U.S. and Iran draft deal, pending Trump approval; Netanyahu orders IDF to take 70% of Gaza; Kenya refuses to be “dumping ground” for Ebola
Drop Site Daily: May 29, 2026
U.S. and Iran near preliminary MOU to extend ceasefire 60 days and open permanent peace talks, reports say. Oman tells Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent it has “no plans” to participate in Hormuz toll plan. Trump team quietly developing indirect financing mechanisms for future payment to Iran. U.S. oil stockpiles fall for fifth straight week. Israeli officials privately urge Trump to abandon Iran talks, assassinate lead negotiator, report says. Israeli strikes kill 31 across Lebanon on Thursday. Israeli forces push north of Litani River. UNICEF: 11 children killed or injured by Israel daily in Lebanon. Lebanese and Israeli military officials to hold U.S.-brokered security talks. Israeli attacks kill at least 14 Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders IDF to expand control to 70% of Gaza. UN report documents Israeli rape, sexual abuse of Palestinians. Israel approves major settlement expansion plan in Jordan Valley. AIPAC routes millions to Michigan Senate candidate Haley Stevens through third-party processor. DOJ sues Massachusetts over refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE. Supreme Court rules 5-4 for Black Mississippi death row inmate. Sen. Susan Collins responds to campaign rival Graham Platner after Platner says she sent him to “die in Iraq.” RSF kills at least 30 civilians in North Kordofan attack. Guatemala agrees to joint U.S. military strikes on its soil. At least 52 killed in clashes between rival FARC factions. U.S. designates Brazil's two largest criminal gangs “terrorist organizations.” Mexico’s lower house approves constitutional amendment allowing elections to be nullified over foreign interference. Kenyan court suspends U.S. Ebola quarantine facility. Russian drone crashes into Romanian apartment building.
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Iran and Ceasefire
U.S. and Iran near preliminary MOU to extend ceasefire 60 days and open permanent peace talks, reports say: U.S. and Iranian negotiators have drafted a preliminary memorandum of understanding to extend their ceasefire for 60 days and begin negotiations toward permanently ending the war, U.S. officials told Al Jazeera on Thursday—though the framework still requires President Donald Trump’s final approval. The deal, also reported by Axios, entails unrestricted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and a staged U.S. lifting of its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency denied the deal was finalized, with a source close to the negotiations saying “any narrative from Western sources about the finalisation of the matter is not valid” until Iran formally notifies its Pakistani mediator.
An Iranian official confirmed separately to Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill that Tehran had agreed to what mediators said was final draft language of a memorandum of understanding. However, a “deep distrust” of Trump is preventing any official announcement. According to the official, Iran is unable to rule out further U.S.-Israeli strikes. “Some voices on the Iranian side are concerned that President Trump may reconsider his position at the last moment,” the official said, adding that Iran would not consider Trump’s decision final until U.S. “financial markets close at the end of the week.” Iran also warned Trump would likely mischaracterize the privately agreed terms to promote his “victor” narrative.
On Friday morning, Trump said he would be convening a meeting in the Situation Room, reiterating his demands in a post on Truth Social. Iran must “agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” he posted, while also calling for the Strait of Hormuz to be “immediately open, no tolls” to unrestricted shipping, and for any remaining naval mines to be removed or detonated. He said ships affected by what he described as a “our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade” could now “start the process of ‘heading home’.” Trump also said enriched nuclear material buried underground after earlier U.S. strikes would be “unearthed by the United States…in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED,” and added that “no money will be exchanged, until further notice.”
Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator in indirect talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a warning on X on Friday as negotiations continue: “We do not obtain concessions through negotiations. We obtain them with our missiles,” adding that “we have no trust in guarantees or promises, only in actions.” Ghalibaf also said, “We will not take any step before the other side acts first,” and concluded that “the winner of any agreement is the one better prepared for war the next day.”
Oman tells Bessent it has “no plans” to participate in Hormuz toll plan: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the Omani ambassador had assured him the country has “no plans” to participate in any effort to impose fees on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange comes a day after Trump warned that “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up.” Bessent said he warned the ambassador of possible sanctions. Iran has recently denied that it plans to charge tolls, describing its fee framework instead as pilotage and navigation service fees comparable to systems used by Turkey, Australia, and Canada, intended in part to offset war damages.
Trump team quietly developing indirect financing mechanisms for future payment to Iran: With President Donald Trump unwilling to authorize any arrangement that could be framed as a direct cash payment to Iran, his team has been quietly developing alternative financing mechanisms, three anonymous U.S. officials told the New York Times. Gulf Arab states have been lobbied to underwrite Iran’s postwar reconstruction through a $300 billion investment fund, while a separate mechanism under discussion would unfreeze Iranian assets held by Qatar, which would then purchase medicines and feedstock for direct transfer to Iran—both steps requiring U.S. approval.
U.S. oil stockpiles fall for fifth straight week: U.S. commercial crude inventories fell 3.3 million barrels to 441.7 million barrels—about 2% below the five-year seasonal average—for a fifth consecutive week, the Energy Information Administration reported Thursday. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve also dropped by 9.1 million barrels to a total of 365.1 million barrels. Separately on Thursday, Exxon Mobil Senior Vice President Neil Chapman warned that a price spike is “two weeks or three weeks” away, saying inventories are approaching “unheard of” lows and that physical Brent crude could spike to $150–$160 per barrel; Brent futures closed under $94 Thursday as markets held out hope for a U.S.-Iran deal.
Israeli officials privately urge Trump to abandon Iran talks, assassinate lead negotiator, report says: Israeli officials are privately pressing the Trump administration to scrap nuclear negotiations with Iran, assassinate parliament speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and launch a fresh round of strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure, according to reporting from Capital & Empire’s Aída Chávez. Israeli officials reportedly believe renewed attacks could trigger economic collapse and the regime change Israel sought at the outset of the war. Read Chávez’s full piece here.
Lebanon
Casualty count: At least 3,355 people have been killed, and 10,095 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Israeli strikes and forced displacement orders across southern Lebanon:
Israeli strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the National News Agency, including four in an airstrike at the Abbasiyah junction and one in an attack on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr.
A municipal police officer in the town of Aaba was killed in a drone strike on his hometown.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two victims after searching through the rubble of a house struck by Israeli aircraft in Tyre Dibba.
The Israeli military issued forced displacement orders Friday ordering residents of Ansariya, Al-Kharayeb, Shabriha, Sarafand, Adloun, and Baisariya to immediately evacuate north of the Zahrani River, claiming it was “compelled to act forcefully” against Hezbollah in the area.
Israeli strikes kill 31 across Lebanon on Thursday: At least 31 people were killed and 68 wounded Thursday in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
Israeli forces push north of Litani River: The Israeli military crossed the Litani River from the Zawtar and Yuhmur areas on Thursday, deepening the assault on Lebanese territory, according to Press TV correspondent Hadi Hoteit, in an attempt to advance on the Arnon hill and the historic Beaufort Castle area. The move has been questioned by Israeli analysts and former generals, who say that moving into the area puts the army at risk of entering a “kill zone,” where Hezbollah has a strategic advantage—and as Hezbollah has recently achieved what Hoteit called a “micro-air superiority” with its effective use of FPV drones.
UNICEF: 11 children killed or injured by Israel daily in Lebanon: 11 children have been killed or injured every 24 hours over the past week in Lebanon despite a nominal ceasefire, UNICEF said via L’Orient Today. UNICEF described the toll as “staggering,” with spokesperson Ricardo Pires stating on Friday that 15 children were killed and 62 injured in the past seven days, citing figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, adding that “the vast majority of these children were impacted by airstrikes in south Lebanon.” At least seven children were killed and 30 injured on Thursday, according to the Ministry.
Lebanese and Israeli military officials to hold U.S.-brokered security talks: Lebanese and Israeli military officials are set to hold their first security talks on Friday in Washington, D.C., amid Israel’s ongoing military assault in southern Lebanon, according to the Associated Press. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said “nothing can justify” Israel’s continued “assaults” on southern Lebanon, calling for an immediate ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc criticized the talks, saying Lebanon’s authorities were “compromising both sovereignty and rights” and “actively working to obstruct” opportunities linked to regional negotiations involving its ally Iran.
