Iran launches war drills in Hormuz Strait as US carrier is flying missions 24/7 before Geneva talks
Iran launched live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday in preparation for potential security and military threats in the strategic waterway, according to the country’s state-run IRNA news agency.
The drill, called “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz,” was led by the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the supervision of IRGC Commander in Chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, according to Iran International.
State media said the exercise was organized to assess the readiness of operational units, review security plans and rehearse scenarios for responding to any security and military threats in the area.
SCOTT BESSENT SAYS IRAN UNDERSTANDS ‘BRUTE FORCE’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS AMID NUCLEAR STANDOFF
The exercises came within hours of renewed diplomatic efforts starting in Geneva between the U.S. and Iran that are aimed at reviving negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Monday “What is not on the table: submission before threats,” he said.
President Donald Trump has ordered a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if its leadership does not agree to a deal on its nuclear program.
VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT ‘ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE’ IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED
On Friday, Trump also offered an endorsement of regime change in Tehran and said it would be the “best thing that could happen” for Iran.
U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, went on to show U.S. military presence in the region Monday.
In a post on X, it shared images of EA-18G Growlers from Electronic Attack Squadron 133 and F-35C Lightning IIs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 preparing for launch from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
“Operating in international waters in the Middle East, the aircraft carrier conducts around-the-clock flight operations in support of regional security,” the post said.
TOP IRAN SECURITY OFFICIAL SEEN IN OMAN DAYS AFTER INDIRECT NUCLEAR TALKS WITH US
The Pentagon has been building up what Trump has described as an “armada” in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is present flanked by three warships equipped with Tomahawk missiles and is at the center of a broader U.S. naval buildup in the region.
Meanwhile, Tehran said the second round of talks would be held on Tuesday “with the mediation and good offices of Oman.”
Negotiations restarted in Muscat on Feb. 6, after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June that sparked a 12-day war and escalated tensions across the region.
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On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there was “significant and legitimate doubt that the Iranians will ever agree to something that would cause them to lay down any ambitions of nuclear weaponry.”
Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi makes new appeal to Trump to weaken ayatollah’s regime as killing continues
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for “humanitarian intervention” in his country and urgent international measures against Iran’s ruling regime amid protests and reported mass casualties.
Pahlavi appealed to President Donald Trump after Trump said regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
The prince listed several measures the U.S. could take to weaken the ayatollah, including neutralizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cracking down on “ghost tankers” that secretly transport sanctioned oil and provide revenue to the regime, expelling diplomats or holding them to account for criminal behavior, freezing assets of oligarchs, supporting protesters with internet access and asking for the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Iran.
“These are specific measures… that the world can [take to] put more pressure on the regime, but it will also show much more support to the Iranian people,” Pahlavi said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
IRAN RAMPS UP REGIONAL THREATS AS TRUMP CONSIDERS TALKS, EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF REGIME VIOLENCE EMERGE
He hoped those provisions would “expedite the process” of “getting rid of this regime.”
“And finally, Iranians can have an opportunity to speak for themselves.”
IRAN SAYS US MUST ‘PROVE THEY WANT TO DO A DEAL’ ON NUCLEAR TALKS IN GENEVA
Pahlavi is positioning himself as a transitional leader for a post-regime Iran. He said he would serve to “galvanize and unify… the secular democratic opposition” with the ultimate goal of facilitating “a democratic process that will be completely transparent and under international observation” that would allow Iranians to decide the future of their country.
His comments come as Iran is roiled by anti-government demonstrations and regime retaliation against them. Pahlavi said a minimum of 36,000 people were killed by police in the first two days of protests, though it remains difficult to collect accurate data.
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“But in the meantime, at least 40,000 people have been arrested. The number of people who have disappeared is yet to be completely realized. We had over 330,000 who were wounded,” he said.
He also commended the hundreds of thousands of people who rallied in cities around the world for a Global Day of Action to call for new leadership in Iran in what he called anunprecedented show of unity and support for one another.”
Iran says US must ‘prove they want to do a deal’ on nuclear talks in Geneva
Iran claims it is open to compromise with the U.S. on a nuclear deal if the administration is willing to discuss lifting sanctions, a senior Iranian official said Sunday.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, also said in an interview that the ball was “in America’s court to prove that they want to do a deal,” adding: “If they are sincere, I’m sure we will be on the road to an agreement.”
“We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program if they are ready to talk about sanctions,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC.
TRUMP SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS IN OMAN WERE ‘VERY GOOD,’ CLAIMS IRAN WANTS A DEAL ‘VERY BADLY’
Takht-Ravanchi’s comments came as Iran’s top diplomat traveled to Geneva for a second round of indirect talks with the U.S. delegation.
Abbas Araghchi left for the Swiss city following an initial round of negotiations last week with Oman again mediating the next round of talks, according to Iranian state media and The Associated Press.
U.S. officials, however, have emphasized that Iran — not the U.S. — is holding up progress in negotiations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Feb. 14 that President Donald Trump would prefer to reach an agreement but warned it was “very hard to do” one with Iran.
Past diplomatic efforts had collapsed in 2025 after Israel launched what became a 12-day war with Iran and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
SCOTT BESSENT SAYS IRAN UNDERSTANDS ‘BRUTE FORCE’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS AMID NUCLEAR STANDOFF
But on Sunday, Takht-Ravanchi pointed to Tehran’s offer to dilute its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity as evidence of its willingness to compromise, the BBC reported.
Asked whether Iran would ship its stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium abroad, as it did under the 2015 deal, Takht-Ravanchi said it was “too early to say what will happen in the course of negotiations.”
One of Iran’s main demands is that talks focus on the nuclear issue. “Our understanding is that they have come to the conclusion that if you want to have a deal you have to focus on the nuclear issue,” Takht-Ravanchi said.
Takht-Ravanchi also said the “issue of zero enrichment is not an issue anymore and as far as Iran is concerned, it is not on the table anymore.”
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘SERIOUSLY TALKING TO US’ AS MILITARY SHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
Trump has since threatened further military action if a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program cannot be reached.
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The U.S. has also reinforced its military presence in the region amid heightened tensions and after spiraling protests across the country in December left thousands reportedly dead at the hands of the clerical regime.
Iranian American comedian Max Amini sheds light on ‘unimaginable’ oppression in Iran ahead of historic show
As Max Amini prepares to become the first Iranian American comedian to headline Madison Square Garden on Sunday, he spoke with Fox News Digital about what he described as the “unimaginable” oppression facing the Iranian people under the Islamic Republic’s regime.
Born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1981 to a Persian family, Amini has always felt a deep connection to the country his parents grew up in and to the culture in which he was raised.
“I was born into this family who… promoted the Iranian culture in a very positive way to us,” he told Fox News Digital. “So I learned all the best things about my culture. And I was very lucky to be raised in America — in an environment that was very patriotic.”
LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI’S SECRET DEADLY BLUEPRINT FOR CRUSHING IRAN PROTESTS
Iran’s citizens have taken to the streets in mass protests against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime in recent weeks, with reports claiming thousands of people have been killed as the regime cracks down on the protests. The protests come as the nation faces unrest over economic grievances and political repression.
As arguably the most popular Iranian American comedian in the world, Amini has taken it upon himself to advocate against the horrors facing the people of Iran, and to “promote the idea [of] how important it is to respect human rights.”
“Freedom is something that today we understand is the most important thing for any human. If you can imagine how hard it is to be in any country as someone who lives in this beautiful country, can you imagine that they strip away all your rights?” he questioned.
“You’re afraid of what you’re saying. You can’t do simple things in life – singing, dancing. You know, basic, basic things that we take for granted. Women cannot sing or dance in public. They cannot go out with their significant other freely and people cannot exercise their beliefs, certain religions,” Amini continued. “It’s very unimaginable for people who live in a free country, like the U.S. or European countries, that have so much respect for human rights.”
IRAN RAMPS UP REGIONAL THREATS AS TRUMP CONSIDERS TALKS, EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF REGIME VIOLENCE EMERGE
The comedian argued that there’s nothing “Islamic” or anything resembling a “Republic” in Iran under the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and that “Iranian people are very different” from the government that rules over them.
