Early Edition: July 9, 2026

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.

A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN WAR

The United States and Iran traded fresh strikes overnight into this morning and accused each other of violating the terms of their deal, hours after President Trump said he thought the cease-fire was over. U.S. forces struck around 90 targets in Iran, including missile and drone storage sites, according to U.S. Central Command. Iran’s military said it had responded with drone and missile strikes at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by Iranian state media that if U.S. forces launched more strikes, the retaliation would expand to other U.S. bases in the region. Qasim Nauman, Tyler Pager, and Shirin Hakim report for the New York Times; Kay Johnson and Neha Mustafi report for Reuters.

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes appeared to target Iranian bridges. Iranian state media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the IRGC said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today. Jon Gambrell reports for  AP News.

Iran’s health ministry said today that U.S. strikes over the past two days had killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 others. Euan Ward and Leily Nilounazar report for the New York Times.

In Kuwait, the military said falling debris wounded one person as it shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile, and 10 drones. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire, without providing further details. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.

A U.S. official told Axios that the current escalation could last a day or two, a week, or a month, depending on whether Iran continues its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re going to slap them a bit so they understand we’re not f*cking around,” the U.S. official added. Trump signaled last night that the United States was ready to de-escalate, telling reporters on Air Force One that Iranian officials had “called a little while ago” and “want to make a deal.” Iranian officials have not confirmed this. Barak Ravid reports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was attacked on Monday by a crowd of supporters of a hard-line faction that opposes any deal with the United States, who tried to tackle him while shouting “death to the appeaser,” as he attended Khamenei’s funeral procession, according to videos on social media and shared by his office. Another government official, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, was assaulted with a rock on Monday as he was chased down an alley during the funeral. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times. 

NATO SUMMIT 

Emerging from a closed-door meeting of NATO leaders yesterday, Trump told reporters, “There was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity.” A source said Trump had not repeated his earlier criticisms behind closed doors and instead told leaders that he wanted to keep the United States in NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron also said he did not hear any gripes from Trump, while Rutte said the alliance was “more together than ever.” The summit ended with a message of solidarity, as NATO allies, including Trump, affirmed their “ironclad commitment” to collective defence under the alliance’s Article 5 pact in a summit declaration. Sabine Siebold, Gram Slattery, and Tuvan Gumrukcu report for Reuters; Steven Erlanger reports for the New York Times. 

Trump also told reporters, while sitting alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the United States would grant Ukraine the license to manufacture Patriot air-defense systems. It remains unclear whether Trump meant that Ukraine would be allowed to produce Patriot batteries, interceptor missiles, or both. Carlotta Gall, Stanislav Kozliuk, and Cassandra Vinograd report for the New York Times.  

Trump flew out of Turkey last night on the old Air Force One instead of his new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 as a security precaution related to the presumption of hostilities with Iran, according to sources who said the change came at the urging of the Secret Service. Trump denied that the swap was made because of security concerns, claiming instead that it was so the new jet could leave early and make stops at U.S. military bases to show it off to troops because the aircraft is “magnificent.” Tyler Pager, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, and Eric Lipton report for the New York Times.  

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Ukrainian drones today struck more Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late last night into this morning. Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine last night. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles inflicted damage at 13 locations, it said. Illia Novikov reports for AP News.  

Ukraine’s prosecutor general today denied Kyiv’s involvement in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 and proposed forming a joint investigation team with Germany. German prosecutors allege that Serhii K., ⁠an ​active Ukrainian army officer in 2022, collaborated with ​other military personnel to plan and execute the pipeline attacks to permanently disrupt gas deliveries and ​curtail financing for Russia’s war effort. Reuters reports.  

Ukrainian police earlier this week raided the drone manufacturer Vyriy and the home of its owner, Oleksii Babenko, citing an investigation into alleged military contract overpricing, but the timing has prompted concerns because Babenko also co-owns Babel, an independent news outlet that recently exposed alleged abuse and noncombat deaths of conscripted soldiers. Ukrainian journalists and press freedom groups argue the raids fit a broader pattern of increasing pressure on independent media during the war. Andrew E. Kramer reports for the New York Times.  

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least nine Palestinians, including two children aged 10 and 6, in Gaza yesterday, according to health officials. Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed one person near a school in Gaza City. Another airstrike hit a tent for displaced people in the Mawasi area in Khan Younis, killing four people. Later on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said a 6-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire, and ​two separate strikes in other parts of Gaza City killed three people and ‌wounded ⁠several others. Reuters reports.  

Trump’s Board of Peace is planning a pilot humanitarian zone for Gazans as a way to kickstart the stalled peace plan, regardless of whether a deal is reached with Hamas on the plan’s second phase, a board official said. The official did not specify the location, but said the board had identified secure areas that could host tens of thousands of Gazans, where goods and services could be scaled up to meet the humanitarian needs of those willing to move there. Maggie Michael and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report for Reuters.  

The U.N. ‌Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory yesterday called for the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. Rights groups and Abu Safiya’s ​lawyer have said his life is in imminent danger, and he continues to be ​held without charge. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.  

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

The International Criminal Court has “concrete evidence” linking leaders of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary to recent war crimes in Darfur, ICC Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told BBC News. Khan said the ICC had reached a “breakthrough” in its investigation into the massacres of civilians in el-Fasher and el-Geneina, adding, “it may take time for justice to develop, to be brought to court, but we will get there.” Thomas Mukhwana and Kaleb Moges report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

An internal International Criminal Court report seen by the New York Times concluded that Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan abused his authority by engaging in a sexual relationship with a junior staff member and attempting to discourage her from pursuing misconduct allegations. ICC member states are set to vote on July 24 on whether to remove him from office. Amanda Taub reports. 

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

Meta announced yesterday that it will invest more than $9.1 billion to build its first AI data center in Canada and its largest outside the United States. The data center will use a closed-loop cooling system that will not draw water from surrounding sources, Meta added. AP News reports.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Trump yesterday informed Syrian President Ahmed ​al-Sharaa that he had decided to remove Syria from the ‌U.S. list of designated state sponsors of terrorism. “I promised to remove all barriers stopping you from rebuilding your country, and very soon, you will finally be able to do ​so,” Trump wrote in a letter to Sharaa seen by Reuters. Trump said he had notified Congress, which will now conduct a 45-day review before the decision can take effect. Gram Slattery, Bo Erickson, and Steve Holland report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited senior ministers from more than 60 countries to a meeting next week about the “resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism,” according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post. The planned meeting has faced skepticism from U.S. officials, allies, and terrorism experts. Critics argue the effort risks politicizing counterterrorism tools, noting that many governments do not view antifa as a major terrorist threat and warning that such measures could be used against political opponents in the future. Ellen Nakashima, John Hudson, and Adam Taylor report.

Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau is suspected of having twice miscommunicated U.S. policy to two countries about Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, according to seven senior administration officials. Sources said that Landau gave foreign officials the impression that Washington supported Machado’s plans to return to Venezuela after the recent earthquake. “There’s a widespread belief that Landau went rogue,” one of the sources told Axios. “And the evidence supports that belief.” Marc Caputo reports. 

The Mexican attorney general’s office said yesterday that it was investigating a recent report by the online news site Pie de Nota that connected the FBI to the notorious drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García’s arrest in Mexico in 2024. The report included a statement that it attributed to the FBI, claiming that its special agents had “carried out the arrest and transfer of one of the United States government’s top targets.” U.S. officials have long maintained that U.S. agents played no role in the transfer. Paulina Villegas reports for the New York Times.  

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum yesterday vowed to respond to the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE this week with “legal measures” that would “go beyond” complaining to international bodies or releasing a diplomatic statement. “We cannot permit the mistreatment of our brothers in the United States,” Sheinbaum said. “So we are preparing measures.” Sheinbaum’s spokesperson declined to clarify precisely what sort of legal response the president intended. Terrence McCoy reports for the Washington Post. 

The family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is calling for an independent and transparent investigation into his death, arguing that key details remain unclear and that authorities have not released evidence supporting their account that he used his vehicle as a weapon. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general’s office has announced an investigation, and the FBI’s Houston office is focusing its investigation on what ICE called an assault on a federal law enforcement officer. Edgar Sandoval reports for the New York Times.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

A member of a federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis fatally shot a person while serving a drug warrant yesterday, marking the second deadly shooting involving the Memphis Safe Task Force in four days. Travis Loller reports for AP News.  

The former Wisconsin judge, Hannah C. Dugan, was fined $5,000 yesterday but spared prison time, months after a federal jury convicted her of obstructing federal immigration agents from arresting an undocumented migrant. Mitch Smith reports for the New York Times.  

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, suspended his campaign yesterday under intense pressure from all corners of his party after a woman accused him of rape. Bayliss Wagner, Lisa Lerer, and Katie Glueck report for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

Trump said yesterday on social media that he will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to strike down his executive order that aimed to revoke birthright citizenship. The last time the justices granted a rehearing request after a case decision was in 1965. The court has only once reversed itself after rehearing a case. Erica L. Green and Abbie VanSickle report. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal appeals court yesterday denied a request from the Kennedy Center’s board to restore Trump’s name to the institution while the board appeals an earlier ruling that said the name change was illegal and had it rescinded. Jesse Bedayn reports for AP News. 

A federal judge ruled yesterday that E. Jean Carroll can collect $5.8 million held in escrow since a jury found that Trump sexually abused and defamed her. Trump’s lawyers immediately appealed but were denied an emergency order to block the payment from being made. Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister report for AP News.  

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.

If you enjoy listening, Just Security’s analytic articles are also available in audio form on the justsecurity.org website.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security

Breaking the Cycle: Transitional Justice in America After Trump

By D. Wes Rist and Alka Pradhan