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Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
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Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP

A boat carrying Rohingya refugees that was forced back to sea earlier this week was sighted Saturday several miles off the coast of Indonesia's westernmost region, according to a local commander.
The group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province on Thursday, but residents told them not to land.
The boat traveled to another location in Aceh where a second group of residents again turned them back to sea late Thursday.
A naval commander in Aceh's Lhoksemauwe city told AFP on Saturday that the boat was spotted "this morning" and "looks similar" to the one turned back on Thursday, adding that it was heading east.
"At the moment (the boat) is not visible. Maybe it's beyond the horizon," Andi Susanto said.
"We are still observing the situation and ready to help if needed," he added.
The whereabouts of the boat had remained unknown after it was turned away Thursday night.
The commander said the boat was believed to be a few miles off the coast in waters around North Aceh district.
"The permission for the ship's arrival on the beach is not our authority. As in previous cases, it was handled by the local government with the coastal community and UNHCR (UN refugee agency)," said Susanto.
Thousands from the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority risk their lives each year to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia via long and treacherous sea journeys, often in flimsy boats.
In a statement Friday, UNHCR called on Indonesia to facilitate the boat's landing and provide life-saving assistance to the refugees.
Indonesia, which is not a signatory to a 1951 refugee convention, says it is not compelled to accept arriving Rohingya refugees.
Locals have complained of lacking the resources to absorb hundreds of refugees into their communities.
Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have reached western Indonesia this week, with 196 arriving on Tuesday and 147 on Wednesday, according to local officials.
More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted journeys to Southeast Asian countries in 2022, according to the UN agency.
Nearly 200 Rohingya died or went missing last year while attempting hazardous sea crossings, it estimated.

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World

UN Shipping Agency Opposes Fees for Any Strait, More Details Sought on Trump Post on Cargo Charge

This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Shipping Agency Opposes Fees for Any Strait, More Details Sought on Trump Post on Cargo Charge

This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)

More details are awaited after US President Donald Trump said in a post that Washington was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed 20% on ‌all cargo ‌shipped through ‌the ⁠Strait of Hormuz, ⁠the UN's shipping agency said on Monday.

"We are aware of the post and awaiting more details," ⁠a spokesperson with the ‌UN's ‌International Maritime Organization said.

"We have ‌always been consistent ‌on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage ‌through straits used for international navigation. There ⁠is ⁠no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait."

Trump said in a Truth Social post the process would begin immediately, but did not elaborate.

World

US Citizen Is Found Guilty of Helping Export Tech to Iran in Violation of Sanctions

People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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US Citizen Is Found Guilty of Helping Export Tech to Iran in Violation of Sanctions

People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

A Massachusetts man was found guilty Monday of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran in violation of US sanctions.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who worked at the global electronics company Analog Devices, was accused of helping an Iranian business associate get around American export control laws. US prosecutors say the business associate’s Tehran-based company makes navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Authorities say the scheme included the creation of a front company in Switzerland.

The second defendant, Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, called Abedini in court documents, was not on trial. He is believed to be in Iran after an apparent prisoner exchange for an Italian journalist.

Sadeghi was found guilty on three of the five charges. He showed no visible reaction to the verdict, which came early in the fourth day of jury deliberations. He and his lawyers did not comment as they left court, and he will remain free until sentencing Oct. 13.

Sadeghi, a 43-year-old naturalized US citizen, chose not to testify. A father of two, he lost his job at Analog Devices due to the charges. Although he was arrested in December 2024, long before the current war with Iran, his trial has unfolded during the conflict.

“At its core, this case is straightforward. You cannot send goods, especially the goods at issue in this case, to Iran. Period. Full stop,” Assistant US Attorney Alathea Porter told the jury. “The defendant knew that, and conspired with Mr. Abedini to do that.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan, in his closing remarks, said documents, text messages and photos proved that the illegal acts were the “fruits of this relationship” between Sadeghi and Abedini.

“The evidence established that he knew what Abedini was doing because he told him in writing,” Dolan said. “He helped him anyway.”

Sadeghi's attorney, William Fick, told jurors that the scheme laid out by the prosecution “makes no sense” and was full of holes. He said Sadeghi was only offering advice to a longtime friend about how to get business with the semiconductor company, and wasn’t responsible for procuring the parts for Abedini.

Fick said there was no proof the parts ended up in Iran, and he disputed that the Swiss company was a front.

“If you look at the world through dirty glasses, everything looks dirty,” Fick said. “That is fundamentally what the prosecution is asking you to do here.”

Fick also said prosecutors hadn't shown Sadeghi gained anything from the alleged plan — although the prosecution pointed out that they didn't need to prove a motive.

“He had nothing to gain and everything to lose,” Fick said. “He has lived in the country for decades. He was a well-regarded, respected employee on his way up in the company.”

Prosecutors had hoped to introduce evidence during the trial related to an Iranian drone used in a 2024 attack that killed three US troops at a remote base in Jordan.

However, before the trial, defense attorneys sought to exclude any evidence related to Abedini’s role in drone manufacturing or attacks on American troops.

The judge agreed, ruling that prosecutors could only give general evidence about Abedini’s Iranian company and how its technology had potential military applications, including for drones. During a hearing in February, prosecutors acknowledged they didn’t have evidence that Sadeghi “knew anything” about the technology he was accused of exporting was allegedly used on the drone involved in the Jordan attack.

Both defendants have been charged with export control violations. Abedini is separately charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization that resulted in the deaths of three service members.

Abedini was arrested at an airport in Italy on a US warrant in December 2024, but was released a month later and returned to Iran. Three days after his arrest, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained while reporting in Iran. Sala, who was believed held as a bargaining chip for Abedini’s release, returned home in January 2025.

World

US Vows Campaign to End ICC ‘Threat’ to Americans

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
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US Vows Campaign to End ICC ‘Threat’ to Americans

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

The United States on Monday announced a campaign against the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of posing "an intolerable threat to US sovereignty" and threatening sanctions.

"The ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a video statement.

The State Department said in a statement the campaign will "systematically disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."

Relations between the government of Donald Trump and the ICC have been extremely poor, with several court officials, including its chief prosecutor, already under US sanctions.

The sanctions bar the officials from entering the United States and block property and financial transactions involving them in the world's largest economy.

The measures have often focused on ICC investigations involving Israel, a US ally. The court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.

However, in its statement, the State Department focused on what it called the ICC's "intolerable threat to US sovereignty," saying the court "claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America's national interest."

"Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC's ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans," the State Department said.

The department listed a range of measures it was considering against the court, including having American diplomats call other nations to urge withdrawal from the body, as well as travel bans and sanctions against ICC officials.

Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the international treaty that established the ICC. Russia is also not a member, and its President Vladimir Putin has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant since March 2023.