Vice-president says he expects war to end in a week – or a few months. Plus, get ready for start of Fifa men’s World Cup

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US forces have launched strikes against Iran in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter near the strait of Hormuz a day earlier, and Iran has retaliated by hitting American airbases in the Middle East. The exchange of fire came as the US vice-president, JD Vance, was vague on the possible timeframe for ending the Iran war, saying it could conclude in a week or a few months.

What did Vance actually say? “Right now, I feel that we are in a position to get a deal that is good for the United States economically and that really does deal with the Iranian nuclear program. Not just now, not just while Donald Trump is president, but for the long term, to where my kids can say when they’re adults: ‘Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon.’”

Who is Steve Hilton? Since arriving in the US 14 years ago, he has had stints as an entrepreneur, a policy analyst and a Fox News host after years of working in the background of Conservative party politics in Britain.

Who has been supporting him? Hilton has assembled a broad coalition spanning working-class voters, Latino small-business owners, religious conservatives and Silicon Valley tech tycoons. He has managed to turn his British accent into an asset, priding himself on being a legal immigrant as opposed to the undocumented kind derided by the Republican establishment.

In an exclusive interview, Ukraine’s president says he believes the war will be won when Russian society feels its impact. Plus, why California’s election count is taking so long (hint: it’s not fraud)

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In the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskyy says he is feeling upbeat and has been grateful for military support from the US, but has a pointed message for Washington.

Speaking to Luke Harding and Pippa Crerar in London, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that the priority of Trump’s second term in foreign policy had shifted away from Ukraine to conflict in the Middle East.

What did Zelenskyy say about Trump’s relationship with Putin? He carefully praised US diplomatic efforts, despite his bruising encounter in the Oval Office and the fact that Trump has been willing to meet Vladimir Putin, saying: “I always said to President Trump that Putin is lying. He plays games with you, with the White House.”

Does he see any prospect of the war ending? The military situation was the most promising it had been for Kyiv for two and a half years, Zelenskyy ssaid. “We can’t say Russia is losing this war. But we can say they are losing the initiative each day, day by day,” he added. “Victory in this war is when Russian society recognises that the war is awful, that the war is a tragedy not for someone, somewhere, but for themselves.” To that end, Zelenskyy said the purpose of long-range strikes – drones buzzing above apartment blocks in greater Moscow and St Petersburg – was to make residents “feel” what war meant.

Which other AI companies are making market moves? In addition to Anthropic, which makes the popular Claude chatbot, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns his artificial intelligence company xAI, is also imminently slated to go public at an expected valuation of $1.75tn.

Direct exchange of fire between warring nations in apparent defiance of Trump was in response to an Israeli attack on Beirut, and breaks April’s ceasefire. Plus: incredible pictures of the Beatles’ final tour of the US

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Good morning. Israel has again attacked Iran, in apparent defiance of the US president, Donald Trump, who had said in an recent interview that “I call all the shots”, not the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attack was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj and Tabriz. Iran also launched about 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel, in response to Israel bombing a target in southern Beirut.

How has Trump responded? “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote in a social media post.

How is the wider region being affected? Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens in an area home to Prince Sultan airbase that hosts US forces. The Israeli army also said it was working to intercept a missile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who joined the Middle East war in March in support of Iran, have previously launched attacks on Israel.

What is the continuing economic impact? Brent crude jumped $3.50 to $96.59 a barrel on Monday, while stocks in Asia, a region heavily dependent on oil imports, fell sharply in early trading.

How did Welker respond? When the veteran reporter asked the president for any evidence, he accused her of being “crooked”. “You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”