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That said, we’ve got some pretty big news today: the EU’s new driver-monitoring mandate, the US-Iran war restarting, and President Trump lifting CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, and what that actually means. 👇🏼
👀 This Week So Far
Quick Catch-Up
🇬🇧 UK: The UK is weighing rules that could force platforms to boost public-service and "trusted" news.
🇵🇱🇷🇺 Poland-Russia: The US reportedly warns Poland that Russia may be preparing a deniable "armed provocation" on NATO territory.
🇮🇷 Iran: Iran starts Ali Khamenei's delayed funeral, but the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still missing.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran-US: US officials say Iran fired at least 3 missiles at commercial ships near Hormuz, cracking the short pause that was supposed to keep traffic moving.
🇵🇸 Palestine: Hamas says it dissolved its Gaza government and is preparing to hand civilian power to the UN-backed NCAG, but it still has not agreed to disarm.
🇲🇨🇺🇦 MONACO & UKRAINE
Dead Suspect,
New Problem
An image released by Interpol allegedly showing Anastasiia Berezovska.
Remember the Monaco car bomb attack we covered last week? The one that seriously injured a Ukrainian-born businessman sanctioned by Ukraine over alleged Russia-linked business ties? Well, the suspect was a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman, Anastasiia Berezovska, who allegedly disguised herself as a man. Now she’s been found shot dead near Kyiv.
Arrests. Ukrainian authorities said 2 men were detained: a serving military intelligence officer and a former law enforcement officer. One allegedly said he acted without his superiors.
Charges. Interpol had wanted Anastasiia Berezovska for attempted murder, placing an explosive device in public, and criminal conspiracy.
Problem. Investigators say the men sent Berezovska crypto and bank payments. That does not prove a state order, but it puts the Ukrainian government in a weird spot.
🇪🇺 EU
Eyes On You
Your next EU-market car will be watching your eyes. New cars sold in the bloc now need driver monitoring that tracks where the driver is looking and warns when attention drifts.
Trigger. Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) switches on above 20 km/h (12 mph), with warnings after 3.5 seconds of off-road gaze at 50 km/h (31 mph) or faster, or 6 seconds at lower speeds.
Guardrail. EU rules say the system cannot rely on biometric personal data and should only retain data needed for a closed loop.
Gap. The privacy worry is enforcement. The rule does not set a clean retention period or independent audit path, and connected-car data has already been sold in other markets.
🇹🇷🇺🇸 TURKEY & US
Trump's Turkey Gift
US President Donald Trump (left) and Turkish President Erdogan (right).
President Trump is in Turkey to attend the Ankara NATO summit. And on the very first day, he announced that the US will lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey and consider letting it buy F-35 jets. This undos the punishment the US imposed after Turkey bought Russia's S-400 air defense system.
But there issues with that.
Jets. Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 because US officials said the S-400 could expose the jet's stealth capabilities to Russian intelligence.
Pushback. Sen. Lindsey Graham was quoted by i24NEWS saying, "We will oppose the F-35 deal," and Axios reported 18 lawmakers urged House leaders to block any sale while Turkey still has S-400s.
Erdogan. Turkish President Erdogan signaled optimism about the F-35 talks, while Trump said he had "no concerns" about Turkey still using Russian air defenses.
The Weird Part
📌 Context. CAATSA sanctions hit Turkey's defense procurement agency, blocked US export licenses and some financing, restricted Ex-Im and international-lender support, and put visa/property penalties on senior officials. Lifting them would reopen defense cooperation and help Turkey's long campaign to rejoin the F-35 track.
President Erdogan gives a thumbs-up and chuckles after hearing President Trump announce that the United States is lifting the sanctions.
Click for video
President Trump also claimed Turkey could have entered the Iran war "on the other side," but Turkish President Erdogan maybe stayed out because of him.
Taken literally: Trump is saying a NATO ally was close to joining Iran against the US and Israel, then opening the door to F-35s for that same ally.
Taken as hyperbole: Then it is his usual speech pattern.
However, if it is not hyperbole, then that means the US just softened penalties on a country Trump had framed as almost joining the terrorist enemy regime against the United States.
"CAATSA" stands for Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
We’re Still in a
Ceasefire, BTW
Video reportedly showing the moment the US struck Shahid Haqqani Port in Bandar Abbas.
The US hit Iran again, striking more than 80 targets after US officials said Iran attacked commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
A US official said the strikes were punishment, not "proportional retaliation."
Targets. CENTCOM said US forces struck air defenses, command networks, coastal radar, anti-ship capabilities, and more than 60 IRGC small boats. A US official told Axios the operation was 4 or 5 times larger than the previous Hormuz strikes 10 days earlier.
Explosions. Iranian state media reported blasts on Kharg Island, Qeshm Island, Sirik, and Bandar Abbas. Kharg is Iran's main oil export hub, so even reported explosions there land differently.
Oil and Wordplay
Sanctions. The Trump administration also revoked Iran's oil-sales waiver, cutting off a key incentive from the June 17 MOU.
Market. But the thing is, as we wrote last week, buyers were already hesitant to buy from Iran because nobody knew how long the waiver would last, on top of the broader Iran-US tensions.
Talks. Iranian officials vowed a “crushing response” and said US military pressure made negotiations impossible.
Retaliation. In response, IRGC-linked news agency Tasnim says Iran struck 85 US military sites, including the US Fifth Fleet HQ in Bahrain and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, with multiple waves of missiles and drones.
This is a developing story.
📌 Context. Point 5 of the MOU says, “Upon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days.” But Iran can argue that “safe passage” means other ships have to follow Iran’s approved route to be considered "safe." In other words, it may all come down to wordplay.
