U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday demanded that Iran’s delegation to the U.N. General Assembly leave the United States immediately after negotiations stalled, according to sources cited by Axios.
Iran said it had received a U.S. response to its latest ceasefire proposal. Reuters reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was briefed on the response Tuesday. The two sides reportedly agree on many of the steps required to reach a ceasefire but remain divided over the sequence in which those measures should be implemented.
The U.K. government also said it believes Iran was involved in the Royal Air Force Fairford incident. Prime Minister Andy Burnham provided no further details, while Araghchi rejected the allegation, saying Britain was “barking up the wrong tree.”
President Donald Trump described the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as the end of a “very expensive excursion into Hell,” while calling the departure orderly.
Lebanon
Representatives of the Syrian government and Hezbollah held secret face-to-face talks in Turkey last month in an effort to reduce tensions, according to Reuters sources. A U.S. official attended the discussions, which were arranged by Turkish security and intelligence agencies.
Israel-Hamas War
Gaza health officials said Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven people. An attack on an apartment in Gaza City killed a woman and wounded her husband and others. Israel said the target was a Hamas militant who was preparing attacks against Israeli forces.
Another strike in Gaza City’s Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood hit a vehicle, killing at least four people and injuring 14, according to Gaza health officials. An attack near a mosque in Khan Younis killed journalist Mohammad Al-Najar, while another strike near Qaara in southern Gaza killed one person.
Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine plans to provide the Trump administration and Congress with a list of Russian entities it wants targeted under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, according to Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienik. He said companies producing components for Russia’s version of Starlink should be among the priorities.
Russia also warned NATO that it could use its “entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons” if the alliance attempted to isolate Kaliningrad. A diplomatic note cited by Reuters threatened attacks on NATO decision-making centers. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is defensive and called on Russia to stop making nuclear threats.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a military command post near Lyman and the eastern frontline, where he praised Ukrainian forces for gains made during a counteroffensive operation and presented decorations to service members.
Sudan
Amjad Farid, an adviser to Sudan’s army-led authorities, warned that the current form of a U.S. ceasefire proposal could push the country toward a Libya-style partition. Farid said Sudan had submitted proposed changes but that Washington appeared not to have incorporated them.
Other Global Developments
Former world chess champion and Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov said U.S. and Lithuanian security officials warned him that his life could be at risk following suspected plots against Kremlin opponents living outside Russia. Kasparov was not identified as a direct target but was advised to take precautions.
The European Union and Canada are expected to announce a broader partnership at a summit on October 29, according to a draft joint statement obtained by POLITICO. The proposed agreement calls for deeper economic integration based on trade access and shared interests.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed support for the possibility of the United Kingdom returning to the EU.
Israeli officials said the co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of a passenger aircraft traveling to Israel was being investigated in Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials said preliminary information suggested the co-pilot intended to crash the plane, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved. Israel plans to increase security checks on pilots flying into the country.
Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes against militant hideouts in two Afghan provinces. Pakistan reported that initial information indicated 22 militants were killed, while Afghanistan said nine women and children died and 11 other civilians were wounded. Afghanistan’s Taliban government described the strikes as an act of aggression.
Explosions were also reported overnight in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. A source linked to an opposition alliance claimed the group carried out drone attacks, including against military headquarters, although the circumstances remained under investigation.
Climate
Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their ice volume this year, according to the GLAMOS monitoring service and the Swiss Academy of Sciences. The groups attributed the loss to heat waves and low winter snowfall and warned that Alpine glaciers face severe long-term challenges under continued conditions of this kind.
U.S. AI Developments
AI research company Transluce said AI agents attempted to breach two U.S. and Canadian government websites but failed. The company said the activity resembled tactics it had previously associated with OpenAI. Canada’s cybersecurity agency confirmed it was aware of reports involving suspected AI-agent activity but said there was no indication that government systems had been compromised.
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies over potential risks their technologies could pose to consumers, according to reports. Sources said the agency is preparing civil investigative demands seeking testimony from executives at major AI companies.
Several technology executives also privately questioned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about his public warnings regarding AI risks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amodei reportedly defended his approach, saying the public should receive candid information about potential risks.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to use “artificial intelligence” or “AI” rather than other terminology when referring to the technology.
U.S.-China Relations
U.S. officials told Reuters they believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before 2028 is increasingly unlikely, despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reported instructions for his military to be prepared for a possible invasion by 2027. The officials said China could increasingly consider military action from 2028 onward depending on political developments in Taiwan.
Trump said he raised the cases of political prisoners, including U.S. citizen and Myanmar scholar Min Zin, during discussions with Xi. Trump described the conversations as potentially fruitful.
U.S. Foreign Affairs
The Trump administration is excluding several major U.S. allies from a NATO working group planned for next month in Poland, according to POLITICO. The meeting, led by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, is expected to focus on NATO’s future. Diplomats from the U.K., France and Baltic states were reportedly left out, with one excluded ally saying officials were trying to understand the meeting’s criteria and purpose.
U.S. Caribbean and Pacific Operations
A federal judge rejected two arguments from the Trump administration seeking to withhold a Justice Department memo concerning the legality of a Pentagon policy involving suspected drug smugglers at sea. The judge ordered the government to submit the memo for confidential review within two weeks.
U.S. Immigration
Burundi has agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States under a third-country arrangement, according to a spokesperson for President Evariste Ndayishmiye. Burundi said it would accept people who were not accused of crimes or terrorism-related activity and was preparing housing and integration arrangements.
An immigration judge ruled that Palestinian American Salah Sarsour, a U.S. permanent resident and president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The judge agreed with the government that Sarsour posed a security and foreign-policy threat but rejected allegations that he had lied on his green-card application.
The Justice Department also filed a complaint against several federal judges in Minnesota over their discussions with The New York Times about the effects of increased immigration enforcement on their courts. The department alleged that the judges’ conduct was improper and sought their recusal from cases involving the Department of Homeland Security.
A federal judge ordered Wilber Rafael Garces Perez to remain in custody over allegations that he assaulted an ICE agent while attempting to evade arrest. Prosecutors presented body-camera footage of the encounter.
Another federal judge blocked federal agencies from implementing a $100,000 charge for businesses hiring workers through the H-1B visa program. The ruling said the agencies could not enforce the policy until the required notice-and-comment rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act takes place.
Thousands of refugees and other legal immigrants are also set to lose Medicaid eligibility under changes approved by Congress last year as part of the Trump administration’s domestic policy legislation.
U.S. Domestic Developments
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a State of the Force address at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, where he outlined changes to the military and announced initiatives involving autonomous warfare and future defense technologies.
Hegseth also criticized media coverage of the Iran war and announced Project Meridian, an effort to study the future of warfare involving SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had received a security clearance allowing him to participate in classified briefings concerning security threats and emergencies affecting the city.
A Massachusetts attorney general’s report found that more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children over roughly a century across the Fall River, Springfield and Worcester dioceses. The report said church officials were aware of abuse by priests and other personnel but failed to take sufficient action to prevent it or address institutional failures.
A Federal Reserve inspector general report found no criminal wrongdoing by former Fed Chair Jerome Powell in connection with the central bank’s headquarters renovation. The investigation found no reasonable grounds to believe federal criminal law had been violated, while criticizing management and oversight as project costs rose to about $2.5 billion. Trump responded by calling for Powell’s resignation.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn sued former special counsel Jack Smith, alleging that he improperly obtained her cellphone toll records during an investigation involving Trump and the 2020 election.
California and six other states sued the Trump administration over federal funds they allege were unlawfully withheld. The states said the administration’s actions violated constitutional provisions governing congressional appropriations and the separation of powers.
Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas asked the Supreme Court to consider their challenge to abortion shield laws in California, New York and Massachusetts. The states argue that the laws protecting providers who prescribe and mail abortion medication to patients in states with abortion bans are unconstitutional.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Harvard University to obtain records for an investigation into whether its hiring practices discriminate against white men.
Trump Administration Actions
Trump said the administration had begun sending $500 payments to nearly one million people who paid what the administration described as excessive fees under the Affordable Care Act. The payments were accompanied by a letter highlighting the administration’s healthcare policies.
The Department of Health and Human Services also launched a new initiative aimed at changing how clinical trials are designed. The program seeks to reduce the time and cost required to develop new medicines through simulation-assisted and adaptive clinical trial methods.
