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By: Bryce Turner

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OUR LEAD STORY:

KYIV, Ukraine — In a small town in Iran, a young woman and her stepfather nervously smoke cigarette after cigarette on their way to a pharmacy. They’re hoping to find medication for him before the inevitable shortage hits.

Samira’s stepfather, diagnosed with a heart condition and diabetes, requires heart pills and insulin to stay alive.

They enter a pharmacy, and at first glance, the shelves look abundantly stocked. But upon closer inspection, it’s an illusion — bottles and packages of skincare and vitamins.

“It looked full of things that nobody needed. The diabetes and the heart things that we needed were not there,” said Samira.

Medication shortages are not new for Iran.
It had faced medical shortages long before the 2026 war — largely due to sanctions — the current conflict has pushed the crisis into a new, far more severe phase.

Although the medicine itself is not formally subject to sanctions, frozen banking operations and logistical restrictions have severely disrupted Iran’s healthcare system. The consequences have gone far beyond medicine shortages and rising prices, contributing to the broader weakening of medical infrastructure across the country.

After the European Union designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, many European pharmaceutical companies and banks effectively stopped conducting transactions with Iranian partners due to the risk of secondary U.S. and EU sanctions. The growing prices and shortages have directly affected more than 6 million patients in Iran.

The consequences are already visible inside hospitals, where outdated or unsuitable anesthetics are increasingly being used. Such indirect restrictions risk triggering a humanitarian crisis by undermining both emergency and planned surgical care. Doctors are forced to delay life-saving operations due to shortages of anesthesia and medical supplies, while disruptions in cold-chain delivery systems threaten the storage of vaccines and insulin, putting millions of chronically ill patients at risk. At the same time, the crisis has accelerated the spread of counterfeit medicine on the black market.

During previous periods of regional escalation, Iran’s air and maritime routes largely remained operational. This time, however, the disruption of key trade corridors, including the now infamous Strait of Hormuz, has significantly affected global medical supply chains, sharply increasing, in average from 20 to 380 percent, treatment costs and forcing countries to urgently seek alternative sources of raw materials and pharmaceuticals.

Now, pharmacies across Iran are running out of life-saving drugs — especially cancer medication, insulin, and treatments for chronic illness. In more ways than just missiles and drones, the Iran war is putting new limitations on survival.

After searching pharmacy after pharmacy, Samira’s stepfather finally found his heart pills — a journey that felt, for a moment, like a matter of life and death.

But it was just one blister, not a full package, and 10 times more expensive, she said.

“We are doing you a favor,” Samira recalled the pharmacist saying. “We have kept this for one of our relatives, but since you needed more, we’re going to give it to you.”

Her stepfather wasn’t the only family member of Samira’s in need of specific medications to survive. Samira, too, requires an extremely specific medication that’s only available in certain pharmacies from a specific brand for a condition she has been living with for 11 years now — epilepsy.

At the start of the war, in early March, Samira had gotten lucky, ordering her medication from Turkey just in time.

“ For me, it was mostly stressful to know what to do after I’m going to run out of it,” she said.

Taking 600 mg in the morning and 500 mg at night is the daily routine that Samira has to maintain, regardless of circumstances, to avoid seizures.

She found out about her diagnosis on her twentieth birthday.

“Something was not okay. I just didn’t know what. I was not used to that kind of feeling. I felt like I was dissociating from the outside,” Samira recalled. “But I told myself that it’s okay, it’s my birthday,” Samira recalled.

Her next memory is of waking up in a hospital bed, surrounded by worried relatives waiting for news of her condition.

“What’s going on?” she thought.

And then the harsh journey began: being moved from room to room, changing doctors and medications, experiencing unfamiliar symptoms — and learning how to live with them.

Epilepsy exists on a spectrum. For those who have seizures less than a few times a month, medication is often enough to mitigate severe risk. For others, the disease is uncontrolled to an extent where the person is fully supervised and is having constant seizures.

“As for me, it’s somewhere in between,” Samira said. “I don’t need complete supervision. I’m doing okay. But since it’s not something that you can always be sure of.”

Samira recalls being scared to use the bathroom behind a closed door right after her diagnosis.

Ever since she was diagnosed, Samira has faced recurring medication shortages.

The first major crisis occurred between 2011 and 2013, when international financial sanctions sharply reduced pharmaceutical imports, threatening the lives of millions of patients, mainly suffering from cancer and hemophilia.

In response to the scarcity, between 2016 and 2017, there were many protests inside the country led by chronically ill people or disabled people throughout the years.

Another escalation followed in 2018 after the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed banking restrictions, making the purchase of foreign medication increasingly difficult.

By 2022, the situation had turned into a full-scale domestic medical crisis. When the Ebrahim Raisi administration eliminated state subsidies for imported pharmaceutical ingredients, local producers had to pay dramatically higher prices for raw materials, triggering widespread shortages of even basic antibiotics, especially for children, such as Amoxicillin, Cefixime, Cephalexin.

After the U.S. and Israel launched their first joint strikes on February 28, medical shortages turned from episodic to a systemic occurrence.

The current Iranian administration under President Masoud Pezeshkian has implemented strict centralized control over pharmaceutical warehouses; seizing reserves for emergency and military use.

This action has critically reduced domestic medical supplies to less than two months of consumption, according to a report from AvaToday, causing severe shortages of essential medicines and driving patients to high-priced black markets.

For Samira, each wave of shortages has carried personal consequences.

One of the doctors later changed Samira’s medication, explaining that the previous treatment was designed mainly for patients with generalized epilepsy, while her condition also involved focal seizures and therefore required a different approach.

“[My doctor] changed it into something else that I still use now, which is Carbamezapine, the one that I can’t find in Iran, just to clarify,” said Samira.

By 2020, she had found another doctor whose treatment helped bring her seizures under control. For nearly three years, Samira remained seizure-free, although that stability came with a cost.

Her medication gradually became harder to obtain in Iran. Imported Carbamazepine produced by Novartis first disappeared in 2024, Samira said, from pharmacies and was replaced with Iranian-made alternatives. Even then, finding the medicine often required Samira to search multiple pharmacies, and sometimes even travel to other cities.

These conditions forced Samira to seek alternative ways of securing a stable supply of medication, including obtaining medicine through informal smuggling.

Around a year ago Samira and her family found a woman in Turkey who originally helped Iranians buy clothing from foreign brands, such as Zara. Later, Samira asked whether she could also help send medication if needed.

The woman agreed. “But the problem was that it was very expensive. You always have to think ahead, because if you don’t, you’re going to get in trouble.”

Samira tried to switch to the locally-available medication.

“I’ve tried it a few times, and it doesn’t work. Basically, after a few days, you feel the same dizziness that you have,” she said.

After the war began, Samira didn’t have access to any people who could get her the right medication from abroad. Samira was left with her savings, which was not enough to sustain her long-term medication.

A countdown on her medication began, and she had to make a difficult decision — fleeing her home country.

She created a packing list. “I just had written, ‘get three T-shirts, get your medication.’ And I just packed everything into one backpack and a carry-on, and I just left,” she said.

After one month of war, in the beginning of April, she and her family fled Iran by bus and settled in another country.

“When you come out of Iran in general… [you] find everything within your reach,” said Samira.

She felt relieved that she found the medication, even without a prescription, which she couldn’t obtain during the war.

“I don’t want to even imagine what someone with no savings would do, with, you know, a chronic illness. Because this is what I’m doing as someone who has a family to support her to an extent. I have a husband that supports me,” said Samira.

In Iran, where over 32 million people make less than $8.30 a day as of 2023, only the upper class has the chance of a way out.

The middle class, like Samira, must live like squirrels, storing medication before winter comes.

*Samira’s name has been changed for security purposes. The country she fled to was undisclosed for similar reasons

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Oleksandra Poda

NO RESULT FROM TRUMP’S ‘FINAL DETERMINATION’ MEETING ON IRAN: On Friday, Trump held a meeting in the White House’s Situation Room, after he announced that he would make a final decision on the memorandum of understanding, concerning the ceasefire with Iran. However, the meeting ended without making tangible progress on the issue.

On Thursday, U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding that, if it receives final approval from Iranian and U.S. heads of state, will allow for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire.

Before the Friday meeting, Trump restated his conditions: Iran must permanently renounce nuclear weapons, the Strait of Hormuz must be immediately reopened without restrictions or fees.

ISRAEL CROSSED THE LITANI RIVER IN LEBANON: On May 29, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces crossed the Litani River in Lebanon, approximately 30 km (18.6 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, as part of an expanded ground operation. Lebanese state media reported that at least 14 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on towns in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces crossing the Litani River are breaching a red line established by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in 2006, which created a buffer zone between the Litani River and the UN-demarcated Blue Line in which entities — excluding those carried by Lebanese forces and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon — are forbidden to carry weapons.

GUYANA EMERGES AS AN UNEXPECTED WINNER IN THE IRAN WAR: The Iranian war paralyzed the Strait of Hormuz and cut off middle eastern oil from global markets. Meanwhile, Guyana, which was once one of the poorest countries in South America, is benefiting from the search for new oil suppliers.

Before the war, Guyana was the world’s fastest growing economy, and now the rise in global crude prices has given a significant boost to the country’s economy. In 2024, Guyana became Latin America’s fifth-largest oil exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. Reuters predicts that the revenue from Guyana’s oil industry will increase by 67% in 2026 compared to last year.

However, many worry that the energy boom won’t last and warn that Guyana’s economy needs to take measures to build resilience to mitigate against energy market disruption. For example, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz would cause oil prices to plummet and deal a blow to the Guyanese budget.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Anastasiia

The latest news at this hour:

By: Oleksandra Khelemendyk

U.S. AND IRAN EXCHANGE STRIKES AMID PEACE TALKS: On Thursday, Iran launched a missile at a U.S. base in Kuwait, following overnight strikes launched by both the U.S. and Iran.

This came after a series of strikes on Wednesday, when U.S. forces downed four Iranian attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz and then attacked an Iranian ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Reuters reported. Anonymous U.S. officials said that these actions were purely defensive and not intended to undermine the ceasefire.

Two hours later, Iranian state media reported that the IRGC carried out a retaliatory strike on an American air base in Kuwait that allegedly was a source of the drone attack. Kuwait confirmed that it intercepted Iranian drones and missiles, with its foreign ministry calling the attack a “dangerous escalation” of tensions in the region. Iranian forces also attacked four vessels in the Hormuz Strait on their way to the Persian Gulf.

After the series of strikes between the U.S. and Iran, the Brent crude oil global benchmark rose by 3.75% to $97.83 a barrel, while U.S.-traded oil jumped by 4% to $92.22.

TRUMP THREATENS TO “BLOW UP” OMAN: Donald Trump made a threat to “blow up” Oman, a U.S. ally, if the country didn’t “behave just like everybody else”. This came after Oman and Iran discussed a plan for charging ships tolls for passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, some are speculating that the president may have misspoken, but the White House has offered no clarification.

Oman had long-standing economic and military ties with the U.S., has played a part in mediation talks during the Iran war, and itself suffered attacks from Iran. Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned the threats and expressed solidarity with Oman.

NEW HORMUZ STRAIT AUTHORITY UNDER U.S. SANCTIONS: The Persian Gulf ⁠Strait Authority, established by the IRGC on May 5 to issue permits and regulate maritime traffic through the Hormuz Strait, was added to a U.S. Treasury sanctions list. Last month, the institution introduced new rules for crossing the strait and issued a questionnaire with more than 40 points necessary to apply for a permit.

CNN cites the statement U.S. Treasury made on Wednesday, which said that through the Persian Gulf ⁠Strait Authority, the IRGC has aimed to “monetize its campaign of state-sponsored terror.”

U.S. DOLLAR INCHES UP: The U.S. dollar rose slightly on Thursday after reaching its strongest point since April.

As the war in the Middle East is driving oil prices up, demand for the U.S. currency is growing among oil importers. Currently, doubts over prospects of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may cause U.S. interest rate hikes.

FIRST ISRAELI STRIKES ON BEIRUT IN WEEKS: An Israeli source told CNN that Israel targeted a commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit on Thursday afternoon. This strike, coordinated with the U.S., was the first targeting of Beirut since early May, when the IDF claimed to have killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, Ahmed Ali Balout.

A few hours earlier, The Guardian reported at least twelve casualties of Israeli attacks on Thursday in southern Lebanon. Local media wrote that a family of six people, including children, died in a drone strike on the Adloun Highway in the Nabi Sari area while trying to flee to safety. Others were killed in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, where the IDF claimed to have targeted sites used by Hezbollah. In total, over 135 targets were hit over the past 24 hours.

The attacks came ahead of security talks between Lebanese and Israeli military officials, planned for tomorrow in Washington. On 17 April, both sides attempted to establish a ceasefire, but the attacks have only intensified.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Jacqueline and Oleksandra

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On Monday night, a day after Trump announced that a deal with Iran was “largely negotiated,” the U.S. launched fresh strikes in the south of Iran. The strikes targeted missile launchers and boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a spokesman for the U.S. military.

AFTER THE PAYWALL:

-What is Iran’s response?

-What does this mean for the ongoing peace negotiations?

-What are people inside Iran saying?

Read more

Editor’s note:

When The New York Times revealed a quiet U.S.-Israeli plan to prop up Iran’s former president as the country’s next leader, we asked the classic Iran War Dispatches question:

How does this actually feel inside Iran? What are Iranians saying about it?

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OUR LEAD STORY:

The June heat had cooled into an easy summer’s night by the time Mahla* arrived to cast her ballot in Iran’s 2009 presidential election. “I was very young then, around 21, and it was my first time casting my vote. I was excited and…thought my vote was influential,” Mahla said.

But the events that took place over the next few days were so discouraging that Mahla never voted again.

The reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi was running against the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran’s 2009 presidential elections. Mousavi had energized people, bringing voter turnout to an unprecedented 80-85%.

“I came after work, so there were less people…but I remember people said the polling stations had been busy since morning,” Mahla said.

When the day came, Mousavi announced that the interior ministry had confirmed his landslide victory. But not long after, government officials announced that Ahmadinejad, who had been in power since 2005, had won the election with 83% of the vote.

People knew the election had been stolen.

In 2009, when Iranians, like Mahla, went to cast their votes, they still believed in the system’s ability to self-correct: they weren’t seeking regime change, they wanted reforms.

But since then, the situation has dramatically changed. Over the last years, Iranians have increasingly called for a total regime change — many even going so far as to cheer on a war in their own country.

For a short period of time it appeared that Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s former Shah, was the leader that the U.S. and Israel wanted to prop up in the case of regime change. However, on May 19, the New York Times reported that at the start of the war, the U.S. and Israel had plotted to reinstall Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran.

At the start of the war, a few days after the U.S. and Israel had taken out much of Iran’s leadership, they bombed Ahmadinejad’s residence. But unlike the previous attacks targeting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, this attack was not intended to kill the former Iranian president — but rather to free him from house arrest.

Trump had decided that the successor should be “someone from within.” But the attack injured Ahmadinejad, Trump decided against the regime change plan, and the former president has not been seen since.

While many Iranians have hoped that the war could bring about a more democratic future for Iran, Trump’s secret plan highlights a key fact of the U.S. agenda in Iran: democracy in Iran is not necessarily a priority for the U.S. or Israel.

The day that Mahla realized that the election had been stolen was a dark day.

The hopeful pre-election atmosphere disappeared, as offices of the reformist opposition figures, Mousavi and Karroubi, were closed.

Protesters, like Mahla, wore green clothes, the color of Mousavi’s election campaign, and poured out onto the street. They were demanding a vote recount, chanting “Where is my vote?” and calling for the government to follow the constitution. This was the start of what was to be known as the ‘Green Movement.’

“We went to the streets in hope of better economic conditions and freedom of expression, thinking we could make a difference,” Mahla explained.

Mahla was only 21 when she went out onto the streets in Tehran to protest in June 2009. It was the first protest she had ever been to.

“All my colleagues were going, everyone was talking about it. It seemed like we all had a lot of hope for better conditions in Iran,” Mahla said.

In the lead up to the 2009 election, the economic conditions in Iran had been difficult even for highly skilled people. Mahla’s brother, who was an academic overachiever with a master’s degree, couldn’t find any skilled work and had to work as a laborer in a company that installed emergency signs. Mahla, who knew the manager, was also able to find work there. The conditions got so bad that many of Mahla’s friends started to leave Iran.

“As young people at the time [of the Green Movement], we just wanted a house, a job — something reasonable. I don’t think anyone had unrealistic expectations. We just wanted a normal life, with safe and stable conditions in our country,” Mahla said.

The initial protests were calm and peaceful, but after a few hours everything changed. Security forces were sent out into the street, ordered to crackdown brutally on the protesters.

Quickly, the streets became chaotic — if a car honked, the car would be attacked by security forces. Other cars were smashed in at random.

“What I personally saw with my own eyes is something I will never forget… I saw officers shooting at many people with my own eyes… I saw many people being beaten with batons almost to death… I ran away,” Mahla said.

Mahla and her older brother ran home from the protests, where they thought they would be safe. But when they returned home, they realized that her uncle was missing.

“We couldn’t find my uncle that night. We searched for him in all that chaos. We called everywhere, no one was home,” Mahla said. Mahla and her family went to hospitals, searched through their neighborhood but couldn’t find him.

After they stayed up the whole night, Mahla’s uncle returned home at noon the next day. He had been caught near the demonstrations, and the security forces mistook him for a protester. They’d arrested and interrogated him, and held him until the morning.

When he returned, he was traumatized. “[The security forces] had threatened him and told him not to tell anyone anything that had happened. I remember that after this, people were really scared,” Mahla said.

The protests continued for a few days, but ultimately the crackdown was too brutal, and the movement fizzled out, leaving Ahmadinejad in power.

For Mahla, now 39, Iran became much worse under Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad’s leadership fundamentally changed Iran, many, like Mahla, blame his presidency for many of the problems Iran faces today.

Ahmadinejad has been associated with hardline conservatism since the beginning of his political career. In 2005, Ahmadinejad succeeded the previous president Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), a former culture minister whose eight presidential years were defined by policies rooted in incremental economic change and diplomatic rhetoric: Ahmadinejad couldn’t have been more different.

Khatami had drawn the ire of the Supreme Leader and hardline factions in Iran, many of whom then threw their weight behind Ahmadinejad. As a result, Ahmadinejad empowered the IRGC and Basij; Ahmadinejad appointed a record-breaking number of IRGC members to government positions. During his two terms, the IRGC became increasingly embedded in Iran’s economy, benefiting from preferential access to government contracts and assets.

Ahmadinejad’s economic policies were populist, focusing on handouts and loans rather than sustainable economic reforms. They resulted in short-term economic benefits, but had long-term consequences: inflation and a rising unemployment rate in Iran.

Internationally, Ahmadinejad’s presidency was defined by his extreme anti-Western rhetoric and his strong support for accelerating Iran’s nuclear program, to which the U.S. responded with sanctions. His foreign policy approach was criticized for being provocative and inflammatory, losing him support domestically and internationally.

“Many people [joined the Green Movement] not necessarily out of strong support for Mousavi, they were more looking for things to get better and calmer,” Mahla said.

In recent years, Mahla said, it has reached a point where foreign goods are barely available in Iran, and if they are, they are extremely expensive. “For a young Iranian, for example, someone just getting married, owning something like a Samsung or LG refrigerator feels like a dream — something unattainable,” Mahla said.

Under a suffering economy, even more people started to leave the country. “I remember that it was exactly from that period that migration increased significantly,” Mahla said.

After watching her friends leave Iran for years, in 2018, the economy became so strained that Mahla was forced to leave for Armenia. Mahla’s brother also left for Dubai, where he now lives and works.

“In reality, things in Iran kept getting worse day by day, up until today when there is really nothing left to say,” Mahla said.

But it wasn’t just Ahmadinejad that changed the country — the chaos of the crackdown on the Green Movement and the brutality people experienced also had a lasting impact.

“People never imagined the government would treat them with such brutality,” Mahla said.

More and more Iranians felt their votes were meaningless and stopped voting, Mahla explained. It had crushed the youthful movement to reform the system.

Mahla struggles to understand why the U.S. would want Ahmadinejad in power. She thinks he is a disastrous choice. “Practically speaking I don’t see Ahmadinejad as an appropriate option at all…that’s why during his second term people weren’t supportive of him anymore, because during his first presidency he pushed Iran into many crises and difficult conditions,” Mahla said.

Mahla isn’t the only one who finds the plans incredulous. Many of Trump’s aides and other American officials, also reportedly, found the plan difficult to believe in.

For Akbar Mohammadi, who was also protesting in the Green Movement in Tehran, the plan exposes what Trump really wanted from his war in Iran. “If [the U.S.] wanted to help Iranians, they would take all the politicians out, but if they want to put Ahmadinejad back in, it’s because Trump wants to make a good deal for the U.S.,” Akbar said.

The plan exposes that the war is really for the benefit of the U.S., not the Iranian people, he added.

“People asked for Trump’s help to take these assholes out, not to bring more in,” Akbar said.

Mahla said the crackdown on the Green Movement caused people, fearing their own safety, to become passive and silent.

“I only voted that one time, but after that, I never voted again. My family was the same way. No one in my family — at least in presidential elections — ever participated again,” Mahla said.

*Mahla’s name has been changed for security reasons.

The latest news at this hour:

By: Olekasndra Khelemendyk

U.S. CONFIDENT ABOUT PEACE PROGRESS; IRAN LESS SO: BBC cited U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that the U.S. might reach a “solid” deal with Iran on Monday. Still, he warned that the potential deal is not a final settlement of the war. Iran responded by saying that some progress had been made but the deal is “not imminent.”

According to Axios, the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ that the two sides are close to signing would give a 60-day ceasefire extension, in which Iran would be allowed to sell oil freely. For this period, the Hormuz Strait would be opened and cleared of mines and talks on Iran’s nuclear program would take place.

OIL PRICES DROP AHEAD OF POTENTIAL U.S.-IRAN AGREEMENT: According to Bloomberg, crude oil prices are going down amid the expectations that an upcoming agreement between Iran and the U.S. will restore oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude benchmark dropped by more than 4%, way below $100 per barrel.

In recent days, three liquefied natural gas tankers and a supertanker carrying Iraqi crude have headed from the Gulf through the strait to Pakistan, China and India. Bloomberg also reported that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has been quietly transporting oil through the strait, clearing both U.S. and Iranian warships. A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker Al Rayyan was also seen in Oman after passing Hormuz.

BAHRAIN JAILS NINE FOR COOPERATION WITH IRAN: On Sunday, nine people were sentenced to life in prison for alleged cooperation with the IRGC, Al Jazeera reported. Two more were convicted of espionage and terrorist activities and received three-year jail sentences. The accusations include photographing strategic objects in Bahrain or the IRGC and carrying out cryptocurrency transactions from Iran to Bahrain.

Earlier this month, Bahraini authorities detained 41 more people amid the crackdown on people accused of being Iran-linked agents. Similar tendencies are in place across other Gulf states: Last month in the UAE a group of suspects were also arrested for what was deemed terrorist acts.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Alessandra

Editor’s note:

Finding it impossible to keep up with the chaos of multiple wars around the world these days? Our team writes these roundups with you in mind, aiming to cut through the noise and get you the reporting you need to get on with your day.

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The latest news at this hour:

IRAN, OMAN DISCUSS HORMUZ TOLLS: Ignoring warnings from the Trump administration, Iran is seeking closer cooperation with Oman on regulating and monetizing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, on Thursday, Trump said that any deal between the U.S. and Iran would rule out a tolling system for Iran and in the past has suggested that it should be the U.S. that profits from the toll system. As Iran and Oman try to negotiate new terms for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the likelihood of progress and a lasting agreement between the U.S. and Iran moves further out of reach.

At the same time, Iran’s newly created Gulf Strait Authority stated that it had established a “management and monitoring zone” in the Strait of Hormuz, with certain activities potentially requiring official authorization. Over the last 24 hours, 26 commercial vessels have successfully passed the Strait of Hormuz, including oil tankers and container ships.

Iran and Oman insist their plans are legal, proposing fees only for specific maritime services provided to vessels — such as waste disposal and port assistance — rather than charging ships simply for crossing the waterway.

IRANIAN REGIME USING BINANCE TO EVADE SANCTIONS: Investigations based on internal compliance reports and blockchain data show that Binance, the world’s largest crypto currency exchange, was used by Iran-linked networks to funnel billions of dollars to the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps despite international sanctions.

A network connected to an Iranian businessman, who identifies as an “antisanction” agent, Babak Zanjani reportedly reaped about $850 million through Binance transactions over two years, despite the fact that the transactions were flagged. Binance denied knowingly allowing sanctioned transactions on its platform and said it maintains a “zero-tolerance” policy toward illicit activity.

TRUMP AND NETANYAHU CLASH OVER IRAN: Following a phone call on May 19 between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, differences reportedly emerged over strategies for handling the conflict with Iran.

The two leaders have called multiple times over the last few days. On Sunday, Trump pushed for more attacks on Iran, an operation that would be called Operation: Sledgehammer. However, on Monday, Trump had moved to pursuing diplomatic talks, supposedly pausing Operation: Sledgehammer.

Netanyahu has expressed frustration with the delayed attacks and ongoing negotiations, pushing for a more aggressive approach.

IRAN’S REARMAMENT BEATS EXPECTATIONS: U.S. intelligence reports indicate that Iran is quickly remilitarizing and restoring military capabilities, contradicting earlier claims by U.S. CENTCOM that 90% of Iran’s defense-industrial base had been destroyed. Six weeks into the ceasefire, Iran has already restarted drone production lines, CNN reports.

A significant share of Iran’s coastal defense cruise missiles have also remained intact, critical for threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Several launch systems are believed to remain operational underground after being buried, but not destroyed, by airstrikes.

Inside Iran, the country’s resilience against U.S. pressure is increasingly being celebrated as a national success. War-themed weddings and weapons training sessions inside mosques are becoming symbols of the regime’s messaging, gradually overshadowing traditional religious narratives.

RESOLUTION LIMITING TRUMP’S WAR POWERS DELAYED IN CONGRESS: A congressional vote aiming to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to expand military action against Iran has been delayed by Republicans after it looked as though it had the support needed to pass.

This comes after the Democrats have tried to push Congress to pass legislation to try to reign in Trump’s war in Iran, but these votes have so far failed. However, this time the Democrats believed they could get the vote pass, after they had succeeded in gaining a few Republican votes. Democrats accused Republican leadership of intentionally delaying the vote.

Even if the resolution ultimately passes both chambers of Congress, Trump could still veto it, arguing that military pressure on Iran is necessary to prevent the country from advancing its nuclear program.

FRANCE MULLS TAX ON BUSINESSES PROFITING FROM ENERGY PRICE SURGE: French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Friday debates will be held this fall regarding extra taxes for companies that reaped exceptional profits from the energy price hikes caused by the Iran war.

French oil giant TotalEnergies faced calls for additional taxation at the start of the Iran conflict in February after reporting higher profits linked to rising energy prices during the Iran war.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Anastasiia

Trump: U.S. held off on Iran attack due to “serious” peace talks… Iran wants U.S. withdrawal from areas near Iran… Pakistan deploys forces to Saudi Arabia.

Editor’s note:

As negotiations continue amid the looming threat of a renewed military campaign , Iran has intensified its crackdown on dissent at home and abroad. Today’s story follows one Iranian activist in exile whose life was upended by the revocation of his passport — a tool increasingly used to extend state pressure beyond Iran’s borders.

We are working to bring you stories about the human impact of conflict and repression in Iran. If you want more reporting like this, subscribe!

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OUR LEAD STORY:

YEREVAN, Armenia – Masoud Taheri was at his carpentry workshop in his native city of Mashhad, Iran, when his life changed course.

Two men had arrived at his workplace, asking to speak to him in private. After they seized his phone, laptop, and camera, they drove Masoud away — and it was clear to Masoud’s employees that the men had been policemen in civilian clothing.

Masoud had been arrested for the crime of apostasy — converting from Islam to another religion, in Masoud’s case, Christianity, and for running a home church.

But when Masoud was arrested, he wasn’t just worried for himself. “I was worried for many of my employees…a few of them had converted to Christianity because of me.”

So when Masoud got out of prison, he didn’t reach out to his employees as he “didn’t want to cause them any problems.”

After he was released, Masoud fled Iran, leaving everything behind and started afresh over 2000 kilometers away in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

Eight years later, Masoud, 48, has a family and his own business in Armenia. Just last week, he planned a European city break with his wife: four days in Spain, another four in Italy.

But when they got to passport control, Masoud was told there was a problem with his documents. He told his wife to go ahead without him, so she wouldn’t miss out on the trip.

But soon Masoud learned it was more serious than he’d expected. His Iranian passport — his only passport — had been revoked, rendering him stateless.

Legally, Masoud was no longer Iranian.

By the time his wife had landed in Barcelona, Masoud had to explain that his whole world had changed. Again.

Masoud is not alone. Passport revocation is one of the Iranian regime’s preferred tools of what rights groups call “transnational repression” — the practice of authoritarian governments silencing and controlling critics even after they have fled abroad.

In recent years, the Iranian government has cracked down more than ever on opposition. On Monday, Amnesty International reported that in 2025, there were more executions around the world than there had been in over four decades, reaching a staggering 2,707 executions — and that Iran was driving the surge.

And during the war, this crackdown has only gotten worse.

For Iranian activists abroad, like Masoud, the Iranian government, which is reeling from the U.S.-Israeli attacks on its leadership, is only working harder to crack down on opposition. This is not only a threat kept within Iran’s borders — it is now a threat to the diaspora.

After he was stopped at passport control, Masoud was escorted to a separate room where he was kept for three hours. “I was really angry and sad too because my wife was really upset and crying,” he explained. “I thought at first that I would be kicked out of Armenia.”

But getting answers was difficult for Masoud, who only speaks Farsi. “I called my friend to translate my questions, but everybody there refused to answer my questions,” he said.

At first, he assumed that the issue must be coming from the Armenian government. In the past, they have given Masoud trouble for the leading role he has played in protests against the Iranian government in Yerevan. When protesters in Iran took to the streets in early 2026, Masoud and other demonstrators gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in Yerevan for 40 days straight.

Masoud claims that he had once been summoned by Armenia’s intelligence services. In the meeting, they urged him and other activists to stop their activism, believing that they were putting themselves in danger.

When Masoud was finally taken to departures, he was told that his passport had been revoked by the Iranian government and he needed to go to the Iranian embassy. But he was given no paperwork to prove what had just happened, he was only told that his passport was the property of the Iranian government — not his.

But as an Iranian activist, visiting the embassy isn’t an option: “I can’t go to the Iranian embassy, it’s Iranian soil, anything could happen there, it’s not safe,” Masoud said.

The incident had laid bare Masoud’s precarious situation: “I was sad that why for us, we are a great nation, why should we have to be in other countries, emigrated or displaced?” Masoud said.

When Masoud’s wife landed in Barcelona, he explained to her what had happened. She suggested that he stop his activism: “I can’t lose you…my biggest fear is something happening to you,” she texted him.

“I could never stop,” Masoud said…they killed so many of my countrymen, one of whom was my friend’s brother,” he said.

When Masoud moved from Iran to Armenia eight years ago, he was offered a fresh start — but it also meant starting from scratch.

After his arrest, he spent nine days in solitary confinement and before being released on a $10,000 bail — all of which he lost when he fled Iran.

“I didn’t want to leave Iran, but when I spoke to the lawyers, they told me if I showed up to court I could likely be put away for a very long time,” Masoud said.

But Masoud wasn’t a stranger to hard work.

When he was 12, he started working with his father who taught him carpentry — and by 20 Masoud had taken those skills and started his own carpentry factory. “I grew up at work with my father, I grew up in that environment,” Masoud explained.

When Masoud arrived in Armenia, his friend got him a job selling fish food. He would buy fish food cheaply in Iran and then resell it to fish farms in Armenia.

“I thought ‘first I’ll just start doing business with him and after that I’ll just learn how to do it by myself,” Masoud said.

But Masoud — an entrepreneur at heart — decided he could do even more, and opened his own fish farm.

Today the company has grown to five people and produces 40,000 kilos of fish a year. Now he fears he could be set back again, as operating the business without a passport will be extremely difficult.

Since Masoud doesn’t have Armenian citizenship, he needs his passport in order to take out large sums of cash from the bank and usually he pays somebody in cash to bring the fish food from Iran.

The challenges statelessness could pose to Masoud’s business are significant, but he is more worried about what it could mean for his safety.

“If I am honest it’s not about the passport, I am worried they have a plan to do worse things to me. It is logical that it would be better for [the Iranian government] if I left Armenia, but they are forcing me to stay,” Masoud said.

Though he’s anxious about what comes next, his faith in what he is doing hasn’t shaken.

“They just cancelled the document, the root of our identity is different…I am Persian with or without a passport..there is no way for them to take our identity.”

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Serafima Melnychuk

TRUMP: U.S. HELD OFF ON IRAN ATTACK DUE TO “SERIOUS” PEACE TALKS: On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that leaders of the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia said that “serious” peace talks were underway and urged him to scrap an attack on Iran planned for Tuesday. He added that if a deal is not reached, a large-scale assault is planned on Iran “on a moment’s notice”. Later when speaking to reporters, Trump added that the agreement had been that he would hold off the attack for “two or three days.”

Following weeks of Trump speaking about positive progress in peace talks with Iran, Trump has once again returned to threatening Iran with renewed military action.

IRAN WANTS U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM AREAS NEAR IRAN : Iranian state media reported Tuesday that Tehran’s latest peace offer to the United States calls for an end to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas near Iran and reparations for damage caused by the U.S.-Israeli war.

In Tehran’s first comments on the proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran also sought sanctions relief, the release of frozen assets, and an end to the U.S. naval blockade, according to the IRNA news agency.

PAKISTAN DEPLOYS FORCES TO SAUDI ARABIA: Pakistan has strengthened its military ties with Saudi Arabia by establishing a mutual defense pact, which includes deploying 8,000 troops as well as jets, drones and air defense systems, Reuters reports. This comes as Islamabad continues to play the lead role as mediator in the war involving Iran.

This is designed to support the military of Saudi Arabia in the event that the country suffers further attacks. On Sunday, there were new reports of security issues due to drones from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. According to Emirati officials, there was a fire at the nuclear power plant of Barakah after a drone attack on May 17, while Saudi Arabia claimed to intercept three drones that flew from Iraq on the same day.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Alessandra

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The latest news at this hour:

IRAN CREATED NEW ORGANISATION TO MANAGE HORMUZ STRAIT: Iran’s Supreme Security Council announced the creation of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), which will provide “real‑time updates on the Hormuz Strait operations and latest developments” and charge ships for safe passage.

On Sunday, CNN reported that Iran also plans to charge global tech companies and submarine cable companies for using the subsea cables in the strait, which carry internet and financial traffic between the Gulf states, Europe and Asia, threatening to cut off supply if they do not pay the fees. As making international payments to Iran is heavily restricted, it’s unclear how these tech companies could pay Iran.

DRONE ATTACK CAUSES FIRE AT UAE NUCLEAR PLANT: On Sunday, a drone hit an electrical generator near the Barakah ​Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, while two more drones were downed by UAE air defence, Reuters reported. The UAE has blamed Iran and proxies for the attack and condemned the escalatory attacks, while also saying that there was no radiological threat from the attack. Saudi Arabia also intercepted three drones launched from Iraqi airspace. The U.A.E., Qatar and Kuwait condemned the attack for violation of Saudi sovereignty.

IRAN SHARES NEW PEACE PLAN AMID U.S. THREATS: A Pakistani source told Reuters that Iran drafted a revised peace proposal, as U.S.-Iran peace talks are facing an impasse.

On Sunday, Donald Trump warned Iran that “there won’t be anything left of them” if there is no progress towards the peace deal. As Trump threatens “much harder” strikes on Iran amid the deadlock, U.S. officials expect him to convene his top security team to discuss military options on Tuesday, Axios wrote. Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday evening ahead of the meeting to discuss the possibility of resuming the war, Netanyahu’s office told The Times of Israel.

Oil prices have once again risen as the U.S. pressures Iran to work towards the peace deal. On Monday, the global benchmark Brent crude went up by 1.7% to $111.13, while U.S.-traded oil was by 2.1% higher at $107.62, BBC reported.

ISRAEL INTERCEPTS AID FLOTILLA TO GAZA: Several vessels from a humanitarian aid flotilla were boarded by Israeli military personnel off the coast of Cyprus on their way to the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera cites The Global Sumud Flotilla movement that organized the mission.

In total, more than 50 vessels departed from the Turkish port of Marmaris last week to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite the Israeli naval blockade, maintained since 2007. Earlier on Monday, one of the ships called Munki came under attack by Israeli military boats.

Gaza’s health ministry reported that at least six people were killed and 40 were injured in Israeli attacks over the past day.

IRAN WAR COST BUSINESSES $25 BILLION: The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has cost businesses around the world $25 billion in additional costs, Reuters reported. Businesses have had to pay more for energy, severed trade routes and disrupted supply chains.

At least 279 major companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, according to their corporate statements, had to cut production, lay off staff, charge more for fuel, or turn to their governments for assistance.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Oleksandra

Editor’s note:

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Iran war high on Trump-Xi meeting agenda… Iran: Hormuz Strait is open to those who cooperate with Iran…Saudi Arabia launched attacks on Iran during war…UAE denied Israeli claim that Natanyahu took trip to UAE…U.S. Senate fails for the 7th time to stop war in Iran.

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OUR LEAD STORY:

YEREVAN, Armenia – Zahra moved quickly between tables, balancing trays of mojitos as music drifted through the boutique hotel where she worked on the Iranian tourist destination Qeshm Island.

Wealthy tourists from across Iran laughed under fairy lights as they conspicuously added alcohol to their drinks, while women in shorts wandered back from the beach in their bikinis and shorts.

For Zahra, 36, who had grown up in a strict religious family, and left Tehran searching for freedom, the island felt intoxicating.

“In Qeshm, nobody really cared about hijabs,” Zahra said. “Even in front of the police, people dressed however they wanted. Tourists even wore bikinis to swim, something that seems surreal to someone in Tehran.”

That was before the war washed up on the island’s shores. Soon, the beaches emptied, cafes closed, and the energy that once defined Qeshm faded into silence.

Many of Iran’s islands in the Persian Gulf — such as Qeshm, Qish, and Hormuz — were once major tourism destinations. In 2025, more than 10 million domestic and international travelers visited Qeshm. But as the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel has increasingly shifted from Tehran to the Strait of Hormuz following the ceasefire a crucial local industry has run dry.

Qeshm sits squarely within the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow corridor carrying roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

On May 8, explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas, the key port city on the mainland overlooking the strait, further deepening fears across the region and forcing many workers like Zahra to leave the island.

For Zahra, moving to Qeshm in September 2025 was an adventure, with very little planning and an impulsive idea that started with her hitchhiking from Tehran to Yazd, and then a ferry to the city of Bandar-e Laft.

“I always get into adventures,” she says with a laugh. “That’s how I want to live.”

Despite growing up in an Islamic household in Tehran, Zahra became an atheist during her teenage years and lived a life defined by freedom and protest. After a devastating heartbreak and betrayal by her boyfriend, who also stole some of her money and left her financially insecure, she decided to start over on an island.

Unlike much of mainland Iran, Qeshm has more relaxed social rules. Tourists can walk by the beach without strict dress codes, women can wear shorts and sleeveless tops openly, and parties can stretch late into the night.

The island has quietly built a reputation as a loophole inside the Islamic Republic, a place where the rules are softened and people can briefly experience another version of life.

But Zahra said that freedom came with a cost; tour operators frequently pay bribes to local authorities or officials linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) so tourists could enjoy fewer restrictions during their stay.

“If you had money, you could escape the rules,” Zahra says.

In her last months on the island, Zahra worked in a cafe owned by an architect where she bartended.

Most visitors loved the mojito she made, which she would make without alcohol to adhere to Iran’s strict alcohol ban. Guests would sneakily pour alcohol in it afterwards.

Despite Iran’s strict alcohol ban, Zahra says drinking was quietly tolerated in places like Qeshm, especially among tourists.

“It was an unwritten rule,” she says. “As long as people added the alcohol themselves, nobody saw anything. We all pretended not to notice — the staff acted like nothing was happening.”

What she enjoyed most, however, was talking to people.

She spent hours talking to tourists, listening to their stories and telling them about the best spots on the island.

The people who came through the cafe doors each day were often very affluent people, as the cafe was located in an expensive hotel overlooking the beach. Many came from Tehran or northern Iran looking for a brief escape to the beach, but some were visiting the town from European countries, mainly Germany.

One of Zahra’s favorite memories from the island involves an Iranian family, a father and daughter, who barely spoke any Farsi that visited from Germany in December 2025. She remembers serving them coffee and spending hours talking to them about Qeshm, its beaches and hidden corners.

Before leaving, the family handed her a large tip — something she still remembers months later, as the tips she earned on the job would later help her escape wartime Iran.

But beneath the postcard image of sun-soaked beaches, sunsets, and palm trees, Qeshm is also known for its underground military infrastructure connected to the IRGC — including missile facilities reportedly built into the island’s mountains and coastline.

Everything changed when the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.

“In Bandar Abbas, a strategic city on the strait, there was a bombing on the first day, and that’s how it started,” Zahra recalls. “At first many of us thought maybe this would weaken the government, but very quickly we realized ordinary people would suffer the most.”

The war transformed the island overnight.

Rumors spread across the island that the area near the coastline was allegedly connected to underground missile facilities and therefore one of the first targets.

“We heard the sounds of explosions. People were terrified, but not me. I always knew it was going to happen at one point.”

Despite the danger, Zahra says she did not panic immediately; but fear metastasised across the island. Tourists fled and businesses shut down.

At the same time, she reports that the IRGC increasingly moved into civilian spaces on the island. According to her, members of the force requested rooms in hostels and occupied schools and public facilities after the conflict escalated.

“They asked hostel owners, including a place where I used to work, to give them rooms so they could stay safely. That meant ordinary people were put at risk too.”

Refusing the IRGC, she adds, was nearly impossible.

“It is very hard to turn them down. They have total control over everyone.”

IRGC’s practice of occupying civilian spaces is not specific to Qeshm; in March, London-based Iran International published an investigative report stating that Iran’s military forces have used at least 70 civilian sites during the airstrikes — putting civilians in harm’s way during aerial attacks.

Since 1989, Qeshm has been one of Iran’s eight economic free trade-industrial zones, meaning it operates under special regulations designed to encourage investment, trade, and tourism through reduced tariffs, simplified customs procedures, and more flexible business rules compared to mainland Iran.

Once the war began, the flow of tourists and commercial goods in the Strait of Hormuz constricted along with that of oil traffic.

“The ships from Dubai were being sent back,” Zahra says. “One shipment carrying clothes crossed the Strait of Hormuz for the last time and then returned to Qeshm. Those were the last ships we saw coming from Dubai.”

At the same time, many Iranians living or working in the UAE were also returning. Zahra says authorities in the Emirates have imposed increasing restrictions on Iranians during the conflict, making it harder for them to remain in the country.

“People were coming back because the UAE was making more and more restrictions for Iranians,” she says. “Eventually, many could no longer stay there at all.”

As military tensions intensified, the island’s economy collapsed. Tourism disappeared within days as trade routes slowed and many residents lost their source of income.

“The island became empty,” she says. “The cafes closed, beaches became deserted as tourists left.”

For Zahra, the hardest part was watching the island lose its spirit.

“It was a vibrant city when I arrived,” she says. “When I left, it was completely quiet.”

She remembers walking through once-crowded streets, but all that remains is a ghost town.“The last three days were too heartbreaking,” Zahra recalls. “We had been playing music, singing, and suddenly nobody was there anymore.”

As the economic crisis deepened and the island emptied out, food prices soared, leaving Zahra unable to afford staying on the island without a job.

“Just like the way I moved to the island, my departure happened the same way — impulsively,” Zahra says. “At 12 at night, my friend and I suddenly decided to leave. By 4 a.m., everything was packed.”

She called her landlord to say she was leaving, but never had the chance to properly say goodbye to her friends. Together with a friend, she left Qeshm for the desert city of Yazd in central Iran before eventually returning to Tehran.

“I left most of my belongings with friends who stayed on the island,” she says. “I left with a light suitcase and a heavy heart.”

Returning to Tehran did not bring comfort either. Zahra says she never truly liked the capital and had moved to Qeshm precisely to escape its heaviness.

In early May, she left Iran entirely and moved to Yerevan, Armenia, where she is trying to find a job in the service industry.

“War ruined everything for us,” she says, “There was nothing left to stay for in Iran.”

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By Serafima Melnychuk

IRAN WAR HIGH ON TRUMP-XI MEETING AGENDA: The Iran war was a key topic in the long-awaited meeting between Trump and Xi in China.

A White House official said that Xi made it clear during his meeting with Trump that he opposes Iran’s militarisation of the strait and how Iran has monetised transit through the key waterway.

Xi also spoke about potentially turning to U.S. oil to reduce China’s dependence on Iranian oil. China is currently the largest buyer of Iranian oil. In recent weeks the U.S. has sanctioned Chinese oil refineries relying on imports of Iranian oil.

IRAN: HORMUZ STRAIT IS OPEN TO THOSE WHO COOPERATE WITH IRAN: On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the route remains blocked due to U.S. activity. He added that from Iran’s perspective “the Strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial vessels, but they must cooperate with [Iranian] naval forces.”

Iran said that at least 30 vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz since last Wednesday. Bloomberg has also reported that some ships are now transiting the strait.

However, the UK Navy announced that a vessel 38 nautical miles off the coast of the UAE was seized on Thursday and is now headed for Iran. The UK Navy did not disclose the vessel’s identity.

SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHED ATTACKS ON IRAN DURING WAR: Saudi Arabia attacked Iran several times in response to Iranian attacks against the country, which targeted Saudi energy infrastructure, the Financial Times reported. Saudi Arabia made it clear to Tehran that the attacks were intended to signal that Saudi Arabia was ready to defend itself — not that the country was acting in coordination with the U.S. and Israel in their war on Iran. Saudi Arabia also launched attacks on Iran-backed militias based in Iraq during the Iran war, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly pushed for a diplomatic resolution to the war and prevented the U.S. from using its airspace to attack Iran.

Despite the warnings and the reluctance to get involved in the conflict, Iranian sabotage groups continue to be detained in the region. On Tuesday, Kuwait’s Interior Ministry carried out an operation to capture half a dozen men who turned out to be members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and accused them of trying to infiltrate Kuwait’s largest island.

UAE DENIED ISRAELI CLAIM THAT NETANYAHU TOOK TRIP TO UAE: Netanyahu’s office released a statement claiming that the Israeli leader secretly visited the UAE in spring. The UAE has denied these claims.

This comes as the tensions between the UAE and Iran reach new highs. Iran recently launched a mid-ceasefire attack on the UAE, while reports emerged of the UAE secretly attacking Iran during the war. However, the Emirates recently stepped up efforts to align itself with Israel. The UAE has suffered more Iranian drone and missile strikes than any other country since the Iran war began.

U.S. SENATE FAILS FOR THE SEVENTH TIME TO STOP WAR IN IRAN: The U.S. Senate has made its seventh attempt to limit the president’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran. Despite three Republicans joining the Democrats, the resolution was blocked by a narrow margin of 50 votes to 49.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Arpine

Iran war pushes U.S. inflation to three-year high… Trump looks to resume Iran war… UAE has been secretly attacking Iran… Iran lawmaker threatens possible high-level uranium enrichment… Mass starvation ahead if Hormuz Strait remains closed.

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OUR LEAD STORY:

YEREVAN, Armenia – In 2022, Kourosh* received official permission to leave Iran for 30 days. But when he left, he knew he wouldn’t be coming back.

“I can’t describe it, there was so much sorrow and pain. I was leaving a part of myself there, in my country,” Kourosh said, describing his departure from Iran.

Like many young men that leave Iran, Kourosh, now 28, was avoiding Iran’s mandatory military service.

Since the war started in Iran, attacks on Iranian military institutions and leadership have pushed the military to ramp up recruitment efforts.

At the beginning of April, when there was talk of the U.S. launching a potential ground invasion into Iran, Tehran sent out texts en masse and started advertising on state TV channels, calling on Iranians to “defend the country’s soil.”

Iranian military manpower has become so strained that a month into the war, a high-ranking commander in the IRGC announced a push for Iranians “aged 12 and over” to join. The campaign encouraged young recruits to take positions involved in collecting intelligence, patrolling checkpoints and carrying out minor unskilled tasks. It wasn’t long before a 11 year-old manning a Basij checkpoint was killed in an airstrike.

As the U.S. and Iran reject one another’s peace proposals and the two countries appear no closer to reaching a lasting peace, Iran’s bulking up its military, readying itself for a failed ceasefire. Mojtaba Khamenei has allegedly called the new recruitment campaign one of the key elements in “negotiations with the enemy.” Meanwhile Iran’s economy and quality of life only gets worse, pushing more Iranians to flee Iran and the mandatory draft.

Currently, all male Iranian citizens over the age of 18 must serve for at least 14 months, which was reduced from 2 years in 2024. There are some exemptions, including men with two children over 35.

However, since recruitment efforts inside Iran have intensified, Iranians like Kourosh are finding it harder to evade the military draft.

“Nowadays, If you cause any trouble with the government or oppose the regime in any way, they will send you to the military for service again — that’s what I am hearing,” Kourosh said.

When Kourosh was 23 and in his last year of his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering – he started thinking about his future more seriously, but he felt unsure about what to do next. But when protests broke out in Iran, he started talking to an immigration lawyer about the possibility of moving abroad.

“I was very unsatisfied with the situation, I thought Iran wasn’t doing well, I was really disappointed in the Iranian government,” Kourosh explained.

But he quickly realized if he didn’t leave soon, he would be drafted, which could ruin his chances of ever leaving Iran.

After an Iranian citizen is conscripted, he is required to serve in either Artesh or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Artesh is Iran’s conventional, national military, established during the Shah’s rule before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, while the IRGC was born out of a fear that the Artesh would not be loyal to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC was created to serve the Islamic Republic, rather than the elected government, and is far more ideologically driven, often involved in Iran’s violent protest crackdowns.

In 2019, the U.S. blacklisted the IRGC as a terrorist organization, meaning that any Iranian who served in the IRGC, even before 2019, was now ineligible for a U.S. visa.

Kourosh wanted to join his younger brother who was living in America. But if Kourosh was drafted into the IRGC, he would never be able to travel to the U.S.

He had seen this happen to his own family members already. His uncle had been one of the 55,000 winners in the U.S. Green Card Lottery about 15 years ago, but was then rejected because he had previously been drafted into the IRGC, Kourosh said.

Evading the draft is, of course, illegal. In Iran it prevents you from being able to get government or official jobs, obtaining a driving license or a passport.

“If you evade the draft you have to live very, very quietly… If you run into trouble and get the police involved, they will arrest you and you will be sent to military service,” he said.

After talking to his lawyer, Kourosh devised a plan: he would leave university before his temporary exemption was over.

But leaving meant that Kourosh couldn’t return to Iran, as long as the current government was in power.

“If I return to Iran now, I will be arrested, then fined and sent to do military service. Then I won’t be allowed to leave Iran again until my military service is over,” Kourosh explained.

During his three years in Armenia, he converted to Christianity and even worked at one of the local churches. “I am just waiting for the time to get back to Iran freely,” he said.

The decision to leave home, his family, and his life in Iran was difficult, but the idea of serving in a military he couldn’t agree with was something he couldn’t stomach.

However, avoiding the military draft also comes at a cost.

“The military service is two years…you are giving two years of your life for nothing,” Kourosh said.

Saiid*, 27, moved to Armenia 8 months ago to avoid the draft in Iran and is now waiting to hear about his Canadian visa. His life, too, has been paused indefinitely: “Even if the war ends tomorrow and Iran becomes a safe place to live, I will still be 27 – all those years of waiting will be wasted, I can’t get them back.”

Kourosh knew what the cost of getting drawn into a war could be — he saw how it changed his father.

Kourosh had a difficult childhood, between being bullied in school and his family’s financial struggles. His relationship with his father was also difficult.

Kourosh’s father was drafted when he was 18 and fought as a ground soldier in the Iran-Iraq war. “He experienced a lot of horrible stuff. It really got into his head, and so when I was a child he used to beat me a lot,” Kourosh explained.

Kourosh grew up listening to stories about his father’s service.

One day during his military service, Kourosh’s father was driving with his unit in Iran’s Southwestern Khuzestan Province, near the Iran-Iraq border. Overhead, Kourosh’s father saw an enemy aircraft, but when tried to warn the rest of the group, nobody listened. It was then that the aircraft started diving down towards their vehicle.

Having seen the aircraft in advance gave Kourosh’s father enough time to jump into a ditch by the side of the road, where he landed on a bush full of thorns. The noise of the explosion was ringing in his head for hours after it happened, Kourosh explained.

It was incredibly painful but when he got up out of the ditch, he just saw a sea of bodies and realized he had been one of the lucky ones.

“He was one of the few people from his unit that had survived the attack…I think that experience in particular really messed him up,” Kourosh explained.

Despite everything Kourosh and his family have experienced, he is on a course to start anew in Germany.

“My first choice would still be the U.S., I have done so much to be able to go to the U.S., but it seems so out of reach now,” Kourosh said.

Despite the fact that Kourosh has risked never returning home to Iran and has learned English fluently in the hopes of getting a U.S. visa, the prospect of this happening looks even less promising than when he left Iran.

In 2017, Trump introduced a travel ban on several countries including Iran. Although Biden rolled back these restrictions in 2021, Trump reintroduced them in 2025, preventing Iranians like Kourosh from going to the U.S.

Kourosh is currently living in Yerevan, where he is studying German so that he can prepare himself for the German language exam needed to obtain a German visa.

He plans to finally finish his studies in Germany – the studies he fled to escape Iran’s military draft. But for now Kourosh feels his life is waiting to start again.

“While I’ve been in Yerevan, my life has been put on pause for now, I can’t start the next stage of my life,” Kourosh explained.

But for now, the only way is forward. Kourosh has passed the point of no return: he knows if he returns to Iran, his home won’t be the way he remembers it.

“I miss everything…but with this regime, everything is gonna get destroyed,” Kourosh said.

*Saiid and Kourosh’s names have been changed for security reasons.

