Middle East Crisis Iran War

Iranians Reconsider View of the West: “Cannot Save Us”

The Iranian regime has survived the war, but now faces another challenge: its relationship with its own population. Many Iranians are marked by both the war and the widespread protests earlier this year, when thousands of people were killed.

The attacks on Iran have stirred nationalist sentiment and created an unusual common ground in an otherwise deeply divided country, writes The Guardian. According to observers, the dominant image is that Iran managed to stand up to its opponents in the war, even though the country’s deep domestic problems remain.

The left-leaning Iranian artist Elham says that many have been forced to reconsider their views of the West and the protests.

“There is now an understanding that the US will not save us,” she tells the newspaper.

Pentagon: We used Grok AI to attack 2,000 targets in 96 hours

The US Department of Defense Pentagon has turned to Elon Musk's chatbot Grok to fire thousands of missiles at Iran, according to a senior defense official. The Independent reports.

The information comes in connection with a lawsuit against Musk. In a statement made under oath, Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon's director of digital and artificial intelligence, writes that the chatbot's continued operation is "a matter of the highest national security" for the United States. He further writes that the chatbot was used to attack "2,000 different targets within 96 hours" and that it is one of three products that are "equipped to support mission-critical operations" in top-secret environments.

The statement appears to be the first admission by a government official that the US is using Musk's AI to bomb Iran, according to The Independent. Several AI services have come under scrutiny after US-led strikes killed hundreds of civilians in Iran.

Data Shows: Iranian Oil Flows Out of Hormuz Again

Iran has ramped up oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to the highest level since the outbreak of war following progress in talks with the US, Bloomberg reports.

Shipping data shows that three supertankers blacklisted by the US with a total of around six million barrels of Iranian crude on board entered the strait on Monday. They are all said to be heading to Singapore, a common hub for onward transport to China.

At the same time, the price of Iranian oil for delivery in July is falling as traders and middlemen offer discounts of up to $5 per barrel, sources told the news agency.