Author: Keyvan Rafiee

Yahoo – Trump’s vicious bombing seems to have done nothing to hurt Iran’s nuclear program

The Trump administration has justified its catastrophic war in Iran by insisting that the Islamic Republic was close to securing a nuclear weapon and that a military intervention was necessary to prevent it from ever obtaining one. The initial narrative was untrue: There was no known evidence, according to the U.S. intelligence community, that Iran was building one or that it had reauthorized its suspended nuclear weapons program. And now a new report indicates that the war has failed to deal any damage to Iran’s currently existing nuclear program.

Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that “U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would ​need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The sheer pointlessness of the destruction wrought by the war only deepens the tragedy.

That means that despite weeks of aggressive bombing, which has killed at least an estimated 1,700 Iranian civilians, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Iran’s nuclear program is still humming along — and no further away from being able to weaponize its nuclear program than it was before Trump launched his war of aggression.

Eric Brewer, a former senior U.S. intelligence ​analyst and vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative arms control think tank, told Reuters that “Iran still possesses all of its nuclear material, as far as we know” and that that material is “probably located in deeply buried underground sites where U.S. munitions can’t penetrate.”

This makes it all the clearer that in order to make a dent, Trump would likely need to storm Iran’s underground nuclear facilities to seize and destroy its highly enriched uranium. Such a mission would require the deployment of ground troops, could take weeks and would, in the words of Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, constitute one of the “most complicated special operations in history.” Given Trump’s stunning ineptitude at every stage of this ill-conceived war, the prospect of the U.S. trying to conduct such a high-risk endeavor — which could easily escalate into an extended ground operation — is downright chilling.

The other way Trump can attempt to control Iran’s nuclear program is through negotiations. But given his limited leverage over Tehran, he’s currently considering the kinds of trade-offs and provisions he slammed for years in Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Ironically, as my colleague Hayes Brown points out, it’s unlikely Trump is able to secure anything as strong as Obama’s agreement because of the political dynamics he has set in motion with the war.

The sheer pointlessness of the destruction wrought by the war only deepens the tragedy. The U.S.-Israeli strikes appear to have caused so many deaths, so much chaos across the region and so much global upheaval — culminating in a bona fide global economic crisis that has no end in sight. On Tuesday, Trump announced that he was pausing “Project Freedom,” a U.S.-led maritime operation aimed at safely escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. And the warmakers have achieved precisely zero of the goals that were the supposed justifications for war.

One of those goals expressed by Trump and his administration, often abandoned without explanation, was Iranian regime change. On that front, Trump has done worse than fail. He has helped pave the way for a new generation of leaders who are more hard line than the ones he killed off — and are probably more likely to pursue a nuclear weapon at some point in the future. Ironically, a nuclear-armed Iran some day could wind up being the most significant legacy of Trump and Israel’s war.

 

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The Journal – Iran hangs three men over January protests in execution ‘wave’

IRAN HAS EXECUTED three men charged over protests this January, authorities said Monday, the latest in a wave of hangings of convicts seen by rights groups as political prisoners against the backdrop of the war against the United States and Israel.

Iranian authorities have carried out executions on a near-daily basis in recent weeks, in what activists have denounced as a bid to instil fear in society at a time of international and domestic tension.

Mehdi Rassouli, Mohammad Reza Miri and Ebrahim Dolatabadi were executed after being convicted over unrest in the eastern city of Mashhad in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced.

It was not specified when or where they were executed. But the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Rassouli, 25, and Miri, 21, were hanged at dawn on Sunday at the Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

The protests began in December sparked by grievances over the cost of living but intensified into nationwide rallies against the Islamic republic, peaking as mass demonstrations on the nights of January 8 and 9.

Rights groups say thousands were killed in a crackdown by security forces, while authorities have blamed “rioters” who they say were backed by the United States and Israel.

Mizan said Rassouli and Miri were responsible for the death of a member of the security forces and described Dolatabadi as one of the “instigators” of the unrest in Mashhad.

But Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights described the three as “political prisoners” who had been sentenced “after unfair trials in the Revolutionary Courts”.

It said that since executions resumed in March during the war against the United States and Israel, Iran had executed 24 men seen as “political prisoners”.

