US launches sixth day of strikes on Iran; Iran retaliates with first direct attack on US base in Syria

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:

Iran War

The United States launched a new set of attacks against Iran overnight, as fighting continued for a sixth straight day. Iranian state media reported that strikes had hit two bridges in Bandar Khamir, killing at least seven people, as well as a railway junction near Bandar Abbas. Iran also launched new missile attacks against U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East, including Qatar, and its first direct attack in Syria. Iran’s state media said the Revolutionary Guards had attacked a U.S. special operations command centre in al-Tanf, Syria, in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr. The escalation in attacks has once again largely halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

• Max Bearak, Shirin Hakim, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times
• Jon Gambrell reports for AP News
• Reuters reports

Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters yesterday. Another source close to the Houthis said the group had completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who are already in Yemen will control the decision on when to close the strait, the sources added. Parisa Hafezi, Samia Nakhoul, and Jonathan Saul report.

Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said yesterday that all Saudi oil and other vital facilities would be targets for the group’s missiles and drones if Riyadh escalated its involvement in Yemen. The warning came after the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, marking a rupture in a four-year truce between the two sides. “The real equation is Sanaa airport for Riyadh airport, airports for airports, ports for ports, and blockade for blockade,” al-Houthi said in a televised speech. Reuters reports.

Russia-Ukraine War

Ukraine’s ousted defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, defended his efforts to modernize the Ukrainian military and directly attacked the country’s top general in a statement issued yesterday. “Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically,” Fedorov said, referring to the drone campaign, Syrskyi “figured out how to split the country.” Fedorov added that he had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to remove Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi but that Zelenskyy declined. Cassandra Vinograd, Andrew E. Kramer, and Oleksandr Chubko report for the New York Times.

Zelenskyy announced yesterday that he was appointing Yevhenii Khamara, acting head of Ukraine’s SBU domestic security service, as acting defense minister and would ask parliament to approve him permanently for the post. The SBU’s Alpha team, which Khmara had previously led, has played a leading role in Ukraine’s recent long-range strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure. Yuliia Dysa, Max Hunder, and Dan Peleschuk report for Reuters.

Israel-Hamas War

Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, Palestinian health officials said. Conflict monitor ACLED, which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said airstrikes in Gaza increased to more than 40 in June, the highest monthly total since the ceasefire. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

Other Global Developments

International Criminal Court judges yesterday ordered a suspect from Libya to stand trial on charges including murder, rape, and torture of detainees at the notorious Mitiga prison. The unanimous decision confirmed.