The United States has significantly escalated its response to Iran's recent attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, conducting airstrikes along Iran’s coast and revoking a waiver that allowed legal oil sales. President Donald Trump declared an interim agreement to end the war with Iran "over" on Wednesday, following Tehran's new attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center raised the threat level for transit through the Strait to "severe," the highest since June 15.
Iran's renewed aggression in the critical waterway has led at least four oil and gas tankers to turn back, heightening safety concerns. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency advised airlines to avoid the airspace of Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon due to ongoing tensions. This comes as Iran navigates harder-line postwar politics following the funeral rites for its assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose coffin arrived in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf.
Amid these regional dynamics, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that Israel will continue occupying Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, emphasizing the lesson of "having buffer zones inside enemy territory." Netanyahu also told CNN that despite occasional disagreements with President Trump on Iran, they see "eye to eye" on major issues concerning Tehran. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is scheduled to discuss the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey with Netanyahu, a move that could anger Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, is addressing significant shifts in global defense. President Trump indicated he would consider selling F-35 jets to Turkey, a decision that could face opposition from U.S. lawmakers. European leaders are increasingly accepting that the alliance will need to rely less on Washington for conventional defense, with five NATO members projected to meet the alliance's goal of spending 3.5% of GDP on defense in 2026. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen affirmed her country's readiness to defend "every inch of NATO," including the Danish kingdom.
Further demonstrating European defense initiatives, the UK, France, and Germany have launched a $50 billion NATO effort to develop long-range weapons without U.S. involvement. NATO also announced a $4.5 billion plan to acquire Saab GlobalEye surveillance planes to replace aging AWACS aircraft. These developments underscore a growing European commitment to bolstering its own security capabilities within the alliance.