“They’re a terrorist group, they’re a mafia, and they’re absolutely brutal. They’re killing their own people,” he said of the Iranian government.
Amini described the Iranian people as vibrant and modern, despite how they are sometimes portrayed by the media.
“They’re fun, they’re hip, they’re fashion forward. When you understand just their taste of music and the way they enjoy their gatherings and how they live, you’ll be surprised [by] what the media shows and what the reality is,” he told Fox News Digital. “So I hope everybody gets a chance to see that soon.”
IRAN STAGES KHAMENEI PHOTOS TO MASK CRACKS IN IRGC, OPPOSITION GROUPS SAY
Amini described the solution to the situation unfolding in Iran as a “rescue mission,” and said, “We need to go in that country and rescue the kidnapped people by a terrorist regime.”
“The number [of protesters killed] is massive and for a human to be living in a country where if they go out, they’re guaranteed to be murdered, foreign countries should take this seriously,” he contended.
“Historically, when a country is held in this situation, they are held hostage. There is a regime that is absolutely brutal and they are killing their own people. The intervention is a must. And the rescue mission is the most beautiful act a country can do for these people,” Amini continued. “They’re screaming. They’re screaming out for help.”
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Although those living outside Iran may feel that what’s happening hundreds or thousands of miles away has no impact on their lives, Amini argued that history suggests otherwise.
“We think the other side of the world is not going to affect us, but now if you look at the history of just the last 20–30 years, as Americans, we’ve been so affected by some of the most corrupt things [that are] happening on the other side of the world,” he maintained. “I hope soon we reach much better connections with humanity.”
Global protests call for Iran regime change in major cities worldwide after bloody crackdown
Anti-Iran regime protesters gathered in major cities across the globe Saturday calling for a leadership change in a Global Day of Action Rally.
Over 250,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany, Saturday with the Munich Security Conference as a backdrop.
“With the number of participants recorded, this gathering is one of the largest rallies held in Munich in recent years,” the Munich Police reported in a press release. “The peaceful atmosphere is particularly noteworthy, despite the high number of participants in the meeting.”
IRAN REGIME REPORTEDLY ISSUED NATIONWIDE SHOOT-TO-KILL ORDERS AS PROTEST DEATH TOLL SURGES
Crowds reportedly chanted “change, change, regime change” and “democracy for Iran” with green, white and red flags with lion and sun emblems waving in the air with a few “Make Iran Great Again” red hats spotted.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was among the hundreds of thousands protesting, telling Reuters a possible attack on Iran will either weaken the regime or accelerate its fall.
“It’s a matter of time. We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process, and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime’s downfall,” said Pahlavi.
He said he hopes President Trump will have the United States intervene and “have the people’s back.”
UPROAR AFTER IRAN NAMED VICE CHAIR OF UN BODY PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, WOMEN’S RIGHTS
On Friday, President Trump said regime change in Iran would be the “best thing” to happen while speaking to troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
“People are hoping that, at some point, the decision will be made that there’s no use, there’s no point, we’re not going to get anywhere with negotiations,” said Pahlavi. “Intervention is a way to save lives.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was present in Munich for the security conference and echoed a similar sentiment in a sideline interview Friday.
NIKKI HALEY URGES TRUMP TO MAKE IRAN ACTION A ‘LEGACY-DEFINING MOMENT’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
“There’s no negotiating with these people in my view. They’re hell-bent on enacting an agenda based on religion that teaches them to lie, teaches them to destroy in the name of God,” said Graham.
He shared that the regime is the weakest it has been since 1979, adding, “It is a regime with American blood on its hand.” And he called on protesters to “keep protesting.”
The senator also took the stage at the Global Day of Action, speaking to the crowd and holding up a black “Make Iran Great Again” hat.
Large demonstrations were also held in Toronto, Melbourne, Athens, Tokyo, London and Los Angeles.
An estimated 350,000 people marched on the streets of Toronto, the city’s police spokesperson, Laura Brabant, told The Associated Press.
Iranian American activist and Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Sheila Nazarian told Fox News Digital the protests across the globe represent a universal truth.
“When regimes silence their people, the people eventually find their voice. Whether in the streets of Tehran or in diaspora communities around the world,” she said.
