G7 Abandons Joint Ukraine Statement as Zelenskiy Says Diplomacy in Crisis 

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney poses for a family photo with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Council President Antonio Costa, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, World Bank President Ajay Banga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney poses for a family photo with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Council President Antonio Costa, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, World Bank President Ajay Banga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
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G7 Abandons Joint Ukraine Statement as Zelenskiy Says Diplomacy in Crisis 

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney poses for a family photo with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Council President Antonio Costa, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, World Bank President Ajay Banga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney poses for a family photo with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Council President Antonio Costa, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, World Bank President Ajay Banga, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves the Group of Seven summit on Tuesday with new aid from host Canada for its war against Russia but without a joint statement of support from members or a chance to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The G7 wealthy nations struggled to find unity over the conflict in Ukraine after Trump expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and left a day early to address the Israel-Iran conflict from Washington.

Canada dropped plans for the G7 to issue a strong statement on the war in Ukraine after resistance from the United States, a Canadian official told reporters.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa would provide C$2 billion ($1.47 billion) in new military assistance for Kyiv as well as impose new financial sanctions.

Zelenskiy said he had told the G7 leaders that "diplomacy is now in a state of crisis" and said they need to continue calling on Trump "to use his real influence" to force an end to the war, in a post on his Telegram account.

Although Canada is one of Ukraine's most vocal defenders, its ability to help it is far outweighed by the United States, the largest arms supplier to Kyiv. Zelenskiy had said he hoped to talk to Trump about acquiring more weapons.

After the summit in the Rocky Mountain resort area of Kananaskis concluded, Carney issued a chair statement summarizing deliberations.

"G7 leaders expressed support for President Trump’s efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," the statement said.

"They recognized that Ukraine has committed to an unconditional ceasefire, and they agreed that Russia must do the same. G7 Leaders are resolute in exploring all options to maximize pressure on Russia, including financial sanctions."

Canada holds the rotating G7 presidency this year. Other leaders do not need to sign off on G7 chair statements. "There would be things that some of us, Canada, included, would say above and beyond what was said in the chair summary," Carney said at a closing news conference.

Trump did agree to a group statement published on Monday calling for a resolution of the Israel-Iran conflict.

"We had a declaration given the exceptional, fast moving situation in Iran," Carney said. "We concentrated on that as a specific one. I held this (Ukraine)for my chair summary."

A European official said leaders had stressed to Trump their plans to be hard on Russia and Trump seemed impressed, though he does not like sanctions in principle.

Three European diplomats said they had heard signals from Trump that he wanted to raise pressure on Putin and consider a US Senate bill drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, but that he had not committed to anything.

"I am returning to Germany with cautious optimism that decisions will also be made in America in the coming days to impose further sanctions against Russia," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

G7 leaders agreed on six other statements, about migrant smuggling, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, wildfires, transnational repression and quantum computing.

KREMLIN SAYS G7 LOOKS 'RATHER USELESS'

Trump said on Monday he needed to be back in Washington as soon as possible due to the situation in the Middle East, where escalating attacks between Iran and Israel have raised risks of a broader regional conflict.

A White House official on Tuesday said Trump explained that he returned to the US because it is better to hold high-level National Security Council meetings in person, rather than over the phone.

Upon arriving at the summit, Trump said that the then-Group of Eight had been wrong to expel Russia after Putin ordered the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Trump was right and said the G7 was no longer significant for Russia and looked "rather useless."

Many leaders had hoped to negotiate trade deals with Trump, but the only deal signed was the finalization of the US-UK deal announced last month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained at the summit after Trump left.

Carney also invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as he tries to shore up alliances elsewhere and diversify Canada's exports away from the United States.

Carney warmly welcomed Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday, after two years of tense relations between Canada and India.



US Military Strikes Iranian Coastal Surveillance Radar as Iran Attempts to Attack Kuwait, Bahrain

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet takes off from a base in the Middle East last January (US Military)
A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet takes off from a base in the Middle East last January (US Military)
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US Military Strikes Iranian Coastal Surveillance Radar as Iran Attempts to Attack Kuwait, Bahrain

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet takes off from a base in the Middle East last January (US Military)
A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet takes off from a base in the Middle East last January (US Military)

The US military said it shot down Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf states on Friday, while striking some of Iran’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

US Central Command said on social media Friday night that Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, with US forces intercepting six of the missiles and a seventh failing to reach its target. The military said there were no reports of harm to US personnel.

