France will provide emergency aid for fertiliser purchases and support domestic production, the government said on Thursday, as Middle East tensions drive up costs for farmers already struggling with low crop prices and extreme weather, Reuters reported.
Massive crowds have begun marching through streets of Mashhad in north-east Iran where the slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei will be buried later today. It follows a week of funeral processions around Iran and Iraq that has coincided with the fresh bout of fighting with the US.
Hundreds of snakes, including cobras, have escaped from flooded breeding farms in southern China as severe storms continue to batter parts of the country. State media reported that a snake farm in Hengzhou, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was hit by flood waters after days of heavy rainfall caused by typhoon Maysak, prompting warnings for nearby residents. A dramatic video shared by state media showing local people using dip nets to catch snakes and a cobra poking its head above a torrent of muddy water went viral. Local media reported that the types of the escaped snakes included water snakes, king ratsnakes and cobras. “Hundreds of snakes escaped all at once. I’ve seen five or six,” a snakebite victim in a local hospital told Beijing News. The villager said he was bitten by a cobra while clearing debris on the ground floor of his house at about 1pm on Tuesday. A local doctor who treats snakebite patients told the paper he had treated several villagers since the typhoon hit the region. The incident came amid severe flooding in Guangxi, where two reservoirs experienced overtopping and breaches on Monday, leaving villages in several towns surrounded by flood waters. At least six people were killed, with at least 50,000 people evacuated. Six were still missing. The death toll from devastating storms in parts of China rose to 38, after the state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday that a landslide in the central province of Gansu had killed 21 people. Thunderstorms and tornadoes killed at least 11 in the central province of Hubei, according to state media. Separately, Beijing News reported that a snakebite victim had died, citing confirmation from a local hospital and witnesses. China’s president, Xi Jinping, called for “all-out” rescue efforts as flooding and other extreme weather continued to affect the region. The Hengzhou emergency management bureau said it was aware of reports that flood waters had damaged snake breeding farms and that villagers had been bitten by escaped snakes. The Hengzhou Media Convergence Centre on Wednesday issued emergency guidance on preventing and treating snakebites, warning that venomous snakes including cobras, kraits and green pit vipers had escaped as a result of the rising flood waters. The centre also said local authorities had increased anti-venom supplies and opened a fast-track treatment channel for snakebite patients at Hengzhou People’s hospital, the city’s designated snakebite treatment centre, in response to recent incidents. The hospital declined to comment and did not confirm state media reports that a snakebite patient had died. The guidance said the snakes could seek shelter in homes, stairwells, corners of buildings and along riverbanks, and urged people to exercise caution and avoid handling snakes themselves. Rescue personnel were dispatched; medical specialists were deployed to assist with treatment, and additional medical stations were set up in the areas, state media reported. China experiences frequent natural disasters during the summer, with torrential rain and flooding affecting some regions, while others grapple with extreme heat. Although snake sightings are common in flood-hit areas of the south, reports of hundreds of snakes escaping from commercial breeding farms are rare. Additional research by Yu-chen Li
Good morning. Slowly, then all at once, Europe has realised that it can no longer rely on the United States for protection. For generations of western Europeans, the US has been the ultimate guarantor of peace on the continent through its network of military bases and nuclear umbrella developed after the second world war. But the presidency of Donald Trump has shaken this assumption to its core. In Ankara this week, Nato leaders gathered for their annual summit. Ahead of the meeting, diplomats scrambled to prepare a joint statement reaffirming article 5 – that an armed attack on one is an attack on all – in an attempt to highlight that even in the era of Trump, US military deterrence remains ready to protect Europe. But away from the cameras, it remains unclear what this commitment would actually mean if the worst happened. For today’s First Edition, I spoke with Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor, who was in Ankara for the summit, about how Europe is preparing to fight without the guarantee of US protection – and whether the continent can realistically defend itself against aggressors without American help. But first, this morning’s headlines. Five big stories UK politics | All lobbying of government ministers, aides and senior officials should be publicly declared – from WhatsApp chats to party conference meetings – in a fundamental shake-up of transparency laws, the government’s ethics watchdog has said. Middle East | The US military carried out strikes on Iran for a second day, hours after president Donald Trump said that an interim agreement to end the war was “over”. UK politics | Police have launched an investigation into £37,500 of donations to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024 after a referral from the elections watchdog. Environment | Western Europe has been scorched by its hottest June on record, scientists have said, as the UK enters its third heatwave of the year and wildfires ravage France and Spain. UK news | UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government. In depth: ‘Europe’s recognised that you can’t get away with leaning on America any more’ This week, Nato chiefs have been thrust back into the chaos of Trump’s orbit once more. The final day of the annual summit began on Wednesday with the US president suggesting the ceasefire agreement with Iran was “over” following an exchange of hostilities after commercial vessels were attacked in the strait of Hormuz. (Overnight, Trump threatened Iran that “much worse” could come after another round of strikes). During the summit, Trump reaffirmed his desire to annex Greenland, slammed his peers for failing to join Israel and the US’s attack on Iran, and requested that the US stop trading with Spain over its reluctance to increase defence spending. It was a greatest hits of grumbles from the unpredictable president, who was in a particularly bad mood. By all accounts, the subsequent meeting with the other 31 leaders went well – many had been eager to show off large increases in military expenditure since the previous summit, when member states agreed to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. An embarrassing public argument has been avoided this time. Europe appears to have finally got the message on defence spending: big increases are needed, and the US will no longer foot the bill for the continent’s security. Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, framed the summit around delivery, emphasising that Europe and Canada were “stepping up” after demands from the US president. “Europe has gone through the five stages of grief and we’re certainly arrived at acceptance,” says Dan Sabbagh. “We are now at the point where people are starting to plan. They realise that you can’t rely on the US as much as before, that Europe’s run down its arms industry. Although this realisation varies depending on how far east in the continent you go. Poland and the Baltic states are spending more than 4% of GDP on defence already, whereas Spain has refused to sign up to 3.5%. But for the countries that are really motivated, we are at the point where Europe is starting to build.” *** Does Europe really need massive military investment? Ahead of the summit, Britain and 11 other Nato countries committed to a £37bn project over the next decade to build new missile capabilities to protect Europe. Other joint defence projects are already under way: Germany may join an effort from the UK, Italy and Japan to build Britain’s next generation fighter jet. But critics of the increase in defence spending are strongly questioning whether such a massive investment in Europe’s military is really necessary. Russia has been weakened by the Ukraine war, according to many analysts: almost half a million Russian soldiers have died, and the country is facing fuel shortages from Ukrainian drone attacks. Despite the threatening language from Vladimir Putin, Moscow is likely several years away from being ready to attack Europe if it chooses to once again. “Nato says that Russia might be ready for another war by 2030. But this seems very, very early given that the Ukraine war is still ongoing, thousands of young Russian men have died in the conflict, and lots of materials have been expended,” says Dan. “We can’t rule it out, but if it were to happen, it would be in many years. I think we should all want to reflect on that.” *** Europe’s worst fears Even so, governments must prepare for the worst, and many European governments have spent the second Trump presidency thinking about how they would defend themselves if the US did not come to their aid. So far, Europe’s worst fears about the US leader have not played out: Trump has not forced Ukraine into a peace deal with Russia or teamed up with the Kremlin to reshape the continent in their own image. But it still remains unclear how the US would respond in the face of Russian aggression to a European country. “Europe has a population of about 600 million people, Russia has a population of 140 million. The idea that Europe could not stand on its own two feet against Russia with its economic power and technological advantages is unlikely if there really was a crisis tomorrow,’ says Dan. The US has signalled that it wants to reduce its numbers in Europe and the amount of fighter