U.S. guided 70 ships through Strait of Hormuz

June 1, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

U.S. officials said U.S. forces helped guide about 70 commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in three weeks.

Why this matters

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy corridor, and limits on traffic there can affect oil and gas supplies worldwide. The U.S.-guided passages also show how military involvement and stalled diplomacy are shaping commercial shipping in the region.

U.S. forces helped coordinate the passage of about 70 commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks, according to U.S. officials, as talks to end the war with Iran remained stalled.

One official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operations, said U.S. Central Command guided the ships into and out of the Persian Gulf. The officials said most of the vessels turned off their transponders while crossing the narrow waterway to avoid detection.

Before the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, well over 100 commercial ships a day moved through the strait. By comparison, the U.S.-coordinated crossings averaged about three a day over the three-week period, and analysts said they could not independently verify the total because the ships were making “dark” passages with transponders turned off.

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Europe

Starmer resigns as UK leader, Burnham enters race

Starmer’s successor will be Britain’s seventh prime minister since the 2016 Brexit vote.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on June 22 that he would resign, setting up a contest to replace him as Labour Party leader and prime minister. He said the party would begin the selection process in July, and that he would remain prime minister until a successor is chosen in September.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election, I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace,” Starmer said outside 10 Downing Street.

“Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party,” he said.

Andy Burnham, 56, mayor of Greater Manchester, said on Monday that he would seek to replace Starmer. “I will put myself forward as part of this process,” Burnham wrote on X, calling for an “orderly and responsible” transition.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting had previously said he would join the leadership race, but later said he was backing Burnham, raising the possibility that Burnham could become leader without a formal contest. Sky News, citing an ally of Streeting, separately reported that Streeting still intended to stand.

As caretaker prime minister, Starmer was still expected to attend a European Group of Five meeting in Berlin on Wednesday with leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland as part of preparations for the NATO summit, a German government spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Berlin had found Starmer to be a reliable and close partner on foreign policy, particularly on Ukraine, and looked forward to working with the future prime minister. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Starmer a “statesman” and praised his efforts on European and Ukrainian security.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Starmer’s departure was unlikely to change Britain’s approach to Russia. “Starmer has not done anything to distinguish himself on the issue of British-Russian relations,” Peskov told reporters. “He has always been in favour of keeping relations at a zero level. It is unlikely that anyone on the British political scene will hold a position on our country that differs from Starmer’s.”
World Politics

U.S., Iran end initial Switzerland talks on war

Qatar and Pakistan described the talks as showing “encouraging progress.”

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Senior U.S. and Iranian negotiators on Monday concluded an initial round of talks in Switzerland aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war between the two countries.

The mediation, led by Qatar and Pakistan, began Sunday and produced some agreements despite interruptions during the talks.

In a joint statement, Qatar and Pakistan said the high-level talks had ended and that technical negotiations would continue in Switzerland through the rest of the week. The statement said the sides agreed to establish a “communication line” to ensure safe passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a mechanism intended to help end fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A senior U.S. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said there had been progress on multiple issues, including “mechanisms” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and preserve a ceasefire in southern Lebanon.

The talks were disrupted after statements by President Donald Trump. Iranian state media said negotiations paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.” It said the Iranian delegation met with Qatari mediators and later left the negotiating site. Iranian state television reported Monday that the delegation departed for Zurich airport to return to Tehran.

The U.S. diplomat said late Sunday that the Iranian team remained at the site and that negotiations were continuing.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had vowed to “never back down from the right to enrich uranium,” according to state media. Trump later told Fox News that Pezeshkian should watch what he says and, according to one Fox correspondent, threatened to take over Iran. Trump also posted on social media: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

The U.S. delegation included Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. Iran was represented by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The interim deal signed last week by U.S. and Iranian leaders set a 60-day window for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and other issues, including frozen Iranian assets. Iran has denied seeking to use its nuclear program for military purposes.

Saturday’s renewed ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to be holding Monday. Israel said it would lift movement restrictions near the Israel-Lebanon border, and no Israeli strikes or Hezbollah attacks were reported overnight.
Middle East

Israeli strikes kill 20 in Lebanon after ceasefire

Lebanon’s health ministry said 4,057 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2. Israel said at least 32 soldiers and four civilians had been killed in fighting with Hezbollah.

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Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 20 people Tuesday, Lebanon’s state news agency said, a day after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.

Israel said the strikes followed projectiles fired overnight by the Iran-backed group. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting attacks on what the official described as “Hezbollah targets.”

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israeli warplanes and drones struck multiple locations in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. One of the deadliest strikes hit a three-story residential building in Barish, in the Tyre district, killing a mother, a father, and their two children, a local official said.

The Lebanese army said another Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Nabatieh branch of Lebanon’s central bank. Lebanon’s central bank said the strike targeted the building, causing material damage but no casualties.

Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out hundreds of ceasefire violations and said continued attacks “will not pass without a response.” It said it remained committed to the ceasefire, but would respond to any attempt by Israel to “seize territory or expand its occupation.”

The group said Israeli forces tried overnight to infiltrate the Ali al-Taher hill area in southern Lebanon, and that its fighters engaged them. A senior Hezbollah official said the group would not allow Israel “freedom of movement” in occupied Lebanese territory.

An Israeli military official said the military had received updated directives from the political leadership to cease fire and was not conducting proactive strikes, but operating defensively within what Israel calls a security zone. The official said five Israeli soldiers had been killed by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon over the previous 48 hours.

The Israeli military, which occupies parts of southern Lebanon, said Hezbollah’s attacks were repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement. It said it remained committed to the truce and would respond to any attacks on Israeli civilians or troops. Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the military to hold fire in Lebanon, but not withdraw from captured areas.
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FBI arrests Medicare fraud fugitive in Philippines

The arrest came weeks after the Justice Department introduced the “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list to identify people charged in major fraud cases.

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A fugitive accused in a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy was arrested in the Philippines and returned to the United States, becoming the second person taken into custody from the FBI’s new “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list, federal officials said.

Herbert Leon Kimble, 60, had allegedly evaded authorities for nearly two years. Prosecutors said he ran a health care fraud scheme that generated more than $1.2 billion in Medicare charges and affected thousands of beneficiaries, many of them elderly. Authorities said the operation used call centers to steer patients toward medically unnecessary orthopedic braces.

Kimble pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to defraud the United States, health care fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, making false claims, and offering kickbacks and bribes.

Authorities said he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing in August 2024, prompting a federal arrest warrant and an international search.

Last week, federal officials announced the arrest of Said Abdullahi Ereg, 47, who was wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was the first person on the list taken into custody.

“In just over two weeks, this is the second Most Wanted Fraudster arrested on the FBI’s list led by Vice President Vance and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.

“Herbert Leon Kimbel was apprehended in the Philippines and is now back in the United States, on the run since 2024 after he allegedly orchestrated a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud conspiracy that targeted the Medicare system — particularly elderly victims — from 2014-2019,” Patel continued.

Vice President J.D. Vance said on X that the list helped investigators track down Kimble.

“Our message is simple,” Vance wrote. “If you defraud the American people, we will find you and we will bring you to justice.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also commented on the arrest.

“Instead of facing accountability for his $1.2 billion Medicare fraud crimes in the United States, Kimble fled to the Philippines hoping to escape justice,” Blanche wrote on X. “That plan failed. Under President Trump’s leadership, this FBI has now apprehended two fraudsters from its recently unveiled Most Wanted Fraudster list in just two weeks, with more to come.”
World

U.S. to phase out HIV funding for South Africa

A U.S. State Department official said a “phased drawdown” would begin because of “South Africa’s failure to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration.”

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The U.S. government said it will begin a phased withdrawal of funding for HIV and AIDS programs in South Africa, which has more than 8 million people living with HIV, the highest total of any country.

Until 2025, the U.S. provided an estimated $400 million a year through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), about a fifth of South Africa’s HIV-program spending.

The official said the goal was to “foster self-reliance” and reduce dependence on U.S. funding, adding that “South Africa is a middle-income country and is more than capable of supporting its own health programs.”

South Africa’s Health Ministry said it had not been informed of the decision, but said it had “long been working on a self-reliance plan.” The ministry also said life-saving antiretroviral drugs were funded separately, mostly by the South African government.

The funding decision came as relations between Washington and Pretoria deteriorated after President Donald Trump took office. A White House executive order said South African policies had dismantled equal opportunity and fueled violence “against racially disfavored landowners.” South Africa rejected that claim and said its Black Economic Empowerment policy was intended to address inequality rooted in apartheid.

The order also cited South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its ties to Iran. The White House said that because of these “unjust and immoral practices,” further aid would not be provided.

Trump has also said there is a “white genocide” in South Africa. His administration set up a refugee program for Afrikaners, descendants of Western Europeans who settled in southern Africa in the 17th century.

