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Iranian officials continued to make disparaging comments about the United States and tout their plans to take permanent control of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, even as the White House remains optimistic about an imminent “deal” that would end the conflict in the Middle East and secure safe passage for shipping. Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday mocked President Donald Trump for constantly backing down from his threats to launch a “massive attack” and claiming Iran wants to make a deal. “‘Massive attack coming… wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop,” he...

President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran seemed "to be working out quite well," reiterating his positive portrayal of the negotiations on the Iran war without elaborating on the specifics of the discussions. DETAILS: • "I hear they are doing very well," Trump said in an interview on the "FOX5 1-ON-1" show with FOX5 Las Vegas journalist Tom Durian. The interview was published on Wednesday evening. • Even as the Iran war has entered its sixth month and the two sides have so far failed to reach a permanent end to the conflict, Trump has repeatedly attempted to portray the...

On Tuesday night before getting onto Air Force One, President Donald Trump told reporters that "a lot of progress" had been made in negotiations with Iran, adding that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come "tomorrow or the next day."

President Donald Trump appears to have a strategy: threaten irreparable damage to Iran's civilian infrastructure then hit pause and hope the other side decides to come to the table and revive negotiations. By ABC News' count, he's tried it no less than seven times. So far it hasn't worked. In what's becoming a familiar pattern, Trump wrote on his social media platform late Saturday night that at the request of Iran and other Middle Eastern countries he'd decided not to carry out his what White House officials said would be a devastating strike targeting Iran's energy infrastructure. But, he warned,...

Iran has denied Donald Trump's claim that new talks on ending the conflict would begin on Monday, after the US president called off what he said would have been "massive" strikes on the country.Speaking on board Air Force One on Sunday, he said Iran "knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming", adding: "We're talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon."In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said he had been asked by Iran and US allies in the Middle East to "hold off" as the "perimeters" of a deal...

Airstrikes in Jordan show Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is willing to risk Trump’s retaliationIran’s surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan shows Tehran’s military leaders would rather risk ramping up the war than play defense or accept a peace deal that would expose them to greater domestic political pressures.Iran fired ballistic missiles on U.S. troops early Wednesday local time, demonstrating a willingness by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which exerts more power than ever in Tehran, to escalate during a relative lull in the conflict and attempt to seize the initiative after weeks in which Iran has mostly reacted to...

President Donald Trump raged to Fox News’s Trey Yingst about Tuesday night’s surprise attack by Iran on U.S. troops in Jordan, telling him “we are going to beat the ------- ---- out of them.” Yingst, Fox’s chief foreign correspondent, reported on Trump’s comments while joining Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning and noted that Trump added, “We’ll be hitting them hard.” “Yeah, guys, good morning. President Trump reacting to that Iranian attack on U.S. forces overnight in Jordan. President Trump tells Fox News about Iran: ‘We are going to beat the ------- ---- out of them.’ He went on to...

A drone struck the U.S.-owned gas tanker Energos Winter at Egypt’s Damietta port on Wednesday evening, setting it ablaze before the flames spread to a second tanker, Gaslog Salem, according to Reuters and maritime security firm Ambrey. Two security sources told Reuters that the tankers were hit by a drone, while three shipping industry sources identified Energos Winter as the vessel struck. Ambrey said the crews were evacuated and the fire was brought under control. No casualties were reported, and no country or organization has claimed responsibility. Damietta, located in the northern Nile Delta, had been named by Iranian television...

Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran, after nearly two weeks of fighting between both sides. The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that it shot down two drones over the Jordan border, near the Dead Sea, adding that the drones did not cross into Israeli territory. Their origin was under investigation, the army said. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets, some in its eastern province and others in the capital Riyadh. It said the drones had...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday at what point he will move to use Congressional power to check President Donald Trump’s war in Iran. Johnson pointedly ended his reply by saying “we’ve got to wrap it up” in Iran, which many pundits and political insiders have warned is an additional threat to the GOP keeping its majorities in Congress. Johnson’s answer appeared to be at odds with Trump, who vowed earlier in the day to continue bombing Iran until they come to the negotiating table in good faith. “You repeatedly said...

Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh barrage on Iran in a bid to smash Tehran's power to wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command struck Iranian missile and radar sites along the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, hours before American forces were due to reimpose a naval blockade on the country's ports and coastline. 'The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET,' Central Command said. Tehran hit back within hours, unleashing its own salvo of missiles at American bases and allied targets across the region. One Iranian rocket was plastered with a sticker carrying a Biblical message...

VIDEOOn this the Second February Day, Punxsutawney Phil was on full Display, As he made his yearly Prediction, In his Inimitable Groundhog Diction."Hark!" he Yelled to one and All, "For I predict a Great Fall, Of the Once Almighty Deep State As Trump is about to Clean Slate, Stand Back and Listen closely I Urge, I predict 6 more weeks of FBI Purge!"

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday slammed animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over its petition to replace Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, with a cake. The famous rodent is the star of the annual Groundhog Day event held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Superstition about the event claims Punxsutawney Phil can predict the early arrival of spring if he does not see his own shadow when emerging from his burrow. PETA last week issued a statement, however, calling on Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel to do away with the groundhog, arguing his life is “no...

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A tradition that has been around since the 1800s, Groundhog Day, and celebrated annualy in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is about to see a possible change. Once again, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants to change the tradition by replacing the furry forecaster with a gold coin. Punxsutawney Phil would then live out his golden years in a sanctuary.

Should you get ready to bundle up for more weeks or winter or be excited for an early spring? Georgia's famous groundhog General Beauregard "Beau" Lee has made his big weather forecast for 2023. Thursday morning, officials at the Dauset Trails Nature Center announced the groundhog did not see his shadow - meaning we're going to have an early spring. Lee's prediction contradicts his fellow groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who announced that there would be six more weeks of winter.

My favorite movie is Groundhog Day, and I have made it a personal tradition to watch it on... Groundhog Day, much to my wife's chagrin. This post is in honor of that tradition: It’s Groundhog Day 2023 and here are 17 of the best quotes from the iconic 1993 movie to celebrate the holiday. Occurring every year on February 2, Groundhog Day is a popular North American superstition that revolves around an animal called a groundhog. If the rodent emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow due to sunny weather, it will retreat back to its den and winter...

On a cold Tuesday, lifelong Florida resident Amanda Brody traveled to Punxsutawney, but not to take part in Groundhog Day festivities. She and 10 others arrived a day early to protest “the abuse of live animals.” Brody, 29, is a senior campaigner for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She travels the country, organizing and leading protests against animal abuse. It’s a full-time job and “my career and passion,” she said in a telephone interview from her home in West Palm Beach. She’s signed on with PETA four years ago — one year after she became a vegan and...

JACKSON, Ga. - Beauregard "Beau" Lee, Georgia's famous groundhog, has made his weather forecast. Beau emerged from his home in Jackson on Groundhog Day and did not see his shadow. That means Georgia could be in for an early spring.

GEORGIA — Georgia's own groundhog Gen. Beauregard Lee made his prediction Tuesday morning that the state will see an early spring. A Twitter account dedicated to the rodent said on Monday that Lee will not be hosting his annual celebration on Tuesday, instead electing for a private event. Lee lives in Jackson, Georgia, at Dauset Trails. His social media handler was quick to tweet out his decision early Tuesday: an early spring.

When Jeff noticed that his garden was getting destroyed, he put out a camera to catch the culprit, a groundhog! But Chunk won Jeff’s heart over, and now he lets him have whatever he wants.