The briefing for Monday, June 8.

Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in their first attacks since the U.S. struck a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Hours later, Iran's military announced it would stop offensive operations. The renewed hostilities threatened to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale war that has shaken the global economy and driven energy prices higher worldwide.

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran. Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran. Israel's military confirmed striking a petrochemical factory in Mahshahr and targeting truck-based missile launchers, saying it hit sites that produce materials for ballistic missiles. Iran closed the airspace around Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport following the Israeli strikes.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged both countries to immediately stop shooting and said talks were ongoing for a ceasefire. Diplomats from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel while also pressing Iranian officials to halt attacks. The war, launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, has maintained Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz—a crucial passage for global oil and natural gas. Oil prices climbed Monday morning, with Brent crude jumping 2.6% to $95.50 a barrel.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines on Monday morning, killing at least 19 people and triggering tsunami warnings across the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Australia. The quake occurred at 7:37 a.m. local time, centered about 13 kilometers southwest of General Santos at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

At least 134 people were reportedly injured across several provinces including South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos city, a major tuna-processing hub. Videos showed buildings collapsing, including a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble. More than 130 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 1.3 to 6.7 were recorded following the initial quake. Power and communication networks were temporarily downed in coastal Sarangani province before being restored.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of waves up to 3 meters on some Philippine coasts. Philippine authorities monitored 1-meter waves in Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces, while smaller waves were detected in Indonesia, Palau and other locations. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged people in vulnerable areas to immediately move to higher ground and promised the national government would not leave Mindanao behind. He also ordered suspension of classes in affected areas, which coincided with the first day of the school year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a rare state visit, his first to North Korea in seven years, in a trip likely meant to reassert China's influence over Pyongyang after Kim Jong Un's recent pivot toward Russia. The two-day visit marks Xi and Kim's first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The visit comes after North Korea prioritized cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support Moscow's war against Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance. Restoring exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi leverage in dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart diplomacy with Kim. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat.

In an article published in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper Monday, Xi said China and North Korea must boost strategic cooperation and work together to oppose 'hegemonism and coercive politics' and pursue an orderly multipolar world. Analysts expect Xi to offer Kim economic aid packages including shipments of rice and fertilizers, resumption of Chinese group tourism, and joint economic projects. Xi is also likely to refrain from pressing Kim on denuclearization, instead speaking vaguely about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed victory early Monday in a general election seen as a referendum on the country's geopolitical future, with preliminary results showing his governing Civil Contract party won 49.82% of the vote. The election tested Russia's influence as Armenia seeks to distance itself from Moscow and pursue EU membership.

Pashinyan's main opponent, billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia bloc finished second with 23.28%, is under house arrest for allegedly advocating government overthrow—charges he calls politically motivated. Armenian investigators issued six arrest warrants for Strong Armenia members the day before the election, accusing them of vote buying. Russia has hit Armenian exports with restrictions in recent weeks, banning flowers, cognac, wine, potatoes and fish, in what the European Commission described as 'economic coercion.'

Preliminary results suggest the governing party won 61 seats in the 105-member National Assembly, enough to form a government without coalition partners. Richard Giragosian of the Regional Studies Center think tank described the vote as 'genuinely free and fair' and a 'referendum on the future of the country.' Relations between Moscow and Armenia soured after Azerbaijan took control of the Karabakh region in 2023, with Armenian authorities accusing Russian peacekeepers of failing to stop the assault.

The U.S. military is waiting for clarity from the Pentagon following President Donald Trump's contradictory orders on troop levels in Europe, upending military personnel's lives and potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Trump announced he would send 5,000 troops to Poland in May just weeks after ordering the same number pulled from Europe following a dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.

Trump's announcement came the same day the Pentagon officially ordered the cancellation of a rotation of soldiers heading to Poland, according to defense officials. The unit's equipment was already on the way, costing the military $32 million to transport, according to U.S. Transportation Command. Some troops were told shortly before traveling not to board flights to Poland, while around 1,000 troops sent ahead are still waiting for confirmation they are being sent back.

The abrupt changes are forcing the military to 'retroactively engineer' a policy in line with the president's latest pronouncement, officials said. The uncertainty is rattling European allies worried about the message being sent to Russia and risks hurting morale among American troops. The military is still waiting for details from the Pentagon on how to satisfy Trump's order to send 5,000 troops to Poland, with the working assumption they will come from units already in Europe rather than additional deployments from the U.S.