TOP STORIES
U.S. “Encouraged” by Progress in Fourth Round of Nuclear Talks with Iran, Official Says | Axios
White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi held three hours of talks in Muscat on Sunday mediated by Omani foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi. “The discussions were again both direct and indirect,” [a senior] U.S. official said. The U.S. official said an agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements of a possible nuclear deal. “We are encouraged by today's outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future,” the U.S. official said. . . . The spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said after Sunday's talks that the negotiations were “difficult but useful... to better understand each other's positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences.”
Iran to Send Russia Launchers for Short-Range Missiles, Sources Say | Reuters
Iran is preparing to deliver in the near future launchers for short-range ballistic missiles that the U.S. said Tehran sent to Russia last year for use against Ukraine, according to two Western security officials and a regional official. The delivery of the Fath-360 launchers—if it occurs—would help support Russia’s grinding assault on its neighbor and reaffirm the deepening security ties between Moscow and Tehran.
Iran Sentences Another Political Prisoner to Death | Iran International
Iranian political prisoner Ehsan Faridi has been sentenced to death on charges of “spreading corruption on earth,” a ruling quietly issued months ago but only recently made public, according to information obtained by Iran International. Faridi, a 22-year-old student from the northwestern city of Tabriz, was studying manufacturing engineering at the University of Tabriz when he was first arrested by Iran’s Law Enforcement Intelligence Organization in March 2024.
UANI IN THE NEWS
This month, regime sources suggested that the embassy plot had been carried out by a rebel faction from within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its overseas terror militia, to derail nuclear talks with the United States. Given the intensity of control exerted over foreign operations by the totalitarian regime, as well as its pattern of previous denials, this seems unlikely. Kasra Aarabi, a leading Iran analyst and a director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), described the claims as “categorically false,” as “every single operation—not least terror plots in the West—is personally signed off by the Ayatollah, who holds absolute authority in the system.” The disinformation is probably an attempt to blunt any British response. . . . “Before Trump was elected, the Iranians feared that he was serious about military action,” Aarabi, of UANI, says. “But the mood has now changed. The Iranians are becoming convinced that Trump is no longer interested in the military option. This could be a major miscalculation. But Tehran is feeling increasingly different to the 2003 Bush era, when Khamenei had calculated war was coming. The Iranians have calculated that if they got through the George W Bush era, when the United States was at peak interventionism and military strength, then they can get through the Trump era, not least as they perceive those around the current US president as isolationists.”
4th Round of US-Iran Talks Ends as Trump Set to Embark on Historic Middle East Tour | Fox News
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital that “The Iranians, like last round, sound more downcast than the U.S. side, describing talks as difficult.” . . . Brodsky said that “All in all, both sides want to keep the process moving. The Iranians will usually say and do enough to earn another meeting as they stand to lose more by this process breaking down than the U.S. government. The negotiating process is as important to the Iranians as the agreement itself as the process offers insulation from the impact of sanctions—with the rial strengthening since talks started—and protection from a military strike. This is why Iran will want these negotiations to continue for as long as possible. They will try to wear out and exhaust U.S. negotiators into concessions, which the Trump administration should reject. As President Trump said in a different context, Tehran does not have the cards here.”
With a captured Iranian Shahed-136 drone displayed beside them, congressional Republicans argued for a full-throttle dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear program during an event organized by United Against Nuclear Iran. “There is significant talk about potential solutions in which the ayatollah gets to keep a civilian nuclear program but must give up all his enrichment capacity, and how that might be a solution,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told attendees in the Caucus Room of the Cannon House Office Building on Thursday.
As US President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Saudi Arabia, critics of the Islamic Republic of Iran have taken a seized Shahed-136 drone to the US Congress to alert US lawmakers to the Iranian military threat. The action was organized by the nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran, which was formed to counter threats posed by the policies of the Islamic Republic.
US Ambassador Calls Enrichment ‘Red Line’ Ahead of New Iran Talks | Kuwait Times
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (left) (R-LA) is greeted by Mark Wallace, CEO of the non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran, before Johnson delivered remarks next to a Shahed 136 military drone during a press conference on Capitol Hill. The press conference, organized by United Against Nuclear Iran, occurred as US and Iran continue to negotiate over bilateral issues and growing international concern with Iran’s drone production and proliferation.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran, US Nuclear Talks End in Oman, Next Round Awaits Capitals’ Nod | Reuters
Fresh talks between Iranian and U.S. negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran's nuclear programme ended in Oman on Sunday with further negotiations planned, officials said, as Tehran publicly insisted on continuing its uranium enrichment. . . . Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X that the Iran-US talks included “useful and original” ideas, adding that the next round of talks will take place after both sides have consulted with their respective capitals.
U.S., Iran Are Talking About a ‘123 Agreement.’ What Does That Mean? | Jewish Insider
Last week, a group of Senate Republicans introduced a resolution laying down their stringent expectations for a nuclear deal with Iran. One of those conditions was a so-called “123 Agreement” with the United States, after “the complete dismantlement and destruction of [Iran’s] entire nuclear program.” A source familiar with the state of the talks confirmed to Jewish Insider that a 123 Agreement is a part of the ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations currently being led by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Those agreements refer to Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, which lays out conditions for peaceful nuclear cooperation between the United States and other countries, and sets out a series of safeguards and procedures such countries must have in place to ensure they do not pursue nuclear weapons. Section 123 does not inherently require a signatory country to forego nuclear enrichment. Twenty-five such agreements are currently in place—but in most cases they pertain to U.S. allies and partners.
“We’ve stated our position. The Iranians cannot have a bomb. They have stated back that they don’t want one,” Witkoff told Breitbart News. “So we’re going to, for the purposes of this discussion, take them at their word that that’s actually how they feel. If that’s how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel that they have there and send it to a faraway place—and they have to convert to a civil program if they want to run a civil program. . . . An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—those are their three enrichment facilities—have to be dismantled.”
US Warns That If Sunday Iran Talks Aren’t Productive, ‘They Won’t Continue’ | CNN
US special envoy Steve Witkoff warned that if Sunday’s talks with Iran are not productive, “then they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route.” In an interview with Breitbart posted Friday, Witkoff said the US opted against holding another round of talks last week “because we needed to get to certain understandings with” Iran in order for discussions to be useful. “Hopefully this Sunday they will be productive. Hopefully that means they will continue those talks,” he said.
U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Hit Halfway Mark with Major Hurdles to Clear | Wall Street Journal
Halfway to a deadline set by President Trump, Iran and the U.S. remain divided on the key question of whether Tehran will be allowed to enrich its own uranium as the two sides meet in Oman on Sunday. . . . Before leaving for the talks on Sunday, [Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas] Araghchi reiterated Tehran wouldn’t bow to a U.S. demand to end its uranium enrichment. “The blood of our nuclear scientists was shed for enrichment and cannot be compromised or negotiated,” he said, referring to the past assassination of Iranian atomic experts blamed on Israel. Araghchi criticized the U.S. team for what he said were “contradictions” between the views expressed in public and in private. “This is one of the problems of the negotiations,” he said.
Iran Warns Nuclear Talks Could Stall if US Demands Go Beyond Weapons | Iran International
Iran warned that nuclear talks with the United States could collapse if Washington insists on what Tehran called “excessive demands,” as negotiators from both sides gathered in Oman for a fourth round of indirect discussions.
Iran Warns Europeans Against ‘Strategy of Confrontation’ Over Its Nuclear Program | Al Arabiya
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned European powers against a “strategy of confrontation” over Tehran’s nuclear program, according to comments published in a French weekly on Sunday.
America Failed to Stop Pakistani Nukes. Will It Repeat the Error with Iran? | Michael Rubin in 1945
Sixty years ago, Pakistan vowed to build nuclear weapons despite international opposition, ultimately succeeding due to American complacency. Today, as nuclear tensions flare between India and Pakistan—risking catastrophic conflict—U.S. negotiators seem poised to repeat past mistakes with Iran. . . . Allowing Iran’s nuclearization could spark a devastating conflict with Israel, whose small size invites Iranian overconfidence. With the stakes incredibly high, America’s current amateur diplomatic approach risks repeating past errors. The nuclear standoff on the subcontinent must serve as a stark warning: preventing Iranian nuclearization is urgent.
US Nuclear Talks May Be Collapsing, and Iran is Worried | Seth Frantzman in the Jerusalem Post
Iran is becoming increasingly concerned that nuclear talks with the US will collapse. . . . Tehran is already drawing up scenarios for possible “failure” in the talks, Al-Ain media in the UAE reported on Sunday. . . . Tehran thinks it is being played. It watches the media interviews with US officials and the differing statements from Washington, and its assessment has gone from optimism in mid-April to deep pessimism today. Iran thinks that the US is not actually ready to discuss technical issues related to the program. Tehran also may believe this is a setup to create a pretext for failure to justify a conflict.
Iran Isn’t Building a Civilian Nuclear Program | Daniel Greenfield in the Jewish News Syndicate
Iran has some of the cheapest electricity prices in the world. The average cost of electricity in the United States per kilowatt hour is $0.181. In Iran it’s $0.004. A country where electricity is vastly cheaper than in America isn’t looking to lower power costs. . . . Iran is not interested in peaceful applications of nuclear energy, but in nuclear weapons. That’s why it’s been willing to lose $1 trillion and go to war to protect its nuclear program.
