Author: Press Room
The governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia confirmed on Thursday that their respective foreign ministers held a phone conversation the night before, the first known direct contact between the two countries since Iran began a sustained bombing campaign against Saudi Arabia and its allies in March. Iran has engaged in a sustained missile and drone bombing campaign against its Gulf neighbors since February 28, when President Donald Trump announced a military operation to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors. That initiative, Operation Epic Fury, resulted in the deaths of dozens of senior Iranian officials, including dictator Ali Khamenei, and…
President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday against charging fees on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, writing on Truth Social: “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” The statement follows reports that Iranian authorities and forces linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have demanded up to approximately $2 million from large tankers for safe passage through the narrow 22-mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Some payments have reportedly been discussed or…
On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “The Brief,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) discussed Iran and said that “my biggest fear is that the rhetoric that Donald Trump uses, the actions that he takes, could actually provoke them to take preemptive action, such as maybe a terrorist attack on American soil or against American interests elsewhere or using ballistic missiles.” Krishnamoorthi said, “I think that the fact that the president did not take escalatory actions, military actions after those maniacal tweets that he put out, means that we’re, hopefully, in the direction of non-escalation, which is something. I’d like to see…
The Justice Department has argued that Pam Bondi no longer has to appear before Congress while lawmakers threaten contempt charges Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was fired by President Donald Trump last week, will not be required to testify about her handling of the investigation into late financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department (DOJ) has announced.In a letter explaining the decision, the DOJ argued that Bondi was summoned to appear before Congress in her official capacity – a role she no longer holds – rendering the demand invalid. However, lawmakers from both parties have insisted…
The world avoided Iran having its own “North Korea moment” where endless diplomacy and talks took so long it gave Pyongyang time to build a nuclear bomb, and the world is safer now than it was five weeks ago, Mark Rutte said. The world is “absolutely” safer now than it was five weeks ago because the United States took the initiative to “degrade” Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities the Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte said on Wednesday after meetings with President Donald Trump. Speaking to CNN, the former Dutch Prime Minister turned alliance chief acknowledged that President Trump…
A Biden-appointed federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary amnesty for thousands of Ethiopian nationals in the U.S. since 2022. In a ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy described the Trump administration’s “termination” of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amnesty for Ethiopian nationals as “unsurprising in light” of President Donald Trump’s executive order, Reuters reported. Murphy also noted that “the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress.” “Fundamental to this case—and indeed to our constitutional system—is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress,” Murphy said. “Presidential whims…
The country has signaled a shift toward domestic fracking as global energy prices soar due to the war in the Middle East Mexico is looking to tap unconventional natural gas deposits to boost energy sovereignty, President Claudia Sheinbaum has said, as global energy markets reel from the shock triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.The US’ southern neighbor is its biggest importer of natural gas, with the supplies covering roughly three-quarters of Mexican demand, while domestic output from conventional fields has declined and no longer meets the country’s needs.“If we continue like this, we’re going to import more and more…
Trump’s backing of Orban, Brussels’ pressure, and the Ukraine factor turn Hungary’s vote into a test of competing visions for Europe Not so long ago, US President Donald Trump openly endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12.From a diplomatic standpoint, urging citizens of another country to vote for a specific candidate is contentious, to say the least. First and foremost, it is considered direct interference in the electoral process. But even more importantly, it highlights the widening ideological divide within what was once a largely unified Western world.This shouldn’t come as…
The Donald plunged into one hell of a hornets nest when he took the bait from Bibi Netanyahu and launched an all out “kinetic” war on Iran (as distinguished from the brutal economic war Washington has been waging for decades). But now that the gasoline pump price has breached $4/gallon and is heading higher, he’s desperately looking for an off-ramp. Yet the one he has seized upon in the last 48 hours or so is not even remotely fit for purpose. To wit, he threatens to pick up Washington’s military football and go home, leaving what’s left of the Iranian…
A recent Gallup survey reveals that young adults in the United States are increasingly negative about AI technology, even as more than half use it regularly. Axios reports that despite widespread adoption of generative AI among the younger Americans that comprise Generation Z, their enthusiasm for the technology is declining significantly, according to new research released by Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation, and GSV Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on education technology. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 people ages 14 to 29 during February and March, found that more than half of Gen Z individuals in the United…