Ghana, EU Sign Security Deal Targeting Sahel Threat

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas & Ghanaian Vice President Prof. Naana Agyemang signed a defense pact in Accra Tuesday to boost counter-terrorism & cybersecurity, marking EU's first agreement with an African state as militant threats expand across West Africa.

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US–Iran Talks Proposal Delivered via Pakistan, Türkiye Considered as Host

Pakistan has delivered a U.S. proposal to Iran, with Ankara and Islamabad being considered as potential venues for talks to ease tensions in the Gulf, according to a Reuters exclusive citing a senior Iranian official.

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Trump plans to appoint major tech leaders—including Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jensen Huang, and Sergey Brin—to a White House technology council focused on AI policy and other emerging tech issues.

The council is expected to advise Trump on how the U.S. should approach artificial intelligence, crypto, and innovation policy.

Source: WSJ

Iran's Fars:

Iran does not accept a ceasefire. Fundamentally, entering such a process with those who have violated their commitments is not logical.

Iran's Fars:

The Islamic Republic of Iran insists on the fulfillment of its strategic objectives in confronting the hostile front.

Only if those objectives are achieved would an end to the war — not merely a ceasefire — be possible.

Iran's Fars:

Most essential goods are reportedly imported into Israel from Azerbaijan and Greece, making the country heavily dependent on these two suppliers.

Kenya Secures Duty-Free Access to Chinese Market via Trade Pact

Kenya finalized a trade deal with China granting up to 98% duty-free access to its exports, as President William Ruto deepens economic ties with Beijing while also negotiating a parallel agreement with the US.

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NEW: Iran has reviewed the American proposal and considers it "excessive."

Iran says its defensive operations will continue until its conditions are met.

The first condition for ending the war is a halt to attacks and assassinations.

Tehran has conveyed through a regional intermediary that it will continue defending itself.

Iran also says it will not allow Trump to dictate the timing of the war’s end.

Source: Press TV, Iranian official

BREAKING: Iranian media report 5 conditions to end the war:

1- A full halt to “aggression and assassinations” by the enemy.

2- Concrete guarantees that war will not be imposed on Iran again.

3- Guaranteed and clearly defined war reparations.

4- An end to the war across all fronts, including for all resistance groups in the region.

5- International recognition and guarantees of Iran’s sovereign authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

A 23-year-old Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force officer was arrested after breaking into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo with a knife.

According to reports, he wanted to confront the Chinese ambassador over Beijing’s stance toward Japan and allegedly threatened to kill him if he was refused.

No one was hurt, but China lodged a formal protest, calling it a serious diplomatic security breach, while Japan called the incident “deeply regrettable.”

U.S. Air Force losses in the Iran war (confirmed/claimed):

1× F-35 – damaged by Iranian air defense.
3× F-15E Strike Eagle – shot down by Kuwaiti forces (friendly fire).
1× KC-135 – destroyed in a mid-air collision.
1× KC-135 – damaged in a mid-air collision.
5× KC-135 – damaged in Iranian strikes on an airbase.
12× MQ-9 Reaper drones – shot down by Iranian air defense.
1× UH-60 helicopter – damaged by an FPV drone at an airbase.

Source: EGYOSINT (at X)

Former U.S. Sec. of Defense Jim Mattis on Iran War:

15,000 targets have been hit.

There have been significant military successes, but they are not matched by strategic outcomes.

Now, some of the strategic outcomes floated early on — unconditional surrender, regime change, “we’re going to dictate who the next supreme leader is” — were clearly nonsense.

They were delusional.

German Chancellor Merz:

Not all those who belong to the Islamic faith are at the same time Islamists.

German Chancellor Merz on gas prices:

The best way to bring prices back under control is an end to the war in Iran.

German Chancellor Merz:

Germany must continue to have the ability to import oil and gas in the future — and possibly even produce gas itself.

If we completely phase out oil and gas, then large parts of our industry — particularly the chemical industry in Germany — would no longer be viable.

That is not the path the federal government is pursuing.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari:

Iran has been here for millennia. Nobody is going anywhere.

Total annihilation is not an option.

No people or country will disappear from existence by the wish or whim of any political actor.

We will live next to each other. We will be neighbors for the future of humankind, and we have to find ways of living next to each other.

We will have to find a way past this. This is a very difficult moment, but we will find our way out of it.