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Kateryna Antonenko

IRAN WAR PUSHES U.S. INFLATION TO THREE YEAR HIGH: As the Iran war has sent the global energy market into chaos, the skyrocketing price of gasoline has shocked the American economy: gas prices increased 5.4 percent in April, which is a 30 percent increase from 2025.

Overall, the increase is the largest rise in 12 months in the last three years.

TRUMP LOOKS TO RESUME IRAN WAR: President Trump is considering resuming combat operations against Iran more seriously than in recent weeks, CNN reported. Sources say the shift is driven by Trump’s anger over Iran’s handling of talks, including the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and what he views as a lack of genuine engagement from Tehran.

With diplomacy stalling, Trump said Monday that the ceasefire is on “massive life support.” Two images posted on Trump’s Truth Social on Tuesday appeared to show strikes on Iranian military assets, including an aircraft with an Iranian flag exploding and fast boats coming under attack at sea.

Meanwhile, the Iranian army spokesperson wrote on X that “no one in Iran is making plans to please Trump.”

There are differing views within Trump’s administration on the matter, according to CNN. Some officials, including within the Pentagon, are advocating a more aggressive strategy that could involve targeted strikes to pressure Tehran back to the negotiating table, while others continue to favor keeping diplomatic channels open.

UAE HAS BEEN SECRETLY ATTACKING IRAN: The United Arab Emirates has begun covertly striking Iranian targets, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The UAE has not publicly confirmed the strikes, but people familiar with the matter say one of them hit a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf. The attack is said to have taken place in early April, coinciding with President Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire after a five-week air campaign.

IRAN LAWMAKER THREATENS POSSIBLE HIGH-LEVEL URANIUM ENRICHMENT: A senior Iranian MP, Ebrahim Rezaei, said Tuesday that Iran could consider enriching uranium up to 90% purity, levels widely seen as weapons-grade, if it is attacked again.

In a post on X, Rezaei, who serves on the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said such a step would be among the options under review by lawmakers in the event of further escalation.

MASS STARVATION AHEAD IF HORMUZ STRAIT REMAINS CLOSED: Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to a large-scale humanitarian crisis due to their potential impact on global fertilizer supply chains, through which roughly one-third of global flows pass, The Guardian reported, citing a United Nations official.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and head of the task force, stated that there are only a few weeks to prevent mass famine and the starvation deaths of approximately 45 million people. Back in April of this year, the UN had already warned that the blockade of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz poses a severe threat to global food security.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Alessandra

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The latest news at this hour:

TRUMP REJECTS IRAN PEACE PROPOSAL, OIL RISES: President Trump rejected Iran’s counteroffer on behalf of the United States’ peace proposal, calling it “totally unacceptable.” According to Iranian state media, Iran’s proposal demanded: the termination of the U.S. naval blockade, reparations for war damage, lifting sanctions imposed on Iran, and recognition of Iran’s jurisdiction over the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday, responding to the U.S. rejection of the proposal, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the Iranian proposal was “generous and reasonable.”

ISRAELI BASE ALLEGEDLY FOUND IN IRAQI DESERT: Israel built a secret military base in the western region of Iraq called Anbar, which facilitated Israeli operations during the Iran war, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The military base was apparently found not by the Iraqi government but by a shepherd who saw helicopters and gunfire in the area.

The military base Iraq puts Iraq in a difficult position as the country has been balancing relations between the U.S. and its neighbor, Iran. The U.S. has repeatedly pressed Iraq to deal with Iran backed militias in Iraq.

SOUTH KOREA CONDEMNS HORMUZ ATTACK ON KOREAN SHIP: The South Korean Presidential Office vowed retaliation on those behind the May 4 attack on the South Korean company HMM Co. cargo ship, the Namu, in the Strait of Hormuz. Those behind the attack have yet to be identified.

The attack, which Seoul has called a violation of international law, damaged the lower part of the stern on the port side and caused a fire in the engine room.

The Presidential office of South Korea called the attack a violation of international law and stated that the commercial vessel was sailing legally in waters close to the UAE when it was attacked.

LEBANON’S PRES. AOUN CALLS TO END ISRAELI STRIKES AND CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun briefed the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon about the upcoming meetings between Lebanon and Israel in the United States scheduled for this week.

At the meeting, he highlighted the importance of applying pressure internationally on Israel to stop ceasefire violations and attacks on Lebanon. Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon on Monday killed four people and wounded eight others, including two medics.

BRITAIN, FRANCE HOST HORMUZ DEFENSE TALKS: Britain and France have announced that a summit will be held on Tuesday at which defense ministers from over 40 countries will discuss how they can coordinate efforts to resume safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement released by the British government.

The UK Ministry of Defense recently announced that the Royal Navy will send a warship to the Middle East, which came after the French government sent the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the region as well.

The chief editor of the hardline Iranian newspaper Kayhan said that Iran will target British and French warships because they are supporting both the U.S. and Israel. Leaders behind the initiative have clarified that the initiative is being conducted independent of both Iran and the U.S.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Serafima

U.S. awaits Iran’s response to the peace proposal… U.S. and Iran continue to clash in the Strait of Hormuz. … Iran war pushes Chinese aluminum exports to reach record highs… Russia and the UAE held talks on the Strait of Hormuz… Iran war pushes global food prices to three-year high.

Editor’s note:

Amid conflict and repression, artists — as voices that often challenge oppression — are increasingly at risk in Iran.

This story illustrates a wider reality through the experience of one filmmaker, revealing a generation of creators working in isolation, where making art itself has become a dangerous pursuit. This is what we aim for: to move beyond headlines and show the human lives behind them.

If you value this kind of reporting, subscribe!

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OUR LEAD STORY:

YEREVAN, Armenia – “If you and your kind make things for our channel, people one day will start believing everything you say.” This is what the government investigator told Hamed when he was arrested in 2021 over his documentary series on Iranian folklore music.

Hamed has spent most of his adult life making films in Iran’s capital, Tehran, without a state permit, which filmmakers need to work legally in Iran.

That choice shaped every part of his life.

Over the years, he was arrested multiple times, had equipment destroyed while filming protests, and eventually became afraid to leave his home or carry a phone in the streets of Tehran.

By 2026, after waves of crackdowns, executions, and war, he stopped filming inside Iran. “It became impossible,” he said.

In early April this year, a 28-year-old man, Hossein Ghavi, was arrested for “filming bombed areas” and “communicating with foreign countries.” He was detained by intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and later died as a result of severe torture while in custody.

In Iran, even carrying a phone or documenting reality has become a risk.

Even internationally acclaimed directors such as Jafar Panahi — whose films have won major international awards — continue to face state pressure, prison sentences, travel bans, and censorship for their work. At the end of March, Panahi returned to Iran despite the risk of imprisonment after years of state persecution tied to his films and public criticism of the government. Despite years of harassment from the government, Jafar Panahi was able to return to Iran safely.

While globally recognized filmmakers, like Jafar Panahi, may have some international visibility and protection, ordinary underground artists have far fewer safeguards.

Hamed, a 34-year-old underground filmmaker from Tehran, has spent the past year trying to make a film in a country where both war and repression have made artistic work nearly impossible.

An ‘underground’ artist is a common phenomenon in Iran — many creators chose to risk their own safety rather than subjecting their work to censorship. This means moving their work from public spaces to indoor and private spaces.

Once in 2017, Hamed was summoned for questioning over a short sketch film.

In the film, a man was endlessly picking the handkerchiefs beneath the sink in a men’s restroom until a massive pile of them covered him. “The progovernmental producers told me the film was about masturbation. I was shocked. And I remember that one of them looked me in the eyes and said: ‘The main character is a sick pervert.’” His intention was to portray a guy stuck in an endless life loop.

From an early age, Hamed was surrounded by art. On his mother’s side, he comes from the Jozani family, known in Iran for its involvement in photography, animation, and film. As a child, he would spend hours in a darkroom with his aunt Ladan, developing photographs.

As a teenager, he spent carefree nights in Tehran with friends, thinking about girls, fun, and films. They would sit for hours in small cafés, arguing about cinema, about directors like David Lynch and Lars von Trier. They were proud, scrappy, young artists, believing that time, small world of conversations, experiments, and late-night plans would eventually turn into something real.

And that sense of freedom didn’t disappear overnight. The restrictions crept in slowly and tightened gradually, so that Hamed and his friends still believed they had time. With the stubborn confidence of youth, they clung to the idea that things could still be changed and that they had enough power to push against the system.

“We were just living,” he said. “We didn’t think it would become like this. Everything changed very fast.”

At 17, Hamed joined his first protest during the Green Movement, which followed the disputed 2009 presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Green was the color of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s campaign.

That June, millions went onto the streets to protest what they believed was a rigged result. The demonstrations were met with violent crackdowns, mass arrests, and killings. And the video of how Neda Agha-Soltan, a young, female Iranian musician, was shot dead became the movement’s defining symbol.

The Green Movement reshaped a generation of young Iranians, marking the moment when hope for gradual reform collided with the reality of state repression. This moment pushed many Iranian artists, journalists, and filmmakers to create a new underground culture.

“Before that, I had never really experienced something like that — being in the street with so many people, all of them demanding something, all of them believing something could change. I remember the feeling more than anything,” he said. It was something new, something very strong. You feel like you are part of something bigger, like you are not alone anymore. But it didn’t last.”

The security forces moved in very quickly, beating people. Hamed was beaten too. It was chaos.

“That was the first time I saw this side of the system directly, not from far away, not as an idea, but physically.”

Hamed was detained. It was brief, but it was enough to understand how things work.

“I think that was the moment when the real Hamed was born,” he recalled.

After that, Hamed was arrested twice more — one six years later for nude photography and the other one for the documentary series. In one instance, intelligence officers came to his home and took him directly to a police station.

Around the same time, reports of violence and arrests during protests became more frequent. What had once felt distant began to move closer.

But he kept returning to the protests as his sense of purpose began to change: inspired by Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi, he wanted to document the violent, powerful streets and give a voice to the people chanting within them.

Hamed continued to operate underground with his photography and filmmaking.

“But for us, it was never really an option. Because the moment you accept it, you also accept the limits — what you can say, what you can show, what kind of story you are allowed to tell.”

So he never tried to get permission for his work. Hamed and his friends made whatever they could with the small teams and little equipment they had, with the understanding that it might not ever be shown publicly.

“It was not even a decision at some point,” he said. “It was just the only way to exist as an artist.”

And real art is always a protest, said Hamed.

At one point, he went out to film a protest with a new camera he had saved up for. IRGC forces broke the protest apart after only a few minutes.

In the years that followed, Hamed remained in Tehran, continuing to make films that were being screened outside Iran, primarily at independent and international film festivals.

That was until 2022, when he shortly left for Turkey but had to return after a university arrangement fell through, leaving him without residency.

“Then the first war began — with Mahsa Amini,” he said.

In 2022 protests sparked by the death of a 21-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly beaten to death for not wearing the hijab properly. Repression intensified across the country. Human rights groups reported hundreds of people killed and thousands detained.

The protests eventually subsided, but the pressure only deepened.

For Hamed, the space to work grew even narrower. He continued making films and worked remotely for a London-based company. But despite the worsening situation inside the country, Hamed decided to begin a new project.

The film followed a painter who had a VPN, which made him one of the few people with internet access in Iran. The painter spent his days trying to connect people inside the country and their families abroad. He helped them send messages, share fragments of everyday life to preserve some sense of connection.

The story was not openly political, but its premise reflected Hamed’s own reality: isolation, fragmentation, and the constant negotiation between visibility and risk.

The project began to take shape at the end of 2025. Hamed caught the attention of a French producer, and for a moment, it seemed the film might move into production.

But the moment did not last.

Nationwide protests, which had begun in late 2025 amid economic crisis, spread across dozens of Iranian cities. Security forces responded with mass arrests, internet shutdowns, and a bloody crackdown on protestors, which ended up killing tens of thousands of civilians, according to rights groups.

By early 2026, the pressure inside the country had already reached a breaking point. Then, on February 28, the situation escalated into war: the United States and Israel launched large-scale airstrikes on Iran.

In the weeks that followed, thousands were arrested and hundreds killed, while airstrikes and retaliatory attacks spread across the region.

“You couldn’t do anything anymore,” he said. “No matter what you did, you could be arrested.”

Over time, he started to lose people he knew. One of them was Soroush Khazaeii, a 29-year-old visual artist, who died in an airstrike.

“I didn’t know him very well. He was very kind to other underground artists. He signed a document saying that he couldn’t make any art in Iran, but he continued. He was very talented,” Hamed said.

It turned out that while Hamed set out to make a film about connection, he found out how disconnected he himself was. In the final days, even leaving the house felt dangerous.

“In those days, I wouldn’t take my phone with me when I left the house. At any moment, the IRGC could stop you and check everything. Even having a VPN could get you into trouble.”

And then there was the strike that hit near his home, the impact of which shattered his windows and left broken glass near the bed where he usually slept until noon. Luckily, on that day, he got up 15 minutes earlier. That moment divided his life into the “before and after.”

On the 1st of April he left for Armenia by bus, where he at least can feel safer. But he never stopped being an underground artist.

“I don’t know if the [film about the painter] will ever be made. But I’m still working on it in another way — by writing, by trying to keep what happened.

Because if you don’t record it, it disappears.

Maybe this is what it means to be an artist — you just keep going, even if nothing can be finished.”

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Oleksandra Poda

U.S. AWAITS IRAN’S RESPONSE TO THE PEACE PROPOSAL: On May 9, Rubio stated that the U.S. expects to receive Iran’s response to the U.S. peace proposal today. Iran was previously expected to respond on Thursday.

This comes despite clashes on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz when U.S. military vessels repelled Iranian attacks on three U.S. Navy destroyers and launched retaliatory strikes against Iranian military targets along Iran’s southern coast. Iran’s Joint Command said that its forces had launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. ships east of the strait.

On May 3, Trump said that the U.S. might restart its ‘Project Freedom’, the U.S. initiative to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has previously paused this on May 6 citing good progress in peace talks with Iran.

MEANWHILE U.S. AND IRAN CONTINUE TO CLASH IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: U.S. CENTCOM released a video showing an F/A-18 carrier-based fighter jet striking two Iranian tankers, the Sea Star III and the Sevda, for violating the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

The aircraft likely used 500-pound laser-guided bombs.

IRAN WAR PUSHES CHINESE ALUMINUM EXPORTS TO REACH RECORD HIGHS: Airstrikes on aluminum smelters in the Persian Gulf have crippled output from the Gulf region, which normally delivers about 9% of the world’s aluminum supply — now buyers have turned to China to fill the gap. Aluminum exports from China rose by 15% in April compared to the same month last year. Bloomberg reported that Chinese aluminum exports will reach record highs and predict a record year for Chinese aluminum exports.

Aluminum is a critical material for the aerospace, automotive, and defense industries. The growth of China’s market share in this sector will have long-term strategic implications.

RUSSIA AND THE UAE HELD TALKS ON THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, discussed regional issues and the war in Iran on a phone call. The discussion focused on the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, including issues under consideration by the UN, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russia is not a party to the Iran conflict, but it is actively shaping the diplomatic context surrounding it, and coordination with the UAE — the largest transit hub between East and West, which has been directly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — suggests that Moscow is preparing to play a role in the resolution.

IRAN WAR PUSHES GLOBAL FOOD PRICES TO THREE-YEAR HIGH: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally traded food commodities, rose by 2% in April compared to April of last year — the highest level since 2023. Higher oil prices have increased demand for vegetable oils in the biofuel sector, while wheat prices rose by 0.8% due to rising fertilizer costs caused by the war.

This marks the third consecutive month of growing food prices, and the FAO’s Chief Economist Maximo Torero predicts that this trend will only continue.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Anya

Editor’s note:

The last 24 hours have likely flooded you with news from the Iran war. Strikes amidst a ceasefire? Hits on ships in the Strait of Hormuz? We’re here to help you make sense of it all with our news roundups. Subscribe now for free!

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The latest news at this hour:

U.S. HITS TANKER AND TARGETS IN SOUTHERN IRAN: On Thursday, U.S. military vessels attacked Iran’s Southern coast — explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm and in Bandar Abbas. Iran also claimed that the U.S. fired on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which prompted an Iranian retaliation. Iran said the strikes were carried out in coordination with another country, but left the country unnamed

The U.S. said that it was targeting Iranian military facilities, responding to previous Iranian attacks on U.S. warships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

On the same night, Iran’s government news agency IRNA reported that Tehran’s air defense was active last night over western Tehran after two loud explosions on Thursday night.

…TRUMP: STRIKES WERE JUST A “LOVE TAP”: Iran has accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire between the two countries. Meanwhile, Trump has said that the U.S. attacks along Iran’s southern coast were just a “love tap” and that the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. remains intact.

Trump also said that there will be no need to wonder if the ceasefire is over, because if it is, “you’ll just have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran,” and pressured Tehran to sign a deal “FAST.”

UAE REPORTS FRESH IRANIAN ATTACKS: Soon after the U.S.-Iran escalation, the UAE air defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones. Three people sustained injuries.

This is the second mid-ceasefire attack from Iran on the UAE — the first being earlier this week on Tuesday. Since the start of Iranian strikes, the UAE has repelled a total of more than 2,800 projectiles of various types. Overall casualties stand at 230 wounded and 13 killed, ten of whom were civilians. The Defense Ministry said its armed forces remain on full combat alert.

BEIJING CONFIRMS ATTACK ON TANKER WITH CHINESE CREW: Beijing confirmed that a vessel with Chinese nationals on board came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said no crew casualties had been reported so far, but expressed “deep concern” over the threat to shipping in the zone of the Middle East conflict.

China is one of the world’s top buyers of Iranian oil, and its imports in March went largely unaffected by the war, according to Reuters.

U.S.-PROPOSED IRAN RESOLUTION COULD FACE CHINA/RUSSIA VETO:

Russia and China are expected to exercise their UN veto power now that the U.S. is asking for international support on a resolution to demand Tehran stop assaults and mining the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

Trump is scheduled to visit China next week, largely to discuss Iran, and this potential veto could complicate the productivity of this diplomatic trip.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Kateryna

Iran to respond to U.S. peace proposal on Thursday… U.S. strikes Iranian tanker amid peace push… First Israel strikes on Beirut since ceasefire…Satellite images reveal widespread damage to U.S. military sites in the Middle East… French warship heads to Hormuz.

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OUR LEAD STORY:

YEREVAN, Armenia – In the far southwest of Iran, where tidal inlets sprawl over hot, muddy plains, lies Bandar-e Mahshahr, often shortened to Mahshahr – a small port city, home to some of Iran’s most important oil infrastructure.

Below the city sits one of the oldest trading ports in the Persian Gulf, which specializes in exporting oil and petrochemical products.

Mahshahr was once an influential trading hub, appearing in famous travelogues since it’s founding in 231 AD, but by the mid-1950s it had largely lost its significance.

But the old city of winding streets transformed when its oil infrastructure was expanded and oil money flooded in during the 1990s.

Entire ‘shahraks’ or mini cities, sprung up to support the workers of the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, where oil is used to produce 72 million tonnes of petrochemical products yearly, including chemicals and polymers. The complex employs the majority of the area’s 300,000 inhabitants.

Roya*, whose family has been in Mahshahr’s oil industry for generations, grew up in one of these neighborhoods.

Today Roya lives in Yerevan, Armenia, but when she was growing up Mahshahr and her father’s profession provided Roya with an endless stream of luxury. The restaurants they frequented, the local hospitals, the beauty salons, the gyms and even the house she lived in were all funded by the oil industry.

“The best moments of my life were when my dad worked at the oil company,” Roya said.

But Mahshahr’s fortunes have turned dramatically since the outbreak of war.

Lucrative petrochemical hubs that once fueled Iran’s economy have been paralyzed by the recent U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, as well as strikes on oil infrastructure that forced Mahshahr’s industrial complex to shut down in early April.

On Thursday, Tehran is expected to reply to a U.S. peace proposal. But Iran is still pushing for one of its main objectives: the end of the U.S. naval blockade choking off its exports.

One oil expert serving on Iran’s Chamber of Commerce put this issue above all else: “The [U.S. naval blockade] is a much more serious threat than even war,” adding that the blockade could threaten Iran’s oil production long-term.

Now, the U.S. maritime blockade has choked off Iranian exports through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 80 percent of Iran’s oil passed. With crude unable to leave Iran via sea, storage facilities are likely to reach capacity, which could potentially force oil production to shut down entirely.

If Iran stops producing oil altogether, Mahshahr will cease to exist as the city it once was, forcing the community built around this industry to reshape itself entirely– exposing the human consequences of an oil industry in collapse.

When Roya’s great-grandfather moved from Shiraz to Mahshahr to work in the oil industry, he couldn’t have known that his descendents would follow so closely in his footsteps.

After the 8-year Iran-Iraq war in the 80s, the Islamic Republic needed to bring in funds and started expanding Iran’s oil infrastructure. Since Iran nationalized its oil industry in the 1950s, the sector has been government-run, providing a key source of revenue for the state.

Like her great-grandfather, Roya’s grandfather, father and uncle all worked in the oil industry. Even Roya herself spent 5 months in an accounting job within the industry.

“The whole routine in Mahshahr depends on oil,” Roya explained.

Roya’s father got a high-level job at the petrochemical complex, so for his children, the generous hand of Iran’s national oil company was never far away.

They ate at the company restaurant for free; Roya took trips abroad with her sports team funded by the company; even after Roya’s father retired, he was able to buy the home they lived in for free at a discounted $2,050 dollars.

Her father’s employer doled out bonuses and rewards on Mother’s Day and other holidays. Fathers got bonuses when they had a child. Life was good working in oil in Mahshahr.

For Roya, the company played almost a parental role. They gave Roya a lump sum of money on her 18th birthday, which was given to all the unmarried daughters of employees at that age.

The logic was that a young man could provide for himself, and a married woman could rely on her husband, but an unmarried woman needed the support, Roya explained.

“From the perspective of the company, the idea was ‘your daughter is my daughter,’” Roya said.

But the life of luxury that Roya’s family enjoyed is gone.

At the beginning of April, Israel attacked Mahshahr’s petrochemical complex, shutting down key facilities supporting the complex, which also provided power to 500,000 people in Khuzestan province, according to an Iranian oil ministry official.

Before the war Iran’s economy was already in crisis, as spiralling inflation caused protests to break out across the country at the end of last year. The war has only made this worse – on April 29, the Iranian rial rose nearly 8% in a single day.

The shutdown of Mahshahr’s oil infrastructure has exacerbated the economic stress, breaking the local economy’s backbone and leaving much of the city unemployed and struggling to survive.

The attacks on Mahshahr’s key industry has slowed everything down. “The friends from Mahshahr that I have spoken to have told me, “we are just surviving, not working, just surviving,” Roya said.

With Iran’s worst internet blackout in history, the conversations Roya has with her parents, who still live in Mahshahr, are infrequent at best and self-censored, as they are forced to use government-run messaging platforms like Rubrica and Bale.

“I can only ever ask how they are. My mother is very sick at the moment, so I just ask about her health, but then that’s it,” Roya said.

But it’s clear the free meals and life of luxury that was Roya’s childhood, now couldn’t be farther from their reality.

“My parents are just constantly saying that prices have gone up and there is no more work in the city anymore,” she explained. Even Roya’s brother, who repairs electrical appliances, said that he barely has any customers anymore, as people are left struggling to pay for basic necessities.

When the U.S. and Israel targeted Iran’s oil infrastructure, the city that provided Roya’s family with so much became a military target overnight – turning it into a prison for Roya’s parents. “My parents say they are forced to stay in Mahshahr because they have a home and all our belongings are there,” Roya said.

Roya was only able to check on her parents through her brother’s friend, who lived in Mahshahr and had a Starlink to contact them. Thankfully, her parents were ok, but as America’s blockade remains in place and the U.S. and Iran struggle to reach a peace deal, the threat of more strikes is far from over.

Mahshahr, a city with two major ports, is also home to a major shipping industry – exporting petroleum products and importing general goods, which are easier and cheaper to access outside of Iran.

But with the U.S. blockade, Iran’s shipping industry has been crushed. This will mean that people in Mahshahr will have to source previously imported goods locally, but this also depends on the rate of local production, Roya explained.

As the U.S. blockade prevents Iran from exporting oil, the country is forced to manage or halt output, as its oil storage facilities will otherwise reach capacity.

Flames and smoke were seen above oil flares in Iran’s oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan region. Iran International reported that this may have come after Iran set fire to the oil as a way to manage oil output.

Iran has also resorted to using old containers and tankers, which stopped being used due to their poor condition. Despite being more costly than sending vessels via ships, Iran has also tried to export oil to China, a major importer of Iranian oil, by rail.

Recently the situation in Hormuz has seen marginal improvements. After the U.S. promised to pause ‘Project Freedom’ – its plan to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz – on Wednesday May 6, Iran promised to ensure safe transit for ships, although has not provided any details on what this will look like.

Despite the renewed hope for opening the Strait of Hormuz, key obstacles remain in the peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. Trump was reportedly dissatisfied with Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the U.S. blockade and postpone nuclear negotiations. Trump also told aides to prepare for an extended blockade, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But if Mahshahr’s oil industry stops, what will happen to the city built around it?

“A lot of people will leave…the oil industry is really the main goal for young people in the city,” Roya said.

*Roya’s name has been changed for security reasons.

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Serafima Melnychuk

IRAN TO RESPOND TO U.S. PEACE PROPOSAL, THURSDAY: Iran is set to respond to a U.S. peace proposal, Thursday May 7, CNN reported.

Trump has said the “good talks” were had between the U.S. and Iran, yesterday. While Axios reported that the U.S. feels prepared to agree on a 14-point memorandum with Iran.

However, on the same day a senior Iranian parliamentary official dismissed the U.S. proposal as a “wish list.”Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tehran would respond officially via Pakistan’s mediation.

Key elements of the deal reportedly include halting Iran’s uranium enrichment, lifting sanctions, and ensuring free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, XX reported this citing two American officials and two unnamed sources.

U.S. STRIKES IRANIAN TANKER AMID PEACE PUSH: The Gulf of Oman, the area on the opposite side of the Strait of Hormuz, saw rising tension after American forces opened fire against an Iranian vessel carrying oil and heading to an Iranian port, yesterday, according to the U.S. Central Command.

This comes as the U.S. agrees to pause its ‘Project Freedom’, a plan which started on 4th May to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after only two days. After this Iran agreed to ensure safe transit for ships, however provided no details on the new procedures in the strait.

FIRST ISRAEL STRIKES ON BEIRUT SINCE CEASEFIRE: Israel carried out its first strike on Beirut following its ceasefire agreement with Lebanon on April 16 last month in its war with Hezbollah. Israel said it targeted a leader of Hezbollah’s highly trained Radwan Force in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

CNN reported the strike had been coordinated with the U.S. ahead of time, citing an Israeli source.

During a visit to southern Lebanon, Israel’s Chief of Staff stated that there are “no restrictions on the use of force” in operations against Hezbollah.

SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO U.S. MILITARY SITES IN MIDEAST: Iranian attacks destroyed around 228 buildings or items of equipment at U.S. military bases in the Middle East, according to satellite imagery analysis from The Washington Post.

The strikes caused broader damage on U.S. military facilities than the U.S. government has acknowledged.

FRENCH WARSHIP HEADS TO HORMUZ: The Charles de Gaulle, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier owned by France, is heading south toward the Red Sea past the Suez Canal aiming to reach the Strait of Hormuz, the French Ministry of Armed Forces stated on Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron said the deployment is part of preparations for a potential joint French-British mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

Recently, the NATO General Secretary acknowledged that the U.S. was disappointed in the EU’s lack of support for the war in Iran, which the U.S. has made clear since the first days of the war.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Alessandra

“Who is in charge of Iran right now?” he asked, opening the door to a bigger question about how negotiations move forward from here. What emerged wasn’t a clean return to war but something murkier: a fragmented Iran, a U.S. running out of targets, a…

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UAE intercepts Iranian missiles, Tehran silent… Ceasefire in doubt: U.S.-Israel planning fresh attacks, CNN reports… Rubio to visit the Vatican as Trump–Pope rift deepens over Iran war… Iran’s foreign minister to visit China… South Korean-operated ship hit in Hormuz — Seoul weighs joining U.S. Hormuz escort plan.

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OUR LEAD STORY:

It took an hour for Nami’s* life to unravel.

First, Nami, 23, was woken up by explosions from the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran – it was then he knew the war in Iran had started.

He quickly got up and joined his parents and little brother in front of the TV. They were watching the news, while frantically calling friends and family – trying to make sense of what was going on.

That was when the internet went dark. Within an hour of the war, the government had enforced a total internet blackout, Nami said.

It wasn’t long after that he got a call.

The company Nami worked for, which manufactured automotive parts, was shutting down due to war-related security concerns. A few days later he was told he wasn’t going to be paid for the last two months of work either.

Iran entered the war already on the brink: by the end of 2025, the rial had lost more than half its value and was in freefall, shedding another 20 percent in just 20 days.

But the war brought a whole new set of challenges to the crisis.

The war has decimated Iran’s industrial base. U.S.-Israeli attacks have targeted 20 industrial parks and over 20,000 commercial and industrial units across Iran, mainly petrochemical and metallurgical hubs. These attacks wiped out up to 30 percent of steel production capacity.

The fallout from these attacks is now becoming clear. Last week on April 27 Iran announced that Iran would stop exporting steel until May 30 – rolling back a major industry which generated $12-13 billion in export revenue in 2024.

The human cost of these attacks has sent shockwaves through Iran’s economy.

The damage to Iran’s industrial base sparked a wave of layoffs across Iran, sending Iran’s unemployment rate skyrocketing. In the first two months of the war 147,000 people applied for unemployment benefits.

For businesses that relied on raw materials, like car manufacturing, the impact was devastating.

But the long-term consequences threaten to reshape Iran’s economy forever, as young people like Nami flee the country to find work.

About a month before the war started, Nami realized that he hadn’t received his salary for the month. He called up his boss, who told him that their company’s production was at an all-time low and they couldn’t afford to pay him until the economic situation stabilized and normal production resumed.

“My boss sounded regretful…but I felt so angry, upset and anxious,” Nami said. “But I knew so many other workplaces had shut down and it would be so hard to find work. I needed the money, so I kept working there.”

When he showed up to work Nami learned that none of the other employees were being paid either. “When you don’t get paid for the work you do, it’s naturally very discouraging. The employees were unhappy with the situation, but we tried to stay positive, talk to each other, and keep our energy up,” Nami said.

Even before the war had started, many of Nami’s friends were forced to choose between leaving Iran and losing their jobs.

At the start of the year, businesses across Iran were not only struggling with the financial stress, but also with an internet blackout.

Since the mass crackdown on protests, Iran’s government has plunged the country into a total internet blackout, restricting communication for those inside and outside of Iran, bar those who can afford expensive VPNs or Starlink satellites.

While most businesses rely on the internet in some capacity to work, for people working in the IT sector, the blackout made work impossible. The internet blackout has reportedly caused $1.8 billion in losses in 48 days for businesses in Iran, according to NetBlocks, a global watchdog that monitors the internet.

Many of Nami’s friends who worked in the IT sector left Iran for Armenia in order to avoid losing their jobs. Another woman who spoke to Iran War Dispatches said that while living in Armenia she had taken over her friend’s customer support job. He was still living in Iran and the internet blackout had made doing his job from Iran impossible.

Nami’s workplace survived this first culling, but the attacks on two major metallurgical production sites dealt a much more significant blow to Nami’s workplace.

Nami, who had recently graduated from university where he had studied engineering, had found a job in Tehran, working with CNC machines, a manufacturing tool able to produce specific components, in Nami’s case car parts.

The work was interesting, the salary was good – and Nami loves cars, but it wasn’t his end goal.

Nami had studied engineering because he knew that those technical skills could be easily transferred to other jobs. He had a dream of moving to Germany.

“[Germany has] the strongest economy in Europe…and I am really interested in German cars… I’m really passionate about cars, I can say I truly love them,” Nami said.

Nami’s interest in cars started when he was a child. “I love watching cars, driving them, and even listening to the sound of their exhaust. When I’m driving, I don’t think about negative things,” Nami said.

When he got the call that the company was closing, he was told that the company would reopen when the war was over.

But on March 27, about a month into the fighting, the U.S. and Israel bombed two of Iran’s three major steel producers: Mobarakeh Steel in Isfahan and Khuzestan Steel in Ahvaz. Israel has claimed that industrial sites are “dual use,” providing both military and civilian services.

Since those attacks, the industrial sites have stopped functioning, and Iranian officials have asked businesses to manage their use of raw materials. The loss of the two plants will further cripple Iran’s export capacity—already constrained by a U.S. blockade on its ports—undermining the position of what was until recently the world’s tenth-largest steel exporter.

Iran’s car manufacturing industry – already under strain in an economy with shrinking disposable income – has been pushed to the brink of collapse. Reformist Iranian media outlet, Etemad, wrote that the industry has now entered “a historical turning point and structural crisis.”

The industry couldn’t cope, and waves of layoffs followed. Maral Sanat, a trailer manufacturer based near Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, laid off 1,500 employees, citing a lack of raw materials. But car manufacturers were not alone in their plight: Borujerd, the textile firm, laid off 700 people, and in the city of Rasht 2,000 people were fired from industrial jobs, one person told Iran International.

As a young person without work, money or internet connection, Nami’s life in Iran was a shell of what it once was. “After the war started and most places were closed, we honestly didn’t have many ways to spend our time…normally, I enjoy watching sports, but because of the internet shutdown, even that became almost impossible,” Nami explained.

He was forced to cut expenses and rely on his savings: “Before the war, work was stable and everything was fine, but after it started…people started just staying at home,” Nami explained.

Many nights Nami would watch movies or take sunset drives with his friends about Tehran just to fill the time. “[On the drives] we talked about our goals, how we spent our free time, our language classes or university, and also our plans to immigrate to Germany…sometimes we would joke around with music, singing along or even dancing to it,” Nami said.

Since the U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, the economic situation in Iran has only worsened.

After the U.S. blockade started, Nami’s family and friends in Iran spoke about how prices and inflation have only continued to rise. The blockade has also crushed any revenue brought in via exports, meaning it has devastated Iran’s oil industry — the backbone of Iran’s economy.

Nami recently left Iran for Armenia and moved to Yerevan, the capital, where he now lives with 6 of his friends who have done the same. In total, around 20 of his friends have moved from Iran to Yerevan.

With all of them in their early 20s, some of them are avoiding mandatory military service in Iran, while others are students who were attending university before they shut down due to the war, Nami explained.

But almost all of them have the same plan: to move to Germany.

There is a legal pathway for Iranians to move to Germany which requires them to live in a country with a German embassy for at least 6 months – but since the war the German embassy in Iran has closed.

Nami’s father owns a store selling bags and other goods. “It’s a hard time, but the shop is still open…right now in Iran it’s the hardest for young people to find jobs,” Nami said.

His little brother, who is still in school, has a similar plan to Nami. He is only 18, but he is really interested in AI and coding. “His plan is to move to Germany to live with me once I am settled”, Nami explained.

So much of Iran’s young workforce, like Nami, has left Iran – taking their technical skills and abilities with them, and dealing yet another blow to Iran’s battered economy.

“Most young people in Iran are really smart, hardworking, and ambitious. They have big dreams…But because of the [war] and pressure from the government, a lot of these dreams are slowly being destroyed. I’m not an exception,” Nami explained.

*Nami’s name has been changed for security reasons.

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Katerina Antonenko

UAE INTERCEPTS IRANIAN MISSILES, TEHRAN SILENT: The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses intercepted ballistic and cruise missiles fired from Iran, on Monday. This was the first attack on the UAE since the ceasefire began in early April.

A fire broke out at an oil facility in Fujairah, a city located on the UAE’s eastern coast, following a suspected drone attack. The United Arab Emirates has partially closed its airspace for the first time in several weeks.

CEASEFIRE IN DOUBT: U.S.-ISRAEL PLANNING FRESH ATTACKS, CNN REPORTS: Israel is coordinating with the U.S. for a potential new round of strikes on Iran, CNN reported. Iran’s parliament speaker said the U.S. and its allies have threatened shipping security following a day of attacks by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. The speaker also warned that the fight over Hormuz had not “even begun yet”. President Trump declined to say whether the ceasefire remains in place when asked directly.

RUBIO TO VISIT VATICAN AS TRUMP-POPE RIFT DEEPENS OVER IRAN WAR: Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit the Vatican this week amid growing tensions between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV over U.S. policies, including the Iran war. On Thursday, Rubio will meet with the pontiff — the first American to hold the position. The State Department said that the pair would discuss the situation in “the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere.”

IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT CHINA: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart, focusing on bilateral ties and regional developments. Araghchi recently visited Moscow to hold a similar meeting with Putin, to strengthen bilateral relations between the countries.

The visit comes days before Donald Trump’s first trip to China in nearly a decade — the two leaders are set to meet on May 14. Washington has been pressuring Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

SOUTH KOREAN-OPERATED SHIP HIT IN HORMUZ — SEOUL WEIGHS JOINING U.S. HORMUZ ESCORT PLAN: South Korea is reviewing whether to join President Trump’s plan to help ships transit the Strait of Hormuz, a South Korean official said Tuesday. This comes after a Korean-operated vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Seoul confirmed that President Trump suggested that South Korea join the U.S. ‘Operation Freedom’ which plans to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. This move would however require legislative approval. A South Korea presidential secretary also noted that international maritime safety and freedom of navigation was protected by international law.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Alessandra

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The United Arab Emirates said it detected incoming missiles and UAVs from Iran today, marking the first wave of attacks since the April 8 ceasefire.

Iran has not taken ownership of the strikes.

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Editor’s note:

It’s Monday, but the news cycle is anything but slow. With fast-developing events across the Strait of Hormuz, there’s a lot unfolding that requires close attention. We’re here to keep you updated in real time, so you don’t miss what matters.

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The latest news at this hour:

TRUMP, U.S. ‘OPERATION FREEDOM’ TO RESCUE STRANDED SHIPS IN HORMUZ: President Donald Trump announced ‘Project Freedom’, a U.S. mission to escort ships stuck in the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “humanitarian gesture,” Bloomberg reported. The operation will use guided-missile destroyers, aircraft, and drones to aid vessels whose crews are reportedly running out of food and were described by Trump as “victims of circumstance”.

The move has heightened tensions as Iran threatens to attack U.S. forces that enter the strait, while reports of new ship strikes and mine risks persist.

TANKER STRUCK AFTER TRUMP ‘OPERATION FREEDOM’ ANNOUNCEMENT: A tanker was hit by “unknown projectiles” in the Strait of Hormuz shortly after President Donald Trump announced a U.S. operation to escort stranded ships through the waterway, according to The Guardian. The UK Maritime Trade Operations said the crew were safe and the vessel was struck about 78 nautical miles north of the UAE. U.S. military officials said that no American Navy ships have been hit.

U.S. CENTCOM, U.S. WARSHIPS CROSSED HORMUZ STRAIT: U.S. Central Command has said on Monday that U.S. warships are currently in the Persian Gulf after successfully crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

Reuters reported on Monday, citing Iranian officials, that Iran has struck U.S. warships with missiles. The U.S. dismissed claims of U.S. Navy ships being struck by Iran.

NATO, U.S. FRUSTRATED OVER LACK OF EU SUPPORT FOR IRAN WAR: At the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that the U.S. is disappointed by the lack of EU support for the Iran war. Rutte, however, pointed to joint initiative between France and the U.K. to build a coalition to reopen the Strait, reported Bloomberg.

EU leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, backed reopening the waterway but ruled out military involvement under unclear conditions. Other European leaders have strongly criticised U.S. activities with regards to Iran, with Germany Chancellor Merz recently saying that the U.S. was being “humiliated” in peace talks with Iran. Tensions between NATO and the U.S. have been on the rise since Trump became president. Trump has previously criticized Europe for “freeloading” and the U.S. recently announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from bases in Germany.

SRI LANKA RETURNS IRANIAN SURVIVORS FROM U.S. TORPEDO STRIKE: Sri Lanka has sent back 238 Iranian sailors, including 32 injured in a U.S. submarine torpedo strike that sank the warship IRIS Dena in early March, reported AP News. Sri Lankan defence officials said most remaining crew members from a second vessel were repatriated earlier this week after completing procedures.

The U.S. torpedo attack occurred as the Iranian warship IRIS Dena returned from joint exercises with the Indian Navy. The strike took place amid a broader U.S. military campaign against Iran’s forces.

Sri Lankan authorities reported recovering 87 bodies and treating wounded sailors, while a second Iranian ship later docked in Sri Lanka after reporting technical issues.

IRAN WARNED FOREIGN MILITARY FORCES WILL BE ATTACKED ON ENTRY INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ: Iran’s military has warned that U.S. or any other foreign armed forces will be attacked if they enter the Strait of Hormuz, reiterating that any vessels transiting the strait must coordinate movements with with Tehran, reported The Guardian. Iran added that its forces will “respond harshly” to any perceived threat and urged commercial vessels.

The warning follows a map released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy on Monday, which marked the operational control over the strait.

U.S. TO HAND OVERCREW FROM SEIZED IRANIAN SHIP TO IRAN VIA PAKISTAN: The United States has transferred 22 crew members, from an Iranian container ship seized by the U.S., to Pakistan., The crewmen are set to be handed over to Iranian authorities as, according to Islamabad, a “confidence-building measure,” reported Reuters.

The U.S. had accused the vessel of violating the U.S. naval blockade, saying that the crew failed to respond to repeated warnings before the seizure. Iran condemned the move as illegal and demanded their release. The ship will be moved to Pakistani waters for repairs and return.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Anastasiia

Trump declared the war with Iran “terminated”… U.S. warns against paying Iranian tolls in Hormuz Strait… U.S. will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany… Spirit Airlines shuts down due to Iran war impacts… U.S. sold $8.6 billion in weapons to Middle East allies without congressional approval.

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OUR LEAD STORY:

In the hours after President Donald Trump announced the April 16 truce in Lebanon, tens of thousands of displaced people headed cautiously back to the south, to find out what the war had wrought in their absence.

Some returned to homes devastated by strikes, said Lilian Hawila, a 29-year-old from the southern city of Tyre, and among them was her aunt. “She came back… and she found half of her house on the ground,” Lilian said. “And then whatever she was able to take from the house, she took, and she went back with my cousins to Beirut.”

Others found there was no longer electricity, gas or running water, and still others were unable to reach their homes at all because they lay within the “buffer zone” now occupied by Israeli troops.

Soon, Israeli bombing began again, so many returnees chose, like Lilian’s aunt, not to stay long.

“Most of the people are coming back, and they’re going again,” Lilian said. “They switched clothes from winter to summer outfits, then left.”

On March 4, two days after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah entered the war to support its patron Iran, Israeli forces ordered civilians living south of Lebanon’s Litani River to evacuate their homes immediately. Lilian’s family, including her elderly grandmother, her aunt and her cousins, joined the mass flight north.

The Israeli air campaign that followed has killed more than 2,500 people across the country, including 177 children and 100 medics, Lebanon’s health ministry says.

With a fragile ceasefire with Iran now in place, U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week a 3-week extension to the initial 10-day agreement in Lebanon. Yet Israel is continuing military operations there and refuses to withdraw its forces from occupied areas, where it is now demolishing towns and villages. Hezbollah commanders have also made their intention to keep fighting clear.

Lebanese civilians who fled the south are reluctant or unable to return home, skeptical of the so-called “ceasefire,” and awaiting what many expect to be a resumption in full-blown hostilities.

A stable truce in Lebanon is likely to be a crucial component of any long-term peace deal reached between the U.S. and Iran, as officials in Tehran have repeatedly made clear.

At around 1 a.m. on March 2, Lilian heard a series of explosions somewhere out in the darkness. She assumed, at first, that it was air defense batteries across the border in Israel engaging the Iranian missiles that had been streaking across the night skies since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran three days earlier. Soon, though, she learned that it was outgoing Hezbollah fire, and she watched from the windows of her high-rise apartment as neighbors fled their homes in fear of the inevitable Israeli retaliation.

Lilian, her mother and brother grabbed a few urgent possessions and left for her grandmother’s place nearby. It was not long until the Israeli bombardment began. “We heard everything,” Lilian said. “Our entire house was shaking, and the windows that were facing [the location of a strike] were blown away.”

On their journey north, Lilian and her mother called anyone they knew who might be able to help them find a safe place to stay. Because her family, like Hezbollah, are Shia, they and their neighbors were sometimes met with suspicion by people of other faiths who believed the new arrivals might make them all Israeli targets. Beyond that, rents were often inflated by orders of magnitude. In Tyre, Lilian said, people of different creeds and backgrounds happily co-exist and look out for one another, so it stung to discover that this tolerance did not extend throughout the country. “There were a lot of people who welcomed us,” she said. “But… a lot of people were afraid of us too because we’re Shia. And as a Shia citizen, that was really painful, but I tried my best not to take it personally.”

Her family eventually found a place in the Chouf district north of the Litani River. It was unfurnished and freezing, but they had no other option. After making sure her family was secure, Lilian, who is also a teacher and human rights activist, began working as a local producer with international media and roaming around the country reporting. She had not wished to leave Tyre in the first place, so she traveled between Chouf and wherever else she was needed, then returned to Tyre when she could.

Then, Israel announced that it would begin targeting bridges across the Litani River, and Lilian was scared she would be cut off from her city. “I’d rather be isolated and in my own hometown,” she said. “Rather than being outside.”

Israel went on to strike a number of major bridges, which made access to the south more difficult. Lilian and a friend went to see if a small crossing where they’d heard one car could pass at a time was still passable. They wanted to find routes into Tyre for people delivering medicine, food and other basic supplies for the dwindling population that remained, as well as the displaced residents of villages closer to the Israeli border who could not or would not go any further north.

While she was there, the ever-present rumble of Israeli jets in the skies above grew louder and Lilian sensed what was to come. They ran back towards the car they had arrived in. “I heard the sounds of the warplanes,” she said. “And I immediately jumped into the car… and I was like, ‘let’s drive.’” Moments later, an airstrike slammed into the position where she had been standing. “We felt everything, she said, but that didn’t stop us from continuing.” The two of them made it back to Tyre via another route.

On April 7, Trump announced that a two-week ceasefire with Iran had been agreed. A cautious relief spread across Lebanon until hours later when, without warning, Israel launched a series of massive airstrikes that killed 303 people and wounded 1,150 others around the country, according to Lebanese officials. Israeli leaders said the ceasefire applied only to Iran.

Two days later, work had taken Lilian to the capital, Beirut, when Israel bombed the Qasmiyeh Bridge — the last remaining link between southern Lebanon and the rest of the country. Lilian heard it was still possible to cross on foot where the bridge had stood, so she and a friend raced there. They parked their car on the approach road and continued on in the spring sunshine carrying their bags and suitcases.

The explosion had been enormous. A massive crater was torn into the brown earth, and chunks of rock and concrete strewn alongside steel girders and railings bent crazily in on themselves. A makeshift path ran along the edge of the crater next to a bridge segment and an electricity pylon lay draped in a tangle of lines. Lilian and her friend made their way carefully along it. One man ahead of them bumped a scooter across with him. Another coming the other way carried a white goat kid under his arm.

Lilian could not bear the thought of being completely cut off from Tyre again and decided after that she would remain there.

It was not until a separate agreement announced April 16 — after the first direct diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades — that Israel agreed to halt offensive military action in Lebanon. They would not, however, pull back from occupied areas.

Israeli strikes have continued almost every day since then. On April 26, one killed 14 people and wounded another 37, Lebanese officials said. Israel also issued fresh evacuation orders for seven more border towns. In the occupied areas, it has continued to bulldoze Lebanese towns and villages.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it would continue to attack Israeli forces as well as northern Israel, and on Monday, its leader Naim Qassem said the group would not surrender its weapons, which Israel has demanded as a condition to end the war.

“I don’t think it’s a ceasefire,” Lilian said. “I don’t like the word ‘ceasefire,’ it’s not one.”

In Tyre, she described waking each morning to the sound of the constantly circling Israeli attack jets and the buzz of drones. Elsewhere in the city, workers were still searching through the rubble of strike sites to retrieve the bodies of missing people. For her, life under the latest supposed ceasefire is reminiscent of the similar agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024 after a year of fighting.

Then too, there were areas of Lebanon that Israeli forces blocked access to, and then too there were near-daily Israeli strikes and exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, as well as the constant anxiety and stress that comes with not knowing when or where the next bomb or missile would land. Her neighborhood was struck on a number of occasions in 2024 and remains badly damaged. “Every day we would be saying goodbye to our friends and family,” Lilian said. “We left them with the idea that we might not come back.”

March 2 shattered that frequently violated ceasefire, and few of the many people Lilian discussed the newest agreement with expected more from it, she said. The main difference of view is when the full-scale violence will resume. Tomorrow, next week, six months, a year.

“Most of them think that it’s going to escalate,” she said. “We have different opinions… but what’s different between them is the duration of time before it does.”

THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

By: Oleksandra Poda

TRUMP DECLARED WAR WITH IRAN “TERMINATED”: On Friday, the White House sent a letter to Congress stating: “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated.” This was just in time for the deadline set by the War Powers Act of 1973, which required Trump to either obtain congressional authorization for the war or cease hostilities by May 1. But in the same letter, he added that “the threat from Iran remains significant” and the naval blockade has not been lifted. Congress went on a week-long recess starting May 1, which means no vote on war authorization can take place until the Senate returns the week of May 11, according to CNN.

Democrats, represented by Senator Blumenthal, responded, saying that there is no “pause button” in the Constitution and that the blockade itself constitutes an act of war. Republicans, represented by Collins, agreed with the Democrats, stating that the 60-day deadline to seek congressional authorization for the war is not a recommendation but a requirement.

U.S. WARNS AGAINST PAYING IRANIAN TOLLS IN HORMUZ STRAIT: A U.S. Treasury Department agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, issued a warning that paying Iranian tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of form (cash, cryptocurrency, or charitable contributions to the Iranian Red Cross), is considered a violation of U.S. sanctions. Under U.S. sanctions, American companies and U.S.-owned foreign companies are legally not allowed to do business with the Iranian government, so paying these fees in any capacity could cut them off from the U.S. financial system.

As of May 1, 45 ships had already been forced to turn back or return to port.

U.S. WILL WITHDRAW 5,000 TROOPS FROM GERMANY: The Pentagon announced that the U.S. will withdraw approximately 5,000 troops from Germany over the next 6 to 12 months. This comes after Chancellor Merz publicly criticized the Trump administration’s military campaign in Iran. More than 30,000 American troops will remain in the country.

This is not the first time the U.S. has punished its NATO allies for dissent. Last week, the Pentagon circulated an internal email outlining options to suspend Spain from NATO after Madrid refused to grant base access for strikes on Iran.

SPIRIT AIRLINES CLOSES DUE TO IRAN WAR IMPACTS: The American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines announced its closure after 34 years of operation and the immediate cessation of flights. The airline went bankrupt twice in less than two years — the second and final time was due to the sharp rise in jet fuel prices caused by the Iran war. About 17,000 people will lose their jobs, according to CNN.

Spirit is the first major American airline to shut down due to the Iran crisis. Jet fuel prices in North America have risen by 95% since the start of the war.

U.S. SOLD $8.6 BILLION IN WEAPONS TO MIDDLE EAST ALLIES WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL: On May 1, the Trump administration bypassed congressional review and approved arms sales totaling over $8.6 billion to allies in the Middle East — Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE. Secretary of State Rubio invoked emergency powers to bypass the standard congressional review process and fast-track the arms sales.

On the same day, Trump told Congress that hostilities with Iran had ended.

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The latest news at this hour:

NEW PEACE PROPOSAL FROM IRAN MAY EMERGE TODAY: A new peace plan could be unveiled by Iran via Pakistan as early as today, according to sources. Pakistan, which hosted the first round of direct talks between the U.S. and Iran, has been passing proposals between the two players behind the scenes, experts say. President Donald Trump says only he and a few others know the current state of negotiations, indicating that negotiations are still ongoing despite the impression that they have reached a dead end. On the other hand, the Iranian modified peace proposal may be made public today.

U.S. President Donald Trump consulted his top national security advisers on Monday about a new Iranian proposal to end the ongoing war, which has been stalled for some time.

HORMUZ BLOCKADE FORCES ALTERNATIVE TRADE ROUTES: Ships are diverting through the Suez Canal to ports such as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, which has become a major logistics hub, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Cargo is then trucked along desert routes to Gulf destinations such as Sharjah, Bahrain, and Kuwait, which have been deprived of sea access for two months. Shipping companies are also diverting to other ports and land routes such as Sohar in Oman and Khor Fakkan and Fujairah in the UAE.

These alternate pipelines will not cover all of Saudi Arabia’s and the UAE’s pre-war exports — both countries still will rely on the Strait of Hormuz unless the land routes are widely expanded, according to France 24.

TRUMP CONSIDERS ITALY, SPAIN TROOP CUTS: Trump is considering withdrawing American soldiers from NATO allies Italy and Spain, countries that have been opposing the ongoing Iran war since its outset. Trump also suggested reducing America’s troop strength in Germany following Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s critique that his policy in Iran was embarrassing to America. The president’s rebuttal: the Iran war is making the world a safer place, including in those European countries.

U.S. NAVY SEEKS AI MINE SOLUTIONS: Domino Data Lab, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company, has won a $100 million deal to upgrade the Navy’s use of AI for mine detection. The program makes adapting to novel mine designs quicker by reducing the update period from months to only days. “The ability to deploy quickly into contested waters is enabled by the technology,” Thomas Robinson, Domino COO, noted. The contract award demonstrates that the U.S. Navy is increasing its use of AI to detect Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping passages. Mine detection will be critical to any operation that reopens the strait for safe passage.

SOUTHERN LEBANON IS UNDER ATTACK BY ISRAEL: Despite an ongoing ceasefire signed on April 16, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that Israeli strikes killed 17 people and injured 35, nine of which were children, on Thursday. The Israel government claimed that the strikes targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah stated that it had also carried out attacks against Israeli military personnel in southern Lebanon.

IRAN LABOR OFFICIAL WARNS OF LAYOFFS: A senior labor official has warned of a looming wave of layoffs as economic pressures intensify in Iran, according to Iran International. Alireza Mahjoub, an Iranian Labour Ministry official, said workforce reductions and dismissals linked with the conflict are expected to rise over the year, while expressing hope that the government can take steps to limit unemployment and support affected workers. Iran’s economy has come under pressure as oil exports have been heavily disrupted from the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Stay safe out there!

Best,
Serafima