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Why has Trump stepped in to prop up Japan’s currency?

The US has launched a bid to prop up the value of the yen, marking an extraordinary coordinated intervention with Japan’s government to halt the currency’s fall as it approaches 40-year lows. Japan has been struggling to stop an accelerating slide in the yen, which has been piling pressure on its already flailing economy. Japan is reliant on imports for both energy supplies and food, and a weak yen makes the cost of those imports more expensive for businesses and consumers. The Trump administration’s assistance in helping to raise the value of the currency comes as prime minister Sanae Takaichi is under growing political pressure to rein in inflation and bring sustained growth back to the economy. Why is the yen falling? Japan has spent billions of dollars since 2022, trying to limit the yen’s decline – but the currency has continued to hit new lows. Some of the decline is because investors keep selling the currency, while global events have pushed it even lower. Japan is reliant on energy exports from the Middle East and has been hit hard by the slow down of oil and gas from the region thanks to the US war on Iran. That in turn has put pressure on inflation, while the government attempted to ease the pressure on consumers by spending billions on fuel subsidies. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has also kept interest rates extraordinarily low, which helps to diminish the value of the currency as it is less attractive to international investors. Government debt is another factor; the government is spending billions more than it receives in tax on measures to stimulate the stagnating economy and to cope with its ageing population. Japan’s total public debt now sits at more than 200% of its GDP, the highest level in the G20. Why has the Trump administration intervened in the yen? The first clues that the US would intervene came during a Trump administration cabinet meeting on Friday. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent was pictured with a note reading: “To Do. Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil”. “Japan’s been very good ‌to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor,” Trump said on Sunday, as he confirmed that the treasury had bought billions of dollars’ worth of Japanese yen, the first time in 30 years that the US has stepped in to strengthen the currency in such a way. The US president said the intervention would be “good for the world economy,” but some analysts are suggesting that the Trump administration is concerned that Japan’s efforts to buy up yen, raising the value of their currency, could hit the US economy by making government borrowing more expensive. In order to free up the money to buy yen, Japan has been selling US government bonds – known as treasuries. Many countries own US bonds as a store of national wealth, but when they are sold in large quantities, that can lead to a rise in the interest the US treasury pays on its debt. Effectively, this makes it more expensive for the US to borrow money to fund government spending. Economists are suggesting that the Trump administration’s intervention could be an attempt to limit the amount of US government bonds that Japan sells. “Put yourself in US treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s shoes,” wrote Rebecca Patterson, a senior fellow at the council of foreign relations. “It is in his interest to do what he can to help Japan stabilize the yen sooner rather than later.” What role do Takaichi’s policies have here? Prime minister Sanae Takaichi said recently that she spends all day and most of the night plotting Japan’s economic recovery – but at the same time, she’s fighting to regain ground in national polls, with rising import costs, the Middle East energy shock and the weak yen all hitting her standing with voters. In a possible effort to arrest this decline, she announced in April that Japan would temporarily cut the sales tax on food to ease cost of living pressures. Those cuts come as she is also promising to invest hundreds of billions in sectors across the economy, as part of a pro-growth agenda which has become the signature policy of her new government. But concerns over how all this spending will be funded – amid already huge levels of debt – have led to fears that her policies could blow up the economy, triggering a “Liz Truss-style shock”. Experts say this uncertainty has added fuel to market volatility, which in turn pushes the yen lower. How unusual is this move by the Trump administration? In October last year, the US bought billions of Argentinian pesos to help prop up the country’s finances, weeks before a vital election for the country’s rightwing president Javier Milei, an idealogical ally of Trump. At the time, US treasury secretary Bessent made clear that the intervention was done to ensure the success of Argentina’s “reform agenda” – an austerity plan described by some as “shock therapy” – which saw wages frozen and public spending cut. Some analysts have suggested that in Takaichi, Trump sees an idealogical ally akin to Milei, which could be another factor contributing to the decision to prop up the yen. Under Takaichi, Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, with plans to double defence spending to 2% of GDP over the next five years. The plans have faced criticism that Japan is abandoning the long-held pacifism imposed under its postwar constitution, but have been broadly welcomed by the Trump administration, which has been pushing allies to take more responsibility for their national defence.