PEPFAR funding had received a temporary reprieve last October under a “bridge plan.” Efforts to improve ties have struggled, including a White House meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa more than a year ago, and a U.S. boycott of the G20 meeting hosted by South Africa last November.
World Politics

Italy cancels U.S. visit after Trump comments on Meloni

Trump has accused Meloni of failing to help the U.S. with NATO and threatened to pull U.S. troops from Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war.

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Italy reacted on Friday after reported comments by President Donald Trump about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceling a planned U.S. visit for June 21 and 22.

Meloni said she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s comments to Italian channel La7.

According to a written transcript of the phone interview provided to AFP by the network, Trump said Meloni “begged me for a picture” at the Group of Seven summit this week and that he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.”

He also said Meloni was probably “happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her.”

Meloni called the remarks “made up,” adding: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

“I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” Meloni, who leads Italy’s far-right government, wrote on X.

“I can only say that it’s a pity he doesn’t show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,” she said.

Tajani called Trump’s words “grave and offensive” on X and said he was canceling his planned trip.

At the end of the Group of Seven summit in Evian on Wednesday, Meloni had described the atmosphere as “very positive” and said there was “no friction” between Trump and other leaders. She also said she and Trump both had “quite strong characters.”

Meloni was seen several times with Trump at the summit, including in a meeting on a sofa after which he appeared to pat her shoulder.

Trump criticized Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from Trump’s criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views.

Meloni called Trump’s remarks at the time “unacceptable.”
World

U.S. probes German drug pricing, tariff risk rises

Earlier this month, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on dozens of economies in a separate investigation into forced labor concerns.

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The United States on Thursday opened an investigation into Germany’s pharmaceutical pricing policies, a step that could lead to new tariffs.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the probe would determine whether “persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products by Germany is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts US commerce.”

The investigation was launched under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It followed similar Trump administration trade probes in recent months involving dozens of trading partners over issues including forced labor and industrial overcapacity.

In a Federal Register notice, the U.S. trade office said “evidence indicates that Germany implements unfair pricing policies and practices with regard to innovative pharmaceutical products.”

The notice said the lower revenue tied to those policies appeared to contribute to reduced investment in research and development. “As a result, the United States pays a disproportionate share of global R&D costs for innovative pharmaceuticals,” it said.

The probe will examine how Germany carries out its pricing policies.

“President (Donald) Trump has made clear that American patients should not be shouldering a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

Greer also cited concerns about Germany’s plans to fast-track legislation “that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals.”

The trade office will accept public comments and hold a hearing in September as part of the investigation.
Military & National Security

U.S. strike on suspected smugglers kills 3 at sea

The deaths bring the total number of people killed in U.S. strikes since early September to at least 211.

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A U.S. strike on suspected drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific on Thursday killed three people, U.S. Southern Command said.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narcotrafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narcotrafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in a news release.

The command released a 15-second video of the strike and said no U.S. forces were harmed.

The inquiry into Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon’s name for its campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, was self-initiated and not prompted by a congressional request. Last month, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog said it would investigate whether U.S. strikes on drug boats complied with targeting guidelines.
Finance & Markets

Stocks Slip as Iran Nuclear Talks Face Delay

Bitcoin fell for a fourth straight day. Gold was headed for a third weekly loss, trading around $4,150 an ounce.

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Global stocks ended a strong week on a cautious note as relief over an interim U.S.-Iran peace deal gave way to concern about the difficulty of securing a lasting agreement.

With U.S. cash markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday, S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% after the benchmark posted its best week since the end of May. Europe’s Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3%, and Asian stocks fell 0.4% from a record high. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were closed.

Brent crude traded near $80 a barrel. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to thin Friday, one day after flows through the waterway rose. Tehran said ships crossing the strait needed its permission.
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Pentagon seeking $80 billion for Iran war, other costs

A Pentagon official said in April that the Iran war had cost about $25 billion, but the full cost of the war has remained unclear.

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The U.S. Department of Defense needed $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war, as well as other expenses unrelated to the conflict, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers in phone calls this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A broader U.S. supplemental funding request could be sent to lawmakers in the coming days, the newspaper said. It would include money for the Pentagon and for non-defense priorities, including farm and disaster relief.

The conflict began on Feb. 28, and an initial $200 billion request for additional funding faced opposition from lawmakers.

White House budget director Russell Vought told an April hearing of the House Budget Committee that he had no estimate for the cost of the war, while defending a request for a $1.5 trillion annual military budget.