Hi Global Recap readers,
This week is a big one.
From May 13 to 15, President Trump is set to visit China for talks with Xi Jinping—definitely something to watch.
There are also rumors Trump is considering a deal that would allow China to invest $1 trillion in the US to build factories on American soil.
But given our first story today, I’m not sure if that’s as positive as it sounds.
🇨🇳🇺🇸 CHINA & US
CCP Agent Mayor
Eileen Wang
Mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang resigned after agreeing to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China.
What We Know:
She worked with her then-fiancé on a website called US News Center, posting CCP propaganda for Chinese American readers.
This happened from late 2020 through 2022, before Wang was sworn in after her November 2022 City Council win.
Propaganda included material denying persecution and forced labor in Xinjiang.
She agreed to plead guilty to one felony count, facing a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
Her then-fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, is already serving 4 years after pleading guilty to the same charge. Arcadia officials claim no city money or staff were involved.
🇮🇷 IRAN
Engineer Hanged:
Spying for CIA?
Erfan Shakourzadeh
Iran executed 29-year-old aerospace engineer Erfan Shakourzadeh on Monday, saying he spied for the CIA and Mossad while working on satellite-linked scientific projects.
The Claims:
Tehran: He contacted foreign intelligence services and passed classified scientific information.
Rights groups: A cited prison note says Shakourzadeh’s “confession” was extracted under torture and prolonged solitary confinement.
Public record: No detailed evidence or transparent trial record was released before the hanging.
Shakourzadeh had studied electrical engineering in Tabriz and topped a master's program in aerospace engineering and satellite technology in Tehran.
Banks Hunt
Iranian Money Laundering
US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent.
The US Treasury Department told US banks and financial firms to flag suspected Iran-linked money-laundering networks, targeting shell companies, crypto rails, and shipping payments officials say help the IRGC sell sanctioned oil and fund weapons procurement.
What We Know:
Red flags: new firms moving unusually large sums, layered intermediaries, Iranian crypto links, falsified shipping papers, and oil disguised as "Malaysian blend."
Money trail: Treasury says Iran-linked oil firms handled about $4 billion in 2024, while shipping companies tied to sanctioned oil moved about $707 million through US accounts.
🎙️ PODCAST
Iran, oil, the CIA:
This Isn’t New
Today’s Iran stories hit on alleged CIA spying, sanctioned oil, shell companies, crypto rails, and money moving through the global financial system.
But none of this came out of nowhere.
On the podcast, we get into how Iran’s oil became one of the biggest geopolitical flashpoints of the last century:
🇬🇧 Britain taking the profits from Iran’s oil
🕵🏼♂️ The CIA-backed coup
🛢️ How sanctions, shell companies, and money networks work
So if you keep seeing Iran, oil, spies, and CIA show up in Iran news and want to understand why, start here:
🇩🇰🇺🇸 DENMARK & US
Greenland Base Talks
US Vice President, JD Vance, touring Pituffik—the only US military base on the territory.
The US is reportedly in “closely-guarded talks” to negotiate with Denmark to expand its Greenland military footprint after Trump threatened to take the territory by force.
Officials are said to be discussing up to 3 southern bases rather than a direct takeover.
Current Status:
No deal yet: The White House and Denmark confirmed talks are active, but final terms are still open.
Likely sites: Existing airfields or ports, with Narsarsuaq, a former US base, one probable option.
Hardest ask: US officials have floated making the new bases US sovereign territory.
Military purpose: Pituffik (a US Space Force base) currently watches missiles and space from the northwest. The new southern sites would monitor potential Russian and Chinese maritime activity around the GIUK Gap.
Ignore “U.S.S.R.” This is an outdated map from 1983.
📌 Context. The GIUK Gap is the North Atlantic corridor between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK. It’s a vital chokepoint for ships and submarines moving between the Arctic and the wider Atlantic.
🦠 HANTAVIRUS
Update
The latest official count is 9 MV Hondius-linked Andes hantavirus cases, with 7 confirmed, 2 probable and 3 deaths.
The Dutch-flagged ship has now left Tenerife for the Netherlands after the final passengers were evacuated.
Current Status:
Response: 94 people have been evacuated or repatriated, with quarantines and monitoring underway.
US: 18 passengers were flown back and quarantined, including one positive case in Nebraska and one symptomatic person in Atlanta.
Additionally, at least 5 Americans who never boarded the MV Hondius are now being monitored after sharing international flights with passengers from the hantavirus-hit expedition ship.
This isn't confirmed infection though—just precautionary.
Spain: 1 preliminary positive case was reported among quarantined Spanish passengers, but said confirmation was still pending.
Public-health agencies still rate general-population risk as very low.
