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19:05
Hegseth Defends War With Iran, Lashes Out At Democrats
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the warfare with Iran in a fiery speech to Congress on April 29, insisting it had “not turned into a quagmire.”
He additionally took a swipe at Democratic lawmakers for criticizing the battle.
“You call it a swamp, when you’re giving propaganda fodder to our enemies? You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that,” he stated at a listening to of the US House Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth went on to explain congressional Democrats as “irresponsible, ineffective, and defeatist.”
On April 22, the US Senate rejected Democrats’ try and restrict President Donald Trump’s authority to make use of navy power in opposition to Iran by a vote of 51 to 46.
It was the fifth such effort by Democrats for the reason that begin of the eight-week warfare. The proposal, led by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, would have referred to as for the withdrawal of American forces from the battle with Iran with out congressional authorization.
Democrats say they may proceed to push for a vote on warfare powers.
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18:59
Pentagon: US War With Iran Has Cost $25 Billion
A senior US Defense Department official introduced that the price of the nation’s warfare with Iran has reached $25 billion thus far, a determine that’s thought-about the primary official estimate of the prices of the battle.
Jules W Hurst, who presently serves because the Pentagon’s chief monetary officer, informed lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee on April 29 that the majority of the spending was on ammunition.
The United States started its assaults on Iran on February 28, and the 2 sides are presently sustaining a fragile cease-fire.
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18:41
‘Endgame’ For Iran’s Oil Sector? How US Blockade May Impact Tehran’s Calculus
Weeks of US and Israeli air strikes, sanctions, and restrictions have hit Iran arduous, nevertheless it might be geology that ultimately pushes it into making concessions in its ongoingstandoff with the United States.
As theUS naval blockadeof Iran approaches the top of its third week, knowledge from transport and business displays means that tankers have been unable to maneuver Iranian crude by theStrait of Hormuztoward markets in Asia.
This implies that Iranian oil storage capability is quickly filling, and the clock is ticking earlier than Iran might want to stop manufacturing. That’s the issue for Tehran, analysts say, because it tries to resist US strain to barter a peace settlement.
To learn the complete news evaluation by Ray Furlong, Hannah Kaviani, and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, clickhere.
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16:24
Iran’s Conservative Camp Split Over US Talks To End War
In the face of a devastating US-Israeli bombing marketing campaign, Iran’s rival political factions forged apart their variations to unite behind the nation’s decision-makers.
But since a cease-fire with the United States got here into power on April 8, deep-rooted political variations within the Islamic republic have spilled out into the open.
The public rupture over Tehran’s makes an attempt to barter an finish to the two-month-long warfare has pitted Iran’s small however vocal faction of ultraconservatives in opposition to extra average conservatives, a confrontation that has been laid naked within the halls of parliament and on the entrance pages of state-affiliated media.
To learn the complete report, clickhere.
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16:11
Russia Yet To Decide On Returning Employees To Iran’s Bushehr Plant
Bushehr nuclear energy plant
The scenario round Iran’s Bushehr nuclear energy plant is calming, however Russia has but to resolve on the return of its staff to the plant after they had been taken in a foreign country due to the warfare.
Aleksei Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom — Russia’s state nuclear vitality firm — introduced on April 29 that the scenario at Bushehr is “becoming slightly clearer,” and that about 1,000 Iranian staff have returned to their office.
“We are receiving invitations from the Iranian nuclear industry management to return the [Russian specialists] as soon as possible, but no such decision has been made yet,” he informed reporters.
Rosatom, which manages and oversees the Bushehr nuclear energy plant, evacuated greater than 300 of its staff to Russia.
Iran has stated the realm across the plant was focused by air strikes 4 occasions throughout the warfare. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated one bomb landed “75 meters” from the plant and referred to as for a halt to assaults wherever close to it.
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16:08
China’s Energy Giant Announces Earnings Boost As Iran War Ripples Through Chinese Economy
Sinopec, Chinas state-owned oil and pure fuel large, introduced stronger-than-projected first-quarter earnings buoyed by a surge in vitality costs from the warfare in Iran.
During an earnings briefing on April 29,Sinopec saidits internet income rose by 28 % year-on-year within the first quarter, whereas shares within the firm rose 2.4 % within the Hong Kong stock market.
Shares in different main Chinese oil firms PetroChina and China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) rose 2.7 and 1.4 %, respectively. Sinopec additionally expects chemical exports to rise 26 % in 2026.
The eight-week blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and preventing in Iran have tightened world provide for oil, fuel, and petrochemicals, elevating costs and lifting revenue margins for vitality firms.
The announcement comes as financial fallout from the warfare begins to take maintain throughout China’s manufacturing-dependent financial system. China has withstood the worst of the vitality shocks from the warfare, however the warfare has additionally begun to impede pure fuel imports.Sinopec reporteda lack of 830 million yuan ($121.4 million) from lowered provides, in addition to a 7.6 % discount within the utilization of its refineries.
At a gathering on April 28, Beijing pledged to strengthen the financial system by prioritizing vitality safety and expertise self-sufficiency. ThePolitburo, China’s high decision-making physique, stated it might “systemically respond” to exterior challenges, because the prolonged blockade of Hormuz begins to take impact on the nation’s financial system.
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13:11
Labor Activist: 750,000 People Registered As Unemployed Since Start Of War
Hassan Sadeghi, head of Iran’s Union of Veteran Workers, stated that for the reason that begin of the US-Israeli warfare with Iran, round 750,000 folks have newly registered as unemployed.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund, which earlier than the warfare had supported round 180,000 folks, has now grown to almost 1 million beneficiaries, in line withSadeghi. He stated the surge in functions was putting an excessive burden on out there assets.
Large-scale job losses amongst employees have been reported on account of strikes on Iran’s petrochemical and metal industries.
Although no exact figures have been launched on how many individuals have misplaced their jobs on account of strikes and the shutdown of manufacturing services, studies point out that tens of hundreds of staff misplaced their jobs in reference to the metal sector alone, given the dimensions of strikes on main crops such because the Mobarakeh Steel Company in Isfahan.
According to preliminary estimates by Irans Labor Ministry, the 40-day warfare resulted within the lack of greater than 1 million jobs, with 2 million folks instantly or not directly affected by unemployment.
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12:58
UN: Iran Executed 21 People, Arrested Over 4,000 Since Escalation of Conflict
Iran has executed at the very least 21 folks and detained greater than 4,000 extra for the reason that escalation of battle within the Middle East, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, at the very least 9 folks have been executed in reference to the January 2026 protests, 10 on expenses of alleged membership in opposition teams, and two on espionage expenses.
The group additionally stated that greater than 4,000 of individuals have been arrested in Iran on nationwide security-related expenses for the reason that starting of the battle.
I’m appalled that — on high of the already extreme impacts of the battle the rights of the Iranian folks proceed to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal methods, stated UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk in thestatement.
In occasions of warfare, threats to human rights enhance exponentially. Yet even the place nationwide safety is invoked, human rights can solely be restricted the place strictly essential and proportionate, and for a authentic finish. And core, non-derogable rights — corresponding to safety in opposition to arbitrary detention, and the precise to honest trial — have to be revered completely, always.”
Previously, Amnesty International warned that cease-fires in the Middle East could not prevent the humanitarian crisis from escalating, saying civilians in Iran continue to face the “double risk” of war and repression.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran carries out one of the highest numbers of executions per capita in the world and ranks among the countries with the highest total executions globally, after China, for which reliable data is limited.
Two organizations, the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty, based in Paris, have reported that Iran executed at least 1,639 people in 2025.
According to the rights groups, this is the highest annual execution total recorded in Iran since 1989.
SEE ALSO:
Iran Sentences Four More To Death Over Mass Protests, Rights Groups Say
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11:50
Trump Says Iran ‘Better Get Smart Soon’
US President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is incapable of reaching a non-nuclear deal.
Writing on his Truth Social network on April 29, Trump said: “Iran cannot get its act collectively. They do not know tips on how to signal a non-nuclear deal. They higher get good quickly!”
He did not elaborate further on what such a “deal” would entail.
His post also featured an AI-generated image of Trump, in aviator sunglasses, holding a machine gun with fires blazing behind him.
This new statement by the US president comes as negotiations between Iran and the United States remain deadlocked after a round of talks in Islamabad failed to produce any positive results amid an ongoing cease-fire.
It was reported earlier this week that Iran had made a proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the naval blockade by the US military, but reports indicate that US government officials have not accepted this offer.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explicitly called the offer unacceptable.
In Iran, officials have often remained silent on the matter, but in recent media discussions, the issue has been raised that lifting the naval blockade should be a precondition for negotiations for any agreement with the United States, while the Iranian government’s resistance to dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program has been cited as one of the main obstacles to the failure of Iran-US negotiations.
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10:26
Japanese Vessel Safely Passes Strait of Hormuz
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has confirmed that a Japanese-linked vessel that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 29 and is heading to Japan with three Japanese crew members on board.
In aposton X published on April 29, she also emphasized the importance of quickly restoring free and safe navigation through the strait for vessels of all countries, including Japan, and said she had conveyed this position to Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian.
“The Government of Japan considers this passage of a Japan-related vessel as a optimistic growth,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry stated in a separatestatement.
Iran has restricted industrial transport from transiting by the strait, whereas the United States has enforced a naval blockade on all ships getting into or leaving Iranian ports. This has led to sharply lowered site visitors and ongoing disruptions to world oil flows.
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