Bessent:

The Strait of Hormuz has to have free transit navigations of the sea; the sea has to be free and open, as it was before.

Trump will make a great deal.

Reporter: Trump said he could "blow up" Oman. Are you guys making plans for a new war with Oman?

Bessent: I think Trump wanted to punctuate freedom of navigation in the strait.

The Omani ambassador assured me that there are no plans for tolling the strait.

Bessent:

Trump has done something that no other administration has been able to do.

We have gotten the Iranians to talk about their nuclear program and perhaps commit to not having one.

That has never happened before.

Reporter: Is sanctions relief for Iran on the table?

Bessent: Nothing is going to be on the table until we see the Strait of Hormuz open and the Iranians agree that they have to turn over the highly enriched uranium and that they can't have a nuclear program.

Bessent:

The economy is challenging now, but unemployment is still low, tax refunds were high, and consumer spending is still quite high.

Bessent on Iran:

We did not have regime change, but we changed the regime.

Bessent:

No one has done more sanctions than the Trump administration on Russian oil.

Iran-US deal text NOT finalized

A source close to Iran's negotiating team told Tasnim News that, contrary to Western claims, the draft memorandum of understanding has not been finalized.

Iran has not notified the Pakistani mediator of any conclusion, and will publicly announce a deal through official channels if one is reached.

The Russian tanker Universal, carrying 242,000 barrels of diesel for Cuba, has reversed course and appears headed to South America instead — a blow to the island already suffering under a U.S. fuel blockade imposed in January.

Cuba had been counting on the shipment. Its reserves are depleted, electricity runs only a few hours daily, and black-market fuel costs over $40 a gallon.

The tanker drifted in the Atlantic for a month — an unusual pattern also seen with a Chinese-owned ship earlier this year that ultimately turned back — before heading south this week.

Source: NYT

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Russia's losing 35,000 troops a month.

22 to 23 thousand, depending on the month, of those troops are killed.

They're losing troops faster than they can replace them. They are not gaining territory.

Hezbollah published footage showing two FPV strikes on an Iron Dome battery at Ramim barracks.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias:

The homeland is in need, because there is a threat.

And if sometimes we forget it, others are kind enough—as they did yesterday—to remind us of it.

And to remind us of it expressis verbis, very clearly. They do not even imply it; they tell us directly.

Since a threat exists, there is also a need. We must bring the Armed Forces to such a level that, as they do today, they can always operate as a deterrent.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias:

Ladies and gentlemen, we are a small country.

We have a significant budget in the Ministry of National Defense, funded by the sacrifices of the Greek people.

However, I will not hide it from you: it is not sufficient. It is not enough.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias:

The Greek shipping industry is the largest in the world and probably the wealthiest in the world.

The EU’s political party watchdog has launched a process that could strip the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party—founded by Germany’s Alternative for Germany—of its official status and funding over alleged violations of EU values.

The watchdog cited evidence including anti-immigration, antisemitic, and anti-LGBT rhetoric by member parties, as well as concerns over ties to Russia and extremist positions.

If successful, the move would cut ESN’s EU funding and political-party status, though its parliamentary group and MEPs would remain in place.

The ESN party, which includes nationalist parties from several EU countries, is due to receive more than €2 million in EU subsidies in 2026.

Source: POLITICO

Hungarian PM Péter Magyar:

Hungary is not supplying weapons or military equipment to Ukraine.

Unconfirmed reports say gunfire was heard near Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz, possibly involving warning shots fired by the Iranian Navy at some vessels.

Trump on Iran:

They are very good negotiators — they are crafty — but we hold all the cards, because we have defeated them militarily.