The proposals come as security around the White House remains under heightened scrutiny following several threats against Trump
US State Department report accuses Cuba of helping Iran expand influence in Americas – thenationalnews.com
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Middle East Watch
Iranian official: Azerbaijan, Turkey warned against hosting US, Israel forces – The Jerusalem Post
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U.S. Soldier Killed In Iraq While Conducting Controlled Detonation Of Iranian Drone Identified– wltreport.com
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The third U.S. Service member who was killed in the Middle East last week has been identified.
Last week U.S. CENTCOM announced two U.S. Service members were killed in Jordan after Iran struck a base in Jordan where U.S. troops were stationed.
U.S. CENTCOM further revealed a third soldier was MIA but later revealed an unidentiefd body discovered in the aftermath of the attack is believed to be the third service member.
Around the same time a U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq while conducting a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
The soldier who was killed during the controlled detonation has now been identify as 30-year-old Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton.
CBS News provided further details on the death of the U.S. soldier and provided remarks from Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
A 30-year-old U.S. soldier was killed over the weekend in Iraq during what the U.S. military said was a controlled explosion to destroy an attack drone.
Pentagon concealing true casualty numbers in Iran war – NYT — RT World News– www.rt.com
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Dozens of soldiers were injured in previously unreported strikes last week, the New York Times says
The Pentagon has withheld information about dozens of service members injured during the war with Iran, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing US officials.
On Friday, Iran struck a US military site in Jordan, killing two soldiers, wounding four, and leaving one missing. According to the Times, however, dozens of service members were injured throughout the week in three other strikes against US forces in the country. Several helicopters were also reportedly damaged in the attacks.
An official told CNN that “it can take several days or even weeks” for an injury to be logged into the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), an official database. A total of 427 service members have been injured in the war with Iran, the Times said, citing official figures.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell argued that “providing real-time information on non-fatal casualties to the media is the same as providing that information directly to our adversaries.”
Trump says Netanyahu won’t be arrested despite Mamdani threat– www.cnbc.com
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15, 2026.
Ronen Zvulun | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will not be arrested” when he visits New York in September, pushing back on a suggestion by Mayor Zohran Mamdani that such an arrest could happen.
Mamdani has said New York City’s legal department is discussing the possibility of arresting Netanyahu when the prime minister is in the city to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast that published Saturday.
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years,” the mayor said.
U.S. strikes unlikely to move Iran, intelligence reports say – The Washington Post
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Tehran launches drones, missiles, towards Kuwait – The Jerusalem Post
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Iran War Risk Pushes African Central Banks to Hold Rates Higher– financialpost.com
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“It is very unlikely that the CBN would restart monetary easing as long as inflation expectations remain elevated,” said Gergely Ürmössy, emerging markets strategist at Societe Generale SA. “In the CBN’s latest inflation survey, over half of respondents expected inflation to accelerate over the next six months; in March, before domestic fuel and energy prices spiked, roughly 60% expected inflation to hold steady or decelerate.”
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Ukraine will produce French-made cruise missiles, precision guided bombs, and air defense interceptor missiles through a license granted by Paris to Kyiv, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday.
Macron made the announcement during Monday’s “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris that saw Macron, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and several other European heads of state reiterate their support of Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of its territory and reaffirm their calls for a ceasefire and direct negotiations between both sides.
At the meeting, Macron revealed that France has issued a license to Ukraine for the manufacturing of the missiles — marking the first time France has granted such a provision to Ukraine. The license contemplates the production of AASM precision-guided air-to-ground bombs, Aster air-defense interceptor missiles and SCALP, long-range air-launched cruise missiles.
The deal, Macron detailed, stems from a letter of intent signed between Paris and Kyiv in November 2025 that outlined Ukraine’s acquisition of 100 aircraft over the next ten years.
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Iran attacked two tankers belonging to the United Arab Emirates on Monday as conflict reignited across the Middle East.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked two “non-compliant” ships, according to The Hill.
The IRGC added that the “offending supertankers” were disabled in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The IRGC claimed the ships ignored warnings and turned off their navigation systems as they sought to pass through the strait.
The statement said the U.S. was “inciting vessels to use an illegal route,” and that cooperation with an “aggressor enemy” would lead to damage and a delay in Iran allowing the strait to reopen.
The UAE said it may respond to the attack.
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Washington — President Trump has been trying to force Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz for months, turning to everything from airstrikes and naval blockades to negotiations and threats to destroy a “whole civilization.”
But restoring oil tanker traffic in the vital Middle East shipping corridor to prewar flows likely will require a much bigger armada of U.S. warships if not tens of thousands of American troops on Iranian soil, experts say. Despite on-and-off fighting, Iran can still target vessels in the slim Persian Gulf waterway with drones and missiles that have been hidden in a country a third the size of the continental United States.
“Iran has been preparing for this type of asymmetric conflict for decades now,” said Jason H. Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a former Pentagon official. “I think they’re starting to demonstrate why no other U.S. president since Reagan has elected to engage at this level of conflict with Iran, because they have that ability to completely disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.”
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In the 26 days between the signing of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and the reinstatement of the U.S. blockade, Tehran shipped over $6 billion worth of oil products to foreign buyers.
Iran shipped out over 80 million barrels of crude oil and refined products between June 18, when the first blockade was lifted, and when it was reimposed on July 13, according to TankerTrackers.com, a tanker-tracking research firm. The blockade, however, closed around Iran before Tehran was able to ship out all of its storage capacity, so around 30 million barrels of Iranian crude oil were unable to embark.
TankerTrackers said over 60 million barrels of floating storage capacity remain available within the blockade perimeter, with the shipments and returned ships taken into account.
