{"id":331099,"date":"2025-05-02T06:45:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T05:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=331099"},"modified":"2025-05-02T14:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T13:12:14","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-may-2-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-may-2-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 May 2, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Supporters of the Iranian Resistance in Brussels, Belgium, participated in a rally supporting the labor movement inside Iran \u2014 May 1, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h3>\n

UPDATE: 3:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

UK Urged to Proscribe IRGC Over Growing Threats<\/h3>\n

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A new report by the Henry Jackson Society warns <\/a>that the Iranian regime\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) poses a growing threat to UK national security and calls for the British government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation formally.<\/p>\n

The report, The Long Arm of Tehran: Why the UK Should Ban the IRGC<\/em>, outlines how the IRGC has been linked to assassination plots, surveillance operations, and efforts to intimidate dissidents on British soil. According to MI5, at least 20 Iran-backed plots have been uncovered in the UK since January 2022, including an attempt to assassinate two British-Iranian journalists last year<\/p>\n

In its policy recommendations, the report argues that proscribing the IRGC under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 would allow authorities to criminalize membership, funding, and expressions of support for the organization. The authors suggest that such a move would enable greater policing of IRGC-linked individuals in the UK and allow for the deportation or arrest of any individual even remotely linked to the IRGC.<\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 9:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump Says Any Country That Buys Oil from Iran Will Not Be Allowed to Do any Business With U.S.<\/h3>\n

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President Donald Trump said Thursday any country or person that buys oil or petrochemicals from Iran will not be allowed to do any business with the U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. crude oil<\/a>\u00a0futures rose $1.03, or 1.77%, to close at $59.24 per barrel, while global benchmark\u00a0Brent<\/a>\u00a0gained $1.07, or 1.75%, to settle at $62.13. Iran is one of the biggest oil producers in OPEC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions,\u201d Trump said in a post on his social media platform\u00a0Truth Social<\/a>. \u201cThey will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 8:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Warns Iran Over Nuclear Program, Addresses Global Security in Fox News Interview<\/h3>\n

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In a wide-ranging interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u2014 who now also serves as National Security Advisor and Acting USAID Administrator \u2014 outlined the Trump administration\u2019s foreign policy priorities, sounding a clear warning to Iran over its nuclear ambitions and highlighting escalating global threats.\u00a0Rubio reiterated<\/a> the U.S. administration\u2019s position that the Iranian regime must abandon uranium enrichment and open its facilities to unrestricted inspections if it seeks any kind of diplomatic resolution. \u201cIf in fact Iran is not interested in nuclear weapons\u2026 then they should not be afraid of inspections by inspectors of any kind, including Americans,\u201d he said. He emphasized that a peaceful nuclear program can be achieved by importing enriched uranium, a standard practice in many countries.<\/p>\n

The Secretary called on Tehran to \u201cwalk away from sponsoring terrorists, from helping the Houthis, from building long-range missiles, and from enrichment.\u201d He added, \u201cThese are not unreasonable requests. That path is there for them \u2014 it\u2019s the path of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Iran Had Imperial Ambitions in Syria. Secret Embassy Papers Show Why It Failed<\/h3>\n

\"Reuters-Logo-e1606758477848\"<\/p>\n

DAMASCUS – Iran had a grand plan for Syria \u2013 taken right from the playbook of a country it considers its arch-enemy.<\/p>\n

Just as the United States solidified its global dominance by investing billions in rebuilding Europe after the Second World War, Iran would do the same in the Middle East by reconstructing a war-ravaged Syria.<\/p>\n

The ambitious program, outlined in a 33-page official Iranian\u00a0<\/strong>study, makes several references to \u201cThe Marshall Plan,\u201d America\u2019s blueprint for resurrecting post-War Europe. The U.S. strategy succeeded: It made Europe \u201creliant on America,\u201d a presentation accompanying the study says, by \u201ccreating economic, political and socio-cultural dependence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 7:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S., U.K. Forces Launch Airstrikes on Houthi Targets in Yemen\u2019s Hodeidah, Sana\u2019a<\/h3>\n

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May 1, 2025 \u2013 U.S. and British forces conducted a wave of airstrikes targeting Houthi positions across Yemen late Tuesday night, including multiple sites in Hodeidah and the capital, Sana\u2019a, according to reports by Al Arabiya<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sources confirmed U.S. airstrikes hit Houthi military positions in four Yemeni provinces, focusing on Al-Houk district in Hodeidah. Houthi-affiliated media reported a series of strikes in Sana\u2019a, including four air raids on military installations in Al-Nahda neighborhood and the former First Armored Division camp northwest of the city, and three strikes on the military headquarters at Al-Sawad camp south of the capital.<\/p>\n

The British Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday that U.K. and U.S. forces had jointly carried out the operation, emphasizing it took place after dark to minimize civilian risk. The ministry confirmed all aircraft returned safely.<\/p>\n

This operation marks the latest escalation in a U.S.-led military campaign launched on March 15, 2025, aimed at halting Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks targeting vessels they claim are linked to Israel.<\/p>\n

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Iranian Political Prisoners Support Workers\u2019 Struggle, Call for Regime Change<\/h3>\n

\"Dizel<\/p>\n

In a powerful open letter marking International Workers\u2019 Day, a group of political prisoners supporting the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) from Ghezel Hesar Prison expressed solidarity with Iranian workers and condemned the regime\u2019s oppression and economic plunder.<\/p>\n

The letter honors the sacrifices of workers across Iran, from miners buried alive to those killed in explosions caused by the regime\u2019s negligence. \u201cLet us pause on this May Day to remember the oppressed, murdered, and buried workers in the mines, the workers burned in the flames of IRGC warehouse explosions in Bandar Abbas, and the families trapped in poverty, disease, and slow death,\u201d the prisoners wrote.<\/p>\n

They described the regime\u2019s systematic impoverishment of workers and wage earners under both the Shah and the clerical dictatorship, emphasizing that \u201cexcept for a handful of thieves, profiteers, and embezzlers, the majority of society lives below the poverty line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Resistance Units Commemorate International Workers\u2019 Day Across Iran<\/h3>\n

On the occasion of International Workers\u2019 Day (May 1, 2025), the Resistance Units affiliated with the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) organized a series of bold field activities across multiple Iranian cities. These acts expressed full solidarity with Iranian workers, especially the victims of the\u00a0Bandar Abbas explosion<\/a>, and rejected the social and political injustice perpetrated by the regime of the Supreme Leader against the working class.<\/p>\n

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Resistance Units commemorate International Workers\u2019 Day across Iran https:\/\/t.co\/UdCj4xKqRe<\/a><\/p>\n

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n