Nazarian left Iran when she was 6 years old along with her family.
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“As someone who came to this country from Iran, I know firsthand that these protests are not about politics. They’re about basic human dignity, women’s rights and the fundamental freedom to live without fear,” she added.
Iran regime accused of killing 19 Christians in anti-regime protests as persecution continues: watchdog
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s atrocities against demonstrators opposed to the regime has reportedly resulted in security forces killing at least 19 Iranian Christians, according to Article 18, an organization that promotes religious freedom in Iran.
Article 18 reported on Feb. 9 that “The total number of Christians confirmed to have been killed during the protests is at least 19, including members of Iran’s recognized (Armenians and Assyrians) and unrecognized (converts) communities.”
According to the Article 18 statement, the Islamic Republic’s “brutal response to last month’s mass demonstrations” resulted in the security forces murdering Iranian Christians Nader Mohammadi, 35, and Zahra Arjomandi, 51, who were both shot dead on Jan. 8 in separate protests 1,000 miles apart.
INSIDE TRUMP’S IRAN WARNING — AND THE UNEXPECTED PAUSE THAT FOLLOWED
Mohammadi was the father of three young children, and was killed in Babol in northern Iran. Arjomandi, who was a mother of two children, died in her son’s arms on the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm, in southern Iran, noted Article 18.
The Iranian Christian website Mohabat News stated that regime security forces refused to release Arjomandi’s body for six days. Mohabat reported that her body was only released for burial under “strict security measures”, which included a media blackout and prohibiting a memorial service.
Mansour Borji, the executive director for Article 18, told Fox News Digital that, “Today, Christians, like millions of other Iranians, seek the freedom and justice that they have been denied for nearly five decades, and they know well that this comes at a price. Every year many Christians are arrested and imprisoned under torturous conditions for practicing their right to religious freedom, where a simple act like praying together in house-churches seems like an act of civil disobedience.”
IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS
He continued, “Our organization considers the Islamic Republic’s massacre of all peaceful protesters a crime against humanity that should not go unpunished. There must be an end to the impunity that, for far too long, has enabled this regime to commit crimes like at home and abroad. Branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ is nothing but scapegoating.”
He warned that “The Islamic Republic’s regime has, since its inception, demonstrated all traits of a totalitarian state. Most Iranians have now come to realize that their fundamental rights have been taken away from them, including the freedom to choose one’s own religion or belief, political self-determination and even their lifestyle choices. Christians were some of the earliest to experience this, when an Anglican priest and convert to Christianity, Rev. Arastoo Sayyah, was killed in his church office less than 200 hours after the 1979 revolution.”
A comprehensive 2025 report titled, “The Tip of the Iceberg” about the persecution of Iranian Christians was released by Article 18 in collaboration with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern.
According to the “The Tip of the Iceberg” report, Mohammad Nasirpour, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran and head of the 33rd District Prosecutor’s office, stated in his indictment against four Iranian Christians on June 2022: “Armenian and Assyrian Christians in the Protestant denomination, with their evangelical nature and mission to Christianize Iran, are perceived as a security threat to the Islamic Revolution, aimed at undermining the Islamic foundation of the Islamic Republic. It could be said that Persian-speaking evangelical movements are supported by fundamentalist evangelical Christians and Zionists.”
According to a Feb. 10 report on the website of Christianity Today, Iranian Christians want President Trump to intervene to stop the Ayatollah’s regime from continuing with its massacre of Iranians.
RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
“That’s probably one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole situation right now,” said Shahrokh Afshar, founder of Fellowship of Iranian Christians. “Everyone was hoping he would do something,” Afshar told the outlet after the Iranian authorities killed thousands of protesters in January, according to some estimates.
Fox News Digital has reported over the decades on the Islamic Republic’s high-intensity persecution of Iranian Christians in the wake of the growing popularity of Christianity in the Muslim-majority country. Iran’s regime targets diverse groups of Christians, including Evangelicals and Catholics. In 2017, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested two Christians – a mother and her son – as part of a brutal crackdown on Catholicism in the country’s West Azerbaijan Province.
