World roundup: June 14-15 2025

Stories from Iran, China, El Salvador, and elsewhere

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TODAY IN HISTORY

June 14, 1325: A young Moroccan man named Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta sets out from Tangier on the Hajj, a journey that typically took about 16 months round-trip. But Ibn Battuta spent the next 24 years traveling throughout the world, visiting Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, India, Southeast Asia, and China. After returning to Morocco briefly in 1349 he spent five years traveling through Spain and the Sahel. These journeys would make Ibn Battuta the most widely traveled pre-modern explorer—assuming he actually made all of them. Scholars have questioned the historicity of segments of his journey but even so his travelogue, The Rihlah, became an important account of the period that is still widely read today.

June 14, 1821: Badi VII surrenders Sudan’s Sennar Sultanate to Egyptian forces under the command of Ismail Pasha. Sudan would remain Egyptian until it gained independence in 1956, though to be fair after 1899 it was really governed more as a separate British colony than as part of Egypt.

June 14, 1830: The French army lands at Sidi Fredj, beginning France’s invasion of Ottoman Algeria. Algiers fell on July 7 and France formally annexed the country, though it would take decades for French colonial rule to really take hold. Algeria gained its independence in 1962.

June 15, 1215: King John of England signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, under pressure from a group of rebellious barons. The document included provisions protecting church prerogatives and establishing protection from illegal imprisonment, a right to a speedy trial, and limitations on taxation (for the barons, not in general, though it’s since been interpreted more broadly). John eventually petitioned Pope Innocent III to declare the document null, but King Henry III and regent William Marshal issued a revised Magna Carta in 1217 as part of the settlement to the First Barons’ War.

June 15, 1389: The Ottoman Empire defeats a Serbian army in the most famous of several historical battles of Kosovo. Though the Ottomans emerged victorious they suffered heavy losses—none heavier than Sultan Murad I himself, killed by a Serbian knight who pretended to defect in order to gain an audience with the Ottoman ruler. Serbian leader Lazar Hrebeljanović was also killed and son and successor, Stefan Lazarević, subsequently submitted to Ottoman vassalage. The battle had a profound effect on the development of a Serbian national and historical consciousness that has continued to reverberate to the present day.

This painting of the battle, done around 1870 by Serbian artist Adam Stefanović, depicts among other things Prince Lazar’s demise, just left of the dashing horseman in the center (Wikimedia Commons)

MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

On Saturday, the Iraqi government reopened al-Qaʾim border crossing, one of the main checkpoints along the Iraqi-Syrian border. It had closed the crossing after the rebel offensive that ousted former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad back in December. Slowly it appears that the Iraqi government is moving toward normalizing relations with the new interim Syrian government.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

The Israeli military (IDF) killed at least 59 people across Gaza on Sunday, including at least 17 in at least two more shooting incidents at “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” distribution sites. It killed at least 79 people on Saturday, including at least 15 at the GHF’s distribution site in central Gaza. Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum said that Palestinians have come to see these GHF facilities as “execution sites” rather than aid distribution sites, given that the IDF seems to be using them as a means of corralling potential victims. It’s killed at least 274 people in multiple incidents near GHF facilities since the organization began operating in late May.

Haaretz interviewed several Palestinians who say they’ve noticed a “marked escalation” in IDF violence since the Israelis started their air war with Iran on Friday (see below). That comports with those weekend casualty figures and makes sense, with the world’s attention now focused on Iran. Indeed, starting a war with Iran appears to be paying several dividends for the Israeli government with respect to the Palestinians—that French and Saudi-organized United Nations conference that was supposed to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood in New York later this month has now been canceled. Consider it a special treat for a special country that just did a special thing.

YEMEN

The IDF reportedly bombed northern Yemen over the weekend in an effort to assassinate Mohamed al-Ghamari, who is the chief of staff for the Houthi movement’s military wing. There’s no indication that the strike was successful.