Thirteen men were executed over the January 2026 protests, another man over 2022 demonstrations, nine men over alleged links to the banned People’s Mujahedin opposition group and one over membership of a Sunni militant organisation.

Within that same timeframe, an additional four individuals have been executed for alleged espionage for Israel.

“The international community, especially the European Union, must respond decisively to this ongoing wave of executions,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam.

“Unless the political cost of these executions is raised through clear and strong international reactions, there is a serious risk of daily executions continuing in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.

Amnesty International in a statement on May 1 had said the international community must “not stand idly by while the Iranian authorities continue to escalate the arbitrary execution of political dissidents and protesters to instil fear”.

Amnesty said it had documented cases of 13 of the men who it said had been subjected to torture and “convicted in grossly unfair trials that relied on forced ‘confessions’ and lasted a few hours”.

Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups, and last year it hanged at least 1,639 people, according to figures from IHR.

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The Times – UAE shoots down Iranian missiles for first time since ceasefire — as it happened

Speaking at a small business summit at the White House, President Trump touched briefly on the war in Iran.

“I call it a mini-war — they don’t have ships anymore,” he said. He also joked that he would have preferred to keep Iran’s better quality ships had Tehran agreed a deal.

“I said why didn’t you take it, why did you send it to the bottom of the sea. I would’ve liked to keep them.”

The head of the US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, has issued a statement saying US forces were helping to restore the flow of global commerce.

“The IRGC on the other hand, is doing everything it can to terrorise and threaten commercial shipping,” he posted on X.

“My operational assessment overall is that the US military has the clear advantage. We have an enormous amount of capability and firepower concentrated in and around the Strait of Hormuz.”

A four-week ceasefire in the Gulf was shattered by exchanges of fire after President Trump launched the operation he called “Project Freedom” to guide vessels through the Strait of Hormuz (David Charter and Samer Al-Atrush write).

Iran fired its first missile and drone attack on the United Arab Emirates since the ceasefire came into force on April 8. A drone struck an oil port in the emirate of Fujairah, injuring three people, and several missiles were shot down over the sea, according to the UAE defence ministry.

South Korea said one of its ships had been set ablaze off the UAE and Iran claimed it had fired at US navy ships, saying it would enforce its closure of the strait in defiance of Trump’s plan to help ships belonging to “neutral and innocent bystanders” safely out of the Gulf.

President Trump has shared another AI image to his Truth Social account, showing his two most recent predecessors, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as cowards and traitors.

In the latest image, Trump is seen standing, with the American flag in the background, annotated with the caption “leaders lead”, while the two panels show Biden kneeling, with a caption “cowards kneel”, and Obama bowing to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the caption “traitors bow”.

President Trump said an Iranian missile evaded defences in the UAE. Speaking to ABC in a phone interview, Trump said: “They [Iranian missiles] were shot down for the most part … One got through. Not huge damage.”

In the same interview, Trump stopped short of saying Iran has violated the ceasefire.

The UAE has claimed that its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran in a post on X.

“The Ministry of Defence affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country, in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability and safeguards its interests and national capabilities,” it said.

Every time I hear President Trump give an upbeat assessment of talks with Iran — “they’re making an offer”, they are “very reasonable”, “they’d like to work a deal”, “they called this morning” — I wonder whether he has ever met any Iranians (William Hague writes). Anyone who has been involved in negotiations with them, as I was as foreign secretary in 2013, knows that a combination of pride, cunning, complex decision-making and natural brinkmanship makes doing a deal with them a slow and exhausting business.

It was in November 2013 in Geneva that we achieved a breakthrough in the nuclear talks with Iran. It had its comical aspects: we had to point out to the Russians before they opened champagne that the Iranians didn’t drink.

But it was an important moment, in which Iran agreed to freeze nuclear enrichment in return for a freeze on new sanctions, and that talks on a full deal — which later became the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) — would begin. The final deal took another 20 painstaking months. It limited Iran’s nuclear activities, opened them up to rigorous international inspection and in return lifted sanctions on Iranian oil.

President Trump has told Fox News that if the Iranians targeted US ships in the Gulf region they would be “blown off the face of the Earth”.

Trump said in a phone interview there were two pathways: Iran makes a deal in good faith or combat operations could resume. Trump praised Iran for showing some flexibility in talks and called the US naval blockade the greatest military manoeuvre in history.

