Iranian President Meets Supreme Leader

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he recently met with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a meeting that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Pezeshkian praised the Supreme Leader’s “humble and deeply intimate” manner, saying it created an atmosphere of trust, calm, empathy and direct dialogue.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March after his father was killed in the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attack. The encounter was reported by Iranian state media as a medical update on the Supreme Leader, who was reportedly wounded in that strike.

Iranian forces responded to the attacks by closing the Strait of Hormuz to all exports except its own, disrupting roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supply. The waterway remains blocked, prompting multinational efforts to restore navigation. French officials said sanctions on Iran will stay in place until the strait reopens.

A French aircraft carrier is sailing toward the area for a possible defensive mission once the conflict ends. European governments are also preparing financial support for airlines facing jet-fuel shortages and price spikes caused by the disruption.

Shell reported a 19 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to $5.69 billion, attributing the gain to higher oil and gas prices triggered by the Middle East conflict. ” Emirates Group posted a 3 percent increase in annual profits to $5.7 billion despite flight groundings and repeated targeting of Dubai airport.

The carrier’s chairman and CEO noted that cargo operations had ramped up to move essential goods even as passenger capacity stayed below pre-disruption levels. Swiss authorities warned that the war could create uncertainty over winter gas supplies and, in an extreme scenario, affect the stability of Swiss and European electricity networks.

Europe relies heavily on Middle East energy shipments.

The Israeli military said it killed Ahmad Balut, commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit, in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday. It also claimed the deaths of two other Hezbollah figures in separate actions. Israeli officials stated that 220 Hezbollah members have been killed since the mid-April ceasefire took effect.

In Gaza, medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported a severe malnutrition crisis driven by restrictions on food and aid. The group documented rising premature births, miscarriages, low birth weights and acute child malnutrition, with pregnant women and young children most affected.

Only about 150 aid trucks enter daily instead of the 600 agreed under the ceasefire. Four Palestinians, including a child, were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza in the past day. One death occurred in the Zeitoun neighbourhood while residents built a toilet; another resulted from a drone strike in the Daraj area.

The son of a senior Hamas official died of wounds sustained in an earlier strike. Israeli forces issued new forced displacement orders for three towns in southern Lebanon, citing alleged Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. One person was killed and several injured in Israeli attacks on the Lebanese city of Nabatieh and surrounding areas.

Iran is reviewing a 14-point U.S. proposal to end the war and is expected to respond through Pakistani mediators. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry expressed optimism that an agreement could be signed in Islamabad. Both sides are seeking language that allows them to claim a form of victory, according to analysts cited by Al Jazeera.

U.S. officials continue to seek a deal that would reopen the strait while avoiding terms similar to the 2015 nuclear agreement that President Trump previously criticized. French officials emphasized that the strait cannot be blocked, subjected to tolls or used for leverage.

" — Masoud Pezeshkian (IRIB state media) The Vatican is hosting talks between U.S. diplomats and Pope Leo XIV amid tensions over the pontiff’s criticism of the war and a Trump threat to destroy Iranian civilisation. The discussions are described as frank.

European airlines face potential summer disruptions from jet-fuel shortages, with nearly 75 percent of imports historically originating in the Middle East. French officials are preparing aid measures including deferred social-security contributions and extended tax deadlines for carriers.

Humanitarian conditions in Gaza have deteriorated despite the ceasefire, with violence continuing at lower intensity. Residents report daily fear of renewed escalation as drones operate overhead and the so-called “yellow line” advances in some areas.

The conflict has produced competing casualty figures. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports more than 2,700 people killed since March 2, including dozens since the truce began. Israeli statements focus on targeted killings of specific militant commanders.