Russia and the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan have reached a military and technical cooperation agreement, Russian news outlet Interfax reported this week.
The deal was concluded during the International Security Forum held in Moscow. According to the report by Interfax’s correspondent, Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob held talks with Secretary of Russia's Security Council Sergei Shoigu on the sidelines of the event.
Russian MoD, via XDuring the meeting, Yaqoob said that engagement with Russia is important for the Taliban-led administration and that both sides have been expanding their bilateral relations. He added that Afghanistan and Russia share historic ties and that Kabul aims to maintain and strengthen those relations.
Shoigu urged western countries to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and take responsibility for the country’s reconstruction during the event.
“We are convinced that western countries must unfreeze frozen Afghan assets, fully acknowledge their full responsibility for their 20-year presence in Afghanistan, and assume the entire burden of post-conflict reconstruction of the country,” Shoigu said.
One day later, on Thursday, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Vasily Osmakov met with Yaqoob in Moscow to discuss regional security and potential bilateral military cooperation.
According to the ministry, the two sides addressed security issues in Central and South Asia, as well as the outlook for cooperation between their armed forces, including areas of military collaboration.
Russia was the first to recognize the Taliban-led state that assumed control in Afghanistan in 2021. The recognition took place in July 2025.
US troops launched a hasty and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban’s 2021 victory and subsequent takeover of the country.
The US military left behind large amounts of equipment. An internal State Department review from 2023 attributed the chaotic evacuation to poor planning.
We've come a long way since the era of Operation Cyclone...
Since then, the country has remained blocked from accessing around $9 billion in frozen Afghan assets. Washington controls the vast majority of these funds via the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 11:40Iran's state Tasnim is saying the US naval blockade remains in effect, despite days of headlines of a 'finalized' US-Iran deal, which were clearly premature - though both sides still signal they are close to agreeing on a Memorandum of Understanding. But this is toward simply extending the ceasefire by 60-days in order to get back to the table, in hopes of finally ending the war based on a final deal.
Despite President Trump's latest warning which declared strict conditions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran appears to be completely brushing his words aside, and is moving closer to formalizing its authority over vital energy shipping waterway.
via Palestine ChronicleState-run Nour News is reporting that a bill outlining Tehran's role in managing passage through the strategic waterway has been finalized and is expected to be brought to a vote soon.
According to Bloomberg, Iranian lawmaker Alireza Salimi did not provide a specific timeline for the vote but said the legislation is on track to become law. Salimi said that "only Iran and Oman can decide on Strait of Hormuz management" - adding that "the Omani side has given preliminary approval" to Tehran's plan.
He further emphasized the strategic importance of Hormuz, declaring that "the Strait of Hormuz is more important and more valuable to the Islamic Republic of Iran than dozens of nuclear bombs."
Previous comments by Salimi indicate the bill would cover shipping security, the collection of navigation and environmental pollution fees, as well as the creation of a regional development and progress fund - all of which critics have dismissed as but Tehran's ruse to collect what is in effect a "toll".
The legislation is expected to undergo review by Iran's Guardian Council, which is responsible for vetting and approving all laws before they take effect.
President Trump has sternly warned against the Islamic Republic and Oman teaming up to assert control over the strait. As a reminder, during a Wednesday televised cabinet meeting he said as follows:
“No, the strait’s got to be open to everybody; it’s international waters,” the president told reporters. “We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have.”
“They would like to control it; nobody’s going to control it. It’s international waters,” he continued. “And Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ’em up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.”
In the wake of this, Iran has been expressing solidarity with Oman. As reported in The Hill:
Iran reupped its backing for Oman on Thursday, after President Trump warned the latter nation to “behave” or face consequences.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in a statement that Iran would support the Gulf nation, which is separated from Iran by the Strait of Hormuz, against U.S. threats, Reuters reported. He also criticized recent strikes in Bandar Abbas, a southern port city.
The irony in all of this is that Oman has long been an American ally in the region, though is also often called the "Switzerland of the Middle East" for its diplomatic and mediatory role in regional disputes.
🚨 BREAKING
🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. naval restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz remain in effect despite Trump’s Truth Social statements. This suggests that key elements of the U.S.–Iran understanding are still not fully finalized.
The situation indicates that the broader agreement has not… pic.twitter.com/1n7uRRXFEs
Despite generally positive relations with Washington going back years and even decades, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chastized Oman, stating on X Thursday: "The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz."
"Oman, in particular, should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved - directly or indirectly - in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalized," Bessent stated. "All nations should reject outright any efforts by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce. Tehran’s days of terrorizing the region and the world are over."
Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 11:05Authored by Aaron Wood via CoinTelegraph.com,
The AI and crypto industries have made headlines over the past year thanks to the impressive war chests amassed by corporate political action committees (PACs).
Profligate spending during the last federal elections in the US has led to unprecedented policy changes favoring the crypto industry, with indications that a full legislative framework in the form of the CLARITY Act is on its way to becoming law.
