Iran

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she believed the positive relations brought about by the Iran nuclear deal catalyzed the speedy release of the ten U.S. sailors taken captive by Iran Tuesday.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said that he “didn’t make anything of” the fact the President Barack Obama did not mention during the State of the Union that 10 U.S. Navy sailors had been captured in Iran on Tuesday.

“Hopefully this was a mistake,” Hoyer said. The sailors were back in "U.S. hands" on Wednesday, according to the Pentagon

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the country has made significant progress toward implementing the nuclear deal with Iran, saying Iran has “literally shipped out its capacity currently to build a nuclear weapon.”

In a rare move Monday, the Obama administration criticized the government of Saudi Arabia, with Press Secretary Josh Earnest saying mass executions that have generated anger across the Middle East are reflective of "a government that is not doing enough" to address concerns about its human rights record.