The Babylon Times

📜 US OFFICIAL DENIES IRAN HIT AMERICAN WARSHIP A senior U.S. official brushed off reports of an American warship taking Iranian missiles, as peddled by Axios' Barak Ravid. This comes while Iran's Fars news agency and state TV claim their naval forces kept U.S. warships out of the Strait of Hormuz and nailed one. No word on damage or casualties. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 RETIRED US GENERAL WARNS TRUMP PENTAGON HAVE NO CLUE ON NEXT IRAN WAR PHASE Retired four-star U.S. General Barry McCaffrey, on MSNBC, says the Trump administration and Pentagon lack any clear plan for whatever comes after their Iran mess. Neither Trump nor Hegseth has answers for next steps, so the war's endgame stays a blank stare. This follows Iran's strike on a U.S. frigate, spiking Brent crude to $113 a barrel. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 CENTCOM CLAIMS NO US NAVY SHIPS HIT WHILE BACKING PROJECT FREEDOM BLOCKADE ON IRAN CENTCOM insists none of their precious U.S. Navy ships took a hit in the latest flare-up. Meanwhile, U.S. forces keep dishing out support to Project Freedom and tightening that naval stranglehold on Iranian ports. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 MACRON CLAIMS FRANCE TRUSTED BY US BUT RESPECTED AND TRUSTED BY IRAN French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France is trusted by the United States but is both respected and trusted by Iran. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 IRAN'S REV GUARDS MAP OUT NEW STRAIT OF HORMUZ ZONE AFTER NAILING US NAVY SHIP WITH MISSILES Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy dropped a map claiming a fresh zone in the Strait of Hormuz, from Kuh Mobarak on their coast to south of Fujairah in the UAE. Comes right after Fars news reported Iranian forces firing two missiles at a US Navy vessel that blew off warnings. Ship took damage, turned tail and retreated. Map locks in control of this vital shipping chokehold as tensions crank up. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP PUSHES FOR US MILITARY ACTION IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID IRAN STALEMATE US President Donald Trump, fed up with the "no deal, no war" deadlock in Iran talks, wants decisive military moves in the Strait of Hormuz, per Axios. An unnamed official says "the president wants action… He wants pressure. He wants a deal." Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy just defined a new zone from Kuh Mobarak to south of Fujairah. Fars reports Iran fired two missiles at a US Navy vessel that ignored warnings, damaging it and sending it packing. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN'S SHURA SPOKESPERSON: STRAIT OF HORMUZ WON'T BUDGE FOR TWEETS—DEFEAT OR DEAL REQUIRED Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesperson in the Shura Council laid it out plain: the Strait of Hormuz didn't close by tweet, so no tweet reopens it. Paths forward? Swallow defeat, cut a deal, and bow to Iran's sovereignty over the strait—or back to the battlefield. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 GERMAN LEFTIST PARTIES SPD, GREENS, AND THE LEFT SUSPEND X ACTIVITY OVER "CHAOS" AND MISINFORMATION Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Greens, and The Left jointly announced they're suspending activity on X. They call the platform chaotic, rife with excessive misinformation. The parties will stop posting from their accounts—keeping them intact—and decamp to alternative platforms. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRANIAN NAVY WARNS OFF U.S. DESTROYERS FROM STRAIT OF HORMUZ THEN HITS FRIGATE WITH MISSILES Iranian Army public relations says its naval forces gave a firm, swift warning that kept U.S.-affiliated destroyers out of the Strait of Hormuz. Channel reports note an American frigate ignored those warnings, tried crossing near Jask port, and violated maritime security. Two missiles struck it, stopping the intruder cold and sending it retreating back. @TheBabylonTimes

