war

The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, holding steady as it waits to see how much of a lingering energy shock from the Middle East conflict will feed through into eurozone inflation.

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The ECB’s governing council held the deposit facility rate at 2.25%, with the main refinancing rate staying at 2.4% and the marginal lending facility at 2.65%.

Monetary policy for the eurozone is set through these three key interest rates, with the deposit facility rate serving as the main benchmark.

“The outlook for energy prices, while highly volatile, currently stands close to the baseline of the June Eurosystem staff projections and well above the levels recorded prior to the conflict in the Middle East,” the central bank’s statement read.

“Uncertainty remains high and the full inflationary impact of the energy shock has yet to play out. The Governing Council is therefore closely monitoring the intensity and duration of the shock, as well as its indirect and second-round effects,” it added.

The decision follows confirmation last week that eurozone inflation eased to 2.8% in June from May’s 3.2%, the first decline this year, with core price growth slowing to 2.4%.

The pause comes just six weeks after the ECB raised rates for the first time in nearly three years, responding to a war-driven energy shock that had pushed inflation to its highest since September 2023.

ECB President Christine Lagarde has been careful to keep the door open.

At the central bank’s Sintra forum, Lagarde insisted June’s move was not an “insurance hike” but a response to a genuine inflation problem, with projections showing a return to the 2% target only in late 2027, and only if monetary policy tightened further.

Lagarde also refused to pre-commit to a path, saying “forward guidance is not currently in the cards.”

July is not a forecasting round and economists at ING, for example, had argued the bank would prefer to wait for September’s fresh projections, when they see a second hike as the more realistic outcome.

The complication is that the shock behind June’s hike is back.

Oil neared $120 a barrel in March before sliding to around $72 after an interim peace agreement at the end of June, but the truce has frayed badly this month, with the US and Iran exchanging fresh strikes, attacks on tankers and renewed sanctions pushing Brent back above $90 a barrel.

A prolonged rise in energy prices would feed through to household bills and headline inflation in the second half of the year, precisely the second-round effects central bankers currently fear.

The ECB and its peers

As the chart shows, Frankfurt tightened from previously being far below its peers.

The Federal Reserve’s target range sits at 3.50% to 3.75% and the Bank of England’s rate at 3.75%, while the Swiss National Bank is parked at zero.

Both of the ECB’s larger counterparts decide again next week.

The Fed announces next Wednesday, with futures markets assigning roughly an 89% probability to a hold, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, after June’s unanimous decision and projections signalling no cuts this year.

The Bank of England follows the next day, on 30 July, with new forecasts in tow and economists overwhelmingly expect a hold at 3.75%, although a Reuters poll found nearly 40% see at least one hike before year-end, after two policymakers voted for an increase to 4% in June.

For now, the ECB is the only major Western central bank to have actually raised rates in this cycle.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Iran will continue to ‘pay the price’ for what he said was the failure to stick to agreements, telling reporters that President Trump’s policy is ‘a head for an eye’.

The United States continued to hit Iran for a 12th consecutive night early on Thursday, and Iran retaliated, striking targets across the Gulf, particularly in Kuwait and Jordan.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that an explosion set a tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz after it attempted to navigate the southern route off the coast of Oman.

Here is a recap of what happened on Wednesday night and Thursday.

Where did the US attack Iran?

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said at 02:30 GMT on Thursday that it concluded the latest round of strikes against Iran.

It targeted Iranian military targets, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defence assets, CENTCOM said, without specifying what areas in Iran were struck.

A local official told the Mehr news agency that US missiles struck the area around a passenger terminal in Shalamcheh, a western city near the Iraqi border. Two people were killed in the attack, the deputy governor of Iran’s Khuzestan province told the state broadcaster IRIB on Thursday. Local media also reported that 11 people were injured.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi reported from Iranian capital Tehran that overnight strikes targeted at least three cities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. This included the city of Ramshir, where an asphalt facility was reported to have been targeted.

In Hormozgan province, explosions were heard in the city of Sirik, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, Assidi reported.

He added that the governor confirmed an overnight attack in Bushehr on a power substation near the city’s nuclear power plant. This resulted in a few hours of power outage in the city.

IRIB also reported that explosions were heard in Iran’s Jask.

The Tasnim news agency reported that a US missile hit a location on the outskirts of the city of Andimeshk.

Two naval search and rescue vessels were hit and seriously damaged in a US attack on Iran’s Hormozgan, the ISNA news agency reported, citing the province’s Ports and Maritime Administration.

Where did Iran hit back?

Kuwait

The IRGC claimed attacks on US assets in Kuwait on Thursday.

It said it had “attacked and destroyed a large warehouse of military equipment, a Patriot missile defence system, and a hangar of American MQ9 drones” at Ali Al Salem airbase.

Addressing the Kuwaiti people, the IRGC insisted that it was the US, not Iran, that had “violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

It said its attacks were aimed at US bases, territory it described as beyond the control of Kuwait’s own border guards.

“So it is America that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, not us. We are attacking lands occupied by the American army, an army that knows nothing but crime,” the IRGC said.

Jordan

Later on Thursday, the IRGC claimed attacks on US assets in Jordan, saying it had “destroyed a radar of the American THAAD missile defence system with lightning strikes”.

“A Patriot system and a C-RAM radar were also targeted and destroyed, and the fuel tanks of the American base were set on fire,” it said.

The IRGC added that “a large helicopter equipment warehouse and a helicopter repair and maintenance shed were also set on fire and destroyed”.

Addressing the Jordanian people, it insisted that its actions did not violate Jordanian sovereignty, arguing that the US military presence infringes on local authority and that targeting US forces was a legal and necessary response.

What happened in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea?

The IRGC said an explosion set a tanker on fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by Iranian media, it said two other vessels quickly turned back following the explosion.

The IRGC claimed the three ships were acting under US orders and had “intended to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz”.

“The powerful IRGC Navy emphasises that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control and that as long as America’s evil deeds in the region continue, it is completely closed and no oil tanker will enter or exit [the strait],” it warned.

“Any ship that is deceived by America and intends to pass through without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate.”

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a ship was targeted 70 nautical miles (130km) off the Saudi coast, causing a fire on board. There was no mention of casualties among the crew.

The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed a major operation against two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, called the Encelia and the Layla. The Saudi SPA news agency confirmed the Encelia was hit.

The Houthis said they targeted those two tankers with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones, causing huge balls of fire and devastation.

The Houthis framed the attack as part of a tit-for-tat campaign against Saudi Arabia. They are calling it a “siege-for-siege”. They said it has been 12 years since Saudi Arabia has been imposing a siege on the Yemeni people, and that it is now time for Yemen and the Houthis to respond in kind. Riyadh has rejected Houthi claims that it had besieged Yemen.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov ‘reaffirmed ​readiness’ for a political ​and diplomatic settlement to Russia-Ukraine war.

The top United States and Russian diplomats have discussed the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in the Philippines.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in Manila, with Russian media reporting that the meeting was just over half an hour long.

The sit-down came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US envoys in a bid to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the years-long war.

Lavrov “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict”, a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that the minister told Rubio that ⁠Moscow remained committed ⁠to proposals put forward by presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir ⁠Putin at their August 2025 meeting ⁠in Alaska.

Lavrov also “stressed that it was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime”, the ministry said. The minister condemned “a destabilising policy by European countries, which are still seeking to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia,” it added.

The US State Department offered few details about the meeting, with a spokesperson only saying that Rubio and Lavrov “discussed the US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war”.

The two were also expected to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen Moscow condemn Washington’s strikes on its ally Iran.

“The war in Ukraine, I think, has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t seek to find other areas of potential cooperation. But by the same token … we’d like to see that war come to an end,” he added.

Rubio said the US remained open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents itself”.

For his part, Lavrov earlier indicated the meeting would “be useful in any case”.

“It’s good to ask questions and get answers,” Lavrov said to reporters on Wednesday, adding that he would ask Rubio about the latest statements by Trump predicting that a settlement is getting close.

Discussions aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine have been at a standstill, with US attention now focused on the Middle East and Moscow maintaining its demand that Kyiv cede territory.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy said in a post on X that he had “a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy” with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Rubio spoke briefly with Lavrov at a gala dinner on Tuesday, and the two participated in a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday morning.

Trump has voiced support for Ukraine’s campaign of long-range drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, saying it could “help bring about an end” to the conflict.

Ukraine has been escalating its drone strikes, hitting refineries, oil depots and cargo ships at sea, which has caused fuel shortages in Russia.

In late June, a massive barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed at least 30 people in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

The Philippines is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from Southeast Asia.

They are expected to address regional security issues, including the civil war in Myanmar and the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

But renewed fighting between the US and Iran has overshadowed the gathering.

Ministers have called for hostilities to end.

The conflict has hit Asia hard – disrupting its energy and food supplies, international commerce and raising fears of a global economic slowdown.

Will it also affect ASEAN’s efforts to tackle issues within the region?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Richard Heydarian – Political Scientist and Author of Indo-Pacific: Trump, China and the New Struggle for Global Mastery

Phar Kim Ben – Professor in ASEAN studies at International Islamic Univeristy of Malaysia and former Director of Political & Security Community at ASEAN Secretariat

Don McLain Gill – Lecturer at De La Salle University and Indo-Pacific Research fellow with Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a defense policy bill that incorporates President Trump’s request for a historic $1.15 trillion in spending for national security and would designate the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

It also would provide for a pay raise next year ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, depending upon their rank.

The National Defense Authorization Act is generally one of the more bipartisan bills that Congress takes up on an annual basis. That’s not the case this year. The vote was 216-212.

Democrats took issue with steep spending increases for the Pentagon as Republicans attempted to cut numerous non-defense programs through other bills. They also opposed some of the conservative social policy riders that were included.

For example, the bill includes a prohibition on gender-related medical care under the military health program known as TRICARE. It also eases hurdles for service members to carry a privately owned firearm on base, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s lead on the issue.

Republican leaders’ decision to attach Trump’s elections overhaul bill to the defense bill upon its passing also amplified the partisan divide. Speaker Mike Johnson is working to accommodate Republican lawmakers who are angry that the Senate won’t pass the SAVE America Act and are insisting that it be included in must-pass bills until the Senate relents.

House bill tests a normally bipartisan process

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he knows there were areas of disagreement, but emphasized that Wednesday’s vote was a step in a long process. He promised to work in a bipartisan manner on a final product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Rogers said the United States needs to reverse decades of underinvestment and neglect in the nation’s armed forces and defense industrial base.

“This bill will do that and much more,” he said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.”

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee, said the defense spending the administration has asked for this year is approaching $1.6 trillion including separate efforts to pay for the war in Iran and boost weapons stockpiles.

“The American people are struggling to pay their bills and we’re going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It’s not a reasonable thing to ask,” Smith said.

Smith also expressed concern about the war with Iran and that in supporting the defense bill, lawmakers are “de facto supporting this war with no end in sight.”

“We are in an incredibly, incredibly dangerous time,” Smith said. “I want to maintain the bipartisan nature of this bill. I do. And I know that the chairman does. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to need some Republicans to stand up to the president of the United States and say, ‘No. No, we’re not going to get you $1.6 trillion. No, we’re not just going to give you a blank check for a war that is totally out of control.‘”

White House backs parts of the legislation

The spending increases authorized in the bill would not take effect until Congress follows up with a separate defense appropriations bill. The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure. It’s possible a final product won’t be ready until after the midterm elections.

The White House applauded the spending levels authorized in the House bill and the Department of War designation that it says recognizes the “willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation.”

The president issued an executive order last year renaming the Defense Department, but it’s up to Congress to make the change official. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the renaming could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The White House’s statement also said that the administration has a number of concerns with certain provisions in the bill and would work with Congress before a final bill is presented to the president. Among those concerns was a section of the bill it said would limit or undermine the president’s ability to name military installations and property.

In 2023, during a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders. Last year, those bases reverted to their original names, but with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames. The Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

Freking writes for the Associated Press.

US and Iran trade new threats as more explosions are reported in Iranian cities, including Sirik, Ahvaz and Bushehr.

WASHINGTON — The House adopted a Republican-only $95-billion budget proposal Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over objections from Democrats and a few GOP holdouts in a final push before the midterm elections.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Trump’s priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump’s military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year’s big budget bill.

Even as the House action advanced the resolution, Johnson’s strategy faces uncertainty in the Senate.

The package has $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes aligned with the SAVE America Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements that are Trump’s top priority.

Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which enables approval on a majority vote in Congress, bypassing the Senate’s ability to filibuster the measure to stall or kill it.

Once rare, the reconciliation process is now Johnson’s preferred strategy for pushing proposals through Congress. It’s the way Republicans approved Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last summer and funded Homeland Security this year over Democrats’ refusal to fund Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“No matter how you feel about current events, these funds are necessary to ensure our fighting forces remain ready, our troops are paid and our nation is safe,” said Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said, “Republicans have literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans to sustain the Trump war machine.”

Among those opposed was Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, a former Republican turned independent who said he felt any war funding bill should be bipartisan. He also wanted to ensure Congress had a “much higher level of involvement” in bringing the war to an end, and he said this proposal did not set that process in motion.

Republicans Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio also voted against.

This is the third time GOP leaders have relied on reconciliation, dubbing this version 3.0, and it’s a lengthy process. If the House approves the budget resolution, it next goes to the Senate for a round-the-clock session to consider politically tough amendments — something senators would rather avoid in an election year.

The budget resolution sets out instructions for the various committees to draft legislation, which Johnson hopes could be done this summer, with final voting on the package once lawmakers return after the August recess.

Senators pan House’s budget and have their own ideas

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has been noncommittal on the House package that also divides his own GOP majority, with some Republican senators preferring more money for the military and others demanding the costs be offset with cuts elsewhere.

“We’ll see,” Thune said this week.

Thune’s focus, at the moment, is avoiding another government shutdown. He wants the Senate to approve a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution, to provide routine government funding before lawmakers leave for the summer break.

If senators are unable to reach agreement on government funding, Thune has said he may hold onto the House’s budget resolution and use it later in the fall as a way to push the resolution through the Senate over objections. He wants to prevent a federal shutdown when current funds expire on Sept. 30.

“It’s a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” Thune said. “I hope that’s not necessary.”

Thune has also clashed with Trump over the president’s push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. The measure, while popular among Trump’s most ardent supporters, does not have enough support among Senate Republicans for passage.

It’s already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and experts warn the proposed new rules could make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast ballots.

Mascaro writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has agreed to work with Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear program, a watershed moment following a years-long effort to curb the proliferation of nuclear technology in the Middle East.

The announcement comes as President Trump has vowed to continue executing a war against Iran over its own nuclear ambitions. On Wednesday, the president warned he would target a bridge or power plant for every commercial vessel Iran fires upon in the Strait of Hormuz, after earlier this week threatening to strike a new facility Tehran is reportedly building to conceal its continued nuclear work.

The Saudi deal stoked surprise and immediate concern across Washington, where lawmakers are expected to have a vote on the matter, as well as in Israel, itself a nuclear power that has long feared an atomic arms race could grip the region.

A Saudi nuclear program has long been tied to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear work, which successive U.S. administrations have said extends beyond civilian purposes. After Iran struck a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, Saudi Arabia vowed to match whatever nuclear capabilities Tehran was allowed to keep.

In the decade since, U.S. officials had tried to keep Saudi Arabia from developing its own program, fearing it would fuel nuclear competition across the Middle East. But it became a consistent and central point of negotiation between the two allies.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations ultimately offered to support a limited, monitored program as part of a broader deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, hoping that a diplomatic breakthrough would mitigate the risks of an arms race.

But the agreement secured this week left skeptics in Washington and the region unclear what the United States had secured in return.

The deal comes after Trump told reporters this week that the goal of resuming war with Iran was to prevent them from ever obtaining nuclear weapons, a challenge that has vexed the international community since the outset of the century.

U.S. presidents have long sought to prevent Middle Eastern countries from acquiring technologies that could be used to build weapons of mass destruction. The 2003 invasion of Iraq over false claims about Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs prompted Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi to abandon his nuclear work. Over the next two decades, the United States and Israel also targeted Syria’s nuclear and chemical weapons programs under Bashar al-Assad.

But Iran’s slow march to nuclear weapons capability, enriching uranium near to weapons-grade with no clear civilian or scientific ends, has prompted other countries in the region to question whether they, too, might need similar capabilities to counterbalance a historic foe. Israel, which views the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program as existential threats, is widely believed to possess its own nuclear weapons.

Hours after the nuclear deal was reported by the Wall Street Journal, the White House was silent on the details and Trump administration officials were left scrambling when asked by lawmakers and reporters for answers.

While traveling in Manila, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was aware of the news reports, but deferred to the White House to provide more public information.

When pressed about the risks of such a deal, Rubio said he would not “opine directly on the agreement,” but said the United States “is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”

The White House confirmed the deal Wednesday afternoon.

Back in Washington, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he has not yet seen the agreement with Saudi Arabia.

The deal, which would last 30 years and involve American firms developing the program, is expected to be submitted for review to Congress. Lawmakers will consider the deal as they grow increasingly uneasy about the Trump administration’s handling of an expanding Iran war, which Trump and Israel launched, arguing for the need to wipe out Tehran’s capabilities to build nuclear weapons.

As the war enters its fifth month, Trump has continued to defend the military efforts and has dismissed the idea that war is unpopular among Americans as they feel the economic effects.

“Americans aren’t against the war,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “Americans don’t want high gasoline prices but they’re not against the war.”

Trump’s remarks were made as he traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to attend a dignified transfer of U.S. service members killed in the war. Asked what he would say to the families who lost their loved ones, Trump said he’d tell them they’re loved.

“All I’m going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. There’s no games, no nothing,” Trump said. “That’s their child, and all you can do is throw out your heart.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said the United States will destroy a bridge or power plant in Iran each time it shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the global energy supply.

Trump’s threat to target bridges and power plants would mark yet another escalation that could affect civilians in the region.

Hasan Ghashghavi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, denied Trump’s claim on Tuesday that Iran was requesting negotiations, saying in a statement on X that it was “in no way consistent with the facts.”