IRAN

Obviously there’s a lot to cover:

• The air war, and I do think it’s safe to call it a war, between Israel and Iran continued through the weekend and shows no sign of abating. After a heavy overnight bombardment of Tehran the Iranian government now says that the IDF has killed at least 224 people and wounded another 1277 since its initial attack on Friday morning, while Iranian strikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 390 according to the Israeli government—which, it should be noted, apparently counts people suffering from “acute anxiety” as casualties. It may be worth noting that Iranian expat groups are claiming a substantially higher death toll in Iran, though the extent to which those groups have any credibility varies and is open for debate.

• The IDF has been expanding its target selection, which is made possible by its degradation of Iran’s air defense systems (something it started doing last year). On Sunday it was able to strike targets in Mashhad, which is in Iran’s northeastern corner, and also killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence officers including the commander of its intelligence unit, Mohammad Kazemi. It’s also started attacking Iranian energy facilities, including the massive South Pars/North Dome offshore gas field that Iran shares with Qatar. Iranian officials have considered energy strikes a red line in the past and struck Israel’s Haifa oil refinery in retaliation.

• It’s being reported that Ali Shamkhani, the former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a national security aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has also been killed in an IDF airstrike. I’m phrasing it this way because I can’t tell if the Iranians have actually confirmed his death. Shamkhani was involved in recent nuclear talks as part of the team overseeing the work of Iranian negotiators.

• The extent of the damage has been hard to assess and with new strikes coming on a rolling basis it’s a bit futile to try to keep up. With respect to the stated rationale behind the Israeli attack, hampering Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, satellite imagery shows that the IDF has hit at least a couple of major Iranian missile complexes as well as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The damage to the latter appears to be on the surface while most of its centrifuges are placed underground, but it’s likely those parts of the facility suffered damage as well. Israeli strikes have also damaged Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan. Fortunately there’s no evidence of radiation spikes in the vicinity of either site.

• Iran’s better-hardened enrichment facility at Fordow remains relatively unscathed as far as anyone can tell, seemingly confirming arguments that the IDF doesn’t have the hardware to easily damage that site. This is of course where the US comes in, or at least where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping the US comes in, because the Pentagon does have the type of weaponry that could damage the Fordow facility. He’s reportedly been “urging” Donald Trump to jump into the fray directly and while I cannot profess any knowledge as to Israel’s war plan there’s a case to be made that this conflict cannot succeed on its own terms unless the US enters directly (or, I guess, if the Iranian government collapses but that seems farfetched at this stage). The Trump administration has been insisting that it is not involved in this conflict at that level but Trump himself told ABC News on Sunday that “it’s possible we could get involved.” Antiwar.com is reporting, based on “sources familiar with the matter,” that Trump has decided to get involved and we could see the first manifestations of that as soon as Monday.

• The US is of course supporting Israel to the hilt indirectly. It’s supporting Israeli air defenses in intercepting Iranian weapons and, according to Middle East Eye, it rearmed the IDF with a large shipment of Hellfire missiles just a couple of days before the initial Israeli attack. If true then some those missiles were certainly either used in Friday’s opening salvo or replaced Hellfires that the Israelis already had that they were planning to use on Friday.

• The Iranian government’s position on US involvement has been nuanced. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the administration’s claims of noninvolvement on Sunday. But Tehran hasn’t ordered any military action against US assets in the Middle East, and its main Iraqi client Kataʾib Hezbollah actually warned the US not to get involved on Sunday—not the sort of thing one does if one already thinks the US is involved. The Iranians would surely prefer that the US not get directly involved, which is why they haven’t attacked any US targets yet, though if Trump has already decided to jump in then this is all irrelevant.

• The Trump administration went on a multi-outlet quest on Sunday to let as many people as possible know that Trump had “vetoed” an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. I don’t think there’s any reason to believe this in the slightest. As I noted on Friday Trump’s behavior over the past couple of months leads to one of two conclusions: either he has no control over what the Israeli government does, or he blatantly lied his way through as many as five rounds of nuclear talks with Iran, knowing all the while that Friday’s Israeli attack was coming. Either way this story has no credibility to it. The Israelis will target Khamenei if that’s what they want to do—something Netanyahu made clear on Sunday—because they know that even if they do so without explicit approval from the US no punishment will come from it.

