July 18, 2019 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- Twelve people are killed and over 80 injured by two car bombs at a gate outside police headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- Sinai insurgency
- A suicide bombing kills two people in northern Sinai a day after four bodies were found decapitated. (Al Jazeera)
- U.S. President Donald Trump reports the United States Navy's USS Boxer "destroys" an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drone in a "defensive action", in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian drone reportedly came within 1,000 yards (3,000 ft) of the U.S. vessel and ignored multiple calls to stand down. (CNBC)
International relations
- Iran confirms its seizure of a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker traveling from the United Arab Emirates, and its 12 crewmembers, in the Persian Gulf last week. The tanker is being held at Qeshm Island, and is accused by Iran of smuggling oil. The United Arab Emirates denies owning or operating the tanker. (USA Today)
- Argentina–Iran relations
- Argentine Justice and Human Rights Minister Germán Garavano says that all countries are responsible to extradite the Iranian accused of the AMIA bombing to Argentina in case they ever set foot on their soil. (Perspectiva Sur)
- Holy See–Iran relations
- Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the head of the Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Church, voices his concerns about rising tensions between the US and Iran could endanger plans for Pope Francis visit to Iraq. (Asia News)
Law and crime
- Kyoto Animation arson attack
- A 41-year-old man sets fire to the main offices of Kyoto Animation, an animation studio based in Kyoto, Japan. At least 34 people are confirmed dead and 35 injured. Many of the victims are in their 20s and 30s. (The Guardian)