“It seems that Trump, in order to extricate himself from the quagmire he’s trapped in, should seek better paths,” he wrote. “Repetitive lies no longer even bring about short-term market relief.”

Times staff writer Nabih Bulos in Beirut contributed to this report.

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s judiciary has announced several executions this week linked to unrest over recent months, as part of a campaign against those accused of trying to “create divisions” during the war with the United States.

The judiciary’s official news outlet on Wednesday announced the execution of Mehdi Khanaki, who was identified as an “active element of a terrorist group” arrested during nationwide protests in January.

State television showed security forces raiding a home in Karaj near Tehran, where several handguns, ammunition and explosives were allegedly found. A “revolutionary court” in the city tried him for “operational action in favour of the Zionist regime, the United States and hostile groups”, among other things.

On Sunday, two more men were executed in connection with a 16-defendant case arising from deadly protests in Isfahan, in central Iran, on January 8. The authorities said the men played a role in the killing of several police officers, but foreign-based activists have countered the state narrative and alleged a lack of due process and the use of torture.

The protests started last December 28 in central Tehran over economic issues but quickly morphed into nationwide expressions of frustration at the establishment, as in previous rounds of demonstrations.

The authorities refer to the unrest, when thousands were killed across the country, mostly on the nights of January 8 and 9 , as a “coup” orchestrated by the US and Israel.

They also reject findings by Amnesty International and other international human rights organisations that security forces carried out “mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale” during a total internet and communications shutdown.

Tens of thousands have been arrested in the aftermath of the protests, as well as the US-Israeli war that started on February 28 .

The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, a non-governmental body inside Iran, last week condemned what it called “intensified prison sentences and continued pressure on teachers’ guild activists” by the authorities.

Security-related offences follow a law passed after the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, which aims to more severely punish “espionage” and other actions perceived to be cooperating with “enemies” and undermining national security.

Hundreds of Iranians, including businessmen and celebrities based in Iran and abroad, have also had their entire assets confiscated by the state.

State TV also periodically airs “confessions” from people arrested or executed for those charges.

The latest was broadcast on Monday, when a young man with a blurred-out face could be seen saying he posted Instagram stories that opposed the Islamic Republic during the current war. Tehran’s police force said the unidentified man released “norm-breaking and anti-homeland content” online in an attempt to “damage the psychological security of the society”.

“I made a mistake and I will not repeat it. I am now sure that we must all now stand together to build Iran, nobody else has a right to commit an aggression against our country,” he said.

On July 13 , Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence released a list of “hostile media” that included dozens of media networks, 61 individual “human-media” figures and 310 accounts or online pages. It warned that sending photographs, video or information to a listed outlet, person or account can trigger a prison sentence and permanent exclusion from public employment, unless authorities invoke a more serious charge.

‘Infiltrators’

The message goes along with rhetoric of steadfastness and togetherness that has been repeatedly emphasised by Iranian authorities during the war.

Earlier this week, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was selected as Iran’s new supreme leader in March after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening salvo of the war, called for a “sacred unity” among the people and political factions.

Speaking during a televised meeting on Monday with President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior clerical judges in the judiciary, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei doubled down on the same message – complete with heavy religious undertones.

“We must not allow devils among humans and jinn to infiltrate the ranks of believers and our people to create division and schism,” he said.

The judiciary chief said these “alarmists, rumour-spreaders, hypocrites and infiltrators” would not all declare themselves as such, instead disguising themselves as insiders who would set people against each other.

This comes as the US increasingly points to alleged rifts among Iranian authorities, and categorises them into a faction that wants to keep fighting, especially over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, and another group that wishes to reach a negotiated resolution soon in order to stop the country from being destroyed.

Iranian authorities have rejected such classifications.

EXPLAINER

Several Ukrainian and Russian generals have been fired from their militaries over the course of the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sacked his military chief Oleksandr Syrskii in the latest reshuffle in the country’s defence apparatus after days of protests following the ouster of the defence minister.

Here is a closer look at what happened in the latest instance, alongside all the top shakeups in Ukraine and Russia over their four-year war.

Who was Oleksandr Syrskii?

Syrskii, 60, was born in Soviet Russia, in July 1965 and studied at a Red Army academy in Moscow.

In the 1980s, he was deployed to Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. After this, he remained in Ukraine and studied at the National Defence University of Ukraine in Kyiv, joining the ranks of the newly independent Ukrainian army.

In 2014, he commanded Ukrainian troops fighting a Moscow-backed armed rebellion in the eastern Donetsk region.

In 2019, he became head of Ukraine’s land forces and led the country into war when Russia invaded in February 2022. In the early months of the war, he was named a “Hero of Ukraine”, the country’s highest honour, because of his successful defence of Kyiv.

Syrskii is credited with planning Ukraine’s counteroffensive around Kharkiv from July to September 2022, which became one of Kyiv’s biggest victories and led to the recapture of the strategically significant Kupiansk and Izyum cities.

What’s the context for Syrskii’s removal?

The removal came after six days of protests in the capital, Kyiv, caused by the removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had previously clashed with Syrskii.

Fedorov, who was seen by many as pivotal to the war effort, was removed from his post last week, leading to widespread anger across Ukraine. Before his dismissal, the former defence minister had accused Syrskii of blocking his reform efforts.

In place of Syrskii, Zelenskyy has appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the military.

“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to every one of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong front-line positions,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for holding that same view.”

“Our shared wish is one – victory over the enemy and conditions at the front and in pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” he added.

Zelenskyy emphasised the need to address friction within the military leadership and resolve persistent issues concerning mobilisation and front-line management.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday’s decision to appoint Drapatyi was made to “reset” the ongoing defence against Russia’s invading troops.

Which other generals has Ukraine fired during the war?

More than 10 Ukrainian generals have been fired from their positions over the course of the war.

Here are some of the most major instances:

• In September 2023, Zelenskyy removed his Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov over corruption allegations.
• In February 2024, Zelenskyy dismissed Valerii Zaluzhnyi from his position as military commander-in-chief. Zelenskyy appointed Syrskii to take his place.
• In June 2024, Zelenskyy introduced Andrii Hnatov as the new commander of the Joint Forces Command, replacing Yuriy Sodol.

