War and Circuses

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where Rishi is back in the hot seat just in time for the start of the World Cup. On that note, here’s what’s on tap for the day: Trump’s Iran-World Cup-UFC whiplash, new sanctions on Russia and Iran, and the Taiwan opposition leader’s visit to Washington. Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where Rishi is back in the hot seat just in time for the start of the World Cup. On that note, here’s what’s on tap for the day: Trump’s Iran-World Cup-UFC whiplash, new sanctions on Russia and Iran, and the Taiwan opposition leader’s visit to Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump this week conducted fresh strikes on Iran and threatened to restart his full-scale war in the Middle East before abruptly backing down on Thursday. But if you looked at the White House right now, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the president might not be laser-focused on foreign affairs. The U.S. capital is preparing for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match on the White House’s South Lawn this Sunday, which is Trump’s 80th birthday. A massive arena containing the fight cage now towers over the president’s residence, and most of the surrounding streets are closed to vehicular traffic going into the weekend. Motorcycle stuntman Travis Pastrana will be doing a backflip on his dirt bike at the White House on Saturday as an amuse-bouche. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada, also begins today, with participation by soccer teams from 47 countries and fans and officials from many more. Over the next month, matches will take place in 11 metro areas across the United States alone (compared to just three in Mexico and two in Canada). Trump is juggling those two major events while simultaneously trying to end his war against Iran, which is now in its 15th week. It would be a lot for any president to deal with, let alone one with a notoriously short attention span. Iran whiplash, again. The U.S. president spent Thursday morning telegraphing a massive escalation against Iran after a weekslong cease-fire was undone by the (possibly accidental) downing of a U.S. military helicopter. “The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT,” he posted on Truth Social, also threatening to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil refining hub, “at some point in the not too distant future.” U.S. forces struck several Iranian targets on Tuesday and Wednesday in retaliation for the downed helicopter, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated the threat of further violence during a visit to U.S. Central Command on Wednesday. “If we need to negotiate with bombs, we’ll negotiate with bombs,” he said. But in a Truth Social post on Thursday afternoon, Trump announced that he was canceling the planned strikes. The conditions of a deal to end the war “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved,” he wrote. “Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, [United Arab Emirates], Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others,” he continued, adding that the time and place of signing would be “announced shortly.” This is not the first time that Trump has backed down from a dramatic escalatory threat or claimed to be close to a deal, of course. “Iran has not reached a final conclusion about the agreement,” according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry that was cited by Iranian news agency Tasnim. As for Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement saying that his country “is not a party to the memorandum of understanding.” World Cup woes. On top of trying to restart and/or end a war and manage the logistical and security challenges of hosting a mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn, the Trump administration is also navigating the start of one of the world’s biggest quadrennial sporting events. One of the big questions hanging over the World Cup was how the tournament’s inherently global nature would collide with Trump’s prohibitive immigration agenda, and we’re starting to find out. Somali referee Omar Artan, who was set to be the first from his country to officiate at a World Cup, was turned away at Miami International Airport and sent back to Somalia despite previously having received a valid U.S. visa. Two members of the Iraqi soccer team were also detained in Chicago and official team photographer Talal Salah was denied entry, while player Aymen Hussein was allowed to enter after a reported seven hours of questioning. The White House did not immediately respond to SitRep’s request for comment on the cases. Also playing in this World Cup is the Iranian team, many of whose support staff have

War and Circuses

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