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A US submarine has torpedoed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 crew members, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran enters its sixth day with strikes deepening across Tehran and Beirut.

Elsewhere, the US and Ecuador have launched joint military operations against drug trafficking, three men have been arrested in London on suspicion of spying for China, and Anthropic's CEO has resumed talks with the Pentagon after a breakdown over AI surveillance concerns.

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Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇺🇸🇪🇨 US and Ecuador launch joint anti-drug operations: The US and Ecuador have launched joint military operations targeting drug trafficking, with Southern Command describing the effort as “decisive action,” though both sides withheld operational details. Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa confirmed regional partners are involved in the campaign against cartels using Ecuadorian ports to move roughly 70% of cocaine output from Colombia and Peru to international markets.

2️⃣ 🇨🇺🇪🇨 Cuba hit by mass blackout as Ecuador expels Havana’s ambassador: A fault at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant left two-thirds of Cuba, including Havana, without power, compounding a chronic electricity crisis worsened by US fuel restrictions. Ecuador separately declared Cuba’s ambassador and diplomatic staff persona non grata with 48 hours to leave, prompting Cuba’s foreign minister to reject the move and link it to intensifying US pressure on third states to harden their stance toward Havana.

3️⃣ 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia accuses Ukraine of sinking LNG tanker in Mediterranean: Moscow has accused Kyiv of using naval drones launched from the Libyan coast to sink the Arctic Metagaz between Libya and Malta, describing the incident as “an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy.” All 30 Russian crew members were reported safe, while Ukraine declined to comment, and if confirmed, it would mark the first Ukrainian strike on an LNG tanker.

4️⃣ 🇬🇧🇨🇳 Three arrested in UK on suspicion of spying for China: London police arrested three men, including the husband of Labour MP Joani Reid, on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act of 2023, with Reid stating she had no knowledge of any wrongdoing and is not part of the investigation. The arrests are part of a broader pattern of suspected Chinese intelligence activity that MI5 has previously warned lawmakers about, allegations Beijing has denied.

5️⃣ 🇺🇸 Anthropic CEO resumes Pentagon talks after breakdown over surveillance clause: Dario Amodei has re-entered negotiations with the Pentagon after talks collapsed last week over a contract clause addressing bulk data surveillance, with the company at risk of being designated a supply chain risk by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. In an internal memo, Amodei alleged the Trump administration’s hostility stemmed partly from Anthropic’s refusal to offer what he described as “dictator-style praise” of Trump, unlike OpenAI, which struck its own deal with the Pentagon last week.

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Major Story

🇮🇷🇮🇱🇺🇸 Iran War Day 6: US sinks Iranian warship as Senate backs Trump and conflict spreads

IRIS Dena torpedoed in the Indian Ocean

A US submarine torpedoed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday — confirmed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a deliberate strike on an Iranian vessel in international waters. Sri Lanka's navy recovered at least 87 bodies and rescued 32 sailors, with around 180 believed to have been onboard when the first distress call was received.

Senate backs Trump's war powers

The Senate voted 47–53 to block a resolution requiring Trump to seek congressional approval before ordering further strikes on Iran — the first congressional vote since the conflict began on February 28. The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with Senator Rand Paul the only Republican to vote in favour and Senator John Fetterman the only Democrat to vote against. The House holds its own vote on Thursday.

Strikes deepen across Tehran and Beirut

Israel launched what the IDF described as its eleventh wave of strikes since February 28, targeting military infrastructure and internal security command centres across Tehran, including facilities linked to the Basij paramilitary force. Israeli forces separately struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut's southern suburbs, killing at least three people on the road to Rafik Hariri International Airport. IDF ground forces advanced into southern Lebanon, ordering residents of dozens of villages to evacuate northward. Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced its 17th and 18th retaliatory waves — claiming around 40 missiles fired at US and Israeli targets, including Ben Gurion Airport and Israeli radar systems, according to Iranian state media.

