US sanctions UN special rapporteur for Palestine
Welcome back to the Daily Briefing.
This is Rosaleen Carroll, filling in for Gabrielle.
In today’s edition:
- US sanctions UN special rapporteur for Palestine
- Hegseth says US strikes on Iran included F-22s, F-35s
- Tom Barrack meets with Syrian president, SDF leader as US pushes for integration deal
- Jordan cracks down on entities with suspected ties to Muslim Brotherhood
- New Palestinian FM says ready to work with Trump
Thanks for reading,
Rosaleen (@roscarroll_)

US sanctions UN official overseeing Palestinian rights
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese (L) delivers her rapport next to president of the UN Human Rights Council Omar Zniber during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on March 26, 2024. — FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN official who has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip, accusing her of antisemitism and support for terrorism.
Albanese has served as the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused her of orchestrating a “campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel.”
“Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West,” Rubio said. Last month, the administration sanctioned four International Criminal Court judges in retaliation for a set of war crimes probes involving Israel and the United States. Read Elizabeth Hagedorn’s report.

US strikes on Iran included F-22s, F-35s, Hegseth says
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit down for a meeting at the Pentagon on July 09, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. — Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The US Air Force’s long-range bombing of Iran’s strategic nuclear facilities included stealth-capable F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed on Wednesday.
Pentagon officials had been reluctant to publicly confirm the type of fighter aircraft that escorted the B-2s to their targets.
Hegseth’s comments came just before a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in Washington since Sunday and has met with President Donald Trump twice.
While in Washington, Netanyahu sought US approval for further strikes on Iran, but the Israeli premier came away from his meetings with Trump and Hegseth with no such public endorsement. Read Jared Szuba’s report.

US envoy Barrack pushes deal between Syria's Sharaa, Kurdish commander Kobane
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (R) receives US special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack at the presidential palace in Damascus on July 9, 2025. — BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met in Damascus with the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack as the US intensifies pressure on the SDF to reach a deal to integrate the Kurdish-led region and its armed forces with the central government.
Barrack held separate meetings with Sharaa and Kobane. Sources familiar with the talks said that the US does not want to engage in the specifics of an agreement, pushing instead for one to be realized as soon as possible amid mounting frustration with perceived Kurdish obduracy.
“There is growing Kurdish fatigue,” said one of the sources briefing Al-Monitor on condition they not be named as the Kurds continue to push for a formal demarcation of the territories under their control that would amount to self-rule. Read Amberin Zaman’s report here.

Jordan targets charities for alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties: What to know
Supporters of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood take part in a protest in the village of Sweimeh, near the Jordanian border with the occupied West Bank, on May 21, 2021, to express their solidarity with Palestinians and celebrate the ceasefire. — KHALIL MAZRAAWI/afp/AFP via Getty Images
The Jordanian government announced on Wednesday it was taking legal action against organizations suspected of working with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood as the government escalates its crackdown against the Islamist group.
The official Petra news agency reported that measures were taken against several charities in the country, on suspicion of operating under the "influence" of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group was founded in Egypt in 1928 and is active across the Arab world, including in Syria, the Palestinian territories, Tunisia and Jordan.
In April, Jordan’s Interior Ministry announced a ban on the Brotherhood’s activities in April, following an alleged plot against the kingdom that authorities said was linked to the group. Read Adam Lucente’s report.

Palestinian FM: Ready to work with Trump; Saudi payments to PA resumed
Then-Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza in light of ceasefire and hostage release at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Jan. 20, 2025. — KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
In her first interview since taking office on June 24, Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian laid out an ambitious diplomatic campaign to push for Palestinian statehood and greater international accountability for Israel even as the war continues in Gaza and Israeli settlements expand across the West Bank.
Speaking to Al-Monitor on July 3, Aghabekian addressed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent message to Trump, calling the June 25 letter "not merely an expression of praise" but a signal of readiness to reengage diplomatically. "We are ready to work closely with President Trump, as well as with Arab and international partners, to achieve a lasting and comprehensive peace within clear parameters and a clear timeframe," she said.
Aghabekian added that the Palestinian Authority is intensifying its efforts “at all levels” to end the war, ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza and press forward with a high-level international peace conference. The French- and Saudi-backed meeting — originally scheduled for the June UN General Assembly summit in New York — was postponed due to regional instability following Israel’s strikes on Iran. Read Daoud Kuttab’s interview here.