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The US/Israel/Iran recap for 15 may includes many comments from President Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in relation to the current Iranian stalemate and regional issues, and much more.
President Trump:
🔹 President Trump appeared on Fox TV with Sean Hannity, answering questions about Iran, with Trump saying he hoped Iran was watching the show, warning that the United States knew exactly what Iran put up, digging up the missiles from the underground storage, but it would all be gone in one day: “Everything they’ve done for the last four weeks will be gone in one day,” he said.
🔹 Hannity asked Trump whether he thought President Xi and China had the ability to influence the Iranians, considering they were one of his biggest customers, and Trump replied that China isn’t coming with guns, Xi has been very good in that respect, and they obviously buy a lot of oil, so they want to see the conflict end.
🔹 President Trump pointed out that while the Strait of Hormuz is closed, China has been sending tankers headed to Texas, Louisiana and Alaska to buy US oil: “Xi said he liked the idea of buying US oil, I think it will happen, I don’t know – but they’re doing it right now, they’re sending Chinese ships,” he said.
🔹 The President also noted how there was no oil coming out of Kharg Island at the moment: “People are finding other places like Texas to buy oil,” he said: “So, I don’t want to say we’re making a fortune, because if I say that, they say, ‘Oh, he forgets about the little man,'” he said.
🔹 Asked about Iran’s current leadership, Trump said he thought they were more ‘reasonable than the first tier, smarter than the first tier, and the second tier who are no longer with us,’ and when asked why do they keep going back and forth, Trump said: “They make a deal, and the next day, like, we waited five days for a letter that should have been there in one hour – they got nothing but turmoil inside.”
🔹 Trump also told Xi that China didn’t want Iran having a nuclear weapon saying ‘they’re stone cold crazy,’ and asked what Xi said, Trump said: “He’s not going to respond too much, he’s a pretty cool guy, he’s not going to say that’s a good point,” Trump said, but admitted he thought Xi had agreed when asked by Hannity.
🔹 President Trump said that Iran wasn’t able to reach the ‘nuclear dust’ because the ‘mountain collapsed on it’ and that only China and the US could reach it.
🔹 Asked whether it was necessary to get the uranium, Trump said: “I don’t think it’s necessary except from a public relation standpoint,” stating he told the ‘fake news’ that the US would get it: “I’m the one that said we’re going to get it, and we’re going to get it – we have our eye on it,” he commented, hinting at US Space Force Command.
🔹 Trump said: “I told them that if we send a force over there, all we’ll do is just hit with a couple of bombs, and that’s going to be the end of it – they won’t do it – we have nine cameras on those three sites, 24 hours a day,” adding at he would just feel better if the US got the uranium: “But I think more for public relations than anything else,” he added.
🔹 President Trump reiterated numerous times to reporters on Air Force One that Iran couldn’t have a nuclear weapon, as the delegation returned to the US from China, stating that Iran would have already had a nuclear weapon if Trump hadn’t terminated a deal signed by Barack Obama.
🔹 Trump also repeated claims that the site in Isfahan was completely obliterated, that Iran didn’t have the equipment to get the ‘nuclear dust,’ as it required specialist tractors, meaning only US or China could go in to get the material, adding: “At the right time, we’ll either go in or we’ll get it, I think we’ll probably get it – but if we don’t get it, we’ll go in.”
🔹 Asked by Fox’s Bret Baier about Trumps statement regarding the fact he doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situation when it came to his actions against Iran, the President doubled down, responding: That’s a perfect statement – I’d make it again!”
🔹 When shown and read statements from social media expressing concerns about the risking costs linked to the war from voters, President Trump brushed aside the complaints and instead bragged about the stock market.
🔹 President Trump also claimed that Iran had been holding up the world for many, many years using the Strait of Hormuz, stating that they’ve closed it in the past and used it as a weapon, but they weren’t using it as a weapon against Trump, claiming: “President Xi said last night, sort of smiling about it, ‘Well, they close the Strait, and then you close them.’
🔹 Trump also claimed that the three Chinese tankers that passed through the Strait this week with Iranian oil was ‘because we allowed it to happen,’ while stating that the US will get the enriched uranium and Iran aren’t currently touching it: “We have nine different cameras on that site, we can read the name of a person, (,,,) anybody that goes near that space, we have a tag,” he said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:
🔹 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran didn’t trust the United States and would only engage in negotiations if Washington demonstrated seriousness and consistency.
