Free Republic

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Tuesday that a single Israeli strike in Lebanon would constitute a violation of the latest Iran deal and bring the entire thing crashing down.Israel has signaled in recent days that it will not withdraw troops from its security zones in Lebanon and will continue taking whatever actions it deems necessary to protect its interests, despite pressure from President Trump. The stance comes amid reports that the Trump administration denied Israel's request to review the recently negotiated Iran deal.NEW: Israel asked the United States to share the contents of the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding, but...

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the quote made by Emmanuel Macron to Volodymyr Zelensky. French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday were heard on a live microphone discussing President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders’ summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. “Yesterday, we had a difficult discussion” with Trump, Macron is heard telling Zelensky. The conversation took place as Macron greeted his Ukrainian counterpart upon his arrival as they walked the grounds of the Hotel Royal. Macron is also heard urging Zelensky to stay longer at the summit. The Ukrainian responds that...

Almost all media commentators seem convinced that Donald Trump’s foreign policy in his second term is a disaster. He is bogged down in Iran, snookered in Ukraine, his tariff agenda has failed and he has alienated his NATO allies. But this consensus has been too hastily formed. Looking at the bigger global picture, Trump’s foreign policy has been a spectacular success. Take the western hemisphere. We have the so-called “Donroe Doctrine,” the updated version of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine. In 1822, president James Monroe, having welcomed South America’s overthrow of Spanish and Portuguese imperial rule, stated that Latin American nations...

Faith FactsOver 11,000 citizens have signed a petition condemning two-tier policing practices in BritainPolice officer Luke Salmons revealed officers were required to chant ‘Islam is a religion of peace’ during training sessionsThe case highlights growing concerns about religious favoritism and unequal law enforcement standardsA groundswell of public concern is building in Britain as more than 11,000 people have signed a petition opposing what they describe as two-tier policing — the unequal application of law enforcement based on religious or cultural identity.At the heart of the controversy stands the testimony of police officer Luke Salmons, who came forward with disturbing revelations...

US negotiators are working to quickly release the text of the agreement between Washington and Tehran, even as they downplay the significance of the specific language in the document, US officials told CNN.The officials described the text of the agreement as incredibly vague, mainly intended to create a more favorable environment for the highly technical, in-person talks to come. They added that the framework is aimed at providing Iran the ability to sell it politically to their internal audience.Additionally, the officials said that the text of the memorandum of understanding — which Vice President JD Vance told CNN Monday is...

The Iranian military on Tuesday accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire with continued fighting in Lebanon and threatened to retaliate militarily if Jerusalem did not stop fighting.The New York Times reported on the threat, citing Iranian state media warnings of a "hard response" in the face of continued fighting.Lebanon has been a sticking point for the peace negotiations. Israel is currently engaged in fierce fighting with Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy based in southern Lebanon.Hezbollah entered the war after weeks of fighting between Israel and Iran, prompting an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Earlier this month, the Iranians...

Costa Rica was pulled into a U.S. political dustup after Kristi Noem named our country, along with El Salvador, as one of Washington’s closest allies in South America, apparently overlooking that both nations are in Central America. The exchange came during a Newsmax interview with Greta Van Susteren in a segment posted June 11. Van Susteren asked Noem, “Who’s our best friend in South America at this point?” Noem answered by pointing first to El Salvador, citing migration cooperation and third-country agreements, before also naming Ecuador, Argentina and Costa Rica. The answer quickly spread and the mistake turned what was...

US embassy calls on far-right minister to provide his fingerprints, after which he reportedly decides to ditch travel plan. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has canceled an upcoming trip to the United States after he was required by the US embassy to arrive in person and provide his fingerprints as a condition for receiving a visa, Hebrew media outlets reported Monday. The far-right Ben Gvir has repeatedly made headlines with provocative antics, some of which have drawn international condemnation. The unusual move of requiring his fingerprints was apparently due to his criminal convictions. It signaled that Washington was not...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the “greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House.” Now, as Trump tries to finalize a deal to end the war with Iran, he’s unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly. He claimed credit for Israel’s existence — “without me, there would be no Israel” — and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as “crazy.” The tension comes as Trump criticizes recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardize negotiations between Washington and...