UPDATE:📜 US FRIGATE EATEN BY IRANIAN MISSILES AFTER SNUBBING WARNINGS NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ An Iranian military source says a US frigate took two missiles square on after blowing off repeated warnings from Iranian naval forces. The ship was nosing toward the Strait of Hormuz, violating maritime security near Jask port. Post-hit, it stopped dead, spun around, and slunk back out of the area. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 MACRON CALLS OUT EXCESSIVE US DEFENSE DEPENDENCE AS SILENT GLOBAL KILLER French President Emmanuel Macron stated nations are now paying the price for leaning too hard on the US for defense and security. He dubbed it the unspoken big problem in international relations, dropping the remark amid shifting global alliances and geopolitical tensions. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 ZELESNKY SAYS RUSSIA SCRAPPING MILITARY HARDWARE FROM MAY 9 PARADE DUE TO BROKE EQUIPMENT AND DRONE PHOBIA Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims Russia announced its May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow will skip military equipment. If true, he says, it's the first time in years—blaming Russia's empty pockets and jitters over Ukrainian drones buzzing Red Square. Zelensky calls it a glaring sign of Russia's weakness. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 WESTERN ALLIES WHINE ABOUT STRAINED TIES AND US DEPENDENCE UK Labour leader Keir Starmer gripes that longstanding alliances are stretched too thin, with tensions wrecking their dependability. He parrots worries from the likes of French President Macron on leaning too hard on US defense, Zelensky crowing over Russia's supposedly battered forces, and Canadian PM Mark Carney lamenting cracks in the global order while pushing Europe-led fixes. NATO buddies sweat geopolitical shakeups. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 CARNEY SAYS INTERNATIONAL ORDER REBUILT FROM EUROPE AFTER GLOBAL RUPTURE Canadian PM Mark Carney claims the international order gets a rebuild, but it'll sprout from Europe. This comes after his take on a rupture in tech, energy, commerce, and geopolitics, where integration's weaponized by certain powers and rules don't rein in dominant players. Echoes Macron griping about U.S. defense overdependencies, Starmer on alliance strains, and Zelensky spotting Russian military weakness. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN EMBASSY IN SOUTH AFRICA SLAMS GERMANY'S FOREIGN MINISTER FOR BOSSY POST Iran's embassy in South Africa fired back at Germany's foreign minister after his post on a phone chat with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi. They declared European officials lucky enough to talk with Iranian reps must drop the "must" lingo from public posts. Tensions simmer in Iran-Europe chit-chat. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 UN RAPPORTEUR: ISRAEL CHOSE GREECE TO EXPLOIT ITS FEARS UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese called out Israel for picking Greece to push its regional agenda, set to milk the country's fears and insecurities. She laid it plain:

“You think that you have chosen Israel… I don’t think so. Israel has chosen you, and it’s going to exploit your fears and your insecurity.”

Al Jazeera reported the remarks. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 IRGC SPOKESPERSON WARNS NON-COMPLIANT SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ FACE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson laid it out plain: any maritime movements ignoring Iran's navy procedures get serious consequences. No changes in Strait of Hormuz management, he states—as if the occupiers needed another reminder who's really in charge. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRAN'S ARMED FORCES TAKE CONTROL OF NEW STRAIT OF HORMUZ ZONE A map lays out fresh turf in the Strait of Hormuz now under Iran's Armed Forces' firm grip. Southern edge hugs the line splitting Iran's Jabal Mubarak from UAE's southern Fujairah. Western line snakes from Qeshm Island's southern tip, oddly pinned to UAE's Umm al-Quwain emirate. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 HEZBOLLAH DEPLOYS NEW FIBER-OPTIC DRONES TO EVADE ISRAELI DETECTION CNN reports Hezbollah rolling out powerful new drones that slip past Israeli radar like ghosts. In fresh clashes, these small, low-flying guided drones stay tethered by fiber-optic cables straight to operators, shrugging off all that electronic warfare and jamming nonsense. Experts say the hard-to-track flyers, sneaking up undetected, just rewrote Israel's engagement playbook. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 IRAN CALLS OUT US UNREASONABLE DEMANDS ON NUCLEAR FILE Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei says Iran got a response from the United States. He pegs Washington as accustomed to making unreasonable demands. Talks on the nuclear file and uranium enrichment? Just speculations, per Baghaei. @TheBabylonTimes