The Babylon Times

📜 IRAN’S FM SAYS NO TRUSTING UNCLE SAM WITHOUT ALL DETAILS SPELLED OUT Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi lays it out plain: Iran can’t trust the United States. He insists every detail gets specified and clarified before any deal happens. This comes amid diplomatic tensions, after he noted some parties want to suck Washington into another war, while hoping for wisdom to pick talks over bombs. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP SAYS US NEEDS BALLROOM TO MATCH CHINA'S, CLAIMS HIS IS COMING IN AHEAD OF SCHEDULE Trump declared China boasts a ballroom, so the US naturally needs one too. He bragged the American version's under construction, ahead of schedule, and poised to be the finest in the country, eyeing a September 2028 opening. Trump thanked backers for kickstarting it, then name-dropped his stroll with China's President Xi—one of the world's great leaders, apparently. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 SUNNI SCHOLARS SLAM GULF RULERS FOR DITCHING IRAN'S SECURITY TABLE TO BACK AGGRESSION Sunni scholars in Sistan and Baluchestan point out that some Gulf rulers once sat comfortably as guests at Iran's security table. Now, those same rulers have handed their capabilities over to fuel aggression. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP CLAIMS IRAN'S NAVY AND AIR FORCE WIPED OUT, DEMANDS DEAL OR TOTAL DESTRUCTION Trump told Fox News that Iran no longer has a navy or air force, calling the country finished with all capabilities destroyed. He insisted Iran reach an agreement or face total destruction. This marks one of his repeated false statements on the matter. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 ISRAELI STRIKE LEVELS CIVILIAN HOMES IN TYRE AS RESISTANCE FIGHTER FIDA EARNS PRAISE Video shows young Lebanese resistance fighter Fida, hailed by a local whose home and relatives' homes got flattened in an Israeli airstrike on a residential area in Tyre. The attack just moments ago demolished multiple civilian homes, displacing families. Footage captures the rubble from the devastation. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRANIAN FM SHOWS PHOTOS OF MARTYRS FROM ISRAELI SCHOOL MASSACRE IN NEW DELHI Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds up photos of martyrs from the Minab School massacre at a press conference in New Delhi. The images depict victims slain in the Israeli airstrike on the school in Minab. That attack inflicted significant civilian casualties, including children. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 SECURITY FORCES NEUTRALIZE TON-WEIGHT MK84 BOMB BURIED 18 METERS DEEP IN LORESTAN RESISTANCE AREA Security forces in Lorestan province dug up and neutralized a 2,000-pound MK84 bomb—basically a ton of buried trouble—18 meters underground in Delfan city. Engineering teams excavated for six days in a resistance area near Sij Delfan, guided by specialized studies. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 UAE BEGS GULF PALS FOR ANTI-IRAN TEAM-UP BUT GETS GHOSTED UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed hit up Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Gulf leaders like Qatar, pushing for a joint military smackdown on Iran. Crickets. Nobody bit, so UAE's flying solo on its little adventure. Bloomberg. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 LAVROV CALLS OUT KISSINGER'S DIVIDE-AND-RULE GEM FOR WEDGING RUSSIA AND CHINA Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed Henry Kissinger's nugget: Washington should keep ties with Beijing and Moscow stronger than those between Beijing and Moscow. Lavrov pegged it as the classic "divide and rule" ploy Americans and other colonial powers have milked forever. Russia knows the game, he said, and it's still the West's go-to in politics today. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 GERMANY DITCHES PALANTIR FOR FRENCH AI, SNUBS US SPY TOOL OVER DATA SNOOPING FEARS Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution picks French firm ChapsVision's data analysis platform. First time a German federal security outfit goes European instead of grabbing a US-based one like Palantir. Berlin's dodging Palantir over worries US intelligence might peek at sensitive domestic surveillance data. Palantir's ties to US defense gigs and its CEO admitting the software gets "used on occasion to kill people" sealed the rejection. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 UAE BEGS SAUDIS FOR IRAN HIT SQUAD, GETS GHOSTED, STRIKES ALONE TWICE Bloomberg says the United Arab Emirates urged Saudi Arabia to team up on Iran, only to get shut down. Frustrated UAE went ahead with limited attacks on Iran solo—no Gulf backups—in early March and April. Financial Times warns if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened next month, drained strategic reserves mean global shortages and energy price spikes. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 UAE'S LONE SHOTS AT IRAN LEAVE STRAIT OF HORMUZ CLOGGED, GLOBAL ENERGY DOOM LOOMS Financial Times warns that if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened by next month, drained strategic stockpiles will spark worldwide shortages and jacked-up energy prices. This comes after UAE's solo strikes on Iran in early March and April—sans Gulf backing—amid the mounting strait standoff. Bloomberg says UAE's bid to sync with Saudi Arabia flopped when the Saudis just said no. @TheBabylonTimes

