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The U.S. military has launched operations to begin de-mining the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday. Centcom said in a social media post highlighted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that two Navy guided-missile destroyers began “setting conditions” for this mission on Saturday morning. The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy have previously operated in the Arabian Gulf to help clear the strait of sea mines set by Tehran, according to Centcom. “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to...

President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. military has begun clearing the Strait of Hormuz, declaring Iran’s naval and air capabilities have been wiped out. "Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. He added Iran’s missile and drone infrastructure has been "largely obliterated," along with the weapons themselves, and said the country’s longtime leaders "are no longer with us." Trump also said Iran’s ability to threaten shipping has been neutralized. "The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship...

Several U.S. Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a U.S. official told Axios. Why it matters: The move was not coordinated with Iran. It is the first time U.S. warships crossed the strait since the beginning of the war. The operation was aimed at increasing confidence for commercial ships to cross, sources say. It came as peace talks between the two sides kicked off in Pakistan. "This was an operation that focused on freedom of navigation through International waters," the U.S. official said.

A vile nurse who was fired after she went on an unhinged antisemitic rant in Times Square once traveled to Iran and bashed the US as the “most criminal, evil entity on the planet.” Clad in a headscarf, Jennifer Koonings rambled about New York City’s potholes while praising the “beauty” of Iran in the July 17, 2025 clip posted to the X account of the Sobh Festival, which is organized by the Iranian state media. Koonings, 35, made the trip nearly a month after the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan and Fordow. The nurse went on to...

A US official denied on Saturday that Washington had agreed to release frozen assets belonging to Iran, contradicting earlier reports. Reuters had reported that the United States agreed to release Iranian funds held in Qatar and other foreign banks, citing a senior Iranian source, which described the move as a goodwill step ahead of talks.

The dust of conflict has settled. The fever of the moment has yielded to the cooler discipline of strategic reflection. It is time to ask, with unflinching clarity, what the United States and its partners should do with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran’s propaganda organs were quick to claim victory. That claim, however theatrical, must be taken seriously -- not because it reflects battlefield reality, but because it reveals an uncomfortable truth: the regime cannot, or will not, abandon the terrorist and extremist doctrines that have defined it for more than four decades. No amount of quiet concessions extracted...

Britain will host further talks on reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane with a coalition of countries next week. The meeting will continue the Government’s efforts to restore freedom of navigation to the strait, which provides shipping routes for oil and gas. It comes after the Prime Minister spoke to Donald Trump about the need for a “practical plan” to get ships going through the area amid suggestions Iran wants to charge vessels for passage. An official with knowledge of the planning has said the meeting is expected to look for ways to support a sustainable end to...

Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad, Pakistan, for negotiations with Iran amid the two-week ceasefire, marking a major moment for the 41-year-old vice president and the administration as a whole. Vance departed Joint Base Andrew aboard Air Force One on Friday morning, speaking briefly to reporters before boarding the plane. Vance was optimistic that the negotiations this weekend would be positive. “As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to...

KEY POINTS President Donald Trump lauded Palantir in a post to Truth Social on Friday as the stock headed for a plunge this week. Palantir's tools are reportedly being used in Iran, and the company is benefiting from its ties to the Trump administration and government contracts. Short seller Michael Burry again targeted the stock this week. ... President Donald Trump lauded Palantir in a post to Truth Social on Friday as the artificial intelligence software stock plunged 14% for its worst week in a year. "Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has proven to have great war fighting capabilities and equipment," Trump...

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In the largest strike in Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, the IDF simultaneously hits some 100 Hezbollah targets across Beirut, Beqaa, and southern Lebanon. Over 180 terrorists eliminated.

'Just shut up!': MAGA allies fed up with Trump's belligerence and war with Iran. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/just-shut-up-maga-allies-fed-up-with-trump-s-belligerence-and-war-with-iran/vi-AA20wRD8?ocid=socialshare#details

If your country was in ruins and I asked you to take a stranger fleeing war into your home, knowing it might make your building a target for missiles, would you agree? I guess if you are comfortably sitting in a safe place far away and it is a hypothetical question, you will say yes, maybe talk about being a humanitarian and how life is about taking a stand. Yet, if it is not hypothetical and you are in Lebanon facing real risk, your instinct will be to refuse. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. It is called survival....

That didn’t take long. As The New York Times reported, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to release pro-Hamas student activist Mahmoud Khalil on bail. At this time, he is the only ‘major’ anti-Israel agitator demonstrator in America remaining in confinement. ..... Snip..... Mahmoud wants you to know that he is the real victim here. This toxic man is back out in the streets calling for a global intifada. This is pure insanity.

“And notice how nonchalant it sounds. Trump didn’t go for epic, carnage-heavy branding. He branded it the way you’d casually announce National Potato Chip Day.” American Debunk on X. [Truth Social post from President Trump] Note: you are living through the FAFO of all FAFOs just now. The USA is brooking no more aspersions from whomever is still left alive to speak for the jihad posse in Iran. These are the terms: open the strait, layoff the other Gulf states, surrender those thousand pounds of enriched uranium. You can still go forward in time as a developed nation, enjoy the...

Amir Makled, who introduced El-Sayed at an event with Hasan Piker, represented Michigan students who faced criminal charges related to the school’s anti-Israel encampment The left-wing candidate for Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, campaigned this week with a man running for the University of Michigan's board of regents who shared since-deleted X posts that celebrated late Hezbollah leaders as "martyr[s]"

Democrats are united in their opposition to President Donald Trump and his unprecedented second-term agenda. But as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) huddles in New Orleans for its spring meeting, the party is once again coping with deep internal divisions over Israel's military actions and a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group's recent meddling in Democratic Party primaries. The DNC's Resolutions Committee debated and held test votes Thursday on resolutions recognizing a Palestinian state, putting limits on military aid to Israel and taking aim at what one resolution calls the "growing influence" of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is best...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge in a fiery message in which he urged Arab neighbors to turn their backs on the Western nations. “Everyone must know that, God willing, we will certainly not let go of the criminal aggressors who attacked our country. We will definitely seek compensation for every damage inflicted, as well as blood money for the martyrs and compensation for the wounded of this war," read the message marking the 40th day since Ali Khamenei’s death, Iran International reported. Addressing his supporters, Khamenei said: “It should not be assumed that announcing an intention to negotiate...

Trump proposed a joint U.S.-Iran system to tax ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy flows. The idea emerges amid fragile ceasefire negotiations and broader discussions on sanctions relief and nuclear constraints. The proposal underscores the high economic stakes, with potential implications for oil prices, global trade, and regional stability. President Trump has floated the prospect of a “joint venture” with the Iranian leadership on administering a tax on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in a new peace deal for the region. Trump said both the US and Iran could jointly tax ships...

Israel carried out its largest coordinated airstrike of the ongoing Lebanon war on April 8, hitting more than 100 Hezbollah command centers, headquarters, intelligence sites, missile infrastructure, and Radwan Force positions across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley (including areas near Zahle), and southern Lebanon. The Israeli Air Force used approximately 50 fighter jets to complete the operation, dubbed a “surprise strike” by the IDF, in roughly 10 minutes. The military said the targets were being used for planning attacks against Israel. The strikes came just hours after the announcement of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated explicitly that the...