HOSTAGES
Academic Held in Iran at ‘Immediate’ Risk After Heart Attack, Wife Warns | Agence France-Presse
Sweden on Friday demanded that Iran release academic Ahmadreza Jalali, who is on death row in Iran, after his wife said he had a heart attack in prison and his life is “at immediate risk.”
French Nationals Mark Grim Three Years in Iranian Custody | Jerusalem Post
Cécile Kohler, in her 40s, and her partner, Jacques Paris, in his 70s, were arrested in Iran three years ago on the last day of a tourist trip to the country. They were accused of espionage—charges that the French government and their families have consistently denounced as baseless. Both remain confined in the political prisoners section of Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, where they reportedly face conditions that human rights organizations say amount to torture under international law.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Security Forces Raid Baluch Community in Southern Iran | IranWire
Security forces raided a Baluch community in southern Iran on Sunday, destroying property and making arrests, according to the human rights group Haalvsh. Military and security personnel entered Bandar Kolahi in Minab, Hormozgan province, where they burned and destroyed the belongings of Baluch fuel carriers and fishermen. The operation reportedly targeted fuel smuggling activities in the area.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Hamas Begs Iran for Cash as Terror Group Faces Economic Collapse | Israel Hayom
Facing a deepening economic crisis, Hamas is intensifying efforts to secure funding from Iran. The terror organization announced Monday that members of its leadership council in Qatar held talks with Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran's Strategic Council for Foreign Relations.
Hezbollah Evacuates Iranian Officers from Lebanon amid Fear of Israeli Assassinations | Israel Hayom
According to Arab media reports on Monday, senior Hezbollah figures asked the Iranian leadership to remove IRGC officers currently stationed in Lebanon, amid growing concerns that Israel may attempt to assassinate them. The goal, sources say, would be to undermine Iran's position in the talks with Washington and possibly inflame tensions further.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Khamenei Endorses ‘Death to America’ Chants Ahead of Nuclear Talks | Jerusalem Post
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday endorsed chants of “Death to America” during a speech to workers in Tehran . . . During his address on Saturday, Khamenei praised the crowd’s support of the antiAmerican slogan. “Your judgment is right,” he told the workers after they chanted “Death to America.” He added, “Americans fully support Israel—in the true sense of the word.”
Iran Faces Surgeon Shortage as Medical Students Avoid General Surgery | IranWire
Iran is facing a growing crisis in its healthcare system as interest in general surgery plummets among medical students, the Iranian General Surgeons Association has warned. Farzad Panahi, secretary of the association and a board member of the Iranian Surgeons Society, revealed that many general surgery positions remain unfilled, with some universities seeing only 8 or 9 students enrolling for 40 available spots.
Iran Sees Rise in COVID-19 Cases as Experts Urge Return to Masks | Iran International
Iran is witnessing a renewed rise in COVID-19 cases, prompting health experts to recommend that vulnerable individuals wear masks in public places, particularly in crowded enclosed areas, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Bipartisan House Group Expresses ‘Serious Concern’ About U.S.-Houthi Deal | Jewish Insider
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers blasted the Trump administration over its deal to cease attacks on the Houthis in Yemen, a ceasefire agreement that does not include any provisions requiring the Iran-backed terrorist group to end its attacks on Israel. . . The lawmakers said that the agreement, which came days after the Houthis struck Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport complex, “sends the wrong message to both our allies and adversaries: that U.S. resolve is negotiable and that aggression against our allies will go unpunished by the United States.” The deal, they continued, “fails to address the root of the problem: Iran’s supply of advanced weapons, intelligence, and training to the Houthis. Without a strategy that targets Tehran’s supply lines, any agreement with the Houthis is merely a tactical pause and leaves Israel exposed.”
RUSSIA, UKRAINE, & IRAN
Putin’s Victory Day Parades Expose Reliance on Iran and North Korea | Telegraph
[D]rones were included in Moscow’s Victory Day parade for the first time on Friday, capping their rise to become the most deadly weapon on the battlefields of Ukraine. . . . But behind the pomp and ceremony, analysts said the event served as a reminder of how much the Kremlin has come to rely on foreign backers to prop up its war machine. The Kremlin’s much-vaunted drones were designed by Iran.
Iran Absent from Russia's Victory Day Parade Despite Aiding Putin’s War | Iran International
Iranian drones have fueled Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as the two powers have drawn closer but the Islamic Republic’s leaders were absent from the 80th anniversary Victory Day military parade in Moscow, drawing some criticism in Tehran. Iran’s Islamic Republic newspaper on Saturday questioned the absence despite Tehran’s growing alignment with Moscow and ongoing coordination on nuclear talks with the United States.
