Morning Briefing: Saturday 23 May 2026
- Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday to join Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who had met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi twice in two days. A Qatari negotiating team is also in Tehran in coordination with the United States; Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden that Pakistan remains the “primary interlocutor”. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei tempered expectations: “deep and extensive differences remain… we cannot necessarily say we have reached a point where a deal is near.” A third Qatari LNG tanker (Al Sahla) is transiting the Strait of Hormuz to China.
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a rearguard action to save her job this morning, telling friends she would like to stay even under a new prime minister. Her supporters are now actively lobbying Labour MPs — warning that Burnham’s reported preferred chancellor pick, Ed Miliband, “would not be trusted by the bond markets”. The chancellor question is now, “almost as important as that for prime minister”. Brent has eased further to $102.30; ten-year gilts at 5.02%, down sixteen basis points from Friday a week ago.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on 22 May that 35 vessels have now transited the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining Iranian “permits” and “security” — framed by ISW as the operational rollout of the “mafia-esque protection racket”. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the International Maritime Organization have all rejected Iran’s claim that the strait is in its territorial waters. The United Nations nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference concluded last night without agreement after four weeks.
Pakistan Defence Chief Munir Arrives Tehran; Mediation Enters Decisive Phase
Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Friday to join Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who had met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi twice in two days. Munir was at the centre of t…
Iran’s Baghaei — “Deep and Extensive Differences Remain”; Hopes Tempered
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei tempered expectations of a breakthrough on Friday, saying that “deep and extensive” differences remain between Washington and Tehran. “We cannot necessarily say we have reached a point whe…
IRGC Says 35 Vessels Obtained “Permits”; Gulf States + IMO Reject
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Friday that 35 vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining Iranian “permits” and “security”. the “security” as “effectively protection from attacks by Iranian forces, which…
UN Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference Concludes Without Agreement
The United Nations nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference concluded last night after four weeks without an agreement, the Associated Press reports, with the United States and Iran on opposite sides throughout. The US called Ira…
Third Qatari LNG Tanker Through Hormuz to China; First to Beijing-Direct
A third Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, the Al Sahla (211,842 cubic metres), is transiting the Strait of Hormuz and heading to China, the first material commercial movement to China direct since the war began. The vessel left Ras Laff…
Reeves Rearguard; Allies Warn Bond Markets Would Reject Miliband
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a rearguard action to save her job this morning, telling friends she would like to stay in the post even under a new prime minister. Her supporters have been urging MPs to back her if Sir Keir Starmer…
Burnham “Change By-election”; Thinly Veiled No 10 Pitch
Andy Burnham formally launched his Makerfield by-election campaign in Ashton-in-Makerfield on Friday with what the Guardian described as “a barely coded pitch for Downing Street”, saying a vote for him would be “a vote to change Labour”. B…
Burnham — Migration “Needs to Fall Further”; Doorstep Concerns
At Friday’s Makerfield campaign launch, Andy Burnham said that UK net migration “needs to fall further”, after Office for National Statistics data on Thursday showed net migration had almost halved to 171,000 in 2025. People on the doorste…
Starmer Says “100% Behind” Burnham; Will Campaign in Makerfield
Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Thursday he would campaign personally in the Makerfield by-election for Andy Burnham. “I want to be part of that, of course I do,” the Prime Minister said. “I’ve said to the whole Labour movement that I w…
Mahmood’s Migration “Success Story”; Burnham “Rowed Back”
The Times editorial framed the 171,000 net-migration figure as Labour’s “immigration success story” on Thursday evening — Mahmood’s skills-based programme vindicated after Mahmood “came bottom in a poll of Labour members testing the popula…