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The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East recommended ending the bombing campaign around the Strait of Hormuz after concluding it reached the limits of its effectiveness, a recommendation that helped shape President Donald Trump's decision to pause strikes against Iran, Axios reported Sunday.Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, advised Pentagon leaders, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the White House last week that two weeks of sustained airstrikes had weakened Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, multiple sources familiar with the discussions said.His assessment, combined with advice from other senior military officials,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham planned to travel to Florida in early March to persuade President Trump to join Israel in the bombing of Hezbollah in Lebanon—until a friend talked him out of it. The friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told him on a call before the trip that bringing the U.S. into the operation, in the midst of the Iran war, was going too far, too fast, according to unreleased footage from a documentary about the South Carolina Republican lawmaker that was being filmed before he died earlier this month.“We’re concentrating right now on Iran,” Netanyahu said on the...

TEHRAN, Juy 25--RIA Novosti. The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry reported. "The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Ukraine's attack on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea on the morning of Saturday July 25. The attack resulted in an explosion on the vessel, killing one sailor and injuring another. This attack is a violation of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the UN Charter and an act of aggression that could further fan the flames of war" the ministry said in a post on its Telegram channel. The...

A week after Iran killed American troops in Jordan, crossing President Donald Trump's red line for restarting all-out war, the U.S. military didn't launch airstrikes on the regime.Friday came and went without an announcement from U.S. Central Command about a new attack, breaking a nearly two-week streak.Sources told Axios that Trump received plans from the military yesterday to conduct strikes in Iran but didn't give a green light and instead ordered them to hold off.U.S. forces are still preparing for major combat operations to potentially resume, but Trump hasn't issued orders to move in that direction, the report added.The White...

Republican Steve Hilton launched his general election campaign for California governor Wednesday with a gambit to win over left-leaning voters who dominate the state: Even if they loathe President Donald Trump, he said, they should consider voting for him. During an event in Los Angeles ... he vowed to bring the price of gasoline down to $3 a gallon, about half the current cost, cut residents’ utility bills in half, now among the nation’s highest, and eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings... In his campaign remarks and ads he took out in leading newspapers throughout the...

On Wednesday, the Pentagon reported on its casualties website that a total of 18 American service members had been killed during the war in Iran.By Thursday, the Defense Department had lowered that number, reporting that 14 American troops had been killed in the war.Three military officials said that one reason behind the change was that the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.The officials described sensitive internal...

Disapproval of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran hit a record high in July. A majority of voters oppose U.S. military action, and nearly two thirds think the conflict will last at least a year. The latest Fox News survey finds 56% oppose U.S. military action against Iran, including 40% who "strongly" oppose. More Democrats oppose the war (84%) than Republicans support it (76%). Voters increasingly expect a long-term commitment. Today, 64% think the war will last a year or more, up 13 percentage points since May. *** There is also doubt the conflict will produce an agreement. About half...

The United States and the United Kingdom are under attack from within. Consider a small sampling of recent stories that the corporate news media have mostly ignored: Communist commentator Hasan Piker — an America-hating, Muslim anchor baby who grew up in Istanbul — continues to tell his followers that the United States deserved 9/11, while celebrating Antifa domestic terrorism and left-wing assassination culture. After a left-winger allegedly murdered well-known British conservative Ann Widdecombe by bashing her head with a hammer twenty-one times, an Islamic supremacy group called Palestine Action began offering “direct action” training for fellow leftists who wish to...

President Donald Trump insisted Russia and China are “not participating” in the Iran war. The president made the declaration Friday in a Truth Social post. The post included Trump claimed he is doing “very big favors” for Chinese President Xi Jingping: "President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies. Considering our relationship, I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favors, also. Likewise, President [Vladimir] Putin, despite...

