The Latest
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U.S., Saudi strikes in Iraq kill 10, officials say
Jordan’s army said Wednesday morning that it intercepted five Iranian missiles.
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U.S. and Saudi warplanes carried out strikes in Iraq on Tuesday, targeting Iran-backed militias that the U.S. military said had launched more than two dozen drone attacks in recent days.
Two sources in Iraq’s former paramilitary alliance told AFP that at least 10 members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces, were killed. One official said the strikes hit positions “across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were killed,” and that the toll would likely rise. Injuries were reported in other provinces, the official said. A second official confirmed the initial toll.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces said preliminary reports showed several people were killed and others were wounded, with damage to a number of its buildings and facilities.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes targeted “Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.” It added that “the IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response.”
Saudi Arabia confirmed its involvement. Its Defense Ministry said it struck “targets belonging to those militias present on Iraqi territory that are linked to attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had rejected Oman’s proposal for regional joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, calling it unworkable. The official also said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were pressing Oman to advance plans for the strategic waterway.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said they struck and halted three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. Tasnim news agency quoted the Guards’ navy as saying “three violating oil tankers, which ignored our warnings and continued sailing an unsafe and illegal route, were struck and brought to a halt.”
Reuters also reported that Iran expected within weeks to receive a first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers under a deal valued at $60 million to $70 million, citing three sources familiar with the agreement.
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Zelenskyy says Trump meeting focused on air defense
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met with Trump at the White House the same day.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “good meeting” with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, as Kyiv and Washington continued discussions on air defense and efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Good meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. Thank you for all that we are doing together to protect the lives of Ukrainians and achieve peace,” Zelenskyy said.
In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the two discussed licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Trump agreed to allow Ukraine to jointly produce Patriot air defense interceptors, a key part of Ukraine’s defense against Russian aerial attacks.
Zelenskyy said the talks also focused on renewing diplomatic efforts to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The meeting was closed to the press and lasted just over an hour, according to U.S. media reports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X that both meetings were “positive and productive.”
Zelenskyy arrived in the United States to attend Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral service. He was also scheduled to meet separately with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and a bipartisan group of senators, as the Senate prepared for its first vote on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctions Act on Russia and Iran.
“Our number-one priority is anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer,” Zelenskyy said on arrival in the U.S.
Kyiv and Washington were also moving closer to an agreement on joint drone production. Ukraine was on track to produce 6 million to 7 million short-range attack drones this year, while the Pentagon’s $1.1 billion production program was expected to have ordered nearly 200,000 drones by February 2027.
The Trump administration has reduced new military aid to Ukraine, while Europe has become Kyiv’s main source of financial and military support. The U.S. has continued to act as a mediator in the war, though diplomatic efforts have slowed in recent weeks.
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U.S. diplomats walk out during France U.N. remarks
The Trump administration said it would reassess its involvement with the UN after its human rights chief, Volker Turk, was voted in for another four-year term.
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U.S. diplomats walked out of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday as France’s delegation took the floor.
The walkout came two days after U.S. and French officials exchanged criticism online over Washington’s vote against renewing the four-year term of U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk.
France’s U.N. Mission in Geneva wrote Saturday that the United States was no longer a “beacon of human rights” and stood isolated alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali, and Russia.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz replied on X that France had voted for a rights chief who “has been lecturing free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”
After the walkout, Dan Negrea, an alternate U.S. representative, told the council that his delegation would keep walking out until France renounced its “condescending and disrespectful rhetoric.”
France’s ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, did not mention the walkout in his remarks. He said France was working to preserve the U.N.’s independence and its capacity to act.
Turk, who has criticized violations of international law by Israel and the United States in Palestine and Iran, was reappointed by a U.N. General Assembly vote of 144 in favor, 10 against, and 13 abstentions.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cut funding to U.N. agencies and withdrawn from dozens of U.N. entities since 2025. It had also threatened to reassess its engagement over Turk’s mandate.
Washington and Paris have also disagreed over NATO spending, trade policy, and Trump’s threats to occupy Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark.
France, along with other European states, also drew Trump’s criticism for refusing direct participation in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Middle East
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Israeli raids hit West Bank towns, UN facility
The Arab League and several Arab states condemned the attacks, including a mosque fire in Tulkarem. Spain also called on Israel to reverse settlement expansion and what it described as shielding settler violence.
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Israeli forces raided at least 20 towns and villages in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Monday, including a United Nations facility, as Arab states condemned escalating settler attacks on Palestinians and their property.
The Jerusalem Governorate said soldiers fired tear gas and detained staff at a vocational training center run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, in Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem. It said soldiers entered the center, held teaching and administrative staff in one hall, and climbed onto the roof of the camp’s local committee building.
The governorate said Israeli forces had entered Qalandia overnight, deploying across several neighborhoods and firing tear gas and stun grenades, sparking a fire.
The raid came about six weeks after the governorate said Israel planned to demolish the Qalandia training center. Israel has already banned UNRWA from operating in occupied East Jerusalem and demolished agency buildings there.
Israeli forces also raided the Jabal Salman area in Beita, south of Nablus, carried out demolitions in Nilin, west of Ramallah, and entered Arrabeh in Jenin with military bulldozers. Raids and arrests were also reported in Deir al-Ghusun, where five Palestinians were detained, and in Balata camp and Asira al-Shamaliya, where Quds News said four young men were arrested.
Soldiers also raided homes and made arrests in Deir Jarir, Jalbon, Kafr Qaddum, Tal, Burqa, Beit Furik, Anabta, Aktaba, Qalqilya, Arroub camp, and Beit Ummar. Quds News reported that soldiers stopped an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from Qaryut to a hospital in Nablus and that her condition deteriorated, leading to a miscarriage.
Settler attacks were also reported near Taybeh, east of Ramallah, and in Al-Burj, south of Hebron, where settlers released cattle among olive trees, damaging farmland.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for international action in letters to world leaders, the European Union, the Arab League, and the president of the U.N. Security Council.
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Iraqi PM visits Iran, signs agreements in Tehran
Iraq remains heavily reliant on Iranian natural gas and electricity, and bilateral trade exceeds $12 billion annually. Millions of Iranian Shiite pilgrims also travel to Iraq’s holy sites each year.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited Iran on Thursday in his first official trip since taking office in May, as the two countries signed agreements and pledged closer cooperation.
The Iraqi News Agency said al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian oversaw the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding on foreign affairs, finance, the economy, and energy in Tehran.
