Page 4 - Trump Administration

Trump's threat on Iran energy infra could be considered war crime: Experts

In his news conference on Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran, a declaration so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime. The issue could turn on whether the power plants were legitimate military targets, the attacks were proportional compared with what Iran has done and whether civilian casualties were minimised. Trump's threat was so broad brush it did not seem to account for the harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law. The president's eventual actions often fall short of his all-encompassing rhetoric in the moment, but his warnings about the power plants and bridges were unambiguous both on Sunday and Monday as he set a deadline of Tuesday night for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that ...

'May run for Venezuelan president', jokes Trump, claims strong popularity

Donald Trump claimed he was popular in Venezuela, where he might consider running for president after completing his US term. In light-hearted remarks during a press conference on Monday, Trump said he would poll higher than anybody ever has in Venezuela, where US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in January to face drug trafficking trials in the US. "The people of Venezuela, they say, if I ran for president of Venezuela, I'm polling higher than anybody has ever polled in Venezuela, so after I'm finished with this, I can go to Venezuela," Trump said. "I will quickly learn Spanish. It won't take too long. I'm good at language, and I will go to Venezuela. I'm going to run for president. But we're very happy with the president-elect that we have right now," the US president said. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez took over as acting president after Nicolas Maduro's capture by US forces on January 3 this year. During the press conference, Trump

Rescue of US crew in Iran relied on dozens of aircraft, subterfuge: Trump

The US relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran, a risky mission that President Donald Trump and his top defence aides detailed Monday. US forces rescued the pilot within hours of the jet going down late Thursday, surging helicopters, midair refuellers and fighter aircraft deep into Iran after confirming his location, Trump said in a valedictory news conference at the White House, describing the military operation in an unusual level of detail. The second aviator aboard the aircraft - the weapons systems officer - was rescued nearly two days later. An A-10 Warthog, which was the attack aircraft primarily responsible for keeping in contact with the downed pilot on the ground, was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, said Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The A-10 was "not landable", Caine told reporters, but the pilot continued

Trump threatens to decimate Iran in four hours as Tuesday deadline looms

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to decimate Iran within four hours if it did not agree to a deal by Tuesday night, while brushing aside allegations of possible war crimes in case of attacks on power plants and bridges. "We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow (Tuesday) night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again, I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to," Trump told a press conference here. He asked Iran to make a deal with the US and open the Hormuz Strait for free movement of oil by 8 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday. When asked about allegations of carrying out possible war crimes if the US attacks Iran's bridges and power plants, Trump said: "No, not at all." Trump insisted that Iranians want him to conduct more strikes and they are "willing to suffer" for ...

Iran conflict left mark on Nato, rift began with Greenland: Trump

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), accusing the alliance and other friendly nations such as South Korea, Japan and Australia of failing to help the US in the Iran war. Trump's remarks at a press conference at the White House on Monday came days ahead of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's visit to Washington to meet the US President, who has dismissed the alliance as a "paper tiger". Trump said the war with Iran had left a mark on NATO "that will never disappear in my mind." The US President made it clear that the differences with NATO began when it spurned his move to take Greenland. "NATO is a paper tiger that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's not afraid of," Trump told reporters here. On the Iran war, Trump said NATO members actually "went out of their way not to help". "Look, we went to NATO. I didn't ask very strongly, I just said, 'Hey, if you want to help, great'," the US President said. "'No, no, no, we will not

'Language reflects personality': Iran leader's envoy in India slams Trump

His remark came after Trump issued a strong warning to Iran to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz as the conflict in West Asia escalates

'US sent guns to Iranian protestors during anti-regime protests': Trump

Trump claimed US sent guns to Iranian protesters during the anti-regime protests through the Kurds but he believes that the Kurds may have kept them

Impulse Space, Anduril building technology for Trump's golden dome

The companies have been selected by the Pentagon to develop prototypes of space-based interceptors intended to track and destroy missiles from orbit

US intelligence warns Iran unlikely to ease Strait of Hormuz chokehold soon

The finding suggests Tehran could continue to throttle the strait to keep energy prices high as a means of pressuring Trump to find a quick off-ramp to the war

Iran warns of 'crushing' strikes on US assets, regional host nations

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, released a statement threatening devastating strikes against American and Israeli assets

Trump declines to specify US response if missing airman harmed in Iran

The President declined to specify a course of action during a brief telephone interview on Friday

White House seeks record $1.5 trillion for military amid ongoing Iran war

The blueprint serves as a symbolic representation of the President's priorities and would increase government defence spending by more than 40% compared to previous year

Trump immunity ruling brings focus on Indian-origin judge Amit Mehta

Indian-American judge Amit Mehta has come into focus after he ruled that US President Donald Trump's speech ahead of the violence that rocked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was not subject to presidential immunity. Mehta, a federal judge of the US District Court of the District of Columbia, in 2022 rejected Trump's effort to dismiss three lawsuits accusing him of bearing responsibility for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Last August, Mehta had ruled that Google had broken anti-trust laws to maintain its dominance in online search. Born in Patan in Gujarat in 1971, Mehta was nominated as a judge to the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama. Mehta came to the US as a one-year-old and went on to pursue his B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Georgetown University in 1993 and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997. After law school, Mehta worked in a law firm in San Francisco before clerking for Sus

How Trump boxed himself in on Iran war as goals remain out of reach

President Trump faces the possibility that at the end of his own two-to-three week window for wrapping up the war in Iran, nothing much will have changed

'Civilisation cannot be destroyed by bombing': Iran slams Trump's threat

Iranian Mission to the UN said US President Trump's threat reflects 'ignorance, not strength'

Hegseth asks US Army Chief Gen Randy George to step down: Pentagon

The move comes as the US and Israel continue a war against Iran, a mission that has recently seen the US send thousands of troops into the region for a possible ground operation

Democratic leaders sue to challenge Trump's mail-in ballot limits

Top Democrats order issued Tuesday by the president "dramatically restricts the ability of Americans to vote by mail, impinging on traditional state authority

Iran conflict threatens to wreck Trump's dream of lower interest rates

Energy shock fuels inflation fears as markets push back rate-cut expectations

Iran foreign minister slams US 'America First' policy amid war tensions

Iranian Foreign Minister criticises US stance, says trust deficit blocks talks

Trump seeks to redefine 'regime change' in Iran war amid confusion

President Trump and his aides have made contradictory statements on whether the United States and Israel have transformed the Iranian government through violence