Early Edition: July 29, 2026

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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

Iran yesterday launched a surprise ballistic-missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan, a U.S. official said, adding that the missiles were successfully intercepted. The assault marked a shift for Iran, which until now had generally fired on U.S. forces in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes on its own territory. Shortly after the Iranian strikes, U.S. Central Command said that U.S. and Saudi fighter jets had launched strikes in Iraq against “Iran-aligned terrorists” in response to more than 30 drone attacks directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over the last 72 hours. CENTCOM said the drone attacks on U.S. forces were unsuccessful. Michael Amon, Lara Seligman, and Shelby Holliday report for the Wall Street Journal; Emilio Perez Ibarguen reports for POLITICO; Iran lauBarak Ravid reports for Axios.  

U.S. and Saudi airstrikes killed at least 20 fighters of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iraqi militias mostly backed by Iran, the group said in a statement today. More than 30 fighters were wounded, and military vehicles and equipment were destroyed in the strikes, it added. Raja Adbulrahim reports for the New York Times.  

The IRGC said in a statement today that its forces had struck three tankers that ignored its warnings and proceeded on an “illegal” route. It did not clarify where the ships were hit. Qasim Nauman reports for the New York Times.  

Hundreds of Jordanian political, legal, and other figures signed an open letter last week calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Jordan. “We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political, and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the letter said. According to Danoud Kuttan, a Palestinian-American journalist, no Jordanian media outlet has published the letter, reflecting government directives not to disseminate it as well as self-censorship. Raja Abdulrahim reports for the New York Times.  

Iran is expected to receive a first shipment of Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers in the coming weeks, three sources told Reuters. The overall contract covers the purchase of between 300 and 400 man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), including Chinese-made QW-12 and FN-16 missiles, the sources said. The deal was signed with Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment, a Hong Kong-based company that the sources said was acting as an intermediary between the Iranian ​side and the Chinese supplier. John Irish and Jonathan Saul report.

IRAN WAR – STRAIT OF HORMUZ 

Iran yesterday rejected an Omani proposal to evenly divide control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said. “The inbound shipping lane must be entirely under Iran’s control, while part of the outbound lane may remain under Oman’s control,” Gharibabadi said. “If they accept this proposal, we will move on to the next stage.” Benoit Faucon and Summer Said report for the Wall Street Journal.  

In recent days, the Trump administration has been urging the United Kingdom and France to help lead a multinational naval mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, four British officials and one U.S. official told POLITICO. The sources added that European allies are reluctant to commit until a lasting ceasefire in the Iran conflict is in place. Paul McLeary and Esther Webber report. 

IRAN WAR – YEMEN

Yemen’s Houthis said yesterday that they had targeted another Saudi oil tanker with missiles. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the attack on the latest tanker, the NCC Ghazal, which is listed by a public maritime monitoring service as Saudi-flagged. Pranav Baskar and Shirin Hakim report for the New York Times.  

IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the Oval Office yesterday. Ahead of the meeting, Trump indicated he was prepared for a hard sell from Netanyahu, who was expected to present the president with Israeli intelligence indicating that Iran is building out nuclear facilities at its Pickaxe Mountain site. Following the meeting, an Israeli official said it was “extremely positive,” adding that the “leaders reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to ensuring that Iran never has nuclear weapons.” The White House called it “good and productive.” Felicia Schwartz, Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, and Jerry Wu report for POLITICO.

A Pentagon official said yesterday that because Operation Epic Fury has concluded, the military has decided to classify casualties tied to the latest strikes in a new category called “Overseas Operations.” The official did not provide a date for the formal end of the operation. Konstantin Toropin reports for AP News. 

Iran considered attacking a seaport in Ukraine in response to a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian ship on Saturday, but a flurry of diplomacy has calmed the situation for now, according to Iranian and Western officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, on Sunday, who described the attack on the cargo ship as unintentional. Following this, Araghchi wrote, “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable.” Farnaz Fassihi, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmit report for the New York Times. 

