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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Israel would be the “leader” of a potential military strike against Iran if Tehran doesn’t give up its nuclear weapons program. “If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump said. “Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us, but we do what we want to do.” Trump said on Wednesday that he doesn’t have a definitive timeline for the talks to come to a resolution. “When you start talks, you know, if they’re going along well or not,” Trump said. “And I would say the conclusion would be what I think they’re not going along well. So that’s just a feeling.” “I want Iran to be great,” Trump said Wednesday. “The only thing that they can’t have is a nuclear weapon. They understand that.”
Dozens Sue Iran and North Korea, Saying They Sponsored Terrorists | Washington Post
Dozens of people who were injured or lost family members in terrorist strikes in the Middle East filed a federal lawsuit against Iran and North Korea on Wednesday, saying the two countries provided funding, weapons and training to militant groups that targeted Americans.
Iran Orders Drone Base Expansion as Tensions Grow with US | Newsweek
Iran's armed forces have developed a range of drone systems and plan to set up new drone bases to counter threats to the Islamic Republic's sovereignty, Iranian media reported.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Make no mistake: the first day of the last days of the Iranian ayatollah’s barbaric regime begins when the diverse tapestry that is the Iranian diaspora comes together under one roof—and collectively interacts with US administration officials. This genuine consolidation is precisely what the anti-American, Islamist tyrant Ali Khamenei and his band of terrorist thugs in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fear the most.
UANI Research Director Daniel Roth Discusses U.S-Iran Talks | NewsX World
UANI Research Director Daniel Roth Joins NewsX World to discuss nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
FMC Probes Flag States Harbouring ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessels | Lloyd’s List
After previously announcing an investigation into maritime choke points, the US Federal Maritime Commission chairman [Louis] Sola is continuing to embrace a growing role beyond regulating liner shipping, and is now probing flag states facilitating sanctioned oil trades. According to US monitoring group United Against Nuclear Iran, Panama flagged more than 40% of the Iran-trading fleet at the onset of 2024. UANI’s latest estimates put that at 17.4%. Sola also criticised the International Maritime Organization for moving too slowly on fake registries. According to UANI, 10% of vessels involved in Iranian oil trades are flying false flags.
Iran Transfers Missiles to Iraqi Militias amid Nuclear Talks with U.S. | JFeed
In a significant move, Iran has transferred long-range missiles to its proxy militias in Iraq, marking the first such transfer of advanced weaponry to the region. Kasra Aarabi, Director of IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran, suggests that the Iranian regime is struggling to balance its domestic political dynamics with its external security concerns. The hardline base of the IRGC, which once viewed the regime as ideologically committed to confronting Israel and the U.S., is increasingly frustrated by what they perceive as hesitancy and compromises made by the leadership. This dissatisfaction is fueled by military setbacks in Syria and attacks on Israel that failed to yield significant results.
According to Kasra Aarabi, Director of IRGC Research at the think tank United Against Nuclear Iran, the regime is paying a heavy price for agreeing to talks with the U.S. “After Syria & a series of perceived ideological betrayals, younger radicals in the IRGC are increasingly turning on the regime’s leadership. Direct talks with who they see as Soleimani’s ‘murderer’ will not be without repercussions,” Aarabi wrote on X. Members of this constituency have begun to question the ideological commitment of the IRGC leadership after Israel decapitated Hezbollah and destroyed Iran’s military presence in Syria. “They openly began to question the ideological commitment of the IRGC’s oligarchy and the leadership’s hesitancy to strike Israel—and have suggested they are colluding with Israel’s intelligence services,” according to a recent article by Aarabi and Prof. Saeid Golkar in Foreign Policy. “Even when the IRGC conducted unprecedented direct attacks on Israel, the ineffectiveness of the regime’s missiles and drones, which Iranian commanders had always boasted about, further demoralized the hard base that had always believed the regime’s propaganda about the IRGC’s capabilities.”
“The final straw, however, would take place over 700 miles from Iran, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria,” they wrote.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Will the U.S. Strike a Deal with Iran This Weekend? | Free Press
Last month, Donald Trump sat at his desk in the Oval Office and personally edited the final draft of a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose government allegedly plotted to kill Trump last year. Administration officials said that Trump’s letter expresses these two poles: reconciliation and war. And his personal involvement shows how he wants to directly manage the Iran debate and its factions. We are likely to know more about which approach is winning after a scheduled meeting this weekend in Oman between Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, a veteran of previous nuclear negotiations with Washington. This encounter will essentially start the clock on the president’s two-month deadline.
