Author: Press Room

Ofer Cassif tells RT the war is driven by personal and political agendas, not real threats As Israel and the United States press ahead with their sweeping military campaign against Iran, political consensus in Jerusalem appears nearly absolute.In Israel, the war has drawn support across much of the political spectrum. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, long a fierce critic of Netanyahu, has embarked on a series of international interviews defending the campaign. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, another political rival, described the offensive as an effort to weaken “the machinery of oppression” in Iran so that its people might later decide…

South Korean lawmaker Kim Young-bae revealed on Thursday that seven oil tankers operated by the nation’s refiners are presently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. This week, the Islamic regime in Iran threatened to “burn” any oil tanker attempting to sail through the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel both launched a series of operations against high-profile targets of the regime. The attacks have so far resulted in the deaths of several key members of the rogue regime — including “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking at a Thursday emergency meeting of the ruling leftist Democratic Party, Kim, spokesperson…

Oil prices continued to climb rapidly on Friday following remarks by President Trump that there would be no deal to end the war with Iran short of an “unconditional surrender.” Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, rose above $90 a barrel on Friday morning, up 6 percent from the prior day. Compared with the start of the year, Brent is up 52 percent. WTI futures, the U.S. oil price benchmark, jumped by around nine percent to above $88. Year-to-date, prices are up by around 54 percent. The U.S. war with Iran has disrupted global oil supplies as ships have been…

Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison sought Thursday to calm fears over the future of CNN, pledging to protect the news network’s editorial independence as his company closes in on a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. “CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team, and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained, obviously for those incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward,” Ellison told CNBC. The remarks came days after Netflix abruptly withdrew from a months-long bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount as the apparent winner to acquire the media…

A defiant Iran despatched a second warship towards Sri Lanka’s territorial waters Thursday, barely 24-hours after a U.S. submarine destroyed an Iranian Navy frigate in the area, killing at least 84 sailors, a minister told parliament. Sri Lanka media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the latest Iranian warship was just outside Sri Lankan waters, but gave no further details, AFP reports. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was meeting top officials to discuss a response to an Iranian request to enter the safety of the island’s waters so as not to be despatched to the ocean floor during Operation Epic Fury, official sources…

Harsh winter weather put a chill on retail spending in January, as shoppers bought fewer cars and cut back on some store and restaurant purchases even as online sales and a key measure of core retail demand held up. Retail and food services sales fell 0.2 percent in January from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $733.5 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. December sales were unrevised at essentially flat. From a year earlier, retail sales were up 3.2 percent. Economists had expected an even deeper contraction of 0.4 percent. The headline decline appeared to overstate the weakness in…

President Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as chief of the Department of Homeland Security. He posted on Truth Social: I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026. The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security…

Attorney General Pam Bondi was already in trouble with congressional Republicans. Now she could be facing an even more existential threat to her political future after President Donald Trump ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, showing his willingness to ax Cabinet members who lose trust within the GOP. Bondi is under intense scrutiny for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. As many as 20 Republicans might be prepared to back an effort to render punishment against the nation’s top prosecutor for slowwalking the materials’ release, according to the Democrat helping lead the charge. And five Republicans joined with Democrats…

The escalating US-Israeli war against Iran is disrupting energy supplies from the Middle East Oil prices hit a two-and-a-half year high on Friday as the escalating US-Israeli war against Iran disrupts energy supplies from the Middle East to global markets.Global benchmark Brent crude futures were up over 8% to over $92 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose over 11% to over $90, both highest since September 2023.Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway between Iran and Oman that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil exports, has come to a near-complete halt, according to…

Declaring “To be free, we have to be feared,” Emmanuel Macron has offered to share France’s atomic arsenal across the EU The year 2026 has barely begun, but “nuclearization” is already a strong contender to be its top word. The European NATO members want more nukes, the US and Israel are bombing Iran for allegedly wanting some too, and the Doomsday Clock could soon run out of seconds left before midnight.The clock, a visual aid the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists uses to show how close humanity is to nuclear annihilation, is portending more doom than ever after a January…