Breaking Middle East

Kuwait just arrested four Iranian Revolutionary Guard operatives. The UAE has launched airstrikes. Over 1,500 ships are trapped in the Gulf. And Trump is heading to China.

Let’s be honest about where things stand: the ceasefire between the United States and Iran isn’t really functioning like a ceasefire. Trump himself called it “one of the weakest” he’d seen, said it was “on life support,” and admitted he couldn’t even finish reading Iran’s 14-point response document. “I said I’m not going to waste my time reading it,” he told reporters. That’s not diplomatic boilerplate. That’s a man who’s losing patience.

The morning’s headline alone tells you something has gone badly sideways. Kuwaiti authorities say they detained four gunmen linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps attempting to infiltrate an island north of Kuwait City. One Kuwaiti soldier was injured in the confrontation. This comes after a sustained campaign of Iranian drone and missile attacks — more than 2,800 launches against the UAE alone, which officials say is more than twice what Iran fired at Israel during the entire war. The UAE, it turns out, has not been sitting still. Multiple airstrikes have reportedly been launched against Iranian oil facilities in response.

“I didn’t even finish reading it. I said I’m not going to waste my time.” — President Trump, on Iran’s 14-point proposal

THE SITUATION BY THE NUMBERS

2,800+ Iranian drones & missiles fired at the UAE