Thousands more U.S. troops, sailors and Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as the Trump administration presses Iran to accept a deal and enforce a maritime blockade, signaling a higher readiness for strikes or ground action if the ceasefire fails.
Three civilian cargo ships, including one from Israel, one from Greece, and one with Turkish-Georgian registration, successfully ran Russia's naval blockade in the Black Sea and anchored at a Ukrainian grain port on the Danube Delta. NATO aircraft closely monitored the ships as they sailed towards Izmail, a Ukrainian port across from Romania. The ships made no effort to hide their intentions and switched on their radio transponders. This successful blockade run may indicate that Russia is either unwilling or unable to enforce the blockade, potentially encouraging international shippers to resume operations from Ukrainian ports.