TOP STORIES
Israel Preparing to Strike Iran Fast If Trump’s Nuclear Talks Break Down | Axios
Israel is making preparations to swiftly strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if negotiations between the U.S. and Iran collapse, two Israeli sources with knowledge of the discussions tell Axios. . . . The Israeli intelligence community has shifted just in the past few days from believing a nuclear deal was close to thinking talks could soon break down, the sources say. One source said the Israeli military thinks its operational window to conduct a successful strike could close soon, so Israel will have to move fast if talks fail. . . . The two Israeli sources said any Israeli strike on Iran will not be a one-off, but a military campaign lasting at least a week.
US-Iran Nuclear Talks to Resume on Friday | The National
The US and Iran will resume talks on Friday on a potential nuclear deal, it has been announced, even as Tehran says it will never stop enriching uranium.
Iran’s 2025 Execution Total Hits 434 After Seven More People Hanged | IranWire
At least seven prisoners were executed on Wednesday in prisons located in Isfahan, Karaj, and Birjand, bringing Iran’s total number of executions in 2025 to at least 434.
UANI IN THE NEWS
UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky Discusses the Latest on Iran | i24 News
“I think that there’s still time on the clock with the two-month deadline the president offered at the beginning of this process . . . The Trump administration has to be prepared to walk away. The Iranian foreign minister thinks he can dictate to the United States about red lines from Tehran but not accept Washington’s red lines, and Special Envoy Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump, and House and Senate Republicans have been singing from the same song sheet all week. And there’s been a chorus of voices saying that . . . [the U.S.] red line is that there is zero enrichment in Iran, and if Iran does not accept that, then there’s no deal, and Iran will have to grapple with the increasing energy crisis, economic crisis, deterrence crisis, and an increasingly unbridgeable gap between state and society. It has a choice.”
Tipped Workers Score a Huge Win in Congress | Independent Journal Review
[Photo caption] Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers remarks during a press conference on Capitol Hill May 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. The press conference, organized by the non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran, occurred as the United States and Iran continue to negotiate over bilateral issues and growing international concern with Iran’s drone production and proliferation.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
With a fifth round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States set for Friday in Rome, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said uranium enrichment remains the key stumbling block to a breakthrough, even as both sides have shown signs of progress in other areas. “We have so far had four rounds of negotiations [with the United States],” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with the Al Sharq news network. “I can say that the talks have been held in a respectful atmosphere.” “On many issues, we have achieved a better understanding of each other,” Araghchi added. “However, disagreements remain in some areas, particularly over uranium enrichment. Until that is resolved, I don’t think we can reach an agreement.”
Iran Turns to Oman in Bid to Soften US Stance in Nuclear Talks | Iran International
Iran has asked Oman to intervene and help persuade the United States to ease its hardline position in the ongoing nuclear negotiations, two diplomatic sources in Tehran told Iran International.
A Potential ‘Interim’ Iran Nuclear Deal Sounds Great, but It Isn’t | Rob Satloff in the Hill
It is not a stretch of the imagination to think that Trump might announce “the greatest diplomatic win in history” in the form of an agreement with Iran that supposedly removes any possible danger of that country developing a nuclear bomb, even as Iran can enjoy the benefits of civilian nuclear energy. Such a deal would seemingly set the clock back on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, remove the imminent fear of a breakout and set a bold, broad agenda for future negotiations. And indeed, it would be a great deal—but only for Iran. That’s because such an interim deal would achieve all Iran’s core negotiating objectives—to avoid the disastrous outcomes of U.S. or Israeli military action against it, or a European decision to impose a “snapback” of United Nations sanctions. If Iran can achieve such a thing without having to surrender the precious right to enrich uranium, won from the Obama administration, its leaders will be very pleased.
Iran Holds Out for Nuclear Enrichment | Wall Street Journal Editorial
Iran’s rulers are unhappy with the direction of nuclear talks, which is a sign President Trump is pushing in the right places. No one is ever pleased to make far-reaching concessions, but those are what the U.S. and the world need to get a deal worth making. . . . Tehran may decide it can’t abandon enrichment or allow its centrifuges to be dismantled. And it may call the U.S. and Israeli bluff on the use of force, but that could be a mistake its leaders come to regret.
Is Tehran Shutting the Door on Nuclear Talks or Just Shifting Tracks? | Iran International
A speech by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday left many in and outside the country wondering whether negotiations with Washington are about to come to a screeching halt—but will they?
SANCTIONS, SHIPPING, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Says More Construction Materials Fall Under Iran Sanctions | Reuters
People or entities that provide Iran with certain construction-related materials will face sanctions after the Trump administration said it found more materials were being used as part of Tehran's nuclear, ballistic or military programs. In a statement, the U.S. Department of State said on Wednesday it had found Iran's construction sector was controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that it had identified another 10 strategic materials now subject to U.S. sanctions.
‘Strategic Advantage’: Iran Adds 2m Barrels of Crude Storage at Key Export Terminal | TradeWinds
Iran has increased its oil trade flexibility by adding storage capacity at its key Kharg Island export terminal. Oil ministry news service Shana reported the opening on Saturday of facilities adding 2m barrels of crude storage at the Middle East Gulf port. Tanks 25 and 26 can hold 1m barrels each, the equivalent of a suezmax cargo, after a programme of restoration.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
US Names Former Iran Prisoner as Senior Advisor—Politico | Iran International
The US State Department has appointed Iran hawk Xiyue Wang, held prisoner in Tehran for over three years on spy charges, as a senior adviser for Iran, Politico reported on Wednesday. Wang, who has been outspoken about opposing nuclear negotiations with Iran, recently joined the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Wang was held for 1,216 days in Tehran’s Evin Prison and released in 2019 in exchange for an Iranian scientist convicted in the US of violating sanctions.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
President Donald Trump this month announced a halt to US airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, claiming the group “capitulated” and would cease targeting American vessels and Red Sea traffic. But a Washington victory lap now, after more than fifty straight days of preemptive military force against the Iran-backed terror group, would be premature. After all, no ceasefire is born of a political vacuum. Senior Iranian officials who were involved in the Omani-mediated ceasefire swayed the Houthis to cease attacking US assets, revealing Tehran’s continued command and control over its proxy’s strategic decisions rather than any genuine Houthi concession.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
70 People Summoned in Iran Port Blast Investigation | IranWire
The Islamic Republic's authorities have summoned around 70 people in connection with the deadly explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port. Mojtaba Qahremani, Hormozgan Province's chief prosecutor, said those summoned are being called in for questioning, arrest, or interviews related to the April 26 blast, which killed 58 people. Qahremani added that blood money for the victims has been secured and largely paid to families who submitted claims.
Awkward Fertility Advert Highlights Iran's Drive to Boost Population | Iran International
An ad displayed in Tehran’s metro cars that many perceived as a bizarre attempt to criticize birth control has stirred controversy over Iran's official measures to combat shrinking population growth.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Some Senate Republicans ָSkeptical of Excluding Terrorism, Missiles from Iran Talks | Jewish Insider
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued on Wednesday that sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program can’t be separated from other sanctions on the regime as part of a nuclear deal, comparing the approach apparently being taken by the Trump administration to that of the Obama administration. . . . Congressional Republicans argued in the past, when the original nuclear deal included a similar formula, that the distinctions between nuclear and non-nuclear sanctions were largely specious. Those same lawmakers have maintained that any new funding the regime received would ultimately fuel proxy terrorism and regional destabilization, regardless of the targets of those sanctions.
ISRAEL & IRAN
“Iran remains a serious threat against Israel,” [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] says, stressing that Israel is “in full coordination with the US. We talk to them all the time. We hope that it’s possible to reach an agreement that will prevent a nuclear weapon from Iran.” “That means it will prevent Iran from having the ability to enrich uranium. If it is reached, of course, we will welcome it,” he says, before warning that “Israel reserves the right to defend itself against a regime that threatens to destroy us.”
Ashdod Man Indicted for Surveilling Bennett for Iran | Jerusalem Post
Moshe Atias, 18, from Ashdod, was indicted on Thursday for committing severe security crimes on behalf of the Iranian regime during the Israel-Hamas War. . . . On Wednesday, April 23, Atias arrived at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where former prime minister Naftali Bennett was hospitalized. . . . Atias documented the floor Bennett was staying on, along with the surrounding security systems, and he also tried to locate Bennett's room number.
Why Rising Israel-Iran Tensions Threaten to Boil Over | Bloomberg
An escalation to open warfare could be a real possibility amid renewed focus on Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Israel has long considered Iran’s potential to build atomic weapons a threat to its existence. The prospects of US diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear program breaking down or a new agreement allowing Tehran to continue some enrichment of uranium have raised the potential of an Israeli military intervention.
Iran: Reports of Possible Israeli Strike Are Propaganda | Jewish News Syndicate
Iranian officials on Wednesday dismissed as “psychological warfare,” reports that Israel is preparing a military strike on its nuclear facilities, responding to dramatic coverage by CNN and Axios.
CENTRAL ASIA & IRAN
Iran, Turkmenistan Deepen Energy Ties | Caspian News
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed Tehran’s interest in expanding energy cooperation with Turkmenistan and other neighboring countries. In a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredow, on May 20, Pezeshkian underscored Iran’s intent to import natural gas from Turkmenistan, as well as to engage in gas exports and swap agreements with neighboring states, according to the Iranian president’s official website.
CANADA & IRAN
Iran has said it is “ready for talks” with Canada about renewing long dormant diplomatic relations between the two countries, but that Ottawa must be the one to make the first move.