AJ
The US/Israel/Iran recap for May 27 includes information about what happened in Iran and Kuwait overnight, along with news from the Strait of Hormuz, what the media have to say, and also what the officials from the US and Iran have said in the past 24 hours.
Third ‘love-tap’ this month:
⚡️ Late Wednesday night, and at least three explosions rang out in the Bandar Abbas area of southern Iran, confirmed by Iran’s Fars News Agency, who also noted air defences had been activated.
🔹 Reuters reported that the US military carried out strikes against an Iranian military site that ‘posed a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,’ adding that US forces also intercepted drones launched from Iran.
🔹 Axios was told by a senior US official that Iran launched four one-way attack drones targeting a US Navy vessel and commercial ship, adding that US forces intercepted the drones and struck an Iranian drone-launching unit on the ground before it could deploy.
🔹 CBS were told by a US official that the ceasefire in Iran was still considered to be holding despite the strikes, while another US official told NBC News that ‘very limited’ and ‘very precise’ attacks were carried out by the US military following a series of missile, drone, and small boat launches by the IRGC.
🔹 Tasnim news were informed by an Iranian military source that an American oil tanker had attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz with its AIS transponder and radar system turned off in an attempt to avoid detection, but was forced to stop and turn back after warning shots were fired by the IRGC Navy, adding that the strikes by the US on an area near Bandar Abbas ’caused no casualties or material damage.’
🔹 Israeli Channel N12 reported that alarms sounded in Kuwait in the early hours of Thursday morning, claiming the IRGC admitted responsibility for an attack on American bases in response to an attack carried out on Iran on Wednesday night, adding that: “Washington will bear the consequences – the responsibility of the attack lies with the aggressor.’
🔹 Tasnim News confirmed that the IRGC targeted a US airbase in response to the strike near Bandar Abbas airport, adding that the IRGC warned that ‘further aggression will not go unanswered’ and threatened a stronger response if the attacks were to continue.
Negotiation News:
⚡️ Deputy Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council Ali Bagheri said on Wednesday that indirect contacts between Iran and the United States continued, as they tried to fine tune the wording of the agreement, while no agreement has been reached on unblocking the Strait of Hormuz.
🔹 Bagheri also said that Iran and Oman were negotiating a new procedure for the passage in the Strait, and added that Iran’s enriched uranium reserves are not on the agenda of negotiations, stating that Iran’s red line was clear – papers and signatures along were not a guarantee.
⚡️ Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Member of the National Security Commission, said on Wednesday that the initial draft agreement between the United States and Iran stipulates the first step is to establish a comprehensive ceasefire on all battlefronts, especially in Lebanon.
🔹 The release of a significant portion of Iran’s frozen assets are demanded, along with the ending of the naval blockade, adding that the diplomatic and military departments don’t make decisions based on Trump’s ‘tweet-driven emotions.’
🔹 Boroujerdi said what matters is the final outcome of the negotiations: “Accordingly, whatever ultimately reaches the signing state will certainly be a document prepared within the framework of the system’s red lines and in line with protecting the national interests and rights of the Iranian people.”
⚡️ An Israeli source told Channel N12 that from the moment an agreement is signed with Iran, the US military planes will be evacuated from Ben Gurion Airport to bases within Europe within 72 hours, but will be on standby for a return to Ben Gurion airport should fighting resume.
⚡️ Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, repeated Moscow’s calls to Washington of its readiness to transfer uranium from Iran, emphasizing this offer was still on the table.
⚡️ President Trump told PBS that Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up highly-enriched uranium, a proposal that had been mentioned by multiple outlets including Reuters and Fars recently, and when asked why Saudi Crown Prince MBS should join the Abraham Accords if there isn’t a path to a Palestinian State, Trump said: “Because it’s great for Saudi Arabia, it’s great for Saudi Arabia.”
⚡️ Fox News broke a story on Wednesday claiming that Iranian State TV had published claims it had a new draft proposal for peace with the US, which reportedly still clashed with major US red lines, but the proposal was later disputed by the White House who said that the report about the MOU was a complete fabrication, and nobody should trust what Iranian media are saying, adding: “Facts Matter!”
🔹 The alleged IRIB News report stated the US would ease restrictions on Iranian shipping while Iran would restore commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman within a month, but the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t fully reopen, instead Iran and Oman will continue to oversee inspections and transit.