Israel escalates assault on Tyre: At least 15 Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese city of Tyre overnight Wednesday into Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding 17 others in a direct strike on a residential block near the El-Buss Palestinian refugee camp—one of the hardest nights since the start of the war, according to local civil defense official Moussa Shaalan. The assault has triggered another wave of mass displacement from Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage city of around 160,000, where tens of thousands had remained or returned after earlier waves of bombardment; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would “intensify our strikes” and instructed the military to “step on the gas even more.” Read Lylla Younes’ latest for Drop Site here.
Palestine
Israeli attacks on Friday:
Three Palestinians were killed and several injured early Friday after Israeli drones targeted a police checkpoint in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to WAFA.
More civilians were wounded in the Al-Qarara Mawasi area after strikes led to fires igniting in tents sheltering displaced families.
Five people were injured when an Israeli strike hit Al-Yarmouk Street in Gaza City, causing a fire inside a residential building.
Israeli attacks kill at least 14 Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday: Israeli strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians on Thursday across northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Among the attacks, an Israeli drone strike killed at least one person and wounded several others after targeting a group of civilians in Gaza City’s Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Shehab News reported.
Civilians were forced to evacuate areas around Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Deir al-Balah on Thursday. Israeli strikes hit the area’s recently emptied homes and burned tents sheltering displaced families, destroying entire residential blocks, according to Eyad Amawi of the Gaza Relief Committee.
In Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, residents returned to devastation after Thursday evening strikes. Drop Site contributor Abdel Qader Sabbah sent footage of the scene from Al-Shati, available here. One resident told Sabbah that he received a phone call from an Israeli officer ordering the evacuation of an area of roughly 300 meters. The officer claimed a military target was present. “I told him there is no military target. Everyone here is civilian,” the resident said.
Netanyahu orders IDF to expand control to 70% of Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has directed the Israeli military to seize 70% of the Gaza Strip, up from the roughly 60% Israel currently controls which goes beyond the agreed upon “Yellow Line” in the ceasefire agreement. “At this point, we are fully in control of 60%of the territory of the Gaza Strip… and my directive is to get to… 70%,” Netanyahu said in an interview at a conference in the occupied West Bank, while an audience member cheered in the background, urging him to take 100% of the Strip. “Wait, let’s go in order. First 70%. Let’s start with that,” he responded.
Hamas warns ceasefire faces “risk of collapse”: In a statement Thursday condemning an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Gaza City on Wednesday that killed 10 people, including five children and two women, Hamas warned that the recent escalation of hostilities signals Israel’s attempt “to return to the brutal war of extermination that lasted for two full years on Gaza.” Hamas called on the U.S. and ceasefire guarantor countries to condemn Israel’s violations and take “serious and urgent steps” to enforce the agreement.
UN report documents Israeli rape, sexual abuse of Palestinians: A new United Nations report submitted by Secretary-General António Guterres—documenting the sexual abuse of Palestinians in Israeli detention—has added Israeli forces to a list of parties accused of conflict-related sexual violence, according to Haaretz. The report names the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Prison Service, and a border police counterterrorism unit, and documents 31 victims since 2023 from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including men, women, and children. It says the reported abuses included “rape, including with objects, gang rape,” as well as “physical violence to the genitals, instances of targeted shooting of the genitals.” The U.N. cited what it described as a “systematic lack of accountability,” adding that its findings should be viewed as “indicative rather than comprehensive” as Israel continues to deny investigators access and detainees continue to face “explicit threats” from Israeli forces aimed at preventing them from reporting abuse.
Israeli forces shut down Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron: Israeli forces on Friday closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to worshippers in Hebron, the occupied West Bank “until further notice,” according to WAFA. The acting director of the sanctuary, Hammam Abu Morkhia, described the move as a “blatant violation” of the mosque’s sanctity. The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs condemned the closure, warning it reflects attempts to alter the religious and historical status quo in Hebron.
Israel approves major settlement expansion plan in Jordan Valley: Israeli authorities have approved a large-scale settlement expansion plan in the Jordan Valley, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. The commission said the plan targets the Misawa settlement built on Palestinian land in the Al-Far’a Valley area of Jericho and includes 517 new housing units across about 1,692 dunams, along with infrastructure, roads, and public facilities intended to expand the settlement into a fully integrated complex.
