Iran sanctions dominate the day, spreading from Tehran to Beijing; elsewhere, Britain arms Ukraine, tariffs bite Canada, and Brussels edges toward paying Hungary.

Iran sanctions escalate, China in the crosshairs

  • The US rolled out its 'toughest-ever' Iran sanctions package; Tehran warned of an 'earthquake-like' response and the Revolutionary Guard said it has plans to evade the measures — more.
  • Iran's rial hit a record low, gold jumped to a three-month high and European shares slipped as Beijing publicly refused to join Washington's pressure campaign — more.
  • Treasury is preparing to widen secondary sanctions and has directly asked China to join the campaign, a step that could penalize Chinese firms trading with Iran — more.
  • Treasury sanctioned Chinese entities over Iran trade outright, and Secretary Scott Bessent called on all countries to halt Iran business, branding the campaign an 'economic D-Day' — more.

Ukraine and the UK

  • UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham made Kyiv his first foreign trip, handing President Zelensky the blueprints for the Storm Shadow cruise missile on Ukraine's independence day, as the Kremlin warned of 'consequences' — more.

Trade and tariffs

  • Trump said the US will double tariffs on Canadian cars and parts to 50% and add new tariffs from January 2027 after talks in Washington collapsed; Ontario's premier threatened to cut electricity and mineral exports to the US — more.

European Union

  • Hungary is on track to satisfy all EU rule-of-law conditions by the end of August, potentially unlocking €10 billion in frozen recovery funds — more.

Also worth a glance

  • Taiwan indicted nine people, including an Nvidia employee, over alleged AI chip smuggling to China — more.
  • Analysis: Western defense-industrial systems are struggling to scale fast enough for Ukraine's attrition war and China's buildup — more.