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Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the next phase of the U.S.-Iran<\/strong> war, Taiwan<\/strong>\u2019s long-standing friendship with Eswatini<\/strong>, and crucial state elections in India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Fighting flared across the Persian Gulf on Monday, as U.S. and Iranian strikes linked to the start of \u201cProject Freedom\u201d threatened to upend the two countries\u2019 already fragile cease-fire.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the next phase of the U.S.-Iran<\/strong> war, Taiwan<\/strong>\u2019s long-standing friendship with Eswatini<\/strong>, and crucial state elections in India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Fighting flared across the Persian Gulf on Monday, as U.S. and Iranian strikes linked to the start of \u201cProject Freedom\u201d threatened to upend the two countries\u2019 already fragile cease-fire.<\/p>\n According to U.S. Central Command, the new U.S. operation<\/a>\u2014which took effect on Monday\u2014aims to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. To accomplish this, the U.S. military plans to use guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, multidomain unmanned platforms, and some 15,000 service members to \u201cguide\u201d commercial vessels through the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n By declaring a new campaign from Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration sidesteps a 60-day deadline<\/a> that expired on Friday to end the fighting in Iran. And while the U.S. military insists that Project Freedom is a \u201cdefensive mission,\u201d U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that Iran will be \u201cblown off the face of the Earth\u201d if it attacks U.S. forces escorting ships through Hormuz.<\/p>\n The White House\u2019s warning comes after U.S. Navy warships shot down several Iranian cruise missiles and drones targeting vessels in the strait, according to Centcom commander Adm. Brad Cooper<\/a>. U.S. Army Apache helicopter gunships also destroyed six Iranian military speedboats that reportedly threatened Project Freedom, Cooper said. A senior Iranian official denied<\/a> these claims.<\/p>\n The U.S. military also claimed<\/a> that two U.S.-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran denied such crossings on Monday and instead said that Iranian missiles had struck a U.S. vessel that was \u201cviolating maritime security and navigation norms,\u201d forcing the ship to turn back.<\/p>\n \u201cWe warn that any foreign military force\u2014especially the aggressive U.S. military\u2014that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,\u201d Iranian Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi<\/a> told state media on Monday.<\/p>\n Yet, according to Centcom<\/a>, \u201cNo U.S. Navy ships have been struck.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S.-protected commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are not Tehran\u2019s only targets. On Monday, Iranian forces fired<\/a> four cruise missiles at the United Arab Emirates, three of which were intercepted and one of which fell into the sea, according to the UAE defense ministry. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah also said that an Iranian drone strike ignited a fire at a key oil facility that the UAE has used to avoid shipping some of its crude through the strait. And a South Korean-operated ship anchored in the strait off the UAE\u2019s coast was hit by an explosion.<\/p>\n These were Tehran\u2019s first attacks on the UAE since the U.S.-Iran cease-fire went into effect last month, and they appear to be in direct response to Trump\u2019s latest efforts to reopen Hormuz.<\/p>\n Tuesday, May 5:<\/strong> Romania\u2019s parliament votes on a motion to censure Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.<\/p>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosts Portuguese Prime Minister Lu\u00eds Montenegro.<\/p>\n Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concludes a three-day trip to Australia.<\/p>\n Wednesday, May 6:<\/strong> G-7 trade ministers convene in Paris.<\/p>\n The World Trade Organization begins a two-day General Council meeting.<\/p>\n The Philippines hosts the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.<\/p>\n Thursday, May 7:<\/strong> Scotland and Wales hold parliamentary elections while local elections take place across England.<\/p>\n Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.<\/p>\n Friday, May 8:<\/strong> Populist Laura Fern\u00e1ndez is sworn in as Costa Rica\u2019s new president.<\/p>\n Monday, May 11:<\/strong> Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron co-host the two-day Africa Forward summit in Nairobi.<\/p>\n Secret diplomatic mission. <\/strong>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te concluded a surprise trip<\/a> to Eswatini on Monday that aimed to defy China\u2019s influence efforts in Africa. Lai\u2019s trip had originally been scheduled for April, but it was postponed<\/a> after three African countries refused to let the Taiwanese leader\u2019s plane fly through their airspaces, earning praise from Beijing. Eswatini is one of just 12 nations<\/a>\u2014and the only one in Africa\u2014that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.<\/p>\n Taiwan \u201cwill never be deterred by external pressures,\u201d Lai wrote<\/a> on X on Saturday in a post lauding the two countries\u2019 long-standing friendship. \u201cOur resolve & commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world\u2014no matter the challenges faced.\u201d<\/p>\n A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed<\/a> Lai\u2019s weekend visit as a \u201claughable stunt,\u201d referring to Lai as having been \u201csmuggled\u201d out of Taiwan. \u201cWe urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 separatists,\u201d the ministry added. According to Lai, secret arrangements<\/a> by his national security and diplomatic teams made the trip possible.<\/p>\n Big BJP victory. <\/strong>The party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked set to win two of four crucial state elections<\/a> on Monday: Assam and West Bengal. Taking power in these two states\u2014the latter of which Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never ruled\u2014signals the Modi administration\u2019s expanding influence amid the opposition INDIA alliance\u2019s weakening position.<\/p>\n The BJP campaigned<\/a> extensively in West Bengal in the weeks leading up to the election. Voters in both states, which border Bangladesh, have expressed particular concern with undocumented migration<\/a> into India. Modi\u2019s party has sought to capitalize on this sentiment by pledging to crack down on so-called illegal infiltration. The BJP also criticized West Bengal\u2019s weak economy under incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.<\/p>\n During India\u2019s 2024 election, the opposition alliance prevented Modi from securing an outright majority<\/a> in parliament, forcing the BJP to form a coalition government. Monday\u2019s losses, though, are expected to significantly strengthen Modi\u2019s efforts to secure a fourth term come elections in 2029.<\/p>\n Pulling out troops. <\/strong>The German defense ministry said<\/a> on Monday that the United States has not necessarily canceled a plan to deploy a battalion with long-range Tomahawk missiles \u200bto Germany. \u201cWe\u2019re not talking about a definitive cancellation,\u201d a ministry spokesperson said, adding that the weapons were \u201cmeant to be \u200bstationed (in Germany) and may well still be.\u201d The deal, devised under the Biden administration, was thrown into doubt when the Pentagon announced on Friday that it will withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly criticized<\/a> the United States\u2019 relationship with its NATO allies, accusing European members of placing too heavy of a defense burden on Washington. In recent weeks, the White House\u2019s ire has grown due to some members\u2019 hesitance or outright refusal to aid U.S. forces in the Iran war or allow U.S. troops to use European bases to launch attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n As of December 2025, the United States had around 68,000 active-duty troops<\/a> in Europe, more than 36,000 of whom were stationed in Germany. \u201cWe\u2019re going to cut way down, and we\u2019re cutting a lot further than 5,000,\u201d Trump told<\/a> reporters on Saturday. So far, Germany appears to be downplaying the moves, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius telling local media on Saturday that the troop reduction was expected. However, Pistorius also argued that \u201cthe presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n South Korea is trying to promote the importance of sleep with its third annual power nap contest<\/a>. Nearly 200 attendees dressed as sleeping beauties or princes gathered in Seoul on Saturday to compete for best short-term sleeper. Judges ranked based on how well contestants could stay asleep during two types of interruptions: being tickled with a feather or hearing mosquito sounds. FP\u2019s World Brief writer believes that she would absolutely crush this competition and humbly asks her editor to let her spend all day \u201cpracticing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nStrained Truce<\/h3>\n
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