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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf yesterday said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in the June Memorandum of Understanding with the United States are met. Qalibaf said the White House must “understand that the period of dragging out the process and dictating one-sided demands is over.” Reuters reports.
President Trump’s top cabinet members on Friday discussed next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen for hours at Camp David, U.S. officials told Axios. The meeting was not announced by the Trump administration. U.S. Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting, and other participants were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Barak Ravid reports.
Two members of Iran’s delegation to the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday were “kicked out” of the United States, according to a U.S. official. The official added that “Rubio means business,” after Rubio had previously demanded Iran’s delegation leave the United States. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
The President of the internationally recognized Yemeni government Rashad al-Alimi yesterday announced a major military campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi militia. The spokesman for a Saudi military coalition in Yemen Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Saudi Arabia had the right to defend itself from Houthi attacks and pledged “full operational support” to the Yemeni military to fight the militia until it is “eliminated.” The Houthis on Saturday said they had targeted an Aramco facility in Saudi capital Riyadh in retaliation for Saudi attacks on Yemen’s Sanaa and other provinces. Vivian Nereim, Eric Schmitt, and Saeed al-Batati report for the New York Times; Reuters reports.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday said a committee of the Mecca defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will hold talks today, with Turkish ministers among those attending. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohmmad Ishaq Dar on Friday said Iran had suggested engaging with the Houthis politically after attacks by the group, an idea that will be discussed at the meeting in Riyadh. Daren Butler reports for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
United Arab Emirates authorities shared a list with Israel of passengers and crew ahead of the FlyDubai flight on which a pilot attempted to seize control of the Israel-bound flight and crash it, regional officials said yesterday. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the Omani co-pilot had previously been banned from flying by Oman over concerns he had extremist ideological views. The Australian Federal Police spokesperson yesterday said the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team was investigating the pilot’s links to Australia, as he had studied at a university in the state’s capital Melbourne. Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy report for AP News; Milan Czerny, Saleh al-Batati, Anat Peled, and Benoit Faucon report; Praveen Menon and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters.
The United States over the weekend rushed to withdraw all 12 B-1 Air Force bombers from Royal Air Force Fairford after commanders received new threats about an Iran-backed plot against the installation, U.S. officials told the New York Times. The need to move the bombers was deemed so urgent that some of the planes departed while aerial refueling aircraft were still being scrambled to support their flights to the United States. The Pentagon’s European Command yesterday confirmed that bombers had left the United Kingdom. Eric Schmitt reports.
U.K. authorities on Saturday said the dual U.K.-Iranian national arrested on suspicion of plotting a terror attack has been released on bail. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza early on Saturday killed at least five people, including four women, according to local health and civil defense service officials, and the local church. The Israeli military said it carried out an overnight strike in an attempt to kill Ali al-Amoudi. Hamas sources said al-Amoudi leads the Hamas political office in Gaza. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas report for Reuters.
WEST BANK DEVELOPMENTS
The United Kingdom’s Green Party yesterday voted 1,022 to 813 to class Zionism as a form of racism. The party said it regarded Zionism as “an ethnonationalist political project,” and called for the establishment of a “single democratic state throughout historic Palestine.” Green Party leader Zack Polanski did not vote, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry said he was banned from entering the country. The ministry labelled the motion as “clear antisemitic text” and beyond the “boundaries of legitimate political debate.” David Milliken reports for Reuters; Kate Whannel reports for BBC News.
Former Director at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Benjamin Davis on Friday launched an appeal against his dismissal from the organization, alleging it was motivated by his stance on hunger in Gaza. Emma Farge and Crispian Balmer report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine’s Kharkiv city Mayor Ihor Terekhov yesterday said a Russian airstrike killed one person and injured six others. Odesa region Gov. Oleh Kiper today said Russian airstrikes targeted industrial and port infrastructure in the region, and that all fires had been extinguished. The Russian defense ministry said it struck two Ukrainian cargo vessels at the port of Chornomorsk in the Black Sea. Jekaterīna Golubkova reports for Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Reuters released on Saturday said Ukraine will continue attacking Russian oil refineries in response to a new policy of airstrikes by Russia to force people to abandon cities, but will not target civilians. Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s intelligence services obtained documents showing that Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued a “new doctrine” of military attacks on a broader range of civilian targets ahead of this winter. In a response to the interview, Russia’s Defense Ministry yesterday said Russia will intensify strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine. Daniel Flynn and Olena Harmash report; Reuters reports.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday announced a new $1.5 billion aid package for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv. About $1.1 billion of the package is military aid so that “Ukraine can also target Russian launch pads,” while the remainder will provide energy aid. Zelenskyy said the two countries also signed 15 agreements worth more than $9.6 billion, mostly covering security cooperation, weapons production and procurement, and a deal to expand their joint counter-drone efforts. Susie Blann, Stefanie Dazio, and Elise Morton report for AP News.
Zelenskyy yesterday said he believed Russia may have shared jet-drone technology with North Korea. Pavel Polityuk and Felix Hoske report for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
South Korea today said a recent border blast that seriously wounded two of its soldiers was caused by mines planted by North Korea. According to the briefing, North Korea has deployed up 7,000 workers to install mines and fences this year, with some 50 incidents of border crossings. Jihoon Lee reports for Reuters.
The Head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst, Martin Jaeger today said Germany is at risk of entering a violent conflict with Russia. Jaeger said the confrontations with Russia have “taken on a new, more dangerous dimension,” and referenced the attempted attack on Leipzig airport as one example. Sabine Siebold reports for Reuters.
The U.K. Ministry of Justice yesterday announced it will scrap plans to remove the right to trial by jury for defendants in less serious criminal cases. The U.K. Justice Secretary Alex Norris told BBC News that the courts’ backlog will still fall despite the scrapping of plans to curb jury trials. Dominic Casciani and George Wright report.
Former U.K. Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in February. Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers are challenging the search warrants used in Sandringham and at Royal Lodge in Windsor relating to his arrest. Sean Coughlan reports for BBC News.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez today called an early election for Nov. 29, 2026, after recent defeats on legislation aimed at addressing the country’s housing crisis. Sánchez said that to push reforms through parliament he needed a “broader progressive majority” that can “overcome the resistance of the elites.” Ben Hatton and Sergi Forcada Freixas report for BBC News.
The Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced the country’s withdrawal from the Central American Parliament. The action followed a resolution on Friday from the Organization of American States that called on Nicaraguan authorities to free political prisoners and restore civil liberties. Gabriela Selser reports for Reuters.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face off with Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro in a runoff Oct. 25, 2026 election for the presidency after neither won a majority in yesterday’s vote. Bolsonaro won just over 56 million votes to Lula’s 53.7 million. Mauricio Savarese, Eleonore Hughes, and Anna-Catherine Brigida report for AP News.
Ethiopian government aligned fighters yesterday entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on Saturday announced its withdrawal to avoid destruction in the city. Rodney Muhumuza and Khaled Kazziha report for AP News.
Australian Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler yesterday said he would quit as the second-highest government official and as leader of the Social Democratic Party next year. The Social Democrats are the second party in a three-way government led by Chancellor Christian Stocker. Francois Murphy reports for Reuters.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
OpenAI on Friday revealed another hack into a second Australian government agency to ABC News. An AI model gained access to fire statistics kept by a state agency in New South Wales that were not publicly available from the department. Max Zahn reports.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said there remains a fundamental difference in worldview between OpenAI and Anthropic on AI regulation during an interview with Decoded co-author and POLITICO senior tech reporter Brendan Bordelon. Altman said the difference between the two companies was that OpenAI believes “the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency.” Altman in a social media post on Saturday also appeared to discredit Anthropic as he said he was “uncomfortable about people trying to ascribe religious force or a surrender of human judgement to AI models.” Christine Mui and Brendan Bordelon report; Ben Berkowitz reports for Axios.
Trump on Sunday announced Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House’s AI czar. Clayton is expected to take on the title alongside his current role. Trump said Clayton will lead the newly formed Super Intelligence Force with the goal of ensuring “America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence.” John Sakellariadis and Cheyanne M. Daniels report for POLITICO.
U.S. TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Google and Apple lobbyists are engaged in an effort to press state lawmakers to adopt kids’ online safety laws that would shield the tech giants from some lawsuits tied to age-verification requirements, POLITICO reported yesterday. Owen Dahlkamp reports.
