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The Iranian ambassador to Mexico signaled on Friday that his country and the U.S. could have a good relationship in the future, so long as President Trump does not take foreign policy cues from Israel.

“If the U.S. closes its eyes to Israel’s interest, Iran and the U.S. can be very good friends,” Abolfazl Pasandjdeh told Politico via a Spanish translator at a World Cup fan expo in Mexico City, urging Trump to prioritize U.S. interests.

“I also believe that if he puts the interests of the U.S. first, it will yield good results,” he said. “The most important thing is that the Israeli regime does not seek what is good for the U.S.”

Israel has emerged as somewhat of a wildcard as Trump pushes for a peace deal with Tehran. Its military campaign against Iranian proxy group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has risked upending the negotiations several times, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have a different end goal than his U.S. counterpart.

Former U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro described a rift between the U.S. and Israeli perspectives during a recent interview with NPR, wherein he said Israel’s main objective is eliminating Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat while the U.S. is largely focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“So that’s a divergence between U.S. and Israeli interests, which you can see playing out now in the way the prime minister talks about what he wants to achieve – tried to do some additional strikes just over the weekend – and President Trump’s desire to wind this down,” Shapiro said, suggesting Israel’s preference would be to continue the war.

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A British judge has sentenced four Palestine Action protesters as terrorists, handing them custodial sentences ranging from four to eight years.

The unprecedented ruling came despite jurors convicting them of criminal charges not connected to terrorism during the prosecution.

Last month, jurors convicted Leona Kamio, Samuel Corner, Fatema Rajwani, and Charlotte Head of criminal damage in connection with a raid on an Elbit Systems UK plant near Bristol on 6 August 2024.

Two other activists, Jordan Devlin and Zoe Rogers, were cleared of the charges.

Elbit Systems is an Israeli arms manufacturer whose UK headquarters are based in Bristol.

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The EU has agreed to open the first accession negotiations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova – Cluster 1 – Fundamentals, calling the move a historic step and a reward for the two countries’ resilience and reforms amid Russia’s war.

The European Council’s agreement to open the accession negotiations marks a major step in both countries’ long path toward EU membership. The decision paves the way for an Intergovernmental Conference on June 15, where the first negotiation stage – the “fundamentals” cluster – will be launched in Brussels.

“Today, the European Union took a major step forward,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

“At the first Intergovernmental Conference on Monday, we will open the cluster on fundamentals; the back of the accession process,” she added, explaining that it covers the core values and principles upon which the EU is built from.

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Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force set to wind down its operations in 2027, has operated in the area for two decades, and Israel appears to be making use of - and improvements to - tracks used by its patrols.

The post at Labbouneh, Israel’s most western position, is just 150 metres from a Unifil base and 2km from the force’s main headquarters on the coast.

Similarly, at Tal Dowary near Houla, the Israeli base has been established 1.5km from Unifil peacekeepers.

Satellite imagery shows work beginning at the sites in October 2024. At first, nearby buildings are destroyed. Israel has used air strikes, detonations and bulldozers to raze areas close to the border.

The images also show roads being widened, land degradation and earth fortifications emerging over the following months. By the turn of the year, accommodation units and vehicles have started appearing at the bases.

Work really gets going once the ceasefire begins and Israel has agreed to withdraw.

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President Trump on Thursday whipsawed between threatening new, major attacks against Iran and touting significant progress in negotiations to end the war, the latest frantic episode in the conflict that’s gone on for more than 100 days.

Trump said the U.S. would hit Iran “very hard” and eventually take over its oil export hub Kharg Island in a Truth Social post at 8:22 a.m. EDT on Thursday, about five hours before calling them off.

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” Trump said in a post at 1:28 p.m. EDT.

Trump’s team has been focused on striking an agreement with Iran to allow commercial and oil ships free and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and to restart negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. 

He said the U.S. naval blockade against Iranian oil exports in the Strait of Hormuz “will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”

Trump’s team has been focused on striking an agreement with Iran to allow commercial and oil ships free and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and to restart negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

He said the U.S. naval blockade against Iranian oil exports in the Strait of Hormuz “will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”

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The numbers “8647” appeared in large scale on the grass of the National Mall on Thursday, June 11, only days before President Donald Trump’s birthday, prompting an investigation from the U.S. Park Police.

According to Reuters, park officials said they responded to the National Mall at around 11:30 a.m. local time to see a tracing of the numbers “8647” on the grass of the west lawn of the mall. Photos taken by Reuters from the top of the Washington Monument clearly show the numbers “8” and “7”, while the numbers “6” and “4” are more faintly visible.

"The cause of the discoloration has not yet been determined," Park Police said in a statement to Reuters. "Grass samples have been collected for testing. The investigation is ongoing."

The incident comes as the National Mall is set to host events celebrating the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence and only weeks before a 16-day “Great American State Fair” is set to take place at the Mall.

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