New Zealand legislation making English an official language ridiculed as ‘pathetic’

Legislation recognising English as an official language of New Zealand has been passed by parliament, prompting derision from linguists and legal experts and a now-viral broadside from a Māori MP who called it “pathetic”. The English language bill became law on 30 July giving English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Māori (Māori language) and New Zealand sign language. The bill formed part of a coalition deal between the centre-right National party and the minor populist New Zealand First party, whose leader Winston Peters, has long opposed affirmative initiatives for Māori. National needed to strike deals with New Zealand First and another minor party, Act, in order to govern. Ministry of justice officials had recommended that lawmakers should not pass the bill, because there was “no evidence to support concerns about the use or status of English as an official language”. Te reo Māori and New Zealand sign language had become official to protect linguistic minorities, they said. However, the coalition government and the major opposition Labour party voted in favour of the bill, with minor opposition parties the Greens and Te Pāti Māori against. During the debate, Green MP Tamatha Paul said the bill was “a pathetic waste of the responsibility of this house”, in a speech that has generated millions of views online. Paul said the coalition government were “snowflakes” who saw the word Aotearoa – the Māori name for New Zealand – and “shiver in their boots”. Speaking on behalf of New Zealand First during the final reading, MP Casey Costello denied the law was trivial or unnecessary. “This is a practical measure. It aligns the statute book with longstanding practice, and provides a clear statement about the status of English within New Zealand’s official framework,” Costello told the house. Peters, who is also the foreign affairs minister, has previously argued the bill was necessary because the use of Māori in public services was causing confusion. Labour, meanwhile, has previously said it was against the law but had voted in its favour in order to move on from a “needless culture war”. Dr Sidney Wong, a linguist and post-doctoral fellow at crown research centre Te Pūnaha Matatini, said official language status was given to languages in need of protection and services, but English was not under any threat. “The main reason why this bill was put in place was based on ideology – there was this perception that English was under threat, that it doesn’t have the prestige, and it needs that sort of legislative protection. But it doesn’t need that,” he told the Guardian. Wong said if the government was really interested in protecting English, it would be funding research into the way New Zealanders spoke English, but the law did not address this. “That’s where the money should be going. Not spending time on this 70-word legislation that’s not going to benefit anyone.” Dr Dean Knight, a law professor at Victoria University of Wellington, said the legislation was “a pointless exercise” that made no difference legally or practically as English was already the dominant language. “Folk who got excited by this performative law-making will be disappointed to learn that, despite the dog-whistling and claims from its promoters within parliament, it does not mandate priority to the English language in government communications and elsewhere,” he said. “Like before, Aotearoa New Zealand will continue to have three official languages.”

Is Ireland’s unprotected ocean the weak link in European defence?

