The Brief The day splits between escalation around Iran and a European rearmament drive that is turning from announcements into contracts.
Middle East
- Iran buries Supreme Leader Khamenei in Mashhad as strikes with the US resume and power tilts toward a nationalist military leadership — more
- The Secret Service puts Trump on a backup Air Force One over strike fears; unconfirmed reports place 300 Iranian Shahed drones in Cuba — more
Defence and the war economy
- Ukraine's refinery strikes force Russia to ban diesel exports and ration fuel; Finland's president puts the damage to oil output at about 40 percent — more
- Washington approves the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Germany and Merz says a deal is done; quantity, price and timeline remain unknown — more
- Merz's original Bundestag announcement was narrower than it sounded: permission to buy, not yet a contract — more
- The week after NATO's Ankara summit brings a $40 billion counter-drone plan, 900 Patriot missiles and a defence-bank push — rearmament as a networked production system — more
European Union
- The Commission refers seven member states to the EU Court of Justice in one day, from unpaid pharmacies in Romania to price caps in Hungary — more
- Finance ministers are set to approve Hungary's revised recovery plan, but the frozen €10 billion moves only if Budapest meets its milestones by end of August — more
Czechia
- President Pavel gives allies two months to push Russia into talks, while his defence minister admits he wasn't told about a US weapons purchase for Ukraine — more
- Pavel publishes his annual medical check-up: fully fit for office, advised to watch his cholesterol — more
UK and US politics
- Andy Burnham is set to become the UK's next prime minister without a contest after his last potential rival quits the Labour race — more
- Graham Platner quits Maine's Senate race over a sexual assault allegation he denies, leaving Democrats without a challenger to Susan Collins — more
