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On 23–24 May 2026 Washington, Tehran and mediator Pakistan settled on a 14-point draft that both governments say is “largely negotiated,” giving leaders 48 hours to approve a deal that trades full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for Iran surrendering its >400 kg stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium.
On 24 May 2026, Moscow mounted the war’s largest air strike, firing roughly 600 drones and 90 missiles—including the hypersonic, nuclear-capable Oreshnik—at Kyiv, killing at least four and injuring more than 80.
On 24 May 2026, Emmanuel Macron phoned Alexander Lukashenko for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion, warning that Belarus will face serious consequences if it drifts further into Moscow’s war and urging him to repair ties with the EU.
On 24 May 2026 U.S. and Iranian negotiators finalized a draft 60-day memorandum that swaps Iran’s immediate mine-clearing and toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for U.S. suspension of its port blockade and targeted oil-export sanctions waivers, with an announcement expected within days.
Washington and Tehran, after 46 days of cease-fire, signalled that a 14-clause memorandum prepared by Pakistan could be finalised within 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and suspend the three-month war.
On 22–23 May 2026 President Volodymyr Zelensky sent EU leaders a letter flatly rejecting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s plan to give Ukraine non-voting “associate” status as a bridge to full EU membership, calling it “unfair.”
On 22 May 2026, following a night-time drone attack that Moscow says killed six and wounded 39 at a student dormitory in Russian-held Starobilsk, President Vladimir Putin told his generals to draft options for retaliation and pushed for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
On 21 May 2026, days after the Pentagon scrubbed a 4,700-soldier rotation to Europe, President Trump abruptly announced a new deployment of 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland, sowing fresh uncertainty about America’s force posture on the continent.
Field Marshal Asim Munir’s surprise arrival in Tehran on 22 May 2026 launched a fresh round of Pakistani-brokered talks that Washington says show “slight progress” toward turning the April 8 cease-fire into a permanent end to the two-month US-Israeli war against Iran.
On 18–19 May 2026, President Trump publicly canceled a U.S. air-and-missile offensive slated for 19 May, after leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE asked for a brief pause to salvage fast-moving cease-fire talks with Tehran.
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