U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has released video of a U.S. Marine Corps F-35C "Lightning II" assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) "Black Knights," based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, launching from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) while transiting the Arabian Sea in support of operations enforcing the naval blockade of Iran.

According to CENTCOM, U.S. forces have now redirected 35 commercial vessels, disabled two that failed to comply with blockade directives, and boarded two others to verify compliance before allowing them to continue their voyages.

Spain is facing its most serious migration crisis in years after a mass surge into the North African enclave of Ceuta left at least 72 people dead and reignited debate over European border security.

According to Spanish authorities, more than 50,000 people attempted to enter Ceuta from Morocco by land and sea, overwhelming local resources. While the vast majority have since returned to Morocco, Spanish officials continue to recover bodies, reinforce the border, and investigate the role of human smuggling networks and online misinformation in fueling the surge.

The crisis has prompted a broader European response. Twenty-two EU member states have called for stronger external border protections, Spain has installed a 500-meter floating sea barrier off Ceuta, and Italy temporarily reinstated border controls with Spain, citing security concerns.

Until this incident, Spain had actually experienced a decline in irregular migration during 2026. Through the end of June, 12,138 migrants had entered Spain irregularly; 32% fewer than during the same period in 2025. Arrivals to the Canary Islands were down sharply, while land crossings into Ceuta and Melilla had already increased by more than 150% year-over-year, foreshadowing mounting pressure along Spain's North African land border.

Image: Wall Street Journal

Thanks to newly released photos from @havoc_aviation, we now know that U.S. Air Force KC-135 "Stratotanker" 63-8017 - the aircraft that survived the fatal midair collision over Iraq in March - was repaired using the tail section from KC-135 63-8002.

Aircraft 63-8002 last served with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing before being flown to the KC-135 depot maintenance facility at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where it appears to have become the donor aircraft for the repair.

Video widely circulating online appears to show a midair collision between two aerial firefighting helicopters west of Athens, Greece, earlier today.

According to Greek authorities, two crew members aboard one of the helicopters were killed, while two others survived the collision.

The footage appears to show one helicopter climbing into the flight path of another before the two aircraft collide. Following the impact, the lower helicopter crashes to the ground, while the second, despite apparent damage to its water bucket/tank assembly, remains airborne and is able to continue flying.

Both helicopters were operated by McDermott Aviation, an Australian aerial firefighting company with operations across Australia, the United States, and Europe. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

One vessel to watch is the Bahamas-flagged, Qatar-owned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier Al Areesh.

Automatic Information System (AIS) data from MarineTraffic.com indicates the vessel has now reached the U.S. enforced naval blockade line at the entrance to the Gulf of Oman twice.

After transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz on July 29 using Iran's traffic separation scheme, Al Areesh reached the apparent blockade line before reversing course back into the Gulf of Oman. It has now returned to the blockade line, but rather than continuing seaward or turning back again, is loitering in a north-south pattern along the blockade line.

The vessel's movements are noteworthy because as a Bahamas-flagged, Qatar owned LNG carrier outbound from the Persian Gulf, it does not appear to fall within the publicly stated scope of the U.S. blockade, which U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has described as restricting commercial traffic supporting Iran.

If U.S. forces are delaying or preventing the vessel from departing the Gulf, the rationale is currently unclear. Alternatively, the vessel may be awaiting routing instructions, clearance, or a commercial decision by its operator. AIS data alone cannot determine the reason for its current behavior.

An Italian led European Union naval force has boarded another tanker linked to Russia's "shadow fleet," marking the second such inspection in less than two weeks as European authorities increase enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil exports.

The Toa Payoh, a European Union sanctioned tanker, was intercepted in international waters west of Sicily after recently switching to a Cameroon registry. According to Reuters, the boarding sought to verify the vessel's flag registration and documentation, but EUNAVFOR MED Irini does not have the authority to seize ships during these inspections. Officials said evidence collected could support future legal action by national authorities if violations are confirmed.

The operation reflects the European Union's expanding effort to scrutinize vessels suspected of helping Russia evade oil sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.

The photograph released by Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) approximately 30 minutes after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center advisory regarding an incident near Khasab, Oman appears to be the same image previously released by Turkish authorities and widely circulated following Ukrainian attacks on Russian "shadow fleet" vessels in the Black Sea late last year.

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/mystery-blasts-rock-russia-linked-oil-tankers-off-turkeys-coast-cf41a341

The U.S. Navy has announced that Cmdr. Joseph Sammur, the Commander of the Blue Crew of the Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia (SSBN-736), has been relived from command due to “loss of confidence,” by the Head of Submarine Squadron 20 (CSS-20), based out of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is soliciting "creative and unconventional" ideas from military analysts for new ways to pressure Iran, highlighting the growing challenge of finding options that can increase leverage without significantly escalating the conflict, according to CNN.

