Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a U.S. timeline for the Iran war, how Republican lawmakers are prioritizing funding for immigration enforcement, and the state of Russia’s beleaguered economy.
How Much Longer?
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his G-7 counterparts on Friday that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran—already nearing its one-month mark—could continue for another two to four weeks, sources told Axios. Speaking to reporters after the G-7 meeting, Rubio said that the United States is “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here—a matter of weeks, not months.”
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a U.S. timeline for the Iran war, how Republican lawmakers are prioritizing funding for immigration enforcement, and the state of Russia’s beleaguered economy.
How Much Longer?
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his G-7 counterparts on Friday that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran—already nearing its one-month mark—could continue for another two to four weeks, sources told Axios. Speaking to reporters after the G-7 meeting, Rubio said that the United States is “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here—a matter of weeks, not months.”
Analysts suggest that extending the conflict for that length of time could have devastating consequences for the world economy, as 28 days of war have already caused unprecedented turbulence to global energy flows and worsened instability in the Middle East.
G-7 foreign ministers and their allies convened in the French countryside on Thursday for a two-day conference aimed at addressing rising geopolitical insecurity. Yet the main show did not begin until Rubio arrived on Friday, upon which he stressed that the United States remains committed to achieving all of its war objectives.
“Our mission is clear. Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon,” Rubio wrote on X on Friday. “In my meeting with the G7 foreign ministers, I reiterated that we must meet this moment with maximum partner contributions.”
Yet such contributions may not be easy to secure. Washington’s G-7 allies remain hesitant to join U.S. military efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally transits. “We have taken the approach of supporting defensive action, but also we’ve taken a different approach on the offensive action that has taken place as part of this conflict,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Friday.
Such reluctance has angered U.S. President Donald Trump, who has taken out his vitriol on NATO as a whole. “We are very disappointed with NATO because NATO has done absolutely nothing,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. He later appeared to suggest that the United States would not come to the aid of the alliance’s members due to their own inaction regarding Hormuz. “We’re always going to be there—at least, we were,” Trump said. “I don’t know about anymore, to be honest with you.”
This has forced Rubio to walk a fine line between appeasing the White House and selling the United States’ Iran strategy to Washington’s closest allies.
Still, some common ground has been found. G-7 foreign ministers agreed to adopt a declaration on Friday calling for the “immediate cessation” of attacks on civilian population centers and infrastructure. “Nothing justifies deliberately targeting civilians during armed conflicts, nor carrying out attacks against diplomatic facilities,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, adding that the declaration “also reaffirms the absolute necessity of permanently restoring free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Meanwhile, it remains unclear just how close (if at all) the Iran war is to reaching a diplomatic solution. Rubio reportedly told the conference’s attendees on Friday that Washington is still communicating with Tehran via mediators but is close to holding serious negotiations. On Thursday, Trump gave Tehran another 10 days to reopen Hormuz or else face attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Rubio’s comments come amid reports that the U.S. Defense Department is considering deploying at least 10,000 additional combat troops to the Middle East in the coming days. Rubio said on Friday that the United States can achieve its aims in Iran without ground troops but that it was deploying some to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge.”
Today’s Most Read
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What We’re Following
DHS funding fight. Senior House Republicans vowed on Friday to block a Senate-approved measure to restore funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the exception of immigration enforcement. The Senate voted in favor of the bill early Friday; however, House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to reject the motion and instead issue his own counterproposal.
The Senate-approved bill would restore funding for key DHS agencies—namely, the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security staff. Many of the 50,000 security officers who have gone without pay since the partial shutdown began in mid-February have called in sick or resigned. The resulting staffing shortage has caused long lines and significant delays at major airports across the country.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear eager to alleviate this travel chaos. However, it remains unlikely that House Republicans will approve the bill in its current form, which excludes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Instead, Johnson plans to propose a 60-day continuing resolution that would fund all of the DHS, including ICE and CBP.
Democrats are unlikely to back that counteroffer, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warning on Friday that Johnson’s proposal would be “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber.
Moscow’s money woes. The Kremlin denied reports on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked some of the country’s oligarchs to donate to Moscow’s budget to help stabilize Russia’s overextended economy amid its war against Ukraine.
“It’s not true that Putin made such a request,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. At the same time, Peskov acknowledged that one attendee at a closed-door meeting between Putin and wealthy business leaders on Thursday had offered to give a “very large sum of money” to the country. “This was absolutely his initiative, and not President Putin’s. Although, of course, the head of state welcomed such an initiative,” Peskov added.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has taken a substantial toll on Moscow’s finances. Its war-drained, sanctions-constrained economy has forced the Kremlin to make drastic fiscal decisions to avoid a recession. These include the government seizing private assets, a Moscow court ruling that Russia could nationalize its second-largest airport, and the central bank abolishing regulations that required Russian exporters to repatriate and convert foreign currency earnings.
Still, Putin does not appear willing to slow down his war ambitions. Sources told the Financial Times on Thursday that Moscow plans to fight until it captures the remaining areas of Ukraine’s Donbas region that are not under Russian control.
Nepal’s new leader. Balendra Shah was sworn in as Nepal’s new prime minister on Friday, making him the country’s youngest head of government in its history. Shah took office after his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a landslide victory in snap parliamentary elections on March 5. This was Nepal’s first vote since a Generation Z-led uprising last September toppled the government of then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
Experts predict that the RSP’s sweeping mandate in the House of Representatives will help Shah push forward a slew of promised reforms focused on tackling endemic corruption and mismanagement. This anti-establishment platform was what largely convinced young people in Nepal to vote for the former mayor of Kathmandu in the wake of last year’s anti-government protests.
The road ahead, though, may still prove challenging for Shah. Among the new prime minister’s first tasks will be addressing a long-delayed investigation into deadly violence and mass arson that occurred during the September revolt. Shah will be expected to determine who should be held accountable, even as conflicting reports could implicate some members of his own party.
What in the World?
South Africa’s top cop was served with a warrant on Wednesday to appear in court as part of an investigation into an allegedly corrupt contract to provide police officers with what?
A. Military-grade weapons and gear
B. Training on using AI surveillance tools
C. Health and well-being services
D. Opportunities for extra overtime pay
Odds and Ends
Sitting through a PowerPoint presentation may not be most people’s idea of fun. But some young, single Londoners exhausted with dating apps are doing just that to find love: attending “Date My Mate” nights, where people gather at pubs to give two-minute slideshows touting the merits of their friends to prospective romantic partners. After one such event in north London on Wednesday sold out in less than five minutes, organizers are now hoping to host related nights once a week across the United Kingdom. Similar events have also been held in Australia and the United States.
And the Answer Is…
C. Health and well-being services
The latest scandal comes on the heels of a variety of corruption allegations in South Africa last year, which Max Meizlish and David May wrote about in November.
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