Day News Recap: Iran conflict widens as deaths mount, UK gets new prime minister and markets turn risk off

The biggest escalation remained the conflict between the United States and Iran, with Washington saying it had carried out a ninth straight night of strikes while Tehran said mediators had relayed proposals to end the fighting and its foreign minister claimed talks were held under the threat of bombing. Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned the US it would receive an “unforgettable lesson”, and the supreme leader called for “sacred unity” as the confrontation deepened.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Casualties linked to the wider conflict also rose. The Pentagon named two US soldiers killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian missile and drone attacks, and US Central Command said a service member died in northern Iraq after the controlled detonation of an unexploded drone munition. Separately, Iran said four Indian nationals were killed and one was critically injured when a commercial vessel was attacked in Odesa, prompting New Delhi to urge citizens to avoid travel to Iran.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

The regional fallout spread further. Yemen's Houthis declared an immediate naval blockade of Saudi Arabia after last week's attack on Sanaa International Airport, while France said two of its diplomats were detained and one was abused by Iranian security services in Tehran. Hamas also named Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader after an internal run off.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Lebanon's army began a pilot zone security takeover in three villages in the south under a US mediated framework with Israel, and Israel's cabinet members, parliamentarians and settler activists joined a march near Gaza calling for the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there. Syria meanwhile reshuffled its security and intelligence leadership under President Ahmed al Sharaa, and Turkiye deepened military cooperation with eastern Libyan forces linked to Khalifa Haftar.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer gave his final speech as prime minister before Andy Burnham formally took office after meeting King Charles III, with Burnham promising to end instability in his first remarks outside Downing Street. The handover came as Donald Trump used social media to urge House Republicans to back his budget bill, and separately backed opening North Sea oil and pressed grocery chains to cut prices.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

India faced several domestic shocks, with police in New Delhi using tear gas and baton charges to disperse protesters from the youth led Cockroach movement marching on parliament. In Assam, floods suspended train services near Simaluguri after water overtopped tracks and entered the station yard and railway colony.  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, the Democratic Republic of Congo said the latest Ebola outbreak had killed at least 930 people across five provinces, while twin earthquakes in Peru's Junin region left at least five dead and 21 injured. In Australia, about 300 people protested outside the Pine Gap defence facility in Alice Springs in what organisers called the largest demonstration there in decades.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the United States, an explosion outside a federal building in Lower Manhattan triggered a terrorism investigation after a suspect was detained, adding to a tense security backdrop.  🔗

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Wall Street ended the week lower as investors weighed stretched AI valuations against rising Middle East tensions, with the market also watching oil and other risk sensitive assets.  🔗

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