The ballistic missiles were fired after the US earlier in the day shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward Strait of Hormuz.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” US Central Command said on social media.

Kuwaiti’s military said forces were intercepting missiles and drones attacking the country, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens and told residents to move to the nearest safe location and follow official instructions.

The US military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments.

US Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.”

It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce.

Despite the attacks raising new concerns that the ceasefire could collapse, US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that “the situation with Iran seems to be going quite well.”

“We’re going to come out of Iran very quickly and it’s going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” Trump said at an event with farmers in Wisconsin. “The very tough way is maybe the easier way, but we’re going to come out, and your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago.”


US Issues New Iran-Linked Sanctions

US Treasury Department (Reuters)
US Treasury Department (Reuters)
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US Issues New Iran-Linked Sanctions

US Treasury Department (Reuters)
US Treasury Department (Reuters)

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a network allegedly exporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Iran to South and Eastern Asia, the Treasury said.

The network used front companies in the United Arab Emirates and China and a "shadow fleet" of vessels, according to a Treasury statement.

The system, designed to evade existing US sanctions, moved LPG worth hundreds of millions of dollars, it added, according to AFP.

The United States has tightened sanctions on Iran since it jointly launched its war on the country with Israel in late February.

In addition, Washington on Friday also sanctioned an Iranian currency exchange house and individuals associated with it for allegedly helping Iran facilitate billions in financial transactions.

"These sanctions are part of the Administration's Economic Fury campaign, which maintains maximum pressure on the Iranian regime and disrupts its ability to generate revenue for weapons development, support for terrorist proxies, and regional aggression," said US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.


Report: Israel Sent Troops to Azerbaijan During Iran War

Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku (X)
Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku (X)
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Report: Israel Sent Troops to Azerbaijan During Iran War

Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku (X)
Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku (X)

Israel secretly deployed elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran as part of a network of covert sites across the Middle East to facilitate operations against Iran, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.

The forces operated out of several locations in southern Azerbaijan, two of the sources said, adjacent to Iran’s northern border and, at its closest point, only about 60 miles from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which Israel struck during the war.

Special commando units were also deployed to the location and carried out intelligence-gathering missions and drone operations, the other two sources said, giving Israel a valuable perch from which to see into northern Iran during the war.

The secret deployment to Azerbaijan, reported by CNN for the first time, was one of several military positions Israel maintained across the Middle East that gave its military unprecedented reach, highlighting the role Iran’s neighbors played in facilitating operations against Tehran and becoming entangled in the conflict.

Together, the deployments described by the sources placed Israeli forces along Iran’s southern, western, and northern periphery during the war, extending the military’s range by hundreds of miles, deep into Iranian territory.

The Azerbaijan operation consisted of several dozen troops, including members of Israel’s special operations forces, its elite heliborne combat and rescue force, and Mossad personnel, one of the sources said.

In return, a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States said in a statement to CNN, “We firmly reject unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan’s territory for operations against third countries.”

Israel has long viewed Azerbaijan as a strategic partner in its fight against Iran, and the preparations began weeks before the opening strikes of the war.

In mid-January, as Iran crushed wide-scale protests with the mass killing of demonstrators, Israel prepared a covert mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, two of the sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

Israel was planning to execute the operation under cover of what were to be the opening strikes of the war in mid-January. But US President Donald Trump called off the strikes at the last minute, saying that Iran had agreed to stop the killing of demonstrators. Israel proceeded on its own.

The Israeli Air Force used stealth jets and special forces as part of the operation to install the devices, as Israel’s political leadership believed negotiations between the US and Iran were doomed to fail.

The intelligence-gathering site became another means by which Israel could collect information on Iranian military movements and facilities, as well as potentially providing early warning of missile launches.

Joint Operations

One of the key operations launched from Azerbaijan, one of the sources said, was the killing on March 4 of Rahman Moghaddam, who led the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence division and who Israel said was responsible for planning an assassination attempt against Trump in 2024.

Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close ties around commercial and military interests. Baku provides Israel with a large share of its oil. In return, Israel sells Azerbaijan advanced weaponry.

“Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately low-profile, relying on arms transfers, intelligence cooperation, and long-term technological interdependence in the security sector,” wrote Gershon Kogan, a specialist on Iran at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, before the Iran war began.

The relationship also gives Azerbaijan access to a critical diplomatic resource, according to Joshua Kucera, a senior analyst for the Crisis Group, allowing Baku to utilize Israel’s lobby in Washington, DC.