Trump continues pause on Iran strikes as Pentagon reveals higher casualty figures | First Thing

July 2026 · 6 minute read

Good morning. The US has paused strikes on Iran for a third night as top military officials advised Donald Trump to halt his bombing campaign, and diplomatic negotiations have continued to avoid a return to all-out war. Oil prices fell on Monday as markets responded to the pause in combat. Tehran said on Sunday it would pause what it called “retaliatory” attacks against US allies in the region.

Trump is said to be weighing up diplomatic and military options in the nearly five-month-old conflict. Axios reported on Sunday that Adm Bradley Cooper, the top US military commander in the region, had told Trump the US military campaign had reached the limits of its effectiveness.

Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of ‘fomenting hate’ in calls for PM’s arrest

Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli PM has claimed New York mayor is ‘trying to turn one group against the other’. Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, was “fomenting hate” by calling the Israeli prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over Israel’s war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations general assembly. “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu said, adding: “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.”

Police have shot dead Berlin Pride van and knife rampage suspect, officials say

People look at tributes left in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
People look at tributes left in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA

A man suspected of driving a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride festival then going on a knife rampage in an Islamist terror attack has been shot dead by police, German officials have said. One woman was killed on Saturday evening and 29 others were injured in an attack that took place in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at about 10pm local time on Saturday, close to one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations. Police confirmed on Sunday evening that the chief suspect had been shot dead.

Two dead in shootings at Bite of Seattle food festival, say authorities

People leave the scene after a fatal shooting during the Bite of Seattle food festival.
People leave the scene after a fatal shooting during the Bite of Seattle food festival. Photograph: Genna Martin/EPA

Two people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting on Sunday evening during a food festival at an events complex near the Space Needle in Seattle, a city fire department spokesperson said. Susan Gregg from the Harborview medical center said it had admitted four victims including a toddler, a 23-year-old man and two women. One patient was in a critical condition, she said.

In other news …

TikTok photo of Sara Gilson Duffey who was killed by her husband.
Sara Gilson Duffey, who was killed by her husband. Photograph: @mrsgilson

Stat of the day: Uganda begins emergency food handouts after 19 die from hunger

The parliament of the republic of Uganda in Kampala.
The parliament of Uganda in Kampala. Experts attribute the region’s food insecurity to the climate crisis. Photograph: James Akena/Reuters

Uganda has launched emergency food relief distribution after at least 19 deaths from hunger were reported in an area of prolonged drought in the east of the country. Health facilities report treating hundreds of children for severe malnutrition. Experts attribute the region’s recurring food insecurity and vulnerability to climate crisis shocks, environmental degradation such as deforestation and overgrazing, as well as poverty and low agricultural productivity.

Building Power: From Bernie to Mamdani, how the Occupy movement transformed American politics

Protesters march along a street holding a banner reading ‘occupy’
Protesters march along a street during a day of action by the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

Yotam Marom, who helped lead Occupy Wall Street, discusses its legacy, 15 years after the movement fell apart.

Don’t miss this: How Trump could undermine the midterms

A protester holds up a ‘resist Trump’ placard
Trump has been accused of seeking to influence the results of the 2026 midterm elections. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

George Chidi says while the president really has no power over elections in the US, that hasn’t stopped Trump from laying the groundwork to challenge results he doesn’t like in November.

… or this: ‘I thought it didn’t stand a cat’s chance in hell’: Andrew Ridgeley on Wham’s surreal trip to China

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley visit Tiananmen Square in 1985.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley visit Tiananmen Square in 1985. Photograph: Pat Benic/Reuters

I miss George Michael. Four decades after they became the first western pop act to tour China, Michael’s bandmate Andrew Ridgeley recalls silent gigs and awkward embassy receptions as a new documentary with footage of the tour is released.

Climate check: US heatwave stretches on with millions still under warnings

The sun beams down in Minneapolis.
The sun beams down in Minneapolis. Photograph: Ellen Schmidt/AP

At least 40 million people were under extreme heat warnings across central and southern parts of the United States on Sunday as high temperatures and severe humidity gripped large swaths of the country for a second straight day. Meanwhile, Europe is suffering a spate of dangerous wildfires. Kate Lamb explains what a “fire cloud” is, and how the unprecedented phenomenon – pyrocumulonimbus – could exacerbate the effects of the blazes.

Last Thing: International Cowboy Day celebrations in Nairobi – in pictures

Revellers in cowboy attire dance to country music at Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi.
Revellers in cowboy attire dance to country music at Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images

Who knew that they celebrated International Cowboy Day in Nairobi, Kenya? Certainly not me. Here is a spectacular set of photos from the event.

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