But this hasn’t endeared the crypto industry to voters. Recent polls from Politico show distrust of the crypto industry, and the electorate isn’t sold on the benefits of AI.
“Voters across the ideological spectrum are raising concerns,” Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at Issue One, told Cointelegraph. “Some candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to harness that frustration and outrage.”
Voters don’t trust crypto and don’t believe AI benefits themAccording to the recent poll by Public First for Politico, most Americans don’t trust crypto and don’t believe in the benefits of AI.
Source: Politico
While Republican voters are somewhat more likely to trust crypto, 47% of Americans overall trust a traditional bank over a crypto platform, while 17% trust a crypto platform as much as a traditional bank.
The numbers for AI aren’t great either. Some 43% of Americans overall believe that the risks outweigh the benefits, while 33% believe the inverse.
Source: Politico
Currently, most people haven’t heard about the major crypto and AI lobbies. According to Politico, only nine percent have heard of AI Super PAC Leading the Future. Only three percent have heard of pro-crypto PAC Fairshake.
That’s not much compared to public awareness of large lobbies like the National Rifle Association or the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which are practically household names.
Still, association with crypto could be a problem. Ohio Republican Representative Jim Renacci told Politico, “I do think if they see somebody is backed by crypto, that’s always going to be a problem, because, let’s face it, the people that I talk to in Ohio, they don’t understand crypto, and most say they’re not comfortable with [it].”
Improving awareness around crypto lobbies may not help them much. Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen, told Cointelegraph:
“Generally speaking, voters are against corporate money influencing politics.”“Even after Citizens United, the norm had been for big, brand-name corporations not to engage directly. Or when they did engage, they would often contribute through dark money groups that obscure their funding source.”
In this regard, the crypto industry’s spending spree in 2024 was somewhat unusual. Major contributors like Coinbase or a16z weren’t shy about the millions of dollars they put into campaigns.
But even then, “the voter-facing message from Fairshake was never about crypto, which voters never really cared about.” Mailers and ad buys reflected the supported candidates' positions more broadly, or sometimes attacked those of the perceived anti-crypto candidate.
Overall, “candidates who are seen as not beholden to corporate interests have an electoral edge,” said Claypool. This was true for populist candidates like US Senator Bernie Sanders and even US President Donald Trump, who claimed during his 2016 campaign that “he was so rich he could not be bought, which is laughable in hindsight.”
If awareness about crypto — and crypto’s concerted efforts to influence policy — increases among the electorate, it may not shake out well.
Issue One’s Beckel said, “If voters view an industry as toxic, that can have serious implications for candidates who don't want to be perceived as too close to a controversial company or industry.”
Grassroots organize against AI, crypto gets its day in WashingtonVoter dissatisfaction with a certain industry has translated into real action.
Beckel noted a recent example when voter attitudes about the oil and fossil fuel lobby were enough to get some Democratic candidates to swear off any contributions. Beckel said that some organizations are already urging lawmakers to forswear any contributions from AI lobbies.
Indeed, there has been a grassroots movement growing against the AI industry more directly, namely the construction of the highly expensive and resource-intensive data centers. Local movements in seven states have blocked or delayed over $64 billion in data center investment. One state, Maine, is poised to introduce a state-wide ban.
Municipalities in California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Virginia have banned or delayed projects. Source: Data Center Watch
According to Claypool, this could prove a great opportunity for Congressional candidates “to seize the grassroots momentum against data centers and Big Tech for Democrats in particular, but not exclusively, since the tech sector has so fully enmeshed itself with the Trump administration.”
This increasing partisan alignment could also affect how voters perceive these industries.
Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that the crypto industry has attempted to “maintain a degree of bipartisanship and identify people whom they think will be champions on these issues.”
But even as the lobby claims to be bipartisan — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called crypto “the most bipartisan issue” in DC — its priorities like deregulation and withdrawn enforcement lean mostly, but not exclusively, Republican, said Claypool.
Claypool said that “crypto billionaires have tried to present themselves as scrappy underdogs against Wall Street.”
“But that's a less compelling argument now that crypto allies run, in addition to the White House, the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, the Treasury Dept., and the Commerce Dept.”
Furthermore, the sector has become deeply tied to Trump himself after the president’s full embrace of the industry in 2024, as well as pardons for convicted crypto execs and his use of crypto for his own personal enrichment.
With Trump’s popularity sliding due to geopolitical bungles, an unpredictable economic outlook and controversial policies at home, having ties to him and his party may carry political risk.
In a Democratic Illinois Senate primary, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton accused her opponent Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of being backed by big money from “MAGA-backed crypto bros.” She won by seven points.
It could also influence future policymaking. Said Beckel, “If an industry is viewed as a friend of one party and enemy of another, it may be more likely to be in the crosshairs or under the microscope when the other party is in power.”
For crypto and AI, that moment may come as soon as Nov. 4.
Tyler Durden Sat, 05/30/2026 - 10:30