Free Republic

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed his Indonesian counterpart — Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin — to the Pentagon today, where the two men announced the establishment of the Major Defense Cooperation Partnership between the two countries. ... The partnership will serve as a framework to advance bilateral defense cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesia in order to maintain peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region. ... The new cooperation agreement features three "foundational pillars" that are based on each country's national sovereignty and mutual respect: military organization and capacity building; training and professional military education; and exercises and operational cooperation....

The first group of migrants deported from the US to third countries has arrived in Costa Rica. About 25 migrants — including citizens of Albania, Cameroon, China, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya and Morocco — touched down in the island nation’s capital of San Jose on Saturday. “Upon entering the country, the migrants will receive primary care from the Professional Migration Police, with ⁠the cooperation of the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners said in a statement. The group of 25 was the first to arrive in the Central American country since the US...

n Friday, tensions escalated between the US and Iran as Iranian forces shot down a US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which was reportedly involved in a rescue mission for an F-15E pilot previously downed by Iran.

Tim Pool says he got this from 10A@_delta_ on X It lays out that Trump went for Maduro to make sure that the U.S. did not suffer fuel shortage, for what he was planning to do, and that is attack Iran to ensure that they are not capable of creating a nuclear weapon in the near future. Trump's ultimate goal is to make the U.S. safe from oil shartage, while making the U.S. the dominate force in the world once again. The Democrats were goiung to reluy on China's dominance in th world, because after all, they love how the...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the month-old war in the Middle East on Saturday, claiming two missile launches at Israel. About 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region. And Pakistan’s government said that regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting.

WASHINGTON — President Trump ended two days of guessing Thursday by saying that Iran had gifted him 10 “big boats” of oil in a show of goodwill. “They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil — eight boats, eight big boats of oil.’ … and I didn’t think much about it,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting. “And then I watched the news, and they said … ‘There are eight boats that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz Strait, eight...

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Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but did not hit the US-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing multiple US officials. One of the missiles failed in flight, while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, although it could not be determined if the interception succeeded, the newspaper says. The Journal does not specify when the missiles were fired.

The U.S. military has accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors to potentially help reinforce its troops fighting against Iran, officials tell Newsmax. Three officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are deploying ahead of schedule from the West Coast. They are expected to sail through the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East region after the Navy was ordered to heighten its posture with additional fire power. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group includes the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship along with the USS Portland and USS Comstock amphibious...

he USS Gerald Ford is headed for service repairs in Crete days after experiencing an hourslong fire while deployed in the Red Sea for service in the Iran war. The aircraft carrier will spend over a week in port at the Naval Support Activity Souda Bay for repairs, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. The ship's move from the Middle East comes after a fire that started in the laundry area on Thursday reportedly burned through part of the ship's sleeping quarters and lasted about 30 hours before it was extinguished.

Iranian officials threatened to “pursue and kill” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel unleashed a round of extensive missiles towards western Iran Sunday morning. “If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wrote online about Netanyahu, according to the Associated Press, citing the state-run IRNA news agency. The threatening pledge was made days after the 76-year-old Israeli leader declared that the US and Israel were destroying Iran and reshaping the Middle East. “We are in historic days, days that will be recorded in the annals...

A red fox stowed away on a cargo ship that departed Southampton, England, and was found by customs officers at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo in New York, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the approximately 2-year-old male fox hiding among the ship's cargo when it arrived at the Port Authority. The 11-pound fox was brought to the Bronx Zoo on Feb. 19. "The fox is currently in the Animal Health Center at the Bronx Zoo, where it is under the care of the zoo's animal...

Five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were damaged in an Iranian missile strike at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia. Although the planes sustained damage, they were not fully destroyed and are currently being repaired. No casualties were reported. The incident was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Washington — An Iranian vessel sailed too close to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, and the U.S. fired at the vessel, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The officials said a U.S. Navy vessel attempted to fire on the Iranian vessel using its 5-inch, 54-caliber Marck-45 gun, a fully automated naval cannon that is mounted to the forward deck of Navy destroyers and cruisers and has served as the fleet's standard deck gun since the early 1970s. While it's...

It's official. How long will this guy live? Who will take the guy out? Israel or U.S.? Bonus points if pick location and method.

Doha on Wednesday rejected Tehran’s claim that Iranian attacks on Qatari territory were aimed at American targets rather than Qatar itself. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated the claim during a phone call with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s state news agency reported. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, “categorically rejected these claims,” saying the facts on the ground show the attacks struck civilian and residential areas in Qatar. He said the strikes hit areas near Hamad...

While Beijing publicly advocates restraint, sustained tensions between the U.S. and Iran serve its strategic interests.Recent heightened tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s repression of nationwide protests and its advancing nuclear program have raised concerns about maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered key military assets to move into the region, and he may decide on whether to use force within the next few days. At the same time, Washington and Tehran have met indirectly in Oman and agreed that diplomacy on the nuclear issue should continue. Diplomacy is the...

Iran killed hundreds of Americans across the Middle East, with its Hezbollah proxy being the most effective terrorist group against the U.S. prior to Al-Qaeda's terror attacks on 9/11. The revolutionary Iranian regime — which may possibly find itself in a war with the United States in the coming days — has positioned itself as an adversary of the U.S. ever since it came into power decades ago in 1979. President Donald Trump appears to be moving toward striking Iran, with the U.S. military moving significant military assets into the region, insisting he would prefer to strike a deal with...

U2 releases Renee Good tribute song 'American Obituary' "These songs were impatient to be out in the world," singer Bono said of the band's surprise new EP, "Days of Ash." Irish rockers U2 became the latest high-powered musical act to condemn the federal immigration raids with the surprise release Wednesday of a six-track EP that kicks off with a song for slain Minneapolis protester Renée Good. Following in the footsteps of Bruce Springsteen, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and other artists, U2 recorded “American Obituary,” a four-minute plus musical condemnation of the crackdown that left the mother of three dead on...

WASHINGTON (TNND) — House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford is raising concerns about two alleged unauthorized biological lab sites discovered on U.S. soil, one in Reedley, California, and another near Las Vegas, saying the cases raise questions about biosecurity and oversight, according to reporting from Just the News Not the Noise. The latest development came after federal agents executed a search warrant at a Las Vegas–area vacation rental in early February 2026. Investigators say the property may be connected to an earlier lab discovered in California, prompting renewed scrutiny from lawmakers and federal agencies. **SNIP** What investigators found in California The...