Reuters World News - USA out, Tehran vengeance, Trump-Meloni feud and Platner

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

The United States crashes out of the World Cup as President Donald Trump’s red card intervention overshadows the tournament. Tens of thousands fill Tehran’s streets for Ayatollah Ali Khamanei’s funeral with mourners calling for vengeance against the U.S. and Israel. Trump arrives at the NATO summit in Ankara already at odds with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. And, Democrats have until July 13 to pull the plug on their Maine Senate candidate as sexual assault allegations threaten one of the midterms’ most critical races.  Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, July 7th. Today, the U.S. crashes out of the World Cup as Trump's phone call to FIFA triggers a crisis. NATO leaders gather in Ankara as Trump reignites his feud with Maloney. And mourning turns political in Iran. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front of lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I think it's very bad for football. It's very sad.

It's a sad day because that means that everything is going to happen. You can have a red card, you can cancel it any time you want. Belgium fans express their disappointment over FIFA's decision to allow red-carded US striker for Lauren Balligan to take the field, following a phone call from President Trump. I think it's logic that you begin to doubt that the fairness is. of the game is disappearing by this decision. Ultimately, it didn't make a difference, with the US getting a 4-1 thrashing in Seattle.

But while that game is over, the controversy is not. FIFA is now facing similar calls from UK politicians who want British red-carded defender, Kwanza, to get the same reprieve. Reuters World News' very own executive producer, Lila de Kretzer, has been covering the US-Belgium game and speaking to fans in Seattle. It's kind of amazing. You came in, there was thousands of people on the streets screaming, USA, USA. I mean, just seeing this city known for so many protests in the past, a totally different political scene. I mean, most people wear black. Today it was lit up. It was a sea of red, white and blue.

But about eight minutes into the game, it started getting very quiet. Even with the loss, the decision to let Balligan play does raise questions which aren't going away. So I think what happened with that decision will have far-reaching consequences for the future of, like, people's belief in the independence of sporting bodies. Many people have wanted to know that FIFA was above any influence from Trump. Trump certainly says he made the phone call to the president of FIFA, but the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, he says he has nothing but respect for independent bodies. And I think people just want to make sure that the game.

can go on and we know what the decisions are going to be and things can be planned. There was certainly not a USA fan today who didn't want Balligan to take the field, who I spoke to. President Trump for his part says Balligan should never have been red carded. He didn't do anything wrong. Two people ran into each other. And by the way, if you look at that game, there were 10 instances where it was much rougher than that. Trump's personal push for Balligan's inclusion comes with a striking irony.

The president has made ending birthright citizenship a cornerstone of his presidency. Baligan only has US citizenship by birth because his Nigerian mother was stranded in New York too far along in her pregnancy to fly. She took newborn Fularen back to the UK when he was a month old where he would grow up before ultimately choosing to play for the US. Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are urging their own main Senate candidate, and Plattner to drop out. The push comes after media reports published allegations that he

forcibly had sex with a woman five years ago. Platter denies the accusations and says he's taking time to reflect on the best path forward. The timing is critical because Democrats have until July 13th to replace him on the ballot. The race against Republican Senator Susan Collins is one of the most closely watched contests in the country and could help determine which party controls the chamber after the mid-term elections. President Trump has landed in Turkey to attend a NATO summit which kicks off today, but before he even arrived, he's causing diplomatic drama. Trump posted a mocking message on social media, targeting Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney.

It shows an image of the pair with Maloney looking up at Trump with the text, Restraining Order Needed. She's not commented yet. Reuters European Affairs editor Andrew Gray is in Ankara covering the NATO summit and explains how this whole thing started. This goes back to Georgia Maloney pushing back against Donald Trump for saying that she was begging for a selfie with him at a previous summit. So there's some bad blood there between leaders who for a long time were very close allies. Then we have bigger issues between the Europeans and the United States over the war in Iran and over Donald Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland.

All of that has created a lot of tension, which has manifested itself also in Donald Trump, renewing his criticism of NATO as a whole. Andrew says European members of NATO are hoping this summit will be something of a reset, showing they're listening to Trump's calls for them to spend more. So we expect to see a lot of arms deals signed on the sidelines of this summit, and the whole message is going to be burden shifting. the Europeans taking more responsibility for Europe's own defence. Now, whether it plays out like that depends very much on Donald Trump's frame of mind.

As we know, he himself prides himself on being unpredictable, so we don't know what kind of mood he's going to arrive in here, how much he's going to criticise NATO allies. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will also be going to the NATO meeting in Turkey, where he'll likely plead with Trump for more weapons. Russia killed at least 26 people in a massive strike early Monday, and Ukraine couldn't shoot down a single one of the 23 ballistic missiles fired at it because it's running out of U.S.-made Patriot missiles.

In his nightly address, Zelensky said it was absurd that production could not meet the demand. NATO Secretary-General, Mark Wutzer, meanwhile, is issuing a warning He cannot be naive about China. His comments come after China test-fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific, drawing concern across the region. And Ruta says it's all connected. What happens in the Pacific is relevant to what is happening in the transatlantic. And we see it also in the war with Ukraine.

Japan, Australia and New Zealand say they only got short notice ahead of the test. Taiwan is calling the missile test intimidation. In Tehran, fury at President Trump was on full display at Monday's funeral procession for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, who was killed in Israeli and US airstrikes four months ago. Tens of thousands of Iranians packed the streets. It was the biggest day yet in the week of memorial ceremonies demonstrating the grip of surviving clerical leaders. Morners hurled rocks at images of President Trump set fire to American flags and held signs.

reading, kill Trump, while others waved posters showing Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in rifle crosshairs. Fire hoses sprayed water on the crowds to keep them cool. Reuters photographer Al-Khastinidis is in Tehran. The remains of the Agatollah Ali Hameen had been on public display at a mosque here in Tehran as the first stop of a cross-country funeral tool for the past three days. Ceremonies will be held in the religious city of court. The funeral procession will then travel to the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbalah.

Hamanai will be buried on Thursday in Masad near the shrine of Imam Reza, one of the most revered figures in Siya Islam, following a final funeral procession. And as Tehran projects defiance, US President Trump has reiterated his threat to return to military action if a deal with Iran isn't made. That starts as keeping markets wary as oil prices edge higher. More Markets News, check out our sister markets podcast Morning Bit, available wherever you get your podcasts. Cuba's National Electric Grid collapsed Monday, leaving nearly 10 million people on the island without power.

The grid operator says it's investigating the cause of the nationwide blackout. Cuba has struggled for months with rolling outages, some lasting days, tied to a decrepit grid, and a US oil embargo that's choked fuel supply. Hamas says it's dissolved its de facto government in Gaza and is ready to hand over to Palestinian technocrats, a key step in a US-backed plan for the enclave. Israel is calling it a stunt, saying Hamas is just trying to avoid disarmament

while keeping control of security and weapons. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.