U.S. CHINA DEVELOPMENTS
The FBI yesterday arrested a California woman and accused her of spying on a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the behest of Chinese officials. Wanying Zhang was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport before her planned departure to China. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios yesterday. Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures in response to the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research facility, but have not confirmed that she contracted plague. Authorities placed nearly 200 people who had come into contact with the woman under quarantine, and Russia’s Irkutsk region Gov. Igor Kobzev said those being monitored showed no signs of illness and tested negative for pneumonia. Alex Isenstadt reports.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lodged a formal protest with the United States after Japanese police arrested 20-year-old Marine Devin Jacob Ballard on suspicion of robbery and the murder of Anna Yagi in Okinawa. Jason Douglas reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Southern Command yesterday said it struck a boat suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people. CBS News reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
A Laotian citizen deported by the United States to Eswatini was yesterday released from a maximum-security prison after being held there for more than a year. Phone Chomsavanh is now being deported to Laos according to his U.S. based lawyer. Gerald Imray reports for AP News.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem agreed to buy five airplanes for the Department of Homeland Security from her donor’s Daedalus Aviation Corporation at a substantial markup hours before her tenure at the DHS came to an end, according to documents seen by the New York Times. The documents do not justify the purchases just before the leadership of DHS changed. Hamed Aleaziz, David A. Fahrenthold, Nicholas Nehamas, Tyler Pager, and Niraj Chokshi report.
U.S. CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS
California, New York, and two dozen other states, cities, and counties on Friday sued the Transportation Department over its decision to finalize lower vehicle fuel economy standards. The new standards will cut the cost of new vehicles but increase fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for decades according to the department’s estimates. David Shepardson reports for Reuters.
The Supreme Court will begin its new nine-month term today hearing arguments in an appeal by oil companies against officials in Boulder, Colorado, who are seeking monetary damages for harms caused by climate change. U.S.-based Exxon and Canada-based Suncor appealed to the Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court let Boulder’s lawsuit accusing them of state law violations proceed. John Kruzel and Andrew Chung report for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A suspected member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, Saif al-Din Khader, was arrested in Jordan last week, sources told Reuters. Jana Winter, Raphael Satter, and A.J. Vicens report.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday confirmed he is considering retirement. In segments of an interview with CBS News scheduled to air today, Alito said retirement is something someone his age has to think about every term. Alito yesterday expressed concerns about the future of the Supreme Court, and said there has been “a concerted effort to intimidate the court… to try and influence us to decide cases differently from the way in which we have been deciding them.” Ashley Ahn reports for POLITICO; Cheyanne M. Daniels reports for POLITICO.
A Treasury Inspector General report released Friday found that dozens of IRS employees improperly viewed the tax records of celebrities, government officials, and business leaders from 2022 through 2025. The inspector general sent the cases to the IRS’s investigation division for further review, and the report warned that the IRS doesn’t have effective ways to prevent employees from looking at celebrities’ tax records, or detect that access occurred after it happens. Richard Rubin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
A military judge on Friday excluded the confessions of another prisoner accused of helping the hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks. The ruling was not immediately released, but lawyers who read it said the judge suppressed the interrogations of Mustafa al-Hawsawi at Guantanamo Bay in 2007. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday told Bloomberg the Justice Department will not reopen its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the central bank’s building renovation project. Blanche said he was satisfied with the report that cleared Powell of criminal wrongdoing, but maintained that Powell had not appropriately overseen the project. Myles Miller and Chris Strohm report.
Trump on Friday said the administration would send $90 to more than 20 million senior citizens to help pay for Medicare benefits. Trump said the money would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund. The White House, in a separate fact sheet, said eligible seniors would receive a direct deposit of $90 in early October, or paper checks if they don’t have direct deposit. Ben Berkowitz reports for Axios.
Trump personally instructed the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell T. Vought to use taxpayer money for TV advertisements praising him and his presidency, sources told the New York Times. $20 million of funds from the DHS was used for the ads that ran across cable and network television. Maggie Haberman, Hamed Aleaziz, Shane Goldmacher, and Jonathan Swan report.
Trump on Saturday shared online the supposed phone number of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in an escalating feud over making daylight saving time permanent. Cotton opposes the Trump-backed Sunshine Protection Act which would end the twice-yearly practice of changing clocks by one hour. Bo Erickson reports for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against pro-Palestinian organizations and protestors that the Justice Department brought last year under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act 1994, a law traditionally used against people blocking access to abortion clinics. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
An appeals court yesterday put a hold on a judge’s order reinstating Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Andrew Goudsward reports for Reuters.
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Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions
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