🔹 Araghchi said that Iran were attempting to preserve the ceasefire in order to give diplomacy a chance, but warned that contradictory messages from the US raised doubts about Washington’s real intentions.
🔹 The FM described the situation around the Strait of Hormuz as ‘very complicated,’ adding that Iran is trying to help stabilise the situation despite understanding the consequences of US sanctions.
🔹 Araghchi also said that mediation efforts led by Pakistan hadn’t failed but were facing significant difficulties, and welcomed any role China could play in easing tensions, stressing that Tehran remained prepared to both for a return to fighting and pursuing diplomatic negotiations.
🔹 During a second day of foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi for the BRICS conference, a joint statement was failed to be produced due to escalating tensions between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, Al-Akhbar reported.
🔹 Iran accused the UAE of directly participating in the war, citing the UAE’s hosting of American military bases and secret coordination with Israel, including a reported visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi during the conflict.
🔹 UAE’s delegation insisted that any final declaration must condemn Iranian missile attacks and ship seizures, while Iran demanded a clear condemnation of US-Israeli aggression.
🔹 Russia proposed a neutral draft focused on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but the UAE opposed it, arguing that any text addressing the Strait would legitimise Iranian control.
🔹 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters after the BRICS meeting that Iran greatly appreciated the BRICS stance condemning the aggression, which was the fundamental principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.
🔹 Araghchi noted that many ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days with the help of Iranian forces and the process would continue, adding that the only solution was a complete end to the war, after which Iran would ensure that safe passage is guaranteed for ‘every single ship.’
🔹 Speaking at the conclusion of the BRICS summit, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the US and Israel conflict, saying that if they want to go back to war, it is up to them: “They have tested us, they can test us again, but the results will not be any different,” he said.
🔹 Araghchi confirmed the Strait of Hormuz is open except for vessels belonging to the countries at war with Iran: “Those vessels that want to pass should obviously coordinate with our military because of the mines and obstacles that exist,” he said, stating the Strait is located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman without any international waters in between: “Everything should be managed by Iran and Oman,” he added.
🔹 The same country that blocked the BRICS statement provided the US and Israeli forces with their airspace, their territories, their military bases, Araghchi said, addressing the UAE: “As far as we are concerned, they are a direct party to this aggression and should be held responsible,” Araghchi warned.
🔹 “Israelis cannot protect them; Americans cannot protect them; that was proven during this war – their relation with Israel became the source of insecurity instead of security,” Araghchi continued, stating that these are the realities that they should understand: “And I’m sure if they follow this line of wisdom, they will find Iran as a good neighbour and a good partner,” he said.
🔹 Araghchi added that Iran know that there are spoilers who tried to derail diplomacy: “Warmongers who wanted to drag the US again into another war,” he said, adding: I hope wisdom and diplomacy will finally prevail.”
News from the USA:
🔹 Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a CNBC interview that President Trump didn’t ask for any help from Chinese President Xi with the Iranian situation, stating: “We don’t need there help.”
🔹 Rubio said there’s a price attached to a nuclear Iran: “If they ever acquire a nuclear weapon, what would stop them from controlling the Strait then? It would become a permanent problem,” he said.
🔹 US Central Command were continuing to turn around Iranian vessels between Thursday and Friday, stating that 75 commercial vessels had been turned around as of Friday afternoon, along with the four ships that were disabled to ensure compliance.
🔹 Senior Pentagon officials warned the war is draining funds from other critical US military priorities, as operational budgets are under growing strain due to the combat and expanded deployment costs.
🔹 The $29 billion bill for the conflict forced military leaders to reconsider scaling back training exercises, certification events and readiness programmes unless Congress approves additional wartime funding.
🔹 US lawmakers from both parties pressed the Defence Department to submit an emergency supplemental funding request, while military officials warned that budget pressures could begin affecting operations as early as July, the WSJ reported.
🔹 President Trump is facing major decisions in relation to Iran following his return from China, while Israeli officials push for the possible resumption of strikes as early as next week if talks fail, the NYT reported.
🔹 Trump’s advisers prepared several military options, including heavier strikes on Iranian military and infrastructure objects, ground operations aimed at securing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile at the Isfahan nuclear site, and a possible operation to seize Kharg Island.
🔹 Several hundred US special operations troops arrived in the Middle East in March for a potential mission involving Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, while more than 50,000 troops, two aircraft carriers, Navy destroyers and dozens of warplanes remain deployed across the region.
News from Iran:
🔹 Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a message that marked Iran’s ‘Persian Language Preservation Day’ and commemorated the Persian poet Ferdowsi, saying the Persian language isn’t just a means of speech and writing, but a framework for understanding, a link connecting ideas, and a defining element of Iranian identity.
🔹 Khamenei described Persian language and literature as tools for promoting the rich culture and civilisation of Islamic Iran worldwide, adding that strengthening the Persian language remained central to the power and continuity of Iranian-Islamic civilisation.
🔹 The FBI announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former US Air Force intelligence specialist with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
🔹 Witt is accused of defecting to Iran in 2013 and providing classified US national defence information to the Iranian government.
🔹 The accused was indicted on espionage charges in 2019, alleged to have exposed sensitive intelligence programs, revealing the identities of undercover personnel, and helping Iranian authorities target former US colleagues and their families.
🔹 Major General Amir Hatami, the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army, said on Friday that the ‘power of faith can carry an F-5 fighter jet over the positions of American forces in Kuwait, despite their possession of the most advanced ground and air defence systems.”
🔹 Hatami added: “The armed forces will protect the country’s territorial integrity, independence, and the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran with all their might.”
🔹 America rejected Iran’s five points for entering talks on the nuclear file, a well-informed Iranian source told Al-Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, noting the plan included ending the war on all fronts, lifting all sanctions, releasing frozen assets, compensation for war damages and losses, as well as recognition of Iran’s sovereign right over the Strait of Hormuz.
🔹 Iran’s ambassador to Belarus said that Iran made very good proposals on the nuclear issue during the February negotiations, but the US and Israel ‘betrayed diplomacy and negotiations.’
🔹 He said: “We believe in negotiation and diplomacy, we do not run away from it or evade it, but if the other side wants everything in their favour, for their own interests, and practically wants you to give up all your rights, then this can no longer be called negotiation.”
🔹 South African Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola wrote on X about a recent conversation with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi, stating that in a bilateral meeting, Lamola once again emphasised a consistent approach to international law and highlighted the importance of all countries adhering to international law, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of all nations, as well as the equal and uniform implementation of international law.
🔹 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei took a trip to Kurdistan this week, responding to repeated statements by US officials regarding the Kurds being armed, saying: “We have never paid attention to foreigners’ remarks about our compatriots.”
🔹 Baghaei said the people of Kurdistan, with their steadfastness, understanding, and high political awareness, had played a valuable role in protecting the country’s borders and ‘thwarting the enemies.’
🔹 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the process of returning 20 Iranian sailors and 11 Pakistanis, who were in Singapore waters when their ship was seized by the United States, have been successful, and all of them were transferred from Thailand to Islamabad on Friday.
🔹 Freelancers and online businesses in Iran are on the verge of being closed down due to widespread and continuous internet disruptions in recent months, which have posed a serious challenge to the digital economy, IRNA reported.
🔹 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi on X, following the new PM gaining the parliament’s vote of confidence along with the start of a new government, expressing hope that in the new period, relying on deep and rooted ties between the new nations, that both will witness a new chapter of strategic cooperation in all fields.
🔹 Western mainstream media had caught up with Iranian news this week, albeit it a little late, finally reporting that Iran is bypassing the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz by using rail links to China.
🔹 Iran increased rail use by more than double in the first weeks of the ceasefire and blockade, however, Fox News reports this has now almost tripled in recent weeks, as freight trains run from China to Iran every three to four days, whereas previously, the cargo line ran just once a week.
🔹 The corridor passes through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which keeps it out of reach of US warships, in a move that Washington is aware of, but directly targeting the land would risk escalating tensions with Beijing, who have spent years building trade routes designed to bypass maritime chokepoints dominated by the United States.
