Iraq strikes, gain-of-function ban · July 29

U.S., Saudi jets strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Today's events

Strikes in Iraq.
U.S. Central Command and Saudi fighter aircraft struck Iran-aligned militia logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, after more than 30 Revolutionary Guard-directed drone attacks on U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure in 72 hours.¹Jul 28 · CENTCOM
Gain-of-function ban.
A government-wide policy bars federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research inside the United States and abroad, and restricts funding for work in countries whose biosafety and oversight standards fall short.²Jul 28 · HHS
U.S.–UAE AI task force.
Central Command and the United Arab Emirates agreed to stand up their first joint military-AI task force, an Abu Dhabi team of roughly 20 American and Emirati specialists in AI, data, and cybersecurity.³Jul 28 · CENTCOM
Brazil emergency.
The President continued for one year the national emergency declared against Brazil in July 2025, citing the Brazilian Supreme Court's censorship and imprisonment of people exercising free expression.⁴Jul 29 · Fed. Reg.
Radar-parts merger blocked.
TransDigm abandoned its purchase of Stellant Systems after the Justice Department said it would sue; the two are rival suppliers of radar components for the Navy's Aegis system and Air Force F-16s.⁵Jul 28 · DOJ
Two exploited flaws.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added actively exploited bugs in Fortinet's FortiOS and Arista's VeloCloud Orchestrator to its catalog, starting the federal remediation clock on both.⁶Jul 27 · CISA
Engine tariff offsets.
The Commerce Department opened applications letting U.S. builders of car and heavy-truck engines claim offsets against tariffs on imported parts, excluding assembly work it deems limited production.⁷Jul 29 · Commerce
Uncrewed wingmen.
The Air Force flew Collaborative Combat Aircraft alongside crewed jets at Creech Air Force Base, moving the semi-autonomous aircraft out of sterile test ranges and into an operational dispersal exercise.⁸Jul 28 · Air Force
Syria sanctions repeal.
The Senate reported out a bill repealing the statutes that impose sanctions on Syria, alongside measures on Arctic security, extremist networks in Latin America, and the rule of law in the Brazilian Amazon.⁹Jul 27 · Senate

This week

Forced-labor tariffs on 60 economies.
The Trade Representative imposed duties of 10 to 12.5 percent on the 60 largest U.S. trading partners on July 23, for failing to ban goods made with forced labor. Those 60 account for 99.4 percent of American imports, so the action reaches nearly all inbound trade regardless of alliance. Ten partners, including India, agreed to adopt bans of their own. Carried in the July 24 brief.¹Jul 23 · USTR
Four soldiers came home.
Trump, the War Secretary and the Joint Chiefs chairman received the remains of four U.S. soldiers at Dover on July 22, killed in attacks on air bases in Jordan and Iraq that the Pentagon attributed to Iran. Central Command's thirteenth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets followed on July 23, with more than 50,000 U.S. troops in the region and the Strait of Hormuz still open. Carried in the July 23 brief.³Jul 22 · War.gov
Canada duties and aluminum.
Three presidential proclamations added duties on Canadian alcohol, dairy and motor vehicles, published July 23, to offset what the White House calls Canadian discrimination against U.S. commerce. A fourth strengthened aluminum tariffs after Commerce found domestic primary-aluminum supply insufficient for the defense industrial base. The Trade Representative met Mexico's president on July 24 for the third round of the North American trade review; round four convenes in Washington in September.⁴Jul 22 · Fed. Reg.
Defense minerals and isotopes.
Executive Order 14415, published July 23, directs the securing of U.S. defense critical-materials supply chains and domestic acquisition of the minerals the military depends on. A government audit released the same week measured the gap: the Energy Department is the sole U.S. source of many isotopes, ships more than 7,700 batches a year mostly for medicine, and still relies on adversarial nations for critical inputs. Carried July 23 and July 25.⁵Jul 22 · Fed. Reg.
The grid and AI's power bill.
The Energy Department ordered the Southwest Power Pool, the grid operator for 17 states, to dispatch reserve generating units through August 3 against heat-driven blackouts. Two days earlier the White House expanded its Ratepayer Protection Pledge to more than 200 additional utilities and states, now covering 80 percent of U.S. power and 263 million people, so data-center operators rather than households fund AI's electricity demand.⁶Jul 26 · DOE

