Early Edition: April 13, 2026

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

IRAN WAR – ISLAMABAD NEGOTIATIONS

Vice President JD Vance led high-stakes U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad over the weekend but failed to secure any agreement after 16 hours of closed-door meetings, blaming Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning nuclear ambitions. Vance did not say whether this meant the United States and Israel would resume their attacks on Iran or escalate them. Details remain scarce and disputed. Some Iranian officials told media outlets that the United States had agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held in Qatar and foreign banks before the meetings began as a sign of good faith. The United States said those reports were false. A U.S. official said that despite Vance’s departure from Islamabad, the U.S. deal is still on the table, and it is up to the Iranians if they choose to take it. President Trump told reporters last night that the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is “holding well.” Tyler Pager reports for the New York Times; Dan Goldberg reports for POLITICO; Megan Messerly reports for POLITICO.

Iranian parliamentary speaker and top negotiator Mohammah Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement yesterday that Iran had approached the negotiations in Islamabad in good faith, but the U.S. team had failed to “gain the trust of the Iranian delegation.” Ghalibaf indicated that future talks were possible, adding that now is the time for Washington “to decide whether it can earn our trust or not.” His statement followed JD Vance’s comments before he departed Islamabad that the United States had put out its “final and best offer”, but Iran had “chosen not to accept our terms.” Anushka Patil reports for the New York Times.

IRAN WAR – STRAIT OF HORMUZ

U.S. Central Command announced on Saturday that two U.S. destroyers transited the strait as part of a mine-clearing mission. Several U.S. officials added that the U.S. military had destroyed an Iranian surveillance drone approaching one of the ships. Iran declared the move a ceasefire violation. Megan Messerly reports for POLITICO; Michael Crowley, Julian E. Barnes, Adam Rasgon, and Tyler Pager report for the New York Times.

President Trump yesterday announced that a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would begin from today and threatened to destroy “the little that is left of Iran,” following the talks in Islamabad. U.S. Central Command said the blockade would begin at 10 a.m. ET and would be “enforced impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned today that “no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe” if its own ports are threatened. Oil prices have again topped $100 a barrel, and stock markets fell as talks collapsed and the imminent blockade threatened to disrupt the global economy further. Megan Messerly reports for POLITICO; Billy Stockwell reports for CNN; Samy Magdy reports for AP News.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this morning that Britain will not be part of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, adding that Britain is “not getting dragged into war.” France and the U.K. plan to organize a conference in the coming days with countries willing to contribute to a “peaceful, multinational mission” aimed at restoring free transit through the strait, French President Emmanuel Macron said today. Reuters reports; James Regan reports for Bloomberg.

IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS 

An Israeli airstrike on a Lebanese government building killed 13 state security personnel last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday Reuters.

Israeli warplanes struck two Lebanese towns over the weekend, while a third came under artillery fire. Iranian state media said a fourth strike on a house in the town of Maaroub “targeted a family of more than seven members,” resulting in deaths and injuries. A strike also killed a Red Cross paramedic and injured an emergency worker. Lebanese health authorities say at least 2,055 people have been killed, with more than 6,500 wounded since the beginning of March. Xiaoqian Lin reports for CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered southern Lebanon yesterday to conduct a situational assessment in territory seized by Israel, according to an Israeli official. Tal Shalev and Oren Liebermann report for CNN.

Netanyahu on Friday asked to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial that was set to resume this week, citing the ongoing security situation in the region, according to a court filing. It said that a sealed envelope detailing the classified ‌reasons ⁠was delivered to the court, which will rule once the prosecution submits its response. Steven Scheer reports for Reuters.

IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. intelligence agencies have obtained information that China, in recent weeks, may have sent a shipment of shoulder-fired missiles to Iran, according to U.S. officials. The officials said the intelligence is not definitive that the shipment was sent, and there is no evidence that Chinese missiles have been used against Israel or the United States during the conflict. A spokesman for China’s embassy to the United States strongly denied that his government had shipped missiles to Iran. A CNN report on Saturday said that China was preparing to send a shipment of shoulder-fired missiles to Iran in the coming weeks. Two sources said there are indications that Beijing is working to route the shipments through third countries to mask their true origin. Mark Mazzetti, Erich Schmitt, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times; Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, and Zachary Cohen report.

A new visual analysis by the New York Times and munitions experts has uncovered additional evidence showing that the weapons that struck a sports hall, a school, and two residential areas in the Iranian city of Lamerd on Feb. 28 were U.S.-made Precision Strike Missiles. The strikes killed 21 people, according to Iranian officials. The Times was able to independently verify the identities of the victims. Christiaan Triebert, John Ismay, Alexander Cardia, Leanne Abraham, and Azmat Khan report.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28, three people told Reuters. The sources said Khamenei is recovering and remains mentally sharp. He is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is engaged in decision-making on major issues, two sources said. Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall report.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

Two Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza on Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring others, Gaza health ministry officials said. Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people in Gaza last week. Reuters reports.

