US to give $30 million to Gaza aid operation despite violence concerns

The United States is giving $30 million to a controversial humanitarian group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza despite concern among some U.S. officials about the month-old operation and the killing of Palestinians near food distribution sites, according to four sources and a document seen by Reuters.

Washington has long backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation diplomatically, but this is the first known U.S. government financial contribution to the organization, which uses private U.S. military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites.

A document reviewed by Reuters showed that the $30 million U.S. Agency for International Development grant to GHF was authorized on Friday under a "priority directive" from the White House and State Department. The document showed an initial $7 million disbursement had been made.

The United States could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF, said two of the sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

The White House referred questions about the matter to the State Department. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation declined to comment on the U.S. funding or the concerns of some U.S. officials about the operation.

Israel's embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the $30 million U.S. grant.

In approving the U.S. funding for the GHF, the sources said the State Department exempted the foundation, which has not publicly disclosed its finances, from an audit usually required for groups receiving USAID grants for the first time.

Such an audit "would normally take many, many weeks if not months," said one source, who is a former senior U.S. official.

The GHF also was exempted from additional vetting required for groups supplying aid to Gaza - ruled by Iran-backed Hamas militants - to ensure that there are no links to extremism, the sources said.

The GHF is working in Gaza with a for-profit logistics firm, Safe Reach Solutions, headed by a former CIA officer, and its security contractor, UG Solutions, which employs armed U.S. military veterans.

VIOLENCE CONCERNS

Reuters reported this month that U.S. ally Israel had asked President Donald Trump's administration to give $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Sources said the money would come from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is being folded into the State Department.

Some U.S. officials opposed giving any U.S. funds to the foundation over concerns about violence near aid distribution sites, the GHF's inexperience and the involvement of the for-profit U.S. logistics and private military firms, said the four sources.

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the U.N. and GHF operations.

"The majority of the casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach U.S.-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones," said senior U.N. aid official for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jonathan Whittall, on Sunday.

"Others have been killed when Israeli forces have fired on Palestinian crowds waiting for food along routes," he said. "Some people have also been killed or injured by armed gangs."

In response, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Tuesday that it had so far delivered 40 million meals in Gaza but that the U.N. and other groups were having difficulty distributing aid due to looting of their trucks and warehouses.

A GHF spokesperson said none of the group's trucks had been looted.

"Bottom-line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the U.N. and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza. We are ready to collaborate and help them get their aid to people in need," a GHF spokesperson said.

Earlier this month it halted aid deliveries for a day as it pressed Israel to boost civilian safety near its distribution sites after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed. It says there have been no incidents at its sites.

The U.N. has long described its aid operation in Gaza as opportunistic - hindered by Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza, and looting by armed gangs. The U.N. has stressed that when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian missile attack kills 17 as Zelenskiy presses NATO allies for support

A Russian missile attack in southeastern Ukraine on Tuesday killed at least 17 people and caused sweeping damage, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Kyiv's allies at a NATO summit to bolster Ukraine's defence industry.

The two-part strike killed 15 and wounded more than 200 in the regional capital Dnipro, said governor Serhiy Lysak, where a blast wave showered scores of train passengers with broken glass.

Among the wounded were at least 18 children, he added.

The rare daytime strike also damaged dozens of apartment buildings and educational facilities among other sites, according to Mayor Borys Filatov, who said the attack caused an "unprecedented amount of destruction" in the city.

Two people were also killed in the town of Samar, around 10 km (six miles) from Dnipro, Lysak said, adding that an infrastructure facility was damaged.

The attack came as Zelenskiy pressed NATO member states in the Netherlands to boost their investment in Ukraine's growing defence sector and crack down on the supply of foreign components that he said Russia uses to build its weapons.

"This is not a fight where it's hard to choose a side," he wrote on X in response to the strike. "Standing with Ukraine means defending life."

Zelenskiy was also expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit.

Russia has stepped up air strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, particularly its capital Kyiv, where 28 people were killed on June 17 in the deadliest such attack this year.

Another 10 people were killed in air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Monday.

After Tuesday's attack on Dnipro, stunned residents surveyed a badly damaged apartment building and battered cars. At a nearby church, windows were blown out and scattered across the altar.

