Tag: iran

Russia’s Rosatom Ready to Transfer Enriched Uranium From Iran – CEO

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is ready to assist in transferring enriched uranium from Iran, while the issue of the Iranian enriched uranium remains key and painful issue during talks between the United States and Iran, the company’s CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington plans to recover enriched uranium from Iran jointly with Tehran and bring it back to the United States.

“During the [US-Iran] negotiations the issue of removing Iranian enriched uranium continues to remain a key and painful question … And here only Russia has positive experience of cooperation with Iran. In 2015, at the request from Iran, we already transported enriched uranium from Iran. We are ready to assist with this issue today as well,” Likhachev told the Strana Rosatom newspaper.

Likhachev added that the Rosatom is closely monitoring the progress of the US-Iran talks, as well as statements by the US president, as Trump’s accusation that Iran was supposed to obtain nuclear weapons within two weeks, became main reason to launch military operation against Iran.

“In any case, we will welcome any agreements between the conflict sides that will lead to the cessation of armed confrontation,” Likhachev said.

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Iranian gunboats fire on tanker in Strait of Hormuz as Iran reimposes restrictions

The dueling blockades in the Strait of Hormuz lurched into uncharted waters on Saturday. The United States pressed ahead with its campaign to choke off Iranian ports and Iran reversed an initial move to reopen the waterway, firing on a ship attempting to pass.

Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.

Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said on Saturday. It reported the tanker and crew as safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination. TankerTrackers.com reported vessels were forced to turn around in the strait, including an Indian-flagged super tanker, after they were fired on by Iran.

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WaPo: More Than 10K Troops Headed for Persian Gulf as U.S. Blockades Strait of Hormuz

Another 10,200 American troops are heading to Iran, apparently to persuade Iran to agree to U.S. terms in peace talks during the two-week ceasefire that ends next week.

But yet another reason, The Washington Post explained in its report on the deployment, is staging more forces there for a ground invasion of Iran.

Already, 50,000 Americans are in the region. Their latest mission: blockading the Strait of Hormuz to squeeze Iran economically.

The deployment coincides with today’s vote in the U.S. Senate not to block Trump from continuing to attack Iran. 

Some 6,000 Americans are headed to the region on the USS George H.W. Bush, officials told the Post, along with “4,200 others with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its embarked Marine Corps task force, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit,” which will land there “near the end of the month.”

The newly-arriving forces will mean three aircraft carriers and their contingent of jet fighters and other aircraft are now in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford are the others.

“The USS George H.W. Bush was close to the Cape of Good Hope, near South Africa, on Tuesday and expected to make an unusual hook around the bottom of the continent on its way to the Middle East, two officials familiar with the matter said,” the Post reported. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which comprises three ships, left Hawaii last week, and included an infantry battalion of more than 800 Marines. 

On Sunday, after U.S. negotiators led by Vice President J.D. Vance failed to force Iran to bow to U.S. demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end its nuclear ambitions, President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the strait.

U.S. warships in the Abraham Lincoln’s Strike Group are executing the blockade, U.S. Central Command reported today, and vessels are patrolling the Gulf of Oman.

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Hormuz Strait shut down again over US ‘piracy’, says Tehran

  • Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp says control of the Strait of Hormuz has now “returned to its previous state” because of the US’s continuing blockade of Iranian ports.
  • US President Donald Trump says the naval blockade will “remain in full force” until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete”.
  • Earlier Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait is “completely open” to all commercial vessels, “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon” and “on the coordinated route as already announced”.
  • Trump said Israel is “prohibited” from bombing Lebanon as the first day of a 10-day ceasefire in the country saw tens of thousands of people return to homes they were forced to flee during weeks of Israeli attacks.

‘Iran believes it has the upper hand’

Iranian professor Mostafa Khoshcheshm says President Trump’s contradictory statements last night convinced Tehran it would not find “a trustworthy partner for any kind of deal”, and as long as the US acts this way, “Iran will continue the war”.

On the broader mood in Tehran, Khoshcheshm said the Iranian armed forces are “completely ready”, and millions of people taking to the streets every night are demanding continuation of “resistance”.

