Thursday, May 21, 2026

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Machine translation: In the latest developments of the Iran crisis and ongoing negotiations, a high-ranking source told "Al Arabiya" that the Pakistani army commander will not travel to Tehran tonight; this comes while earlier reports had been published about the possibility of his trip within the framework of regional mediation efforts. Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, was supposed to arrive in Tehran today, Thursday, on an official visit; coinciding with expectations for Iran's response to America's latest proposal to stop the war and reach an agreement between Iran and the United States. alarabiya 📡 @VahidOnline

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Donald Trump, the US President, emphasized in a conversation with reporters at the White House that no ship has permission to enter or exit Iran without US approval, and the US Navy has performed exceptionally in this regard. Trump, referring to the heavy financial losses of the Islamic Republic following these actions, said: "According to forecasts, they are losing $500 million daily; it's a very large amount and whether it's $200, $300, or $500 million, they are losing enormous amounts of money." The US President, emphasizing the necessity of freedom of navigation, added: "What we want is for this international waterway to be open and free. The Strait of Hormuz is an international maritime route, no one should impose tolls on it, and we will not allow such a thing." @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Hamid Rasaei also indirectly questioned the existence or involvement of Mojtaba Khamenei in decision-making. After the crowd's chant at moment 01:48, a kid says: Death to the dictator! 📡 @VahidOnline

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Donald Trump, the US President, said at the White House: "The Islamic Republic is not going to have nuclear weapons. We cannot allow it." He added that if the Islamic Republic obtains nuclear weapons, "a nuclear war will break out in the Middle East, and that war will come here, that war will go to Europe." The US President emphasized: "We cannot allow such a thing to happen, and such a thing will not happen. It's not going to happen." Trump also spoke about the US blockade of Iran's southern ports: "We have complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. This blockade has been 100 percent effective. No one has been able to pass through. It's like a steel wall." He added: "No ship has been able to pass without our approval. And the Navy has done extraordinary work. And no ship goes to Iran or leaves Iran without our approval." Trump also said about Iran's enriched uranium: "We are taking the highly enriched uranium. We don't need it. We'll probably destroy it after we take it, but we won't allow them (Islamic Republic officials) to have it." Donald Trump, the US President, told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the United States does not want to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, announced that the Islamic Republic's implementation of a toll collection system in the Strait of Hormuz would make reaching a diplomatic agreement impossible. @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, announced on Thursday that if Tehran implements its plan to collect tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reaching a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran will become impossible. Speaking to reporters, he said: "No one in the world supports a toll system. Such a thing cannot happen. It would be unacceptable. If they continue to pursue its implementation, reaching a diplomatic agreement becomes impossible. Therefore, if they want to do such a thing, it is a threat to the world and completely illegal." He also reported that "progress" has been made in negotiations with Tehran to end the war between America and Israel against Iran, and according to him "there are good signs," but Washington is facing "a system that is itself somewhat divided and fragmented." The US Secretary of State, noting that senior Pakistani officials will travel to Tehran today as mediators in the negotiations, said: "The American President's preference is for a good agreement to be reached... I'm not here to say such a thing will definitely happen, but I'm here to say we're doing everything we can to see if we can reach an agreement or not." He simultaneously added that if a good agreement is not reached, Donald Trump "has clearly stated he has other options as well." Earlier, reports were published about Thursday's trip by Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's Army Chief, to Tehran. Iran's official news agencies published this news one day after Pakistan's Interior Minister entered Tehran for the second time this week. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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A Fox News reporter, citing a source familiar with the negotiation process, reported that the White House has rejected Reuters' report claiming that Mojtaba Khamenei ordered high-enriched uranium to remain in Iran, calling it inaccurate. @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Dutch investigative media outlet FTM has reported that Thomas Erdbrink, a Dutch journalist for The New York Times and NOS network in Iran, was simultaneously working as a consultant for Heineken brewery in Iran and received up to 5,000 euros monthly for this work over a year. Erdbrink has denied receiving the payments. According to this report, the journalist regularly carried out side projects for this brewery company in Iran, not only showing around dispatched employees and visitors in Tehran, but also reportedly connecting the brewery company with local lawyers and consultants. FSeifikaran 📡 @VahidOnline

