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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
Friday
President Trump said on Friday that the United States had no shortage of munitions to carry on the war in Iran. After his meeting at the White House with executives from seven major defense contractors, Trump said the companies had agreed to quadruple their production of “‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry.” Anton Troianovski, Farah Stockman, and Catie Edmondson report for the New York Times.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement on Friday night that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has determined that “an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale” to Israel of 12,000 bombs. Two U.S. officials said that an additional 10,000 bombs of 500 pounds each were also part of the emergency sale. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
Saturday
U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Iran or potentially another group could retrieve Iran’s primary store of highly enriched uranium, which was entombed under Iran’s nuclear site in Isfahan by U.S. strikes last year, several sources said. Officials said that Iran can now access the uranium through a very narrow entry point. U.S. officials said that the United States has constant surveillance of the Isfahan site. When asked on Saturday, Trump told reporters that for now the United States is “just decimating them, but we haven’t gone after [the Uranium], adding “but [that’s] something we could do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.” Four sources told Axios that Israel and the United States have discussed sending forces into Iran to secure its uranium stockpile at a later stage of the war. Any such operation would likely require U.S. and Israeli troops in Iran. Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager, Christiaan Triebert, Eric Schmitt, and Ronen Bergman report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.
The Israeli military struck several Iranian fuel sites on Saturday, sending balls of fire and smoke into the air, according to videos reviewed by the New York Times. By Sunday morning, dark, oily smoke hung over Tehran. “The night turned into morning and the morning into night”, a resident said. The attacks appeared to be the first on Iran’s energy infrastructure since the U.S.-Israeli joint operation began on Feb. 28. Iran’s Ministry of Oil said in a statement that multiple oil storage depots in the provinces of Tehran and Alborz had been targeted. Farnaz Fassihi and Devon Lum report.
A report by the National Intelligence Council, dated before Feb. 28, assessed that even a large-scale military assault on Iran would be unlikely to topple its theocratic government, according to several U.S. officials. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
An official with the Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party told Axios this weekend that so far, the Peshmerga, the Kurdish-Iraqi armed forces, were able to stop Kurdish-Iranian militias from launching an offensive from Iraq into Iran. Iraqi Kurdish leaders have decided to stay neutral in the war for now, partially out of concern that the United States might abandon them, the official said. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Saturday, urging them not to join the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. Pezeshkian also dismissed Trump’s earlier demand for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as “a dream,” but said its temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from that territory. Hours after Pezeshkian’s comments, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said their drones had struck a U.S. air combat centre near Abu Dhabi. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was also targeted with rockets on Saturday night. Maya Gebeily, Alexander Cornwell, Nandita Bose, and Paris Hafezi report for Reuters.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday accused the United States of attacking a desalination plan on Qeshm Island, affecting the water supply of 30 Iranian villages. “The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran,” Araghchi said on social media. A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command said that U.S. forces were not responsible for the attack. A day later, Bahrain’s interior ministry said that an Iranian drone had “caused material damage” to a desalination plant there. Vivian Nereim reports for the New York Times.
Sunday
Israeli strikes on 30 Iranian fuel depots on Saturday went far beyond what the United States expected when Israel notified it in advance, according to a U.S. official, an Israeli official, and another source. “The president doesn’t like the attack. He wants to save the oil. He doesn’t want to burn it. And it reminds people of higher gas prices,” a Trump adviser told Axios. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.
A video released by Iranian state media yesterday showed what appears to be a U.S. cruise missile striking the compound where around 175 Iranian students and staff were killed at a girls’ school on Feb. 28. Analysts say the missile resembles a U.S. Tomahawk. Trump told reporters the previous day that, based on what he had seen, “I think it was done by Iran.” Geoff Brumfiel reports for NPR.
Monday
Iran today named Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, as his successor, according to Iranian State TV. CNN reports.
Oil prices have risen above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022. The price surge intensified this morning, with a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, trading at $119.50 per barrel before retreating to $105 a few hours later. Ben Geman reports for Axios; Alex Veiga and Elaine Kurtenback report for AP News.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters today that the G7 could dip into their emergency oil stockpiles in response to soaring energy prices, adding that G7 leaders may meet later this week. Separately, finance ministers from the G7 nations are meeting this afternoon to discuss the joint release of oil from emergency reserves to tackle the surge in oil prices, several sources told the Financial Times. John Leicester reports for AP News; Demetri Sevastopulo, Myles McCormick, and James Politi report.
IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE
Swiss Defense Minister Martin Pfister said yesterday that the United States and Israel have broken international law with their attacks on Iran. Reuters reports.
Ukraine has sent interceptor drones and a team of drone experts to protect U.S. military bases in Jordan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. He said another team of Ukrainian experts would travel to the Middle East to help nations evaluate how they could protect themselves from Iranian drones without using Patriot interceptors. Kim Barker reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR
An Israeli airstrike and tank shelling killed six Palestinians, including two girls, in Gaza City yesterday in two separate attacks, according to health officials. The Gaza health ministry said at least 640 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since October. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
The Israeli military said yesterday that a “firing component” launched by its navy unintentionally struck a fuel truck belonging to the U.N Office for Project Services in Gaza. Reuters reports.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Israeli settlers yesterday killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire, and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the Israeli military said. This brings the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank in the last week to six. Imad Isseid and Melanie Lidman report for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Partial results from the Nepalese election released yesterday gave the party of Balendra Shah, the onetime rap artist and former mayor of Kathmandu, 100 out of 165 seats. This marks the first time in decades that a single party has won a majority. Hannah Beech, Sajal Pradhan, and Binod Ghimire report for the New York Times.
Turkey’s intelligence agency asked its British counterpart M16 last month to take a larger role in protecting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa after recent assassination plots, five sources said. Turkey denied that its intelligence agency had made any such request to M16. Jonathan Spicer, Feras Dalatey, and Jonathan Saul report for Reuters.
Thousands of civilians have fled Akobo, a town in eastern South Sudan, following an evacuation order issued by the South Sudanese army ahead of a new military operation, officials said yesterday. Akobo is one of the last strongholds of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition. “The town is now almost empty,” a local official said, adding, “Women, children, and the elderly have left and crossed into Ethiopia.” Florence Miettaux and Deng Machol report for AP News.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney in South Florida, has ordered an inquiry into Cuban leaders and Communist Party officials for drug, immigration, economic, and violent crimes with a goal of bringing fast indictments, three sources said. Glenn Thrush, Alan Feuer, Luke Broadwater, and Michael Crowley report for the New York Times.
Trump on Saturday signed a proclamation committing to countering cartel criminal activity by using “lethal military force” at the Shield of the Americas inaugural summit. The event also marked the debut of Kristi Noem in her new role as special envoy to the Shield of the Americas. Seventeen countries signed onto the effort through a joint security declaration during a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week, according to the U.S. Southern Command. Megan Messerly reports for POLITICO; Ken Thomas and Vera Bergengruen report for the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. military killed six men yesterday in a strike against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Southern Command said on social media. AP News reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Federal judges across multiple states have ordered the Trump administration to provide bond hearings for immigrants detained by ICE, but many judges say the hearings conducted by immigration judges appear flawed or predetermined, according to a review of cases by POLITICO. Kyle Cheney reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Florida Bar on Friday retreated from an earlier assertion that it was investigating Lindsey Halligan, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, for her role in pursuing charges against Trump’s political foes. A spokesperson for the Bar said that the letter dated Feb. 4 had “erroneously” stated “that there is a pending bar investigation” of Halligan. Jonah E. Bromwich and Devlin Barrett report for the New York Times.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are backing Powerus, a new drone company merging with Aureus Greenway Holdings. Powerus said it is working toward building more than 10,000 drones each month to meet Pentagon demand. Heather Somerville reports for the Wall Street Journal.
A senior member of OpenAI’s robotic team resigned over the weekend, citing concerns about how OpenAI moved forward with its new partnership with the Pentagon. “AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got.” Willem Marx reports for NPR.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The White House on Friday released its National Cyber Strategy, calling for more aggressive use of U.S. cyber capabilities, including offensive operations. Dana Nickel, Maggie Miller, and John Sakellariadis report for POLITICO
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge on Saturday ruled that Senior Advisor for the U.S. Agency for Global Media Kari Lake did not have legal authority to largely dismantle the Voice of America by laying off most of its employees. The judge said that while Lake was chosen by Trump, she never received Senate confirmation for her role. David Bauder reports for AP News.
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court’s ruling that the Trump administration had unlawfully terminated Temporary Protected Status for Haiti. Haitians covered by TPS will be protected from deportation as the lawsuit proceeds in federal court. Miriam Jordan reports for the New York Times.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) asked a federal court on Friday to block Trump’s plan to close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years for reconstruction. Beatty amended her lawsuit, saying “President Trump’s own words indicate that he is planning to demolish the existing Kennedy Center building” without authorization from Congress. Luke Broadwater reports for the New York Times.
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