jets it has stationed on the continent by a third, while also redeploying naval and bomber divisions away from the continent, leaving gaps in the defence. “Can Europe compensate for that? Of course it can, but it comes at a cost to European taxpayers. The question becomes: what is the level of will among European governments and electorates to do that? As we have seen, that is variable.” *** ‘People are less certain what the US would do in a crisis’ At least some of the reaction to America’s turn away from Europe is emotional. In the wake of the end of the cold war, the US kept defence spending at a much higher level as part of its ambitions to remain the global superpower. Europe, keen to embrace its peace dividend, cut military spending, choosing to build up its welfare states instead. “Europe’s recognised that you can’t get away with leaning on America any more. Europe’s been getting away with it for a long time and in a lot of European countries, there’s a recognition that it needs to change. The price of deterrence may well be greater than the price that has been previously paid,” says Dan. Even when Trump leaves office, the US position is unlikely to change on its military presence in Europe, says Dan. There may be more political stability from a future US leader, but there is no going back. “Europe has just got to do more to stand up for itself. People are less certain what the US would do in a crisis, and they understand they need to be self-reliant. It is a process that will take time. But do they believe that America can’t be relied upon at all? I’m not quite sure we’re at that stage,” he says. What else we’ve been reading Last summer, ICE officers descended on Los Angeles. Residents were arrested, detained and deported – many vanished from their neighbourhoods. In this chilling piece, three share their stories. Michael Between now and Monday, Guardian writers are writing about their holidays from hell. The series starts with Tim Jonze and a terrible lads trip to Ibiza that went wrong. Patrick Every summer, optimistically bought courgettes sit melancholic in my fridge, constantly demoted in the pecking order of ingredients. Now, at least, I know how to ferment them, thanks to Tom Hunt’s handy recipe. Michael World Cup 2026 Morocco | The 2022 semi-finalists are the only Africa team left in the competition. Osasu Obayiuwana previews their quarter-final tie with France – and the lessons from their success for other African nations, some of which managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Power rankings | Three goals in 13 minutes against Egypt were not enough to move Argentina up the Guardian’s World Cup power rankings. But it was good news for Switzerland after their penalty shootout victory against Colombia on Tuesday. Pundits | From Kevin-Prince Boateng to Clint Dempsey, Guardian football writers have crowned the six best TV pundits during the World Cup in Australia, the US and the UK. Today’s fixtures France v Morocco, 9pm, ITV Sport Tennis | Arthur Fery’s fairytale continues after the British wildcard easily beat ninth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 to reach the men’s semi-finals. In the women’s draw, rising stars Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova set up a semi-final clash after both winning their quarter-finals in straight sets. Cycling | Olav Kooij, teammate to Paul Seixas at Decathlon CMA CGM, emerged out of the heat haze in Pau to win stage five of the Tour de France in the Place de Verdun. Football | London City Lionesses have announced the signing of Alexia Putellas at an event in New York, confirming the arrival in the Women’s Super League of one of the women’s game’s all-time greats. The front pages “More Reform transactions worth millions reported to crime agency”, is the Guardian’s front page today. The Mail says “Farage: Binface by-election is deadly serious”, the Express has “Farage: Labour and Tories ‘running scared’” and the Mirror writes “Bin him off”. Elsewhere, the i Paper has “Police launch investigation into £37,500 donation to Robert Jenrick campaign”, the Times writes “Burnham: I’ll aim defence spending at British firms”, the Telegraph leads with “Rochdale rapist will be deported”, and the FT splashes “Tesco concedes end to global dreams by exploring sale of European business”. Lastly, Metro goes on Iran with “Trump tears peace hopes into pieces”. Today in Focus: The Latest Trump on rampage at Nato summit: what does it mean for Ukraine? There are divisions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, defence spending, and the US-Israel war in Iran. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is holding talks with leaders as he rallies the European cause against Russia’s war that has reached the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as Nato allies present an increasingly united front against an unreliable US. For more, Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent Shaun Walker. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad For the Guardian’s Seascape series, Tamara Davison spoke to men and women who have turned to the sea to confront problems ranging from anxiety to addiction and trauma. “Research from ecotherapy shows us that nature, but particularly water, gives us this feeling of calm that we don’t get in other spaces,” geographer Catherine Kelly tells her. “A lot of our daily lives are spent on very focused attention – often on screens, unfortunately, and that makes our brain quite tired. When we go to the water, our shoulders drop, our eyes and face soften. We start breathing more slowly … we’re in a state of drift.” Davison reports that it’s not only wild swimming or simply dipping our toes in that restorative value: “Therapeutic practices are now emerging in scuba diving and freediving, where participants can experience the added sensations of weightlessness in the water.” Whether that sounds truly relaxing, we leave up to you. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Martin Belam’s Thursday news quiz Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Rainclouds shroud the Caucasus mountains as the day’s harvest begins on a rural estate in western Georgia. A tea picker moves quickly between bushes with confidence, her hands plucking only the greenest, most recent growth on each plant. When Pati began picking tea leaves as a teenager this was a collective farm in the Soviet Union – following its collapse it was abandoned and the bushes swallowed by the surrounding forest until new growers began cutting them free in the 2010s. Today those leaves are in high demand as luxury tea importers across Europe and the US discover what the Soviets already knew: Georgia’s humid Black Sea air and cold Caucasus winters make it an ideal location to grow tea, but now with a focus on quality above Soviet-era volume. “These plants are obviously very happy where they are because it just tastes incredible,” said Ana Dane of the New York-based In Pursuit of Tea, the supplier to Michelin three-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park. “They were just exquisitely-produced teas,” she said, describing her first taste of teas from Renegade Tea Estate, a farm based in Georgia’s Imereti region. Its subtropical coast makes Georgia one of the northernmost places in the world where tea will grow. Its cold mountain winters force the bushes into a seven-month dormancy that serves to boost its polyphenol content, producing a noticeably sweeter leaf. The winters also kill off pests, allowing Georgian growers to easily commit to organic standards. Georgia’s tea renaissance was boosted also by the EU, which poured money into the industry in the hope of revitalising its economy. That stalled when the Kremlin-leaning Georgian Dream party withdrew from accession talks, but Georgian growers are still making significant inroads. Tea may have been carried along the Silk Road to Georgia but the first recorded instance of cultivation was in the early 1800s, when a Georgian prince began planting bushes outside today’s city of Ozurgeti. The Russian empire then looked to Georgia when it wanted a steady tea supply and later Soviet collectivisationdesignated the Guria region, the USSR’s centre of its production. By the 1980s, it was the fifth-largest tea producing country in the world. It is an era remembered by Lika Megreladze, who as a girl growing up in the 1970s, would sometimes visit her mother at work at the Institute of Tea and Subtropical Cultures, taking a winding 8km path from her multi-generational family home through the lush Gurian forest. “All big empires, they really want to have their own tea,” she says. “The Russian Empire really wanted to have their own tea. And every empire starts to grow tea and cultivate tea in different parts, like Portugal, the British in India, Sri Lanka, like the French in Indonesia or Vietnam.” She recalls meeting in her mother’s workplace international students from tea growing countries such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Yemen and today collects Soviet-era copies of the magazine Georgian Women featuring interviews with teapickers for her home archive. If they were raised in the Soviet Union, visitors to her house are often delighted to see old boxes of Gruzinsky chai – a tea less known for its taste than its affordability. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so too did Georgia’s tea industry amid wider economic troubles. Its revival was spurred by a young engineer in Tbilisi, Shota Bitadze, who imported Chinese herbs during a medicine shortage in his hometown and then turned to tea, first as a trader but then wondering if tea could once again be grown in Georgia. “We had situations where people had tea bushes in their garden, but they didn’t know how to make tea with their hands,” said Giorgi Bitadze, Shota’s son. In 2006, the Bitadzes sought to change that – founding the Georgian Organic Tea Producers Association alongside 16 other families committed to growing high-quality tea, and opening the Bitadze Tea Museum in Tbilisi. From 800 hectares of active tea production in 2014 that number rose to 1,900 hectares in 2019 with a government programme to finance up