According to INA, the talks focused on strategic cooperation, joint economic and infrastructure projects, and regional developments, including implementation of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
At a joint meeting of senior Iranian and Iraqi delegations, al-Zaidi thanked Iran for supporting Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State group and said Iraq remained committed to security cooperation with Tehran. He also said Iraq would not accept hostile action against Iran by any party.
“Iraq will never forget Iran’s support in the fight against the [ISIL/ISIL] terrorist group,” he said, according to Pezeshkian’s office.
Pezeshkian said a comprehensive strategic cooperation plan would provide a roadmap for broader ties between Tehran and Baghdad, and said the two countries’ security was closely linked.
In a joint statement issued after the visit, Iran and Iraq said regional crises should be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and engagement among regional countries, and reaffirmed support for political solutions based on international law.
The statement said the two governments agreed to draft a long-term strategic cooperation agreement, accelerate existing bilateral accords, and expand coordination in political, economic, security, and cultural matters. Their foreign ministers were tasked with finalizing the draft for signature.
Iran and Iraq also agreed to expand trade and joint investment, speed up the Basra-Shalamcheh railway project, strengthen cooperation in banking, energy, transport, and transit, and remove legal and administrative barriers to joint projects. They said their Joint High Commission would meet annually, alternating between Tehran and Baghdad, under the leadership of the two prime ministers.
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More than 3,200 Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several worshippers.
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More than 3,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday during Tisha B’Av, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection. Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning marking the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples believed to have stood at the site, which Muslims know as Al-Aqsa and Jews as the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf Department said 3,228 Israelis entered the compound during the morning. The Palestinian administration of the Jerusalem governorate said the number could rise to 5,000 by sundown, exceeding totals recorded in previous years for the holiday.
The Jerusalem governorate said Israeli settlers performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound, including prostrating themselves, singing, and praying. Israeli media reported police allowed more than 1,000 Israelis to pray at the site. Under a 1967 agreement, non-Muslims may visit the site but may not pray there.
Ben-Gvir said Jews visiting the site on Tisha B’Av “feel like the owners,” praising what he called “tremendous progress” there, Haaretz reported.
The Jerusalem governorate called Ben-Gvir’s visit a dangerous escalation, saying it showed official Israeli backing for actions previously associated with groups advocating reconstruction of a Jewish temple at the site.
Hamas said the “blatant acts of aggression will backfire on the occupation and its settlers.” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit, calling it “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Majali said the visit violated the site’s historical and legal status quo. Jordan urged international pressure on Israel to stop what it described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
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Houthis claim Red Sea tanker strikes amid Iran conflict
Iran also said two people were killed in a U.S. missile strike near the passenger terminal at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
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Yemen’s Houthi movement said Thursday it struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of what it called a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, adding to risks for oil shipments already disrupted by fighting involving Iran.
The Houthis, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, said earlier this week they were imposing a blockade on Saudi Arabia. The U.S. military said Wednesday it had launched a new round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, the 12th straight night of U.S. attacks.
The Houthis said their forces used missiles and drones to attack the Saudi tankers Encelia and Layla in the Red Sea.
A maritime security source said Encelia sent a distress call after reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan late Wednesday. British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Saudi-flagged tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq.
Shipping disruptions were already building. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and three tankers carrying Saudi oil to China and India turned back on Tuesday.
Saudi oil shipments had increasingly been routed to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb is also disrupted, ships would be left with a northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks to voyages and raising costs.
Trump said Wednesday the United States would strike an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran fired at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s joint military command said, according to Iranian state media, that if such threats were carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity, and economic infrastructure and stop the export of “even a single drop of oil.”
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an explosion occurred on what they described as a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, with one of three oil tankers catching fire and the other two turning back. They said the strait was under their control and “completely closed.”
Iranian state media said Thursday the United States attacked one location in Bushehr, near Iran’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, for the second time in two days.
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Kuwait says Iran hit power, desalination plant
About 90% of Kuwait’s drinking water comes from desalination, and any disruption could pose a serious risk in the desert nation.
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Kuwait said Friday that Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage.
Kuwait’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said the attack sparked a fire and caused “damage to a large number of electricity generation units.”
The ministry said firefighters extinguished the blaze and crews were assessing the damage and working to restore operations.
The announcement came as fighting continued across the region after the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreed to last month.
Earlier Friday, Iran launched missile attacks at U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Jordan’s military said it intercepted three incoming missiles. In Qatar, authorities twice warned residents to take shelter, and the Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child.
The United States also expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran overnight into Friday. Iranian state television said strikes on bridges in Hormozgan province killed at least seven people. Iran’s Energy Ministry also acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” and urged people in southern provinces to reduce electricity use.
At Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, the state-run IRNA news agency said a U.S. strike caused a tower to collapse. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit dozens of targets in strikes that ended at dawn Friday.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, U.S. strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran, Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
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Three islands in Hormuz strait draw new scrutiny
Some analysts have speculated that U.S. forces could try to seize the islands.
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A U.S. military campaign against Iran has renewed attention on three small islands at the meeting point of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb, seized by Iran in 1971 from what would become the United Arab Emirates, now host Iranian military positions that help Tehran project power near the strait, a waterway through which about 20% of oil and natural gas passes in peacetime.
U.S. strikes on Abu Musa and Greater Tunb in recent days have renewed questions about the islands, whose ownership remains disputed.
Together, the three islands cover about 10 square miles (25 square kilometers), but they sit along the deep-water shipping route between the strait and the Gulf. Abu Musa has a village, but primarily serves as a base for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has stationed fast boats, missiles, and air defense systems there. Greater Tunb also has a military presence, while Lesser Tunb is used only for military purposes.
Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took the islands by force on Nov. 30, 1971, two days before the United Arab Emirates was formed.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran used the islands during the 1980s “Tanker War” to monitor the strait and launch vessels that laid mines or attacked shipping. U.S. estimates said Iran attacked more than 160 ships in that conflict.
In the current war, more than 50 attacks have targeted vessels and oil rigs, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. That total includes incidents in which the United States fired on ships it accused of trying to break its blockade on Iran.
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates persuaded China and Russia to include language in joint statements calling for the dispute to be resolved through negotiations or an international court decision.
Latin America
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Cuba blackout prompts U.S. Embassy security alert
The alert said Cuba’s power grid had become increasingly unstable, with seven nationwide outages in the past 18 months.
