Breakfast News Recap: US and Iran trade blows as China storm and Ukraine attacks deepen global strain

The biggest escalation came in the Gulf, where the United States carried out a third round of strikes on Iran after Iranian forces attacked a Cyprus flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, while the waterway remained closed. Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, then issued a written call for revenge after the burial of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sharpening fears of a wider confrontation.  🔗  🔗

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In Ukraine, Russian missile, drone and glide bomb strikes killed seven people and wounded dozens more, with the heaviest toll reported in Sumy as attacks continued across the country. The strikes underline the pressure on Ukrainian cities and the persistence of Russia’s air campaign.  🔗

China faced a separate crisis as Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang after first coming ashore in Taizhou and Wenzhou, with authorities evacuating more than 1.7 million people and moving nearly two million in total as the storm tracked inland. The scale of the evacuations points to the severity of the weather threat across eastern China.  🔗  🔗

Beijing also drew regional criticism after launching a nuclear capable ballistic missile into the Pacific, a test that prompted backlash from Pacific leaders and renewed debate over security in the region. The move is likely to add to already tense relations with neighbours and Western powers.  🔗

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In the Middle East, a US lawmaker said he and members of his tour group were detained by armed settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank, highlighting rising tensions on the ground. Separately, US and Lebanese military delegations met in Beirut to discuss the first phase of a US brokered framework tied to an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, a sign that diplomacy is still moving alongside the conflict.  🔗  🔗

European politics were also unsettled. Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, announced plans for a national memorial to victims of wartime killings blamed by Warsaw on Ukrainian nationalists, a move that risks further strain with Kyiv. In Brussels, EU foreign ministers are due to debate a possible ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, reflecting growing pressure inside the bloc over the conflict.  🔗  🔗

In the United States, the Justice Department subpoenaed several New York Times journalists to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan over reporting on security concerns linked to Air Force One, a step likely to intensify the dispute between the administration and the press. Mr Trump also used Truth Social to attack the White House front renovation, accuse Democrats of communist ideology, and target Times reporter Maggie Haberman, signalling a combative domestic and media posture.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, the Justice Department said it intends to seek the extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi after a transnational crime indictment, while the death of US Senator Lindsey Graham at 71 after a brief and sudden illness was announced by his office.  🔗  🔗

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