Breakfast News Recap: US Iran tensions deepen as oil rises and Gaza, Ukraine and Asia face fresh shocks

Oil prices rose for a second session as the United States restored a naval blockade on Iranian ports, sharpening pressure on shipping routes and energy markets just as Donald Trump threatened to widen strikes on Iran to include power plants and bridges if Tehran does not back down.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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The confrontation also spread beyond the Gulf, with Trump dropping a planned 20% cargo fee on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and saying Gulf states would instead make investment and trade commitments, while the Strait remained the central fault line in the fast deteriorating stand off.  🔗  🔗

Iran said a drone hit a military base used by the United States in Kuwait, and Kuwait separately confirmed attacks and damage, adding another layer to the regional escalation. The same maritime crisis also turned deadly off Oman, where the Indian seafarer reported missing after the attack on the GFS Galaxy was confirmed dead.  🔗  🔗

In Gaza, Israeli strikes and gunfire killed children, an aid worker and other civilians over the course of a week, including a hospital courtyard hit during the violence. A separate Israeli drone strike on a police station in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza killed at least eight people, according to local officials.  🔗  🔗

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Ukraine came under renewed attack when a Russian strike on Odesa killed three people and hospitalised three others, as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv. The attack underlined the continuing pressure on Ukraine's Black Sea coast even as Western support remains in focus.  🔗

In Asia, China reported second quarter growth of 4.3%, a sharp slowdown from 5% in the first quarter and below target, as weak domestic demand weighed on the economy. Japan, meanwhile, accelerated its defence buildup to a record high and handed over JS Nagara amid growing concern about China, North Korea and Russia.  🔗  🔗

Washington also moved on several other fronts, with the US Senate revising a Russia sanctions bill to soften tariff measures aimed at India and China, blocking debate on the annual defence bill over Iran war and Israel provisions, and the White House saying Trump and Iraq's prime minister want deeper economic ties and a US troop withdrawal by September 30.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, Cuba suffered its third nationwide blackout in less than 10 days as the grid collapsed again, leaving about 10 million people without electricity. In India, tensions flared in Manipur after a mob attacked an Assam Rifles camp in Senapati district following a search operation.  🔗  🔗

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In Britain, Thames Water returned to profit after a 40% rise in customer bills, though debt also increased and funding is only secured through the end of 2026. Separately, a UN expert urged UK leaders to back a Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of sex, while Counter Terrorism Policing London said searches were continuing after 12 arrests in an extreme right wing terrorism investigation.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included China detaining US seismologist Chen Youlin on espionage charges, Iran adding two years to the sentence of British prisoner Craig Foreman, a US safeguard review of lamb imports that could affect Australian supply, and the US House passing a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Separately, a joint US Russian Soyuz mission launched from Baikonur and is now on its way to the International Space Station, while a Massachusetts man was convicted in Boston in a case tied to the illegal export of sophisticated electronics to Iran.  🔗  🔗

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