Iran Says Talks with US Will Be Indirect, Contradicting Trump | The Hill
[Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi] on Wednesday insisted that talks with the U.S. this weekend will take place through an intermediary, contradicting President Trump’s statements that American and Iranian officials will meet face-to-face to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran Says External Threats Could Lead to Deterrent Measures Against IAEA | Reuters
Iran may suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if external threats continue, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump again warned of military force if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal.
Three days before the scheduled start of talks between the Iranian regime and representatives of US President Donald Trump in Oman, the gaps between the two sides regarding both the format of the talks and the subjects to be discussed appear especially wide. Another dispute that threatens the very launch of the talks is Iran's demand that sanctions be gradually lifted during the negotiations, rather than only at their conclusion, if and when an agreement is reached. Sources familiar with the negotiations said Iran initially demanded a freeze on sanctions as a precondition for the talks, but was forced to back down.
Time Is Running Out to Stop Iran’s Crude Nuclear Bomb | Telegraph
[T]he threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is significantly greater than it was a decade ago, thanks in part to fears of a “crude” weapon that could be brought online within months.
SANCTIONS, SHIPPING, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Issues New Sanctions on Iran as Trump Seeks Talks | Reuters
The [Treasury] department designated five entities and one person based in Iran for their support of Iran’s nuclear program, Treasury said in a statement, with the aim of denying Iran a nuclear weapon. The designated groups played a crucial role in supporting two previously sanctioned entities that manage the country’s nuclear program: the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and its subordinate, The Iran Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA), Treasury said.
China Trade Spat Undermines Trump’s ‘Max Pressure’ Iran Campaign: Bousso | Reuters
The deepening trade war between the United States and China could significantly undermine President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, which earns tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually from oil sales to Beijing.
ASSASSINATIONS
Iranian Dissident’s Murder Probe Remains Alive in Germany—Prosecutor | Iran International
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor says the investigation into the 1992 murder of dissident Iranian singer Fereydoun Farrokhzad remains open, following claims by an ex-IRGC official that the Islamic Republic ordered the killing in Bonn.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Iran and the United States will hold talks in the sultanate of Oman on Saturday in an attempt to jump-start negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Regardless of the format, the talks represent a milestone in the fraught relations between the two nations over Iran’s program, which is enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels. Here’s a timeline of the tensions between the two countries over Iran’s atomic program.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
AMIA Prosecutor Requests International Arrest Warrant for Khamenei | Jerusalem Post
Sebastián Basso, the lead prosecutor in the AMIA bombing case, has requested a national and international arrest warrant against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei due to his direct involvement in the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, according to Argentinian daily Clarín on Wednesday. In 1994, the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish community center was bombed, killing 85 and wounding 300. Hezbollah is believed to be behind the attack, with Iranian backing and support.
Are B-2 Bombers a Message to Iran? 'We'll Let Them Decide,' Pentagon Chief Says | Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was up to Iran to decide whether the recent U.S. movement of B-2 bombers was a message to Tehran, as he voiced hope that U.S.-Iran negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program could be resolved peacefully.
Egypt Urges Iran to Protect Red Sea Trade After Houthi Attacks | The National
Egypt has urged Iran to avoid actions that could further destabilise the Middle East, with Cairo pressing the need to restore security to the Red Sea after attacks on shipping by the Tehran-backed Houthis.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Anxious Iranians Hope Nuclear Talks May Ease Risk of US Attack | Reuters
Weary from long years of biting sanctions and worried about US threats of military action, Iranians have responded to the prospect of talks this weekend with expressions of hope that have boosted their stock market and depressed currency.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Lindsey Graham Warns of Iran Nuclear Bombs: ‘They’ll Come After Us’ | Newsweek
Senator Lindsey Graham: “They have enough highly enriched uranium to make six bombs. They will use it. Iran is very close to assembling six nuclear bombs. They will kill Israel. They’ll come after us.”
Lawmakers, National Security Experts Skeptical of Trump’s Iran Diplomacy | Jewish Insider
Pro-Israel lawmakers from both parties as well as national security experts are expressing deep skepticism towards the Trump administration’s push for a nuclear deal with Iran, set to formally begin this weekend with talks in Oman. Their views reflect a widespread consensus that an adequate deal that would fully dismantle Iran’s nuclear program will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.
Trump's Talks with Iran Raise Questions, Concerns | The Hill
President Trump is set to open direct talks with Iran this weekend in a high-stakes push for Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions, raising a chorus of questions and concerns from lawmakers in both parties. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the influential Republican Study Committee, said anything short of a nuclear disbandment was unacceptable.
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran has been seeking to increase ties with Egypt after many years in which the two countries have not enjoyed warm relations.