Morning Brief, Wednesday 10 June

Donald Trump ordered US strikes around the Strait of Hormuz after an American AH-64 Apache crashed near the coast of Oman during a patrol. Donald Trump said Iran shot it down, while a US official said a one-way Iranian attack drone brought down the aircraft. Iranian state media did not claim responsibility. The two crew members were rescued within roughly two hours by a US naval surface drone, which Central Command described as the first such operation by American forces.

Central Command said it began self-defence strikes at 5pm Washington time on Tuesday, at Donald Trump's direction. A reporter for Axios, citing a person familiar with the matter, said the targets included air-defence and radar systems near the Strait. Iranian outlets reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Qeshm Island and other parts of Hormozgan province, then later said the situation had calmed. No confirmed casualty figures or damage assessment emerged immediately from Iranian sources.

The escalation lands in the world's most sensitive oil chokepoint, where US forces already patrol close to Iranian-controlled islands and where Tehran has destroyed numerous American drones since the war widened. Each side now has an incentive to look firm without closing the Strait, which makes miscalculation the most expensive commodity in the Gulf.

Six western governments moved together against Israeli settlers and groups they accuse of backing violence or illegal expansion in the occupied West Bank. Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom announced sanctions or matching measures, while Britain warned firms against economic and financial activity in settlements without yet imposing a full trade ban. France went further by barring finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, four settler-organisation leaders and 21 settlers from entering the country.

Italy opened a separate legal front. Rome prosecutors placed Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under investigation for suspected torture and kidnapping after the Israeli navy intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying more than 400 activists in international waters near Cyprus. The inquiry focuses on Italian citizens among the detainees, while activists and Italian media described beatings, threats and severe abuse. Ben-Gvir mocked Italy online, and Antonio Tajani told the Senate that his words were unacceptable.

Israel's foreign ministry condemned the settler sanctions as disgraceful and accused the six governments of anti-Israeli policies. Yet the pattern is hard to miss: countries that long treated quarrels with Israel as private diplomacy are now using visas, sanctions lists and criminal procedure. The political shield around Israel's far-right ministers has not disappeared, but it has started to dent.

OpenAI said it had submitted a confidential S-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, one week after Anthropic made the same move. The filing keeps the numbers private while regulators review the plan, but the scale is plain enough. Deutsche Welle cited valuations of $965bn for Anthropic and $852bn for OpenAI, while SpaceX is preparing a Friday listing targeting nearly $1.8trn and roughly $75bn in proceeds.

The IPO race coincided with a reminder that the product cycle is not just about revenue. Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, a restricted public version of its Mythos AI line, after earlier tests showed the model could identify and exploit long-hidden flaws in common operating systems and browsers. The full Mythos Preview remains available to the US government and select companies through the Glasswing programme, which aims to use offensive capabilities to harden defences.

The two pressures now run together. Investors want proof that hundreds of billions in data-centre spending can turn into durable profit, while governments want proof that increasingly capable models will not become automated hacking kits. The market can fund the AI build-out; it cannot insure society against every shortcut taken to justify the valuation.

Police in Northern Ireland charged a 30-year-old Sudanese man with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon and threats to kill after a knife attack in north Belfast. The victim, a man in his forties, suffered severe injuries to his face, eyes, neck and back, and officers recovered a kitchen knife. A graphic video of the attack spread online, and police urged people not to share it.

Protests then turned into disorder across Belfast and several other towns. Demonstrators blocked roads, erected barricades and set a Glider bus on fire on Newtownards Road. Translink suspended Metro and Glider services, shops shut early and police helicopters circled as smoke rose from parts of the city. In Ballyclare, a Turkish-run barbershop was attacked, while police reported vehicles burning in several areas.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, and Northern Ireland's main parties issued a rare joint appeal for calm. Police said the suspect had permission to reside in the UK, while officials warned that far-right activists were using the attack as a pretext for wider anti-immigration protests. Elon Musk encouraged protesters on X to take to the streets loudly and repeatedly.

The criminal case will move through court, but the civic damage has already spread beyond one street. Belfast has seen how fast a video can become a riot plan.