Officials in Tehran say they’ve reached a memorandum of understanding with the United States to end fighting on all fronts, in a preliminary peace deal to be signed next Friday. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Iranian television that the agreement includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli forces occupy about one-fifth of Lebanese territory and continue to launch airstrikes. The deal extends the ceasefire by 60 days, creating a window for negotiations on other issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions. On Sunday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.” Trump went on to write, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” After headlines, we’ll get the latest on negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran; we’ll speak with Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed at least three people and wounded 15 others on Sunday. Witnesses said two missiles slammed into an apartment building, causing severe damage to nearby homes and businesses, in what Israel’s military claimed was a “precise” strike on a Hezbollah command center.

Batoul Al-Masri: “We stayed here and didn’t flee throughout the whole year. We are not afraid. We will not leave our home, no matter what happens. But today we didn’t expect this targeting to happen. The children have been terrified, naturally. We will never leave, and whatever happens happens.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bombings came in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. That drew a rare public rebuke from President Trump, who wrote on social media that the attack “should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has promised his forces will remain deployed in southern Lebanon, parts of Syria and much of the Gaza Strip indefinitely.

In Gaza, Israel continues to carry out deadly attacks on Palestinians despite the U.S.-brokered so-called ceasefire signed by Israel in October. Earlier today, a Palestinian woman was killed in an Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip. That followed the killings of at least six Palestinians on Sunday, and three on Saturday. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports the confirmed total death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 73,000 people. Nearly 175,000 injuries have been reported.

In Britain, four Palestine Action activists have been sentenced as terrorists over their involvement in a 2024 protest and raid on a factory operated by one of Israel’s largest arms manufacturers, Elbit. This is the first time in Britain a judge has issued terrorism sentencing enhancements on people who were not actually convicted of terrorism. In May, the four activists were found guilty of smashing up Elbit military equipment. Their prison sentences range from four to over seven years. They must also legally register to a law enforcement terrorist surveillance system for 15 years following their release from prison. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori told Novara Media in response, “This is the first case, and therefore the test case, for trying to convict activists as terrorists, using a manipulated court process.”

In Ukraine, five people were killed in the city of Kharkiv after Russia launched an apparent “double tap” strike on medical workers who rushed to put out the flames from an earlier attack. Separate Russian strikes in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy left two dead and several others wounded. Among those killed was a 73-year-old woman whose car was struck by a Russian drone. Russia also launched its largest strikes on Kyiv in weeks, killing four people and wounding more than 20 others. The attack seriously damaged the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a nearly 1,000-year-old symbol of Ukrainian cultural identity and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Meanwhile, Ukraine launched large-scale drone attacks targeting Russian industrial sites. The governor of Russia’s Tula region says a Ukrainian drone attack killed three civilians, while leaving three others injured, including a 1-year-old child. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’d spoken to President Trump about efforts to end the conflict ahead of this week’s G7 summit in France.

In Afghanistan, at least two people were reported killed after Taliban police officers opened fire on crowds that had gathered to protest the detention of over two dozen women accused of violating a strict dress code in the western city of Herat, according to the U.N. Protests are extremely rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban took back control in 2021 following the U.S. and NATO occupation, imposing draconian measures including a ban on women and girls accessing education and employment.

In related news, dozens of U.S. congressmembers, including at least three Republicans, are urging the Trump administration to halt its plan to deport hundreds of Afghan refugees — who assisted U.S. forces during the invasion of Afghanistan — to the Democratic Republic of Congo or a third country they have no ties to. More than 1,000 Afghan refugees, many of whom served as U.S. interpreters, have been stranded in Qatar for over a year since Trump officials halted their resettlement to the U.S. after they were evacuated from Afghanistan. The group includes over 400 children and relatives of U.S. service members.

The Trump administration announced Friday a U.S. strike inside Venezuela had killed the alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua gang. The attack was done in coordination with Venezuela’s interim government, which came to power after the U.S. abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. President Trump said on social media that U.S. forces “delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute” the accused leader, known as Niño Guerrero. Trump’s Justice Department last year charged Guerrero with multiple federal crimes, including “facilitating acts of terrorism.”

This comes as the Trump administration continues to attack boats off the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, claiming, without evidence, the vessels are linked to drug trafficking. Over 200 people have been killed as the strikes are widely condemned as illegal. Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group said Guerrero’s reported execution came as part of “more lawless, performative killing by the Trump administration.” Finucane added, “Outside of armed conflict, premeditated killing is referred to as murder.”

The Trump administration has blocked the delivery of about 250,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel to Cuba. This follows an agreement between Cuban officials and a Florida-based company to supply the fuel to Cuba’s private sector and humanitarian and religious organizations. Vanguard Energy had signed a contract to lease facilities owned by the Cuban government to store the fuel. But the Trump administration intervened, saying the company had not received proper approval. The shipment was seen as a temporary lifeline for Cuba as the U.S. enforces a near-total blockade on fuel that has compounded already catastrophic humanitarian and energy crises after decades of U.S. sanctions on the island.

In Albania, thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Tirana over the weekend as anti-government protests opposing the development of a massive resort linked to President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner entered a third week. The multibillion-dollar project would turn an abandoned Soviet weapons base, known as Sazan, into a luxury island resort. Protesters on Sunday chanted “revolution.”

Vincens Bushi: “We’re talking about corruption. And, of course, this is just the first moment. The youth in here is just raging against this politics. It’s not just the current government, in general. So, Albania never left communism. Now this is the chance, and that’s why we’re here.”

On Saturday, about 200 protesters tore down metal and razor-wire fences surrounding the luxury development site on the Adriatic coast. Meanwhile, calls are growing for the resignation of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

President Trump celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday by hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn. Thousands of fans gathered around a massive, 600-ton metal structure known as “The Claw” to watch a series of seven mixed martial arts fights, all of which ended in a knockout, while Trump and his family looked on. Also attending were Trump’s secretaries of state, commerce, defense, treasury and homeland security, along with FBI Director Kash Patel and other top officials. UFC champion Sean Strickland was removed from the event by the Secret Service. The 26-year-old fighter said on social media he was not invited to fight or even to attend because he “made fun of Israel and Epstein.” President Trump is a close friend of UFC chief executive Dana White, and Trump owns stock in the UFC’s parent company. The UFC said some of the fighters at the event would be paid in cryptocurrency “stablecoins” issued by the Trump family business World Liberty Financial. Sunday’s event was screened exclusively on Paramount+, which is run by Trump ally David Ellison.

The Trump administration has approved Paramount’s $111 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. On Friday, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said it had seen no evidence that the media megamerger would harm consumers, writing instead that the deal would “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem.” If completed, the merger would consolidate two major movie studios, two top streaming services, and news outlets CNN and CBS News — all under the control of billionaire David Ellison, a vocal supporter of President Trump.

In Washington, D.C., an exterior wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts remains covered by tarps after a federal judge ordered Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the building. The judge had given work crews until Saturday at noon to remove metal letters marking Trump’s name from the facade of the towering marble building, after ruling that the president’s rebranding of the center to include his own name constituted an illegal act.