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US Sharply Criticizes France for Prisoner Swap with Iran

An image grab from footage obtained from Iran Press news agency on March 21, 2020, shows Jalal Rohollahnejad (C-L) greeting a relative upon his arrival in Tehran. (AP)
An image grab from footage obtained from Iran Press news agency on March 21, 2020, shows Jalal Rohollahnejad (C-L) greeting a relative upon his arrival in Tehran. (AP)
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US Sharply Criticizes France for Prisoner Swap with Iran

An image grab from footage obtained from Iran Press news agency on March 21, 2020, shows Jalal Rohollahnejad (C-L) greeting a relative upon his arrival in Tehran. (AP)
An image grab from footage obtained from Iran Press news agency on March 21, 2020, shows Jalal Rohollahnejad (C-L) greeting a relative upon his arrival in Tehran. (AP)

The Trump administration on Sunday harshly criticized France for releasing an Iranian man wanted for prosecution by the United States in an apparent prisoner swap with Iran.

The State Department said it “deeply regrets” the “unilateral” French decision to release Jalal Rohollahnejad, who was the subject of a US extradition request on charges of violating American sanctions on Iran.

Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that France had failed to uphold its obligations under a joint extradition treaty and harmed the cause of justice.

Rohollahnejad was released from French custody on Friday in an apparent swap for French researcher Roland Marchal, who had been detained in Iran for more than eight months on charges of violating state security laws.

“The United States deeply regrets France’s unilateral decision to release Iranian national Jalal Rohollahnejad from its custody,” she said. “There are multiple outstanding US charges against him related to the illegal export of equipment with military applications in violation of US sanctions.”

“The United States and France have a shared interest in bringing those accused of serious crimes to justice, particularly in cases with national security implications,” Ortagus said. “It is regrettable in this instance that France failed to uphold its treaty obligations and prevented justice from being pursued.”

Iranian state TV reported late Friday that Marchal had been freed, just hours after French authorities released Ruhollahnejad. It said France had planned to deliver Ruhollahnejad to the US for his alleged role in violating US sanctions on Iran. It said he had been in jail in France for more than a year.

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World

New York Judge Releases Purported Epstein Suicide Note

This handout image shows an undated and unverified note, purportedly a suicide note left by late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which was ordered unsealed on May 6, 2026 by District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York after a request by The New York Times. (Photo by United States District Judge Southern District of New York / AFP)
This handout image shows an undated and unverified note, purportedly a suicide note left by late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which was ordered unsealed on May 6, 2026 by District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York after a request by The New York Times. (Photo by United States District Judge Southern District of New York / AFP)
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New York Judge Releases Purported Epstein Suicide Note

This handout image shows an undated and unverified note, purportedly a suicide note left by late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which was ordered unsealed on May 6, 2026 by District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York after a request by The New York Times. (Photo by United States District Judge Southern District of New York / AFP)
This handout image shows an undated and unverified note, purportedly a suicide note left by late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which was ordered unsealed on May 6, 2026 by District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York after a request by The New York Times. (Photo by United States District Judge Southern District of New York / AFP)

A federal judge on Wednesday released a document described as a suicide note purportedly written by the late Jeffrey Epstein and including the line: "It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye."

Epstein, the disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 in what was ruled a suicide. The handwritten note was said to have been found by his former jail cellmate, convicted murderer and ex-police officer Nicholas Tartaglione.

US District Judge Kenneth Karas, who oversaw the Tartaglione case, released the note after a request by The New York Times, which reported its existence last week.

Karas ruled that the note qualified as a judicial document subject to the public’s right of access because it was submitted in connection with Tartaglione's criminal case. Tartaglione is serving ⁠four consecutive life ⁠sentences for drug-related murders. Karas oversaw that case.

The judge found no legal reason to keep it under seal. But nor did he vouch for the note's authenticity, nor assess its chain of custody. Instead he treated those issues as irrelevant to the unsealing decision.

"No party has identified any competing consideration that would justify sealing the Note," the judge ruled, according to Reuters.

The note, scrawled on a yellow legal pad, was submitted by lawyers for Tartaglione, who ⁠was Epstein's cellmate for roughly two weeks in July 2019 while both were held at a Manhattan jail.