What about Russia?

Over the four-year war, which began in February 2022, Russia has had its fair share of reshuffling in its own military. Here are some major instances:

• In August 2022, Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, was fired. He was first suspended after the fleet’s flagship Moskva was sunk in April 2022.
• In July 2023, Moscow’s military leadership dismissed Major-General Ivan Popov, commander-in-chief of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army stationed in southern Ukraine, over his concerns for troops fighting without rest and criticism of Russian battlefield strategy.
• In August 2023, Russia removed Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon”, from his post as commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces. Surovikin was linked to the Wagner mercenary group and was dismissed two months after its short‑lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.

US Secretary of State says Iranian control over Strait of Hormuz sets ‘dangerous precedent’, as attacks continue.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says his country is willing to negotiate an end to the war on Iran but accuses Tehran of not being “serious” about talks.

“The United States remains open and willing to engage in positive and constructive negotiations and discussions, provided that the commitments made are honoured,” Rubio said about Iran at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Manila on Wednesday.

“The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests and also the interests of our allies,” he added in the Philippine capital.

This comes as the US launched attacks against Iran for an eleventh consecutive night, with explosions heard in several parts of the country.

As the war continues to disrupt two of the world’s most important routes for the transport of energy, Rubio stressed that he was against Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.

“At its core, it’s very simple. Iran demands the right, which they do not have under any existing legal mechanism, to control the transit of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

“There is a fundamental principle about freedom of navigation that is threatened,” he added. “That cannot be allowed to happen.”

Rubio also discussed the US’s relationship with ASEAN member states, saying it is a matter of national interest for Washington and that the security and prosperity of the US and Southeast Asia are closely interconnected.

“I believe very much that the future and the story of the 21st century will be written in this region and by how events unfold here,” he said.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump renewed his threats to, again, attack Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz “pretty soon”. Iran promised it would retaliate.

Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said in a statement on Tuesday that it would “consider it as an expansion of war in the region” if such an attack were carried out. The statement said it could lead to strikes on “all the interests of America, its allies and supporters”.

Fifty people have been killed and 500 wounded in the recent US attacks on Iran, a health ministry official said.

July 21 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee Tuesday that the financial cost of the Iran war has now reached about $37.5 billion according to Defense Department estimates.

Lawmakers questioned Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting as the Pentagon and President Donald Trump are seeking up to $70 billion in emergency military funds.

This is in addition to the $1.5 trillion the Pentagon has requested in the upcoming defense budget. Trump has also asked for about $18 billion more in emergency funds for unrelated programs, including $11 billion for agriculture. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was also present at the hearing, although the focus remained on military spending.

Some Senate lawmakers, both Democrats and some Republicans, questioned the need for the money on top of the defense request and the roughly $150 billion in additional funding the military received through Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the committee’s top Democrat, said the request for emergency funds “may be better understood as an attempt toskirt the normal appropriations process.”

“The problem is not a lack of money, but poor planning,”Murray said. “So I’ll be blunt. The truth is, your request does not make a lotof sense.”

Hegseth, in response, blamed “gross negligence and neglect”by the Biden administration.

Some asked about Iran’s military capabilities and theobjectives of the war, as Hegseth and Trump have both previously said that the war had been won. The defense secretary also said in the early days of the war that Iran’s military had already been “destroyed and made combat-ineffective.”

Hegseth said that he never meant that Iran would be unable to launch any attack. He said he meant Iran “can lob missiles, but it’s not an effective military.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., asked Hegseth if the Trump administration believes it does not need authorization from Congress to continue the war. Hegseth replied that the administration believes it already has the authority it needs.

The hearing lasted more than three hours and ended in a shouting match between Hegseth and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who questioned the war’s objectives, called Hegseth a “failure” and said the Trump administration has created another “forever war.”

Hegseth responded by telling Peters “shame on you” and saying he has “Trump derangement syndrome.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani releases a video statement calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to face trial for war crimes, citing the ICC’s arrest warrant. But, after days of speculation, Mamdani says New York does not have the power to arrest Netanyahu.

As the U.S. continues to expend offensive and defensive munitions in the fight against Iran, the Pentagon’s top leaders are testifying before the Senate today about how to pay for the war, including to replace $21 billion in strike weapons and air defense interceptors already used. The appearance of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine comes as resumed hostilities have entered an 11th day and President Donald Trump renewed threats to attack Iran’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain facility.

Hegseth and Caine are appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee to explain why the extra money is needed. It is included in a nearly $90 billion supplemental budget request made by the White House last month. Of that, the administration is seeking $67.1 billion to address “operational costs incurred by the Department of War (DoW) during OEF [Operation Epic Fury], including funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks expended by DOW, classified programs, and other key expenses,” the White House stated. 

As we noted earlier, the largest line item in the request is $21 billion for the munitions fired off during the conflict. We have frequently highlighted concerns over U.S. stocks of high-end offensive missiles and bombs and air defense interceptors and the difficulty in replacing them.

An official told The Washington Post that “the expansion of U.S. operations will be limited by dwindling stockpiles of air defense and long-range munitions and constraints on the ability to surge more troops and aircraft into the area because of battle damage.

Meanwhile, the money being used to fund the conflict is having a cascading downstream effect on the U.S. military.

“The funding crunch is already leading the Pentagon to limit training and maintenance that help maintain military readiness,” The Washington Post reported, citing four current and former officials. 

After U.S. strikes on Iran’s largest nuclear facilities last year, both President Trump and the White House were adamant that the Middle East nation’s nuclear program had been destroyed.

“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote on social media.

“Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News,” the White House wrote in a press release.

A year later, the U.S. and Iran are five months into a war Trump said would be over in weeks. Iran has gained leverage by seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy corridor, and the U.S. has been forced to the negotiating table as global gas prices have spiked — including again this week after a ceasefire agreement collapsed.

And Trump — facing mounting criticism that he has pushed the U.S. into another “forever war” despite campaigning on doing exactly the opposite — is leaning back into the notion that Iran presents an unacceptable nuclear threat and strikes are needed, namely at another Iranian nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain.

“Pickaxe is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right near the front door,” the president recently said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready.”

