👀 This Week So Far
Quick Catch-Up
🇮🇷🇮🇱 Iran-Israel: Israel and Iran halt direct attacks after the Beirut-triggered missile exchange, while Iran asks for sanctions relief, frozen funds, and a region-wide ceasefire.
🇨🇺🇺🇸 Cuba-US: Cuba is reportedly handing weapons to civilians and circulating military-preparedness guidance for a possible US confrontation.
🇱🇻 Latvia: A French fighter on NATO duty shoots down a drone over Latvia near the Russian border, the alliance's first drone shootdown over Latvia since Russia's Ukraine war began.
🇨🇳🇰🇵 China-North Korea: Chinese President Xi Jinping visits North Korea for the first time in 7 years.
🇨🇳🇬🇧 CHINA & UK
Car Spy Claim
A former UK prime minister's official car was allegedly found with a hidden tracker inside a sealed part imported from China, a claim serious enough to make the vehicle-security debate feel a lot less theoretical.
Device. MPs were told the tracker was discovered in 2022 after intelligence officials stripped down the car.
Harvest. Earlier reporting and parliamentary evidence have pointed to e-SIM data leaving the vehicle for China.
Caveat. The finding has not been publicly confirmed by No. 10 or UK intelligence. China has previously dismissed similar claims as rumor and smear.
Thoughts
Remember the story about the Chinese “mega-embassy” the UK recently approved?
Whether this spy claim is true or not, how does the government expect to convince the British public that the project is safe, especially when critics are already worried about reports of hidden rooms and their proximity to key communications infrastructure?
Not only that, China recently snubbed judicial review over this controversial embassy.
🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Pipeline Blame
A main gas pipeline in Dagestan blew up on June 9, sending flames over Kizilyurt and feeding Ukraine-strike theories before officials had publicly pinned down a cause.
Blast. Dagestan's emergency ministry said 3 explosions hit a 1,200 mm (47-inch) trunk line near Kizilyurt at 7:45 pm, with flames reportedly rising about 15 meters (50 feet).
Damage. Officials reported no injuries, evacuated nearby residents, and later said the fire was under control.
Cause. The official cause is still unresolved.
Russian reporting has pointed to depressurization or a gas leak as a possible explanation,
But some Ukrainian and pro-Ukraine accounts are treating it like part of the deep-strike campaign against Russian energy.
🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Another Moscow Blast
Damir Davydov
A car bomb killed a driver in Balashikha, east of Moscow, in the same military-heavy city where Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was assassinated last year. Now, this is a much clearer picture than the story above.
Blast. Russia's Investigative Committee said an explosive device detonated around 5:30 am as a BMW X3 drove near an apartment building. The driver died at the scene.
Identity. Russian authorities had not named the victim by Tuesday evening, but independent Russian outlets reported he was Damir Davydov, a senior Defense Ministry official tied to missile and artillery ammunition supplies.
Caveat. No suspects or motive have been announced. The Insider reported Ukrainian security-service involvement, but that claim has not been publicly confirmed by Ukraine or Russia.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
Apache To Airstrikes
Plenty of videos are circulating online, but many appear outdated and others remain unverified or contested (at the time of writing). Instead, I’m sharing President Trump’s post that announced the US’s latest retaliation.
The US and Iran exchanged fire once again (much more severely this time), but apparently we’re still in a “ceasefire”.
At this point, the word seems to carry about as much weight as “deal” and “negotiation”.
Chronology
Crash. A US Army AH-64 Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz on June 8.
Trump said Iran shot it down, but US officials later told reporters the helicopter may have collided with an Iranian drone.
Intent is still unclear, but thankfully, both crew members survived.
Whiplash. Trump initially told the Wall Street Journal the incident "wasn't a big deal" because "the pilot is fine."
Hours later, he posted on Truth Social that the US "must" respond.
At the same time, social media users (including many of his supporters on X) relentlessly roasted him, saying he was being pushed around by a terrorist regime.
Strikes. CENTCOM said US Air Force and Navy jets struck Iranian air-defense, ground-control, and surveillance-radar sites near Hormuz with precision munitions. Its public release called the operation “proportional response.”
End point. After more than 3 hours of action, CENTCOM said the US strikes were completed. Iranian state media reported explosions along Iran's southern coast, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would leave no US attack unanswered.
Iran's Reply
Currently, there are three countries reporting attacks from Iran.
Kuwait. Kuwait's army said its air defenses were intercepting "hostile aerial targets." The IRGC claimed Ali Al Salem Air Base was targeted.
Bahrain. Iranian state media said drones targeted US bases and the US Fifth Fleet presence there. CNN geolocated a bright flash near the naval facility in Manama.
Jordan. Jordan's military said it intercepted and downed 5 missiles launched from Iran toward Azraq. The IRGC claimed it hit Muwaffaq Salti, including F-35 hangars.
✏️ Summary.
The US attacked Iran in 3 waves (reportedly) against 20 IRGC targets.
The IRGC responded with drone/missile strikes at US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait.
The ceasefire appears to be holding (for now).
