“This decision reflects our commitment to the safety of our diplomatic personnel,” the statement said.

The enemy, in its new plan with a naval blockade, is seeking economic pressure and media propaganda to destroy the country's cohesion and force us to surrender.

Of course, we do not rule out the possibility of a military attack, especially terrorist attacks, but the part of the enemy's plan that relates to society is to weaken Iran from within.

The enemy is placing great hope on economic pressure, and it is clear that they have again been given false reports, based on which they have made wrong decisions, and these wrong decisions will cause hardship for everyone.

Iran is now open to discussing its nuclear program, though major disputes remain over uranium enrichment, sanctions relief, and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The proposed monthlong talks would include easing Iranian restrictions in the strait and scaling back U.S. pressure on Iranian ports.

Source: WSJ

For those of you who still think that we’ve got little green men underground somewhere, one of the things you learn as president is... government is terrible at keeping secrets.

This idea of conspiracy theories — if there were aliens, alien spaceships, or anything under the control of the United States government that we knew about, seen photographs... I promise you some guy guarding the installation would have taken a selfie with one of the aliens and sent it to his girlfriend.

North Korea's revised constitution deletes all reunification language and adds a new Article 2 defining its territory as bordering China, Russia, and "the Republic of Korea to the south", formally codifying Kim Jong Un's "two hostile states" doctrine.

It also names Kim head of state with direct nuclear command authority.

Corruption scandals (the $LIBRA crypto crash, Chief of Staff Adorni's illicit enrichment probe, kickback allegations involving his sister) and rising unemployment (7.5%, highest Q4 since COVID) overshadow his macro wins on inflation and the fiscal surplus.

Corruption is now Argentines' top concern at 43%, with disapproval near 62%.

Source: FT

The probe focuses on reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, who published claims from anonymous sources about Patel’s alleged drinking and erratic behavior.

The investigation is unusual because it does not involve classified information and appears centered on identifying leaks to a journalist.

Source: MS NOW

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force troops fired Type 88 anti-ship missiles from Ilocos Norte and sank the decommissioned BRP Quezon roughly 50–75 km offshore, Japan's first use of the system outside its own territory.

The drill, joined by US, Philippine, and Australian forces, simulates repelling an amphibious assault in the South China Sea, and China has condemned it as "remilitarization" and "playing with fire."

The exercise runs April 20–May 8 with ~17,000 troops from seven nations.

The move pre-positions the carrier closer to the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a possible France-UK-led multinational mission (40+ nations) to restore safe navigation through the strait.

France stresses the posture is purely defensive — focused on escorting commercial shipping — and not part of direct combat operations.