While Tehran has said it does not trust Washington, it maintains the standoff cannot be resolved through military means | The US and Israel are actively preparing for a renewal of hostilities with Iran and could resume attacks as early as next week, The New York Times has reported, citing sources. ● Indirect negotiations between Iran and the Trump White House have remained deadlocked since a fragile ceasefire was established in April following over a month of hostilities. Both sides have repeatedly dismissed the other’s demands as unrealistic, and both Tehran and Washington still insist they hold the upper hand. ● Meanwhile, disruptions continue in the Strait of Hormuz, which has heavily affected global shipping and caused oil shortages worldwide. While Iran has announced its own mechanism to regulate maritime traffic in the waterway, Washington has rejected the scheme and is enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports in retaliation. ● Two unnamed Middle East officials told the NYT on Friday that preparations for new strikes by Israel and the US have greatly accelerated over the past few days, and the conflict could resume as early as next week, according to the sources.

■ Iran submits new 14-point proposal to US via Pakistan to end war: Report (Press TV)
■ Ten-point plan for talks with US is 'red line' for Iran — lawmaker (TASS)
■ Still threatening Iran, US sets five more demands for talks: Fars (Al Mayadeen)
■ Explainer: Iran's 10-point proposal that forced US surrender after 40 days of aggression (Press TV)
■ Trump says US could ‘easily’ take Strait of Hormuz, ‘make a fortune’ over oil exports (NYP) (April 3, 2026)

"There won’t be anything left” of the country if it doesn’t agree to American demands, the US president has threatened | US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with a new attack if Tehran doesn’t agree to make swift concessions to Washington. ● Indirect talks between the sides have remained stalled since a fragile ceasefire was established in early April after a month of hostilities initiated by the US and Israel. Both Washington and Tehran have repeatedly dismissed each other’s demands, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier this week singling out the Trump administration’s “maximalist approach” and provocative rhetoric as main obstacles to reaching a deal. ● Meanwhile, disruptions continue in the Strait of Hormuz, which has heavily affected global shipping and sent oil prices soaring. While Tehran has announced its own mechanism to regulate maritime traffic through the waterway, which accounts for some 25% of global crude trade, the US has rejected the scheme and is enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports in retaliation.

Mark Collett | Spanning five continents & involving rabbis, military officials and state institutions, Israel sits at the centre of an international criminal conspiracy that preys on the most desperate & vulnerable. | On May 6th 2024 it was widely reported in the Turkish press that four Israelis were arrested for their part in an illegal organ trafficking operation. During raids that took place across the country, multiple properties were searched and Turkish police seized large sums of cash along with numerous fake passports and what was described as ‘digital materials’. Those arrested were charged with offences related to human organ trafficking as well as people smuggling and forgery. ■ This particular case involved human organs that had been obtained from Syrian refugees. The investigation into the trafficking ring began after police flagged seven people arriving from Israel for what Turkish authorities termed “health tourism”. It was later disclosed that two Syrian nationals (aged 20 and 21) had agreed to sell their kidneys to two Israeli nationals (aged 28 and 68).

Washington for years rejected Russian allegations of the existence of the secret program, before finally admitting it | Russia’s allegations that the US-funded clandestine biological laboratories near its borders – claims denied until recently by Washington – have remained a persistent flashpoint in the steadily deteriorating relationship between Russia and the West for nearly a decade. ● The biolabs affair was revealed in a 2017 exposé by RT that questioned a shady US military tender seeking the genetic material of living Russians. Over the years, Moscow has raised allegations against Washington of conducting clandestine bio-research, including potential WMD development and illicit human testing, in a network of labs located across multiple nations, the bulk of which operated in Ukraine. The claims were met with a blanket denial in the West, which repeatedly dismissed them as “Russian propaganda.” ● This abruptly changed the past week when US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that her department had identified more than 120 US-funded biological laboratories in 30 countries, with over a third of them located in Ukraine. The agency is now working to “identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what ‘research’ is being conducted to end dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and the world,” according to Gabbard.

■ US and Israel preparing to renew attack on Iran [this] week – NYT (05/18/26)
🚩 Remember how the West laughed at Russia’s ‘biolabs’ claims? The facts: (05/14/26)