JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of talks with Iranian officials if negotiations continue before next week’s ceasefire deadline.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are also expected to attend.

Source: CNN

The U.S. State Department has told Congress that Cuba may be complicit in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, with up to 5,000 Cuban nationals reportedly fighting on Russia’s side.

The report says there’s no definitive proof Havana officially sent troops, but cites “significant indicators” the regime tolerated or enabled their involvement.

Source: Axios

Iran secretly acquired a Chinese-built spy satellite (TEE-01B) in late 2024 via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace unit.

Leaked documents suggest the satellite was then used to monitor key U.S. military bases across the Middle East, producing time-stamped imagery and coordinates.

These were used before and after drone and missile strikes to help plan attacks and assess damage.

Source: FT

Ukraine’s Military Intelligence(GUR) says it secretly carried out two rocket launches to near-space/space during the war—one above 100 km (crossing into space) and another reaching 204 km.

They also tested a rocket launched from an aircraft at ~8,000 m, which they say is Europe’s first air-launch of its kind.

This approach could eventually enable an “airborne launch system” for missiles or even small satellites.

Source: Defence Blog

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says China will effectively be cut off from Iranian oil:

Those ships aren’t going to be allowed out anymore… they’re not going to be able to get their oil.

They can get oil. Not Iranian oil.

Trump:

Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Trump, randomly:

NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!

Trump says he doesn’t plan to extend the ceasefire with Iran, calling it unnecessary, and hinted at “an amazing two days ahead.”

Source: ABC News

Trump to ABC News:

If I weren’t president, the world would be torn to pieces.

Maria Bartiromo: Is the Iran war over?

Trump: I think it’s close to over. Yeah. I mean I view it as very close to over.

Russia's Lavrov says Russia can “without a doubt, compensate” China’s resource shortfall from the Iran war.

JD Vance:

Stopping funding the Ukraine war is one of the things I’m proudest of we’ve done in this administration.

JD Vance on Epstein:

When Trump says this is a hoax, he’s not saying it’s a hoax that Epstein was a scumbag or connected to powerful people—he’s saying the Democratic idea that he was Epstein’s best friend is a hoax.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

A Chinese EV is a coal-powered vehicle.

JD Vance on Epstein:

If you look at the emails, it’s obvious that Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald J. Trump.

The fact that Jeffrey Epstein hates Donald J. Trump is a pretty good thing for Donald J. Trump.

JD Vance on Epstein:

What you see in those emails is that Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald Trump, and Donald Trump hated Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on climate change:

The natural habitat for the earth is actually water.

The climate does change. We are going through cycles.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

We are partnering with our Gulf allies. They are much more willing to share the bank accounts of members of the Iranian regime.

We are reaching out to banks, including Chinese banks.

Any Iranian goods purchases are forbidden.

We will press for secondary sanctions if there’s a problem.

Stephen Miller:

What you are watching now in Iran with the implementation of this blockade is the total resetting of the American power dynamic.

For the next 100 years.

Stephen Miller:

President Trump has put Iran in a box.

He has played the checkmate move.

No matter what path Iran chooses, America wins.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter on Lebanon talks:

We certainly don’t want the French anywhere near these negotiations.

We’d like to keep the French as far away as possible from pretty much everything.

They’re not needed. They’re not a positive influence.