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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to participate in the UN General Assembly in New York this September, according to Sky News Arabia.
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❗️Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi after meeting with Lebanese Speaker Parliament Nabih Berri:
– “Relations between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran have always been very strong, both at the government and popular levels."
– “The Islamic Republic of Iran fully supports Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity."
– “We look forward to establishing relations based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs."
– “We condemn the occupation of parts of Lebanese territory and support Lebanon’s efforts to expel the occupier."
– “Lebanon can count on Iran in its efforts to liberate its land and in reconstruction."
– “Iranian companies are ready to take part in reconstruction efforts if the Lebanese government is willing."
– “We support dialogue and national unity, and we back any decision reached by the Lebanese sects."
❗️Bulgarian hotel manager tells Israeli couple: ‘I wish you would burn in hell’
An Israeli couple staying at a small hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, alleged that they received a “hate-filled message” from the hotel manager after complaining about poor service, including being denied toilet paper.
After returning to Israel, the couple received a WhatsApp message from the hotel owner reading: “Damn you, I wish you would burn in hell. You don’t need toilet paper, you are the most disgusting animals on the planet.” They reported the incident to the Bulgarian embassy and local police, but no action has been taken.
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– “40 martyrs, including 1 martyr who was recovered and 208 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals during the past 24 hours."
– “The death toll and injuries since 18 March 2025 has reached 4,240 martyrs and 12,860 injuries."
WATCH | The moment Israeli tanks opened direct fire on civilians seeking aid west of Rafah.
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⭕ Iran launches trade policy council to boost investment in Iraq
Iran formally launched a Trade Policy Council for Iraq on 2 June, aiming to cut the trade imbalance by half and deepen private sector engagement. This follows Iran’s growing interest in expanding its footprint across 14 Iraqi provinces.
Officials said the council will streamline joint ventures, transport, and customs operations while addressing investor concerns around ownership, banking, and guarantees. Iraq's ambassador to Iran highlighted $70bn in potential projects, with energy, housing, and industry topping the list.
(Tehran Times)
❗️WATCH | Two children rescued from rubble after Israeli strike on Gaza City
A five-year-old boy, his infant brother, and their mother were pulled out alive after spending hours trapped beneath the rubble of their home, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City late Monday. Rescue workers managed to extract the family despite widespread devastation in the area.
Trump says ‘no enrichment allowed’ in any nuclear deal with Iran
Reports from this week say Iran is planning to reject a new US proposal for a nuclear agreement
⭕️ Turkiye’s inflation drops to 35.4%, lowest since late 2021
Turkey’s annual inflation fell to 35.4 percent in May, its lowest level since November 2021, according to official data released Tuesday, continuing a year-long trend of easing price pressures and raising prospects for a central bank rate cut.
The Turkish central bank had hiked interest rates to 46 percent in April amid political tensions and currency volatility. But with inflation declining for the 12th consecutive month, some analysts now expect monetary easing to resume as early as June.
The ENAG group of independent economists disputes the official figure, estimating May’s inflation at a much higher 71.2 percent.
❗️Gaza Civil defense: Baby formula, medicine among essentials missing
Mahmoud Basal, the Gaza civil defense spokesperson said:
– “We don’t find baby formula or medicine.”
– “There is absolutely no food in the Strip and we are struggling to get drinking water.”
– “We demand that blood units be sent from outside the Gaza Strip to save the wounded, as most donors suffer from malnutrition.”
(Al Jazeera)
❗️Statement by Hamas:
"The massacre committed by the occupation in the “Alam area” in Rafah is a deliberate act of genocide added to its dark record.
The occupation is using the "Israeli-American mechanism" as death traps to starve, kill, and forcibly displace our people.
The number of martyrs at aid distribution centers has risen to 102 in just 8 days, in one of the most heinous mass killing crimes.
This mechanism, which degrades human dignity, turns a food package into a deadly gamble that could cost a person their life.
We call on the United Nations to halt this deadly mechanism and to open safe humanitarian corridors under international supervision, away from occupation control.
We urge leaders of Arab and Islamic nations, and all free people of the world, to take immediate action to force the entry of aid and stop the massacres."
GHF denies involvement after Israel commits new massacre near Gaza aid site
At least 27 Palestinians were shot dead and nearly 100 others injured in a new Israeli attack on the GHF distribution site in Rafah
⭕ Iranian foreign minister arrives in Beirut, reaffirms support for Lebanon amid Israeli strikes
Today, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Beirut, voicing strong support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and stressing Iran’s stance of non-interference. He called Lebanon’s independence crucial for the region, especially as Israeli violations continue.
His visit comes as Israel continues its attacks across Lebanon. Iran condemned the attacks, criticized global silence over ceasefire breaches, and urged regional states to push back against Israeli aggression.
⭕️ US house republicans call for sanctions on Iraq over ties to Iran
On 28 May, US house republicans Joe Wilson and Greg Steube urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to impose sanctions on Iraqi officials and entities, including Finance Minister Taif Sami Mohammad, for allegedly aiding Iranian control of Iraq’s political system.
The lawmakers also proposed conditioning all US aid to Iraq on Baghdad’s rejection of “Iranian involvement in its internal affairs.”
