TOP STORIES
Iran's Khamenei Dismisses US Nuclear Proposal, Vows to Keep Enriching Uranium | Reuters
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was "100%" against the country's interests, rejecting a central U.S. demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. . . . Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said nothing about halting the talks, but said the U.S. proposal "contradicts our nation's belief in self-reliance and the principle of “We Can.” “Uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear programme and the enemies have focused on the enrichment,” Khamenei said during a televised speech marking the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
U.S. Proposes Interim Step in Iran Nuclear Talks Allowing Some Enrichment | New York Times
The Trump administration is proposing an arrangement that would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium at low levels while the United States and other countries work out a more detailed plan intended to block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon but give it access to fuel for new nuclear power plants. . . . Under the proposal, the United States would facilitate the building of nuclear power reactors for Iran and negotiate the construction of enrichment facilities managed by a consortium of regional countries. Once Iran began receiving any benefits from those promises, it would have to stop all enrichment in the country. . . . The Trump administration’s proposal, according to two Iranian officials, leaves unclear exactly what would be required in dismantling the country’s nuclear program. . . . The proposal did not specify which of the hundreds of sanctions against Iran would be removed in any final deal. Iran has told the United States that all sanctions would need to be removed in order to sign a deal—not just those related to its nuclear program.
Iran Could Accept Nuclear Consortium on Its Soil, Iranian Official Says | Axios
Iran is open to basing a nuclear deal with the U.S. around the idea of a regional uranium enrichment consortium, so long as it is located within Iran, a senior Iranian official tells Axios. . . . There could be a path by which the U.S. can declare that Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium—because the enrichment would over time be overseen by a broader group and not just Iran's government—and Iran can claim its red line around enrichment remains intact.
UANI IN THE NEWS
. . . [A]s we write, the United States is negotiating a new nuclear deal with Tehran. There is no indication that Iran’s human-rights violations will be raised as part of a potential deal . . . It is imperative that the negotiations confront Iran’s sevenfold threat to international peace and security, its brutal crackdown on dissent, systemic repression of women, persecution of minorities, censorship of expression, violent suppression of protests, torture in prisons and weaponization of the judiciary. Indeed, any diplomatic engagement that ignores these calculated and sustained attacks on human dignity is not diplomacy—it is complicity.
UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodksy Discusses U.S.-Iran Nuclear Negotiations | i24
“The proposal as it's being framed in American media is one in which the Iranians would have no problem with, but they do have problems with it because ultimately it requires zero enrichment,” @JasonMBrodsky tells @natasharaquel_.
Panama Deflags More Than 650 Vessels Since 2019 Due to Sanctions | TradeWinds
Panama says it has deflagged more than 650 ships from its registry since 2019 to combat sanctions evasion and illicit maritime activities. According to UANI, nearly one in five vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil — 17%, or 94 out of 542 of the total tracked — sail under Panama’s flag.
Panama Rejects Accusations of Facilitating Iran’s Sanctions Evasion | Manifold Times
The Government of Panama on Monday (2 June) rejected accusations made by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in recent publications circulated through media outlets and e-mails worldwide. Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), called the claims made by Mark D. Wallace, CEO of UANI, as “misleading”. On 30 May, UANI accused Panama of its “longstanding role” in facilitating Iran’s illicit oil trade and urged Panama to de-flag all Iranian oil-smuggling vessels. According to UANI’s analysis, nearly one in five vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil—17% or 94/542 of the total tracked—sails under Panama’s flag.
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran’s Supreme Leader Rejects U.S. Nuclear Deal Offer | Wall Street Journal
A U.S. official said this week Washington expected Tehran to reject the initial U.S. offer and will have to consider their next steps. Negotiations could continue this weekend, officials say. . . . Iran would have to render its current underground enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow inoperable up front under the proposal, the U.S. official said. That would shutter the vast bulk of Iran’s centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium. . . . Iranian officials have complained that Witkoff has refused to commit to specific sanctions relief, say Arab and Iranian officials.
Iran’s accumulation of highly enriched uranium needed to develop a nuclear weapon has increased dramatically in the past three months and is of “serious concern,” according to confidential reports from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency.
