Amid mounting tensions, President Donald Trump expressed increasing dissatisfaction with Iranian negotiators by alleging deceit and dishonesty on Wednesday. This recent escalation highlights a core issue facing Washington: determining whether the Iranian representatives in negotiations possess the genuine authority to commit to an agreement, or if there is any leadership in Tehran capable of doing so.

During the NATO summit held in Ankara, Trump remarked, “I’m uncertain if we’ll reach an agreement. We might proceed without one,” adding, “These people engage in lies and deceit.”

However, Trump’s dissatisfaction with Iran’s negotiating team is only a fraction of the broader issue. Following the passing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the question of who holds the authority in Tehran to negotiate and uphold an agreement has grown increasingly ambiguous.

Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father as supreme leader after the elder Khamenei was killed in the opening U.S.-Israeli attacks on Feb. 28. But Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since the attack, and U.S. assessments cited by Reuters have described authority as dispersed among senior Revolutionary Guard commanders and powerful civilian officials.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC commander who led Iran’s negotiating delegation, has emerged as one of the country’s most powerful surviving political figures.

Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, said power inside the Islamic Republic has fractured since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the country’s dominant force.

“The person who is negotiating with the U.S. is not necessarily someone who is endorsed by the others,” Zand told News Media.

She described Ghalibaf as one power center competing with figures including IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi, Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Vahidi controls the IRGC’s overall military structure, while Qaani oversees its external operations and relationships with Iran-aligned armed groups across the region. Zarif, by contrast, remains closely identified with the more accommodationist political camp that previously championed negotiations and sanctions relief.

“The hardliners, in terms of their political presence, have also been pushed aside,” Zand said. “So really, it’s the IRGC. And within the IRGC, whoever signs the deal is not necessarily signing on behalf of everybody else. They’re signing on behalf of themselves.”

Her assessment reflects a central problem facing Washington: Iran’s negotiators, political institutions and military commanders may not share the same interpretation of what was agreed — or the same willingness to implement it.

Yet Trump’s declaration does not necessarily mean diplomacy has been permanently abandoned.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told News Media that the clearest evidence would be the restoration of the U.S. blockade, the introduction of additional military forces or a new round of major economic sanctions.

Otherwise, he said, Trump may continue operating in the “gray zone” between negotiations and open war while keeping his options available.

The more difficult question is why Tehran would jeopardize sanctions relief and risk overwhelming American firepower when its military has already been severely degraded.

Ben Taleblu said Iran’s leaders appear to believe escalation is essential to the survival of the Islamic Republic.

“This is a regime that is weaker, but lethal, and less capable, but more confident,” he said. Iran’s leadership believes its adversaries have vulnerable economic and military interests throughout the Gulf, he added, while the regime itself is more willing to accept destruction.

“Their survival and their military success and their political success runs through more, not less, escalation,” he said.

Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, agrees the escalation is deliberate, aimed at turning regional instability into leverage.

“By targeting commercial shipping and Arab states, the regime is signaling that it can hold global energy flows and America’s regional partners hostage to extract leverage, distract from its domestic crisis, and test U.S. red lines,” Daftari told News Media.

She said Tehran is betting that Washington and its Arab partners will be unwilling to sustain another war and will ultimately back down first.

“The regime’s core weapon is time,” Daftari said. “By escalating in the Persian Gulf and attacking ships and Arab states, they are creating rolling crises that raise the cost of confronting them while they consolidate power at home.”

Daftari argued that the strategy reflects the Islamic Republic’s longstanding character rather than a temporary response to pressure.

“This regime was never designed to be reformed or softened,” she said. “What they are showing us now is exactly who they intend to remain: a hardline, revolutionary regime determined to stay in power.”

But determining how that strategy is translated into action is more complicated. Authority in Tehran appears divided, raising questions about who is directing the escalation and whether the officials negotiating with Washington can commit the broader security establishment.

That division is already visible in the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

A Middle Eastern source familiar with the issue told News Media that Tehran and Washington are operating from fundamentally different readings of Clause five of the memorandum. The publicly released text says Iran will use its “best efforts” to arrange safe commercial passage through the strait without charge for 60 days, while removing military and technical obstacles and conducting demining operations. It does not expressly state that foreign vessels must obtain Iran’s approval or use routes designated by Tehran.

