Mathias Hammer

Washington, D.C., United States

Foreign Policy Reporter at Semafor

Reporting on foreign policy @Semafor. Alum @TIME @Politics_Oxford, @Dept_of_POLIS 📧 mhammer (at) semafor dot com

Articles

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian foreign minister in Moscow after US strikes

4 days ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow Monday, as Tehran looks to its long-time ally for support following Washington’s weekend strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. While Moscow has condemned the US attack, Russian officials have not publicly promised concrete support beyond offering to act as a mediator in any negotiations.
France urges Israel, Iran to negotiate as strikes escalate

1 week ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

France’s leadership is preparing a proposal for a negotiated settlement between Israel and Iran, with French President Emmanuel Macron expressing growing concern that Israel may be targeting non-military and nuclear sites for strikes. The Élysée’s announcement comes as Washington appeared closer to joining Israel’s attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities, although US President Donald Trump has declined to say whether he would take military action.
Nippon Steel closes $14 billion takeover of US Steel

1 week ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

Nippon Steel closed a $14.1 billion takeover of US Steel on Wednesday, in a deal that grants the Trump administration an unusual degree of power over the corporation after an 18-month push to finalize the purchase. The deal will transform Japan’s Nippon into the world’s second largest steelmaker, and give the company production facilities in the US that will help it avoid President Donald Trump’s 50% steel tariffs.
Russia launches deadliest attack on Kyiv so far this year

1 week ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv on Tuesday was hit with a barrage of Russian drones and missiles, killing at least 15 people in an overnight assault that marked the deadliest attack on the capital in almost a year. Moscow has been ramping up its aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities, using novel tactics to elude Ukraine’s defenses as the country faces a shortage of air defense missiles.
Global oil prices soar after Israel strikes Iran

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

Oil prices jumped nearly 7% Friday after Israel struck Iran, reaching their highest level since January. However, prices eased gradually as it became clear that the strikes did not target Tehran’s oil infrastructure. Energy analysts said the sudden spike in prices would likely be short lived: The increase “is driven more by fears than physical impacts,” a Wells Fargo analyst told clients.
US reacts to Israeli strikes: GOP backs Israel, Democrats push diplomacy

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Paige Bruton |Mathias Hammer

Reactions in the US to Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran largely fell along party lines: Several Republican leaders backed Israel’s actions and its right to defend itself from Iran’s nuclear threat, while Democrats pushed for restraint. However, some MAGA-aligned conservatives questioned the value of another war in the Middle East, as negotiations over Gaza have faltered. The White House appeared to distance itself from Israel’s decision.
Trump’s top Africa diplomat to step down

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer |Yinka Adegoke

US President Donald Trump’s top Africa diplomat, Troy Fitrell, has told colleagues he will leave the State Department in mid-July, three people familiar with the matter told Semafor. Fitrell, a 30-year career diplomat who has worked across the African continent, is temporarily heading up the department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and has been the most public proponent of the new administration’s Africa policy, briefing both the media and Congress on Washington’s priorities.
Exclusive / Trump’s top Africa diplomat to step down

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Mathias Hammer |Yinka Adegoke

19 hours agoEntire Fulbright board quits, citing Trump administration interferenceAll 12 members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned on Tuesday, saying that the Trump administration "has usurped the authority of the …1 hour agoThe real 'Epstein files' story is misunderstood. Here's what the government is still keeping secret. The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein is haunting the Trump administration.
Pentagon set to review AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Financial Times reports

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

The US Pentagon is set to review a nuclear submarine deal agreed during the Biden administration with Australia and the UK, casting the agreement’s future into uncertainty, the Financial Times reported. The review of AUKUS is apparently led by senior Pentagon official and AUKUS skeptic Elbridge Colby. The report comes just days after the UK recently committed more than $8 billion to boost London’s submarine-building capacity to bolster AUKUS.
Russia launched largest drone attack of the war, Ukraine says

2 weeks ago | semafor.com | Mathias Hammer

Russia launched the largest drone attack of the war in Ukraine on Monday, firing almost 500 drones and missiles overnight according to Kyiv. The massive aerial assault came ahead of a prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers between the two countries that began Monday. The swap is the most tangible result of the ongoing negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, but there are few signs the talks have brought the two parties closer to reaching any long-term settlement to end the war.