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Shin Bet officials threaten to resign over Israeli PM’s appointment of new chief

Benjamin Netanyahu

Field coordinators responsible for the Jerusalem and West Bank sectors stated they are considering resigning in closed-door discussions, describing the potential appointment as a “political move” that undermines the agency’s professional integrity.

They emphasized that Zini’s views are incompatible with Shin Bet’s values.

Although no formal resignations have been submitted, the threat marks significant dissent within the ranks of Israel’s secret security body.

On Thursday, Netanyahu announced the appointment of David Zini as the new head of the Shin Bet security agency, defying a Supreme Court ruling and the Attorney General’s directive that the dismissal of current chief Ronen Bar was unlawful.

The Israeli government dismissed Bar in March, but the Supreme Court issued a temporary order preventing his dismissal or the announcement of a replacement until it reviewed petitions filed by the opposition against the decision.

On April 28, however, Bar announced that he would leave his post on June 15.

The dispute comes as the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

China supplying Russian military factories with chemicals, gunpowder, components: Ukraine

Putin and Xi

“We have confirmed data on 20 Russian factories,” he told Ukrinform in an interview.

China has strengthened ties with Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, becoming Moscow’s leading supplier of dual-use goods that bolster Russia’s defense industry.

Ivashchenko told Ukrinform that as of early 2025, 80% of critical electronic components used in Russian drones were of Chinese origin. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service has also recorded at least five instances of China providing equipment and spare parts to service Russia’s military aviation industry.

While China has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the war, it has simultaneously criticized the U.S. and its allies for “exacerbating” the war by supplying weapons to Ukraine. NATO has labeled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s aggression.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had recently claimed that China is supplying weapons to the Russian military. His statement marks Kyiv’s first confirmation that Beijing supports Russia’s war effort by providing weapons.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations earlier this month, the two countries agreed to “strengthen coordination in order to decisively counter Washington’s course of ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China.”

The two countries also vowed to “contribute to the establishment of peace in Ukraine,” while addressing the “root causes” of the war — alluding to maximalist phrasing regularly used by Russia to justify its full-scale invasion.

Kyiv has presented Beijing with evidence that Chinese citizens and companies have participated in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, which China dismissed as “groundless accusations and political manipulations.”

Ukraine enacts new sanctions targeting propagandists, criminal networks, Russian financiers

In a Facebook post, Zelensky outlined the scope of the latest measures, which aim to penalize Russian individuals and networks supporting the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.

The first package targets individuals involved in financing terrorism, financial fraud, and sanctions evasion schemes that benefit Russia. The second focuses on “propagandists whose lies fuel Russia’s attacks on Ukraine,” according to Zelensky. A third package applies to members of Russian criminal organizations that support President Vladimir Putin’s regime and have established close ties with it.

Zelensky stressed that these actions are part of Ukraine’s broader strategy to align with international partners.

“Ukraine continues to coordinate its sanction decisions with the sanction regimes of the European Union and other key global jurisdictions,” the president added.

In addition to announcing the new packages, Zelensky enacted a separate decree sanctioning several individuals. These include Oleksandr Bohuslayev, son of Motor Sich’s former president Vyacheslav Bohuslayev, former Member of Parliament Ihor Mosiychuk, and the owner of the Russian online casino Pin-Up.

Bohuslayev was recently detained in Monaco on fraud charges linked to a $650 million asset scheme, according to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). Vyacheslav Bohuslayev, the former president of Motor Sich, Ukraine’s leading aircraft engine manufacturer, is kept in custody since 2022 on charges of collaboration with Russia.

Mosiychuk has publicly blamed Ukraine’s leadership for the Russian invasion, claiming the war could have been prevented through diplomacy. He accuses Zelensky’s administration of failing to prepare for the invasion and often disputes official reports on Russian attacks, alleging that authorities are lying about shelling incidents. Mosiychuk’s statements have often been picked up and circulated by Russian propaganda outlets.

US president hints at ‘good news’ on Gaza war

Gaza War

“I think we could have some good news on the Iran front, likewise with Hamas on Gaza,” he told reporters before he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey.

“We want to see if we can stop that, and Israel. We’ve been talking to them and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation,” he added.

The Israeli army, dismissing international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Aluminum company in Iran fined for pollution, ordered to plant 100,000 trees

Iran Air Pollution

The sentence is part of a broader environmental penalty aimed at compensating for the company’s damage to public health and the environment.

In addition to the large-scale reforestation effort, IRALCO has been fined five times the assessed environmental damages, with the sum payable to the Iranian government treasury.

The company is also required to maintain approximately one hectare of existing urban green space located near its facilities in Arak, central Iran.

The public service measures will be carried out under the supervision of the Arak municipality and the local Natural Resources Office.

The case followed a formal complaint by Arak’s Environmental Protection Department and was pursued due to the serious health risks posed by the company’s emissions. After a detailed investigation and expert review, IRALCO was found guilty of threatening public health through air pollution.

Judicial authorities reaffirmed their commitment to environmental accountability and warned that repeat offenses would result in more severe legal consequences.

Nearly 50 killed in Israeli attacks on shelter, home in Gaza

Gaza War

A medical source told Anadolu news agency that the death toll from the Israeli airstrike on the Fahmi Al-Jirjawi school, which shelters displaced people, in Gaza City’s al-Daraj neighborhood has risen to 30.