According to the source, Iran interprets that language as giving it responsibility — and therefore authority — to coordinate shipping and determine the routes vessels use during the interim period. Washington’s interpretation is that Iran agreed to lift its maritime blockade and fully reopen the international waterway.

When the two sides have different interpretations of a single page, how do they intend to write a treaty, the source said.

Iran views control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz as one of its last major sources of leverage over the United States, Gulf governments and the global economy, the source said, “That is the heart of the matter.”

Taken together, the experts’ assessments suggest Tehran is unlikely to face a simple choice between surrendering to Trump’s pressure and returning to negotiations. Ben Taleblu said the regime believes its survival depends on “more, not less, escalation,” while Daftari said it is deliberately “playing out the clock” by creating repeated regional crises. That raises the prospect that, even if Iranian officials return to the table, the IRGC could continue targeting commercial shipping, U.S. interests and American allies to preserve its leverage and strengthen its position inside Iran.

A Queens man has been charged with the brutal murder of his mother, allegedly using a machete in a shocking domestic assault that left the victim with severe injuries, including wounds to the throat and liver, prosecutors reported on Wednesday.

The chilling details emerged during the arraignment of 26-year-old Amel Crawford, who is accused of the fatal stabbing of his 61-year-old mother, Joanne Crawford, on Tuesday morning in their Far Rockaway residence, according to authorities.

Queens Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Ruzza disclosed in court that the victim suffered 11 stab wounds. Among these, one penetrated her abdomen, damaging the liver and passing through her entire body. A blade was reportedly forced down her throat, resulting in a split tongue and a perforated trachea.

Police discovered the gruesome scene at approximately 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday. Amel Crawford was apprehended shortly after, following an attempt to evade officers by fleeing into the ocean, according to a police source.

Prosecutor Ruzza stated that the suspect attempted to escape by dashing into the surf at Rockaway Beach, but was subsequently captured by authorities.

“The defendant was taken into custody at Beach 62nd Street and Rockaway Boardwalk, where he had run into the water presumably to evade capture,” she said.

According to one police source, the mad dash “looked like he was trying to kill himself.”

He was arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and ordered held without bail by Judge Sharifa Milena Nasser-Cuellar.

Joanne, a retired city corrections officer, was found inside the home around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday and pronounced dead at the scene.

The mother and son had a tumultuous relationship, with police responding to domestic disturbance complaints at the home, including two earlier this year — yet neither turned violent, sources said.

Amel Crawford, who has no criminal record, had a strained relationship with his mom because of her past career as a city corrections officer, which one relative said left her little time for mothering.

“He never was a troubled kid outside; he just had problems with her,” the accused killer’s cousin, Barry Crawford, told The Post. “I think his biggest problem with her is that she worked for corrections, she was a retired corrections officer, so she was never home.

“He felt that she never gave him the quality time that he desired,” he said.

The fatal stabbing shocked neighbors, some of whom said they had seen Amel Crawford grow up.

“We are all pretty shaken up,” one local who asked not to be identified told The Post. “This is extremely shocking. We’re all just trying to process what happened. There are so many stories going around but we don’t know what to believe.” 

Another neighbor called the family “nice people” who were already living on the block when he moved in 30 years ago.

“I watched him grow up from a little boy,” a woman who knew the family said. “We are all in shock. My whole family, we’re in shock. I still can’t believe this is real.”

Barry Crawford said he started “pouring tears” after learning about Joanne’s death and remembered her as a giving fixture of the community who was always there for her loved ones.

“Her father and my mother are brothers and sisters. We’ve been close since we were little kids. I’ll love her and miss her forever. I’ll never understand this tragedy or what has happened,” he said.

“This tragedy will never be understood by this family because of who she is. She did everything for everyone who came in contact with her. Anyone who knew Joanne Crawford knew she was a loving person.”

