US military accused it of not complying ‘with directions from American forces.’ There were 24 Indian crewmen on board of which 21 were rescued.”
Oil Tanker Disabled by U.S. In Gulf of Oman After Ignoring Blockade, Centcom Says | CBS
“The U.S. aircraft fired on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman early Wednesday after it allegedly ignored calls to comply with the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command. The Palau-flagged M/T Settebello was transporting oil from Iran, according to CENTCOM. The U.S. is blockading all vessels from entering or exiting Iranian ports. Earlier, the Indian Foreign Ministry said three crew members of the Settebello were missing after it was struck by an attack. Twenty-one members of the crew were rescued from the ship, the embassy said. It did not assign blame for the attack. CENTCOM shared video of the attack on social media, showing aircraft striking the engine of the ship and then the vessel floating in the gulf, disabled, with a large plume of smoke.”
Oil Tanker Leaves Persian Gulf for Europe for First Time Since March | CBS
“A tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil was heading for European waters Wednesday after exiting the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz at the end of May - the first such shipment since March, data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler shows. The Advantage Victory, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on May 27 without indicating its destination. On Monday, it turned its transponder on to reveal its destination as the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where it is due to arrive on July 7. The tanker, which was loaded with Iraqi oil at Basra on Feb. 24 and March 1, was off the coast of Madagascar on Wednesday, according to tracking data. It was the first tanker to traverse the Strait of Hormuz with oil destined for Europe since March 1, when the New Vision left the Gulf just hours after the U.S. and Israel launched their joint attacks on Iran.”
PROXY WARS
“The United States, United Kingdom, Australia and 18 other countries have called on Iran to halt its ‘lethal plotting and other malign actions’ across Europe, North America and Australia. In a joint statement published Wednesday, the group of countries, which includes Canada, France, and several other European nations, said Iran had a long-standing relationship with ‘international and local criminal groups,’ adding ‘their use of these groups is deplorable.’ ‘Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms,’ read the bulletin. ‘These actions must stop immediately.’ The group attributed the nefarious activities to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps; its Quds Force, which runs foreign operations; and the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. It also condemned ‘the recent campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists, and U.S. interests, claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya and supported by their intermediaries."
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Hits China- And Hong Kong-Based Entities with Sanctions over Iran Weapons | Reuters
“The U.S. government on Wednesday said it was imposing sanctions against 11 people and entities, including several based in China and Hong Kong, for supporting weapons procurement by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian military. Nine of those designated were China- and Hong Kong-based individuals and companies that facilitated the procurement of weapons for Iran's military, and a Hong Kong-based company operating within Iran’s clandestine banking network, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement. The U.S. State Department also designated two companies and individuals based in Iran and Belarus in connection with Iran's conventional arms-related activities, Treasury said.”
NUCLEAR PROGRAM
U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Board Passes Resolution Demanding Iran Report Uranium Stocks | NBC
“The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a U.S.-backed resolution today telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them, which could complicate Washington’s talks with Tehran. The move came within hours of the U.S. and Iran trading military strikes after President Donald Trump said Iran had downed a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli and U.S. attacks in June of last year destroyed or badly damaged Iranian uranium-enrichment plants but much of the enriched uranium they produced, including material close to weapons-grade, is thought to have survived. Iran still has not informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of the fate of that material, or let IAEA inspectors return to the bombed sites to check. The U.S. led the push for the resolution, but Iran has called it ‘whitewashing military aggression,’ since inspectors had access before the strikes. The resolution text submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany was passed with 21 votes in favor, three against and 10 abstentions, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said. The countries opposing were Russia, China and Niger, they said, adding that Venezuela was not allowed to take part.”
ISRAEL & IRAN
Report: Iranian Airstrikes Damaged Ramat David Israeli Airbase | The Guardian
“An Iranian missile attack this week caused some damage to Ramat David airbase in northern Israel, an Israeli military official told AFP on Wednesday. The official did not say what exactly was damaged or if the base took a direct hit. ‘We confirm that there was an impact at the base but at a non-critical area,’ the official told AFP. ‘We are investigating whether it was caused by a shrapnel or it was a direct impact. It was most likely a large piece of shrapnel but there was no damage caused to equipment or personnel.”
Israeli Defense Minister Says War with Iran ‘Far from Over' | CBS
“Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened force against Iran if it strikes Israel again, saying the war is ‘far from over.’ ‘We must not think that the work is done, the campaign against Iran is far from over. If Iran attacks Israel, it will suffer a severe blow, as we did a few days ago. The IDF is prepared to attack Iran with great force,’ Katz said speaking in Jerusalem on Wednesday. ‘We continue to attack Hezbollah terrorists everywhere for the sake of the security of the northern communities and the State of Israel, and we categorically reject Iran's threats and its attempt to link the arenas,’ he said.”
HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israeli Military Says 20 Hezbollah Fighters Killed in past Two Weeks Alone | CBS
“The Israeli military said Wednesday that it had killed 20 Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon over the past two weeks, as fighting continues across the border despite a ceasefire extension signed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments last week in Washington. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said its ‘Shahaf’ unit, working in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force, had struck Hezbollah infrastructure used to launch explosive drones against Israeli forces. “The unit conducts intelligence collection, fire direction, and strikes through surveillance operations," the IDF said in a statement.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran Threatens to Stop World Cup Games If Faced with Unauthorised Flags or Slogans | Reuters
“Iran threatened to halt its matches at the World Cup if unauthorised flags are displayed or slogans targeting the national team are chanted at stadiums, Iranian media reported, citing Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali, following criticism of the team’s presence at the tournament.”