'Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,' official says after nearly 2-hour Situation Room meeting | A White House official said Friday that US President Donald Trump would only pursue an Iran nuclear agreement on American terms, following a lengthy meeting in the Situation Room. [...] It came amid US-Iran nuclear negotiations, with Washington maintaining that any agreement must meet strict conditions set by the president.

■ Pezeshkian: Iran ready for ‘dignified framework’ to end war in region (Press TV)
■ United States and Iran acknowledge preliminary agreement but disagree on its essential terms (MercoPress)

NATO's proxy war in Ukraine is morphing into a direct EU-Russia war. And the war hawks in Brussels are further escalating by attacking civilians in the Donbas and Russia proper. The doves in the Kremlin are running out of options to keep their own hawks under wraps. As things stand now, an all-out EU-Russia war is not only a possible, but by now a likely scenario. But to what end?

English Outsider/Moon of Alabama | “…a rejuvenated Ukrainian military, specifically trained and equipped by NATO, positioned itself to resolve the Donbas question through military force. This in turn triggered the Russian intervention in the form of the Special Military Operation.” (Scott Ritter) | Any discussion of this war is bedeviled by the fact that most of those opposed to Western policy in Ukraine get the reasons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine wrong. They think the SMO resulted from a decision in the Kremlin to finally put a stop to NATO encroachment, not, primarily, from a decision to pre-empt a Kiev incursion into the Donbass. ■  Moon of Alabama: The above is a very important point. Russia did not want to invade Ukraine. It did its best to prevent an escalation of the smoldering conflict in the Donbas. But by mid February 2022 the Ukrainian troops, prepped and fired up by NATO, were only days and hours away from invading the Donbas republics.

📌 The Ukraine Conflict: The End State (English Outsider)

The Russian president urged Bucharest to share data on Friday’s UAV intrusion and commented on tensions in Europe | Russian President Vladimir Putin took questions from reporters during his trip to Kazakhstan on Friday, providing an update on the Ukraine conflict and tensions with NATO in Europe. He also commented on the recent drone incident in Romania, which NATO blamed on Russia, and touched on foreign policy debates in Armenia, a former Soviet state and longtime Russian ally.

Tehran insists that any peace agreement with Washington must include an end to Israel's brutal war in Lebanon. | Eleven children have been ​killed or injured on average every 24 hours in Lebanon ‌over the past week, the UN's children's agency revealed on 29 May, as Israel expands its war on Lebanon despite a so-called “ceasefire” sponsored by the US that took effect in mid-April. ● A total of 77 ​children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said, citing figures tallied by Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. ● The UN agency added that, since the ceasefire was announced by Washington on 16 April, fifty-five children have been killed and 212 injured.

Violations by Israeli guards consisted of rape, including with objects, gang rape, shooting genitals, touching breasts and genitals, strip and cavity searches, and forced nudity | The UN has documented dozens of cases of torture, rape, and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli prison guards and interrogators, Haaretz reported on 29 May, citing a new report issued by the office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. ● “Violations consisted of rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence to the genitals, instances of targeted shooting of the genitals, touching of breasts and genitals, strip and cavity searches conducted without apparent security justification, forced nudity and threats of rape,” the report said. ● The UN identified 31 victims from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including 14 men, seven women, nine children, and one girl. [...] In most cases, the torture and sexual violence were carried out during the interrogation of Palestinians at military camps and detention centers, such as the Sde Teiman base and the Etzion detention center, as well as in Israeli prisons, including Megiddo, Ofer, Ramla, HaSharon, Shatta, Nafha, and Damon, and the Gush Etzion police station.

Посла Армении вызвали в Москву для консультаций: Причиной МИД назвал шаги армянского руководства по интеграции с Евросоюзом | Российского посла в Ереване Сергея Копыркина вызвали в Москву, сообщается на сайте МИДа. В ведомстве заявили, что это связано с курсом армянских властей на сближение с ЕС, что подрывает интересы Евразийского экономического союза (ЕАЭС). ● В последние месяцы армянские власти не раз заявляли о стремлении укреплять связи с Евросоюзом, одновременно заверяя, что не планируют выходить из ЕАЭС. В Москве же многократно подчеркивали: членство в ЕС и участие в ЕАЭС невозможны одновременно. ● Президент РФ Владимир Путин заявил, что при выходе Армении из ЕАЭС страна потеряет торговые преференции, вырастут цены на энергоносители, изменятся условия трудоустройства граждан в России.

■ Путин рассказал о потерях для экономики Армении из-за ее желания войти в ЕС (Ведомости)
✅ Армения против всего ЕАЭС — теперь официально (Елена Панина)
■ Armenia may lose everything by violating agreement with EAEU - Russian Foreign Ministry (1 May 2025 )