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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” President Trump said yesterday morning. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” At 6.32 pm ET, Trump lifted this threat, saying that an intervention by the Pakistani government had led to a two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Trump added, “We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.” Shortly after, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” A regional official said today that the ceasefire plan includes allowing Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times; AP News reports; Jacob Wendler and Paul McLeary report for POLITICO.
Two sources told Axios that a first round of negotiations between the United States and Iran on an agreement to end the war is planned for Friday in Islamabad. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.
Israel said today that it supports the suspension of attacks against Iran for two weeks, but added that the deal does not extend to Lebanon. Israeli strikes in Lebanon continued today. Three Lebanese sources told Reuters that Hezbollah halted fire on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in Lebanon early this morning as part of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Hezbollah is likely to issue a statement outlining its formal position on the ceasefire and on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that Lebanon is not included, the sources added. Euan Ward and Francesco Regalado report for the New York Times; Reuters reports.
U.S. forces in the Middle East and officials in the Pentagon “had no idea what was going to happen,” a defense official said, adding that preparations for a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure continued right up until Trump announced the ceasefire. For those involved in negotiations, sources said there was a general understanding by around noon ET yesterday that the parties were converging on a two-week ceasefire. Two Iranian sources said the “breakthrough” occurred when Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei gave negotiators his blessing to cut a deal. Such was the confusion around Trump’s thinking that multiple people who had spoken to him early yesterday evening still believed he would reject the ceasefire offer. Barak Ravid, Dave Lawler, and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
The United States, Israel, and Iran accelerated strikes yesterday ahead of Trump’s deadline. Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island overnight did not include oil infrastructure, adding that there had been no change in U.S. strategy. “The president’s deadline…has been followed by us and everybody else,” he said. “And he said very clearly, we’re not going to strike energy and infrastructure targets until the Iranians either make a proposal we can get behind or don’t make a proposal.” Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO; Max Bearak reports for the New York Times.
U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Iraq by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah last week, has been released, the State Department said yesterday. Jacob Wendler and Daniella Cheslow report for POLITICO.
Iranian hackers are exploiting cyber vulnerabilities in key software systems at U.S. water and energy providers, according to a new advisory released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency yesterday. Programmable logic controllers developed by software manufacturer Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley are actively being exploited, and PLCs from other companies are potentially being targeted as well, the advisory said. Dana Nickel and Maggie Miller report for POLITICO.
The FBI warned U.S. state and local law enforcement of an elevated threat posed by Iran’s government to targets in the United States, including military and government personnel, Jewish and Israeli institutions, and Iranian dissidents in the United States, in a report dated March 20. The FBI and National Counterterrorism Center had not identified broad threats to the American public, the report said. Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE
China and Russia vetoed a Bahrain-led resolution at the U.N. yesterday aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, Somalia, the United Kingdom, and the United States voted in favor of the resolution. Sophie Brams reports for the Hill.
“About 15 countries are currently mobilised and are participating in the planning… to enable the implementation of this strictly defensive mission… to facilitate the resumption of traffic” through the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said this morning in a meeting with French defense advisers. Macron also welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, but called for Lebanon to be included in the deal. Reuters reports.
More than 70 U.S. Democratic lawmakers yesterday called for Trump to be removed from office and questioned his mental fitness for the presidency after he threatened to destroy “a whole civilization” in Iran. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said that Trump’s threat was “comparable to genocide” and a “criminal act,” adding that Trump “seems to have lost control” and “become as fanatical as the regime leaders in Tehran.” Megan Mineiro and Michael Gold report for the New York Times.
More than two dozen Senate Democrats yesterday demanded that the Armed Services Committee open its own bipartisan investigation into the Feb. 28 strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school that killed at least 175 people. Megan Mineiro reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Cameroon said on Monday that Russia confirmed the deaths of 16 Cameroonian soldiers in Ukraine, according to a memo addressed to the Russian Embassy in Cameroon. Nalova Akua reports for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles today, adding to a launch a day earlier, according to South Korea’s military. The incidents mark North Korea’s fourth, fifth, and sixth ballistic missile launches this year, following two launches in January and a third in March. South Korea typically announces North Korean ballistic missile launches promptly, as such tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North’s missile programme. Kyu-Seok Shim reports for Reuters.
The International Organization for Migration said yesterday that more than 80 migrants are missing after a boat that departed from Libya on Sunday capsized in the central Mediterranean. Of the estimated 120 people on board, 32 were rescued by a merchant vessel and a tugboat. Fatma Khaled reports for AP News.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Anthropic said yesterday that its new AI model, Claude Mythos Preview, is so powerful at finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities that it could pose major cybersecurity risks and so will not be released publicly. Instead, access is being restricted to around 40 tech and cybersecurity companies, including Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft, which will use it to detect and fix security vulnerabilities in software programs. Kevin Roose reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump and Vance yesterday offered their support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a rally five days before the election. Vance cheered Orban on in person, while Trump offered his praise by telephone to a stadium in Budapest packed with supporters of Hungary’s Fidesz party. “I love Hungary, and I love Viktor. I’m telling you he’s a fantastic man,” Trump said by phone. Andrew Higgins and Lili Rutai report for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
ICE officers yesterday shot and injured a man named Carlos Ivan Mendoza in Northern California. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE fired defensive shots at Mendoza after he “weaponized his vehicle” during a targeted vehicle stop. DHS also said that Mendoza has a history of gang involvement and was wanted for questioning in El Salvador about a murder. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said he had been briefed on the incident and expected federal authorities to cooperate with state and local officials during the investigation. Alyssa Lukpat reports for the Wall Street Journal.
ICE arrested more than 800 people following tips shared by Transportation Security Administration officials from the beginning of Trump’s presidency to February 2026, according to internal ICE data reviewed by Reuters. Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke report.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department has assigned its civil rights divsion, led by Harmeet Dhillon, to investigate Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, over alleged lying to Congress about events on Jan. 6, 2021. Alan Feuer and Michael S. Schmidt report for the New York Times.
Bill Gates is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on June 10. Cheyanne M. Daniels and Hailey Fuchs report for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
“Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general… except for President Trump,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters yesterday. Blanche said he was not taking any particular lesson from Pam Bondi’s removal nor planning any course correction for the DOJ. “I grow tired of people in the media saying why President Trump did or did not do something, because President Trump’s the only one that knows that,” Blanche added. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told the Washington Post yesterday that he has no plans to resign from his role at the Pentagon, after a series of internal clashes with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth and Driscoll have disagreed on several issues, including Hegseth’s moves to block the promotions of several Army officers, officials said, adding that tensions between the two date back at least a year. Dan Lamothe reports.
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