President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States is being viewed by analysts not as an embrace of peace, but as a carefully crafted declaration that preserves Tehran’s revolutionary posture while allowing the regime to regroup.

The United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah, accusing them of using political and financial influence to obstruct Lebanon’s peace process and delay the Iran-backed group’s disarmament.

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the war began, hitting a key oil refinery and other targets around the Russian capital, leaving at least one person dead and numerous others injured, Russian officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders in Kazan this week as Moscow moved to deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and promote its vision of a “multipolar world order” aimed at countering U.S. global dominance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon and will maintain a security zone there for as long as Israel’s defense needs require, placing Jerusalem at odds with both Tehran and the terms of a U.S.-Iran memorandum that calls for an end to hostilities in Lebanon.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO leaders Thursday that the Pentagon is launching a six-month review of U.S. force posture and basing in Europe, signaling a major push by the Trump administration to ensure European allies assume primary responsibility for defending the continent.

President Donald Trump has invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of U.S. munitions, missiles, interceptors, and critical defense components as American stockpiles face mounting strain from the war with Iran and years of heavy weapons transfers to allies, including Ukraine and Israel.

Fulani herdsmen killed five Christians at a mining site in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, highlighting continuing attacks on Christian communities in Africa’s most populous nation, Christians say.

Hundreds of employees have reportedly been dismissed from media outlets aligned with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, highlighting growing turmoil within the country’s right-wing media landscape following his election defeat and the subsequent loss of political influence.