U.S. Treasury authorizes certain activities involving coal sourced from Venezuela.

The embassy said it has noted reports that the US and New Zealand plan to build a deep-water port on a former military base in the Cook Islands and that the partners say the project is intended to support development of the Cook Islands, particularly its northern islands. China reiterated its long-standing position that its practical cooperation with Pacific island states — including on infrastructure, poverty reduction and climate adaptation — aims to help those states address real challenges and achieve sustainable development, not to engage in geopolitical competition. It said international cooperation should not be directed at third parties and should help maintain regional peace and stability, and urged parties to work with Pacific island states on the basis of mutual respect, openness and inclusivity to support their development goals.

Harlan Ullman, chairman of Killowen Group and a retired senior US navy officer who served in the Gulf, said Washington’s operational constraints and a dwindling set of military targets make further US strikes on Iran likely to remain limited. He said the Trump administration appears intent on keeping strikes very limited to avoid escalation and is relying primarily on economic strangulation; whether Iran can hold out or US domestic political pressure forces talks is uncertain. Ullman warned that expanding targets to civilian infrastructure would risk war-crime allegations. He added some senior US officers have warned the campaign is degrading US readiness: extended deployments and deferred maintenance will put carriers USS Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford into shipyards for months, effectively sidelining two nuclear-powered carriers without Iran mounting a direct attack.