UPDATE:📜 UAE HITS IRAN WITH LIMITED ATTACKS, GETS NO GULF BACKUP, FAILS TO ROPE IN SAUDIS Bloomberg says the United Arab Emirates pulled off limited attacks on Iran back in early March and again in April, all on their lonesome without a whisper of help from other Gulf states. Another Bloomberg piece reveals UAE begged Saudi Arabia to team up against Iran but got the cold shoulder. Financial Times chimes in that if the Strait of Hormuz isn't cracked open by next month, kiss depleted strategic reserves goodbye amid global shortages and skyrocketing energy prices. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 UAE RAMPS UP OIL PIPELINE TO BYPASS STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID IRAN WAR, AFTER ISRAELI GENERALS' SECRET ABU DHABI JAUNTS The United Arab Emirates speeds up building a new oil pipeline to double exports from 1.5 million barrels a day to 3 million, snaking around the Strait of Hormuz. Launch targeted for 2027 to boost energy security during the ongoing Iran war. This comes after Israel's military chief and senior officials made covert trips to Abu Dhabi for chats with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, which the UAE still denies. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 ISRAELI MILITARY CHIEF SLIPS INTO UAE FOR SECRET CHAT WITH SHEIKH MOHAMMED AMID IRAN WAR Israel's military chief of staff pulled off a covert jaunt to the United Arab Emirates during the grinding war with Iran, huddling with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. This sneaky trip piles onto other wartime shadow visits to Abu Dhabi by top Israeli brass, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, plus handing over Iron Dome batteries to UAE forces against Iranian missiles and drones. UAE foreign ministry denies any such Israeli drop-ins. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 SUNNI SCHOLARS IN IRAN BACK SMART MANAGEMENT OF STRAIT OF HORMUZ, OFFER AID TO REVOLUTIONARY GUARD AND NAVY Sunni scholars in the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a statement voicing full support for the continued smart management of the Strait of Hormuz. They declared readiness to provide any assistance to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and navy, plus Sunni tribes along the republic's coasts. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN VOWS TO DEFEND ITSELF TO LAST DROP OF BLOOD AS FAITH-POWERED F-5 REACHES US POSITIONS IN KUWAIT Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Amir Hatami laid it out straight: Iran will defend itself until the last drop of blood. He stressed that the power of faith lets an F-5 fighter jet slip into US forces' positions in Kuwait, brushing past their so-called most advanced ground-to-air and air-to-air defense systems. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 BAHRAINI AYATOLLAH HAILS IRAN AS STRONGEST REBUKE TO ARAB REGIMES BACKING HIS FOES In the video, Qassim stares down the camera, spotlighting Iran's defensive prowess as touted by Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami. Hatami vows Iran will defend itself to the last drop of blood, boasting how faith lets an F-5 fighter soar over US positions in Kuwait, shrugging off fancy American air defenses. The message hammers home resistance to outside meddling with regional clerics. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 PUTIN SET FOR QUICK BEIJING HOP DAYS AFTER XI-TRUMP SUMMIT Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Beijing on May 20 for a one-day jaunt, billed as routine with no fanfare. This follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent summit with US President Donald Trump in the Chinese capital. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday that prep work's all wrapped up. South China Morning Post. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS IT'S TIME TO FLEX REGIONAL MUSCLE MORE THAN EVER Iranian Foreign Minister declares this the moment for Iran to affirm its position and spotlight its regional role like never before. @TheBabylonTimes