Welcome back to Global Overview, where we highlight the latest of these warnings United States and Iranian forces, winners and losers NATO meeting of leaders, and United States threatening to cut off business with Spain.
‘it’s over’
The cease-fire between the US and Iran appears to be dead.
Just 21 days after US and Iranian officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that halted hostilities, lifted US naval sanctions against Iran, and laid the groundwork for future nuclear negotiations, US President Donald Trump told NATO leaders on Wednesday that the peace agreement has been concluded.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Trump said, calling the Iranian government a “cuckoo.” Although the US president said that peace talks would continue, he remained skeptical about their chances of success. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, Iranian forces destroyed several oil and gas vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz; these vessels appeared to be trying to use a route that bypassed Iranian waters. Within hours, the US military responded more than 80 strikes on Iran’s air defense systems, command and control centers, coastal radar sites, and anti-ship missile capabilities, among other targets.
The United States hit Iran “very hard last night,” Trump said Wednesday, and “will probably hit them again tonight.” Hours later, the US military he announced that it has begun “to carry out additional attacks against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump also suggested on Wednesday that the US could reimpose its naval sanctions against Iran; more than 20 warships of the US Navy are on patrol Middle East, according to US Central Command. The US president warned that the US military is not “attacking at the highest level” but that he may order them to blow up critical civilian infrastructure, such as bridges, power plants, and desalination plants. And he threatened to “take Kharg Island,” a strategically important island where about 90 percent of Iran’s exports flow.
Tehran confirmed On Wednesday, overnight strikes killed eight Iranian soldiers, the first military deaths from US strikes that Iran has reported since the start of a ceasefire in June. Iran revenge by attacking US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Fighting has threatened a ceasefire in the past. At the end of last month, US forces was launched attacks Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but the two sides were able to avoid returning to full-scale war.
This time may be different, though. “I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them,” Trump said Wednesday, referring to the Iranian government. “We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” Trump continued. “Let’s just finish the job.”
Those threats have worried foreign leaders. Head of the United Nations Antonio Guterres called on both countries on Wednesday to immediately withdraw, saying that “a return to full hostilities would have dire consequences – for the people of the region, for international peace and security, and for the world economy.” Oil prices fly in the air Wednesday following renewed hostilities, with Brent crude rising more than 5 percent to more than $78 a barrel.
Still, it is unclear to what extent fighting may resume and who will join the conflict. “Obviously, Iran is outside the NATO area,” the head of NATO said Mark Rutte he said Wednesday. “That doesn’t mean NATO can never be involved.”
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What we’re after
NATO summit, Day 2. Trump he announced Wednesday that the United States will give Ukraine a license to develop Patriot air defense systems. The approval marks an important victory for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly called for more Nationalists to help counter Russian missile and drone attacks. “This way, you can’t complain that we don’t give them enough,” Trump said during a press conference with Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
But have a license it is not certain good air defense capability in the short term. Patriots are expensive, complex weapons that will take time to develop before they are ready for use. For a while, Trump has done it to be separated to give Ukraine more Patriots, citing international shortages due to the Iran war. “We have Patriots, but we don’t have that many,” Trump said Wednesday. “We need them ourselves too.” Outside of the United States, only Germany and Japan have licenses to produce domestic Patriots.
Meanwhile, Trump used the NATO summit on Wednesday refer to the requirements that the United States should control Greenland. Denmark’s semi-autonomous region is “very important” to the United States, Trump said, adding, “We need it for the defense of the world, not just America.” He has previously argued that US control is necessary to counter the influence of Russia and China; however, in January, he supported about the threats to conquer the island after Rutte reduced the tension.
In response to Trump’s recent comments, the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen he said his country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our territory” in the event of an attack. He also called on NATO members to honor their mutual defense commitments, suggesting that member states may go to war with the United States if Washington tries to seize the island by force.
Cut the business. Trump to command The United States on Wednesday immediately suspended all trade with NATO ally Spain. “I don’t have to do business with them. I don’t want to do business with them anymore,” Trump told US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent in front of reporters on Wednesday. “Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless, bad people.”
The US president went on to call Spain a “bad ally” and a “lost cause,” citing Madrid’s failure to meet NATO’s minimum defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP by 2035 and its refusal to allow US forces to attack Iran from Spanish bases. His statement came after Rutte he tried to calm down Trump was angered and insisted that Spain “took a big step last year” when it increased defense spending to 2 percent, although Rutte admitted that “there are still issues that we have to resolve.”
This is the second time that Trump has instructed Besent to cease all trade with Spain. But if his first such order in March did not stop business, experts suspect that this may also be an empty threat. In fact, the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez seemed to decrease Trump’s threat on Wednesday, saying that he had a “very friendly” conversation with the US president during the NATO summit.
A new friendship. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney became the country’s first leader in 26 years to visit Saudi Arabia when he arrived on Wednesday. The historic three-day trip is expected to focus on boosting foreign investment as Ottawa considers establishing a free trade agreement with Riyadh. “I want to make an investment agreement this year,” Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
Carney will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss cooperation in defense, precious metals, energy, artificial intelligence, and agriculture, among other areas. Unlike former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, whose constant criticism of Saudi Arabia poor human rights record damaged relations between the countries, Carney is hopeful reestablish diplomatic relations with the Gulf nation.
Riyadh seems open to close friendships. According to Sidhu, Saudi Arabia is “very interested” in more cooperationespecially to deal with shipping disruptions caused by the Iran war. “Supply chains are being squeezed, and they are looking to Canada as a reliable partner,” Sidhu said, noting that the kingdom has an interest in Canadian mining.
Odds and Ends
Archaeologists discovered a well-preserved Byzantine-era city in Egypt’s western Dakhla Oasis, the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Saturday. According to the chairman of the archaeological mission Mahmoud Massoud, the excavated area has evidence of bifurcated streets, public squares, two watchtowers, and a basilica from the mid-fourth century. Clues to domestic life, such as bread ovens and local coins, were also discovered at the dig site. The Dakhla Oasis is one of Egypt’s 34 locations on UNESCO’s “tentative list”, making it just a few steps away from becoming an official World Heritage Site.
