Free Republic

Donald Trump criticises Nato and other US allies, saying he has been told they "don't want to get involved" in the Iran war In a post on Truth Social, he says: "We no longer 'need,' or desire, the Nato countries' assistance — WE NEVER DID!" The US president's comments come after a growing list of nations, including many European powers, turned down his request to help protect the Strait of Hormuz - our diplomatic correspondent analyses the situation

Israel says it killed Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani, as America’s European allies reject Trump’s demands for help in the Strait of Hormuz.The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Tuesday that the commander of Iran’s feared Basij paramilitary force was among the senior leaders killed in overnight strikes in Tehran, and the Israeli defense minister Israel Katz later confirmed that Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was also “eliminated.” “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to continue pursuing the leadership of the terror and oppression regime in Iran,” Katz said...

Counterterrorism official in the Trump administration, Joe Kent, resigned. He marked his departure by blaming Israel for the Iran War. He said he left due to his personal convictions and opposition to the war. However, there is more to the story. According to anchor and White House correspondent for Fox News, Aishah Hasnie, a senior administration official tells FOX that Joe Kent was: a known leaker and was cut out of POTUS intelligence briefings months ago. The WH told DNI Tulsi Gabbard he should be fired for suspected leaks, but she never did. He has not been part of any...

President Donald Trump’s opposition in the media and political class are celebrating Joe Kent’s resignation as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center over the war in Iran.Kent announced his resignation in a post on X on Tuesday morning, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran” and claiming that pressure from Israel started the war.Never Trumper Tim Miller, who was Jeb Bush’s communications director in 2016 and hosts the Bulwark Podcast, praised Kent for resigning in the middle of the war.“Have talked a lot of shit about Joe Kent over the years (deserved) and can’t...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said in a statement posted on social media, making claims President Donald Trump has denied. Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July...

Donald Trump's top counterterrorism official has resigned in protest over the Iran war, accusing Israel and its 'powerful American lobby' of pressuring the US into a conflict he says was built on lies. Joseph Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was started 'due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,' adding: 'I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war.'

Support for Israel has declined among all age groups since 2023, with the sharpest decline taking place among those aged 18-34, almost two-thirds of whom expressed a "negative" view of the country, according to a recent NBC News poll.In what the outlet described as a "sea change" regarding voters' opinions on Israel and the Palestinian territories, the poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted from Feb. 27 to March 3 found that 63% of voters under age 35 have a negative view of Israel, compared to just 13% who have a positive view and 23% who hold a neutral view.The numbers...

A senior adviser to President Donald Trump is urging Washington to seek a swift exit from the escalating conflict with Iran, warning that continued fighting could further destabilize the Middle East and continue to rattle the global market even worse than they already have.David Sacks, the White House adviser overseeing artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy, said the United States has already achieved significant military objectives and should now consider stepping back before the conflict widens further.Speaking on the widely followed “All-In Podcast,” Sacks argued that the moment may have arrived for Washington to pursue an off-ramp rather than escalate further....

Thanks to the U.S. president’s keen political acumen, the Islamic Republic has lost a key point of leverage. What makes this attack so shocking is not just the target; it is who got targeted. Oman is the Gulf state closest to Iran politically, and it has long served as the main mediator between Iran and the West. Yet Tehran still went after its oil infrastructure... ...Iran’s message is clear: No oil infrastructure in the Gulf is off limits. And this is not new behavior. Iran has previously targeted oil production even in countries that are not openly hostile. Saudi Arabia,...

Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island. Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision. During my...

Our Sages tell us that we must always anticipate possibilities of what might happen and look for solutions. Iran - with a GDP smaller than the state of Texas - has pressed pause on the global economy. The Strait of Hormuz, barely 21 miles wide, carries 20 percent of the world's oil supply every single day. And right now, it is closed. The conventional response - to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, broker a ceasefire, rush the tankers through - is available. It is also a missed opportunity of historic proportions. There is another path in which the story of...

Dear friends and family, It’s been exactly a week since the war against Iran began. I am sure a lot of you want to know how we (we personally and we Israel) are doing and how we are experiencing this. First some hard statistics. Iran launched close to 600 missiles and over 1500 suicide drones to attack Israel and 12 other countries, including a European country (Cyprus), Turkey and even Azerbaijan. Of these, roughly 200 targeted Israel. Almost all of them were intercepted, but there were 3 direct hits. Two missiles hit apartment buildings and one was a direct hit...

Eight months before the crucial midterm elections, the administration of President Donald Trump is battling high living costs. The strike against Iran threatens to undo the first successes achieved in the struggle against inflation via falling energy prices. Ludwig Erhard understood the formula for sustained political success. The equation was as simple as it was powerful: stable money circulating in free markets coordinates the millions of individual decisions made by households, businesses, and credit institutions -- day after day -- in the most efficient manner. Stable money requires a lean state. Public debt, meanwhile, is widely regarded as the primary...

President Trump revealed Monday that he will confer with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about when to end the military campaign against Iran, suggesting the decision would be “mutual” between the US and its Middle Eastern ally. “I think it’s mutual… a little bit,” Trump told The Times of Israel in a phone interview, adding that he and Netanyahu have “been talking.” “I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account,” the president added. Trump previously suggested that the war against Iran could last approximately four weeks, but other members of his administration...

Iran has threatened to attack any oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil transits. US oil futures rose 18% to about $108 a barrel, their highest level since July 19, 2022. Brent futures, the global benchmark, increased 16%, near $108 a barrel. Surging oil prices have weighed heavily on stocks in recent days, as traders fear that a prolonged spike in fuel prices could lead to another spike in inflation and hurt the economy. Dow futures dropped more than 800 points, or 1.7%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell 1.6%. Triggered by...

Senior officials from United States and Israel have recently discussed an unprecedented scenario: deploying special forces on Iranian soil to physically secure the stockpile of enriched uranium accumulated by Iran. This was reported Sunday morning by Axios, citing two U.S. administration officials and sources familiar with the details of the plan. At the center of the proposed complex operation are about 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to a level of 60 percent. According to intelligence assessments, this is a critical quantity that could be rapidly enriched to the military-grade level of 90 percent-enough to produce no fewer than 11 nuclear...

War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday outlined what he described as a "clear" three-part mission against Iran, insisting the conflict "is not endless" and sharply rejecting comparisons to past U.S. wars in the Middle East. Speaking during the first Pentagon briefing since U.S.-Israeli strikes began over the weekend, Hegseth said Operation Epic Fury has a narrowly defined objective: destroy Iran’s offensive missile capabilities, cripple its navy and prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

March 2 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans ​to drop its ‌appeals defending executive orders that sanctioned ​four major ​U.S. law firms, the ⁠Wall Street ​Journal reported on ​Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. ​Justice Department ​is expected to abandon ‌appeals ⁠to trial-court rulings against the actions targeting Jenner & ​Block, ​WilmerHale, ⁠Perkins Coie and Susman ​Godfrey, the report ​said.

The Pentagon on Friday night released a long-awaited strategy that prioritizes the U.S. homeland and Western Hemisphere — a stunning reversal from previous administrations that aligns with President Donald Trump’s military strikes in Venezuela and efforts to acquire Greenland. The National Defense Strategy — a dramatic shift from even the first Trump administration — no longer focuses primarily on countering China. Instead, it blames past administrations for ignoring American interests and jeopardizing the U.S. military’s access to the Panama Canal and Greenland. The strategy calls for attention to the “practical interests” of the U.S. public and an abandonment of “grandiose...