For a long time, Ireland paid little attention to its surrounding seas, a vast maritime area, 10 times the size of the land. Alarm bells began ringing only when a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, began visiting Irish waters. The vessel, ostensibly a research ship, is believed to be capable of attaching spy equipment to undersea cables and has advertised its presence. While loitering in the Irish Sea in 2024, the ship remained over a gas pipeline connecting Ireland and the UK and turned on its transponder, as if broadcasting its proximity to critical infrastructure. In recent weeks, Irish officials have also noticed a rise in Russian shadow fleet vessels traversing the north Atlantic in order to circumvent British and French waters, where controls have been stepped up. For officials, the Russian presence in or near Irish waters underscores that Ireland, which has long viewed itself as protected by geography – out of sight and out of mind – is really on the frontline. And the threat is broad. Irish waters are busy: dense with shipping lanes, gas pipelines and transatlantic internet cables, which helped lure US tech companies to make Ireland their European headquarters. Nearly 75% of transatlantic subsea cables pass through or close to Ireland’s exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical mile space where it has sovereign rights over natural resources, which is seven times greater than the land mass. It has more limited jurisdiction over an even broader area. When Ireland took charge of the EU’s rotating presidency this month, it had a message. While its totemic neutrality is not up for debate, the days of Ireland’s slumber on defence are over. Security is listed as a priority of Ireland’s six months chairing the Council of the EU. Ireland would be working with other European nations “on shared objectives and priorities in defending our critical infrastructure, and making sure that we are focused on security more broadly”, Ireland’s foreign minister, Helen McEntee, told reporters earlier this month. “We are not immune to any threat.” That sounds unremarkable, but signals a reassessment of Ireland’s approach to defence. In February, McEntee published Ireland’s first ever maritime strategy, which aims to end Ireland’s “sea blindness” – the sense that security was purely about the land. Officially, it aims to ensure Ireland can defend its maritime domain, including critical undersea infrastructure. There is still a long way to go. “We are dependent on the goodwill of friends and neighbours,” said the retired Irish naval officer Caoimhín Mac Unfraidh. “But it wasn’t always the case and it won’t always be the case.” During a 29-year career in the Irish Naval Service, Mac Unfraidh commanded two ships, the LÉ Orla and the LÉ Eithne. Both were decommissioned in 2022 along with a third vessel. He described the maritime strategy as “a good effort”, but feared spending remained “minimalist”, despite pledges for sonar and radar equipment. “What is needed is that sort of overarching vision for a maritime nation to have a navy worthy of its name. And that means new ships, with new capabilities, recruitment campaigns and the establishment of several more bases.” In 2025, Ireland’s government confirmed only two ships were in operation out of a fleet of eight, partly because of a staffing crisis. The broader neglect of the military was highlighted earlier this month, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned down an offer from Dublin to send 27 light-armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine. “The cost of restoring them is higher than the value they would provide,” the Ukrainian president said. Irish government officials stress that Ireland has pledged €1.7bn (£1.4bn) in defence capital spending for 2026-30, a 55% increase on the previous period. And the government believes it has turned a corner on naval recruitment, with an increase in new joiners leading to a 12% increase in personnel in 2025, compared with the previous year. But Ireland remains the lowest defence spender in the EU, at a time when other countries are sharply increasing budgets. In 2024, Ireland spent just 0.2% of its gross domestic product on defence, far behind the 1.3% EU average and notably lower than neutral Austria (0.6%). EU officials have offered sotto voce criticism. The former European Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager, who was responsible for tech policy, warned Ireland in 2022 that it had a responsibility for the maritime zone: “No one can be a weak link of our chain of protection.” In 2025 a former Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, excoriated Ireland’s then president Michael Higgins after he criticised Nato’s “appalling” appeal for higher spending in response to the Russian threat. “Do these people have any sense of self-awareness, their privileged geography or the appropriateness of even commenting as the beneficiary of implicit Nato security?” Ilves said. Despite being an island nation, the sea was nobody’s political priority. Ireland gained independence in 1922, but the British retained control of Irish waters until 1938. Ireland did not have a fully fledged navy until 1946. Eoin McNamara, at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, observes: “National security tends to be very divisive politically in Ireland, without bringing a whole lot of political reward, aka votes.” Last year, the Nato-critical leftwinger Catherine Connolly won a landslide to become Ireland’s president. During her campaign she compared Germany’s military spending to the 1930s and said she was concerned about arms spending and the “militarisation” of the EU. Meanwhile, people see the cost of living, housing and immigration as the most important issues facing Ireland, according to a recent poll from More in Common. Foreign and security issues were barely on the radar: 5% cited the war in Ukraine and 4% defence. “There is a lot of momentum from public opinion to focus on these bread-and-butter domestic issues,” McNamara said. Defence, he said, was “the insurance policy of the economy”, alluding to the profound economic shock posed by disruption to internet or energy cables. “I don’t think that has reached public opinion yet.”