Priest Serhii Narolskyi said he had been holding a service at the time of the attack, which was preceded by an air raid alert.

"It happened in a split second. You opened your eyes, and there were no windows or doors anywhere," he said. "Everything was in a half-destroyed state."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops liberate Dyleyevka community in Donetsk region over past day

Russian troops liberated the community of Dyleyevka in the Donetsk region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"Battlegroup South units liberated the settlement of Dyleyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic through active and decisive operations," the ministry said in a statement.

Kiev loses over 1,125 troops in all frontline areas in past 24 hours – latest figures

The Ukrainian army lost more than 1,125 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The latest figures show that the Ukrainian army lost roughly 235 troops and two armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup North, over 220 troops and a US-made armored combat vehicle in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup West and more than 190 troops and an American-made armored personnel carrier in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup South.

The latest figures show that the Ukrainian army also lost roughly 230 troops and six armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Center, about 190 troops, a tank and two armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup East and around 60 troops and five jamming stations in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup Dnepr.

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 235 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 235 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed two enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units improved their forward positions and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of a mechanized brigade and an air assault brigade of the Ukrainian army in areas near the settlements of Yastrebinoye, Andreyevka and Sadki in the Sumy Region," the ministry said.

In the Kharkov direction, Battlegroup North units inflicted losses on formations of a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army and four territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Okop, Udy, Okhrimovka, Zelyonoye and Volchansk in the Kharkov Region, the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 235 personnel, two armored combat vehicles, six motor vehicles and seven field artillery guns, including a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 220 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 220 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed a US-made armored combat vehicle in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup West units gained better lines and positions and inflicted losses on formations of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian army, a territorial defense brigade and a National Guard brigade in areas near the settlements of Shiykovka, Novosergeyevka, Sobolevka, Novaya Kruglyakovka and Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region, Karpovka and Zelyonaya Dolina in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 220 personnel, a US-made HMMWV armored combat vehicle, 11 motor vehicles and an artillery gun in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed three electronic warfare stations and three ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicts over 190 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted more than 190 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed a US-made armored personnel carrier in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

During the last 24-hour period, Battlegroup South units "inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Shcherbinovka, Serebryanka, Predtechino, Belaya Gora, Viyemka, Petrovka, Seversk, Vasyukovka, Tikhonovka, Zarya and Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 190 personnel, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, four motor vehicles and an electronic warfare station in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 230 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 230 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Center units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and inflicted losses on formations of four mechanized brigades, an air assault brigade of the Ukrainian army, a marine infantry brigade and two National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Udachnoye, Alekseyevka, Dimitrov, Muravka, Petrovskogo, Krasnoarmeysk, Novosergeyevka, Dachnoye and Zelyony Kut in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 230 personnel, six armored combat vehicles, including a HMMWV armored combat vehicle, a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and an M113 armored personnel carrier of US manufacture in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed eight pickup trucks and three field artillery weapons of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 190 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted roughly 190 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy tank and two armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units gained better lines and positions and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army and two territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Yalta, Zaporozhye, Fyodorovka and Shevchenko in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Maliyevka in the Dnepropetrovsk Region and Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 190 personnel, a tank, two armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, three artillery weapons and an electronic warfare station in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

Reuters/RT

Tesla (TSLA.O) finally has a robotaxi. Now comes the hard part.

The electric-vehicle maker deployed its first-ever driverless cabs in Austin, Texas, on Sunday in a small-scale test of carefully monitored Model Y vehicles. Next, the company faces the steep challenge of executing on CEO Elon Musk’s ambition to refine the software and upload it to millions of Teslas within a year or so.

Such a rapid expansion will prove extremely difficult, about a dozen industry analysts and autonomous-vehicle technology experts told Reuters. These observers expressed a range of views about Tesla’s prospects but all cautioned against assuming a light-speed robotaxi rollout.

Some pointed to advantages Tesla might exploit to overtake rivals including Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Waymo and a host of Chinese auto and tech companies. Tesla has mass-manufacturing capacity, and it pioneered remote software updates it can use for self-driving upgrades. The automaker also does not use sensors such as radar and lidar like Waymo and most rivals; instead, it depends solely on cameras and artificial intelligence.