🔹 According to the report, the framework could also include a partial US military pullback near Iran, though details were allegedly unclear, and a finalised agreement could potentially receive binding United Nations Security Council backing within 60 days, adding that Iran insisted implementation would depend on verification measures, warning the talks could collapse.
⚡️ Iran allegedly told Qatari mediators on Tuesday it would only sign a peace agreement with the US if $24 billion in frozen assets were released, with half transferred immediately upon announcement of an MOU, and the remaining $12 billion released within 60 days, the Telegraph reported.
🔹 According to the report, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf delivered the demand during the talks in Doha with Qatari officials, insisting no negotiations are possible without access to the blocked funds.
🔹 Frozen assets include largely oil and gas revenues restricted under US sanctions, held across several countries including South Korea, Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Germany, Turkey, Bahrain and Luxembourg, The Telegraph added.
🔹 However, the proposal allegedly triggered backlash among Trump allies, who argued the release of the money would effectively reward Tehran after the Strait of Hormuz crisis,
🔹 In a positive move by Iran, Pakistani and Qatari mediators are working on a mechanism to prevent the funds from directly financing Iran’s nuclear program or regional proxy groups.
⚡️ Sources close to the negotiations in Iran have indicated President Trump could unilaterally announce the conclusion of the Iranian-American agreement in the coming hours, in a move assessed as an attempt to exert pressure and impose an agreement on public opinion before fully resolving the differences, Naya reported.
🔹 However, a member of the negotiating team had confirmed that some issues still remained unresolved, and that no agreement could be reached until all issues under consideration by Iran were fully dealt with, adding that if these issues are fully resolved, Iran would officially announce the result.
⚡️ IDF and US Central Command remain on high alert amid the possibility that nuclear talks with Iran could collapse and President Trump could order military action, reported The Jerusalem Post, adding that a source familiar to the matter confirmed that coordination between the two militaries was ongoing, including direct communications between IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and CENTCOM boss Admiral Brad Cooper.
⚡️ President Trump told a reporter ahead of a Cabinet Meeting that he wouldn’t allow the Strait of Hormuz to be controlled by Oman and Iran, stating that the US would watch over it, and added that Oman would behave like everybody else, ‘or we will have to blow them up.’
🔹 Following reports from Russia reiterating their willingness to take Iran’s enriched uranium for safe-keeping, a reporter asked President Trump whether he would be comfortable with either Russia or China taking Iran’s enriched uranium, to which he simply replied ‘no.’
🔹 President Trump also said that the US were not talking about any easing or sanctions or giving money: “We have control of money that they claim is theirs, [and] we will keep control of that money,” he said, adding: “When they behave properly and do what’s right, we will let them have their money.”
🔹 Trump warned: “They are starting to give us things that they have to give us – if they do, that’s great, [but] if they don’t, then Hegseth will finish them off.
🔹 President Trump said that the US would like to have the countries join the Abraham Accords, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and others, believing it was owed to the US: “I’m not sure we should make the Iran deal if they don’t join,” he said, clearly pressuring the Middle Eastern leaders, and when asked what the Iran deal might be contingent on this, Trump pointed to Hegseth: “We can make a great deal with this guy right here, but it’s a lot nastier.”
🔹 Secretary of War Pete Hegseth then said: “They have missiles, but they can’t build more right now, they can’t build more drones, they can’t build more ships – they came and cried uncle to talk.”
⚡️ Warmonger and Israeli-loving Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on X he very much appreciated President Trump’s desire to end the Iranian conflict with a diplomatic solution that was real and sustainable, and Graham had complete confidence that Trump and his team could achieve the shared goal.
🔹 Graham said the biggest news to come out of the cabinet meeting was Trump’s determination to expand the Abraham Accords, which would be the biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years, and was convinced Trump had the ability to make it happen.
🔹 According to Graham, years of work had been undertaken on normalisation, including during the Biden administration, because Graham knew this led to a lasting peace and a new Middle East that could become an economic power house.
⚡️ Fars News claimed a member of the media team close to the Iranian negotiation delegation had said that Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf’s recent trip to Qatar regarding the release of $12 billion in frozen assets was successful.
🔹 According to the report, it is planned that immediately after the approval of the MoU between Iran and the United States, part of Iran’s frozen assets would be made available to the Central Bank in a non-reversible manner.
🔹 The 14-article understanding between the two includes several tangible and concrete actions, Fars claimed, including access to frozen assets, exemption from oil, petrochemical and related sanctions, and lifting of the maritime blockade.