Donald Trump flew into an expletive-laden rant in the Oval Office as he increasingly loses patience over the war he started in Iran, according to someone who overheard the angry meltdown. The president launched into a raging tirade against Iran's leaders, referring to them as "scumbags" and "lunatics," while also spitting out a series of expletives during the White House meeting, a person who heard the comments told The Wall Street Journal. It comes after Trump's 'diaper nurse' left devoted letters to the president in his room with intimate messages.

President Donald Trump has placed a new condition on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia a day after formally approving it, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords. Trump wrote in a post on social media Thursday that the deal, which has already been signed, “will be approved,” but added, that it “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” The president also emphasized in the post that there would be “no enrichment” even though the agreement could lead to the country enriching its own fuel for civilian reactors. The deal has...

The US House voted to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, the latest repudiation by lawmakers of the president’s handling of the conflict. Four Republicans voted with Democrats in support of the measure, which was brought Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The vote was 214 to 208. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett and Warren Davidson crossed party lines to support the resolution. The Senate will vote later on Thursday on its own effort to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran.

Crossings through the Strait have fallen sharply across multiple shipping datasets with renewed U.S. strikes on Iran, Tehran’s declaration of a blanket ban on maritime traffic and fresh attacks on commercial vessels has prompted operators to reassess the risks of entering the Gulf. Lloyd’s List Intelligence recorded just 53 vessel transits in the week through July 20, down 66% from 157 the previous week. Tanker and gas carrier movements, which are the ships responsible for transporting most Gulf crude oil and liquefied natural gas, dropped to 30 crossings from 90. Kpler data similarly show activity deteriorating almost immediately after the...

Video Transcript SummarySummary of the Alex Jones interview with pollster Mark Mitchell (omitting ads/promotions):Mark Mitchell, who rebuilt Rasmussen Reports' accuracy and methodology before leaving, launched HonestPoll.com after being silenced for critical commentary on Trump. He describes pressure from PACs/Trump donors after his polling and analysis warned against certain policies. He positions himself as committed to honest voter representation (in the George Gallup tradition) over pleasing clients.Key Polling Findings & WarningsIran War/Military Action: Mid-January polls (delivered to the White House) showed weak support for using U.S. military force to overthrow the Ayatollah — only 17% strongly approve, 21% somewhat approve, with...

Iran’s government is unlikely to feel significant impact or soften its negotiating position as a result of new rounds of U.S. military strikes like those now underway, according to a new intelligence assessment described by current and former U.S. officials.

President Donald Trump went off on ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce during a Tuesday press conference in the Oval Office after she asked him about the Iran war, with the president saying she didn’t know “anything” about the conflict. “Mr. President, there are no signs that Iran is ready to stop fighting, so what is the plan? Is the plan to just keep fighting until they give up?” Bruce asked. The president was agitated by the question and bashed her for it. “How would you know there are no signs? Why, do you know something that I don’t...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday at what point he will move to use Congressional power to check President Donald Trump’s war in Iran. Johnson pointedly ended his reply by saying “we’ve got to wrap it up” in Iran, which many pundits and political insiders have warned is an additional threat to the GOP keeping its majorities in Congress. Johnson’s answer appeared to be at odds with Trump, who vowed earlier in the day to continue bombing Iran until they come to the negotiating table in good faith. “You repeatedly said...

Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching...

Israel paid at least $50 million to US-based firms to help its standing with Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The report alleged that the Israeli government had retained at least six firms to help in its efforts to sway public opinion in the United States in its favor. It added that at least three dozen new people, many of them in the marketing industry, have registered as foreign agents for Israel. This comes as 42% of American adults hold an unfavorable opinion of Israeli people, and 69% hold an unfavorable opinion of the Israeli government, a July...

Iran's supreme leader vowed to teach the United States "unforgettable lessons" on Saturday, as Washington reported its first military deaths since renewing its hostilities with the Islamic republic.A month after the foes signed a now-abandoned preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, Tehran struck infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for a week of intensifying US attacks, which Iran said had hit an airport, a railway station and bridges.Iran hit an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave...