Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on June 1 that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for any deal with the US to end the Middle East war.
“We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war,” the ministry’s spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, said at a weekly news briefing, as Israel expands its offensive in Lebanon.
Israel is pressing the US to restart heavy airstrikes on Iran that would involve the targeted killing of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Tehran’s lead negotiators, and attacks on the country’s oil infrastructure, Capital & Empire reported on Thursday.
The report, which cited US sources familiar with a classified report circulating within the US intelligence community, said Israel is aggressively pushing for the US to abandon talks with Iran and insisting that destroying oil infrastructure in the country could bring about regime change while also downplaying the impact the renewed full-scale war will have on the global economy.
(May 11, 2026)
Millions of people around the world are demanding that their leaders act to stop Israel’s violations. Humanity must win.
Published annually by the UN, the list includes dozens of state and non-state groups credibly suspected of having engaged “systematically” in sexual violence in countries such as Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Syria and Mali.
Last August, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Israel and Russia of their possible inclusion on the list.
That vessel, the amphibious landing ship INS Nahshon, was built by Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Louisiana and was fully financed by the US government. GSF activists first became aware of what they now call the “torture boat” when it was used to detain members of the previous Gaza-bound flotilla, dozens of whom required medical attention for broken ribs, noses, and other injuries inflicted by Israeli forces.
This time, according to GSF, “detained humanitarians, doctors, and journalists were processed one by one through a darkened shipping container. Inside, groups of three to five soldiers systematically brutalized each person who came through the door while those waiting outside listened to the screams.”
May 24, 2026 INTERNATIONAL – As civilian participants from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) begin landing in their respective home countries and some continue their recovery in Istanbul, the full, devastating scale of the violence executed by the israeli Occupation Forces (iOF) is being laid bare. Following the most recent unlawful interception of the flotilla in international waters on 18 May, newly emerging and harrowing testimonies confirm a coordinated campaign of systematic torture, severe physical and psychological trauma, and targeted gender-based and sexual violence.
(The violence reported in this release covers only the second of two illegal israeli interceptions that took place during the Spring 2026 flotilla mission; the first attack took place on 29 April off the coast of Crete, which also had numerous reports of sexual violence, rape and physical injuries including 35 people requiring medical care for broken noses, ribs and injuries from rubber bullets deployed by it iOF.)
(May 22, 2026)
In what is believed to be the US-built-and-funded INS Nahshon, detainees were “processed” one by one, and taken into darkened containers where groups of iOF commandos brutalised them one by one. Yassine Benjelloun, who had sailed on a previous flotilla mission and expected comparable treatment, described the moment of entry:
„He throws me in a container that is dark, and all of a sudden, I hear, “Welcome to israel. ” And I start getting hit, like first hit on the head, second hit in the ribs, then I fall, then they kick me. And I‘m hearing people screaming, and all of a sudden people stop screaming, and I don‘t see anything, and I don‘t know what‘s going to happen. “ — Yassine Benjelloun
Adrien Berthel, France, described being singled out for targeted humiliation and beating after iOF soldiers noticed he was wearing nail polish and made assumptions about his sexuality.
Veronica Otero, participant number 22 to board, witnessed the processing of nearly all 180 detainees across three days:
„I can say that all were in many ways abused, not one single person walking with nothing. Among them there were 36 fractures, many broken ribs, torso, shoulders, and back. People were in agony. People were not breathing [due to the broken ribs]. „— Veronica Otero
At least 12 sexual assaults have been documented on that vessel alone, including anal rape and forcible penetration by a handgun. iOF soldiers tased volunteers in the face, neck and body, the strikes multiplying with each new group brought in. Multiple volunteers report being photographed during strip searches and guards laughing throughout.
Die USA haben ein Problem. Es ist schlimmer als das Fehlen von Raketen und Bomben, das sich beim Angriffskrieg gegen Iran so bitter bemerkbar machte. Es lautet: Mit der Softpower ist es vorbei, mit dem guten Gefühl, das einst etwa Hollywood-Filme in aller Welt vermittelten. Den besten Beweis dafür lieferte die Eröffnung des neuen US-Konsulats mitten im Herzen der grönländischen Hauptstadt Nuuk am Donnerstag. Nicht nur, dass lokale Offizielle dem Event demonstrativ fernblieben. Obendrein zogen auch noch erstaunlich viele Grönländer vor das von ihnen »Trump Towers« getaufte Gebäude, um die Festlichkeiten mit »Ami go home!«- und »Nein heißt nein!«-Rufen zu stören.
