$151 million to Israel without review; Tehran airport in flames; U.S. gives India waiver for Russian oil
Meanwhile, Trump privately considers sending U.S. troops into Iran as Tehran warns the U.S. over escorts through the Strait of Hormuz.
Editor’s note:
Today officially marks one week since the U.S. and Israel’s first joint strikes on Iran that triggered an all-out regional war.
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The latest news at this hour:
RUBIO SIDESTEPS CONGRESS ON $151 MILLION ARMS SALE: On Friday, the U.S. State Department approved a $151.8 million munitions sale to Israel without submitting it for congressional review. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the congressional side-stepping as an emergency sale, but Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat who warned about weapons sales without Congress in 2025, said, "This is an emergency of the Trump administration’s own creation.”
TEHRAN AIRPORT IN FLAMES: Mehrabad Airport, one of the capital’s two main airports, was hit early Saturday morning during another massive wave of Israeli airstrikes. People in the area reported a plane engulfed in flames on the tarmac.
In the last week, airports have been under attack—Azerbaijan's airport was struck, as was Erbil International Airport in Northern Iraq. More airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait and Dubai are damaged.
Airspace across the region has been closed, leaving locals and foreigners stranded and unable to flee constant missile and drone strikes. As of yesterday, 27,000 Americans have returned, mostly without U.S. government assistance.
U.S. ALLOWS INDIA TO BUY RUSSIAN OIL: The U.S. issued India a waiver, allowing them to temporarily buy Russian oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that it’s an intentionally short-term measure — only 30 days. Less than a month ago, the U.S. and India signed a major trade agreement in which India agreed to stop buying oil from Russia. The U.S. previously put tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
TRUMP EYES PUTTING U.S. GROUND TROOPS IN IRAN: Trump privately commented on putting a small group of U.S. ground troops in Iran for specific strategic purposes, rather than a large-scale invasion. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on NBC News on Thursday: “We are waiting for them””
IRAN TAUNTS U.S. OVER HORMUZ ESCORTS: After Trump said the U.S. Navy would begin escorting and insuring vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a Revolutionary Guard spokesperson responded that oil tankers are “welcome” and that Iran will be “awaiting their presence,” with an eerie, historically backed threat to follow: “We recommend that, before making any decision, the Americans remember the fire on the American supertanker Bridgeton in 1987 and the oil tankers that were recently targeted,” spokesman Alimohammad Naini said.
… WHILE GULF SHIPS DISGUISE AS CHINESE: According to data from MarineTraffic, around 10 vessels stuck in the Gulf have declared themselves Chinese via transponders in order to escape attack from Iran. Other ships are changing their GPS signal to misguide Iranian weapons; the manipulation is clear, as TankerTrackers data shows the ships clustered upon one another.
IRANIAN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM LABELLED ‘WARTIME TRAITORS’: After the Iranian women’s football team refused to sing the national anthem before their match at the Asian Cup on Monday, an Iranian commentator called them “wartime traitors” on a state TV program. Currently, the women are due to return home on Sunday, but the Australian government is being urged to allow the players to remain in Australia for fear they are at risk returning home, according to The Guardian. On Thursday, the women saluted and sang the Iranian national anthem, in contrast to their performance on Monday.
U.S. CRUDE SOARED FASTER THAN IT HAS IN ALMOST 50 YEARS: As the Strait of Hormuz is closed off, the price of oil is surging, with analysts expecting it to reach $100 a barrel. Collectively Americans are spending $122 million more on gas every day than they did just last week, a GasBuddy analyst told the WSJ.
Stay safe out there.
Best,
Alessandra, Jacqueline, and Sosseh
*Correction: Iran War Dispatches issued a misleading heading for our first news item. We have changed it to: Rubio sidesteps Congress on $151 million arms sale.
We apologize for the errors.
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