The United States has rejected Iran’s 14-point proposal. According to information received by the Tehran Times, the United States government responded to Iran’s written proposal regarding an end to the war. By rejecting Tehran’s proposals, the United States has once again reaffirmed its coercive stance, particularly on the nuclear issue. It is important to note that Iran presented its proposal based on a two-stage negotiation process: the first stage would end the war on all fronts, while the second, regarding the nuclear issue, would begin if Iran’s conditions were met.
Trump’s trip to China did not have the desired impact on resolving the conflict with Iran. On his return trip from China, Trump told Fox News: “China has offered assistance on the Iranian issue.” “Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to see the Strait of Hormuz open.” “Xi Jinping has promised not to supply Iran with military equipment. At the same time, the American president has noted that Beijing intends to continue purchasing Iranian oil.”
And Trump again: “Some cleanup work may be needed in Iran, because we had a small month-long ceasefire.”
Barack Obama, former US President, said in an interview with CBS about the nuclear deal with Iran: “We did it without firing a single missile.” “We have removed 97% of Iran’s enriched uranium. There is no doubt that this agreement worked and that we did not have to kill many people or close the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, Iran, through genuine diplomacy and without war or escalation, agreed to limit a significant portion of its civilian nuclear program and has fulfilled its obligations. This demonstrates that Iran has always sought peace, not war, and that diplomacy with it can be conducted on a win-win basis.”
Rep. Thomas Massie has introduced a bill in Congress requiring AIPAC to register as a foreign agent.
The Global Sumud flotilla, consisting of 54 vessels carrying approximately 500 international activists, departed southern Turkey in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
From Israel, ISI has learned that Judge Benny Sagi, who presided over Netanyahu’s corruption trial, was found dead in a suspicious “accident.”
Israeli Defense Minister Katz, during a memorial ceremony for those killed in the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition on Mount Herzl, returned to the topic of Iran: “Iran has suffered tremendous blows over the past year, yet our mission is not yet over. We must achieve the objectives of the campaign. As I said previously, we are prepared for the possibility of having to intervene again shortly to ensure the achievement of these objectives.” Minister Katz thus admitted that the resumption of the operation against Iran will be imminent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered legal proceedings against the New York Times. The authorities called the article “one of the most horrific, perverse, and false articles ever written against the State of Israel.” The lawsuit stemmed from an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof. In it, the journalist accused Israeli soldiers and prison guards of systematically sexually abusing Palestinian prisoners, including with the help of dogs.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Iran’s attacks against Arab states.
Saudi Arabia is discussing a non-aggression pact in the Middle East with its allies. According to the Financial Times, Riyadh is holding consultations on a possible agreement between Middle Eastern states and Iran. The pact is expected to be concluded after the end of the Israeli-American military operation. According to Western diplomats, the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which were a key element in reducing tensions during the Cold War, are being considered as a model for the new document.
The WSJ: Netanyahu’s secret visit to the United Arab Emirates took place on March 26. And Handala, an Iranian hacker group, has revealed the name of the person behind the meetings: Samuel Shay, who organized Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United Arab Emirates in March and is the main architect of the Abraham Accords, claiming to have his clandestine network exposed. “Netanyahu, the head of the Mossad, the director of the Security Agency and the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the war” I24News
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: “The United Arab Emirates has sided with the United States and Israel in this war. During the BRICS meeting, I told the UAE representative that the Zionist regime and the United States cannot guarantee your security.” Regarding Hormuz, he said: “The Strait of Hormuz is open to anyone who is not an enemy. Just pay the toll.”
From the BRICS summit, he said regarding the agreements with the United States: “There is no military solution for anything concerning Iran.” “They have been repeating threats for a long time, but have achieved no results, not even from the war they have waged.” “The more they threaten, the more they will fail.” And he reiterated: “The issue of Iranian enriched materials is not currently up for negotiation.” “We have reached the conclusion with the United States that, given the difficulty of the situation and the near-deadlock we are at on this specific point, it is appropriate to postpone the issue to the next stages of negotiations.”
Araghchi also spoke about relations with Moscow: “I met with President Putin less than two weeks ago, and we discussed [the offer to transfer the uranium to Russia].” “We are grateful to our Russian friends for their offer and their willingness to help us… Naturally, this is something we will have to decide during the negotiations.”
The Iranian minister revealed that consultations are underway with Oman on joint management of the Strait of Hormuz. “The Strait is within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. There are no international waters in between, so everything should be managed by Iran and Oman.”
