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Merz: US Approves Sale of Tomahawk Missiles to Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Maryam Majd
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Maryam Majd
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Merz: US Approves Sale of Tomahawk Missiles to Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Maryam Majd
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Maryam Majd

The United States has approved the sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday, despite previous doubts that a planned deployment of the missiles would go ahead.

"On the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Ankara, we agreed with the American government that American Tomahawk missiles will be purchased by us and stationed in Germany," Merz told MPs in a statement to parliament.

The fate of the Tomahawks had been unclear after President Donald Trump announced in May that he would reduce US military presence in Germany, ⁠which ⁠had been seen as a cancellation of a plan under the previous administration to deploy a US battalion with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany.

Berlin has pushed for the move as a powerful deterrent against Russia while Europeans develop such weapons of their own.

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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Deliver ‘Decisive Blow’ if Iran Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Deliver ‘Decisive Blow’ if Iran Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to strike powerfully against Iran if it staged a new attack on his country.

"I will say it to the leaders of Iran: Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us," Netanyahu said at a conference in Dimona.

The southern town hosts a facility officially dedicated to nuclear research but is widely believed to house Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal.

"The days are over when someone strikes us and we don't hit back with a decisive blow," Netanyahu added.

He said the strikes would be more powerful than the ones carried out jointly with key ally the United States earlier this year.

"Do not count on a rerun," Netanyahu said, referring to the previous attacks on Iran, according to a video released by his office.

"Because it will not be a rerun, and that was already powerful enough. This will be a different event, much more powerful."

Netanyahu's threat came amid new US strikes on Iran and as US President Donald Trump vowed to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports.

US strikes on Tuesday also hit the Iranian port city of Bushehr, which hosts Tehran's only civilian nuclear plant.

In retaliation to US strikes that began three days ago, Iran has launched missiles targeting US allies in the region.

World

Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20% fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz as part of the conflict with Iran, saying on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals in the region.

US forces had carried out waves of attacks for ‌the third night ‌in a row after Tehran said it had ‌closed ⁠the strait, prompting Trump ⁠on Monday to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose the fee.

But just a little under five hours before the fee had been due to come into effect at 2000 GMT, Trump said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.

Oil futures prices pared their ‌gains after the post after rising earlier on Tuesday.

The worsening attacks had increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies ‌and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.

Iran had hit back by attacking ⁠Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain's capital.

Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily. If the US were to impose a 20% fee, it could generate around $240 million a day.

The UN shipping agency said it opposed any fees for straits used in international navigation and that there was no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

World

Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
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Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa

The true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly four times, ‌the official tally, ‌the World ‌Health ⁠Organization's emergencies chief said ⁠on Tuesday.

"We think, with some of our support and ⁠modelling, the ‌scale of ‌the outbreak is ‌at least ‌2-4 times the number of cases we are finding," ‌Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director ⁠of ⁠the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.