The report says the unusual request came as President Trump continues weighing next steps after weeks of strikes that have failed to compel Tehran to accept U.S. terms. CNN also reports that recent assessments from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) conclude the current air campaign alone is unlikely to change Iran's negotiating position, while Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has publicly acknowledged that "air power has its limits."

The reporting aligns with recent accounts from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, and Reuters, which have described senior military leaders grappling with finite military options, dwindling air defense interceptor stockpiles, and the strategic limits of an air campaign absent a broader escalation.

Iran says no negotiations are underway with the United States and no meetings are planned, directly contradicting President Trump's claim that talks would begin Monday after his decision to call off planned military strikes on a scale not seen since World War II.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the only ongoing discussions involve Oman and concern management of the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior Iranian source also told Reuters that no U.S.-Iran talks are scheduled. President Trump has repeatedly cited diplomacy as a reason for pausing planned military action during the five-month conflict.

The conflicting public statements leave the status of diplomacy unclear as both sides continue to exchange military pressure while the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved, according to Reuters.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump stated in a post earlier on TruthSocial, that his current polling numbers are “the best they have ever been,” citing “the biggest tax cuts and employment numbers EVER, the biggest outside Investment in America in World history, a totally secure Border, a giant Victory in Venezuela, the Denuclearization of Iran, unparalleled respect and success throughout the World, and much more.”

Photo posted earlier today by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) of an Army Paratrooper, likely with the 173rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) out of Vicenza, Italy, participating in a live-fire exercise at an undisclosed location in the Middle East.

President Donald J. Trump has taken to Truth Social to reject recent Iranian claims that no talks are taking place with the United States, asserting that Tehran is privately seeking meetings while publicly denying negotiations.

Trump also claimed the Strait of Hormuz is "completely controlled" by the U.S. Navy, describing the naval blockade as the "United States Wall of Steel." He said nothing will be allowed into Iran unless authorized by the United States and that the blockade will remain in place until a deal is reached or Iran agrees to what he described as "total surrender."

The president concluded by saying the United States and Iran are "talking of a solution" to the conflict, despite Iran's public denials that direct negotiations are underway.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has released audio of the USS Comstock (LSD-45) hailing an unidentified vessel over Marine VHF Channel 16, the international hailing and distress frequency, ordering it to alter course and warning that failure to comply would result in compliance being compelled by force.

The USS Comstock is deployed to the CENTCOM area of operations as part of the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), providing the force with a forward-deployed amphibious and crisis response capability.

According to CENTCOM's latest update, U.S. forces have now redirected 44 commercial vessels that voluntarily complied with blockade directives, boarded two vessels to verify compliance, and disabled two non-compliant vessels that failed to obey repeated warnings.

President Trump is considering removing U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after the Justice Department concluded that problems with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool resulted from a flawed renovation rather than vandalism, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump publicly criticized Pirro on Monday, saying he was "really disappointed" and that she "folded like an umbrella" after the Justice Department moved to dismiss the criminal case tied to the Reflecting Pool. CNN reports the president was "furious" over the filing, believes he was not informed in advance, and is now weighing whether to remove one of his longtime political allies from the position.

The Justice Department's filing stated the evidence no longer supported the prosecution after determining the damage stemmed from construction issues rather than criminal vandalism, according to CNN.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro was seen arriving at the West Wing of the White House within the last hour, following reports that President Trump is considering her removal due to Pirro’s break last week from the Trump Administration on the cause of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The Department of War has signed new framework agreements with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin aimed at dramatically expanding U.S. interceptor production, increasing PAC-3 Patriot Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) capacity from about 600 missiles per year to 2,000 per year, while expanding THAAD interceptor production from 96 to 400 interceptors annually.

The agreements are designed to strengthen the missile defense industrial base by establishing a second source for PAC-3 solid rocket motors, expanding production of ignition safety devices, and increasing output of critical THAAD structural components to create a more resilient supply chain.

The announcement comes after months of reporting from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, and The Washington Post that the Iran war has sharply increased demand for Patriot and THAAD interceptors, with senior U.S. military leaders warning that sustained operations have placed growing pressure on both interceptor inventories and the industrial base needed to replenish them.

Initial reports of an Iranian one-way drone strike in Kuwait near the border with Iraq.

An FBI Supervisory Special Agent, identified by the Justice Department as Patrick Yaroch, has been arrested and charged with “interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods,” after he voluntarily disclosed to investigators that he had transferred nearly $1 million from cryptocurrency accounts tied to an adversarial nation, reported to be Russia, into his personal cryptocurrency wallet, sources familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

Yaroch told investigators that he had become “frustrated” the FBI “could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts,” adding that he was upset he could not do more to disrupt cryptocurrency use by an adversarial nation such as Russia. According to an FBI affidavit: “Yaroch said that he went into FBI systems and found keys needed to transfer money from wallets to himself,” with the total value of all transferred funds equating to about $925,426.07.

The UK Office of Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) is reporting an attack on a commercial shipping vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, with the vessel claiming to have struck by an unknown projectile roughly 20NM off the coast of Al Khasab, Oman.