The Daily Digest

The US-Iran war is reshaping everything — markets, oil, geopolitics, and Australia's own backyard — and it's only getting messier. Iran has a new hardline Supreme Leader in Mojtaba Khamenei, Russia is feeding Tehran intelligence on US military targets, and Trump is simultaneously claiming the war is "very complete" while his own military contradicts him on a bombed girls' school. Buckle up.

What Matters Today

• Iran's new Supreme Leader is the worst-case scenario. Mojtaba Khamenei — Ali's son, a hardliner who's kept a low profile for decades — has taken the top job. Expect zero moderation. Iran says it's ready for a long war, and Russia is now actively sharing intelligence on US military targets with Tehran. This is no longer a bilateral conflict. Guardian AU
• Australia is being asked to join the fight. Gulf nations have formally requested Australian military support, with the RAAF's Wedgetail aircraft — among the world's best airborne early warning platforms — flagged as a key capability. Greens Senator Shoebridge is warning Labor would be dragging Australia in "by deception and stealth." Albanese has a very uncomfortable week ahead with an election looming. Guardian AU
• Five Iranian women footballers granted asylum in Australia. Tony Burke confirmed humanitarian visas after the players disappeared from their team's handlers following their Asian Cup campaign on the Gold Coast. Protesters surrounded their bus; the Iranian government has called them "wartime traitors." This is a genuine human drama playing out in real time on Australian soil. Guardian AU
• Oil above $100, G7 scrambling. Major Middle East producers cut output as war risk premiums explode. G7 finance ministers are meeting to discuss emergency energy supply measures. France is deploying nearly a dozen warships and mulling a Hormuz mission. Every petrol station in Australia just became a geopolitical thermometer. BBC World
• Proton Mail helped the FBI dox an activist — yes, really. The "privacy-first" email provider handed over data that unmasked a "Stop Cop City" protester. The lesson: no cloud service is truly private if it operates under a legal jurisdiction. Worth revisiting your threat model if you rely on Proton. r/technology
• Russia-backed hackers are cracking Signal and WhatsApp. Dutch intelligence is warning that state-sponsored Russian actors have breached the encrypted accounts of officials and journalists. If Signal isn't safe for high-value targets, assume the bar for everyone else just got lower too. r/technology
• Australia's deadliest cancer has quietly changed. A new analysis shows a fast-growing group of cancers has surpassed lung cancer as Australia's number-one killer. SBS isn't naming it prominently in the headline — click through, because this is the kind of slow-burn public health story that deserves more oxygen. SBS News

Markets

It's a sea of red driven almost entirely by the Iran war premium — the ASX 200 shed 3.5%, the Nikkei cratered 6.45% (Japan imports nearly all its oil), and Wall Street dropped over 2%. The AUD is holding up surprisingly well at 0.708, likely on commodity export optimism as oil and gold surge — gold is at a stunning $5,149, up nearly 2%, which tells you exactly how scared the smart money is. Bitcoin dipped modestly to ~$69K but Ethereum took a harder hit at -3.7%, suggesting crypto is trading like a risk asset rather than a safe haven right now. Trump's "war is complete" comments briefly sent oil futures tumbling, but nobody's pricing in peace just yet.

Worth a Read

• US military refuses to back Trump's girls' school bombing claim — The Pentagon publicly distancing itself from the President's narrative mid-conflict is extraordinary. This tension between the White House and military brass is worth watching very closely. r/worldnews
• Open-plan offices increase workplace bullying risk — Science continues to confirm what everyone already suspected. Good ammunition for your next "return to office" argument. r/science
• International game developers are skipping GDC over US border fears — A tangible, industry-level consequence of Trump's immigration posture. If the US loses its position as the default hub for global tech events, that's a structural shift worth tracking. r/technology
• Ray-Ban Meta glasses: workers watched bathroom footage — Meta's smart glasses are capturing footage in places nobody consented to, and human reviewers are watching it. The always-on camera era has some very ugly early chapters. r/technology