U.S. sanctions Iran oil-shipping network amid Hormuz attacks.
Today's events
Iran oil network.
State and Treasury sanctioned more than 50 individuals, entities, and vessels tied to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani's shipping network — a major enabler of Iran's oil exports — as Iran attacks commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.1Jul 14 · StateAircraft tariffs.
A presidential proclamation found that imports of commercial aircraft, jet engines, and parts threaten U.S. national security, invoking the Section 232 trade-law authority used earlier on steel and aluminum to adjust those imports.2Jul 15 · Fed. Reg.Drug middlemen.
The FTC settled its antitrust case against Caremark, the CVS-owned pharmacy-benefit manager, locking in up to $8.5 billion in consumer savings over ten years plus $4.5 billion more from point-of-sale rebates.3Jul 14 · FTCSilicon carbide.
Commerce signed a $225 million CHIPS award backing Bosch's $2 billion conversion of its Roseville, California plant into a silicon-carbide chip fab; Bosch plans $7.5 billion in U.S. operations over five years.4Jul 13 · CommerceExploited flaws.
CISA added four actively exploited vulnerabilities to its catalog — two in SonicWall SMA1000 appliances plus flaws in Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services and SharePoint — and urged emergency SharePoint hardening.5Jul 14 · CISABulletproof hosting.
Three Russian nationals and two “bulletproof hosting” firms were indicted in Ohio for enabling more than $62 million in cyberattacks on banks, hospitals, and schools across 21 states; State offered a $10 million reward.6Jul 14 · DOJIran drone parts.
A federal jury convicted Mahdi Sadeghi, a dual U.S.-Iranian national, of illegally exporting sensitive microelectronics to Iran for the Revolutionary Guard's drone-navigation program, in violation of U.S. sanctions.7Jul 14 · DOJNuclear standards.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed rewriting its 1991 radiation-protection rules under Executive Order 14300, reconsidering the linear no-threshold model and easing limits it calls overly conservative on very low doses.8Jul 15 · NRCInnovation engines.
The National Science Foundation awarded 12 Regional Innovation Engines across 20 states — spanning critical minerals, quantum computing, and grid security — funding each $15 million now and up to $160 million over a decade.9Jul 14 · NSF
This week
Campaign against the ICC.
The State Department opened a whole-of-government campaign July 13 to disable the International Criminal Court, vowing visa bans, sanctions on court staff, and pressure on member nations to withdraw, after the court moved against U.S. servicemembers. The campaign applies tools used elsewhere this week against Cuban entities and Iranian financiers — visa and financial sanctions — to an international court and its personnel. First covered in the July 14 daily.1Jul 13 · StateSyria delisting begins.
Trump notified Congress July 8 of his intent to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism after a 45-day period, citing counterterrorism assurances from President al-Sharaa. The step follows his June 2025 sanctions-relief order and clears the way to end remaining sanctions and reopen trade and investment. First covered in the July 9 daily.2Jul 8 · StateAnkara arms deals.
At NATO’s summit in Ankara, allies announced $3 billion in deals with U.S. defense firms — a European Patriot-missile plant, surveillance drones for ten nations, and joint missile production — as allied defense spending topped 2025 levels by $120 billion. On the summit’s margins, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea signed a memorandum to speed exports of small modular reactors to other countries. First covered in the July 10 daily.3Jul 8 · WHSouth China Sea anniversary.
The United States and thirteen other governments marked ten years since the 2016 arbitral ruling July 11, reaffirming it as “final, legally binding” and stating China’s expansive maritime claims have “no legal basis.” The statement came days after the State Department said it tracked China’s submarine launch of a nuclear-capable missile into the Pacific and urged Beijing to open arms-control talks. First covered in the July 12 daily.4Jul 11 · StateRecord crude output.
