May 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. plan for Gaza, seen by Reuters on Friday, proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages – alive and dead – in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians. The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. The White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal. Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The prime minister’s office declined to comment. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had received the Israeli response to the proposal, which it said “fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people” including an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hamas official Basem Naim said the Israeli response “fundamentally seeks to entrench the occupation and perpetuate policies of killing and starvation, even during what is supposed to be a period of temporary de-escalation”. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas reviewing a ceasefire proposal as Israeli strikes kill at least 14 in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response.
President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week about brokering an agreement that could halt the Israel-Hamas war, allow more aid into Gaza, and return more of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, around a third of whom are alive.
Experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza — slightly eased in recent days — has pushed the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians to the brink of famine.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left around 1,200 dead. US- and Israeli-backed foundation says it distributed over 2 million meals The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said Friday it distributed more than 2 million of what it described as meals within four days of starting operations. It said that on Friday it distributed six truckloads of food at one distribution point. The GHF has faced criticism by aid groups and Palestinians for a chaotic rollout since it began operations this week. The group said that it was committed to safely and effectively supplying food to a “large, hungry population.” It said it planned to scale and build additional sites — including in the north of Gaza — in the coming weeks and that it was testing and adapting its distribution model to safely deliver as much aid as possible to the greatest number of people.
Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday, while Hamas has had a cooler response. “If they (Hamas) want guarantees, we will give them guarantees that after the last hostages will back to Israel, we will stop the war,” Samerano said. “I’m telling you, Netanyahu, say yes. All our countries say yes, the families say yes. All the families, when we are saying, stop the world and give us the hostages back.” Hamas said Friday it was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal. The White House said Thursday that Israel accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas officials, however, gave the draft a cool response, saying that it seeks to perpetuate Israel’s policies of killing and starving people in Gaza. Still, the group said it was going to thoroughly review it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to end the war until all the hostages are released and Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
Saudi warned Iran to reach nuclear deal with Trump or risk Israeli strike
DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump’s offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel. Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the region, Saudi Arabia’s 89-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz dispatched his son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, with the warning destined for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to two Gulf sources close to government circles and two Iranian officials. Present at the closed-door meeting in Tehran, which took place on April 17 in the presidential compound, were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the sources said. While media covered the 37-year-old prince’s visit, the content of the King Salman’s covert message has not been previously reported.
Prince Khalid, who was Saudi ambassador to Washington during Trump’s first term, warned Iranian officials that the U.S. leader has little patience for drawn-out negotiations, according to the four sources.
Trump had unexpectedly announced just over a week earlier that direct talks were taking place with Tehran, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. He did so in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had travelled to Washington hoping instead to win support for attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
In Tehran, Prince Khalid told the group of senior Iranian officials that Trump’s team would want to reach a deal quickly, and the window for diplomacy would close fast, according to the four sources.
The Saudi minister said it would be better to reach a deal with the U.S. than face the possibility of an Israeli attack if the talks broke down, according to the two Gulf sources.
He argued that the region – already riven by recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon – could not withstand a further escalation in tensions, said the two Gulf sources and one senior foreign diplomat familiar with the discussions. Mohanad Hage Ali, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank in Beirut, said that Tehran’s weakness had offered Saudi Arabia the opportunity to exert its diplomatic influence, seeking to avoid a regional conflagration. “They want to avoid war because war and confrontation with Iran will have negative implications on them and their economic vision and ambitions,” he told Reuters.
IRAN WANTS A DEAL
Reuters was unable to determine the impact of the prince’s message on Iran’s leadership.
In the meeting, Pezeshkian responded that Iran wanted a deal to ease economic pressure through the lifting of Western sanctions, the four sources said.
However, the Iranian officials, the sources added, expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s “unpredictable” approach to negotiations — which have veered from allowing limited uranium enrichment to demanding the complete dismantling of Tehran’s enrichment program.
Trump also has threatened to use military force if diplomacy fails to rein in the clerical establishment’s nuclear ambitions.
