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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 – CEASEFIRE
“We ended the war in Iran today,” President Trump said yesterday at a telerally for the Georgia governor’s race. A few hours earlier, Trump said in the Oval Office that a deal with Iran could be signed “maybe over the weekend, in Europe,” and that if so, Vice President JD Vance would take part. Trump claimed that Iran’s supreme leader had approved the deal, which he said would result in the immediate resumption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times; Max Bearak, Jonathan Swan, Pranav Baskar, and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said yesterday that Iran had not reached a final decision on an agreement, according to Iranian state media. Three sources told Axios that Qatari mediators and Iranians officials believed they had reached an agreed-upon text that the United States would accept following talks on Wednesday. According to the sources, Iranian officials told several countries yesterday that the Tehran talks produced an agreement in principle, but Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei still needed to give final approval. Humeyra Pamuk and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Trump’s announcements came after he called off planned military strikes in Iran, citing progress in talks. Trump had said on Thursday morning that the United States would “be hitting Iran VERY HARD TONIGHT” and suggested in an interview that he might deploy the U.S. military to take Kharg Island. According to two administration officials, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Pakistani defense chief Asim Munir called Trump a few hours later and persuaded him that a deal with Iran was near. One official said these calls led to Trump walking back his latest attack plans. Dasha Burns and Felicia Schwartz report for POLITICO; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Trump’s reversal yesterday again jolted markets. Oil futures dropped 3 to 4 percent after his social media post calling off the planned strikes. Later in the afternoon, prices rose, then fell again after Trump said the countries were on the verge of signing an agreement. Victoria Crew, Siham Shamalakh, and Dan Diamond report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli air strikes yesterday killed three people in Gaza, health officials said. The violence came as mediators, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, held week-long talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions on implementing the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, which would involve Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces. A senior Hamas official, Hussam Badran, said the talks had achieved “real progress” and called on mediators to compel Israel to stop truce violations. Badran did not elaborate on the nature of the progress. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ahmed Shalaby report for Reuters.
Israeli prosecutors yesterday indicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media adviser, Jonatan Urich, accusing him of leaking a classified military document about Hamas hostage negotiations to a German newspaper in 2024, allegedly to influence public opinion in Netanyahu’s favour. Urich is the second of Netanyahu’s close aides to be indicted over the document. Natan Odenheimer reports for the New York Times.
Slovenia’s new conservative government yesterday abolished an entry ban on Netanyahu and two of his ministers. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa also lifted a ban on imports from Jewish settlements and ended an embargo on the export and transit of military weapons and equipment to and from Israel. AP News reports.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Israel’s government is expected to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming days to rapidly expand Jewish settlement at about 60 sites across the occupied West Bank, according to a draft of the proposal reviewed by the New York Times and an official. If the plan goes forward as expected, the government will declare the new settlement points “temporary sites” and will fund the placement of 15 mobile homes and two additional community structures on each, the proposal draft set out. The intention is to create new realities on the ground and make physical changes to the territory that will be difficult to reverse if the country’s current leaders are not re-elected. Isabel Kershner reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine will seek an additional $20 billion in military funding from its allies at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting next Thursday to cement what it sees as its current battlefield advantage over Russia, a Ukrainian defense source said. “We have a six- to nine-month window of opportunity on the battlefield that requires an urgent acceleration of funding,” the source said. Reuters reports.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary carried out drone strikes late on Wednesday in central Sudan, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, health officials at el-Obeid Hospital said yesterday. Emergency Lawyers, a local aid monitoring group, said Thursday the toll is likely to increase as drones were still flying over el-Obeid. Fatma Khaled and Yassir Abdalla report for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
NATO will gradually adjust the strength of its peace support mission in Kosovo over the next year due to the steady security situation in the country, it said today, adding that the changes will occur gradually and in line with conditions on the ground, and could be reversed if needed. Reuters reports.
262 Nigerians returned to Lagos from South Africa yesterday under a government-organized repatriation following violent anti-immigration protests, according to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry earlier said over 1,000 Nigerians have registered for voluntary return. Ope Adetayo reports for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States plans to significantly reduce the aircraft and warships that it makes available for NATO operations in Europe, according to two senior European officials. It was communicated to allies in early June in a written document, parts of which were reviewed by the New York Times. The Pentagon declined to comment on the specific numbers in the document and referred to a statement by its European Command last week that spoke in general terms of its intention to reduce its commitments in Europe. Christopher F. Schuetze and Eric Schmitt report.
U Min Zin, a U.S. citizen and student at the University of California, Berkeley who studies politics in Myanmar, was arrested by Chinese authorities earlier this month and accused of spying and threatening China’s national security, according to sources. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
Italian prosecutors are investigating allegations that foreign workers, mainly from India and Kenya, were exploited while building a new U.S. consulate in Milan, with some reportedly earning less than $2 an hour despite being promised much higher wages. The contractor, Caddell Construction, and the State Department say they are cooperating with the investigation. Colleen Barry and Niccolo Lupone report for AP News.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The State Department on Thursday announced that it will sanction Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET). Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the latest sanctions are pursuant to Trump’s May 1 executive order expanding sanctions on Cuba. Assets from CUPET were “unlawfully expropriated from American owners years ago,” Rubio added. Ryan Mancini reports for The Hill.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
A federal judge yesterday chided the Trump administration for failing to immediately comply with his decision last week ordering the government to lift a blanket pause on asylum decisions. “It should almost go without saying – but the Court will say it anyway … court orders vacating and setting aside agency policies have immediate effect once they are issued,” the judge wrote. “There is no excuse this time.” He ordered the administration to file a status report within 24 hours, informing him of the steps it has taken to comply with his order. David Nakamura reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
FBI agents yesterday raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a pro-democracy organization that helps voters register in the state, three sources said. Agents also fanned out across the state, showing up at the homes of the group’s leaders and staff members, carrying some subpoenas and seeking information and electronic devices, the sources said. The investigation’s specific purpose remains unclear at the time of writing. Carol Leonnig, Will McDuffie, Alex Tabet, and Laura Barron-Lopez report for MS Now.
The Pentagon resumed “normal operations” yesterday after part of the Pentagon went into lockdown in response to what spokesperson Sean Parnell called an “air quality issue” that necessitated “precautionary measures.” Subsequent testing found no issues. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Daniel Lippman report for POLITICO.
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted this week to formally change the Pentagon’s name to the Department of War. Connor O’Brien and Leo Shane III report for POLITICO.
The House of Representatives yesterday voted 218-198 to reject a measure to temporarily renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Robert Jimison and Dustin Volz report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump said yesterday that he would nominate the U.S. attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, to be the next director of national intelligence, following pushback from lawmakers over his choice of Bill Pulte for interim director. Trump, in a social media post, encouraged the Senate to confirm Clayton “as soon as possible.” Clayton was recommended for the post by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, according to a source. Julian E. Barnes, Jonah E. Bromwich, Devlin Barrett, and Benjamin Weiser report for the New York Times.
Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard yesterday revoked two Biden-era intelligence reports on the illness known as Havana Syndrome, saying they did not meet analytic standards, according to a memo. The reports, which concluded that involvement by foreign adversaries was unlikely, included selective exclusion of intelligence and evidence, the memo said. Yoko Kubota reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Trump and his allies have discussed pushing lawmakers to pass a resolution aimed at voiding his first-term impeachments, according to sources. “It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said when asked about the resolution in a phone call this week with the Wall Street Journal. “It was a rigged deal—it was a whole rigged situation.” Annie Linskey, Olivia Beavers, and Natalie Andrews report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Kennedy Center board is seeking a stay of a federal judge’s order requiring Trump’s name to be removed from the building’s facade by today. Steven Sloan reports for AP News.
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
