Strait of Hormuz tanker stop, dockworker strike, and Vance's Iran letter

Iran halts two tankers, European dockworkers strike against arms shipments, and Vance offers a personal meeting with a former IRGC commander.

Strait of Hormuz tanker stop, dockworker strike, and Vance's Iran letter — Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Friday that two oil tankers that switched off their navigation systems were stopped south of the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring radio warnings . The move comes amid heightened tensions in the waterway, where earlier this week a tanker was targeted with explosive devices [^1]. Oman separately evacuated 25 crew members from a commercial vessel that was targeted off the coast of Musandam province on Friday [^2]. Dockworkers in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Morocco struck on Friday in an international campaign against arms shipments, with unions declaring: "Ports must not be used for the transport of weapons, ammunition, military equipment and troops. Dockworkers do not work for war!" [^3]. The strike follows an Istanbul Declaration signed by unions from over 35 European countries [^4]. In France, the interior minister announced the deployment of 70,000 security personnel for what authorities described as a high-risk day [^5]. In Berlin, about 1,500 additional police officers will be deployed for planned youth protests in dozens of German cities on Saturday [^6]. Vice President JD Vance sent a personal letter to former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei last week expressing willingness to meet with him personally, even as the Pentagon prepares for the possibility of renewed large-scale combat operations [^7]. The dual-track approach—diplomatic outreach alongside military readiness—reflects the unresolved tension in U.S. policy toward Iran. Trump said in a statement on Iran: "The story will end very soon" [^8]. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators returned to Tehran to push talks between Iran and the United States . Mossad joins Shin Bet probe as Likud's election integrity chief has history of voter suppression — The Mossad is joining a Shin Bet investigation into suspected foreign interference in Israel's 2026 elections, following a directive from Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg to probe suspected foreign funding and election bribery.[^1] The probe comes as Arab voter turnout reached 79.6%, compared to 77.9% overall, with the