Iran expected to answer US proposal as Trump says deal 'will happen'

Swiss authorities said on Thursday that the war in Iran had created uncertainty over gas availability and warned that, in an extreme scenario, it could affect the stability of electricity supplies in Europe and Switzerland, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that “no terrorist has immunity,” warning that anyone threatening Israel would bear responsibility.

“Anyone who threatens the State of Israel — their blood is on their own head,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

Iran’s president gave the first public account of a recent meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since the strikes that killed his father and reportedly wounded him.

Masoud Pezeshkian said the meeting lasted nearly two and a half hours and was held in what he described as a close and cordial atmosphere.

“What stood out to me more than anything else in this meeting was the manner, outlook and deeply humble and cordial approach of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Pezeshkian said.

He added that Khamenei’s approach turned the discussion into “an atmosphere based on trust, calm, empathy and direct dialogue.”

Pezeshkian also linked the meeting to the need for unity inside the leadership, saying Khamenei’s conduct could serve as a model for the country’s management system.

“When the highest-ranking official in the country treats officials and individuals with such moral conduct, humility and a people-oriented spirit, this behavior can naturally become a model for the country’s administrative and management system,” he said.

The account comes weeks after sources told Iran International that Pezeshkian had repeatedly sought an urgent meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei but received no response. The sources said a “military council” of senior IRGC officers had imposed a security cordon around the new Supreme Leader and prevented government reports from reaching him.

Taliban and Iranian officials have collaborated on developing a mobile application capable of monitoring users inside Afghanistan, sources told Afghanistan International.

Sources in Afghanistan said the application was believed to have surveillance capabilities that could expose smartphones and internet-connected devices to monitoring systems linked to the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence.

A London-based cybersecurity expert said suspicious applications could collect sensitive information, including location data, contacts, messages, browsing history and device access permissions.

German intelligence officials have privately warned that the risk of Iran-linked attacks in Germany is more serious than the government has publicly acknowledged, according to senior German officials cited by the New York Times.

The officials said state intelligence agencies had pushed political leaders to issue stronger public warnings about possible attacks linked to the Islamic Republic.

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South Korea and the United States will hold high-level defense talks in Washington on May 12-13 to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control of their combined forces, Seoul’s defense ministry said on Thursday.

An Iranian lawmaker said on Thursday that passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be impossible without accepting the Islamic Republic’s authority over the waterway.

Ghasem Ravanbakhsh said the United States had no choice but to accept “the new legal regime” in the strategic strait.

He added that the White House had tried to use proxy forces and the United Arab Emirates to create an alternate route for supplying energy to the United States and Europe but faced the Islamic Republic’s “power.”

Iran’s nationwide internet blackout entered its 69th day on Thursday after 1,632 hours of severe disruption to international connectivity, internet monitor NetBlocks said.

“The shutdown continues to drive job losses with a disproportionate impact on independent workers, effectively redistributing wealth to regime-aligned groups,” it added in a post on X.

Iran’s embassy in Seoul denied on Thursday any involvement by Iranian armed forces in damage to a South Korean-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

The embassy said in a statement that it “firmly rejects and categorically denies any allegations” regarding the incident.

It added, however, that “disregard for the declared requirements and operational realities in an environment influenced by military and security tensions may lead to unintended incidents.”

The statement was issued after a Panama-flagged ship operated by South Korea’s HMM suffered an explosion and caught fire on Monday.

China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it firmly opposed moves that escalated tensions in the region after an attack on an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot ruled out on Thursday lifting any international sanctions on Iran as long as the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked.

Barrot told France’s RTL radio that Iran, “or at least the Iranian regime,” was seeking sanctions relief from the United States in return for steps on its nuclear program.

“But it is out of the question that the slightest sanction could be lifted as long as a strait like Hormuz is blocked,” he said.

Only about 2,000 of more than 27,000 workers at Isfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company have returned to work after US and Israeli strikes on the site, Tehran-based news website Rouydad24 reported on Thursday.

Those who returned were mainly administrative and managerial staff and production at the major steel complex remained halted, according to the report.

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Iran was expected to hand mediators its response to a US proposal aimed at ending the war on Thursday, CNN reported, citing a regional source.

A law approved last October has accelerated death penalty proceedings in Iran by giving judges broad powers to interpret espionage and treason cases, an Iranian human rights lawyer was quoted as saying by the Financial Times on Thursday.

“Terms in the [new] law, such as ‘any operational acts’, give judges an almost unlimited scope for interpretation, allowing them to issue death sentences without restriction,” Amir Raesian said.

“As a result, verdicts have become much harsher and proceedings much faster, making executions swift and straightforward,” he added.

Former White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow questioned emerging US–Iran diplomatic efforts, arguing that long-term stability would require sustained pressure on Tehran and a shift toward regime change rather than relying on a negotiated agreement.

Speaking on Fox News, Kudlow cited recent reporting on preliminary US–Iran discussions and expressed skepticism that any deal could be trusted or effectively enforced, suggesting that a pressure-based approach would be more effective in addressing Iran-related security concerns.

Author Gordon Chang said President Donald Trump should raise concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping over alleged Chinese military support for Iran, including claims about missile transfers, in remarks aired by One America News.

“The Chinese have actually been supplying weapons to the Iranians. In March when Iran fired 101 cruise missiles at the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, those were China’s CM302s… We need to hear from our president because this is absolutely critical… China, I believe, is the enemy and President Trump can show that with facts," Chang said.

US President Donald Trump shared a chart on Truth Social referencing an “Iran Excursion” and comparing its reported duration with previous US conflicts, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam.

The graphic showed the Iran conflict as lasting six weeks and listed longer durations for earlier wars, alongside the caption: “Wow. Study this Chart!”

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China’s financial regulator advised the country’s largest banks to temporarily suspend new loans to several refineries sanctioned by the United States over their ties to Iranian oil, Reuters reported, citing Bloomberg News.

According to the report, regulators verbally instructed banks to avoid issuing new yuan-denominated loans to five refiners, including Hengli Petrochemical, while reviewing existing business relationships. The move reportedly came before Beijing publicly urged Chinese firms to disregard US sanctions targeting Iranian oil trade.

Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado called for international action over the condition of Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, saying her life is in danger after months without proper medical care.

In a post on X, Machado cited statements by Mohammadi’s brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, and urged the international community to increase pressure on Iran and seek the release of political prisoners.

France released footage showing the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle transiting the Suez Canal as part of preparations linked to a potential international mission aimed at securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The French Armed Forces said the carrier strike group, accompanied by Italian and Dutch warships, is heading toward the southern Red Sea amid ongoing tensions over maritime security in the region.

France and Britain have been discussing a multinational proposal intended to support safe transit through the strategic waterway once conditions stabilize.