“A rollout could be really quick. If the software works, Tesla robotaxi could drive any road in the world,” said Seth Goldstein, a Morningstar senior equity analyst, while cautioning that Tesla is still “testing the product.”

In Austin, Tesla launched a choreographed experiment involving maybe a dozen cars, operating in limited geography, with safety monitors in the front passenger seat; remote “teleoperators”; plans to avoid bad weather; and hand-picked pro-Tesla influencers as passengers.

For years, Musk has said Tesla would soon operate its own autonomous ride-hailing service and also turn any Tesla, new or used, into a cash-generating robotaxi for its customers. That will be “orders of magnitude” more difficult than testing in Austin, said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor focused on autonomous-driving regulation.

“It’s like announcing that, ‘I’m going to Mars’ and then, you know, going to Cleveland,” Smith said.

Musk has said Tesla will reach Mars, in that metaphor, quite quickly: "I predict that there will be millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year," he said in April.

Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla shares ended 8.2% higher at $348.68 on Monday on investor enthusiasm over the robotaxi launch.

Given Tesla’s AI-dependent approach, its challenge will be machine-training robotaxis to handle complex traffic “edge cases,” said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor and autonomous-technology expert. That could take many years.

“Look, how long has it taken Waymo?” Koopman asked. “There's no reason to believe Tesla will be any faster.”

LONG SLOG

Waymo’s self-driving efforts date back to 2009, when Google started its self-driving car project. An egg-shaped prototype took its first ride on public streets in 2015 – also in Austin.

Waymo has taken since then to build a 1,500-robotaxi fleet in select cities. A Waymo spokesperson said it plans to add 2,000 more vehicles by the end of 2026.

Some analysts believe Tesla can expand faster, in part because Waymo has helped pave the way by overcoming regulatory and technical challenges.

“Waymo and other pioneers have helped to drive regulatory change and have made riders, pedestrians and other road users aware of autonomous vehicles,” said Paul Miller, an analyst at market-research firm Forrester.

Being a mass-manufacturer also helps Tesla, Miller said. Waymo buys Jaguar I-PACE SUVs and outfits them with more expensive sensors and technology than Tesla integrates into its vehicles.

Waymo declined to comment on Tesla's robotaxi-expansion potential. The company’s former CEO, John Krafcik, remains skeptical. The precautions Tesla employed in Austin reveal it does not have confidence its technology is safe at scale, Krafcik said.

“And they shouldn’t,” he said. “It’s not as safe as it needs to be, and falls well short of the robust approach and well-documented safety that Waymo has demonstrated.”

‘WRONG SIDE’ OF THE ROAD

Tesla’s go-fast strategy could actually slow its progress and that of the autonomous-vehicle industry if it undermines public trust, some analysts said. Tesla has historically faced legal and regulatory trouble involving its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assistance system, which is not fully autonomous.

In one recent federal safety probe into Tesla, investigators are examining FSD’s role in crashes – some fatal – involving rain or other inclement weather that interferes with the system’s cameras. Before the Austin test, Musk posted on his social-media platform, X, that the robotaxis’ technology would differ little from any Tesla, aside from a software update: “These are unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory, meaning that every Tesla,” he wrote, “is capable of unsupervised self-driving!”

The automaker invited Tesla-friendly influencers to take its first robotaxi rides, and they generally cheered the experience. One social-media video posted by a robotaxi passenger, however, showed the vehicle proceeding through a four-lane intersection with a traffic light – and into the wrong lane, for about six seconds. No oncoming traffic was in the lane at the time.

“Obviously we’re on the wrong side of the double-yellow line here,” said the passenger, Rob Maurer, in a video narration of the experience he posted on X, noting that he felt safe but that the car behind him honked at the “confusing maneuver."

Maurer did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters verified the location of the video by matching the surrounding buildings, business and street signs to the intersection of West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road in Austin.

Separately, a Reuters witness followed another Tesla robotaxi and measured its speed as it traveled at between 40 and 45 mph in a 35 mph zone on First Street, adjacent to the Texas School for the Deaf. A sign warned to watch for deaf pedestrians.

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran, potentially ending the 12-day war that saw millions flee Tehran and prompted fears of further escalation in the war-torn region.

Israel, joined by the United States on the weekend, has carried out attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, after alleging Tehran was getting close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR'," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.

While an Iranian official confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, there was no immediate comment yet from Israel.

A senior White House official said Israel had agreed so long as Iran does not launch further attacks and that Trump brokered the deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any missions that are underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process.

Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons program but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if it wanted to, world leaders "wouldn't be able to stop us".

Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran's agreement during a call with Iranian officials, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff were in direct and indirect contact with the Iranians, the White House official said.

Neither Iran’s U.N. mission nor the Israeli embassy in Washington immediately responded to separate requests for comment from Reuters.

Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States.

Netanyahu had told government ministers whose discussions ended early on Tuesday not to speak publicly, Israel's Channel 12 television reported.

Markets reacted favorably to the news.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late on Monday, suggesting traders expect the U.S. stock market to open with gains on Tuesday.

U.S. crude futures fell in early Asian trading hours on Tuesday to their lowest level in more than a week after Trump said a ceasefire had been agreed, relieving worries of supply disruption in the region.

END TO THE FIGHTING?

There did not appear to be calm yet in the region.

The Israeli military issued two evacuation warnings in less than two hours to residents of areas in the Iranian capital Tehran, one late on Monday and one early on Tuesday.

Israeli Army radio reported early on Tuesday that alarms were activated in the southern Golan Heights area due to fears of hostile aircraft intrusion.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he would encourage Israel to proceed towards peace after dismissing Iran's attack on an American air base that caused no injuries and thanking Tehran for the early notice of the strikes.

Iran's handling of the attack recalled earlier clashes with the United States and Israel, with Tehran seeking a balance between saving face with a military response but without provoking a cycle of escalation it can't afford.

Tehran appears to have achieved that goal.

Iran's attack came after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel's air war.

Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after days of bombing.

The Trump administration maintains that its aim was solely to destroy Iran's nuclear program, not to open a wider war.

"Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon," Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier."

"Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it," Vance said.

But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel, however, had made clear that its strikes on Evin prison - a notorious jail for housing political prisoners - and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power.

Reuters

Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday to their lowest level in more than a week as U.S. President Donald Trump said a ceasefire has been agreed between Iran and Israel, relieving worries of supply disruption in the area.

Brent crude futures fell $2.69 or 3.76% to $68.79 a barrel as of 0006 GMT, after falling more than 4% earlier in the session and touching its lowest level since June 11.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slumped $2.7, or 3.94%, to $65.46 per barrel, having hit its weakest level since June 9 earlier in the session and falling around 6%.

Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran have fully agreed to a ceasefire, adding that Iran will begin the ceasefire immediately, followed by Israel after 12 hours. If both sides maintain peace, the war will officially end after 24 hours, concluding a 12-day conflict.

He said that a "complete and total" ceasefire will go into force with a view to ending the conflict between the two nations.

"With the ceasefire news we are now seeing a continuation of the risk premium built into crude oil price last week all but evaporate," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.

Iran is OPEC's third-largest crude producer, and the easing of tensions would allow it to export more oil and prevent supply disruptions, a major factor in oil prices jumping in recent days.

Both the oil contracts settled over 7% lower in the previous session after rallying to five-month-highs after the U.S. attacked Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend, stoking fears of a broadening in the Israel-Iran conflict.

"Technically, the overnight sell-off reinforces a layer of resistance between approximately $78.40 (October 2024 and June 2025 highs) and $80.77 (the year-to-date high), and it's clear that it will take something extremely unexpected and detrimental to supply for crude oil to break through this layer of resistance," Sycamore added.

Reuters

At least three family members were killed while two others were injured in a fresh attack in Te’ebbe community, Miango district, Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State.

The victims, farmers from the same family, were attacked while harvesting tomatoes.

The two injured men sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Jos for treatment.

The incident occurred while a fact-finding committee, set up by Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang to investigate the causes of the Plateau crisis from 2001 to date, was interacting with the community and security personnel at the Bassa LGA secretariat.

Led by retired Major General Nicholas Roger, the committee visited the scene of the attack to condole with the relatives of the victims, adding that youths of Iregwe community were reportedly protesting the killing but were calmed down through the intervention of the committee and the local government chairman.

Our correspondent reports that journalists accompanying the fact-finding committee witnessed the evacuation of the victims by the residents of the area.

