Diplomacy and disruption collided today: a tanker blast shadows an Iran reopening deal in the Gulf, the West keeps tightening the financial noose on Russia, and a shift in US nuclear doctrine has allies quietly weighing their own options.

Strait of Hormuz: tension shadows a near-deal

  • A tanker reported two explosions passing the strait near Oman just hours after Iran said its reopening deal with Oman was in its final stages, with President Trump suggesting an announcement could come within days and Washington easing some Iran-related sanctions — cause and casualties still unconfirmed (more).

Squeezing Russia's war economy

  • The UK sanctioned Ozon Bank and 'shadow fleet' tankers used to move Russian oil around Western restrictions, part of an ongoing campaign against the financial and shipping networks funding the war in Ukraine (more).
  • The European Commission confirmed Ukraine can tap the EU's SAFE loan fund — normally reserved for EU-made arms — to buy non-EU Patriot interceptors, letting up to 35 percent of a contract go to outside suppliers, after Zelenskiy appealed to NATO's Mark Rutte over a critical shortage of the only system that reliably stops Russian ballistic missiles (more).

Nuclear hedging among US allies

  • As the Pentagon pivots to a strategy centered on tactical, shorter-range nuclear weapons, Poland has signaled interest in what that means for its own security and a conservative Washington outlet now welcomes France-Germany nuclear cooperation — read together as a possible sign some allies are building alternatives to Washington's nuclear umbrella (more).

EU business and politics

  • Apollo Global Management's £5.7bn EasyJet takeover won board backing after rival bidder Castlelake withdrew, but EU rules require majority EU ownership of airlines flying under an EU licence and Apollo hasn't said how it will comply — EasyJet shares trade below both offer prices (more).
  • The EU is weighing Czech-born countess and 1905 Nobel Peace laureate Bertha von Suttner as the face of a redesigned euro banknote, reportedly the €200 note — a currency her home country, outside the eurozone, doesn't use (more).