U.S.-Iran strikes strain ceasefire as Trump names ICE pick
The exchange has raised doubts about planned talks, while Lance Schroyer was nominated to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The United States and Iran traded military action over the weekend while a ceasefire agreement was still in place, NPR reported. The exchange threatens talks aimed at turning a fragile pause in fighting into a longer-term arrangement.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait, according to state-run Iranian media cited by NPR. NPR reported that those attempted strikes came after new U.S. military action against Iranian targets.
The confrontation is the sharpest escalation since Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month, according to NPR. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a recent trip through Gulf Arab states that U.S. and Iranian officials were expected to meet Monday or Tuesday for technical discussions, NPR reported.
A senior U.S. official, speaking anonymously to NPR about sensitive negotiations, said late Sunday that “nothing has been canceled, and talks are on track for the coming days.” Iranian media quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, as saying Monday that consultations with Qatar, which is serving as mediator, were continuing but that technical talks with the United States were not yet set for this week.
Gharibabadi said talks would happen only “when the conditions are met,” according to Iranian media cited by NPR. He did not specify those conditions.
NPR’s Carrie Kahn reported that a central dispute remains control of the Strait of Hormuz, the major waterway linking the Persian Gulf with global energy markets. Rubio told Gulf allies the route would stay open, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said responsibility for the arrangements rests with Iran and no other country or entity, according to NPR.
Trump nominates new ICE director
President Trump has announced Lance Schroyer as his nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, NPR reported. Schroyer is a former Oklahoma state trooper and previously served in the U.S. Marines, according to NPR.
The nomination follows months of scrutiny of ICE’s aggressive immigration tactics, NPR reported. It also comes after Todd Lyons stepped down as acting ICE director at the end of May.
David Venturella, a longtime ICE official and former executive at a private prison corporation, has been running the agency in an acting role since June, according to NPR. If confirmed, Schroyer would take over an agency at the center of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Other developments
In Venezuela, rescue efforts continued nearly five days after two powerful earthquakes struck, NPR reported. The official death toll is approaching 1,500, and thousands of people remain unaccounted for, according to NPR.
NPR’s Eyder Peralta reported from Caracas that families and volunteers were searching collapsed buildings along the northern coast and in the capital. At the ruins of a former 16-story building, he reported seeing relatives dig through debris after a rescue crew judged the site too dangerous to search.
NPR also reported that two companies have switched on experimental nuclear reactors under the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program. Trump set a goal last year for U.S. companies to build at least three new experimental reactors by July 4, 2026, and later formalized the push through an executive order, NPR reported.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.