“Iran believes it has the upper hand and that this must be established in any future confrontation,” he told Al Jazeera.

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This Isn’t Just Trump’s War on Iran. Both Parties Paved the Way for Disaster.

nlike the invasion of Iraq, which received the support of a sizable minority of congressional Democrats, Donald Trump’s war on Iran has received near-universal criticism. Still, the party has focused primarily on process-style critiques — such as the legality of declaring the war under the Constitution and the war’s economic impact — rather than the humanitarian consequences and flagrant violations of international law.

That should not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the U.S. bipartisan consensus on Iran: For over 20 years, a number of prominent Democratic leaders — and in some cases, large majorities of congressional Democrats overall — have helped paved the groundwork for Trump’s war by issuing exaggerated and alarmist statements about Iran’s supposed danger to the region, threatening the use of military force, and undermining diplomatic initiatives, sometimes even criticizing Republicans from the right.

In 2024, the Democratic Party platform criticized “Trump’s fecklessness and weakness in the face of Iranian aggression during his presidency” by not responding militarily to attacks by Iran and groups in Iraq and elsewhere that share Iran’s strategic objectives. The platform cited four separate incidents that took place under his first administration, failing to acknowledge that each was a direct result of Trump’s aggressive policies against Iran, including the assassination of Qassim Suleimani, a top Iranian general.

By contrast, the party’s platform praised President Joe Biden for having “authorized precision airstrikes on key Iranian-linked targets,” which it claimed would “deter further aggression by Iran.” It praised “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel and our unrivaled ability to leverage growing regional integration among U.S. partners to counter Iranian aggression.” Though eager to stress military means to counter Iran, the platform failed to directly call for a return to the Iran nuclear deal under the Obama administration, which considerably reduced regional tensions — a deal that Biden campaigned on reinstating but failed to do.

The month after the release of the party platform, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris attacked Trump in a presidential debate, declaring that her administration “will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.”

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NATO Allies Adopt Evasive Policies on US War in Iran

Trump administration officials are discovering that a daunting number of longstanding U.S. allies and security clients are adopting hedging policies or even openly opposing Washington’s decision to wage war against Iran.  That sobering reality has become even clearer over the past week than it was during the earlier stages of the armed conflict.  On April 12, the president called upon NATO members to join U.S. naval forces in blockading Iranian ports. The proposed move was in response to Tehran’s continuing efforts to selectively close the vital Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping.

However, most of Washington’s alliance partners refused to join the retaliatory blockade. British prime minister Keir Starmer was especially blunt and negative. The U.K. is “not supporting” the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Starmer stated, insisting that the country would not get “dragged in” to the Iran war.  Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, instead proposed intensified international efforts, including a conference, to secure an effective agreement to reopen the strait.

The extensive allied refusal regarding Washington’s blockade plans reflects growing European dissatisfaction with overall U.S. policy toward Iran and, indeed, with Trump’s entire approach to world affairs. Concerned longtime proponents of close transatlantic security cooperation are expressing mounting worries that disagreements between the United States and its principal European allies about Iran policy could lead to a fatal breach in NATO.

European leaders and their publics clearly are getting restless. Serge Schmemann, the Moscow bureau chief for the New York Times, emphasizes the extent of the change.  “Mr. Trump’s war on Iran, about which NATO allies were not consulted and in which they subsequently declined to participate, has made clear that Europeans no longer defer to Mr. Trump as the de facto “‘leader of the free world.’”

At the same time, European leaders have tried to avoid directly antagonizing President Trump.  Achieving such a balance is not easy.  Trump expressed fury at NATO allies who have failed to support Washington’s intervention against Iran. Even before the latest intra-alliance spat over establishing a blockade, the president denounced such allies as “cowards.” Administration officials also are examining ways to punish uncooperative Alliance partners.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed and amplified Trump’s earlier doubts about the continuing value of NATO to America’s security. “Why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question. Why do we send trillions of dollars and have all of these American forces stationed in the region, if in our time of need, we won’t be allowed to use those bases?” Rubio said during an interview with Fox News in early April.  The refusal of most NATO members to authorize U.S. airstrikes and other offensive operations against targets in Iran has especially irritated administration officials.

However, as Wall Street Journal columnists Linas Kojalaand and Vytautas Leškevičius point out, with the notable and ostentatious exception of Spain, the most significant and influential Alliance members, including Britain, France, and Italy, have all quietly assisted the U.S. war effort in other ways.  The outcome has been a bit of a muddle. “Politically, the war with Iran has widened the gap between Washington and many European governments. Operationally, it has underscored how heavily the U.S. still relies on Europe – and how cooperative most European governments are.”

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Hegseth Says US ‘Locked and Loaded’ to Strike Iran’s Power Plants If No Deal Reached

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on April 16 urged Iran’s leadership to reach a deal with the United States, warning that a military operation against the country could be restarted quickly and that Iran’s power plants would be struck.

He said the U.S. government will ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon, which Trump administration officials say was a primary reason for launching strikes against the country in late February. Iran has long denied that it wants to obtain a nuclear weapon and insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

“We’d prefer to do it the nice way through a deal led by our great vice president and negotiating team. Or we can do it the hard way,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine.

Hegseth called on Tehran to “choose wisely” in dealings with the United States.

“I pray you choose a deal, which is within your grasp for the betterment of your people and for the betterment of the world,” Hegseth added.

The U.S. military has kept up a naval blockade on Iran’s ports since April 13 in a bid to place economic pressure on the country’s leadership.

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US Sends Thousands More Troops to Middle East, Considers Ground Ops in Iran

The US is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East and is considering restarting the bombing campaign against Iran or launching ground operations in the country, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US officials.

The report said that the forces include 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush and its accompanying warships. Notably, the Bush traveled around southern Africa on its way to the region instead of going through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, the typical route of US warships, signaling the US is concerned the Houthis in Yemen could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

About 4,200 other US troops, including thousands of Marines, are heading to the region from the Pacific aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. The Post said they are expected to reach the Middle East by the end of April. Once both forces arrive, the US will have more than 60,000 troops in the region.

The buildup and the US blockade of Iranian ports are framed as an effort to get Iran to agree to US demands for a diplomatic deal. But according to President Trump, the US is continuing to demand that Iran make a commitment to never again enrich uranium for civilian purposes, a condition that’s seen as a non-starter and will likely lead to a renewal of the bombing campaign if the US sticks to it.

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Confusion as US military undercuts Trump’s claim the Strait of Hormuz is open with chilling warning: ‘Prepare to be boarded’

The US military has warned ships in the Strait of Hormuz to ‘prepare to be boarded’ as it enforces Donald Trump‘s blockade.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) released audio of the ominous radio message on Wednesday, even as the President stated that he is ‘permanently opening’ the Strait.

‘The US has announced a formal blockade of Iranian ports in coastal areas,’ a military officer says.

‘This is a legal action. All vessels are advised to immediately return to port if leaving, and discontinue transit to Iran if that is your next port of call, do not attempt to breach the blockade.’ 

The officer warns that any vessels breaching the blockade ‘will be boarded for interdiction and seizure’ and that ‘we will use force.’

The military’s statement directly contradicts Trump’s earlier claim on Truth Social that the strait is ‘permanently open’ after secret talks with Xi Jinping, claiming the Chinese leader had agreed to stop arming Iran.

‘China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again.’

A senior White House official told the Daily Mail that, despite Donald Trump’s promise to reopen it, ‘the blockade is fully in effect and working.’ It remains unclear whether Trump was declaring the strait open to shipping traffic immediately or signaling an intent to reach a permanent resolution as peace talks with Iran continue.

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China sold Iran spy satellite that was used to target U.S. bases: report

ran secretly purchased a spy satellite from China in 2024, which it then used to target U.S. bases. 

According to the Financial Times, Earth Eye Co, a Chinese company, built and launched a TEE-01B satellite in 2024. After it was launched into space from China, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Corp purchased the satellite, leaked Iranian military documents show. 

Iran used the satellite to monitor major U.S. military sites. Satellite imagery was taken in March prior to drone and missile strikes on the military locations. The sites included Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. On March 14, President Donald Trump said aircraft at the base were hit in missile strikes. 

Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran, but China has not confirmed the statements. 

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