On May 15, a solidarity meeting was held at the damaged synagogue in Tehran, and participants stressed the importance of reopening it.
And now a look at the ongoing military scenarios in the Middle East and Central Asia, updated as of May 15, 3:30 PM. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper: “Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are completely cut off from Iranian aid.” In his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Cooper stated that in the 30 months prior to Operation Epic Wrath, Iranian-linked groups carried out over 350 attacks, wounding 200 Americans and killing four. He then admitted, under pressure from Democratic senators, that no investigation had been conducted into the deaths of Iranian civilians.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is installing specialized anti-drone systems in its units in southern Lebanon to strengthen defenses against Hezbollah drones. Currently: 158,000 square meters of anti-drone nets have been installed. Additional nets covering an area of 188,000 square meters have been ordered. The plan is to prevent low-flying kamikaze drones and reconnaissance drones from penetrating military installations.
On May 15, six rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona.
IDF bombed a group of residents in Jabalia, north of Gaza.
Hezbollah released footage showing one of its largest coordinated FPV drone attacks against Israeli military positions near Houla. The footage shows attacks targeting soldiers, vehicles, tanks, and other military equipment. According to Israeli sources, Hezbollah has completely reorganized and appears to have identified the Israeli forces’ weak points. On May 15, another Israeli soldier was killed in Lebanon by a Hezbollah mortar attack. He was a 20-year-old soldier from the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade.
Hezbollah struck a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the southern Lebanese town of Quuzah with artillery fire twice, and a helicopter was hit in the skies above Byyada with a surface-to-air missile. The IDF targeted Kafr Kuba and Deir al-Qanoun al-Nahr, Al-Zrariyah in the Sidon district, and Tibnin and Ayta al-Jabal in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon.
According to an Al Mayadeen correspondent, drone strikes targeted the headquarters of Iranian separatist groups in Dohuk and on the outskirts of Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The correspondent also reported hearing explosions in the Baharka area of Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States would supply weapons to Kurdish separatist movements to sow chaos in Iran during the war. The movements, however, kept the weapons and did not provided military support to the United States, Trump has stated repeatedly.
The Iranian navy boarded and seized a vessel off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The vessel is now being escorted to Iranian territorial waters.
India reports that an Indian merchant ship sank on May 15 off the coast of Oman after being damaged by a missile yesterday morning. 14 crew members were rescued. According to the Iranian navy: “The small wooden Indian merchant ship ‘Haji Ali’ was hit by an unidentified explosive object around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning while transiting near Limah, off the northern coast of Oman, and sank. However, all 14 Indian crew members were rescued by Omani authorities. The vessel was carrying live cattle from Somalia to Sharjah. It is not yet entirely clear whether the vessel struck naval mines or was hit by a live shell. However, this incident—which prompted a strong negative reaction from the Indian Foreign Minister—occurred while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting India for talks with Indian officials. The timing of the incident, which occurred during important meetings between Iran and India, has fueled speculation that it may have been orchestrated to sabotage relations between the two countries.” Authorities suggest that US moves may have been behind the incident.
According to the BBC, the vessel reported by the UK Maritime Trade Office (UKMTO) as sailing in Iranian waters on Thursday was a floating arsenal used by Chinese private military contractors in the region to protect ships from piracy. The vessel in question is the Hui Chuan, registered under the Honduran flag. The attack was confirmed by the IRGC: “Iranian forces today seized the Honduran-flagged Hui Chuan vessel 38 nautical miles (70 km) northeast of Fujairah and transferred it to Iranian territorial waters. This vessel is a support vessel capable of operating in different maritime sectors depending on the operator’s needs. According to information provided to Vanguard by the vessel’s operators, the Hui Chuan serves as a floating weapons depot, storing weapons for security companies that protect ships at sea. The seizure of this vessel, with such an interesting function, is in itself one of the most mysterious seizures carried out by the Iranian military in the Strait of Hormuz in recent times, and there are certainly important hidden implications behind this story.”
Since May 14, a total of 30 Chinese vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s permission. This decision was made following diplomatic pressure from the Chinese Foreign Minister and ambassador to Tehran, and is based on the “deep ties between the two countries and their strategic partnership.” The increased number of Chinese ships transiting sends a clear message to both China and the United States: Iran-China relations are not Washington’s concern, and China can be assured that the deep and friendly ties between Iran and China will continue in all areas, including economic ones.
Videos broadcast by channels affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) show IRGC soldiers training with sniper rifles.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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