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Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed July 6, causing a nationwide power outage that began at noon Eastern, according to a U.S. Embassy security alert issued in Havana.
The embassy said Cuban state media had not reported a cause for the collapse, and no timeline for restoring power was known when the alert was issued.
Cellphone and internet outages were also reported. The embassy advised U.S. citizens in Cuba, or planning travel there, to monitor the situation and adjust plans as needed.
The alert said the electrical system remained vulnerable, with regular outages occurring more often and lasting longer than before. Scheduled daily power cuts affected some areas, while unscheduled outages continued across the country.
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4 die during Mexico City World Cup celebrations
More than 1 million people gathered in the streets to celebrate Mexico’s first World Cup knockout-stage victory since 1986, the city government said.
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Four people died during World Cup celebrations in Mexico City on Tuesday, including three from suffocation, city officials said.
A 19-year-old woman, a 48-year-old woman, and a 44-year-old man died after crowds gathered following Mexico’s 2-0 win over Ecuador, the capital’s health authority said Wednesday. City authorities later reported that a 30-year-old man also died after an epileptic crisis.
Health authorities said emergency workers treated three unconscious people at different locations along Paseo de la Reforma before taking them to a hospital.
“After performing first aid and CPR techniques on the patients, they were transferred to a hospital for specialised medical care,” the city’s health authority said.
The agency said the three were later confirmed dead from suffocation and identified by their families.
Mayor Clara Brugada expressed her “most sincere condolences” to the victims’ families and said the city would provide support in the coming days. In a social media post after the deaths were announced, Brugada urged fans to “always celebrate with responsibility, care, and empathy.”
Before the match, Brugada had told fans hoping to watch near the Angel of Independence to go elsewhere because large crowds had already gathered there.
Mexico’s win prompted celebrations at Estadio Azteca and across much of the city, where fireworks continued after the final whistle.
Mexico City’s metropolitan area is home to more than 20 million people. Tuesday’s victory sent Mexico into the World Cup round of 16, where it will face England, which beat DR Congo 2-1 on Wednesday.
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Venezuela quake toll nears 1,500, many still missing
3,150 people were injured, 12,721 were displaced, and 774 buildings had collapsed.
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Rescue teams searched Sunday for survivors after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, as the death toll approached 1,500 and thousands remained missing or unaccounted for.
Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, said the death toll rose by 20 on Sunday to 1,450.
The hardest-hit area was La Guaira state, about 40 kilometers north of Caracas, where dozens of buildings collapsed.
“Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today (Sunday) we have recovered people alive and, therefore, operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” Delcy Rodriguez said after announcing a presidential commission to assess whether buildings were safe to occupy.
She said school classes would be suspended for one more week and electricity service in La Guaira had been restored to 75%.
The government said at least 33 people had been rescued by Saturday evening, including several children. On Sunday, rescue workers pulled a father and son alive from a collapsed building.
Families and volunteers had spent days pulling survivors and bodies from rubble before more than 2,600 foreign rescue workers arrived, amid complaints about limited heavy equipment and a small official presence. Hundreds of aftershocks added to damage and raised safety concerns.
The government has reported hundreds missing or trapped. Separately, an opposition-backed website listed just under 50,000 people as unaccounted for Sunday, down from 55,000 a day earlier.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
Rescue teams from the United States, Colombia, and Mexico reported saving children over the weekend, including an infant and two 11-year-old boys. Reuters TV reported that one boy, Moises, was found about 3 meters deep in rubble with a broken arm; his mother and sister were killed.
A senior U.S. official said Saturday that additional U.S. funding worth hundreds of millions of dollars was expected within days, on top of $150 million already committed. In western Falcon state, workers said Venezuela’s largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay facility, shut down Sunday after a major power outage.
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Venezuelans search ruins as quake toll rises
Authorities said the number of injured had risen to more than 3,300 by midday Friday and that 243 people had been rescued. The death toll was expected to increase.
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Venezuelans searched for missing relatives Friday after back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 920 people and left more than 51,000 listed as missing on independent digital databases.
Residents digging through rubble said they had seen few state rescue teams in some of the hardest-hit areas, even as authorities said they were mounting a broad response. Nearly two days had passed since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck late Wednesday. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours critical for finding survivors.
“Each person saved is a miracle,” Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, said. “We are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy.”
In La Guaira, north of Caracas, government forces distributed food and water as acting President Delcy Rodríguez said officials were “working tirelessly” and welcomed international rescuers and aid. She said La Guaira had been militarized and that more help was on the way, though residents said assistance remained limited.
The International Organization for Migration said up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected, including about 2 million in Caracas.
In Catia La Mar, near the country’s main airport, people took food, toilet paper, and other goods from stores and gathered around vehicles distributing bread and water. Others set up tarps, hammocks, and tents in a pharmacy parking lot.
Venezuelan authorities said 861 international volunteers from Mexico, the United States, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia, and other countries were working in Venezuela. The United Nations said 1,000 emergency responders in 25 search-and-rescue teams were on their way.
State vehicles, emergency crews, dump trucks, and heavy machinery moved toward affected areas on the country’s main highway.
Media reports and Venezuelan television showed several rescues, including a young man carried out on a stretcher in Caracas and a girl pulled from rubble in La Guaira. Caracas metropolitan rescue team chief Jose Luis Nunez said she was found in a collapsed 10-story building. “We want to highlight this girl’s strength, determination and will to live,” Nunez said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers, or 105 miles, west of Caracas.
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Colombia says 5 suspects killed after bus bombing
The military action followed the April 26 attack in the municipality of Cajibío, where an explosive device detonated on a bus traveling on the Pan-American Highway in the Cauca region.
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Colombia’s military said Wednesday that it killed five suspected members of an armed group it blamed for an April 26 bombing of a passenger bus in Cauca that killed 20 civilians and injured 45 others.
In a statement, the Military Forces of Colombia said those killed were members of Estructura Jaime Martínez, which it described as an organized armed group. Authorities said the group also stole vehicles along the Pan-American Highway and used drones loaded with explosives.
The April bombing killed 15 women and five men. Initial local reports said 36 people were injured, including several children, but the Colombian military later said 45 civilians were wounded.
Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, called the bombing a “terrorist act.” He blamed dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, specifically the Jaime Martínez faction and the network of Iván Mordisco, one of Colombia’s most wanted figures.
