Free Republic

The influx of troops, medics and weaponry follows the deaths of three American soldiers in Iranian weekend attack WASHINGTON—The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to...

"The House of Representatives passed the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday. The bill still includes the provision which merges the Israeli military into the U.S. military. The NDAA now goes to the Senate where there is still a chance for the Israeli merger provision to be stripped out."

Last June when the United States targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in a series of coordinated airstrikes with Israel, President Trump boasted that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” He said that on the day of the operation, which hit the enrichment facility at Fordow, buried under a mountain, as well as sites at Natanz and Isfahan.In the ensuing days and months, Trump repeated this claim, saying that Iran’s nuclear facilities and capabilities had been “obliterated.” In August he said, “We obliterated … the future nuclear capability of Iran.” In October he said, “Well, they don’t...

Bill Clinton: "We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." (1995) George W. Bush: "Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Period." (2006) Barack Obama: "I have stated that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon." (2015) Joe Biden: "We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon." (2022) Donald J. Trump: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated....Thank you for your attention to this matter." (2025) @realDonaldTrump PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!

This week the national average dipped below $4/gallon for the first time since March. This is an auspicious sign for Trump and his political fortunes, but to Iran hawks on the right, it comes at an unacceptable price. Fox News host Mark Levin, a usual Trump booster, is gravely disappointed that Trump seems to be abandoning his hopes for a regime change in Iran in order to salvage the midterm elections, and his own presidency. Neoconservative columnist David Harsanyi has turned against both Trump and Vice President J D Vance with blind fury for not pursuing the war further and...

Well, to be clear, it appears that many of the sanctions have already been lifted, as Iranian oil shipments are flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade, it appears, is already over, even before the official signing we expect on Friday. The lifting of sanctions on oil-related exports appears to be point #10 in the leaked but unconfirmed Memorandum of Understanding. 🚨 The Iranian television is broadcasting from the Strait of Hormuz. and claims: At least 3 oil tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours. pic.twitter.com/13txRGNFEv— Raylan...

The United States on Wednesday released the official text of the memorandum of understanding reached over the weekend with Iran.A senior US administration official read out the 14-point document, which spells out provisions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing certain financial restrictions on Iran and sets out expectations for addressing Iran’s nuclear program during future technical talks.Titled the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the document was released after outcry that its text hadn’t been released publicly.

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...

Ed O’Keefe, CBS News’ senior White House and political correspondent, spoke with Vice President JD Vance on Monday morning and pushed him on whether or not Iran’s claim that it will have access to $300 billion for reconstruction from the Trump administration’s peace deal is accurate. “Walk through some of this. The Iranians are saying that they’re gonna have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund, true or false?” O’Keefe began. “Well, Ed, that’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf coast coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation. I...

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...

Vice President JD Vance called in to FNC's "Big Weekend Show" on Sunday afternoon to give some details about the administration's deal with Iran: VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: I think it’s a big moment for the United States of America, thanks to the president’s leadership and the hard work of the entire team. Three things that are important for the American people to appreciate what this deal does for all of us as Americans. - Number one, the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the naval blockade with Iran along with it. - The...

President Trump announced that he canceled planned strikes against Iran on Thursday and claimed Iran's leadership "approved" a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. (snip)The sources said the gaps were narrowed on three key issues: The mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets — the most important issue for the Iranians.Arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period.How negotiations over Iran's nuclear program would be conducted during the 60-day ceasefire period.

President Donald Trump called into Fox News’s Fox & Friends on Thursday morning and told the hosts that he has always wanted to invade Iran’s Kharg Island, one of the country’s key energy infrastructure sites. Trump ranted at the media coverage of the war in Iran and fumed, “The Wall Street Journal, they did an editorial today about we’re not hitting them hard enough.” “I mean, it is just, ‘not hitting them hard enough.’ We dropped $250 million worth of bombs on them last night. The whole thing is crazy. And they’re really in submission. They just don’t know it...

US President Donald Trump said the United States may begin striking Iran's power plants and bridges due to the Islamic regime “tapping the United States along” in talks, according to an interview with Fox News's Trey Yingst on Wednesday. "I may keep going," Trump told Fox. "They had a chance to sign a deal and survive." He added that little progress has been made in negotiations between the two countries. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump implied that he would take action against Iran for taking too long on a peace deal. "The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!" wrote Trump...

President Trump vowed to respond after a US Army helicopter was downed last night, confirming that the Iranians executed the attack. President Trump initially told reporters while departing Queens, New York, after attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals, “The pilots are fine.” “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow, but the pilots are fine,” he added. WATCH: VIDEO AT LINK............ President Trump says “pilots are fine” after Apache Helicopter downed near the coast of Oman Trump on Tuesday revealed that the Apache helicopter was “shot down” by Iranians and that the US “must, of necessity, respond...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP Jun 09, 2026, 12:38 PM

President Trump confirmed Tuesday that Iran shot down the American Apache attack helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, vowing to respond to Tehran’s latest act of aggression. “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he added.

President Trump denied Friday that he campaigned on avoiding “endless” wars, as he seeks to reach a deal to end hostilities with Iran. “I didn’t promise anything. I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war,” he told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” in an interview that aired Sunday. “We’ve been doing this for three months,” Trump added, referring to the Iran conflict that began on Feb. 28. “Much of it has been under… a pretty good form of ceasefire.” The president later said that he would “not have built the strongest military in...

June 3 (UPI) -- Kuwait closed its main airport in Kuwait City on Wednesday after Iranian missile and drone strikes injured several people and caused "significant damage" to its main terminal building as renewed hostilities between the Iran and the United States escalated.The airport activated its emergency plan, suspending all flights indefinitely after its Terminal 1 building was the target of "Iranian aggression, resulting in significant damage to several airport facilities, in addition to recording human injuries," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in an update on X.DGCA spokesman Abdullah Al-Rajhi said it has been decided to suspend air...

"Saudi Arabia is reported to have told him its airspace cannot be used for operations." Donald Trump has suffered a major operational setback as he has been reportedly told by Saudi Arabia that the US cannot use their airspace, says former US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield.