The Perspective #14: June 2025

Elize Hartzer

Israel-Iran conflict

On June 13, in the midst of the Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’- surprise attacks on key nuclear facilities within Iran in order to prevent the perceived threat of them building nuclear weapons to use against Israel. The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, announced that this was a ‘declaration of war’ resulting in a continuous exchange of missiles between both countries, with a current suspected death toll of 900 and thousands injured.

Trump’s revised travel ban

Trump’s plans for a US travel ban has officially been enacted. This means that immigrants from 12 countries (including regions such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan) have had their visas restricted or entirely revoked. This includes cases such as families of refugees as well as adoptions and professional athletes being barred from entering the country.

Anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles

On the 9th of June, citizens across Los Angeles took to the streets to protest against increased ICE raids in sanctuary cities across the US. This resulted in a high-scale response from President Trump who, without consent from Gavin Newsom (Governor of California), deployed 4000 National Guard troops and 700 marines- the type of response only permitted during an active ‘rebellion’.

UK economic growth

In June, the UK had its fastest rate of growth in a year at +0.7%, presumably as manufacturers sped up to avoid Trump import tariffs. Household spending increased, however so did the UK’s budget deficit. Despite growth in the UK, the World Bank reported the slowest rate of growth globally since the 2008 economic crisis.