to 70%-90% of costs to rehabilitate abandoned Soviet-era tea plantations. While tea drinkers in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and other countries once part of the Soviet bloc have been quick to purchase tea through the Bitadze’s organic association, “getting past the Iron Curtain is a struggle,” said Timothy Merkel, an American tour guide living in Tbilisi who created the Georgian Tea Makers website and previously ran a company aiming to sell Georgian tea in the UK. Yet, a growing number of Georgian growers are managing it. In Paris, specialty tea shop, Palais des Thés, extols its “exceptional” Georgian tea lines and has increased the amount of tea it orders from Georgia 12-fold since 2019. In New York City, the fine tea importer Royal Cathay has joined In Pursuit of Tea in stocking leaves from Georgian growers. “The first step and first thing when we started the business was not to export to Russia,” said Nika Sioridze, who co-founded growers GreenGold with his childhood friend Baka Babunashvili in 2017. “It’s not a stable market.” From the moment Sioridze and Babunashvili began clearing the 25 hectares of former tea plantations their aim was to experiment and to find something for a new generation of tea drinkers. They renovated a Soviet-era silk factory to process tea leaves, began fermenting tea in the clay qvevri traditionally used for wine, courted a contract with a seller on Amazon and opened a tasting room in Tbilisi. Through experimentation, the pair developed new teas that spoke to the cycle of death and rebirth that has long followed the Georgian tea industry. In one case, while drying leaves for green tea, Sioridze recalled seeing smoke and worrying he had burnt the leaves. “And then we realised that we have not burnt the tea, we have roasted it,” he said, speaking of the Phoenix tea in GreenGold’s catalog. “I’m burning it and it’s alive again, a new life.”
Russia introduced a ban on diesel exports on Wednesday as part of a raft of measures to support the domestic fuel market after systematic Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries triggered gasoline shortages and price spikes. Drivers in many regions are facing hours-long lines to refuel, as intensifying Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure squeeze supplies of diesel and gasoline. The deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, told a televised government meeting, chaired by the president, Vladimir Putin, that the fuel situation remained complex and that “it is clear that the current situation at filling stations is causing concern among the public.” Russian ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones killed at least three people in Kyiv in attacks on Wednesday morning, officials said, as Moscow exploits Ukraine’s critical shortage of US-made interceptors. The attacks coincided with a Nato summit in Ankara, where Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held a meeting with Donald Trump and discussed the possibility of Ukraine obtaining licences to produce the interceptors. Moscow has stepped up its air war on Ukraine in recent months as its ground advances have largely stalled and Ukrainian attacks on its military logistics and oil industry triggered widespread fuel shortages. In July alone, Russian strikes on Kyiv and its surrounding region have killed 60 people. The US president’s commitment to allowing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, however, was vaguely framed, and he admitted he had not spoken to the US defence and aerospace companies Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon) that produce the Patriot system. It also remained unclear how quickly manufacturing of the expensive and complex munitions could be stepped up. A Russian attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Wednesday killed four people and injured six, a senior local official said. The city, Ukraine’s most important port, has been a frequent Russian target in the more than four-year-old war. A Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, also came under missile attack on Wednesday morning, local officials said, reporting damage to private homes and a church. Another missile strike later on Wednesday on a residential building killed two, its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said. In Russia, Ukraine’s overnight drone attacks killed one person and damaged industrial sites, authorities said. Russia denounced Nato’s decision to give military aid to Ukraine, saying it could have catastrophic consequences. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said Nato’s priorities remained unchanged: “The militarisation of the European continent, the focus on building up defence capabilities, preparation for an armed conflict with Russia, and, of course, aid to Ukraine.” Zakharova said in a statement on her ministry’s website: “It is a pity, because if Nato strategists had stopped and thought for a moment, they might not have made such irresponsible decisions that could lead to a catastrophe not just for the alliance, but for the whole world.”
