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Report: Israel Declares State of Emergency After Launching Strike on Iran

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency after launching a strike on Iran, according to several reports.

“Two sources with knowledge of the operation” told Axios that Israel had carried out a strike on Iran.

Per the outlet, “it’s not clear whether Israel has ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.”

ABC News reported that Katz had declared “a special state of emergency in the country following what he called a preemptive strike against Iran.”

(Read more from “Report: Israel Declares State of Emergency After Launching Strike on Iran” HERE)

Iran Suffers Major Losses and Israel is Just Getting Started

. . .Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday night the operation will go on for days.

The first wave of the attacks did significant damage to the Iranian regime.

Israel has attacked nuclear sites with dozens of fighter jets at locations throughout the country, including the main nuclear enrichment site of Natanz in the southeast of Iran.

(Read more from “Iran Suffers Major Losses and Israel is Just Getting Started” HERE)

Iran Promises to Retaliate Against Any Military Conflict With Missile Attacks on U.S. Bases, Some in Europe; U.S. Evacuating Nonessential Personnel

The United States is evacuating diplomatic personnel from Iraq and military family members from the Middle East following threats from Iran‘s defense minister that Tehran would target U.S. bases if negotiations broke down.

“If a conflict is imposed on us … all U.S. bases are within reach,” Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned on Wednesday, just days before the latest U.S.-Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Later in the day, the State Department confirmed its decision to reduce its footprint in Iraq, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth authorized the voluntary departure of military families across the Middle East on Wednesday, a U.S. defense official told the Washington Examiner.

“The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority, and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East,” the official said. “CENTCOM is working in close coordination with our Department of State counterparts, as well as our allies and partners in the region to maintain a constant state of readiness to support any number of missions around the world at any time.”

A State Department official told the Washington Examiner, “President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our Mission in Iraq.” (Read more from “Iran Promises to Retaliate Against Any Military Conflict With Missile Attacks on U.S. Bases, Some in Europe; U.S. Evacuating Nonessential Personnel” HERE)

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Trump Reveals the Major Holdup in Iran Nuclear Deal

President Trump disclosed Monday that Iran is pushing hard for the right to continue enriching uranium in any new nuclear deal — which the US “can’t have.”

“They’re just asking for things that you can’t do,” Trump, 78, told reporters at the White House.

“They don’t want to give up what they have to give up. You know what that is? They seek enrichment. We can’t have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they’re not there.”

The president said US officials would meet again with their Iranian counterparts later this week — but indicated that an agreement was not close.

“I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they’re not there,” he said. “They have given us their thoughts on the deal, and I said, you know, it’s just not acceptable.”

Trump has expressed hope that Washington and Tehran can reach a new agreement to replace the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), from which the 45th president removed the US in 2018. (Read more from “Trump Reveals the Major Holdup in Iran Nuclear Deal” HERE)

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Accuses Trump of ‘Lying’ While Crowd Chants ‘Death to America’

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed President Donald Trump in front of a crowd chanting “death to America” in recent comments as the United States tries to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Khamenei accused Trump of lying about attempts to bring peace to the Middle East and said that the United States should leave the region. The supreme leader also referred to Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that needs to be “uprooted,” according to a translation of his comments by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute.

“Some of the things the U.S. president said in his recent visit to the region are not even worthy of a response,” the supreme leader said Saturday in a video published and translated by the institute. “Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace. He is lying.”

In reaction to Khamenei’s comments throughout the roughly four-minute clip, the crowd of supporters alternately chant “death to America,” “death to England,” and “death to Israel.” The crowd also calls for “death to those who oppose the rule of the Jurisprudent,” a reference to the Islamic law that the Iranian regime is based on.
“[Trump] and other senior officials in the American administration have used power to perpetrate a massacre in Gaza, to stir up war wherever they could, and in order to support their mercenaries,” the supreme leader said. “When have they ever used power for peace?”

(Read more from “Iran’s Supreme Leader Accuses Trump of ‘Lying’ While Crowd Chants ‘Death to America’” HERE)

Iran Refuses to Close Nuclear Facilities Despite U.S. Pressure

Four rounds of talks with a team of American diplomats have done nothing to soften Iran’s position on ending its illicit nuclear weapons development, Iranian officials insisted on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led the delegation to Oman-mediated talks with Washington for the past month, eliminated the possibility on Thursday that Iran will stop enriching uranium, a core demand of the administration of President Donald Trump for any agreement to lift sanctions on the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism. Tehran insists that it has a “right” to generate highly-enriched uranium as part of its “peaceful” nuclear program, while American officials have pointed out that no peaceful nuclear states have programs that enrich to the capacity that Iran has and that uranium of such highly enriched quality is not necessary to run nuclear power plants — its only use would be in developing a bomb.

