Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Iran firing ballistic missiles at Israel, court challenges over Los Angeles’s troop deployments, and the upcoming G-7 leaders’ summit in Canada.
‘Declaration of War’
Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday, making good on its promise to retaliate against Israeli attacks on Tehran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Direct hits were reported in the city of Tel Aviv, and Israeli officials have instructed locals to remain in bomb shelters until further notice. Local emergency services said at least five people were injured, though the Iranian operation was still underway as of time of writing.
“The Iranian nation won’t permit the blood of its valued martyrs to go unavenged, nor will it ignore the violation of its airspace,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X during the barrage. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck dozens of Israeli targets, including military and defense sites.
Earlier on Friday, Israeli forces commenced a surprise, multiwave operation striking more than 100 Iranian nuclear and military targets. Dubbed Operation Rising Lion, Israel said the massive assault caused “significant damage” to Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility, and hit the Isfahan nuclear facility. Iranian state media also reported explosions near the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site. The strikes also killed several top military and political leaders, including Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s second-highest commander after Khamenei, and IRGC commander Gen. Hossein Salami.
This was the first time that Israel had openly attacked Tehran’s nuclear facilities, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
According to Iranian state media, Israel’s strikes killed at least 86 people and injured more than 340 others. “It is noteworthy that Iran’s defenses have been so impotent in the face of these Israeli operations,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute. “Part of that, of course, is because of the earlier strikes in October, where the Israelis took down Iran’s most sophisticated air defense systems. But clearly it goes well beyond that.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi deemed Israel’s actions a “declaration of war” in a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, calling for an emergency session. Khamenei also warned Israel to “anticipate a harsh punishment” for its actions.
Oil prices spiked on Friday following news of Israel’s assault, and several foreign leaders urged both countries to exercise maximum restraint for fear of igniting an all-out war. But U.S. President Donald Trump took a more optimistic approach, suggesting that Israel’s “excellent” attack could force Iran to concede to U.S. nuclear demands that Tehran has previously rejected, including dismantling its uranium enrichment program.
Friday’s strikes came one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency formally censured Iran for the first time in 20 years for failing to comply with legal obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And it occurred just two days before the United States and Iran were supposed to hold direct nuclear talks in Oman. It is unclear whether these negotiations have been postponed, particularly since Israel’s Friday morning strikes killed Ali Shamkhani, a leading politician overseeing the dialogue.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio remains adamant that Washington was not involved in Israel’s attack, and he warned Tehran against targeting U.S. military bases in the region. Meanwhile, Iranian proxy groups continue to threaten Israel’s security on several fronts, including with Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen. On Friday, the Yemeni militant group launched a ballistic missile at Israel. It landed in the Palestinian town of Sair in the West Bank, injuring three children.
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What We’re Following
Legal battle over Los Angeles. A U.S. district court ruled late Thursday that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles this week was “illegal,” delivering a major blow to Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. “His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer wrote in a 36-page decision. “He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed the emergency motion on Tuesday, arguing that Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had overreached their powers by failing to first consult with state officials before sending federal troops to Los Angeles to quell anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests.
The White House immediately appealed the district court’s decision, and within hours, a U.S. appeals court temporarily halted the block on deployments. Around 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines are currently stationed in Los Angeles to assist ICE authorities. A three-judge panel is expected to hear the case next Tuesday.
Looming G-7 summit. Canada is preparing to host the G-7 leaders’ summit on Sunday, during which the United States’ trade war will be a top concern. Fragmentation among the group’s members is expected to hinder the gathering’s progress. Already, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that he will forgo issuing a lengthy joint communiqué at the summit’s conclusion in anticipation of a lack of consensus.
The last time that the G-7 convened in Canada did not go swimmingly. At the end of the 2018 summit, Trump called then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “dishonest & weak” for threatening to retaliate against U.S. steel and aluminum duties. Trump then abandoned an agreement that the leaders had just signed.
This time around, G-7 countries are hoping for a less antagonistic summit. But intense tariff negotiations between the United States and several of its trading partners, Chinese allegations that the West is “manipulating” issues to hurt Beijing’s economy, and months of fraught Canada-India relations could upset the group’s tenuous power balance.
Pentagon contingency plans. Hegseth implied on Thursday that the Pentagon has developed plans to invade Greenland and Panama if the White House deems it necessary. “Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any particular contingency,” Hegseth said while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee. He did not specify what those plans would entail.
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, for its critical minerals and strategic location; however, Greenlandic and Danish authorities maintain that the territory is not for sale. Similarly, Trump has expressed interest in acquiring control of the Panama Canal by coercion or force to prevent foreign adversaries, particularly Beijing, from having influence over the key waterway.
Hegseth’s statement comes just days before French President Emmanuel Macron visits Greenland to express European solidarity with Denmark. While there, Macron will discuss North Atlantic and Arctic security, climate change, and rare earths with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
What in the World?
Which country said on Saturday that it was pulling out of the Economic Community of Central African States?
A. Rwanda
B. Burundi
C. Central African Republic
D. Gabon
Odds and Ends
Sri Lankan customs authorities seized nearly 22 pounds of cocaine stuffed into three plush toys on Friday. The massive haul, estimated at $1.72 million in street value, is the largest amount that Bandaranaike International Airport has ever recorded. Officials arrested a 38-year-old Thai woman in connection with the attempted smuggling; she could face life imprisonment if convicted. This was the airport’s fourth intercepted cocaine haul this month.
And the Answer Is…
A. Rwanda
The move was prompted by the bloc’s order that Rwanda withdraw its troops from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is supporting M23 rebel forces, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi reports in Africa Brief.
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The post Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles at Israel appeared first on Foreign Policy.