Southwestern Colombia has become a center of fighting among illegal armed groups seeking control of coca-growing areas and drug trafficking routes to Central America and Europe.
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Brazil court convicts Bolsonaro son over U.S. lobbying
Eduardo Bolsonaro said he was living in “exile” because he feared arrest if he returned to Brazil.
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Brazil’s highest court convicted Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, of seeking U.S. intervention during his father’s coup trial.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, was charged last year with lobbying U.S. authorities to help his father by imposing tariffs or sanctions on Brazil. A former Brazilian congressman, he relocated to the United States in 2025 before his father was convicted of plotting a military coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Eduardo Bolsonaro wrote on social media Tuesday that the conviction was “baseless and senseless,” and said the justices wanted to silence him and keep him from running for office. He also said he was denied due process because he was never formally served and learned of the case through media reports.
Eduardo Bolsonaro had publicly sought support for his father from the Trump administration, which described the case against the former Brazilian president as a “witch hunt.”
President Donald Trump, who viewed Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the move “not only misguided but illogical.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said Washington would respond to Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction. The Trump administration had already sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, accusing him of abuses tied to Bolsonaro-related cases.
Lula said Brazil was willing to negotiate with the United States on trade, but called sanctions on de Moraes an “unacceptable” interference in Brazil’s justice system. The United States later withdrew the sanctions.
Jair Bolsonaro, who governed from January 2019 to December 2022, was convicted over a plot to overturn his 2022 election loss. The case was linked to a broader effort to keep him in power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters.
“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent – Something I know much about!” Trump said at the time. Bolsonaro later thanked Trump for his support.
Africa
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Uganda ends Ebola outbreak as Congo cases rise
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases. Eighteen patients were discharged, and two died.
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Uganda declared its Ebola outbreak over on Tuesday after completing a 42-day monitoring period with no new cases, even as infections continued to rise in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the country had reached the end of the required monitoring period, which began after the last Ugandan patient with locally transmitted Ebola was discharged on June 16, 2026.
“Throughout this period the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected,” Baryomunsi said.
In a later social media statement, Baryomunsi urged Ugandans “to remain alert” and to continue following public health measures.
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases. Eighteen patients were discharged, and two died. Both people who died were from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a larger outbreak has been underway since mid-May.
According to Congo’s Health Ministry, the country had recorded at least 3,262 infections and 1,437 deaths. The outbreak is nearing the scale of the 2018-2020 epidemic, the largest ever recorded in the country.
The World Health Organization said the current Ebola outbreak was the fastest-spreading on record and that the true number of cases could be two to four times higher than reported.
The strain circulating in Congo is Bundibugyo, the rarest of the four Ebola variants known to affect humans. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for it.
Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or those who have died from the virus.
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DRC Ebola cases top 2,000, health workers strike
Health workers said they had not received compensation for their work since the outbreak began.
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Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose to 2,011, including 754 deaths, as health workers in Ituri province went on strike over unpaid wages and working conditions.
Workers at Bunia General Hospital in northeastern Ituri began striking Wednesday and blocked the hospital entrance.
The action followed other strikes in the region. On Monday, dozens of health workers, including epidemiologists and grave diggers at Rwampara General Hospital, walked off the job, saying they had not been paid for months.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres, said the outbreak was the third largest and fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the actual death toll could be two to four times higher than official figures.
The outbreak began May 15 and was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or treatment.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the first clinical trial testing whether an antiviral drug can prevent infection in people exposed to the Bundibugyo virus began Tuesday.
“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward in Ebola BVD prevention,” Tedros wrote on social media.
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WHO starts trial of Ebola antiviral in Congo
According to latest official figures, the virus has infected more than 1,960 people and killed more than 700.
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The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the first clinical trial has begun to test whether an antiviral drug can prevent Bundibugyo Ebola after exposure in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The trial, called EBO-PEP, will assess obeldesivir as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who had contact with confirmed Bundibugyo cases. The oral experimental drug was developed by Gilead Sciences and has shown efficacy in pre-clinical models against filoviruses, the family of viruses that causes hemorrhagic fevers.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the launch in a post on X.
“Every breakthrough begins with hope,” he wrote.
“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward” in preventing contacts from developing disease, he added.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo.
The outbreak was declared May 15 after several deaths in Ituri, a northeastern province affected by armed groups.
Cases have been found in five Congo provinces and in neighboring Uganda, though more than 90% are still being detected in Ituri.
The first patients for the obeldesivir trial are being recruited at post-exposure prophylaxis centers next to Ebola treatment centers run by the Alliance for International Medical Action in Bunia and Rwampara, in Ituri.
The study aims to enroll nearly 1,000 participants ages 12 and older who had direct contact with a confirmed case within the previous five days and are not showing symptoms. Participants will be monitored daily for 21 days, with a final visit at 42 days.
Earlier Tuesday, the World Health Organization said the outbreak could be at least two to four times larger than official figures suggest. After returning from Bunia, World Health Organization emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva that the outbreak “continues to outpace the response efforts.”
He said 80% of new cases were not on known contact lists and came “from unknown chains of transmission.” He also said many newly reported cases were people who died without reaching a health facility.
A separate trial of two possible treatments for Bundibugyo patients began in Ituri on July 2. It is evaluating the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral remdesivir, alone and in combination. The trial could take months and may require more than 1,000 patients, the World Health Organization said.
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Myanmar approves death penalty in online scam law
Repatriated foreigners have reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by operators.
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Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law Tuesday authorizing capital punishment for people who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centers.
Online fraud operations have expanded in Myanmar, part of a broader scam economy in Southeast Asia that targets internet users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment schemes. Repatriated foreigners have reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by operators.
Myanmar’s government, led by President Min Aung Hlaing, has pledged to crack down on the industry amid pressure from countries including the United States and China. Monitors say raids and arrests have often led scam operations to relocate within the region rather than stop.
Parliament passed the “Anti-Online Scam Bill” at a joint session in Naypyitaw, Speaker Aung Lin Dwe said in a live television broadcast. Lower house lawmaker Aye Chan told AFP the death sentence was included in the final version.
“There were not many significant changes to the proposed draft bill… the important parts of the bill remained the same,” Aye Chan said.
A draft text published in May set penalties ranging from 10 years to life in prison, as well as death, for “violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams.” For scam offenses causing death, it said, “the death penalty shall be imposed.”
The draft also set a maximum sentence of life in prison for people who run online scam centers or are convicted of cryptocurrency scams.
