Free Republic

CIA Director John Ratcliffe told President Trump and other senior officials that evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies raises serious doubts about Iran's willingness to make the nuclear concessions the U.S. is seeking in any final deal, according to three sources familiar with those discussions. Friction point: Ratcliffe isn't the only skeptic in Trump's top team. In internal discussions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth both expressed concerns and raised questions about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) announced Sunday, while Vice President Vance and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner advocated for it, according...

1:11: Hello, this is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. There's a lot of confusion, controversy, and disagreement about the latest phase of the so-called Iran war. Remember we bombed kinetically 38 to 40 days then we had 60 days of negotiation and here we are in mid June in which Donald Trump has announced yet another time there is going to be a peace deal coming with a 60-day um period for all the elements of the deal to be enacted. A lot of people are upset. They feel that Iran was on the ropes. they're going broke...

The US secretly approved a financial and maritime arrangement between Qatar and Iran, under which billions of dollars were paid to Tehran in exchange for free passage for Qatari tankers and ships through the Strait of Hormuz, three diplomatic officials now confirm. This was a deliberate and conscious course of action by the US administration, which allowed its navy to turn a blind eye to the arrangement, in complete contradiction of its declared policy. The move was intended to ease the crisis in global energy markets and curb rising oil prices. The current revelation proves that the White House had...

“We used to say that we don’t know what 2050 will look like. Now it’s more like we don’t know what 2030 will look like.” —Jesus Enrique Rosas You must be thinking that reality is pushing its luck with the president bringing this Iran business — a war, actually, let’s face it — to a favorable conclusion around dinner time Sunday evening (yawn) and then Mr. DJT sliding directly into his seat on the White House lawn to enjoy the special 80th birthday edition of Testosterone Gone Wild, that is, a full card of tattoo-bedizend savages beating the crap out...

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the “new world order will be built from Europe” with his country playing a key role in comments that echo a speech earlier in the year interpreted as a criticism of President Donald Trump. During a visit to Ireland, Carney said that that Canada was “the most European of non-European countries, and we are transforming our cooperation with the EU.” In January, Carney addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, taking aim at the erosion of the rules-based international order in comments which were seen as a pointed reference to Trump’s...

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States has reached a peace deal with Iran, and the contrast with what Barack Obama handed the world in 2015 could not be starker. "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday. "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!" The naval blockade on Iranian ports has already lifted. The Strait of Hormuz is open. And for the first time in a long time, there's an actual framework that puts nuclear weapons permanently off the table. Results are happening. Oil...

The old saying is a lie goes around the world before the truth gets its boots on. When we're discussing the Islamic Republic of Iran regime, or what's left of it, they certainly do not need a head start. They lie like you and I breathe. As with any good rollercoaster, this past weekend provided more unexpected twists and turns. And even though Donald Trump claims we're headed back to the station with a deal, it's hard to see it around the blind corner in front of us. George W. Bush's Secretary of Defense, the Late Donald Rumsfeld, used to...

President Trump warned that France is at risk of a fresh trade war with America — declaring in an exclusive interview with The Post that unless Paris axes its digital tax on American tech giants, the US will “have no choice” but to slap 100% tariffs on French wines. Trump said he gave the blunt warning directly to outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron, demanding he ditch the 3% tech levy or face devastating duties in the American market, which accounts for a fifth of the French wine industry’s global sales — worth more than $2 billion annually. “I asked him...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the Lebanon clause in the emerging agreement with Iran, Israeli officials said, making clear that Jerusalem will not accept any arrangement that limits its freedom to act against Hezbollah. The understanding among ministers in the Security Cabinet is that Israel is standing firm on its interests in Lebanon, and that Netanyahu received full backing in the cabinet meeting for his position. The dispute comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Trump and Iran all announced that a U.S.-Iran agreement had been reached. According...

President Donald Trump declared an end to his campaign against Iran’s leaders with an exhortation on Sunday: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” With the Iranian regime still in place, he was celebrating a resumption of the way the world was on Feb. 27, the day before the United States and Israel attacked Iran. A return to a version of the status quo was a far cry from the original aims of a war effort that kicked off with a vow to come to the aid of the Iranian protesters who had taken to their...

They fought a world war, and they lost it, and their populations spent the next 85 years with shrunken militaries and a heavy reliance on their former enemy, America, for security. Now, both countries’ wariness of America has resurfaced, alongside heightened fears about a surging world power, China, and an aggressive Russia. Tokyo and Berlin are rushing to rebuild their militaries. And, once again, they are strengthening ties. Their cooperation is expected to gather momentum at the meeting of the leaders of the Group of 7 nations in Evian, France, this week. It already includes sharing know-how, technology and weapons,...

Oil prices fell and U.S. stock-index futures jumped Sunday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. has agreed to a peace deal with Iran, apparently ending months of hostilities that shut the Strait of Hormuz and sent the global economy into an oil shock. “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump said in a social-media post late Sunday. “Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let...

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said Tehran would teach the attackers a “regrettable lesson” in defense of Lebanon after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday. “Neither the American diplomatic smile is trustworthy, nor is Israel’s savagery tolerable!" Mohammad Mokhber said on X. "We will teach the aggressors a lesson they will regret,” he added.

This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region. Many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me. The Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace. With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Israeli officials were left “stunned” by US President Donald Trump’s public criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s decision to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut. They are increasingly concerned that a prospective US-Iran agreement could sharply restrict Israel’s military freedom of action in Lebanon, Channel 12 reports. A senior Israeli official close to Netanyahu tells the Hebrew network that officials in Jerusalem were taken aback by Trump’s remarks, which included accusing the premier of having “no fucking judgement,” saying: “Trump’s statement is a resounding slap in the face. The restrictions [on Israel] have been taken to another level. The...

US President Donald Trump has confirmed Pakistan's report that the US and Iran have reached a deal. "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," he writes on Truth Social. "I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade," he says. "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!" Pakistan PM's statement in fullpublished Here is the full statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has just announced that a peace deal between US and Iran...

The main headline of Sunday’s Yediot Aharonot, a popular Hebrew daily, summed up in two words the prevailing sentiment in Israel over President Trump’s emerging cease-fire agreement with Iran: “Bad Deal.” Israel waged two wars against Iran in the past year, the most recent one the campaign launched in late February with U.S. forces. Now Israel, which had not been a party to the Trump administration’s negotiations with Iran, is being left out of the potential peace... Even before the announcement came on Sunday that a cease-fire agreement had been reached, the details that had surfaced in news media reports...

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) took to X to announce that a senior Hezbollah commander, one Ali Mussa Daqduq, has had his birth certificate permanently revoked. The planet is now a safer, cleaner place without this guy walking around. The post reads: ELIMINATED: Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hezbollah commander who held a series of 5 senior positions within Hezbollah. Daqduq played a central role in advancing terrorist attacks and combat operations against Israel and IDF soldiers. In 2007, he orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of 5 American soldiers.

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...

U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that ending the ​conflict in Ukraine was vital and he was ‌ready to help, Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying. "As regards the Ukrainian conflict, Donald Trump again emphasised ​that a cessation of hostilities was vital," Ushakov ​was quoted as telling journalists. "The situation around the memorandum ​between the U.S. and Iran was discussed," ​Ushakov ⁠was quoted as saying. "Donald Trump said an agreement was close and he expects that the results of the difficult ⁠but ​ultimately successful negotiations can be made ​public."...