Middle East Crisis

Israel vs Iran
War costs billions a day – Netanyahu presses

Israel's war against Iran is costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars, several billion kronor, every day. That puts pressure on Israel to end it quickly, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Israeli officials have said the offensive will last two weeks. But the country's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been clear that he does not want to end it until he has achieved his goals.

Israeli economist Karnit Flug says that Israel can handle a shorter operation, but:

- Whether it is two weeks or a month is a completely different matter.

According to the Aaron Institute at Reichman University in Israel, a month-long conflict with Iran would cost 12 billion dollars.

The most expensive expense for the Israeli Defense Forces is the air defense missiles that shoot down Iranian missiles before they reach the ground. They can cost from 10 to 200 million dollars a day, according to experts.

Intelligence: US attack could push Iran to nuclear weapons

Iran would likely develop nuclear weapons if the US attacks the Fordow facility or if Israel kills Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. This is shown by US intelligence, according to sources to the New York Times.

US intelligence agencies still believe that Iran has not decided whether to develop nuclear weapons, despite having produced the enriched uranium required for production. This is the same assessment as it made in March.

At the same time, the White House says that Iran is "very close" to having nuclear weapons - assessments that appear to come from Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, sources tell the NYT. 

Demonstrations
Activists in action against British military planes

Pro-Palestinian activists say they sabotaged two British air force planes, reports The Independent.

“From Cyprus, British planes are gathering intelligence, refueling fighter jets and transporting weapons for the genocide in Gaza,” writes the activist group on X.

The two activists involved in the action were reportedly able to leave the airport without being detected. It is unclear exactly what the action consisted of, but judging by the video shared on social media, they appear to have sprayed something on the fuselage of the aircraft.

“We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force equipment. We are working closely with the police, who are investigating the incident,” writes the British Ministry of Defense in a press release.

China-Russia relations
NYT: China hacks Russia – despite the friendship

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, groups linked to the Chinese state have hacked Russian companies and authorities. This is reported by the New York Times.

China's goal is to find out Russian military secrets – despite the fact that the leaders of the two countries, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, have shown a close partnership and friendship. Experts tell NYT that the war in Ukraine is a suitable opportunity for the Chinese state to obtain information about modern warfare.

But the hacker attacks are also a sign that China sees Russia as a vulnerable target, the newspaper writes.

Reactions to Israel-Iran
Kremlin: Killing Khamenei "opens Pandora's box"

If Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei is killed, it would "open Pandora's box," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has built close relations with Iran and invested heavily in the country's leadership. The two countries signed a strategic partnership in January. Now Peskov is worried that the situation in the Middle East will escalate if Donald Trump decides to launch a military operation.

- Changing the regime in Iran is unthinkable. It would have given rise to extremist sentiments in Iran. Those who talk about killing Khamenei should keep that in mind, it will open Pandora's box, Peskov told Sky News.

Gaza war
Gaza on the verge of drought: “Children will die of thirst”

Gaza is on the verge of a man-made drought after its water system collapsed. This is reported by Reuters, citing Unicef.

– Children will soon die of thirst. Only 40 percent of the drinking water facilities are working, says James Elder, a spokesman for Unicef.

Earlier today, it was reported that 5,000 children in Gaza have also received treatment for acute malnutrition. This represents an increase of almost 50 percent compared to April, reports TT.