MIDDLE EAST

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Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that Donald Trump would face a “crushing” response if the United States resumes military attacks against Iran following the fragile ceasefire that halted the recent regional conflict.

In a social media post on Saturday, May 23, Ghalibaf said Iran had rebuilt and strengthened its armed forces during the six-week ceasefire period.

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Iranian forces seized the Barbados flagged tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after another confrontation erupted between American destroyers and Iranian units moving through the narrow Strait of Hormuz during rising regional tensions.

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United States President Donald Trump has announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS globally, was killed in Nigeria.

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An Israeli airstrike has killed the son of Hamas' top negotiator in U.S.-mediated discussions over Gaza's future, Hamas officials said on Thursday, as leaders of the group held talks in Cairo to preserve a fragile truce with Israel.

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Israel is concerned that US President Donald Trump may strike an agreement with Iran before addressing some of the key issues that drove the two countries to launch the war in the first place, multiple Israeli sources have told CNN.

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The United Arab Emirates has announced it will exit OPEC, ending more than six decades of membership in a move that reshapes global oil politics and underscores growing strain within the producer alliance.

Officials said the decision takes effect on 1 May, as the region grapples with the Iran conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and tightened global supply chains.

UAE withdrawal is expected to weaken OPEC's ability to coordinate production, widening long-running disagreements with Saudi Arabia over output limits and the direction of the oil market.

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The United Arab Emirates reportedly conducted a covert military counter-strike against a vital Iranian oil refinery just as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was taking effect last month.

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Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation's military have condemned a soldier who was photographed damaging a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. The image, which emerged over the weekend, shows the soldier striking the face of the statue with an axe or sledgehammer. Netanyahu stated on Monday that he was "stunned and saddened" by the incident, condemning the act "in the strongest terms" and expressing regret for the pain caused to believers worldwide.

His comments came after the Israeli military confirmed late Sunday that the photo, showing a statue of Jesus turned upside down and off its cross, was authentic.

“The IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,” the IDF said in a statement, resharing a post by Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi that had circulated widely on social media.