Articles about Live Trump

After threatening to withdraw from the alliance, the president did not mention it in his address to the nation, and will meet the secretary general, Mark Rutte, next weekAfter all the excitement about Donald Trump’s rapidly escalating rhetoric on Nato and (his own) suggestions he would go even further in last night’s address to the nation, he … just didn’t say anything about it at all.Whether it was the late phone call intervention by Europe’s finest Trump whisperer, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, or the prospect of next week’s Washington visit from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte, we will never know, but the fact is that we live to fight another day. Continue reading...

President is expected to offer a timeline for end of the war, and speak about his threat to withdraw the US from Nato as he faces falling poll numbers and global energy crisisTrump says he is ‘absolutely’ considering withdrawing US from Nato Israel hits Iran with waves of attacks and says it killed top Hezbollah commanderWelcome to our continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, as Donald Trump prepares to address America for the first time since the US-Israel war on Iran was launched.The president will deliver the prime-time speech at 9pm ET from the White House.Iran has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that its leadership asked for a ceasefire, calling the US president’s statement “false” and “baseless”. Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social, which said: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”Trump also said he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of US allies to join the US-Israeli war against Iran. The president’s threats, his most determined to date, have left the alliance facing its worst crisis in its 77-year history, a former US ambassador has said. Here’s our story.Meanwhile, in an open letter to the American people, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said relations between Washington and Tehran were “misunderstood” and that Iran was not an aggressor. The Iranian “harbor no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighbouring countries,” he said, adding that portrayals of Iran as a security threat were inaccurate, and Tehran was acting in self-defence – not aggression.In Tehran, Kamal Kharazi, a top foreign policy official and former Iranian foreign minister, has been severely injured in an airstrike on his home in the Iranian capital. His wife was reportedly killed in the attack. Kharazi, considered a moderate politician and veteran policy expert, also served as an adviser to the assassinated former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reports suggest his targeting is being viewed as an attempt to derail diplomacy. Continue reading...

Court case will weigh the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship President Donald Trump will watch the US supreme court hear a landmark case today weighing the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship – an extraordinary and possibly unprecedented move for the nation’s highest office.Trump signed an executive order on his return to the White House decreeing that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become US citizens.Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in voting across the US with a series of new requirements, including the establishment of a national voter list.The move was unprecedented and likely unconstitutional, according to experts. The Brennan Center said in response, “He has no lawful authority to write the rules that govern our elections. He tried a year ago; we sued him; we won. A year later, he has tried again. He can expect the same result.”Several states and Democratic officials criticized the order, describing it as an illegal attack that amounted to voter suppression ahead of the midterms, and said they will take legal action to stop the president, including California.Trump continued to fume over today’s ruling from a US judge that halted the construction of his $400m White House ballroom, and sharply criticized the decision during a press briefing and on social media.Pete Hegseth lifted the suspension of the crew of the military helicopters that hovered near the home of singer Kid Rock, and said there would be no investigation. Continue reading...

US president says responsibility for reopening strait of Hormuz rests on countries relying on it; secretary of state says Washington must review whether Nato alliance is still serving the US well‘Get your own oil’: Trump launches tirade against Europe for not joining Iran warAustralia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers has unveiled a suite of Covid-era support measures for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices, while Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese is set to address the nation in the latest sign the government is preparing for a more severe economic downturn from the war.“The war in the Middle East is having an extreme impact on the global economy. Australians and Australian small businesses are paying the price for that,” the treasurer told reporters on Wednesday.Two-thirds of Americans believe that the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.Asian markets rose sharply early on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end. South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4% in early trading, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.4% higher.Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush deployed on Tuesday and is slated to travel to the region along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 personnel.The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel. It said defence systems were operating to intercept the missile.Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday morning. The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital’s north, east and centre, reporting “attacks on Tehran” without immediately providing more details.A drone attack has sparked a large fire at Kuwait international airport, according to its state news agency, which said no casualties had been reported, while in the last few hours Saudi Arabia has said it intercepted and destroyed two drones. Bahrain also said early on Wednesday that it was working to extinguish a fire at a business facility that resulted from an Iranian attack. A tanker also came under attack off the coast of Qatar early on Wednesday, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and a nearby area have killed seven people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said. The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US open the strait of Hormuz by force. Citing Arab officials, the newspaper reported the UAE is lobbying for a UN security council resolution that would authorise such action. Continue reading...

Government in February approved an average premium increase of 4.41% from today. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia contributing to offensive action in Strait of Hormuz ‘in national interest’, says shadow foreign ministerThe opposition says we should be “open” to sending assets and personnel to open up the Strait of Hormuz, but questioned Australia’s capability.The key question is, is it in our national interest? And my view is yes, it is. The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense, that part of the equation we are yet to understand? And I think they’re the two questions that need to be answered … but I believe we should be open to making contribution. Continue reading...

US president tells Financial Times his ‘preference would be to take the oil’ but that ‘some stupid people back in the US say: “why are you doing that?”’Full report: Iran accuses US of plotting ground assault while publicly seeking talksAnalysis: what the Houthis’ entry into the Iran war means for the conflict and the wider regionThe price of brent crude had now gone over $116 a barrel, while stock markets have slumped in Asia as investors dig in for a protracted Gulf conflict that could bring a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe.Brent crude was just over $70 a barrel when the war started last month and prices have risen by over 50% since. Continue reading...

More than 3,000 No Kings events scheduled in cities and towns in third set of protests since Trump re-electionWhat to know about the third No Kings protests happening in MarchGood morning. Today our US politics blog will cover the third No Kings march as millions of people are expected to protest against the Trump administration at more than 3,000 events across the United States.A flagship event will be held in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, where massive anti-ICE demonstrations broke out earlier this year after federal agents killed two residents. Continue reading...

US president says he is extending deadline for strait of Hormuz to reopen to 6 April; Houthis tell Lloyd’s List ‘no reason’ to prevent Saudi oil using Red Sea routeFull report: Trump extends deadline Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-rampHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the consequences for the region, the world, and the global economy.Here are the latest developments:Donald Trump said he will extend – once again – his pause on his threat to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days until 6 April, claiming that the request came from Tehran and that talks were going “very well”. The US president threatened last Saturday to would strike Iranian energy infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the strait of Hormuz. Then, on Monday he postponed his threat for five days (until Friday), citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran on ending the war (which Tehran dismissed as “fake news” designed to “manipulate” the oil markets). Now, he’s pushing that deadline back, again.The price of Brent crude also dropped following Trump’s latest announcement. Oil prices rose to their highest level this week, with Brent crude trading at roughly $108 a barrel after Trump’s cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday.Yemen’s Houthis have said there is no need to worry amid fears that if Donald Trump follows through on threats to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran may ask them to attack shipping in the Red Sea.A day after Tehran dismissed Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan, the US president claimed that Iran was “begging to make a deal,” and that he wasn’t the one pushing for negotiations. Earlier, he told Tehran to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the war.Trump rejected reports that he was looking for an exit ramp, as oil prices soar and political pressure mounts to avoid the kind of drawn-out Middle East war he once spurned. “I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal,” Trump told reporters. “I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care.”A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday.However, Trump said Iran is allowing some oil tankers through strait of Hormuz as a sign of good faith for talks. He said that Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic strait as a “present” to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war.The Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give Trump more military options even as he weighs peace talks with Tehran, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, quoting defence department officials with knowledge of the planning.The Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff has warned that the military will “collapse in on itself” as it faces increasing demands and a growing manpower shortage while fighting on multiple fronts, according to Israeli media reports.A Thai-flagged cargo ship that was hit by unknown projectiles in the strait of Hormuz earlier this month has run aground off Iran’s Qeshm Island, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said on Friday. Continue reading...

US president claims Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side; US military command claims to have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilitiesIran rejects US ceasefire plan and submits its own amid push for talksAnalysis: Trump pitches Iran peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-rampChina’s foreign minister has said that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the war in the Middle East, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat.Prolonging this war would only result in further casualties and needless losses, leading to a further spillover of the conflict. Continue reading...