France refers Israeli abuse of Gaza flotilla detainees to prosecutor: France has referred the treatment of its nationals detained by Israel last week as a part of the Global Sumud Flotilla to the public prosecutor, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Friday, citing a consular report documenting sexual violence, exposure to cold, beatings, and repeated humiliation of French citizens. The Global Sumud Flotilla was seized by Israeli forces in international waters during an attempt to deliver aid to Gaza; activists report widespread abuse, with at least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape.
Gaza civilians protest WCK meal cuts as Iran war drives up food costs: World Central Kitchen, the largest provider of hot meals in Gaza, halved its daily distribution from roughly one million meals to 500,000 this month, citing financial pressures driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The move leaves thousands of Palestinian kitchen workers suddenly unemployed, sparking protests. “We truly have nothing. Where are we supposed to work? How are we supposed to feed our children? I sit waiting at the community kitchens from 8 in the morning. This is the result,” one man said at a demonstration. Read the latest from Abdel Qader Sabbah and Sharif Abdel Kouddous for Drop Site here.
U.S. News
By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.
AIPAC routes millions to Rep. Haley Stevens through third-party processor: AIPAC has shifted how it funds the Senate primary campaign of Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens, according to a new investigation by the Detroit News. The group is now routing donor money through a third-party processor called Democracy Engine to prevent AIPAC’s name from appearing prominently in campaign filings. A separate pro-Israel super PAC also launched a $5.3 million ad blitz backing Stevens, giving her a financial advantage over progressive challengers Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed.
DOJ sues Massachusetts over refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE: The Justice Department sued Massachusetts Thursday over the state’s refusal to issue confidential license plates to federal immigration agents, arguing the policy discriminates against ICE and CBP in violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause—one of four such lawsuits filed Wednesday and Thursday against Massachusetts, Maine, Washington, and Oregon. Governor Maura Healey rejected the suit as another “specious complaint against political enemies,” arguing that confidential plates are reserved for criminal law enforcement and that ICE’s civil enforcement work does not qualify.
Supreme Court rules 5-4 for Black Mississippi death row inmate: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black death row inmate from Mississippi who argued racial bias tainted the jury that convicted him of capital murder, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for a 5-4 majority. Pitchford’s trial featured 11 white and one Black juror, and was prosecuted by Doug Evans—a now-retired prosecutor with a documented history of dismissing Black jurors. The ruling entitles Pitchford to a new trial in state court.
Collins responds to Platner regarding the Iraq War: Maine Senator Susan Collins answered a claim made by her senatorial opponent, Graham Platner, in a New York Times interview that she sent him to “die in Iraq” by voting for that war. “That was Platner’s decision to serve,” she told a reporter. “He was not drafted.” Platner responded later on Thursday by saying that Collins, “all these years later,” had decided “to blame those of us who, in our late teens and early 20s, signed up to serve our country.”
Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney dropped gun charge against Israeli linked to illegal Nevada biolab: An acting U.S. attorney, appointed by Trump, dropped a federal gun charge against Ori Solomon, an Israeli immigrant arrested during an investigation into a suspected illegal biolab in Nevada, citing the “interests of justice” with no public explanation. The property contained refrigerators filled with unidentified vials and shared similarities with a California lab, which reportedly had samples labeled with diseases including HIV, malaria, and Ebola.
Hundreds protest Jerusalem real estate expo in Manhattan: Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the Hilton Midtown in Manhattan Thursday evening to protest the Jerusalem Comes to NYC real estate expo, which was attended by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and marketed properties in Jerusalem, with organizers accusing sponsors of facilitating Palestinian displacement and promoting settlement expansion. Protesters also opposed a parallel aliyah fair sponsored by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a settler recruitment event encouraging immigration to Israel.
Trump admin moves to vacate enforcement order against Winklevoss twins’ Gemini crypto exchange: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked a New York federal judge Wednesday to vacate a January 2025 consent order against Gemini Trust, calling the original complaint one that “should not have been filed.” The cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who donated to Trump’s 2024 campaign. The order included a $5 million penalty and an injunction barring Gemini from making false statements to the agency, stemming from misrepresentations made in 2017 about a Bitcoin futures contract. Former CFTC Chair Tim Massad called the move “very unusual.”
