The unraveling of US diplomacy

Reuters Daily Briefing <dailybriefing@thomsonreuters.com>
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2026-05-21 12:57

Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Hello. Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz, January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye the $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund, and Russia flexes its nuclear muscles as tensions rise with NATO.

Plus, read our investigation on the unraveling of US diplomacy under Trump.

Today's Top News

REUTERS/Illustration/John Emerson. Photos by Francois Lenoir and Yves Herman

Diplomacy

US President Donald Trump’s threats, personal envoys and hollowed‑out US embassies are reshaping Washington’s presence in the world. Our special report goes inside the unraveling of US diplomacy.
Upon learning through the US embassy that Trump was looking for African nations to take in deported third-country migrants, Eswatini was one of the first to volunteer despite questions over the legality of the program.
Pakistan stepped up diplomatic efforts to hasten US and Iran peace talks, as Tehran said it was reviewing Washington's latest responses and Trump suggested he could wait a few days for "the right answers" from Tehran but was also willing to resume attacks on the country.

In other news

The US announced murder charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against the island's communist government. Jack Queen tells the Reuters World News podcast it echoes the Trump administration's Venezuela playbook.
Confronted with threats to gender-affirming care for young transgender people, American families are weighing moves out of their states to gain access to needed healthcare, according to doctors, patients, policy experts and advocacy groups.
Israeli police forced activists who were aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind their backs while a minister looked on, drawing criticism from foreign leaders and even from inside Israel's ‌own government.
Russia delivered nuclear munitions to field facilities in Belarus and showcased elements of its strategic nuclear ‌forces, as tensions with European NATO members rose over the Ukraine war and drone activity in the Baltic.
A record number of 274 climbers scaled Mount Everest, a hiking official ‌said, the highest number ever to reach the world's tallest peak on the same day from the Nepali side.

Business & Markets

SpaceX took the wraps off its IPO filing, laying bare for investors just how much Elon Musk is losing on artificial intelligence while betting the company's future on transforming the rocket maker into an AI powerhouse.
xAI’s Grok chatbot has been a flop with one of the world’s largest customers – the US government, according to seven federal employees, three contracting experts and a Reuters review of government AI inventory documents.
Lower prices for weight-loss pills from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are prompting patients to switch from compounded medications to branded Wegovy and Foundayo, according to Reuters interviews with nine US doctors.
After a year of smaller bars, extra wafers and chocolate alternatives, at least one major chocolate maker is putting the cocoa back in — and others may follow suit — as a slump in bean prices since 2024 makes the traditional treat more profitable.
Bumper returns promised by the $3.5 trillion non-bank lending industry are giving way to rising defaults and falling income. On this week's Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how old-guard financiers juiced the trade with extra leverage.

Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz

The Agios Fanourios I crossed the Strait of Hormuz on May 10 under a deal with Iran. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty

Iran is enforcing a multi-tiered system for clearing vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as nations try to replenish dwindling energy supplies throttled by the war. The US has warned against complying with Iran’s controls. Some shippers and governments are taking the risk.

To reveal how Iran has been consolidating control over this strategic chokepoint in recent weeks, Reuters interviewed 20 people with knowledge of the evolving mechanism, including Asian and European shipping sources and Iranian and Iraqi officials, reviewed Iranian documents related to the vetting process, and analyzed movements of ships. Taken together, they offer rare insight into how the Iranian scheme functions, with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps playing a central role..

Read our special report

And Finally...

Every FIFA World Cup tournament has been represented by an official poster

From the first tournament in 1930 to the latest, we take a look at every FIFA World Cup poster design ever made.

View pictures

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