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Islamic Guard Takes Full Control of Iran, Sidelines Moderates: Analysts

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Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader has effectively taken control of Tehran’s military and negotiation team over the weekend, analysts said.

IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and members of his inner circle have allegedly taken charge of the Islamic republic, as evident by Iran’s attacks on ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s refusal to join peace talks with the US this week, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said.

The sudden shift to a hardline stance also shows that more moderate members of Iran’s leadership, including Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi, have been sidelined.

Araghchi had initially agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after reaching a consensus with the Trump administration, but the IRGC demanded it remain shut in the face of the American blockade on Iranian ports.

Vahidi reportedly received the backing of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary and an IRGC veteran, to control the strait — further cementing Vahidi’s grip on Iran. (Read more from “Islamic Guard Takes Full Control of Iran, Sidelines Moderates: Analysts” HERE)

Iran’s Top Negotiator Rejects Talks ‘Under Threat’ — Warns Regime ‘Ready to Reveal New Battlefield Cards’ as Ceasefire Looms

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Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared late Monday that Tehran will not negotiate with the United States “under the shadow of threats,” warning Tehran is prepared to “reveal new cards on the battlefield” as a ceasefire deadline looms and the fate of renewed talks remains uncertain.

Speaking in a post on X, Ghalibaf — who has led Iran’s recent negotiations alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — accused President Donald Trump of attempting to turn diplomacy into “an instrument of surrender” through continued pressure, including a U.S. naval blockade.

“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf wrote. “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Ghalibaf’s remarks underscored a hardening stance in Tehran just hours after conflicting signals earlier Monday suggested talks could proceed — only to be thrown into doubt again by Monday night.

(Read more from “Iran’s Top Negotiator Rejects Talks ‘Under Threat’ — Warns Regime ‘Ready to Reveal New Battlefield Cards’ as Ceasefire Looms” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Admin Officials Pull Democrat Inflation Tactic Amid Iran War

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President Donald Trump’s administration is being accused of taking a page out of the Democrats’ playbook by blaming inflation on price gouging during the economic instability of a U.S.-Iranian war.

The strategy was employed by members of the House GOP and Trump cabinet officials at hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this week to save face over a war-born hike in the cost of living as the midterms approach.

In March, the U.S. annual inflation rate jumped to 3.3%, marking not only a large increase from the 2.4% inflation rate in both February and January, but also the highest inflation rate since reaching 4.1% in May 2023, Trending Economics shows.

Although the inflation rate is the highest it has been under either of Trump’s terms, it is still dwarfed compared to Joe Biden’s June 2022 peak of 9.1%, which gave Democrats at the time plenty of practice deflecting responsibility and placing it on greedy corporations and fat-cat businessmen.

Ahead of 2022’s midterm elections, Biden blamed the rise in gas prices on the greed of oil companies despite funding a war between Ukraine and Russia, which had resulted in a fall in supply of oil, and thus a rise in oil prices, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

(Read more from “Trump Admin Officials Pull Democrat Inflation Tactic Amid Iran War” HERE)

Trump: U.S. Navy Blows a Hole in Iranian Ship, Seizes Vessel — Tehran Threatens Response as Talks Remain Uncertain

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President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom” of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship before seizing the vessel — marking the first known use of force under Washington’s naval blockade as Tehran threatens retaliation and critical ceasefire talks hang in the balance.

In a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, Trump said the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the vessel, identified as the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach the blockade, adding that “U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel” and are “seeing what’s on board.”

Video released Sunday evening by U.S. Central Command confirmed the encounter, showing repeated warnings issued over several hours, including an audio command ordering, “Vacate your engine room… we are prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” before the destroyer fired into the vessel’s engine compartment.

CENTCOM said the Touska was warned multiple times over a six-hour period while sailing toward Iran’s Bandar Abbas port before U.S. forces disabled its propulsion using the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 gun, after which Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded and secured the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.

The seizure marks the first known forcible interdiction since the blockade went into effect April 13, following the collapse of Pakistan-mediated talks, which U.S. officials said had already forced at least 25 vessels to turn back without incident.

(Read more from “Trump: U.S. Navy Blows a Hole in Iranian Ship, Seizes Vessel — Tehran Threatens Response as Talks Remain Uncertain” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

First Cruise Ship Sets Sail Through Strait of Hormuz After Weeks-Long Closure by Iranian Regime

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The first commercial ship successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz Friday after Iran agreed to reopen the vital waterway following a weeks-long closure.

The Celestyal Discovery cruise ship cleared the strait, just hours after Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the narrow waterway was once again fully open to all commercial vessels — after the Iranian regime had threatened to attack any ship that transited it following the launch of the US and Israel’s war on Tehran.

The ship departed Port Rashid in Dubai at 11:36 a.m. local time – becoming the first passenger liner to exit the shipping lane since the start of the conflict, data from shipping tracker MarineTraffic showed.

The vessel, which carries about 1,360 passengers, was reportedly empty when it traversed the strait.