Iran Breaks Silence on U.S. Nuclear Offer | Newsweek
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered a critical initial response to a recent U.S. proposal to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, according to the country's semi-official Mehr News Agency. . . . Araghchi said the U.S. proposal handed to Tehran by the Omani foreign minister “contains many ambiguities and questions. Many issues in this proposal are unclear,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency, while on a visit to Lebanon.
Nuclear Chief Aligns with Khamenei: No Retreat on Iran’s Program | Iran International
Iran’s nuclear chief on Wednesday pledged to continue advancing the country’s nuclear program with what he described as “faith, revolutionary spirit, and heartfelt conviction,” while vowing to resist pressure from the United States and other powers. “I assure [you] that . . . we will stand against the excessive demands of the United States and other hegemonic powers,” Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami said in a statement addressed to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian news agency ISNA.
This Is the US Proposal to Resolve Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Dispute | Israel Hayom
An Arab diplomatic source told Israel Hayom that the US proposal to Iran includes the construction of a uranium enrichment facility in the Gulf region, whose output would serve several countries in the area. The source believes the proposal presents an original solution to the contentious issue of whether to allow Iran to enrich uranium on its own soil, even for civilian purposes. According to the plan, reaching a full resolution would take several years, during which time supervised interim arrangements would permit enrichment solely for civilian nuclear facilities. The document proposes that enrichment take place only at above-ground facilities, not underground ones, and only if Iran agrees to dismantle its underground and non-civilian facilities.
SANCTIONS, SHIPPING, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Oil Flows to China Fall on Sanctions, Refinery Maintenance | Bloomberg
Iran is shipping less oil to China, as toughening sanctions snarl the OPEC producer’s shipments and refinery demand falls in the world’s biggest fossil fuel importer. Preliminary data shows flows of crude and condensate from Iran to China were at just over 1.1 million barrels a day in May, about a fifth lower than a year earlier, according to estimates by Vortexa Ltd. based on ship-tracking data.
Why Iranians Are Seeking Safety in Gold | Financial Times
One morning in a labyrinthine Tehran bazaar, a salesman was pitching a hot investment to shoppers. “Your money is dead,” he said of the country’s beleaguered currency, the rial. “Buy gold.” Local prices for gold in Iran have outpaced a worldwide surge over the past year, as businesses buy the metal to skirt sanctions and ordinary Iranians invest to protect their savings amid the threat of military confrontation with the US and Israel.
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Azad Shojaei, a political prisoner accused of aiding the assassination of senior Revolutionary Guards commander and nuclear figure Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the human rights website HRANA reported. Shojaei was convicted by the Revolutionary Court in Urmia of “espionage for Israel” and allegedly supplying equipment used in the 2020 killing of Fakhrizadeh, who served as deputy defense minister and was a key figure in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. His death was widely blamed on Israel.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expressed alarm over a sharp rise in the number of Afghan families being deported from Iran after the number of people crossing the border and called for the immediate suspension of the forced return of Afghans, regardless of their immigration status. . . . Iran has set a July 6 deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave the country, potentially affecting up to 4 million people, according to the agency.
How Persian Social Media Turned Against Afghan Refugees | IranWire
The comments appeared quickly after IranWire published Mahboubeh’s story—an 18-year-old Afghan girl facing deportation from the only country she’s ever known. Within hours, Persian-language social media was flooded with racist comments that showed the rising hostility toward Afghan refugees in Iran.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Boasting glittering shopping malls, generous tax breaks and miles of sandy beaches, it’s a Middle Eastern hotspot designed to tempt high-spending visitors. While this might sound like a description of Dubai, it equally applies to Kish Island—the Iranian territory being touted as a potential new base for the Kinahan cartel. . . . Considered one of the world’s most powerful organised crime gangs, the Kinahans are thought to have extensive connections with terrorist groups and rogue regimes in the Middle East, including Iran and its client militia, Hezbollah.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran’s Rival Factions Close Ranks in Rejection of US Nuclear Proposal | Iran International
A new US proposal for a nuclear agreement appears to have united all corners of Iran’s political scene in opposition, with reformist media calling it “pressure diplomacy” and hardliners denouncing it as a trap. “Zero enrichment is the code name for the consortium,” the IRGC-linked daily Javan wrote on Monday, referring to a plan that would effectively eliminate Iran’s domestic refinement of uranium. The details of Washington’s proposal have not been officially revealed, but Javan asserted in its editorial that the draft calls for Iran to halt enrichment entirely.
