Free Republic

Pro-Israel activist and evangelical leader Laurie Cardoza-Moore called on US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to place a tariff on conservative media personality Tucker Carlson's show after he tweeted in support of Iran. “Tucker Carlson is acting like a foreign agent, doing the bidding of Iran and Qatar instead of America. It’s time for the White House to impose a Tariff on Tucker Carlson for illegally importing anti-Semitic Iranian talking points and putting America last,” Cardoza-Moore said. Cardoza-Moore, who hosts Focus On Israel on NRB TV, claimed that Carlson has used the term ‘neocons’ as a dogwhistle meaning ‘blame the...

President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the U.S. delegation for nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday in Oman, two sources familiar with the plan tell Axios. -snip- So far, there have only been negotiations about the negotiations — which don't yet seem to be resolved. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whom Iranian press reports say will be Iran's chief negotiator, insisted the talks would be "indirect" — with Omani mediators passing messages between the sides. Trump insisted the talks would be "direct." Two U.S. officials told Axios that is indeed the plan. Whatever the format, the stakes are clear....

The Russian economy has slowed sharply in recent months, according to the latest economic data, and may be at further risk if a fall in oil prices and global market turmoil persist. Russia's growth, fuelled by spending on the three-year-old war in Ukraine, exceeded 4% in the past two years, but a labour shortage across many other sectors has contributed to a wage-price spiral that has pushed inflation above 10%. In response, the central bank has raised its key interest rate to 21%, the highest level since the early 2000s, prompting howls from business leaders who say it is stifling...

The situation in the global oil market is extremely unstable, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during a briefing today, APA's Moscow correspondent reports. According to him, this instability is related to the decision of the United States to impose tariffs on most countries in the world. Peskov mentioned that the Russian government is closely monitoring the situation. "This is an indicator that is very important for filling our budget. We are currently closely monitoring the situation, which is characterized by extreme instability, tension, and emotional strain. This is due to the decision of the United States to impose tariffs on...

Russia's flagship Urals crude grade has tumbled alongside all major oil benchmarks in the global market rout and is close to the $50 per barrel threshold for the first time in nearly two years. The Urals price was at around $52 per barrel at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk on Friday, according to data from Argus Media cited by Bloomberg. The price of Urals further dropped on Monday as oil prices continued to fall, with WTI Crude, the U.S. benchmark, down to $60 per barrel, and Brent Crude prices at $64. - snip- As the price of the flagship...

Saudi Arabia has made the biggest drop in oil prices in two years — it has reduced the price of its main oil grade, Arab Light, to $2.30 per barrel for Asian customers. According to Bloomberg, this decision came just a few days after OPEC+ decided to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day more sharply than expected. In addition, “Trump’s tariffs” have also dealt a serious blow to world oil prices — oil prices have fallen by $10 in one day: from $75 to $65 per barrel. This is the lowest level in three years. For Russia, whose...

Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three others, while the death toll from Friday’s devastating attack on Kryvyi Rih rose to 19, including nine children. The Kyiv victim was found near the epicentre of the strike in the Darnytskyi district, where fires broke out in multiple non-residential areas, causing severe damage to buildings and cars. In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the intensifying Russian attacks showed there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow. He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly...

Russia launched an overnight air strike on Kyiv, with the city's air defence forces trying to repel the attack, the military administration and the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Sunday. "Explosions in the capital. Air defences are working. Stay in shelters!" Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

A Russian militia leader claimed the population was dying out and all the Kremlin could do was "to bring in migrants". A prominent Russian pro-war Telegram Channel has launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin's immigration policy. The Rybar Telegram Channel was founded by Mikhail Zvinchuk and has more than 1.3 million subscribers. -snip- The clip alleged terrorist recruiters were active at a Moscow junk market where weapons and Russian passports could be bought. The channel also identified the locations of “ethnic brothels” and illegal mosques. The video ends with the on-screen message: “So, who benefits from this breeding ground...

