War, latest news. Trump: ‘If Iran kills me, I have left instructions to strike them with unprecedented force’

Qatari negotiators are in Iran to meet with Iranian officials in an attempt to ease tensions and create the conditions for the continuation of broader negotiations. This is reported by the Haaretz website, citing a source at Reuters, and adding that the talks are taking place in coordination with the United States. According to the source, the talks aim to discuss the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran and the issues that have triggered the recent escalation between Washington and Tehran, including disputes over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States is encouraging merchant ships to continue using the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, despite recent Iranian attacks on ships in the area. This was stated by the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC).

“Despite the recent unprovoked attacks on merchant ships, seafarers are reminded that the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz has been widened and remains open to all traffic... Ships may transit via the southern route without the need for coordination,” the JMIC stated in an information note.

The Trump administration does not want Israel to become involved in the ongoing fighting with Iran because it fears losing control of the conflict. This is according to CNN, which cites sources claiming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would like to join the attacks but “for the time being, the United States does not want this”.

Regarding the EU’s involvement in a possible mission in Lebanon following the end of UNIFIL’s mandate in December, “work is ongoing. Nothing has been finalised yet; there are coordination issues with the United Nations, but there is a great deal of interest. Member States are keen to support whatever scenario we face following the UNIFIL mission.” This was reported by a senior EU official ahead of Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council. “Obviously, it is not a mission that cannot do what UNIFIL has done, but there are certainly options for EU missions to support the transition and a peaceful path forward for Lebanon”, adds the source, recalling “the recent €100 million allocation from the European Peace Facility for Lebanon”.

Italia continues to take steps to pave the way and speed up the entry of Western Balkans into the European Union. On Friday 20 July, Villa Madama hosted the ministerial meeting of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” group and the Foreign Ministers of Balkans. The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani. The group comprises seven European Union member states (Italia, Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia) which are cooperating to support the accession of the six Balkan countries that are candidates or potential candidates for EU membership. These are, specifically, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Hungary was also invited for the first time, in recognition of its commitment to supporting the integration of the Western Balkans.

“The outlook for the global economy remains uncertain, although the geopolitical situation has shown a slight improvement compared with the severe tensions at the start of the year. Despite the recent fall in energy costs, the systemic effects of the conflict between the US and Iran are still weighing on global inflation.” This is according to Istat’s report on the performance of the Italian economy – May–June 2026. The statistics agency notes that “in the United States, the economy is still growing at a sustained rate, whilst the more modest expansion in the euro area is due to the greater impact of energy shocks linked to tensions in the Middle East. Manufacturing in China continues to be driven by exports in high-tech sectors, against a backdrop of weak private consumption.”

The new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon, scheduled to take place in Rome on 15 and 16 July, may be postponed by a week. This is reported by Ynet, citing ‘sources familiar with the matter’, according to whom the reason for the postponement is the desire to hold talks between the negotiating teams after the meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and President Trump, scheduled for 21 July in the US.

Israeli forces from the Golani Brigade have identified and destroyed several weapons caches attributed to Hezbollah within the IDF-controlled security zone in southern Lebanon over the past few days. This was reported by The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli army.

According to the IDF, the depots contained rocket launchers, machine guns, explosive devices, missiles and other military equipment, which were reportedly intended for use in attacks against Israeli troops and Israeli civilians. The army has also released a video showing one of the sites identified and the destruction of an arms depot.

Israel is reportedly ready to join a new campaign of US strikes against Iran, but is said to be awaiting the go-ahead from US President Donald Trump. This is reported by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, as cited by The Times of Israel, which states that a section of the Israeli political and military establishment is in favour of resuming operations against the Islamic Republic. According to Kan, which cites assessments by unnamed Israeli officials, it is believed in Jerusalem that the exchange of attacks between the United States and Iran may continue in the coming days. This is also supported by a report in the New York Post, which quotes a source in Jerusalem as saying that Israel is keen to take part in any future raids and to fully resume the war against Iran. “We are ready to do it again, if necessary,” the source told the US newspaper on Wednesday, before the US attacks on Iranian targets began. The same source added that Israel “is not eager to return to the days when the population has to take refuge in bunkers”, but does not intend to “ignore what is happening in Iran”. “If that is the price to pay, we will bear it,” the source concluded.

Further reading

From the VIX to spreads: risk indicators no longer signal any risk

18 June 2026

Tens of millions of Iranians and worshippers from all over the world turned the funeral ceremonies for the martyred Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, into the largest procession ever seen in the world. According to the Iranian broadcaster Press TV, the six-day funeral ceremonies, which took place in five cities – Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad – attracted huge crowds, with official estimates, cited by the Fars news agency, putting the figure at between 41 and 43 million people. These figures, writes Press TV, are based on a combination of data, including passenger records for public transport to and from the ceremony venues, the presence of active mobile phone signals in key areas such as the Mosque and the main procession routes, an average duration of individual participation of around two and a half hours, detailed calculations of crowd density along the procession routes in Tehran, measurements of the physical distance from the Jamkaran Mosque to the Shrine of Qom, and the route from the airport to the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.

“It is of fundamental importance” that the situation in Iran is resolved. “We know that the Strait of Hormuz has now become the economic hub of the global economy. The EU is less directly exposed to the crisis than Asia, but we have suffered from rising prices. We saw this in the growth figures for the first half of the year.” This was stated by the French Finance Minister, Roland Lescure, on his arrival at the Ecofin meeting in Brussels. “So we need a recovery, and I think the conditions for recovery can be created. Inflation has already fallen. Business confidence is improving slightly and, for that reason, we need tensions to ease. And I think they are working on it and I hope they will manage to resolve the situation,” he reiterated. (

Further reading

Gas at 50 euros: Qatar puts the brakes on the resumption of production; Hormuz once again at risk

09 July 2026

According to vessel tracking data, in recent days a greater number of liquefied natural gas tankers have resumed passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the resumption of tensions between the United States and Iran, at least five empty LNG tankers have entered the strait in recent days, according to data from Kpler and LSE. The vessels include the GasLog Shanghai, operated by the Greek shipping company GasLog, and the Al Samriya, Al Dafna, Al Gattara and Al Rayyan, all linked to QatarEnergy. Meanwhile, 22 vessels linked to Japan have left the strait, including six large oil tankers that had passed through between 7 and 9 July, Japanese Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a press conference.

According to Iranian state media, explosions have been reported in various parts of Iran. However, US officials have told Al Jazeera that the US armed forces have not carried out any attacks in Iran in the last few hours.

Although a US defence official told Al Jazeera that the United States is not responsible for the latest attacks in Iran, it is “entirely possible” that Israel is behind them, says Dan Grazier, a former US Marine Corps officer, in an interview with the same broadcaster.

The Lebanese National News Agency has reported that Israeli forces are continuing to carry out demolition operations in southern Lebanon, carrying out extensive explosions within the town of Khiam.

According to the agency, numerous consecutive explosions were heard during the night, shaking the entire area, whilst operations continued.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried in the early hours of Friday in Mashhad, a few months after his assassination in the early stages of the war with Iran.

The ceremony apparently took place without his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, in attendance, according to footage broadcast by the state broadcaster Irib.

Israel has shared intelligence with the United States which, it claims, points to a new Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump. This is according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. On Wednesday, speaking to journalists in Ankara, Turkey, the tycoon referred to the threats against him. “I’m number one on the list,” he said. “So far, I suppose I’ve been a bit lucky, but perhaps my luck won’t last much longer.”