Read the full digest →

Allied Governments

Tokyo calls Tehran.
Japan's foreign minister urged Iran to show maximum flexibility while U.S.–Iran attacks are paused, pressed for restored navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and asked Tehran to rein in Houthi attacks on shipping.^aJul 28 · Japan MoFA
Zelenskyy in Portsmouth.
Britain's prime minister hosted Ukraine's president at His Majesty's Naval Base as his first international visitor, discussing battlefield innovation and deeper diplomatic and military collaboration.^bJul 27 · UK No.10
Nicaragua drops elections.
Australia called President Ortega's announcement that Nicaragua will no longer hold elections an escalation of the country's dismantling of democratic principles and institutions.^cJul 29 · Australia DFAT

Voices

“The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.”
U.S. Central Command release · July 28¹

“The federal government has a duty to protect the American people—not fund research that could put them at risk.”
HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. · July 28²

“Together, we and our Emirati partners share a strong commitment to adopting AI applications that will foster innovation at speed and scale.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander · July 28³

“Members of the Government of Brazil are also politically persecuting a former President of Brazil, his family, and his followers.”
Presidential notice continuing the Brazil emergency · July 29⁴

“The Department of War is committed to building the Arsenal of Freedom, which requires resilient supply chains and competition.”
Under Sec. of War Michael P. Duffey, Acquisition and Sustainment · July 28⁵

“Air superiority in today's increasingly contested environments requires the rapid fielding of affordable mass.”
Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Air Force Chief of Staff · July 28⁸

Sources

U.S. Central Command, “U.S., Saudi Forces Strike Iran-Backed Terrorist Sites in Iraq,” July 28, 2026. centcom.mil/media/public-releases/…/strikes-iraq
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, “Trump Administration Releases New Government-Wide Policy to End Dangerous High-Risk Research,” July 28, 2026. hhs.gov/press-room/…/high-risk-life-sciences-research
U.S. Central Command, “CENTCOM to Launch 1st Bilateral AI Task Force with UAE,” July 28, 2026. centcom.mil/media/public-releases/…/ai-task-force-uae
Federal Register, “Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Brazil,” July 29, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/brazil-national-emergency
U.S. Dept. of Justice, “TransDigm Abandons Proposed Acquisition of Stellant Systems in Response to Justice Department's Decision to Block Transaction,” July 28, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/transdigm-stellant
CISA, “CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog” (CVE-2025-68686 Fortinet FortiOS; CVE-2026-16812 Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator), July 27, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/…/kev-two-additions
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Procedures To Administer Import Adjustment Offset Amounts for Certain Imports of Automobile and Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Parts for Engine Manufacturers,” July 29, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/import-adjustment-offsets-engines
U.S. Air Force, “Air Force tests collaborative combat aircraft at Creech AFB,” July 28, 2026. af.mil/news/…/collaborative-combat-aircraft-creech
GovInfo, “S. 3172 (RS) — To repeal certain Acts that impose sanctions upon Syria,” reported in Senate July 27, 2026. govinfo.gov/app/details/…/bills-119s3172rs

Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Japan-Iran Foreign Ministers' Telephone Call,” July 28, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/japan-iran-call
UK Prime Minister's Office, “PM meeting with President Zelenskyy: 27 July 2026,” July 27, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/pm-meeting-zelenskyy
Australia Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “Statement on announcement that Nicaragua will no longer hold elections,” July 29, 2026. dfat.gov.au/news/media-release/…/nicaragua-elections