Nonetheless, Araghchi insisted, according to the Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV, that enrichment is a “right of the Iranian people” that the Islamist regime will not compromise on.

“Defending the rights of the Iranian people in the nuclear field, including [uranium] enrichment, is one of these principles and rights of the people that we will not compromise on,” the foreign minister declared, “neither in the media nor at the negotiation table. This is the right of the Iranian people, and no one can deny it.”

Araghchi made similar remarks last week before the latest round of negotiations with the U.S., led by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. (Read more from “Iran Refuses to Close Nuclear Facilities Despite U.S. Pressure” HERE)

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New Secret Nuclear Site in Iran Revealed

The major Iranian opposition group known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, or PMOI/MEK, on May 8 exposed a secret nuclear facility in Semnan Province. Known as “Ranginkaman” (Rainbow), the site operates under the guise of Diba Energy Sina, a company claiming to produce chemicals for the oil and petrochemical industries. In truth, however, it is part of the SPND – an Iranian organization tasked with building nuclear weapons.

The facility’s primary objective is to design warheads for missiles with a range exceeding 3,000 kilometers. Its use of tritium, a radioactive isotope, raises serious concerns for global security. . .

Recent reports in regime-aligned media suggest Iran and the U.S. may be exploring nuclear cooperation, including joint uranium enrichment in a third-party country. Some sources even speculate about a potential meeting between Iran’s president and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Regardless of their accuracy, these rumors must be approached with skepticism. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly violated its nuclear commitments – such as breaching the 3.67% enrichment cap set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA (the “Iran nuclear deal”) and enriching uranium to 60%.

The revelation of yet another hidden nuclear site serves as a clear warning: Complacency in confronting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions could once again plunge the region into crisis, as history has already shown. (Read more from “New Secret Nuclear Site in Iran Revealed” HERE)

How Striking Iran Could Sabotage Trump’s Nuclear Negotiations

A strike against Iran would torpedo the Trump administration’s attempts at peace, Middle East experts told the Daily Caller.

Israel “has not ruled out” a limited strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Reuters first reported in April. The report follows Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel was planning to attack Iranian nuclear facilities potentially next month but was opposed by Trump, administration officials and others familiar told the New York Times (NYT).

“I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death,” Trump later told reporters, according to the NYT. “That’s my first option. If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”

Trump told Time Magazine he is open to meeting with Iran’s leader and said a deal is likely to happen, according to an interview published Friday. (Read more from “How Striking Iran Could Sabotage Trump’s Nuclear Negotiations” HERE)

Trump’s Letter To Brutal Regime Provokes Accusations Of Causing ‘Breach Of Promises’

Iran’s president on Sunday rejected the idea of direct negotiations with the U.S. in the Islamic regime’s first public response to the letter President Donald Trump previously sent to the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The response by the Supreme Leader to Trump’s letter was delivered to the U.S. contact in Oman by our brother Dr. Araghchi. In that response, direct negotiations have been rejected,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said. “But, regarding indirect talks, Iran has always been involved in such talks and the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect talks can still continue.” (Read more from “Trump’s Letter To Brutal Regime Provokes Accusations Of Causing ‘Breach Of Promises'” HERE)

Iran Triples Military Budget, Signals End to Negotiations

Iran’s decision to triple its military budget in the 2025 fiscal plan does not necessarily indicate war preparations, an Iranian National Security Committee member in Parliament revealed on Wednesday.

In a press interview, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani noted that the significant increase in defense spending means “negotiations are no longer an option.” When asked whether the 200% rise suggested military escalation, he responded, “It cannot be said with certainty, but in any case, this significant increase means that we are not negotiating.”

His remarks come amid heightened tensions following recent threats from US President Donald Trump, who suggested that Israel could launch a strike on Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program.

Iran’s military leadership has also issued warnings today. The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force (IRGC-AF), Amir Ali Hajizadeh, hinted at the possible execution of a military operation called “True Promise 3,” saying, “If Iran’s nuclear facilities are attacked, the region will be engulfed in uncontrollable flames.”

The budget proposal for 2025 includes plans to export 1.75 million barrels of oil per day, with 420,000 barrels—approximately 24%—allocated directly to the armed forces. According to Iran International, this portion is valued at around €11 billion, up from €4 billion in the 2024 budget. (Read more from “Iran Triples Military Budget, Signals End to Negotiations” HERE)

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