Iranian FM Abbas Araghchigoeson weekend diplomatic tour to Russia and Oman. TrumpcancelsU.S. negotiating trip to Pakistan. IsraeldeployedIron Dome battery to UAE, Axios reports. Iranian officialthreatensfourfold retaliation against U.S.-allied Gulf state infrastructure. Iran attempts to repair damaged economy. Israeli attacks continue on day 11 of “ceasefire.”Hezbollah: Ongoing Lebanese-Israel talks irrelevant to the resistance. Israeli forces kill 14 in Lebanon on Sunday, including children and women—and at least 14 over the weekend in Gaza. 1,500 patients have died awaiting medical evacuation as Israeli restrictions block treatment abroad:Gaza Ministry of Health. Palestinian teendiesof heart attack during Israeli pursuit. Settler attackssweepoccupied West Bank. Abbas loyalistswinPalestinian municipal elections after Hamas was barred from running. Bennett and Lapidmergeparties to form unified opposition bloc against Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections. Six Israeli teens arrested in deadly restaurant worker stabbing. Gunmanopens fireat Washington Hilton during White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Suspect Cole Tomas Allen to be arraigned in federal court. Wall Street billionaires funnel millions into super PAC targeting Graham Platner with new attack ad. Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments on Bayer-Monsanto’s cancer-causing pesticide. Justice Department to allow firing squads for executions. U.S. militarykillsthree in latest vessel strike in the Pacific. Insurgentslaunchattacks across Mali. RSF drone strikekillsseven, wounds 22 in El-Obeid. Leaked photoscontradictUribe’s denials of a relationship with Noboa. Russian attackskillfive across Ukraine. FARC dissidents kill 14 in highway bombing. Peruvianauthoritiesraid former election chief’s home. U.S.modifiesVenezuela sanctions to allow government to fund Maduro’s legal defense. U.S. agentskilledin Mexico were not authorized, Mexico says.
NEW from Drop Site:As Trump’s narrative on negotiations flails, Iran is setting its wn terms for ending the war: the latest from Jeremy Scahill.Maine’s House Majority Leader Matt Moonen is getting paid by Gov. Janet Mills’ Senate campaign (Details below from contributor Nathan Bernard).Displaced Lebanese pool money to buy satellite images to see what remains of their homes.
Drop Site is now live on WhatsApp. Get our latest reporting, podcasts, and breaking news, delivered directly.Join the channel here.
Iranian FM weekend diplomatic tour:Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Russia on Monday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials. Araghchi again blamed the United States for the failure of ceasefire talks: “The U.S.’s approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite the progress that had been made, not to reach its objective—the excessive demands they made and the incorrect approaches they adopted,” he said. Araghchi alsometOman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Muscat on Sunday, with talks covering navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, security in the Persian Gulf, and the ongoing negotiations with the U.S. After the visit, Araghchireturnedto Islamabad for talks aimed mainly at laying out Iran’s position regarding a potential deal with the U.S.
Trump cancels envoy trip to Pakistan:After reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister and an American delegation were set to convene in Islamabad for an informal round of talks over the weekend, with Iran insisting there would be no negotiations and the visit was for “bilateral” discussions,President Donald Trumptoldreporters Saturday that he canceled plans to send U.S. envoys to Pakistan. Iran has continuously demanded the lifting of the U.S. blockade on its ports prior to a second round of talks. Trump summed up the U.S. position by saying, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Very simple,” and claimed that the U.S. has “all the cards.”
Axios: Israel deployed Iron Dome battery to UAE:Israelsentan Iron Dome air defense battery and several dozen Israel Defense Forces operators to the United Arab Emirates early in the war with Iran, according to a report from Axios. This marks the first time Israel has ever deployed the system to another country and the first time it has been used operationally outside of the U.S. and Israel. A senior Israeli official said the battery intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles. “It was a real eye-opening moment. To see who our real friends are,” a senior Emirati official told Axios. “We are not going to forget it.”
Iranian official threatens fourfold retaliation against U.S.-allied Gulf state infrastructure:Iran’s Vice President and Head of the Organization for Energy Optimization and Strategic Management, Ismail Saqab Esfahani,issueda direct threat warning that any damage to Iranian oil infrastructure caused by the U.S. naval blockade would be met with retaliation four times as severe against the same category of infrastructure in countries supporting the U.S. “We will respond to any act of war,” Esfahani wrote on X. The warning is directed at Gulf state energy facilities—including those of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE—whose oil infrastructure and ports have already sustained damage during the war and remain highly vulnerable to Iranian strikes.
Iran attempts to repair damaged economy:Iran’s cabinetreinstateda preferential exchange rate of 285,000 rials per dollar—far below the open-market rate of 1.55 million rials—to fund up to $3.5 billion in subsidized imports of wheat, medicines, medical equipment, and baby formula, as the war with the U.S. and Israel continues to strain the economy. Authorities also authorized drawing up to $1 billion from the National Development Fund to replenish strategic reserves of sugar, rice, barley, corn, and meat, while the Food and Drug Administration said it would begin centralized distribution of strategic medical goods within two days. Millions of jobs have been lost or suspended during the war, food prices have risen dramatically, and some residents of Tehran have begun stockpiling canned goods and water, with fears over long-term food security in the country persisting.
Israeli attacks continue on day 11 of “ceasefire”:At least one person waskilledin an Israeli drone strike on the town of Al-Qulaylah in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. Israeli warplanes and drones carried out multiple strikes targeting areas around Majdal Selm, Al-Mansouri, Tebnine, and Kafra in the Bint Jbeil and Tyre districts. Artillery shelling also hit several southern villages. Additionally, Israeli forces carried out demolitions of houses between Yaroun and Bint Jbeil. The casualty toll due to Israeli attacks on Lebanon from March 2 to April 26 hasrisento 2,521 killed and 7,804 injured, according to the Ministry. At least 38 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the announcement of the “ceasefire” on April 16.
Hezbollah: Ongoing Lebanese-Israel talks irrelevant to the resistance:Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem rejected direct negotiations with Israel,statingany reported agreements between the Lebanese government and Israel are “as if they do not exist” from Hezbollah’s point of view. He reaffirmed that the group “will not give up weapons and defense,” and criticized the Lebanese government, accusing it of “abandoning Lebanon’s rights,” and giving up land. Qassem said any solution must be based on five conditions: ending Israeli attacks, Israel’s withdrawal, the release of detainees, the return of displaced residents, and reconstruction. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended the direct talks with Israel, saying in a statement on Monday, “What we are doing is not treason. Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to achieve foreign interests,” he said in a reference to Hezbollah’s ties to Iran.
Source: Drop Site News: Drop Site Daily
