Free Republic

President Trump claimed Wednesday that the US has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, one day after Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed increasing oil exports from the crucial waterway as Iran’s economy continues to free fall. “The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Trump proclaimed on Truth Social. “Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” he added. ***“On Sunday alone, over 20 million barrels left the Arabian gulf region, which is above the pre-conflict average.” Only...

Billionaire heiress Elizabeth Simons is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Democratic Party’s campaign to retake the House — even as she bankrolls the socialist causes and candidates that have Democrats’ establishment leaders increasingly on edge.Simons, who previously cut a $250,000 check to a super PAC backing Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has donated $354,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the party’s chief House campaign arm — and thousands more to individual House candidates this election cycle. The donations, ironically, put Simons behind the same Democratic leadership forces trying to prevent the party’s increasingly powerful progressive wing from...

President Trump on Monday accused US Attorney Jeanine Pirro of folding “like an umbrella” for dismissing charges against former Olympian David Hearn — rather than standing by the case that alleged the canoeist vandalized the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.“The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine and frankly, I think she choked,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “The judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked.” “I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed in...

President Trump on Monday blasted Iran’s leadership as “unbelievably duplicitous,” accusing Tehran of privately pursuing peace talks with the US while publicly denying any negotiations were taking place days after he called off a massive military campaign planned for the weekend.In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed Iranian officials had sought a meeting with the US before turning around and insisting they were only in talks with Oman over plans for the Strait of Hormuz. “They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that...

The Iranian government flat-out rejected President Trump’s claim that new negotiations were due to get underway later Monday, with officials stating that no talks were taking place or scheduled.Trump, 80, told reporters en route to Washington Sunday night that he had called off a planned “massive attack” on Iran at the request of US partners in the region — including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.“They thought that a deal is imminent,” said the president, later adding: “Now what we’re doing is talking to them [Iran], in the form of a ​negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.” Iran Foreign...

Former Republican Majorie Taylor Greene posted a photo this weekend of herself, Tucker Carlson and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., along with the statement that "the movement has come." Last month, Carlson said he was planning to create a new political party, the Columbia Journalism Review reported. Greene's photo, posted on X on Saturday, featured the three, who have been sidelined over their opposition to President Trump's agenda and suggests discussions on a third party are continuing. "We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise. But he’s betrayed us all....

Hours after Trump canceled a planned strike and said the outlines of a deal had been reached, a regime-linked Iranian outlet said the strategic waterway would remain closed as long as US ‘hostile actions’ continue. Iran on Sunday denied that it had reached any agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, directly contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump hours after he canceled a planned strike and announced that the outlines of a deal had been reached. “There is no agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s regime-linked Fars news agency reported. “As long as the United States continues its hostile...

President Trump halted new US strikes on Iran as he weighs whether Tehran is ready to cut a deal — while a wider regional war appears to be spreading into another critical shipping corridor. After 13 consecutive days of attacks, Trump instructed the US military to pause any additional strikes against Iran Friday, Axios reported Saturday, which cited two people familiar with the decision. But the president has made clear that the temporary halt does not mean Washington is backing down. In a brief phone interview with France’s LCI news, Trump said he was still prepared to restart a major...

Israel recently shared intelligence with the US about a new Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump, according to a report. The latest assassination plan, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, comes after years of Iranian regime threats to kill Trump as revenge for the 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani by US forces. When asked for comment, the White House referred The Post to Trump’s Wednesday remarks at the NATO summit in Ankara. ”They want to take out the US leader — me,” Trump said. “I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m...

The Department of War is reportedly seeking $80 billion to cover costs associated with the Iran conflict and other unrelated expenses, according to The Wall Street Journal.Deputy War Secretary Stephen Feinberg has told lawmakers in recent phone calls that the Pentagon needs additional funding to sustain military operations tied to the conflict with Iran and cover other expenses, people familiar with the discussions told the Journal. Congress has been pressing the Trump administration for a comprehensive accounting of the war's costs since the conflict began Feb. 28. Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concern about the depletion of U.S. munitions...

Newly revealed details of the secretive US-Iran MOU lay out that it would extend the cease-fire to Lebanon, allow Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily waive Iranian oil sanctions and establish a pathway toward a comprehensive peace agreement, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Tuesday. The framework, which would serve as the basis for broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran, outlines commitments on nuclear issues, sanctions relief, maritime security and the eventual withdrawal of American forces from the region. The following 12 points were first revealed by Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who also works for the Israeli channel. The document...

Iran has agreed not to build a nuclear weapon and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in return the US will release some $25 billion in frozen assets as part of a President Trump-brokered peace deal, according to details released by Tehran on Sunday.Washington and Tehran are expected to electronically sign a memorandum of understanding on Sunday following a virtual meeting, which will set the table for negotiations over a longer-term deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reported. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a deal would be signed on Sunday and would...

US President Donald Trump tells reporters that Washington does not need a deal with Iran to get enriched uranium from the country. “We could get it right now. I don’t think they could stop us if we wanted, but there’s no reason to. It’s entombed,” he says.Trump also says that he did not want to meet with Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, but adds that “I’d be honored to meet him.”He says if Washington and Tehran reached a deal, it was possible that the two would meet and adds, “If it happened… I’d be respectful.” “In some circles he has...

Donald Trump has eight days before he will be forced to make up his mind on Iran. He wants to end the unpopular war, but claimed on Thursday he was under “no time pressure” to do so. In fact, the US president is bound by the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which limits his ability to wage war without congressional approval to 60 days. That deadline passes on May 1, 60 days after his formal notification of the war to Congress on March 2. It will compel him to choose one of four options – seek congressional authorisation to continue the...

Concern about the status of U.S. munitions inventories has intensified as reports emerge about high expenditures of Tomahawks, Patriots, and other missiles in the Iran war. As Operation Epic Fury remains paused in a shaky ceasefire, there is an opportunity to assess whether the U.S. military nears the point of going “Winchester”—or running out of ammunition. Analysis of seven key munitions shows that the United States has enough missiles to continue fighting this war under any plausible scenario. The risk—which will persist for many years—lies in future wars. In the 39 days of the air and missile campaign before the...

Iran's military has threatened to block marine traffic in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman if the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues, escalating tensions in an already volatile region and raising alarms about global trade and energy supplies.***Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, a senior commander in Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that continued U.S. enforcement actions against Iranian shipping could trigger sweeping retaliation. "If the aggressive and terrorist America continues its unlawful actions of maritime blockade in the region and creates insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers, this action will...

A group of conservatives aligned with President Donald Trump is pushing him to aggressively expand immigration enforcement as his administration signals a shift to less deportation rhetoric ahead of the midterm elections, Axios reported. The Mass Deportation Coalition, a group of immigration law and policy experts, former senior and rank-and-file law enforcement officials, advocates, and supporters that launched in February, last week released a playbook to fulfill the largest deportation push in U.S. history. “Our basic goal of the mass deportation coalition is to actually provide Trump with what we call kind of a right flank, saying, 'No, Mr. President,...

President Trump refused to apologize Monday to Pope Leo XIV amid their public fight over the US-Iran war, claiming the leader of the Roman Catholic Church “said things that are wrong.” “He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran — Pope Leo would not be happy with the result,” Trump said. “Iran wants to be a nuclear nation so they can exterminate the world. Not gonna happen.”Trump also accused the pontiff of being “very weak on crime” during an impromptu press availability outside the Oval Office at the White...

Donald Trump has deleted a viral post comparing himself to Jesus Christ after it drew accusations of blasphemy from some of his most vocal right-wing supporters. The President's Truth Social account removed an AI generated image showing him draped in white with a red shawl, placing his hands, glowing with a divine light, on a sick patient in a hospital bed as a soldier, a nurse and others look on in adoration. The post was shared Sunday evening and, by the following morning, had sparked outrage among many of Trump's own supporters, who objected to his use of Christ's image...

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold. The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel also intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. At least 112 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days...