Pickaxe, a heavily fortified facility deep underground that would be difficult to penetrate even with powerful “bunker buster” bombs, was not targeted during last year’s 12 Day War between Iran and the U.S. and Israel, nor in the full-scale war of the last five months.

However, it is less than two miles from Natanz, one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities, which was struck both last year and this year. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into Pickaxe last fall — bolstering its ability to reconstitute a nuclear program that threatens the U.S. and regional allies.

Trump’s sudden focus on Pickaxe as a suspected hub of Iranian nuclear activity, which comes as his administration is trying to justify its continued entanglement in its unpopular war there, is an acknowledgment that two prior military campaigns and years of attempted diplomacy by his administration have failed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Few experts ever bought into the Trump administration’s claims that Iran’s nuclear program had been completely destroyed, and even Trump and his closest allies have walked some of those comments back — including in discussions about Iran’s ability to retrieve and repurpose enriched material buried at Natanz and other targeted sites.

Some experts have cited construction activity around Pickaxe as evidence Iran is continuing to develop the facility in violation of recent agreements with the U.S., but have said the exact nature of the work isn’t known. They’ve also wondered if the Trump administration intends to use the work there to lay the groundwork for a broader, boots-on-the-ground war effort that would be unpopular in the U.S. but necessary to truly accomplish Trump’s stated goal of ending Iran’s nuclear program for good.

The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based think tank, said last week that it wasn’t clear “if Iran still plans on installing a large-scale assembly facility” at Pickaxe Mountain “given the destruction of Iran’s centrifuge program,” but “if Iran starts to rebuild its centrifuge manufacturing capability, it could plan to install a smaller centrifuge assembly facility in Pickaxe Mountain able to serve a nuclear weapons program.”

The space under the mountain, the institute said, may be “large enough to also hold a centrifuge enrichment plant capable of producing weapon-grade uranium” and is “likely large enough to also hold certain nuclear weaponization activities such as making weapon-grade uranium metal and shaping it into nuclear weapon components.”

Retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the former head of U.S. Central Command, told The Times that Iran has had a substantial amount of time to relocate equipment since the bombings of last year and has “demonstrated that they are savvy on these kinds of things,” and the U.S. “should be serious about it and try to confirm the intelligence.”

And “if there have been centrifuges that have been moved there and are underground and spinning and developing nuclear bomb grade materials,” he said, “we should be very, very concerned about that.”

Benjamin Radd, a political scientist and senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, said it is true that Iran is continuing its enrichment program in clandestine ways that present an ongoing threat and that “the war is not going the way the president wanted.” He also said Iran’s activity around Pickaxe helps Trump justify the war — and its possible expansion.

Radd said Iran has used the war to block independent inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency and reconstituted some of its nuclear capabilities in the process, including as talks with the U.S. shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump and the U.S., meanwhile, have “vacillated” between trying to “manage” the Iranian nuclear program by reining in enrichment, to trying to “neutralize” the program with targeted attacks on its nuclear infrastructure. Radd said that “even though his rhetoric is there,” Trump hasn’t had “the resolve or the ability or the mandate” to move to fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, because that would require “much more forceful intervention” than the American public is willing to accept, such as U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.

He said he wonders now if the president’s talk about Pickaxe is part of a shift in that direction — or at least threatening it — after Trump and his advisors realized that the current cycle of war, negotiations and then more war is giving Iran the time it needs to reconstitute its nuclear program.

“I’m wondering if that is just a threat, or if it’s a genuine option that the president is actually considering,” Radd said.

Under Senate questioning Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to say whether American bombs were capable of destroying whatever is under Pickaxe Mountain.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration urged Congress on Tuesday to approve roughly $70 billion in emergency defense funding to sustain U.S. military capabilities amid its escalating war against Iran, warning that without it the Pentagon could face “critical shortfalls” disrupting its readiness.

The request comes as the United States and Iran have traded strikes for 10 consecutive days in a renewed conflict, deepening concerns in Washington over an expanding war that could inflame the global economy and trap the president in a quagmire.

The collapse of a ceasefire agreement and the sudden resumption of war have raised alarms within the Pentagon over its ability to protect U.S. forces and assets in the Middle East over a prolonged conflict, with defensive munitions in dangerously short supply, two Defense Department officials told The Times.

Yet the administration is facing bipartisan skepticism from lawmakers over the continuation of a war unpopular with a vast majority of Americans, over which they have had little oversight, and that in recent days has led to deaths of U.S. soldiers.

Those tensions became clear as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee to make their case for the tens of billions of dollars and offer their first in-depth public remarks about the war since May.

Hegseth told senators the United States is at a “moment where we cannot afford inaction,” while Caine argued the funding request is coming to Congress “while time is still on our side.”

“It is critical that we stay ahead of our adversaries and we must have the funds before we are out of time,” Caine said.

Hegseth said the war is now expected to cost Americans $37.5 billion, up from a $29-billion estimate from early May. The war, initially projected by President Trump to last four to five weeks, is now entering its fifth month.

With no end in sight, senators from both parties signaled frustrations with the administration’s plans.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said Democrats will not support more funding for the war.

“This administration’s refusal to explain what it is doing, or how this war is protecting Americans, its refusal to seek authorization from Congress, and its expectations that Americans will just pay for it all without any explanation or transparency is disrespectful,” she said.

Republican lawmakers also confronted Hegseth and Caine on several fronts.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told the Pentagon leaders that lawmakers “need some proper answers and some straight talk” about the administration’s plans to ensure Iran does not choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked whether Iran would impose tolls on merchant vessels passing through the vital waterway, Caine said it was a “hypothetical” scenario — a response Kennedy rejected.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also put pressure on Hegseth, as she asked him whether the administration was still taking the position that it needed no authorization from Congress to continue hostilities against Iran.

“Senator, I know there’s a long-standing legal debate on this particular topic, but we certainly at the department share the position with the White House that we have all the necessary authorities at this moment,” Hegseth said.

Murkowski’s remarks come just weeks after Republicans joined Democrats in both the House and Senate in voting to reassert Congress’ constitutional role over the war, underscoring the simmering tensions over Trump’s decision to sideline Congress in the matter.

