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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
Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will visit Tehran today to relaunch diplomacy with Iran. al-Thani will discuss the continuation of Qatar’s mediation efforts and other developments in the Middle East, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. Yomma Ehab and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters yesterday that an “agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz has not been finalized,” after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the countries had agreed on how to share the waterway and its revenues. The source added that talks were continuing on the details of an accord. Parisa Hafezi and Jana Choukeir report; Reuters reports.
The Justice Department plans to activate a civil-war-era maritime war court to streamline the military capture of Iranian oil tankers as U.S. prizes, according to sources. The revival is intended to strengthen the blockade of Iran and offset the cost of the conflict for the United States. Benjamin Penn reports for Bloomberg.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Greek sources have told Reuters today that an air defense system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a swarm of drones in the Yanbu region, which has major oil refining facilities. It is the third time the Greek-operated system has been used in combat since the Iran war began. Lefteris Papadimis reports.
The continued expenditure of U.S. munitions in the Middle East is worrying Asian allies and Pentagon officials overseeing the Indo-Pacific, current and former officials and diplomats told the Washington Post. They fear the prolonged war with Iran could embolden China as it continues to step up military pressure across the region. Cate Cadell, Noah Robertson, and John Hudson report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel over recent weeks has considered expelling British, German, and Italian officials from the International Gaza Support Center in retaliation for criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies in Palestine. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar this week announced the expulsion of Dutch representatives after the Netherlands moved to boycott Israeli products from settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to sources, any move to expel additional international representatives from the IGSC would require approval from the Board of Peace, though this was disputed by another source. Neri Zilber, Jim Pickard, and Amy Kazmin report for the Financial Times.
Board of Peace high representative Nikolay Mladenov yesterday criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza. Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Mladenov also insisted the 20-point peace plan “has moved from the negotiating table to the engineering table.” Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
C.I.A. Chief John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow was to warn Russia against attacking NATO, according to sources, who added that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were mentioned in particular. Ratcliffe also used the trip to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday said that Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the talks but not present at them. Trump called the visit “semi-routine”, and the White House has offered little clarity outside his comments. Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward, and Josh Dawsey report for the Wall Street Journal; John Sakellariadis and Daniella Cheslow report for POLITICO.
EU countries plan to renew efforts to leverage immobilised Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine. According to sources, a letter from a coalition of states to the European Commission will call for a restart of the concept, and seek clarity on any progress in alternative legal and technical frameworks that could bypass Belgium’s veto of the idea last year. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the plan is the “fair and smart way to make sure that Ukraine can defend itself and all of Europe.” Laura Dubois and Henry Foy report for the Financial Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, as the country seeks to expand its use of Starlink terminals for battlefield communications. Ukraine has requested to use Starlink over Russian territory as it seeks to attack targets including launchers for ballistic missiles. The presidential decree praised Musk for “outstanding personal contributions to protecting human life and freedom” and for strengthening ties between Ukraine and the United States. Reuters reports.
A Ukrainian strike yesterday hit a bus in the Russian-controlled part of the Luhansk region, killing nine people, according to Russian-installed Governor Leonid Pasechnik. Reuters could not independently verify the report. Reuters reports.
Russia attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones today. The strikes targeted warehouses, ports, and energy and industrial facilities, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Ukraine managed to down seven ballistic missiles, one anti-ship cruise missile, and nearly 90% of drones. Dan Peleschuk and Anna Pruchnicka report for Reuters.
Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery and second-largest gasoline producer NORSI suspended crude oil processing yesterday after a Ukrainian drone attack. The facility was damaged, according to Nizhny Novgorod’s local Governor Gleb Nikitin. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was today charged with failure to declare assets. Yaakob is the third former premier prosecuted in recent years over alleged graft-related offences. Reuters reports.
Nigeria’s SBM Intelligence yesterday reported that Nigerian kidnappers have collected nearly $5.8 million in ransom payments in the last year. The study also found that the crime is crippling education and eroding public trust in the government. Ben Ezeamalu reports for Reuters.
The World Health Organization yesterday said that the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda has ended, but is not under control in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Director of emergency preparedness for the WHO African region Dr Marie Roseline Belizaire said that while acceleration of transmission in the DRC has slowed, it has not begun to decline. Jennifer Rigby reports for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
META yesterday reached a landmark settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories to pay up to $17.1 billion. The suit will also force Meta to implement screen time restrictions, such as during school hours, though this can be overridden with parental approval. Teen accounts will also come with default pauses on notifications during school hours and overnight, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Cecilia Kang and Eli Tan report for the New York Times; Miriam Waldvogel reports for the Washington Post.
An independent review by two AI safety organizations, published yesterday, found that the cyberattack launched by OpenAI models last month involved a “swarm” of several hundred AI agents that had effectively gone rogue. The agents conspired together to hack into another AI company’s systems. John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO; Gerrit De Vynck reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Justice Department yesterday announced that Chinese hackers had carried out a string of hacks over the past year targeting federal agencies and hospitals. Most of the attacks were linked to a Chinese state-sponsored group known as QTFY. Many of the breaches were carried out to gain and maintain access to critical U.S. networks, according to the advisory. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.
The State Department yesterday designated Palestine Action, Masar Badil, and Autistici/Inventati (A/I Collective) as transnational terrorist organizations. The move is part of the Trump administration’s fight against what it calls a “resurgence of far-left political terrorism”, and will mean that any assets in the United States owned by the groups will be frozen, and Americans will be blocked from doing business or donating to them. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times; Connor Stringer reports for POLITICO.
A Pentagon review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe will create at least four sets of options for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by Nov. 6, according to a document seen by Reuters. A senior Pentagon official said the fact that a spectrum of options would be generated, in detail, underscored the seriousness of the process. Phil Stewart reports.
Pentagon officials have uncovered classified documents that were “hidden away in a safe where they would not be found” and shed new light on the end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said yesterday. Parnell added, “After the team reviewed these documents, it became clear why someone tried to hide them,” but did not offer details about what they found. Leo Shane III reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
A federal judge yesterday ruled that Minnesota had not proven that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had done anything wrong by waiting to act on the extradition request. The ruling means Christian Castro could be released from jail today. Ernesto Londono and Mitch Smith report for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A U.S. military judge has provisionally set June 5, 2028, for the trial of four men accused of conspiring in the terrorist attacks in New York on Sept.11, 2001, according to an order issued yesterday. Colonel Michael Schrama is the fifth judge to serve in this version of the case, which started with arraignment on May 5, 2012. Only one previous judge had set a provisional trial start date because of the complexity of pretrial issues confronting the court. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
Three Secret Service officials have been placed on leave pending an investigation into potential misconduct, including Secret Service Communications Director Anthony Gugliemi, two sources told NBC News yesterday. The Secret Service has not provided further information on the reason for the investigation. Kelly O’Donnell, Tom Winter, and Raquel Coronell Uribe report.
Dr. Adam Kalkstein filed a lawsuit against West Point this week, accusing the U.S. military academy of violating his First Amendment rights by forbidding him from teaching about human-driven climate change. Kalkstein’s lawyer said his client is a conservative Republican who believes the military needs to be taught the true cause of climate change when it comes to national security. Michael C. Bender and Greg Jaffe report for the New York Times.
The House Oversight Committee yesterday released a transcript of its questioning of former JPMorgan and Barclays executive Jes Staley last month about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Staley testified that he visited Epstein’s island multiple times and had consensual sex with one of Epstein’s assistants. He acknowledged that JPMorgan suspected Epstein of sex trafficking by 2011 and maintained that he discussed Epstein with CEO Jamie Dimon, a claim Dimon and JPMorgan deny. Maya Davis reports for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Hegseth is considering Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell to succeed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, two sources told The Hill. Driscoll is looking to depart his role around the end of the year due to ongoing tensions with Hegseth, The Hill reported last week. Filip Timotija reports.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday suggested that an aide to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) may have fabricated the two deaths from measles announced on Tuesday, adding that Shapiro’s office was unwilling to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention any details about the deaths. Arek Sakissian and Carmen Paun report for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday lifted a nationwide block on mail-in voting restrictions, temporarily clearing the way for the Trump administration to implement them ahead of the November midterms. “In sum, the court finds that, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. California, Plaintiff Organizations are not likely to prevail as to ripeness without amending their complaint to reflect the fact that a Final Rule has now issued,” the judge wrote. The case was brought by the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and other voting-rights groups, which are seeking another block now that the U.S. Postal Service has finalized its rule. Sophie Brams reports for The Hill.
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