Trump news at a glance: president weighs ordering ‘bad things’ against Iran as nuclear deal sits in limbo

Key Highlights

• But experts say there are already sufficient US military assets in the Middle East to begin an aerial bombing campaign against Iran, potentially in conjunction with Israel, though it is less clear what this would achieve. Read the full storyTrump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files showThe Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza, sprawling more than 350 acres, according to Board of Peace contracting records reviewed by the Guardian. The site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops.
• The ISF is part of the newly created Board of Peace which is meant to govern Gaza.
• The Board of Peace is chaired by Donald Trump and led in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Read the full storyEpstein cultivated relationship with CBP officer, causing US investigationFederal investigators examined Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer who worked at the St Thomas airport to which Epstein regularly flew on his private planes before traveling by boat or helicopter to his private island, newly released documents reveal. Read the full storyWhite House grants ICE power to detain refugees for aggressive ‘rescreening’The Trump administration is moving to arrest thousands of people already legally admitted to the US as refugees and detain them indefinitely for aggressive “rescreening”, a report published on Thursday said. Read the full storyMajor European allies decline to join first meeting of Trump’s Board of PeaceDozens of world leaders and national delegations will meet in Washington DC on Thursday for the inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, as major European allies declined to join the group and criticised the organisation’s murky funding and political mandate. Read the full storyTrump changed mind on Chagos deal ‘after UK blocked use of Diego Garcia for Iran strikes’Donald Trump changed his mind on supporting the Chagos Islands deal because the UK will not permit its airbases to be used for a pre-emptive US strike on Iran, the Guardian has been told. Read the fu.