Day: July 13, 2026

Following the key EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said member states were “quite close” to reaching an agreement on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, while acknowledging that differences remained.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the delay in approving the package and concerns that some member states were prioritising national economic interests over the broader EU objective, Kallas said she regretted that no final deal had been reached.
“I also regret that we don’t have agreement on the 21st package, although I must say that we are quite close,” Kallas said.
She highlighted that progress had still been made through new listings targeting Russia under different sanctions regimes.
“We had 250 listings, which are also very important under different regimes. So still, I mean, all focusing on putting more pressure on Russia,” she said.
Addressing concerns over divisions among EU countries, Kallas acknowledged that the prolonged war had affected all member states but stressed that ending the conflict was in everyone’s interest.
“Member states have various reasons. This war has been going on for years and more, and of course, it has effects on all,” she said.
“But the best fact for our economy, in all the member states, would be if this war would end,” Kallas added.
She called on EU countries to maintain pressure on Moscow and focus on measures aimed at bringing the war to an end.
“That’s why we have to make the necessary efforts in the short term that we wouldn’t have this war,” Kallas said.
She added that discussions at the meeting had centred on the need to continue increasing pressure on Russia.
“Today also we had these intense discussions, and the call was to really focus on ending this war that we are trying to do with putting more pressure on Russia,” she said.

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The spokesperson said Saudi air defenses successfully engaged the incoming ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis, who continue to carry out cross-border attacks despite ongoing regional tensions, News.Az reports.

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No immediate information was provided regarding casualties, damage, or the exact number of missiles involved.

The incident marks the latest escalation in the long-running conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition, which has been involved in Yemen since 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

Authorities have not yet released further details about the attack or its impact.

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According to the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the latest attacks were conducted on Trump’s orders, News.Az reports.

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Iranian state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and on Kish Island, though Iranian authorities have not immediately commented on the extent of the damage or possible casualties.

Meanwhile, the US military announced that the reinstated blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas, declared by President Trump, will take effect at 20:00 GMT on July 14.

The blockade is expected to further escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran, following days of intensified military exchanges in the region.

No additional operational details about the strikes or the implementation of the blockade were immediately released.

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“No guns were pointed at him. It’s a characterization far beyond what actually took place,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter said Monday in an interview on SiriusXM’s “Chris Cuomo Mornings,” News.Az reports, citing The Wahsington Times.

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Mr. Leiter said the embassy in Washington reached out to the congressman, who is eyeing a possible 2028 presidential run, when officials learned he would be visiting Israel.

“As all congressmen do, they coordinate their trip with the Israeli government,” Mr. Leiter said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “He ignored that, and he decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street, which is an anti-Israeli government advocacy group here in Washington.”

Israeli officials suggested that Mr. Khanna visit with survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel or their sensitive border areas near Lebanon and Syria.

Mr. Khanna noted on social media that he has met with families of Israeli hostages and repeatedly condemned the Hamas terror attacks.

But Mr. Khanna said last week’s trip was aimed at getting an unfiltered look at the conditions on the West Bank.

“The presumption of [Mr. Leiter] that Americans, who fund Israel’s military, must go on trips curated by Israel’s government reeks of the impunity of power. I told Israel of my travel but wanted a Palestinian-led trip,” he said Sunday on X. “Israel’s military does not have the right to detain us.”

Mr. Khanna was visiting Khirbet Zanuta, an abandoned Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, when he and his party were detained by armed Israeli settlers who surrounded their van and blocked the roadway.

“What happened to me in the West Bank was an outrage. But it is nothing compared to what Palestinians face every day,” he said Monday.

Israel Defense Forces troops responded after they received reports that settlers were blocking the vehicles of foreign nations.

“They dispersed the Israeli civilians within a short time, thereby reopening the blocked road,” officials said in a statement. “The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Mr. Khanna was in an Israeli-controlled area in the West Bank when he was stopped.

“We only found out he was there while he was at this particular checkpoint,” Mr. Huckabee said on the “Chris Cuomo Mornings” program.

Mr. Huckabee downplayed the idea that it was out of the ordinary for the Israeli settler security personnel to be armed.

“That’s pretty normal. It’s like a police officer who comes up to your car when he’s pulling you over for a traffic violation,” Mr. Huckabee said. “He’s armed. He has a gun, but that doesn’t mean he was pointing it at you.”

Mr. Leiter suggested that politics may have played a part in Mr. Khanna’s surprise visit to the West Bank.

“Congressman Khanna has made no secret about his antipathy toward the government of Israel,” he said.

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Iran’s navy fired cruise missiles at a “hostile vessel of the American enemy”, according to an unnamed military source, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported attacks across the region including on Gulf Arab states as the US said it will start blockading Iranian ports from 20:00 GMT on Tuesday.

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