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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN
President Trump said on Saturday that his administration is ready to help the anti-government protestors in Iran, saying “Iran is looking for FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump also said several times over the weekend that he will use military force if the Iranian regime uses force against protestors. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Trump said yesterday that Iran proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown targeting anti-government protestors in Iran, as the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency reports that the death toll has risen to at least 544 people. Trump added, “the meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.” Trump and his national security team have been weighing up a range of responses, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the United States or Israel, according to two sources. U.S. officials said that they had to be careful to ensure that military strikes did not galvanize the Iranian public to support the government in Tehran or trigger retaliatory strikes. John Gambrell and Julia Nikhinson report for AP News; Tyler Pager, Eric Schmitt, and Edward Wong report for the New York Times.
“The communication channel between our Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and the U.S. Special envoy [Steve Witkoff] is open and messages are exchanged whenever necessary,” a spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry said today, adding that “contradictory messages” from the United States showed a lack of seriousness. Araqchi reiterated in a briefing to foreign ambassadors in Tehran that the Islamic Republic was ready for war but also open to dialogue. Jana Choukeir, Nayera Abdallah, and Tala Ramadan report for Reuters.
Trump is scheduled to be briefed on Tuesday on options for responding to protests in Iran, including boosting anti-government sources online, deploying secretive cyber weapons, placing more sanctions on the regime, and military strikes, according to U.S. officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan. Caine are expected to attend the meeting. Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
“The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together,” Trump said on Friday, adding “because of this cooperation, I have canceled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that additional U.S. sanctions on Venezuela could be lifted as soon as this week to facilitate oil sales, and that he will meet with the heads of the IMF and World Bank to discuss their re-engagement with Venezuela. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO; David Lawder reports.
Venezuela is exploring restoring diplomatic ties and sending a delegation to Washington to check on its long-closed embassy, according to a statement from Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that U.S. diplomats visited Caracas on Friday to assess the potential resumption of embassy operations. Annie Correal reports for the New York Times.
The United States seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean early on Friday, U.S. Southern Command said on social media. The Olina was detained “without incident,” becoming the fifth Venezuelan-linked tanker seized by the Trump administration since December. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.
Trump on Friday signed an executive order aimed at blocking courts or creditors from impounding revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in U.S. Treasury accounts, the White House said on Saturday. Several companies, such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, have longstanding claims against the country. The order declares that the revenue is the sovereign property of Venezuela held in U.S. custody for governmental and diplomatic purposes and is not subject to private claims. Ernest Scheyder reports for Reuters.
Trump said yesterday that he is inclined to keep Exxonmobil out of Venezuela after its top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country. “If we look at the commercial constructs and framework in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” Exxonmobil CEO Darren Woods said. Seung Min Kim and Julia Nikhinson report for AP News.
Trump said yesterday on social media that “no more oil or money” would be going to Cuba from Venezuela, adding that the United States would be enforcing distance between the two countries. Trump urged Cuba “to make a deal, before it is too late,” though it is unclear what he meant by this. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded to Trump that his country was prepared to defend itself against U.S. threats, adding “no one tells us what to do.” Katie Rogers reports for the New York Times.
While U.S. intelligence shows that key sectors of the Cuban economy are severely strained by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions, and other problems, recent CIA assessments were inconclusive on whether the worsening economy would destabilize the government, sources said. This is notable as Trump and other U.S. officials suggested that shutting Cuba off from Venezuelan oil could topple the Cuban government. Reuters could not determine if the CIA had produced an updated assessment since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week. Gram Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk, and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said yesterday. Meanwhile, thousands of residents in Kyiv were still without power, following the Russian bombardment overnight into Friday. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE
Israeli fire yesterday killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents in Gaza, according to local health authorities. Medics said one Palestinian was killed in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, in an area under Palestinian control, while two others were killed in southern Gaza in the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Younis, an area Israel still occupies. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
Hamas said yesterday that it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the territory, as per the U.S.-brokered peace plan, but the group gave no specifics on when the change will occur. An Egyptian official said that Hamas will meet with other Palestinian factions this week to finalise the technocratic committee’s formation. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
More than 26 families from the Palestinian Bedouin village Ras Ein el-Auja in the West Bank have packed up and fled their homes in recent days as a result of harassment by Jewish settlers, according to rights groups. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
“Female-headed households [in Sudan] are now three times more likely to be food insecure. Three quarters of these households report not having enough to eat,” a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday. More than 21 million people are currently estimated to be acutely food insecure across the country. Some 34 million people are in need of humanitarian support, half of whom are children, according to the U.N. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A delegate from the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist faction in Yemen, said on Friday from Riyadh that the group was disbanding. However, a senior STC official said on social media that “the delegation was coerced, in a disgusting and farcical display, into announcing the dissolution.” Mohammed al-Sahmi, a representative for the STC in Britain, said by phone that the decision to dissolve the separatist group was not valid because it was done in Saudi Arabia without the full council’s vote. Ismaeel Naar, Saeed Al-Batati, and Vivian Nereim report for the New York Times.