Hours before the hearing, Trump downplayed concerns over the war’s effect on the midterm elections and further threats in the war, as Houthis, the Iran-backed militia in Yemen, declared a maritime blockade Monday on Saudi Arabia.

“So far, it hasn’t happened. It might happen but we take care of things, if something like that happens,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump maintained that Iranian leaders are “desperately” trying to reach a deal to end the war but said he has no interest in meeting with them until he is convinced the talks will be “meaningful.”

“If we left right now, it would take Iran 20 to 25 years to rebuild. We are not finished at all,” Trump said. “We are not leaving right now.”

A protester interrupts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he testifies at Tuesday’s hearing.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

Asked if he thought Iran was trying to have an effect on the midterm elections by threatening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, “probably.”

“It won’t have any impact on me,” he said. “The election, I can’t think about that having to do with this.”

An agreement reached in June between the United States and Iran proposed an end to a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and to U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports in exchange for Tehran allowing unfettered commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. But the agreement fell apart, with Iran firing on commercial vessels and pursuing a toll system for transit that had not existed before the war started.

The deal was supposed to set up a structure for more detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, a prime target of the U.S. campaign launched in February in partnership with Israel.

Much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was degraded in a U.S. strike conducted last year that targeted three major facilities. But the fissile material required to build nuclear weapons remains in the country, under the watch of U.S. satellite surveillance. Iran has vowed to continue pursuing civilian nuclear work.

“How about these people? They’re in this because of nuclear weapons, and they’re trying to possibly reconstitute a site? We’ll hit that site. Any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear — we’ll be hitting it very, very powerfully,” Trump said.

As the war expands, there’s been heightened concern about the infrastructure that civilians in neighboring countries rely on for water and power.

Iranian officials said U.S. strikes hit the Bunji desalination plant on Iran’s southeastern coast, leaving 20 villages — where some 10,000 people reside — without water, according to reports from Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti government said its power plants and desalination plants were struck by Iran on Monday — the fourth consecutive day of attacks on a key source of drinking water for the small desert nation.

The attacks spurred the Kuwaiti government over the weekend to launch an ad campaign calling on residents to reduce their water and power usage, especially during peak hours between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

A concerted campaign targeting desalination plants would be devastating both for Iran and the Persian Gulf nations it has peppered with drones and missiles since the start of the war.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are among the world’s eight most water-stressed countries. Israel ranks 9th, while Iran is 14th, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Water Resources Institute.

All of them suffer from “absolute water scarcity,” according to metrics used by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture organization.

Times staff writer Nabih Bulos in Beirut contributed to this report.

Replaced military chief Syrskyi clashed with former Defence Minister Fedorov, whose removal last week led to protests.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Oleksandr Syrskyi as the country’s commander-in-chief, appointing Mykhailo Drapatyi to lead the military. The move came after six days of protests in the capital, Kyiv, sparked by the removal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov – who had previously clashed with Syrskyi.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday’s decision was made to “reset” the ongoing war effort against Russia.

“I am grateful to Oleksandr Syrskyi and to every one of our warriors for Ukraine’s strong front-line positions,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “I am grateful to Mykhailo Drapatyi for holding that same view.”

“Our shared wish is one – victory over the enemy and conditions at the front and in pressure on Russia that would force Russia toward peace,” he added. He emphasised the need to address friction within the military leadership and resolve persistent issues concerning mobilisation and frontline management.

Fedorov, who was widely seen as critical to the war effort against Russia, was removed from his post last week, triggering widespread protests across the country.

Demonstrators in Kyiv and other major cities have called for accountability and a more effective military strategy, with many criticising Syrskyi’s handling of the war effort, amid rising Ukrainian casualties.

Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the unit documented 1,396 civilians killed and 7,978 wounded in Ukraine in the first six months of 2026.

That was a 37 percent increase from the same period in the previous year and “almost doubled what we documented in 2024,” she said.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified air strikes in recent months, targeting each other’s vital infrastructure, as United States-led talks on ending Russia’s invasion remain stalled, with the US’s focus largely turned towards its war on Iran.

Russia has frequently used ballistic missiles while Kyiv is currently short of Patriot interceptor munitions, which are crucial to defend against the attacks.

In retaliation, Ukraine is intensifying its strikes on Russian territory, mainly targeting oil depots. A series of Ukrainian drone ⁠attacks killed at least eight warehouse workers on ⁠Saturday and injured dozens more, while another attack caused a fire at an oil depot outside Moscow.

Latest cost comes as Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Caine ask for $1.5 trillion budget, including $70bn for Iran war.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has put the latest official price tag on the US-Israel war on Iran at $37.5bn.

Hegseth confirmed the figure during a hearing before the Senate appropriations committee on Tuesday, in which he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine were questioned about their request for a $1.5 trillion US defence budget, including nearly $70bn for the war with Iran.

Still, the number is significantly lower than other estimates, especially those that include knock-on expenses for US consumers. For instance, Moody’s Analytics has estimated the domestic cost of the war to be up to $150bn, accounting for factors such as higher US energy prices.

“The estimate we have as of today is $37.5bn,” Hegseth said upon questioning from Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

Hegseth added that the price includes some operations and maintenance costs extending through the end of September, but did not provide specifics.

The latest quote is about $8bn higher than the previous figure released by the administration of President Donald Trump of $29bn in May.

Hegseth appeared before the committee as fighting between the US and Iran continued to rage, after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that had seen a halt in attacks since June 17 collapsed last week.

On Monday, ahead of the 10th consecutive night of US strikes, Trump said Iran would “pay” after two more US soldiers were killed over the weekend.

Over the last week, Trump has threatened to target energy plants and bridges in Iran; send ground forces to seize Iran’s Kharg Island; and bomb a deep-underground nuclear-linked site known as Pickaxe Mountain.

Attacks have so far targeted sites Iran uses to assert influence over the Strait of Hormuz, its key point of leverage in the conflict.

Iran, meanwhile, has pledged to continue to strike US assets in the region. The latest round of strikes saw desalination and power plants set ablaze in Kuwait, as well as other sites hit in Bahrain and Jordan. The Houthis in Yemen, close allies of Iran, have also declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia.

