Europe
(Max Griera – Politico) The far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations party — home of Alternative for Germany — could be outlawed for failing to uphold EU values. The watchdog that oversees European political parties triggered a process that could result in the ESN being stripped of its right to be a political party and losing its funding. The ESN party is a separate legal entity from the ESN political group in the European Parliament, which is home to 27 MEPs. Political groups are parliamentary factions, while parties are broader alliances of national parties that are funded through the EU budget. – Brussels watchdog moves to ban Alternative for Germany’s EU party – POLITICO
Iran War
(Al Arabiya) The US and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, but President Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two US officials. “This is an agreement to get everybody to the table. We will work out the details in the negotiations,” one of the US officials said. The officials said terms of the deal were mostly agreed to as of Tuesday, but both sides still needed approval from senior leadership. – US and Iran reach deal but need Trump’s final approval: Report
(Al Arabiya) The United States will be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X on Thursday. Bessent said the move comes as the US Treasury Department continues what he described as its “Economic Fury campaign against the Iranian regime.” – US to shut down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling: Bessent
(Al Arabiya) A US official told Al Arabiya English on Thursday that the US military carried out new “defensive” strikes in Iran, targeting a military site that posed a threat to US forces and to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. – Latest US strikes on Iran carried out in ‘self defense’: Source
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Kuwait’s army said on Thursday that its air defenses were intercepting hostile missile and drone threats, but did not say where they were coming from. The army said any sounds of explosions heard in the country were the result of air-defense systems intercepting the threats, and urged people to follow security and safety instructions issued by authorities. The statement came after US strikes earlier on Thursday on what Washington said was an Iranian drone operation threatening US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. – Kuwait says air defenses intercepting hostile missile, drone attacks
(AFP/Al Arabiya) The United States Treasury announced sanctions Wednesday against Iran’s Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran’s new agency that collects fees for traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. – US Treasury sanctions Iran authorities overseeing Straif of Hormuz
(AFP/Al Arabiya) The United States carried out new strikes on southern Iran on Thursday, after President Donald Trump threatened to “finish the job” if Tehran did not agree to a peace deal. Iranian media reported three loud explosions rang out in the port city of Bandar Abbas in the early hours of Thursday morning, following US strikes earlier in the week that underscored the fragile state of a diplomatic push to get a provisional peace agreement across the finish line. – US carries out new strikes on southern Iran
(Ray Furlong – RFE/RL) US President Donald Trump has indicated that Iran’s decision to end its unprecedented Internet blackout is a sign that the country wants to reach an agreement with the United States. Speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting in Washington on April 27, Trump said Iran was “intent” on a deal. “I think it looks like they want to just make a deal. I don’t think they have a choice. They’re just going back to the Internet because they’re getting clobbered. Their economy is in freefall,” he said. – Trump Says Iran’s Internet Reopening Is A Sign It Wants A Deal
Israel – Gaza
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he had ordered the country’s military to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October. “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 percent of the territory in the Strip,” he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video aired by Israel’s Channel 12 network. He said the military had controlled 50 percent of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “My directive is to move to… 70 percent.” – Israel PM says orders army to take control of 70 percent of Gaza Strip
Israel – Lebanon
(Al Arabiya) An Israeli strike hit a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Thursday, the first strike to hit near Beirut in weeks amid a ceasefire that has failed to halt fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had conducted a precise strike in Beirut but did not offer additional details. – Israel carries out strike on Beirut suburbs, first near capital in weeks
(AFP/Al Arabiya) The Israeli military said on Thursday it had begun new strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after issuing an evacuation warning to its residents. Israel the previous day had declared all areas south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River – an area roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border and including Tyre – as “combat zones” and told residents to evacuate ahead of attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah. – Israel strikes Tyre after declaring ‘combat zones’ in south Lebanon
Israel – UN
