Saudi Arabia urges Iran to seize chance for diplomacy

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took aim at US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday by quoting from Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy and warning that ordinary Americans would bear the cost of another Middle East war.

“We felt trapped in two unwinnable wars and a disproportionate share of fighters came from our neighborhood,” Ghalibaf wrote, citing a passage from the book.

“Hillbilly 2 incoming,” he added, accusing “broligarchs” and “beltway war merchants” of pushing the United States toward deeper conflict with Iran.

The unusual post appears to be appealing directly to anti-interventionist sentiment among parts of the American right.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington would give Iran “one shot” at diplomacy but warned of further attacks if Tehran does not agree to a deal.

“I’m in for three months and much of it’s been ceasefire,” Trump told reporters.

“We’re in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen,” he added.

“We’re going to give this one shot. I’m in no hurry,” Trump said. “Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way.”

Iran has consolidated de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz through military checkpoints, ship vetting, diplomatic arrangements and in some cases security fees for safe passage, Reuters reported, citing 20 sources including Asian and European shipping officials as well as Iranian and Iraqi officials.

The report said the Revolutionary Guards play a central role in a new multi-layered transit system that gives preference to ships linked to allies such as China and Russia, while other vessels may require government-to-government arrangements or payments to pass.

The report cited two European shipping sources as saying some vessels that aren’t covered by government-to-government deals are paying Iranian authorities upwards of $150,000 to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships are sometimes charged security and navigation fees, which vary according to cargo, the report added citing two senior Iranian officials.

“Not all countries are subject to these charges,” Reuters quoted of the Iranian officials as saying.

The report said vessels face inspections by armed IRGC patrol boats, route restrictions, transponder blackouts and possible delays during passage through the strait.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency warned Iran could step up operations in Europe after the war, including against Jewish and Israeli institutions, Iranian dissidents and other perceived opponents, European news website Euractiv reported.

“The BfV (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) assesses that, following the end of the war, the Iranian regime could deploy its intelligence services to track down and target opponents of the regime,” Euractiv quoted Germany’s domestic intelligence service as saying.

The agency said it was investigating people based in Germany who had traveled to Iran for military training or had “placed themselves in the service” of Iranian authorities.

Euractiv cited intelligence sources as saying several dozen people had left Germany for Iran and later worked on behalf of the regime, including two men from Hamburg who appeared in a propaganda video at a Basij checkpoint carrying assault rifles.

The BfV said Iranian intelligence services were willing to use methods amounting to state terrorism, ranging from threats and surveillance to preparations for attack plots. It said the threat to Jewish, Israeli and Iranian opposition targets in Germany “remains high.”

Iran has not yet decided whether Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will attend a UN Security Council meeting on international peace and security on May 26, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Baghaei said Araghchi had been invited because China currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council and plans to host a special meeting of foreign ministers.

“This open meeting of the UN Security Council is planned for May 26, but given the foreign minister’s busy schedule, his participation has not yet been finalized,” Baghaei said.

The comments came after lawmaker Ali Khezrian, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, said Araghchi was expected to travel to New York and hold talks with Persian Gulf countries about the Strait of Hormuz.

Khezrian criticized the possible trip, saying he hoped the report was false because holding such a meeting in New York, “on enemy soil,” would place the Islamic Republic in a position of weakness.