U.S. fires shots again at Iran

• A new and symbolic mural design unveiled at Palestine Square in Tehran. The mural features a Rorschach-inspired design symbolizing the downfall of the zionist regime. The design came following a message from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, regarding the eventual collapse of the Zionist entity. 
• Iranian military: 'The terrorist US military in the region violated the ceasefire by firing several missiles at empty areas of Bandar Abbas Airport, which caused no damage. In response to this aggression, the US airbase in Kuwait from which the attack originated was struck in retaliation. If this action by the terrorist US military is repeated, it will face our harsh response.'
• Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri: 'Our region would be the most stable region in the world without the US. The success of negotiations depends on ending the United States’ policy of arrogance and imposing conditions. The current problem in the region is US interference and the presence and influence of zionists. The recent war showed that the Strait of Hormuz created a route for threatening the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Under such circumstances, Iran, as an independent sovereign state, has the right to protect its security and national sovereignty and not allow them to be violated or threatened. From the American perspective, peace is linked to securing their illegitimate interests. The US attack on a school in Minab showed that America’s claims about human rights are completely false, and that they place no value whatsoever on human beings and their rights.'

• Doron Kadosh, Israeli army correspondent: 'The escalation in Beirut is based on an American request; it is important to remember.'
• Trump openly threatened Oman: 'The Strait of Hormoz will be open to everyone and no one will control it. Oman will behave like everyone else, otherwise we will have to blow them up.'  Oman is now working directly with Iran to control Hormoz which borders their shores.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would continue tightening what he called a “financial stranglehold” on Iran. “Through Economic Fury, the US has imposed a financial stranglehold on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” Bessent said. The press release also warned against payments or cooperation connected to passage through the Strait, including tolls, digital assets, swaps or other in-kind arrangements. The move comes as the US fails to subjugate Iran with unhinged threats, outright military aggression and ceasefire violations. Nonetheless, the US continues expanding its sanctions campaign while claiming to negotiate with Iran.

• According to an informed source close to the negotiation team: Iran's frozen assets that must be released during the negotiations are estimated at $24 billion. Iran insists that half of it should be released upfront with the start of the memorandum announcement and the rest transferred within 60 days.
• Informed sources for Fars News say that Trump may unilaterally announce within the next few hours that the Iran-US agreement has been finalized. If he does, this is seen as an attempt to apply pressure and impose the agreement on public opinion before all differences are fully resolved.

Covering all the bases at our weekly vigil in Brunswick, Maine today

• The United States has reimposed sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese for revealing the Israeli regime’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.

• Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called for a change in European policy regarding the conflict in Ukraine. "Personally, I am concerned that Europe is striving to achieve victory over the largest nuclear power, having the ability to intercept and counter modern hypersonic weapons. This is a serious risk. It is necessary to change the general policy", stated Radev. The Bulgarian Prime Minister also stated that he supports negotiations between EU countries and Moscow.
• Latvia is installing 'dragon teeth' on the border with Russia and digging anti-tank ditches. They are designed to prevent the movement of military equipment across the border. Construction of the fortifications is planned to be completed by 2028. The total length of Latvia's border with Russia and Belarus is about 450 kilometers. This year, only 8 km are planned to be fortified. Why is Latvia worried about an invasion by Russia? Could it be that since Latvia joined NATO they are part of a planned European war against Russia in the coming years?  

• European Commissioner for Integration Marta Kos stated that Zelensky's demand for “Ukraine to join the EU next year is unfeasible," Financial Times reports. European leaders have repeatedly pointed out the inconsistency of Ukrainian legislation with European standards and stated that one of the mandatory conditions for considering Ukraine's membership is thorough reform.

• Zelensky's patriotic recruitment continues on a daily basis. This eager recruit in Odessa willingly joins the ranks for the frontline defense of the mafia regime in Kiev. Good luck brother....  

• Report by CNN correspondent Nick Paton Walsh was released four days after the tragedy in Starobelsk, Russia but it had been prepared in advance. The implications cannot be more serious. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s complete statement: "As you know, CNN did not travel to Starobelsk last Sunday, citing logistical reasons. Yesterday CNN revealed what they were actually working on while correspondents from around the world were documenting the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attack on the dormitory and teaching block of a pedagogical college in the Lugansk People's Republic. CNN correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, who has been indicted in absentia in Russia for participating in the Kursk incursion, was filming a promotional segment about Kiev’s drone strikes on Russian cities. The piece was prepared slightly in advance but aired on May 26, four days after the Starobelsk strike that killed more than twenty people. Neither the anchors nor Walsh mentioned it with a single word. Instead the segment ran as a full advertisement for the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones: 'We are now next to perhaps the most wanted target in Russia, a Ukrainian long-range drone strike unit. Tonight they will launch 200 drones at Russia. These drones have already struck Stavropol.' That passing detail about Stavropol is significant. It suggests Walsh may have been embedded with the Ukrainian unit at the exact moment it was coordinating the planned strike on the college in Starobelsk. Kiev’s drones hit Stavropol the day before the Starobelsk attack. The Armed Forces Ukraine hired CNN to film their drone killers at work. When Russia invites CNN to document the aftermath of Ukrainian drone strikes, the killing of civilians including children and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, American journalists cite vacations, logistics and so on. Meanwhile there is a strong likelihood that CNN correspondents were filming the preparation for that very attack. Their audience, the channel has decided, should not know about the consequences. This is not journalism. CNN has different priorities now: propaganda, distortion, manipulation, not informing its audience. This is exactly how the Völkischer Beobachter [daily newspaper published by the Nazi Party] operated in 1944. Its editorial policy was coordinated with the propaganda apparatus, its staff saluted and celebrated the achievements of German arms, and until 1945 reported on the imminent victory of the Reich over the USSR and the Allies. Anything that did not fit the narrative simply did not exist. After the collapse of the Hitler regime, the Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced the editor of the Völkischer Beobachter to spend the rest of his life in labor camps. This is how the Western mainstream manufactures a deliberately distorted picture of the world today.” 

• Netanyahu: 'We are now in 60% of the Gaza Strip, more or less. We were at 50%; now we’ve moved to 60%. My directive is to move to'... Audience: 100! 100!... Netanyahu: 'Wait, let’s go in order. First 70%. Let’s start with that.'

• Washington Post: Trump’s approval plunges among his white working-class base. In a striking shift, white voters without college degrees who voted to reelect Trump by a huge margin are now net-negative on his job approval. Could it be that these folks are realizing their 'prez' has done virtually nothing for them while he has made sure the top 1% are getting all the economic breaks?