President also held on to record from his first term so sensitive only six people had access, says letter from leading Democrat on House judiciary committeeHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The White House says Donald Trump “did nothing wrong”, amid reports that he showed off a classified map on a 2022 flight to his New Jersey golf club.Violence continued across much of the Middle East a day after Donald Trump said the US was in “very good” talks with Iran to end the war in the region soon. Iranian barrages targeted Israel, Gulf Arab states and northern Iraq on Tuesday, while Israeli and US warplanes continued to carry out strikes across Tehran and on other targets in the Islamic Republic. More here.Democrats managed to flip a seat in the Florida state house in the district that is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Emily Gregory, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jon Maples, who had an endorsement from the US president, in the special election in Florida’s 87th state house district. The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening, with Gregory, a public health expert and small business owner, leading by more than 2 percentage points. More here.Donald Trump on Tuesday swore in Markwayne Mullin as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while Senate Republicans unveiled a compromise that would restart funding to most of the agency but appears to exclude reforms to immigration enforcement Democrats have demanded. More here.Donald Trump has described voting by mail as “cheating” at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, just days after casting a mail‑in ballot himself. “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all,” the US president said on Monday, in remarks to a roundtable on his administration’s crime taskforce. More here.Workers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White House’s deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. More here.The California governor, Gavin Newsom, backtracked on earlier remarks likening Israel to an “apartheid state” in a new interview with Politico published on Tuesday. In the interview, the Democrat, who is widely expected to launch a presidential bid in 2028, said that when he used the term three weeks ago, he meant it to apply to Israel’s future should it continue on its present trajectory. More here. Continue reading...

Iran Guards said they fired missiles at Israel and US forces in bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain; crude oil prices fall sharply in early tradingTrump’s rehashed 15-point Iran plan unlikely to appease TehranDisruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closing of the strait of Hormuz will cause food scarcity and high prices, the World Trade Organisation’s deputy director general, Jean-Marie Paugam, told Agence France-Press.A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait, which has been virtually closed by Iran since the start of the war. Continue reading...

Incumbent Mette Frederiksen widely predicted to continue as PM but neither bloc expected to be able to form majorityDenmark election: far right has slowed under Frederiksen – but at what cost?After votes in France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia over the weekend, it’s now time for Denmark, as Danes go to the polls today amid the backdrop of (waves arms) everything, everywhere, all at once.As our Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant explains, the incumbent, Mette Frederiksen, has been widely predicted to continue as prime minister after the election. Continue reading...

Iranian parliament speaker says ‘no negotiations’ held with US, as Trump postpones energy strikes for five days; European Commission chief says war must come to negotiated endTrump claims ‘productive’ talks with Iran but Tehran denies contactIsrael launches new strikes on Tehran as Trump pauses Iran energy attacksWelcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and its wider repercussions in the Middle East and globally.Donald Trump has claimed the US and Iran have held talks in which the two sides had “major points of agreement”, and speculated that a deal could soon be done to end the war, a claim contradicted by Tehran.Trump said the threatened US strikes on Iranian power plants had been postponed after “very good and productive” discussions with Iran about a “complete and total resolution of our hostilities” in the Middle East. After hitting a four-year high, the price of oil fell dramatically following Trump’s comments, while stocks in Asia rallied.Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said he had spoken with Trump, who saw a chance of an agreement with Iran, but added that Israel would continue its strikes against Iran and Lebanon. Trump believed there was a possibility of “leveraging the mighty achievements obtained by the Israeli and the US military, in order to realise the goals of the war in a deal – a deal that will preserve our vital interests”, the Israeli prime minister claimed in a video statement released by his office.Israel said it had launched “wide-scale” strikes on Iran on Monday morning, while Tehran continued to fire missiles at the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Israeli military also claimed to have hit struck the main security headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as part of a “wave of strikes that was completed a short while ago in the heart of Tehran”.An Israeli strike also hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday, Agence France-Presse quoted state media as saying, hours after the Israeli army issued an order for residents of the area to evacuate. An AFPTV live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the densely populated southern suburbs, which are considered a Hezbollah stronghold and have not been hit since Friday night. Continue reading...

PM will meet with the Commons liaison committee and chair the government’s Cobra emergency committee todayGood morning. It is the last week the Commons is sitting before the Easter recess and, in normal circumstances, we would be focusing on domestic policy, and announcements coming out before the holiday period. But today, with the world focused on what will happen if Iran does not comply with the “deadline” set by Donald Trump for the opening of the strait of Hormuz tonight (he says he will “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if he does not get his way), foreign policy will dominate.Starmer has two important meetings on the topic this afternoon. One of them will be live on TV, but unfortunately it will be the duller and less consequential one – his meetinng with the Commons liaison committee. After that he will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, where the government will be taking decisions about how it will respond to the possibility that the energy price crisis could get significantly worse. In a sign of how serious the economic consequences could get, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, is attending.The prime minister spoke to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, this evening.The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping. Continue reading...

