Aysu Bicer
29 May 2026•Update: 29 May 2026
Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday, including the US and Iran reaching a tentative agreement on extending their ceasefire pending Trump's approval, a drone striking an apartment block in Romania near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying it targeted a US airbase in Kuwait, Israel saying it carried out a "precise strike" in Beirut, and the EU sanctioning Israeli settler groups and individuals in the occupied West Bank for rights abuses.
TOP STORIES
- US, Iran reach tentative agreement on extension of ceasefire, Trump's approval pending
US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on a 60-day ceasefire extension and framework for nuclear talks, American sources confirmed to Anadolu.
US sources said President Donald Trump has not yet given his final approval to the memorandum of understanding, despite negotiators from both sides largely finalizing the terms.
However, Vice President JD Vance officially confirmed later Thursday that the US and Iran are now "very close" to signing the historic document.
"We're going back and forth on a couple of language points. We've made a lot of progress here," Vance said.
"Hopefully, we'll continue to make progress and the president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that's still TBD (to be determined)," he added. "I can't guarantee that we're going to get there...but right now, I feel pretty good about (it)."
- Drone strikes apartment block in Romania near Ukrainian border, 2 injured
A drone crashed into a residential building in Romania’s southeastern city of Galati near the border with Ukraine, injuring two people and triggering a fire, authorities said.
The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said in a Facebook post that the drone struck a 10th-floor apartment block and that around 70 people were evacuated.
“During the night of May 28 to 29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, in the vicinity of the river border with Romania,” said the country's Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said the drone was tracked by radar before crashing into the residential building.
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted US airbase in Kuwait
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted a US airbase in Kuwait in response to an American aerial strike near Bandar Abbas Airport in southern Iran.
According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the retaliatory strike came at 4.50 am (0120GMT), hours after what it described as a US assault on a point near the port city's airport using aerial projectiles.
"This response is a serious warning so that the enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered, and if repeated, our response will be more decisive," it said.
- Israel says it carried out 'precise strike' in Beirut
The Israeli army said it carried out a “precise strike” in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
“A short while ago, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a precise strike in Beirut. Details to follow,” the army said in a brief statement.
No immediate details were provided regarding the target or possible casualties.
The strike came hours after Israeli attacks killed at least 15 people, including children, across southern Lebanon amid continued violations of a ceasefire agreement
- EU sanctions Israeli occupier groups, individuals in occupied West Bank for rights abuses
The EU imposed sanctions on four Israeli settler organizations and three individuals for "serious and systematic human rights abuses" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The measures were adopted under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime following a political agreement reached by EU foreign ministers on May 11, the European Council announced in a statement.
Among those sanctioned are the Nachala Settlement Movement and director Daniella Weiss.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- A mega-rocket developed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin exploded during testing at a launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a call with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, during which relations and regional and global developments were discussed.
- Finland’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Russia’s ambassador and requested an explanation about a suspected airspace violation by a Russian military aircraft.
- Russian air defenses are responding to what officials described as a “massive attack” in the Volgograd region, Russia’s Tass news agency reported, citing its governor, Andrei Bocharov, as saying.
- Madagascar’s top court for constitutional matters rejected an opposition lawmaker's attempt to remove President Michael Randrianirina from office.
- Guatemala formally requested US support for fighting drug cartels while denying that it had agreed to carry out joint strikes with the United States military inside its territory.
- Japan and the Philippines announced that they would upgrade their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" and begin formal negotiations to conclude a security intelligence-sharing pact amid their shared concerns over China's military activities.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel currently controls 60% of the Gaza Strip and signaled plans to expand it further to 70%.
- Beirut is observing with “deep pain and profound concern” ongoing Israeli attacks on the ancient city of Tyre in southern Lebanon while urging an immediate halt to the strikes, said Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi.
- An Israeli drone strike on a Palestinian security checkpoint killed three Palestinians and injured others in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, said medical sources.
- Israeli authorities have approved a major illegal settlement expansion plan in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley through the construction of hundreds of new settlement units on Palestinian land, said a Palestinian government body.
- The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon expressed deep concern about escalating violence in southern Lebanon, saying hundreds of thousands have been displaced amid the conflict that is causing deaths, injuries and widespread destruction.
- Sweden announced a new military aid package worth about $2.7 billion for Ukraine, including plans to donate 16 Saab Gripen C/D fighter jets and deepen long-term defense cooperation between the two countries.
- Kuwait's air defenses are currently responding to "hostile" missile and drone threats, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces announced, as the region remains on edge amid a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Europe "will never be a neutral mediator" between Russia and Ukraine, stressing that the bloc is firmly on Kyiv's side as it seeks to increase pressure on Moscow.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- Sanctions imposed by the US administration on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), an entity established by Iran to regulate transit through the Strait of Hormuz, heightened concerns over global oil supply and accelerated upward momentum in oil prices.
- The US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, falling short of estimates, according to revised data by the Commerce Department.
- The presence of US military aircraft at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport has cost the country’s airport authority 700 million shekels ($248 million) in losses over the past two months, said Israeli officials, warning that the figure could rise to billions if the situation continues.
- Britain risks creating a “lost generation” of young people as more than 1 million are now out of work, education or training, according to a government-commissioned report that warned of deepening economic and social consequences if trends continue.
- Federal prosecutors in New York accused Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo of earning about $1.2 million on betting website Polymarket by using confidential insider information about the most searched people of 2025, CNN reported.
- A coalition of Nordic financial institutions, trade unions and climate scientists urged the European Union to maintain its ban on new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, warning that further fossil fuel development could pose environmental and security risks as the bloc reviews its regional strategy.
