U.S. President Donald J. Trump spoke by phone today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time since assuming the Presidency in January, during which they discussed ongoing peace negotiations to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which Erdoğan stated he had been striving for peace since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Erdoğan is said to have then pressed President Trump on lifting sanctions on Syria, claiming that it will allow a normalization which will see Syrians in Europe and across the world return to their country. Finally, President Erdoğan asked for sanctions imposed against Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to be lifted, which were implemented after Turkey purchased Russian-produced S-400 Air-Defense Systems in 2020, leading to their removal from the F-35 Program; Erdoğan is said to have asked President Trump to advance their purchase of 40 F-16 Block-70 Vipers, while also allowing them to rejoin the F-35 Program.

Syrian media reports that a group of Hezbollah terrorists crossed into Northwestern Syria earlier today, attacking an outpost of the Syrian Army and kidnapping 3 Syrian soldiers back into Northern Lebanon, before filming their execution in a field near Hnaider. Syrian officials are vowing to respond to this attack by Hezbollah.

After two deportation flights heading to El Salvador continued on after U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order for them to turn around, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has announced that the first of 238 Tren de Aragua gang members and 23 MS-13 gang members arrived in El Salvador. The MS-13 gang members were wanted by El Salvador’s authorities and were sent in addition to those from Tren de Aragua.

The Trump Administration has stated that it ignored a court order issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg yesterday, for two deportation flights heading to El Salvador with roughly 260 illegal migrants and criminal gang members to return to the United States, because the flights were already over international waters when the order was issued by Judge Boasberg. Other White House officials have stated that the plan to get the criminals out of the country before last night’s court hearing was over and the judge was able to issue an order was orchestrated by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, but that the order was not actively ignored, though it was believe it was not applicable, stating that the case will likely now go to the U.S Supreme Court.

Artillery and rocket fire now by the Syrian Army against Hezbollah positions near the town of al-Qasr in Northeastern Lebanon.

Over 50 rockets and dozens of artillery shells launched by forces under the Syrian Army have reportedly targeted a Hezbollah command-and-control center as well as several other sites around Hermel in Northeastern Lebanon, as residents begin to flee from communities near the Syria-Lebanon Border.

The sustained strike campaign to degrade the Houthi’s ability to threaten commercial and naval shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden continues tonight, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). F/A-18Fs with Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11) of Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) can be seen taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman to strike targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Reports of several soldiers of the Syrian Army having been killed in the Homs Governorate near the Syria-Lebanon Border, after their position was targeted by a missile/rocket launched by Hezbollah.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense states that they are coordinating with the Lebanese Army regarding border security, as artillery forces target Hezbollah positions near the border between the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate in Northeastern Lebanon and the Homs Governorate of Western Syria. The Defense Ministry further states that military reinforcements are being directed to the area as fighting escalates, following today’s major escalation and intrusion into Syrian territory by Hezbollah.

The Houthis have just released a statement, claiming for the second time today to have launched a missile and drone attack targeting the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and its Carrier Strike Group in the Northern Red Sea, which they further claim “successfully thwarted” an attack by the U.S. Navy against Yemen. As usual there is no evidence of these claims, and they are considered to be mostly if not totally false.

While talking to reporters tonight aboard Air Force One, while returning to Washington from his weekend in Florida, U.S. President Donald J. Trump said that he would speak on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, “We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.” Adding that he will be speaking to President Putin about “land — and power plants” describing it as “dividing up certain assets.”

In a post earlier on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald J. Trump issued a stark warning towards Iran, with him stating, “Any further attack or retaliation by the “Houthis” will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.” Adding that, “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”