The law was the first legislation passed by Myanmar’s new government under Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and helped trigger a civil war. In April, he became civilian president after restricted elections that excluded Suu Kyi and her party.
In April, Min Aung Hlaing also commuted all death sentences in a blanket order, after the junta resumed executions following the coup. Rights groups said those executions targeted anti-coup dissidents. By 2022, more than 130 people had been sentenced to death, according to the United Nations.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said this month that Chinese-origin syndicates were the main force behind the region’s cyberscam economy, operating large compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. In Myanmar’s conflict zones, non-state armed groups were also involved, it said.
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India protests over exam leaks lead minister to resign
On July 20, more than 100 protesters were wounded during a march to Parliament as police used tear gas, batons, and canes.
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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Saturday he was stepping down after weeks of youth-led protests over an exam paper leak scandal that affected millions across India.
His resignation met one of the main demands of demonstrations that had expanded across the country in recent weeks and posed a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
At a protest site at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi, Abhijeet Dipke announced the news to thousands of supporters. Dipke had created the satirical Cockroach Janta Party 36 days earlier after a social media post asking: “What if all cockroaches came together?”
He also read the names of students who had died by suicide amid exam paper leaks and cancellations, and dedicated the protesters’ victory to them.
“They called us lazy and unemployed,” said 19-year-old Lavanya Bharti, referring to comments by India’s chief justice likening India’s youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites,” which prompted the creation of the group. “We [are] lazy enough to sleep on our Parliament Street for days; we are unemployed, bro,” she said. “We have erased the fear that Modi spent years building. Cockroaches are crawling all over you, Modi.”
The group later urged protesters to “return home peacefully” after saying the government had accepted all of its demands. Those included compensation for the families of students who had died by suicide, assurances that protesters would face no punitive action, and a public apology from police and paramilitary forces over attacks on demonstrators.
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Japan revises imperial law, keeps male-only succession
Former Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa told Kyodo News that, under current rules, the monarchy after Hisahito is “extremely unstable.”
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Japan’s parliament enacted revisions Friday to the Imperial House Law that would let princesses keep royal status after marrying commoners and allow adoption of distant male-line royal relatives, while keeping the ban on female emperors.
The changes came as concern grows over the size of the imperial family. Only five of its 16 adult members are men, and there are no children. Under current rules, Emperor Naruhito’s daughter, Princess Aiko, 24, cannot inherit the throne because she is a woman.
Japan’s succession line passes to Naruhito’s younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, 60, then to Akishino’s 19-year-old son, Prince Hisahito. Third in line is Naruhito’s 90-year-old uncle, Prince Hitachi.
The more contentious measure allows unmarried male descendants, 15 or older, from former imperial branch families in the paternal line to be adopted into the royal family. Imperial Household Agency official Yoshimi Ogata told parliament that 51 members from 11 branch families lost royal status in 1947 to reduce the postwar financial burden on the monarchy. They are at least 36 generations removed from Naruhito, having split from a common male-line ancestor 600 years ago, Ogata said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other conservatives say the male bloodline is central to the emperor’s legitimacy. Critics say the changes are designed to block female succession.
There have been eight female monarchs in Japan. The last, Empress Gosakuramachi, ruled from 1762 to 1770. Historians say the current male-only system is difficult to sustain in modern Japan. A 2005 proposal to allow female monarchs was shelved after Hisahito’s birth.
The revisions would also let five unmarried princesses, including Aiko and her cousin Princess Kako, 31, remain royals after marrying commoners, though their spouses and children would not gain royal status.
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Myanmar approves death penalty in online scam law
Read more +
Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law Tuesday authorizing capital punishment for people who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centers.
Online fraud operations have expanded in Myanmar, part of a broader scam economy in Southeast Asia that targets internet users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment schemes. Repatriated foreigners have reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by operators.
Myanmar’s government, led by President Min Aung Hlaing, has pledged to crack down on the industry amid pressure from countries including the United States and China. Monitors say raids and arrests have often led scam operations to relocate within the region rather than stop.
Parliament passed the “Anti-Online Scam Bill” at a joint session in Naypyitaw, Speaker Aung Lin Dwe said in a live television broadcast. Lower house lawmaker Aye Chan told AFP the death sentence was included in the final version.
“There were not many significant changes to the proposed draft bill… the important parts of the bill remained the same,” Aye Chan said.
A draft text published in May set penalties ranging from 10 years to life in prison, as well as death, for “violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams.” For scam offenses causing death, it said, “the death penalty shall be imposed.”
The draft also set a maximum sentence of life in prison for people who run online scam centers or are convicted of cryptocurrency scams.
The law was the first legislation passed by Myanmar’s new government under Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and helped trigger a civil war. In April, he became civilian president after restricted elections that excluded Suu Kyi and her party.
In April, Min Aung Hlaing also commuted all death sentences in a blanket order, after the junta resumed executions following the coup. Rights groups said those executions targeted anti-coup dissidents. By 2022, more than 130 people had been sentenced to death, according to the United Nations.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said this month that Chinese-origin syndicates were the main force behind the region’s cyberscam economy, operating large compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. In Myanmar’s conflict zones, non-state armed groups were also involved, it said.
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U.S. diplomats walk out during France U.N. remarks
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U.S. diplomats walked out of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday as France’s delegation took the floor.
The walkout came two days after U.S. and French officials exchanged criticism online over Washington’s vote against renewing the four-year term of U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk.
France’s U.N. Mission in Geneva wrote Saturday that the United States was no longer a “beacon of human rights” and stood isolated alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali, and Russia.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz replied on X that France had voted for a rights chief who “has been lecturing free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”
After the walkout, Dan Negrea, an alternate U.S. representative, told the council that his delegation would keep walking out until France renounced its “condescending and disrespectful rhetoric.”
France’s ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, did not mention the walkout in his remarks. He said France was working to preserve the U.N.’s independence and its capacity to act.
Turk, who has criticized violations of international law by Israel and the United States in Palestine and Iran, was reappointed by a U.N. General Assembly vote of 144 in favor, 10 against, and 13 abstentions.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cut funding to U.N. agencies and withdrawn from dozens of U.N. entities since 2025. It had also threatened to reassess its engagement over Turk’s mandate.
Washington and Paris have also disagreed over NATO spending, trade policy, and Trump’s threats to occupy Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark.