U.S. crude production averaged a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 — about 40% above Russia and Saudi Arabia — with the Permian Basin supplying nearly half at 6.6 million, the Energy Information Administration reported July 9. Output is forecast near 14.2 million barrels per day by 2027. First covered in the July 10 daily.5Jul 9 · EIAPolicy at a crossroads.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said July 13 that core inflation rose from 3% in December to 3.4% in May after Middle East conflict disrupted oil production, leaving monetary policy “at a crossroads” before this week’s data. Days earlier, the Fed named outside advisers to five task forces reviewing how it conducts policy, one assessing artificial intelligence’s economic impact. First covered in the July 14 daily.6Jul 13 · Fed
Allied Governments
Iran's proxies.
Britain summoned Iran's chargé d'affaires over the Revolutionary Guard Qods Force directing proxy attacks across Europe, days after designating the Guard under new state-threats powers.aJul 14 · UK FCDOGibraltar treaty.
Britain and the EU signed a treaty securing Gibraltar's post-Brexit border, protecting the 15,000 daily crossings from Spain and safeguarding the UK's military facilities on the Rock.bJul 14 · UK FCDOMissile coalition.
Ten nations — Britain, France, Germany, Ukraine and six others — declared an Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition to jointly build European missile defense, drawing on Ukraine's experience against Russia's invasion.cJul 13 · UK No.10
Voices
“The United States will use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable for its actions.”
State Dept. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott · Jul 141
“This verdict should serve as a wake-up call to those in corporate America that if you violate our country's export laws, you will not get away with it.”
SAC Ted E. Docks, FBI Boston · Jul 147
“The FTC under President Trump won't stand for anticompetitive behavior that drives up prices for American consumers.”
Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, FTC · Jul 143
“From their overseas haven, these defendants ran the criminal infrastructure that powered attacks on critical institutions across our nation.”
AAG A. Tysen Duva, DOJ Criminal Division · Jul 146
“[The revisions] address unnecessary conservatism and excessive subjectivity in regulatory requirements as they relate to protection from very low doses of radiation.”
NRC, Standards for Protection Against Radiation (proposed rule) · Jul 158
“These new NSF Engines will be transformational for America's innovation infrastructure — helping secure our national competitiveness in technologies and future industries…”
Brian Stone, performing the duties of NSF director · Jul 149
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Iran: Dismantling Shamkhani's Illicit Shipping Empire,” July 14, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/shamkhani-shipping-empire
- Federal Register, “Adjusting Imports of Commercial Aircraft, Jet Engines, and Aircraft and Engine Parts Into the United States” (Presidential Proclamation), July 15, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/adjusting-imports-commercial-aircraft
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission, “FTC Secures Major Settlement with Caremark, Resolving Antitrust Case Against Second Drug Middleman,” July 14, 2026. ftc.gov/news-events/…/settlement-caremark
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Department of Commerce Announces Direct Funding Agreement with Bosch for a $225 Million CHIPS Program Award,” July 13, 2026. nist.gov/news-events/…/bosch-chips-silicon-carbide
- CISA, “CISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog” (SonicWall SMA1000, Microsoft ADFS and SharePoint), July 14, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/…/four-kev
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Three Russian Nationals and Two Companies Indicted for International Cybercrimes Resulting in More Than $62M in Victim Losses,” July 14, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/russian-cybercrime-indictment
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Massachusetts Man Convicted of Violating U.S. Sanctions Against Iran,” July 14, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/massachusetts-iran-sanctions
- Federal Register, “Reforming and Modernizing the NRC's Radiation Protection Framework” (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, proposed rule), July 15, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/nrc-radiation-protection
- U.S. National Science Foundation, “NSF Awards 12 New Regional Innovation Engines to Fuel Research, Jobs and Economic Growth Nationwide,” July 14, 2026. nsf.gov/news/…/regional-innovation-engines
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “FCDO Summons Iranian Chargé d'Affaires over Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force's Role in Directing Attacks by Proxy Groups,” July 14, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/fcdo-summons-iranian-charge
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “UK Finalises Historic Treaty with EU to Secure Economic Future of Gibraltar,” July 14, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/uk-eu-gibraltar-treaty
- UK Prime Minister's Office, “Joint Declaration on the Establishment of the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition,” July 13, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/anti-ballistic-missile-coalition