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Anwar Gargash, senior advisor to the UAE President, says that some of Iran's behaviors in recent years have caused a decline in trust among Persian Gulf countries. In a message on social media platform X, he wrote that regional countries have faced Iran's "bullying and threatening behaviors" for many years - behaviors that have become part of the political reality of the Persian Gulf. Mr. Gargash also emphasized that the gap between Iran's harsh positions and claims of friendship has led to the destruction of trust and credibility, "and today, after Iran's brutal aggression, the Iranian government is trying to establish a new reality that has emerged from a clear military defeat; but attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz or violate the UAE's maritime sovereignty are nothing but fantasies and unattainable dreams." @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Britain unveiled a $5 billion trade agreement with Persian Gulf countries; a deal that amid regional tensions following Iran's war, according to London, "sends a message of stability and confidence" to markets. This agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, and is expected to add about 3.7 billion pounds annually to Britain's economy. London says 93% of Persian Gulf countries' tariffs on British goods will be eliminated; including food products, automobiles, aerospace and electronics industries. In return, Britain will also reduce some tariffs, although oil and gas from Arab countries were already entering Britain tariff-free. Human rights activists have criticized the lack of binding clauses on human rights in this agreement and described it as a "moral regression." @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Ali Yazdikhaah, Vice Chairman of the Parliament's Cultural Commission, said there is currently no decision to reopen global internet access and restrictions will continue due to "security considerations." Yazdikhaah attributed the global internet shutdown to decisions by the Supreme National Security Council, saying this decision was made due to "security issues, national security, and protecting people's lives." Despite NetBlocks announcing that the internet shutdown in Iran has entered its eighty-third day, Yazdikhaah said more than 90% of people's needs are being met in the current situation and there are no widespread complaints protesting the internet shutdown. He also said that through the so-called "Internet Pro" plan, more than one million people have gained access so far - a plan that critics consider an example of class-based and discriminatory internet, as it limits global internet access to specific groups and deprives ordinary citizens of equal rights to free internet access. The Vice Chairman of the Parliament's Cultural Commission also said that import and export companies, scientific and research centers, laboratories, and some trades can take action to access international internet if needed. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Reuters news agency, citing two senior sources in Iran's government, reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, has ordered that high-enriched uranium stockpiles must not leave Iran. According to these sources, this order has hardened Tehran's position against one of America's main demands in negotiations to end the war between America and Israel against the Islamic Republic. Israeli officials have also told Reuters that Donald Trump has assured Israel that any potential agreement must include the removal of enriched uranium stockpiles from Iran. One Iranian source told Reuters that the Islamic Republic leader's order and the consensus within the governing structure is that enriched uranium stockpiles must not leave the country. According to Reuters sources, Islamic Republic officials believe that transferring these materials abroad would make the Islamic Republic more vulnerable to potential future attacks by America and Israel. @VahidOOnLine Minutes after this Reuters report, oil prices in global markets increased by nearly two dollars. The price of North Sea Brent crude oil rose from $105 to over $107 per barrel on Thursday afternoon, May 21st, in European markets. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Mehdi Kabizadeh was a 47-year-old citizen and father of a daughter who was arrested during the January protests in Khuzestan province and died after being transferred to a medical center due to being denied proper care. He has a daughter named Halma. Based on information received by Iran International from sources familiar with his family, Mehdi Kabizadeh was arrested by security forces during the Ahvaz protests and was then transferred and admitted to a hospital due to blood and intestinal disease. However, hospital officials refused to provide adequate care and treatment due to his history of participation in protests and his arrest, which led to his death. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed two prisoners on charges of membership in "separatist terrorist groups" and "armed uprising through formation of criminal groups." Mizan, the official organ of Iran's judicial system, identified these two individuals as Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour and reported that they were executed Thursday morning, May 21st. Mizan wrote that Ramin Zaleh "had received a mission from the group after completing training courses to participate as a leader in the country's unrest." Iran's official judiciary organ also wrote that these two individuals had "confessed" to "cooperating" with each other to "assassinate the IRGC base commander in one of the western cities of the country" and were keeping "weapons" for this purpose. Since the American and Israeli attacks on Iran, the Islamic Republic has increased the implementation of death sentences and has executed several people on some days. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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"I am not a traitor to my homeland... Long live the Islamic Republic... We will stand by the Supreme Leader until the end... This flag will not fall to the storm... They will take the fall of this country to their graves... The dignity of this nation is not for sale, the path of resistance continues..." Promoting "patriotism" in the "Islamic Republic country" with imported citizens from Oman, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mali 📡 @VahidOnline

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The official White House account on social media platform X posted on Wednesday, May 20th, sharing a photo of US President Donald Trump with images below it showing "America's enemies neutralized by President Donald J. Trump." The post featured images of Ali Khamenei, the killed leader of the Islamic Republic, Nicolas Maduro, the arrested leader of Venezuela, Raul Castro, former leader of Cuba, and Abu Bilal al-Manuki from ISIS leadership, whose image was replaced with the ISIS flag. The White House wrote on Castro's image that charges have been filed against him. On Maduro's image, it stated he has been arrested. And on the images of Ali Khamenei and Abu Bilal al-Manuki, it wrote that they were "killed." The official White House account added: "Justice will be served." @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Israel Hayom newspaper, citing "informed sources," reported that Wednesday's meeting on April 30th at the White House regarding Iran was accompanied by severe disagreements among senior U.S. administration officials, but the American president ultimately, contrary to the views of the Defense Secretary and Secretary of State, and in line with JD Vance's perspective and his special envoys, approved continuing negotiations with the Islamic Republic. The right-wing newspaper wrote that the assessment of Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, and Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary, was that at this stage, without applying significant pressure, including threats of attack and intensifying economic sanctions, no concessions could be extracted from the Islamic Republic. In contrast, Vance believed Tehran's latest proposal was a sign of flexibility and could provide the groundwork for moving toward a preliminary agreement. Informed sources from this meeting told Israel Hayom that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's special envoys, also supported Vance's position in this discussion. They had previously spoken with leaders of Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia before this meeting. According to this media outlet, tensions in the meeting intensified when Trump criticized Vance and the envoys, accusing them that their approach to the Islamic Republic allows it to buy time and damage the image of the United States and the presidency. Vance responded firmly that the administration should seek to end this military campaign, bring soldiers home, reduce oil prices, and focus on America's domestic problems - a response that surprised those present. Israel Hayom continued this report by referring to Trump's conversations with regional leaders and, citing two sources, wrote that leaders of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, while emphasizing the need to protect their sensitive facilities against possible attacks by the Islamic Republic, support taking "hardline policies" against the Islamic Republic. In contrast, leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar prefer to avoid returning to conflicts. The newspaper also quoted an American official regarding Trump's phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister, writing that Netanyahu expressed frustration with the Islamic Republic's behavior and Tehran's possible stalling tactics, while Trump emphasized the complexity of the situation and the difficulties ahead. However, the American president once again said he is committed to eliminating the nuclear threat from Iran's government. @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline