In a new blow to the Kremlin’s narrative that Moscow is winning the 4-year-old war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have targeted fuel supplies to the Crimean Peninsula. That has triggered the worst fuel crisis on the Black Sea peninsula since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The persistent attacks reflect Ukraine’s growing ability to carry out drone strikes and have caught Russia off guard and struggling for a response. The gas shortages are threatening to cause further disruptions to the tourism-dependent region, just as the summer holiday season is getting underway. Ukraine’s successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and change the course of the war.

President Donald Trump is anticipating a significant weekend for his presidency. The World Cup returns to the U.S. on Friday, a bid Trump helped secure. On Sunday, his 80th birthday, he hosts a UFC fight night at the White House. But he has set expectations even higher by announcing that the U.S. and Iran might reach an agreement to end a three-month-old war. He has said before that a deal was within reach without anything coming to fruition. Trump claims Iran is eager to settle the conflict, though Iranian officials have not confirmed this. The war has affected global oil markets and is expected to be a major topic at the G7 summit in France next week.

President Donald Trump says he’s called off new military strikes on Iran hours after threatening to escalate the 3-month-old war. The president said in a social media post Thursday that he made the move “based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.” Trump also suggested that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire. Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on a cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.

Iran’s Kharg Island is home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil. The Persian Gulf island has emerged as a focus of the war launched by the United States and Israel. Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg — or a ground invasion — would severely curb Iran’s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. An assault would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf infrastructure. That would further drive up oil prices that already threaten the world economy.

President Donald Trump has a surprising take on a new report that shows inflation spiking to its highest level in three years. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that “I love the inflation." Ahead of the November midterm elections, voters have ranked the economy as a top concern — and have given Trump low marks on that issue. The problem has intensified as the Iran war has pushed oil prices higher. Within minutes of his on-camera comment, Democrats quickly rushed to promote it on social media. On Capitol Hill, Representative Emilia Sykes — a Democrat from Ohio — asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright if he, too, loved inflation. Wright said he'd prefer lower inflation, but praised Trump's work on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Another sell-off for artificial-intelligence stocks dragged the U.S. market sharply lower. The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% Wednesday for its first back-to-back drop in three weeks and is back to where it was in early May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 953 points, and the Nasdaq composite led the market lower with a 2% slide. Wall Street has been shaky since last week, when AI stocks went from roaring to records to suddenly turning lower. Among the worries is that their prices have simply shot too high, too fast. Oil prices rose after President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran.