US military 'loading up and resting,' Trump says, as Iran tests ceasefire
President Donald Trump says the U.S. military is biding its time Thursday as Iran tests the boundaries of the ongoing two-week ceasefire. Trump says the U.S. will keep troops stationed in the Middle East until a wider peace deal is approved.
Iranian president says Israeli strikes against Hezbollah will make Saturday talks 'meaningless'
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says planned talks between the U.S. and Iran on Saturday will be "meaningless" if Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon Thursday.
Pezeshkian issued the warning in a statement on X, saying Israel's strikes are a "flagrant violation" of the truce agreed to earlier this week.
"The repeated aggression by the Zionist entity against Lebanon is a flagrant violation of the initial ceasefire agreement and a dangerous indicator of deceit and lack of commitment to potential accords," Pezeshkian wrote.
"The continuation of these aggressions will render negotiations meaningless; our hands will remain on the trigger, and Iran will never abandon its Lebanese brothers and sisters," he added.
Iran suffered 'generational' defeat, US military 'ready if called': CENTCOM commander
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper delivered an update on Operation Epic Fury on Thursday roughly six weeks after the campaign began.
"We set out to dismantle the Iranian regime's ability to project power beyond its own boarders, and we've clearly accomplished this task," Cooper said.
"Iran has suffered a generational military defeat. The United States and Israel systematically destroyed Iran's ability to conduct large scale military operations for years to come," he added.
Cooper noted that U.S. forces have paused operations amid the ongoing ceasefire, but he said CENTCOM will remain present, vigilant and "ready if called."
Prosecutor behind Israel war crimes charges faces crackdown amid sexual misconduct allegations
The International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor, who brought charges against Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister on war crimes and crimes against humanity, is facing disciplinary proceedings against him over allegations of sexual misconduct.
After more than a year-long process of investigating the claims that Karim Khan engaged in sexual misconduct with a subordinate staffer, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) has voted in favor of pursuing disciplinary proceedings against Khan, Reuters reported.
According to The New York Times, the alleged victim revealed the sexual contact with Khan to her husband and several colleagues in April 2024. After colleagues confronted Khan in May, the judges’ report cites a witness who noted that Khan "jumped at the ‘lifeline’ of an alternative narrative when another colleague present said he ‘suspected whether Mossad played a role behind the scenes.’"
Just weeks later, Khan filed arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Trump administration sanctioned Khan in February 2025 as a response to the war crimes warrants against the Israeli officials.
Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at George Mason University, told Fox News Digital that the fact that Khan "specifically blamed the Mossad for his problems shows he is fundamentally compromised and the investigation that he launched… in any normal legal system would be dismissed with extreme prejudice."
He said it was a sign of "how broken" the ICC is "that such a politicized investigation would be allowed to proceed."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Beth Bailey.
WATCH: Leavitt slaps down critics who called Trump's Iran threat a bluff
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was not a bluff during Wednesday's press briefing.
A two-week ceasefire agreement was reached between the Iranian government and the United States and its allies on Tuesday, just before the 8 p.m. deadline Trump previously set in a Truth Social post.
"It was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led to the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to re-opening the Strait of Hormuz," Leavitt said. "So it was a very strong threat that led to results. As the Secretary of War stated at the Pentagon this morning, it was not an empty threat by any means."
Leavitt said that the Department of War had a targeted list ready to go if Iran did not meet Trump’s deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump first threatened Iran on Easter Sunday in a Truth Social post. He claimed that the Iranians would be "living in Hell," if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened.
On Tuesday, Trump posted that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again."
"I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elain Mallon.
Head of Iran's nuclear program says enriching uranium is 'necessary' for peace agreement
The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency says that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is a “necessary” part of any peace agreement with the U.S.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the statement while speaking to reporters in Tehran on Thursday.
“It is a part of the necessary (things) that nobody speaks about,” Eslami said, referring to the US demands that enrichment end.
President Donald Trump has said that removing enriched uranium from Iran and preventing the country from enriching in the future is a top demand from the U.S. for any lasting peace agreement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WATCH: Son of former top Iranian official seen living comfortable life in Los Angeles
The son of a former top-level Iranian official, who acted as the spokesperson for hostage takers occupying Tehran's U.S. Embassy in 1979, is yet another relative of Iran's hard-lined Islamist regime caught living a comfortable and affluent Western lifestyle in Los Angeles.
Petitioners have been calling for Eissa Hashemi, 43, to be investigated and deported, arguing it is unfair for the relatives of these Iranian leaders to enjoy the freedom and privileges afforded to people in the West, and more particularly in the United States, while their government in Iran continues to oppress and restrict its people from exercising rights seen as basic within America.
In addition to Hashemi, the niece and grandniece of the late Iranian terror mastermind Qasem Soleimani, have also been living comfortably in Los Angeles until recently, when they were taken into custody by federal immigration officials and had their green cards taken away by the State Department. Sheila Nazarian, who fled Iran as a child, slammed the late-terror leader's relatives for posting photos on social media of themselves in bikinis, on yachts, next to helicopters, and wearing other clothing that otherwise could get them killed in Iran.
Fox News Digital obtained photos of Hashemi at what the New York Post described as a "fancy" gym in Los Angeles, during which he reportedly brushed off a reporter's questions. Hashemi is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, dubbed by the American media as "Screaming Mary" amid her role acting as the spokesperson for the hostage takers who captured more than 50 American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 where they were held captive for over a year.
Ebtekar also served in a formal role as Vice President of Women and Family Affairs in Iran between 2017 and 2021. PBS's Frontline dubbed her "one of the highest-ranking women in the Muslim world" during an interview with the Muslim leader in 2002.
Meanwhile, Ebtekar's son appears to be living in the Los Angeles area while holding down a job as an adjunct psychology professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
According to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe, his now-deleted LinkedIn page previously indicated in 2015 that he was a doctoral student at the Los Angeles branch of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Alec Schimmel.
Hezbollah chief's nephew and personal secretary killed in Beirut strike, IDF says
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced the personal secretary and nephew of a Hezbollah chief was killed in a strike on terror infrastructure sites in Beirut on Wednesday.
Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, was killed in the strike, according to the IDF. He was described as having played a "central role in managing and securing" his uncle's office.
The IDF reported that it struck various sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including two key crossings north to south of the Litani River used for transferring weapons, rockets and launchers, and approximately 10 weapons storage facilities, launchers and command centers.
Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
Trump warns US forces will stay near Iran until lasting deal is secured
President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that U.S. forces would remain near Iran until a lasting peace agreement is finalized.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. military would be on standby until a “REAL AGREEMENT” with Iran is secured.
“All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,” Trump wrote.
“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” he added.
The post comes after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday.
Trump said any peace deal must include an Iran without nuclear weapons and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE,” Trump wrote.
“In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!”
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz.
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