Iran threatens Gulf water facilities in response to Trump’s ultimatum over Hormuz

Today’s headlines: Kim Jong Un re-elected chairman of the State Affairs Commission; Beijing is developing the first tourist submersible capable of diving to a depth of 1,000 metres; “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has been censored in India; The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople also attended the funeral service for the Patriarch of the Georgian Church, Ilia II.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran has warned that it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if Trump follows through on his threat to attack Iran’s power grid, fuelling fears of severe hardship in a region heavily reliant on desalination plants for its drinking water supply. Trump had issued a 48-hour ultimatum, expiring tonight (around 23:45 GMT), for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Attacks on water networks are rare in times of war; Iran’s threat targets key US and Israeli desalination plants in the region.

UNITED STATES - IRAN

The Trump administration has begun initial discussions on how peace talks with Iran might take shape, according to Axios. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are reportedly involved in diplomatic efforts. However, there have been no direct contacts between Washington and Tehran in recent days; Egypt and Qatar have reported that Iran is interested in negotiating, but on very strict terms. Any agreement would need to include the reopening of Hormuz, an understanding on Iran’s nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and support for allied groups in the region; conditions repeatedly rejected in the past.

NORTH KOREA

Kim Jong Un has been re-elected as Chairman of the State Affairs Commission – North Korea’s supreme political leadership body – according to the state news agency KCNA, following the convening of the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in the isolated country the previous day. The meeting in Pyongyang focuses on changes and amendments to the socialist constitution, as well as the election of the Commission’s president and other government bodies.

CHINA

China is developing the first tourist submersible capable of descending to a depth of 1,000 metres. The prototype will enter commercial service by 2030, offering spectacular experiences in the deep sea to adventure-seeking tourists. The project is giving new impetus to the luxury travel sector. Engineers at the China Ship Scientific Research Centre in Wuxi, west of Shanghai, aim to complete a prototype by the end of the year. China currently has dozens of tourist submarines in use for shallow depths – up to around 20 metres – suitable for excursions in reservoirs, lakes and coastal waters.

INDIA - ISRAEL

The feature film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ – which tells the story of a real-life five-year-old Palestinian girl who was trapped inside a car attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza and later found dead – has been censored by the CBFC – the state film censorship board – because it ‘deals with a very sensitive subject’. According to the local distributor, the delay is due to the political sensitivities surrounding the film. This hesitation comes against a backdrop of growing diplomatic engagement between Delhi and Tel Aviv: Prime Minister Modi visited Israel just days before the attacks on Iran.

GEORGIA

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I (Archontonis), attended the funeral service for the Patriarch of the Georgian Church, Ilia II, which took place in Tbilisi at the ancient Sioni Cathedral, accompanied by the Metropolitan of Chalcedon, Emmanuel (Adamakis), and numerous senior members of the Constantinopolitan clergy, arriving “of his own volition”; to avoid this, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow (Gundjaev) did not travel to Tbilisi.

GLOBAL WARMING

The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025; the UN warns that the consequences of this warming could persist for thousands of years. Over 91% of the excess heat is stored in the oceans. The 11 warmest years on record all occurred between 2015 and 2025 – with temperatures approximately 1.43 degrees Celsius above the 1850–1900 average – according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in its annual report.

RUSSIA - UKRAINE

Around 1,100 Russian citizens convicted of corruption offences have been sent to fight in the war in Ukraine, as Prosecutor General Aleksandr Gutsan announced at the expanded session of the Judicial Council attended by President Vladimir Putin, instructing military prosecutors to “verify by 1 June that they are serving their sentences properly under military service contracts, without hiding in the rear”.

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