US & Iran Meeting Through Mediators; Pause on Attacks Holds + Ukraine Attacks Iranian Vessel in Caspian Sea: Suspected of Carrying Military Cargo to Russia + India Tests Domestic Air Defense Interceptor

For review:

1. Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran.

2. US President Donald Trump said Monday that he paused military strikes on Iran to give diplomacy another chance, amid a report of “significant” progress in talks to end the war. 

But he added that he is prepared to authorize another major attack on the Islamic Republic if the talks fail.

3. Iran will top the agenda in his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, minutes before taking off from an Israeli Air Force base for Washington, DC.

PM is set to meet Trump on Tuesday at 11 a.m, local time, after more than five months since their last meeting.

4. WSJ Report: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham out of convincing US President Donald Trump to join Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

5. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview aired Sunday that his country is working toward a security agreement with Israel, which he said could eventually pave the way for comprehensive peace between the two neighbors.

6. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday vowed to respond against Ukraine for a deadly attack in the Caspian Sea that the minister claimed was carried out “at Israel’s behest.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv struck “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran” in the Caspian Sea.

7. The Kremlin ​said on Monday that it had ‌not seen any specific information regarding new proposals for a peace settlement in Ukraine ahead of a ​meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump ​and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

8. India has successfully tested a long-range surface-to-air interceptor missile. 

The project includes development of three variants with approximate ranges of 150 kilometers, 250 kilometers, and 350–400 kilometers.