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In the Us/Israel/Iran recap for 27 May, there wasn’t much talk about negotiations, although news outlets were still claiming to have seen final drafts, or know what the draft included, which the US have kept close to their chest as they work on the final wording of the deal; another ship was targeted trying to transit near Oman; President Pezeshkian discussed various matters with leaders as he made calls to congratulate others on Eid al-Adha.
Negotiation News:
⚡️ CNN said that it was hard to believe that the political situation in the countries President Trump is pushing to join the Abraham Accords, which became even more tense following Israel’s role in the war, would allow leaders to grant the concessions Trump desires to Israel.
🔹 President Trump’s remarks of the possibility of Iran joining the Accords after reaching a peace agreement appeared wishful thinking, CNN continued, adding that it is similar to Trump’s previous promise about building a ‘Middle East resort’ on the ruins of Gaza.
⚡️ China and Pakistan are committed to implementing the five-point initiative in the US-Iran negotiations, as China commented on Tuesday that they appreciated the efforts of Pakistan in facilitating a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, with both reaffirming their commitment to restore stability in the Middle East, and expressed their readiness for positive joint participation in restoring peace to the region.
⚡️ Saudi news outlet Al Arabia claimed on Tuesday morning to have obtained a final draft text of the preliminary memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US, which included topics such as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the start of negotiations on the nuclear program, the method of releasing Iran’s frozen funds, and some other issues, all of which are denied as false and baseless, according to information obtained by IRIB News.
⚡️ Tasnim News were ‘exclusively’ told by a knowledgeable source close to the negotiation team that the 14-article text of the memorandum of understanding included the release of an estimated $24 billion in seized funds during the negotiation period, stating that Iran insists at least half of the amount should be made available at the MoU announcement, and the rest transferred within a 60-day period.
🔹 Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s trip to Qatar was to help reach an understanding on implementing the Iranian demand and the method of accessing $12 billion in the first phase, while removing the obstacles in place.
🔹 Tasnim’s source continued by saying that considering the experience of the agreement on releasing Iran’s funds in South Korea and Qatar, emphasis was placed on carefully following the implementation steps so that this experience wouldn’t be repeated, and that was the reason for the trip, using previous experience to avoid any disruption to accessing the funds, and the trip had good results form this aspect.
🔹 According to the source, the Qatar negotiations were good overall and led to progress in the overall talks, but it should not be forgotten that the United States are recognised as an ‘untrustworthy party,’ and Iran approached the matter with great caution.
🔹 Tasnim claimed another informed source, in response to the statements from the Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson that the country doesn’t provide money as a guarantee for the Iran-US memorandum, told Tasnim that the Qatari remarks were entirely incorrect because the funds discussed in Doha belong to Iran and are unrelated to the memorandum guarantee, and due to previous experiences, ‘Iran is pursuing the return of these funds with careful attention and strictness.’
⚡️ China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after chairing the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Tuesday, told Reuters in a conversation that China hoped the relevant parties would remain committed to continuing the ceasefire and continue meeting each other, so that peace could return to the Middle East as soon as possible.
🔹 Yi said: “The long-standing issues are not resolved overnight,” adding that every step forward in negotiations created more hopes for peace, and if the conflict ends one day earlier, it means fewer civilian casualties.
⚡️ Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the United Nations Security Council meeting that ‘diplomacy is not a sign of weakness,’ stressing that Islamabad had been working to prevent a new war in the region while resuming energy exports in the process, adding that Pakistan is among the leading countries participating in US peacekeeping operations and supports decolonisation, the right to self-determination, and conflict prevention.
News from the Strait of Hormuz:
⚡️ UKTMO received a report of an incident around 60 nautical miles east of Muscat, Oman, which involved a tanker that experienced an ‘external explosion’ near the port-side aft section close to the waterline.
🔹 Crew and ship remained safe, though some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea, and authorities are currently investigating the incident.
⚡️ US officials said the recent military strikes in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday followed intelligence showing potentially threatening Iranian activity within the previous 24 hours, according to a NYT report.
🔹 American warplanes sank two IRGC speedboats attempting to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran also launched one-way attack drones near US Navy warships operating around the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
🔹 CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out in ‘self-defence’ to protect US forces from Iranian threats, while Pentagon officials also rejected Iranian claims that an American MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down.
