The Babylon Times

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

📜 IRANIAN SPOKESMAN CALLS HEZBOLLAH LEBANON'S PRIDE FOR STANDING UP TO ISRAEL Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei declared Hezbollah a source of pride for Lebanon and the Islamic nation. He credits them with confronting Israel.

"Hezbollah is a source of pride for Lebanon and the Islamic nation," Baghaei stated, "and [...] Hezbollah is confronting Israel."

@TheBabylonTimes

UPDATE:📜 IRAN SLAMS UAE FOR COZYING UP TO IRAN'S AGGRESSORS, PRAISES HEZBOLLAH'S STAND AGAINST ISRAEL Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei called out the UAE for its inappropriate behavior over the past few days, mainly cooperating with and hosting parties aggressing against Iran. On Lebanon, he hailed Hezbollah as a source of pride for the country and the Islamic nation, confronting Israel. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRANIAN SPOKESMAN CALLS IRAN A SUPERPOWER TO COUNTER AMERICAN MIGHT Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei fielded a cheeky question from an Arab network correspondent: "America is a superpower—what are your tools to confront it? Why don't you back down?" Baghaei shot back,

"We are also a superpower."

Straight talk, no backing down. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRANIAN SPOKESMAN CALLS URANIUM CLAIMS SPECULATION, SAYS TALKS ONLY ABOUT ENDING WAR Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei dismissed uranium enrichment claims as mere speculations. He clarified that current negotiations cover nothing beyond ending the war. Baghaei noted Iran's important relations and agreements with Russia and China, with direct contact ongoing. This follows his description of Iran as a major power when asked about confronting the United States. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN SHURA COUNCIL WARNS ENEMY EXPLOITS NEGOTIATIONS TO REARM Iran's Shura Council—61 members strong—calls out the enemy for using talks as cover to regroup and beef up forces. They urge max vigilance to smack down this sneaky ploy. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EX-PM BENNETT: JEWISH ISRAELI NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT MILITARY SERVICE Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared a Jewish Israeli isn't complete unless he serves in the military for his country. Because nothing says fulfillment like gearing up for the occupation grind. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EX-ISRAELI PM BENNETT CLAIMS MIDDLE EAST NEEDS ISRAEL TO STOP JIHADISTS HITTING TWIN TOWERS LIKE 9/11 Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says if Israel didn't exist, the Middle East would teem with jihadists, al-Qaeda, and ISIS, who'd pull off 9/11-style Twin Towers attacks. He figures that's what happens when you treat the region as someone else's headache. Bennett, who watched the burning towers from Manhattan that day, warns radical Islamists would lob nuclear ballistic missiles at America—from Manhattan to California and everywhere else. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 US OFFLOADS SEIZED IRANIAN SHIP TUSKA AND CREW TO PAKISTAN ABC News says the United States handed over the seized Iranian ship Tuska and its detained crew to Pakistan. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry confirms the Tuska crew gets passed to Iranian authorities today, like shuffling pawns after the grab. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERZ DOUBLES DOWN ON TRANSATLANTIC TIES WITH TRUMP DESPITE US TROOP SHUFFLES Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz vows to keep the transatlantic alliance humming along with US President Donald Trump. He shrugs off recent US military tweaks as old hat, just hyped up this time—America's always shuffling its troops worldwide anyway. Over 30,000 US soldiers still parked in Germany, he points out. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum