Iran Says Progress Made In US Talks, But No Deal Imminent
Iran says that Tehran and Washington have reached understandings on many issues in talks aimed at ending the war that erupted on February 28, but cautioned that a final agreement was not close.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on May 25 that negotiators had reached conclusions on many of the issues under discussion, but no one can claim "that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent."
Baqaei said Iran was finalizing a 14-point framework focused primarily on ending the regional conflict, including fighting in Lebanon.
He stressed that Iran’s nuclear program -- a central concern for Washington -- would only be discussed after both sides agreed on the broader framework.
The proposed deal includes provisions to end the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and arrangements governing the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has had de facto control over since the war began.
Tehran denied imposing tolls on ships using the crucial waterway, saying charges were only for “navigational services” and measures needed “to protect the environment”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated on May 21 that if Tehran implements a plan to charge fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reaching a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran would become impossible.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and AFP
Iranian Court Hands Down Death Sentences For 2022 Killing Of Militiaman
An Iranian court has issued death sentences to four men over the killing of a member of the pro-government Basij militia during the mass nationwide Women, Life, Freedom protests that rocked the country in 2022.
The case relates to an incident in Ekbatan, a western neighborhood of Tehran, in November of that year. Dozens of people were arrested after Arman Aliverdi was killed during clashes between security forces and protesters.
While some of those arrested were subsequently released, death sentences were announced in November 2024 for four defendants: Milad Armun, Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini, Mehdi Imani, and Navid Najjaran.
These sentences were overturned in September 2025, but have now been reinstated.
The US-based HRANA human rights group cited a source familiar with the case as saying the verdicts were verbally communicated to the defendants on May 24 without the presence of their lawyers -- making it impossible for them to appeal.
The 2022 protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who died in custody after being arrested for violations of Iran’s dress code requiring women to cover their heads in public.
Trump Says Any Deal With Iran Will Be 'Great And Meaningful'
US President Donald Trump has again backed his efforts to negotiate a potential deal with Iran.
While criticizing Republican and Democratic opponents in a May 25 Truth Social post, he insisted that any agreement would be “great and meaningful or there will be no deal.”
He also stressed that any arrangement reached with Tehran would be unlike the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama.
Iran Says Progress Made In US Talks, But No Deal Imminent
Iran says that Tehran and Washington have reached understandings on many issues in talks aimed at ending the war that erupted on February 28, but cautioned that a final agreement was not close.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on May 25 that negotiators had reached conclusions on many of the issues under discussion, but no one can claim "that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent."
Baqaei said Iran was finalizing a 14-point framework focused primarily on ending the regional conflict, including fighting in Lebanon.
He stressed that Iran’s nuclear program -- a central concern for Washington -- would only be discussed after both sides agreed on the broader framework.
The proposed deal includes provisions to end the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and arrangements governing the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has had de facto control over since the war began.
Tehran denied imposing tolls on ships using the crucial waterway, saying charges were only for “navigational services” and measures needed “to protect the environment”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated on May 21 that if Tehran implements a plan to charge fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reaching a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran would become impossible.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and AFP
Iran Hangs Man Linked To January Protests
Iranian authorities have executed a man over charges linked to nationwide anti-government protests in January, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency.
Mizan identified the man as Abbas Akbari Feyzabadi and said he was convicted of intentional destruction of public property, disrupting public order and security, and conspiring to commit crimes against the country.
The judiciary's news agency claimed Akbari was among the "armed leaders" of protests in the Iranian central city of Naeen, alleging he took part in an attack on the governor's office and fired at security officers.
His trial conditions and access to legal representation remain unclear.
According to Mizan, the man was hanged in the morning on May 25.
The execution is the latest in an intensifying wave of hangings since March 18, weeks after the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran.
Rights groups have condemned the trials of those executed.
The Oslo-based Center for Human Rights in Iran in April said many of the trials were marked by "torture, forced confessions, and the complete absence of due process."
