Trump defends war with Iran, says ‘we cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon’
President Donald Trump on Friday defended Operation Epic Fury against Iran, telling an audience in Florida that “we cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon.” He added that Tehran’s military capabilities have been significantly degraded.
Trump defends Iran war: 'We cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon’
President Donald Trump on Friday defended the war with Iran as necessary to prevent the regime from having a nuclear weapon.
“We cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon," Trump said during remarks at The Villages in Florida.
The president acknowledged he expected more severe economic fallout but said he had to do “what's right.”
“I thought the numbers would be much worse. I thought the stock market would go down much more. I thought the oil prices would go up much more," Trump said. “I said, 'But we have no choice. Whether it does or doesn't, I have to do what's right.' We can't let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump also claimed Iran’s military capabilities have been significantly degraded.
“They're getting decimated. They have no Navy. They have no air force, they have no anti-aircraft equipment. They have no radar. They have no leaders. Their leaders are all gone.”
Yesterday's Fox News Digital liveblog has additional coverage of the Iran conflict.
Iran’s killer drones increase slaughter in Sudan amid world’s forgotten war
Iran is once again being accused of playing a deadly role in yet another conflict, this time by supplying attack drones to one of the sides in the predominantly Muslim nation of Sudan’s deadly civil war — drones that are indiscriminately killing women and children.
The war, now in its fourth year, has, according to some accounts, seen as many as 400,000 deaths since the conflict began on April 15, 2023. More than 11 million have been displaced, giving rise to the worst displacement crisis in the world.
Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) told Fox News Digital that, "Iran has supplied the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with drones, specifically the Mohajer-6, manufactured by Qods Aviation Industries, a U.S.-sanctioned entity, since 2013."
The State Department has hit out against the use of drones against civilians in the ongoing war in Sudan, with the SAF alleged to use Iranian drones widely against the population. An Iranian woman is also in federal custody in California after being arrested earlier this month for an alleged plot to supply Sudan with more Iranian drones.
Documented cases show both the SAF and the rebel militia they are fighting, the Rapid Support Forces, (RSF), are increasingly using drones against civilians.
Wahba said that "between Dec. 2023 and July 2024, at least seven cargo flights traveled between Iran and Sudan, likely transporting drones and component parts. On April 19, an Iranian-born U.S. resident was arrested at LAX (Los Angeles International airport) for allegedly brokering a $70 million deal to supply Mohajer-6 systems and other hardware to Sudan’s Ministry of Defense, indicating the transfers are likely ongoing."
'Killing off the country': Iran executes dozens, arrests 4,000+ in war crackdown
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns while invoking national security.
In a sharply worded statement from Geneva, Türk said at least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since Feb. 28, as the regime faces mounting scrutiny over what he described as a sweeping assault on fundamental rights.
"I am appalled that, on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal ways," Türk said.
Since the start of the conflict two months ago, the U.N. said nine people have been executed in connection with the January 2026 protests, 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups, and two on espionage charges. It's estimated that some 40,000 people were killed by regime forces during January's uprising.
Türk warned that Iran’s broad use of vaguely defined national security laws has enabled authorities to fast-track prosecutions, deny legal counsel, and rely on coerced confessions.
"Even where national security is invoked, human rights can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate," he said, calling on Tehran to halt executions, impose a moratorium on capital punishment, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.
Pentagon orders withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany as Trump escalates feud with Merz
The Pentagon will withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The redeployment comes amid President Donald Trump’s escalating feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other NATO allies after tensions over their response to the conflict involving Iran.
"The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital.
"This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.
"We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months."
About 38,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, where U.S. European Command is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base. The base and other American installations have long served as key logistics hubs and command centers supporting U.S. military operations in Europe and the Middle East.
Merz, speaking Monday in Marsberg, criticized the U.S. approach to Iran, saying Washington was being "humiliated by the Iranian leadership" and expressing hope the conflict would end "as quickly as possible."
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