News
Ukrainian Military: Ukrainian troops hit two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Russia launched the largest number of ballistic missiles into Ukraine since the war began.
Ukrainian Air Force: Shot down 18 of 41 missiles launched by Russia at night.
Israeli Official: The United States Rejects Israel’s Request to Directly Participate in Iran’s War.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center: There is a 60% chance that the storm in the northern Gulf of the United States and near Florida will form a cyclone in the next 48 hours.
Ross Harrison, an analyst at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Trump campaigned on a promise to end "endless wars" and "stupid wars" in the Middle East, but now he is involved in a conflict that "seems to have no strategic logic at all." In the United States, a question we have never understood is: Does political logic still have weight in the Trump administration? During Trump's first term, we did see them looking at the poll numbers and looking at the performance of the stock market. But the question is: if the number of U.S. military casualties continues to rise, Will this actually affect the president's decision-making? It's not clear yet. What drives Trump now may no longer be conventional political pressures such as midterm elections or economic shocks, but that he is more concerned about how he will be positioned in history. The real concern is that the president's personal psychology matters more than the political cost. Questions that one would normally use to measure a normal president, such as whether the midterm elections and the economy will affect his decision-making, may now be irrelevant. And it is this that makes this conflict particularly dangerous.
A Russian missile attack on Kiev killed at least one person, injured 13 others and damaged several homes.
U.S. Geological Survey: A magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred 91 kilometers southwest of Brisas Barra de Suquiate, Mexico.
According to RIA Novosti: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov held talks with his UAE counterpart on tensions in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. Central Command: Completed another round of strikes against Iran at 11:30 pm ET on July 18.
According to the New York Post: U.S. President Trump said the U.S. strikes prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. If Iran is not stopped, the region could slide into broader conflict.
According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency: The United States has launched a new round of airstrikes on Iran's Qeshm Island. At least two explosions were heard in parts of the island. Emergency response, security, and operations teams have been dispatched to the scene to determine the location of the attack and assess casualties and property damage.
U.S. National Hurricane Center: Tropical Depression Six is about 1,290 kilometers away from the southern tip of the California Peninsula; the maximum sustained wind speed is 55 kilometers per hour. It is expected to intensify steadily to rapidly intensify in the next few days.
European Mediterranean Seismological Center: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in central Peru.
Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted local officials as saying that the U.S. military was targeting a site near Shadgan (in the southwestern Khuzestan province).
National Hurricane Center: The sixth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific season has formed south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula and is expected to intensify rapidly.
National Hurricane Center: Tropical storm Elida weakens slightly
Market news: Samsung Electronics America is laying off 739 employees in New Jersey.
Government of Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein discussed the latest regional developments following the US military attack on Iran, Washington's repeated violations of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, and Iran's response to related actions.
According to NewsNation: Trump responded for the first time after learning that two U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian attack. "It's a very sad thing. We don't want to see this happen. They are serving our country," he said.