The United States and Iran continue to push forward with talks building on their recently signed MOU to end the current war and resolve outstanding differences between the two countries related to sanctions and the Iranian nuclear program. Following the failure of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran, Tehran has put forward what amount to victors’ terms in ongoing negotiations; including full relief from the U.S. sanctions regime, a recognized right to uranium enrichment, and a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Despite ongoing attempts at foiling the negotiations and restarting the war by Israel and neoconservatives in Washington, the Trump administration has pressed ahead with talks led by Vice President JD Vance. The negotiations now underway are taking place effectively on Tehran’s terms, with the U.S. forced back to the negotiating table after a weeks-long air campaign failed to suppress Iranian ballistic missile strikes and allowed Tehran to to take control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim, Jeremy Scahill, and Murtaza Hussain discuss the recent round of talks in Switzerland, the emerging strategic landscape in the Middle East after the war, and the prospects for a settlement in Lebanon. Additionally, Grim and Hussain discuss today’s primary election in New York and growing challenges to the influence of pro-Israel lobby groups in U.S. domestic politics.

The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early Monday to extend the ceasefire for 60 days and open the Strait of Hormuz. The text of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) has not been released, but Iran has publicly indicated that the deal includes a permanent cessation of military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon specifically. The signing of the agreement is set for Friday in Switzerland, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance saying he plans to attend and leaving open the possibility President Donald Trump could as well. In the first 24 hours after the MOU was formally announced, the Israeli military carried out drone strikes, artillery fire, ground incursion attempts, and road demolitions across south Lebanon, killing at least three civilians and wounding several others. Despite this, thousands of displaced Lebanese have begun making their way south looking to return to their homes.

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim, Jeremy Scahill, Murtaza Hussain, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous discuss the MOU between the U.S. and Iran, its geopolitical implications, how Lebanon is a pivotal part of the deal, and why Palestine is not specifically named in the agreement.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed over the past two months that a deal with Iran is imminent. Following an exchange of military attacks between Iran and Israel this week, Trump is treading in familiar narrative waters. Iran has made clear it remains open to a deal and charges that the basic contours of an agreement were in place weeks ago. Trump, Iranian officials charged, sabotaged an agreement by continuing the military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, striking Iran and allowing Israel to intensify its scorched earth attacks in southern Lebanon. After Iran hit back, launching missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Beirut, Trump’s tone shifted back to diplomacy.

On the Drop Site live stream, Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim speak to Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.Media, about the state of diplomacy and war, as well as Israel’s covert operations in Iran and whether Tehran will continue to define a ceasefire in Lebanon as a red line for any deal. Then, international law expert Maryam Jamshidi and political analyst Negar Mortazavi discuss the future of Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz and how international law has been attacked since the Gaza genocide began.

Tehran suspended ceasefire negotiations over Israel’s escalating attacks in Lebanon and U.S. strikes on Iranian shipping, as any prospect of a deal grows increasingly remote. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says a permanent Lebanon ceasefire is now a prerequisite for any agreement, while Strait of Hormuz closures send fertilizer and diesel prices soaring.

At the same time, Israel is pursuing a systematic campaign to empty entire communities across southern Lebanon and has destroyed approximately 60 villages near the southern border. Amnesty International warns the displacement orders “don’t constitute lawful advance warnings” and amount to the war crime of unlawful transfer.

* Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Maysa Mustafa kicked off this week’s livestream speaking with Dr. Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and U.S. veteran who performed surgeries in Gaza, and is now the frontrunner in New Jersey’s 12th congressional district in a primary where U.S. support for Israel’s wars in the Middle East have been defining issues.

* Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute joined to break down whether the Iran deal is collapsing in real time.

* Sean Vitka of Demand Progress discussed Rashida Tlaib’s Lebanon War Powers Resolution and Democratic Party inaction on the war.

* And Drop Site contributor Lylla Younes also joined live from Beirut, speaking on her reporting of the ethnic cleansing of southern Lebanon—including her latest report on the Ain Arab village, where soldiers went door to door telling residents: “You either leave right now or you die.”

Stay INFORMED on our latest reporting: DropSiteNews.comWATCH our weekly live show, streaming every TUESDAY morning, on Substack, YouTube, and FacebookLISTEN to the show as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, RSS, or wherever you get your podcasts.SUBSCRIBE to Drop Site News. Our reporting is FREE, and we are committed to keeping it that way.To help support our work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription, it’s what fuels our reporting: https://www.dropsitenews.com/subscribeDONATE to support Drop Site's independent journalism. Help us continue our work with a tax-deductible contribution at donate.dropsitenews.com.

Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. strikes a day earlier as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations for a framework for a deal to end the war hang in the balance. The U.S. military confirmed that it had struck vessels near the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Monday in what called “self-defense strikes,” while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it shot down a MQ-9 Reaper drone that entered Iranian airspace. 

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati traveled to Doha on Monday evening for continued talks with mediators.

A senior Iranian official told Drop Site on Friday that Tehran had put forward a set of terms as a framework for a deal, including the provisional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—contingent on an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, and a plan to compensate Iran for damages incurred in the war. The official also stated that the Iranian framework would require an agreement to permanently end the war first, followed by immediate negotiations to reach a deal over the nuclear program.

Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill speaks with Dr. Foad Izadi, professor of American studies and international relations at University of Tehran, about the latest. Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Jeremy also speak with Eyad Amawi of the Gaza Relief Committee in Deir al-Balah about the escalating Israeli assault on Gaza and the growing hunger crisis. Sharif also discusses the latest in Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalates Israeli attacks, and Jeremy outlines how President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has unilaterally rewritten the Gaza ceasefire agreement in an effort to compel Palestinians to surrender their liberation cause and institutionalize Israeli domination over the future of the Gaza Strip.

As President Donald Trump struggles to find a path to declare victory in his war of choice against Iran, he now claims he called off a resumption of military attacks he said were planned for Tuesday.

Trump announced Monday that a planned military strike on Iran had been postponed at the personal request of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, because “serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”

While Iranian leaders said they are engaged in good faith negotiations, they have also said they have their own red lines and are prepared for a resumption of the war. Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill and Negar Mortazavi of the Center for International Policy discuss the latest developments.

Then, Ryan Grim discusses how the war in Sudan has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis while receiving far less global attention than Gaza or Ukraine.

Researcher Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, said the conflict has entered a new phase defined by drone warfare, with both the Sudanese army and the RSF increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure as the rainy season begins. He also warned that the RSF is militarily fragile and heavily dependent on UAE supply lines, arguing that pressure campaigns targeting the UAE’s business ties—especially through the NBA and Manchester City—could have more impact than diplomacy.

Humanitarian and world-renowned photographer Misan Harriman stressed the need for athletes, celebrities, and protest movements to connect Sudan to broader anti-war and anti-colonial struggles alongside Gaza and Congo.

FOLLOW Drop Site News for more independent news on war and politicsStay INFORMED on our latest reporting: DropSiteNews.comWATCH our weekly live show, streaming every TUESDAY morning, on Substack, YouTube, and FacebookLISTEN to the show as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, RSS, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To help support our work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription, it’s what fuels our reporting: https://www.dropsitenews.com/subscribe

DONATE to support Drop Site's independent journalism. Help us continue our work with a tax-deductible contribution at donate.dropsitenews.com.

The ongoing deadlock between Iran and the U.S. over the Strait of Hormuz is now triggering a global economic crisis whose impacts are increasingly being felt at home. Any prospect of negotiations at present appears remote, as Donald Trump claims that the ceasefire between the two countries is on “life support,” while Iran maintains control of the vital waterway. The impact of the war has already been felt across Asia, but now threatens looming shortages on critical inputs like fertilizer in the U.S. as well.

Drop Site’s Murtaza Hussain, Maysa Mustafa and Julian Andreone discuss the impacts of the shutdown and the current outlook on the Iran-U.S. standoff.

At the same time, Israel is pursuing an aggressive military campaign across southern Lebanon, destroying entire communities as the country’s leaders openly threaten to replicate the tactics of wholesale destruction employed in the Gaza Strip against the Lebanese people. Journalist Courtney Bonneau joins the stream live from south Lebanon amid an ongoing wave of Israeli strikes in the region.

Additionally, a new story on Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to the U.S. Treasury Department and its Iran sanctions program published in Drop Site sheds light on his quiet role in helping shape the political and economic landscape that gave rise to the current crisis.

The U.S. military escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is taking center stage as President Donald Trump contemplates whether to resume the war against Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the ceasefire remains in effect despite some limited military activity since Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. would begin an operation to “guide” merchant vessels from the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has declared that it remains in full control of the management of the Strait and is proceeding with consolidating a new regime of rules governing transit.

A senior Iranian official told Drop Site that Tehran believes a resumption of the war is highly likely and that it would include operations along Iran’s coastline and potentially strikes aimed at assassinating Iranian military and political leadership. Iranian military officials say they have been preparing to resume their retaliatory attacks across the Persian Gulf and attacks against Israel. Indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are ongoing, but Trump has denounced recent Iranian proposals, saying, “they have not yet paid a big enough price.” Tehran charges that the U.S. is issuing maximalist demands and Iran has no intention of capitulating. “Project Freedom is Project Deadlock,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Monday, referring to the new U.S. military operations in the Strait. “Events in Hormuz make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis. As talks are making progress with Pakistan’s gracious effort, the U.S. should be wary of being dragged back into [a] quagmire by ill-wishers.”

On the Drop Site News livestream, Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim speak to Abas Aslani, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran about the latest developments. Aslani describes Iran’s position on negotiations, the future of the Strait of Hormuz, the current decision making process in Tehran and the economic realities facing both Iran and the U.S.

The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, ending its membership in the oil cartel that dates to 1967 and removing the group’s third-largest energy producer.

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Maysa Mustafa discuss the implications of the move.

They are also joined by Jacquline Sweet to discuss her latest investigation revealing the highest paid employees of the Israeli group running the infamous doxxing site Canary Mission.

And as Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue with daily airstrikes, shelling and demolition in the south, NYU journalism professor Mohamad Bazzi joins to discuss Israel’s 50-year war on Lebanon, Hezbollah’s increasing use of fiber optic FPV drones as a tactic of asymmetric warfare, Israel’s campaign of destruction and erasure in southern Lebanon, and more.

Uncertainty remains over whether a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran will take place in Pakistan before the ceasefire agreement between the two countries is set to expire on Wednesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, there has been no official confirmation from either Washington or Tehran on whether the talks will happen.

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill discuss the current state of play, President Donald Trump’s comments, Iran’s view of the negotiations, and how developments in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend exacerbated tensions. They also play clips of Jeremy’s interview with prominent Iranian analyst Hassan Ahmadian, Associate Professor of Middle East Studies at Tehran University.