Rubio Meets Haftar as Libya Deal Advances
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the Libyan National Army, at the State Department on June 29, signaling that Washington's Libya power-sharing push is advancing without a public final agreement. The State Department said the two discussed ongoing Libyan-led efforts to unify the country's military, economic, and political institutions and possible avenues for cooperation to advance unity and peace in Libya. Foreign Policy reported that under the framework being discussed, Saddam Haftar would head Libya's Presidency Council, which carries the title of commander in chief, while the Dbeibah family would retain the prime minister's office. The outlet noted that neither family has a history of ceding power once it holds it, and that the Presidency Council post could give Haftar a base to expand into western Libya. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, has denied the deal is simply a family…
Moscow Blames Ukraine as Mali Allies Falter
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko has accused Ukrainian military personnel of creating a “second front” against Russia in Africa, naming Mali and Libya.Borisenko told TASS that Ukrainians were training Islamist fighters in Mali to use drones and alleged that Ukrainian instructors helped attack the Russian tanker Arktik Metagaz off Libya in March. He presented no publicly verifiable evidence. Kommersant carried the allegations on July 17.Kyiv has not acknowledged deploying personnel to either country. The closest it came was after the July 2024 battle of Tinzaouaten, where Tuareg rebels inflicted Wagner’s heaviest single defeat in Africa. Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said the rebels had received “necessary information,” but did not confirm direct Ukrainian involvement. Ukraine later denied supplying drones, while the rebels said they had received no foreign assistance.What is confirmed is the deterioration of Russia’s security position in Mali. The Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front and al-Qaeda-linked JNIM…
Yemen’s Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of New War
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi threatened a major escalation against Saudi Arabia in a televised speech Thursday, warning of a "different war" if Riyadh continues what he called its "siege and aggression" against Yemen, according to Al Bawaba. He said Saudi oil facilities and other strategic infrastructure would become targets for missile and drone attacks if the confrontation continues, per Al Bawaba.The speech follows the July 13 strike on Sanaa International Airport, which Yemen's internationally recognized government said targeted the runway to stop an Iranian aircraft from landing with a Houthi delegation returning from the Feb. 28 funeral of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that day, according to NBC News. The government's limited military capacity means Saudi Arabia likely carried out the strike, per FDD, a Washington-based think tank, which said in its own analysis that the Houthis have been pushing the bounds of Saudi tolerance…
Sixth Night of US Strikes Hits Iran
US forces began a new wave of strikes against Iran at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, the sixth consecutive night, "to further degrade Iranian military capabilities" CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X. CENTCOM added that the strikes hit "dozens" of coastal surveillance, air defense, and logistics targets, and that Washington is "holding Iran accountable" for attacks on commercial shipping.Iran widened its retaliation, striking Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan and claiming hits on US forces in Bahrain and Syria as well, according to CNN. Qatar's Ministry of Interior said in its own statement, carried by the Qatar News Agency, that a child was injured by falling shrapnel during interception operations and is receiving medical care.Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the US of war crimes, citing a Wednesday strike on a mineral water facility in Dehloran and an earlier strike on a Chabahar traffic control center, per CNN.The exchanges mark a further breakdown…
1,120 Dead in Gaza Since Ceasefire Began
Israeli attacks killed at least five Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera, continuing a pattern of near-daily violence nine months into a ceasefire meant to end the war. Strikes hit Tuffah in Gaza City, a displacement camp in western Gaza City, and Khan Younis, among other locations.Israeli forces withdrew to a "Yellow Line" under the ceasefire's first phase, covering roughly 53 percent of Gaza, according to Gisha. A newer "Orange Line" has since pushed that boundary further west, displacing families in Khan Younis, eastern Gaza City, and the north. The UN's humanitarian office says roughly 200 Palestinians have been killed near these shifting, often unmarked lines since October, according to NPR/Houston Public Media. The IDF says the strikes target individuals who cross the line and approach troops despite warnings, describing some as Hamas-linked; Hamas has denied involvement in specific cited incidents.Gaza's civil administration has also come under…
US Strikes Six Bridges Near Iran’s Key Port
The United States expanded its sixth night of strikes against Iran into a campaign against inland logistics, hitting the Kahurestan and Giriyeh bridges on the Bandar Abbas–Lar highway, the main road link between Iran's largest port and Shiraz, along with a railway junction and a maritime control tower at Chabahar, according to the Washington Times.Iran's Hormozgan Governor's Office said the bridge strikes killed seven and wounded nine, though a separate report citing the Fars news agency put the toll at two killed and four wounded, with the Bandar Abbas–Khamir–Lar road closed entirely, per Ynet.The strikes appeared aimed at cutting Bandar Abbas off from routes toward Tehran, disrupting materiel and civilian goods bound for the interior, NBC News reported. Iran also acknowledged strikes on power infrastructure for the first time Friday, asking southern provinces to cut electricity use.Retaliatory strikes widened across the Gulf, with Qatar intercepting a missile attack and Kuwait…
