Satellite imagery from May 24 shows Iran has fully cleared all five entrances at its Larestan underground missile facility in Fars Province, southern Iran.

Iran used heavy machinery to excavate debris and reopen the tunnels, restoring full access with no apparent long-term damage to the hardened entrances.

The same recovery pattern has been observed at other Iranian missile sites, including Abyek.

Syria's government sharply raised public sector salaries since the fall of Assad in late 2024.

Under Assad, teachers earned as little as $18–50 a month and specialist doctors around $20–40.

Presidential decrees issued in March 2026 added a 50% general raise plus targeted increases for teachers, doctors, nurses, and university professors.

New pay scales now place school teachers at around $300 a month, specialist doctors at $700, and university professors at $1,000.

Gulf states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are contributing roughly $29 million a month to cover public sector wages.

Senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaee:

Our finger is on the trigger for the fourth battle.

On the other hand, of course, our officials are also negotiating to properly restore the rights of the Iranian nation.

This is the final stage, where the entirety of these 47 years, by the grace of Almighty God, will reach a conclusion that will ensure security is established in Iran for the next 50 years.

NEW: The United States and Iran have reached an agreement in principle on a preliminary deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and commit Iran to disposing of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, enriched to 60%.

The deal still requires approval from President Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader.

Under the framework, Iran would clear mines from the strait and allow free passage of commercial shipping, while the US would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran would also be allowed to resume oil sales.

A 60-day ceasefire extension is part of the package, with broader nuclear issues deferred to later talks.

No final agreement has been signed.

Source: NYT

Hezbollah Leader Naim Qassem says disarming the group would amount to the "annihilation" of Lebanon's defensive capabilities.

Qassem said the weapons would remain in Hezbollah's hands "until the Lebanese state is capable of carrying out its duties."

Two Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles hit Kyiv overnight, deploying decoy flares during the approach.

Germany's far-right AfD is on course to win the September 6 regional election in Saxony-Anhalt and could govern alone, which would make it the first AfD-led state government in German history.

Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund, 35, says the victory would create a "domino effect" across Germany.

He has pledged to detain all rejected asylum seekers pending deportation, remove diversity and LGBTQ+ content from school curricula, and restore Russian language courses and exchange programs.

Source: DW

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said "it is possible that I will submit my resignation soon."

He clarified that his presidential mandate expires in 2027 and said he would not shorten it in what he called a "senseless" way.

Vučić dismissed the latest protest at Belgrade's Slavija Square on May 23, calling it "empty."

No formal resignation has been submitted.

A small group of protesters in Venezuela burned large printed portraits of Donald Trump and Marco Rubio in a public square.

The demonstration appears to have been organized by Maduro loyalists reacting to recent US actions.

Senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaee:

They had planned the 40-day war to last only 4 or 5 days. And in the most pessimistic scenario, they had said it wouldn't take more than 15 days.

This thief who had broken into Iran's house was caught in the trap of the Strait of Hormuz while trying to flee.

They had no preparation for a prolonged war.

They said, 'I will now pull a theatrical stunt, take these enriched materials from Isfahan, and claim that I was victorious.'

Well, you saw they came to Isfahan, and how God Almighty struck them down.

Iranian state media reports the arrest of Mojtaba Kian, an employee at a factory near Karaj that manufactured parts for IRGC missile launchers.

During the recent war, Kian allegedly sent seven text messages to a monarchist group with ties to Israel, revealing the factory's location and asking them to pass the coordinates to "Bibi."

The site was bombed roughly three days later.

Kian faces execution and asset confiscation under Iran's law on collaboration with Israel.

Israel stopped paying monthly $100 stipends to roughly 3,000 Druze fighters in Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri's National Guard in As-Suwayda, with payments halted for over three months.

Material aid and medical support to hospitals in National Guard-controlled areas have also been cut.

Israel had previously provided weapons, ammunition, body armor, and airstrikes to protect the Druze during the July 2025 clashes.

Source: Asharq Al-Awsat

NATO's top innovation commander told Politico that the alliance has no viable alternative to Palantir's battlefield AI system.

"As far as I know, today there is no real competitor for Palantir," said Admiral Pierre Vandier.

NATO purchased Palantir's Maven Smart System in March 2025 in one of its fastest-ever procurement deals.

Vandier said European companies seeking alternatives must prove they can deliver within months, not a decade.

U.S. intelligence says Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is hiding in a secret location and communicating only through couriers, making talks with the Trump administration slow and difficult.

Officials say delays happen because messages take time to reach him and return.

Despite the communication challenges, a senior U.S. official says Khamenei has agreed in principle to a draft deal framework, and Trump expects a final response within days.

Source: CBS News

An RAF jet carrying UK defence secretary John Healey had its GPS signal jammed for the full three-hour flight home from Estonia, near the Russian border.

Russia is suspected of being behind the electronic interference.

Passengers lost internet access, and pilots switched to backup navigation systems after the aircraft’s GPS was disrupted.

The plane had been returning from Tallinn, where Healey met Estonian officials and British troops.

Xi Jinping sharply criticized Japan’s military buildup during his summit with Trump in Beijing.

Xi reportedly became unusually heated while accusing Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi of “remilitarisation” and condemning Tokyo’s rising defence spending.

Trump responded that Japan needed stronger defenses because of threats from North Korea.

Source: FT

Trump officials say Venezuelan elections are “not even on Trump’s mind” right now.

Source: WSJ