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Trump in Washington yesterday to offer Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iranian- and Russian-made drones while renewing his request for U.S. Patriot air defence missiles, presenting the partnership as mutually beneficial amid shared security concerns involving Iran. The visit marked a notable improvement in U.S.-Ukraine relations, with Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, expected to make their first visit to Kyiv soon, a source told the Washington Post. Isaac Arnsdorf, Theodoric Meyer, and Michael Birnbaum report.

The U.S. Senate yesterday advanced a bipartisan measure to impose sweeping sanctions against Russia, paving the way for passage of long-stalled legislation championed by the late Sen. Linsey Graham. The 86-to-12 vote came hours after Graham’s funeral and after senators had met with Zelenskyy on Capitol Hill. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times. 

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

U.N. experts have found that Boeing 727s linked to a U.S. military contractor’s business network transported mercenaries, weapons, and drones for the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, according to a draft U.N. report due to be published in September. David Lewis, Reade Levinson, and Alexander Dziadosz report for Reuters. 

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

Fringe Israeli settler groups, including the Pioneers of Bashan, have repeatedly crossed into southern Syria in recent weeks, seeking to establish Jewish settlements in territory occupied by the Israeli military. Natalie Melzer, Abby Sewell, and Julia Frankel report for AP News.  

Germany has deported an Afghan national without a criminal record for the first time since the Taliban returned to power, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said yesterday. Reuters reports.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday that it is banning imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks. China dominates the global market for humanoid robots, with an estimated market share of roughly 85%. In response, China’s Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of overstretching the concept of national security to suppress Chinese companies. Chan Ho-Him reports for AP News.   

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

Following the previously reported Hugging Face breach involving an OpenAI agent, a source told  Axios that the agent also accessed a CyberGym-associated asset belonging to a Modal Labs customer while continuing to pursue its assigned ExploitGym cybersecurity evaluation. The new details suggest the OpenAI agent continued pursuing its objective even after escaping its testing environment, rather than abandoning the task it had been assigned. Sam Sabin reports for Axios. 

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met yesterday with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as the Trump administration investigates potential violations involving Nvidia chip exports to China, according to a source. It remains unclear what Lutnick and Huang discussed. Maria Curi reports for Axios.  

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

The Trump administration has begun arresting foreign citizens with expired U.S. visas as they travel through airports, including spouses of Americans, according to documents obtained by the New York Times and interviews with immigration lawyers. The Times reports enforcement actions in at least 15 airports in recent weeks. Hamed Aleaziz and Miriam Jordan report. 

The Trump administration yesterday introduced a new immigration rule that would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to refer certain asylum cases directly to immigration judges without first conducting an asylum interview. Maria Sacchetti reports for the Washington Post.  

More than 12,000 people, including migrant children and their sponsors, have been arrested by U.S. immigration authorities after tips shared by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which has provided more than 460,000 leads to ICE since January 2025, according to internal government data reviewed by Reuters. Kristina Cooke reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS  

The Senate yesterday confirmed Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence in a 51-to-47 vote along party lines. Dustin Volz reports for the New York Times. 

Ahead of Clayton’s confirmation, acting Director Bill Pulte said on social media that he had reduced the staff at the office of DNI by almost a third since taking the job in June. Current and former officials said that only a few people have actually been fired in recent weeks. Julian E. Barnes and Dustin Volz report for the New York Times. 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said yesterday there is still no agreement with the Trump administration that would secure his support for Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination. Cornyn is still pressing the Justice Department to amend the IRS settlement tied to the proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund so it cannot be revived. The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Blanche’s nomination tomorrow. Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill.  

New Jersey will not cooperate with a federal demand for data on the approximately 6,600 noncitizens added to the state’s voter rolls in 2023 and 2024, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration announced yesterday. “The request had no legal basis, and I will always protect New Jerseyans’ personally identifiable information,” Sherrill wrote on social media. Joey Fox and Daniel Han report for POLITICO.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

Trump yesterday asked the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million jury award against him for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, asserting that the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision granting presidents sweeping immunity for actions they take in office shielded him from liability in the case. Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.  

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