STATE DEPARTMENT DEMANDS IRAN HALT EXECUTION OF 19-YEAR-OLD WRESTLING STAR AS IOC REMAINS SILENT
The family’s bibles and literature on Christian theology were also seized during the raid.
The United States State Department has designated Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC)” because the Islamic regime has “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” with respect to violations of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
The Iranian regime -controlled statistical center of Iran claims there are 117,700 Christians of recognized denominations as of the 2016 census, according to the most recent U.S. State Department report on the plight of Iranian Christians.
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However, the State Department noted that, “The Christian advocacy NGO Article 18 estimates there are 500,000 to 800,000 Christians in the country, while the Christian advocacy NGO Open Doors International estimates the number is 1.24 million. Christian NGOs report many Christians are converts from Islam or other recognized faiths.” The population of Iran is roughly 92 million.
USS Ford ordered to the Middle East, the second aircraft carrier being sent to the region
The USS Gerald R. Ford has been ordered to move from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to take military action against Iran amid tensions in the region, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.
This will put two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
The USS Ford, which set out on deployment in June 2025, was sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last fall as the administration established a significant military presence ahead of the operation to strike Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro.
SCOTT BESSENT SAYS IRAN UNDERSTANDS ‘BRUTE FORCE’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS AMID NUCLEAR STANDOFF
On Thursday, Trump warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with the U.S. regarding its nuclear program would be “very traumatic” after the two countries held indirect talks in Oman last week.
“It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly,” he told reporters.
Trump held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he insisted to the Israeli leader that negotiations with Iran must continue.
TRUMP SAYS IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI SHOULD BE ‘VERY WORRIED’ AMID TENSIONS
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Netanyahu is calling on the Trump administration to push Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.
Uproar after Iran named vice-chair of UN body promoting democracy, women’s rights
UNITED NATIONS: Iran’s election as vice-chair of the United Nations Commission for Social Development is being slammed by human rights advocates and policy analysts, who have condemned the U.N.’s hypocrisy when it comes to its treatment of undemocratic regimes.
The leadership role was approved without objection during a meeting of the commission, where delegates adopted agenda items and organizational decisions by consensus.
The United Nations has faced continued criticism over its inaction towards the regime’s violent crackdown against protesters in December and January. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres faced criticism for congratulating Iran on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
UN CHIEF BLASTED AS ‘ABJECTLY TONE-DEAF’ OVER MESSAGE TO IRAN MARKING REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz criticized the development, writing on X: “Yet another reason why we are not a member of, nor do we participate in, this ridiculous ‘Commission for Social Development.’”
Alireza Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat and deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also criticized the decision. “Having the Iranian regime in the leadership of a U.N. body tasked with promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence is appalling and like fox guarding the hen house,” Jafarzadeh said. “The vast majority of the Iranian people are calling for regime change because the mullahs are the world’s leading human rights violators, misogynist to the core, and they slaughter the voices of dissent by thousands.”
He argued that Iran should face scrutiny rather than institutional advancement. “Instead, the Iranian regime must be a subject of intense investigation and accountability by all U.N. bodies for crimes against humanity and genocide, from the 1980s to January 2026 uprisings,” Jafarzadeh said. “Decades of inaction by Western governments have emboldened the regime. This must stop now.”
G7 THREATENS IRAN WITH NEW SANCTIONS OVER NATIONWIDE PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS
“By electing Iran to help lead a commission devoted to democracy, women’s rights and non-violence, the U.N. makes itself into a mockery,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. “This is a regime that brutalizes women for not covering their hair, and that just massacred tens of thousands of its own civilians in two days.”
Neuer argued that governments had the ability to block the appointment but chose not to act. “The EU states know how to stop abusive regimes from winning these seats — they’ve done so in the recent past with Russia — but this time on Iran, they chose silence and complicity,” he said. “By rewarding the Mullahs right after their slaughter of innocents, the U.N. has now sent a very dangerous message to Tehran.”
Lisa Daftari, an Iran analyst, said the optics of Iran holding a leadership role in a commission centered on social development and rights were deeply troubling.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
“For Iranian women who risk prison or worse just for taking off a headscarf, watching Tehran get a vice-chair on a U.N. social-development commission feels like a slap in the face.”
