Early Edition: April 6, 2026

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN WAR 

Saturday 

Israel attacked Iran’s largest petrochemical complex on Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring 170 others, according to Iranian state media. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli military had struck the factories, saying the targeted sites were part of a “money machine” for the Iranian government. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.

A provider of satellite imagery, Planet Labs, said it would further withhold distribution of photos from the Iran conflict zone at the request of the U.S. government, a Planet spokesperson said on Saturday. Planet had already slowed down how quickly it released imagery from the region, citing concerns that the data could be used by U.S. adversaries. Micah Maidenberg reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Chinese private firms, some linked to the military, are using AI and open-source data to track and market detailed intelligence on U.S. military movements during the Iran conflict. “In the lead-up to the escalation of tensions in Iran in 2026, we quickly identified the locations of weapons and equipment deployed in the Middle East,” and “exposed” the refueling pattern of U.S. carrier groups, a Hangzhou-based firm called MizarVision said on its website. Cade Cadell and Lyric Li report for the Washington Post.

Sunday 

The U.S. military yesterday rescued an injured U.S. airman who had been stranded in Iran after his fighter jet was shot down on Friday. The downed Air Force F-15E fighter jet had two crew members, one of whom was quickly rescued. President Trump announced yesterday on social media that U.S. Special Forces, aided by a C.I.A. deception campaign, had successfully extracted the second airman from deep inside Iran. John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO; Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, Greg Jaffe, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said yesterday that one of its ambulances was hit in an airstrike during an emergency mission in Fars province. The organization added that 46 of its ambulances have been damaged during the war and four of its aid workers have been killed. Eve Sampson reports for the New York Times.

Iranian drone strikes in Kuwait yesterday damaged two power and water desalination plants and started a fire at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s oil complex, Kuwaiti officials said. The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company in Bahrain said a drone attack started fires at its facilities, and the UAE reported fires at an Abu Dhabi petrochemical plant. Eve Sampson reports for the New York Times.

Monday 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that Israel killed Major General Seyed Majid Khademi, the head of intelligence for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in an overnight strike. Emanuel Fabian reports for the Times of Israel.

“The President of the United States, as the highest official in the country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said today, warning Trump not to follow through on his threats to attack Iranian civil infrastructure. Gharibabadi’s comments followed a series of social media posts by Trump over the weekend, including, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it ! ! ! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH. Praise be to Allah.” Edward Wong reports for the New York Times; Erika Solomon reports for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

The United States, Iran, and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire, four U.S., Israeli, and regional sources said yesterday. The sources added that the chances of reaching a partial deal by Trump’s latest deadline of Tuesday at 8 pm ET are slim. Trump told Axios yesterday that the United States is in “deep negotiations” and that a deal could be reached in time. Barak Ravid reports.

A source told Reuters today that a Pakistani-brokered plan which emerged overnight proposes an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations on a broader settlement to be concluded within 15-20 days. Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact “all night long” with Vice President JD Vance, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the source said. A senior Iranian official said Iran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of a temporary ceasefire. Reuters reports.

LEBANON 

An Israeli airstrike yesterday in Kfarhata, a village in southern Lebanon, killed seven people, including a 4-year-old child, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Another Israeli attack in Beirut killed four people and injured 39 others. Nazih Osseiran reports for Reuters.

ISRAEL-GAZA WAR 

An Israeli airstrike yesterday killed four Palestinians in northern Gaza, local health authorities said. The Israeli military said it had struck and killed members of a Palestinian militant cell who were operating near the troops, posing an immediate threat to them. Reuters reports.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary killed at least 10 people last Thursday in a drone attack that hit a hospital, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) said. Fatma Khaled reports for AP News.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS  

A criminal case against Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing was filed in Indonesia today by a group of civil society organizations, accusing the leader of acts of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group. The claimants said Indonesia’s penal code allowed for “universal jurisdiction” for certain serious crimes. Reuters reports.

South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-Seok said today in a closed-door briefing at the National Assembly that the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could now be considered as his successor. Hyung-Jin Kim reports for AP News.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

ICE agents detained the niece and grand-niece of the late Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their lawful permanent residence status, the State Department said on Saturday. Soleimani was killed in a January 2020 U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. Iranian state media yesterday reported that the Iranian national recently arrested in the United States had no family ties to Soleimani. The State Department also said that Rubio terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, and her husband. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.

The State Department quietly expelled Iran’s deputy ambassador to the U.N. last December, citing national security concerns, according to a U.S. official and another source. This was one of three expulsions of Iranian diplomats in New York over the last six months. A State Department official said the action occurred before the protests in Iran and was unrelated to those events. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

A Trump administration policy freezing visa extensions and work permits for people from 39 countries has forced many foreign doctors to stop working in U.S. hospitals, worsening an existing physician shortage, according to a New York Times review. Miriam Jordan reports.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive third-country nationals deported from the United States under a new deal with the Trump administration, the DRC said yesterday. The statement said the DRC will receive deportees starting in April, but did not say how many it had agreed to take. Reuters reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington quietly removed from its website educational resources about racism and canceled a workshop about the “fragility of democracy,” according to sources. Two former museum employees who left amid the changes told POLITICO they believed the museum was altering its content preemptively, so as not to draw unwanted negative attention from the Trump administration as it cracks down on “corrosive ideology.” Irie Sentner reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released on Friday. This would amount to a roughly 40 percent increase from what the United States spent on the Pentagon this fiscal year. Trump is also seeking $152 million to return the former Alcatraz prison island to active duty. Regarding cuts, the budget proposes that “savings are achieved by reducing or eliminating woke, weaponized, and wasteful programs,” a White House fact sheet says. Tony Romm reports for the New York Times; Nate Raymond reports for Reuters; Herb Scribner reports for Axios.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s admissions data collection for public universities in 17 states. The judge said the government has the authority to collect such data, but ruled that the current approach was flawed and impractical, especially given staffing cuts at the Education Department and uncertainty around who would manage the data. Bianca Quilantan reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration’s motion to reconsider his decision to block subpoenas to the Federal Reserve. Victoria Guida and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.

The Trump administration on Friday appealed a federal judge’s order to halt the construction of Trump’s White House ballroom, arguing in an emergency motion that pausing the project would raise national security risks. Dan Diamond and Jonathan Edwards report for the Washington Post.