Flights into the UAE have been affected as missiles and drones continued to be fired from Iran, according to reports

While Iran said it had no plans to target the UAE, there have been at least four missiles and a drone shot down by the Gulf state.

The UAE said its air defences were engaging missiles and drone threats on Monday night which had affected the country’s air space.

The White House has posted a meme of President Trump as a character from Star Wars.

“In a galaxy that demands strength — America stands ready,” it said on the post on X. “This is the way. May the 4th be with you.”

May 4 is known by fans as Star Wars day.

In the AI-generated image, it appears the US president is the character from The Mandalorian, a TV series and upcoming movie, carrying baby Yoda in a pouch.

There were no signs of increased vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a day after President Trump said the US would begin efforts to free up shipping.

Only one tanker, a sanctioned, handy-sized LPG carrier, along with a few cargo ships and a cable-laying vessel passed into the Gulf of Oman, MarineTraffic data showed.

No tankers or other commercial vessels were seen lining up to transit and the German shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said transit for its vessels remained impossible due to a lack of clarity over secure passage procedures.

Centcom said it would begin helping to restore freedom of navigation through the strait, while continuing its blockade of Iranian ports.

The shipping industry has received no guidance regarding the American operation and its intent, while the overall security situation remained unchanged, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) said.

“Without consent from Iran to let commercial ships transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz, it is currently not clear whether the Iranian threat to ships can be degraded or suppressed,” the shipping association’s chief safety and security officer, Jakob Larsen, said. BIMCO provides security alerts for the industry.

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Dawn – Iran hangs three men over January protests in execution ‘wave’

Iran executed three men charged over protests this January, authorities have said according to AFP, the latest in a wave of hangings of convicts seen by rights groups as political prisoners against the backdrop of the war.

Mehdi Rassouli, Mohammad Reza Miri and Ebrahim Dolatabadi were executed after being convicted over unrest in the eastern city of Mashhad in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced.

It was not specified when or where they were executed, but the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Rassouli, 25, and Miri, 21, were hanged at dawn on Sunday at the Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

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The Straits Times – Iran hangs three men over January protests in execution ‘wave’

 Iran executed three men charged over protests this January, the authorities said on May 4, the latest in a wave of hangings of convicts seen by rights groups as political prisoners against the backdrop of the war against the US and Israel.

The Iranian authorities have carried out executions on a near-daily basis in recent weeks, in what activists have denounced as a bid to instil fear in society at a time of international and domestic tension.

Mehdi Rassouli, Mohammad Reza Miri and Ebrahim Dolatabadi were executed after being convicted over unrest in the eastern city of Mashhad in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced.

It was not specified when or where they were executed. But the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that Rassouli, 25, and Miri, 21, were hanged at dawn on May 3 at the Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

The protests began in December sparked by grievances over the cost of living but intensified into nationwide rallies against the Islamic Republic, peaking as mass demonstrations on the nights of Jan 8 and Jan 9.

Rights groups say that thousands were killed in a crackdown by security forces, while the authorities have blamed “rioters” who they say were backed by the US and Israel.

Mizan said that Rassouli and Miri were responsible for the death of a member of the security forces, and described Dolatabadi as one of the “instigators” of the unrest in Mashhad.

‘Ongoing wave’
But Norway-based non-governmental organisation Iran Human Rights (IHR) described the three as “political prisoners” who had been sentenced “after unfair trials in the Revolutionary Courts”.

It said that since executions resumed in March during the war against the US and Israel, Iran had executed 24 men seen as “political prisoners”.

Thirteen men were executed over the January 2026 protests, another man over 2022 demonstrations, nine men over alleged links to the banned People’s Mujahedin opposition group and one over membership of a Sunni militant organisation.

Within that same timeframe, an additional four individuals have been executed for alleged espionage for Israel.

“The international community, especially the European Union, must respond decisively to this ongoing wave of executions,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam.

“Unless the political cost of these executions is raised through clear and strong international reactions, there is a serious risk of daily executions continuing in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.

Amnesty International in a statement on May 1 said that the international community must “not stand idly by while the Iranian authorities continue to escalate the arbitrary execution of political dissidents and protesters to instil fear”.