"They investigated me for month - Found NOTHING!!! So 15 year old charges resulted,” the note says, according to an image of it released in the court file. "It is a treat to be able to choose ones time to say goodbye. Watcha want me to do - Burst out cryin!! NO FUN - NOT WORTH IT!!"

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor, a conviction that led to a controversial plea deal and a short jail sentence. He was arrested again in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking of minors, accused of recruiting ⁠and abusing underage ⁠girls in New York and Florida.

The note surfaced in July 2019, after Epstein was found alive in his Manhattan jail cell with marks on his neck in what authorities later described as an apparent suicide attempt.

According to public descriptions by Tartaglione, the note was tucked inside a book in their shared cell. Epstein died several weeks later, on August 10, 2019, in a separate incident ruled a suicide.

Tartaglione mentioned the note in a podcast interview last year but the issue gained widespread attention after the Times reported on its existence last Thursday. The Times reported that the note was never seen by federal investigators and was absent from millions of Epstein-related documents released by the Justice Department in recent years.

In ordering the unsealing, the judge rejected privacy concerns, noting Epstein’s death and the widespread public discussion of the purported note.

World

NKorea Says Not Bound to Any Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
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NKorea Says Not Bound to Any Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korea is not bound to any treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, state media KCNA reported on Thursday, as Pyongyang continues to reject international pressure and sanctions to dismantle its nuclear program.

Kim Song, North Korea's permanent representative to the United Nations, said in a statement that the US and some countries were "tarnishing the atmosphere" at the 11th NPT review conference being held at UN headquarters, bringing up the issue of North ⁠Korea's nuclear weapons, ⁠KCNA said.

The position of North Korea as a nuclear weapons state "does not change in accordance with rhetorical assertion or unilateral desire of outsiders," Reuters quoted Kim as saying.

"I denounce and reject in the strongest tone the brigandish and shameless acts of the specific countries including ⁠the US which are taking issue with the DPRK's realistic and just access to nuclear weapons," said Kim, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

North Korea ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1985 before ultimately declaring its withdrawal in 2003 as a nuclear crisis unfolded when the US confronted Pyongyang about its covert efforts to build nuclear weapons. The legality of ⁠the ⁠withdrawal has been disputed.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held summits in 2018 and 2019 before negotiations broke down over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons arsenal.

Kim last year signaled an openness to meeting Trump again if the US dropped its demands that he give up nuclear weapons.

North Korea has set up nuclear facilities across the isolated country, with some analysts estimating it may have produced enough fissile material for up to 90 nuclear warheads.

World

Trump Issues Ultimatum for Iran to Accept Deal or Face More Bombing

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Issues Ultimatum for Iran to Accept Deal or Face More Bombing

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)

President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum Wednesday for Iran to accept a deal to end the war or face intense renewed US bombing, the latest in a series of abrupt policy shifts.

"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform," using the US name for its military campaign against Iran.

"If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."

He later said in an interview with PBS he was optimistic about reaching an agreement with Iran before his scheduled trip to China next week.

"I think it's got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn't end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them," Trump told the broadcaster.

He was also asked about reports that under a proposed deal, Tehran would "export" its highly enriched uranium, possibly to the United States.

"No, not perhaps. It goes to the United States," Trump said without explaining how this key point of contention would be resolved.

Iran has steadfastly refused to give up its enriched uranium, which it insists is not for making a nuclear bomb.

Trump's social media post came after US news outlet Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.

A short time later, however, the president told the New York Post it was "too far" and "too much" to think about face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan, which has been mediating a peace deal between the two sides.

It remained difficult to discern Trump's stance on how to end the war.

The 79-year-old Republican has repeatedly asserted he has "all the time in the world" for the high-stakes conflict, but also recently signaled to Congress that the war, launched on February 28, was already over.

Trump and his administration are seeking an exit from the conflict, which is deeply unpopular with the American public and has driven up the price of gasoline, among other costs.

Trump late Tuesday announced a pause in a US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz -- after only a day -- citing a chance to seal a deal to end the war.

The US leader said Washington's blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place as Tehran kept up its own closure of the vital trade route, which has rocked markets and spiked fuel prices.

Trump wrote on social media that the surprise decision to halt his so-called "Project Freedom" came after requests from "mediator Pakistan and other countries", saying "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.

"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote late Tuesday.