US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured early Monday that President Donald Trump will not make a “bad deal” with Iran and explained that negotiations for a pact are ongoing because Tehran’s internal system requires more time to respond. “We are still working on it, it takes a little time to get a response (…) As the president said, he is not in a hurry. He will not sign a bad deal,” Rubio said. When asked about the obstacles in the negotiations, which were expected to yield results on Sunday, Rubio clarified that the process is only awaiting the official response from the Islamic Republic. The possibility that the US and Iran will reach a peace agreement caused Brent crude oil for July delivery to fall nearly 6%, to $97 a barrel.
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Iran executes another protester convicted of attacking security forces
The Iranian Judiciary announced Monday the execution of Abbas Akbari, another detainee from the anti-government protests in January, accused of attacking public buildings and security forces in the city of Na’in, in the center of the country.
“Abbas Akbari was executed this morning after the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence,” announced the Mizan agency, linked to the Iranian Judiciary. The outlet states that Akbari was convicted on charges of “enmity against God,” “deliberate destruction of public property,” “disturbing public order,” and “conspiracy against national security.” According to the official version, the accused was one of the “armed leaders” of the protests on January 7 and 8 in Na’in, described by Iranian authorities as riots orchestrated by the United States and Israel. “The accused, using a pistol he carried, attacked the Na’in governorate along with other protesters and opened fire on the security forces,” Mizan asserts.
The authorities claimed there were documents, videos, and confessions from the accused proving his armed participation in the riots, as well as a police report on the discovery of a weapon in his home.
The execution comes amid an increase in death sentences against protesters and people accused by Iranian authorities of collaborating with the United States and Israel since the war started on February 28.
With Akbari’s execution, Iran has now hanged 13 people convicted of participating in the January protests, which demanded the end of the Islamic Republic and were suppressed after a harsh crackdown that caused the death of 3,117 people, according to official counts, although human rights NGOs raise the figure to over 7,000.
On Sunday night, the Iranian judiciary also reported the death sentence of four accused in the case of the death of a Basij militia member in the Ekbatan neighborhood of Tehran during the 2022 protests, sparked by the death in police custody of young Mahsa Amini, detained for not wearing the Islamic veil properly.
Iran is one of the countries with the highest number of executions in the world and, in 2025, hanged 2,159 people, more than double the number in 2024, according to Amnesty International data. (Efe)
Energy
Oil price falls sharply amid expectations of war’s end
Negotiations between the United States and Iran for an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz seem to have been put back on track this weekend. Washington almost takes for granted that in the coming days it will be able to announce the gradual return to normalcy of the maritime passage through which, before the US and Israel attack, 20% of the oil and gas consumed worldwide flowed. There are still pending issues for a peace agreement with Iran, and Donald Trump insists he does not want to rush — “Both sides must take their time and do it right. There can be no mistakes!” he said on Sunday — but the messages are optimistic and oil prices reflect that. Its price falls more than 5% and stands below $98 a barrel of Brent, although it has accumulated a rise close to 50% since the start of the conflict.
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Israeli soldier dies in southern Lebanon, total now 20 since offensive began
The Israeli army reported Monday the death of another soldier, raising to 20 the total number of military deaths since the start of the offensive in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops continue occupying territory and confronting the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, as well as destroying villages.
He is Sergeant Nehoray Leizer, 19 years old, specialized in engineering, according to a military statement. Another soldier was “seriously injured” in the same incident, the text says without further details.
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On the other hand, the number of deaths from the Israeli offensive against Lebanon, which began on March 2, exceeds 3,150, after adding 28 deaths on Sunday — including children — in a day marked by intense attacks.
More than 400 of these deaths have occurred despite the ceasefire supposedly in effect since mid-April; an agreement that was extended another 45 days on May 15, according to the United States, which acts as mediator between the parties. (Efe)
Rubio says Trump “will not make a bad deal” and only awaits Iran’s response
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Monday that President Donald Trump will not make a “bad deal” with Iran and explained that negotiations for a pact are ongoing because Tehran’s internal system requires more time to respond.
“We are still working on it, it takes a little time to get a response (…) As the president said, he is not in a hurry. He will not sign a bad deal. I mean, he will not make a bad deal. So we’ll see what happens,” Rubio told the media from the New Delhi airbase.
When asked about the obstacles in the negotiations, which were expected to yield results on Sunday, Rubio clarified that the process is only awaiting the official response from the Islamic Republic. “(What is holding up the deal) is just the response. I mean, when you get to the bottom of some of these things, you have to wait for a response, and the Iranian system takes a little longer to respond,” added the Secretary of State.
Rubio defended that US diplomacy has put forward a very firm proposal seeking to resolve the maritime blockade crisis and channel the nuclear dispute multilaterally. “So we have what I think is a pretty solid proposal on the table in terms of its ability to open the straits, get the straits opened, and start a very real, meaningful, and time-limited negotiation on nuclear issues, hopefully we can achieve it,” he emphasized.
To calm criticism arising within the Republican Party ranks in Washington, where key senators had called the draft a “disastrous mistake,” the top diplomat insisted that the plan has strong international support in the region. “It has a lot of support in the Gulf. There is a lot of global support,” Rubio added.
According to the US official, who is on an official visit to India until Tuesday, the Lebanon issue and the stabilization of the border with Israel are being managed through a completely independent channel. “Well, on Lebanon we are working separately,” Rubio said, specifying that on that front a 45-day ceasefire is already in effect with daily contacts between the Lebanese and Israeli governments.
On Sunday, Rubio’s office condemned Hezbollah’s statements calling for the overthrow of the Lebanese government and accused the militia of undertaking “a deliberate campaign to destabilize the country” amid dialogue with Israel. “The problem is not Lebanon and Israel. The problem is Hezbollah. Just last night they issued a statement calling for the overthrow of the Lebanese government. This reminds you who you are dealing with: a 100% Iranian proxy,” the diplomat concluded before departing for the Taj Mahal. (Efe)
Good morning. We begin live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East conflict on this Monday, May 25. The United States sees a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within reach. US President Donald Trump has lowered expectations of an imminent announcement, but his administration believes it will happen in the coming days. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured early this morning that Trump will not make a “bad deal” with Iran and explained that negotiations for a pact are ongoing because Tehran’s internal system requires more time to respond.
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