Iran’s missile capabilities. Iran still has around 70 percent of its prewar missile stockpile and has restored access to thirty of its thirty-three missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz—where Iranian missiles could threaten U.S. ships—unnamed sources with knowledge of U.S. intelligence assessments told the New York Times. The intelligence reports date from early this month. Asked for comment, a White House spokesperson repeated Trump’s divergent claim that Iran’s military had been “crushed” in the conflict and the acting Pentagon press secretary said Operation Epic Fury was a “historic accomplishment.”
Hezbollah warns against talks. The group’s leader has called for the Lebanese government to abandon direct negotiations with Israel, which are scheduled to continue in Washington this week. In a letter to Hezbollah officials, he wrote that the potential disarmament of Hezbollah, a key issue in the negotiations, was an internal matter.
Reported Saudi strikes on Iran. Saudi Arabia carried out multiple strikes on Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks during the war, unnamed Western and Iranian officials told Reuters. The Western officials said the attacks occurred in late March. Neither Iran’s foreign ministry nor a senior Saudi official commented on the alleged strikes.
Jump in civilian harms in Colombia. Colombia’s long-running armed conflicts between criminal groups and state forces took their heaviest civilian toll in a decade in 2025, according to a Red Cross report published yesterday. Explosive devices killed or injured 965 people, most of them civilians, while 308 people were reported disappeared. President Gustavo Petro has sought ceasefires with many of Colombia’s armed groups, with little success.
Accusations of tariff evasion... Three U.S. solar panel firms filed a complaint yesterday with the Department of Commerce that accused two other solar companies of using assembly sites in Ethiopia to evade tariffs on Chinese solar imports. U.S. solar panel imports from Ethiopia jumped from zero to $300 million between June and December last year, the complaint said. One of the accused firms denied the allegation, saying its materials came from elsewhere in Asia.
...and ongoing tariff refunds. The U.S. government processed almost $35.5 billion in refunded tariffs and related interest payments by May 11, according to a court filing issued Tuesday. In total, up to $166 billion in tariffs were collected by the Trump administration under a law that the Supreme Court has ruled was improperly used. Tens of thousands of applications for tariff refunds are still outstanding, according to the court filing.
Another candidate for UN leader. Antigua and Barbuda has nominated former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa for UN Secretary-General, a UN General Assembly spokesperson said yesterday. Espinosa also previously served as Ecuador’s defense minister. Her nomination brings the total number of candidates gunning for the position up to five; they include current UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi.
Report on Nigerian airstrike. Amnesty International said yesterday that a Nigerian military airstrike Sunday killed at least one hundred civilians at a market. A military spokesperson acknowledged forces were operating in the area but said there was “no verifiable evidence” of civilian casualties as reported in the media. It is the second time in a month that Amnesty has reported civilian deaths in Nigeria of this scale from a military airstrike; Nigerian officials called the prior incident a misfire.
