Hi Global Recap readers,
I don't think it's too far-fetched to ask what is going on in the UK.
Whether this is home-grown or foreign-linked, it's troubling.
👀 At a Glance
This week…
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
US keeps Iran blockade in place
Iran threatens unprecedented blockade response
🇬🇧🇮🇷 UK & IRAN
Golders Green stabbing declared terrorist attack
Iran-linked HAYI claim remains unproven
🇲🇱🇷🇺 MALI & RUSSIA
Mali defense minister killed in attacks
Russian-backed forces withdraw from Kidal
🇨🇳🇺🇸 CHINA & US
China blocks Meta's Manus deal
US blocks Hua Hong chip tools
🌐 OTHERS
Trump assassination suspect remains detained
UAE quits OPEC
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
Threat Level Jumps
to “Severe”
The UK raised its terrorism threat level from "substantial" -> "severe" on April 30, meaning officials consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.
The move followed the Golders Green stabbing, where two Jewish men were wounded in an attack police declared terrorism, but ministers said the change was also driven by rising Islamist and extreme-right threats.
Recent Attacks:
Manchester: two Jewish people were killed in an October 2025 car-and-knife attack outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur.
Golders Green: four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire in March.
North London: Finchley Reform Synagogue was attacked, then an accelerant bottle was thrown through a Kenton United Synagogue window in April.
Police have not established any state link in the Golders Green stabbing, but as mentioned yesterday, an Iran-linked terrorist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) claimed responsibility on a Telegram channel.
📌 Context. "Severe" is the UK's second-highest terrorism threat level, below only "critical."
🇩🇪🇺🇸 GERMANY & US
Troop Pullout Widens
to Italy and Spain
Trump has now threatened to cut US troops in Germany, Italy and Spain, tying troop levels to whether allies help with the Iran campaign.
The announcement surprised defense officials, with one congressional aide saying the Pentagon had not been planning a Germany drawdown after a recent global posture review.
Trump then told reporters he would "probably" consider pulling troops from Italy and Spain too, saying both had failed to help the US.
Current Status:
Germany: hosts roughly 36,000 US troops, plus EUCOM, AFRICOM, Ramstein and Landstuhl.
Italy and Spain: also host US forces and have resisted or criticized parts of Trump's Iran campaign.
Constraint: moving troops is expensive, slow and politically hard.
📌 Context. US bases in Germany, Italy and Spain also support American operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN & US
Hormuz Gets Louder
A man holding up the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, featuring images of former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini (left), former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei (center), and the supposed current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei (right).
Iran warned it would answer renewed US attacks with "long and painful strikes" on US positions, while the US tries to build an international coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pressure Points:
Shipping: Hormuz remains closed after two months of war, choking roughly 20% of global oil and gas supplies.
US leverage: a US State Department cable invites partners into a Maritime Freedom Construct, but France, Britain and others want the shooting stopped first.
Iran's line: Tehran says it is blocking the strait because the US blockade is strangling its oil exports.
📌 Context.
A March Reuters/Ipsos poll found 59% of US adults disapproved of military strikes on Iran.
By late April, a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll of registered voters found 52% supported US airstrikes, 57% backed the blockade, and 66% supported an international naval force for Hormuz.
The comparison is apples-to-oranges, but Trump may have more room at home now than he did earlier in the war.
🇨🇳🇺🇸 CHINA & US
Taiwan Takes Center
Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi.
China's top diplomat warned the US that Taiwan is now the "biggest risk point" in US-China relations, two weeks before Trump is due in Beijing for talks with the Chinese "President" Xi Jinping.
The wording came from FM Wang Yi, not Xi directly, in a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Beijing's foreign ministry said Wang told the US to honor its commitments and "make the right choices," while both sides prepared for Trump's May 14-15 visit.
📌 Context. China claims Taiwan as its territory, while the US doesn’t technically recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. Although, it remains Taiwan’s primary security backer. This approach is known as “strategic ambiguity.”
🇺🇸🇻🇪 US & VENEZUELA
The Caracas Flight Returns
Capt. Ric Wilson waves a Venezuelan flag while the first officer waves a US flag before American Airlines Flight AA3599 departs Miami International Airport on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
American Airlines landed the first direct commercial US-Venezuela flight in seven years in Caracas on Thursday, restarting a Miami route frozen since 2019.
Flight AA3599, operated by Envoy Air, left Miami at 10:11 am. and arrived about three hours later. American says a second daily Miami-Caracas flight starts May 21.
Passengers got Venezuelan flags at the gate, one Miami traveler called the direct family trip "priceless."
Miami-Dade's mayor framed it as a reconnection for the largest Venezuelan community in the US.
The route follows the reopening of the US embassy in Caracas and restored diplomatic relations.
📌 Context. The Trump administration suspended US commercial flights to Venezuela in 2019, citing security concerns as relations collapsed. So this resumption signals a clear shift in relations.