One of the Iranian sources said that Pezeshkian emphasized Tehran’s eagerness to reach a deal but that Iran was not willing to sacrifice its enrichment program just because Trump wanted an agreement. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Iran might pause uranium enrichment if the U.S. releases its frozen funds and recognises its right to refine uranium for civilian use under a “political deal” that could lead to a broader nuclear accord, according to two Iranian sources familiar with the talks. The semi-official Fars news agency in Iran quoted a foreign ministry spokesman denying the report. “President Trump has made it clear: make a deal, or face grave consequences, and the whole world is clearly taking him seriously, as they should,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Trump said on Wednesday he warned Netanyahu last week not to take any actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran, and said the two sides were “very close to a solution now”.
nn: Time is running out
Israel said to accept Witkoff’s ceasefire proposal…… Hamas: New proposal doesn’t meet our demands
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told hostage families that his government accepted United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a hostage and Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported on Thursday, citing a person who attended the meeting. The reporter previously stated that Hamas, on the other hand, was not satisfied with the proposed deal, as the militant group thought the proposal shifted in Israel’s favor. The proposal reportedly does not guarantee that a temporary ceasefire will lead to a permanent one. Netanyahu faced pressure in Israel to accept the deal, as opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the Israeli prime minister of destroying the country’s ties with the US and urged him to immediately accept Witkoff’s proposal for a ceasefire.
Hamas: New proposal doesn’t meet our demands
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Thursday in a statement that the latest ceasefire and hostage deal proposal, put forth by United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, doesn’t meet “any of our people’s demands.” “The occupation’s response, in essence, means perpetuating the occupation and continuing the killing and famine [even during the temporary ceasefire],” he commented. Naim added, however, that even with this being the case, the militant group is still “studying the proposal.” Meanwhile, the media reported that the Israeli side accepted the proposed agreement.
EIA Weekly Petroleum Report
EIA petroleum report for the week ending May 23, 2025
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 2.8 million barrels from the previous week. At 440.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6% below the five year average for this time of year. U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.3 million barrels per day during the week ending May 23, 2025, which was 162 thousand barrels per day less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 90.2% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.8 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased by 100 thousand barrels per day last week, averaging 4.8 million barrels per day. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.4 million barrels per day last week, increased by 262 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6 million barrels per day, 10.3% less than the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 755 thousand barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 114 thousand barrels per day. Total motor gasoline
inventories decreased by 2.4 million barrels from last week and are about 3% below the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories decreased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels last week and are about 17% below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 2 million barrels from last week and are 4% below the five year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels last week. Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 19.9 million barrels a day, down by 0.2% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product
supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels a day, down by 1.5% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, down by 2.6% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 5.3 % compared with the same four-week period last year
Israel’s laser defense shot down dozens of aerial threats
In a historic breakthrough, the IDF on Wednesday announced that an unnamed laser defense system similar to the much celebrated Iron Beam laser system has shot down dozens of aerial threats during the war. According to the Defense Ministry, the Iron Beam and a related family of laser defense systems, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, are the most advanced and operational lasers in the world, though England, the US, and others also have relatively advanced laser platforms. Sources have told the Post that what makes the Iron Beam the most advanced is its reliability in different kinds of weather, variable range, adaptability to different kinds of aerial threats, and the ability to place it in different contexts. Other sources said that they could not reveal the name of the sister-laser system to the Iron Beam, whose progress was being publicly revealed on Wednesday.
The implication was that the Lite Beam would be effective against drones and possibly against mortars but would not shoot down most rockets or long-range missiles, which Israel eventually hopes the Iron Beam will do. In general, laser defense technologies are viewed as a major part of future air defense because they would end the arms cost race in which Israel and other wealthy countries constantly waste huge amounts of money to protect themselves from weaker adversaries using cheap, low attack forms of threats. The sources added that the Lite Beam has hard kill neutralization capabilities, which can be integrated on any vehicular platform and operational capabilities, and that it can also be a component of the drone dome, which utilizes both soft kill and jamming. Rafael said that the Lite Beam “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine, and negligible cost per interception.” On Wednesday, Gold said, “Our vision for deploying laser weapons was realized during the war with tremendous technological and operational success. IDF combat units displayed boldness in integrating and carrying out the first successful operational deployments of the systems, and the lessons learned will be applied as we deploy more operational laser systems. “Laser interception systems will provide an additional layer within Israel’s multi-tiered air defense array, which has been meticulously developed through the tireless efforts of the defense industries and Israel’s exceptional human capital. We will continue to advance this technology and deliver world-leading systems and capabilities to the IDF, turning vision into security in air, sea, land, and across every dimension.” Head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development Brig.-Gen. Yehuda Elmakayes stated, “During the war, we deployed several high-power laser system prototypes, resulting in significant achievements, culminating in the world’s first successful high-power laser interceptions on the battlefield. “Throughout this period, we gained substantial experience in optimizing and operating laser technologies in the field. We are currently integrating these insights into the systems under development while expanding the range of laser-based systems to protect Israeli civilians and IDF forces.” In addition, lasers are generally, for now, thought of as defending against short- and medium-range threats, not ballistic missiles, which are generally shot down much farther away from a country’s defense line. For example, Israel’s Arrow 3 missile system shoots down ballistic missiles up in Earth’s atmosphere, a much greater distance to achieve for a laser to remain effective at destroying an object.
Crude Oil Prices Rise After US Court Blocks Trump’s Tariffs
- A U.S. trade court ruled President Trump exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs, reinforcing congressional control over trade.
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Oil prices rose over 1% as traders welcomed the ruling and bullish signals from demand forecasts countering glut concerns.
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Analysts remain cautious due to expected OPEC+ supply increases and the limited impact of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
A U.S. trade court on Thursday blocked the tariffs that President Trump has imposed on U.S. trade partners, saying the president overstepped his authority. The news pushed oil prices higher earlier today even as the market awaits bearish news from OPEC+. “The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the President’s use of tariffs as leverage,” the Court of International Trade’s three-member panel wrote in its ruling that imposes a permanent injunction on all the tariffs that Trump has announced since taking office. “That use is impermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective, but because [federal law] does not allow it,” the judges said, as quoted by Reuters. They noted that Congress and not the president has exclusive authority over trade relations with other countries, and presidential emergency powers cannot override this authority.
Following the news, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate rose by over 1%, with Brent trading at $65.68 per barrel at the time of writing, and WTI changing hands for $62.63 per barrel. The court’s ruling has given traders a bit of a breather, analysts commented, and reason for a more optimistic outlook on oil demand—supported by data suggesting all the forecasts of a glut may have been premature.
Rystad Energy challenged the assumption of a glut, saying that market balance data actually suggested demand was stronger than supply growth. “From May through August, the data points to a constructive, bullish bias with liquids demand set to outpace supply,” analyst Mukesh Sahdev said, as quoted by Reuters. He expects demand to exceed supply growth by between 600,000 bpd and 700,000 bpd.
NN: i stand on my wok as an analyst that oil is a screaming buy
US oil inventories down by 4.2M barrels
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 4.2 million barrels in the week that ended May 23, private data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) revealed on Wednesday. In the reported week, distillate inventories repo increased by 1.3 million barrels, while gasoline stockpiles fell by 528,000 barrels. Meanwhile, reserves in Cushing, Oklahoma, allegedly slipped by 342,000 barrels during the same week.
And Oil adds another 1.5% as US court blocks Trump tariffs
Crude prices increased on Thursday following the US Court of International Trade’s decision to prevent the majority of President Donald Trump’s tariffs from being implemented. Markets also monitored possible new US restrictions on Russian oil exports, while OPEC+ is expected to hike production starting in July during its meeting this Saturday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for deliveries in July jumped by 1.70% at 2:31 am ET to sell for $62.89 per barrel. A minute later, Brent for settlements in July added 1.59% to go for $65.93 per barrel.
nn: this is a big awh shit
WTI up over 2.5% following OPEC+ Decision To NOT Cut Production
told you so!!
Crude oil prices rose by over 2% on Wednesday after reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, decided to maintain its oil output baselines unchanged until 2027. Additionally, it was reported that further negotiations on setting country-specific baselines are expected to take place in November.West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for deliveries in July climbed by 2.63% at 11:45 am ET, going for $62.46 per barrel, while Brent for settlements in July gained 2.37% at the same time and sold for $65.47 per barrel.
NN: i kept telling you no way an OPEC stand prices this low