Amidst all the tension this week, it's worth stepping back for a minute to remember that President Trump doesn't have a permanent secretary of defense.
Why it matters: Running the Pentagon is no small task for a permanent, seasoned chief. It's a huge undertaking for a temp, the AP reminds.
President Trump confirmed Friday that the U.S. was "cocked & loaded" to strike Iran last night, a move that could have accelerated the path to war.
How we got here: The strike had been ordered in response to Iran's shooting down of a U.S. drone earlier this week, but the trend toward conflict began in earnest last year when the president announced that the U.S. would pull out of the internationally negotiated Iran nuclear deal.
President Trump confirmed that his administration had readied a series of strikes against Iran in response for shooting down an unmanned drone in a Friday Twitter thread.
"We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights [sic] when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone."
President Trump authorized military action against Iran for shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone on Thursday, but then abruptly pulled the plug on the operation as it was already underway on Thursday night, the New York Times reports, citing several senior administration officials.
Why it matters: This is the latest in a series of escalating tensions between the two nations amid the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign. Last week, the administration accused Iran of attacking oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, a key international waterway.
After refusing to cede power for nearly a week, Moldova’s Democratic party finally surrendered last Friday under international pressure.
How it happened: The party’s leader, oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, fled the country. He’s been accused of presiding over corruption and democratic backsliding. The new government consists of pro-EU and pro-Russia parties and was formed expressly to expel Plahotniuc from power.
David Miliband, chief executive of the International Rescue Committee and former U.K. foreign secretary, says we’ve entered an “age of impunity” in which bad actors all over the world “believe they can get away with anything” — and are being proven right.
The big picture: Miliband tells Axios that brutal acts are being carried out in a “vacuum” caused in part by a U.S. retreat from “global responsibility,” a “castration” of U.K. foreign policy by Brexit, and widespread disdain for international norms and institutions. In Miliband’s view, the “world’s most vulnerable” are paying the heaviest price.
The World Bank has released a study on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that predicts major economic benefits, but only if Beijing makes some even bigger course corrections.
The big picture: While the authors find that infrastructure can increase growth through trade and investment, these gains depend on a host of reforms such as greater transparency and data reporting — especially around debt, open procurement, and social and environmental standards. Essentially, the study advises China that success requires becoming more like the World Bank.
Israeli officials told me they are closely following the escalating tensions in the Gulf and that they are concerned that the Trump administration's response against Iran so far has not been strong enough.
Details: The Israeli officials told me that based on the last few weeks, the Iranians believe President Trump wants to avoid military confrontation — which has led them to escalate their provocative actions. The officials said that without some kind of a military action by the U.S. — even a limited one — they believe the Iranians will continue to escalate.
President Trump said in a pool spray with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday that he does not believe Iran intentionally shot down an unmanned U.S. drone flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it was probably "a mistake made by somebody who shouldn't have been doing what they did."
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will square off to replace outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May as the leader of the Conservative Party after its 1922 Committee announced Thursday the results of the final round of voting by the party's members of Parliament.
The state of play: Boris Johnson, a brash Brexiteer and the former mayor of London, is firmly in control of the race — taking a huge chunk of MPs votes and widely favored by the public. He's up against Jeremy Hunt, May's foreign secretary who is widely viewed as being more moderate in his Brexit views.
An Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down an unmanned U.S. drone in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz — not over Iran's airspace as state media had claimed, ABC News and Reuters reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.
Details: The AP reports Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said on state TV he wanted to send "a clear message" to the U.S. that Iran does "not have any intention for war with any country, but we are ready for war," he said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Wednesday that Russia should ensure its citizens who are charged with murder over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014 face justice.
Details: 4 men, 3 with close "ties to Russian military and intelligence agencies," will face murder charges over the incident that killed 298 people, per the New York Times. However, Russian authorities labeled the charges "absolutely unfounded accusations," according to AFP news agency.
