Sen. Warner warns US doesn’t know what follows Khamenei’s death

By WTOP Staff
March 1, 2026 | 9:58 AM

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said that the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is creating uncertainty about the trajectory of the conflict.

“We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated,” Warner told CNN on Sunday. “I think we still don’t know what is happening next.”

Warner said he hoped the Iranian people would rise up, but he didn’t believe that would be the outcome. He said the fear is that the U.S. is seeing the “opening salvos” of “what could be a sustained war in the region.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Stay with WTOP for the latest.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
June 4, 2026 | 1:57 AM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.