Israel's defense minister KATZ said any Iranian strike would set Iran back decades and undermine the stability of its regime. The Israeli military is on high alert and prepared to conduct operations.

Marex FX joint head of FX trading and head of private markets Jonathan Pryor warned in a report that the ECB could be left on the back foot after Thursday’s rate decision. He said if the ECB misreads the move as a one-off hike and is overtaken by higher-rate G10 central banks, it could cause lasting reputational damage for Lagarde and the ECB. Pryor added the ECB faces the added challenge of coordinating policy while managing volatile sovereign bond spreads across member states — a risk that is often overlooked. Any ECB commentary on bond markets will therefore be important, he said, because the topic is normally avoided but will be central to the coming months’ challenges.

The Dominican foreign ministry said on the 9th it had learned Nicaragua has decided to close its embassy in the Dominican Republic. The statement noted the Dominican government recalled its ambassador to Nicaragua for consultations on July 23; the mission has been run by a chargé d’affaires since. The ministry said it will follow established diplomatic channels and continue to monitor bilateral ties. Nicaragua has not responded.