⚡️ Head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission Ebrahim Azizi said on X that Iran wouldn’t be pushed back by President Trump’s rhetoric from its red lines, including the right to enrich uranium, the possession of enriched uranium, authority over the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of sanctions.
🔹 Azizi said it was obvious that the President was seeking a way out of the strategic deadlock, alternating between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement.
⚡️ Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri told Russia’s RIA Novosti in an interview that Iran were seeking the release of all blocked assets by the United States, which is the legal right of the Iranian nation, adding that the assets must be returned to Iran completely and unconditionally.
🔹 Bagheri also met with Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko, discussing the latest ongoing developments, the aggression by Israel and the US against Iran, the creation of a new security equation in the region, advancing cooperation to strengthen peace, stability and peripheral security, along with other events related to Iran and Russia in the regional and international arenas.
Strait News:
⚡️ Sailors allegedly expressed disappointment with the US Navy in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an IRIB reporter, who noted that another 23 vessels had passed through the Strait, taking the total to 195 since last week, and the passage of vessels will continue throughout the day.
🔹 The message from the IRGC Navy on the occasion of Eid al-Adha has been welcomed by sailors, but some foreign sailors expressed disappointment with the US Navy’s performance during the radio communications.
🔹 IRGC said the passage of vessels from ‘hostile countries’ were still prohibited through the Strait, but cooperation would be extended to countries that observe ‘Iranian order.’
⚡️ US Central Command announced their naval forces had now redirected 109 commercial vessels as of May 27, one more than Wednesday, as well as four vessels that had been disabled to ensure compliance.
⚡️ US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent published a statement which sanctioned Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, accusing the IRGC of attempting to extort the vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz through toll payments and other demands, adding that the move was part of the Trump administration’s ‘Economic Fury’ pressure campaign against Iran.
Iran News:
⚡️ Sardar Ibn al-Reza, the Acting Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, published a message to the defence ministers of Islamic countries on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, noting that with the support of the heroic nation, along with Muslims and freedom-seekers worldwide, the armed forces had dealt an historic defeat to the US and Israel, adding that strong dialogue and consultation among Islamic countries was the most important priority for the Islamic world today.
⚡️ Pakistan Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif told President Masoud Pezeshkian that the Pakistani people would always stand by Iran, noting that as a brotherly and neighbouring country, Pakistan “will always stand by Tehran,” expressing hope that peace will soon be established in the region.
⚡️ French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke on the phone on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues, the latest regional regional and international developments, along with the ongoing diplomatic talks with the aim of permanently signing an end to the war.
⚡️ Turkey and Iran held a meeting to discuss increasing the capacity of trucks passing through the Bazargan border by 30%, as Iran look to keep land exports going to bypass the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and last week’s reduction of acceptance of Iranian trucks at the Gürbulak customs in Turkey meant trucks were stopped at the gate of Bazargan customs, considered Iran’s gateway to Europe, so any way to speed up processing of trucks and increasing the number would greatly benefit Iran.
⚡️ After defeat in the military war, the ‘enemy intensifies the hybrid war,’ Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence said in a statement, noting that the focus was on soft war, cognitive war, and social provocations centred on economic pressure, ethnic and religious divisions, assassination, sabotage, arms smuggling and Starlink, cyber attacks and hostile media activities, adding that any unrest, espionage, communication with ‘terrorist media,’ and separatist actions will be decisively prosecuted.
⚡️ Iran’s Ambassador to South Korea denied any connection between Iran and the incident involving the South Korean ship earlier this month, in response to reports from Seoul that they believed it was Iranian munitions that had caused the damage to the vessel: “Iran rejects all claims made in this regard and had absolutely no involvement in this matter,’ he said.
⚡️ Iran’s IRIB News Agency posted to X a comment that Sweden were urging Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international laws, stating that due to US sanctions, the same Sweden (Melenicke company) stopped sending Mapilex dressings to Iran, leaving butterfly children in excruciating pain and preventable deaths, adding: “We don’t forget.”
⚡️ South Pars industrial hub has been successfully repaired with upgrades to the utility and feedstock piping networks by Iranian engineers within just one month of the Israeli strikes on the facility.
🔹 Fars News reported that the extensive debris removal, reconstruction and restoration work had fully returned the damaged petrochemical complexes to their pre-war production capacities.
⚡️ Ship-to-ship transfer of Iranian oil in the middle of the sea has demonstrated Iran’s ability to resist the sustained US pressure, reported the WSJ, citing a report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, stating that Tehran earned around $31 billion in oil revenue from China alone last year, adding that the Chinese government have also ordered domestic companies not to comply with the sanctions against the five refineries.