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Senior Iranian official Ahmad Alamolhoda:
“The fatwa to kill the American dog Trump must be implemented through an organized mechanism, so it is not left unfulfilled like in the Rushdie case. Our revenge will continue until America collapses like the USSR.”
Enough is enough.
Senior Iranian official Ahmad Alamolhoda:
“The fatwa to kill the American dog Trump must be implemented through an organized mechanism, so it is not left unfulfilled like in the Rushdie case. Our revenge will continue until America collapses like the USSR.” pic.twitter.com/Lncf9oV1fB
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 12, 2026
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The U.S., early Sunday morning, launched strikes against Iranian military targets as the Islamic Guard (IRGC) claimed that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz “indefinitely.”
U.S. strikes targeted Iran’s coastal region, destroying naval assets, missile installations, and drone facilities in response to ongoing IRGC attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Central Command (CENTCOM), U.S. forces “completed a third round of strikes this week against Iran, July 11, holding Iranian forces accountable for attacking another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.”
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said this morning they targeted American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman and struck fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan air base in Jordan as part of its retaliatory strikes against the US.
Jordan said a few hours ago that it intercepted and downed four missiles fired from Iranian territory, while Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting “hostile aerial targets” in the country’s airspace.
The strikes marked an escalation in the recent tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran as Tehran seeks to assert sovereignty over the strategic strait of Hormuz, which it sees as its biggest leverage in negotiations with Washington.
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Good Monday morning.
Here is what’s on President Trump’s agenda today:
8:00 AM THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time
1:30 PM THE PRESIDENT participates in a Freedom 250 Grand Prix Showcase
3:00 PM THE PRESIDENT participates in a Meeting with the Speaker of the House and Chairman of the NRCC
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TEHRAN — The elaborate funeral rites for Iran’s slain supreme leader that drew huge crowds of mourners offered a show of strength by the country’s surviving leadership as key senior officials boldly emerged into public view for the first time since the war. And in its posture toward the United States, Tehran also now seems emboldened.
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America’s fight for independence continues to inspire other people around the world 250 years after the Declaration of Independence.
Exiled Persian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi posted a statement on X on July 9 in which he compared the courage of his fellow Persians who stood up to tyranny in spite of horrendous massacres earlier this year to the indomitable spirit that won the American Revolution and World War II. It is remarkable to note that just after the celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the Founding Fathers are not only still setting an example for American patriots but also for all freedom lovers in many diverse and ancient lands on the other side of the globe.
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Ankara used the summit to prove it can deliver what others cannot: access, leverage, and channels to Trump, Damascus and Moscow
When NATO’s 36th summit opened at the Bestepe Presidential Complex on July 7, the official agenda read like every other alliance gathering of the past few years: defense spending targets, support for Ukraine, industrial capacity, adaptation to new threats. But for the host nation, the meeting was never only about the communiqué. It was a stage, and Türkiye had spent months building the set.
The guest list alone signaled the stakes. Alongside the leaders of all 32 member states, Ankara welcomed US President Donald Trump, South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On the sidelines, ministers met with partners from the Gulf and from Australia, Japan and New Zealand. The final declaration reaffirmed what NATO calls its ironclad commitment to collective defense under Article 5, and allies pledged roughly €70 billion – about $80 billion – in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine in 2026.
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The United States and Iran traded some of their heaviest fire since last month’s ceasefire agreement, but the latest round of fighting has exposed just how badly Tehran is struggling to match American firepower.
U.S. forces have landed most of the blows in the latest volley, pounding roughly 170 targets over two days while Iran’s retaliatory strikes on U.S.-linked bases in the Middle East were limited and largely intercepted by air defenses.
The U.S. military said its strikes targeted Iranian military infrastructure tied to Tehran’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
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BEIRUT: A United States military delegation has met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from one of the “pilot zones” in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official told AFP on Saturday (Jul 11).
Under a framework agreement reached on Jun 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has sent troops as part of its military campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that has long battled Israel.
As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.
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An Iranian news agency infamous for its close connection with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — the regime’s terrorist military and brute squad — has published a direct threat once again against President Donald Trump
Fars interestingly did not apparently post the threat on its English language X channel, at least as of Saturday morning. It did, however, makes the threat its pinned post on its Persian language channel.
The message is allegedly from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, presuming that the son of the late mass murderer Ali Khamenei is actually still alive. The statement does express the official regime position. Grok’s translation of the Persian says, “We pledge to take revenge for the pure blood of the martyred Leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers.”
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Oil prices rose on Tuesday morning following a report of an Iranian attack on commercial ships in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The reported attacks in the waterway, which typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil traffic, reaffirm the fragility of the U.S. and Iran’s interim peace agreement, as they negotiate a permanent end to their war.
International benchmark Brent crude futures with September delivery traded 1.5% higher at $73.09 per barrel, extending earlier gains.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with August delivery advanced 1.5% to $69.56, after closing at its lowest level since Feb. 27 in the previous session.
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President Donald Trump said Monday the United States would either reach a deal with Iran or “finish the job,” renewing his threat of military action as Tehran projects defiance following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indirect US-Iran talks ended last week without any public sign of headway toward a lasting peace.”We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. OK. And it won’t be tough to finish the job. I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply…. They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money.”Trump spoke after Khamenei’s weekend funeral where, rather than looking weakened by the war, Iranians appeared to be united and determined to shape what comes next.Iranians call for revengeIranians called for revenge Monday during the funeral procession of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and voiced their opposition to negotiations with those behind the supreme leader’s death.
“We don’t want a deal. We want Trump’s head!” they chanted, referring to the US president.His death as a “martyr” has whipped up fervour among Iranians, according to mourner Gholamreza Khanbabai, who was also present in 1989 for the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.“If I had to compare this ceremony to that one, I’d say… the crowd seems more enthusiastic this time,” said Khanbabai.