Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the Trump administration facing a legal hurdle in its Iran war, Israel intercepting a Gaza aid flotilla, and Pakistan commissioning advanced Chinese submarines.

Running Out the Clock

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced a second round of intense congressional scrutiny on Thursday over the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth defended the $25 billion that the Pentagon estimates it has already spent on the conflict while refusing to specify how much longer the war might last or how much more money it could cost.

Notably, Hegseth argued on Thursday that the U.S.-Iran cease-fire, which President Donald Trump extended last week indefinitely, has stopped the clock on the 1973 War Powers Resolution’s 60-day rule. “We are in a cease-fire now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a cease-fire,” the defense secretary said.

Under the War Powers law, the U.S. president has 60 days from when Congress first received formal notice of the conflict to terminate offensive operations or have Congress either declare war or authorize the continued use of military force. Trump informed congressional leadership of hostilities with Iran in a March 2 letter, meaning the 60-day countdown expires on Friday.

The president can extend the period for an additional 30 days to withdraw U.S. forces. However, this extension does not grant the White House authority to continue an offensive campaign. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear eager for the United States to begin an exit strategy.

A “period of 60 days is a fully sufficient window for presidents to take emergency measures in response to a national threat and then remit a decision to the duly elected representatives of the people as to whether a state of war should in fact be declared and continued,” Republican Sen. John Curtis wrote in an opinion piece this month.

It is unclear whether the Trump administration seeks to resume active fighting. However, Axios reported on Wednesday that U.S. Central Command was set to brief Trump on a potential plan to break the current deadlock in U.S.-Iran negotiations. This plan proposes launching a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran.

News of a potential resumption in fighting has sparked concerns that the conflict could worsen. Brent crude prices briefly hit a four-year high of more than $126 a barrel on Thursday.

Senate Democrats have pointed to the global energy crisis as evidence of Hegseth’s mismanagement of the conflict. “I am concerned that you have been telling the president what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear,” said Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. “Bold assurances of success are a disservice to both the commander in chief and the troops who risked their lives based on them.”

But Hegseth on Thursday accused Democratic lawmakers of being “reckless naysayers” and “defeatists from the cheap seats” who refused to recognize the U.S. military’s successes.

Today’s Most Read

• Why Iran Isn’t Blinking Yet by Keith Johnson
• Who Wants to Be an American Diplomat? by Sam Skove and Rachel Oswald
• Hedging Is the New Normal by Suzanne Nossel

What We’re Following

Global Sumud Flotilla. Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla seeking to break the country’s blockade of Gaza during an overnight operation in international waters on Thursday. According to activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, Israeli troops boarded 22 ships sailing near Greece, smashing engines and detaining more than 170 people. The group’s ships were more than 620 miles from Gaza when the Israeli military intervened.

Israel’s actions “mark a dangerous and unprecedented escalation: the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a press release. Several foreign governments—including Germany, Italy, Spain, and Turkey—condemned Israel’s actions, with the Turkish foreign ministry calling it an “act of piracy.”

Israel has defended its decision. “When dealing with a provocative flotilla of such a huge scale aiming to breach a lawful naval blockade, there is an operational necessity to act early and gradually in order to prevent escalation and to do so in a manner that avoids friction and violence,” the country’s foreign ministry posted on X. All detained individuals will be disembarked on a Greek beach in coordination with local authorities, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar added.

The Global Sumud Flotilla has repeatedly tried to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance to the war-torn region. Last October, Israeli forces boarded 39 vessels that were part of the flotilla and detained hundreds of activists.

Advanced submarines. Pakistan commissioned its first fleet of advanced Chinese submarines on Thursday to modernize its naval capabilities in the face of maritime security concerns. According to Pakistan’s military, Islamabad will receive eight Hangor-class submarines; four of them will be made in China, while the other four will be manufactured in Pakistan under a transfer-of-technology program. Each submarine will be equipped with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, advanced sensors, and air-independent propulsion.

This is “an important milestone to bolster our maritime defense and modernize ​our fleet with cutting-edge technology,” Pakistan’s naval chief, Adm. Naveed Ashraf, said on Thursday. Pakistan has long relied on its submarine fleet as well as military equipment from China to deter neighboring India. Last year, Islamabad praised the performance of its J-10 and JF-17 fighter jets, which it used in its conflict against New Delhi; both aircraft are produced by China’s AVIC Chengdu Aircraft.

Pakistan and China are longtime allies in both the military and economic sectors. In August 2025, the two nations pledged to expand economic cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Fossil fuel phaseout. Nearly 60 countries pledged to develop “road maps” to determine how best to end the production and use of fossil fuels during a summit in Colombia this week. Although the conference did not produce any binding commitments, experts have called the simple act of meeting a “historic breakthrough” in the fight against climate change.

During last November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil, several major oil- and gas-producing economies (including India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia) pushed against proposed fossil fuels limitations, forcing the summit to end in deadlock without any substantive deal. The U.S. boycott of that meeting further weakened it; Trump has long touted climate denialism and advocated for more fossil fuel use.

However, this week’s gathering in the seaside city of Santa Marta injected new optimism in climate experts’ efforts to combat global warming. “We decided that the transition away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete, political, and collective endeavor,” Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said. Participants of the two-day dialogue agreed to pursue continued multilateral cooperation, including the creation of working groups to address finance and labor transitions—all in an effort to ensure a global phaseout of fossil fuels.

Odds and Ends

Singaporean authorities charged a French student with mischief and public nuisance last Friday after the 18-year-old posted a video of himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and putting it back. These charges can carry a sentence of up to two years in prison as well as fines. The teen has yet to enter a plea and is due back in court on May 29. In the meantime, iJooz, the vending machine company, has replaced all 500 straws in the machine and vowed to upgrade its products to include individually wrapped straws that only unlock after a transaction is completed.