USA News:
⚡️ US Vice President JD Vance told NBC that “the Just War” theory in Christianity forced leaders to “ask very difficult questions about the justifications of the war,” stating that at best, this theory forces you to ask the right questions: “So I constantly ask myself: “Is this action justified? Is it moral? Is it the right thing to do? And this should impose a limit on political leaders, as it should.”
🔹 Vance commented about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, saying: “I very much hope that Iran commits in any agreement not to produce nuclear weapons,” adding that the difficult question would be whether Iran agreed to monitoring and enforcement of a mechanism that assured the US that Iran would not violate the agreement in the future.
⚡️ Fox News host Jessica Tarlof said Donald Trump needed more than just a nuclear deal, he needed an agreement for the midterm elections, and whatever happened in the next few days must be understood within that context, adding that it was why Trump was on the verge of paying a huge some of money to Iran to save face, all while Trump’s popularity was at its usual lowest point.
🔹 Tarlof said the price of gasoline had reached $4.50, while farmers were begging for chemical fertilizers, claiming it was clear that Iran no longer believed Trump’s threats, with many tweets sent and many ignored, adding that it was a ‘mess the President can’t get out of.’
Other News:
⚡️ French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told Al-Arabiya that Paris was not part of the war in the Middle East and had good relations along with regular contact with Iranian officials, adding that France have informed Iran of their conditions to Iran in terms of lifting unjust European sanctions, and that President Emmanuel Macron and President Trump were in constant contact regarding Iran.
⚡️ Leader of Iraq’s Saraya al-Salam, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced on Wednesday that the Saraya al-Salam group, which was part of the PMF until freezing its operations in 2021, was separating from the National Shia Movement and fully integrating into the Iraqi state.
🔹 Sadr said in a statement that it had become necessary to declare the complete separation of Saraya al-Salam from the National Shia Movement and their full integration into the state and the official authority were responsible for military actions, which are moves taken in consideration of the public interest and to avoid risks facing the country.
🔹 The decision taken by al-Sadr also included instructions for civilian units affiliated with Saraya al-Salam to transition into the Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous institution, stressing that no headquarters, weapons, or identifiable addresses liked to Saraya al-Salam are to remain.
⚡️ Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the British Ambassador after claims made that the British were the ones who handed over the government to the Shia of Iraq, stating the statement both saddened and made al-Sadr angry.
🔹 London has always been a fertile ground for infiltrators, and even enemies of religion, sect, and homeland, he said: “Have you forgotten who brought the destructive dictator Saddam to power? You brought him,” adding that the Shia had never been among the groups that bowed to Britain: “We are not among them and never will be – neither in this world nor in the hereafter.”
⚡️ Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir attended a ceremony for the reception of the new refuelling squadron ‘Gideon,’ while also giving a warning speech to Iran, saying: “The evil regime of the Ayatollahs has significantly cracked, and its future and stability are shrouded in fog,” adding that Iranian leaders were being persecuted, most military capabilities had been destroyed, and the nuclear program was ‘dismantled years ago.’
🔹 Zamir said: “Our equation is that if there are drones, we bomb Dahiyeh, the Americans are preventing this, and they are our partners – if our commanders are fired upon, then based on the pattern we’ve established in the past, we’re supposed to evacuate the residents of Dahiyeh, attack, and flatten it.”
🔹 The Chief of Staff concluded: “If there are drones, there will be no people – we are currently in a complex situation with the US in this regard,” but at the same time, Israel “are committed to defending ourselves by any means necessary – no one is stopping us.”
🔹 Zamir updated the estimated casualty numbers in Hezbollah, claiming since the start of Operation Iron Swords (Oct 7, 2023), 8,000 Hezbollah operates have been killed, at least 2,500 of them since February 28 this year, and 700 of them since the start of the ceasefire one month ago on April 16.
⚡️ Netherlands have deployed a minesweeper ahead of a possible mission in the Strait of Hormuz should the war conclude, ministers said on Wednesday in a letter to Parliament.
🔹 According to the letter from Defence Minister Dilan Yesligoz and Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, the minesweeper is set to leave this week and is expected to join NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group by mid-June.
🔹 Ministers said preparations were underway for a possible Dutch role safeguarding the shipping lanes in the region, and concluded noting that the Netherlands were examining whether it could provide personnel support to any international coalition participating in the mission.
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