Trump tells Iran to reopen strait to shipping or face destruction of its energy infrastructure, as Tehran launches its most destructive attack yet on IsraelHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours – threatening a new escalation, just a day after the president spoke of “winding down” the war.Iranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles. The Israeli Air Force is investigating its failure to prevent the attacks. Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future”.The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had received no indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research centre, which is near to Dimona.In the early hours on Sunday, Israeli military announced in a brief statement that it was conducting strikes in Tehran.Saudi Arabia’s ministry of defence said it had detected three missiles launched towards Riyadh early in the morning. One of the missiles was intercepted, while two fell in an uninhabited area, it saidIran on Saturday launched two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 km (2,500 miles) at the US-British military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to the Israeli military, which said it was the first time Iran had used long-range missiles since the conflict began on February 28.The British foreign secretary condemned the attacks on Diego Garcia, while stressing the UK has “taken a different position from the US and Israel” on the conflict. Yvette Cooper said ministers wanted to see a swift resolution to the war, adding the government was supporting defensive action against the “reckless Iranian threats”.A projectile struck close to a bulk carrier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, causing an explosion, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.The death toll has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, and a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region, according to Associated Press. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced. Continue reading...

Move to allow shipments already at sea comes amid a supply crisis and after US president says he does not ‘want to do a ceasefire’; IDF says it is attacking regime targets in Tehran after missiles fired at Israel from IranUS to send three more warships and thousands more troops, reports sayHow the Iran war has sent shocks rippling across the globeHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran, as the US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis.Iran is willing to help Japanese ships sail a vital route for global fuel supplies, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News in an interview published on Saturday. Japan depends on crude oil imports from the Middle East, most of which transits the strait of Hormuz.Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials. The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles.One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a town in southern Lebanon early on Saturday, state media said.Trump continued to make his disappointment with the British government known, saying the UK “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the US military to use its bases in the Middle East.Earlier, Downing Street approved US use of its bases “for the collective self-defence of the region”, including “defensive operations” degrading Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the strait of Hormuz. Britain had previously only allowed US forces to use its bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.Araghchi said UK prime minister Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”. Continue reading...

Senior figures said to have been skeptical over Keir Starmer’s appointment of ‘arrogant’ veteran politician, later sacked over connections to Jeffrey EpsteinHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump’s presidential transition team repeatedly intervened in UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, it has been reported.Trump’s aides were particularly exercised that Mandelson could be made ambassador after he had made disparaging public remarks about the president in the past, according to both officials.Donald Trump created an extremely awkward moment for Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in the Oval Office on Thursday when he responded to a question from a Japanese reporter about why the US attacked Iran without warning allies like Japan, by joking about Imperial Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.Japan’s prime minister said later she explained to Trump that Japan’s ability to deploy military forces overseas, as he wants, is still limited by the constitution drafted for Japan by the United States after the second world war.A federal arts commission approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing Donald Trump’s image to celebrate the US’s 250th birthday on 4 July.The John F Kennedy Presidential Library foundation announced on Thursday that it is awarding Profile in Courage awards to staunch opponents of Donald Trump: the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell and the people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota.Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who has shown a willingness to cross Trump since he announced that he will not run for re-election, said he will not vote to eliminate the filibuster to force changes to US election law. Continue reading...

US president says Israel will not launch another attack on the giant gasfield shared by Iran and Qatar, but promises to destroy it if Tehran retaliatesIsrael strikes Iran’s South Pars gasfield hours after forces kill intelligence minister Fighting intensifies between Israel and Hezbollah in southern LebanonWelcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the broader crisis in the region, and global economy.Donald Trump has threatened to “massively blow up” the entire South Pars gas field if Iran carries out any more retaliatory attacks on Qatar’s LNG gas facilities.The Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200bn request to Congress to fund the war in Iran, according to a senior administration official”, the Washington Post reports.The oil price climbed towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday as the mounting threat to the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure fuelled concerns of more disruption to global supplies, amid the continuing blockade of the strait of Hormuz.QatarEnergy said “sizeable fires” caused extensive damage at its LNG facilities after Iranian missile attacks in the early hours of Thursday.An attack set a ship ablaze early on Thursday off the UAE coast, authorities said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said “a vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, which has resulted in a fire onboard”.French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure, and said civilian populations and their needs must be “protected from military escalation”.Three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank late on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, in the first deadly Iranian strike there.A man was killed in central Israel in the latest round of Iranian missile fire, medics say. It brings the death roll in Israel from the war to 15.Republicans in the US Senate blocked a measure that aimed to reign in Donald Trump’s power to wage war against Iran without congressional authorisation, winning a 53-47 vote. Continue reading...

