Morning Briefing: July 19, 2026

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including US forces launching a new wave of strikes against Iran to "swiftly punish" the IRGC for its attack causing at least two soldiers' death in Jordan; Iran's suspension of the agreement with the US, after Washington "vioated its commitments;" and the rejection by the EU and Gulf bloc of "unlawful" claims of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz

TOP STORIES

US forces launch new strikes on Iran, targeting IRGC units: CENTCOM

Washington announced that it launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iran on orders from the commander in chief, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on American social media platform X.

"Today at 6 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began launching new airstrikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night," it said.

American service members were killed, and one is missing after Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan on Friday, CENTCOM said.

Iran says MoU suspended after 'US violated its commitments'

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran has suspended its commitments to a recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) after "the US violated its commitments."

“The US has violated and suspended all its commitments within the framework of the Islamabad MoU,” Gharibabadi said in a statement carried by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

"We have also suspended our commitments, we are not implementing them, and we are busy defending the country," he added.

EU, Gulf bloc reject any claims of sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz as ‘unlawful’

The EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council rejected as "unlawful" any claim by a state of sovereignty or control over the Strait of Hormuz and opposed imposing permits or fees on international shipping through the strategic waterway.

"No bilateral arrangement, understanding or memorandum between states may unlawfully regulate or restrict the right of passage through an international strait," they said in a statement following the High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation in Brussels.

They said the right of passage is guaranteed to all states under international law and "may not be subjected to the control or authorization of any state."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Kuwait said firefighters had brought under control five blazes sparked by Iranian attacks, including two at targeted sites and three in residential areas.
• An area near the districts of Sirik and Hajiabad in Hormozgan province of Iran was targeted by the US, according to Mehr News and Tasnim News.
• The death toll from last month's back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela climbed to 5,119, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said.
• At least 114 people were killed, while 17 were abducted by rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month, said a report by security mapping monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker.
• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is reviewing whether it has the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city for the UN General Assembly in September, according to The New York Times.
• More Poles oppose accepting refugees from Ukraine than support doing so for the first time since 2014, according to a new survey.
• Extreme heat could cost the Italian economy between $7 billion and €$13.8 billion annually, equivalent to 0.2% to 0.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), the Italian business association Confesercenti warned.
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service revoked the "blanket rule," a decades-old policy that extended many protections for endangered species to threatened species, including prohibitions on killing, trapping or harassing them.
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay a visit to Qatar, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.
• Botswana cautioned citizens against falling prey to deceptive recruitment schemes that allegedly lure them into fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
• England defeated France in a historic 6-4 victory to claim third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Miami Stadium in the US.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Libya joins China’s payment system, reducing reliance on US dollar

The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Naji Mohammed Issa, and the Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, agreed to connect Libyan commercial banks to China’s payment and settlement system.

The Central Bank of Libya said Issa, who is visiting Beijing, met the governor of the People’s Bank of China on Friday.

They reviewed the volume of trade between the two countries and discussed ways to strengthen it and increase its growth rate.

Iraq, Syria sign deal in Washington to revive crude oil pipeline

Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, a project aimed at restoring a key export route from Iraqi oil fields to Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

The agreement was signed during the US-Iraq Business Council meeting by Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr, head of Basra Oil Company, on behalf of Iraq, and Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, on behalf of Syria. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright was also present at the signing ceremony.

The US State Department welcomed the agreement, describing it as a “priority infrastructure project of bilateral and regional strategic significance.”

Syrian president opens Syria International Textile Exhibition

President Ahmed al-Sharaa inaugurated the first Syria International Textile Exhibition, or NAS TEX 2026, describing it as a starting point for reconstruction efforts, combating poverty and creating jobs, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA.

The opening ceremony was held at the Conference Palace in Damascus, with the participation of government officials, international delegations, businesspeople and representatives of the economic sector.

Al-Sharaa said the textile industry forms part of Syrian history and its economic and cultural identity and has been one of the pillars of the country’s commercial and industrial prosperity.