WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 1800 GMT, May 22, 2019 to 0800 GMT, May 23, 2019.

Iran nuclear deal

The Russian ambassador to Iran has expressed concern about the recent escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf region. In an exclusive interview with Press TV, Levan Jagaryan stressed that there is no evidence to prove that Iran is behind regional tensions. He criticized the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Jagaryan said Washington cannot accuse other countries of violating international law while it does so. He also said Iran’s decision to partially diminish its commitments under the nuclear deal does not violate the international accord.

Sudan politics

Sudan's military says it wants to hand over power to a democratically elected government as soon as possible. The deputy leader of the ruling military council says members of the council are not politicians and so they are waiting for the government to be formed. The announcement comes one day after talks between protest leaders and military rulers reached a deadlock over the share of military and civilian representatives in the council as well as who will be the head of the new joint body. Months-long protests in Sudan led to the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. The military council says judicial proceedings against detained former president and some of his allies are ongoing.

‘Iran monitoring US warships’

A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps says US warships in the Persian Gulf are being fully monitored by Iranian armed forces. IRGC’s deputy commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi maintained that everything in the north of the Hormuz Strait is under full control of Iranian forces. Fadavi downplayed Washington’s war rhetoric, noting the US has continued adventurism against the Islamic Republic over the past four decades. He said the US has invariably failed in its anti-Iran plots. The IRGC official stressed that the Iranian forces have no fear of US warships or its military deployments.

‘Boycott Bahrain confab’

Palestinian resistance groups condemn an upcoming US-sponsored conference in Bahrain where the White House plans to unveil the economic section of its so-called Mideast peace plan. The resistance groups described the conference as a step aimed at trampling the Palestinians’ rights and eliminating their cause. They said the Palestinian cause is a political issue and their national rights are non-negotiable. The Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas have called for an Arab boycott of the meeting. Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they will send ministerial delegations to the forum slated for next month. US President Donald Trump has touted the plan as the deal of the century. Palestinian officials believe the plan will be heavily biased in favor of Israel.

India vote counting

India starts counting hundreds of millions of votes in its general election. The contents of 1.6 million electronic voting machines are being inspected across the country. More than 600-million votes were casted in the six-week election. Early trends show that Alliance lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has a clear lead. They are expected to surpass the 272 seats needed to command a majority in the lower house of parliament. However, his opponents say nothing is definite and the public should not rely on what surveys or polls say. Election officials say final results are due by Thursday evening.

EU structure at stake  

European Parliament elections kick off with far-right parties hoping to make big gains. Britain and the Netherlands are the fist countries to vote in the polls. More than 400 million people across the 28-nation bloc are eligible to elect 751 members of the European parliament. The four day elections will conclude on Sunday. European governments fear a good showing for eurosceptics will disrupt Brussels decision-making. Opinion polls predict a significant advance for nationalist and populist forces opposed to closer EU integration and threatening mainstream reform efforts. This is the ninth European parliament elections since they began in 1979 and voter turnout has dropped each time, hitting 43 percent in 2014.

End of May?

The British prime minister is reportedly set to resign amid pressure from her fellow conservatives over the government’s Brexit approach. According to the British daily, The Times, Theresa May is expected to announce her departure from office on Friday. The Times also reported that May will remain as premier while her successor is elected in a two-stage process by Conservative Party members. The news came as the embattled prime minister has proposed new concessions over her Brexit deal in a bid to get support from her allies and opponents. However, her initiative to break the Brexit deadlock has proved somewhat futile. On Wednesday, the House of Commons Leader and senior cabinet member Andrea Leadsom quit the government over May's handling of Brexit.

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