Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pompeo discusses Iran with Gulf allies amid escalating crisis

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Iran and maritime security with rich Gulf Arab allies during a trip to the region on Monday after President Donald Trump called off a military strike to retaliate for Tehran's downing of a U.S. drone. A senior U.S. State Department official said the United States is building a coalition with its allies to protect Gulf shipping lanes by having "eyes on all shipping" following recent attacks on oil tankers that Washington blamed on Iran.

Turkey's opposition strikes blow to Erdogan with Istanbul mayoral win

Turkey's opposition has dealt President Tayyip Erdogan a stinging blow by winning control of Istanbul in a re-run mayoral election, breaking his aura of invincibility and delivering a message from voters unhappy over his ever tighter grip on power. Ekrem Imamoglu of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) secured 54.21% of votes, the head of the High Election Board announced on Monday - a far wider victory margin than his narrow win three months ago.

North Korea's Kim not ready to denuclearize: U.S. intelligence agency chief

The U.S. intelligence community does not believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready to denuclearize, U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Robert Ashley told Fox News in an interview on Monday. A summit in February between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed when the two leaders were unable to bridge differences between U.S. demands for denuclearization and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

U.S. to unveil 'economy first' approach to Mideast peace at Bahrain conference

The first stage of President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan will be launched in Bahrain on Tuesday at a conference the White House touts as a bid to drum up $50 billion in investment but which Palestinians deride as an "economy first" approach doomed to fail. The two-day international meeting, led by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been billed as the first part of Washington's long-delayed broader political blueprint to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to be unveiled at a later date.

At G20, Trump to hold at least eight side bilateral meetings

U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to meet one-on-one with at least eight world leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, later this week, a senior U.S. administration official said on Monday. Trump will hold talks with China's President Xi Jinping, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, the official said, declining to give details of the dates and times because Trump's schedule was still in flux.

Boris Johnson says he is serious about 'no-deal' Brexit threat

Seeking to regain momentum in his bid to become the next prime minister of Britain, Boris Johnson said on Monday he was seriously prepared to take the country out of the European Union in October even if a deal with the bloc had not been reached. The former London mayor is still the frontrunner in the race to succeed Theresa May but his lead had been dented by reports of a heated late-night row with his girlfriend that led to the police being called to their home.

U.N. Security Council condemns attacks on oil tankers in Middle East

The U.N. Security Council on Monday condemned the attacks on oil tankers in the Middle East as serious threat to international peace and security. "The council members urge concerned parties and all countries in the region to exercise maximum restraint and take measures and actions to reduce escalation and end tension," Kuwait's U.N. ambassador, Mansour Al-Otaibi, said in a statement following a Security Council meeting.

Trump puts sanctions on Iranian supreme leader, other top officials

U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with sanctions on Monday, taking a dramatic, unprecedented step to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran's downing of an unmanned American drone. With tensions running high between the two countries, Trump signed an executive order imposing the sanctions, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said would lock billions of dollars more in Iranian assets.

Mexico says it has deployed 15,000 forces in the north to halt U.S.-bound migration

Mexico has deployed almost 15,000 soldiers and National Guard in the north of the country to stem the flow of illegal immigration across the border into the United States, the head of the Mexican Army said on Monday. Mexico has not traditionally used security forces to stop undocumented foreign citizens leaving the country for the United States, and photographs of militarized police catching Central American and Cuban women at the border in recent days have met with criticism.

Russian air force plane lands in Venezuela: witness, website

A Russian air force plane landed on Monday in Venezuela's main airport, according to a Reuters witness and a website that tracks plane movements, three months after a similar arrival spurred a war of words between Washington and Moscow. Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela in March carrying Russian defense officials and 100 troops, leading the United States to accuse Russia of "reckless escalation" of the situation in the struggling South American nation.