She added that broader patterns in U.N. voting and resolutions contribute to perceptions of bias.
“When the same U.N. system has spent the last decade passing roughly 170-plus resolutions against Israel and only around 80 on all other countries combined, you don’t need a PhD to see there’s a bias problem,” Daftari said. “When the U.N. has churned out well over a hundred anti-Israel resolutions in recent years while managing a fraction of that number on the world’s worst dictatorships, it looks less like moral leadership and more like political theater.”
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Daftari rejected that procedural nature of United Nations committees and committees.
“Some diplomats will wave this away as a procedural formality, but at the U.N. nothing is ever purely symbolic,” she said. “The bottom line is that handing Iran’s regime a gavel on ‘social development’ confirms yet again that the place is biased and deeply hypocritical.”
MORNING GLORY: President Donald Trump’s most important decision is coming
One door is marked “Truman/Reagan” and the other door is marked “Carter/Obama/Biden.”
President Donald Trump has to choose one. Again. And this time, the choice will define Trump’s place in history.
On three different occasions, the 45th and 47th president of the United States has walked through the first door.
Trump ordered the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, on January 3, 2020.
IRAN POSES A FAR MORE DANGEROUS MILITARY TEST FOR THE US THAN VENEZUELA, EXPERTS WARN
Trump followed that up with his second-term order to conduct Operation Midnight Resolve against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities in June of last year and again with Operation Absolute Resolve to snatch Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro in January of this year.
President Trump ventured boldly three times and won big for the United States three times, restoring American deterrence along the way.
Trump had to restore American deterrence in 2020 because the Iranian regime had thoroughly worked over former President Barack Obama with the infamous “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” of 2015, a plan that secured for Iran billions in cash, hundreds of billions in sanctions relief and a guaranteed path to nuclear weapons. It was a surrender of the Middle East to the mullahs disguised in dense language and absurd timelines. But the Iranian theocrats knew they had won.
TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP CREATES ‘RARE OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CHANGE IN IRAN, FORMER IRANIAN POLITICAL PRISONER SAYS
President Trump has called the JCPOA the “worst deal in history” scores of times, and he’s always been right. It was the equal of the “Munich Agreement” between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler. The damage to the world was immense.
While President Joe Biden’s disastrous and chaotic retreat from Afghanistan did not concern Iran directly, it did deeply damage America’s standing in the world and define the Biden presidency as one mired in catastrophic failure from the jump.
President Trump worked to reverse the damage created by the JCPOA with the strikes on Soleimani and the Iranian nuke facilities.
IRAN PROTESTS PROMPT NEW TRUMP WARNING OVER DEADLY GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWNS
Now, however, the Iranians are countering with thousands of ballistic missiles which already threaten American bases across the Middle East, Israel and our Gulf allies. The nature of the regime has been fully revealed even to the appeasers on Team Obama and Team Biden: The ayatollahs ordered tens of thousands of their citizens gunned down or murdered with machetes this January. Does anyone doubt they would turn their missiles on American cities as soon as they develop the range? Crazed killers are going to kill, again and again and again.
Because of Presidents Obama and Biden, Ayatollah Khamenei and his IRGC thugs believe America always “blinks” in the end. They still don’t believe Trump is different from Obama and Biden. They see the one-day missions from Trump as brief aberrations from the Obama-Biden pattern of appeasement. The Iranians do not fear Trump. Yet.
The Iranians build enormous missiles with enormous warheads. There are more than a thousand missiles in their arsenal already, and they have accelerated the production of thousands more after the Trump strike on their nuclear weapons facilities last year.
IRAN RESPONDS TO TRUMP PRESSURE WITH WARNING OF RETALIATION: ‘FINGERS ON THE TRIGGER’
The Iranians are working to extend the range of their missiles. The longest range Iranian missiles can probably reach Europe now. They will threaten the U.S. sooner rather than later, and we don’t have Trump’s “Golden Dome” — yet.
So Trump must decide now what to do about those missiles and about the mass murderers who run Iran. Trump has ordered an immense build-up of American military assets build-up of American military assets within striking range of Iran, and deployed the defensive systems that we have to protect our bases and our allies.
