Middle East Crisis Iran War

Source: US helicopter fires on ship near Iran

A US military helicopter has fired on a Panama-flagged ship that was trying to break the US blockade of Iranian ports, a military source told the Wall Street Journal.

The helicopter fired on the ship's rudder after the crew ignored warnings from the US military. The crew reportedly abandoned the ship, and no one was killed or injured. 

Sources: Concerns about assassination attempt – then Trump was smuggled out using food transport

After he visited the NATO summit in Turkey in early July, suspicions that Iran would try to assassinate Donald Trump led to the US president being smuggled out of his Air Force One plane. This is what sources tell the Washington Post.

Trump boarded the plane in front of media companies' cameras, but shortly afterwards he was reportedly moved to another plane using a vehicle used to transport food at the airport. Several journalists and some people in the presidential staff are said to have then flown on the plane without knowing that Trump was not on board.

The NATO summit was held just a few days after attacks between the US and Iran had escalated again, despite the cooperation agreement that the countries signed in June.

The arms shortage puts the US at a disadvantage in the Iran War

The US's rapidly depleting weapons stockpile is putting Donald Trump at a disadvantage in negotiations with Iran, writes The Hill.

The country has a major shortage of several important types of missiles for both attack and defense – including "basically all" ATACMS ballistic missiles.

This means that Trump has limited opportunities to order new, large-scale attacks on Iran if the negotiations fail, and according to critics, it also makes the US extra vulnerable on other fronts.

Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense under Barack Obama, criticizes the Pentagon's "poor planning" in a situation where Russia and China could potentially threaten the US – not least if China decides to invade Taiwan.

- It is dangerous for the US to have such a shortage of crucial weapons when we are facing these real threats, he says.