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China rolls out red carpet for Trump as Xi meeting tests trade, Taiwan tensions

Wed, 13 May 2026 23:26:41 -0400

President Donald Trump was greeted with pomp and circumstance by the Chinese as he met China's President Xi Jinping ahead of a high-stakes bilateral meeting between the two nations.

After arriving in his armored vehicle Thursday morning local time, Trump met with Xi in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in front of crowds of military personnel, dignitaries, music and children.

After shaking hands with the Chinese president, the pair introduced each other to their dignitaries and later stood beneath a ceremonial red-and-yellow canopy for a photo-op as the star-spangled banner and China's national anthem played in the background.

TRUMP LANDS IN BEIJING FOR HIGH-STAKES XI SUMMIT AS TAIWAN TENSIONS, TRADE DISPUTES TEST US STRENGTH

"That was an honor like few I have ever seen before," Trump said after they made their way into the Great Hall. "I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy, they were beautiful. The military is obvious — it couldn't be better — but those children were amazing, and they represent so much. And I know, I know, they represent so much to you."

The ceremony marked the formal start of Trump’s high-stakes visit, with the pageantry outside the Great Hall giving way to a series of meetings expected to focus on trade, security and the broader effort to stabilize relations between Washington and Beijing.

The discussions will test whether the public display of diplomacy can translate into progress on the deep disputes that continue to define the U.S.–China relationship.

MARCO RUBIO SAYS US WILL PUSH CHINA TO TAKE A MORE ‘ACTIVE ROLE’ IN IRAN NEGOTIATIONS AHEAD OF TRUMP-XI SUMMIT

During the opening ceremony, Trump walked around and admired the pomp and circumstance that included children waving flags and holding flowers.

The event included marching by Chinese soldiers and music from Chinese military bands.

Xi could be seen shaking hands with many of Trump's closest advisors, like policy advisor Stephen Miller and communications director Steven Cheung, in addition to members of his Cabinet.

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The public part of the bilateral meeting following the ceremony was very short.

"I look forward to our discussions on major issues important to our two countries and the world," a translator for Xi said.

Trump says Iran's latest proposal reneges on giving up enriched material: 'Are they stupid people?'

Mon, 11 May 2026 11:56:40 -0400

President Donald Trump called out the "piece of garbage" peace proposal from Iran on Monday from the Oval Office, saying only "stupid people" in Iran are questioning his resolve in guaranteeing Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

The latest Iranian proposal reneged on a past vow to give up enriched uranium, according to Trump.

"They come back, and they want to negotiate, and they give us a stupid — it's a stupid proposal and nobody would take it," Trump said. "Although Obama would have taken it, Biden would have taken it."

Trump said Iranian officials had previously agreed to allow the removal of enriched nuclear material from a site he described as "obliterated" by U.S. strikes, but then omitted that commitment from the written proposal sent to Washington.

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"They said you're going to have to take it: We were going to go with them," Trump said. "But they changed their mind because they didn't put it in the paper.

"When they sent us this document that we waited four days for, that should have taken 10 minutes to do: Look, very simple, we get that, they guarantee no nuclear weapons for a very long period of time and a couple of other minor things, but they just can't get there," he continued. "So they agree with us, and then they take it back."

Trump said the U.S. would not accept any arrangement that leaves Iran with a path to a nuclear weapon.

TRUMP REAFFIRMS HARD LINE ON IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: 'WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM'

"The plan is very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. "And they didn't want to go that far."

"If you can believe it, how stupid. Are they stupid people?" Trump asked. "They didn't want to believe it. They think that, well, I'll get tired of this, or I'll get bored, or I'll have some pressure. But there's no pressure. There's no pressure at all."

The ceasefire with Iran was in serious jeopardy after the latest offer, Trump warned.

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"It's unbelievably weak," Trump said. "After reading that piece of garbage they sent us. I didn't even finish reading it. "I'm not going to waste my time reading it."

"I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,'" he added.

"It was just unacceptable," Trump said when asked about the weekend proposal. "I have the best plan ever. And Iran has been defeated militarily. Totally."

TRUMP’S NEXT MOVE ON THE ELECTION’S BIGGEST LOSER

Trump said his position remains unchanged: "Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. They're very dangerous. They're very volatile."

Some Iranian officials want a deal, but hard-liners are blocking an agreement, according to Trump.

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"In Iran, they have the moderates – they're dying to make a deal – and then you have the lunatics," Trump said. "And I guess they're a little bit afraid of the lunatics."

GOP challenger Joe Kaufman to run in Florida's 25th district; will face either Moskowitz or Wasserman Schultz

Mon, 04 May 2026 19:29:44 -0400

Joe Kaufman knows what it's like to lose a close race in a historically Democratic District. In fact, in the 2024 election cycle, Kaufman ran in the closest congressional race in the state, narrowly losing in the 23rd district to incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a two-term congressman who has sought to build a moderate profile.

Florida has just completed its redistricting process, and this time around, Kaufman is confident that he can win, despite the Republicans facing headwinds.

Kaufman confirmed to Fox News Digital that in 2026, he will be running in the new 25th district.

Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer will also be running in the 25th district in the GOP primary.

Moskowitz said on Monday that if he runs, it will be in the 25th District, while it appears that incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who would be seeking her 12th term in Congress, is also weighing running in the same district.

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Kaufman brings a battle-tested strategy and message to the race, on the heels of his near-victory in 2024:

"Yes, we had 48% of the vote. It was the closest race in all of Florida and the highest percentage of any Republican to ever run for that seat. But back then, I got in very late in the game and this time around our numbers are much better, and we've been able to form those coalitions that we needed to last time. We've done that now, and I will win this seat this time."

Kaufman bills himself as a "terrorist hunter" and brings strong foreign policy credentials to the table.

"I do counter-terrorism research, writing and lectures." He says he's been involved in "the shutdown of terrorist charities and the imprisonment of terror-related individuals. Recently, I led the shutdown of a pro-Hamas conference that was to take place in Coral Springs, and the organizers, including CAIR and the South Florida Muslim Federation, they were upset, so they sued me and the Marriott Corporation in federal court. They sued us not once, but twice and I'm proud to say that we won not once, but twice."

"He says in regard to foreign policy, "I've been very involved these past few years in what's been taking place. 17 years ago, I was honored to co-found a group called Cyrus Force with his majesty, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who we believe is going to be soon to be a future leader of Iran."

Despite being a foreign policy hawk, Kaufman is opposed to putting troops on the ground in Iran.

"No, I don't support ground troops, at least not from the United States. I don't want to see what took place in wars past happen here with seeing Americans come back in body bags. I feel the same way about our friends in Israel.

"But there are third parties that want to get involved, and I say, give them the green light to do so. So, if there's any ground troops…they shouldn't be from America or Israel. It should be from these third parties."

Kaufman is a strong advocate for vocational training in high school, and a critic of the Affordable Care Act.

"Well, for one thing, I support putting vocational training in all of the high schools in America. And it's a project I want to initiate as a congressman. Too many kids today are staying home with their parents after they graduate high school. They need to have real job skills so they could make money, get out of their parents' homes, be able to have their own families, and eventually, purchase their own house of their own.

"Also, I don't like the Affordable Care Act. It was never affordable. It's been taking hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, thanks to the Democrats. And I think we need a new health care system that costs the American government less and costs the American taxpayer less and better quality. And I think we could have that without Obamacare."

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Historically, the party of the incumbent president loses seats in midterm elections the vast majority of the time. In what is widely believed to be a difficult year ahead for Republicans, Kaufman acknowledges the current engagement in Iran and the lingering effects of Biden-era inflation as challenges.

"Well, a lot of it has to do with the war overseas, but I believe that that's going to be short term. I think that's, that's going to end soon. Also, with regards to inflation, we're still dealing with the Biden years where Joe Biden initiated very heavy inflation for our country.

"And thank you, President Trump, for doing the things that would bring inflation down. So I'm looking forward to low inflation, better affordability and very soon an end to the war, and results overseas that allow us to have peace in the Middle East and more peace in world."

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Kaufman says the Democratic Party is fundamentally broken, and Republicans can win on messaging in 2026.

"Well, the Democrats, they've allowed people, an untold amount of people, to cross our borders, some of which have been terrorists and members of terror cells. They've hurt the values in the United States. They've destroyed our healthcare system with an Affordable Care Act that was never affordable. They've done everything possible to destroy our nation, and we need to make that change."

Scott Jennings snaps at left-wing commentator, says to get 'f---ing hand out of my face'

Fri, 01 May 2026 14:57:27 -0400

A heated exchange broke out Thursday on "CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip" as commentator Scott Jennings and panelist Adam Mockler clashed during a discussion on U.S. foreign policy.

The confrontation escalated midway through the segment as the debate turned personal and visibly tense, prompting a sharp reaction from Jennings as Mockler gestured toward him.

"Get your f---ing hand out of my face," Jennings said.

The exchange followed a broader disagreement over U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, where panelists debated the long-term costs and strategic outcomes of military engagement.

NAVY VETERAN’S DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST CNN INCHES TOWARDS TRIAL AS JUDGE HEARS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

"We all know that Scott Jennings is more than happy to defend a war with a country that starts with letters I-r-a that we are currently failing, that is going to put us trillions and trillions of dollars more in debt," Mockler said.

"I was only a few years old while you were in the administration defending prior endless wars," he added.

Jennings pushed back forcefully, rejecting Mockler's framing and escalating the tone of the exchange as the conversation turned more confrontational.

TRUMP FIGHTING FIERCE BATTLES, AT HOME AND ABROAD: WHY HE CASUALLY DISMISSES THE CONSEQUENCES

Following the broadcast, Mockler addressed the exchange on X, disputing Jennings' characterization of the moment and defending his conduct during the segment.

"Scott Jennings claimed I got in his face; Watch what actually happened in the full CNN segment," Mockler said.

"He throws a personal jab... then folds the second he gets pressed. Scott loves to dish it but can't take it."

The exchange continued as the panel descended into overlapping arguments about the effectiveness and legality of the ongoing conflict in Iran, with Mockler pressing Jennings on what he argued was a lack of measurable success.

"Can you name a single political concession we’ve gotten from them? Anything at all?" Mockler said.

Jennings responded by outlining what he described as the central objective of the U.S. strategy, emphasizing a long-term goal rather than immediate concessions.

"We have a very simple goal to keep terrorists and a terrorist regime from having a nuclear weapon that can threaten the United States, our interests in the region, our allies in Europe," he said.

SCOTT BESSENT CALLS OUT 'TERRIBLE FRAMING' DURING CLASH WITH NBC NEWS HOST ON IRANIAN OIL

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Mockler repeatedly interrupted to challenge that framing, arguing that the lack of tangible outcomes undermined the justification for continued engagement.

"You can’t answer the question," Mockler said.

Jennings fired back as the exchange became increasingly personal, dismissing Mockler’s argument and questioning his credibility in the debate.

"You have the attention span of a gnat," Jennings said.

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Mockler continued to challenge Jennings’ argument while Jennings reiterated that the strategic objective remained preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities.

Can King Charles save the ever-fracturing ‘special relationship’ after Trump anger at Starmer over Iran war?

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:00:57 -0400

As Britain publicly distances itself from President Donald Trump’s Iran pressure campaign, King Charles III’s upcoming visit is shaping up as more than royal pageantry.

It may be Britain’s most important diplomatic tool for preventing growing policy fractures with Washington from becoming something deeper.

"The British monarch has historically had huge importance in terms of creating personal diplomacy to smooth over ruffled feathers," Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank, told Fox News Digital, arguing that the crown has often served as Britain’s strategic stabilizer during moments of political strain.

Mendoza said Charles could play a critical role at a moment when Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and Trump appear increasingly divided over Iran, defense strategy and the future shape of the transatlantic alliance.

TRUMP SLAMS STARMER AS ‘NOT WINSTON CHURCHILL’ FOR REFUSAL TO BACK IRAN STRIKES

"King Charles has the opportunity, through personal diplomacy, to create a new beginning with Donald Trump," Mendoza said.

Britain’s balancing act became clearer Monday when Deputy Minister Stephen Doughty publicly rejected U.S. blockade tactics against Iran, while still backing Washington’s broader effort to secure maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

"While the U.K. doesn’t support the U.S. blockade, it supports working with the United States and others to reopen the Strait of Hormuz," Doughty said ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting, according to The Associated Press, warning Tehran cannot be allowed to hold "the rest of the world to ransom."

The split underscores London’s effort to support U.S. security goals without fully endorsing Trump’s "economic fury" strategy, which aims to strangle Iran’s economic lifelines through aggressive maritime pressure.

That policy divergence has intensified scrutiny over whether Charles’ visit is now functioning as a diplomatic pressure valve.

A White House spokesperson emphasized the visit as a sign of enduring personal rapport between the president and the monarch. "President Trump has always had great respect for King Charles, and their relationship was further strengthened by the president’s historic trip to the United Kingdom last year," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. "The president enjoyed welcoming their majesties to the White House, and he looks forward to more special events throughout the week."

AS AIRSTRIKES RAIN DOWN ON THE IRANIAN REGIME, CAN A FRACTURED OPPOSITION UNITE TO LEAD IF IT FALLS?

Mendoza pointed to Queen Elizabeth II’s past interventions as evidence that the monarchy can sometimes succeed where elected leaders cannot.

He cited Elizabeth’s historic role in easing tensions with Ireland and described royal diplomacy as uniquely positioned to create trust at the personal level.

"People often wonder why the British monarchy still exists in the 21st century," Mendoza said. "This is why."

Still, Mendoza was careful not to overstate the king’s role.

Charles, he said, is unlikely to directly influence specific policies on Iran, NATO or military cooperation. Instead, his greatest value lies in shaping what Mendoza called the "general mood music" around Trump’s willingness to engage.

"It’s more a question of general mood music, which could make the president more receptive to interesting solutions," Mendoza said.

That distinction may prove crucial.

Rather than forcing policy alignment, Charles could help preserve the broader strategic atmosphere needed to keep Washington and London functioning as close allies even while their elected governments disagree.

KING CHARLES SENDS PERSONAL MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS TO TRUMP ON SWEARING-IN

For Britain, that may be particularly important as outside analysts warn that the "special relationship" is under mounting structural strain.

In an analysis published Monday, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Matthias Matthijs argued that while the royal visit offers "spectacle and ritual," it is unlikely to reverse what he described as the deeper unraveling of U.S.–U.K. ties.

Matthijs pointed to Trump’s repeated criticisms of Starmer about immigration, energy policy and Britain’s posture toward the U.S.-Israeli confrontation with Iran, suggesting Charles may now be doing much of the diplomatic "heavy lifting" required to preserve British access to Trump.

Meanwhile, constitutional scholars in Britain have also raised concerns.

Writing for the U.K. Constitutional Law Association earlier in April, Francesca Jackson warned that using the monarch as a diplomatic instrument during periods of sharp political volatility could expose the Crown to political backlash or "potential embarrassment," especially if Charles is perceived as caught between Trump and Starmer.

That risk reflects the broader stakes.

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If Trump embraces Charles while continuing to criticize Starmer, the visit could preserve royal rapport while underscoring political dysfunction, effectively creating a parallel diplomatic lane between Washington and the British Crown.

But for now, Mendoza argues, the monarchy’s purpose is not governance, but access to the king, which may still have a chance to keep the relationship from fracturing beyond repair.

Fox News Digital reached out to Prime Minister Starmer's office for comment.

Iran turmoil erupts: Ultra-hardliner who mocked Trump poised to take over nuclear talks

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 17:16:42 -0400

Further signs of turmoil are emerging in Iran’s U.S. negotiating team as hardliner Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf looks set to be replaced by a veteran conservative known for rejecting nuclear concessions, according to reports.

Iran International reported April 24 that Saeed Jalili, 60 — who already leads what has been described as a "shadow government" — is expected to succeed Ghalibaf following his sudden departure amid internal disputes.

Jalili also heads Iran’s ultra-hardline faction known as the Stability Front (Paydari), which is known to be a "bastion of ultraconservatism in Iran," according to reports.

Ali Safavi, an official with the Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital that Jalili "has evolved from a nuclear negotiator to an influential actor within the regime."

TRUMP'S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL

Ghalibaf was reportedly forced to step down after attempting to bring the nuclear issue into talks with Washington, a move that triggered backlash within Iran’s political establishment.

President Donald Trump had called off plans for U.S. envoys to travel to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on April 25.

The rivalry between Jalili and Ghalibaf is said to span more than a decade and intensified during the 2024 elections, when Jalili refused to step aside, contributing to the victory of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Safavi said, "The increased visibility of latent divisions stems from recurring nationwide uprisings, deep economic crises and the pressures of war, all of which have intensified internal feuding.

"Far from signaling transformation, these developments reflect accelerating erosion and mounting pressure, deepening fractures and leaving the regime ever weaker and more vulnerable," he added.

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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also seeking a continued leading role in negotiations, highlighting competing centers of influence over Iran’s diplomatic strategy, sources said.

Araghchi is in Islamabad, Pakistan, after returning from a short trip to Muscat, Oman, where he is holding high-level diplomatic talks on the conflict. Reports indicate Araghchi will travel to Moscow.

Jalili’s potential appointment, however, signals a hardening of Iran’s stance, with more emphasis on resistance over compromise.

"Within this regime, there are a number of constants espoused by all factions," Safavi said before highlighting that these were "repression, the export of terrorism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons."

"The factions all ultimately move along a common path: the preservation of power. They differ in methods, not in objectives," Safavi cautioned.

IRANIAN-AMERICANS AND DISSIDENTS RALLIED AGAINST 'MURDEROUS REGIME AGENTS' AS IRAN'S PRESIDENT ADDRESSED UNGA

Jalili, meanwhile, served as Iran’s top nuclear negotiator from 2007 to 2013 under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later ran for president three times. He also served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

A former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Jalili lost his right leg at 21 during the Iran-Iraq War, earning him the title of "Living Martyr".

The Paydari Front, which he is associated with, opposes engagement with the West — particularly the 2015 nuclear deal — and advocates a doctrine of "active resistance."

During Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, Jalili also established a "shadow government" to counter the administration’s policies, especially the nuclear deal.

On April 7, he wrote on X: "Yes — ‘infrastructure’ is on the verge of collapse; the infrastructure of domination and the American order. And after that, a better foundation will be built."

A day earlier, he posted: "‘Shut up’ is not the appropriate response to Trump’s ramblings; let him speak more. Nothing is more effective in laying bare the true nature of the United States than Trump’s outbursts."

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"In dealing with this regime," Safavi said, "we must bear in mind that in the 45 years since the mullahs consolidated their rule in 1981 by crushing all peaceful political life, so-called reformists have governed for nearly half that time — presiding over some of its darkest crimes."

"These include the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, the assassination of dissidents abroad, the chain murders of intellectuals inside Iran and the relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons."

GORDON SONDLAND: Stay the course with Iran, President Trump. It's like breaking a horse

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Getting Iran to capitulate is like breaking a wild horse. Anyone who’s done it — or even watched it done — knows how this goes. Calm one minute, violent the next. You get a step forward, then you lose half of it back. The horse is testing you — your patience, your resolve, your willingness to stay in the saddle when it tries to throw you.

That’s Iran.

And here’s the part the foreign policy commentariat still doesn’t get: Donald Trump actually understands this dynamic.

WHAT COMES NEXT IN THE IRAN WAR? WHAT THIS CEASEFIRE WILL AND WON'T DO

Not from theory. From instinct.

Iran is not a normal negotiating partner. It’s not even a unified one. Power is fragmented across clerics, politicians, intelligence services and, most importantly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a state within a state that answers to ideology, money and survival.

And inside that system are hard-liners who don’t want a deal — period. These are people who would rather burn down the house than give up their nuclear potential, their offshore wealth and their grip on power. For them, compromise isn’t a concession. It’s extinction.

IRAN’S NUCLEAR GAMBLE LEAVES AMERICA ONE CHOICE — AND IT CAN'T BE A DEAL

So when I hear the usual noise — why the mixed signals, why the tough talk one day and restraint the next — I have to laugh. That critique assumes we’re dealing with rational, Western-style negotiators who respond to consistency and good-faith process.

We’re not.

We’re dealing with a regime that has spent 45 years perfecting delay, deception and division. Show them a straight line and they’ll run circles around it. Telegraph your endgame and they’ll stall you to death.

STEVE FORBES: IRAN’S NUCLEAR INSANITY LEAVES AMERICA AND ALLIES NO ROOM TO BLINK

What Trump is doing — whether people like his style or not — is exactly what this situation demands: pressure, pause, pressure again. Open a door, then make it very clear what happens if they try to game it. Keep them off balance. Keep them guessing.

That’s not chaos. That’s leverage.

And here’s where the leverage really comes from — and it’s something most analysts either miss or are too uncomfortable to say out loud.

AMB GORDON SONDLAND: NATO BLINKED ON IRAN, AND TRUMP HAS EVERY RIGHT TO BE FURIOUS

The leverage is the overwhelming military capability that’s been assembled — and the very clear willingness to use it if the horse needs a severe correction.

Not as bluster. Not as background noise. As a credible, ever-present option.

Tehran understands that when push comes to shove, this isn’t an academic exercise. The same apparatus that can impose sanctions can also impose consequences — rapidly and decisively — against leadership targets, command structures and critical infrastructure if the regime crosses the line or continues to play rope-a-dope.

ROBERT MAGINNIS: WHY ISLAMABAD TALKS WERE ALWAYS DOOMED TO FAIL

That reality changes behavior.

It forces calculations inside a regime that has historically believed it could outlast, outmaneuver or simply exhaust Western resolve. It introduces doubt where there used to be confidence. It sharpens the internal debate between those who want to test limits and those who understand the cost of getting it wrong.

This is, at its core, a test of wills and power, carried out to its logical conclusion.

WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR

Most leaders don’t understand that. They look for an off-ramp too early. They prioritize optics over outcomes. They confuse activity with achievement.

Trump doesn’t.

He understands that if you ease off before the dynamic shifts, you don’t get a better deal — you get played. He understands that credibility isn’t built on statements; it’s built on a demonstrated willingness to act. And he understands that regimes like Iran only recalibrate when the alternative becomes unacceptable.

MORNING GLORY: THE US-IRAN NEGOTIATIONS IN ISLAMABAD BECAME REYKJAVÍK 2.0

That’s what’s happening now.

And yes, it makes people uneasy.

Turn on the TV and it’s a minute-by-minute panic cycle. Gas prices tick up — breaking news. Some leak hits the wires — six hours of speculation. Who said what at 9 a.m. versus 3 p.m. — treated like it’s dispositive.

NO RETREAT AT HORMUZ — IRAN MUST NOT CONTROL THE WORLD’S ENERGY LIFELINE

It’s noise.

This is not a daily trading strategy. This is a generational geopolitical play.

The upside, if we get this right, is enormous. A truly non-nuclear Iran changes the entire equation in the Middle East. It removes the single biggest destabilizing force in the region.

PAKISTANI GENERAL SAYS IRAN DIPLOMACY STILL 'ALIVE, DESPITE US BLOCKADE, FAILED TALKS

Imagine a world where Iran is not shooting at Israel, not funding proxy militias across multiple theaters and not sitting on the threshold of a nuclear weapon. Even if the regime remains clerical, its ability to wreak havoc is dramatically reduced.

That opens the door to something real — trade, investment, normalization. Stronger economic ties between Israel, the Gulf states, the United States and beyond. Capital flows instead of capital flight. Stability instead of constant brinkmanship.

That’s what’s on the table.

STEVE FORBES: NO MORE DELUSIONS — AMERICA HAS TO FINISH THE JOB IN IRAN

Now look at Europe.

The Europeans, predictably, want to make the campaign contribution after the candidate has already won the election. They’ll criticize the tone, question the tactics and keep one foot in and one foot out — until the outcome is clear.

Then they’ll show up and declare themselves indispensable.

TRUMP PUSHED IRAN TO THE BRINK — BUT DID WE WIN ANYTHING THAT LASTS?

We’ve seen this movie before.

The reality is that without sustained American pressure — economic and military — there is no deal worth having. None. Iran has no incentive to move unless it believes the alternative is materially worse.

That’s what Trump has restored: credibility.

MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP LEADS THE WEST TO A BIG WIN AGAINST IRAN

And credibility is everything in this kind of negotiation.

What’s required now is discipline. Not second-guessing every tactical move. Not flinching every time there’s volatility. Certainly not pulling back just because the process looks messy.

Of course it’s messy. It’s supposed to be.

ONE MONTH AT WAR WITH IRAN — CAN WASHINGTON DEFINE VICTORY?

Breaking a horse is messy. Push too hard and you get thrown. Ease off too soon and you lose control. The key is staying on long enough for the dynamic to change.

That’s what’s happening here.

The pressure is real. Iran’s economy is under strain. Its currency has taken repeated hits. Public dissatisfaction is not theoretical — it’s visible. And inside the regime, the debate over how far they can push — and how much they can take — is intensifying.

NOT BLUFFING: STEPHEN MILLER SAYS TRUMP IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED, 'HOLDS ALL THE CARDS' IN IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

That’s progress.

Not a signing ceremony. Not a neat press release. Pressure.

So let’s take a breath.

WHY TRUMP FACES AN AGONIZING DECISION ON OBLITERATING IRAN’S OIL SUPPLY IF HE CAN’T GET A DEAL

Stop obsessing over hourly gas prices. Stop parsing every headline like it’s the final chapter. This is a long game, and it’s being played at a level that requires patience and nerve.

The stakes are enormous. A neutered, non-nuclear Iran removes the last major obstacle to a more stable, more prosperous Middle East — one where trade, not terror, defines its relationships.

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You don’t get there with process. You get there with pressure.

And for all the noise, that’s exactly what Trump is delivering.

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He’s staying in the saddle.

And that’s how you break the horse.

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Trump admin announces expansion of visa restriction policy in Western Hemisphere

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 22:31:32 -0400

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a "significant expansion" of its visa restriction policy in ⁠the Western Hemisphere, targeting people working on behalf of U.S. adversaries.

In its announcement, the State Department said the expanded policy allows it to restrict U.S. visas for people intentionally acting on behalf of adversarial countries to "undermine America's interests."

"President Trump’s National Security Strategy makes clear: this Administration will deny adversarial powers the ability to own or control vital assets or threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in our region," the department said in a press release. "The Department of State is working to advance American leadership in our hemisphere, protect our homeland, and ensure access to vital routes and areas throughout our region."

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"In support of this critical objective, the Department of State is announcing a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy that targets those working on behalf of U.S. adversaries to undermine our national interests in our hemisphere, including regional security and democratic sovereignty," the department continued.

The administration also said that family members of individuals subject to visa restrictions under this policy will not be allowed to enter the U.S.

"This expanded policy enables us to restrict U.S. visas for nationals of countries in our region who, while within Western Hemisphere countries and while intentionally acting on behalf of adversarial countries, their agents, or enterprises, knowingly direct, authorize, fund, or provide significant support to, or carry out activities that are adversarial to and undermine America’s interests in our hemisphere. These individuals – and their immediate family members – will be generally ineligible for entry into the United States," the department said.

Activities the administration has deemed adversarial and that could trigger visa restrictions include enabling adversarial powers to acquire or control key assets and strategic resources in the Western Hemisphere, destabilizing regional security efforts, undermining American economic interests and conducting influence operations designed to weaken the sovereignty and stability of nations in the region.

STATE DEPARTMENT TO ASK FOR BONDS OF UP TO $15,000 FOR VISA APPLICATION FROM A DOZEN MORE COUNTRIES

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The department said it has imposed visa restrictions on 26 people under this policy.

"To demonstrate our commitment to this expanded policy, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 individuals across our hemisphere who have engaged in these activities," the department said. "The Trump Administration will use every available tool to protect our national security interests, defend American interests, and promote our region’s safety and prosperity."

This comes after a series of moves by the administration in recent months to restrict visas for people around the world, including a visa ban on people from dozens of countries listed by the State Department, which civil rights groups have previously sharply criticized.

Critics, including civil rights advocates, have raised concerns about similar visa restriction policies, saying broad definitions of prohibited activity can create questions about how individuals are identified and what due process protections are available.

"This administration’s targeting of people based on their national origin is part of an autocratic playbook designed to make America smaller – to shut out ideas, perspectives, and communities," Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement earlier this year about the suspension of immigrant visa processing for people from around 75 countries.

Hungary’s new leader once idolized Orbán — now he’s the man who brought him down

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:00:03 -0400

Péter Magyar has gone from political outsider to Hungary’s most powerful politician almost overnight.

The 44-year-old lawyer and former insider in former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling party swept to victory in Hungary’s 2026 election, ending Orbán’s 16-year rule and stunning Europe.

"Thank you to every Hungarian at home and around the world!" he wrote on X. "It is an immense honor that you have empowered us to form a government with the most votes ever received, and to work for the next four years for a free, European, functioning, and humane Hungary."

Here are the key things to know about the man now set to lead Hungary.

TRUMP SAYS HUNGARY'S BORDER STANCE KEEPS CRIME DOWN, SAYS EUROPE 'FLOODING' WITH MIGRANTS

He grew up admiring Viktor Orbán

Magyar was born in 1981 in Budapest, Hungary, into a family of lawyers. He was just nine years old when communism collapsed in Hungary and the country held its first democratic elections.

As a child, he idolized Orbán, who at the time was a young anti-Communist activist demanding that Soviet troops leave Hungary. Magyar has said he kept a photo of Orbán on his bedroom wall, Reuters reported.

That early admiration makes his rise all the more remarkable: the boy who once saw Orbán as a hero ultimately became the politician who ended his rule.

He comes from the same political world

Before becoming Orbán’s biggest challenger, Magyar was part of the same Hungarian political establishment.

He spent years inside Orbán’s conservative Fidesz movement and worked in positions connected to the Hungarian state. Because of that background, analysts say Magyar understands the system from the inside.

"He’s an insider," said Helena Ivanov, an associate research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a London-based foreign policy think tank. "He knows and understands the inside out of the Hungarian political system."

That insider status, she added, was "exceptionally important" to his success.

VIKTOR ORBÁN CONCEDES DEFEAT AS OPPOSITION LEADER HEADS FOR POTENTIAL SUPERMAJORITY WIN

He studied law and worked in government

Like many members of Hungary’s political elite, Magyar trained as a lawyer.

After studying law, he entered public service. When his then-wife took a position in Brussels, Magyar joined Hungary’s diplomatic corps and worked on European Union legislation.

After returning to Hungary, he held senior positions at a state-owned bank and later ran Hungary’s student loan agency.

His background gave him experience in both Brussels and the Hungarian bureaucracy, helping him position himself as a bridge between Hungary and the European Union.

His marriage made him part of Orbán’s inner circle

Magyar married Judit Varga in 2006. Varga later became one of Orbán’s most prominent ministers and served as Hungary’s justice minister.

For years, that marriage placed Magyar close to the center of power in Hungary.

The couple had three sons, but their marriage eventually broke down. They divorced in 2023, shortly before Magyar launched his political rebellion.

He broke with Orbán after a major scandal

Magyar’s political transformation began after a scandal that rocked Hungary in 2024.

Varga resigned after public outrage over a pardon linked to a child sexual abuse case. The scandal opened a rare crack in Orbán’s government.

Magyar publicly broke with Fidesz, accusing the government of corruption and propaganda.

For Ivanov, that moment was decisive.

"The key breakdown was the fact that Orbán’s government participated in a cover-up … and that ultimately led him to start his own political campaign," she said.

He became an instant political star

Until 2024, most Hungarians had barely heard of Magyar.

Then he gave a high-profile interview and launched a new political movement. Within months, he transformed himself into the face of Hungary’s opposition.

His Tisza Party won 30% in the 2024 European elections, before defeating Fidesz nationally less than two years later.

Ivanov said his rapid rise came down to strategy.

"He was able to capture the hearts and minds of the Hungarian people by focusing … on the internal issues that were their key grievances," she said.

He is more pro-European than Orbán, but still conservative

Magyar is not a traditional liberal politician.

Like Orbán, he opposes illegal immigration, supports Hungary’s border fence and rejects European Union migrant quotas.

"When it comes to immigration, I’m not really that sure that we’re going to see much of a change," Ivanov told Fox News Digital. "Magyar so far has made it clear that the fence originally built by Orbán will stay in place. He has said that he is not going to support the EU migration pact."

"So that’s one thing where we may possibly see some continuity, or at least some overlap, between Magyar and Orbán," she added. "But … bringing the country back to a stable democracy is one of the key priorities that Magyar has."

But unlike Orbán, he has pledged to rebuild ties with the European Union and unlock frozen EU funds.

VP VANCE TO MEET WITH VIKTOR ORBÁN IN HUNGARY DAYS AHEAD OF FOREIGN NATION'S ELECTIONS

Ivanov said the shift could be significant, especially after years of deteriorating relations with Brussels.

"He has promised to rebuild the relationship between the European Union and Hungary," she said.

Still, she cautioned that tensions may remain, particularly over Russia and Ukraine policy.

Religion and family are central to his image

Magyar describes himself as religious and often emphasizes family life.

He has said he enjoys cooking and playing soccer with his sons.

That image has helped him appeal to conservative voters who were disillusioned with Orbán but not ready to support a left-wing alternative.

He won by campaigning differently

Magyar built his victory through a grassroots campaign. He focused on corruption, cost of living and frustration after 16 years under one leader.

Because Orbán’s allies controlled much of Hungary’s media, he relied heavily on social media, rural outreach and direct voter engagement.

Ivanov said that approach was not just strategic, but necessary.

"The control that Orbán had over the media meant Magyar had to directly engage with the people," she said.

Ivanov noted that Magyar did not appear on state television for 18 months. His first appearance came only after his victory, during what she described as "a very heated conversation" in which he accused Hungarian state media of carrying out "North Korean-style propaganda" under Orbán.

Now, after years as an insider and barely two years as an opposition figure, Magyar is preparing to take power.

Magyar has already signaled that he intends to move quickly against officials tied to the old system.

In a post on X on Wednesday, he said he had arrived at the presidential palace to meet Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok.

"Tamás Sulyok is unworthy of representing the unity of the Hungarian nation," Magyar wrote. "He is unfit to serve as the guardian of legality. He is not fit to serve as a moral authority or a role model."

"Following the formation of the new government, Tamás Sulyok must leave office immediately."

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Ivanov called the result "a huge victory for democracy," but said that reversing years of institutional control "is not going to be an easy process … likely a years-long process."

Reuters contributed to this report.

David Axelrod trying to tamp down speculation after meeting the pope

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:31:45 -0400

David Axelrod, a senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, put out a statement on X quelling rumors that a Thursday meeting between himself and Pope Leo XIV was a precursor to a potential Leo-Obama summit.

"To be clear, I was gratified and honored that Pope Leo XIV granted my request for an audience and thrilled to spend a some time with him last week," Axelrod wrote.

"It was scheduled months ago and unrelated to any prospective meeting with President Obama," his Tuesday post concluded.

Despite the statement, Obama has been open about his desire to meet with Pope Leo. Obama-Biden White House alum Christopher Hale posted on X that there are "early talks" about a potential one-on-one.

POPE WARNS ESCALATING IRAN CONFLICT COULD TIP MIDDLE EAST INTO ‘IRREPARABLE ABYSS’

Axelrod, now a CNN analyst, was responding to a video from his own network in which conservative commentator Hal Lambert accused Pope Leo's recent criticisms of President Donald Trump and the war in Iran of being politically motivated.

"David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week. They're talking about Obama going to visit. Pope Leo is from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel," Lambert said during a CNN panel show.

"Axelrod is the chief strategist for Obama. The pope was saying he's not political. Why is he meeting with the chief strategist for both Obama's campaign and in the White House?" Lambert asked.

POPE LEO PICKS NEW VATICAN AMBASSADOR TO US AS TRUMP TENSIONS MOUNT OVER POLICIES

In addition to being a senior advisor to Obama in the White House, Axelrod was also the chief strategist for both Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns and was widely seen as the brains behind his successful runs.

The veteran politico met with Pope Leo on April 9. The pope's criticism's of Trump's military actions predate the meeting. He's been critical of both military actions in Venezuela and in Iran, telling a Palm Sunday Mass in March that God "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war."

But one day after his meeting with Axelrod, Pope Leo wrote what appeared to be a direct rebuke to the administration.

POPE LEO CALLS OUT 'DELUSION OF OMNIPOTENCE' FUELING IRAN WAR IN VIGIL FOR PEACE AT ST. PETER'S BASILICA

"God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs," Pope Leo wrote in an April 10 post on X.

"Military action will not create space for freedom or times of Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples," he concluded.

The post, which has been followed with at least 10 direct or indirect references to war and peace in the five days since, came days after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke of the rescue mission to save a downed airman in Iran.

POPE LEO XIV INVOKES POPE FRANCIS' FINAL WORDS IN EASTER PLEA AGAINST GROWING 'INDIFFERENCE' TO WAR

"Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave — a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday," Hegseth said. "Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good," Hegseth said in an April 6 press conference.

Trump responded to comments from Pope Leo, calling him "weak on crime and "terrible for foreign policy," in a post on Truth Social.

"Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church," Trump also wrote.

FROM IRAN TO THE FAKE JESUS IMAGE, TRUMP IS FACING A GROWING BACKLASH FOR HIS INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC

The heightened rhetoric has contributed to an atmosphere that many are increasingly viewing as political.

"It’s not about when it was scheduled. It’s about why? David Axelrod is a powerful Democrat political strategist. That’s his job for the past 30 years. Millions of people would like a private audience with the pope, but he is meeting with a powerful strategist for the opposition party to President Trump," Lambert told Fox News Digital.

"This is all about the midterms and trying to turn Catholics against President Trump and Republicans," Lambert concluded.

BISHOP BARRON SAYS TRUMP ‘OWES THE POPE AN APOLOGY’

Besides incurring the pope's ire, Trump has also irked Christians across the board after posting an AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social that many viewed as depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

Trump deleted the photo and denied the charge, claiming he thought the photo was depicting him as a doctor.

"I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross… which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one," Trump told reporters.

"As a Chicagoan, I've been eager to meet Pope Leo from the moment he stepped out on the balcony," Axelrod told Fox News Digital.

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"My admiration for him as a great moral leader has only grown since. The audience, which I requested, was scheduled months ago. No one sent me and the only mission I was on was to visit with him and pay my respects," he concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vatican and an Obama representative for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Pope Leo says he's unafraid of the Trump admin after president calls him 'terrible' on foreign policy

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:45:26 -0400

Pope Leo XIV fired back after President Donald Trump attacked him on social media, saying his calls for peace are rooted in the Gospel and should not be treated as a political argument with the White House.

"I have no fear of the Trump administration," the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane Monday en route to Algeria.

"The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician," he added.

Trump had criticized the pope's positions on Sunday in a scathing rebuke on Truth Social.

POPE LEO URGES WAR LEADERS TO HALT FIGHTING AFTER DEADLY STRIKE ON SCHOOL SPARKS OUTRAGE

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump began in a lengthy post.

The pope responded Monday, taking a shot at Trump's Truth Social – "it’s ironic, the name of the site itself; say no more" – despite claiming "I will not enter into debate."

POPE LEO XIV TO VISIT FASTEST-GROWING CATHOLIC CONTINENT DURING 4-NATION AFRICA TRIP

"The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone," he also said, speaking in English, adding, "I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems."

"Too many people are suffering in the world today," Leo added. "Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."

VATICAN DECLINES TO JOIN TRUMP’S GAZA ‘BOARD OF PEACE,’ CALLS FOR UN LEADERSHIP

The pope's stance against Trump's peace efforts in the Middle East came after the president's Sunday night Air Force One tarmac comments.

"We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told reporters, echoing remarks from the Truth Social post. "We don't want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don't like it."

"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime," Trump added. "He's a man that doesn't think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world."

POPE WARNS ESCALATING IRAN CONFLICT COULD TIP MIDDLE EAST INTO ‘IRREPARABLE ABYSS’

Leo claimed he was speaking for the church and not himself or Iran.

"To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is," Leo said. "And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today."

Trump claimed Leo has him to thank for being elevated to pope, the first American pope.

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"I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. "He gets it, and Leo doesn’t."

"If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican," Trump said.

SEN MITCH McCONNELL: Hungary’s voters offer a lesson for those on the right drawn to Orban

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:00:15 -0400

On Sunday, voters in Hungary’s parliamentary elections ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party, as polls had consistently predicted they would. Orban’s prompt concession suggests a peaceful, democratic transfer of power in the days to come. Most notably, Hungarians appear to have been unswayed by foreign attempts — both real and imagined — to subvert or manipulate their judgment.

This should not come as a surprise to Americans. We, too, bristle at suggestions that anyone but our own lawful citizens ought to have a say in our democratic process. And beyond the extreme margins of our politics, there is little evidence that foreign influence campaigns are very successful in shaping the views of American voters.

America’s own political leaders have traditionally abided by the idea that politics stopped at the water’s edge. They’ve sought to avoid even the appearance of telling other sovereign democracies how to run their internal affairs and resisted the urge to treat foreign policy as an extension of our domestic politics.

I haven’t hesitated to call out departures from these prudent customs, like the increasingly flagrant ways that elected Democrats have sought to insert themselves into the lively democratic politics of Israel. Yet, for the better part of a decade, Hungarian politics has persisted as an object of intense fascination in certain corners of the American right.

TRUMP CALLS INTO VANCE-ORBAN HUNGARY EVENT: 'MY KIND OF PEOPLE'

This phenomenon is endlessly puzzling. America’s self-proclaimed national conservatives spoke of Orban’s Hungary as an oasis of traditionalism amid the wasteland of an ailing, liberal and decadent postmodern Europe. And some American politicians appear to have bought into the myth.

To be clear, it is a myth. Orban’s champions on this side of the Atlantic may well consider his illiberal court-packing, crony capitalism or restriction of free speech an acceptable price for their desired social utopia. Yet for all the talk of reviving faith and family through statist intervention, Hungary’s religious participation and birth rates under his rule have declined right alongside the rest of the West.

Of course, had any of the breathless pronouncements of Hungary’s unique virtue been true, they’d be a reasonable basis for personal affinity ... but not for U.S. foreign policy. Shared values can be a useful entrée into deeper cooperation with allies and partners. But to the extent that values have played a central role in successful U.S. foreign policy, it has been in service to, and aligned with, our strategic interests.

TRUMP ALLY ORBAN ISSUES SCATHING LETTER DEMANDING ZELENSKYY CHANGE UKRAINE'S 'ANTI-HUNGARIAN POLICY'

Clearly, Orban’s fawning servitude to authoritarians doesn’t reflect American values. But far more importantly, his government’s fealty to Moscow, its willingness to be a gateway into Europe for China’s predatory machinations, and its deepening ties with Iran run counter to America’s interests.

These allegiances ought to matter a great deal to American conservatives who, quite rightly, expect European allies to carry a greater share of the burden of deterring threats to our shared Western interests.

The Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy observes that America "will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete" with strategic adversaries. But Europe’s tremendous progress toward greater burden-sharing on defense has come despite Hungary’s defense budget shrinking by 6% last year and Orban’s active opposition to European Union support for Ukraine. While other allies have decreased their reliance on Russian energy, Orban has doubled down on Hungary’s dependence on Russian gas. And in 2024, he struck an "all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership" with America’s foremost strategic adversary, the PRC.

Orban’s Hungary offered America little in the way of strategic alignment, let alone "moral cooperation." Today, the highest shared value between Americans and the people of Hungary is the right to choose our own leaders, freely and fairly, without foreign or domestic interference.

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Of course, American conservatives who still worry in particular about the social fabric and moral values of Europe’s 19th-largest economy should take heart: The next Hungarian prime minister is unlikely to turn Budapest into a den of iniquity or impose Sharia law. And I have yet to hear him propose opening the country’s borders or sacrificing its sovereignty on the altar of the European Union.

Instead, what seems to have motivated Hungarian voters is a distaste for the crony capitalism and corruption that have weakened Hungary’s economy and the image of its ruling party. Their next prime minister is, after all, a product of that ruling party who campaigned on addressing Hungary’s economic woes rather than just scapegoating them. I suspect Hungary’s voters will, in turn, judge his government on whether he succeeds in doing so.

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Watching this from Kentucky, it is hard to understand how some on the American right thought that staking U.S. influence on the outcome of a parliamentary election in a small, central European country was putting America’s interests first. To the extent that what happens in Hungary matters to America, it is a question of whether its actions on the world stage — not its social policies — align with America’s strategic interests.

The future course of U.S.-Hungary strategic alignment under the new government remains to be seen. But to the extent that Hungary’s next leaders behave with less obeisance toward our adversaries and a more serious focus on our shared interests, Washington may be wise to welcome this change.

ROBERT MAGINNIS: Why Islamabad talks were always doomed to fail

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:49:43 -0400

Clausewitz wrote that war is the continuation of policy by other means. The corollary—which Washington perpetually forgets—is that diplomacy without strategic clarity is just theater. This weekend in Islamabad, we got the theater.

Vice President JD Vance flew to Pakistan to lead the highest-level direct talks between the United States and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He had warned Tehran before departing: "If they're going to try to play us, they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive." After 21 hours across multiple sessions, he boarded Air Force Two and flew home without an agreement, leaving behind what he called Washington's "final and best offer." Tehran has not accepted it.

Iran Did Not Come to Concede

Tehran's delegation—71 people, led by Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi—presented four non-negotiable conditions before the session even began: full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, complete war reparations, unconditional release of frozen assets and a durable ceasefire across the entire West Asia region. Those are not opening bids. They are a declaration of intent. Iran's state media put the breakdown squarely on Washington's "excessive demands."

GEN JACK KEANE 'SKEPTICAL' THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL 'DELAY AND OBFUSCATE'

Ghalibaf left no doubt about the atmosphere. "We have goodwill, but we do not trust," he told Iranian state media. The distrust is mutual: Tehran has not forgotten that President Donald Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal, and Washington has watched Iran exploit diplomatic pauses for decades.

The American framework was equally firm. Trump's proposal calls for Iran to surrender its highly enriched uranium, accept caps on its defense capabilities and fully reopen the strait. The president was blunt: "No nuclear weapon. That's 99% of it." Vance confirmed after the breakdown: "The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon—not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term. We haven't seen that yet." These two sides were not negotiating the same deal. They were not even negotiating whether a deal is possible.

The Strait Remains the Center of Gravity

The entire framework rested on one condition: Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Six weeks into this war, that passage—through which roughly 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas moves—remains effectively closed to normal commerce. During the talks, the IRGC warned that any military vessels attempting to transit would meet a "strong response." Two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations in the strait on Saturday—the first American warship transit since the war began.

Trump was direct: "We're sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me." Two parties asserting irreconcilable positions over the same 21 miles of water is not a negotiating gap—it is a trigger.

Lebanon: The Faultline That Cannot Be Papered Over

ONE MONTH AT WAR WITH IRAN — CAN WASHINGTON DEFINE VICTORY?

Iran insisted the ceasefire cover Hezbollah in Lebanon. Washington and Jerusalem said it does not. Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in southern Lebanon on Saturday—on the same day the delegations were meeting at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Tehran called them a ceasefire violation.

Israel was not represented in Islamabad—Pakistan does not recognize it. The structural problem is insoluble: Iran cannot deliver any agreement that leaves Hezbollah exposed to ongoing Israeli bombardment, and Washington cannot bind a sovereign Israel to terms Jerusalem did not negotiate.

VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL 'FIND OUT' TRUMP IS 'NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND' IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART

One thread remains open: Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are set to meet separately at the State Department. If that track moves, it could remove the Lebanon veto from the larger negotiation.

A Playbook Iran Has Run Before

This outcome is not a surprise. From Vienna to Geneva, Iran's consistent strategy is to use the table to buy time, preserve leverage and avoid commitments that weaken the regime. The regime absorbed weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, retained internal control and sent 71 negotiators to Islamabad with a maximalist demand sheet—not a delegation on the brink, but one that believes time is on its side. Former State Department negotiator Aaron David Miller read the room clearly: Iran "holds more cards than the Americans" and is "clearly in no hurry to make concessions."

One development suggests the pressure is real. Saudi Arabia's finance minister arrived in Islamabad as a show of economic support—Gulf states do not send ministers to symbolically back a negotiation they expect to fail.

The Options Have Not Changed

Concession—accepting Iranian Hormuz sovereignty, force drawdowns, proxy networks and nuclear program intact—reads as abandonment in every Gulf capital that depends on American security guarantees. Full escalation can destroy Iranian military capacity but cannot remove the regime or govern what follows; Vietnam and Afghanistan proved airpower compels, it does not govern. Coercive pressure sustained over time—maximum economic isolation, naval enforcement, coalition discipline—remains the most coherent path, but it demands patience measured in years, not news cycles. None of these options are clean. All of them were foreseeable.

The Bottom Line

WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR

Islamabad is over. The ceasefire is in limbo. Vance left Tehran a "final and best offer" and departed. It has not been accepted, and future talks are uncertain.

Washington has yet to define what a durable settlement requires—only what it will not accept. That is not a strategy. If the ceasefire collapses without a diplomatic track to replace it, pressure to resume strikes will build fast. But more bombs will not force Iran to surrender. The logic of sustained escalation leads to one place: a large-scale ground war.

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Iran is not Iraq. Iraq favored maneuver warfare across open terrain. Iran is mountainous, with limited mobility corridors. Naval power is largely irrelevant. Ground forces would have to grind through prepared defenses at enormous cost in lives and treasure—and the American people are not prepared for that war.

Clausewitz again: no one starts a war without being clear in his own mind what he intends to achieve by it. Six weeks in, that clarity is still missing from Washington's public posture. I warned that Iran is too dangerous to ignore, too resilient to collapse quickly and too complex to resolve from the air. Islamabad confirmed that assessment.

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Social media erupts after Harris introduces 'mob boss' accent to attack Trump: 'Total cringe'

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:44:13 -0400

Former vice president and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris was roasted online Friday after she introduced another accent while trying to impersonate President Donald Trump as a "mob boss."

"You know, the way that he's thinking of foreign policy, it seems, is when he talks about America First, it's to withdraw from these relationships and these connections," Harris said while arguing that the administration has lost sight of international cooperation as a means to address regional conflict.

"And then he kind of acts like a mob boss. So, then he's kind of like, 'Oh, well, you know, you take Eastern Europe, and I'll take the Western Hemisphere. And then you over there, you, you get Asia, and we'll just divide it up,' right?"

Harris made her comments while speaking at a forum with the National Action Network, which was founded by the controversial civil rights activist Al Sharpton.

RUBIO MEETS G7 MINISTERS IN FRANCE AS US LEADS ON IRAN — ALLIES UNDER FIRE FOR TEPID RESPONSE

Almost immediately, the mimicry prompted criticism online.

"JUST IN: CRINGE," Eric Daugherty, a right-leaning social media personality, said in a post to X.

"Add ‘mafia boss’ to Kamala Harris’ list of embarrassing accents," a Republican campaign account said in its own note.

WHY TRUMP’S WAR SPEECH FAILED: DECLARING VICTORY BUT STILL BOMBING IRAN BACK TO THE ‘STONE AGES’

A former Republican staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, included her Friday moment alongside a series of other impersonations.

"Kamala Harris just debuted a new accent: Mob boss. Despite a childhood in Berkeley, California and Montreal, Canada, Kamala has what she thinks is a Detroit accent," Steve Guest wrote.

"Kamala Harris' 'Trump Impersonation' is the worst thing I have ever seen," conservative influencer Benny Johnson said. "Total cringe."

Harris’ remarks come as Trump attempts to broker peace negotiations with Iran while also inviting European allies to put pressure on Tehran to reopen waterways vital to international energy trade.

LEAVITT REBUKES MEDIA OUTLETS RUNNING WITH IRANIAN NARRATIVES ON 10 DEMANDS

Trump blasted allies on social media for not joining the U.S. in its conflict with Iran.

"NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN," Trump said in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the president reached a tentative two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran despite uncertainty about its exact terms.

Iran has presented a list of 10 demands that appear to contradict the U.S.’s own set of expectations for ending the conflict.

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In a post to state media, Iran demanded the lifting of all sanctions on Iran, continued control over key waterways in the region, U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East and a suspension of hostilities against Iran and its allies, among other demands.

The two countries are set to continue negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday.

DAVID MARCUS: Trump's high-stakes geopolitical poker is restoring US power

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:35:27 -0400

Henry Nau once penned a fascinating article in Commentary magazine in which he argued that the foreign policy of Barack Obama was like a jigsaw puzzle, while the more traditional approach of George W. Bush was like a chessboard. In more recent years, I have often wondered what President Donald Trump’s game is.

Today, as Operation Epic Fury in Iran appears to wind down, it has become clear that Trump plays foreign policy like a massive geopolitical poker game, and that he is holding a winning hand.

What Nau meant about Obama’s jigsaw style is that, under his "lead from behind" approach, every nation on Earth, friend and foe alike, holds a piece of a global puzzle, and if we all just put them down in the right place, the world’s problems will be solved.

The problem with the jigsaw puzzle approach is that countries such as Russia and China, to say nothing of Iran, have very different ideas about what picture the finished puzzle should show, and therefore, the pieces never quite fit.

IRAN WAR NEARS ‘COMPLETION’ AS TRUMP EYES DEADLINE — WHAT THE ENDGAME COULD LOOK LIKE

In the chessboard method of foreign policy, as used by both Bush administrations, great nations control territory on the board either by possessing it or threatening it from afar. In times of war, there are sometimes checkmates, but generally, the goal is to maintain balance.

It is this very global balance that Trump rejects and which has led him to eschew the chessboard in favor of the riskier game of poker. He views the last 40 years of global balance as a time when the United States has been badly taken advantage of.

