TOP STORIES
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN. . . . The heightened worries stem not only from public and private messaging from senior Israeli officials that it is considering such a move, but also from intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence said.
Rubio Says US Won’t Let Iran Become Untouchable Nuclear Threshold State | Iran International
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an expansive view of negotiations with Iran on Tuesday, telling a Senate Committee that the United States rules out Iranian enrichment and could maintain missile and terrorism related sanctions after any deal.
Iran Faces U.S. Without Plan B as Nuclear Red Lines Collide | Reuters
While rising U.S.-Iran tensions over Tehran's uranium enrichment jeopardize nuclear talks, three Iranian sources said on Tuesday that the clerical leadership lacks a clear fallback plan if efforts to resolve a decades-long dispute collapse. With negotiations faltering over clashing red lines, Iran may turn to China and Russia as a “Plan B,” the sources said, but with Beijing's trade war with Washington and Moscow distracted with its war in Ukraine, Tehran’s backup plan appears shaky.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Highly Enriched Uranium Stand-Off May Scuttle New Iran Deal | Washington Free Beacon
Iranian negotiator Ali Shamkhani announced a proposal in which Tehran would export its highly enriched uranium. Nonproliferation experts and former Trump administration officials tell the Free Beacon the proposal is a farce. . . . For Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against a Nuclear Iran, Shamkhani "was offering nothing more than the terms of the JCPOA, which President Trump rightfully repudiated in 2018." "NBC hyped up Shamkhani's comments to make it appear as if this was some grand or significant concession that was out of the ordinary when it was not," Brodsky told the Washington Free Beacon.
Donald S. President Donald Trump departed for Saudi Arabia on Monday (May 12). Before that, Tehran's critics took a captured Shahed-136 drone to Capitol Hill to draw the attention of lawmakers to the Iranian military threat. The nonprofit organization United Against Nuclear Iran hosted the event. The organization was established to respond to the threat posed by Tehran. Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters: "I want to tell the Iranian regime: What you claim you want is a peaceful nuclear power project. You can have it, but you can't do it, you have to dismantle it, and you have to dismantle it right away.”
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Rubio: Iranian Proxy Terrorism Hasn’t Been Part of Negotiations with Iran | Jewish Insider
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in his first appearance on Capitol Hill since being confirmed as secretary of state that Iran’s support for regional terrorist proxies has not been part of the ongoing talks between the Iranian government and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which Rubio said have been focused wholly on Iran’s nuclear program and enrichment capabilities. At the same time, Rubio insisted that any sanctions related to terrorist activity and weapons proliferation would remain in place if such issues are not part of the nuclear deal.
Rubio Says Reaching Nuclear Agreement with Iran Will Not Be Easy | Reuters
The Trump administration is working to reach an agreement that would allow Iran to have a civil nuclear energy program but not enrich uranium, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday, but admitted that achieving such a deal “will not be easy.” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the administration was offering an “off-ramp” for Iran to pursue prosperity and peace.
Iran Warns Against European Sanctions Move | IranWire
Iran threatened on Wednesday to respond if European nations reimpose UN sanctions related to the 2015 nuclear deal. “If Europe uses the snapback mechanism, Iran will take a proportional action,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.
Iranian Officials Warn Nuclear Talks in Peril Without Uranium Compromise | Washington Post
Iranian officials are urging the United States to agree to a deal over Iran’s nuclear program but warned this week that negotiations could be in jeopardy because of the Trump administration’s insistence that Tehran accept zero enrichment of uranium. Opening a conference in Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for “brotherhood” but said his country would not respond to “bullying.” He told the audience: “We will not give up this right to use peaceful nuclear technology in any way. No matter what they say, do, how they threaten us or impose sanctions, it makes no difference.”
Iran’s Parliament Backs Enrichment Beyond 20% as Tehran Weighs Return to Talks | Iran International
Iran’s parliament issued a firm statement on Wednesday defending the country’s nuclear program, saying that Tehran's right to uranium enrichment, including to levels beyond 20%, is non-negotiable.
Iran and the US appear on the way to a fifth round of nuclear talks in the coming days or weeks, raising the question: are the negotiations nearing a decisive point or will the parties start a period of playing chicken to see which side might make more concessions first under the threat of the talks imploding.
HOSTAGES
Tehran Releases British-Iranian Political Prisoner After 550 Days | Iran International
British-Iranian woman Nasrin Roshan was released from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on Tuesday, 550 days after being arrested for participating in protest gatherings abroad, Iran International has learned.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Underground Queer Network Challenges Iranian Regime | Washington Blade
While global powers negotiate with Iran’s regime under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to curb its advancing nuclear program, the oppressed LGBTQ community is building and operating a secret underground network to resist state-coerced sex reassignment surgeries. These surgeries, mandated for gay and lesbian people as a state-sanctioned alternative to execution for homosexuality, are part of Iran’s penal code that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations. The network provides safe houses, forged identification documents, and covert communication channels to protect members from government raids and imprisonment.
Iran Bars Media From Citing Foreign Outlets, Offering Analysis on US Talks | Iran International
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a directive on Tuesday banning domestic media from translating or republishing foreign reports on the country’s negotiations with the United States or offering any analysis on the talks. The SNSC directive, a copy of which was obtained by Iran International, warned that failure to comply would be considered an act of threatening national interests and security. It instructed media outlets and editors to only rely on official statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry . . . for any coverage related to the ongoing talks.
