U.S. dismantles Iranian fraud network targeting American firms.
Today's events
- Iranian fraud network. The State Department sanctioned a procurement network led by Iran-based Ali Majd Sepehr that impersonated U.S. firms to defraud dozens of American technology companies and smuggle restricted equipment, including spectrum analyzers, to Iran's military.1May 29 · State
- Lebanon ceasefire push. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to back his direct negotiations with Israel, faulting Hizballah for the ongoing fighting and pressing the group to halt its attacks to enable de-escalation.2May 29 · State
- U.S.–Mexico trade. Washington and Mexico concluded the first bilateral round of their North American trade-pact review, taking up automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security; talks resume June 16–17 in Washington.3May 29 · USTR
- Caspian gas routes. Meeting Turkmenistan's foreign minister in Washington, Secretary Rubio voiced strong U.S. support for diversifying the country's natural-gas exports through Trans-Caspian routes and welcomed progress on recent commercial deals.4May 29 · State
- Shell-company gap. A Government Accountability Office report warned that Treasury's 2025 move to exempt U.S. companies — over 99% of filers — from beneficial-ownership reporting leaves a gap shell companies can exploit to launder money, and urged Treasury to close it.5May 29 · GAO
- Federal grants overhaul. The Office of Management and Budget proposed rewriting government-wide rules for federal grants and cooperative agreements to tighten transparency, accountability, and oversight; public comments are due July 13.6May 29 · OMB
- Phone-subsidy eligibility. A Justice Department legal opinion concluded that 1996 welfare-eligibility limits apply to the FCC's Lifeline program, generally barring non-citizens from the phone- and broadband-subsidy unless lawfully present for at least five years.7May 29 · DOJ
- Pakistan and Iran. Secretary Rubio met Pakistan's deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar, thanking Islamabad for its mediation with Iran and its role in the administration's Middle East peace effort, and offered condolences for a deadly attack in Quetta.8May 29 · State
- Trade-theory rethink. In an International Monetary Fund journal essay, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer argued economics must abandon its anti-tariff orthodoxy and weigh globalization's real costs, citing a $1.2 trillion goods-trade deficit and more than 70,000 shuttered U.S. plants.9May 29 · USTR
This week
A $20 billion minerals pact.
The U.S., Japan, Australia, and India launched a Critical Minerals Initiative in New Delhi on May 26, pledging to mobilize up to $20 billion across mining, processing, and recycling. The stated aim is to break China's near-monopoly on rare-earth supply chains. It was the week's clearest structural move, and the Quad ministers paired it with a statement backing open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz (first surfaced in the May 27 daily).1May 26 · StateA new South Caucasus corridor.
In Yerevan the same day, the U.S. and Armenia signed a strategic-partnership charter, a critical-minerals agreement, and a framework for the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" — a multimodal transit corridor across the South Caucasus, building on the 2025 Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal. Coming alongside the Quad framework, it extended the week's minerals-and-logistics push into a region wedged between Russia, Iran, and Turkey.2May 26 · StateIran's shadow oil economy.
State and Treasury sanctioned a Hong Kong–based network on May 28 that has moved tens of millions of barrels of Iranian crude worth billions, naming eight entities and eight vessels that fund Iran's Revolutionary Guard. It was the largest of several Iran actions this week, part of a "maximum pressure" campaign that the next day also reached a procurement ring impersonating U.S. technology firms to smuggle restricted equipment to Tehran's military.3May 28 · StateA militia commander charged.
Federal prosecutors unsealed an eight-count indictment on May 28 against Mohammad Baqer Al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi commander of the Iran-backed militia Kata'ib Hizballah, tied to nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States. It landed the same week the U.S. jailed a Staten Island man for 10 years over an Iran-directed plot to assassinate a journalist in New York.4May 28 · DOJBrazil's gangs named terrorists.
The State Department designated Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital — Brazil's two largest criminal organizations, with thousands of members — as global terrorists on May 28, and said it would add foreign-terrorist-organization labels on June 5. The move extends the administration's use of counterterrorism tools against Western Hemisphere criminal networks, a designation more often reserved for armed political groups.6May 28 · State
Voices
“The United States will continue to impose maximum pressure against the Iranian regime to severely constrict its ability to advance its destabilizing activities.”
U.S. Dept. of State · May 291
“Tariffs were not tried and found wanting but rejected by au courant economic models and left untried.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer · May 299
“This lack of transparency can be attractive to criminals hiding illegal activities.”
U.S. Government Accountability Office · May 295
“Today's opinion further protects a critical public benefit that provides discounted utility assistance to Americans struggling to make ends meet.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche · May 297
“The United States concluded discussions with the goals of reducing the trade deficit with Mexico and strengthening American supply chains.”
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative · May 293
“OMB is proposing revisions that would improve transparency, accountability, and oversight for Federal awards across the Federal Government.”
Office of Management and Budget · May 296
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Sanctioning Iranian-Affiliated Fraud Network Targeting American Companies,” May 29, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/iranian-affiliated-fraud-network
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio's Call with Lebanese President Aoun,” May 29, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/rubio-call-lebanese-president-aoun
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “The United States and Mexico Conclude First Bilateral Round Related to the Joint Review of the USMCA,” May 29, 2026. ustr.gov/…/first-bilateral-round-usmca-review
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio Meeting with Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Meredov,” May 29, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/rubio-turkmenistan-foreign-minister-meredov
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Corporate Transparency: Treasury Should Address Gaps in Ownership Information Resulting from Expanded Exemptions,” May 29, 2026. gao.gov/products/gao-26-107967
- Office of Management and Budget, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” (Proposed Rule), May 29, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel Concludes Immigrant Welfare Eligibility Rules Apply to FCC Lifeline Program,” May 29, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/olc-lifeline-immigrant-eligibility
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Dar,” May 29, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/rubio-pakistani-deputy-pm-dar
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “Ambassador Jamieson Greer: Trade theory must catch up with tariffs, industrial policy, and the costs of globalization,” May 29, 2026. ustr.gov/…/greer-trade-theory-tariffs