Top U.S. general in Japan touts command reorganization, growing China threat; Russia launches biggest aerial attack on Ukraine; and what’s next in Iran-Israel ceasefire.
1. The top American general in Japan touted a sweeping command reorganization and highlighted growing regional threats from China in a weekend op-ed published by one of Japan’s most-read newspapers. Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost outlined the transformation of U.S. Forces Japan and its evolving partnership with the Japan Self-Defense Forces in a Saturday opinion piece in the Asahi Shimbun headlined “Advancing the Alliance: USFJ, JSDF transform future of Indo-Pacific Security.” The first phase of restructuring USFJ from a liaison-focused entity to a more operationally integrated command was announced March 30 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a visit to Tokyo. “Moving from a headquarters primarily charged with an alliance management mission to one that, in time, will integrate and synchronize operations that span the spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and armed conflict is a monumental task,” Jost wrote.
2. Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine overnight, a Ukrainian official said Sunday, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the 3-year-old war. Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. The onslaught was “the most massive airstrike” on the country since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, told The Associated Press. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the front line.
3. It’s been a week since the United States pressed Israel and Iran into a truce, ending a bloody, 12-day conflict that had set the Middle East and globe on edge. The fragile peace, brokered by the U.S. the day after it dropped 30,000-pound “bunker-busting” bombs on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites, is holding. But much remains unsettled. How badly Iran’s nuclear program was set back remains murky. The prospects of renewed U.S.-Iran peace talks are up in the air. And whether U.S. President Donald Trump can leverage the moment to get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s government and Hamas focused on a ceasefire and hostage deal that brings about an end to the 20-month war in Gaza remains an open question.
4. CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran’s lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran’s nuclear program that would take years to overcome, a U.S. official said Sunday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for U.S. lawmakers last week. Details about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday’s ceasefire with Israel took hold. “It was obliterating like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” ”And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time.”
5. Iranian-affiliated cyber actors and hacktivist groups "may still conduct malicious cyber activity," according to a joint bulletin from U.S. law enforcement agencies. "Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target U.S. devices and networks for near-term cyber operations," the bulletin from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, NSA and Defense Department says. "Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies, particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk. Hacktivists and Iranian-government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured U.S. networks and internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks," according to the bulletin.
- Security