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THE STRAIT
The Oman talks on Saturday produced a proposal. Oman drafted a tentative plan to manage Strait of Hormuz traffic through two separately controlled routes. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi was still in Muscat meeting with his Omani counterpart when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait closed and fired on a Cyprus-flagged container ship, the M/V GFS Galaxy. The US launched 140 strikes overnight Saturday into Sunday, its third major round of strikes in a week. Iran struck back at US military targets in Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Kuwait reported three land border posts damaged. One Iranian telecom technician was killed on Farur Island. Bahrain issued shelter-in-place orders for the second consecutive day.
Sunday afternoon, more explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Hajiabad in southern Iran. Iranian state media attributed them to “enemy” strikes without specifying who.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on both sides to “exercise maximum restraint” and “avoid further escalatory action.” His spokesperson said 6,000 seafarers remain trapped in the waterway. The southern route through the Strait, hugging the Omani coastline, remains open for two-way traffic according to the US Navy’s Joint Maritime Information Center. Trump told CNN Sunday that “it’s open as far as we’re concerned.”
Over the weekend, Tehran-based newspaper Hamshahri — published by Tehran’s city authorities — released an infographic online featuring photographs of 13 world leaders alongside a statement from Mojtaba Khamenei. “Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mojtaba said. “These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds.” Mojtaba did not name the individuals himself. Hamshahri published the infographic alongside his statement, placing photographs of Trump and Netanyahu at the top with what The Times described as sniper-style targets on their foreheads, and the remaining 11 leaders — including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Secretary of State Rubio, Defense Secretary Hegseth, French President Macron, and German Chancellor Merz — depicted in orange prison uniforms. The infographic did not appear in Hamshahri’s print edition. There was no suggestion the list was officially endorsed by the Iranian government.
Brent crude rose to $78.99 Sunday before easing to $77.77 this morning. The MOU was signed on June 17. Today is Day 26.
🌍 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Al Jazeera’s piece on Sunday’s strikes specifically named the IRGC’s framing, that its attacks constitute a response to “outside interference from foreign powers” in the Strait, not a violation of the MOU. That framing matters because it is how Iran is presenting the conflict to the rest of the world: not as a party that broke a ceasefire, but as a sovereign power enforcing its territorial rights in waters it considers its own. The international press — particularly Gulf state media — is covering the Hamshahri assassination target list as a significant escalation, not as a fringe newspaper story. The Times of Israel confirmed that the infographic carries Mojtaba Khamenei’s personal statement. Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge targeting the leaders of the US, UK, and Israel.
🇺🇸 What American readers need to know: The US struck Iran 140 times overnight Saturday. Iran struck five Gulf states in response. A Cyprus-flagged ship was attacked in the Strait. Six thousand seafarers are trapped in the waterway. Oman drafted a proposal to manage traffic. Iran declared the Strait closed anyway. And Iran's Supreme Leader has published a list of world leaders his government wants dead.
Sources: CNN live blog (US — 140 targets confirmed, M/V GFS Galaxy confirmed, Kuwait border posts confirmed, Farur Island technician killed confirmed, Bahrain shelter-in-place confirmed, Oman two-route proposal confirmed, Trump “open as far as we’re concerned” confirmed, July 13); Al Jazeera (Qatar, state-funded/editorially independent — IRGC “outside interference” framing confirmed, 6,000 seafarers confirmed, Guterres “maximum restraint” confirmed, southern route open confirmed, July 12); Times of Israel (Israel — Hamshahri infographic confirmed, 13 leaders named confirmed, Mojtaba statement confirmed, published by Tehran city authorities confirmed, July 12); Yahoo News / The Times (UK — Mojtaba “vengeance is the will of our nation” quote verbatim confirmed, sniper targets on Trump/Netanyahu confirmed, orange prison uniforms confirmed, not in print edition confirmed, no official endorsement confirmed, July 12); Washington Times / Reuters (US wire — CENTCOM “degrade ability” statement confirmed, “hold Iranian forces accountable” confirmed, Jordan/UAE/Qatar strikes confirmed, July 12)
UKRAINE
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko resigned Sunday. President Zelenskyy announced the resignation alongside a broader government reshuffle, saying Ukraine is “changing its political strategy.” No replacement has been named. Four candidates are under consideration.
Svyrydenko, 39, served as prime minister for exactly one year. She was appointed in July 2025 after playing the central role in negotiating a critical minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States, an agreement that helped transform what had been a deeply frosty relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy into something workable. “Each priority area of foreign policy will be assigned to a specific person with substantial experience who is capable of implementing what we agree on at the leaders’ level and what the Ukrainian people expect,” Zelenskyy said. This is the fourth major reorganization of Ukraine’s government since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The reshuffle also brings changes to the leadership of Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies. Zelenskyy met Sunday with Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal. He said he offered Svyrydenko the opportunity to lead “a new and important area of relations with a key partner.” She accepted. She will not disappear from Ukrainian public life — she will be redirected toward a role that has not yet been publicly defined.
