Iran’s president has warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke Wednesday at an annual army parade that was relocated to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual venue on a highway in the city’s southern outskirts. Iranian authorities gave no explanation for its relocation. State television didn't broadcast it live as it has in previous years. Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people including two Iranian generals.
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Pentagon leaders are telling Congress that Ukraine and Israel both desperately need the military weapons that are being held up by Congress’ failure to pass a funding package. On Wednesday, they described the situation in Ukraine as dire, noting that troops are being outmatched by the Russians. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says conditions on the battlefield are beginning to shift in Russia's favor. House Republicans are wrangling over the $95 billion foreign aid bill that the Senate passed in February. It provides funding for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, humanitarian aid for Gazans and replenishment cash for the U.S. military to replace weapons sent to Ukraine.
Local officials say three Russian missiles have slammed into the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, hitting an apartment building and killing at least 17 people. Emergency services say at least 61 people were wounded. Chernihiv is about 150 kilometers or 90 miles north of the capital Kyiv near the border with Russia and Belarus. The city has a population of around 250,000 people. The latest Russian bombardment came as the war approaches what could be a critical juncture. A lack of further military support from Ukraine’s Western partners increasingly leaves it at the mercy of the bigger Kremlin forces.
Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest. The military government said Wednesday the move was made as a health measure due to a heat wave. A nationwide conflict in Myanmar began after the army in 2021 ousted the elected government, imprisoned Suu Kyi and began suppressing nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule. Suu Kyi has been serving a 27-year prison term in the capital Naypyitaw on a variety of criminal convictions her supporters and rights groups say were fabricated for political reasons. Myanmar’s meteorological department said Naypyitaw saw temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon.
Donald Trump is set to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda in New York as Trump's criminal trial takes a one-day break. Their planned dinner Wednesday comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility Trump might win the White House in November. That concerns NATO leaders, given Trump’s critical comments about the Western alliance, even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO member Poland shares a border with Ukraine. Duda has encouraged Washington to send more aid to Ukraine to combat Russian aggression. Trump has spoken out against such funding, but in a possible shift late last week, said he may support new assistance if it was in the form of a loan.
US navy flies aircraft through the Taiwan Strait a day after US-China defense chiefs hold rare talks
The U.S. 7th Fleet says a Navy P-8A Poseidon has flown through the Taiwan Strait. The flight on Wednesday came a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since November 2022. The 7th Fleet said in a statement that the patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace." The critical strait is 160 kilometers or 100 miles wide strait and is in international waters. But China considers the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it as a challenge to its sovereignty and claim to Taiwan. China claims the island of Taiwan and threatens to defend it by force if necessary despite U.S. military support for the island.