❗️New video footage has surfaced showing an Israeli tank advancing toward a group of starving Palestinians at a US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid site in Rafah before opening fire on them Sunday morning.
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US army continues drawdown of Syria occupation bases
Washington’s ambassador to Turkiye said in an interview that the US will reduce its presence from eight bases to just one
⭕️ Israeli forces have killed at least 102 Palestinians and wounded nearly 500 at US-Israeli-run aid sites operated by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since its launch on 27 May, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
UN officials and rights groups have increasingly described these areas as “death traps,” with scenes resembling starving civilians being herded “like animals in pens.”
The aid distribution points, set up without independent oversight, have been criticized for turning humanitarian assistance into a mechanism for mass killing.
❗️Most Germans support suspending arms exports to Israel amid Gaza war: Poll
A new survey shows that 58 percent of Germans support a temporary suspension of arms exports to Israel due to its ongoing war on Gaza.
The poll, conducted by INSA for the Avaaz campaign group between 28 and 30 May, surveyed 1,001 respondents. Only 22 percent opposed the measure, while 19 percent were undecided or did not respond.
BREAKING | Five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a tent housing displaced civilians in the Remal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, according to medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital cited by Al Jazeera.
At least 40 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip have been killed in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
❗️Footage shows the extent of the destruction in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood, east of Jabalia camp, north of Gaza.
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⭕️ The UN human rights office stated today that deliberately blocking civilians in Gaza from accessing food and humanitarian aid could amount to a war crime, condemning the targeting of people seeking aid as unacceptable.
"For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation'," said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
❗️Israeli settlement minister and Cabinet member Orit Strook:
"Iran's continued uranium enrichment poses a danger to the free world and to Israel and Trump must offer it an agreement that prevents it from enriching uranium."
❗️Lebanese President Joseph Aoun after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:
– “Lebanon is looking to strengthen state-to-state relations with Iran."
– “Internal dialogue is the key to resolving disputed issues, as is dialogue between countries, away from violence."
– “Rebuilding what was destroyed by the Israeli war on Lebanon is among the priorities we are working on with the government, in cooperation with brotherly and friendly countries, in accordance with applicable laws."
⭕ Netanyahu said ‘I don't remember’ 1,788 times during interrogation, says Israeli prosecution
Israeli prosecutors revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told investigators “I don’t remember” nearly 1,800 times during questioning over corruption allegations.
Pressed on details of his early meetings with billionaire Arnon Milchan, Netanyahu claimed not to recall which film premiere he attended with his wife. He also dismissed details about a large Bugs Bunny doll Milchan had testified he searched for in New York, saying only, “I remember there being talk” but “have no idea how the doll came to be by us.”
⭕️ AFP: Azerbaijan quietly engaged in diplomacy between Turkiye and Israel
Azerbaijan’s senior foreign policy official, Hikmet Hajiyev, has confirmed that Baku has facilitated over three rounds of dialogue between Turkiye and Israel over "security concerns" in Syria.
“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish reporters in Baku during a visit arranged by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council.
“Both Turkiye and Israel trust us," he added.
Farid Shafiyev, head of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, said that “Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern because of the presence of terrorist groups."
He also adds that Turkiye wants to control northern Syria and “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases.
❗️US President Donald Trump says he will "not allow [Iran] any enrichment of uranium."
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BREAKING | Israeli airstrikes killed four Palestinians in separate attacks on Tuesday across Gaza City and Jabalia, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.
Two were killed in a strike on Al-Shaaf Street in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to Al-Ahli Hospital. Another two were killed and one injured in an air raid on Al-Nuzha Street in Jabalia Al-Balad, northern Gaza, as reported by staff at Al-Shifa Hospital.
⭕️ Public opinion of Israel in Western Europe plunges
Public backing and sympathy for Israel across western Europe have fallen to their lowest levels since YouGov began tracking the issue, with under 20% of respondents across six countries expressing a positive view of the country.
The poll revealed that Israel's net favourability ratings reached record lows in Germany (-44), France (-48), and Denmark (-54) since polling began in 2016. In Italy (-52) and Spain (-55), ratings were at their lowest or tied with previous lows, primarily dating back to 2021.
In the UK, net favourability stood at -46, slightly above its lowest point of -49 recorded late last year.
Across all countries surveyed, only 13% to 21% of people viewed Israel favorably, while between 63% and 70% held negative views.
❗️An Israeli drone strike targeted the Rafei School in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Tuesday morning, killing a Palestinian man and leaving his young children orphaned.
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⭕️ Canada investigating Israeli-Canadian soldiers for Gaza war crimes
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has launched a war crimes investigation targeting Israeli soldiers with Canadian citizenship accused of participating in the Gaza genocide. The probe, part of Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program, focuses on dual nationals who served in the Israeli military during the assault that began in 2023, according to the Toronto Star.
The investigation, active since 2024, is being conducted in coordination with Canada’s justice, immigration, and border agencies. While no public updates have been issued, officials say the process could involve evidence collection, international cooperation, and possible indictments. The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation is pursuing similar legal action in 14 countries with universal jurisdiction.