Hell Exhibition Draws Fire from Iranians, Faithful and Faithless Alike | Iran International
An exhibition by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards meant to offer a visceral experience of the afterlife—particularly the torments of hell—has instead provoked widespread ridicule and criticism.
Eternal Love: Viral Iranian Dating Show Defies Tehran’s Cultural Clampdown | Iran International
Strict cultural restrictions by the Islamic Republic have helped pave the way for the runaway success of Eternal Love, a bawdy Persian-language dating show filmed in Turkey and streamed online into Iranian homes. The YouTube-based reality series, launched in April 2025, shows young Iranian singles in a luxury villa competing for love and money—formats banned by Iran's theocracy but now flourishing beyond its reach.
EUROPE & IRAN
BBC staff in London say their families are being “targeted and punished” by the Iranian regime as it intensifies a campaign of intimidation against journalists and media outlets.
SYRIA & IRAN
Israel Strikes Syria After Projectiles Fired, Holds Sharaa Responsible | Reuters
Israel has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria in nearly a month, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel and holding interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible. . . . A Syrian foreign ministry statement said the accuracy of the reports of shelling towards Israel had not yet been verified.
“We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests,” the Syrian foreign ministry added, as reported by the state news agency. A Syrian official told Reuters such parties included “remnants of Assad-era militias linked to Iran, which have long been active in the Quneitra area” and have “a vested interest in provoking Israeli retaliation as a means of escalating tensions and undermining current stabilization efforts.”
ISRAEL & IRAN
Former Israeli Security Chief Yaakov Amidror: Israel Must Strike Iran | Jerusalem Post
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, said that Israel should attack Iran should an unfavorable nuclear deal be reached . . .
Israel Arrests East Jerusalem Man over Spying for Iran, Plotting Attacks | Jerusalem Post
A resident of east Jerusalem was arrested over spying for Iran, including plans to carry out terrorist attacks against Jews, the Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Wednesday. . . . The suspect was discovered to be acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence, including recruiting the suspect and working with him to recruit his family members and activate them to carry out tasks within Israeli territory, the statement read. . . . The man had already begun executing some of the tasks assigned to him by the Iranian agent, including hanging signs, collecting information about sites and streets in Jerusalem (including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market), and burning IDF uniforms. . . . The investigation also found that the suspect was tasked to plan a terrorist attack in central Israel, an arson attack on a forest, and transferring weapons to the West Bank.
HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON, & IRAN
Hezbollah Chief Discusses Iran Support with Top Diplomat | Agence France-Presse
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, the Tehran-backed Lebanese group said Wednesday, with the militants under domestic and international pressure to disarm. . . . Qassem, who took over last year after an Israeli strike killed the group’s longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, thanked Araghchi for Iran’s “ongoing support for the Lebanese people” and Hezbollah. He also told Araghchi of Hezbollah’s “work to revive Lebanon and its stability and sovereignty, and to expel the occupation from (Lebanese) territory”, the statement said, referring to Israel. . . . On Tuesday, Araghchi told reporters that “Iranian companies are ready to take part in Lebanon’s reconstruction.” He also laid a wreath at Nasrallah’s grave.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji informed his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Tuesday that Hezbollah put his country in a “difficult situation” when it embarked on more than a year of fighting with neighboring Israel in 2023, and stressed the importance of disarming the Tehran-backed terror group. . . . The importance of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its control over non-state entities was imparted to Araghchi more than once during his visit. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun told the visiting Iranian official during their meeting that Beirut wants “to strengthen relations from state to state with Iran.”
Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon | Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a “new page” in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah. . . . “Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs,” [Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf] Salam’s office said.