Free Republic

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the top US priority in the Iran war was keeping oil and gasoline prices low for Americans, with preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon ranking second.The remarks contrasted with President Donald Trump's repeated framing of the fight: that entering the war had the sole objective of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, even if that meant short-term economic sacrifices for Americans.Vance's comments also underscored the growing reality that the war now centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has forced to the top of the negotiating agenda. "I...

Starting last fall, the Department of Homeland Security spent $464 million on a no-bid contract to buy 10 used airplanes from a firm in Northern Virginia. That was an enormous price tag, but the department said it had no time to consider other offers. The planes were needed urgently for deportation flights. But since then, the department has barely used this new fleet — for deportations, or anything else. The department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has long outsourced its deportation flights by chartering planes from private companies. It also uses military and Coast Guard aircraft. In a written statement,...

Fox News anchor Bret Baier undercut President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that the U.S. “totally” controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows. On Tuesday, Trump spoke with reporters and addressed the strait, which Iran effectively closed after the U.S. and Israel launched the current war on the country in February. But somehow, the president insisted the U.S. has it all under control. “We totally control the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, reality be damned. “We have control over it. Nobody else. Only us. Our navy is unbelievable, and things are going...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected President Donald Trump’s 15-point Gaza peace plan on Sunday, declaring that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas has been “genuinely” disarmed. “Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting, dealing another setback to the U.S.-backed effort to end the war in Gaza. כל עוד אני ראש ממשלה, לא תקום מדינה פלסטינית – לא בעזה ולא ביו"ש. לא פת״חסטאן ולא חמאסטאן. pic.twitter.com/C1W8BIjckQ — Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 10, 2026 The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will...

President Trump signaled on Sunday that he's prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount — as opposed to ordering a new military offensive — even as the country continues to defy the U.S. Why it matters: Only a week ago, Trump was on the verge of ordering a return to major combat operations. But in an interview with Axios, he did not make any new military threats. Trump also didn't express any anger or frustration about the fact that Iran has been holding up an announcement on a deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. On...

Reading FR then flicking to Twitter/X is sometimes like night and day. There's a lot of dissent there among those I happen to follow (NOT Lefitsts or anything like that) regarding: Israel, Iran War, foreign policy and the Administration generally. A lot of hot topics that get discussed here all the time and former Representatives or officials are leading the charge: MTG, Kent, Tucker Carlson and Massie the most prominent with many large accounts echoing them. It's clear to me this is more than just a few rebels who have no influence or standing in fact MTG says in one...

An Iranian military spokesman said Saturday that Tehran's control over the Strait of Hormuz is "irreversible," warning that the United States must accept the new status quo or face even greater costs. "The Iranian order prevailing over the Strait of Hormuz is irreversible," Iranian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Amir Akraminia said, according to Iran's Fars news agency. "Today, the Iranian order prevails in the Strait of Hormuz, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran stand firm until this order is fully established," Akraminia said. He said Iran's armed forces have the will and military capabilities necessary to...

Preliminary proposal reported by Iran’s Tasnim agency would also block Israel-linked cargo, demand compensation from ‘hostile states’ and fine violators up to 20% of cargo value; separate Iranian report says Tehran and Oman are discussing service fees and a jointly managed shipping corridor Iran’s parliamentary National Security Committee is reviewing a preliminary “strategic plan for managing the Strait of Hormuz” that would bar Israeli and American vessels from the critical waterway, according to a report Thursday by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. The reported proposal would also prohibit the passage of Israeli-linked military and civilian cargo, demand compensation from countries deemed...

The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing. Everything has been extraordinary, including our attack on Venezuela, where the result was accomplished in less than one day, allowing us to bring one of the worst criminals anywhere in the World, Nicolas Maduro, to Justice! Likewise, Iran, where the country has been decimated for the purpose of NOT ALLOWING IT TO EVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, is going very well! Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid...

Donald Trump clashed with Pete Hegseth over a claim that a US munitions shortage could limit his options in the Iran war, according to reports. The US president confronted his defence secretary at Camp David, his country retreat in Maryland, demanding to know why he had been misled about the missile shortage. The clash occurred on the sidelines of Mr Trump’s cabinet meeting on Friday, at which he said that he thought the missile issue “had been fixed”, two people familiar with the matter told the Washington Post. The White House dismissed the claims as “fake news”, denying that the...

President Donald Trump said Monday that ExxonMobiland Chevron made “too much money” on rising curde oil prices due to the Iran war.“They’re making too much money based on a shortage,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t like it.”

Does every interview need to include a ritual denunciation of Donald Trump? New Yorker writer Helen Rosner interviewed Spanish actor Antonio Banderas about his role in the upcoming biopic about the late Anthony Bourdain, as you can see in "Antonio Banderas’s Acts of Faith."First Rosner praises Banderas for his outstanding performance in that film, as "Tony":

The Iranian government flat-out rejected President Trump’s claim that new negotiations were due to get underway later Monday, with officials stating that no talks were taking place or scheduled.Trump, 80, told reporters en route to Washington Sunday night that he had called off a planned “massive attack” on Iran at the request of US partners in the region — including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.“They thought that a deal is imminent,” said the president, later adding: “Now what we’re doing is talking to them [Iran], in the form of a ​negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.” Iran Foreign...

Moroccan King Mohammed VI said his decision to give US President Donald Trump’s name to a US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) highway that crosses into the disputed Western Sahara expresses his “deep appreciation” of the American leader. Hailing Trump’s “historic recognition” of Moroccan rule of the Western Sahara in 2020, the king said it “will forever be etched in the memory of Moroccans” and has “given unprecedented momentum to our bilateral relations”. A resource-rich territory about the size of the UK, the Western Sahara has been disputed by Morocco and an Algerian-backed independence movement since former colonial ruler Spain withdrew in...

President Trump on Saturday night said he agreed to halt a planned attack against Iran – after the Islamic Republic and other Middle Eastern countries agreed to the framework of a peace deal.“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The president said Iran and other governments in the region asked the US “to hold off any attack” because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.” According to Trump, the proposed...

Donald Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached – marking the president’s latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the Tehran regime hard. The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also came after Iran threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off...

Thursday’s Morning Joe spent little time on Anthony Fauci’s actual refusal to answer questions at yesterday's Senate committee hearing, and far more time insisting the real COVID villains were Donald Trump and his “spineless minions.” Joe Scarborough opened with a puerile stunt, pretending he hadn't seen the hearing, but was sure the Republicans had finally admitted that the president had lied to the American people about the seriousness of the pandemic.Jonathan Lemire and Mika Brzezinski played along with Scarborough's charade, facetiously informing him that “that’s not quite how yesterday played out,” and accusing Joe of poor show prep. The screencap...

Alex Jones, the former owner of InfoWars, on Tuesday said President Trump must be impeached over the Iran conflict, describing the situation as “absolutely out of control” and warning that the administration is preparing for a national draft. “The big issue is how to stop Trump. And we have to have Congress go for the war powers. They’ve tried three times to vote on war powers — they’re supposed to authorize a war. This is a war; they’re getting the draft ready. If this isn’t a war, nothing’s a war. I mean, this is absolutely out of control,” Jones said...

Two-thirds of Americans believe the war in Iran has not been worth fighting. A new AP-NORC poll found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war that began Feb. 28 is not worthwhile. The sentiment is shared by the vast majority of Democrats (87%) and independents (68%), as well as 37% of Republicans. The AP-NORC poll, conducted July 23-27, surveyed 1,165 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

The Jack Reacher series, launched in 2022, received widespread acclaim for avoiding most of the woke tropes slathered all over the majority of streaming series and movies at the time. For those with short memories, in 2022, the idea of a project featuring a 6’3″ 240 pound white guy as the main protagonist seemed impossible. The series felt like a refreshing callback to the 1980s and the action/thriller apex era of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Solving big problems with unfiltered masculine violence is something audiences love, but Hollywood usually hates. If the hero is not a 90 pound wheelchair-bound minority lesbian...