The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board votes to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear non-compliance, escalating pressure on Tehran through the international system. The move signals that concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities are intensifying and places the issue back before the council as diplomats seek greater leverage.

Donald Trump says he expects the war with Iran to end immediately after the U.S. midterm elections in November. He makes the comment before campaign-related travel, linking a major foreign conflict to the American political calendar and offering a strikingly specific prediction about the timing of any settlement.

Trump also says Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine after what he describes as a great conversation with the Russian leader. The remarks come as U.S. envoys pursue renewed negotiations, putting Trump’s personal account of contacts with Putin at the center of the latest diplomatic push.

Financial disclosures show Trump gives cash gifts to several White House aides, including a $45,000 payment to Natalie Harp labeled as a holiday gift. The filings list $135,000 in cash gifts to three aides, with another aide receiving a separate $20,000 payment, highlighting unusually large personal transfers inside his political circle.

New Hampshire’s race for the Senate seat being vacated by Jeanne Shaheen is set, with Republican former senator John E. Sununu and Democratic Representative Chris Pappas advancing to a November showdown. The open-seat contest is now positioned as one of the state’s central political battles of the midterm cycle.

Benjamin Netanyahu is planning a brief trip to New York to address the United Nations after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for his arrest. Israel’s UN ambassador dismisses the mayor’s remarks as political, while the visit unfolds against wider tensions over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Blanche d’Alpuget, the Australian author and widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, dies at 82. Her death prompts tributes from public figures, closing the life of a prominent literary figure who was also closely linked to one of Australia’s best-known political leaders.