🔹 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Americans are told they must absorb the rocketing costs of the war in Iran, but put aside gas price hike and the stock market bubble and the real pain begins when US debt and mortgage rates start to jump, noting that car loan delinquencies were already at a 30+-year-high, adding that it was ‘all unavoidable.’
Other News:
🔹 Oil prices could soon begin a shocking rise, reported The Economist and the Financial Times, stating the largest supply shock in history is rapidly growing and around 5% of the worlds annual oil supply have been lost due to the closure of the Hormuz Strait.
🔹 Private reserves in wealthy countries could soon start running out, leading to prices rising shockingly, with refined products being the first to be affected, while another risk is that Trump loses control, because if the Trump administration enforces an export ban, global prices will also rise rapidly.
🔹 China’s representative to the United Nations and the rotating president of the Security Council criticised the draft resolution proposed by the United States and Bahrain regarding the Strait of Hormuz, saying that ‘its content and timing are inappropriate and its adoption will not help.’
🔹 According to Reuters, the draft resolution called for Iran to stop attacks and laying mines in the Strait, but diplomats said if the resolution is put to a vote, it would likely face vetoes from Russia and China, who vetoed a similar resolution supported by the United States last month and described its text as ‘biased’ against Iran.
🔹 China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement as President Trump began the journey back to the US with the delegation aboard Air Force One, stating the war between Iran and the United States should never have started, and there’s no reason for it to continue.
🔹 Finding an early way to resolve the situation is not only in the interests of the US and Iran, but also benefits other countries in the region and the rest of the world, so while the door to dialogue is open, ‘this opportunity must not be lost again,’ it said.
🔹 The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has reached the Arabian Sea and is closing in on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Minister Delegate for the Armed Forces Alice Rufo, with the deployment adding significant European firepower to the US-led blockade on Iranian maritime traffic since 13 April.
🔹 By joining the coalition forces, Paris is moving to secure the world’s most critical waterway, and signals the hardening of the western military stance after the failure of peace talks in Islamabad earlier this month.
🔹 Although a fragile ceasefire remains in place, the Trump administration has also used the lull in direct strikes to implement ‘maximum pressure’ through the blockade, and the French carrier strike group will be operating alongside British and US assets to ensure any attempt to break the siege is met by overwhelming force, effectively turning the Gulf of Oman into a permanent forward operating base for the US-aligned coalition.
🔹 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz revealed that he had a good call with Donald Trump on his way back from China, where they agreed that Iran must come to the negotiation table now, it must also open the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
🔹 India’s state-owned oil firms increased gasoline and diesel prices by more than 3% on Friday due to disruptions caused by the war, marking the first increase in vehicle fuel prices in India since the war started in February.
🔹 Being the world’s third-largest crude importer, India typically receives around half of its oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, and by Friday evening the prices at the pump had already increased in New Delhi, while prices differed across the country due to varying local taxes.
🔹 Washington has threatened sanctions against Iraq if the Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaydi doesn’t disarm armed factions, dismantle Iran-linked militias, and prosecute those involved in the attacks on the US embassy.
🔹 Conditions include banning faction-affiliated figures from government positions and removing heavy weapons, while Iran’s Quds Force Commander, Ismail Qaani, warned during a recent visit to Baghdad against yielding to US pressure, calling Trump’s regional project ‘Israeli.’
🔹 Factions are divided though, with some showing flexibility on restructuring, while key groups like Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada rejecting any disarmament.
🔹 Iraq fears US economic sanctions could block its oil revenues, which are channelled through the Federal Reserve in New York.
🔹 At least three Iranian Shahed-136 drones targeted sites belonging to the opposition group Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, north of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, on Friday morning.
🔹 Mohammed Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi is a commander of the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, who was recently detained in Turkey and handed over to US authorities.
🔹 US authorities charged al-Saadi with plotting attacks on Jewish targets including a synagogue in New York City, as well as the planning of at least 20 attacks in Europe and Canada since late February, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan.
🔹 Prosecutors say he planned to kill Americans and Jews in Los Angeles and had begun planning an attack on a New York synagogue as part of a broader Iranian retaliation campaign since the war began.
🔹 Mohammed Al-Saadi is described as a leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah who worked with the late Quds Force Commander General Qassim Suleimani.
