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Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and struck US bases and allies across the Gulf after Washington launched a third round of strikes this week, hitting 140 military targets.

This comes as President Trump lashed out at NATO allies in Ankara, ordering a halt to trade with Spain, and as Germany unveiled a budget dedicating one in every five euros of federal spending to defence.

Read more below ⤵️

1️⃣ 🇩🇪 Germany puts defence at centre of new budget: Chancellor Merz's cabinet approved a draft 2027 budget allocating €109.7bn, around one in every five euros of federal spending, to defence, with the share projected to reach nearly a third by 2030. Finance Minister Klingbeil said Germany "cannot defend ourselves against Putin with a balanced budget," while Chancellor Merz said Berlin is doubling its defence budget within four years after President Trump called its spending "Ridiculous!"

2️⃣ 🇵🇸 Hamas dissolves its Gaza governing body: Hamas announced the dissolution of the body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, clearing the way for the technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza headed by Ali Shaath. A spokesman said the group stepped aside "to remove any pretexts for the occupation," though its disarmament remains unresolved and the committee has stayed outside Gaza for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections.

3️⃣ 🇷🇺 Russia recasts Ukraine fight as a war with NATO: In televised remarks, President Putin and General Gerasimov attributed Ukraine's battlefield resilience to Western backing, with President Putin claiming his forces "completely liberated" Kostiantynivka and seized over 3,000 sq km this year, though the Institute for the Study of War puts actual gains since January at roughly 97 sq km. Ukrainian officials and analysts said the framing is meant to justify a prolonged war and a possible mobilisation after September's parliamentary vote.

4️⃣ 🇨🇺 Cubans protest after third nationwide blackout: Residents in several parts of the island banged pots to voice anger over the latest nationwide power cut, the third this year, which came on top of state-imposed rolling outages lasting up to 70 hours in rural areas. President Díaz-Canel acknowledged the discontent but urged Cubans to direct their anger at Washington, while the US ambassador to the UN blamed the Cuban government.

5️⃣ 🇪🇺 EU court rejects Apple challenge to Big Tech rules: The EU General Court dismissed Apple's challenge against its gatekeeper designation under the Digital Markets Act, confirming the designation for the App Store and iOS in full and ruling its iMessage challenges inadmissible. Apple said it believes the DMA "goes beyond what is lawful and proportionate" but declined to say whether it will appeal, with two other cases still pending.

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🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran closes Hormuz as US strikes again

The US launched a third round of strikes this week, hitting 140 Iranian military targets after CENTCOM said the IRGC "blatantly attacked" a Cyprus-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the crew to abandon ship with one member missing.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard declared the strait closed until further notice and launched retaliatory attacks on a US base in Jordan, with the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain all responding to Iranian missiles and drones.

The escalation follows attacks on three commercial tankers earlier in the week and US strikes that killed 17 people and injured 115, according to Iranian officials.

New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public statement since his father's funeral, vowed vengeance as "the will of the nation," while President Trump warned the US would "decimate and destroy" Iran if it attempted to kill him.

Washington says talks will continue, demanding Tehran publicly declare the strait open and pledge to stop firing on commercial ships.

1️⃣ 🇪🇺🇷🇺 EU narrows visa ban on Russian combatants: A scaled-back version of the proposed ban limits it to short-stay visas and to those who directly took part in the fighting in Ukraine, after France and Italy pushed back on the broader measure covering any military role. The ban forms part of the EU's 21st sanctions package, which ambassadors aim to adopt by mid-July to avoid an automatic revision of the Russian oil price cap.

2️⃣ 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Mexico to press criminal charges over deaths in US custody: The Mexican government said it will file criminal complaints in the US over the deaths of 14 citizens in ICE custody and three more during arrest operations, with Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco pledging "forceful legal action." More than a thousand people protested in Houston after an ICE officer shot dead Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, with four Democratic lawmakers demanding an independent investigation.

3️⃣ 🇺🇸🇹🇷 President Trump to lift Turkiye sanctions, weighs F-35 sales: Meeting President Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump said Washington would remove the CAATSA sanctions imposed after Ankara bought Russian S-400 systems in 2019, and that resuming F-35 fighter sales was something he would consider. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has pushed back against any sale, warning it could shift the Middle East's balance of power, while President Erdogan said he hoped for a favourable decision.

4️⃣ 🇺🇸 President Trump lashes out at allies, orders Spain trade halt: President Trump told the Ankara summit he was "very upset" with NATO over Greenland and members' refusal to help in the war with Iran, singling out Spain as a "terrible partner" and ordering Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt trade with Madrid over its defence spending. Prime Minister Sánchez's office said it was treating the remarks as "business as usual," noting that individual EU members cannot be singled out on trade.

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