Welcome to Essex Girl's weekly Current Events Explainers
Stay up to date with the latest news and political developments with quick explainers and insights from a Politics and International Relations student. Each week there will be new sections on the biggest stories that week.
Key Events this Week
Israel escalates tensions by attacking Iran

On the 13th June, 2025 Israel pre-emptively launched an attack on Iran. They attacked nuclear and military facilities with warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country. This was a devastating attack for Iran, disrupting nuclear facilities and killing many senior leaders militarily and in terms of their nuclear program. Iran has retaliated through missile strikes on Israeli towns and cities. So far there as been 24 deaths on the Israeli side and 224 dead on the Iranian side. The bad relations between Iran and Israel has been worsened since October 7th and Israeli attacks on Iranian proxy groups, Hezbollah and Hamas. However, these tensions have been brewing overtime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, along with the religious right in Iran, regard Israel as an illegitimate occupier of Muslim territory and a symbol of Western imperialism. On the other hand, Israel has long held animosity toward Iran regarding the possibility of it advancing it’s nuclear arsenal. Both sides appear to view one another as existential threats, any attempts at ceasefire negotiations will be incredibly delicate. As of June 17th, the fifth day of the conflict, Iran has claimed to have hit Mossad headquarters as Tehran is continually under attack. President Trump has denied any efforts to cultivate a ceasefire deal and the US has said they are not facilitating or supporting the operation. As this conflicts first week comes to a close, the Middle East gains yet another cancerous cell and violence.
Military Parade or Stalin-style birthday celebrations?
President Trump held a large military parade on 14th June to celebrate 250 years of the US army. Rather conveniently, this marked the same day as Trump’s own 79th birthday. Adding another layer to this celebratory occasion was hundreds of ‘No Kings’ protests, civilians protesting Trump’s anti-democratic presidency as well as the ICE raids taking place across the country. Whilst some have criticised Trump for using this anniversary to raise the profile of his own personal celebration, the parade certainly centred around the armed forces, showing off new equipment such as heavy tanks and robotic dogs. Another point of controversy appears to be disagreements about the size of the crowds at the parade, with many online critics calling it a ‘flop’. Trump has boasted about his ‘enormous’ rallies countless times online and appears to be defending the largeness of his parade with the same ferocity. Many high profile figures on Tik Tok have claimed they bought a large number of tickets with no intention of showing up, to deliberately make crowds appear sparse. In some minds, this parade has been a success, showing off the might of the army as well as Trump’s own leadership. For others however, this is yet another example of Trump trying to embarrassingly mask his continued insecurities about his poll ratings and impotency in the face of large scale protests against him.

IDF denies yet another deadly attack in Rafah

There are conflicting reports regarding the number of fatalities and whether the deaths were caused by an airstrike or gunfire from Israeli forces, following the deaths of dozens of Palestinians in Rafah. The Hamas- run Palestinian Health Ministry has declared 31 people dead near an aid distribution centre following an Israeli airstrike, something the IDF denies. However, other reports have declared these deaths occurred when Israeli soldiers open fired near a roundabout close to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub, a new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US. Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel, suggested that reports of the attack might be "Hamas propaganda”, whilst the IDF warns of ‘misinformation’ surrounding this. However, despite this confusion, and the new aid distribution system implemented, Palestinian people still face ongoing bombardment by Israeli missiles and drones, as well as the increasing threat of starvation. There remains insufficient aid flowing into Gaza, with death and tragedy becoming consistent realities in the lives of displaced Palestinians.

About Me
Hi there! My name is Lois Blackmore. I decided to create 'In The Loop with An Essex Girl' as an outlet for practicing my journalistic skills. I am very passionate about politics and have been since I was about 12 or 13. I am currently studying Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath. With this blog, I hope to cultivate a portfolio of opinion pieces, analysis and commentary that will help me in my future search for work in the industry of journalism and news media. In the process, I hope to help others to make some sense of the chaotic world of politics and global events.
Email lois.blackmore@outlook.com
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