France, along with other European states, also drew Trump’s criticism for refusing direct participation in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
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Israeli raids hit West Bank towns, UN facility
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Israeli forces raided at least 20 towns and villages in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Monday, including a United Nations facility, as Arab states condemned escalating settler attacks on Palestinians and their property.
The Jerusalem Governorate said soldiers fired tear gas and detained staff at a vocational training center run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, in Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem. It said soldiers entered the center, held teaching and administrative staff in one hall, and climbed onto the roof of the camp’s local committee building.
The governorate said Israeli forces had entered Qalandia overnight, deploying across several neighborhoods and firing tear gas and stun grenades, sparking a fire.
The raid came about six weeks after the governorate said Israel planned to demolish the Qalandia training center. Israel has already banned UNRWA from operating in occupied East Jerusalem and demolished agency buildings there.
Israeli forces also raided the Jabal Salman area in Beita, south of Nablus, carried out demolitions in Nilin, west of Ramallah, and entered Arrabeh in Jenin with military bulldozers. Raids and arrests were also reported in Deir al-Ghusun, where five Palestinians were detained, and in Balata camp and Asira al-Shamaliya, where Quds News said four young men were arrested.
Soldiers also raided homes and made arrests in Deir Jarir, Jalbon, Kafr Qaddum, Tal, Burqa, Beit Furik, Anabta, Aktaba, Qalqilya, Arroub camp, and Beit Ummar. Quds News reported that soldiers stopped an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from Qaryut to a hospital in Nablus and that her condition deteriorated, leading to a miscarriage.
Settler attacks were also reported near Taybeh, east of Ramallah, and in Al-Burj, south of Hebron, where settlers released cattle among olive trees, damaging farmland.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for international action in letters to world leaders, the European Union, the Arab League, and the president of the U.N. Security Council.
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Trump says Morocco will name Sahara highway for him
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President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Sunday that Morocco was naming a 1,055-kilometer (660-mile) highway in Western Sahara after him.
The video showed desert landscapes and sections of the roughly $1 billion road linking Dakhla and Tiznit through territory Morocco considers part of its southern provinces. It described the “President Donald J. Trump Highway” as one of Africa’s longest roads and said it would be part of a broader network linking West Africa through Morocco to the Mediterranean.
“Thank you to Highly Respected Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco — Such a Great Honor!” Trump wrote. “I look forward to traveling the entire length of this Great Highway someday, hopefully soon!”
Morocco has not officially confirmed the naming.
Western Sahara, a resource-rich territory about the size of the United Kingdom, has been disputed since Spain withdrew in 1975. Morocco controls most of the territory, while the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, seeks a referendum on independence and says it represents the indigenous Sahrawi people.
Trump recognized Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in 2020 as part of a deal in which Morocco re-established ties with Israel.
France and Spain later backed Morocco’s position, helping accelerate development in the area, including a $1.3 billion deep-sea port, tourist resorts, and green-energy projects. Director Christopher Nolan filmed parts of “The Odyssey” near Dakhla last year, drawing criticism from the Polisario Front.
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U.S., Iran Extend Strike Pause as Diplomacy Continues
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The pause in U.S. and Iranian strikes continued for additional nights after U.S. Central Command said July 23 that forces had completed the 13th consecutive night of operations. No new U.S. strike-completion announcement had been released.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the pause gave diplomacy “some space” and “a little bit of time,” while adding that U.S. forces remained “locked and loaded.”
President Donald Trump rejected reports of munitions shortages, saying, “We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need.” No full White House transcript had been released.
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India protests over exam leaks lead minister to resign
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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Saturday he was stepping down after weeks of youth-led protests over an exam paper leak scandal that affected millions across India.
His resignation met one of the main demands of demonstrations that had expanded across the country in recent weeks and posed a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
At a protest site at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi, Abhijeet Dipke announced the news to thousands of supporters. Dipke had created the satirical Cockroach Janta Party 36 days earlier after a social media post asking: “What if all cockroaches came together?”
He also read the names of students who had died by suicide amid exam paper leaks and cancellations, and dedicated the protesters’ victory to them.
“They called us lazy and unemployed,” said 19-year-old Lavanya Bharti, referring to comments by India’s chief justice likening India’s youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites,” which prompted the creation of the group. “We [are] lazy enough to sleep on our Parliament Street for days; we are unemployed, bro,” she said. “We have erased the fear that Modi spent years building. Cockroaches are crawling all over you, Modi.”
The group later urged protesters to “return home peacefully” after saying the government had accepted all of its demands. Those included compensation for the families of students who had died by suicide, assurances that protesters would face no punitive action, and a public apology from police and paramilitary forces over attacks on demonstrators.
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Drones hit Irbil as U.S.-Iran conflict widens
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Explosive-laden drones targeted Irbil in northern Iraq on Friday, hours after the U.S. military said it had completed another night of strikes on Iran.
U.S.-led forces shot down five drones over Irbil, according to security officials in northern Iraq.
Flights continued as normal, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported, citing the airport’s director. U.S. military officials in Iraq did not respond to a request for comment.
A small contingent of U.S. military advisers is based in Iraq, many of them in Irbil.
Bahrain said it intercepted and shot down Iranian aerial attacks Friday, but did not say whether there were casualties or damage. Jordan’s armed forces said they had downed seven Iranian missiles and six drones.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard urged people in neighboring countries to stay away from bases with American troops. It said it had targeted the U.S. base in Udairi, Kuwait, and struck a watchtower for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain. U.S. Central Command did not respond to inquiries about those claims.
In Iran, U.S. strikes hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in the north, the semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA reported. Overnight blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island and in Isfahan province. Central Command said the strikes were intended to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.”
The Iranian Health Ministry said 3,434 people had been killed since the war began. There were no public signs of progress in diplomacy. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with China and Russia were continuing and that Iran “will not bow to U.S. bullying.”
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Trump adds Israel condition to Saudi nuclear deal
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A civilian nuclear agreement signed Wednesday by the United States and Saudi Arabia was thrown into question less than a day later after President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia would have to join the Abraham Accords and said the deal would not allow uranium enrichment.
The agreement was signed at the Energy Department in Washington after months of delay, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright appearing alongside his Saudi counterpart by video from Riyadh.
According to a source familiar with the matter and other sources who spoke to CNN, Trump was upset that Wright announced the deal without his approval and that criticism from experts, Fox News, and The Wall Street Journal followed. Two sources briefed on the matter told CNN the new Abraham Accords condition surprised the administration’s nuclear negotiators.