⚡️ The US Navy announced they had resumed escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz under a renewed push of Project Freedom, which included the passage of a Greek supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil.
🔹 The tanker had been stranded since early March but was last seen near the coast of Oman and was heading to India, as officials told the WSJ that the Navy planned to assist around a dozen vessels, including supertankers and container ships, through the waterway, in the coming days.
⚡️ US Central Command took to X within an hour of reports suggesting that Project Freedom had resumed, immediately calling the news that US forces were currently looking to escort a dozen vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as fake.
⚡️ US Central Command said they are still enforcing the US Naval blockade of Iranian ports, stating on Tuesday they had redirected 108 commercial vehicles since the start of the blockade, with another four disabled to ensure compliance.
⚡️ IRGC’s Navy PR said that 25 commercial vessels (including tankers and container ships) passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours, taking the total of ships that passed with IRGC coordination to 172 since last week.
News from Iran:
⚡️ Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: “With this very weapon, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ the heroic fighters and self-sacrificing armed forces in Islamic Iran, supported by the mujahideen of the resistance front – especially dear Lebanon – were able to achieve remarkable victories against two heavily armed American-Zionist terrorist armies during the third imposed war.”
🔹 Khamenei continued: “By relying on Almighty God, and through their missiles and drones on land, in the air, and at sea, they targeted the Great Satan, namely America, and its client entity, the Zionist regime, and witnessed with their own eyes the fulfilment of God’s true promise to grant victory to those who strive in His cause.”
⚡️ President Masoud Pezeshkian held a meeting with a group of commanders and managers from the Ministry of Defence, telling them the country’s defensive power was due to the readiness and efforts of the armed forces.
🔹 Pezeshkian said that the enemy to be surprised by the offensive capability of Iran’s armed forces, adding that the livelihood and housing of the armed forces were among the government’s strategic priorities, and new technologies must be accelerated.
⚡️ Iranian Government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday that one of the main problems in the negotiations were the contradictory statements and behaviour of the United States, “but we trust the military forces and Iran’s diplomatic team, hoping to achieve lasting peace,” she said.
🔹 Mohajerani said the government was trying to control inflation through budget discipline because international developments caused a rise in inflation, while the issues of sanctions and international shocks affect every industry, and the pharmaceutical industry is no exception.
⚡️ Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said on Tuesday that intervention by extra-regional powers complicated the security issue, noting that the US wanted to open the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the military aggression.
🔹 Jalali said that some countries who thought establishing US bases in their territories would ensure security must realise that security cannot be bought, adding that except for the recent incident of the US and Israel’s attack on Anzali port, there had been no security incident or problem in the sea.
⚡️ Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri travelled to Moscow on Tuesday, in order to participate in the 14th International Conference of Senior Security Officials, which is Russia’s most important meeting in the field of international Security, Fars News reported.
⚡️ Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement that condemned the Unites States’ attack on Monday night, stating that Iran will not leave any evil unanswered and will not hesitate to defend the nation.
🔹 The statement came after the US Army opened fire on Iranian ships and missile sites on Monday night during what appeared to be a breach of the ceasefire, claiming that numerous cases of maritime piracy against Iranian commercial ships were committed within 48 hours, a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region.
🔹 MFA condemned the aggress actions, calling them a clear violation of the United Nations Charter as well as the agree ceasefire, and held the US regime responsible for all consequences resulting from the actions.
⚡️ Iran’s internet has finally started to show signs of being restored after more than 88 days, despite some doubt as Iran’s communications body decided to prevent one of President Pezeshkian’s policies from being implemented, but it was later revealed the policy was separate to the internet restoration order.
🔹 By evening, NetBlocks reported that more than 80% of internet connectivity had been restored in Iran as mobile networks and other services began to reconnect to the global internet, but nationwide filtering measures are in placer which can be bypassed, while WhatsApp is now restricted and some users also remain offline.
⚡️ Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister said on Tuesday that some petrochemical plants have resumed production and other sectors would soon be activated thanks to efforts of Iranian engineers and specialists.