Trump says Iran talks set for Monday as Tehran and Oman discuss strait of Hormuz deal

Donald Trump said talks with Iran will happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called ⁠off an imminent attack in the hope ⁠of quickly reaching a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. For its part, Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the strait of Hormuz, where a tanker reported an explosion nearby on Sunday, underscoring the continued volatility of the strategic waterway. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported that the vessel and crew were all safe. Shipping data showed on Monday that traffic in the strait had slowed after reports of vessel attacks. However, further south, two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over ⁠the weekend despite Houthi threats against its oil exports in the Red Sea. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told state television on Sunday that a deal was close with Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, over a new route through the waterway. “We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said in an interview. However, he insisted that such an agreement did not mean the reopening of the strait and that it “will in no way return to the status it was before February 28th”, the day the war started. Earlier, the IRNA state news agency quoted foreign minister Abbas Araghchi as saying that negotiations with Oman “were on track for finalisation and were going through their final stages”, without providing further details. Oman did not immediately comment on the matter. On Saturday night, the US president claimed on social media that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal ⁠that would lead to “the immediate, complete and total” reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”. Trump added that Tehran must “rapidly make a deal”. On Sunday, aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, including a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not?’” Trump said. “They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.” As he returned to Washington from a weekend in New Jersey, Trump said that a negotiation would begin ⁠on Monday afternoon but did not provide details of where it would take place or who would be involved. Asked if there was a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement, Trump declined to answer. Trump has repeatedly issued threats that he would escalate the war on Iran, only to allow more time for talks, which have so far not led to a comprehensive deal. Trump’s apparent de-escalation after days of threats of new attacks from each side was the latest twist in the war. Attacks have spread across the Gulf to the Red Sea and even a Mediterranean facility in Egypt. Iran has largely closed the strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the start of the war, causing energy prices to rise and stoking broader inflation. Oil prices fell on Monday at the opening of Asian trade after Trump’s announcement, with Brent crude dropping more than 4% to about $83 per barrel. Trump has argued that his stated goal of keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons ‌justifies higher fuel costs in the near term, but the economic pain has put political pressure on him to find a way to end the conflict. Araghchi held phone calls with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, to discuss diplomatic efforts, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday. Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the US on everything happening in the region. But ‌he added: “With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take action, and we will strike.” Trump and Netanyahu met on Tuesday in Washington, with an Israeli official saying they had explored all possible paths to curb Iran’s nuclear program, including diplomacy, economic pressure and force. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon. Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Malaysia cracks down on social media hiking trend after jump in numbers needing rescue

Malaysia’s government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or stranded in remote locations. In the first five months of 2026, Malaysia saw 52 cases of lost hikers, an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period the previous year, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department told local media. Norimah Abd Karim, who is part of an association of certified forestry mountain guides, said earlier this year that many hikers carry minimal gear to appear like professional trail runners on social media. “There are hikers who focus more on getting interesting content that they are willing to take risks and neglect their own safety.” Some in the larger outdoor influencer community also known as “hike-tok” have popularised “compressed hikes”, or shortened versions of demanding hikes, often within a single day or combining an ascent and descent that would usually be spread over a longer period. Some have also been accused of creating an achievement-based relationship with nature through trends like “bagging peaks”, seeking to tick off as many mountain summits as possible. The new measures include making guides mandatory in 189 high-risk locations, strengthening pre-climb screening measures and banning some compressed hikes. Compressed hikes have been banned at many high-risk mountainous areas across the country, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noy, the deputy minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability, told the upper house of Malaysia’s parliament on Wednesday. Hikers underestimating the importance of preparation and being driven by social media trends have increased the risk of emergencies, said Syed Ibrahim, whose comments were published by Malaysian national news agency Bernama. While it is not clear how the ban will be enforced in all areas, in at least one state applications for compressed hiking activities will not be approved, while another has implemented minimum climbing periods of several days for certain routes. Malaysia requires permits to hike in its state parks and forests. Syed Ibrahim said the government was also strengthening pre-climb screening measures by requiring health declarations, medical history checks and insurance coverage. “The government’s priority is to reduce the risk of hikers getting lost and prevent accidents, thereby minimising the need for SAR [Search and Rescue] operations, which require substantial financial resources and manpower,” he said.

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv’s forces hit Wildberries again amid deadly trade of strikes with Russia

Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least nine people in Russia on Sunday, with targets again including retail giant Wildberries, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries. Drones attacked a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, about 800km (500 miles) from Ukraine’s most advanced military positions, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev ‌said. There were ‌no casualties and a fire triggered by the attack was being put out, he said. Ukrainian forces have attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in an attempt to disrupt the operations of the company, which is Russia’s largest online retailer and a linchpin of the consumer economy often described as the country’s version of Amazon. Three people were killed and two injured in a drone attack on the Udmurtia region of Russia, acting governor Olga Abramova said. In the border region of ⁠Belgorod, three people were killed and five injured in Ukrainian strikes, the local taskforce reported. A Ukrainian drone struck an area next to ⁠a playground, killing one child and injuring two, acting regional governorAlexander Shuvayev said. Russian strikes in Ukraine killed two people in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, and at least one person each in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to regional authorities. A separate Russian strike destroyed a postal terminal in the northern Kharkiv region, killing a worker, the mail operator Nova Poshta said. A strike on a Russian residential building in Samara’s neighbouring region of Saratov killed two people in the city of Engels, governor Roman Busargin ‌said. Civil infrastructure was damaged in Engels and the city of Saratov, he said. Ukraine’s military said on Sunday that their forces attacked the Saratov oil refinery and the Engels military airbase, sparking fires at both facilities. It said its forces also struck an oil depot in the western Kaluga region. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces struck infrastructure and two vessels with military cargo in the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, as well as a vessel carrying military supplies in the Black Sea. An EU naval mission led by Italy boarded a tanker from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” on Sunday, the ⁠second such operation in ⁠less than two weeks as Europe intensifies scrutiny of vessels suspected of helping Moscow circumvent oil sanctions. Italy’s defence ministry said the Toa Payoh, a ⁠tanker subject to EU sanctions, was intercepted west of the Sicilian island of Pantelleria while sailing from Benin to Istanbul. The vessel had switched to ⁠a Cameroon registry only last week, a source familiar with the operation said.

At least five Mohamed Al Fayed abuse survivors confirmed as human-trafficking victims

At least five victims of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been confirmed by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking. A group of survivors of abuse by the deceased businessman had called for the Metropolitan police to make trafficking the main focus of its investigation, arguing that Fayed could not have committed his offences without a steady stream of women sent to him by associates. The women were victims of international and domestic trafficking, and one survivor told the Press Association (PA) they were recruited to a false role within Harrods. Two further victims were hired for a legitimate role and then selected from the shop floor for abuse. These cases stretch from the 1990s to the most recent, which took place after the 2010 sale of Harrods. Officers are looking into who may have facilitated Fayed’s crimes, in an investigation known as Operation Cornpoppy. Four people have been questioned to date, 21 months after the investigation opened. One survivor, known as Justine, told PA she felt “shellshocked” when she received the conclusive grounds decision in June that she had been a victim of modern slavery. She added: “But it’s a really significant thing, getting that decision, seeing it in writing that you were a victim of modern slavery and trafficking is very … it’s really shocking to read.” Another survivor, Isabella, who worked in the chair’s office at Harrods in 2001, told PA: “He couldn’t have done what he did without Harrods processing women to him and silencing them afterwards. It wasn’t just Harrods, obviously. It was any entity that Fayed owned or had control of. It was his yachts, his aviation business, the Ritz Paris, his properties all over France and Monaco. It went as far as the States and the UAE – anywhere that man touched.” More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against Fayed for the period between 1977 and 2014 – including claims of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, false imprisonment, drugging, physical violence and forced abortions. The Egyptian businessman died in 2023 aged 94, without facing any charges. A woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Fayed previously came forward to say she had been trafficked in Paris on his orders in 2008 before being sent to London to be sexually assaulted by him. Pelham Spong, 40, from South Carolina in the US, said Fayed, who owned the Ritz hotel in Paris, had forcibly kissed her and offered her a salary of €65,000 a year if she slept with him. Victims have previously complained of how the Metropolitan police have handled the investigations into Fayed’s abuse. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is examining complaints about the force’s handling of allegations between 2018 and 2024. A Harrods spokesperson said: “Harrods supports all survivors in their pursuit of justice and continues to work closely with the Met police on its investigation”.

