🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — Fighting has paused temporarily between the US and Iran, but no compromise is in sight over the disputed administration of the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reports.

➡️ Iran views control of the strait as its key wartime gain and insists ships must follow its assigned route — the latest round of fighting was triggered after the US retaliated against Iran for firing on vessels that defied its directives.

➡️ The dispute centers on Point 5 of the MoU, which calls on Iran to arrange safe passage and engage Oman on future strait administration — but does not explicitly grant Iran exclusive authority over shipping there.

➡️ Both sides have been imposing their own interpretations of the clause; Crisis Group warns the ambiguity that helped end initial fighting has since become a liability.

➡️ Mediators are working to return both parties to the negotiating table; Iran has shown no sign of compromise, but hostilities appear to have paused as of today.

@IntelSlava

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇮🇷⚡️ — The Trump administration has signaled it does not want Israel involved in US strikes on Iran, according to two Israeli sources cited by CNN.

➡️ One source said Netanyahu "would really want to join the US strikes," but Washington has made clear Israeli participation is unwanted at this stage.

➡️ Israeli officials broadly assess that Trump is not seeking a return to full-scale war — with the most likely escalatory step being a reinstatement of a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

@IntelSlava

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — Who Violated the MoU?

Iran's position was that all passage through the Strait of Hormuz should be coordinated with Iran, Oman, and the Gulf states. According to Tehran, Article 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recognized Iran's role in this coordination.

However, Iran believed the United States was quietly pursuing a different strategy. By escorting ships along a route closer to Oman's side of the strait, Washington was, in Iran's view, trying to create an alternative shipping lane that would reduce Iran's leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

From Iran's perspective, this was a violation of the spirit of the MoU. Although the agreement recognized Iran's coordinating role, the new route was seen as an attempt to bypass that arrangement without formally changing the agreement.

Under this interpretation, Iran's attacks on ships using the Omani-side route were a response to what it considered the first breach of the MoU. The core argument is that creating an alternative corridor weakened Iran's agreed role in coordinating passage through the strait, making it a form of passive aggression against Iran's strategic position.

@IntelSlava
@LeonovZ

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — Trump via Truth Social:

The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue “talks.” We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 — BREAKING: Trump announced that the ceasefire with Iran is over.

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 — Admin Note: Trump reverted to his pre-ceasefire stance of April 8, stating there will be no ceasefire, though he remains open to talks. According to him, talk is equal to unconditional surrender of Iran to the US.

- So basically, this means there is no political agreement preventing the resumption of war at the same pace as before April 8.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️ — The confrontation between a Russian FPV drone and a Ukrainian armored reconnaissance and combat vehicle (ARKV) equipped with an M2 Browning machine gun ended unfavorably for the latter.

Interestingly, after the drone's initial hit on the ARKV, which was trying to shake it off, another FPV drone was dispatched to finish the job.

@Intelslava

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 — There are reports from Iranian local sources that explosions were heard in Kanarak and Bushehr, but we could not confirm these claims yet.

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦 — Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out multiple FAB-500 glide bomb strikes against Ukrainian positions.

➡️ Five FAB-500 UMPK bombs struck a raised river crossing used by Ukrainian forces near Mayaky in the Donetsk People's Republic.

➡️ Four FAB-500 UMPK bombs destroyed a personnel shelter belonging to the 159th Separate Motorized Brigade near Zakharovka, Kharkiv Oblast.

➡️ A separate airstrike destroyed a Ukrainian drone command post near Rublene, Kharkiv Oblast.

@IntelSlava

🇷🇺🪖 — Russian drone units may be preparing for a potential conflict with NATO, analyst Samuel Bendett writes for Forbes.

➡️ Bendett, a drone technology expert and adviser to think tanks CNA and CNAS, argues Russian leadership is considering expanding military capacity on its western flank amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

➡️ He assesses that new military facilities have been established near Russia's western borders in recent months, reportedly capable of housing a significant troop contingent.

➡️ Bendett raises a possible scenario involving rapid Russian operations against the Baltic states in the absence of timely NATO reinforcement.

➡️ He draws a historical parallel with the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, noting that conflict's destabilizing effect on USSR domestic politics.

@IntelSlava

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦 — Russian Gerbera Seeker UAVs struck an enemy drone launch site and a temporary deployment area near Dobropolye.