Trump’s expressed desire to obtain Greenland is a perfect example of his worldview. He knows, as does everyone else, that when push comes to shove, it will be the American taxpayer who funds the defense of the crucial Arctic island against Russia and China, so why should Denmark control it?

STEVE FORBES: IRAN’S NUCLEAR INSANITY LEAVES AMERICA AND ALLIES NO ROOM TO BLINK

It is in Iran, with Operation Epic Freedom, where we see the president’s geopolitical poker style in clearest relief. His ultimatums have been "antes." His threat to destroy Iranian civilization forced their leaders to push their most precious asset, the Strait of Hormuz, into the middle of the table.

Trump knows two things here. One, as he likes to say himself, he holds the better cards. Two, and maybe more importantly, he has a near infinite stake. He didn’t fold in accepting a two-week ceasefire, because he can end it any time he wants. Any day could be bridge and power plant day.

Trump-deranged naysayers insist that Iran has won the war. But let’s look at what the United States has achieved here, or so to speak, the pots that Trump has won.

WINNING THE BATTLES, LOSING THE WAR? AMERICA MUST DEFINE THE ENDGAME IN IRAN

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his 150 or so closest friends in the regime are dead, Iran’s military is in shambles, and its nuclear program, whatever is left of it, is further degraded.

Most importantly, over the last month, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have been in a united fight against Iran. If I had told you that would happen when Trump came down the golden escalator, you would have laughed at me.

Some say this was a failure because Trump didn’t follow through. But a month ago, he said to the Iranian people, "We’re going to take out your leaders and then the rest is up to you." We did that, and whether or not the people there are able to rise up and throw out the government is, as it always was, up to them.

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Trump doesn’t want a forever war, and we aren’t getting one. It remains to be seen, but it is very likely that a military dictatorship is still preferable to a death-cult theocracy.

Like any good poker player, Trump knows how to bluff on the global stage, and even when he folds one hand, it always gives him crucial information about his opponent, be it Iran, or even NATO.

What Trump is really doing is resetting the global order away from one in which the United States finances its own decline in influence, to one in which we control what we pay for.

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The president is willing to upend the global balance to achieve this goal because he believes it is that very balance that is holding America back.

Trump will not play the slow game of foreign-policy chess in which draws are the norm, nor will he pretend to play jigsaw with our committed foes. Instead, Trump will continue to play the hand that voters gave him, and he has plenty of cards left to throw down.

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No more casual: State Department imposes first-ever dress code on diplomats

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:20:32 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department has added business formal dress code guidance to its internal policy manual for the first time, establishing department-wide standards for employee attire.

The changes, implemented in recent days in the Foreign Affairs Manual — the department’s central repository for policies — mark the first time the agency has formally codified expectations for how diplomats and staff should dress in official settings.

"Representing the United States of America is an honor — and this new policy ensures our diplomats project credibility, respect, and the dignity of the nation we serve," Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital.

The updated policy applies broadly across the department for both civil service and foreign service employees.

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The move underscores a broader recalibration at the State Department, where Trump administration officials have sought to impose clearer standards around discipline, appearance and adherence to policy.

A State Department official said the change was driven in part by concerns that some diplomats had been dressing "pretty informally" in recent years.

"This should have happened a long time ago," the official said.

The formal dress code represents a shift away from Biden-era personnel policies that prioritized flexibility and cultural inclusivity, toward a more uniform and prescriptive standard for how U.S. diplomats present themselves.

"Appropriate attire and appearance will depend on the duties performed, the work environment, and the level of interaction with foreign interlocutors and other external stakeholders," reads the manual, viewed by Fox News Digital. "For staff participating in meetings or other official engagements with foreign interlocutors, dress is Business Formal and personal appearance is polished and professional unless otherwise specified."

The dress code update follows other recent changes to how the State Department evaluates and manages its workforce, including revisions to hiring and promotion criteria for Foreign Service officers.

Earlier in 2026, the department replaced diversity, equity and inclusion-related benchmarks with a new core precept focused on "fidelity," emphasizing adherence to U.S. government policy and chain-of-command authority.

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Under the updated guidance, mid- and senior-level diplomats are expected to demonstrate loyalty by "zealously executing U.S. government policy" and resolving ambiguity in favor of leadership direction, according to internal documents previously reported by Fox News Digital.

Those changes came alongside broader efforts to restructure the department’s workforce, including plans to reduce staffing and consolidate offices, signaling a shift toward more standardized expectations for diplomatic personnel. The addition of a formal dress code marks the latest step in that direction.

Cuba releases 2,000 prisoners amid Trump pressure, energy crisis

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:15:07 -0400

Cuba’s government released more than 2,000 prisoners as the island faces mounting economic pressure linked to U.S. sanctions and worsening fuel shortages.

The Cuban Embassy in Washington said authorities granted pardons to 2,010 inmates under provisions of the country’s constitution, citing factors such as good behavior, time already served and health conditions.

"This humanitarian and sovereign gesture was based on a careful analysis of the nature of the offenses committed by the inmates, their good conduct while in prison, [and] the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences," the embassy said in a statement posted on X.

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Officials said those released include young people, women, older adults, as well as foreign nationals and Cuban citizens who live abroad but were imprisoned on the island.

The government said it excluded prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder, sexual assault, violent robbery, drug offenses and corruption of minors, as well as repeat offenders.

CUBA'S ENTIRE ELECTRICAL GRID COLLAPSES, LEAVING WHOLE ISLAND WITHOUT POWER

The move marks the second prisoner release this year and comes during Holy Week, which Cuban officials described as a customary period for such actions.

The release comes as Cuba grapples with a deepening economic and energy crisis driven in part by a renewed pressure campaign from the Trump administration aimed at cutting off the island’s access to foreign oil. The restrictions have contributed to widespread fuel shortages, blackouts and growing unrest across the country.

WATCH: Cuban power blackout sparks protests as Trump hints at US intervention

President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba and has pressured nations such as Mexico to halt shipments as part of a broader effort to squeeze the island’s energy supply.

The U.S. also allowed a tanker to deliver fuel to Cuba earlier this week after months of severe shortages, with the White House framing the move as a humanitarian exception rather than a shift in policy.

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Trump has also escalated his rhetoric, recently saying "Cuba’s next" while discussing U.S. actions abroad, though he later sought to downplay the remark.

The deepening crisis has also sparked protests and clashes across the island.

Cuba has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, and is now led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro in 2018.

Trump unleashes on Obama's 'disaster' Iran nuclear deal, says he was 'honored' to rip it apart

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 06:00:08 -0400

President Donald Trump revealed during Wednesday night's Iran address that one of his top achievements against Iran, which he described as spanning across both his terms, was shredding former President Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal.

Trump described the efforts in the Middle East as making "tremendous progress" and called Operation Epic Fury "necessary for the safety of America and the security of the free world."

Meanwhile, he slammed Iran as "fanatical," "murderous" and "thuggish," arguing that letting them have a nuclear weapon "would be an intolerable threat." While slamming Obama's 2015 deal, the president cited the $400 million cash payment the former president's administration flew to Iran in an effort to "buy their respect and loyalty."

"The most violent and thuggish regime on Earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield. I will never let that happen, and neither should any of our past presidents," Trump said, leading into his comments about Obama's "terrible" deal with Iran.

IRAN FIRES BACK WITH FLAT DENIAL AFTER TRUMP CLAIMS TEHRAN REQUESTED CEASEFIRE: 'FALSE AND BASELESS'

"I did many things during my two terms in office to stop the quest for nuclear weapons by Iran. First, and perhaps most importantly, I killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani in my first term. He was an evil genius, brilliant person, a horrible human being. The father of the roadside bomb," Trump continued. "And then, very importantly, I terminated Barack Hussein Obama's Iran nuclear deal. A disaster. Obama gave them $1.7 billion in cash – green, green cash. Took it out of banks from Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. All the cash they had."

Trump slammed Obama's administration for using airplanes to transport that cash, around $400 million, in January 2016, which Trump said was done "to buy their respect and loyalty."

"But it didn't work," Trump continued. "They laughed at our president and went on with their mission to have a nuclear bomb. His Iran deal would have led to a colossal arsenal of massive nuclear weapons for Iran, and they would have had them years ago, and they would have used them – would have been a different world. There would have been no Middle East and no Israel right now, in my opinion… Had I not terminated that terrible deal – I was so honored to do it. I was so proud to do it. It was so bad right from the beginning."

Trump added that he is currently "correcting" the "mistakes" of former presidents, like Obama, noting he has been willing to do what they have not.

PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS US COULD FINISH IRAN OPERATION WITHIN 'TWO TO THREE WEEKS'

Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), exchanged sanctions relief to Iran for certain limits and international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program, which the administration said would push Tehran further from a bomb, a take that has been contested by critics, including Trump.

Critics argued the effort actually empowered Iran, pointing in part to the Wall Street Journal reporting that the U.S. secretly airlifted $400 million in cash to Tehran that coincided with the release of four American prisoners.

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The Obama administration maintained that the payment was not part of the nuclear pact itself, but that it was the first installment of a separate settlement stemming from a decades-old pre-revolution arms dispute.

Iran backlash forces Gulf allies toward Washington as regional tensions rise

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:44:12 -0400

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies are showing signs of a quiet but consequential shift in their posture toward Iran, as escalating attacks across the region are testing years of careful balancing between Washington and Tehran.

For much of the past decade, countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sought to avoid direct confrontation with Iran, maintaining diplomatic and economic ties even while relying on U.S. military backing. But that middle ground is increasingly under strain.

That strategy was designed to keep Gulf states out of direct confrontation. But officials and analysts say Iran’s expanding attacks are narrowing the space for neutrality, pushing some Gulf states closer to Washington.

One of the clearest signs of that shift is a reported move by Saudi Arabia to grant U.S. forces access to King Fahd Air Base in Taif, a western facility not used for American combat operations since the Gulf War era.

HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN'S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES 'INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT'

The shift is also visible across the region. The UAE has severed diplomatic ties with Tehran, shut down Iranian-linked institutions and launched a crackdown on networks tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after a wave of attacks.

Bahrain, meanwhile, led efforts at the United Nations to pass a Security Council resolution condemning Iranian strikes on Gulf states, while multiple countries — including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait — have issued coordinated statements denouncing Iran’s actions and asserting their right to self-defense.

These Gulf states are in line with the U.S. view that Iran's missile development, uranium enrichment programs and support for regional militant groups need to be "addressed and curtailed" but remain opposed to strikes on critical infrastructure inside Iran, a Gulf official told Fox News Digital.

Qatar has also taken concrete steps in response to Iranian attacks, expelling Iranian military and security attachés and ordering them to leave the country after strikes on critical energy infrastructure. However, Qatar has stopped short of severing full diplomatic ties, maintaining its role as a mediator even as tensions rise.

The Qatari prime minister was in Washington for talks focused on defense cooperation and protecting critical energy infrastructure Thursday, an official briefed on the visit told Fox News.