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Israel is breaking all contact with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, the country’s ambassador announced Thursday, saying it was “outrageous” Israel is being blacklisted over alleged sexual violence in conflict zones. “We are done with this secretary-general,” Ambassador Danny Danon said in a video posted on X. – Israel breaks all contact with UN chief
NATO
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) NATO will strengthen the defense of its eastern flank by tasking the German-Netherlands Corps with the command of allied troops in Estonia and Latvia in the event of a war with Russia, Germany and the Netherlands said on Thursday. NATO forces in all three Baltic nations as well as northern Poland currently come under the command of a single multinational headquarters. – German-Netherlands Corps to take NATO command role in Estonia, Latvia
Pakistan – US
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Washington on Friday where he will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. – Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar to visit Washington on Friday, meet Rubio
Russia – Armenia
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Russia sharply criticized Armenia on Thursday for drawing closer to the EU, saying it was not pursuing a balanced position towards Moscow and was cooperating with European nations wishing Russia harm. Moscow is dialing up pressure on the South Caucasus country ahead of a June 7 parliamentary vote pitting the ruling Civil Contract party, which is building closer ties to the West, against an array of opposition groups, several of them pro-Russian. – Russia ratchets up pressure on Armenia ahead of June election
Russia – Japan – US
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that allowing US missile systems to be deployed on Japanese territory as part of military drills would threaten the security of Russia’s eastern borders. “Russia regards Japan’s provision of its territory for the deployment of US Typhon missile systems for the duration of military exercises as a step that threatens Russia’s Far Eastern borders,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. – Russia says US missiles in Japan for drills would threaten Russia
Russia – Ukraine
(RFE/RL) Nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since it began in 2022, a top British intelligence official has said, as the conflicts grinds to a near stalemate. The figure, announced in a speech on May 27 by the director of the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) tracks with other estimates made in recent months by other Western governments, as well as independent media organizations. Anne Keast-Butler echoed other British government warnings that Russia was “relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains, and public trust” in Britain and across Europe. GCHQ is Britain’s top signals intelligence unit, the equivalent to the US National Security Agency. – Nearly 500,000 Russian Soldiers Killed In Ukraine Since Start Of All-Out War, British Intelligence Says
Spain
(Guy Hedgecoe – Politico) Pummelled by corruption crises and stinging defeats in regional elections, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is running out of road. Investigators raided the headquarters of his Socialist party on Wednesday in a probe into the misuse of party funds. That would have been bad enough in itself, but it’s only the latest episode in a blizzard of corruption scandals weighing on the party. Conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the government is now in its “death throes” and demanded that Sánchez resign and call elections. “How many more raids? How many more kickbacks?” he asked. – Scandal after scandal lands Spain’s Sánchez on the ropes – POLITICO
Türkiye – Cyprus – COP 31
(Zia Weise – Politico) The Turkish hosts of this year’s United Nations climate conference have blocked Cyprus from preparatory briefings and are refusing bilateral meeting requests sent by Nicosia on behalf of the European Union, five diplomats and officials told POLITICO. Cyprus currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, meaning it acts as a neutral representative of the entire 27-country bloc. Its exclusion has therefore turned into a diplomatic headache for Brussels in the run-up to this year’s U.N. climate talks, known as COP31, in the Turkish resort city Antalya. Although the country has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded in response to a Greece-backed coup, the Nicosia-based Republic of Cyprus is internationally recognized as the island’s only government. – Turkey freezes Cyprus out of COP31 climate summit preparations – POLITICO
UK
(John Johnston – Politico) Nigel Farage was hoping to sabotage Labour’s leadership fight. But a former ally is now trying to eat into his vote from the right — with some significant online help. Next month’s Makerfield by-election looked set to be a head-to-head battle between Farage’s Reform UK and Andy Burnham — a Labour mayor who hopes the contest will provide a stepping-stone in his push to become prime minister. But a Survation poll released this weekend put Restore Britain — a relatively obscure party led by multimillionaire former football chairman Rupert Lowe — in third place. Campaigners who have been on the ground suggest that study, which has only a limited sample size, could even underestimate support for Lowe’s operation. – Nigel Farage is facing his own threat from the right in Makerfield – POLITICO