Amnesty said that it had documented cases of 13 of the men who it said had been subjected to torture and “convicted in grossly unfair trials that relied on forced ‘confessions’ and lasted a few hours”.

Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups, and in 2025 it hanged at least 1,639 people, according to figures from IHR.

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CNN – CNN’s Clarissa Ward reports

Since the war with Iran began, the country has been carrying out the fastest wave of political executions in its recent history, with at least 28 people who have been put to death on political, protest-related or espionage charges, according to a US-based human rights group.

 

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Jerusalem Post – Iran executes man convicted of killing security officer during 2022 protests – report

Iran executed a man convicted of involvement in the killing of a security officer, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday, after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence in late 2025.

The defendant, identified as Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, was described as one of the main individuals responsible for the death of security officer Abbas Fatemiyeh, killed in 2022 during a nationwide protest movement sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

He was sentenced to death on the charge of “corruption on earth” through “participation in the intentional killing” of Fatemiyeh, according to the rights group HRANA.

HRANA added that Fatemiyeh was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Basij paramilitary.

Mizan said the defendant confessed to assaulting the security officer. HRANA quoted an informed source as saying Abdollahzadeh was subject to torture to extract forced confessions.

“Mr. Abdollahzadeh was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during detention to extract forced confessions,” relatives of Abdollahzadeh told Kurdpa News Agency. “Review of CCTV footage shows that Mehrab was not present at the scene of the killing, and these recordings were in the possession of security forces. Furthermore, there was no evidence placing him at the time and location of the incident.”

The two other defendants, convicted of aiding in Fatemiyeh’s death, were only sentenced to imprisonment and detention in a juvenile correctional facility due to being under 18 years old, HRANA added.

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Internazionale – Iran executes man convicted over killing of security officer in 2022 unrest

Iran executed a man convicted of involvement in the killing of a security officer, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday, after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence in late 2025.

The defendant, identified as Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, was described as one of the main individuals responsible for the death of security officer Abbas Fatemiyeh, killed in 2022 during a nationwide protest movement sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

Mizan said the defendant confessed to assaulting the security officer. Rights group HRANA quoted an informed source as saying Abdollahzadeh was subject to torture to extract forced confessions.

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The Hindu – Iran executes man convicted over killing of security officer in 2022 unrest

Iran executed a ​man convicted of involvement ‌in the killing ​of a ⁠security officer, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported ‌on Sunday (May 3, 2026), after the Supreme ‌Court upheld his ‌sentence ⁠in late ⁠2025.

The defendant, identified as Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, was described ​as one ‌of the main individuals responsible for the death of security ‌officer Abbas Fatemiyeh, ​killed in 2022 during a nationwide ⁠protest movement sparked by the ‌death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

Mizan said the defendant confessed ‌to assaulting the security officer. ​Rights group HRANA quoted an ⁠informed source as saying ⁠Abdollahzadeh was subject to torture ‌to extract forced confessions.

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Geo News – Iran executes two accused of spying for Israel after Trump declares Iran War ‘terminated’

Iran has executed two people accused of spying for Israel despite international calls to halt the execution following the U.S. President Donald Trump’s letter to the Congress stating that war against Iran has been terminated.

Iranian media reports two men named Yaquoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were executed after being convicted of spying for Israel as the Islamic Republic’s judiciary chief warned of no leniency.

Karimpour was arrested following last year’s 12-day war against Israel. He was accused of cooperating with the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, by sharing sensitive national security information. Bakarzadeh has been in custody since 2023.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has alleged that prisoners were pressured to obtain forced confessions. They were not allowed access to a lawyer or their family.

The 41-year-old Karimpour was a follower of the Yarsan religious minority while Bakarzadeh was a Kurdish political prisoner, Euronews reports.

Reports allege that Iran has intensified its execution campaign against the prisoners accused of espionage particularly during the ongoing war against the United States and Israel.

According to Hengaw human rights organisation at least 26 prisoners were executed in the month of April 2026.

Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said, “We will certainly not show negligence or leniency in prosecuting and legally punishing any criminal whose hands are stained with the blood of our people.”

He added that Iran does not pay any attention to the “bluster of the arrogant powers and their propaganda mouthpieces.”

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