Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iran said on Monday that it would soon submit a new proposal for a nuclear deal with the United States via Oman, as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog raised concerns over Tehran’s ongoing violations of and lack of compliance with international nuclear standards.

Speaking at a press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced that the Islamist regime will soon present its own nuclear proposal after rejecting a previous offer from Washington.

“We strongly recommend the American side not to waste this opportunity — it’s in their own interest to take it seriously,” the Iranian diplomat said.

With a sixth round of nuclear talks still uncertain, Baghaei stressed that uranium enrichment remains a “strategic necessity” for Iran’s nuclear industry and is crucial to the country’s national interests.

Commenting on the White House’s demand that Tehran reduce uranium enrichment down to zero, he said Iran’s stance serves as a deterrent “against excessive foreign demands” and “pressures that go beyond legal and international norms.”

“It cannot be said in any way that every country that engages in enrichment necessarily has a weapons program,” the Iranian diplomat said. “Currently, many countries, including some US allies, are engaged in enrichment but do not have any military or weapons programs.”

Last week, Iranian officials condemned Washington’s latest nuclear proposal as “unprofessional and untechnical,” criticizing it for its alleged failure to address sanctions relief — a key demand for Tehran under any deal with the US.

“Iran will never relinquish its natural rights,” Ali Shamkhnai, political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Washington’s draft proposal for a new nuclear deal was delivered by Omani officials — who have been mediating negotiations between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff — during last month’s talks in Rome.

After five rounds of talks, diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results as both adversaries clash over Iran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition that US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected.

Meanwhile, in its latest report on Iranian nuclear violations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, warned that the country’s continued accumulation of highly enriched uranium nearing weapons-grade levels poses a serious concern that cannot be ignored.

“Uranium enrichment per se is not a forbidden activity, which is something my Iranian counterparts always tell me,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said at a press conference following the agency’s Board of Governors opening meeting in Vienna on Monday.

“At the same time, when you accumulate and continue to accumulate, and you are the only country in the world doing this at a level very, very close to what is needed for a nuclear explosive device, then we cannot ignore it,” Grossi continued.

“There is no medical or civilian use for it. That is why it is important for us.”

The IAEA’s latest report reveals that, alongside numerous other violations, Iran has previously conducted multiple implosion tests — a crucial military capability for developing an atomic bomb.

At Monday’s press conference, Grossi also discussed a draft resolution from Western powers condemning Iran’s nuclear non-compliance.

He stressed that the resolution — put forward by the US, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — represents the agency’s technical oversight responsibilities, not a political move to pressure Tehran.

However, Iran has strongly rejected the measure, accusing the agency of political bias and of advancing American interests.

Grossi also referenced the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which temporarily limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, explaining that even if the agreement were reinstated, it would no longer be sufficient to address the expanded scope and complexity of the country’s current nuclear activities.

“The JCPOA was designed to be applied to a very specific type of Iran program, which is completely different now,” he said. “Even if you wanted to revive it, it would not be enough because now they have new technologies.”

“We cannot wait for negotiations. We are an independent technical body. But if diplomacy succeeds, it will help reinforce cooperation,” Grossi continued.

The post Iran to Unveil Nuclear Counteroffer to US as IAEA Warns It ‘Can’t Ignore’ Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Illustrative: Pro-Hamas demonstration around Mahmoud Khalil in New York City on March 12, 2025. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect.

A Williams College student has been charged with vandalism and resisting arrest for an incident this past weekend in which pro-Hamas graffiti was sprayed on campus property and an American flag was displaced by a Palestinian one.

The student, 20-year-old Falls Church, Virginia, native Liam Carey, was also affixed to a flagpole at the scene of the crime in Massachusetts, according to The Berkshire Eagle, a local paper. Having been discovered just hours before Williams College was to hold its annual commencement activities, he represents the latest attempt of a pro-Hamas activist to hijack the final weeks of the school year with a public gesture.

According to the Eagle, the incident was afforded passing recognition during President Maud Mandel’s speech, in which she hinted at “some protest activities this weekend.”

“Today is a time for seniors to feel good about their accomplishments, and families and friends are here from around the world to celebrate,” Mandel continued. “So, I won’t go on at length, but I wanted to acknowledge that broader context that we are all involved in right now. We’ll no doubt go back to those discussions, but I hope today we can all come together and honor the spirit of this commencement celebration.”

During the ceremony, however, Brodie Joseph Leo, who graduated with dual degrees in Arabic and environmental science, commandeered a microphone after receiving his diploma to scream “Free Palestine,” the Eagle said. The perpetrators of both the firebombing of a pro-Israel rally in Colorado earlier this month and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, last month shouted “Free Palestine” during or after the attack, according to federal authorities.

Williams College was the latest school to be targeted by pro-Hamas activists at the end of the academic year.

