Free Republic

President Donald Trump told CNN Friday morning that Cuba “is going to fall pretty soon.” “Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too. They want to make a deal so badly,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash in a phone interview when touting US military success in his second term. “They want to make a deal, and so I’m going to put Marco (Rubio) over there and we’ll see how that works out

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that President Trump is "well aware of who's talking to who" amid reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. movements in the region. Hegseth told Major Garrett in an interview airing Sunday on "60 Minutes" that the U.S. is "tracking everything" and factoring it into battle plans. "The American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who's talking to who," he said. "And anything that shouldn't be happening, whether it's in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly." Earlier Friday, multiple sources, including a senior U.S. official,...

What we knowIRAN REJECTS NEGOTIATIONS: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas that Iran has not asked for a ceasefire, rejecting negotiations with the U.S.SUB ATTACK REVENGE VOW: Tehran has warned that the U.S. will "bitterly regret" the torpedo attack on an Iranian naval ship in the Indian Ocean. Iran, still being hammered by American and Israeli strikes, launched expanding drone attacks in retaliation that led to blasts across the region.SENATE PUSH TO STOP WAR FAILS: A war powers resolution to restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to carry out further military action against Iran, which...

The BBC has been accused of mistranslating remarks by Pete Hegseth about the conflict with Iran, after a speech was altered in a way that suggested the United States was targeting the Iranian “people”. BBC Persian, which broadcasts to audiences inside Iran, translated comments by the US defence secretary as saying Washington was bringing death to the Iranian “people”. However, Mr Hegseth had in fact referred to the Iranian “regime” as the target. The error was quickly highlighted by pro-Israel media campaigners, who argued it raised questions about the BBC’s impartiality. The translation also sparked criticism and debate across social...

Police Scotland has refused to release the number of call-outs to asylum hotels over fears the data could spark violence and "heighten community tensions". The national force was slammed for dodging a "reasonable request" from the Scottish Daily Express to reveal the true scale of crime at migrant hotels in Scotland. Police bosses admitted they are concerned that releasing the data will result in more angry scenes outside the hotels, after a number of high-profile protests and counter-protests across Scotland last year. Our Freedom of Information request asked for the number of incidents, including crimes recorded, police call-outs and arrests...

Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to help it strike American military forces in the Middle East, the Washington Post reported Friday, citing U.S. officials familiar with the matter. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the information sharing as a “pretty comprehensive effort,” though the full extent of Russia’s assistance remained unclear, the newspaper noted. The targeting information is said to have included the locations of U.S. warships and aircraft. Iran’s own ability to locate American forces has been degraded since the United States and Israel began launching devastating attacks on the country this weekend, the officials...

The war in Iran is not only going to show us how evil the regime actually is, but it's also going to open the eyes of Western nations to just how many sleeper terrorists they've imported thanks to their lax immigration policies. There is real concern that Iranian and other Islamic sleeper cells may retaliate for the Iran strikes, while Democrats continue to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down. In Austin, a Senegalese immigrant named Ndiaga Diagne killed several at a bar before being taken out by police. Diagne was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that read "Property of...

The U.S. administration has decided to focus its foreign policy on the Western Hemisphere by creating new strategic alliances. In this context, President Donald Trump will host the "Shield of the Americas" summit on March 7 in Miami, Florida. This event will bring together Latin American leaders who share an ideological affinity, marking a remarkable political shift in the region. Washington's approach seeks to consolidate a bloc that defends common interests and traditional values in the face of external pressures. The National Security Strategy 2026 outlines a plan for identifying and working closely with "ideologically trusted partners." This tactic is...

Keir Starmer has said the conflict engulfing the Middle East could continue “for some time” as he insisted the best way forward in the longer term was a negotiated settlement with Iran. The prime minister said the UK was doing “everything we can” to de-escalate the situation, a clear contrast to the US president, who is focused on regime change and has said it was “too late” for Tehran to negotiate. He defended his decision to block initial offensive strikes by the US and Israel at the weekend, saying he stood by his judgment and denying it had damaged the...

Currently, while what’s happening in Iran is not a “declared” war, we are engaged in the first truly modern, balls-to-the-wall war we’ve been in maybe since WWII. It’s useful to contemplate why the next few days and weeks may change an international stalemate that’s been in place for the better part of 75 years, and how it could change everything from now on. One of the most fascinating things to see is the realignment of once-allied Middle Eastern nations and actual geopolitical enemies. The first important thing to note is that, under Trump, winning is back in favor, although not...

