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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
“A container ship has reported being hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room,” in the Strait of Hormuz today, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre. The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was transiting eastbound in the Strait. The crew have now abandoned the vessel. Reuters reports.
A ballistic missile fired from Iran and heading into Turkish airspace was destroyed by NATO air and missile defense systems in the eastern Mediterranean Sea today, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. Gul Tuysuz and Catherine Nicholls report for CNN.
The Israeli military has begun “broad scale strikes targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran,” it said this morning in a statement. This is the tenth wave of attacks since the U.S.-Israeli joint operation began on Saturday. Jessie Yeun, Leila Gharagozlou, and Eugenia Yosef report for CNN.
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday announced that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was being deployed to the Mediterranean to bolster allied defenses amid the escalating conflict. Clea Caulcutt and Laura Kayali report for POLITICO; Samuel Petrequin reports for AP News.
Israeli airstrikes yesterday struck the building housing Iran’s Council of Experts in the city of Qom in an attempt to disrupt the process of appointing a new supreme leader, an Israeli defense official said. “There was another hit today on the new leadership, and it looks like it was pretty substantial,” President Trump said in the Oval Office. “So they’re getting hit very hard.” Iranian state media said the building was evacuated before the attack. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Adam Cancryn reports for CNN; Kara Fox and Oren Libermann report for CNN.
During the meeting of Iran’s Council of Experts yesterday, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, emerged as the leading candidate to become the next supreme leader, according to three Iranian officials. The officials said there were discussions about announcing him as successor as early as today, but some expressed concern that doing so could make him a target. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
Iranian strikes in recent days have damaged structures that are part of or near communication and radar systems on at least seven U.S. military sites across the Middle East, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery and verified videos. Devon Lum, Haley Willis, and Riley Mellen report.
The United Arab Emirates is considering taking military action against Iran to stop strikes on the UAE, two sources told Axios. One of the sources said that the UAE has “endured 800 projectiles” since Saturday, adding “the view in the UAE is that no country in the world would fail to evaluate its defensive posture under such circumstances.” Barak Ravid reports.
Trump said yesterday that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will provide insurance guarantees “at a very reasonable price” to help ensure the flow of energy and other commercial trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also said the United States may provide naval escorts to ensure safe passage for oil tankers and other vessels. An Iranian official on Monday threatened to “set fire” to any ship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian military has reportedly fired on several vessels in the area. Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Ben Bartenstein, and Ari Natter report for Bloomberg; Natalie Sherman reports for BBC News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump last week and told him that Khamenei and his top advisers were all set to meet at one location in Tehran on Saturday morning, according to three sources. Netanyahu told Trump they could all be killed in a single strike. By Thursday, the CIA had “fully confirmed that these people were all going to be together, and we needed to take advantage of it,” a source said. Marc Caputo and Barak Ravid report for Axios.
Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Ali Bahreini told reporters yesterday that Iran had not contacted the United States either directly or indirectly about holding talks to de-escalate the conflict. “For the time being we are very doubtful about the usefulness of negotiation…The only language for talking with the United States is the language of defence,” Bahreini said. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE
Macron said yesterday that the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Saturday were conducted “outside of international law,” adding that “Paris cannot approve of them.” He also blamed Iran’s nuclear and regional activities for fueling the crisis. Earlier this week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the war against Iran unjustified, dangerous, and illegal and refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran. This prompted Trump to threaten to cut off all trade with Madrid during a press conference yesterday alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “Spain has been very, very uncooperative, and so has the U.K.,” Trump said. Clea Caulcutt and Laura Kayali report for POLITICO; Aitor Hernandez-Morales reports for POLITICO; Nandita Bose, David Lawder, and Victoria Waldersee report for Reuters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday sought to walk back his earlier assertion that U.S. military action in Iran was precipitated by Israel’s plans to strike first. “The bottom line is this: The president determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple, guys,” Rubio told reporters ahead of a pair of classified briefings. Rubio said it was the threat of Iran’s increasing military capability and growing arsenal of weapons that ultimately influenced Trump’s decision. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times.
Lawmakers emerged from classified briefings with top administration officials yesterday with divergent assessments of the case they had made for war in Iran, falling largely along party lines. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the meeting was “very unsatisfying” and that the administration had “different answers every day” about why Trump ordered strikes on Iran. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), “This is really a very simple matter. It’s about the building of ballistic missiles…This created an imminent and serious threat.” Robert Jimison and Megan Mineiro report for the New York Times.
