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US strikes on Iran killed four people at a wedding celebration in Sirik, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, and Iran has fired ballistic missiles at a US base in Jordan in response.

Germany has formally blamed Russia for the drone sabotage at Leipzig airport and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn.

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1️⃣ 🇩🇪🇷🇺 Von der Leyen pledges response to Russian hybrid attacks ahead of Rutte meeting: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she stood in "full solidarity" with Germany after Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt formally attributed the 4 August drone sabotage at Leipzig airport to Russia, and said she would discuss a coordinated response with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Germany has ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn, and the Russian embassy denied the claims.

2️⃣ 🇩🇪 Improvised explosive devices found near German power plant, police say: Police said several improvised explosive devices were found at the Preilack substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg, damaging several power lines, with the apparent aim of triggering a large-scale outage. Grid operator 50Hertz said there was a brief interruption of service but all lines were back in operation, and police said no one was hurt.

3️⃣ 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia targets Ukraine's rail network as war enters deadly new phase: Six Ukrzaliznytsia employees were killed when a ballistic missile hit a locomotive depot during a bombardment of Kyiv and the surrounding region, in which at least 12 people died and a dozen were wounded, including three children. Supervisory board member Serhih Leshchenko said Russia has hit the network more than 1,500 times this year, more than in all of 2025.

4️⃣ 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia's Starlink copycat has failed so far but still threatens Ukraine: None of the 16 satellites Russia launched on 19 July for its Rassvet programme, an attempt to build its own version of Starlink to guide drones and missiles, have reached their planned orbit, according to the Institute for the Study of War citing the tracker N2YO. Most are sitting at 300 to 400km against an intended 870km, and at least two appear to be heading for reentry.

5️⃣ 🇪🇺 EU to gather 'brightest minds' to boost defence as Russia threat grows: EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced a new high-level group of political and military leaders from member states, the UK and Ukraine to work out how to close Europe's defence capability gaps, speaking at an informal defence ministers' meeting in Ireland. Kallas said Europe was investing more in defence than ever but had not been fast enough to cover gaps identified within NATO.

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Major Story

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran retaliates after US strikes kill four at wedding party

The Iranian Red Crescent said a US missile attack killed four people, including a child, when shrapnel hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place in Sirik in southern Iran, with more than 50 injured.

US Central Command said the strikes followed "recent attempted attacks" by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said the US military never targets civilians.

Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at a US Marine base in Jordan's Aqaba, and the Jordanian Armed Forces said it intercepted 13, destroying 10, with three falling in remote areas and no casualties.

Kuwait's army said its air defences were responding to Iranian missile attacks early on Wednesday, and Iranian state media reported several explosions in Bahrain.

President Donald Trump warned when the strikes were announced that Iran would be hit again at "a much harder and higher level" if it retaliated.

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran says it will return to June ceasefire deal if US does the same: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would immediately reciprocate if Washington returned to its commitments under the June memorandum of understanding, which called for a ceasefire and a 60-day window for talks. Under that framework Iran agreed to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines while the US agreed to end its naval blockade, but the IRGC is pressing for Iranian control of Hormuz.

2️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran economy could collapse within months, US Treasury's Bessent warns: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran's economy could collapse "within weeks or months" and that Tehran was "lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically", speaking on the sidelines of the G20 finance meeting in Asheville. Last week the US sanctioned five sectors of Iran's economy and 60 individuals and vessels, and Bessent said new measures would likely come weekly.

3️⃣ 🇺🇸 US warns citizens in Middle East of flight cancellations, airspace closures over escalation risk: The US Embassy in Israel warned Americans across the Middle East of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruption, saying the security environment remained complex with potential for unforeseen escalation. The advisory said US diplomatic facilities including outside the Middle East had been targeted, and that Iran and groups supportive of it may target other US interests worldwide.

4️⃣ 🇨🇳🇹🇼 China warns of 'consequences' for Taiwan after Taipei envoys attend Pacific leaders summit: China's Pacific Envoy Qian Bo said the presence of Taiwanese officials at the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Palau was "very inappropriate" and that there would "always be consequences", though he denied the remarks were a threat. Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung rejected the suggestion his participation was illegitimate and accused Beijing of dividing the region.

5️⃣ 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Mark Carney tells US to 'start being serious' amid escalating trade war: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Washington to "start being serious" and said insulting his country was "beneath their office", days before Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs on $20bn of American goods from 8 September. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Politico there were no negotiations happening on trade and called the dispute "more their emergency than ours".

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