Middle East and North Africa

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where we’re glad to hear that Kuwait has acquitted award-winning journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who was detained nearly two months ago while visiting family in the country for allegedly sharing false information about the Iran war and threatening national security. Shihab-Eldin is expected to be released in the coming days.

Here’s what’s on tap for the day: The U.S. and Iran pivot to economic warfare amid a tense cease-fire, Europe provides a new lifeline to Ukraine, and Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI model sparks new cybersecurity concerns.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where we’re glad to hear that Kuwait has acquitted award-winning journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who was detained nearly two months ago while visiting family in the country for allegedly sharing false information about the Iran war and threatening national security. Shihab-Eldin is expected to be released in the coming days.

Here’s what’s on tap for the day: The U.S. and Iran pivot to economic warfare amid a tense cease-fire, Europe provides a new lifeline to Ukraine, and Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI model sparks new cybersecurity concerns.

An Economic War of Attrition

The U.S.-Iran cease-fire is on shaky ground, and there are currently no concrete plans for another round of peace talks. The war has not resumed on a broad scale—and U.S. President Donald Trump extended the cease-fire on Tuesday—but it’s debatable whether the current situation qualifies as a truce.

Washington and Tehran are now locked in an economic war of attrition, with both sides attempting to squeeze the other into making concessions by taking aim at one another’s pocketbooks via a naval standoff. The United States is continuing its blockade of Iranian ports, which Tehran says is a cease-fire violation, and has seized multiple Iran-linked vessels—including a cargo ship in the Arabian Sea and two oil tankers in the Indian Ocean—in recent days. Though reports indicate that some ships are getting through, the blockade aims to inflict enough economic pain on Iran that it agrees to Trump’s demands on issues like its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has become the most pressing issue in the war for Trump. The closure of the strait has caused a global energy crisis and seen gas prices skyrocket. Trump on Thursday claimed........

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