Russia struck the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk on Sunday. Ukraine launched drone strikes against Russian tankers and energy targets. The war on Ukraine’s eastern front continues as the war with Iran consumes Washington’s attention.
🌍 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Al Jazeera’s piece on the Svyrydenko resignation specifically noted she was “widely credited with negotiating a critical minerals agreement between Washington and Kyiv last year that helped thaw what had initially been a frosty relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy.” The international press is reading the departure of the woman who built the Trump-Zelenskyy working relationship as a deliberate signal, suggesting Zelenskyy is restructuring around the reality that the Ankara summit produced a Patriot manufacturing license and a defense declaration but not the direct American engagement Ukraine needs. The person who got Trump’s attention is being redeployed. The strategy that got Ukraine this far is being replaced with something new.
🇺🇸 What American readers need to know: Ukraine’s prime minister resigned Sunday. She was the architect of the deal that got Trump to care about Ukraine’s survival. Zelenskyy says the country is changing its political strategy. Russia struck two Ukrainian ports the same day. The war on Ukraine’s eastern front has no ceasefire, no MOU, and no pause.
Sources: Al Jazeera (Qatar, state-funded/editorially independent — Svyrydenko resignation confirmed, Zelenskyy “changing political strategy” confirmed, critical minerals framing confirmed, four candidates confirmed, July 12); CBS News / AP (US wire — fourth reorganization confirmed, law enforcement changes confirmed, Shmyhal/Klymenko/Fedorov meetings confirmed, July 12); UPI (US wire — served one year confirmed, July 2025 appointment confirmed, “new important area” confirmed, Odesa/Chornomorsk strikes confirmed, July 13); Ukrainska Pravda (Ukraine — four candidates under consideration confirmed, no final candidate yet confirmed, Svyrydenko quotes verbatim confirmed, July 12)
ALSO DEVELOPING
Ebola, first US citizen case: A US citizen working in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola, CNN confirmed Sunday. This is the first confirmed American case in the current outbreak, which has now killed more than 600 people across eastern Congo. Source: CNN (July 13).
NYT journalists subpoenaed: Federal agents visited the homes of four New York Times journalists on Friday night, serving grand jury subpoenas compelling them to testify about their sources. The subpoenas followed a Times report that the Secret Service recommended Trump fly home from the NATO summit in Ankara on an older Air Force One rather than the $400 million Qatari-gifted jet, citing security concerns. Trump denied it and has since dismissed any concerns about the new plane. The DOJ says reporters are not the targets — the investigation is focused on who leaked. The Times is fighting the subpoenas. Its top lawyer said federal agents arriving at journalists' doorsteps "should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution." Sources: NPR, CNN, CNBC (July 11).
Toronto shooting: Two people were killed and at least four wounded in a shooting Saturday evening at the Salsa on St. Clair festival, a Latin cultural celebration in Toronto. Police arrested a suspect. Source: NPR/CBS News (July 12).
Former Qatar Emir dies: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who ruled Qatar from 1995 until abdicating in favor of his son in 2013, died Sunday. He was the father of current Emir Sheikh Tamim, who has served as one of the primary mediators in the US-Iran talks. Source: UPI (July 13).
WAR DAY 136 | NUMBERS AT PUBLICATION
🇮🇷 Iran: 3,485+ killed (tracker base of 3,468 as of June 10 per Al Jazeera live tracker, plus at least 17 confirmed killed in US strikes July 9-10 per Iran Health Ministry — floor estimate; strikes July 11-13 casualties not yet confirmed at publication time)
🇱🇧 Lebanon: 4,321 killed (Al Jazeera live blog, updated July 8)
🇮🇱 Israel: 35+ killed (tracker frozen June 10)
🌍 Gulf states/Iraq: 131 killed — tracker frozen June 10; does not reflect Iranian strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, UAE, and Oman this weekend
🇺🇸 US military: 13 killed, 381 injured (Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10 — does not reflect ongoing strikes)
🛢️ Brent crude: $77.77/barrel (OilPrice.com — easing from Sunday's $78.99 peak; southern route remains open)
⛽ US national gas average: $3.87/gallon (AAA — down a penny from Friday; pump prices lagging crude)
Sourcing note: All war casualty figures sourced to the Al Jazeera live tracker, last updated June 10, 2026, except Lebanon, updated July 8. The tracker does not reflect the ongoing exchange of US strikes on Iran or Iranian strikes on US military installations across the Gulf this weekend. Casualty figures from those exchanges have not been confirmed at publication time. All figures are floor estimates. Methodology differs between sources; figures are not directly comparable.
“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1789