Other International News
RSF kills at least 30 civilians in North Kordofan attack: Rapid Support Forces attacked several villages near Bara in North Kordofan state on Thursday, killing at least 30 civilians, according to Sudan Tribune. Approximately 20 RSF combat vehicles struck the Al-Murra, Um Saadoun al-Sharif, and Al-Radha areas. Bara, the second-largest city in North Kordofan, is currently under RSF control after changing hands multiple times during the conflict; the Sudanese Armed Forces continue to hold El Obeid, the state capital.
Burhan denies consultations in UAE: Sudanese Sovereignty Council Chairman General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan flatly denied Thursday that any consultations had taken place in Bahrain, calling a recent Middle East Eye report alleging he had signaled readiness to open dialogue with the UAE “completely untrue.”
Guatemala agrees to joint U.S. military strikes on its soil: Guatemala agreed to allow joint U.S. airstrikes and military operations inside its borders targeting alleged drug trafficking groups, with President Bernardo Arévalo signing off on the arrangement in a call with War Secretary Pete Hegseth last week, the New York Times reported on Thursday. The Guatemalan government later denied that report, calling it inaccurate but confirming it had sought a different arrangement. It released a May 28 letter from Defense Minister Henry Saenz to Hegseth stating his country’s “desire” to “lead, with US assistance, active military operations” against U.S.-designated drug trafficking organizations, “in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and arrangements.” Subsequent reporting from El País claimed that the plans were geared toward a media spectacle, with one source telling the Spanish paper, “What they offered us was to select one or two places to carry out bombings and televise it all.”
At least 52 killed in clashes between rival FARC factions: At least 52 guerrilla fighters were killed in clashes between two rival FARC dissident factions vying for control of a cocaine production region in Colombia, according to a statement Thursday by one of the groups involved—the most violent such fighting in recent months. The clashes pitted a faction known as Iván Mordisco against Calarca Córdoba; though the latter group is currently in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro while Iván Mordisco remains in conflict with authorities after Petro suspended a bilateral ceasefire with the faction in 2024.
U.S. designates Brazil’s two largest criminal gangs “terrorist organizations”: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that the Trump administration will designate Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho as Foreign Terrorist Organizations effective June 5. A foreign affairs adviser to the country’s president, Lula da Silva, welcomed international cooperation on money laundering and arms trafficking but warned that any “pretext for intervention” in Brazilian sovereignty would be “unacceptable.” His opponent, the right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, said he personally petitioned for the designations during meetings with U.S. officials in Washington this week.
Mexico’s lower house approves constitutional amendment allowing elections to be nullified over foreign interference: Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved a constitutional amendment Thursday, 307 to 128, that would add foreign interference—defined as illicit financing, disinformation campaigns, digital manipulation, and pressure from foreign governments or media—as grounds for nullifying an election. President Claudia Sheinbaum cited repeated electoral interference from Washington throughout the region. The measure still requires Senate approval and is unlikely to affect the next federal elections in June 2027.
Kenyan court suspends U.S. Ebola quarantine facility: A Kenyan High Court judge suspended a planned U.S. Ebola quarantine facility on Friday, hours before it was set to open, after a human rights group filed a legal challenge arguing the secretive arrangement raised “grave constitutional concerns.” The facility—a 50-bed isolation unit at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 kilometers from Nairobi—intended to quarantine U.S. nationals arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and was established to avoid repatriating exposed Americans to U.S. soil, a policy which drew criticism from U.S. doctors and Kenyan health workers alike. Kenya’s doctors’ union issued a 48-hour strike alert Thursday, warning Kenya should not become a “dumping ground” for Ebola cases.
Russian drone crashes into Romanian apartment building, injuring two: A Russian drone reportedly headed toward Ukraine crashed into a residential building in the Romanian city of Galati overnight Friday, injuring two people and triggering a fire that forced evacuations, in what Romania’s Foreign Ministry called a serious violation of international law. The country’s president, Nicusor Dan, said Romania would not accept Russia’s war “being transferred to its citizens.” NATO, of which Romania is a part, also condemned Russia’s “reckless behaviour” in response to the crash.
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Having crossed every norm known to humanity, Israel has failed among others its' own safety and security. The unending wars it engages will therefore lead to its own downfall.
“Israeli officials privately urge Trump to abandon Iran talks, assassinate lead negotiator, report says.” Has the world not seen this scenario enough? Governments and populations around the globe are affected by this unprovoked Israeli/US war on Iran. It’s past time to bring it to an end.