Iran is reportedly delaying naming a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader killed over the weekend in U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, for security concerns as Israel has asserted that it will target whoever is instated, while President Donald Trump has doubled down on wanting to influence the selection. The New York Times reported, citing two unnamed Iranian officials, that while Khamenei’s second-eldest son, 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, has emerged as the strongest contender to take Tehran’s top job, no one has been named out of fear that they will be targeted.

~HEADLINES TO PONDER: Greece to Exhume 150 COVID-19 Graves After Bodies Fail to Decompose I think the plan is to raise an Army of the Undead to take Iran. ~WHAT'S DO-ABLE: Matt Walsh: "This is the status quo you're expected to accept: we can terminate the supreme leader of Iran despite all his security but we can't deport Somali fraudsters in Minneapolis... we can't do anything about the clear and obvious threats in this country right now." pic.twitter.com/A8oF1UWz0w — The American Conservative (@amconmag) March 4, 2026 There is always a risk in venturing abroad to slay dragons. As one observer...

Hungary said on Friday it had ⁠detained seven Ukrainians carrying around $82 million in cash and gold on suspicion of money laundering, as Kyiv ​accused Budapest of taking bank employees hostage amid a dispute over oil shipments. The Hungarian Tax Authority’s decision to have counter-terrorism forces swoop on two Ukrainian armored vehicles transporting cash to Ukraine marks a dramatic escalation of tensions that have already resulted in Budapest blocking tens of billions of euros in European Union aid for Kyiv. “The National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) is pursuing criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering,” the authority said in...

This isn’t one war, but two. There is a regional chessboard, on which Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the other Gulf states all play. Iran’s proxies, its drones and ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions, its funding of Hezbollah and the Houthis. All of that belongs primarily to this smaller game. Israel has always understood this board. So have the Saudis. So has everyone in the neighbourhood. But there is a second chessboard, vastly larger, on which the United States and China are the primary players. On this board, the central question of the next 30 years is being worked...

Iran’s new Ayatollah has called for ‘the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood’ as the war in Iran expands. Abdollah Javadi Amoli issued a rare call for violence from an ayatollah, telling state television viewers: ‘Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders. ‘We are now on the verge of a great test and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance.’ His remarks come after the US and Israel launched the war on Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear programme while suggesting that toppling the government...

Mr. Putin is also grappling with the arrival of a new world of unbridled American power under President Trump, which is checking Russia’s global influence and ripping up Moscow’s playbook for partnerships abroad. For years, Mr. Putin supported anti-American authoritarian governments in Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, with little worry that Washington would use its overwhelming military power to kill, capture or push out their leaders. That has now changed, as Mr. Trump has demonstrated a willingness to disregard international norms and engage in foreign adventurism by fully exploiting Washington’s might. The last two months have brought the U.S.-Israeli killing of...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s reward came from heaven. Israel used a powerful ballistic missile that flew to the edge of space before plummeting to Earth and blasting Iran’s unsuspecting supreme leader and dozens of his top henchmen last Saturday. The Blue Sparrow, a missile that can fly for 1,240 miles and leaves the Earth’s atmosphere before crashing down, was used by Israel during Operation Epic Fury, killing Khamenei and his cohorts. So intense was the impact that debris was found in western Iraq, according to Israeli sources. The surprise attack came together last week after Israeli officials deliberately gave the impression...

he Republican-led House on Thursday rejected a measure aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from carrying out further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval, delivering a victory for the White House even as lawmakers voice deep unease about the widening conflict. The War Powers Resolution, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, failed in a 212-219 vote after Republican leaders rallied enough support to defeat it, allowing the Administration to continue its military campaign against Iran for now without seeking new authorization from Congress. All House Democrats voted for the resolution except for Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas,...

China is in talks with Iran to allow crude oil and Qatari liquefied natural gas vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz ​as the U.S.-Israeli war on Tehran intensifies, three diplomatic sources told Reuters. The war, ‌which entered its sixth day on Thursday, has left the critical shipping passageway all-but shut, with countries around the world cut off from a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. China, which has friendly ​relations with Iran and relies heavily on Middle Eastern supplies, is unhappy about the ​Islamic Republic's move to paralyse shipping through the Strait and is pressing...

Imagine all of this sturm und drang over someone who may not even be vertical and respiratory. Ever since the death of Ali Khamenei in the opening seconds of the joint US-Israeli military action, Iran has technically been without a head of state. The Supreme Leader in Iran controls all policy and action, as well as commanding all of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic. Ali Larijani and Masoud Pezeshkian can issue orders while hiding in hospital offices, but they do not have the perceived divine and theological authority that the top mullah has in these systems, and that...