Rogers while speaking at the scene of the incident said “today is a one of the saddest day in my life. At the moment we are in this village. We were discussing with the LG chairman at the LG secretary on the way to ensure peace in Bassa then we were told that there was an attack.

“We quickly mobilized with the chairman and my team and other security agencies. We meet three bodies on the ground. Three innocent women. One of the victims who is a man was critically injured, almost dead. The other victim has been rushed to Jos for treatment. The victims were at their farm to harvest tomatoes when they were attacked. These are innocent young girls killed.

“For us, this is a bad thing. We appealed to Irigwe youth not to take laws into their hands and allow security agencies to handle the situation.”

Daily Trust

What we know about Iran's attack on US base in Qatar

Iran has launched missiles at a US military base in Qatar, in what it said was retaliation for American strikes against its nuclear sites over the weekend.

Witnesses reported hearing loud bangs in the sky above the capital, Doha, while videos showed bright flashes in the sky as air defence systems attempted to intercept missiles.

It is the latest escalation in a conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US which has seen tensions in the Middle East soar to unprecedented levels in recent days.

Here is what we know.

What did Iran target and why?

Iranian missiles targeted the largest US military base in the Middle East, Al-Udeid, in what it said was a response to the US bombing three of its nuclear programme facilities on Saturday evening.

Al-Udeid is home to the US military's headquarters for all air operations in the region. Some British military personnel also serve there on rotation.

The attack was first confirmed by Iranian state media, and later by the military.

A statement from the IRGC, the most powerful branch of the Iranian military, said that "Iran will not leave any attack on its sovereignty unanswered", and added: "US bases in the region are not strengths but vulnerabilities."

The US had previously warned Iran not to respond to its strikes on nuclear facilities and urged leaders in Tehran to agree to a diplomatic end to hostilities in the region.

There were differing reports about how many missiles were fired. Iran said six, the US said 14, and Qatar was reported by Reuters as saying 19 - all of which, it added, were intercepted.

No one has been reported killed or injured.

In the hours before the attack, both the US and UK had advised their citizens in Qatar to "shelter in place". About 8,000 US citizens live in Qatar, according to the State Department, as well as several thousand British citizens.

What was said after the attack

It became apparent soon afterwards that Iran had given warning that it was preparing to launch missiles. Three Iranian officials quoted by the New York Times said that Tehran had told Doha of its intentions, as a way to minimise casualties.

In his first comments in the aftermath, President Donald Trump thanked Iran "for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured".

He branded the attack "very weak" - no Americans were harmed and very little damage was done, he said. "They've gotten it all out of their system," he added and said there was now a chance for "peace".

Nevertheless, a spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry said the attack was a "surprise" and a "flagrant violation of its sovereignty", and added that Qatar "was one of the first countries to warn against the dangers of Israeli escalation in the region".

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile said that Iran did not harm anyone in the attack but that his country would not "submit to anyone's violation".

"We have not violated anyone, and we will in no way accept being violated by anyone. We will not submit to anyone's violation; this is the logic of the Iranian nation," he said on X (as translated by BBC Persian).

There were indications on Monday that the US suspected Iran was preparing to launch missiles into Qatar.

Hours before the attack, Qatar said it was temporarily closing its airspace, shortly after the US and UK told citizens in Qatar to "shelter in place".

Those warnings did not give a clear indication an attack was imminent: the US said it issued the order "out of an abundance of caution", while the UK said it was following the lead of the Americans.

However, around an hour before the attack, the BBC learned of "a credible threat" to the base.

Separately, some US media outlets quoted anonymous US officials as saying Iranian missile launchers had been positioned for a potential launch towards Qatar.

Flight tracking websites showed planes had already started diverting to other airports before the launch. According to Flightradar24, there were 100 flights bound for Doha shortly before missile launches were detected.

Hamad International Airport is one of the world's top 10 busiest for international traffic, with around 140,000 passengers passing through per day.

Other countries in the region, including Bahrain and Kuwait, also closed their airspace for a brief period.

** Turkey sandwiches and stealth: Preparing for B-2 bomber missions

Before strapping into the cockpit of the U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for missions that can stretch beyond 40 hours, pilots undergo weeks of preparation that focuses not only on flight plans, but what to eat.

The B-2, a $2 billion flying wing built by Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), played a key role in delivering strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday. It demands extraordinary endurance from its two-person crew. That starts with understanding how nutrition affects alertness and digestion during intercontinental flights that can span nearly two full days.

