It’s been a week where, 90 days into the conflict and ceasefire stand-off with Iran, both Tehran and Washington are insisting time is on their side — each claiming the other needs a deal more urgently. Pressure is growing on the Trump administration with soaring energy prices and midterm elections approaching, while Iran is reportedly losing huge oil revenues with tankers backed up in port. Reports suggested a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was close, before the US struck Iran’s southern coast, calling it self-defence against mine-laying boats and drone launch sites. Tehran threatened retaliation, US bases in Kuwait were targeted within hours, and talks over a wider deal continue tonight.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli operations in Lebanon will intensify despite the supposed truce, with more than 120 airstrikes launched in a single day and Beirut hit again for the first time in weeks. The UN has described the scale of destruction as horrific.
It’s also been another high-profile week for Xi Jinping, as Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić received China’s Friendship Medal alongside fresh Chinese investment worth a billion euros. But while there were celebrations in Beijing, there were mass anti-government protests in Belgrade, with demonstrators blaming corruption and opaque Chinese-backed infrastructure deals after the deadly collapse of a train station canopy that killed sixteen people.
And it’s been a sweltering week across Western Europe as a record-breaking May heatwave sent Parisians diving into the Seine and Canal Saint-Martin for social media clicks — despite police handing out fines to anyone caught jumping into the water.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP and ex-husband of Nicola Sturgeon, pleaded guilty to embezzling party funds on what police described as a lavish lifestyle he couldn’t afford.
Produced by Gavin Lee, Théophille Vareille, Emmanuel Miculita, Guillaume Gougeon, Alessandro Xenos and Laura Burloux