The final fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from Aleppo, Syria, after the announcement of a ceasefire deal early yesterday morning. Buses carrying the last Kurdish-led SDF members were seen leaving the Kurdish majority neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, according to local media reports. Tabby Wilson reports for BBC News.
Hearings on whether Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority began today at the International Court of Justice. The case was first filed at the ICJ in 2019 by Gambia, arguing a so-called “clearance operation” by Myanmar’s military in 2017 violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. Molly Quell reports for AP News.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Malaysia and Indonesia over the weekend blocked Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, as authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images. “The government sees non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement Saturday. Eileen NG and Edna Tarigan report for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States on Saturday carried out major airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said that about 20 Air Force attack planes, including F-15Es, A-10s and AC-130J gunships, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones and Jordanian F-16 fighter jets fired more than 90 bombs and missiles toward at least 35 targets. The targets included weapons caches, supply routes, and other infrastructure used by the Islamic State. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.
A group of 15 former senior U.S. officials sent a memo to the White House, State Department, and members of Congress warning against the use of military force to take over Greenland, according to the memo shared with Axios. “The current President’s threats to use military force or other coercive measures to take Greenland away from our ally Denmark is strategically foolish in both the near and longer term,” the memo reads, warning that “our adversaries are salivating at the opportunities that such a rupture would create for them to replace us. Barak Ravid reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday quietly ordered new restrictions on congressional visits to immigration detention facilities. The restrictions, revealed in court on Saturday, force lawmakers to seek a week’s advance notice before conducting oversight of ICE facilities. They are virtually identical to a policy that a federal judge halted last month after ruling that it appeared to violate a provision of the appropriations law that funds ICE. Noem said she would bypass the ruling by using the injection of funds given to ICE through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act instead. Kyle Cheney, Ben Johansen, and Gregory Svirnovskiy report for POLITICO; Michael Gold reports for the New York Times.
The Homeland Security Department announced on Friday that it was reviewing around 5,600 refugee cases in Minnesota, subjecting individuals who have already been approved for status to new interviews and background checks. Madeleine Ngo reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration will send “hundreds more” federal agents to Minneapolis “today or tomorrow” to support the work of ICE agents, Noem said yesterday, citing a major welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota as the reason. Noem also said some nonprofits in Minnesota were being investigated for their funding sources, and claimed they had trained protestors in impeding law enforcement operations and “weaponizing” vehicles against ICE agents. Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened an investigation into the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Powell lied about the scope of the project, according to officials. Powell yesterday acknowledged that the Justice Department had served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas in recent days. Stock futures fell, the dollar weakened, and gold prices jumped to a record after Powell said that Trump was seeking to press the central bank into cutting interest rates with the threat of a criminal indictment. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a swing vote on the Banking Committee, said in a statement, “If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” adding “it is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.” Glenn Thrush and Colby Smith report for the New York Times; the Wall Street Journal reports.
Christopher Raia, the long-serving head of the FBI’s New York field office and a career agent, has been appointed as the bureau’s new deputy director, succeeding Dan Bongino and expected to start next week. Devlin Barrett, William K. Rashbaum, and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing part of an executive order directing the government to withhold federal election funds to states that do not alter their voting procedures in line with Trump’s demands. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing $10 billion in welfare funds planned for five Democratic-led states. Rachel Bluth reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge on Saturday paused a Trump administration policy halting an immigration program that allowed migrants from some Central and South American countries to reunite with their family members in the United States while awaiting visas. The order extends the “family reunification parole” status of immigrants who were set to see it expire on Wednesday. Adam Sella reports for the New York Times.
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