🔹 According to media reports, al-Saadi openly claimed involvement in the 2021 attack on a Saudi royal compound that threatened to kill someone connected to President Trump, while posting a map of an area where Ivanka Trump was residing at the time.
🔹 Reports also suggested that al-Saadi travelled through the European Union using Iraqi passports, was detained in Milan and expelled from Italy, then resurfaced last year in Moscow alongside individuals accused of recruiting Iraqi fighters for Russia’s war in Ukraine, repeatedly claiming he was ‘untouchable’ in Baghdad, Tehran, and abroad.
🔹 Israel have marked a significant military move focusing on the southern front, by holding large unexpected exercises along the borders of Egypt and Jordan, which came amid escalating potential conflicts in the region, IRNA reported.
🔹 According to the IDF, the surprise military exercise was a drill called ‘Sulfur and Fire’ which involved the 96th and 80th regional divisions and special forces units, in which troops simulated scenarios including ‘terrorist infiltrations’ into communities, drone attacks, and complex incidents in the Dead Sea resort and industrial areas, including a hostage-style infiltration at a hotel.
🔹 The exercise also tested the rapid troop mobilisation, coordination between divisions, and air-ground operations involving fighter jets and helicopters carrying out dozens of strikes in short timeframes.
🔹 An initial review found that new defence measures introduced after the 7 October attacks, along with reinforcements on the Jordanian border, had improved the military’s ability to respond effectively to sudden incidents.
🔹 The Saudi Post claimed that Tel Aviv were betting on dismantling Abu Dhabi’s network of relations with its surrounding countries in an attempt to leave the UAE isolated, with no other option than Israel, noting that this was the same approach Israel was also taking with the United States.
🔹 The Prime Minister of Japan and President Trump spoke by phone on Friday, where the PM stated Tokyo’s principled stance was the necessity of quickly reducing tensions and calming the situation in the Middle East.
🔹 Saudi Aramco is pushing ahead with the most ambitious privatisation plan in its history last week, aiming to raise as much as $35 billion by selling minority stakes in energy facilities, real estate, gas-fired power plants and water infrastructure.
🔹 Aramco’s move followed strong demand after a Blackrock-led group signed an $11 billion lease agreement for Aramco’s natural gas facilities, but the energy giant is retaining full control of its upstream assets while opening downstream and midstream assets to global investors.
🔹 The deals will help Saudi Arabia attract foreign direct investment, far below the annual target of $100 billion though, and shore up the state’s finances amid regional war disruptions.
🔹 South Korea’s Navy have announced that a 4,500-ton destroyer was dispatched on Friday from the Busan Naval Base to carry out a rotational overseas mission in the Gulf of Aden, near Somalia.
🔹 UAE tried to persuade Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf neighbours to form a coordinated military response to Iranian strikes, but they all refused, Bloomberg reported.
🔹 The UAE’s frustration over the lack of support contributed to its decision to leave OPEC and deepen security ties with Israel instead, while carrying out limited attacks on Iran in early March, after Iran fired almost 3,000 drones and missiles at the Emirates before a fragile ceasefire on 8 April.
🔹 Saudi Arabia also struck Iran in March but then pivoted to backing Pakistan’s mediation between Washington and Tehran, while Qatar considered retaliation after Iran hit its LNG plant but chose de-escalation, and Bahrain, along with Kuwait, stayed out of the conflict entirely.
🔹 UAE have accelerated the construction of a pipeline from Abu Dhabi’s oil fields to the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman so they can bypass the Strait of Hormuz, with the project completion aimed for next year.
🔹 The existing 1.5 million barrels per day pipeline has been a lifeline during the war, but the expansion comes following the UAE’s decision to leave OPEC, because now they’re freed from production limits, the UAE plans to increase output to meet war-related demands, and the existing pipeline hasn’t been targeted, although infrastructure at Habshan and Fujairah were hit with Iranian drones.
🔹 UAE and India have entered into agreements on strategic defence cooperation, petroleum reserves, and the supply of liquefied petroleum gas, in a deal estimated to be worth $5 billion, an Indian government official said on Friday, noting the signing took place during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE immediately after the BRICS summit had ended.
