Today’s agenda: Suicide attack in Damascus; Spain’s NATO target opt-out; Revolut CEO in line for windfall; and the robotaxis of Tesla
Good morning and welcome back to Firstft. The US was attracted to another war in the middle yesterday and bombed three nuclear locations in Iran yesterday. This is what happened and what to expect.
The situation now: US B-2 Stealth Bombers led an attack on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan with the help of what Minister of Defense called Pete Hegseeth “Criminal”. US President Donald Trump claimed that the sites were “completely and completely erased”, but the extent of the damage is still being assessed. Much depends on the place of residence of Iran’s 408kg stock uranium, enriched to levels just in arms quality. Israel and Iran exchanged more air strikes this morning.
The Global Fallout: The oil prices reached a five months high over the fears that Tehran would take revenge by attacking the energy infrastructure in the region or closing the critical street of Hormuz. Gold prices increased during the early trade in Asia before the win ran back, while the US dollar also emerged. More than 150 airlines have suspended or diverted flights due to the conflict, with British Airways and Singapore Airlines canceling to Dubai yesterday.
What is the following? American officials said there were no plans for further attacks, unless Iran drops, but Trump has called for the possibility of “regime change”. He will chair a national security meeting today. Tehran weighs whether he should leave the European nations and the calls of the UN or take them into account to find a diplomatic solution. The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the close allies of Tehran, today. Israel has indicated that it will continue with his bombing against Iran.
Follow our live blog for the latest updates and we have more analysis of the conflict:
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Gideon Rachman: Tehran’s great strategy has failed, but that is no guarantee that Israel and the US can succeed, writes our most important commentator of Foreign Affairs.
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Trump’s GOK: The American strike could be counterproductive on a president who had sworn America not to attract new global conflicts.
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A deal is possible: Iran has to show flexibility and the US has to shift maximum requirements, writes Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on foreign relations.
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The FT display: Trump’s step in the dark makes the world a more dangerous place, writes our editorial board.
Become a member of our subscriber-webinar with FT journalists and guests on Wednesday and ask your questions about the conflict on our panel. Register here. And this is what else I keep an eye on today:
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UK: Sir Keir Starmer will invest £ 2 billion in four years to reduce energy prices for thousands of companies. Read the prime minister’s op-ed while he unveils a long-awaited industrial strategy.
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Brussels: EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs come together to discuss Ukraine with sanctions against Russia due to expired, while the block has a top with Canada. The European Central Bank Head Christine Lagarde focuses on the European Parliament.
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Macron in Norway: King Harald V and Queen Sonja welcome the French president and his wife Brigitte at the start of a two -day state visit.
Five more top stories
1. At least 20 people were killed at a suicide bomb attack in a church in Damascus Last night the first major security incident in the capital of Syria since the Assad regime was overthrown last December. The Syrian government said that the Jihadi group ISIS was responsible for the attack.
2. Spain has protected an opt-out of a NATO target expenditure objective required by Trump, said the country’s prime minister. Pedro Sánchez announced the deal this week for the top of the military alliance, where allies are expected to agree to spend 5 percent of GDP in defense.
3. Exclusive: Revolut’s Chief Executive is in line for a windfall of millions of dollars If he more than triples his current appreciation to around $ 150 billion. People who are familiar with the case say that Nik Storonsky, who founded the Fintech in 2015, would see his interest increase considerably under a long-term wage agreement in Elon Musk style.
4. European countries are confronted with more payment for medicines because of Trump’s plans To reduce drug prices in the US, experts from the industry have warned. European countries are likely to resist considerable price increases because the budgets are stretched and many contracts with companies are long. This could also mean that medicine makers ultimately do not launch new medicines in these markets.
5. Tesla’s Robotaxi Service launched in the home city of the company Austin Yesterday with around 10 vehicles and a human safety driver on board in the midst of the regulations of his self -driving technology. CEO Elon Musk has advertised the self -driving taxis as the future of his flagging maker of electric cars.
News
Mark Zuckerberg gambles more than $ 14 billion that a well-connected 28-year-old is the catalyst who needs his company to overtake rivals to develop and commercialize artificial intelligence. The meta boss recently closed a deal to buy 49 percent of the AI scale – but the real price was the head of the data company, Alexandr Wang.
We read too. . .
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Return to the office: When top managers work remotely, it becomes more difficult to drag everyone to their agencies, writes Pilita Clark.
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Serial CEOs: Higher pressure and more control average leaders often follow a “one and done” approach of the top track, Anjli Raval writes.
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Fred Smith: The man who founded FedEx in 1973 and dismissed only three years ago as Chief Executive, died on Saturday. He was 80.
Graph of the day
Germany and Italy are confronted with calls to move their gold from New York after the repeated attacks of Trump on the Federal Reserve and the increase of geopolitical turbulence.
Take a break of the news
Is F1 The Last Hope for Originality in Summer Blockbusters? More than ever, Hollywood trusts follow -up and reboots, writes FT film critic Danny Leigh. If Apple’s Motor Racing Movie failed, this can be the end of the road for new ideas.