Several lawmakers said they expect Trump to request emergency supplemental funding for the military campaign in Iran as senior administration officials described a potentially open-ended operation that could exceed the nearly $1 trillion already allocated to the military. Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus report for POLITICO.
Six House Democrats have introduced a new war powers resolution that would call for an end to military operations in Iran within 30 days unless Congress provides authorization for the use of military force or a declaration of war. In contrast, the resolution that is being forced for consideration tomorrow from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) would require the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iran. Meredith Lee reports for POLITICO.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing drones to be launched from Ethiopia into Sudan to carry out attacks in February and March, according to a statement released by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry on Monday. This is the first time Sudan has directly accused Ethiopia of involvement in its civil war. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
OpenAI is considering a contract to deploy its AI technology on NATO’s unclassified networks, an OpenAI spokesperson said yesterday. CEO Sam Altman had previously said that the company was looking to deploy on all NATO’s classified networks, but the spokesperson clarified that this was a mistake. Hyunsu Yim reports for Reuters.
26 Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) workers “remain unaccounted for” a month after attacks in Lankien and Pieri, South Sudan, MSF said in a statement on Monday. Joseph Falzetta reports for AP News.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The Trump administration is building a legal case against Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, including readying an indictment, according to four sources. Federal prosecutors have put together possible corruption and money laundering charges, and have communicated to Rodriguez that she is at risk of prosecution unless she continues to comply with Trump’s demands, the sources said. After Reuters published a summary of this report, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on social media, “completely FALSE from @reuters. Not sure how such fake news makes its way to publication.” Sarah Kinosian and Matt Spetalnick report.
The United States and Ecuador have launched joint military operations against “designated terrorist organizations” in Ecuador, the Pentagon announced yesterday. U.S. Special Forces soldiers are advising and supporting Ecuadorian commandos on raids across the country against suspected drug shipment facilities, according to a U.S. official. U.S. personnel are not believed to be participating in the actual raids. Eric Schmitt and Luis Ferré-Sadurní report for the New York Times.
Cuban prosecutors formally charged six people with “crimes of terrorism” and ordered them held in pretrial detention yesterday in connection with an incident last week in which Cuban forces killed four Cuban nationals aboard a speedboat that entered Cuban waters. Daniel Trotta reports for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration is directing all pregnant unaccompanied minors detained by immigration authorities to a single group shelter in South Texas, despite objections from health and child welfare officials who warn the facility and region lack adequate specialized care. Several officials within the Office of Refugee Resettlement say the move departs from longstanding federal practice and could endanger vulnerable girls, some as young as 13 and many pregnant due to rape, by relocating them to Texas in what they view as a possible effort to restrict access to abortion for ideological reasons. Mark Betancourt reports for NPR.
Mahmoud Khalil on Monday appealed an immigration judge’s deportation order to the Board of Immigration Appeals, arguing that the judge “committed clear factual and legal errors on numerous accounts.” Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Homeland Security Department has opened an internal investigation into a report that senior Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of a U.S. attorney in Minnesota, Daniel N. Rosen during the immigration crackdown in the state. Ernesto Londono and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick yesterday agreed to sit for an interview with the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Members of the committee had been weighing a move to force the panel’s chairman, Rep. James R. Comer R-KY), to issue a subpoena, sources said. However, Lutnick “proactively agreed to appear voluntarily,” Comer said. Michael Gold reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, five sources told Reuters. Mike Stone reports.
The Homeland Security Department has been “systemically obstructing” investigations by withholding records, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said in a letter to Congress released yesterday. Cuffari’s letter outlined at least 10 investigations in which his office has been denied access to records and information. Cuffari said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had recently asked him for a list of all pending OIG matters, including criminal matters, “so that she may consider whether any audits, inspections, or investigations should be terminated.” Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded a 2021 Justice Department policy that restricted when law enforcement agents executing a search could enter a home without knocking. A DOJ memo, signed by Blanche, says “no-knock” entries are now permissible for a broader set of searches, not just when law enforcement fears safety risks, but also when there is a risk that evidence could be destroyed. Carol Leonnig reports for MS Now.
The National Capital Planning Commission has received about 32,000 comments during its public comment period about Trump’s White House ballroom plans. According to an analysis by the New York Times, more than 98% of comments are negative. Luke Broadwater and Dylan Freedman report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Justice Department told a federal appeals court yesterday that the administration plans to continue defending Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms. DOJ lawyers did not explain the shift from Monday’s position. Daniel Barnes and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
Minnesota officials filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Trump administration over a decision to withhold $259 million in Medicaid funds from the state. Mitch Smith reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security
