Iran Rejects Trump’s New Ceasefire Offer
Iran has rejected a new U.S. ceasefire proposal delivered to Tehran by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi after his White House meeting with President Donald Trump, according to Iranian and Iraqi officials cited by The New York Times. The White House has not publicly confirmed the proposal or disclosed its terms.Iranian officials reportedly described the offer as a temporary arrangement that failed to resolve the future status of the Strait of Hormuz, the central dispute in repeated attempts to halt the fighting. They said Tehran was not interested in accepting another short pause without a broader settlement.Al-Zaidi met President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during his visit to Tehran. His office said he called for dialogue and pledged that Iraqi territory would not be used to facilitate attacks on Iran. Araghchi said the obstacle was not a lack of diplomatic channels but Washington’s approach.Two Iranian officials also told…
U.S. Weighs Military Action in Mali
The Trump administration is considering direct military action in Mali against al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM, The Washington Post reported on July 22, citing current and former U.S. officials. Officials are reportedly divided; no strike order has been announced. A former official said one administration objective last year was securing overflight rights for U.S. surveillance aircraft. The Pentagon declined comment.Potential U.S. action comes as Mali’s military government faces reversals after replacing French and United Nations security partnerships with Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry-controlled Africa Corps supports Malian forces and secures strategic routes and urban centres, giving Moscow substantial leverage, but not a total control.Africa Corps acknowledged withdrawing with Malian troops from Kidal in April after coordinated attacks by JNIM and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front. The Associated Press reported a July 18 ambush on the Anefis–Gao route against a convoy that the attackers said included Malian and Africa Corps personnel; casualty claims…
ICC Ends Banda Darfur War Crimes Case
The International Criminal Court (ICC) terminated its case against Sudanese rebel commander Abdallah Banda on July 23 and vacated his outstanding arrest warrant.The charges concerned Banda's alleged role in the September 2007 attack on an African Union peacekeeping base at Haskanita in North Darfur, which killed 12 peacekeepers. He faced three war crimes counts: violence to life, intentionally attacking a peacekeeping mission and pillaging.Trial Chamber IV found prosecutors had not demonstrated that the evidence had deteriorated enough to prevent a trial. The judges nevertheless concluded that proceeding while the prosecution refused to present its case would conflict with the court's duty to ensure a fair and efficient trial – while deploring the prosecution's position.The Office of the Prosecutor said the evidence had significantly deteriorated over time: witnesses became unavailable or uncooperative, credibility concerns emerged with others, and newly obtained exculpatory material weakened the case. Prosecutors concluded there was no reasonable…
Drone Strike Raises Chad — Sudan Border Tensions
A drone from Sudan reportedly struck Bamina in eastern Chad on July 21, injuring two children and burning vehicles and shops, according to a local Chadian official quoted by Sudan Tribune.The official said two locations were hit about seven kilometres inside Chad. He did not accuse either side in Sudan’s war, and no publicly available evidence has established who operated the aircraft.The attack coincided with reported reinforcements around Tina and Kulbus on the Sudanese side. Darfur24 reported that the Rapid Support Forces may be preparing to advance on Tina, while the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied Joint Force reinforced the town. Those battlefield claims remain independently unconfirmed.Repeated strikes threaten markets, medical evacuations and humanitarian access. They also risk drawing Chad more directly into Sudan’s civil war. A Chadian government response, verified identification of the drone or a confirmed advance on Tina would mark the next escalation threshold.
Houthi Blockade Claims First Tanker Casualty
Yemen's Houthi movement said it struck two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea on July 22, the first tanker attack since it declared a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping two days earlier. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the vessels, the Encelia and the Layla, had violated the blockade order, according to Al Jazeera.Only the strike on the Encelia is confirmed. The Saudi Press Agency said the tanker caught fire near its bow while transiting the Red Sea and that all crew members were safe, citing an official at the kingdom's Transport General Authority, according to Al Jazeera. SPA gave no update on the Layla. The claimed strike on that vessel remains unverified and should be treated as a Houthi claim rather than a confirmed event, according to Portnews.The Encelia had departed Saudi Arabia's Yanbu terminal on July 20 before it was hit roughly 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq,…
Russia’s Su-57 Stealth Fighter Reportedly Crashes Near Moscow
A Russian military aircraft crashed near Zvenigorod, west of Moscow, on Thursday during what local reports described as a training flight. The independent Russian outlet Astra said the jet was likely a Sukhoi Su-57, Russia's only operational fifth-generation fighter, a report later cited by UNITED24 Media. Russia's Ministry of Defense had not confirmed the aircraft type, the crew's condition or the cause of the crash at the time of publication, according to Defence Blog.Video circulating on Russian Telegram channels showed wreckage engulfed in flames as emergency crews responded to the scene. Astra reported that the pilot likely ejected before impact, though Russian officials had made no public statement on the crew's condition, according to reporting compiled by UNITED24 Media.If the aircraft is confirmed to have been a Su-57, the incident would affect one of Russia's smallest and most strategically important combat aircraft fleets. The Su-57 program has missed nearly every…