“President Trump’s energy team is fully aligned, and always has been: the civil nuclear deal being brokered between the United States and Saudi Arabia is contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the successful Abraham Accords, which will help bring true peace to the Middle East,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
Energy Department press secretary Ben Dietderich disputed any internal split. “This is fake news. The Department of Energy has closely coordinated the negotiations and then announcement of these agreements with the White House and the State Department. Any suggestion otherwise is false,” and added that the deal and the Abraham Accords “achieve a common goal — delivering lasting peace through commerce, not conflict,” he said.
CNN reported that the signed accord did not require Saudi normalization with Israel. It also reported the deal would allow uranium enrichment on Saudi soil if conditions were met and would limit the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ability to inspect suspected covert sites. The White House said letters required for Congress had not been sent, and some Trump aides did not view the deal as finalized.
The agreement traced back nearly two decades. A tentative version was reached in October, and the Trump administration later sent Congress a waiver report because the Saudis were not required to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol.
Critics cited proliferation risks and the lack of enhanced safeguards, while supporters pointed to commercial benefits and the risk that Saudi Arabia could turn to China or Russia.
Questions also arose about whether Israeli concerns played a role, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not spoken, “Not to my knowledge.” She said Trump had raised the issue with Saudi officials before.
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U.S. set to levy 10% tariffs on goods from 80 nations
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The Trump administration will impose tariffs of about 10% on goods from more than 80 countries starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, replacing a global 10% duty that is set to expire at the same time.
The new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, will be issued under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The administration said foreign governments failed to pass or enforce laws blocking imports made with forced labor, putting U.S. businesses at a disadvantage.
Canada, which will face a 10% tariff, already bars imports made with forced labor. The European Union, also at 10%, has a ban scheduled to take effect in December 2027. Trump administration officials said those governments have not effectively enforced their laws.
Critics said the administration was using forced labor concerns to restore tariffs that courts had blocked.
The tariffs will exempt oil, gas, certain natural resources, goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and products already subject to national security tariffs, including cars and steel.
The administration has proposed additional Section 301 tariffs on 15 countries and the European Union tied to what the White House called unfair manufacturing practices. An administration official said Thursday that investigation was continuing.
Trump has argued U.S. tariffs on imports were too low. His efforts have faced repeated legal challenges. In February, the Supreme Court struck down his use of an emergency law to impose tariffs and ordered about $160 billion in tariff revenue refunded.
After that ruling, Trump turned to Section 122 of the 1974 trade law as a temporary measure. Federal trade court judges later ruled against that approach, though courts allowed the 10% import tax to remain in effect during the appeal.
Section 301 has survived past court challenges, including tariffs Trump imposed on China during his first term, but it has not previously been used this broadly.
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Trump ties Saudi nuclear deal to Israel ties
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President Donald Trump said Thursday that a new U.S.-Saudi agreement on a civilian nuclear program would require Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
In a social media post, Trump said the deal did not allow uranium enrichment. “The agreement will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” he wrote. He added, “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
Two people familiar with the matter said the agreement would be submitted to Congress for review and was expected to last 30 years, with U.S. firms involved in developing the program. One of the people, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal could allow construction of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study.
A second person familiar with the decision said the agreement did not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which allows greater monitoring, inspections, and verification.
Saudi officials have said normalizing relations with Israel would require a clear path to Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian statehood as incompatible with Israel’s security.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said Wednesday that the agreement would support efforts to diversify energy sources, advance technology, and expand cooperation and investment between the two countries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday in Manila that the agreement would help ensure Saudi Arabia works with U.S. companies, rather than “competitors,” on its civil nuclear program. China, South Korea, France, and Russia are among countries Riyadh could also consider.
“We’re not the only show in town, but we’re the best show in town,” Rubio said. “We want to make sure that it’s our companies they’re picking.”
Trump has sought to expand the Abraham Accords, which in 2020 established formal ties between Israel and three Arab countries. His effort to add Saudi Arabia has been complicated by the war in Gaza and the nearly 5-month-old U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, though his administration has said it remains optimistic about securing a deal before the end of his second term.
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Iraqi PM visits Iran, signs agreements in Tehran
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited Iran on Thursday in his first official trip since taking office in May, as the two countries signed agreements and pledged closer cooperation.
The Iraqi News Agency said al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian oversaw the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding on foreign affairs, finance, the economy, and energy in Tehran.
According to INA, the talks focused on strategic cooperation, joint economic and infrastructure projects, and regional developments, including implementation of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
At a joint meeting of senior Iranian and Iraqi delegations, al-Zaidi thanked Iran for supporting Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State group and said Iraq remained committed to security cooperation with Tehran. He also said Iraq would not accept hostile action against Iran by any party.
“Iraq will never forget Iran’s support in the fight against the [ISIL/ISIL] terrorist group,” he said, according to Pezeshkian’s office.
Pezeshkian said a comprehensive strategic cooperation plan would provide a roadmap for broader ties between Tehran and Baghdad, and said the two countries’ security was closely linked.
In a joint statement issued after the visit, Iran and Iraq said regional crises should be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and engagement among regional countries, and reaffirmed support for political solutions based on international law.
The statement said the two governments agreed to draft a long-term strategic cooperation agreement, accelerate existing bilateral accords, and expand coordination in political, economic, security, and cultural matters. Their foreign ministers were tasked with finalizing the draft for signature.
Iran and Iraq also agreed to expand trade and joint investment, speed up the Basra-Shalamcheh railway project, strengthen cooperation in banking, energy, transport, and transit, and remove legal and administrative barriers to joint projects. They said their Joint High Commission would meet annually, alternating between Tehran and Baghdad, under the leadership of the two prime ministers.
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More than 3,200 Israelis enter Al-Aqsa compound
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More than 3,200 Israeli settlers and members of far-right groups entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday during Tisha B’Av, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also entered the site under heavy police protection. Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning marking the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples believed to have stood at the site, which Muslims know as Al-Aqsa and Jews as the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf Department said 3,228 Israelis entered the compound during the morning. The Palestinian administration of the Jerusalem governorate said the number could rise to 5,000 by sundown, exceeding totals recorded in previous years for the holiday.
The Jerusalem governorate said Israeli settlers performed Talmudic rituals inside the compound, including prostrating themselves, singing, and praying. Israeli media reported police allowed more than 1,000 Israelis to pray at the site. Under a 1967 agreement, non-Muslims may visit the site but may not pray there.