Trump backs down on Iran strikes in expectation of ‘rapidly’ reaching a deal

Donald Trump has said he cancelled planned military strikes against Iran on the basis of “rapidly” reaching a deal on its nuclear programme and the full reopening of the strait of Hormuz. The US president paused the strikes in expectation of a breakthrough and in response to requests from Iran and other countries in the region, he claimed on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. “Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said new talks would begin on Monday. The deal would include the immediate and complete reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”, he posted. It marked the latest climbdown from extravagant threats to pound the Islamic Republic in the months-long conflict. However, hopes of a breakthrough faded on Sunday when Iran’s Mehr news agency said Trump’s claim that Tehran had requested a pause “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”. Another Iranian news agency, Fars, citing a source close to Iranian negotiators, said that as long as the US “maintains its hostile actions” the strait would remain closed. Iran’s acting defence minister, Majid Ebn-e-Reza, said Trump had backed down “within the context of psychological operations and a war of calculations”. Iran’s forces would remain on alert, the minister said on X. “We will neither be taken by surprise nor will we be passive.” Mediation efforts were continuing amid the standoff. Hassan Ghashghavi, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, said in a video interview that mediators were trying to revive an agreement brokered by Pakistan in June, Agence France-Presse reported. The decision to halt fresh strikes came after the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called Trump on Saturday to express concerns, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also followed Iranian threats to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off Oman in the strait of Hormuz. One source described as having knowledge of the Trump-Prince Mohammed call told Axios that the Saudi crown prince had “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching the strikes”. The Associated Press (AP) also reported the conversation, citing its own source. It said the Saudis were concerned that if the US targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure or carried out massive strikes on other key infrastructure, Tehran could respond by carrying out similar attacks on the kingdom and other Gulf countries. The crown prince during Saturday’s call sought clarity from Trump on what potential new action he was weighing to take against Iran, AP reported. A White House official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity, confirmed to AP that Trump and Prince Mohammed spoke on Saturday, but did not offer any detail about the substance of their conversation. Saudi Arabia earlier this week joined the US in striking logistics and weapons sites used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, but has been urging the US and Iran to return to the negotiating table. CBS News reported that the US and Israel were planning joint strikes, possibly throughout the weekend, with oil refineries and power plants among possible targets. Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister and a member of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the US on everything happening in the region, while adding: “With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take action, and we will strike.” The Israeli military, meanwhile, launched airstrikes on Sunday that hit Gaza for a second straight day, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire. Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in the north, the central ⁠city of Deir al-Balah and the ⁠southern area of Khan Younis, causing the biggest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials. Trump’s assertion that Hamas militants had agreed to disarm had raised hopes of a turning point. But on Sunday Cohen said Israel would give Hamas the opportunity to disarm but he was “very sceptical” that would happen. Tehran warned this weekend against any “adventurous action” by the US and said it ⁠would retaliate decisively. The comments by Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in separate phone calls on Saturday with senior Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi officials came just hours after Kuwait’s army said it had destroyed hostile ⁠drones launched by Iran against several vital facilities. A government facility in northern Kuwait and civilian property belonging to a company on Bubiyan Island were hit, with falling shrapnel causing material damage but no casualties, the Kuwaiti army said. Araghchi told regional counterparts that any attacks by the US and Israel or participation by regional countries in such actions would be ‌met with a “proportionate response”. Nournews, a ‌media outlet affiliated with Iran’s top security body, said on Saturday that US attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure would prompt Iranian strikes on oilfields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the gasfields of Qatar and Israel. The developments appeared to have given Trump pause for thought, as he posted on Saturday night in characteristically grandiose language that “the USA is locked and loaded” to strike Iran with “military terror, strength, and power not seen since World War II”. Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report