"We go through sleep studies, we actually go through nutritional education to be able to teach each one of us: one, what wakes us up and then what helps us go to sleep," said retired Lt. Gen. Steve Basham, who flew the B-2 for nine years and retired in 2024 as deputy commander of U.S. European Command.

Pilots are trained to be cognizant of foods and how they slow or speed digestion - critical in an aircraft with a single chemical toilet. Basham's go-to meal: turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, no cheese. "As bland as you possibly can," he said.

With a 172-foot (52.4 m) wingspan and stealth profile, the B-2 can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling, but most missions require multiple mid-air refuelings. That process becomes increasingly difficult as fatigue sets in.

Refueling is done blind - pilots can't see the boom extending from a tanker full of gas attaching to the B-2 16 feet behind their heads. Instead, they rely on visual cues from the tanker's lights and memorized reference points. At night, especially on moonless flights, the task becomes what Basham called "inherently dangerous."

"Adrenaline kept you going before you went into country," he said. "The adrenaline goes away. You try to get a little bit of rest and you still got that one last refueling."

The B-2's cockpit includes a small area behind the seats, where pilots can lie down on a cot. Sunflower seeds help some stay alert between meals.

Despite its cutting-edge design - features that make it stealthy reduce infrared, radar and acoustic signatures - the B-2's success hinges on human performance. The aircraft's two-person crew replaces the larger teams required for older bombers like the B-1B and B-52, placing more responsibility on each member of the flight crew.

The B-2's fly-by-wire system, which relies entirely on computer inputs, has evolved since its 1989 debut. Early software lagged behind pilot commands, complicating refueling, Basham said. Updates have improved responsiveness, but the challenge of flying in tight formation at high altitude remains.

During Operation Allied Force in 1999, B-2s flew 31-hour round trips from Missouri to Kosovo, striking 33% of targets in the first eight weeks, according to the Air Force. In Iraq, the aircraft dropped more than 1.5 million pounds of munitions across 49 sorties.

The Air Force plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders over the coming decades. The B-2 costs about $65,000 per hour to operate, compared to $60,000 for the B-1, Pentagon data shows.

"Our pilots make it look easy, but it's far from easy," Basham said. The B-2's complicated missions can't be done "without a massive, massive array of planners on the ground throughout the world and maintainers that make sure you've always got a good aircraft."

BBC/Reuters

UK to ban campaign group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws

Britain said on Monday it would use anti-terrorism laws to ban the campaign organisation Palestine Action, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group after its activists damaged two UK military planes in protest at London's support for Israel.

The proscription would put the pro-Palestinian group on a par with Hamas, al-Qaeda or ISIS under British law, making it illegal for anyone to promote it or be a member. Those who breached the ban could face up to 14 years in jail.

Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.

In its latest and most high-profile action, two of its members entered a Royal Air Force base in central England on Friday, spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager transport aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars.

"The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton ... is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action," Home Secretary (interior minister) Yvette Cooper said in a written statement to parliament.

"The UK’s defence enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk."

She said the group's actions had become more aggressive and caused millions of pounds of damage.

Under British law, the Home Secretary can proscribe a group if it is believed it commits, encourages or "is otherwise concerned in terrorism". The banning order will be laid before parliament on June 30 and will come into effect if approved.

Palestine Action, which says Britain is an "active participant" in the conflict in Gaza because of military support it provides to Israel, called the ban "an unhinged reaction" which it would challenge, and accused Cooper of making a series of "categorically false claims".

"The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes," it said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, the group was forced to change the location of a planned protest after police banned it from staging a demonstration outside parliament, otherwise a popular location for protests in support of a range of causes.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Nine killed in Kyiv in intense Russian air attack

At least nine people have been killed and several injured in an overnight Russian missile and drone attack in the Kyiv region, the interior minister has said.

In a post on social media, Ihor Klymenko said residential areas, hospitals and sports infrastructure had been hit.

At least six of those killed were in a high-rise building in the capital, Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The city's military administration said a further 33 people had been injured.

In the latest barrage, 352 Russian drones and 16 missiles targeted Ukrainian territory, mostly in the Kyiv area, the Ukrainian air force said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is travelling to London on Monday for talks with PM Keir Starmer on UK military support for Ukraine.

