The briefing for Tuesday, July 7.

A tanker traveling through the Strait of Hormuz caught fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, according to the British military. The attack marks the latest assault on vessels moving through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings, though Tehran did not directly claim responsibility for the strike.

The attack comes as Iran mourns Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the February 28 war. Iran's joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers must use its approved routes through the strait, stating that interference by U.S. forces "will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction." However, the U.S. Navy's Joint Maritime Information Center told shippers Monday that the route around Oman "has been expanded and remains available for all traffic."

The strike highlights ongoing disputes over control of the waterway. Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without charges for 60 days, but Tehran insists it must control vessel routes and later charge fees for passage. President Trump warned Iran Monday that they need to "make a deal or we're going to finish the job," adding he'd rather negotiate because "I don't want to affect 91 million people." The U.S. and Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.

Australia and Fiji signed a new bilateral defense alliance Monday in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a second major diplomatic win within a year against Chinese influence in the South Pacific. The Ocean of Peace Alliance is Fiji's first mutual defense treaty and Australia's fourth, following agreements with the U.S. and New Zealand in 1951 and with Papua New Guinea last year. The two countries also signed the Vuvale Union economic treaty, under which Australia will invest more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($693 million) in Fiji over a decade.

The timing proved significant as Chinese official media later reported a Chinese submarine had test-launched a long-range ballistic missile in the South Pacific. "The Ocean of Peace Alliance introduces a mutual defense obligation and there's no higher obligation than to come to each other's aid at a time of need," Albanese said. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he did not expect a negative reaction from Beijing, stating "I do not expect China to have any severe pushback on either government."

The agreement strengthens Australia's strategic position in the Pacific as competition with China for regional influence intensifies. The mutual defense pact requires both nations to come to each other's aid in times of need, marking a major commitment for both countries. Combined with last year's Papua New Guinea treaty, Australia has now secured formal defense alliances with key Pacific island nations, potentially limiting China's ability to expand its security presence in the region.

A former Democratic commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropped her lawsuit Monday challenging her dismissal by President Trump, citing a Supreme Court ruling that dramatically enhanced presidential power over independent agencies. Jocelyn Samuels had argued that Congress established staggered five-year terms for EEOC commissioners to ensure "continuity, stability and insulation from political pressure," but said the recent Supreme Court decision "leaves me without a viable path forward."

Trump's unprecedented dismissal of Samuels and fellow Democrat Charlotte Burrows cleared the way for his civil rights enforcement overhaul, which has prioritized rooting out diversity and inclusion practices and weakening protections for transgender workers. The EEOC, now consisting of two Republicans and one Democrat, released a regulatory agenda Monday that includes proposals to end its annual collection of workplace demographic data and rescind longstanding guidance on English-only workplace requirements.

Last week's Supreme Court ruling upheld Trump's firing of heads of independent agencies, with the exception of the Federal Reserve, overturning a 91-year-old precedent that had limited presidential removal power. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the ruling reinforced that "the EEOC is an executive branch agency." The agency's proposed changes include ending a 40-year requirement for companies with 100 or more employees to submit workforce demographic data, which supporters say has helped identify discriminatory patterns but critics argue encourages assumptions about discrimination based on workforce composition.

Folarin Balogun started for the United States against Belgium in Monday's World Cup round of 16 match after FIFA's disciplinary committee lifted his red-card suspension following a phone call from President Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The 25-year-old striker had received a red card during the Americans' win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for stepping on an opponent's ankle, triggering an automatic one-game suspension. FIFA suspended the discipline for a year on Sunday and fined Balogun $40,000.

The decision sparked an unprecedented integrity crisis in world soccer. European governing body UEFA called the decision "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable" and said FIFA "crossed a red line." Belgium's soccer federation contested Balogun's eligibility and attempted to have FIFA reinstate the suspension, but FIFA's appeals committee denied the challenge, saying Belgium lacked standing. Belgium fans chanted "FIFA Mafia" during their pregame march to the stadium.

Trump confirmed Monday at the White House that he asked FIFA to review the decision because he "didn't think it was a foul," calling referee Raphael Claus' decision "horrible" and the Brazilian official "a little bit suspect." Trump said FIFA "made the right decision" and it would have left a "big stain" on the tournament had the ban been implemented. Infantino stated he told Trump there was "an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies," though he later emphasized that FIFA's judicial bodies were "independent" and rulings "must always be respected." Balogun ultimately had little impact in the U.S.'s 4-1 loss to Belgium.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's political future hangs in the balance Tuesday as a Paris appeals court rules on her eligibility to stand in the 2027 presidential election. Le Pen is appealing a March 2025 conviction that found her and other National Rally party members guilty of misusing European Parliament funds by paying party staff with money intended for EU parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016. The lower court sentenced her to suspended prison time and imposed a five-year ban on holding elected office.

The verdict could reshape the 2027 contest to replace President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. If the appeals court upholds a lengthy ban, it could end the career of the 57-year-old politician who has transformed the National Rally into a major political force. Prosecutors asked the appeals court to sentence Le Pen to four years in prison, including three suspended, plus a five-year ban on holding elected office.

Several outcomes remain possible. The court could uphold the conviction but reduce the ban to two years or less, which would expire before the April 2027 first round. It could also impose no ban at all, or impose other constraints that might make campaigning difficult. Le Pen has said that if she's "allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn't be possible." If she is barred, her protege Jordan Bardella, 30, would likely replace her as the National Rally's presidential candidate.