America and Israel Strikes Iran : Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Dead
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Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
From ‘Open’ to Gunfire: The Strait of Hormuz Signals a Fractured Iranian Command
Conflicting signals over the Strait of Hormuz—ranging from open passage to armed confrontation—are exposing a deeper split inside Iran’s leadership.
The Strait of Hormuz has become more than a strategic chokepoint. In recent weeks, it has turned into a live test of whether Iran’s leadership can still speak with one voice.What’s emerging is not just mixed messaging—but a pattern of contradictions that point to something deeper: a fractured command at the top of the system.
The Strait of Hormuz and the Collapse of a Single Narrative
The contradictions began to surface quickly. On March 12, Mojtaba Khamenei framed the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure tool, saying it should remain closed. Just four days later, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a different tone, stating that the strait was not closed to all and that countries not involved in the conflict could pass through with coordination from Iranian forces .
That shift—from full closure to conditional access—wasn’t just rhetorical. It reflected two competing approaches: one rooted in maximum security pressure, the other in controlled diplomatic management.
By April 17, the gap had widened further. Araghchi announced on X that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to “all commercial vessels” during a 10-day ceasefire. At the same time, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that if the U.S. naval blockade continued, the strait “would not remain open” .
Meanwhile, separate reports indicated that vessels were required to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and that ships linked to “hostile forces” were still barred. In practice, the Strait of Hormuz was being described as open, conditionally open, and potentially closed—all at once.
From ‘Open’ to Gunfire: The Strait of Hormuz Signals a Fractured Iranian Command
Conflicting signals over the Strait of Hormuz—ranging from open passage to armed confrontation—are exposing a deeper split inside Iran’s leadership.
irannewswire.org
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Report: Qatar offered to ‘take care of’ ICC prosecutor over Netanyahu arrest warrant
Affidavit submitted to FBI and cited by Wall Street Journal says claims are backed by recordings; Khan denies misconduct and Qatar calls allegations baselessTestimony cited in a Wall Street Journal editorial raises suspicions that Qatar allegedly promised to “take care of” International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan if he advanced an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the report, the claims are based on an affidavit submitted to the FBI, supported by audio recordings. The affidavit was provided by a person familiar with a private intelligence operation linked to the case, who requested anonymity. It has been shared with several members of the U.S. Congress.
Report: Qatar offered to ‘take care of’ ICC prosecutor over Netanyahu arrest warrant
Affidavit submitted to FBI and cited by Wall Street Journal says claims are backed by recordings; Khan denies misconduct and Qatar calls allegations baseless
Here we go again
Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Trump’s abrupt U-turn on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz came after backlash from allies
Saudi Arabia, a key Gulf ally, suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, sources say.WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships go through the Strait of Hormuz came after a key Gulf ally suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, according to two U.S. officials.
Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing “Project Freedom” on social media Sunday afternoon, the officials said, angering leadership in Saudi Arabia. In response, the Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort, the officials said.
A call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not resolve the issue, the two U.S. officials said, forcing the president to pause Project Freedom in order to restore U.S. military access to the critical airspace.
Trump’s abrupt U-turn on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz came after backlash from allies
Saudi Arabia, a key Gulf ally, suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, sources say.
www.nbcnews.com
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
It's Thursday.
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Exclusive: Saudi Arabia launched covert attacks on Iran as regional war widened, sources say
RIYADH/DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.
The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.
The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials said. One said only that they were "tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi (Arabia) was hit."
Reuters was unable to confirm what the specific targets were.
In response to a request for comment, a senior Saudi foreign ministry official did not address directly whether strikes had been carried out.
The Iranian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia, which has a deep military relationship with the United States, has traditionally relied on U.S. military for protection, but the 10-week war has left the kingdom vulnerable to attacks that have pierced the U.S. military umbrella.
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities
Secret new assessments say Iran has operational access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that its military remains far stronger than President Trump has asserted.The Trump administration’s public portrayal of a shattered Iranian military is sharply at odds with what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling policymakers behind closed doors, according to classified assessments from early this month that show Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.
Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten American warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway.
People with knowledge of the assessments said they show — to varying degrees, depending on the level of damage incurred at the different sites — that the Iranians can use mobile launchers that are inside the sites to move missiles to other locations. In some cases they can launch missiles directly from launchpads that are part of the facilities. Only three of the missile sites along the strait remain totally inaccessible, according to the assessments.
Iran still fields about 70 percent of its mobile launchers across the country and has retained roughly 70 percent of its prewar missile stockpile, according to the assessments. That stockpile encompasses both ballistic missiles, which can target other nations in the region, and a smaller supply of cruise missiles, which can be used against shorter-range targets on land or at sea.
Military intelligence agencies have also reported, based on information from multiple collection streams including satellite imagery and other surveillance technologies, that Iran has regained access to roughly 90 percent of its underground missile storage and launch facilities nationwide, which are now assessed to be “partially or fully operational,” the people with knowledge of the assessments said.