Give at least a couple of cheers for coercive diplomacy, which is to say diplomacy through bombing. As the Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz told us a couple hundred years ago, “war is the continuation of politics,” or diplomacy, “by other means.” Last week’s bombing may well have finally pushed Iran and all their internal factions to at least signing a memo of understanding that represents at least the beginning of the end of the war. President Trump is a master at coercive diplomacy. He’s also a master of psychological warfare diplomacy with his threats to destroy Iran’s infrastructure,...

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...

More than 700 people have crossed the Channel on 11 small boats - the highest number in a single day so far this year. The Home Office said 710 migrants made the crossing on Monday. It follows two weeks of windy weather when there were no crossings at all. A total of 9,852 people have made the journey so far this year - a fall of 40% compared with the same period in 2025. The Home Office has said it was "bearing down" on small boat crossings. In April, the UK and France confirmed a new £662m deal to stop...

It is believed a Russian Frigate fired at a passing yacht in British waters in the English Channel on Tuesday, prompting the Ministry of Defence to launch an investigation. The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed they are investigating an incident in the English Channel after a British-flagged yacht reported the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich had fired warning shots at it on Tuesday morning. The incident, if proven, would be the most direct confrontation by a foreign warship off the coast of Britain in many years. Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Mersey (foreground) escorts Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and attending Russian...

The Group of 7 summit in France was intended to focus fresh attention on the war in Ukraine, which has largely fallen off President Trump’s radar since the start of the war with Iran. On Tuesday, President Trump dashed those hopes, making it clear at the summit that the Ukraine conflict, which he once said he could end in 24 hours, was no longer high on his priority list. “Look, we have nothing to do with it,” Mr. Trump said of the war. “It has no impact on us, other than we sell weapons” to Ukraine, he added. “We’re thousands...

The Trump administration is considering backing the creation of a massive $300 billion reconstruction and investment fund for Iran if Tehran fulfills commitments under a newly signed memorandum of understanding and ultimately reaches a broader settlement on its nuclear program and regional conduct. President Donald Trump has called reports that the U.S. will pay Iran $300 billion "fake news" — but Vice President JD Vance and others confirmed the establishment of a global fund paid by an international coalition to aid Tehran as real.According to reports from the Financial Times and other outlets, the proposed fund would not be financed...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tore into President Donald Trump’s Iran peace effort Tuesday, demanding immediate briefings for Congress and the public while branding the administration’s handling of the conflict a secretive “misadventure” that has left America “worse off by every measure.” Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer said the administration has offered inconsistent accounts of its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran and accused Trump of keeping lawmakers and the American people in the dark. Schumer called on Trump to convene a classified Gang of Eight briefing, brief the full Congress on the MOU and publicly explain what...

Donald Trump accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of killing 'too many people' in Lebanon while speaking at the Group of Seven summit on Tuesday. While sitting for bilateral meetings with the Qatari delegation, including Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the President expressed his frustrations with Israel's actions in Lebanon. 'Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,' Trump said while taking questions from reporters. ’They should have been able to do the job faster.’ 'You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody. There are a lot...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected and that could sink the agreement, leading to the resumption of all-out war.The deal, which is between the U.S. and Iran, has not been made public, and officials have sometimes offered contradictory interpretations of what is in it. While Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war: It joined the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb....

Continuing his remarks about the US agreement with Iran at the G7 summit, US President Donald Trump claims he “never cared about regime change” as a goal in the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran, while reiterating his belief that the elimination of so many senior officials in the Islamic Republic effectively amounts to regime change. “You talk about regime change. I never cared about regime change. It [was] never a part. But I guess you have regime change because you know better than anybody, the first group, they’re all dead. The second group, they’re dead. A part of the third group...

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that America will not invest money in Iran after a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed with Tehran. “We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way, and with that rumor got out there yesterday was ridiculous,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France. “We have the right to go in some day and do, if I want to do something, or if somebody wants to do something, but we are not investing any money.” (snip) He appeared to be referring to reports that the terms of...