Ben-Gvir said Jews visiting the site on Tisha B’Av “feel like the owners,” praising what he called “tremendous progress” there, Haaretz reported.
The Jerusalem governorate called Ben-Gvir’s visit a dangerous escalation, saying it showed official Israeli backing for actions previously associated with groups advocating reconstruction of a Jewish temple at the site.
Hamas said the “blatant acts of aggression will backfire on the occupation and its settlers.” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit, calling it “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Fouad Majali said the visit violated the site’s historical and legal status quo. Jordan urged international pressure on Israel to stop what it described as ongoing violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
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Houthis claim Red Sea tanker strikes amid Iran conflict
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Yemen’s Houthi movement said Thursday it struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of what it called a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, adding to risks for oil shipments already disrupted by fighting involving Iran.
The Houthis, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, said earlier this week they were imposing a blockade on Saudi Arabia. The U.S. military said Wednesday it had launched a new round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, the 12th straight night of U.S. attacks.
The Houthis said their forces used missiles and drones to attack the Saudi tankers Encelia and Layla in the Red Sea.
A maritime security source said Encelia sent a distress call after reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan late Wednesday. British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Saudi-flagged tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq.
Shipping disruptions were already building. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and three tankers carrying Saudi oil to China and India turned back on Tuesday.
Saudi oil shipments had increasingly been routed to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb is also disrupted, ships would be left with a northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks to voyages and raising costs.
Trump said Wednesday the United States would strike an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran fired at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s joint military command said, according to Iranian state media, that if such threats were carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity, and economic infrastructure and stop the export of “even a single drop of oil.”
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an explosion occurred on what they described as a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, with one of three oil tankers catching fire and the other two turning back. They said the strait was under their control and “completely closed.”
Iranian state media said Thursday the United States attacked one location in Bushehr, near Iran’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, for the second time in two days.
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U.S., Saudi Arabia sign civilian nuclear pact
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The United States announced Wednesday that it had reached a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the pact alongside Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
No further details about the agreements were provided in the text.
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Trump says U.S. could strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain
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President Donald Trump said the United States could soon strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified site believed to be an enrichment facility buried deep underground.
The broader regional conflict remained in what the source described as a “cycle of enhanced risk” as the United States and Iran exchanged strikes.
In Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Trump to “keep supporting” Lebanon’s army. As Trump hosted Aoun, he said the United States “will help” Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon were also trying “safe zones” in southern Lebanon as part of an agreement.
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Trump threatens strikes on Iran infrastructure
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President Trump said Wednesday that the United States would strike an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump issued the warning as he weighed both a ceasefire and broader military action. Trump’s main condition for a ceasefire is for Iran to stop attacking ships and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels over the past three months. Several of those attacks came after the U.S. and Iran signed a June memorandum of understanding calling for a ceasefire.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
An unidentified military source quoted by Tasnim, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated news agency, said Iran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to become a source of threats against it.
“Iran will not abandon its firm determination to control the strait, which it considers essential to the strait’s long-term security. If the Americans target an Iranian bridge or power plant, Iran will respond by striking infrastructure and bridges across the region, including energy facilities in which the United States has interests.”
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U.S. strikes Iran again; Tehran fires hit Jordan
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The United States carried out another wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, as Iranian air defenses fired over Tehran and Iran launched missiles and drones toward Jordan near Israel.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba, while two others fell in “uninhabited areas.” Jordan also said it intercepted four Iranian drones. Video filmed in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat showed smoke overhead. Bahrain issued another missile alert, and Saudi Arabia warned residents in Dammam to seek shelter before later saying the danger had passed.
The U.S. military said it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, targeting aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions in several provinces.
The attacks came as diplomacy showed little public progress and both sides remained at odds over the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea also put another trade route at risk.
Brent crude rose to about $94 a barrel, and gasoline prices climbed ahead of U.S. midterm elections this fall.
Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, which has served as a mediator, to seek to revive diplomacy. Iran Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said, according to IRNA, that “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged.
At a regional summit in the Philippines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Iran’s actions in the strait.
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday from the Oval Office that the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.” He also signaled U.S. forces could target Pickaxe Mountain, an under-construction Iranian nuclear site near Natanz.
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FIFA to investigate Argentina-Spain final clash
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FIFA said Monday it will investigate post-match incidents involving Argentina and Spain after Spain’s 1-0 victory in the World Cup final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
After the final whistle, Spain’s players ran onto the field to celebrate. Argentina defender Nahuel Molina appeared to strike Spain midfielder Rodri in the stomach as Rodri ran onto the field.
A larger confrontation followed near midfield. Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes appeared to grab Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat before throwing Gavi to the ground.
In a statement, FIFA said: “Following an assessment of the relevant match reports for the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, and in line with article 36 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the FDC with regard to the post-match incidents.”
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off in the third minute of stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for a late challenge on Pau Cubarsi.
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U.S. says latest Iran strikes ended after 11th night
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The U.S. military said late Tuesday that it ended its latest round of strikes on Iran, marking the 11th consecutive night of U.S. attacks.
The strikes lasted about 75 minutes, according to the U.S. military.
“CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Washington said Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the last three months.
The war began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases.
U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war have killed thousands and displaced millions.
An Iranian Health Ministry official said recent U.S. strikes on Iran had killed 50 civilians and wounded 500.
U.S. troop deaths in the war have risen to 18 in recent days.
Last week, Trump said the United States could expand its targets in Iran to include energy plants and bridges.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians. After Trump’s earlier threats to strike such targets, U.S. international law experts said in April that such attacks may amount to war crimes.
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Iran warns Bulgaria over possible U.S. airbase use
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Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against allowing U.S. forces to use its territory for military operations against Iran.
Bulgaria’s government said it would seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight U.S. tanker aircraft at Bezmer military facility, about 160 miles southeast of Sofia. Bulgaria is a member of NATO and the European Union.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said any activity that facilitated U.S. attacks on Iran would amount to complicity in what he described as “aggression and war crimes,” according to Iranian state media.
Baghaei urged Bulgaria not to become “an accomplice of aggressors and lawbreakers,” Iranian state media said.
The tanker aircraft are mainly used for airborne refueling of other aircraft.
The U.S. and Iran have intensified strikes since an interim ceasefire agreement signed a month ago unraveled, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.
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