US Officials Say Iran Deal Is 95% Done, But Not Ready for Signature
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration says the US and Iran are closer to a nuclear agreement than at any point in recent years, even as senior officials insist a final deal is still days away and key details remain unresolved.
Speaking on a background call with reporters, senior administration officials described negotiations with Tehran as roughly “90-95 percent” complete, framing the emerging arrangement as fundamentally different from the Obama-era nuclear accord that President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term.
“It isn’t even fully negotiated yet. So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals.”
Read the full story here.
Oil Prices Decline Amid Rising Optimism For Iran Peace Deal
Oil prices declined to two-week lows early on May 25 on renewed hopes that the US and Iran were moving closer toward a peace deal, even though they appeared to remain divided over key issues, including disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz that have restricted oil supply from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell $4.71, or 4.6 percent, to $98.83 a barrel in initial trading, while US West Texas Intermediate was at $92.03 a barrel, down $4.57, or 4.7 percent. Both were at their lowest since May 7.
However, prices remain volatile, with each statement on progress on peace talks -- or lack thereof -- causing wild swings on oil markets.
Reuters quoted MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic as saying: "Notwithstanding all the caveats and risks that remain to the peace deal and Strait of Hormuz, there is now some light at the end of the tunnel, which will bring some near-term oil price relief."
Analysts have noted, however, that even with a reopening of the crucial waterway, it will take months for oil flows to return to prewar levels and for damaged oil and gas facilities to be repaired.
Rubio Accuses Hezbollah Of Seeking To Destabilize Lebanon
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah militants of trying to plunge Lebanon "back into chaos."
Iran-backed Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the US, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing.
The top US diplomat condemned what he called Hezbollah's "reckless call to overthrow Lebanon's democratically elected government" and said the Iran-allied militant group was "actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction."
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem earlier said that "the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government" in response to Israeli strikes and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution, which is affiliated with Hezbollah and provides interest-free loans to mainly Shi'a Muslim communities.
Israel has continued to strike suspected Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite a cease-fire that went into effect on April 17. Lebanon's civil defense agency said its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed during an Israeli strike.
With reporting by AFP
Trump Tamps Downs Expectations For Early Iran Deal
US President Donald Trump appeared to temper expectations of a quick peace deal with Iran a day after he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sparked renewed hopes for an end to the nearly 3-month-old war.
“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while blasting predecessor Barack Obama for the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump pulled the US out of during his first term.
"Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet. So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he added.
In a separate post, Trump on May 24 wrote that "negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side."
A day earlier, Trump wrote that “an Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries.”
"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” he asserted.
In the past, Trump has suggested that a deal was imminent, only to later reject Iranian counterproposals and threaten new attacks.
Rubio, meanwhile, earlier had said "good news" on the negotiations could come sometime on May 24, telling reporters during a trip to India there’s had been "significant progress” in the talks. However, in later comments to The New York Times, he also played down hopes for any early deal, saying that any nuclear deal would naturally take longer to achieve.
Bahrain Sentences 9 To Life In Prison For Alleged Collaboration With IRGC
A court in Bahrain sentenced nine people to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to carry out what it labeled "hostile and terrorist acts" against Bahrain.
The Bahraini state news agency on May 24 said the defendants were involved in gathering information on sensitive sites and facilitating related financial transfers.
The Gulf country's Interior Ministry on May 9 said it had arrested 41 people it alleged were linked to the IRGC.
Tehran has launched attacks on targets in Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases in retaliation for US-Israeli air strikes against Iran launched at the end of February.
Hezbollah Chief Expresses Hope US-Iran Deal Includes Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem expressed hope for an agreement between Iran and the United States and that Lebanon would be part of the deal.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
"God willing, this agreement will be finalized and there are signs of its completion, and accordingly that we too will be among those included in this agreement -- an agreement of a full cessation of hostilities," he said in a TV address.
Iranian state media reported that "a memorandum of understanding would first be announced, stressing an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said US President Donald Trump had reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself against threats, including from Hezbollah.