American military forces executed additional defensive operations against Iran following President Trump’s declaration that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and his assertion that the upcoming November midterm elections won’t pressure him into hastily reaching an agreement to resolve the conflict that has stretched nearly three months.
Additionally, a federal court judge refused to stop Trump’s executive directive establishing a federal voter registry and restricting mail-in voting, paving the way for potentially major modifications to American election procedures just ahead of this year’s midterm contests.
Here are the latest developments:
A federal court judge refused to stop Trump’s executive directive establishing a federal voter registry and restricting mail-in voting, paving the way for potentially major modifications to American election procedures just ahead of this year’s midterm contests.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., a Trump appointee, on Wednesday evening denied the petition from Democrats and civil rights organizations who had contended that Trump’s directive would likely be deemed unconstitutional since states and Congress, rather than the president, possess authority to establish election procedures. Nichols sided with the Trump administration’s argument that it was premature to issue the directive since implementation had not yet begun.
The court challenge to the provision now moves to Boston, where voting rights organizations have filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the executive directive.
The American military reported that Kuwait had intercepted missiles fired by Iran late Wednesday evening, describing the Iranian assault on one of America’s key Persian Gulf allies as an “egregious ceasefire violation.”
The assault on Kuwait represented the most recent escalation threatening the fragile ceasefire established last month between America and Iran.
Kuwait had previously confirmed an attack on its territory, while Iran announced it had responded following strikes earlier this week on an American base in an unnamed Gulf state.
The Iranian attack followed earlier weekly American strikes on Iranian missile launch facilities, minelaying vessels and attack drones that officials said presented threats near the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
The American military on Wednesday attacked another vessel suspected of drug transportation in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in two fatalities.
U.S. Southern Command shared video on social media displaying a boat floating on water before being hit by an explosion. The final moments of the footage show smoke and flames emerging from the vessel.
One day prior, American forces had launched an attack on an alleged drug vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing one person and leaving two survivors. Southern Command reported it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”
The Trump administration’s strategy of destroying suspected drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, has continued since early September and resulted in at least 196 total deaths. The military has not presented evidence that any of the vessels contained drugs.
The Trump administration has quietly directed federal prosecutors in Miami to refrain from pursuing criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a long-standing target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials, marking the latest indication of improving relations between the White House and the oil-rich nation.
It remains uncertain whether prosecutors had connected Rodríguez to any crimes or whether investigators were approaching an indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson stated in an email, “There was never an investigation into her to shut down.”
However, DEA documents obtained by The Associated Press earlier this year demonstrate she repeatedly appeared on federal law enforcement’s radar dating back to at least 2018, though she has never faced criminal charges in the U.S. like several other high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
The instruction to suspend scrutiny of Rodríguez was intended to prevent disrupting the administration’s efforts to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, among other factors, the official stated. It remained unclear whether the White House, which referred comment to the Justice Department, participated in the decision.
Global markets fell Thursday following additional operations that the American military described as defensive strikes against Iran.
Oil prices rose more than $2 per barrel after having dropped significantly the previous day.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX remained nearly flat at 25,175.63 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.4% to 8,172.84. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.9% to 10,416.62.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%.
On Wednesday, American stocks reached new records after oil prices fell more than 4%, reducing pressure on consumers and businesses globally.
American forces executed additional defensive operations against Iran on Wednesday following Trump’s assertion that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and his insistence that November’s midterm elections won’t pressure him into hastily reaching an agreement to end the nearly three-month conflict.
U.S. Central Command forces destroyed four Iranian one-way attack drones that presented a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The American military also attacked an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone, the officials reported.
Information about the operations became available after Trump, during a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday, expressed confidence that his administration was making progress on resolving the conflict, even though negotiations remain highly uncertain.
