War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(Al Arabiya) White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday described the situation surrounding possible negotiations with Iran in Pakistan to resolve the conflict as “fluid.” – White House describes US-Iran talks situation as ‘fluid’
(Al Arabiya) Lebanese armed group Hezbollah will fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying southern Lebanon, one of the group’s top lawmakers Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters on Tuesday, saying such an occupation would pose an “existential threat” to Lebanon as a state. – America’s next class war: AI fluency
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Iran named a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and senior figure in the hardline political faction on Tuesday to replace the powerful head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, killed in US-Israeli strikes last week. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was appointed as Larijani’s successor as secretary of the SNSC, the Iranian president’s deputy of communications posted on X on Tuesday. – Iran names ex-IRGC commander to replace slain security chief, Larijani
(Al Arabiya) Qatar said on Tuesday that the ongoing war on Iran by Israel and the US needed to end through diplomatic means. “Qatar’s stance is that we must end this war through diplomatic means,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a media briefing, stressing that the Gulf country would support “all formal and informal” diplomatic channels. – Qatar: War on Iran ‘must end’ through diplomatic means
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Lebanon has withdrawn accreditation from the Iranian ambassador and declared him persona non grata, demanding his departure from Lebanon by Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. – Lebanon declares Iranian envoy persona non grata, asks him to leave country by Sunday
(Al Arabiya) Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has emerged as a potential partner for the US, although the White House is not ready yet to commit to one person, POLITICO reported on Monday. The Trump administration is “quietly weighing Iran’s parliament speaker as a potential partner – and even a future leader,” POLITICO said. – US weighing Iran’s parliament speaker Ghalibaf as potential partner: Report
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) US President Donald Trump appears to be determined to reach a deal with Iran aimed at ending hostilities in the Middle East, three senior Israeli officials said on Tuesday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they viewed it is unlikely that Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of negotiations, which broke down on February 28 with the launch of the US-Israeli war on Iran. – Trump wants a deal with Iran but success of talks unlikely, Israeli officials say
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Germany’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that he believed US President Donald Trump’s announcement about talks with Iran could mark a turning point in the nearly month-long conflict. “Something is happening, and that’s a good thing in this time when there have been more risks of escalation than possibilities of bringing this conflict under control,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told broadcaster MDR. – German minister says Trump’s Iran talks announcement could mark turning point
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Iranian police arrested 466 people accused of online activities aimed at undermining national security, state media reported on Tuesday, in one of the biggest security sweeps since the start of the war with Israel and the United States. – Iran arrests 466 people accused of online activity undermining national security: IRNA
(Al Arabiya) Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has secretly informed US envoy Steve Witkoff that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei approved talks to reach a potential deal, Al Arabiya reported on Tuesday, citing Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. – Iranian FM secretly informed Witkoff of supreme leader’s agreement to negotiate with US
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure. – Iran media report attacks on country’s energy infrastructure
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Russia would view any spillover of the Iran conflict into the Caspian Sea ”extremely negatively,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. – Russia says it would be very concerned by Iran war spillover into Caspian Sea
(Esther Webber – Politico) Countries focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz will meet for a security summit in the near future, which the U.K. has offered to host. More than 30 nations including United Arab Emirates, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have now signed a joint statement agreeing to work on “appropriate efforts” to safeguard the major trade route. A British official, granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on the record, said Tuesday the U.K. wanted to help “build this coalition and develop momentum” in order to “open a route safe through the Strait of Hormuz, and provide that reassurance to merchant shipping.” – UK offers to host summit on reopening Strait of Hormuz – POLITICO
EU/Climate Action
(Zia Weise – Politico) The European Union should loosen its “rigid” adherence to climate neutrality and allow itself to miss its 2050 net-zero goal by up to 10 percent, Germany’s minister for energy and economy told a major oil and gas conference in the United States. Speaking at the annual CERAWeek conference in Texas late Monday, Katherina Reiche called the EU’s goal to slash its planet-warming pollution to net zero by mid-century into question. Europe, for a long time, “had left a corridor, there wasn’t a net-zero … it was, for Europe, a goal [to reduce emissions] between 85 and 95 percent,” she claimed, likely referring to a non-binding European Commission roadmap from 2011. – EU should relax net-zero target, German energy minister says – POLITICO
EU/Ukraine/Hungary/US
(Max Griera and Camille Gijs – Politico) Viktor Orbán’s block on a loan for Ukraine is not the United States’ issue, said Washington’s ambassador to the EU, days after Donald Trump endorsed the Hungarian prime minister’s reelection campaign. “This is an internal EU issue, this isn’t a United States issue; they need to resolve the issue of how they’re going to finance Ukraine to the extent to which they’re gonna finance it,” Andrew Puzder told POLITICO in an interview. The U.S. has stepped up pressure on Europe to increase its financial aid to Ukraine since Donald Trump returned to office. All EU countries agreed on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, but Orbán changed his mind after Russian oil stopped flowing through the Druzhba pipeline. – Orbán’s block on Ukraine loan isn’t a US problem, says Trump’s EU envoy – POLITICO
France/US
(Reuters) France’s Army Chief said on Tuesday that the United States had become an unpredictable ally that was impacting France’s interests and security. – US unpredictability impacts our interests, France army chief says
Hungary/Russia
(Max Griera – Politico) Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said he speaks to his counterparts in Russia, Serbia, Israel, the United States and Turkey both before and after EU meetings on foreign affairs. “I speak not only with the Russian foreign minister, but also with the U.S., the Turkish, the Israeli, the Serbian ones, and our other partners before and after the meetings of the Council of the European Union,” Szijjártó said at a campaign rally Monday evening. “The situation is that many decisions are being made in the European Union that influence the relations and cooperation of Hungary with other countries outside the EU,” he said, adding: “That’s what foreign policy is about. Perhaps I’m saying something rough, but diplomacy is about us talking to leaders of other countries.” – Hungary’s foreign minister admits speaking to Russia before and after EU meetings – POLITICO
North Korea
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim said Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and expanding a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential to national security, regional stability and economic development. – Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s nuclear status is irreversible, threatens South
US
(Amy Harder – Axios) Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shared a stage Monday with the CEO of a French oil giant to take aim at offshore wind — a rare alignment between a government and a private company. The moment, at one of the world’s largest energy conferences, offered a stark snapshot of U.S. energy policy under President Trump. Burgum and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné finalized an agreement Monday to cancel federal offshore wind leases worth about $1 billion and redirect that investment to oil and natural gas projects in the U.S. – Trump administration cancels offshore shore wind leases in big shift
(Maya Goldman – Axios) The Trump administration’s suspension of certain immigrants’ work authorization renewals is sidelining possibly thousands of foreign-born doctors, some of the affected physicians tell Axios. The policy could worsen access to care in a health system already facing physician shortages. About a quarter of the U.S. physician workforce are immigrants. Rural communities especially depend on immigrant doctors to fill workforce gaps. The Citizenship and Immigration Services this winter started freezing the processing of immigration benefits like work authorization extensions for people already in the U.S. from 39 countries. – Trump’s visa policy sidelines immigrant doctors. Here’s how
(Holly Otterbein – Axios) New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is launching a PAC to donate to Democratic candidates in the upcoming midterms and plans to barnstorm the country for them later this year, her team tells Axios. Sherrill adds firepower to the growing push by middle-of-the-road Democrats to pull their party toward the center as they seek to regain power in D.C. Sherrill, one of the breakout stars of last year’s elections, is aiming to take her post-2025 momentum national. Her move comes as Democrats are wrestling with conflicts between the party’s moderates and its left wing. – Sherrill aims to help shape midterms with new PAC
