Afghanistan/Pakistan
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Afghanistan said on Tuesday that useful discussions have taken place in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi to resolve its conflict with Pakistan. – Afghan Taliban says holding useful talks with Pakistan to resolve conflict
Hungary/US
(Jamie Dettmer and Max Griera – Politico) U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday insisted that Brussels rather than Washington was interfering in Hungarian politics before a crunch election on April 12, which will decide the future of key MAGA ally Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Vance’s criticism of the EU came amid a full-throated endorsement of Orbán, although he denied he was trying to boost the flagging campaign of the Kremlin-aligned leader, who has run Hungary for the past 16 years. “Now, I don’t expect, of course, the people of Hungary to listen to the vice president of the United States, that’s not primarily why I’m here,” he said at a press conference at the Hungarian prime minister’s office. – JD Vance slams Brussels ‘bureaucrats’ for meddling in Hungary before election – POLITICO
(Milena Wälde – Politico) Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar on Tuesday accused the U.S. of meddling in the country’s upcoming election, hitting out at Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Budapest just days before voters head to the polls. “No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country,” Magyar wrote on X, adding that Hungarian history “is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels.”. Vance arrived Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and a public address, in what Budapest has described as a sign of “deepening ties” between the two countries. – Orbán’s rival Magyar slams JD Vance’s Hungary visit as election meddling – POLITICO
Russia/Ukraine
(RFE/RL) A Russian drone hit a municipal bus in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol, killing at least four passengers and wounding 16 others. Ukrainian officials said it appeared to be a first-person-view drone, meaning the operator would have likely seen the passengers were civilians. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, said a municipal bus was pulling up to a stop in the center of Nikopol, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, when it was hit by the drone on April 7. He said there were people both inside and waiting to board. “It was deliberate terror against civilians,” he wrote on Telegram. – Russian Drone Targets City Bus in Ukraine; At Least 4 Killed, 16 Wounded
War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Lebanon’s health ministry said Tuesday that the death toll in more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah had reached 1,530. – Lebanon death toll in Israel-Hezbollah war surpasses 1500: Health ministry
(Al Arabiya) Efforts to facilitate talks between the US and Iran are still ongoing, two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as US strikes on Iran intensified and President Donald Trump’s deadline to unleash “hell” neared. One of the sources, a senior security official, said Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia threatened to derail the talks. – Efforts to facilitate talks between US, Iran ongoing, Pakistani sources say
(AFP/Al Arabiya) US strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island do not represent a change in American strategy, US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday as a US official separately told Reuters the additional strikes on military targets did not impact oil infrastructure. The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, described at least some of the strikes as targeting sites that had been previously struck before and said the attack occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday. – US hits military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, Vance says no change to strategy
(AFP/Al Arabiya) US Vice President JD Vance warned Tuesday the US has “tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use” against Iran, adding he was “hopeful” negotiations would avoid them being deployed. – US has ‘tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use’ on Iran: JD Vance
(The Associated Press/Al Arabiya) Three Iraqi officials said Tuesday local authorities believed the powerful Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia was responsible for the kidnapping of a US journalist in Iraq and that attempts to negotiate her release have run into obstacles. US officials had previously alleged the group was responsible for abducting freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson from a Baghdad street corner on March 31. The Iraqi government has not publicly named the group responsible, and the militia has not claimed the kidnapping. – Iraqi officials believe an Iran-backed militia is behind a US journalist’s abduction
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned what he described as “treacherous attack” outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul where a gunman was killed, and vowed to fight “terrorism.” – Erdogan condemns ‘treacherous attack’ in Istanbul
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Qatar on Tuesday warned the war in the Middle East was close to a threshold where it cannot be controlled after US President Donald Trump set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “We have been warning since 2023 that escalation left unchecked will get us into a situation where it cannot be controlled and we are very close to that point,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said. – Qatar warns region ‘close’ to point where war escalation cannot be controlled
(Al Arabiya) The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had completed the deployment of ground troops along a “defense line” in southern Lebanon, where it is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah. The military has not given any geographical details on the furthest point to which its soldiers have advanced into Lebanese territory. – Israel military says completed deployment of troops in south Lebanon
(Barak Ravid – Axios) President Trump threatened on Tuesday to wipe out the entire Iranian “civilization” if the regime doesn’t meet his 8pm ET deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s new threat, which was the most harrowing in a series of public warnings to Iran, seems to be part of an effort to convince Tehran the risks of not making a swift deal are too dire to countenance. Iran has accused Trump of planning to commit war crimes. The regime has not shown much flexibility around a deal in public comments, though sources tell Axios there has been some progress behind the scenes in the past 48 hours. Vice President Vance, who is involved in the Iran diplomacy, said at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday that intense negotiations would take place right up to Trump’s deadline. “I am hopeful it will get to a good resolution,” he said. – Trump threatens “whole civilization will die tonight” amid 11th hour Iran negotiations
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) With a US ultimatum set to expire, President Donald Trump has warned Iran that its infrastructure could be struck within hours if it does not comply with his demands, particularly reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has rejected short-term cease-fire proposals, demanding a permanent end to hostilities and guarantees against future attacks. RFE/RL spoke with Nate Swanson, former Iran director at the White House National Security Council who is now at the Atlantic Council, about the escalating crisis and prospects for diplomacy as Trump’s deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern Time on April 7 looms. – Ex-White House Adviser Sees Rising Risks As Trump’s Iran Deadline Looms
(Rikard Jozwiak – RFE/RL) Key European Union oil and gas groups will hold meetings this week as countries around the bloc scramble to deal with the impact of the US-Israel-led war with Iran on energy prices and supplies. European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told a news briefing on April 7 the oil coordination group will meet on April 8, while the gas group will convene the following day. The EU is facing energy-saving measures such as reduced air travel, highway speed limits, and work-from-home directives as the war has resulted in the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, the transit corridor for about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas. – EU Groups Looking At Energy-Saving Measures In Response To Iran War Crisis
