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Today’s agenda: G7 summit; JPMorgan’s Europe chief relocates; Adnoc bids $19bn for Santos; profile of Gavin Newsom; and a deathbed letter to Vivienne Westwood
Good morning. We start the working week with the latest updates on the conflict between Israel and Iran, which has entered its fourth day.
What’s the latest? Both sides traded strikes over the weekend and into this morning, with Iranian rockets hitting several locations in the greater Tel Aviv region today. Iranian state media claimed a power plant in Haifa was also struck. Earlier, the Israeli military said it had launched strikes against missile sites in central Iran. In a social media post, it also said it had hit “numerous” weapons production sites in Tehran.
What’s the global fallout? Oil and gold prices jumped this morning. Israel’s decision to target Iran’s energy sector — with strikes on at least two gas processing plants and two fuel depots — has poured more risk into global energy markets. Investors are concerned that Iran could retaliate by striking energy targets in other Gulf countries or impede the flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil passes.
What could come next: Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that regime change could “certainly be the result” of Israel’s attacks, in response to a question about assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel’s prime minister declined to comment on reports that Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader, saying “we’ll do what we need to do”. The US president has also warned that the US “could get involved” in the conflict.
We’ll bring you real-time updates on the war and its impact at our live blog. Here’s more analysis on the situation:
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Nuclear weapons? Experts say Iran has become a “threshold” state but question Israel’s claim that Tehran had begun an atomic bomb programme.
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What are Israel’s goals? If Iran’s Islamic regime falls, the alternative will not be a liberal pro-western government, writes former MI6 chief John Sawers.
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Why was oil output raised? With the conflict, the Opec+ cartel’s recent move to boost crude production is coming under intense scrutiny.
Other world leaders, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, are hoping the G7 summit in Canada, which began yesterday, will help de-escalate the conflict. Apart from that, here’s what else I’ll be watching today:
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Opec: The cartel publishes its monthly oil market report.
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EU: Ministers meet to discuss how to wean the bloc off Russian nuclear imports.
Five more top stories
1. Exclusive: JPMorgan’s European chief plans to relocate from London to New York, while keeping his role running the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. The move by Filippo Gori, who is also the lender’s co-head of global banking, is the latest in a string of examples of senior bankers overseeing UK-based operations from the US.
2. Abu Dhabi’s national oil company is offering $19bn to take over Santos, leading a consortium to bid for one of Australia’s largest energy companies. Santos said its board would recommend the offer, subject to terms being agreed. Read the full story.
3. Rachel Reeves will set out a 10-year infrastructure plan for Britain this week, starting with a new programme to repair crumbling bridges, flyovers and tunnels. Allies of the UK chancellor say she will commit to increasing the infrastructure budget to at least £725bn over the next decade.
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MI6: Blaise Metreweli has been appointed the new chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service, becoming the first woman to lead the spy agency.
4. Luca de Meo will step down as chief executive of Renault to take the helm at Kering, where he will lead efforts to turn around the struggling French luxury group, according to people briefed on the plan. The carmaker said he would remain in place at the company until July 15. More details on the move.
5. Minnesota police have detained the suspect in the politically motivated killing of state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of state senator John Hoffman and his wife. Vance Boelter was apprehended after a two-day manhunt across the US state.
News in-depth
To Israeli military planners, Iran’s Fordow facility is akin to Mount Doom: a tightly guarded nuclear enrichment plant, buried half a kilometre beneath a mountain, which is ringed by air defences and symbolically situated near the ancient religious city of Qom. Satellite analysis shows how the underground site has become central to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions — and a major challenge for Israel.
We’re also reading . . .
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Gavin Newsom: Trump’s decision to send troops to Los Angeles has allowed California’s governor to sell his brand of resistance to the rest of the country.
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Chinese economy: Mounting calls on Beijing to “rebalance” by encouraging more consumer spending are misguided, writes Ruchir Sharma.
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Brazil’s beef barons: The New York listing of food giant JBS marked a dramatic comeback for brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista, who were in jail eight years ago.
Chart of the day
US green bond sales have fallen since Trump won a second term as president, as companies seek to avoid unwanted attention by backing away from or playing down their environmental activities.
Take a break from the news
Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood were partners in life and art but the bitterness of their rupture never faded. Now, a never-before-seen 16-page deathbed letter, written by the man who invented punk, has shed new light on their “tempestuous” relationship.