During his opening statements, Hegseth referenced strains on the US weapons stockpile from the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.

He said funding was needed “to expand production lines and accelerate delivery of high-demand munitions. We’re talking about solid rocket motors, JDAMs [Joint Direct Attack Munition], hypersonics, and counter-drone capabilities”.

The Pentagon chief also pointed to a pending budget crunch amid the war, saying that “training in the future would have to be curtailed if we do not get our budget needs met and met urgently, and yes, some of that has to do with the current budget cycle and how things come together”.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray questioned the sprawling budget request, which also included funding requests for the National Guard deployment in Washington, DC, US operations against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean, and military patrols of the US border.

“So I’ll be blunt,” she said. “The truth is, your request does not make a lot of sense.”

The Broad’s “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind” is more mind than music. She opens your mind; you make the music. Look into an empty “Box of Smile” and maybe you will. “Give Peace a Chance” — of course.

She breaks, and she mends, and not just your mind. Something tells me the Broad won’t go along with Ono’s “Collecting Piece II” from 1963, which has the following instructions: “Break a contemporary museum into pieces with the means you have chosen. Collect the pieces and put it together with glue.”

That’s a smile piece, too, although Ono looks all business holding a crystalline hammer on the catalog cover photo. I still smile when I recall how her piece for an orchestra that asks the players to bang their heads against a stage wall utterly delighted an audience and musicians at a performance in New York. Only Ono remained deadpan.

There were more smiles Saturday evening when The Broad, in collaboration with REDCAT across the street, presented a program of two Ono performance pieces. It began with six members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra playing Boccherini’s First Sextet. This happens to be the first work ever written for pairs of violins, violas and cellos, as an expression of freedom that, in 1776, felt revolutionary.

Perhaps that is why LACO chose the Italian composer to represent a contemporary revolutionary artist in the wake of our 250th July 4. The actual piece being performed was Ono’s “Sky Piece for Jesus Christ,” in which she instructs an orchestra, whatever size (although she tended to like something larger than a sextet), to begin by playing a work, say, by Mozart.

It doesn’t much matter what is chosen, because at the premiere in a 1965 Fluxus concert at Carnegie Recital Hall, Ono and a couple of colleagues crept on stage and began wrapping the musicians in gauze. After a few minutes, they could no longer play.

Amusing, yes, but this is also an act of silencing, maybe even passive-aggressive violence. You smile (and a player or two at REDCAT couldn’t suppress a smile), but you don’t feel so hot doing so.

Members of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra covered in gauze while performing Yoko Ono’s “Sky Piece to Jesus Christ” at REDCAT.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

There is, in fact, more to this “Sky Piece” than meets the smile. Ono meant Jesus Christ to stand for John Cage. Cage was a key inspiration for Ono’s art. When the Beatles broke up and Ono and John Lennon moved to New York in the late 1960s, they first wanted to be as far from the limelight as possible, Ono having been demonized in the popular press over supposedly breaking up the Beatles (she didn’t!!!!). Cage found them a small two-bedroom apartment next door to him and his partner, Merce Cunningham, in their modest West Village building (a significant fact curiously ignored in the otherwise illuminating new documentary “One to One: John and Yoko” about the couple’s new New York life there).

Ono and Cage had a long, meaningful but not always easy relationship. Cage, who wrote music to suppress his ego, had a problem with Ono’s exhibitionism. In 1962, he dedicated a piece to Ono titled “0’00” (4’33” No. 2),” an Ono-like composition with a single sentence of instruction: “In a situation provided with maximum amplification (no feedback) perform a disciplined action.”

Cage later added other qualifications. One insistence is that the action should fulfill an obligation to others. However much Ono’s “Sky Piece” comes across as a playful Cage rejoinder, Ono did, the year before in Kyoto, create what could be called a version of “0’00”,” although an actual silent piece.

This is her famous “Cut Piece,” which the performance artist known as MPA performed at REDCAT following “Sky Piece.” It was clearly the draw that caused the program to be sold out months in advance.

There are many meanings that have been inscribed to “Cut Piece,” in which Ono invited the audience to come on stage and, with a pair scissors, cut off a small piece of her dress. Along with questioning social and sexual taboos, feminism and acts of aggression, Ono also confronts her own issues with ego from a Buddhist perspective, just as Cage had.

“Cut Piece” has a central place in Ono’s work as do film clips of her performing it in the Broad exhibition. Ono sits without a trace of emotion as she is stripped bare. Attention is directed away from her to the cutters. But the action is nullified by the fact that Ono assumes the stoic posture of the Buddhist monks seen in the news at the time setting themselves aflame in protest of the Vietnam War.

War had, indeed, inspired Ono in her shocking, exhibitionist (however ego-denying) disciplined action. It’s fulfillment of an obligation to others is, like so much in Ono, a two-edged sword forcing us — be we active cutters or passive observers — into contemplation of violence.

MPA’s performance was extraordinary. She introduced “Cut Piece” by noting that in Ono’s six performances over a half-century, the last in 2003 in response to the Gulf War, anger had turned into something more gracious. It was her way of saying to a new generation, give peace a chance.

To begin her own performance, MPA announced that she has retained Ono’s intent to perform “Cut Piece” in time of war. She said take the square of clothing and honor it, let it mean something to you.

At the few performances I’ve seen of “Cut Piece,” there has typically been audience hesitation at first. Not this time. What looked like almost half the full house immediately walked on stage and lined up. In the age of Instagram, everyone’s 15 minutes of fame has turned into an eternity. The cut piece of fabric — a custom garment designed by Victor Barragá — becomes proof of not missing out.

Most cutters approached MPA self-consciously as if walking to a casket at a funeral, although a few acted more like performers themselves wanting to be seen. Through it all, some 40 minutes, MPA didn’t move a muscle. It was as if she had abstracted herself from scissors and spectators, projecting not so much courage as strength. She inspired silence.

An evening that had begun as silencing a smiling sextet ended in a sublime effort to open the mind beyond body and music to give peace a chance.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel has “no interest” in joining the renewed US military campaign against Iran, arguing the current US-Iran conflict and sustained economic pressure on Tehran benefits Israel.