Axios

President Trump gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) his support for a highly unusual military action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to two U.S. officials.

Why it matters: The Saudi strike on the Sanaa airport Monday and Houthi retaliatory missile attacks that followed were the most serious cross-border escalation since 2022. They could signal the collapse of a four-year, unofficial truce between the parties.

Oil prices surged about 9% Monday to roughly $83 per barrel after President Trump claimed the U.S. was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran, adding to gains already driven by renewed hostilities over the weekend.

Why it matters: Higher oil prices typically feed into higher gasoline prices, potentially pushing the national average back toward $4 per gallon.

President Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. is reinstating the naval blockade on Iran and will prevent any ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports. The blockade will go into effect on July 14 at 4pm ET.

• Trump also claimed the U.S. would be "reimbursed" at a rate of 20% for securing safe passage for cargo ships, though the details and seriousness of the initiative were not immediately clear.

Why it matters: The blockade — a response to renewed clashes between the U.S. and Iran in recent days — threatens to dramatically escalate tensions in the strait and change the economics of shipping energy and materials in the Middle East.

German drone maker Helsing raised $1.8 billion in Series E funding that values it at $18 billion.

Why it's the BFD: The most valuable mainland Europe startup is now a defense player.

A former Ku Klux Klan hall in Texas is becoming an arts center — one of several racist landmarks across the U.S. that communities are trying to turn from symbols of terror into sites of reparation.

Why it matters: Years after the backlash against Confederate monuments, new fights have emerged over what to do with remaining physical reminders of particularly hurtful racism — tear them down, preserve them, reinterpret them or return them to communities harmed by them.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died suddenly Saturday, spent his final weeks laying the groundwork for an ambitious new push to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, he told me in multiple conversations over the past several weeks.

Why it matters: Graham was one of Washington's most influential and energetic foreign policy figures. He spent decades trying to shape America's role in the world and was still pursuing some of his biggest diplomatic ambitions in the final hours of his life.

The U.S. military launched a new round of strikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday in response to an IRGC missile attack that left a commercial cargo ship badly damaged.

• Iran retaliated by launching drones and missiles at Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan.

Why it matters: The renewed exchange of fire further threatens last month's U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU), and comes hours after regional diplomats concluded negotiations aimed at resolving the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.