Al Jazeera

By Edna Mohamed and Mariamne Everett

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has gained military knowledge from previous hostilities and warned that “a return to war will feature many more surprises.”

    Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting Russian leader Vladimir Putin for talks expected to focus on energy and weapons deals that are heavily influenced by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

    US President Donald Trump has given Iran “two to three days” to reach a deal, as his deputy, JD Vance, said the two sides have made a “lot of progress” in talks.

    Israeli forces have intercepted another boat from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, the 61st so far, as international outrage grows over the abduction of hundreds of activists.

Iran’s near-total internet shutdown enters 82nd day

    The near-total internet blackout in Iran is now in its “82nd day … with the country still largely cut off from the global internet after 1944 hours”, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks.

    Iran’s government imposed the shutdown across the country within hours of the start of the US-Israel war at the end of February, which followed a similar 20-day outage during nationwide antigovernment protests in January.

Israeli jets target towns in Bint Jbeil, Tyre in southern Lebanon

    Israeli warplanes have targeted the town of Ghandouriyeh in the Bint Jbeil district, southern Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

    Another raid was launched in the area between Ghandouriyeh and Abbasiyeh in the Tyre district, and the Israeli army artillery shelled the town of Siddiqin.

Recap

    China’s President Xi told his Russian counterpart Putin that “a comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important” in the US-Israel war on Iran.

    Israeli forces have continued their raids in the occupied West Bank and arrested 20 people from Hizma, east of Jerusalem.

    South Korea’s FM Cho Hyun says a South Korean-operated vessel carrying two million barrels of crude oil is passing through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran.

    Oil prices have fallen after Trump again said that the Iran war would end “very quickly”.

    At least 19 people were killed, and 17 others were wounded in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Israel’s El Al Airlines reports losses due to war on Iran

    El Al Israeli airline has swung to a loss in the first quarter, saying the war on Iran had kept Israel’s airspace largely closed to commercial flights.

    El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, says it lost a net $67m in the January-March period, compared with a net profit of $96m a year earlier.

    El Al said a weak dollar against the shekel and higher fuel costs had also caused revenue in the quarter to fall 27 percent to $562m.

    The Israeli airline said damage from the war totalled $145m, with $90m coming in the first quarter and $55m in the second quarter.

Trump says Iran attack on ‘hold’: What we know about latest negotiations

By Sarah Shamim

    In its previous proposals to end the war, Iran has mentioned charging fees or tolls for vessels seeking to pass through the state. Washington has repeatedly rejected the prospect. In April, the US announced a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, further adding to the disruption of global oil and gas supplies.

    “Since the ceasefire came into effect, both Washington and Tehran appear to be operating under the illusion that time is on their side,” Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

    “Each seems to believe that the blockade and counter-blockade in the Strait of Hormuz impose greater costs on the other, while offering a breathing space to regroup for a possible resumption of hostilities.”

Iran trying to balance diplomacy and confrontation in Hormuz standoff

By Tohid Asadi

Reporting from Qeshm Island, Iran

    Qeshm Island is geostrategically significant when it comes to the new management control and authority that Iran is talking about implementing to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

    Iran says there is a readiness for diplomatic engagement to deal with the standoff, but is also saying it is at a maximum level of preparation when it comes to confrontational scenarios down the road.

    It’s saying any maritime operation is under the control of the IRGC naval forces, and no military ships or vessels are allowed to transit.

    Over the past couple of days, there have been a large number of ships and vessels on both sides of the strait, which has been acting as a parking place for ships, vessels and oil tankers.

What’s the latest from the occupied West Bank

    Israeli forces have continued their raids in the occupied West Bank and arrested 20 people from Hizma, east of Jerusalem, Wafa news agency reported.

    Multiple arrests were made in the Nablus governorate, Ramallah governorate, Arrana, al-Ubeidiya, Qalqilya, Qabatiya and Hebron.

    Israeli settlers cut down electricity poles in the village of Madama, south of Nablus.

    Army bulldozers demolished a cement factory in the village of Kharbatha Bani Harith, west of Ramallah.

    Forces stormed the village of Deir Abu Daif, east of Jenin.

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Putin says China-Russia relations ‘have reached an unprecedented level’

    We can now bring you more from Putin’s opening remarks from his summit with Xi in Beijing.

    Here are some of his key quotes:

    Today, [relations between China and Russia] have reached an unprecedented level, serving as a model of truly comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction.

    Even against the backdrop of unfavourable external factors, our interaction and economic cooperation demonstrate strong momentum. Trade turnover has grown more than 30-fold over the past quarter-century, and has consistently exceeded the $200bn mark for several years in a row.

    The driving force of economic cooperation is Russian-Chinese interaction in the energy sector. Amid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources.

    The comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China in the new era is a model for intergovenmental relations in the modern world …Our goal is the wellbeing and prosperity of the Russian and Chinese peoples. These unshakeable foundations have enabled our relations to successfully withstand repeated tests of strength and resilience.

Xi says ‘comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency’