Iranian President Pezeshkian wants to resign; U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes; Netanyahu ordered deeper Lebanon invasion.

Meanwhile Hezbollah attacks Israel, Iran restored access to most underground missile bases and U.S. secretly escorted 70 ships via the Hormuz Strait in 3 weeks.

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IRANIAN PRESIDENT PEZESHKIAN WANTS TO RESIGN: On May 31, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sent an official resignation letter to Iran’s head of state. In the letter, he said that Iran’s president and government have been sidelined from key decision-making processes and in their place hardline factions have taken over.

Iran immediately rejected claims that Pezeshkian had submitted a resignation request. Deputy Head of the Presidential Press Office Seyed Mehdi Tabatabai called the report a “continuation of previous ridiculous media games” and stated that Pezeshkian would not step down from his position.

Over the past months, the main point of tension between Pezeshkian and the IRGC leadership has reportedly been the management of the war’s devastating impact on people’s well-being and the national economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Photo by Anadolu/Getty Images.

U.S. AND IRAN EXCHANGED FRESH STRIKES: On June 1, Iran attacked U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait with ballistic missiles, according to the U.S. CENTCOM. No U.S. personnel were harmed in the attack.

The same day Kuwait said that it downed projectiles, after Iran attacked a base in Kuwait used by the U.S. Iran claimed that the site was used in a U.S. attack on an Iranian communications tower on Sirik Island an hour earlier.

This comes after the U.S. launched a series of attacks on Iran over the weekend. U.S. CENTCOM said that military forces had taken out “Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two…drones” on May 31. This is the third time in a week both sides have exchanged fire.

NETANYAHU ORDERED DEEPER LEBANON INVASION: On May 31, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that he had ordered the army to expand its ground operations in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire declared more than six weeks ago. Netanyahu stated that the push to move deeper in Lebanon marked a “dramatic shift” in Israel’s policy.

On Sunday, Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle — a 900-year-old fortress in southern Lebanon — and a strategic ridge adjacent to it.

….FOLLOWING HEZBOLLAH ATTACKS ON ISRAEL: On Saturday, Israeli forces detected 15 different attacks launched by Hezbollah into northern Israel. In response, the IDF announced new restrictions for large areas in the north of the country in response to Hezbollah’s escalation. Under these restrictions, all schools in communities along Israel’s border with Lebanon will be closed for at least two days. Outdoor gatherings in these areas are also limited to 50 people and indoor gatherings to 200.

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced that the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, located just 10 km from the Lebanese border, is relocating its inpatient wards to an underground shelter complex.

A photo of the ruins of Beaufort Castle in Lebanon. Photo from Monik-a/Getty Images.

IRAN RESTORED ACCESS TO MOST UNDERGROUND MISSILE BASES: Iran has reopened 50 of the 69 tunnel entrances that were targeted by the U.S. and Israel at 18 underground missile sites, CNN reported.

Trump, along with other U.S. officials, has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. has decimated Iran’s military capabilities during the war. However, experts believe that Iran still maintains about 1,000 missiles in underground facilities. Since many of them are located deep below the surface, strikes on the entrances may have left the arsenal itself largely intact.

A missile base in Dezful, Iran, four of the five entrances to the underground facility could be seen reopened on May 12. One entrance to the complex that remained blocked is circled in grey. Photo from CNN.

U.S. SECRETLY ESCORTED 70 SHIPS VIA THE HORMUZ STRAIT IN 3 WEEKS: The U.S. CENTCOM has coordinated the passage of approximately 70 commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks, the New York Times reported. The ships turned off their transponders to avoid detection by Iran.

“Although U.S. forces are not escorting the ships, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial vessels,” a U.S. CENTCOM spokesperson said.

The route taken by the U.S.-coordinated vessels runs closer to the Omani coast than to the Iranian shore, where vessels without Iranian permission face an almost inevitable attack by drones or patrol boats. But more than half of the 895 recorded passages through the strait between March 1 and May 19, transited via route along the Iranian coast, indicating coordination with Tehran rather than with Washington.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Oleksandra