Iranian state media reported that a proposed memorandum of understanding with the United States included an agreement to release $12 billion in frozen assets.

The report cited an “unofficial” draft of the memorandum, and a similar item carried by state TV earlier this week was dismissed by the White House as a “fabrication”.

It comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump issued his own detailed characterisation of a potential agreement aimed at halting the war between the two foes, key elements of which were likewise disputed by Iranian sources.

Saturday’s state TV report said, “the United States has pledged to provide Iran with full access to $12 billion of its assets within 60 days, so that these resources can be transferred and spent in banks of Iran’s desired destination without restrictions.”

-AFP

The U.S. military said it had disabled a Gambia-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail to an Iranian port by launching a missile into its engine room.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees forces in the Middle East region, said the strike occurred on May 29 after the M/V Lian Star failed to respond to more than 20 warnings.

“A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room after Lian Star’s crew failed to comply. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said on X.

-AFP

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced on Saturday (May 30) what he called a dangerous Israeli escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a “scorched-earth policy” would not ensure Israel’s security.

In a televised address, Mr. Salam also defended his government’s direct negotiations with Israel, which Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes, saying that the talks were the “least costly path” for Lebanon.

“In light of the dangerous and unprecedented Israeli escalation over the past few days, it is necessary to step up political and diplomatic efforts to achieve a swift and real ceasefire,” Mr. Salam said. - AFP

The U.S. military has stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday (May 30).

The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star ignored multiple warnings from U.S. forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The ship was disabled by U.S. aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there, the official said, adding that U.S. forces have not boarded it.

With the latest action, U.S. military has stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade. One was allowed to proceed.- AP

Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings on Saturday (May 30) for residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had pushed deeper into the country.

The latest warnings came a day after military delegations from the two countries held landmark security talks in Washington and ahead of U.S.-brokered negotiations early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.

Israel has kept up its heavy bombardment of south Lebanon, with President Joseph Aoun emphasising in a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio “the need to exert all efforts to reach a ceasefire”.

-AFP

Hezbollah said on Saturday (May 30) it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, as exchanges of fire between the two sides have intensified despite Lebanon-Israel negotiations.

In at least two statements, the Iran-backed group said it launched a “rocket barrage” at the town “in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire”.

-AFP

Mohsen ‌Rezaei, an adviser ⁠to Iran’s Supreme ‌Leader Mojtaba ‌Khamenei, ‌said ⁠on ⁠Saturday that U.S. President Donald ‌Trump was “betraying diplomacy for ‌the third time” by continuing ⁠a naval ‌blockade imposed on Iran ‌and making what he described ⁠as excessive ⁠demands in ‌negotiations.

Reuters

Retired U.S. Army Colonel and geopolitical risk advisor Douglas Macgregor argued that U.S. President Donald Trump faces a major political dilemma over continued U.S. involvement in West Asia, claiming that influential pro-Israel interests in the United States could turn against him if he seeks to halt military operations in the Persian Gulf.

Speaking to ANI, Mr. Macgregor said that most Americans are largely uninterested in developments in the Persian Gulf and would support an immediate end to military operations if Mr. Trump chose to pursue one.

ANI

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon, saying it was about to strike Hezbollah targets there.

“In light of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to take decisive action against it,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X in two separate statements, naming seven villages in Lebanon’s south, including some near Nabatieh.

AFP

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to contradict a senior Navy official, saying there had been “no change” in Washington’s position on Taiwan despite the West Asia war straining U.S. weapons stockpiles.

AFP

The U.S. is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal cannot be reached, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran worked to bridge major ⁠differences blocking an agreement.

“Our ability to recommence if necessary...we are more than capable,” Mr. Hegseth said in Singapore.

“Our stockpiles ‌are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so ‌we’re in a very good place,” ‌he ⁠added.

Mr. Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, ⁠Asia’s premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, said the U.S. has not turned its back on the Asia-Pacific region despite being ‌engaged in conflict with Iran.

Reuters

The United States has more than sufficient stockpiles of weapons and is “more than capable” of resuming the war with Iran, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said in Singapore.

“Our ability to recommence if necessary is [that] we are more than capable, our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions,” Mr. Hegseth told Asia’s premier defence summit.

AFP

The Israeli military said that it had intercepted several projectiles launched from Lebanon, where it is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah, but that one had hit near a town in northern Israel.

“Several projectiles launched from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were identified,” the military said in a statement, adding no injuries had been reported.

“The majority of the projectiles were intercepted, and a hit was identified in the area of Kiryat Shmona,” it said.

AFP

The United States announced Friday (May 30, 2026) that it is “dismantling a sophisticated Iranian network” used to obtain sensitive military technology.

The network “impersonated and defrauded” dozens of American technology companies out of millions of dollars to “acquire advanced equipment — including spectrum analysers and security detection devices — for Iran’s defence sector,” State Department Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

The statement did not name the technology companies who were lured into doing business through fake websites that “mimicked real American companies, using intermediaries in Dubai to receive shipments and then smuggling the technology into Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.”

The network was led by Iran-based Ali Majd Sepehr, the State Department spokesman said.

- AFP

Military officials from Israel and Lebanon held “productive” talks in Washington on Friday (May 29, 2026), a U.S. official said, adding that the meeting will complement upcoming diplomatic discussions.

“Today at the Pentagon, I hosted military delegations from Israel and Lebanon for the security track supporting the ongoing peace talks between their two countries,” Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s second-in-command, said on X.

“We held productive military-to-military discussions which will inform the Department of State-led political track next week,” he said.

It was the first meeting between Israeli and Lebanese military officials in decades.

“The United States anticipates reconvening soon to continue the security track,” Mr. Colby said.

- AFP

Israeli troops entered a southern Lebanese village early on Friday (May 29, 2026), pushing deeper into the country as Lebanese and Israeli military officials held direct talks at the Pentagon over the deadly conflict.

The entrance of Israel’s troops into the village of Dibbine, near the town of Marjayoun, came as Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people. Five were killed in an airstrike on the villages of Deir Qanoun al Nahr and Abbasiyeh, while a municipal policeman was killed in the village of Ebba, state media reported.

In Washington, a six-member Lebanese military delegation met on Friday (May 29, 2026) with Israeli military officials in the first direct military talks between the two countries in decades.

Read more here

- AP

U.S. President Donald Trump held a White House Situation Room meeting with his advisers on Friday (May 29, 2026) but has not yet made a decision on whether to move forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said the agreement has not been finalised.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Trump said he was looking to make a “final determination”. A senior administration official later said the roughly two-hour meeting with national security aides had concluded without a decision.

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