In a social media post, President Trump said this morning he has instructed the Pentagon to postpone all airstrikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, claiming on Truth Social that Iran and the U.S. have had “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” This comes after Trump warned Saturday night he would “obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully opened within 48 hours. Iran responded by warning it would destroy essential infrastructure including water systems across the region if Trump followed through on his threat. In Israel, nearly 200 people were injured by Iranian strikes on Dimona, home to Israel’s main nuclear facility, and the nearby city of Arad on Saturday, after Israeli air defenses failed to intercept at least two ballistic missiles. Iranian state media said the missiles were fired in retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran also launched two 4,000-kilometer-range ballistic missiles at the joint U.S.-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia on Saturday. According to the Israeli military, it was the “first time” Iran had used long‑range missiles in the conflict. The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun strikes targeting infrastructure in Tehran. Iran, meanwhile, vowed to lay sea mines to block the entire Persian Gulf if its coasts or islands are attacked. This comes as the International Energy Agency announced earlier this month that it was releasing 400 million barrels of crude oil — the largest in its history — in order to stabilize global oil prices. On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to clarify President Trump’s shifting messages on the war in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Kristen Welker: “Just to put a fine point on this, though, is the president in the process of winding down this war or escalating the conflict?”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: “Again, they’re not mutually exclusive. Sometimes you have to escalate to deescalate, Kristen.”

Saudi Arabia has ordered Iran’s military attaché and four embassy staff members to leave the kingdom within 24 hours. The Saudi Foreign Ministry declared the five officials persona non grata, citing what it called repeated Iranian attacks on Saudi territory. The move follows an Iranian drone strike on the Red Sea port of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia’s only remaining oil export outlet after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

This comes as the Trump administration is advancing more than $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan without congressional approval.

In Lebanon, Israel struck ​a main bridge linking the south to the rest of the country on Sunday. The Israeli military has ordered its troops to destroy all crossings over the Litani River and step up the demolition of homes near the southern border. This comes as Lebanese healthcare workers are accusing Israel of deliberately targeting medical workers and facilities in southern Lebanon. Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across southern Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Since Israel’s war on Lebanon began on March 2, more than a million people have been forced to flee their homes, and over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. This is a displaced Lebanese man in the capital Beirut.

Mohamed Doghbane: “Last night was difficult, like every night we have here. As soon as it rains, the tents get flooded, and the covers get soaked, and we have extreme struggle. Last week, there were two storms, and this storm continues for 10 days.”

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a police vehicle Sunday killed three Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Another Palestinian was killed in a separate Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks, setting homes and vehicles on fire and wounding several Palestinians over the weekend. On Saturday, Israeli settlers carried out overnight attacks in at least six communities. On Sunday, at least 10 Palestinians were injured in attacks by Israeli settlers in four villages near Nablus. According to the United Nations, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023.

In Britain, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer organization in London were torched early Monday in what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned as a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.” Security camera footage obtained by CNN shows three people wearing masks and all black approaching an ambulance belonging to the group Hatzola Northwest and setting the vehicle on fire. The northern suburb of Golders Green has a large Jewish community and is home to several synagogues, dozens of Jewish schools and other institutions. The flames caused an explosion that shattered windows in nearby buildings. No injuries were reported.

In Sudan, at least 64 people were killed, including over a dozen children, in a strike on a hospital in East Darfur Friday. The World Health Organization said some 89 people were also injured and that the hospital will no longer operate. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces blamed the attack on Sudan’s military, which the army denied. But the Associated Press reports that two Sudanese military officials said the strike had originally targeted a police station in the region. The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, condemned the frequent attacks on medical facilities since Sudan’s war broke out nearly three years ago. He wrote on social media, “Enough blood has been spilled. … Healthcare should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine.”

In Cuba, authorities have partially restored electricity after more than 10 million people lost power to their homes and businesses on Saturday, following another collapse of the national power grid. It was the second time in a week, and the third time this month, Cuba has suffered a major blackout, as the Trump administration’s oil blockade worsens Cuba’s humanitarian crisis. Critics have condemned the blockade as “economic warfare.” This is Havana resident Leoni Alberto, who’s been forced to cook with firewood during the blackouts.