• The reason the Trump administration wants to insist that Trump is riding herd on Netanyahu is because Trump, incredibly, is still pretending that he can and/or wants to negotiate both a settlement to this conflict and a new nuclear deal with Iran. The nuclear talks are obviously kaput, at least for the time being. Iranian officials reportedly told their counterparts in the Omani and Qatari governments that they will not negotiate under fire, so any sort of diplomacy on any subject would presumably require a ceasefire first. Trump took to social media on Sunday to urge an end to the conflict, but his own credibility is so far gone at this point that it’s impossible for anyone to take him seriously and doubly so for the Iranians. Any realistic view of the situation would have to conclude that the prospects for diplomacy—actual diplomacy, not Trump’s superficial kind—are increasing dim if not entirely snuffed out.

• Absent a diplomatic resolution how is this going to end? I have no idea. A lot depends on how long Iran can continue firing missiles at Israel before its stockpiles start to run out, and as far as I’m concerned anyone who tells you they know the answer to that question is probably full of shit. If the Israelis really are invested in the state of Iran’s nuclear program they’ll need the US to attack Fordow for them—the alternative would be a series of Israeli strikes on that site to try to grind it down, and that would take a long time and might not work. As I’ve written before I don’t know that Netanyahu cares whether there’s a real end to any of this, because the ceaseless killing is politically beneficial to him. For the Iranians, even the questionable logic of nuclear deterrence has to start to look more sensible than simply enduring a string of Israeli attacks in perpetuity.

ASIA

THAILAND

A meeting of Thai and Cambodian representatives on Saturday “made progress” in resolving tensions that flared up after last month’s border skirmish, according to the Thai government. They did not resolve those tensions, however, and the Cambodian government on Sunday officially took its border grievances to the UN International Court of Justice. The Thai government has opposed ICJ involvement on this issue so this may actually wind up making the situation more tense even after the court issues a ruling.

TAIWAN

The Taiwanese government has placed China’s Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation on its “strategic high-tech commodities” export control list, meaning that Taiwanese companies dealing in those products will have to obtain permission before selling to either firm. The move comes after the US government has been pressuring the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to stop supplying advanced computer chip components to Chinese companies altogether. Taiwan generally views the presence of TSMC and Chinese tech firms’ dependence on its products as a bulwark—its “silicon shield”—against a potential Chinese invasion, so leaving aside the merits of that view this US pressure may actually be weakening Taiwan’s strategic defense posture.

CHINA

According to Reuters, the glorious US-China trade “agreement” reached in London a few days ago may include some relaxation of China’s critical minerals export restrictions but it does not address the relaxation of a number of metals needed to support US arms manufacturing. That, it seems, Beijing would only be willing to do if the US eases its restrictions on advanced computer chip exports to China—which the US is not doing under this framework. This is potentially a major point of disagreement and the fact that it hasn’t been resolved or even really addressed suggests that this latest detente isn’t going to last very long.

AFRICA

NIGER

An apparent jihadist attack killed at least nine civilians in southwestern Niger’s Tillabéri region on Friday, according to a Nigerien teacher’s union. One of its members was among the dead and another was wounded in the same attack.

NIGERIA

The latest outbreak of inter-communal violence in central Nigeria claimed another 100 lives late Friday, when gunmen killed at least that many people in a town in Benue state. Officially the death toll stands at 45, but AFP is reporting the higher number based on interviews with local residents. Benue, like neighboring Plateau state, is plagued with violence between the predominantly herding Fulani community and local farming communities over the shared use of increasingly scarce resources. Those tensions frequently boil over into cycles of tit for tat violence.

UPDATE: The death toll has now risen to at least 150, and as recovery work is continuing there’s good reason to believe it will rise higher than that.

