Armed conflicts and attacks
Middle Eastern crisis
Tasnim News Agency reports that the IRGC Navy has forced a U.S. oil tanker to turn back as it attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz. (Iran International)
United States sanctions against Iran
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control announces under Executive Order 13224 that it has imposed sanctions against Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the newly-created body used for managing the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters)
Canada and the 2026 Iran war, Canada–United States relations
Global Affairs Canada confirms a report from Semafor that Canadian officials in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, helped American citizens escape the region during the early stages of the war. (Global News) (Semafor)
May 2026 United States strikes on Iran
Reuters and Axios reports that the U.S. military has launched new defensive strikes against a military site at the Strait of Hormuz that officials say posed a threat to American forces and commercial traffic. (Axios) (CBS News) (Wall Street Journal) (Reuters)
The U.S. military says that it intercepted four Iranian drones and struck an Iranian drone station in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province. However, the U.S says that the ceasefire remains in place despite the strikes. (The Hill) (Air and Space Forces)
Both Hamas and Israeli defense minister Israel Katz confirm that Al-Qassam Brigades commander and leader in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Odeh was killed by an Israeli airstrike on May 26 near Gaza City along with his wife and three children. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) (Middle East Eye)
Syrian civil war
Syrian chemical weapons program, Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says that several chemical weapons from the Assad regime have been found in Syria over the past weeks. (AP)
Business and economy
2024–present global memory supply shortage, AI boom
Trade union members at Samsung Electronics in South Korea approve a long-term bonus agreement tied to semiconductor profits, averting a planned strike amid increased global demand for artificial intelligence-related memory chips. (AFP via France 24) (DW)