U.S.-Iran peace negotiations faced new turbulence Thursday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned commercial vessels against using routes outside Tehran’s approved passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian officials also rejected U.S. claims that unfrozen funds would be used to buy American agricultural products.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that American forces killed a senior ISIS leader in a precision airstrike in northwest Syria, as the terror group seeks to exploit the country’s unstable security environment following years of war and political upheaval.

A series of major earthquakes shook different parts of the world within less than 24 hours, killing nearly 200 people, injuring many more, and briefly raising fears of a wider global seismic crisis.

Rescuers raced to find survivors Thursday after two powerful earthquakes struck the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seconds apart, killing nearly 200 people and injuring many more.

Canadian police have warned of possible copycat attacks after a deadly shooting in Montreal left three people dead, including a police officer, and a manifesto linked to the gunman was circulated online.

A deadly heatwave tightened its grip on Europe Wednesday, sending temperatures soaring to record levels, straining power grids, disrupting transport, and raising fears of additional casualties across the continent.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding amounted to “a declaration of America’s defeat,” even as President Donald Trump said Tehran had been pressured into making major concessions after months of conflict.

The Trump administration is keeping major U.S. military forces positioned near Iran even after lifting its naval blockade and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Washington intends to maintain military leverage while negotiations with Tehran continue.

A proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran included in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding may face serious legal obstacles under existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions about whether one of the agreement’s central economic promises can realistically be carried out.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has apologized for what he called the “heartless and dishonorable” treatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers and their families who were brought to the Netherlands after Indonesia gained independence, seeking to heal a decades-old wound that strained relations between the Dutch government and the Moluccan community.

Iran’s judiciary announced that more than 3,000 citizens have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, marking one of the regime’s broadest internal crackdowns since anti-government protests erupted earlier this year.

Latin America’s political right appeared to score another major victory Sunday as conservative political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by President Donald Trump, declared victory in Colombia’s cliffhanger presidential runoff — a result that could mark a sharp rebuke of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro and further signal the region’s growing turn toward law-and-order, market-oriented leadership.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has agreed to “highest level” nuclear inspections far into the future, calling it a major concession in a developing 60-day roadmap agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear program and reducing the risk of renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran will face “major weapons inspections” under a developing peace framework with the United States, even as Tehran publicly denied making any new nuclear commitments during high-level talks in Switzerland.

Iran’s clerical regime has sharply escalated executions of political prisoners, using the gallows to warn a restless population that dissent will not be tolerated, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.