In May, a pro-Hamas group at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire which calls itself the “New Deal Coalition” (NDC) occupied the anteroom of the Parkhurst Hall administrative building but limited the demonstration to business hours, as its members went home when it was shuttered at 6 pm. Before leaving the building, however, the group contributed to injuries sustained by a member of President Sian Beilock’s staff and an officer of the school’s Department of Safety and Security officer, according to The Dartmouth, the college’s official campus newspaper.

College deans Anne Hudak and Eric Ramsey have since vowed to hold the group, which included non-students, accountable.

At Yale University, a pro-Hamas group moved to cap off the year with a hunger strike, choosing to starve themselves inside an administrative building in lieu of establishing an illegal encampment.

Yale administrators refused to meet with the students for a discussion of their demands that the university’s endowment be divested of any ties to Israel, as well as companies that do business with it, according to the Yale Daily News. On the fourth day of the demonstration, Yale student affairs dean Melanie Boyd briefly approached the students at the site of their demonstration, Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, advising them to leave the space because “the administration does not intend to hold any additional meetings.”

The group ended the hunger strike after just ten days, citing “deteriorating health conditions.”

In New York City, pro-Hamas students clashed with police during an unauthorized demonstration at City University of New York, Brooklyn College, continuing a series of days in which law enforcement has been deployed to quell extremist disturbances.

As seen in footage captured by “FreedomNews.TV,” students rocked officers with blow after blow to obstruct their being arrested for trespassing, prompting as many as six others to rush in to help with detaining one person at a time. The melees were unlike any seen on a US college campus this semester.

Reportedly, the aim of the group was to establish a pro-Hamas encampment on the East Quad section of campus, which they called a “Liberated Zone,” and several reports said that it attempted to block the entrance to the Tanger Hillel House after being prevented from doing so. FreedomNews captured several more fights between protesters and officers which were filmed in front of the Hillel building, where Jewish students socialize and seek support from their community.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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Pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York City, US, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Orthodox and right-wing parties made big gains in the 2025 World Zionist Congress elections, preliminary results released last week show.

The voting determines which “slates,” or parties, send the 152 US delegates to the congress, which is known as the “parliament” of the Jewish people.

Estimates have right-wing parties winning 81 of 152 seats, and liberal parties winning the remaining 71 seats.

The Reform movement’s slate won the most votes, almost reaching 48,000 — about 21 percent of the total.

“This is more than just a win for our slate — it is a resounding mandate for the values we champion,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, in a statement last week. “In a moment of global uncertainty and rising antisemitism, our community stepped forward with clarity and courage to say: we will lead, we will protect democracy, and we will build a more just and inclusive future for Jews everywhere.”

However, the Reform slate’s success was not a significant surprise. Rather, it was the success of conservative, Orthodox, and right-wing parties that represented the most significant development.

“For the first time, the conservative and right-wing bloc has achieved a clear majority,” World Zionist Organization (WZO) Chairman Yaakov Hagoel said in a statement cited by the Times of Israel. “This is a historic moment in which American Jewry has voiced a strong stand for proud Zionism, for tradition and for bringing hearts together.”

The second and third place slates — Am Yisrael Chai and Eretz Hakodesh — are both Orthodox and won 13.8 and 12.7 percent of the vote, respectively. Eretz Hakodesh is affiliated with Israel’s Ashkenazi Haredi political party, United Torah Judaism, while Am Yisrael Chai is a coalition of college students and young professionals focused on pro-Israel advocacy and love of Judaism. Additionally, the Orthodox Israel Coalition — representing mainstream Orthodox institutions such as Yeshiva University and the Orthodox Union — came in fifth place with 11.7 percent of the vote.

In all, Orthodox parties received more than 40 percent of the vote in this year’s election.

Mercaz USA, the slate of the Conservative movement, came in fourth place, and a progressive slate called Hatikvah came in sixth.

This election had the largest US turnout in the history of the World Zionist Congress, with more than 230,000 votes cast.

“American Jews have spoken — through their record-breaking turnout in the 2025 World Zionist Congress election, they have powerfully demonstrated that Zionism in the United States is not only alive and well but stronger than ever,” said Herbert Block, executive director of American Zionist Movement. “Thanks to this historic participation in the election, US Jewry is poised to make an indelible mark when the World Zionist Congress gathers in October.”

The press release announcing the results added, “A record 22 slates representing diverse political beliefs, religious denominations, and cultural traditions competed in the election, which is held once every five years. This represented a 57 percent surge from the 14 American slates that won seats in the Congress in 2020.”

At the same time, there were 18,948 votes that were invalidated due to suspicions of fraud. Am Yisrael Chai and Eretz Hakodesh are reportedly believed to be among the six parties to benefit from seemingly orchestrated campaigns to increase vote counts using duplicate email addresses and suspicious pre-paid credit cards. The World Zionist Organization’s Area Election Committee is investigating the alleged fraud and considering how to penalize those connected to it.

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