Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR – CEASEFIRE
Two Chinese tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz today carrying 4 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, according to shipping data. Florence Tan and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
President Trump convened a meeting on Iran with his top national security team on Monday evening that included a briefing on military options, two U.S. officials said. The officials added that Trump had not actually decided to strike Iran before announcing a pause earlier on Monday. On Tuesday, Trump said he had been “an hour away” from giving the order. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS
Israeli airstrikes yesterday killed at least 19 people in southern Lebanon, including four women and three children, the Lebanese health ministry said. AP News reports.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The Senate voted 50–47 yesterday to move forward with a resolution aimed at limiting Trump’s war powers in Iran. Four Republicans joined most Democrats in supporting the measure, while three Republicans did not vote. The vote marked only a first step in the Senate. Even if both chambers approved the resolution, the president would be expected to veto it. Kaia Hubbard reports for CBS News.
U.S. and Israeli officials allegedly backed a failed plan to install former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s new leader after early strikes in the war killed top regime figures, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to U.S. officials. Ahmadinejad was known for his hard-line anti-American and anti-Israeli position as president, as well as his strong backing of Iran’s nuclear program. Mark Mazzetti, Julian E. Barnes, Farnaz Fassihi, and Ronen Bergman report for the New York Times.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scrutinizing a surge in oil futures trading that occurred moments before Trump postponed strikes on Tehran‘s energy infrastructure in March. The CFTC is interested in at least three firms as part of its inquiry, according to documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal and a source. David Uberti, Joe Palazzolo, and Dylan Tokar report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Trump’s “Board of Peace” said in a report to the U.N. Security Council last week that the gap between funding pledges and disbursement for the Gaza reconstruction plan must be closed urgently. The report did not say how much money it had received or how big the gap was, though it said the amount pledged remained at $17 billion. The board also called on the Security Council to reiterate publicly that Hamas must disarm for critical reconstruction to begin. Hamas rejected the report in a statement, saying it ignored Israel’s failure to uphold the majority of its commitments in the ceasefire deal. The Security Council is expected to discuss the report on Thursday. Emma Farge and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters; Jamey Keaten and Elena Becatoros report for AP News.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich yesterday said that he had ordered the eviction of Palestinian residents from a West Bank hamlet after learning that the International Criminal Court prosecutor had requested a warrant for his arrest. “In the face of a declaration of war, we will respond forcefully,” Smotrich said in a statement. The ICC has not announced any such move against Smotrich. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
EU foreign ministers are set to discuss next week whether European Central Bank President Mario Draghi or ex-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel could represent the bloc in potential negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, sources said. Three sources added that the Trump administration recently informed EU counterparts that it is not opposed to Europe talking to Putin in parallel to U.S.-led peace talks. Henry Foy, Max Seddon, Christopher Miller, and Richard Milne report for the Financial Times.
China’s armed forces secretly trained about 200 Russian military personnel in China late last year, and some have since returned to fight in Ukraine, according to three European intelligence agencies and documents seen by Reuters. The training sessions, which largely focused on the use of drones, were outlined in an agreement signed by Russian and Chinese officers in Beijing on July 2, 2025. Reuters reports.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
A drone strike on a market in central Sudan yesterday killed 28 people and wounded dozens more, the Emergency Lawyers rights group said on social media. The group blamed Sudan’s army for the strike. In response, the Sudanese army told AP News that it does not target civilian infrastructure. Another military source denied the group’s claim, stating that an army drone struck two Rapid Support Force paramilitary vehicles near the market while they were refueling. Fatma Khaled reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The World Health Organization yesterday warned that the number of people infected by the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could be much higher than reported, and the outbreak could last for months. The International Rescue Committee said that funding cuts have left the region dangerously exposed and were “contributing to the rapid escalation” of the epidemic. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said it was a false claim that U.S.A.I.D reform “negatively impacted our ability to respond to Ebola.” The department also said yesterday it will fund the establishment of up to 50 treatment clinics in the Congo and Uganda. Lynsey Chutel, Yan Zhuang, and Ephrat Livni report for the New York Times; Carmen Paun reports for POLITICO.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping said today in a joint statement that they made progress in their strategic ties, as they met in Beijing for the 25th time. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there is a general understanding with China on the Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline, but details still need to be agreed and there are no clear timings. Christina Anagnostopoulos and Estelle Shirbon report for Reuters.