🔹 The department statement said: “When the enemy disrupts the supply of raw materials, food packaging, and industries, it means they’re directly targeting the livelihood of people, and this sows that we are facing a group of liars who use the people as an excuse, but actually harm them.”
⚡️ US military officials told CNN that battle damage assessments supported the level of degradation of Iran’s missile, drone, industrial base, navy, and air force, as previously described by CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, noting that Iran still retained some capabilities, including drones and small attack boats, which could allow Iran to threaten the Strait of Hormuz again in the future.
🔹 Remaining objectives can be solved politically through a negotiation that would remove or dilute highly enriched uranium, allow inspections, impose an enrichment moratorium, and reopen the Strait, officials said, noting that Iran were seeking short-term liquidity relief including $24 billion in frozen assets, along with sanctions relief to sell oil and gas, while the status of proxy groups and the rights of the Iranian people are also part of discussions.
Official Calls:
⚡️ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss bilateral relations and the developing regional issues, as well as measures aimed at regional security, along with bringing a meaningful end to the war.
⚡️ Iraq’s Prime Minister Al Zaydi received a call from President Masoud Pezeshkian discussing the necessity of continuing consultations that accelerate the implementation of joint agreements that secure the mutual interests of both nations.
🔹 In separate calls with the Prime Minister and the President of Iraq, Masoud congratulated the government and people on the ‘blessed Eid al-Adha,’ stressing the importance of ongoing close consultations between high-ranking officials of the two countries.
🔹 Pezeshkian invited the President and Prime Minister of Iraq to visit Iran, considering the visits as an effective step towards expanding strategic interactions, strengthening bilateral cooperation, and consolidating ‘brotherly relations’ between Tehran and Baghdad.
⚡️ Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov held a call in which Iranian President Pezeshkian appreciated Krygzstan’s stance against the recent resolution aganst Iran in the Security Council, considering this approach a sign of friendly relations and mutual respect between Tehran and Bishkek, while stating the necessity of expanding bilateral and regional cooperation, especially within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
🔹 President Japarov congratulated the Iranian government and nation on Eid al-Adha, inviting the Iranian President to participate in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held in Bishkek, expressing hope that the trip could expand cooperation and deepen ties between the two countries.
⚡️ Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spoke with President Pezeshkian via phone, in which Pezeshkian congratulated the government and people of Malaysia on the blessed Eid al-Adha, while discussing the necessity of strengthening unity and convergence among Islamic countries, expanding bilateral cooperation, as well as continuing political and economic consultations between Tehran and Kuala Lumpur, expressing hopes that diplomatic efforts to establish peace and lasting stability in the region will have effective results.
⚡️ Egypt’s President El-Sisi and President Pezeshkian held a call in which the two sides discussed efforts to reach an understanding between Tehran and Washington, while El-Sisi also expressed Cairo’s support for the negotiation progress, and both congratulated the other on Eid al-Adha.
⚡️ Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke with President Pezeshkian, in which Iran expressed gratitude for the continuous and constructive support and efforts of the Qatari government on the path to peace, announcing Iran’s readiness to achieve a ‘dignified framework’ to end the ongoing war and tensions in the region.
⚡️ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with President Pezeshkian by phone on Tuesday, where both congratulated each other on the Eid al-Adha, while emphasising the development of ongoing bilateral relations, and also the continuation of joint diplomatic efforts to establish peace and regional security, while Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to support negotiations aimed at achieving a positive outcome.
⚡️ Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq called President Pezeshkian, discussing the necessity of turning the religious unity of the Islamic world into sustainable cooperation, stressing the determination of the two countries to deepen fraternal relations and continue dialogues to ensure lasting peace in the region, and the Sultan said that Muscat would not spare any effort to strengthen regional stability and solidarity.
⚡️ President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan held a call with President Pezeshkian, congratulating each other on Eid al-Adha, describing the holiday as a symbol of empathy, brotherhood, and strengthening unity among Muslim nations, expressing hope that the blessings of this Eid would lead to expansion of peace, tranquillity, and solidarity in the Islamic World.
🔹 Rahmon also congratulated the people of Iran on Eid al-Adha, while stating he considered military attacks against Iran as contrary to international principles and laws, emphasising Tajikistan’s support for the positions of Iran.
⚡️ President Ilham Aliyev from the Republic of Azerbaijan held a call with Iranian President Pezeshkian, in which they exchanged Eid al-Adha greetings, referring to the deep historical, cultural and religious ties between the two nations, while emphasising the continuation of the constructive cooperation to achieve stability, welfare, and sustainable development in the region.
⚡️ President Masoud Pezeshkian took to X following a series of conversations with the leaders of Iraq, Qatar, Turkey, Tajikistan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, in which Pezeshkian congratulated them on Eid al-Adha, while expressing hopes that God will bring the hearts of Muslims closer together that that ‘we will witness the expansion of cooperation in all fields and comprehensive support for each other against threats.’
⚡️ Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud spoke by phone with Qatari PM and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, stressing the necessity of reaching a sustainable agreement to prevent the resumption of tensions.
⚡️ President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu shared a phone call that appeared to last more than an hour, reported Al Jazeera, Axios and IRNA news networks, stating the US President’s call meant Netanyahu had to leave a small cabinet meeting in order to discuss developments.
Other News:
⚡️ Al Jazeera reported that the world was in dire need of an agreement between the US and Iran, because without reaching a stable agreement, the consequences of the Strait of Hormuz blockade could deepen global crises in energy, food, and living costs, adding that if a stable agreement isn’t reached quickly, its repercussions would rapidly spread throughout the global economy.
⚡️ Haaretz reported that Arab countries in the Gulf region have realised they can’t rely on the United States and are seeking new defence allies, but instead of the Abraham Accords, the countries could be seeking future defensive pacts with Iran.
🔹 “This war has weakened Middle Eastern countries’ trust in the Americans and Israel is seen as the party that dragged the region into an event that caused heavy damages,” adding that returning to security belts would lead to guerrilla warfare and daily casualties, and this was learned when Israel were stuck in the Lebanese quagmire for 18 years.
⚡️ India have had to increase fuel prices for the fourth time in a two-week period, according to Russia Today Network, claiming that India’s Oil Minister said the country’s refineries were incurring daily losses, and if disruptions related to the Iran war continue, further price increases were likely.
⚡️ Iraq’s new government under Prime Minister Ali al Zaydi are moving to bring the weapons of Iran-aligned armed groups under state control, officials from the ruling Coordination Framework told Rudaw, noting that indirect discussions were under way with several groups that operate outside the Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella.
🔹 According to reports, the first phase of halting attacks on alleged US targets has already been implemented, while a second phase would restrict weapons in state hands.
🔹 Officials said that a final agreement is expected after the Eid al-Adha holiday, but said the push aimed at arms control, not disarmament, and that it is an internal Iraqi matter, not pursued under foreign pressure.
⚡️ Israel Hayom wrote on Tuesday morning that Israel were pawns in the war, nothing more than a chess piece in the game between the United States and Iran, stating that military action alone, even if successful, doesn’t change the reality, while failing to achieve a different reality in Lebanon, adding that an international coalition and cooperation with Lebanese authorities to reach an agreement is essential.
⚡️ Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented on Iran on Tuesday, saying that Israel were changing the face of the Middle East: “Iran is far weaker today, even if it has not collapsed – and that too is a goal we will achieve, with God’s help,” he said, adding: “Look at what Gaza looks like, look at what Lebanon looks like, and what Hezbollah looks like – we are completely changing the equations.”
⚡️ Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir commented on Iran saying that the Israeli government wouldn’t let the Trump administration sign a bad deal: “know that Prime Minister Netanyahu and the whole cabinet of ministers of Israel will not allow this to happen,” he said, adding: “A bad agreement is an agreement that can harm the State of Israel, and we will not allow this to happen.”
⚡️ Japan, a country heavily dependent on Persian Gulf oil and has 39 tankers stuck in the region due to the blockades and the need to negotiate with Iran for safe passage, proudly showed footage of the Idemitsu Maru arriving on Tuesday morning.
⚡️ Emirati airlines have been filling the gap in the Israeli aviation market created by the suspension of flights by El Al and Arkia airlines to the Emirates until September, with Etihad increasing its flights to Israel to 42 weekly flights starting June 15, while FlyDubai are said to be considering launching flights to Europe via Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
