The Babylon Times

📜 CNN SPOTS US MILITARY SPIES BUZZING CUBA'S COAST IN PLAIN SIGHT A CNN analysis of public flight-tracking data uncovers a surge in U.S. military intelligence flights off Cuba's coast—at least 25 missions since February 4. P-8A Poseidon jets, RC-135V Rivet Joint planes, and MQ-4C Triton drones prowl near Havana and Santiago, some dipping within 40 miles of shore. Analysts say the pattern echoes U.S. buildups before meddling in Venezuela and Iran. And since these birds could hide their tracks but flaunt them instead, Washington’s clearly flexing for Havana to see. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 HEZBOLLAH FPV DRONE SNAGGED IN ISRAELI NET, FAILS TO EXPLODE Hezbollah's FPV drone, still unexploded, got neatly intercepted by an Israeli anti-drone net. The thing stayed intact, trapped without going off. No civilian casualties or damage from this particular non-event. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN HAILS OWN RESPONSE TO US PROPOSALS AS REALISTIC AND POSITIVE An Iranian official source claims Tehran's reply to the latest U.S. proposals is realistic and positive. Washington's handling of Iran's answer, they say, would advance negotiations quickly. Iran's response zeroes in on ending the regional war, especially in Lebanon, and sorting differences with Washington. The ball's in Washington's court now, with its commitment to political realism supposedly decisive. Reply delivered today through Pakistani mediator, per IRNA. @TheBabylonTimes

UPDATE:📜 IRAN VOWS TO CHOKE STRAIT OF HORMUZ OIL FLOW WITHOUT PERMISSION Ibrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran's Parliament Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, says the Revolutionary Guard Navy confirmed back in the war's second week that the Strait of Hormuz stays firmly in Iran's grip. They won't let even one liter of oil pass without Iran's say-so, he emphasized. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 MODI URGES INDIANS TO DITCH PETROL AND DIESEL FOR SUSTAINABILITY Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells citizens to slash petrol and diesel use. He pushes sole reliance on metro systems where available, carpooling for any personal car trips, and electric railways for goods. Modi also promotes electric vehicles, reviving COVID-era work-from-home, video conferences, and virtual meetings to curb travel. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 CHATHAM HOUSE FELLOW URGES EUROPE TO BEG TURKEY WITH CONCESSIONS AND EU DREAMS Timothy Ash, Chatham House associate fellow, notes Turkey boasts Europe's largest military headcount and has lost interest in the continent. He pushes Europe to grovel with a beefed-up Customs Union and real EU talks. Ash dangles Turkey as potential EU powerhouse number two, if only Islamophobia fades and Turkey's "value" gets the nod. Turkey holds all the cards, he says, but mutual gains are key. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 MACRON CROWNS FRANCE THE REAL PAN-AFRICANIST CHAMP French President Emmanuel Macron declared France the true pan-Africanist nation. He painted Africa as one big continent brimming with development potential, the world's youngest, packing an extraordinary demographic dividend. Macron tossed in that it boasts the globe's highest growth rate, edging out Southeast Asia last year. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 MACRON ADMITS FRANCE'S AFRICA COLONIAL GRAB-AND-MEDDLING ERA IS OVER French President Emmanuel Macron stated France will quit treating Africa as its private playground for business deals and political meddling. He said the days are done when French companies got guaranteed contracts in Francophone Africa or when France stepped in to prop up or topple governments. Macron emphasized this pivot kicked off in 2017. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 MACRON SAYS MALI COUP LEADERS DEMANDED FRENCH EXIT FROM THEIR ANTI-TERROR PARTY French President Emmanuel Macron claims Mali's coup-plotting military bosses kicked out the old government then told France to pack up, tired of fighting terrorism next to French troops. Macron's now pulling France out of Mali. This comes after France's 2017 pivot away from babysitting Francophone African regimes. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 IRAN WARNS BAHRAIN AND UAE OFF MISGUIDED PATH, VOWS TO BLOCK UAE-ISRAEL LINE Ibrahim Rezaei, Iran's Parliament Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy spokesperson, called out Bahrain and the UAE for sticking to their misguided path. He made clear Iran won't tolerate any "UAE-Israel line" forming in the region. Rezaei added that some regional countries have messaged Iran, the war drags on with no real ceasefire, and no political deal with the US in sight. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN SPOTLIGHTS REGIONAL PALS TELLING IT WAR'S STILL ON, NO REAL CEASEFIRE WITH US Ibrahim Rezaei, Iran's Parliament Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy spokesperson, reveals some regional countries messaged Iran that the war drags on, no genuine ceasefire in sight, and zero prospects for a political deal with the United States. Rezaei adds Bahrain and the UAE stubbornly chase their misguided path, while Iran vows to block any "Emirates-Israel" line forming in the region. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP RANTS AT IRAN, OBAMA, AND BIDEN AMID IRAN TENSIONS Former US President Donald Trump unleashed a public rant slamming Iran, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. The outburst hit amid talks on international tensions with Iran. No location or date given in the report. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 MACRON WHINES ABOUT IRAN ESCALATION WHILE FRENCH CITIZENS FOOT THE BILL FOR UNWANTED WAR French President Macron gripes that Iran's got too much verbal escalation, which of course slides right into the physical kind. He points out the vulnerable get hit first, but now everybody's catching the fallout from these ongoing events. French folks, he says, pay the price daily for this war France never signed up for. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 LARGE CROWDS COMMEMORATE MARTYRDOM OF SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI AT LEADERSHIP HOUSE Large crowds filled the Kashourdost portico at the Leadership House on the night of May 8 to mark the martyrdom of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Mourners recited his prayers over loudspeakers and held nighttime vigils near the site of his ascension and martyrdom. Video captures the emotional gatherings, with participants showing grief and devotion in the portico. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 AZOV CORPS HITS RUSSIAN OCCUPIED MARIUPOL WITH AI DRONES 160KM DEEP Ukraine's 1st Azov Corps pulled off AI-assisted drone strikes right into Russian-occupied Mariupol, punching 160 km behind the front lines. They nailed fuel tankers, supply trucks, and logistics hubs on T-0509 and M-14 roads tying Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea. Hornet fixed-wing loitering munitions from U.S. outfit Perennial Autonomy—linked to ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt—handled target spotting with AI and Starlink to shrug off Russian jamming. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 US AMBASSADOR SAYS WASHINGTON REVIEWING IRANIAN RESPONSE VIA PAKISTAN US Ambassador to the United Nations announced Washington is reviewing the Iranian response, conveniently delivered through Pakistan. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 ISRAELI SETTLER BLOCKS PALESTINIAN AMBULANCE WITH CRITICAL PATIENT SOUTH OF NABLUS Video captures an Israeli settler deliberately swerving his vehicle to obstruct a Palestinian ambulance on a road south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. The ambulance carries a patient in critical condition. Settler parks right in the emergency path, holding up the ride and flirting with the patient's life. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 ISRAELI DRONE DOUBLES DOWN ON SYRIAN LABORER AND DAUGHTER IN NABATIEH A journalist on the ground in southern Lebanon reports an Israeli drone strike in Nabatieh that instantly killed a Syrian laborer riding a scooter with his 12-year-old daughter. The girl, wounded in that first hit, tried fleeing on foot—only for the drone to strike her again, leaving her critically injured and now in surgery. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 MOSSAD CHIEF BARNEA SLAMS GOFMAN AS BOUNDARY-BLIND POWER ABUSER BUT NETANYAHU OKS HIM ANYWAY Barnea pointed to Gofman's 2023 stint commanding IDF's 210th Division, where he dodged protocols to recruit a 17-year-old Israeli civilian as a human intelligence asset. Barnea called it a "significant problem with setting personal boundaries" and labeled Gofman "someone who abuses his power," saying it disqualifies him for Mossad chief. Netanyahu approved anyway, overriding Barnea, committee chair Asher Grunis, and looming High Court petitions. Gofman takes over June 2. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 CNN SAYS INJURED IRAN SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI STILL CALLS SHOTS FROM HIDING CNN drops word from a fresh US intel assessment: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, nursing injuries, keeps dictating strategies from seclusion. CIA report confirms he personally greenlights key war and US negotiation moves. He ordered his team to concede zilch on "defensive capabilities," zeroing in only on the Strait of Hormuz. Assessment details his call to hold back 70% of missile stockpiles and 75% of launchers—just enough to drag the war out and wear everyone down. Regional attacks? His final nod required. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum