Third American servicemember killed as U.S., Iran continue airstrikes; North Korea threatens countermeasure to U.S.-led naval drills; Ukraine continues to hit Moscow through drone attacks.
1. Iran responded by launching an attack targeting Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet, and Kuwait. The latest attacks again showed how, step by step, the U.S. and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last months interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Meanwhile, benchmark Brent crude rose Monday above $90 a barrel, further fueling a global energy crisis sparked by the conflict. An average gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. also rose to $4, a key metric for Americans that puts more pressure on their wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall. The U.S. military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
2. A commentary published Friday by the Korean Central News Agency accused the United States and its allies of expanding military cooperation and turning the Pacific into a battlefield permeated with the smell of gunpowder. KCNA the official voice of North Korea and the ruling Workers Party did not specify what countermeasures Pyongyang might take, but past actions include ballistic missile and weapons tests. The commentary singled out the participation of the nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the exercise, accusing Washington of escalating military tensions and preparing for war. Rim of the Pacific commonly called RIMPAC is a war rehearsal that is raising violent waves of aggravated tension in the Pacific, KCNA said. Pyongyang cannot remain a passive onlooker as Washington and its allies fuel regional instability, according to the commentary.
3. The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscows more than 4-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold key talks on Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis, after last weeks government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the militarys old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war. Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief wont derail the fight against Russia.
4. , extending the services military operations in the region. The move recasts Patrol Forces Southwest Asia a force that spent more than two decades supporting U.S. Central Command from Bahrain into the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron, the service said Wednesday in a news release. The squadron is currently operating in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations, according to the release. Coast Guard forces have always adapted to meet urgent national needs, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said in the release. The Expeditionary Cutter Squadron enhances the Coast Guards ability to deploy our forces in support of Combatant Commanders and national security objectives.
5. As members of the military are ordered into deployments across the country and around the world, their spouses often have their employment disrupted, if they're employed at all. But a new Maryland law may offer some relief According to the text of the legislation, it authorizes "members of the Foreign Service and spouses of members of the Foreign Service, for the duration of the assignment or detail, to practice in the State under an occupational or professional license issued in another state under certain circumstances."
- Security