IRAN - So the US war with Iran isn’t over, after all. The resumption of direct hostilities between Tehran and Washington, prompted by the Iranians downing a US Apache helicopter, has the usual suspects in the West once again claiming the conflict was a momentous mistake. They have ignored the extent of the damage done to Iran’s military infrastructure and nuclear programme, they have downplayed the threat the Iranians pose not just to their neighbours but to the rest of the world, and they have treated the ayatollahs as victims of unprovoked American aggression.

MIDDLE EAST - From that perspective, Iran has become “a very self-confident player” since the war and especially since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran believes it can survive confrontation with the United States and Israel, Zimmt said, while using its leverage over energy routes, regional proxies, and missile capabilities to force recognition of its position. Zimmt said it was increasingly clear that Iranian leaders believed they could not only survive a confrontation with the United States and Israel but also turn it to their advantage. “It became more and more evident that the Iranian leadership has reached the conclusion that not only can it survive this confrontation with the US and Israel, but can actually use that in order to create a better situation and perhaps even some kind of regional architecture which would recognize Iran’s leverage and Iran’s ability to inflict major pain, not just to its regional neighbors, but also to the global economy,” he said.

SPAIN - As Pope Leo XIV concludes the first leg of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, Archbishop of Madrid, offers Vatican News his reflections on the warm response of young people and politicians to the Pope’s four days in Madrid. "I believe the Pope has grown as a moral authority and ethical model, with his proposals, with the Church’s proposals on the European political scene. The Pope invited us not to look to the past, not to rely exclusively on Spain’s Catholic cultural heritage, but to look to the future."

NORTH KOREA - President Xi and the North Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, have promised to work together more closely after the Chinese leader visited Pyongyang and issued a thinly disguised call for a strengthened alliance against America and Japan. Statements by the two sides published in their official media made broad affirmations of the two countries’ “invincible” friendship and socialist principles. But there was no mention of the subject western governments were most concerned with — Kim’s growing nuclear missile arsenal. According to China’s Xinhua news agency, Xi “pointed out that China and [North Korea], linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common future, have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger over time through the test of the evolving international landscape”.

UK - Farmers may stop growing food without taxpayer support for fertiliser costs, ministers have been warned. The blockading of the Strait of Hormuz has put significant strain on availability, as around a third of the world’s supply comes through the crucial maritime passageway. The price of ammonium nitrate fertiliser has increased by as much as 36 percent since the war began, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, and is currently around £495 per ton. Arable farmers can easily use a half ton of fertiliser across a three-acre area. The NFU has called on the Government to give farmers direct support if the fertiliser price goes above £500 per ton, a price that has been reached multiple times during the conflict. The farmers’ union wants 70 percent of the cost above £500 per ton to be funded by the Government, with support capped at £50,000 – an arrangement that mirrors taxpayer support for farmers in Europe.

UK - The British state is apparently short of money. The Armed Forces, for example, have been starved of funds for decades. Warships languish in dock for years on end, essential capabilities are not replaced when they wear out, buildings are falling down. Things are no better in other areas. Police stations, schools and courts are often as poorly maintained as the defence estate. The Government plans to reduce jury trials, fairly obviously to save a small amount of money. Roads are potholed, the railways don’t always work, and street lights are turned off. Every possible saving is made.

USA - President Donald Trump boasted on a call with South Carolina voters Monday night that the US will declare 'total victory' over Iran in the next two weeks. Trump gave an updated timeline on the Iran war during a tele-rally in support of hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is trying to avoid a runoff in Tuesday's GOP Senate primary in the Palmetto State. 'We've been a very tough team,' Trump said. 'And I think we are winning that battle. But you're really going to win it over the next two weeks when we declare total victory.' 'It will happen very soon and oil prices will come tumbling down,' the President added. Trump originally told the Daily Mail in late February that the Iran war would last about four weeks, but it's now lasted more than three months - with gas prices around the country soaring.

MIDDLE EAST - Just as President Trump has warned, US Central Command has just tweeted confirmation that the US military began 'self defense' strikes against Iran: "US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 pm ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression." The extent of the latest strikes wasn’t immediately clear but they further undercut an already fragile ceasefire signed in April. A US official tells Fox that airstrikes targeting Iran are "ongoing" and targets include air defenses and radar installations.

