The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO, hand reins over to iPhone maker’s hardware leader

Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down from the job that he inherited from the late Steve Jobs, ending a nearly 15-year reign that saw the company’s market value soar by more than $3.6 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity.

Cook, 65, will turn the CEO duties over to Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, on September 1 while remaining involved with the Cupertino, California, company as executive chairman. That’s similar to the transitions made by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Netflix’s Reed Hastings after they ended their highly successful tenures as CEO.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” Cook says in a statement. “I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people.”

Ternus, 50, has been with Apple for the past quarter century, including the past five years overseeing the engineering underlying the iPhone, iPad and Mac — a role that made him a prime candidate to succeed Cook.

“I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward,” Ternus says in a statement.

The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the most upheaval within the industry since Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.

Earlier this year, Apple finally turned to Google — an early leader in the AI race — for help making the iPhone’s virtual assistant Siri into a more conversational and versatile helper.

Although he never shook the perception that he lacked Jobs’ vision, Cook leveraged the popularity of the iPhone and other breakthroughs orchestrated by his predecessor to lift Apple to heights that seemed unfathomable when it was on the brink of bankruptcy during the mid-1990s.

Iran’s top negotiator blasts Trump for imposing US naval blockade, amid doubts over further talks

Iran’s chief negotiator seems to cast further doubt on a second round of talks with the United States.

In a post on X, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf hits out at President Donald Trump over the American naval blockade of Iran, accusing the US of seeking to use the talks to force the Islamic Republic’s “surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” Ghalibaf writes.

He also says Iran has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Police arrest ultra-Orthodox extremists seen tearing down Israeli flags on eve of Memorial Day

Police say they have arrested two ultra-Orthodox extremists who were allegedly seen tearing down Israeli flags in the town of Beit Shemesh on the eve of Memorial Day.

The suspects were transferred for questioning after which a decision will be made as to whether to request that their remand be extended.

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