The US military carried out strikes on Iran for a second day, hours after president Donald Trump said that an interim agreement to end the war was “over”. Late on Wednesday Iranian state media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas in the strait of Hormuz; in Sirik, another southern coastal city; and the south-western Bushehr province, home to Iran’s nuclear-power-plant complex. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” US Central Command confirmed the strikes, posting on X: “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday three cargo ships transiting the strait of Hormuz were attacked, leading to the most extensive exchange of fire between the two sides since the interim deal was signed last month. The US Treasury also revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Tehran to export oil. The latest escalation dented hopes of turning the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides on 17 June into a permanent deal to end the war. After attacking US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday, Iran again targeted them on Thursday, with sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, home to the USS Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. There was no immediate word of damage. Kuwait’s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles. The overnight strikes were expected to be bigger than those carried in the first round, an unnamed US official told Reuters. Iranian state TV reported that further explosions were heard on Abu Musa Island. The island is one of three small islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates which provide the backbone of Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the attacks on Bushehr province in southern Iran did not cause damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. US stock markets fell on Wednesday and Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped more than 5% to close to $80 a barrel, with the economic impacts of the war continuing to reverberate around the world. The US senator Bernie Sanders said of Trump’s action: “Restarting his reckless war with Iran won’t make America stronger. It will cost more lives and waste more taxpayer dollars.” In a post on X, Sanders added that “after getting the United States into a war based on lies, Trump has now declared the ceasefire with Iran ‘over’ after less than a month”. In the first round of strikes the US hit a variety of military sites and port facilities after Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman. Earlier at the Nato summit in Ankara, Trump said that the US would “probably hit [Iran] hard again tonight”, and later added the latest strikes would not result in “long-term” military action. “Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the US military might “just finish the job”. Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, the US president said the strikes were continued retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the strait of Hormuz. “They are behaving very badly,” he said, accusing the country of launching drones and a missile at ships. Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Its parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key negotiator in talks over a permanent end to the war, wrote on X: “The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.” On his return trip from the Nato summit, Trump denied that security concerns involving Iran were behind the surprise decision to fly part of the journey on an older Air Force One, and not the new Qatari-gifted jet he arrived in. Asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump brushed off the question. “I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list,” he said. The fresh round of strikes came as Iranians were preparing to bury supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his home town of Mashhad in northeast Iran, who was killed on the first day of the US-Israeli strikes that started the war. The supreme leader’s burial follows a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners across various cities in both Iran and Iraq.
The US has renewed strikes on Iran for a second day running, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation to derail efforts to end the war. President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be “over”. We are closing this blog for now, but here is a quick recap of the latest: The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X that the additional attacks against Iran were conducted to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait. The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US military bases, with sirens sounded in both countries. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their response would extend to other US bases in the region if the US repeats its attacks. Kuwait’s defense ministry said it was intercepting missiles and drones, while Qatar briefly issued an “elevated security threat” alert before later giving the all-clear. Trump vowed that ‘much worse’ was to come. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran,” he wrote on Truth Social, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”. Asked before a Nato summit in Turkey on Wednesday whether the memorandum of understanding was over, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, vowed that the strait of Hormuz would remain under Iranian management. “The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through U.S. threats,” he wrote on X. The latest exchange of strikes appeared to dim hopes of turning a memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June into a permanent deal to end the war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February. The fresh strikes come as Iranians are preparing to bury their late supreme leader Ali Khamenei in his home town of Mashhad in North-east Iran on Thursday, after he was killed in US strikes this February. The Ayotallah’s burial follows a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners across various cities in both Iran and Iraq.