Republicans almost certain to push through appointment following the ousting of Noem amid public backlash to her aggressive immigration approachSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.A Senate committee later today is expected to give a quick confirmation to Markwayne Mullin, a first-term Republican senator from Oklahoma, to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).A top counter-terrorism official in the Trump administration resigned over the ongoing war on Iran. Joe Kent, who reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, said in his resignation letter that he “cannot in good conscience” support the conflict.Gabbard responded in a statement that did not refer to Kent directly, but argued that Trump “is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat”.The House oversight committee subpoenaed attorney general Pam Bondi to appear for a deposition on the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.The Senate passed a measure to start debate on the legislation to restrict voting in US elections in a number of ways, by a vote of 51-48, along mainly partisan lines, with only Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican, crossing party lines.During the annual St Patrick’s Day Shamrock ceremony at the White House, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, gently made the case for free trade and a rules-based order before presenting Trump with a bowl of shamrocks.While Trump and his aides spent much of Tuesday deriding Kent, critics of the administration pointed out that Kent’s ties to rightwing extremists meant that he was never fit for the role in the first place. Continue reading...

US president says his country does not ‘need or desire’ the help of Nato, Japan, Australia or South Korea. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take the reins.After a day of grim headlines yesterday, with economists forecasting recession for Australia, Jim Chalmers has come out fighting, telling 7.30 last night “that’s not something that we’re anticipating or forecasting or expecting”. Read more in a moment. Continue reading...

Emily Thornberry is the latest figure to call on the king’s visit to the US to be delayed, citing the ongoing war against IranYesterday Donald Trump confirmed that he expects the king’s state visit to the US to go ahead at the end of April. As the Mail reports, speaking about his plan to build a new, mega ballroom on the east wing of the White House, Trump said he needed a facility like this because of the weather in Washington. He explained:And you know the land in Washington was built on a swampy wetland.And when it rains, and you have the King of Saudi Arabia ... the King of the UK, I would say King of England, a great guy, he’s coming in very soon. And when it rains, you know what happened? And the rain would go over their feet. Continue reading...

Trump says delay of ‘a month or so’ requested while key official insists move is not to pressure Beijing to help unblock strait of Hormuz; Iraqi officials say drones and rockets attacked embassyEuropean countries reject Trump’s call for help to reopen strait of HormuzHow have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?Are fuel price increases making you cut back? Continue reading...

President accuses court of having ‘unnecessarily RANSACKED’ the US and claims he has ‘absolute right’ to impose new tariffsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxGood morning and welcome to the US politics liveblog.In a late-night social media post, Donald Trump has claimed he has the “absolute right” to impose new tariffs after the supreme court ruled many of the import duties he imposed last year were illegal.Our Supreme Court has made these Countries very happy but, as the Court pointed out, I have the absolute right to charge TARIFFS in another form, and have already started to do so.” Continue reading...

