Hi Global Recap readers,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
I was on the lookout for any pressing news, but nothing much happened.
Just Iran floating the idea of “controlling” undersea internet cables, North Korea rewriting its rules so nukes are fired if Dear Leader gets decapitated, and Putin threatening yet another country.
Just the usual. 👇🏼
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
They Are Going All-In
Undersea fiber-optic cables are basically the internet’s plumbing. They carry everything from cloud traffic and bank transfers to government and military communications.
Iranian “semi-official outlets,” including IRGC-linked Tasnim, are floating the military's new Hormuz gamble:
Annual fees for foreign companies using undersea fiber-optic cables through the strait, with Iranian firms controlling repair and maintenance.
As if trying to charge tolls at the strait wasn’t enough, now they’re trying to control the undersea internet cables too.
Stalling Tactic
Meanwhile, President Trump said that Iran's response to a new US peace proposal is "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE."
Iranian media said Tehran wants:
sanctions relief
guarantees against renewed attacks
compensation
recognition of its control over Hormuz
The question is, how long do we have to watch these two go back and forth?
👀 NEW
Searching History
Have you noticed how everyone suddenly became an expert on the Strait of Hormuz?
Two months ago, I swear half these people couldn’t point to Iran on a map. Now they’re talking like they grew up there.
But the Iran story deserves better. Its history is messy, fascinating, and way more complicated than the usual BREAKING NEWS make it seem.
If you’re overwhelmed trying to catch up with all the geopolitics news being thrown at you every day, this might be the one for you.
Searching History is our new history-focused podcast, starting with episodes on Iran:
the CIA coup
the Strait of Hormuz
the backstory behind headlines
Pick your rabbit hole: 👇🏼
🇷🇺🇺🇦 RUSSIA & UKRAINE
Putin's Softening?
Russian President Putin said the Ukraine war is finally "coming to an end" after Moscow's thinnest Victory Day parade in years.
But here's the catch (as with everything Putin):
Putin's aide Ushakov said on May 9 that Putin was ready to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow.
Ukrainian Presidential office adviser Leshchenko replied by saying that Zelenskyy would meet Putin anywhere except Moscow.
Meanwhile, Slovak PM Fico came back from the Victory Day parade telling Zelenskyy to phone Putin if he wants a meeting.
📌 Context. 352,000 Russian men aged 18 to 59 had been reportedly killed by the end of 2025, including about 90,000 late-registered or court-recognized deaths.
🇦🇲🇷🇺 ARMENIA & RUSSIA
Putin's Now
Threatening Armenia
We are not finished with Putin yet. During a press conference following the Victory Day events, Putin warned Armenia.
He said they need to decide "as early as possible" whether it wants its future with the EU or Russia's Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), saying a referendum would be "logical" and Moscow could then move toward a "mutually beneficial separation."
So what does this look like? Putin said it best:
“We are now experiencing everything that is happening in the Ukrainian direction. But where did it all begin? With Ukraine’s accession or attempts to join the EU.”
In other words, follow Ukraine’s path toward joining the EU, and you’ll end up sharing the same fate as Ukraine.
📌 Context. Armenia just hosted European leaders in Yerevan, held its first EU-Armenia summit, and has been drifting away from Moscow since Russia failed to protect it during Azerbaijan's 2023 Karabakh takeover.
That said, Armenia still belongs to the Russia-led EAEU, so Putin is effectively turning Yerevan's EU flirtation into an economic loyalty test.
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
Island Air Drop
British troops parachuted medics and oxygen onto Tristan da Cunha (one of the 3 constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha) after a resident who had left the MV Hondius developed a suspected hantavirus case and the island's oxygen supply ran low.
📌 Context. Tristan has 221 people, no airstrip, and needs days by boat for outside help. The patient is stable, but the response had to be military because there was no normal medical route.
The World Health Organization’s official line: “this is not another COVID.”
Weekend Status
Passengers disembarking from the MV Hondius in Tenerife, Canary Islands on Sunday.
MV Hondius reached Tenerife on Sunday, and Spain began moving passengers off under protective controls.
Here's What Changed:
14 Spanish evacuees reached Madrid for quarantine.
French passengers flew to Paris, with one developing symptoms on the flight.
UK passengers were headed to Arrowe Park for hospital quarantine, then isolation.
A Dutch evacuation flight carried 26 people to Eindhoven.
The US plan changed: one returning American was reported mildly PCR-positive, and another had mild symptoms.
