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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the country was dismissed regarding its concern about NATO expansion. "We emphasized that the security of one nation or a group of nations cannot come at the expense of another's security. This principle is enshrined in international agreements that all parties have ratified," Putin said. "Yet, in practice, what transpired?" Putin continued. "One NATO expansion after another. We were consistently reassured, 'there's nothing to fear; it doesn't pose a threat to you.' When we expressed our concerns, asserting that we believed it did threaten us, what was the response? Nothing at all. We...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 24) that he would “probably” meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump confirmed the possibility when asked about a meeting. “Yeah probably I’ll see him,” he said. When asked what he intended to say to the Ukrainian leader, Trump replied, “I’ll say ‘how you doing?’ He’s in a tough situation, should never have been there.” Zelensky team confirms meeting preparations Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, also confirmed that talks were under way to...

U.S. President Donald Trump said he rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to help with the Israel-Iran conflict during a recent call, turning the focus back to the unresolved war in Ukraine. -snip- "I'd like to see a deal with Russia," Trump said on Tuesday morning as he headed to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Fox News reported. "As you know Vladimir called me up. He said, 'Can I help you with Iran?' I said, 'No, I don't need help with Iran. I need help with you.' "And I hope we're going to be getting a deal done with...

President Donald Trump took a swipe at former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for suggesting that other countries would step in to supply Iran with nuclear warheads in retaliation for the U.S. strikes on Saturday that targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities. "Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is stepping up production of its Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which it launched for the first time against Ukraine last November. "Serial production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system is under way," Putin told a graduating class of military cadets in televised comments. The system has "proven itself very well in combat conditions," he added. -snip- Putin has boasted that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, although some Western experts have cast doubt on those claims. In December, a U.S. official...

At the request of the Trump administration, the Israeli Air Force took out multiple Iranian air defense systems in the 48 hours leading up to the U.S. strike on Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios. -snip- Trump's request was made directly to Netanyahu last week, after the president decided he would move forward with a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities unless a surprise diplomatic opportunity emerged. "How can we help?" Netanyahu asked, according to Israeli officials. Trump told Netanyahu he wanted the Israeli Air Force to eliminate as many Iranian air defense systems as...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call on June 19 during which both leaders condemned Israel for its strikes on Iran and agreed de-escalation was needed, the Kremlin said. Both men “strongly condemn Israel’s actions, which violate the UN Charter and other norms of international law”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. “Both Moscow and Beijing fundamentally believe that there is no military solution to the current situation and issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme. “This solution must be achieved exclusively through political and diplomatic means,” said Mr Ushakov. Russia has warned of catastrophe...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin should first end the war that Russia started in Ukraine before talking about mediating in the Middle East, stated US President Donald Trump during a conversation with journalists, APA reports citing RBC Ukraine. "I spoke to Putin yesterday, he offered to help mediate. I said, do me a favor — mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first, OK? I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later," Trump said. According to the US President, he told Putin that he should deal with Russia first before involving himself elsewhere. "So many people have...

President Trump revealed to reporters outside the White House that he spoke with Vladimir Putin yesterday, saying the Russian leader offered to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict. Even Trump, who has been a staunch defender of Putin, admitted he couldn't play peacemaker while the Ukraine-Russia war rages. -snip- “Would have never happened if I was president,” he said before making a four-word comment to Putin directly. “Putin would have never done it and I spoke to him yesterday and I said you know, he actually offered to help mediate. I said ‘do me a favor, mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday that his country will not accept US President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender. In his first remarks since Friday, when he delivered a speech broadcast on state media after Israel began bombarding Iran, Khamenei said peace or war could not be imposed on the Islamic Republic. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender," he said. "The Americans should know that any...

Iran has two known underground nuclear enrichment sites, the one Israel attacked on the first day of its assault at Natanz, and another at Fordo. Both sit south of Tehran in central Iran, but Fordo has long been the Iranian nuclear facility of most concern to international monitors and experts. Buried deep in a mountain, Fordo is where many analysts believe Iran has concealed clandestine efforts to work toward a nuclear weapons capability. There have been no reported Israeli strikes on the Fordo enrichment facility. -snip- "Fordo has always been a major concern because of its location and because of...

President says U.S. knows location of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. President Trump called on Iran to surrender without conditions to bring an end to its dayslong conflict with Israel, saying the U.S. knew the location of the country’s leader but was choosing not to take any action. “He is an easy target, but is safe there—We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.” Trump made the comments as the U.S. expanded its military footprint in the region where the war between Israel and Iran entered a fifth day. The president left a...

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, traveled to Pyongyang on Tuesday under the direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling a deepening of strategic military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The visit, Shoigu's second in less than two weeks and third meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in just three months, comes as Moscow seeks to draw Pyongyang closer in its protracted war effort in Ukraine. Observers say the visit suggests a bid by Russia to leverage shifting global attention — particularly the West’s growing preoccupation with escalating tensions between Israel and Iran — to secure...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,” IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”

The Kremlin responded Monday to remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on possible Iranian regime change, issuing a condemnation of the "actions" that have led to escalated tensions between the two Middle Eastern nations. Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that regime change in Tehran "could certainly be the result" of Israel's strikes targeting Iran. The Israeli leader described the Iranian government as "very weak." Speaking at a Monday press briefing, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, was asked about Netanyahu's comments. "We have certainly seen this statement, we've heard and read [it]," Peskov said. The Kremlin condemns "the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s “act of force” against Iran and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities when they spoke by phone on Monday, the Kremlin says. “Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region,” a Kremlin statement says. “The leaders spoke in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear program, exclusively...

DUBAI—Iran has been urgently signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending messages to Israel and the U.S. via Arab intermediaries, Middle Eastern and European officials said. In the midst of a ferocious Israeli air campaign, Tehran has told Arab officials they would be open to return to the negotiating table as long as the U.S. doesn’t join the attack, the officials said. They also passed messages to Israel saying it is in the interest of both sides to keep the violence contained. But with Israeli warplanes able to fly freely...

Russia said on Monday that the next round of consultations between Moscow and Washington has been canceled at the initiative of the US side. A written commentary by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the next meeting as part of Russia-US consultations to normalize the activities of their respective diplomatic missions was canceled “at the initiative of American negotiators.” “We hope that the pause they took will not be too long,” Zakharova went on to say, without providing a reason behind the cancellation. US authorities have not immediately confirmed or commented on Zakharova’s remarks.

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for President George W. Bush, on Sunday called conservative commentator Tucker Carlson a “phony” for accusing the Trump administration of being “complicit in the act of war” in supporting Israel in its conflict with Iran. “I’ve known Tucker for 25 years, when he co-hosted an MSNBC show with Paul Begala. Tucker doesn’t have a consistent thought in his head, except self-promotion,” Mr. Fleischer posted Sunday on X with past videos of Mr. Carlson calling for Iran’s destruction. “Now he says that’s a warmonger. He’s a modern carnival barker.” -snip- On Sunday, Mr. Fleischer’s post on...

President Trump rejected rightwing pundit Tucker Carlson’s criticism that he is abandoning America First principles with his support for Israel amid its military campaign against Iran. Carlson, an ardent Trump ally, fumed at Israel’s preemptive strike on Iran last week, dubbing the US “complicit in the act of war” and arguing that, “politicians purporting to be America First can’t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it.” Trump said he wasn’t familiar with Carlson’s critique but contended that, as a pioneer of the modern America First movement, he’s the final arbiter of what it means...