One Kyiv resident, Valeriy Mankuta, 33, said he "woke up in the rubble" after his building was hit by what authorities said was a missile. He escaped his apartment by climbing out of the window.

"There were bricks on me, there was something in my mouth. It was total hell," he told Reuters news agency.

Another resident, Natalia Marshavska, described hearing a drone buzzing above her apartment before it exploded. The force of the blast threw her across the room, shattering the windows, she told AFP news agency.

Smoke began billowing everywhere, she said, adding: "It was horrible."

Russia has intensified its air attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, sending large waves of missiles, drones and decoys designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.

It is a tactic that Ukrainian forces are struggling to defend against.

Many thousands of Kyiv residents were forced into the shelters in the early hours of Monday morning as drones flew overhead and explosions shook the city.

Ukraine's emergencies service shared footage showing shocked residents being led away from a destroyed high-rise building that was still burning.

The entrance to one of Kyiv's metro stations - where people regularly take shelter - was damaged, and classrooms and dormitories at one of the city's universities were also hit.

Separately, one person reportedly died after a drone struck a hospital in the city of Bila Tserkva just outside the capital.

On Monday, an attack on the southern Odesa region killed two people and wounded a dozen more, local authorities said.

Zelensky said a school in the area was hit and almost completely destroyed.

"None of these Russian strikes are accidental - the Russian army knows exactly where it is targeting," he posted on X.

Speaking to reporters this week in the capital, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky vowed to step up Ukrainian strikes on Russia.

"We will not just sit in defence because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories," he said.

It comes as the capital is still reeling from overnight Russian attacks on Tuesday which left at least 28 people dead and more than 100 injured.

The attack was among the biggest on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale war which began in February 2022.

Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war have stalled. The last direct talks between the two sides finished almost three weeks ago with agreement only on limited exchanges of prisoners and the bodies of the dead.

No new talks have been scheduled.

Zelensky had been due to meet Donald Trump on the side lines of the G7 conference last week, but the meeting was cancelled after Trump left the conference early amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East.

The Ukrainian leader is due to attend a dinner during a Nato summit in the Netherlands that begins on Tuesday.

** Ukrainian drone triggers fire in apartment building west of Moscow, official says

A Ukrainian drone struck a multi-storey apartment building outside Moscow early on Tuesday, triggering a fire and injuring two people, TASS news agency quoted a local official as saying.

Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said the drone started a fire on the 17th floor of the building in the town of Krasnogorsk, west of the capital. The injured people were receiving treatment at a hospital.

Vorobyov said two other drones were shot down west of Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier that Russian air defences had intercepted two Ukrainian drones heading for the city overnight.

Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said specialists were examining the debris of at least one drone downed after midnight.

The mayor said a third drone targeting the capital had been repelled earlier in the evening.

Russia's defence ministry reported that air defence units had destroyed nine drones in a 90-minute period before midnight, including nine over the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk.

Ukraine has launched drone attacks on a wide range of targets in recent months, some a long distance from the Ukrainian border.

In one attack this month, dubbed "Operation Spider's Web," Ukrainian drones targeted long-range military aircraft at a number of Russian bases.

In recent months, Russia has stepped up mass drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. Waves of Russian drones and missiles swarming in and around Kyiv killed 10 people overnight on Sunday.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia strikes more Ukrainian military training sites – MOD

Russian forces have conducted strikes on two sites used by Kiev to train newly mobilized troops, the Defense Ministry said. The announcement follows the resignation of a senior Ukrainian military commander, who criticized what he described as a lack of accountability for such incidents.

Ukraine’s armed forces rely on compulsory conscription to bolster their ranks, typically sending draftees to remote training facilities for basic instruction before deploying them to the front.

According to the Russian military, Iskander missile strikes recently targeted two such facilities.

One strike, near the Ukrainian city of Sumy, reportedly resulted in up to 100 casualties and destroyed as many as 14 military vehicles, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The second strike, reported on Sunday, hit an area under Kiev’s control in Russia’s Kherson Region, the ministry said. This operation involved an Iskander missile equipped with a cluster warhead that allegedly killed around 70 Ukrainian troops while destroying more than 10 vehicles.

