U.S., Japan, Australia and India launch critical-minerals pact.
Today's events
U.S., Japan, Australia and India launch a $20 billion minerals pact.
The four nations launched a framework to mobilize up to $20 billion across critical-mineral mining, processing and recycling — an effort to break China's dominance of rare-earth supply chains; they also backed open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.1May 26 · StateU.S. and Armenia open a transit corridor and sign a partnership.
In Yerevan, the two announced a framework for the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — a multimodal transit corridor across the South Caucasus — and signed a strategic-partnership charter and a critical-minerals agreement, building on the 2025 Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal.2May 26 · StateU.S. jails a man for an Iran-directed plot to kill a journalist.
A Staten Island man was sentenced to 10 years for a Revolutionary Guard-directed plot to assassinate Iranian-American journalist and women's-rights activist Masih Alinejad in New York City.3May 27 · DOJU.S. and Mexico set talks to revise the North American trade pact.
U.S. trade officials announced three bilateral negotiating rounds with Mexico for the first joint review of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, opening May 28 in Mexico City with economic security and rules of origin on the table.4May 27 · USTRU.S. net energy exports hit a record in 2025.
U.S. net energy exports reached a record 11 quadrillion BTU in 2025, up 20% from 2024; petroleum led at 63% of exports and natural-gas exports hit a record 9 quads.5May 27 · EIA
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U.S. flags three actively exploited software flaws.
CISA added three vulnerabilities under active exploitation to its catalog, including malicious code embedded in the developer tools Nx Console and Daemon Tools Lite — a software supply-chain risk — and ordered federal agencies to patch.6May 27 · CISAU.S. sues the University of California over campus antisemitism.
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sued the University of California, alleging deliberate indifference to antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students at UCLA after the October 2023 Hamas attacks, in violation of the Civil Rights Act.7May 26 · DOJNew rule lets the U.S. suspend travelers from designated countries.
A CDC interim final rule grants the health secretary authority to suspend the entry of persons from designated countries when needed to protect public health; it took effect May 22.8May 27 · CDCNew York Fed finds a sharp rise in U.S. food insecurity.
A New York Fed study reported a marked increase in food insecurity among lower-income households and those with young children, alongside rising pessimism — evidence of a widening “K-shaped” economy even as overall growth holds.9May 27 · NY Fed
Allied Governments
Japan and Qatar press to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Japan's foreign minister and Qatar's prime minister agreed by phone to push for a maintained ceasefire and free, safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as U.S.–Iran exchanges enter “an extremely critical phase.”aMay 28 · Japan MoFANATO partners with Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks on cyber defense.
At a cyber-conflict conference in Tallinn, NATO announced non-commercial partnerships with Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and ESET to share threat intelligence and strengthen the resilience of allied critical infrastructure.bMay 27 · NATOJapan and Italy open economic-security talks on supply chains.
Tokyo and Rome held their first economic-security consultations, focused on resilient supply chains for critical minerals, countering economic coercion and non-market practices, and industrial cooperation.cMay 27 · Japan MoFA
Voices
“Vibrant innovation economies such as ours cannot afford to leave the foundational materials of these industries vulnerable to single-source monopolies that could deny us these things.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio, New Delhi · May 261
“Tehran attempted to murder a U.S. journalist in the United States simply because she exposed a few of that regime's many abuses.”
AAG for National Security John A. Eisenberg, DOJ · May 273
“Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”
AAG Harmeet K. Dhillon, DOJ Civil Rights · May 267
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“We condemn the attacks on commercial shipping vessels and oppose any future measures that are inconsistent with [the law of the sea], including imposition of tolls.”
Quad Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement, New Delhi · May 261
“It is no exaggeration to say that we have entered a historically unprecedented phase, driven by the dynamic and regular advancements on our bilateral agenda.”
Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan, Yerevan · May 262
“Today's sentence should be a serious warning to anyone who tries to profit by carrying out the wishes of a hostile foreign regime on United States soil.”
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Southern District of New York · May 273
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework Among the United States, Japan, Australia, and India,” May 26, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/quad-critical-minerals-framework
- U.S. Dept. of State, “The United States and Armenia Announce TRIPP Framework Agreement and Sign the Strategic Partnership Charter and Critical Minerals MOU,” May 26, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/us-armenia-tripp-framework
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Staten Island Man Sentenced for Murder-For-Hire Plot and Stalking a Journalist and Prominent Critic of the Iranian Government,” May 27, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/iran-murder-for-hire-plot
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “The United States and Mexico Announce Series of Bilateral Negotiating Rounds Related to the First Joint Review of the USMCA,” May 27, 2026. ustr.gov/…/us-mexico-usmca-joint-review-rounds
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, “The United States is a major energy exporter and importer, especially for petroleum,” May 27, 2026. eia.gov/todayinenergy/…/us-energy-trade-2025
- CISA, “CISA Adds Three Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog,” May 27, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/…/three-kev-additions
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Justice Department Sues University of California for Antisemitic Hostile Educational Environment,” May 26, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/uc-antisemitism-suit
- Federal Register (CDC/HHS), “Control of Communicable Diseases; Foreign Quarantine” (interim final rule), May 27, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/foreign-quarantine
- NY Fed Liberty Street Economics, “Food Insecurity and Consumer Pessimism,” May 27, 2026. libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/…/food-insecurity
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Japan-Qatar Foreign Ministers' Telephone Call,” May 28, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/japan-qatar-call
- NATO, “NATO strengthens relations with key cyber industries,” May 27, 2026. nato.int/…/nato-cyber-industry-partnerships
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “First Meeting of the Japan-Italy Economic Security Consultations,” May 27, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/japan-italy-economic-security