Day News Recap: Iran funeral, Ukraine strikes and Hormuz shipping disruption dominate a tense day

Iran began a week of public mourning and funeral ceremonies in Tehran for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with thousands of mourners, senior clerics and foreign dignitaries gathering as the city was heavily fortified. India sent an official delegation, while Western nations were absent from the ceremonies.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

Satellite imagery has shown damage at a range of Iranian military and nuclear sites after US and Israeli strikes, adding to the pressure on Tehran as it also said Israel had once considered targeting its negotiators during ceasefire talks. Iran is also preparing to host dozens of foreign leaders for the funeral, underscoring how the conflict has widened into a major diplomatic test.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted despite a fragile ceasefire, with dozens of boats still waiting offshore and Iran warning vessels against using unapproved routes. Gulf states are meanwhile moving to diversify their security alliances after the US Israel war on Iran, reflecting deeper regional unease over the waterway and wider security picture.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Ukraine, Russian attacks killed at least four people in fresh strikes on the Sumy region and Kryvyi Rih, while a separate battlefield assessment said Russia's territorial gains have slowed sharply even as losses remain heavy. Ukraine's long range campaign against Russian refineries and fuel depots is also biting harder, with fuel shortages deepening across Russia for a second day.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

The Middle East remained volatile elsewhere, with a bomb blast at a crowded cafe in central Damascus killing at least nine people and later reports putting the death toll at 10 as mourners buried the victims and officials promised justice. Yemen's Houthis also threatened Saudi airports and other vital interests after accusing Saudi warplanes of trying to stop an Iranian civilian aircraft over Sanaa.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Israel approved a plan for 13 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, while in Tel Aviv families of hostages and supporters marked 1,000 days since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. Syria separately ruled out military intervention in Lebanon despite reported US pressure to take a harder line against Hezbollah.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In South Asia, Pakistan warned India over the Indus Water Treaty after New Delhi suspended its participation, and India cleared defence procurement proposals worth about Rs 52,000 crore for the armed forces. India also held summit talks with Japan on West Asia, Ukraine and maritime security, announced Narendra Modi's six day visit to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, and said its navy had foiled a piracy attempt in the Gulf of Aden.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, the WHO launched an Ebola treatment trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo and said a cruise linked hantavirus outbreak was over after final contact tests were negative. Indonesia recovered the body of a US pilot killed by Papuan separatists, while a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia with no tsunami threat reported.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

In the Americas and Europe, Venezuela defended its earthquake response as the death toll topped 2,500, Canada and Alberta advanced a new pipeline plan after a C$150bn investment pledge, and France recorded more than 2,000 excess deaths during the late June heatwave as Europe braced for more extreme weather. Germany's Friedrich Merz defended NATO spending after fresh criticism from Donald Trump, while Andy Burnham said he would fully fund the UK's defence plan if he became prime minister.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included a Monaco bombing suspect being identified as Interpol issued a Red Notice and German police searched a flat, the Australian Federal Police considering a war crimes brief involving an Australian citizen in Gaza, and the US withdrawing most of its troops from Nigeria after an Islamic State mission. In New York, a Tibetan protester died after self immolation outside UN headquarters, and in the US a San Francisco jury convicted seven pro Palestine protesters over the Golden Gate Bridge blockade, while a former Marine and a San Antonio woman were sentenced or pleaded guilty in separate fraud and hostage conspiracy cases.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

#Iran #Ukraine #markets #MiddleEast #defence #breakingrecap #recaprecap