TOP STORIES
Pentagon Chief Warns Iran of Consequences for Supporting Houthis | Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran on Wednesday that it will face consequences for supporting the Houthis, even as the United States has relaunched talks with Iran over its nuclear program. . . . “Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” Hegseth wrote on X. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of—and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
US Envoy Witkoff Says New Iran Deal Must Be a Two-Way Street | Iran International
"The (JCPOA) was fundamentally flawed because the sanctions sunset, and yet the mandate as to how you're supposed to conduct yourself—not enriching, not weaponizing—that did not sunset," US envoy Steve Witkoff told the Cats and Cosby radio show referring to a 2015 nuclear deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
US Targets Iran with Fresh Sanctions Ahead of Next Nuclear Talks | Reuters
The U.S. State Department said in a statement it was imposing sanctions on seven entities based in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Iran that it accused of trading Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Two vessels were also targeted.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Experts from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) published a report that outlines the 10 negotiating tactics Iran exploits to secure major concessions while retaining its capability to construct a nuclear weapon. The report, in an ode to President Trump’s famous 1987 book “The Art of the Deal,” is called: “Iran’s Version of the ‘Art of the Deal’” and was authored by Saeid Golkar, Jason M. Brodsky and Kasra Aarabi.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
[International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi:] What is clear is that this issue of enrichment is key, is central to the agreement. And below that, you have a number of alternatives which they are discussing. But what I can tell you now is that I don't think—and I think even President Trump has said it and Secretary Rubio—I don't think they are looking at a JCPOA by any other name. It would be something perhaps less sophisticated.
China's Top Diplomat Backs Iran's Nuclear Diplomacy Ahead of US Talks | Reuters
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a senior Iranian national security official on Wednesday that Beijing appreciated Tehran making diplomatic efforts regarding its nuclear programme, ahead of a new round of U.S.-Iran talks on Saturday. “China values Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons" and "appreciates Iran's diplomatic efforts,” Wang told Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, according to a readout of a meeting in Brazil and released by his ministry on Thursday.
Why Iran Won’t Come to a Deal Quickly | Lawrence J. Haas in the National Interest
As President Trump explores a nuclear deal with Iran, he would be wise to recognize that Tehran probably comes to the negotiating table less because it fears Washington than because it smells opportunity. That is, the talks could pave the way for Tehran to free itself from the threat of “snap-back” global sanctions this fall while strengthening the regime at home at a time of rising public discontent. With those dynamics in mind, U.S. negotiators should set a firm deadline of no more than a few weeks to strike a deal that truly serves U.S. interests—lest they let Iranian negotiators drag out the talks, enabling Tehran to advance its nuclear program further while freeing itself from the threat of economic retaliation.
Trump’s smartest course is steadfastly keeping his commitment to American voters: to ensure that Iran never obtains nuclear weapons. If he cannot do this with negotiations, then he should pursue military action and crush the ayatollahs’ nuclear ambitions once and for all.
SANCTIONS, SHIPPING, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
How Iran Circumvents Sanctions via Indonesia | Middle East Forum Observer
While Iran’s aviation industry has been a primary target of U.S. sanctions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian airlines, particularly those connected with or owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, evade sanction to import passenger and cargo aircraft for both commercial and military use. . . . In the latest instance, Iran Air smuggled a pair of former Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A330-243 widebody planes to Tehran’s Mehrabad airport via Muscat, Oman, while Mahan Air and Caspian Airlines imported an RJ100 and two unknown Boeing 737-300 passenger aircraft via Indonesia.
Iran Slams New US Sanctions Ahead of Nuclear Talks | Al Arabiya
Iran on Thursday condemned as “economic terrorism” a US decision to slap new sanctions on the Islamic Republic just days before another round of nuclear talks between the longtime foes.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The execution in Iran on Wednesday of a man charged with spying for Israel’s Mossad and assisting in the murder of a Revolutionary Guards colonel has drawn outrage among regime dissidents and human rights activists. Mohsen Langarneshin, reportedly aged 34, was hanged at dawn at Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran, several human rights groups said.
‘He Was a Genius’: Iran Executes Tech Specialist on Dubious Charges | IranWire
In the world of network security, Mohsen Langarneshin was a standout talent. By 20, his skills had taken him to Imam Hussein University, where he spent two years securing systems for an institution linked to Iran’s military. That same expertise would later lead to his death.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the Islamic Republic’s authorities executed the 34-year-old network security expert, despite international concerns about due process and torture. . . . The execution followed months of legal proceedings condemned by human rights groups as deeply flawed.
Iran Refuses to Return Executed Cybersecurity Expert’s Body to Family | IranWire
The Islamic Republic's authorities have refused to return the body of Mohsen Langarneshin, a cybersecurity expert executed on Wednesday, to his family, IranWire has learned.
Amnesty Accuses Iran of ‘Sinister Crackdown’ After Deadly Port Blast | Agence France-Presse
“Iranian authorities have claimed that some media outlets and social media users have spread ‘false information and lies’ about the explosion and ‘disturbed the psychological security of society.’ Authorities have filed criminal cases against multiple media outlets and individuals,” Amnesty said. “The international community must condemn Iranian authorities’ sinister crackdown and press them to stop threatening, intimidating and prosecuting journalists for their work. Suppressing media reporting indicates that the state is attempting to conceal the truth from the public.”
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran Unveils New Navy Ship amid Regional Tensions, Nuclear Talks | Al-Monitor
Iran unveiled a new high-speed vessel on Wednesday, signaling its growing naval ambitions amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel. . . . Iran has significantly built up its naval arsenal in recent years with several upgrades and additions to its fleet.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz escalated his war of words with a former Iranian regime official who, as a faculty member at Princeton, was reportedly making Jewish students feel uncomfortable amid global tensions. “I try not to be in the room with people linked to Iranian terrorists who have murdered dozens of dissidents,” Cruz wrote in response to a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, from former Iranian Ambassador to Germany Seyed Hossein Mousavian. “Your books are unreadable, and the only debate you should be having is with DHS agents, at the end of which you should be deported,” Cruz quipped.
SYRIA & IRAN
Iran had Imperial Ambitions in Syria. Secret Embassy Papers Show Why It Failed | Reuters
Iran had a grand plan for Syria—taken right from the playbook of a country it considers its arch-enemy. Just as the United States solidified its global dominance by investing billions in rebuilding Europe after the Second World War, Iran would do the same in the Middle East by reconstructing a war-ravaged Syria.