President Donald J. Trump has concluded the summit in Beijing and is on the way back to the United States.

Merchant vessel traffic in the area of the Strait of Hormuz continues to be largely absent. Over the last 24 hours, less than 5 vessels were visible transiting inbound or outbound and all were using the Iranian traffic separation scheme. A normal 24 hour period before the war with Iran saw approximately 130 ships transit per day moving 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today that he spoke with U.S. President Donald J. Trump while he was on the way back from his summit in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Per the statement from Chancellor Merz, the two spoke on the Iran situation, again agreeing that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. However, the E3 nations, that being Germany, the UK, and France, have approached the Iranian nuclear issue differently than the current administration.
The two leaders also spoke on NATO and the ongoing war in Ukraine, per the statement.

According to Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will participate in a state visit to the U.S. this fall. This comes following the invitation by U.S. President Donald J. Trump at the state dinner during his visit to Beijing, China.

Citing protests and the ongoing severe fuel shortages in Cuba, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised “all but essential travel” to Cuba.

President Donald J. Trump has posted to Truth Social announcing the death of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second in command of the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) during an operation in the African country of Nigeria.

Following up on the statement on the Nigerian operation by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) also released a statement announcing the joint U.S.-Nigerian operation that killed ISIS leader Abu-Bilal-al-Minuki and other Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) decision-makers. Per the release, “Al-Minuki provided strategic guidance to the ISIS global network on media and financial operations as well as the development and manufacturing of weapons, explosives, and drones.”

U.S.Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has arrived in Norfolk, Virginia for the arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).

As U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth arrives in Norfolk, Virginia, the USS Gerald R. Ford has arrived back home after a 300+ day deployment. The Ford and accompanying vessels took part in combat operations in two combatant commands (COCOM) in that time, SOUTHCOM and CENTCOM.
Video via @AirAssets

United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has released video of the strike targeting several Islamic State of the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) in Nigeria that eliminated the group's second in command, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomes back the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) after a 300+ day deployment to both the CENTCOM and SOUTHCOM areas of responsibility.

The USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, returned to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier today after a nearly year long deployment to the U.S. European Command, Southern Command, and Central Command Areas-of-Responsibility, serving as Air Defense Commander for the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao has announced that the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and personnel of Carrier Strike Group Twelve (CSG-12) have been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their service in the Middle East during the recent Iran War. In his statement, Secretary Cao cities the coordinated targeting of 125 Iranian warships and the launch of 207 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) against targets in Iran, along with more than 1,700 combat air sorties from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.