In February 2023 Jafar Panahi walked free from Iran’s Evin prison after nearly seven months behind bars. Friends and supporters had gathered to greet him, but the moment of release felt bittersweet and he struggled to adjust back to civilian life afterwards. In the weeks that followed he developed a habit. He’d drive his car back and forth on the road that paralleled the high prison walls, pining for those who were still inside. “These people had become my people,” he says. “I thought, ‘How could I go and leave them behind?’” Panahi makes humane, heartfelt pictures about life in Iran. He refers to these as “social films”, although this definition cuts no ice with the Iranian government, which has ruled them to be “propaganda against the system” and therefore hazardous, offensive material. He has to date been imprisoned twice, undergone a hunger strike and sold his house to make bail. Panahi is officially banned from making movies, although he continues to make them all the same.
Dissident Iranian Composer Wins Telly Award for Mercedes-Benz Advert | Iran International
Dissident Iranian composer Mehdi Rajabian has become the first Iranian to win a Telly Award for his work on Mercedes-Benz's promotional teasers, after years of imprisonment for his underground musical activities and outspoken advocacy for artistic freedom.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran Hosts Hamas Delegation as Israeli Op. in Gaza Widens | Jerusalem Post
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi hosted Hamas officials Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan this week, according to Iranian state media. . . . The meeting is important because Iran has not been publicly hosting major Hamas delegations since Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an exploding pillow while staying at a guest house in Tehran in July 2024. Now the Hamas leadership is back in Iran for consultations.
Iran Ramps Up Defenses as Risks of U.S. Attack Grow | Newsweek
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major-General Mohammad Baqeri, told an air defense meeting that the country has seen a fivefold increase over the last year in the number of radars, monitoring systems, and detection equipment it has, according to semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Political Infighting Festers as Tehran Sidesteps Urgent Issues | Iran International
As nuclear diplomacy draws global attention, Iran’s domestic politics remain consumed by petty administrative debates, leaving little space to address the country’s deeper economic and institutional challenges. Iran’s currency the rial dropped as much as 4% on Tuesday after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to question the outcome of ongoing negotiations with the United States, highlighting once more the instability of an economy badly in need of reform.
Iranian Optimism Fades After Khamenei Doubts Success of US Talks | Iran International
Optimism in Tehran about nuclear talks with Washington has waned after a stern public rebuke from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday to US demand that Iran totally halt uranium enrichment.
Iran’s Police Brand Religiously-Backed Temporary Marriage Sites as Scams | Iran International
Iran’s top cybercrime official said that many websites and online platforms advertising sigheh or temporary religious marriage are designed to defraud users, even after an investigation by Iran International last week demonstrated it was a genuine industry.
Iran Executes Man Responsible for Azerbaijan Embassy Attack | Reuters
A man charged over a fatal shooting at Azerbaijan's embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, was executed on Wednesday, Iran's judiciary news outlet Mizan said. The shooting, which took place in January 2023 and led to the killing of the Azeri embassy security chief, brought relations between Tehran and Baku to a new low, with the latter branding the shooting as an “act of terrorism.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Ted Cruz Expresses Concern About Influence of Some Trump Officials on Iran Policy | Jewish Insider
“I worry there are voices in the [Trump] administration that are not eager to hold up the president’s red line of dismantlement,” Cruz said at NORPAC’s annual Washington lobbying mission . . . “There are some in the Senate who say, Well, Iran can have civilian peaceful nuclear power. Baloney. I see no reason for Iran to have anything nuclear whatsoever,” Cruz said Tuesday, echoing comments he has made in the past. “The only way to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is to eliminate the centrifuges.”
Iranian-American Lawmaker Proposes Law Named After Christian Convert | Iran International
AUS congresswoman of Iranian descent has introduced legislation named after an Iranian Christian covert to block expedited deportations to countries where they may face persecution.
The ‘Artemis Act’ unveiled on Tuesday honors Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old asylum seeker who was expelled to Panama by the Trump administration after entering the US via its southern border.
RUSSIA & IRAN
Iran Parliament Approves Strategic Pact with Russia | Reuters
Iran's parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties including closer defence cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed the strategic partnership document on January 17.
SYRIA & IRAN
Iran Talking ‘Indirectly’ to New Syrian Regime | The National
Iran says it has opened “indirect” channels of communication with the new regime in Syria that toppled its close ally Bashar Al Assad. Tehran is using Turkey and Qatar as go-betweens to transmit its point of view to authorities in Damascus, but is “not in a hurry” to resume full diplomatic relations, said a senior Iranian diplomat working on Syria.
ISRAEL & IRAN
Israeli Defense Minister Says He Was Target of Iranian Spy Op | Iran International
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said a spy plot against him had been thwarted in what Israel says is the 20th Iran-backed operation thwarted in the country since the Gaza war began. “Iran is the head of the terrorist octopus that promotes terrorist activity directly and through the terrorist organizations it supports against leaders and against all citizens of the state of Israel,” Katz said in a statement Tuesday.
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran Calls for 'Homegrown' West Asia Security Paradigm as US Talks Stall | Iran International
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called for a fundamental rethinking of security frameworks in West Asia, emphasizing that sustainable peace can only be achieved by empowering regional actors rather than relying on foreign intervention.