Iran Says ‘Ridiculous’ It Would Send Missile Launchers to Russia | Bloomberg
Iran dismissed claims that it plans to deliver missile launchers to Russia to support its war in Ukraine and called them “utterly ridiculous,” state-run IRIB News said . . .
President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on May 9 on Russian nationals and companies from Russia, China, Iran, and Uzbekistan, according to a decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
CHINA & IRAN
Tehran and China are looking to intensify their collaboration in the technology sector, Iran’s state media said on Sunday. . . . This is important because it shows how Iran is seeking to position itself regarding tech advances. It is not a major tech powerhouse. Tehran clearly wants to increase its capabilities in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) and other advances in the digital economy. Why does this matter? The more Iran works with China, the more it can ignore the West and Western sanctions. The more it increases its investments in tech, the more it can improve its economy. These issues all have military and defense tie-ins as well. AI, for instance, is increasingly used to provide various aspects of autonomous operations to drones and other systems, such as missiles.
EUROPE & IRAN
Iran Special Operations Team Suspected in Bomb Plot at Israel’s London Embassy | The National
Five Iranians suspected of plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy in London belong to a highly trained special operations unit, a former intelligence officer has suggested. The group who were arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism allegedly belong to Unit 840, which carries out assassination and kidnapping missions for Tehran. It is also suspected that some of the operatives arrived in Britain disguised as migrants on small boats—a record 10,000 people have come over the English Channel in this way this year.
Fears over Iran-Linked Charity’s Plans for Children’s Summer Camp | Times of London
An Islamic group with links to Iran has raised concerns with its plan to run a summer camp for children. Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission (AIM) routinely shares material online from sermons and speeches by Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, and his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini. In one post, AIM called Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who was killed in 2020 in a US drone strike, a “great hero.” AIM, a not-for-profit organisation, has also shared material from an imam who is Khamenei’s representative in the UK. A preacher who previously spoke at its summer camp has shared antisemitic material online. On October 12, 2023, five days after the Hamas attack on Israel, AIM’s Instagram account shared a message saying that “a flood was inevitable” and the “Zionists brought this disaster on themselves.”
One of the five men arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack Israel’s embassy in London is an asylum seeker who had been living in a taxpayer-funded property in Rochdale. . . . The Iranian national is believed to have arrived in Britain illegally via a small boat crossing the Channel, before claiming asylum. Security officials have voiced concern that the Calais route is increasingly being exploited by state-sponsored Iranian operatives seeking to carry out attacks in the UK. It is feared others involved in the alleged plot may have reached British shores using the same method.
Police Given Second Week to Question Four Iranian Men in Custody | Guardian
Four Iranian men who were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack in London can be detained and questioned in custody for another week, police said on Saturday.
ISRAEL & IRAN
Disagreements on Iran, Gaza Straining Trump-Netanyahu Relationship | NBC News
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were closely aligned on how to approach the most pressing issues in their relationship: the war in Gaza and aggression from Iran. . . . But in recent weeks, the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has become strained as the two leaders are increasingly at odds over a strategy for tackling these challenges now that Hamas has been significantly degraded and Iran weakened, according to two U.S. officials, two Middle Eastern diplomats and two other people with knowledge of the tensions. . . . Netanyahu was particularly upset when Trump said Wednesday that he had yet to decide whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium under a new nuclear deal his administration is negotiating, the two U.S. officials said.
Sa’ar: US and Israel Agree on Need to Dismantle Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Sites | Times of Israel
Standing alongside German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at a press conference in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities “must be dismantled,” and that the US and Israel agree on this issue. . . . Asked whether Israel is concerned about recent foreign policy moves by US President Donald Trump that seem to sideline Jerusalem on key regional issues, Sa’ar says, “We are coordinated. It doesn’t mean we must fully agree one hundred percent on every issue.”
LATIN AMERICA & IRAN
The Argentine president has also activated Interpol red notices in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires. Last month, the lead prosecutor in the case petitioned Argentina’s federal court to issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his alleged involvement in the deadly terrorist attack. This latest legal move represents a significant shift from the country’s past approach in the case, in which the Iranian leader was treated as enjoying diplomatic immunity.
INDIA & IRAN
Indian TV Personality’s Slur Against Araghchi Angers Iran | Iran International
Famous Indian TV host and former army officer Gaurav Arya sparked a brief diplomatic stir between Tehran and New Delhi and drew widespread reactions on social media after calling Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi a “son of a pig” on air.