Leoni Alberto: “Life doesn’t change. Ultimately, we’re stuck in the same rut. We aren’t going to move forward. We’re just going to stay right here, at a standstill. Twice a week cooking with firewood, it’s absolute madness. There’s no other way around it. It’s just the hand we’ve been dealt. A solution is unlikely. We’ve been stuck in the same situation for 60 years. It is not going to change.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations have arrived in Cuba aboard ships carrying humanitarian goods from Mexico. The Nuestra América Flotilla brought the food, medicine, solar panels and other supplies as a direct challenge to the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

Here in New York, a pilot and co-pilot were killed, while over 40 passengers and crew were injured, late on Sunday when an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck after landing at LaGuardia Airport. It’s the latest in a series of airline disasters under President Trump’s second term, including a January 2025 collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people. Sunday’s disaster prompted LaGuardia to shut down until Monday afternoon; more than 400 flights were canceled.

Those disruptions added to travel chaos tied to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which has forced tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers to go without pay, leading to resignations and high rates of sick leave. On Sunday, President Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan confirmed plans to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at 14 airports to ease long security lines. The move came as Senate Republicans on Saturday blocked a Democratic bill seeking to pay TSA workers during the partial shutdown while negotiations to fund DHS continue.

In Paterson, New Jersey, city leaders joined family and friends on Sunday as they welcomed Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia home after more than a year in a Texas ICE jail. Kordia was arrested during the 2024 Gaza solidarity protests at Columbia University on charges that were later dropped; soon after, Kordia was detained by ICE during a routine immigration check-in in New Jersey. While in custody, Kordia was hospitalized following a seizure, and her legal team said her legs were chained to her bed and she was denied access to her lawyer or family. Kordia spoke to supporters at Paterson City Hall.

Leqaa Kordia: “It’s been a long year and tough year in ICE dungeons, but I’m finally free, alhamdulillah. But still — but still, my battle is not done yet. My battle to gain my freedom is not finished, over yet. This is just the first step.”

A federal judge has blocked the Pentagon’s press policy requiring media outlets to pledge not to gather information unless defense officials formally authorize its release. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., sided with The New York Times, which challenged the policy. Judge Friedman wrote, “Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’s security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech. That principle has preserved the nation’s security for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now.”

In more media news, attorneys general from eight states have asked a federal judge to halt a $3.5 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, two of the largest local broadcast station owners in the U.S. The Trump administration approved the merger on Thursday after the FCC waived rules limiting any company from owning stations that, taken together, reach more than 39% of U.S. households. The merger was approved after Nexstar aligned itself with the Trump administration by temporarily pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air across its 28 ABC affiliates, after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to revoke the licenses of broadcasters airing Kimmel.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81. Mueller led the bureau for 12 years, under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2017, Mueller was named special prosecutor in an investigation of allegations that Russia conspired to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. That prompted the wrath of President Trump, who called the investigation a “witch hunt,” a “hoax” and a “treasonous attack.” On Saturday, Trump celebrated Mueller’s death, writing on his social media platform, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”

In Slovenia, official results show ruling liberals and opposition right-wing candidates were in a near tie after Sunday’s parliamentary vote. None of the main parties looked likely to secure a majority in the 90-member parliament. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob of the center-left Freedom Movement warned that Slovenia’s “democracy and sovereignty” cannot be taken for granted. Opposition figure and former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, who leads the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party, faced controversy in recent months after he reportedly met with the Israeli spy firm Black Cube, prompting allegations of election interference.

In France, left-wing parties and allies held on to power in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille as local elections were held Sunday. Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire was elected as the mayor of Paris. Meanwhile, the far-right National Rally made some gains in smaller towns and France’s rural areas. France is holding presidential elections next year.

In Chile, thousands of people took to the streets of Santiago Sunday to protest President José Antonio Kast’s environmental rollbacks since taking office earlier this month. Kast’s government halted over 40 environmental protections that had been drafted during the previous administration of leftist Gabriel Boric. Protesters marched to La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace, to mark World Water Day.

Estéfano: “I think we cannot continue living under a government that believes everything contrary to business and industry interests is an ideology. So I think we need to take to the streets, demonstrate and fight for environmental rights, animal rights and people’s rights.”

Kast is the most right-wing president elected in Chile since the U.S.-backed Pinochet military dictatorship.