Kurdish front and Iraqi diplomacy

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have neither confirmed nor denied reports of a ground advance from Iraq into western Iran, with sources describing the situation as one requiring more time. The Iraqi Kurdish president and Iran's foreign minister spoke by phone, pledging cooperation to prevent "third parties from exploiting the situation," as Iraq's prime minister told Tehran that Iraqi territory would not be used to attack Iran. Explosions were also reported in Sulaimaniyah targeting the headquarters of Komala, an Iranian Kurdish armed group, though responsibility was not immediately confirmed.

White House messaging

At Wednesday's briefing, Press Secretary Leavitt outlined four objectives for Operation Epic Fury: destroying Iran's ballistic missile programme, annihilating its naval presence, dismantling its proxy networks, and preventing it from acquiring a nuclear weapon. She described regime change as not a primary objective, and ruled out US ground troops "at this time" without permanently excluding the option. Leavitt said Trump ordered the strikes based on a "good feeling, based on fact," that Iran was planning to attack US assets in the region — a rationale complicated by Pentagon briefings to Capitol Hill which, according to CNN, indicated Iran had not been planning to strike US forces unless Israel attacked first. Trump separately rated the war effort "a 15 out of 10" at a White House event, while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine said the US would begin striking "progressively deeper" into Iranian territory.

Regional spillover and energy

Qatar evacuated residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a precautionary measure. Saudi Arabia intercepted at least four drones over its territory. A tanker anchored off Kuwait reported a large explosion on its port side with oil spilling into the water, though no cause has been confirmed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard continued to claim full control of the Strait of Hormuz, warning vessels risk damage from missiles or stray drones — a claim US Central Command directly contradicted, with Admiral Brad Cooper stating no Iranian ship remains underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman. Trump separately said the US Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait if necessary. The volume of Iran's missile launches and drone strikes has dropped by 86% and 73% respectively since the first day of the war, according to General Caine — though CNN reported Gulf states have raised questions about how long their air defences can sustain the pace of interceptions. Around 20,000 seafarers remain trapped due to the effective halt in maritime activity, according to the UN's International Maritime Organization. Asian markets showed partial recovery on Thursday after days of sharp losses — South Korea's KOSPI rose 10% after its worst single-day drop in decades, and Japan's Nikkei gained 4%.

Allied reactions

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, alongside Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Canberra, said the US-Israeli strikes appeared "prima facie" to be inconsistent with international law, while adding that whether they had broken international law was "a judgement for others to make." Carney confirmed Canada was neither informed of the strikes in advance nor asked to participate, but declined to categorically rule out future involvement if the conflict broadens, saying "one can never categorically rule out participation" and that Canada would "stand by our allies." Ukrainian President Zelensky offered to deploy experts to the Gulf to help allied nations counter Iranian drones, drawing on Ukraine's experience defending against the same Shahed models Russia has deployed since 2022.

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇺🇸 OpenAI CEO admits company has no control over Pentagon’s use of its AI: Sam Altman told employees OpenAI has no say in how the military operationally deploys its technology, as scrutiny mounts following last week’s deal with the Defence Department. Anthropic’s Dario Amodei called Altman “mendacious” in an internal memo and alleged OpenAI’s cooperation amounted to “safety theater,” partly enabled by OpenAI president Greg Brockman’s reported $25 million contribution to a pro-Trump PAC.

2️⃣ 🇭🇳🇹🇼🇨🇳 Honduras weighs return to Taiwan recognition as China ties disappoint: President Nasry Asfura has ordered a review of agreements with Beijing after Honduras’s 2023 switch from Taiwan failed to deliver promised economic benefits, with shrimp farmers reporting a collapse in exports and the loss of over 25,000 jobs. Analysts caution the shift is complicated by hundreds of millions in Chinese investments and more than a dozen signed agreements since the diplomatic switch.

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