Russian state media reported that the 17-year-old was named curator of Chechnya's internal affairs ministry on Monday, meaning he'll oversee police and local security forces. The ministry also handles counterterrorism and riot control. A state broadcast showed the teen receiving the appointment at a ceremonial meeting as uniformed officers applauded. Soon after, he was filmed performing his duties by naming a new head of Chechnya's operational search division and handing out medals to police officers. The 17-year-old was already appointed overseer of Chechnya's Russian Special Forces University last April. The university says it teaches civilians and soldiers skills such as...

United States President Donald Trump has expressed his frustration with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as he believes the latter is "slow-rolling comprehensive ceasefire talks," Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing sources. According to the sources, due to such behavior, the Trump administration is mulling "aggressive" sanctions enforcement that would affect Russia's "shadow fleet," among other things. The sources explained that the sanctions enforcement is currently "low," more specifically "level 3 out of 10." The sources went on to say that some 70% of Russia's illegal oil sales are done with the use of the "shadow fleet."

The United States is ready to go "all in" on sanctions against Russia, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared, signaling the administration's readiness to impose even harsher measures to pressure Moscow into peace negotiations. -snip- Bessent was critical of former US President Joe Biden's sanctions approach, describing them as "egregiously weak," particularly when it came to Russian energy. He argued that the weakness in these sanctions allowed Russia's military operations to continue, largely because of concerns about rising energy prices in the US. "A major factor that has enabled the Russian war machine's continued financing was the Biden administration's egregiously...

Russia cannot accept U.S. proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting U.S.-Russia talks on the subject had stalled. The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggest Moscow and Washington have so far been unable to bridge differences which President Vladimir Putin raised more than two weeks ago when he said U.S. proposals needed reworking. -snip- "We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current...

Russia has issued a stark warning over US threats to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, saying such an attack could have 'catastrophic' consequences for the region. -snip- 'If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing,' Trump declared. 'It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.' Moscow, which has been strengthening ties with Iran, condemned Trump's threats. 'Threats are indeed being heard, ultimatums are also being heard,' Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Russian journal 'International Affairs' in an interview, extracts of which were published on Tuesday. 'We consider such methods inappropriate, we condemn...

Russia has ordered the largest increase in conscription since the Ukraine war began as a further 160,000 servicemen are called up to the frontline. The planned draft size has increased from 150,000 in 2024 and 134,500 in 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia to boost the size of its army to 1.5 million active servicemen - an increase of some 180,000 troops over three years.

IRAN'S twisted generals have demanded an "immediate" strike on a US military base in response to Donald Trump's continued threats to bomb the region. The US president's B-2 stealth bomber strike force has already starting massing on the island of Diego Garcia with his team now aimed directly at Iran. Trump warned Iran on Sunday that there would be “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before” if Iran continues to rejects his nuclear weapons proposal. The president set a deadline to the Ayatollah to come to the table to discuss the complete disarmament of all nuclear weapons....

Russia has warned that strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure would have "catastrophic" consequences, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran unless it came to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program. "Threats are indeed being heard, ultimatums are also being heard," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Russian journal "International Affairs" in an interview, extracts of which were published on Tuesday. "We consider such methods inappropriate, we condemn them, we consider them a way for (the U.S.) to impose its own will on the Iranian side."

The Kremlin said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "pissed off" with Vladimir Putin, that the United States and Russia were working on ideas around a possible peace settlement in Ukraine and on building bilateral ties. -snip- "We are continuing to work with the American side, first of all, to build our bilateral relations, which were badly damaged during the previous administration," Peskov said. "And we are also working on the implementation of some ideas related to the Ukrainian settlement. This work is underway, but so far there are no specifics that we could or should...

President Donald Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” when Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership, adding that the comments were “not going in the right location.” Agence France-Presse reported that Putin on Friday called for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine, which could effectively push out Zelenskyy. “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault,...

VLADIMIR Putin is clinging to power as rumours swirl that he’s dying from a cocktail of illnesses, with Volodymyr Zelensky saying it's a fact that he will die soon. The Ukrainian President made the blunt prediction during a speech in Paris, standing alongside French leader Emmanuel Macron as he urged the West to “stay strong” and not ease pressure on Russia. Zelensky said: “He [Putin] will die soon, and that’s a fact, and it will come to an end.” The bold claim adds fuel to long-swirling speculation that the 72-year-old tyrant's grip on power may be slipping – not just...