Trump’s “Board of Peace” has received only a small fraction of the $17 billion pledged for Gaza, sources told Reuters. One of the sources said that out of ten countries that pledged funds, only three – the United Arab ​Emirates, Morocco, and the U.S. itself – had contributed funding. The source said funding so far was under $1 billion. The Iran war “has affected everything,” exacerbating previous funding difficulties, the source said. The board denied in a statement on Friday, after the Reuters story was published, that it had funding problems. Pesha Magid and Nidal al-Mughrabi report.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Russia and Ukraine yesterday accused each other of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire, reporting more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours after the truce began to mark Orthodox Easter. The General Staff of Ukraine’s military, in a late evening report issued as the end of the truce ​was approaching, said it had compiled a total of 7,696 Russian violations over the course of the ​truce. The Russian defence ministry said it recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight into Sunday. Reuters reports.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

“In the two areas ​worst hit by the conflict [in Sudan] – North Darfur and South Kordofan – millions of families can ​only access one meal a day,” according to a report published today by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council. “Often, they miss ​meals for entire days,” the report stated, adding that many people have resorted to eating leaves ​and animal feed to survive. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

Hungarian voters yesterday ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. Election winner Péter Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary’s relationships with the European Union and NATO. Justin Spike and Sam McNeil report AP News.

Nigerian military airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 50 people and injured many others in northeastern Nigeria, according to residents and local authorities. A Nigerian military spokesman said the strikes hit what he called a terrorist enclave and logistics hub near Jilli, in what he said was an abandoned village. The local authorities and human rights groups said the bombs struck a weekly market that attracts hundreds of people. They said the number of dead, mostly civilians, was much higher than reported. “I spoke to the hospital authorities, and they confirmed that at least 100 have been killed,” said Isa Sanusi, the executive director of Amnesty International in Nigeria. Saikou Jammeh and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.

Nearly 400 people have been sentenced in Nigeria for links with militant Islamic groups following mass trials last week. Farouk Chothia reports for BBC News.

A Paris court ruled today that cement conglomerate Lafarge was guilty of paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in Syria in 2013 and 2014. “This method of financing terrorist organizations, and primarily IS, was essential in enabling the terrorist organization to gain control of Syria’s natural resources, allowing it to finance terrorist acts within the region and those planned abroad, particularly in Europe,” the judge said. Le Monde reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV on social media this morning, calling him “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician,” Trump added. Pope Leo responded by telling reporters this morning that he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to speak out. Ali Walker reports for POLITICO.

The United Kingdom said on Saturday that it was suspending its plan to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as it could not proceed without Washington’s support. Stephen Castle reports for the New York Times.

U.S CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

U.S. military strikes killed five people on boats alleged to be trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, U.S Southern Command said yesterday, with one person surviving the strikes. CBS News reports.

[Editor’s note: See Timeline on Just Security for more information about the total number of strikes and casualties to date.]

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The Trump administration fired several immigration judges on Friday, including two who had blocked deportations of pro-Palestinian international students. Hamed Aleaziz, Nicholas Nehamas, and Steven Rich report for the New York Times.

A Venezuelan doctor, Rubeliz Bolivar, was detained by immigration agents in South Texas on Saturday after checking into a flight to California. She had planned to join her husband for their asylum interview scheduled for this week. Another Venezuelan physician was detained last week by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in South Texas while driving to Houston. Miriam Jordan reports for the New York Times.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

A 20-year-old man was arrested on Friday after throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home, according to the company and the police. The suspect had fled on foot but was found an hour later at the OpenAI headquarters, where he was threatening to burn down the building, the San Francisco Police Department said. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Kalley Huang, and Heather Knight report for the New York Times.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) yesterday announced that he was suspending his campaign for California governor amid sexual assault and misconduct allegations. Jeremy B. White reports for POLITICO.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has referred allegations of Swalwell illegally employing a Brazilian nanny several years ago to law enforcement officials at the Department of Homeland Security for investigation, a DHS spokesperson told POLITICO. Daniel Lippman reports.

First lady Melania Trump’s public remarks last week distancing herself from Jeffrey Epstein were driven by her monthslong fixation on press coverage and internet speculation about her ties to him, two sources told CNN. A senior White House official said that Trump had informed West Wing officials that Melania planned to make a statement, but gave no indication what it was about. On Friday, Trump said that Melania had a “right to talk about it” even if he personally questioned whether he would have gone about it a different way. Adam Cancryn and Kristen Holmes report.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

The Trump administration has terminated all six board members of the federal agency that oversees the Presidio, a San Francisco park at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. All of the board members, appointed by former President Joe Biden, were fired last Wednesday, and new members have not been installed, a Presidio Trust spokesperson said on Saturday. New York Times.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell summoned bank executives for a meeting this week where they encouraged the executives to use Anthropic’s new Mythos model to detect vulnerabilities, according to Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase was the only bank listed as one of the initial partner organizations with access to the model, but sources said that Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley are testing Mythos as well. Anthony Ha reports for TechCrunch.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that the U.S. military can use high-energy lasers to shoot down suspected drones in U.S. airspace. This ends a two-month standoff over whether the weapons endangered the airspace. Karoun Demirjian reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal appeals court ruled in a 2-1 decision on Saturday that construction on Trump’s new White House ballroom can continue until at least April 17, temporarily staying a lower court injunction. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge on Friday declined to block the Trump administration from rushing deportations of Somali migrants, despite finding the administration had most likely singled out the community for quicker removal hearings. The judge said it was not clear whether the organizations that sued could prevail in the case because they had not been directly affected by the new policy. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.