Good morning.
Foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany will meet their Iranian counterpart in Geneva on Friday as they try to forge a path back to diplomacy amid Iran’s war with Israel.
Their meeting with Abbas Araqchi comes a day after Donald Trump said he was considering whether to join the war on Israel’s side. The White House said the president would “make a decision on whether to attack Iran within two weeks” and that communications with Tehran were ongoing.
It also follows Israel openly calling for regime change in Iran, with its defense minister, Israel Katz, saying Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “can no longer be allowed to exist”.
While attention has shifted to the Israel-Iran war over the past week, Israel’s assault on Gaza continues. Al Jazeera reported that at least 23 Palestinians had been killed after Israeli forces shot aid seekers in central Gaza – a report that is impossible for the Guardian to independently verify as Israel bans foreign journalists from Gaza.
Unicef said only 40% of Gaza’s drinking water facilities remain operational, warning: “Children will begin to die of thirst.”
What has Iran said about negotiations with the US? Araqchi has ruled out talks with the US as it is a “partner to Israeli crime against Iran”.
Los Angeles Dodgers say they denied Ice agents entry to Dodger Stadium
The Los Angeles Dodgers said on Thursday they blocked US immigration enforcement agents from accessing their stadium’s parking lot that day. The baseball team made the statement on X – but Ice responded to say that its agents “were never there”.
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the DHS, said: “This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement.”
A source told the Los Angeles Times that agents met near the stadium for a briefing but left when photos of their meeting began to spread online.
Why might the LA Dodgers be targeted? Since Ice ramped up enforcement in Los Angeles, rumors spread that authorities would focus on the stadium because of its large Latino fanbase.
Hegseth reportedly orders ‘passive approach to Juneteenth’ at Pentagon
The office of the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, reportedly requested “a passive approach to Juneteenth messaging” amid Trump’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The Rolling Stone exclusively reported that the Pentagon’s chief of public affairs said the office was not preparing to publish web content related to Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free.
What has Hegseth said about DEI? He told a Senate hearing this week: “DEI is dead. We replaced it with a color-blind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach, and the force is responding incredibly.”
How long has Juneteenth been a federal holiday? Joe Biden made it a federal holiday in 2021.
In other news …
Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a Los Angeles protester who was accused of assaulting border patrol agents, while the demonstrator said he himself was attacked by officers.
The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected Nato’s plan for member states to spend 5% of their GDP on defense.
A judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from tying Democratic-led states’ access to funding for transportation funding to their cooperation with immigration enforcement.
Stat of the day: 57% of Africans live in countries that spend more on external debt repayments than on education or healthcare
Developing countries desperately need “more debt relief” in order to provide education and health services, a report has found. The need is particularly acute in Africa, where some 57% of the continent’s population – 751 million people, including nearly 288 million living in extreme poverty – live in countries that spend more on servicing external debt than on education or healthcare.
Don’t miss this: ‘The first rule is to forget your past life’: Ukrainian marine tells of his three years of torment in Russian captivity
A Ukrainian marine has spoken to the Guardian about his three years in Russian captivity, where he endured hunger, beatings and torture. Dmytro Chorny, who was released in a mass prisoner exchange in April, shares how he tried to cope while inside: “The very first rule is to forget that you were once a citizen. Forget about your girlfriend, forget about your grandparents, completely separate yourself from your past. That is, you have never been there, you were born in captivity, you live in captivity … But, of course, you dream.”
Climate check: World-first deal for crisis visas comes into force
This week, a landmark deal creating the world’s first visa in the context of the climate emergency came into force. The agreement, signed in 2023, allows 280 Tuvaluans to migrate to Australia each year and obtain permanent residency. And while it has offered hope to many young Tuvaluans, some fear it will create labor shortages in the country of just 11,000, as well as lead to a loss of cultural knowledge.
Last Thing: How Jaws changed Hollywood, 50 years on
As Jaws turns 50, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary and Wendy Benchley look back on the highs and lows of making the iconic blockbuster. The movie was plagued by the mechanical shark, nicknamed “Bruce”, malfunctioning, he remembers, with constant announcements on set that: “‘The shark is not working. The shark is not working. Repeat. The shark is not working.’ And then one day you hear this. ‘The shark is working! The shark is working!’” In an admission that is a testament to the movie’s power, Dreyfuss says he has never been back into the sea since.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
