According to Axios, citing officials with knowledge on the matter, the U.S. and Iran have agreed to “keep things quiet” in the coming weeks, in an effort to realize some level of success within the MOU’s 60-day negotiation period. According to officials, speaking to Axios, talks in Doha, Qatar, set for yesterday and today, were “positive.”

Two individuals, Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, climbed the Empire State Building in New York City, New York today and unfurled a banner that said “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,” a known Jimmy Hendrix quote. Upon descending the couple were arrested and charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, violation of local laws, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Explosions heard now in Kyiv, Ukraine, amidst an ongoing Russian ballistic missile attack.

People take shelter in subway systems in Kyiv, Ukraine, amidst the ongoing Russian drone and ballistic missile strikes against Ukraine’s capital.

An apartment building can be seen on fire following an impact from Russian fires, amidst renewed drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.

The viral account of a German citizen documenting his travels through the U.S. during the World Cup was deleted yesterday. The account’s owner, Freddy, has now been invited to the White House, according to the White House Special Envoy for Tourism Nick Adam’s.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to visit Iran for the funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, according to a statement made to press by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman. Per the statement, Prime Minister Sharif will visit both Iran and Turkiye from 3-5 July.

Yesterday, U.S. officials told the Jerusalem Post that no frozen Iranian funds have been released, nor will they be until Iran complies with the statutes of the MOU, with a U.S. official saying “no frozen funds have been released and no frozen funds will be released unless Iran meets the requirements outlined in the MOU.” In addition to this, both Qatari and Saudi officials have told a number of news outlets, including the New York Times, that funds will not be released or committed to Iranian reconstruction funds until tangible progress is seen from the MOU framework.

According to a release from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), on July 1, an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) was forced to make an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea. Three of the crew members were recovered with a fourth still missing. According to @haltman of @thewarzonewire, citing a U.S. Navy official, the search for the fourth missing crew member is still ongoing.

Syrian State TV has confirmed that the explosion at a café earlier today, which killed and wounded several people, was caused by an explosive device.

The incident comes as Syria continues to face a fragile security environment despite a reduction in large-scale fighting. While many areas of the country have seen improved stability, attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs), targeted assassinations, and operations by extremist cells, including remnants of ISIS, continue to pose a persistent threat, particularly in urban centers and contested regions.

Authorities have not yet identified those responsible for today's bombing, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Over the last 24 hours, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has remained steady despite continued regional tensions.

Based on visible automatic identification system (AIS) data from MarineTraffic.com, roughly two-thirds of transiting vessels continued to use the Iranian (northern) traffic separation scheme, while the remaining traffic utilized the Omani (southern) route.

Traffic remains below pre-conflict norms, and the true number of transits is likely higher than visible due to some vessels continuing to disable AIS while crossing the Strait.

According to Al Arabiya, citing the French Foreign Ministry, in conjunction with support from their U.S. counterparts, France and other European nations will join international forces in a deployment to Southern Lebanon. Per the report, this is at the request of the Lebanese government. It’s yet unclear if this deployment will be subordinate to the already in place United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL), or if the deployment will be a stand alone international peacekeeping mission.

According to the New York Times, citing U.S. officials, the U.S. feared that Israel would continue to target key principal Iranian decision-makers, specifically Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during the U.S.-Iran negotiations. Per the report, the U.S. went to great lengths to avoid such a scenario, going as far as to urge third party regional nations to warn Iran of potential Israeli threats to both decision-makers. U.S. officials feared that Israel’s potential targeting of Foreign Minister Araghchi and Speaker Ghalibaf would upend any progress in the talks at the time, and serve to plunge the region back into the large-scale conflict that characterized the 40-day war.

In addition to the New York Times (NYT) report on Israeli threats to key Iranian decision-makers during negotiations, according to Iranian officials, while under escort from Pakistani jets, two Israeli jets entered Iranian airspace from the direction of Iraq, prompting the Iranian delegation to land early in Mashhad, Iran and travel by land back to the capital Tehran.

(Footage shows the Iranian delegation, escorted by Pakistani jets, en route to the Islamabad talks in April.)

Speaking to Israel’s I24 News, an Israeli security official has responded to the NYT report on Israeli threats to key Iranian decision-makers during negotiations, saying “If and when Israel wants to eliminate anyone, it does so.”

According to a 927-page financial disclosure released earlier this week, U.S. President Donald J. Trump reported a personal income of over $2.2 billion in 2025, most from cryptocurrency ventures such as $Trump, a meme coin created by the Trump Family only days before last year’s Presidential Inauguration which soared over 300% on release night before falling to less than $2 per coin in 2026.

In addition to over $1.4 billion in crypto profits in 2025, investment accounts linked to President Trump carried out multiple high-profile trades last year, including more than 300 previously undisclosed stock purchases on April 8, 2025, one day ahead of his surprise announcement that he would pause a number of his “Liberation Day” tariffs levied against countries across the World.