Open-Source Intelligence

Geopolitical and cyber intelligence.

Daily briefings on the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ukraine, and Turkey, with continuous monitoring of global cyber threats.

Today on the desk

25 May 2026

Today's Brief 25 May 2026

Global Brief

▸ The US-Iran war drives Middle East peace talks as Turkey escalates opposition crackdown and Ukraine's drone campaign cuts Russian fuel output by a fifth

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Most active: Ukraine ·38

Cyber Wire 165 tracked

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Global Briefing May 25

US-Iran War Diplomacy, Turkey Crackdown, Ukraine Drone Campaign

The US-Iran war set the global agenda: rival Gulf states pressed Trump to accept a provisional peace deal Israel vowed to resist, Hormuz traffic stayed down about 95 percent, and Asian oil fell 5 percent on ceasefire hopes. In Turkey, riot police stormed the CHP headquarters and installed a court-backed leader over Atatürk's party; Ukraine's drones cut Russian fuel output by a fifth; and the UK and France blocked a NATO Ukraine-aid levy. Elsewhere, China launched three astronauts, a Tokyo attack injured about 20, and Sudan's war passed 880 civilian deaths.

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Erdoğan's government seizes CHP headquarters in Ankara and installs a loyalist atop Atatürk's party

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government has seized the Ankara headquarters of the opposition CHP and, through a compliant judge, installed a loyalist as the party's leader -- a hostile takeover of the party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The move follows an Ankara appeals court's annulment of the CHP's 2023 congress and the removal of leader Özgür Özel earlier in the week. Özel has continued to defy Erdoğan despite the risk of imprisonment, though whether Turks mobilise in defence of the party will not be clear until after the Eid al-Adha holiday.

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Ukrainian deep strikes halt central Russian refineries and cut national fuel output by about a fifth

Ukraine's long-range drone campaign has forced all major refineries in central Russia to halt or cut production, lowering national fuel output by about 20 percent, with the Yaroslavl refinery struck a record 15th time on Friday. The campaign's peak came overnight on May 16-17, when Ukraine launched the largest single-night drone raid in history -- Russia's defense ministry claimed 1,030 drones downed in six hours, more than 350 over greater Moscow -- hitting a semiconductor plant, an oil pumping station and the Moscow Oil Refinery. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Tuesday that, for the first time in the war, Ukraine is conducting more offensive actions than Russia.

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Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell pleads guilty to embezzling over £400,000 from the party

Peter Murrell, the Scottish National Party's chief executive for 22 years and husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday to embezzling £400,310.65 from the party between 2010 and 2022. The judge, Lord Young, called it a "gross breach of trust"; Murrell was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 23 June. Sturgeon and current SNP leader John Swinney both said they felt betrayed and denied any knowledge of the thefts, while opposition figures questioned the credibility of those denials.

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Middle East rivals unite to push Trump toward Iran peace deal amid war fallout

Rival Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Pakistan, have coalesced behind a provisional peace deal with Iran, urging the Trump administration to accept it despite fierce opposition from Israel. The agreement, reached after Pakistani and Qatari officials traveled to Iran, aims to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and relaunch nuclear negotiations. The diplomatic push reflects regional disillusionment with U.S. power after Washington failed to deliver a decisive blow against Iran or protect Gulf allies.

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