Trump arrives in Beijing flanked by tech CEOs; South Carolina blocks redistricting push; Nigerian strike kills 100 in local market
Drop Site Daily: May 13, 2026
President Donald Trump: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” Iran deputy FM says U.S. rejected proposal “because it is not a letter of surrender.” Pakistan denies sheltering Iranian military aircraft as U.S.-Iran ceasefire teeters. Classified U.S. intelligence shows Iran retained most of its missile capability, contradicting administration claims. Kuwait arrests four alleged IRGC operatives after armed infiltration attempt on Bubiyan Island. Pentagon says Iran war has cost $29 billion. IEA warns global oil inventories depleting at record pace. Iran executes another man on espionage charges. Eight killed in Israeli airstrikes near Beirut. Israel issues displacement orders for six more Lebanese villages. Israeli forces kill 16-year-old Palestinian child in West Bank attack. Israeli military bombs house in Gaza, killing one. Trump arrives in Beijing for two-day summit. Democrat Cindy Burbank wins Nebraska Senate primary, planning to drop out if polling indicates she can’t win. Federal appeals court temporarily pauses ruling that blocked Trump’s 10% global tariff. South Carolina Senate blocks redistricting push. Senate confirms Kevin Warsh to Federal Reserve board. Former GEO Group executive appointed acting ICE director. Alaska official steered $80 million in contracts to investor who sponsored his cruise. Cuba ends fixed fuel prices as a consequence of U.S. sanctions. Ukraine strikes gas facilities 1,500 kilometers inside Russia. RSF drone strikes hit civilian market and water source in Karnoi, North Darfur. Peru charges leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez with financial crimes. Nigerian military airstrike kills at least 100 civilians at market in Zamfara state, Amnesty says. Libyan authorities free and deport 120 kidnapped migrants. Islamic State claims first set of deadly attacks on Syrian government forces since February. Pakistan signals possible expansion of regional defense pact with Saudia Arabia.
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Iran and Ceasefire
Trump: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation”: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he does not consider Americans’ financial struggles in the war with Iran. “The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.”
Iran deputy FM says U.S. rejected proposal “because it is not a letter of surrender”: Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, defended Tehran’s conditions Tuesday as “the minimum requirements of any serious, sustainable arrangement aligned with the UN Charter,” arguing that Washington’s rejection exposed an intention to impose political will through coercion rather than pursue genuine peace. Gharibabadi, who met Monday with senior officials from France and Norway, said the U.S. position was self-contradictory. “One cannot speak of a ceasefire while maintaining a siege, or of diplomacy while intensifying sanctions and backing “a regime that is the source of aggression and instability,” he said.
Pakistan denies sheltering Iranian military aircraft as U.S.-Iran ceasefire teeters: Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry rejected as “misleading and sensationalized” a CBS News report that Iran had moved military aircraft, including a reconnaissance plane, to a Pakistani air base to shield them from potential U.S. strikes, saying the aircraft arrived during ceasefire-period diplomatic logistics and that both Iranian and U.S. aircraft used the base. (Sen. Lindsey Graham later questioned War Secretary Pete Hegseth on the report.)
Saudi Arabia bombed Iran in covert “tit-for-tat” strikes in March, Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia’s Air Force carried out multiple covert strikes on Iran in late March—the first known direct Saudi attacks on Iranian territory—in retaliation for Iranian strikes on Saudi targets, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing two Western and two Iranian officials. Saudi Arabia made Iran aware of the strikes, which were followed by intensive diplomacy and Saudi threats of further retaliation, producing an informal bilateral de-escalation agreement that took effect in the week before the broader U.S.-Iran ceasefire on April 7.
WSJ: Mossad chief visited UAE to coordinate war with Iran: The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, secretly visited the United Arab Emirates on at least two separate occasions in March and April to coordinate the war with Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal. The news follows an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal that the UAE carried out covert military strikes on Iran, including an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in early April shortly after President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire.