It is headed to Muscat, Oman, where it is expected to dock late Saturday afternoon, according to CruiseMapper. (Read more from “First Cruise Ship Sets Sail Through Strait of Hormuz After Weeks-Long Closure by Iranian Regime” HERE)

Iran to Execute the First Woman Over Widespread Anti-Regime Demonstrations

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Iran’s barbaric regime is set to execute its first female protester over recent protests, one of an estimated 1,600 sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic in the past year.

Bita Hemmati is the first woman due to be hanged in relation to the demonstrations that broke out in January across the country and were viciously stamped out by government forces.

The regime accused her of numerous crimes, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects such as concrete blocks, participating in protest gatherings, and disrupting national security, according to a Tuesday press release from the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Her husband, Mohammadreza Majid Asl, 34, as well as two other men, Behrouz and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, who lived in the couple’s apartment building, were also sentenced to death following a hasty trial and their property confiscated.

A fifth defendant, Hemmati’s relative Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to almost six years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” as well as “propaganda against the regime.” (Read more from “Iran to Execute the First Woman Over Widespread Anti-Regime Demonstrations” HERE)

Iran Used Chinese Satellite to Target US Bases Before Attack that Took out Air Force Planes

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Iran secretly got its hands on a Chinese spy satellite to target American bases in the Middle East during the war, leaked military documents revealed.

Following its launch to space in 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had acquired Beijing’s TEE-01B satellite, tasking it to monitor key US military sites in the region, the Financial Times reported.

Time-stamped records show some of the images were taken last month before and after Iranian drone and missile attacks on those very bases.

The logs indicate that the satellite, which was built by the Earth Eye Chinese company, had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base, in Saudi Arabia, on March 13, 14, and 15.

It was during that same timespan that Iran struck the American base, damaging five US Air Force refueling planes. (Read more from “Iran Used Chinese Satellite to Target US Bases Before Attack that Took out Air Force Planes” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

US Issues Final Threat to Ships That Violate Iran Blockade: ‘We will use force’

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By New York Post. The US military broadcasted a final warning to ships that they would be subject to the force of the “whole of the United States Navy” if they violated the full blockade of Iran’s ports, according to newly released audio.

The message, uploaded on social media by US Central Command, warned of severe consequences to all vessels attempting to enter or leave the Islamic republic’s ports as part of the American blockade that went into effect on Monday morning.

“The US has announced a formal blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas. This is illegal action,” the military said in the broadcast.

“All vessels are advised to immediately return to port if leaving and discontinue transit to Iran,” CENTCOM added. “Do not attempt to breach the blockade.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian ports. Turn around and prepare to be boarded. (Read more from “US Issues Final Threat to Ships That Violate Iran Blockade: ‘We will use force’” HERE)

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Chinese oil tanker’s retreat from the Strait of Hormuz shows how Trump’s blockade is working

By New York Post. A sanctioned Chinese oil tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz — then was forced to double back and return to Iran after President Trump blockaded the vital shipping lane, according to ship tracking data.

The aborted voyage of the Rich Starry — a Malawi-flagged, Chinese-owned tanker that was blacklisted by the US in 2023 — shows how the US Navy successfully blocked the flow of ships carrying Iranian oil.

Since the war began, most vessels that have traveled out of the Strait of Hormuz have been loaded with Iranian exports — giving the cash-strapped regime vital funds.

So far, the US blockade on the eastern side of the Strait in the Gulf of Oman has stopped at least five ships from heading out into the open ocean, according to the trade analysis firm Kpler.

Iran has stifled nearly all other traffic through Hormuz, which previously carried 20% of the world’s oil, by threatening to attack tankers that don’t pay a ransom. (Read more from “Chinese oil tanker’s retreat from the Strait of Hormuz shows how Trump’s blockade is working” HERE)

Report: Iran Executions Hit Three-Decade High

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Two European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) published a report this week that found Iran conducted 1,639 executions in 2025 — an increase of 68 percent over the previous year, and the largest number of executions since 1989.

The report was the latest edition of the “Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran” prepared by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (EPCM), which are based in Norway and France, respectively. The report has been produced every year since 2012.

The two groups are generally opposed to the death penalty, but find Iran’s practices to be particularly objectionable, as the Islamic regime is usually “ranked first worldwide in executions per capita” — it sometimes takes second place after China — and has a much lower threshold for capital punishment than most other nations.

In her forward to the report, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh said the “worst form of execution” practiced by Iran are its political killings, which are often carried out at the behest of bloodthirsty pressure groups.

“This is precisely why death sentences should never be issued under the influence of public opinion,” she said. (Read more from “Report: Iran Executions Hit Three-Decade High” HERE)

Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suspended the nation’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel amid the war with Iran.

Meloni spoke outside a wine industry event in Verona Tuesday, where she told reporters the Italian government “has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation,” according to a Politico report.

The defense agreement was first established in 2003. It covers the transfer of military equipment and technology-related research between Italy and Israel’s armed forces, and it is set to automatically renew every five years, Politico reported.

The development comes amid rising tensions between Italy and Israel, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy in Lebanon on April 8, according to a Politico report.

“A logistics convoy of the Italian contingent, moving from Shama towards Beirut, was subjected to warning shots fired by the IDF about two kilometres from the base of departure,” the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, stated April 8. The peacekeepers were with UNIFIL, or the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

(Read more from “Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy” HERE)