EUROPE

RUSSIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Donald Trump in a phone conversation on Saturday—according to Trump, Putin called to wish him a “happy birthday”—that he’s “ready” for another round of peace talks with Ukraine. Considering that the first two rounds have been exercises in mostly futility this seems like an easy commitment to make. Putin gets to demonstrate to Trump that he’s interested in peace without actually having to negotiate over anything especially substantive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seems less committed to another negotiating session but he may have no choice, given that he also needs to demonstrate to Trump that he’s committed to whatever passes for a peace process.

UKRAINE

Zelensky issued a statement on Saturday claiming that the Ukrainian military has stopped its Russian counterpart’s advance into Ukraine’s Sumy oblast and insisting that Russian forces have not entered Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The latter claim is contradicted by Ukrainian military officers who have told Western outlets that the Russians have indeed begun operating in Dnipropetrovsk. The former claim may be accurate but it likely comes as little comfort to the people in Sumy, who now find themselves on a new front line with all that entails.

AMERICAS

EL SALVADOR

The Washington Post reports that while he basks in the glow of Donald Trump’s adoration, Salvadoran leader Nayib Bukele is escalating his crackdown on political opponents:

Bukele, credited with dismantling the country’s gangs and dramatically reducing violence in what was once one of the most dangerous nations in Latin America, is widely popular at home and throughout the region. But the self-styled “world’s coolest dictator” has pacified El Salvador in part by detaining more than 85,000 people, often without due process, access to a lawyer or a proper trial — while tightening his grip on the country’s Legislative Assembly and courts.

Bukele has long been accused of human rights violations. But the recent arrests and threats, Noah Bullock said, are sending a more explicit, brazen message: “You dissent and you will be punished.”

“It feels like overnight, El Salvador became an even more repressive regime,” said Bullock, executive director of Cristosal, a human rights organization where [recently arrested lawyer Ruth] López works. “A person who likes to make jokes about being a dictator is now embracing it.”

Bukele likes to say that he’d “rather be called a dictator than see Salvadorans killed in the streets.” It’s unclear, though, what effect jailing his critics is supposed to have on preventing violent crime.

UNITED STATES

Finally, returning to Israel’s new war with Iran, we should consider the US government that’s now responsible for overseeing it. Semafor’s Ben Smith reported on Saturday that there is a “split” in the Pentagon between those who are all-in on support for Israel, like US Central Command boss Michael Kurilla, and those who actually seem to have taken the “pivot to Asia” seriously, like Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby. Kurilla’s side is obviously winning the argument, at least for the moment. Even so the factionalism appears to be real, and over at HuffPost Akbar Shahid Ahmed considers how an understaffed and inexperienced administration led by a buffoon of a president (my words, not his) will be able to navigate that split amid its first serious foreign policy crisis:

The Trump administration may struggle to shape what comes next, given its limited policy-making circle, the president’s unpredictability and its hollowing out of government expertise. The administration recently slashed staff at the National Security Council at the White House, has urged thousands of professional diplomats to resign and plans to fire hundreds more as early as next week, and top positions at the Pentagon and State Department are lying empty.

Still, some leading officials, like White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, have previously questioned those who wanted the U.S. to help Israel attack Iran, like the demoted former national security adviser Mike Waltz. The administration may decide it must take the reins from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — defying him as Trump has notably done on Syria, and as some conservative voices, like conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, have urged him to.

“The split on the right is already obvious,” said Reid Smith, the vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together, an organization founded by the right-wing billionaire Charles Koch.

“Friends of Israel, and I number myself among them, should tread warily, as a casualty of this conflict could be essentially unanimous support for Israel on not just a bipartisan but a conservative basis,” Smith told HuffPost.

Needless to say I have my doubts that Trump will actually “take the reins” from Netanyahu, but whatever he and his administration decide to do I expect that the implementation will be as shambolic as possible. Between the staffing shortfalls and the myriad shortcomings of the man in charge I can’t see any other possibility.