Welcome back to Global Overview, where we highlight a few developments United States-Iran peace talks, Israel killing forces Hamasa new military leader, and suspicions of corruption within SpainThe ruling Socialist Party.
Race to November
US President Donald Trump the suspect Iran on Wednesday stalled peace talks in hopes that the looming US midterm elections could force the White House to back down on several key demands. “They thought they were going to wait for me,” Trump said during a televised cabinet meeting.
Welcome back to Global Overview, where we highlight a few developments United States-Iran peace talks, Israel killing forces Hamasa new military leader, and suspicions of corruption within SpainThe ruling Socialist Party.
Race to November
US President Donald Trump the suspect Iran on Wednesday stalled peace talks in hopes that the looming US midterm elections could force the White House to back down on several key demands. “They thought they were going to wait for me,” Trump said during a televised cabinet meeting.
With Trump facing low public approval ratings, Republicans appear to be worried that rising oil prices due to the Iran war could cause the party to lose control of Congress in November. Still, Trump he insisted On Wednesday, “I don’t care about the midterms,” and expressed confidence that a plan to end the war is being reached.
The Iranians “really want to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there yet. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be. Either that, or we’ll just have to finish the job.” The day before, American forces was launched so-called “self-defense” attacks in southern Iran, prompting Tehran to accuse Washington of violating the ceasefire between the two countries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Wednesday that “diplomacy is always the first option” when it comes to ending the conflict, even as Trump said that Tehran is “negotiating through smoke.” Professionals suggest that this mixed message—along with continued U.S. threats of armed conflict—could jeopardize peace talks.
Several issues appear to be unresolved in the talks, including two of the biggest: Iran’s nuclear capability and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Regional officials and senior Trump administration officials said The Associated Press Wednesday that a possible deal could see Washington offer sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for Tehran giving up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
However Trump appeared to reject this deal on Wednesday, saying, “We’re not talking about easing sanctions, no money, nothing.” Such rejection can be an effort to calm the members of his party—including Republican Senators Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz—who have claimed that these terms favor Iran and are very similar to the nuclear deal that then US President Barack Obama negotiated in 2015. Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018.
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said Wednesday that the strategic waterway “will be open to everyone,” adding that no one will control it, as is the case in international waters. Meanwhile, Trump he suggested that the United States will “look into it.” He did not show how the country could do that.
Today’s Most Read
What we’re after
Israel’s many wars. Hamas confirmed on Wednesday that Israeli forces killed the new leader of the group’s military branch. According to local authorities, an Israeli strike on a Gaza market on Tuesday killed at least five people, including Hamas commander Mohammed Odeh, and wounded 12 others. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz explained Odeh as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
At the same time, on the northern border of Israel, the army of that country he announced on Wednesday that all areas south of the Zahrani River in Lebanon are now “fighting zones” and that residents should flee their homes to avoid Israel’s use of “brutal force” against Hezbollah. The warning comes a few days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that Israel plans to intensify its campaign against the Iranian proxy group.
Professionals suggest that Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon could hinder US efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Iran. Previously, Tehran was he argued that a ceasefire in Lebanon must be part of any US-Iran peace proposal—a demand that both Israel and the US have rejected.
Looking for Community Members. Spanish police has been searched headquarters of Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party on Wednesday for documents related to an alleged plan to interfere in court proceedings. The investigation dealt another blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose close confidants (including his wife) have been implicated in corruption scandals that have undermined public confidence in the party’s ability to govern.
Judge Santiago Pedraz to command the country’s civil guard on Wednesday “seized various documents and electronic records in the investigation of a group created to undermine judicial processes that were affecting the ruling party.” Pedraz said he is investigating several people who were allegedly involved – including at least two former leaders of the Socialist Party, a provincial government official, a police officer, a businessman, and two lawyers – on suspicion of bribery, forgery, perjury, business influence, and corruption, among other crimes.
Wednesday’s raid came a week after the country’s National Court charged Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged money laundering, influence peddling and other crimes. Rodríguez, who has denied wrongdoing, was a close associate of Sánchez.
The Socialist Party has also denied any wrongdoing, and on Wednesday, Sánchez insisted that the party would cooperate with judicial authorities. Meanwhile, the prime minister rejected call for resignation, saying: “I cannot call an election for the interests of parties. I must call an election for the general interest of the people.”
Mass evictions. The Trump administration deported nearly 13,000 third-country nationals to Mexico between January 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, according to Human Rights Watch. report published on Wednesday. Neither Washington nor Mexico City have publicly disclosed the details of these transfers, although Trump has long vowed crack down on undocumented immigration.
The report claims that the US government did not conduct a private investigation before the deportation. Deportees interviewed by Human Rights Watch also reported suffering brutal conditions while in US custody, and many of them said they were taken to Mexico without money, documents, or other personal possessions.
According to the report, once in Mexico, many migrants found themselves in danger escalation of cartel violence.
“They throw us aside to die,” one Cuban deported from Mexico told Human Rights Watch. “There is no help; we can’t work because we don’t have papers. They don’t give us anything, nothing.” Cubans were the majority of people deported from the United States to Mexico during this time.
Odds and Ends
Starbucks has found itself in hot water in South Korea. Last Monday, in commemoration of the deadly mass uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, Starbucks Korea launched a new marketing campaign. It declared May 18 “Tank Day” and promoted a new, larger tumbler that it nicknamed “the tank.” The campaign dragged on immediate disturbanceas South Koreans accused the popular coffee chain of mocking the victims of the 1980 Gwangju uprising, when the country’s military dictatorship killed and injured hundreds of pro-democracy activists.
South Korean billionaire Chung Yong-jin, whose Shinegae Group owns a 67.5 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, he apologized for the second time on Tuesday for the company’s indifference. Still, Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung has said that Starbucks products will no longer be used at government events, and sales of the company’s products across the country have fallen sharply.