The Philippine Supreme Court today rejected a bid by Senator Ronald dela Rosa for a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court. Nestor Corrales and Mikhail Flores report for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Andrej Kaparthy, a founding member of OpenAI, announced yesterday that he is joining Anthropic. Karpathy will help launch a new team focused on using Claude itself to accelerate pretraining research. Madison Mills reports for Axios.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump will attend the G7 leaders’ meeting in France in June to discuss AI, trade, and crime-fighting, a White House official told Axios, adding that the meeting will not produce signed deals but seeks to build consensus around issues. Marc Caputo reports.
Britain’s second-most senior diplomat in Washington, James Roscoe, has been removed from his post. Embassy staff were informed of the decision yesterday, but no explanation was given. Sources said Roscoe is being questioned as part of an investigation into the leak of top-secret discussions from a National Security Council meeting. Max Kendix and Katy Balls report for the Times.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed today that Beijing had agreed to buy 200 Boeing planes. “Aviation is a key area for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the United States,” the ministry said in a statement. Catie Edmondson reports for the New York Times.
The Pentagon announced yesterday that it was pausing the deployment of any additional troops to Poland, while calling it “a model U.S. ally.” The Pentagon’s statement said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had spoken to Polish Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz earlier in the day to assure him that the U.S. would retain a “strong military presence in Poland.” Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that troop deployment to Poland had been delayed, but that it was not accurate to say the troops were being withdrawn from Europe. Tara Copp reports for the Washington Post; Anna Cooper reports for Reuters.
The Trump administration is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will reduce the pool of military assets available to NATO during a crisis or war, three sources said. Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay, and Andrew Gray report for Reuters.
A State Department letter dated May 18 to Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) said the proposed U.S. pact with Saudi Arabia on its development of nuclear power lacks the strictest guardrails that Democratic lawmakers had pushed for. The letter states that the pact only requires Washington and Riyadh to forge a “bilateral safeguards agreement” rather than “gold standard” non-proliferation protections. Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The United States is pursuing a second criminal investigation into former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to a Justice Department official. The probe has examined potential money laundering allegations. It remains unclear if it will lead to additional charges. Andrew Goudsward and Jana Winter report for Reuters.
The Trump administration is expected to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raúl Castro today. The charges against Castro, 94, are expected to be based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles, a U.S. Justice Department official told Reuters last week. Luc Cohen reports for Reuters.
U.S.-NIGERIA ISIS OPERATION
Nigerian forces, working with the United States, have killed 175 Islamic State militants in a series of joint air and ground strikes in northeastern Nigeria in recent days, the Defence Headquarters said yesterday. Camillus Eboh reports for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Federal agents yesterday detained a 21-year-old Honduran man at an immigration court in New York City, despite a judge’s order issued the day before restricting such arrests. Vinyl Alexander Castillo-Norales’s lawyer accused ICE of violating the ruling. “ICE did NOT violate any court orders,” a Department of Homeland Security statement said. “Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them, especially illegal alien gang members.” Jonah E. Bromwich and Benjamin Weiser report for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Republicans backed by Trump won or led in the primaries yesterday in Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky. In Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie (R) lost his primary against Ed Gallrein after the most expensive House primary in history, which drew $32 million in ad spending. Reid J. Epstein reports for the New York Times; Kate Santaliz reports for Axios.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday that the Justice Department would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. The decision to pardon Maxwell is ultimately up to Trump, who has not ruled out such an action. Hailey Fuchs and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Justice Department has granted Trump, his family, and his businesses immunity from ongoing inquiries into their taxes. The provision was inserted yesterday into a deal that created a $1.8 billion compensation fund aimed at benefiting Trump’s allies. The one-page document, signed by Blanche, said that the government would be “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing” pending tax claims. Alan Feuer, Andrew Duehren, and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, a top Trump administration intelligence official and ally of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, is stepping down this week from two posts, according to five sources. One source said Kennedy’s departure involved, at least in part, her disagreement with Trump’s military involvement in Iran. Warren P. Strobel, David Kenner, and Ellen Nakashima report for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
25 states and the District of Columbia yesterday filed a lawsuit against Education Secretary Linda McMahon, saying she exceeded her authority and overstepped guardrails set by Congress by refusing to classify nursing as a professional degree. Michael C. Bender reports for the New York Times.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission yesterday filed a lawsuit against Minnesota, arguing that the state does not have the authority to put guardrails around prediction markets. Pooja Salhotra reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
If you enjoy listening, Just Security’s analytic articles are also available in audio form on the justsecurity.org website.
ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security
