Iran says excessive US demands push NPT into free fall

Ivanka Trump was targeted for assassination by an "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps‑linked terrorist" in a plot to avenge the 2020 US drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, The New York Post reported on Friday, citing intelligence sources.

The Iraqi national, Mohammad Bagher Saad Dawood Al‑Saadi, allegedly pledged to kill Ivanka, had a blueprint of her Florida home, and posted online threats warning that “neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you.”

Al‑Saadi, described as a high‑ranking figure in Iraq‑Iran terror circles, was arrested in Turkey on May 15 and extradited to the US, where he faces charges connected to 18 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States, including attacks on US and Jewish targets in Amsterdam, London, Toronto, and Belgium, the report said.

Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw on Friday warned that the Iran War Powers Resolution would “tie the President’s hands” in the middle of a crisis, saying that removing credible deterrence from the commander in chief during an escalating conflict would only embolden Tehran and the terrorist groups it backs.

"The Iranian regime would love nothing more than for Congress to tie the President’s hands in the middle of a crisis. That’s exactly what the Iran War Powers Resolution would do. Iran has spent decades funding terrorist proxies, murdering Americans, attacking our allies, targeting commercial shipping, and openly chanting “Death to America,” Crenshaw posted on X. "Now some in Congress want to advertise to that regime that they must pre-approve every possible military response. That’s not restraint. That’s strategic stupidity."

The Trump administration was preparing on Friday for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to sources familiar with the planning, even as indirect diplomacy continues over the longer‑term standoff, CBS reported.

“No final decision on any new strikes had been reached by Friday afternoon, but defense and intelligence officials began updating recall rosters for US bases overseas and some military personnel cancelled Memorial Day weekend plans in anticipation of possible action,” the report added.

Administration officials said that the Pentagon is kept on constant standby to carry out any decision the president may issue, warning that there would be serious consequences if Iran fails to reach a deal, the report said.

Iranian air traffic authorities on Friday suspended all previous clearances for civil passenger flights at airports in the western part of the Tehran flight information region (FIR), allowing only eight sites—Tehran Mehrabad, Tehran Imam Khomeini, Qazvin, Shahid Sattari (Tehran), Payam, Yazd, Isfahan, and Arak—to remain open.

These airports are now restricted to daylight‑only operations, from sunrise to sunset, and airlines must request new permission from the Civil Aviation Organization to operate civil instrument‑flight‑rules (IFR) flights into or out of them.

This change effectively limits regular passenger traffic at these western Tehran‑area airports to the specified hours and requires fresh approval from Tehran before any scheduled or charter operations can resume.

Senator Tom Cotton on Friday urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sanction the entity that runs the Strait of Hormuz passage‑fee system for Iran, including the IRGC‑linked Persian Gulf Strait Authority, and any foreign company that pays or facilitates those fees.

“The PGSA cannot operate without the consent of other nations, and the United States must ensure every actor enabling the terrorist Iranian regime is held accountable. I stand ready to work with you and am preparing legislation to further codify your efforts. In the meantime, I support the use of existing authorities to impose sanctions on the PGSA, its officers, and any foreign entity that pays, processes, or facilitates tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Cotton said.