🇺🇸⚡️ — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's preferred nominee for Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, is facing growing resistance from Republican senators, placing his nomination in jeopardy, according to WSJ.

The nomination has stalled because Sen. Joni Ernst and other Republicans oppose advancing LaNeve, with Ernst said to have concerns over his relatively short tenure as a four-star general. Without unanimous Republican support, the nomination is not expected to clear the Senate Armed Services Committee.

LaNeve has served as acting Army Chief of Staff since Hegseth dismissed Gen. Randy George in April.

🇺🇸⚡️ — The White House is expected to extend its waiver of the Jones Act in the coming days as the Trump administration seeks to ease fuel transportation constraints and help lower gasoline prices, according to Reuters.

The current waiver, which is set to expire on August 16, has been used nearly 200 times since its introduction and is already the longest Jones Act suspension on record.

Officials are discussing ways to narrow the waiver's scope while preserving flexibility for critical fuel shipments, though no final decision has been made.

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️ — The Trump administration is preparing to impose tariffs and a minimum import price on polysilicon and related products as part of its effort to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical supply chains, Reuters reports.

The measures, expected later this month, follow a national security investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act and are intended to protect U.S. producers such as Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemie from growing Chinese competition.

Polysilicon is a key material used in solar panels and semiconductors.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth denies CNN's report on depleted U.S. interceptor and munition stockpiles as a result of the Iran war, saying, "We don't hate the Fake News media enough."

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇴🇲⚡️ — NEW: The U.S., Iran, and Oman are nearing a 60-day interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. aiming to announce the deal on Wednesday, Axios reports.

The 60-day temporary arrangement could be extended: inbound ships would use a northern lane through Iranian waters, while outbound traffic would use a southern lane through Omani waters in coordination with Iran, with no tolls or fees. Naval mines in the central lane would be cleared within 30 days, after which it could reopen for both directions under a permanent arrangement to be negotiated by Oman and Iran.

Qatar, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia also took part in mediation efforts, while the White House was directly involved in the negotiations.

Iran’s FM Araghchi agreed in principle over the weekend, but Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council needed to approve it as well.

A U.S. official and a regional source said Iranian leadership completed its approval process on Tuesday.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — President Trump on Iran:

Well, if they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard. They know that. They understand that.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — Reporter: Where are we on Iran?

Trump: We will know in 48 hours.

🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 — NEW: Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah) announced they struck the Saudi oil tanker “Wafa” with ballistic missiles in the northern Red Sea off Yanbu, claiming a direct hit.

They said it was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the maritime blockade began on July 22, while 29 other Saudi tankers have been forced to turn back in the Red and Arabian Seas.

🇷🇺🇰🇵❌🇺🇦 — Ukraine’s military intelligence says North Korea has begun deploying a missile unit of around 90 personnel to Russia’s Voronezh region, reportedly joining Russia’s 112th Missile Brigade, Reuters reports.

The unit is expected to be equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles, including KN-23 and KN-24 systems, and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine.

Kyiv says Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept, amid shortages of advanced Ukrainian air defenses.

🇺🇸⚡️ — Progressive Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, narrowly defeating Rep. Haley Stevens despite being heavily outspent.

Haley Stevens had been backed by tens of millions of dollars, much of it from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC and hidden donors.

If El-Sayed wins in November, he would become the first Muslim U.S. senator.

🇪🇺🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️ — Former senior officials from the UK, France, Germany and Russia met in Vienna last month to explore possible conditions for future peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.

The meeting was organized by the Swiss-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and included former UK national security adviser Tim Barrow, former German State Secretary Markus Ederer and French diplomat Pierre Vimont.

The former Kremlin official who attended was not identified.

🇵🇰🇸🇦⚡️ — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir are set to visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow.