U.S.-Iran talks. Oman mediated indirect talks today between the United States and Iran focused on “sustaining security and stability,” its foreign ministry said in a statement. The U.S. and Iran did not immediately issue readouts of the talks, which were expected to cover Iran’s nuclear program. Omani state media footage also showed the head of U.S. Central Command participating on the U.S. side, which he had not done on previous rounds of talks.
Russian general shot. Vladimir Alekseyev, a senior Russian general, was shot and wounded in Moscow today by an attacker who fled the scene, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the attack; Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment.
Trump’s arms control stance. The United States opposes extending the New START arms control treaty with Russia and instead wants a new “modernized” treaty, Trump wrote yesterday on social media. The president has suggested that China should be included in any future arms control agreement. China’s disarmament ambassador today rejected the possibility of new nuclear arms control talks with Moscow and Washington.
Takeaways from Ukraine talks. Russia and Ukraine each agreed to release 157 prisoners of war during trilateral talks with the United States in Abu Dhabi this week, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff wrote yesterday on social media. It marks their first prisoner swap in at least five months. Witkoff added that the United States and Russia had agreed to re-establish military-to-military contacts that had been frozen shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Summit on AI in the military. Around three dozen countries endorsed a set of recommendations for responsible military use of AI at a summit in Spain yesterday. The recommendations include ensuring human control over AI weapons and transparency around their oversight “where consistent with national security.” Major signatories this year include Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, and Ukraine. The United States signed similar declarations at the 2023 and 2024 summits, but this year it did not sign; nor did China.
Cuba ready to talk. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said at a press conference yesterday that he is prepared to negotiate with the United States without preconditions amid an energy crisis. It was his first press conference since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last month and Trump threatened sanctions on countries selling oil to Cuba. Cuba was plunged into a partial blackout Wednesday amid its dwindling energy supplies. The White House press secretary said yesterday that the Cuban government was “on its last leg.”
Trump’s endorsements. Trump endorsed Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in their upcoming elections in separate social media posts yesterday. Open endorsements in foreign elections are historically rare for U.S. presidents, though not unheard of for Trump, who also endorsed Argentine President Javier Milei last year.
Islamabad attack. A suspected suicide bomb attack in a Shiite mosque in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, killed at least 31 people and wounded 169, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility. Pakistan has experienced a rise in extremist violence in recent months, with attacks that have been linked to separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban.