Now he has to decide which door to walk through.
HEGSETH SAYS DEPARTMENT OF WAR ‘WILL BE PREPARED TO DELIVER’ WHATEVER TRUMP WANTS FOLLOWING IRAN WARNING
Truman and Reagan (and both Bushes) would order the strike.
Carter, Obama and Biden would back down and pretend they had defused a crisis when, in fact, they had decapitated American deterrence.
Rarely do we see such a stark choice presented to a president — a fork in his personal road as far as history is concerned, and very much a fork in America’s road for its future.
Trump can be remembered as the man who brought help to the Iranian people after nearly 50 years of fanatical dictatorship and secured America from an unfolding threat, or as the president who backed down more spectacularly than any president before him.
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On August 26, 1990, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talked to President George H.W. Bush about Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. “This was no time to go wobbly,” the PM told the president.
That was probably the least necessary encouragement ever, as the old fighter pilot from WWII was not the sort of man to back down. (HW was shot down twice and back flying his missions after both.) But Thatcher’s line went down in history because it is both so very British and so very useful in many contexts.
IRAN’S COLLAPSE OR SURVIVAL HINGES ON ONE CHOICE INSIDE THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD
It is useful now. President Trump simply cannot go wobbly no matter how attractive the Carter/Obama/Biden door looks as an exit. Put another way, Trump “cannot go Obama.”
To repeat: President Trump’s choice will define his place in history. Everything else in his eight years will be secondary to what he decides in the near term.
Every other achievement will be secondary. Every criticism will be irrelevant when destroying the Iranian regime’s threat to the world is put on the table.
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President Trump can choose to do what no other president since Jimmy Carter has dared to do: Cripple or end the fanatical regime in Iran that already works to threaten and destabilize the Middle East every day and which will soon be able to threaten the U.S. if not stopped.
Pray he chooses wisely. America’s national security and the hope of the Iranian people and the future of the Middle East depends upon this decision.
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Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received “credible reports” of “life-threatening mistreatment” of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
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Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
“The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,” committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. “Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.”
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An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present “to chant norm‑breaking slogans” and “disturb the peace,” Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
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“Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,” it said.
Scott Bessent says Iran understands ‘brute force’ as Trump weighs options amid nuclear standoff
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed whether President Donald Trump may need to pull another Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran as its leadership refuses to negotiate over its nuclear program.
Joining “America Reports” Wednesday, Bessent discussed the U.S. economy, midterm elections and ongoing nuclear talks with Iran.
“What the Iranians understand is brute force, whether it’s in the financial markets, whether it’s on the military field and at Treasury, we have exercised maximum pressure,” he told Fox News. “We’re continuing to do that.”
Bessent’s remarks come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the president at the White House earlier Wednesday, where the two had what Bessent described as “very detailed talks.”
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Trump said “nothing definitive” was reached with Netanyahu in a post on Truth Social after an hours-long meeting.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote. “If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be… Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them.”
The president has been steadily increasing pressure on Iran to agree to the United States’ demand that it dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
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Trump issued a warning to Iran in January if it refused to negotiate a nuclear deal.
“As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” the president wrote Jan. 28 on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the United States’ nuclear demands, maintaining that the country will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program.
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Bessent said he has received clear orders from the president to keep pressure on the Islamic regime, telling Fox News Trump ordered him last March to exert maximum pressure against Iran, including sanctions, and the strategy has “worked.”
When asked whether Trump may have to resort to military action similar to last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, Bessent said he didn’t want to get ahead of current talks, but that administration officials are positioning assets and weighing options.
“The president and Secretary Hegseth are moving military assets toward Iran, and they’re going to have some decisions to make,” he said.
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The secretary also revealed that Trump feels more confident about securing U.S. nuclear demands on Iran after Operation Midnight Hammer decimated the nation’s nuclear facilities.
“He believes that he can get a much better deal from the Iranians now after Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, but it’s up to the Iranians,” Bessent said.
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Bessent also detailed what he may do at the Treasury to continue pressure on Iran.
“We are tracking the Iranian leadership, the money that they’re sending around the world,” he said. “And if we are called upon, we will recover it for the Iranian people.”