Links to EIGHT reports: from the Cradle, National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, and NBC News; to a commentary from Middle East Eye; and to a discussion from Consortium News; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE, and down for IRAN 5-30-26.) — MCM
– – –
FROM MAY 29 U.S. lawmakers seek to ‘fuse’ Israeli, U.S. militaries under 2027 defense authorization act. From the Cradle. Lawmakers in Washington are quietly moving to integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries in unprecedented ways, according to a clause in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act released this week. READ MORE . . .
– – –
Trump seeking last-minute changes to draft deal reached with Iran: report. From the Cradle. U.S. President Donald Trump is now asking for “amendments” to the draft deal his envoys negotiated with Iran, informed senior officials and sources told Axios today, following a report the day before saying the president has “toughened” his terms. READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM MAY 30 Trump says a ceasefire extension deal with Iran is near, but core issues remain. Reported by Jane Arraf, Adrian Florido and Jim Kane | NPR President Trump has not yet decided whether he’ll extend a ceasefire with Iran, and Israel continues to attack targets in Lebanon, in spite of a ceasefire there. Click HERE to listen and read.
– – –
FROM MAY 30 Hegseth says U.S. ready to restart strikes on Iran if no deal. From Reuters. SINGAPORE — The U.S. is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal cannot be reached, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran worked to bridge major differences blocking an agreement. READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM MAY 30 U.S. says it struck a commercial ship trying to breach blockade and reach Iran, by Konstantin Toropin | AP WASHINGTON — The U.S. military stopped a merchant vessel trying to break through its blockade of Iranian ports by firing a missile into its engine room, the U.S. Central Command said on Saturday. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others. Click HERE for report from Reuters.
– – –
FROM MAY 30 UAE secretly bombed Iran dozens of times alongside Israel, U.S.: report. From the Cradle. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the UAE carried out “dozens” of covert airstrikes against Iran, collaborating with Israel and the U.S. from the beginning of the war in late February and continuing even after the April ceasefire was declared. READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM MAY 29 Iran may have used Chinese missile to shoot down U.S. fighter jet, sources say, by Dan De Luce, Courtney Kube, Katherine Doyle and Gordon Lubold | NBC News WASHINGTON — The F-15 fighter that was shot down over southwestern Iran last month and set off a dangerous rescue mission was probably struck by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM MAY 30 Israeli claims about an Iran ‘threat’ were always a lie. Now we have proof, by Jonathan Cook | Middle East Eye Could it be that Israel’s 30-year narrative about Iran — one that persuaded U.S. President Donald Trump to wage a criminal and disastrous war of aggression — was always a fiction, an invention cooked up in Tel Aviv? We got a definitive answer last week, care of the New York Times. READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM MAY 30 Watch: The World This Week — ‘Luring Russia into war.’ Joe Lauria of Consortium News spoke again with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer (and former UN weapons inspector) Scott Ritter. Although nearly two hours of Saturday night‘s 140-minute conversation concerns the Russian-Ukraine war from before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to events of the last few days, about 23 minutes near the end deals with developments in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and talks related to ending it. Click HERE for Lauria’s article introducing the discussion and a video of it.
.