King Fahd Air Base's location, deep inside Saudi territory and farther from Iran’s missile and drone reach, would offer strategic depth the U.S. has not relied on in decades. U.S. military posture in the region has long centered on more exposed bases along the Persian Gulf, including hubs in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Sources familiar with the matter cited in Wall Street Journal reporting said Saudi Arabia agreed to let American forces use the base. The Pentagon and the Saudi embassy declined to comment on the base.

Combat aircraft routinely operate "dark" with transponders off in potential combat zones, so they would not appear on civilian flight radar. Saudi Arabia's tightly controlled media environment also means there are few, if any, independent local reports of U.S. aircraft activity at King Fahd Air Base.

"Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure," the Saudi government said in a statement on its posture toward Iran. "Iran has chosen dangerous brinkmanship over serious diplomatic solutions. This harms every stakeholder involved but none more than Iran itself."

The reported basing shift is one of several signs that Gulf states are recalibrating their position as Iranian attacks escalate across the region.

While Gulf leaders are still stopping short of joining combat operations and continue to pursue diplomatic off-ramps, their actions — from expanding cooperation with U.S. forces to issuing more direct and coordinated condemnations of Iran — suggest growing frustrations with Iranian attacks on their territory.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that countries across the region — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman— were "shocked" as Iranian attacks expanded beyond traditional flashpoints.

"They start shooting in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman," he said at a Cabinet meeting. "They start shooting at them. And they were — they were. Everybody was shocked, including us. You know why? Because they're sick. And they had a plan to take over the Middle East."

Since late February, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones across the Gulf, targeting countries from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Qatar and Kuwait. After the launch of Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28, Iran warned it would retaliate against U.S. forces and their regional partners, a threat it quickly carried out with strikes on bases and infrastructure across the region.

Years of diplomatic outreach and de-escalation efforts in Gulf capitals failed to shield them from Iranian retaliation.

Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2023 to restore diplomatic ties while the United Arab Emirates maintained economic channels that allowed limited commercial activity to continue.

At the same time, the steps Gulf countries have taken remain measured.

The United States already operates from bases in Saudi Arabia, including Prince Sultan Air Base, which has served as a hub for U.S. air operations and force protection in the region. But those sites sit closer to the Gulf and are more exposed to Iranian missile and drone threats, while more interior locations like Taif provide greater depth and longer warning times against potential strikes.

"They have to be very careful even now," former Israeli Defense Forces officer and national security analyst Ehud Eilam told Fox News Digital. "They know that they would have to live with Iran after the war."

WHY GULF STATES AREN’T JOINING THE WAR AGAINST IRAN — DESPITE ATTACKS ON THEIR SOIL

"They can’t really strike back hard," said James Robbins, Institute of World Politics dean and former special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "They’re small countries, and they’re hard to defend."

Robbins added that Gulf states face a long-term dilemma, warning that even a weakened Iran would likely regroup and pose a continued threat.

"Iran will come back," he said. "They will rebuild … and they will be out for revenge."

Still, analysts say, Gulf states could expand cooperation with the U.S. if they wanted to.

12 ARAB AND ISLAMIC COUNTRIES UNITE TO CONDEMN 'HEINOUS' IRANIAN ATTACKS

"They could increase the cooperation with the U.S. and Israel as far as air defense, intelligence, cyber and so on," Eilam said.

They could also join in on a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil typically passes. Shipping operations through the strait have ground to a standstill due to Iranian threats to vessels that attempt to pass.

"Their best mission would be securing the Strait of Hormuz, those types of missions, with whatever sea forces they have, Coast Guard-type forces and their air forces," he said.

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Even as tensions rise, Gulf leaders have continued to pursue diplomatic off-ramps.

Saudi Arabia recently hosted regional talks aimed at exploring a potential ceasefire, underscoring that Gulf states are still seeking to contain the conflict even as they bolster their security posture.

For now, Gulf states appear to be navigating a narrowing path, moving closer to Washington as Iranian attacks mount, while stopping short of full military alignment in a conflict that could shape the region long after the fighting ends.

Trump lashes out at 'sick' Iranian leaders, confirms estimated timeline for ending war

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:24:48 -0400

President Donald Trump acknowledged peacemaking with Iran is made difficult because their "sinister, sick" replacement leaders are hiding.

"One of the problems they do have when they deal with us is we deal with people and the people aren't able to communicate with anybody else, because all of their leadership has been gone," Trump said at the start of his second Cabinet meeting of 2026 on Thursday.

"The first level is gone. And they met to pick a new level, and they're gone. They're all gone because they didn't make a deal.

"And because they're sick people, they're really sick. They're they're really sinister, sick people."

NEW IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER 'LIKELY DISFIGURED,' HEGSETH SAYS

Regardless of the struggle to find a diplomatic off-ramp, Trump is pleased with the progress on the "military operation" against Iran, saying the conflict may end after four to six weeks of fighting.

"We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission, and we're way ahead of schedule," Trump said. "If you look at what we've done in terms of the destruction of that country, I mean, we're way ahead."

Trump noted, "26 days in," Iran is begging to make a deal — albeit without a defined leader or leadership structure to even do it.

"The Iranian regime is now admitting to itself that they have been decisively defeated," Trump added. "They're saying to people, this is a disaster. They know it. That's why they're talking to us.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS IRAN AGAINST BALKING AT DEAL: TRUMP READY TO 'UNLEASH HELL'

"They wouldn't talk otherwise, but they're talking to us because they've got a disaster in their hands. They're defeated. They can't make a comeback. We're free to roam over their cities and towns and destroy all of their crazy nuclear weapons and missiles and drones that they're building."

Some hiding voices in Iran are telling leftist media that they are "not negotiating; we will not negotiate."

"Of course they're negotiating," Trump shot back at media reports he often rebukes as "fake news." "They've been obliterated. Who wouldn't negotiate? They are begging to make a deal. We'll see if we can make the right deal."

Trump did pay Iran a backhanded compliment for its propaganda, however.

TRUMP ORDERS WAR DEPT TO POSTPONE STRIKES ON IRANIAN ENERGY SITES, CITING 'PRODUCTIVE' TALKS TO END WAR

"I say they're lousy fighters, but they're great negotiators, and they are begging to work out a deal. I don't know if we'll be able to do that. I don't know if we're willing to do that. They should have done that four weeks ago."

While the choke point of the Strait of Hormuz remains an issue — despite the removal of the Iranian military commander that had ordered it closed to the U.S. and its allies — Trump is "very disappointed" NATO allies are only now vowing to stand with the U.S., saying "NATO has done absolutely nothing."

TRUMP TELLS 'STRANGE' IRANIAN NEGOTIATORS TO 'GET SERIOUS SOON' OR 'IT WON'T BE PRETTY'

"I said 25 years ago that NATO's a paper tiger, but more importantly, that we'll come to their rescue, but they will never come to ours," Trump said. "And I want you to remember that we said this: They didn't come to our rescue.

"Now they all want to help when the other side is annihilated. They said, 'We'd love to send ships.' They actually made a statement, a couple of them, that 'we want to get involved when the war is over.'

"You know, it's supposed to get involved with the war's beginning or even before it begins."

Ultimately, Trump warned, NATO failed a "test," something that might loom down the road when peace negotiations in Ukraine and potential aspirations for Greenland resurface after Iran is off the top of Trump's foreign policy agenda.

BIDEN POLITICAL PRIORITIES IMPEDED IRAN NEGOTIATIONS, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE ADMITS

"Nobody's a match for the United States," Trump said, noting Iran's heavy losses showing "they're not a match for the United States. It's small potatoes.

"That's why I'm so disappointed in NATO, because this was a test for NATO. This was a test. You can help us. You don't have to, but if you don't do that, we're going to remember."

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"Just remember, remember this a number of months from now," he continued. "Remember my statements. They have an expression, a great expression: Never forget. It can never forget."

Trump tells 'strange' Iranian negotiators to 'get serious soon' or 'it won't be pretty'

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:27:45 -0400

President Donald Trump challenged the "strange" Iranian negotiators to "get serious" about a deal to end the fighting Thursday.

"The Iranian negotiators are very different and 'strange,'" Trump wrote in a Thursday morning Truth Social post. "They are 'begging' us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only 'looking at our proposal.'

"WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!"

The comments sharpened a threat delivered a day earlier by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said Trump was prepared to "unleash hell" if Iran refused to accept a deal. Leavitt said Iran had "already been defeated" and warned the regime not to "miscalculate again," arguing that continued resistance would bring even heavier U.S. retaliation.

TRUMP VOWS TO HIT IRAN 'VERY HARD' AFTER OBLITERATING NEARLY '90 PERCENT' OF REGIME MISSILES

"President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell," Leavitt said at the beginning of Wednesday's White House press briefing. "Iran should not miscalculate again. Their last miscalculation cost them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force and their air defense system.

"Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."

Trump also lashed out at NATO, accusing alliance members of doing "absolutely nothing" to help confront Iran as the conflict entered its fourth week.

"NATO nations have done absolutely nothing to help with the lunatic nation, now militarily decimated, of Iran," Trump wrote in a separate Truth Social post. "The U.S.A. needs nothing from NATO, but 'never forget' this very important point in time!"

DEFIANT IRAN VOWS TO FIGHT 'UNTIL COMPLETE VICTORY,' DESPITE HEAVY MILITARY LOSSES

The back-to-back statements come as Trump's five-day deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is coming by this weekend – as the administration tries to force Tehran to the table while projecting that U.S. military operations have badly weakened Iran’s leadership, air defenses and naval capacity.

At a Union Station fundraiser for the National Congressional Committee on Wednesday night, Trump joked that he had to stop referring to the "military action" on Iran as a "war," because the latter requires congressional approval.

"I won't use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do," Trump told the crowd of GOP lawmakers at the fundraiser dinner that raised a record-breaking $36.8 million for the NRCC, which seeks to fund the midterms to help keep the narrow House GOP majority (217-214).

WATCH LEAVITT'S WARNING TO IRAN:

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"They don’t like the word ‘war’ because you’re supposed to get approval. So, I’ll use the word ‘military operation’, which is really what it is. It’s a military decimation."

White House warns Iran against balking at deal: Trump ready to 'unleash hell'

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:09:30 -0400

The White House issued a stark warning to Iran Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump is prepared to "unleash hell" if Tehran refuses to step back from its nuclear ambitions and its ongoing threats against the United States and its allies.

"President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the beginning of Wednesday's White House press briefing. "Iran should not miscalculate again. Their last miscalculation cost them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force and their air defense system.

"Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."

Leavitt said ongoing U.S. military operations, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, have severely weakened Iran's offensive capabilities. She claimed more than 9,000 targets have been struck, Iranian missile and drone attacks have fallen by about 90% and much of Iran’s navy and air defense network has been destroyed.

US 'LOCKED AND LOADED' TO DESTROY IRAN’S 'CROWN JEWEL' 'IF WE WANT,' TRUMP WARNS

"This is the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II," she said. "Again, let me reiterate, this is the largest elimination of a navy on the face of the planet in a three-week period since World War II."

Leavitt said the campaign is aimed at crippling Iran’s military infrastructure and securing the Strait of Hormuz, while also pressuring Tehran to return to talks. She added that Trump has temporarily delayed planned strikes on some energy targets to allow space for negotiations.

"From the outset, President Trump and the Department of War estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve this critical mission: 25 days in the greatest military the world has ever known is ahead of schedule and performing exceptionally day by day," Leavitt said. "The Iranian regime is being crippled, and their ability to threaten the United States and our allies is being significantly weakened.

"Their ambitions of building a nuclear weapon have also been crushed to an even greater degree than they were in Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. That's why you're beginning to see the regime look for an exit ramp."

WINNING THE BATTLES, LOSING THE WAR? AMERICA MUST DEFINE THE ENDGAME IN IRAN

Leavitt declined to comment on reports of the 82nd Airborne Division being prepped for potential action in the Middle East.

"We are meeting our goals of Operation Epic Fury expeditiously," she replied. "The president likes to maintain options at his disposal. It's the Pentagon's job to provide those options to the commander in chief."

She redirected any specifics on troop deployments to the Pentagon.

Despite saying the president prefers peace, Leavitt warned that any further Iranian resistance would bring even heavier U.S. retaliation.

OIL, GAS PRICES JUMP AS TRUMP FLIRTS WITH STRIKING IRANIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE

"There does not need to be any more death and destruction, but if Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before," she warned.

As the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its fourth week, there have been efforts by multiple countries such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt to mediate.

Iran is still reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters Wednesday.

Talks with Iran were still ongoing, Leavitt said.

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

"They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be," she added.

Citing unnamed sources, media outlets Tuesday reported that Washington sent Tehran a 15-point plan on ending the war. Leavitt said Wednesday that elements of the reports were not fully accurate, but she did not provide specifics.

"The White House never confirmed that full plan," she said. "There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual, so I am not going to negotiate on behalf of the president here at the podium."

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Global equity markets regained some ground while oil prices dipped on Wednesday after the reports about the plan, with investors hoping for an end to a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised inflation concerns.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Jack Keane warns ceasefire with Iran would 'play right into their hands' as Trump signals deal progress

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:38:40 -0400

Retired Gen. Jack Keane cautioned against any ceasefire with Iran, saying the U.S. must maintain military pressure to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

"If we go to ceasefire, that's playing right into their hands," the retired four-star Army general and Fox News senior strategic analyst warned Tuesday on "Hannity."

"We want to keep the pressure on them to make a deal that makes some sense, and that is the path."

TRUMP'S IRAN STRATEGY IS WORKING AND TEACHING OUR FOES WHAT DETERRENCE MEANS

Keane's remarks come as President Donald Trump signals progress in negotiations with Iran while strikes continue across the region. On Monday, the president announced a five-day postponement of U.S. military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump said Iran indicated a willingness to negotiate, emphasizing that Tehran "will never have a nuclear weapon" and claiming Iranian officials have agreed to that condition.

Keane, however, remains skeptical that the regime will comply.

"We're dealing with a regime that's pathological liars and cheaters, and they have done everything they can to deceive us in the past," he said.

74 RETIRED US GENERALS, ADMIRALS BACK IRAN STRIKES, WARN TEHRAN SEEKS TO ‘SPILL AMERICAN BLOOD'

"Just prior to going into this conflict, one of the reasons why we went into it is because the Iranians were lying to us and not wanting to be forthcoming in terms of a deal."

Keane argued that any agreement must force Iran to give up capabilities the U.S. and its allies are already working to dismantle through military action.

He pointed to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile program and drone capabilities as key areas that must be fully dismantled — both current stockpiles and future production.

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Keane stressed that continued military operations provide critical leverage in negotiations, warning that a premature pause in fighting would weaken the U.S. position.

"We want to keep the pressure on them to make a deal that makes some sense," he said.

Rubio testifies in trial of ex-Florida congressman allegedly hired by Maduro government to lobby for Venezuela

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:31:29 -0400

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying Tuesday in the trial of former Miami congressman and roommate David Rivera, who is accused of trying to lobby members of Congress and the White House on behalf of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Rubio, testifying in a packed federal courtroom in Miami with heightened security, said he and Rivera became "very close" when both overlapped for six years as members of the Florida Legislature in the early 2000s. Rivera, a Republican, was arrested in December 2022 on charges of money laundering and representing a foreign government without registering.

In July 2017, Rubio said he got a call from Rivera saying he needed to see him urgently to discuss Venezuela. The next morning, Rivera traveled to Washington and, at a meeting at his home, said he was working with Raul Gorrin, a media magnate in Venezuela who was Rivera’s main conduit to the Maduro government, on a plan to persuade Maduro to step aside.

"I was skeptical," said Rubio during his testimony, according to The Associated Press, adding that the Maduro government was full of "double dealers" who were constantly pitching plans to betray Maduro.

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"But if there was a 1% chance it was real, and I had a role to play alerting the White House, I was open to doing that," he added.

Within days, borrowing talking points provided by Rivera, Rubio wrote and delivered a speech on the Senate floor signaling the U.S. would not retaliate against Venezuelan government insiders who worked to push Maduro from power, the AP reported.

"He provided me with insight into some of the key phrases that regime insiders would’ve wanted to hear to know this was serious," Rubio testified. "No vengeance, no retribution."

In the indictment against Rivera, there’s no indication that Rubio acted improperly as a senator at the time.

The allegations come in connection to a $50 million consulting contract Rivera signed with Venezuela’s socialist government.

The indictment alleges Rivera, at the start of the Trump administration, was part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to lower tensions with the U.S., resolve a legal dispute with a U.S. oil company and end U.S. sanctions against the South American nation — all without registering as a foreign agent.

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As part of his work, Rivera and his co-defendant are accused of trying to arrange meetings for then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — in Dallas, New York, Washington and Caracas, Venezuela, with White House officials, members of Congress and the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil.

To cloak their activities, prosecutors said, the co-defendants and others set up a chat group called MIA — for Miami — in which they used Spanish-language code words like "Little Cuban" for Rubio, "The Lady in Red" for Rodríguez and "melons" for millions of dollars.

"This case is about two things: greed and betrayal," prosecutor Roger Cruz said in his opening statement Monday. "The evidence will show that for $50 million these two defendants made a pact to secretly lobby for Nicolás Maduro," as well as for Rodríguez.

Rivera, 60, counters that his one-man firm, Interamerican Consulting, was hired by an American subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company — not the company itself — and therefore did not need to register as a foreign agent.

His three-month contract, his attorney says, was focused exclusively on luring Exxon back to Venezuela — commercial work that is generally exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

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Separate and wholly distinct from that consulting work were his efforts with the Venezuelan opposition to pave the way for Maduro’s exit, Rivera's defense said.

Fox News' Gillian Turner, Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MORNING GLORY: Trump has restored the GOP as the party of defense and deterrence

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 05:00:43 -0400

As the fourth week of the battle with Iran opened, President Donald Trump announced a window of opportunity for negotiations. With whom no one outside of the president and his closest advisors knows. The president did not halt strikes on Iran, and Israel continued to pound its long list of military targets as well as the regime’s massive apparatus of repression while the U.S. focuses on degrading the military-industrial capacity of the mullahs. Iran is a country with shattered defenses and no ability to project targeted force. This was accomplished in three weeks. No wonder someone wants to negotiate even as others tell our left-wing media that Iran is winning.

Commentators have lots of takes, almost invariably driven by their support of, or hatred for, either the president, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel as a whole or some combination thereof.

No "takes" matter. The conflict will be judged twice: when major combat operations conclude and a year thereafter. There is an unquestionable level of success in "defanging" the regime while decapitating its senior leadership. While no civilian can know, we can guess chaos rages within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC") as it both tries to survive and at the same time sees the command structure that remains jockeying among themselves for power in a post-war Iran.

PENCE BACKS TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES, SAYS PRESIDENT ‘IGNORED’ GOP ISOLATIONISTS

Among the crucial results achieved thus far is clarity about the Iranian regime. It can never be trusted by anyone within striking distance of its missile array. It has no boundaries on which countries it will attack and zero concern for civilians. Like its proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, the IRGC will hide among the civilian population to save their skins. Their "battle plan" is simply to spray missiles far and wide and threaten the Strait of Hormuz. That’s it. That’s what they have left.

It’s not nothing. They may cause a global recession. They have certainly incentivized the construction of alternative delivery routes for oil and natural gas. Even if the Strait is opened via combat operations and warship escorts, if the Iranian regime remains in power, it will be a priority for the impacted sellers and buyers of Gulf energy to diversify delivery and supply.

But the regime has been conclusively proven to be frail on the offense, and thoroughly penetrated at every level. The Americans and Israelis know almost everything there is to know about the Iranian leadership, and they will have the same degree of knowledge about the C Team that is stood up if any regime survives at all. The powers that remain long ago lost the support of the Iranian citizenry and now the world knows it has almost zero striking power left and only one card — the ability to threaten the Strait.

A regime that murdered 35,000 of its own people for protesting its many failures is living on borrowed time. The president and the prime minister can escalate or accept a truce, can destroy the country’s power grid or simply pulverize the length of the Strait. Eventually, the near-collapse of the facade of power will be as complete as that of Hamas.

TRUMP DELAYS XI MEETING AS IRAN CONFLICT LETS US STRONG-ARM CHINA’S OIL SUPPLY

In undertaking this mission, President Trump fully restored the American deterrent that was forfeited by President Biden’s collapse in Afghanistan. Trump demonstrated again the remarkable power of the American military and solidified the most important relationship with America’s most important and powerful ally — Israel.

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He has also exposed the hard truth — difficult for people who recall Margaret Thatcher, Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl among others — of the sclerosis that has seized most of "old" Europe. The frontline states — Poland, Finland and Sweden, are the new cornerstones of "new Europe" and Ukraine may be counted on their rank. The old allies? We would be fools to trust in them to be of any help in a crisis with China. They are spent.

With all that clarity comes one more impossible-to-deny truth. With America involved in a battle with a terrorist regime, the Democrats repeatedly chose in vote after vote to keep the Department of Homeland Security shuttered and unfunded. It is a ridiculous and wildly irresponsible political stunt, of course, as the entire party has crumbled into a hot mess of extreme positions of the left on every issue. There is simply no trusting the Democrats to put aside partisanship even in a time of raging battle. Extraordinary and unprecedented, but undeniable and true.

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The Pentagon has asked for $200 billion in additional funding to cover the conflict with Iran. I hope President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune resolve on a reconciliation process to provide that (and more if needed) as well as Department of Homeland Security funding for a few years and push it through as quickly as possible. If the GOP focuses on security at home and abroad, it will reclaim a chance to hold its own come November.

Voters may not care for this or that about President Trump and the GOP, but the spectacle of the Democrats risking America to make talking points for MS-NOW audiences should leave an enduring impression: The Republicans are the party of security at home and abroad. The Democrats couldn't care less.

Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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