Classified U.S. intelligence shows Iran retained most of its missile capability, contradicting administration claims: U.S. intelligence assessments from early May show Iran has regained access to 30 of its 33 Strait of Hormuz missile sites, retained roughly 70% of its prewar missile stockpile, and restored access to approximately 90% of its underground missile storage and launch facilities nationwide. The intelligence, reported by the New York Times, directly contradicts claims by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran’s military was “decimated.”
The findings also confirm a U.S. military stockpile problem: if the ceasefire collapses, Washington has already depleted Tomahawk cruise missiles, Patriot interceptors, and other precision weapons—firing more Tomahawks than the Pentagon procures in a decade—while Iran retains considerable Hormuz strike capacity.
The White House called the report “virtual treason” and the Pentagon accused the Times of acting as “public relations agents for the Iranian regime.”
Kuwait arrests four alleged IRGC operatives after armed infiltration attempt on Bubiyan Island: Kuwait’s Interior Ministry arrested four men it identified as Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps colonels and officers on May 1 after they allegedly attempted to infiltrate Bubiyan Island by sea aboard a chartered fishing boat, wounding a Kuwaiti soldier in a subsequent confrontation; two additional suspects reportedly escaped. Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied the operation was military in nature, claiming the sailors entered Kuwaiti waters due to a navigation malfunction, while Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned the incident as a “flagrant violation” of sovereignty.
Pentagon says Iran war has cost $29 billion as Hegseth refuses to tell Congress how much more he needs: Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst told Congress Tuesday that the Iran war has cost roughly $29 billion—up from $25 billion two weeks ago—while Hegseth repeatedly declined to say how much emergency supplemental funding he would request or when. Sen. Lisa Murkowski noted that 15,000 U.S. troops, more than 20 warships, and an active naval blockade remain deployed. Hegseth also made clear the administration has no intention of seeking congressional authorization to continue operations, claiming Trump “has all the authorities he needs under Article 2.”
Chinese oil tanker passes through Strait of Hormuz: A Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera citing ship-tracking data. The Yuan Hua Hu crude carrier is now anchored off the Gulf of Oman.
U.S. Central Command says forces have redirected 65 commercial vessels and “disabled” four others, as part of its naval blockade of Iran: “USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) continues operations in the Arabian Sea, including enforcement of the U.S. blockade against Iran. CENTCOM forces have redirected 65 commercial vessels and disabled 4.”
IEA warns global oil inventories depleting at record pace: The International Energy Agency (IEA) projected global oil supply to drop by 3.9 million barrels per day throughout 2026 as a result of disruptions caused by the Iran war. “More than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace,” the IEA said in its latest oil market report. “With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative supply losses from Gulf producers already exceed 1 billion barrels with more than 14 mb/d of oil now shut in, an unprecedented supply shock.”
Iran executes another man on espionage charges: Iran executed another man on charges of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media. Ehsan Afreshteh was accused of receiving training from the Mossad in Nepal and providing Israel with sensitive national intelligence.
Lebanon
Eight killed in Israeli airstrikes near Beirut: At least eight people were killed, including two children, in a series of Israeli airstrikes on a coastal highway south of Beirut on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
At least 22 children have been killed and 89 injured since Israel agreed to a “ceasefire” on April 17, the ministry reported. At least 2,896 people, including 200 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to the health ministry. More than 8,824 others have been wounded.
Israel issues displacement orders for six more villages: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had begun a new wave of strikes in the south of Lebanon and issued new displacement orders for at least six villages in the area.
Hezbollah claims 25 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon: Hezbollah’s military media arm claimed Tuesday it carried out 25 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including guided missile strikes on Merkava tanks in Bayyada and near Taybeh, suicide drone swarm attacks against troop gatherings near Naqoura port and the Al-Qouzah Triangle, and rocket and artillery strikes across multiple sites including Rashaf and Deir Seryan.
UAE blacklists Lebanese citizens and groups: The United Arab Emirates has blacklisted 21 Lebanese people and groups over alleged ties to Hezbollah, according to the state news agency WAM. They include 16 Lebanese citizens and five UAE-based organizations accused of supporting groups designated as “terror” groups.
Palestine
Israeli forces kill 16-year-old Palestinian child in West Bank attack: Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian child in the town of Jiljilyya on Wednesday, according to the Ramallah-based Ministry of Health. Four others were wounded as Israeli troops fired live ammunition and rubber-coated rounds after armed Israeli settlers stormed several Palestinian villages near Ramallah, attacking homes and stealing cattle, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli military bombs house in Gaza, killing one: Israeli forces bombed a house on Salah al-Din Street east of Nuseirat camp on Tuesday, killing one Palestinian, according to Palestine Online. Israeli forces also fired on homes and displacement tents southeast of Khan Younis, dropped a drone bomb on the Jabaliya Services Club, and detonated residential buildings in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood.
Israel secretly approved 34 new West Bank settlements in March: The Israeli security cabinet secretly approved 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank in late March—the largest number approved by any Israeli government at one time. The 34 new settlements join 68 settlements the current government has approved since its formation a little over three years ago. By comparison, only six new settlements were formally approved by Israel in the 30 years between the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the establishment of the current government. “This represents an unprecedented pace and scale of expansion,” Amir Daoud, director of Publishing and Documentation at the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, told Drop Site. “These new sites are distributed across the West Bank in what can be described as a fragmented but comprehensive pattern, effectively targeting the entire territory.” Read Naqaa Hamed’s full report from the occupied West Bank for Drop Site here.
U.S. News
By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.
Trump arrives in Beijing for two-day summit: President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a two-day summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping. It marks the first visit to China by a U.S. president since Trump visited in 2017. Trump was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with a number of tech executives, including Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. The U.S. recently sanctioned several Chinese firms it accused of assisting in Iranian oil shipments and supplying satellite imagery allegedly used in Iranian military operations. China condemned the measures as “illegal unilateral sanctions.”
Democrat Cindy Burbank wins Nebraska Senate primary: Cindy Burbank won the Nebraska Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, defeating pastor Bill Forbes—whom state Democrats had accused of being a Republican plant. Burbank has said she will drop out if polling shows she cannot win in November, potentially clearing the way for independent Dan Osborn to face off against Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in the fall. Osborn, a steamfitter and former union organizer who lost to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by just 7 points in 2024 despite Trump carrying the state by 20. Osborn has pledged not to caucus with either party if elected.
Federal appeals court temporarily pauses ruling that blocked Trump’s 10% global tariff: A U.S. federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump’s 10% global tariff after a Court of International Trade panel ruled 2-1 that Trump had failed to meet the legal criteria for the tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Trump’s global tariff is set to expire in July unless extended by Congress. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is already processing $35.46 billion in refunds on tariffs previously struck down under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
South Carolina Senate blocks redistricting push: The South Carolina Senate failed Tuesday to reach the two-thirds majority needed to extend its session for a redistricting vote, with five Republicans joining Democrats in opposition, including Majority Leader Shane Massey, who resisted direct calls from Trump to push through the redistricting effort. The vote deals a setback to Trump’s effort to redraw maps before the midterms, though Governor Henry McMaster could still call a special session to approve a new map.
Senate confirms Kevin Warsh to Federal Reserve board: The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors Tuesday in a 51-45 vote, with Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman the sole Democrat voting in favor of his confirmation. Warsh’s confirmation deepens concerns about the central bank’s independence after Trump said in December he would only appoint a chair who agreed with him on interest rates. The Trump administration has also targeted current Chair Jerome Powell through a now-dropped Justice Department investigation, and by attempting to fire Lisa Cook, a case now being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Warsh has promised “regime change,” including closer coordination with the Treasury Department.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigns: Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary resigned Tuesday at the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On his departure, President Trump said: “Marty’s a terrific guy, but he’s going to go on and he’s going to lead a good life. He was having some difficulty.” Makary’s FDA lost 3,500 workers to DOGE-driven layoffs, saw the departure of high-profile leaders in the agency, and was beset by political difficulties, including demands from anti-abortion Republicans for the agency to restrict the mail-order abortion medication mifepristone. Kyle Diamantas, a former corporate lawyer who led the agency’s food division and lacks a medical degree, will serve as acting commissioner.
Former GEO Group executive appointed acting ICE director: David Venturella, a former employee of the private prison contractor GEO Group, will serve as acting ICE director, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Tuesday. Venturella, who previously oversaw contracts for immigration detention centers at the Department of Homeland Security, replaces Todd Lyons, who is retiring. Border czar Tom Homan also worked for GEO Group.
FBI running secret “payback squad” targeting Trump political enemies, sources say: The FBI has assembled a team of agents internally called the “payback squad” tasked with pursuing political targets set by the Trump administration, according to a new report from NOTUS. One such target is reportedly former CIA director John Brennan, who is expected to be indicted in the coming weeks; his indictment is part of a larger criminal case being built by the FBI that seeks to charge former top government officials with “grand conspiracy” against the president.
Alaska official steered $80 million in contracts to investor who sponsored his cruise: Documents obtained by The Alaska Current reveal that former Alaska Revenue Commissioner and current Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Crum awarded more than $80 million in state contracts to companies tied to tech and energy investor Peter Corsell after one of Corsell’s companies sponsored a glacier cruise for a Republican state treasurer conference. Crum also reportedly attempted to funnel $225 million from the state’s rainy day fund into private equity deals with firms connected to Corsell and to data center developers. Corsell has also partnered with one of the state’s regional governments to build North Slope Power, a proposed natural gas utility, with no public record of a formal bid process. Read the entire investigation from The Alaska Current here.
Other International News
Cuba ends fixed fuel prices as a consequence of U.S. sanctions: Cuba’s Finance and Prices Ministry announced Tuesday that starting May 15, it will liberalize fuel prices, allowing rates at state service stations to fluctuate based on actual import costs—ending a fixed-price regime the government said “cannot be economically sustained under present conditions.” Cuba’s national grid reports that it can meet less than half of its current electricity demand as a result of an escalating sanctions regime on the country.
CIA running secret assassination campaign against cartel members inside Mexico, CNN reports: The CIA has been directly participating in lethal operations against cartel members inside Mexico—including a targeted car bombing that killed an alleged Sinaloa Cartel operative on a busy highway outside Mexico City on March 28—as part of an expanded covert campaign led by the agency’s elite Ground Branch unit, CNN reported Tuesday. Mexican Public Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch rejected the characterization of the operation and a subsequent report from the New York Times claimed the CIA provided intelligence for the operation but was not on the ground.
Reuters separately reported that one of the alleged CIA officers who was killed in a car crash in northern Mexico last month had been seen days earlier carrying a gun in a local security office. U.S. officials are normally not allowed to carry firearms in Mexico.
Ukraine strikes gas facilities 1,500 kilometers inside Russia: Ukrainian drones struck gas facilities in Russia’s Orenburg region Tuesday—more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border—according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The attacks come hours after Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine that killed six people overnight and effectively ended a three-day ceasefire between the countries.
Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental missile, which he claimed could penetrate “all existing and future” missile defense systems.
RSF drone strikes hit civilian market and water source in Karnoi, North Darfur: Drone strikes attributed to the Rapid Support Forces struck a market in Karnoi, North Darfur, on Tuesday, killing civilians and destroying transport trucks carrying passengers from Tina to Kutum, while a separate strike disabled the “Am Saleh” well—the area’s primary water source—and killed significant numbers of livestock, according to Sudan Tribune. Drones caused more than 80% of civilian deaths in Sudan during the first four months of 2026, killing at least 880 people, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Peru charges leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez with financial crimes: Peru’s public prosecutor’s office accused leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez of filing false financial disclosures with undisclosed campaign contributions between 2018 and 2020, calling for over five years in prison and permanent disqualification from the presidency. The charges were unsealed Tuesday hours after electoral authorities stated that Sanchez was set to advance to a June 7 run-off against conservative Keiko Fujimori.
Honduras arrests former mayor accused of masterminding assassination of environmental leader: Honduran authorities arrested former Tocoa Mayor Adán Fúnez on Tuesday, more than a year after the September 2024 killing of anticorruption and environmental defender Juan López. López was shot seven times days after publicly calling on Fúnez to resign over a corruption scandal tied to an iron oxide mining project Fúnez supported. Fúnez had long been accused by religious and environmental leaders of orchestrating the killing, drawing condemnation from Pope Francis, the United Nations, and the Biden administration.
Nigerian military airstrike kills at least 100 civilians at a market in Zamfara state, Amnesty says: At least 100 civilians—many of them women and girls—were killed when a Nigerian military airstrike struck the crowded Tumfa market in Zurmi district, Zamfara state, on Sunday, Amnesty International reported Tuesday. The attack is the second to kill scores of civilians at a northern Nigerian market in a month, following an April strike on a weekly market in Jilli that killed around 200 people; the military has not commented on Sunday’s attack and has previously denied targeting civilians.
Turkey unveils draft law expanding maritime claims in Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and Black seas: Turkey unveiled draft legislation Tuesday that would codify its contested maritime boundaries and require foreign authorization for economic, scientific, and environmental activities in waters Ankara considers its own. The draft would expand Turkey’s maritime reach in the Black and Mediterranean Seas to 12 nautical miles from its shore, and would retain its claim to the 6 nautical miles it presently claims in the Aegean, where it has said it would oppose Greek expansion. Turkey has reportedly worried about growing collaboration between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Libyan authorities free and deport 120 kidnapped migrants: Eastern Libyan security forces freed 120 migrants who had been tortured and held for ransom inside a trafficking compound south of Benghazi, the Government of National Stability’s security directorate said. They said the captives were beaten and filmed to extort money from their families. Three migrants—two Bangladeshis and one Egyptian—were found dead on the Mediterranean shore nearby, and authorities also seized a small boat-building operation used for Mediterranean crossings.
Market bombing kills 10 in northwestern Pakistan: A bomb killed 10 people and wounded around 30 others at a crowded market in Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday. The attack on Tuesday follows a car bombing and ambush in the nearby Bannu district on Saturday, which killed 15 Pakistani police officers. Pakistan has blamed Afghanistan-based militants for the weekend attack, which the Afghan Taliban government dismissed as “baseless.”
Islamic State claims first deadly attack on Syrian government forces since February: The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a Monday ambush on a military bus in Hasakah province that killed two Syrian army soldiers and wounded others. This is the group’s first deadly operation against President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government since February, when it declared a new phase of operations; an earlier attack near Raqqa killed four state security personnel.
Taiwan asserts independence in advance of U.S.-China conclave: China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said its resolve to oppose Taiwan’s independence was “firm as a rock” and its capability to crush separatism “unbreakable,” as President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for two days of meetings with President Xi Jinping. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, however, called the island a “sovereign, independent nation” that would not bow to pressure. The Trump administration announced an $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan in December, its largest ever.
Pakistan signals possible expansion of regional defense pact: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will consider expanding their Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) to include other countries in the region, according to Pakistan’s defense minister. The country’s defense production minister also said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey had finalized a draft trilateral defense agreement to expand security cooperation. Bloomberg reported earlier this year Turkey was in “advanced stage discussions” to formally join the pact. Read Drop Site’s reporting about the SMDA agreement here.
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Funny how **only** Drop Site News Substack newsletters have been arriving truncated/ missing text in my inbox for at least six months now - forcing me to login to Substack directly if I want to read the full piece and comment. It's a small annoyance but something appears to be corrupting the newsletter file in transit.
All this says to me is Drop Site News continues to be a force for the ruling elite to reckon with and therefore a target for cyber fuckery.
Keep at it Drop Site team. And thank you as always.
I thought Netanyahu would be next to Trump on this Chinese mission. Doesn't Netanyahu have to OK every foreign policy decision the US makes.