AUKUS unveils underwater drone project

 The United States, the UK, and Australia announced plans to jointly develop underwater drone technology designed to protect critical seabed infrastructure and strengthen military capabilities under the AUKUS security partnership.

The project was unveiled by the three countries' defense ministers at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

The new uncrewed undersea vehicle program is expected to be operational by next year and will become the first major initiative under AUKUS Pillar Two, which focuses on advanced military technologies. British Defense Secretary John Healey said the United Kingdom would contribute £150 million to the effort, which will support surveillance, reconnaissance, logistics, and the protection of undersea cables and pipelines.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/AUKUS-unveils-underwater-drone-project/66401694

Iran warns ships over Hormuz transit rules

 Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned Saturday that commercial vessels and oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz must use designated shipping lanes and obtain authorization from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, signaling tighter Iranian oversight of the strategic waterway.

In a statement, the headquarters said all vessels operating in the strait must follow routes approved by Iranian authorities. It warned that any ship failing to comply would risk the security of its passage, and cautioned against foreign military involvement in managing traffic through the corridor.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-warns-ships-over-Hormuz-transit-rules/66401788

Russia says drone hit Zaporizhzhia plant turbine hall

 Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev stated on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone struck a turbine hall building at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, describing it as the first deliberate attack to damage infrastructure linked to a reactor unit.

According to Likhachev, the drone detonated after hitting the turbine hall of Unit 6. He said the aircraft was guided by a fiber-optic cable, which he argued ruled out the possibility of an accidental strike.

No impact on reactor systems or nuclear safety equipment has been reported so far.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Russia-says-drone-hit-Zaporizhzhia-plant-turbine-hall/66401756

China Pledges to Retaliate If EU Imposes Trade Restrictions

 

China warned it would “resolutely” retaliate if the European Union proceeds with new restrictive trade measures, following a May 29 European Commission discussion on China policy.

“Should the EU insist on unilaterally introducing new trade instruments and imposing discriminatory restrictions, China will resolutely take countermeasures and adopt effective measures to safeguard its own interests,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-30/china-pledges-to-retaliate-if-eu-imposes-trade-restrictions

Oman warns of suspected naval mine in Hormuz Strai

 Oman's Maritime Security Center issued a warning after a floating object suspected to be a naval mine was spotted west of the Inshore Traffic Zone in the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters.

Authorities urged mariners, fishermen, and commercial vessels to exercise extreme caution while operating in the area.

The agency advised all maritime users to maintain a safe distance from any suspicious objects and to immediately report sightings to the relevant authorities.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Oman-warns-of-suspected-naval-mine-in-Hormuz-Strait/66401673

Israel intercepts missiles launched from Lebanon

 The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it identified multiple missiles launched from Lebanese territory, amid continuing conflict with Hezbollah.

According to the military, air defenses intercepted most missiles, with one projectile impacting in the area of Kyrat Shamona in northern Israel. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Hezbollah stepped up drone and rocket attacks targeting northern Israel, while that country's military conducted bombing raids across Lebanon.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Israel-intercepts-missiles-launched-from-Lebanon/66401073

'We Outright Grabbed The Wallets': Bessent Boasts $1BN In Iran State Crypto Seized To Date

Washington's economic war on Iran and its 'shadow' banking network continues, as on Friday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US has seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of the economic component of President Trump's Operation Epic Fury.

The billion dollar figure represents the running total seized to date, building on prior milestones in the conflict, particularly a recent major April 2026 freeze of $344 million in USDT on the Tron blockchain. By close of April, $500 million total had been seized.

And so clearly with the addition since then of some half-billion dollars more in seized digital assets, the US Treasury program has only greatly accelerated in the last several weeks.

During his Friday speech before the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent stated:

"Just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet had been grabbed."

Assets are held "on behalf of the Iranian people" - he described, while framing that the Iranian government had 'stolen' the money from the Iranian populace.

Bessent is signaling further relentless waves of OFAC wallet designations and aggressive asset forfeitures coming in the next months, as highly sanctioned Iran continues to seek alternative means of conducting financial transactions.

As we've featured before, for ordinary Iranians - roughly one in six of the population - crypto served as a vital lifeline. Facing relentless rial depreciation (down nearly 90 percent since 2018), chronic inflation of 40 to 50 percent, and frequent power blackouts or internet shutdowns during protests, citizens turned to Bitcoin and stablecoins like U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT) on the Tron network to hedge savings, facilitate remittances, and move value when traditional banking failed. Spikes in Bitcoin withdrawals to personal wallets often coincided with domestic unrest and regional conflicts.

Yet this parallel financial system has also become a powerful tool for the state. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) steadily tightened its grip on Iran’s crypto flows. IRGC-linked addresses received more than $3 billion in 2025—up from over $2 billion in 2024—with their share rising to more than 50 percent of total Iranian crypto inflows by the end of 2025. These figures represent conservative lower bounds based only on identified and sanctioned wallets.

Washington in the meantime is still entertaining dreams of sparking some kind of anti-regime uprising based on applying the economic squeeze to the Iranian system, but apart from unrest back in January, this has utterly failed to materialize. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/we-outright-grabbed-wallets-bessent-boasts-1bn-iran-state-crypto-seized-date