Breakfast News Recap: US Iran escalation deepens as regional violence, heat and wildfires spread

The United States carried out another round of strikes on Iran, extending a campaign that has now run for 12 consecutive nights, as the confrontation widened across the region. Iranian media reported explosions in several areas, while the latest attacks added to fears of a broader conflict.  🔗

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Tensions at sea also intensified after Yemen's Houthi movement said it attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and closed the Bab al Mandab Strait. The group said the move was in response to the US and Israeli campaign against Iran, and the threat to a key shipping route rattled energy markets.  🔗

Washington's pressure on Tehran escalated further after President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz would bring US bombing of Iranian infrastructure. Separately, Iranian politician Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said no oil sales would be possible if Tehran were blocked, underlining the risk to regional energy flows.  🔗 🔗

The human cost of the conflict was also highlighted in Jordan, where three US soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack on a US military site, and at Dover Air Force Base Trump attended a repatriation ceremony for the dead. US intelligence agencies are also investigating whether Russia helped Iran target CIA linked sites in the Middle East.  🔗 🔗 🔗

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In the wider Middle East, Israel is building a long earthen barrier and trench deeper inside Gaza, according to satellite images and reporting cited in the material, raising fresh questions about ceasefire boundaries. Hamas's newly chosen political bureau chief Khalil al Hayya gave his first televised address, while Trump renewed his call for Syria to intervene in Lebanon against Hezbollah.  🔗 🔗 🔗

Diplomatically, the US and Saudi Arabia signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement that could allow American firms to build a uranium enrichment plant in the kingdom, a deal now facing scrutiny in Congress over enrichment concerns. In New York, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walked back his claim that he could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, and UN Secretary General António Guterres urged the Security Council to treat natural resources as a tool for peace rather than conflict.  🔗 🔗 🔗

Elsewhere, violence and instability flared in several regions. Five Thai paramilitary soldiers were killed and six civilians wounded in a checkpoint attack in Narathiwat, while armed gangs killed at least 20 people in village attacks in Zamfara State in northwest Nigeria. The Trump administration is also considering military action in Mali against JNIM, a group linked to al Qaeda.  🔗 🔗 🔗

Europe faced a different emergency as firefighters battled major wildfires in Spain and France amid warnings of very high to extreme fire danger, and Wales activated crisis management arrangements as multiple blazes burned with aerial support unavailable. In Tunisia, a severe heatwave worsened prison conditions at Mornaguia, where jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi was seen briefly losing consciousness.  🔗 🔗 🔗

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In Asia, rescuers in India's Sikkim continued searching a collapsed tunnel at an under construction hydroelectric project after a gas explosion and tunnel collapse, with the death toll rising to 20. In Australia, Origin Energy confirmed some customer data was accessed and disclosed without authorisation in a cyber incident. The UN also launched a Winter Response Plan for Ukraine to help 2.1 million people through another cold season.  🔗 🔗 🔗

Other developments included Russia reporting further Ukrainian drone strikes on Wildberries logistics hubs in Krasnodar and Stavropol Krai, the UN condemning Nicaragua's move to abolish elections, and a White House adviser accusing China's Moonshot AI of stealing model capabilities. The US and India said an interim trade deal is close to completion after talks in Manila, and Rubio said India did not raise concerns over proposed US generic drug tariffs.  🔗 🔗 🔗 🔗 🔗

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