TOP STORIES
Trump Says Iran Went Back on Allowing U.S. To Remove Highly Enriched Uranium | CBS News
“President Trump said Monday that Iran had informed his administration it would allow the U.S. to come in and help extract its highly enriched uranium, but that Tehran retracted that offer in its latest ceasefire proposal. . . . He said that, in addition to taking control of the uranium, the U.S. wants Iran to ‘guarantee no nuclear weapons for a very long period of time and a couple of other minor things, but they just can’t get there. So they agree with us and then they take it back.”
U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities | New York Times
“The Trump administration’s public portrayal of a shattered Iranian military is sharply at odds with what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling policymakers behind closed doors, according to classified assessments from early this month that show Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.”
Saudi Arabia Launched Covert Attacks on Iran as Regional War Widened, Sources Say | Reuters
“Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said. . . . By the end of March, diplomatic contacts and the threat by Saudi Arabia to take a more hawkish approach akin to the UAE and retaliate further led to an understanding [with Iran] to de-escalate, the Western sources said.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran-Linked LPG Tanker Sails Past US Navy’s Blockade Line | Bloomberg
“A liquefied petroleum gas carrier, which has previously ferried Iranian cargoes, has sailed past the blockade boundary announced last month by the US Navy. Very large gas carrier Tara Gas crossed the formal US line—stretching from Oman’s Ras al Hadd to the Iran-Pakistan border—late on Tuesday and is currently sailing in a southeasterly direction in the Arabian Sea, ship-tracking data show. . . . Tara Gas has been singled out by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and some US senators under its former name, Gas Global, for its links to Iran.”
Interview of UANI Senior Advisor Charlie Brown | BBC News
“China imports a lot of oil and energy, and Iranian crude oil is close to 20 percent of their imports of oil. That is significant—this is definitely on the agenda of China for this meeting. Will we see it in public statements? We really don’t know. Is it a topic that is at the forefront of the minds of everyone at the negotiating table in Beijing? Definitely.”
Interview of UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky | Iran International
“President Trump is likely considering some more leadership decapitations in Iran in addition to strikes on economic targets and other regime infrastructure. So, this, same, military and coercive diplomatic dance is likely to continue unless and until the US achieves its objectives. I do not think President Trump is going to fold here, that is not in his vocabulary with respect to the Islamic Republic, and I think the Islamic Republic is going to learn the hard way that that is the case.”
An Iranian Gas Tanker Has Breached the US Blockade | Korrespondent.net (Translated from Russian)
“Tara Gas has come under scrutiny from the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and several US senators under its former name, Gas Global, due to its ties to Iran.”
“Tara Gas—formerly known as Gas Global—has previously been targeted by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and several US senators for its Iranian ties.”
MILITARY MATTERS & STRAIT OF HORMUZ CRISIS
Pentagon Considering Re-Naming Iran War ‘Sledgehammer’ If Ceasefire Collapses | NBC News
“The U.S. military is considering officially re-naming the war with Iran ‘Operation Sledgehammer’ if the current ceasefire collapses and President Donald Trump decides to re-start major combat operations, according to two U.S. officials. The discussions about possibly replacing ‘Operation Epic Fury’ with ‘Operation Sledgehammer’ underscore how seriously the administration is considering resuming the war started on Feb. 28, and could allow Trump to argue that it restarts the 60-day clock that requires congressional authorization for war.”
UK Sending Autonomous Mine-Hunters to the Strait of Hormuz | CNN
“The United Kingdom is sending autonomous mine-hunting equipment and ‘cutting edge’ anti-drone systems to the Strait of Hormuz, the British Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday. . . . The UK and France have together led efforts to muster an international mission to better secure shipping lanes in the strait.”
“Australia will send a hi-tech military plane to join an international mission to reopen the strait of Hormuz, but the Labor government has not ruled out sending more assets to the Middle East.”
“A tanker loaded with Iraqi crude oil turned around and headed back toward the Persian Gulf on Monday off the southern coast of Oman, a day after Iran said the ship had transited the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iranian authorities. . . . The Sepah news channel, run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed in a social media post that the ship had been turned back by the ongoing U.S. naval blockade, but the U.S. military did not immediately comment.”
Pentagon’s Estimate for Iran War Grows to $29B | Politico
“The cost of the Iran war has risen to $29 billion, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Tuesday, even as the U.S. says combat operations have largely ceased.”
DIPLOMACY
Trump Says He Doesn’t Need Xi’s Help on Iran | Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will have a long talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Iran during his upcoming trip to China, but added that he does not think he needs Xi’s help. ‘I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,’ Trump told reporters when departing the White House for China.”
Israel Is Worried That Trump Will Strike a ‘Bad Deal’ with Iran, Leaving War Objectives Unmet | CNN
“Israel is concerned that US President Donald Trump may strike an agreement with Iran before addressing some of the key issues that drove the two countries to launch the war in the first place, multiple Israeli sources have told CNN. . . . ‘The primary concern is that Trump will grow tired of talks and cut a deal—any deal—with last-minute concessions,’ one Israeli source said. While US officials have reassured Israel that the issue of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium will be addressed, the source said the apparent exclusion of ballistic missiles and Tehran’s proxy network from the talks ‘is a big deal.’”
TERRORISM & INTELLIGENCE
Israelis Receive Recruitment Text Messages from Iranian Intelligence, Police Say | CNN
“Text messages have been sent to the phones of Israeli citizens encouraging them to cooperate with Iranian intelligence and threatening them with further attacks.”
Telegram Channels Claiming to Recruit for Iranian Intelligence Removed After CNN Report | CNN
“Following a CNN investigation into potential links between Iran and a recent spate of antisemitic attacks in Europe, Telegram channels examined in the report have been removed from the platform. One channel, VIPEmployment—which had asked a CNN journalist what actions they could take ‘against Zionist individuals or assets’ and told the undercover reporter they were looking to ‘hire anyone who can harm Israeli interests or individuals’ – had disappeared from Telegram by Tuesday morning. . . . CNN’s story, published Monday, showed how VIPEmployment was openly claiming to recruit ‘high-paid agents’ around the world to act against Israeli individuals and assets. It also found other accounts claiming to be Iranian intelligence who offered money, paid via crypto, to carry out low level anti-West protests.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
The War Is on Hold, but Iran’s Internal Crackdown Is Only Deepening | NBC News
“While the Iranian regime has been battling its external enemies, Israel and the United States, it has also been ramping up a deadly crackdown on those seen as the enemy within. Since mid-March, there have been at least 28 executions in Iran, including 13 people arrested in connection with the January protests, according to the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights. . . . The government has also arrested at least 4,000 people on charges related to national security since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the United Nations said in a report two weeks ago.”
Iran: Surge of Political Prisoners amid US-Israel War | Deutsche Welle
“‘We’ve been observing the human rights situation in Iran with great concern," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam tells DW. The Norwegian-Iranian neuroscientist is the founder of the NGO Iran Human Rights. ‘The near-daily executions of political prisoners, protesters and people accused of espionage are particularly alarming,’ he adds. ‘In a situation in which the international community is paying little attention to human rights violations in Iran, the Islamic Republic is taking advantage of the added leeway to execute prisoners while keeping political costs as low as possible,’ Amir-Moghaddam says. ‘It’s crucial that the international community gives a significantly higher priority to Iran and the state of its people. They need to make this a topic in negotiations with the Islamic Republic,’ Amiry-Moghaddam says. Putting an end to the executions and releasing political prisoners should be a core condition for talks, he argues.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran’s Kharg Island Oil Shipments Show First Prolonged Halt Since Start of War | Bloomberg
“Oil shipments from Iran’s main export terminal appear to have come to a standstill over the past several days, according to satellite images, the first sign of a prolonged halt since the start of the war. . . . If Kharg Island were to remain idle, it would increase the pressure on the country’s remaining storage facilities, which satellite images show are filling up. Estimates vary for how much space Iran has left, but if all tanks were to reach capacity it could be forced to make deeper production cuts. The country already curbed some output.”
Trump Says Americans’ Economic Pain Is Not a Consideration for the Iran War | New York Times
“‘The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran—they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” [President Trump] said. ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,’ Mr. Trump added. ‘I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.’”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Trump Doesn’t Need Congress to Restart Iran Strikes: Hegseth | CNBC
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump doesn’t need congressional approval to restart strikes on Iran despite surpassing the 60-day limit allowed under federal law. . . . ‘Should the president make the decision to recommence, we would have all of the authorities necessary to do so,’ Hegseth said.”
GULF STATES, ISRAEL & IRAN
“The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency visited the United Arab Emirates at least twice during the war with Iran for the purpose of coordination about the war, according to Arab officials and a person familiar with the matter, in a sign of the growing partnership between Israel and the Arab Gulf kingdom.”
Three Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Bahrain for Aiding Iran | CNN
“Bahrain’s High Criminal Court has sentenced three people, including one woman, to life imprisonment for ‘collaborating’ with Iran, according to state media. Prosecutors said the woman was in ‘communication’ with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and intended to carry ‘out hostile terrorist acts’ in Bahrain. Two defendants in a separate case received life sentences for aiding ‘terrorist operations,’ including transferring funds and passing information to the IGRC and Iranian intelligence agencies. A further ten people in other cases were given prison sentences of up to ten years for ‘supporting and endorsing Iranian terrorist attacks’ on Bahrain, broadcasting prohibited data and photographing prohibited places.”
Kuwait Summons Iranian Ambassador over Paramilitary Island Attack | CBS News
“Kuwait has summoned the Iranian ambassador over the reported Iran-linked attack on Bubuiyan Island on Kuwait’s eastern border. . . . Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Hamad Suleiman Al-Meshaan handed Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Totonji a ‘formal protest note’ over the incident on Tuesday . . . and he ‘reiterated Kuwait's strong condemnation and denunciation of this hostile act.’”
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
Satellite Imagery Shows Oil Spill near Iran’s Kharg Island, as Experts Warn of New Leak | CNN
“As a large oil spill continues to swirl in the waters off Iran’s Kharg Island, experts are warning that another leak could just be starting. Satellite imagery shows how a 70 kilometer (43 mile) spill identified last week off the coast of the coral outcrop – which typically handles around 90% of the country’s crude exports – is flowing southward, fragmenting as it moves. As it does so, fresh concerns are mounting over another spill closer to the island that could just be beginning, according to the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), a UK-based group that monitors the environmental impacts of armed conflicts.”
Oil Spill in Gulf Likely Caused by Tanker Dump, Iran Says | NBC News
“Iran’s top environmental official said on Tuesday that a suspected oil spill in the Gulf near Iran’s Kharg Island was likely caused by a tanker dumping waste water and not a leak from oil facilities.”