US and Iranian forces clashed at the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday, trading strikes on ships and, according to Iran, civilian areas — the sharpest escalation since the two countries entered a ceasefire roughly a month ago. Trump insists the ceasefire remains intact, while Iranian state media says the situation has returned to normal, though both sides blame the other for firing first.

The UAE is reportedly countering an Iranian air attack, even as former President Trump claims a ceasefire remains in effect — a development that would mark a dramatic escalation between Iran and a US-aligned Gulf state.

Vladimir Putin used Russia's Victory Day parade on Red Square — notably stripped of military hardware and attended by only a handful of allied leaders amid heightened security — to frame the Ukraine war as a just struggle against a NATO-backed aggressor, while a US-brokered three-day ceasefire and 1,000-prisoner swap briefly paused hostilities at Donald Trump's urging.