A fire swept through the tents following the bombing, according Al-Aqsa TV and other local sources.

Eyewitness videos circulated online, showing burned bodies, many of them children, and others crying out as flames consumed their surroundings.

“Charred corpses and the screams of displaced people engulfed in flames were seen and heard from the site,” one report said.

In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed the attack, claiming that Hamas has turned the shelter into a “command and control center”. It, however, did not provide any proof to support its claim.

Meanwhile, in another deadly air raid, 19 more people were killed and others injured in an Israeli attack on a home in Jabalia town, northern Gaza, according to a medical source.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli strike “completely destroyed” a multi-story building, with dozens of displaced people residing inside.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

US negotiators had good talks with Iran: Trump

Donald Trump
“I think we could have some good news on the Iran front,” Trump told reporters at the Morristown, New Jersey, airport as he prepared to return to Washington after a weekend at his Bedminster golf club.
Trump added serious progress had been made. He did not elaborate on the talks in Rome between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and an Iranian delegation.
“I don’t know if I’ll be telling you anything good or bad over the next two days, but I have a feeling I might be telling you something good,” he continued.

Delegations from the U.S. and Iran wrapped up a fifth round of talks on a potential new nuclear agreement in Rome on Friday.

Iranian officials have also described the most recent negotiations as positive.

Iran summons French chargé d’affaires over ‘meddlesome’ Cannes comments

Following French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot’s “insulting remarks and unfounded allegations,” Head of the Second Department for Western Europe at Iran’s Foreign Ministry Mohammad Tanhaei summoned the diplomat on Sunday.

During the meeting, Tanhaei said the allegations leveled by the French minister were a “blatant interference in Iran’s internal affairs.”

He condemned “irresponsible and provocative” comments and called on the French Foreign Ministry to give an official explanation in this regard.

The Iranian diplomat also condemned the French government’s exploitation of the cinematic event to advance its own political objectives against Iran.

“The French government, as one of the main supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) in the continuation of gross violation of human rights and humanitarian law, particularly the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, has no moral authority at all to make human rights claims and accuse others,” Tanhaei emphasized.

The French diplomat, for his part, said he will convey Tehran’s protest to his government.

Iranian Director Jafar Panahi’s film, It Was Just an Accident, has been awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

In an interfering comment, the French foreign minister said in a French post on his X account that the film would reignite “hope for freedom fighters around the world.”

‘I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin’: Trump

“He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump said to reporters at an airport in New Jersey before returning to Washington.

“I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin, I’ve known him for a long time…”

Trump’s comments followed Russia’s massive air attack on Ukraine over the weekend, during which more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles were launched from Friday to Sunday in one of the heaviest attacks of the war to date.

At least 12 people were killed, including three children, and 79 injured in strikes that targeted numerous cities including Kyiv overnight on May 25. The Russian forces attacked the city of Kyiv, as well as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Poltava regions. More than 80 residential buildings have been damaged.

Trump, who has pushed for a ceasefire in the war now in its fourth year, recently held a two-hour phone call with President Putin during which Russia reiterated its refusal for a full ceasefire in the war in Ukraine while the U.S. failed to respond with any significant pressure.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump once again stated that new sanctions on Moscow could be on the table.

“I’ve always gotten along with him,” Trump said of Putin.

“But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people (…) We’re in the middle of talking and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don’t like it at all,” he added.

In a new Truth Social post later that day, Trump said Putin has gone “absolutely” crazy and warned that if he didn’t stop his actions, it could bring about the collapse of Russia.

“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”

Trump then shifted his attention to President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has frequently criticized. Zelensky had earlier condemned the lack of response from the U.S. and other nations following Russia’s latest missile and drone assault. Zelensky called for stronger sanctions on Russia and added that “America’s silence, and the silence of others around the world, only encourages Putin.”

“Likewise, President Zelensky is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does,” Trump wrote, adding, “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”

Earlier in the day, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg reacted to Russia’s overnight large-scale attack on Ukraine, calling for the end to hostilities.

“The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful,” Kellogg said on X without explicitly naming Russia.

“Stop the killing. Ceasefire now,” he added.

 

Iran’s Ex-deputy FM: Final draft agreement reached in 2022, but delayed by Ukraine war

Ali Bagheri Kani

“When President Raisi took office, negotiations were already underway. The new administration decided to continue the talks, insisting that Iran’s strategic demands be addressed,” Bagheri said. He added that by March 2022, “a mutually accepted framework was finalized.”

However, the escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine created a pause in the process. “Later in September 2022, a final draft was agreed upon in New York during our meetings with representatives from the UK, France, Germany, and the EU,” Bagheri stated.

He added that the deal was expected to be signed after the U.S. midterm elections in November 2022, but “miscalculations in Washington” derailed that outcome.

He noted that internal U.S. concerns—including claims that the draft gave Iran more concessions than the original JCPOA—hindered Washington’s seriousness in sealing the deal.

“In 2023, the U.S. sought to avoid both a deal and a crisis. That’s what led to the indirect talks in Muscat,” Bagheri concluded.