Pat McFadden says Trump running a ‘transactional presidency’ and that ‘our job is to navigate this’Good morning. Keir Starmer is holding a press conference in Downing Street this morning. As Kiran Stacey reports, the PM’s main intention will be to announce support for people most hit by rising energy prices, particularly householders reliant on heating oil. The measures are expected to be worth tens of millions of pounds.But, inevitably, most of the focus likely to be on how Starmer responds to the latest provocations from Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad’ future if US allies fail to assist in opening the vital oil route; Israel says thousands of targets in Iran remain – follow it liveHow have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?Donald Trump is said to be working to build a coalition of countries that will attempt to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The US president hopes to unveil the list later this week, Axios reported, citing four unnamed sources.Donald Trump has warned that Nato faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times has reported. He also said on Sunday that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments as oil prices soar during the Iran war. The president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that the administration is negotiating with to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth the world’s traded oil normally flows. Australia and Japan have declined to send their navies to the strait.Flights were temporarily suspended at Dubai’s airport, previously one of the world’s busiest, after a “drone-related incident” sparked a fire nearby, city authorities said on Monday. The incident impacted a fuel tank, the Gulf financial hub’s media office said, later adding authorities had extinguished the blaze that broke out. The office said no injuries had been reported.Israel said that its military remains focused on thousands of potential targets within Iran, even as Tehran issued a stern warning to neighbouring nations against further involvement in the rapidly expanding regional war.Oil prices have climbed again amid mounting supply fears after the US struck Iran’s vital Kharg Island oil hub and Trump demanded allies help reopen the strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.8% to $104.98 per barrel during early trading on Monday. Another weekend of violence across the Middle East compounded concerns over the conflict, and its ramifications for global energy markets.British prime minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the strait of Hormuz to end disruption to global shipping with Trump, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday. Starmer also spoke with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, with the leaders discussing the impact of the strait’s continued closure on international shipping, the spokeswoman told Reuters.Italy’s military said there had been a drone attack on the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait hosting Italian and US forces, but said all its personnel were safe. “This morning, Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait was the target of a drone attack that hit a shelter housing a remotely piloted aircraft of the Italian Task Force Air (TFA), which was destroyed,” the chief of the defence general staff, Luciano Portolano, said in a statement.UN peacekeepers said they were fired upon “likely by non-state armed groups” in south Lebanon on Sunday, while a Hamas source said an Israeli strike killed an official from the Palestinian militant group.A rocket attack on Baghdad international airport in Iraq, which houses a US diplomatic facility, wounded five people, Iraqi authorities said. The Iraqi government’s security media cell said “five rockets targeted Baghdad International Airport and its surrounding area, injuring four airport employees and security personnel, and an engineer”.US energy secretary Chris Wright said that there was “a very good chance” gas prices could drop below $3 a gallon by summer, though that is contingent on the Iran conflict’s end. Wright told NBC’s Meet the Press that while US drivers “are feeling it right now” at the pump and “will feel it for a few more weeks”, once the Iran war is over “we’ll go to a world more abundant” and “more affordable” in energy.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a brief video to mock viral social media rumours suggesting he had been killed. Taking a sip from a steaming cup at a cafe near Jerusalem, he jokingly posted to his official X account, “I’m dead for coffee,” utilizing a Hebrew slang term that equates being “dead” for something with loving it.The World Health Organisation said on Sunday it had released $2 m from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amid the Middle East crisis. Continue reading...

US president said he did not want to make a deal with Iran yet, while claiming that he might hit Kharg Island again ‘just for fun’How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?Donald Trump has said he is “surprised” that US allies in the Gulf have been targeted by Iran, in an interview with NBC News.The president called these countries “terrific”, adding that “they got shot at unnecessarily.” When talking about Iran’s decision to target them, Trump said it was “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 826 people, including 65 women and 106 children, since the start of the war. In a statement today, the ministry said 31 paramedics were among those killed. Local health authorities reported this morning that an Israeli strike killed 12 medical staff at a clinic in the southern town of Burj Qalaouiya.At least 15 people were killed when a strike by Israel and the US hit a factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the semi-official Fars news agency said. There were workers inside the factory, which produces heaters and refrigerators, when the strike hit, Fars reported.Iran issued an evacuation warning for three major ports in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, including the busiest in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported. Iran claims the US had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island. It urged people to evacuate areas where it said US forces were sheltering.Trump renewed his call for other nations to help secure the strait of Hormuz and said the US will coordinate with them amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way, but the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help – A LOT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.The Trump administration rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war that started two weeks ago with a massive US-Israeli air assault, according to reporting from Reuters.The Israeli military says it killed two senior officials in Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Emergency Command in an airstrike on Tehran. In a post on X, army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Abdullah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, described as senior figures in the command’s intelligence branch, were killed in the attack.Israel informed the US this week that it is running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors as the conflict with Iran continues, Semafor reported on Saturday, citing US officials familiar with the matter.The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr accused news broadcasters of “running hoaxes and news distortions” amid the war in Iran in a post on X. “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote.Formula One has cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia grands prix because of the war, underlining the disruption across the Middle East. The races were due to take place on 12 April in Bahrain and 19 April in Saudi Arabia but the sport was approaching the point at which a decision on cancellation needed to be made to prevent more freight being sent to Bahrain. Continue reading...