The briefing for Monday, April 6.

Israel and the United States conducted a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people, according to the Associated Press. Explosions rang out in Tehran for hours as low-flying jets pounded the capital, with thick black smoke rising near Azadi Square after an airstrike hit Sharif University of Technology grounds. Among those killed was Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, the head of intelligence for Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, with four people killed in Haifa when Iranian missiles struck a residential building.

Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia all activated air defenses to intercept incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Iran's continued attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz—through which a fifth of the world's oil is shipped in peacetime—has sent global energy prices soaring, with Brent crude rising to $109. Trump gave Tehran a deadline expiring Monday night Washington time, threatening to hit Iran's power plants and infrastructure and set the country 'back to the stone ages' if the strait isn't reopened.

Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators circulated a new proposal late Sunday calling for a 45-day ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to allow time for negotiations. Neither Iran nor the U.S. has responded to the proposal. European Council President António Costa called for diplomacy, stating that 'any targeting of civilian infrastructure, namely energy facilities, is illegal and unacceptable.' Iran's parliamentary speaker rejected Trump's threats as 'reckless,' saying 'You won't gain anything through war crimes.'

A U.S. weapons systems officer who was shot down over Iran on Friday has been rescued in what President Trump called 'one of the most daring search and rescue operations in US history.' The BBC reports the airman sustained injuries but is safe after spending more than 24 hours hiding in mountainous terrain in southwestern Iran with only a handgun. Both crew members from the downed F-15 fighter jet successfully ejected, with the pilot recovered shortly after the crash and the second airman rescued following an intense search operation.

The rescue operation involved dozens of aircraft and included engagement between U.S. and Iranian forces, according to the BBC. The CIA played a crucial role by tracking the airman's exact location in a mountain crevice and conducting a deception campaign inside Iran, spreading false information that the airman had already been found and extracted. Iran's Revolutionary Guard had launched its own search using troops and locals, offering a reward of about $66,000 to capture him alive. Iranian media reported five Iranians were killed during the U.S. rescue operation.

The successful recovery comes as Iran shot down two U.S. aircraft on Friday, demonstrating the perils of the ongoing bombing campaign. Trump issued expletive-filled threats on Sunday against Iran's infrastructure if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. Iran's U.N. mission called Trump's threats 'clear evidence of intent to commit war crime,' while Iran's joint military command warned of stepped-up attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel target such facilities in Iran.

The Artemis II crew broke Apollo 13's distance record on Monday, becoming the most distant humans in history at more than 248,655 miles from Earth. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen surpassed the 1970 record by over 4,100 miles during their six-hour lunar flyby. The mission marks NASA's first return to the moon with astronauts since Apollo 17 in 1972 and is a critical step toward landing astronauts near the moon's south pole in 2028.

The crew passed as close as 4,070 miles to the moon using the same free-return trajectory that Apollo 13 used after its oxygen tank explosion—a figure-eight path that takes advantage of Earth and the moon's gravity to reduce fuel needs. According to the AP, their observation targets included the Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact crater stretching nearly 600 miles across, as well as the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites and the south polar region where future moon landings are planned. The timing of their Wednesday launch also positioned them to witness a total solar eclipse from behind the moon.

NASA geologist Kelsey Young, the crew's moon mentor, expects thousands of photographs from the flyby. 'People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with,' she said. The mission will conclude Friday with a splashdown in the Pacific, setting the stage for next year's Artemis III mission, which will practice docking with lunar landers in Earth orbit before the culminating moon landing in 2028.

The Writers Guild of America West and Hollywood studios reached a surprise four-year tentative agreement after roughly three weeks of negotiation, the union announced Saturday. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers confirmed the deal, stating they 'look forward to building on this progress as we continue working toward agreements that support long-term industry stability.' The contract agreement—a year longer than the typical three-year deal—must be approved by the guild's board and members before ratification.

The precise terms were not immediately announced, but the deal is expected to include better health care plans and more protections against artificial intelligence. According to the AP, the union said the agreement protects the writers' health plan, builds on gains from 2023, and 'helps address free work challenges.' The swift agreement stands in stark contrast to three years ago when Hollywood writers went on a historic strike that partially brought the industry to a standstill for months.

The studios are also working on new deals with union leaders representing actors and directors, whose contracts expire at the end of June. SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said in February he has seen signs that studios want 'to work as partners again' after actors also walked out for months in 2023. The writers' tentative deal comes as the Writers Guild faces an ongoing strike by its own staff union that began in February, with more than 100 people in legal, events, and residuals departments walking out over alleged unfair labor practices.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America's support for Ukraine as Washington's global priorities shift. In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said Ukraine desperately needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to counter Russia's daily barrages, which have killed thousands of civilians and targeted energy infrastructure. 'We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,' Zelenskyy said. 'That's why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.'

Zelenskyy's most immediate concern is the reduction in Patriot missile deliveries, which are essential for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. He said these systems were never delivered in sufficient quantities to begin with, and warned that 'if the Iran war doesn't end soon, the package—which is not very big for us—I think will be smaller and smaller day by day.' The Iran war has sent shock waves through the global economy, straining already limited resources and diverting stockpiles that Ukraine needs to defend its cities from ballistic strikes.

Surging oil prices driven by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz are also undermining Ukraine's strategy to weaken Moscow's economy. Zelenskyy said Russia draws economic benefits from the Mideast war, citing limited easing of American sanctions on Russian oil. 'Russia gets additional money because of this, so yes, they have benefits,' he said. Russia could reap a windfall from the surge in oil prices and the U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions designed to ease supply shortages, as Russia is one of the world's main oil exporters.