MIDDLE EAST - It doesn’t matter how capable the US military is, Iran is winning in the Strait of Hormuz. Freedom of navigation has been reduced to nearly zero since March 1 with commercial transits at a fraction of pre-war levels. Both Iran and later the US have imposed blockades but Tehran has the whip hand for now. You can have the most formidable military in the world, and the US does, but against an agile enemy playing on home turf, force alone cannot drive the threat down to a level that will be tolerated by shipping companies.

USA - Abolish the Fed, the root of inflation, debt, and the destruction of the dollar. In 1913, the year the Federal Reserve was established, an ice cream cone typically cost about $0.05 (a nickel), while the average American home cost around $2,500 to $3,500 to purchase or build. Today, the national average cost of an ice cream cone is about $4.00 to $5.50 for a single scoop, while the median sale price of an existing single-family home in the United States is approximately $404,300.

CANADA - Canada’s new bill to restrict hate speech would remove protections for the Bible, meaning that posting or carrying a placard quoting Leviticus or other scriptures condemning LGBTQ behavior, or possibly even claiming there are only two genders, could be considered hate speech, a jailable offence. Since the existence of only two genders and the fact that a baby is a living, breathing human life inside its mother’s womb are scientific facts, ostensibly citing scientific textbooks could also be jailable if those facts hurt someone’s feelings.

USA - Half a century after Steven Spielberg challenged audiences to think about what lies beyond the starry canopy that defines our universe in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the director is again challenging accepted precepts of faith and singular belief in a supreme being. His new film Disclosure Day sees him revisit the possibility of aliens: “I absolutely think that they have been here, and they are here,” he outlined in an interview with CBS News. Spielberg – who directed and co-produced the movie – feels Christians will find themselves asking of their faith and their beliefs as the movie takes the absolute position of the Church. He says the questions need answers or will Christians simply see the work as a piece of entertainment predicated on Hollywood’s self-serving need to make money while touching on personal fears.

MIDDLE EAST - While the Strait of Hormuz has been blockaded by both the US and Iran for the past three months due to the conflict in Iran, oil futures haven't risen to the dangerous levels that some experts have forecast. An analysis by JPMorgan suggests that this may be due to a large amount of crude slipping through the double blockade by way of tankers transiting the strait with their transponders turned off to avoid detection, CNN reported. JPMorgan estimates that about 2.1 million barrels per day over the final two weeks of May made it onto the market as a result of these "clandestine flows." This is a small but impactful part of the 15.6 million barrels per day that flowed through the strait prior to the war. Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, told CNN that these clandestine flows aren't enough to avoid large inventory draws, but they are taking some of the edge off the impacts of the blockades.

RUSSIA - The St Petersburg International Economic Forum has once again emerged not only as Russia’s premier business gathering but also as one of the clearest reflections of the profound changes reshaping the global economy and international politics. Increasingly, the spotlight at SPIEF falls on the countries of the Global South, whose influence in world affairs continues to expand. This trend is particularly visible in Russia’s engagement with the Arab world. In recent years, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have each served as the forum’s guest country. This year, that role was entrusted to Saudi Arabia. This underscores both the remarkable progress in Russian-Saudi relations and the Kingdom’s growing importance in global politics, energy markets, and international finance.

USA - US President Donald Trump reportedly warned his long-time ally that he may be fighting alone if Israel went back to war with Iran. US President Donald Trump has issued another warning to long-time ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. Trump reportedly called Netanyahu and warned that he may be fighting alone if Israel went back to war with Iran. The Middle East has been the site of strike exchanges since February 28, when the US and Israel carried out joint attacks on Iran. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the region and closing the Strait of Hormuz trade route, disrupting global markets.His warning comes after Israel disobeyed Trump's orders not to attack Iran after the Arab nation launched a barrage of missiles on Sunday, the biggest escalation since a short-term ceasefire was brokered in April. Trump's threat appears to have worked. Netanyahu said on Monday that his country is holding off attacks on Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon "for now", The Mirror reported.