„I was illegally kidnapped by Israel – like 425 other people.“
„Handcuffs on my hands and feet. Dragged me. When I couldn‘t walk, they dragged me on the ground.“
„They hit us. Hurt all of us a lot. Handcuffs so tight my hands lost feeling.“
„They laughed all the time. Super sadistic.“
„Took off my shirt. Took pictures. Mistreated us all night long.“
Then she delivered her message to the world:
„Shame on you. Shame on all of you. Shame on every government that keeps trading with Israel. My government is complicit. Europe is complicit. The whole world is complicit.“
Those genocidal maniacs RAPED humanitarian activist trying to take food and medicine to children in Gaza! And the worst is that even this they escalate to much worse forms with the 9000 Palestinians in israeli dungeons (almost 400 children)!
(…)
He confirms the horrific reality that Arabic and non-white captives were beaten much worse.
(…)
(…)
Catriona Graham was one of hundreds of activists who were detained by Israel this week while trying to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza by boat.
Israel‘s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir later posted a video showing himself taunting the activists as they kneeled with their hands tied behind their backs.
[May 21, 2026] The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) confirms that international volunteers abducted by Israeli forces during the unlawful interception of civilian vessels in international waters have now been released and deported. Two Korean nationals were deported to South Korea, one participant was deported to Egypt, two to Jordan, one Israeli citizen was released inside the country, and the remaining 422 participants were transferred to Istanbul aboard three Turkish Airlines flights arranged by the Turkish government.
While we are relieved that participants are no longer in Israeli custody, we reject any attempt to portray the abuse and degrading treatment witnessed by the world over recent days as isolated misconduct or the actions of extremist officials. The brutality broadcast across social media — including deliberate humiliation, threats, physical violence, degrading treatment, and openly dehumanizing rhetoric directed at unarmed civilians — is not an aberration. It is a manifestation of the same system of settler-colonial violence and impunity that Palestinians have endured for decades while being denied their most basic human rights.
Six countries with citizens among the participants — Italy, France, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain — summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors following the video. Others, including Britain, Germany, Ireland and Portugal, offered condemnation of how the activists were treated.
Several European countries on Wednesday condemned Israel’s assault on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, following the interception of the vessel in international waters and the detention of its participants, describing their treatment as horrific, shocking and appalling.
The condemnations came after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published a video showing dozens of activists kneeling with their hands tied inside the port of Ashdod.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked outrage after confronting detained flotilla activists at Ashdod Port following Israel’s interception of Gaza-bound vessels. Viral footage showed heated exchanges between Ben-Gvir and pro-Palestine protesters, triggering political backlash and fresh diplomatic tensions.
International outcry was sparked after video showed Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir taunting flotilla activists at the Port of Ashdod who were detained in international waters after attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
(May 19, 2026)
The 428 abducted flotilla participants are currently unaccounted for. They have had no contact with legal counsel. They have been denied consular access. Their families have not been informed of their whereabouts.
We call on their governments and world leaders to demand their immediate and unconditional release and to ensure their right to consular and legal access without further delay.
Their detention is an extension of the same system that has kept nearly 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners and hostages held under an even more brutal architecture of confinement, coercion, and colonial violence. What has already been documented is not aberration. It is a pattern. Testimonies from flotilla participants released after the previous interception earlier this month, describe torture, physical assault, and sexual violence.
Independent rights organizations, including Save the Children, have documented that more than half of the Palestinian children detained by israel report sexual abuse, sexualized violence, and systematic torture. This pattern of sexual violence is systematically operating without interruption.
Gaza and the West Bank are where that structure is most illustrative. They are where weapons are tested, surveillance systems refined, and techniques of enclosure normalized before being exported into policing regimes, border infrastructures, prison systems, and governance models across the world.
The largest civilian flotilla in the history of support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank was illegally attacked and boarded by Israeli navy forces, beginning at 10:30am Türkiye time, Monday, May 18, 2026.
Multiple large Israeli warships disgorged a large number of zodiac boats filled with combat laden Israeli Offensive Forces.
At this point, nine hours into the illegal attack, the combat Israeli military personnel forcefully boarded 27 of the ships in the flotilla organized by Global Sumud Flotilla, Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is planning to invite representative from four Gulf states to the summit in Ankara with the Iran war and the transatlantic rift likely to loom large over the talks, said people familiar with the matter.
The countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, a partnership between NATO and non-members in the broader Middle East.
UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and UK MP Nigel Farage discussed bilateral ties, regional security and recent attacks on the UAE
Bloomberg reported that the United Arab Emirates unsuccessfully attempted to persuade fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to join a coordinated military campaign against Iran during the early stages of the US-Israeli war.
According to the report, Abu Dhabi sought support from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman for a joint response following Iranian retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the region.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned the United States and the Israeli regime against attempting fresh military action against Iran, saying past confrontations had failed to achieve their objectives and any future attempt would yield the same outcome.
(May 14, 2026)
Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag.
Previous statements doubting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the past 25 years have been met with immediate derision from senior government officials, including the president.