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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
President Trump threatened yesterday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant, including in Tehran, each time Iran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has already bombed bridges in southern Iran over the last 12 days of fighting, but targeting power plants and striking Tehran would mark another escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded that Iran’s defense doctrine is an “eye for an eye” and threatened countries that actively support U.S. attacks against Iran. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
U.S. Central Command said it launched another wave of strikes overnight to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping. The targets of the attacks included Iranian drone and missile storage sites and air defenses, Central Command said. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said today that it had launched attacks on U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Jordan, including a communications tower, as retaliation for U.S. attacks on similar infrastructure in Iran. Eric Schmitt, Shirin Hakim, Alan Yuhas, and Pranav Baskar report for the New York Times.
The IRGC also said this morning that one of three oil tankers trying to pass through a “mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz” caught fire after an explosion, prompting the other two to turn back, in a statement carried by Iranian state media. Shirin Hakim reports for the New York Times.
Oil prices continued to rise today, with Brent crude reaching $97 a barrel. As fighting has intensified, Brent has gained about $13 over the past week. Laura Stevens reports for the New York Times.
The U.S. military used a B-1 long-range bomber on Tuesday to strike IRGC targets in Iran, according to U.S. officials. This was the first time that the United States conducted a B-1 mission since fighting with Iran resumed. B-1 bombers can carry two dozen 2,000-lb bombs or dozens of cruise missiles, signalling an escalation and expansion of the U.S. military campaign. It remains unclear what the B-1 attacked and whether the mission caused more damage than other strikes over the last few days. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
The Houthis yesterday announced that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with missiles and drones in the Red Sea as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, adding that they also forced around “10 ships to retreat and return.” Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Times.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters today that the Houthis had been smart earlier to stay out of the war. “I hope that will de-escalate because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians,” he said. “They should stay out of it.” Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – LEBANON
Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold their next round of U.S.-brokered talks on Aug. 4 in Italy, a Lebanese official told Reuters yesterday. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The new director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, visited Washington two weeks ago for talks about the war in Iran and the Iranian nuclear program, according to two sources. The sources said Gofman met with CIA director John Ratcliffe as well as White House officials. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
A New York Times visual analysis of U.S. military bases and other sites found that Iranian strikes in the last two weeks have caused damage to living quarters and working areas, drone shelters, radar systems, and other structures. Iranian attacks on nine U.S. locations show that Iran maintains the ability to inflict damage on precise targets, despite the Trump administration’s repeated claims that Iran’s military capabilities have been diminished. Aric Toler and Christoph Koettl report.
Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted U.S. intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, four sources told Reuters. At least two CIA sites were struck in March – one was the CIA station in Saudi Arabia, and the other was a separate site in eastern Iraq. Some sources said additional CIA sites have been hit, but they did not disclose details. Jonathan Landay, Gram Slattery, and Timour Azhari report.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
EU diplomats have agreed on a 21st sanctions package against Russia, targeting 94 financial institutions, Moscow’s stock exchange, shadow fleet vessels, and additional crypto platforms, while freezing the Russian oil price cap at $44.10 per barrel for another year, four sources said yesterday. The package also includes a compromise granting a renewable one-year exemption allowing EU companies to transfer Russian LNG to third countries after Jan. 1, securing Greece’s support. Julia Payne, Philip Blenkinsop, and Andrew Gray report for Reuters.
Ukraine has agreed to export drones to the United States to participate in the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, a source told Reuters yesterday. Drone Dominance is a billion-dollar competition run by the U.S. Department of Defense, in which small attack drones from dozens of manufacturers participate in challenges designed to simulate battlefield adversity. Max Hunder reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Two Ghanaian nationals have petitioned the International Criminal Court to open a preliminary investigation into attacks against foreign nationals in South Africa, which they said could constitute crimes against humanity, according to the petition seen by Reuters. The petition alleges a “pattern of widespread and systematic attacks” against migrants in South Africa and accuses South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of failing to prevent or punish those crimes. Reuters reports.
Amnesty International said yesterday that a Pakistani airstrike that hit a drug treatment center in Kabul, Afghanistan, in March should be investigated as a possible war crime. The rights group said it had “found no evidence to support” Pakistan’s claims that the Omid drug rehabilitation center was being used for military purposes or to store ammunition and weapons. Afghanistan has said the strike killed about 400 civilians in the facility. Pakistan has disputed the death toll, and has insisted it was targeting a military facility. Abdul Qahar Afghan and Elena Becatoros report for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration is weighing military action in Mali to target an al-Qaeda affiliated group known as JNIM, current and former U.S. officials told the Washington Post. The sources said that there is disagreement among senior U.S. officials over whether to proceed with strikes, noting that Sebastian Gorka, the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, is a particularly vocal advocate. John Hudson and Rachel Chason report.
The Energy Department announced yesterday that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman have officially signed a deal to cooperate on civilian nuclear power. Brad Plumer reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration approved broader U.S. technology exports to the UAE despite internal Commerce Department warnings that the move could increase the risk of sensitive U.S. AI chips and other technologies reaching China through UAE-linked companies such as G42, according to three former officials and two other sources. Ari Hawkins and Ben Johansen report for POLITICO.
Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday discussed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington scheduled for September during their meeting in Manila. Rubio told reporters that he and Wang did not talk about Trump’s recent accusations that China had tried to interfere in U.S. elections. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
Trump and Rubio are not planning to block the extradition to the United Kingdom of Andrew and Tristan Tate, a senior administration official told Axios. Marc Caputo reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration has sharply expanded the use of civil fines to pressure undocumented immigrants with final deportation orders to leave the United States. According to the New York Times, more than 100,000 people have received letters from the Department of Homeland Security informing them that they owe $998 for each day that they remain in the country after receiving a final removal order. Miriam Jordan reports.
ICE officials repeatedly warned about dangerous overcrowding at New York’s 26 Federal Plaza, where dozens of detainees were kept for days in rooms designed for stays no longer than 12 hours, the Washington Post reports. The conditions at 26 Federal Plaza were unsafe, with detainees being held in small rooms with no beds, showers, or full-time medical staff, according to internal government emails, text messages, and detainee testimonies. Douglas MacMillan, Aaron Steckelberg, N. Kirkpatrick, and Leslie Shapiro report.
Only one ICE officer has been referred for discipline over a use-of-force incident since the beginning of the Trump administration, Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee said yesterday after a briefing with ICE officials. Rebecca Santana reports for AP News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
House Republicans yesterday won narrow approval of their $95 billion budget plan to fund the war in Iran and impose stricter voting rules backed by Trump in a 216-to-214 vote. The package includes $73 billion in funding for the Iran war, $12 billion in farm aid, and a $10 billion fund aimed at incentivizing states to adopt elements of the SAVE America Act. Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times; Kate Santaliz reports for Axios.
Six Democratic House lawmakers crossed the aisle yesterday to join a majority of Republicans in passing a nearly $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill. Most Democrats opposed the legislation, citing opposition to the Iran war and concerns about a provision in the bill that would establish the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. Sarah David and Filip Timotija report for The Hill.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, yesterday asked the Justice Department to investigate whether former special counsel Jack Smith perjured himself when he testified about his inquiry into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Glenn Thrush reports for the New York Times.
The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, established by Vice President JD Vance, is creating a public corruption team exploring how politicians and state officials facilitate the misuse of taxpayers’ dollars, three sources said. The move has sparked concerns among former DOJ officials that the initiative could be used to politically target Democratic state leaders. Ben Penn reports for Bloomberg.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump’s science advisor, Michael Kratsios, told lawmakers yesterday that the Trump administration intended to drastically overhaul the country’s approach to scientific research, including by shifting funding away from universities toward individual researchers and private companies. Kratsios also proposed greater focus on AI, robotics, and nuclear energy. Christopher Flavelle and Sheryl Gay Stolberg report for the New York Times.
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