Best Guest Performance in a Comedy Series

Michael J. Fox, featured in Shrinking

Brett Goldstein, also appearing in Shrinking

Hamish Linklater, seen in Widow’s Bay

Christopher McDonald, starring in Hacks

Rob Reiner, The Bear

Connor Storrie, Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Claire Danes, The Beast in Me

Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures

Carey Mulligan, Beef

Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Sarah Snook, All Her Fault

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Riz Ahmed, Bait

Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit

Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Oscar Isaac, Beef

Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis

Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault

Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis

Youn Yuh-jung, Beef

Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis

Richard Gadd, Half Man

David Harbour, DTF St. Louis

Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis

Charles Melton, Beef

Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning

Outstanding Reality Competition Program

Dancing With the Stars

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Survivor

Top Chef

The Traitors

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program

RuPaul Charles, RuPaul’s Drag Race

Alan Cumming, The Traitors

Kristen Kish, Top Chef

Ariana Madix, Love Island

Jeff Probst, Survivor

Outstanding Host for a Game Show

Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud

Ken Jennings, Jeopardy

Colin Jost, Pop Culture Jeopardy

Jimmy Kimmel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Martin Short, Match Game

Outstanding Structured Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Love Is Blind

Queer Eye

Shark Tank

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Love on the Spectrum

RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked

Summer House

Welcome to Wrexham

Outstanding Variety Series

The Daily Show

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Game Show

Celebrity Family Feud

Jeopardy

The Price Is Right

Wheel of Fortune

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Outstanding Movie

Heads of State

Miss You, Love You

People We Meet on Vacation

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

The Diplomat (Peter Akerman and Debora Cahn for “Amagansett”)

The Pitt (Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman & R. Scott Gemmill for “1:00 PM”)

The Pitt (Valerie Chu for “12:00 PM”)

Mickey Down and Konrad Kay for “Dear Henry,” Industry

Pluribus (Vince Gilligan for “We Is Us”)

Slow Horses (Will Smith for “Scars”)

Task (Brad Ingelsby for “A Still Small Voice”)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary (Quinta Brunson for “Team Building”)

The Chair Company (Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin for “Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does”)

The Comeback (Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow for “Valerie Does It All”)

Hacks (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for “Hacks”)

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat (Anthony King for “Mergers and Acquisitions”)

Widow’s Bay (Katie Dippold for “Welcome to Widow’s Bay”)

Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher for “Episode 8”)

The Beast in Me (Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle for “Sick Puppy”)

Beef (Lee Sung Jin for “All the Things We’re Never Gonna Have”)

DTF St. Louis (Steven Conrad)

Death by Lightning (Mike Makowsky)

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

The Gilded Age (Salli Richardson-Whitfield for “My Mind Is Made Up”)

Paradise (Hanelle M. Culpepper for “Exodus”)

The Pitt (Noah Wyle for “12:00 PM”)

Pluribus (Vince Gilligan for “We Is Us”)

Slow Horses (Saul Metzstein for “Scars”)

Task (Salli Richardson-Whitfield for “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a river”)

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary (Randall Einhorn for “Ballgame”)

The Bear (Christopher Storer for “Bears”)

The Chair Company (Andrew DeYoung for “Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does”)

Hacks (Lucia Aniello for “Hacks”)

The Ms. Pat Show (Mary Lou Belli for “Give It Arrest”)

Widow’s Bay (Hiro Murai for “Welcome to Widow’s Bay”)

LOS ANGELES — Securing the spotlight during the Emmy nominations announced on Wednesday, “The Pitt” emerged as the frontrunner, clinching a remarkable 25 nominations in its impressive second season. Meanwhile, “Hacks” dominated the comedy categories with 24 nominations in what marks its final season.

Below, you’ll find a list of nominees from some of the Emmys’ most competitive categories.

HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt,” which enjoyed a stellar debut last year by sweeping major awards including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle, and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa, continues to captivate audiences and critics alike.

In this year’s nominations, “The Pitt,” already adored as a seasoned show, solidified its strength in the acting categories. Both Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa secured nominations once again. Joining them are Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, and Sepideh Moafi, who helped “The Pitt” achieve an impressive four out of seven nominations in the supporting actress category.

Additionally, three of their colleagues—Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy, and Gerran Howell—were recognized with nominations for best supporting actor, further cementing “The Pitt” as a powerhouse in this year’s Emmy lineup.

Emmy voters love a departing show, and have loved “Hacks” since its first season. Those two colliding phenomena let it rake in nominations for its fifth and final season.

“Hacks” star Jean Smart has won best actress in a comedy for all four previous seasons. It would be stunning if she didn’t claim a fifth in September.

Her sidekick throughout the series Hannah Einbinder, who last year broke through and won supporting actress in a comedy in her fourth nomination, got a fifth nomination Wednesday, as did her castmate, the show’s co-creator Paul W. Downs.

Recent winners Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller announced the nominees at the Television Academy in Los Angeles. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on Sept. 14. Mariska Hargitay, who for decades has been the star of “Law