Ukraine’s military confirmed the attack on a training site but reported a significantly lower toll – three soldiers killed and 14 wounded.

In early June, Ukrainian General Mikhail Drapaty resigned as commander of the Land Forces following a similar deadly incident. In a social media post, he condemned what he called a culture of impunity within the military leadership regarding troop losses.

According to Ukraine’s Suspilne news outlet, a Russian strike killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers and injured 60 others on June 1. Authorities in Kiev did not disclose the exact location, but the report, citing anonymous sources, indicated it may have occurred in the Dnepropetrovsk Region.

Around the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had struck the Novomoskovsky training ground in that region.

Days later, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky appointed Drapaty to oversee all frontline operations as part of a broader reshuffle in military leadership, assigning a different official to supervise conscript training.

In a report on Saturday, the Financial Times said that the newly appointed commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, Brigadier General Gennady Shapovalov, has been tasked with reforming the “unpopular” forced mobilization and training system.

Ukraine declared general mobilization in 2022, barring most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. In 2024, Kiev tightened conscription laws and lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in response to mounting battlefield losses. The mobilization campaign has sparked numerous violent confrontations between draft officers and unwilling conscripts, while many have attempted to flee the country despite serious personal risks.

BBC/Reuters/RT

• Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, laid out a potential scenario where President Donald Trump’s tariffs are extended long enough to ease economic uncertainty while also providing a significant bump to federal revenue. That comes as the 90-day pause on Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” is nearing an end.

Businesses and consumers remain in limbo over what will happen next with President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but a top economist sees a way to leave them in place and still deliver a “victory for the world.”

In a note on Saturday titled “Has Trump Outsmarted Everyone on Tariffs?”, Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Sløk laid out a scenario that keeps tariffs well below Trump’s most aggressive rates long enough to ease uncertainty and avoid the economic harm that comes with it.

“Maybe the strategy is to maintain 30% tariffs on China and 10% tariffs on all other countries and then give all countries 12 months to lower non-tariff barriers and open up their economies to trade,” he speculated.

That comes as the 90-day pause on Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” which triggered a massive selloff on global markets in April, is nearing an end early next month.

The temporary reprieve was meant to give the U.S. and its trade partners time to negotiate deals. But aside from an agreement with the U.K. and another short-term deal with China to step back from prohibitively high tariffs, few others have been announced.

Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing with other top trading partners. Trump administration officials have been saying for weeks that the U.S. is close to reaching deals.

On Saturday, Sløk said extending the deadline one year would give other countries and U.S. businesses more time to adjust to a “new world with permanently higher tariffs.” An extension would also immediately reduce uncertainty, giving a boost to business planning, employment, and financial markets.

“This would seem like a victory for the world and yet would produce $400 billion of annual revenue for US taxpayers,” he added. “Trade partners will be happy with only 10% tariffs and US tax revenue will go up. Maybe the administration has outsmarted all of us.”

Sløk’s speculation is notable as he previously sounded the alarm on Trump’s tariffs. In April, he warned tariffs have the potential to trigger a recession by this summer.

Also in April, before the U.S. and China reached a deal to temporarily halt triple-digit tariffs, he said the trade war between the two countries would pummel American small businesses.

More certainty on tariffs would give the Federal Reserve a clearer view on inflation as well. For now, most policymakers are in wait-and-see mode, as tariffs are expected to have stagflationary effects. But a split has emerged.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that economic data could justify lower interest rates as early as next month, expecting only a one-off impact from tariffs. But San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly also said Friday a rate cut in the fall looks more appropriate, rather than a cut in July.

Still, Sløk isn’t alone in wondering whether Trump’s tariffs may not be as harmful to the economy and financial markets as feared.

Chris Harvey, Wells Fargo Securities’ head of equity strategy, expects tariffs to settle in the 10%-12% range, low enough to have a minimal impact, and sees the S&P 500 soaring to 7,007, making him Wall Street’s biggest bull.

He added that it’s still necessary to make progress on trade and reach deals with big economies like India, Japan and the EU. That way, markets can focus on next year, rather near-term tariff impacts.

“Then you can start to extrapolate out,” he told CNBC last month. “Then the market starts looking through things. They start looking through any sort of economic slowdown or weakness, and then we start looking to ’26 not at ’25.”

Fortune