The findings undercut months of public assurances from President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who have told Americans that the Iranian military was “decimated” and “no longer” a threat.
On March 9, 10 days into the war, Mr. Trump told CBS News that Iran’s “missiles are down to a scatter” and the country had “nothing left in a military sense.” Mr. Hegseth declared at a Pentagon news conference on April 8 that Operation Epic Fury — the joint U.S.-Israel campaign launched on Feb. 28 — had “decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat-ineffective for years to come.”
The intelligence describing Iran’s remaining military capacity is dated less than a month after that news conference.
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Oil prices jump more than 3% after Iran supreme leader says uranium must remain in country
Oil prices jumped Thursday on a report that Iran’s supreme leader will not allow the country’s enriched uranium to be shipped abroad, a position that will likely complicate peace talks with the U.S.U.S. crude oil rose nearly 4% to $101.96 per barrel by 9:15 a.m. ET. International benchmark Brent crude advanced about 3% to $108.34.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered Iran’s enriched uranium to remain in the Islamic Republic, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters. President Donald Trump has said dismantling Iran’s nuclear program is a central objective of the U.S. war.
Trump said earlier this week that he called off imminent airstrikes on Iran to give diplomacy more time at the request of U.S. Gulf Arab allies. Iran and the U.S. have made little progress toward a deal since they agreed to fragile ceasefire last month.
Trump threatened Wednesday to resume military action if Iran does not provide “100% good answers” in the negotiations, but said he was willing to wait a couple more days to allow for talks.
“We’re all ready to go,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, reffering to U.S. military action. “We have to get the right answers. It would have to be a complete 100% good answers.”
“If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it’s a great thing to do,” the president said.
Meanwhile, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted due to Iran’s blockade of the sea lane, which is a crucial trade route for global oil supplies.
The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that the oil market will reach a “red zone” this summer if Hormuz does not reopen. Global oil stockpiles will deplete as demand picks up during summer travel, IEA chief Fatih Birol said.
Oil prices jump more than 3% after Iran supreme leader says uranium must remain in country
Iran's position on its enriched uranium will likely complicate peace talks with the U.S.
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
File Photo: Iran's HESA Shahed 136 drone is on display at the National Aerospace Park in Tehran, Iran, November 12, 2025.
Yuji Yoshikata/AP/File
Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments. Four sources told CNN that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is reconstituting much faster than initially estimated.
The rebuilding of military capabilities, including replacing missile sites, launchers and production capacity for key weapons systems destroyed during the current conflict, means that Iran remains a significant threat to regional allies should President Donald Trump restart the bombing campaign, according to the four sources familiar with the intelligence. It also calls into question claims about the extent to which US-Israeli strikes have degraded Iran’s military in the long term.
While the time to restart production of different weapons components varies, some US intelligence estimates indicate Iran could fully reconstitute its drone attack capability in as soon as six months, one of the sources, a US official, told CNN.
Tommy Kwesule.
Elder Lister
Iran and Oman are discussing a permanent Strait of Hormuz toll
Iran and Oman are actively discussing a permanent security mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is pushing to institutionalize and normalize a transit fee or toll on commercial shipping vessels navigating the narrow waterway. According to an Iranian diplomatic envoy, the proposed system is designed to secure the long-term positioning of Iran and Oman as the primary regulators of the strait, effectively transforming a temporary leverage point from the recent military conflict into a permanent sovereign right.
To formalize its grip, Iran’s newly established Persian Gulf Straits Authority began applying conditional rules and hefty transit tolls, in some cases exceeding one million dollars per vessel, while granting selective exemptions to friendly nations like Russia or China. By engaging Oman, which shares territorial jurisdiction over the Strait, Iran is seeking to build a coalition that validates these tolls under the guise of funding localized maritime security.
The US maintains an opposing view on the matter, viewing the permanent toll as a non-negotiable barrier to reaching a sustainable peace deal. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, international straits are governed by transit passage protocols that guarantee the uninterrupted flow of global commercial shipping, a principle the US insists must be restored without conditions.
The US has treated the removal of these tolls as a core prerequisite for reaching a peace deal. President Trump has warned international maritime firms that paying Iran’s transit fees could trigger severe economic sanctions. The US military has also enforced its own counter-blockade on Iranian ports and continues to intercept or redirect vessels to challenge Tehran's claims of total sovereignty.
While the Trump administration notes that peace talks are in their final stages and a temporary framework is being reviewed to prevent a return to active combat, the US position remains rigid: any legitimate peace deal must ensure free, untolled navigation. Allowing Iran to permanently tax global trade would shatter US defense assurances to its Gulf partners, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and fundamentally upend the existing legal order governing global maritime choke points.
Iran and Oman are discussing a permanent Strait of Hormuz toll | investingLive
An Iranian envoy reported on the matter