Iran launched an attack at a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday, firing a barrage of missiles after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/23/iran-retaliation-trump-israel-war">reported</a>.
Explosions were heard near Qatar&#8217;s capital city of Doha on Monday night local time, and the United States told citizens in the country to shelter in place until further notice, according to Reuters. Iran issued a statement through its state media announcing its attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/23/world/iran-trump-israel-news/11cfa03e-588d-5ff5-ba20-9f9369cb6b38?smid=url-share">according</a> to The New York Times.
The Trump administration was given a &#8220;good advance warning&#8221; of the Iranian attack, a source &#8220;familiar with the matter&#8221; told Axios. Iran also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/23/world/iran-trump-israel-news/82bf4cc2-e1b6-52cf-be4f-18c58b88975c?smid=url-share">reportedly</a> gave its ally Qatar an advanced notice before launching the missiles at the American base. Qatar closed its airspace before the Iranian missile barrage, and the U.S and British governments warned citizens in Qatar to shelter in place.
&#8220;The base that was targeted in the attack by the powerful Iranian forces was far from urban facilities and residential areas in Qatar,&#8221; Iran&#8217;s Supreme National Security Council said in a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/23/iran-retaliation-trump-israel-war">statement</a>. &#8220;This action did not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar, and its noble people.&#8221;
President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with his National Security team at the White House at 1:00 p.m. As the Iranians fired missiles at the U.S. base, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan &#8220;Razin&#8221; Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were monitoring the attack in the Situation Room, CNN <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1937191275272257726">reported</a>.
The White House and Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a senior White House official <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1937191022863266201">told</a> Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan.
Trump previously warned Iran against any retaliation, saying it &#8220;will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed.&#8221;
Many of the personnel and aircraft at the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest military base in the Middle East, were evacuated in recent days as tensions rose in the Middle East. The base is also fortified by air defenses, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/23/world/iran-trump-israel-news/68ad47d2-2786-5d78-bdd1-bf35a98dcff6?smid=url-share">reported</a>.
Videos posted on social media showed missiles being intercepted over Qatar.
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US defenses intercept Islamic Republic of Iran missiles in Qatar. <a href="https://t.co/EkLxXt0oWT">pic.twitter.com/EkLxXt0oWT</a>
&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1937193695356551560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
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This is a breaking story; refresh the page for updates.

Iran-Missiles-Display-44th-Anniversary-War

Iran Attacks U.S. Military Base

Global Politics

Iran

Military Bases

Politics

Qatar

United States

President Donald Trump “has more spine” than any president in decades, according to Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro.
Shapiro praised the president on Sunday in a special episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show” covering the United States’ strike on Iran over the weekend that targeted three of Tehran’s nuclear facilities, including the underground fortress-like facility at Fordo.
“Now, let me be 100% clear, President Trump has more spine, more intestinal fortitude, more cojones than any president of my lifetime by far. It&#8217;s not close,” said Shapiro. “This of course is a historically courageous man. If that was not clear from the moment he stood up during the last campaign, shaking his fist, and yelling ‘fight, fight, fight’ after being shot in the ear, President Trump is a man who has courage.”
To accomplish the strike, Trump overcame significant domestic opposition from both sides of the political aisle. He has also sparked a seismic shift in the power dynamics in the Middle East where Israel is now a regional power backed by the United States and, diplomatically, the Abraham Accords are much more likely to gain signatories, according to Shapiro.
“He said for decades Iran would not have a nuclear weapon, and then he kept his word, and keeping your word is unbelievably rare,” he added before reciting promises made by former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
Trump’s action to destroy, or at least severely set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions has made the president “a seminal figure in both American history and in world history,” according to Shapiro.
In the United States, Trump “faced down a lot of haters” in his decision to drop bombs on Iran, from critics in the Democratic Party, some of whom are now <a href="https://x.com/AOC/status/1936600627221565468">calling</a> for the president’s impeachment, to isolationists on the right, some of whom are also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-lays-into-kooky-tucker-carlson-over-opposition-to-israeli-strikes-on-iran">calling</a> for Trump’s impeachment.
Critics on the right said that the United States close relationship with Israel and the Trump administration’s backing of Israeli action against Iran would pull the United States into a wider war, possibly launching a third world war.
“Anyone who told you that was going to happen (a United States war with Iran) was lying to you because President Trump lives in the world. He lives in the world of reality, and he played this absolutely perfectly. It is not possible for a president to have played this better,” said Shapiro.
Trump allowed Israel to knock out Iran’s anti-air defenses and the top echelon of its military while offering Tehran repeated chances to negotiate in good faith over the end of its nuclear program. When negotiations failed and Israeli military pressure did not force Tehran into talks, Trump greenlit the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities over significant domestic opposition.
“In the face of those who believe both left and right that American involvement in the world is somehow the prime evil, the great driver of world suffering, that the world is somehow better off in the hands of the Chinese and the Russians and Iran going nuclear, he stood up,” Shapiro said.
“He stood up to the morons like AOC on the left who proclaimed that Trump himself is a Hitlerian threat to the world by standing up to a true Hitlerian threat to the world,” said Shapiro. “He stood up to the dolts on the right who thought that they could somehow claim the movement Donald Trump built, the Make America Great Again movement, for themselves, painting a Howard Zinn-America hating turd with a coating of MAGA language and then trying to pass it off as filet mignon. He stood up to all of them, and he proved that America is great again.”
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Thank you, Mr. President, for restoring Peace Through Strength! There has never been a president in my lifetime with <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>’s spine. <a href="https://t.co/kAcaLB6pPz">pic.twitter.com/kAcaLB6pPz</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1936926784202650037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump

Ben Shapiro: President Trump ‘A Historically Courageous Man’ For Preventing Nuclear-Armed Iran

Ben Shapiro

Israel

Seven B-2 bombers that took off from an air base in Missouri early Saturday morning returned home just before noon on Sunday after conducting a bombing run over Iranian nuclear facilities.
The B-2 pilots touched back down at Whiteman Air Force Base after a roughly 36-hour flight to Iran and back. The mission, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and multiple in-flight refuelings for the strike team to get to Iran and back, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine explained at a Sunday press conference.
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NEW VIDEO: B-2 bombers land back at Whiteman Air Force Base today in Knob Noster, Missouri, after about a 36-hour flight to strike targets in Iran. 
Seven B-2s took off from Whiteman just after 12 a.m. on Saturday. The first bombers back landed just before 12 p.m. Sunday. <a href="https://t.co/g7IbwWD6NH">pic.twitter.com/g7IbwWD6NH</a>
&mdash; Matt Evans (@MattEvansKMBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattEvansKMBC/status/1936858341910733208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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As the bombers crossed the Atlantic and resumed flight over land, a team of fighters joined to cover the bombers on their entry into Iranian airspace.
“As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the U.S. employed several deception tactics, including decoys, as the 4th and 5th generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface to air missile threats,” said Caine.
The bomber team appears to have entered Iranian airspace and reached their targets without alerting Iran’s military.
“As the strike package approached Fordo and Natanz, the US protection package employed high-speed suppression weapons to ensure safe passage of the strike package with fighter assets employing preemptive suppressing fires against any potential Iranian surface to air threats,” Caine continued. “We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the US strike package on the way in.”
The bomber struck targets at Fordo and Natanz beginning around 6:40 p.m. ET. Tomahawk missiles fired from a United States submarines hit Isfahan moments later. The entire attack took place within a 25-minute window between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. ET.
“Following weapons release, the midnight hammer strike package exited Iranian airspace, and the package began its return home. We are unaware of any shots fired at the package on the way out. Iran&#8217;s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran&#8217;s surface-to-air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise,” Caine said.
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Chairman Caine just laid out the PERFECT execution of Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER. <a href="https://t.co/11NpibQhbi">pic.twitter.com/11NpibQhbi</a>
&mdash; DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1936768363306307763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warriors-read-hegseths-full-statement-to-america-regarding-strike-on-irans-nuclear-facilities?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=%E2%80%98Warriors%E2%80%99%3A+Read+Hegseth%E2%80%99s+Full+Statement+To+America+Regarding+Strike+On+Iran%E2%80%99s+Nuclear+Facilities">praised</a> the strike team and others involved in the operation after its success.
“I want to recognize pilots who flew those bombers; who flew those fighters; who flew those refuelers: Warriors. I want to recognize the sailors, on those destroyers, in those subs. on those carriers: Warriors. All of them. I want to recognize our soldiers doing air defense, base defense, QRF: Warriors. All of them,” Hegseth said in a statement after the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “Every American involved in this operation performed flawlessly.”

B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber

B-2 Bombers Arrive Back In Missouri After Hammering Iranian Nuclear Sites

Department of Defense

Missouri

Pete Hegseth

Tehran wants retribution after the United States bombed several Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend and has several avenues of exacting it, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran expert, Benham Ben Taleblu.
Iran could launch missiles against United States assets in the Middle East, attack through proxies, activate terrorist agents in the U.S., or leverage relationships with transnational criminal organizations to attempt high-profile attacks or assassinations, according to Taleblue, the senior Iran program director and a senior fellow at the foundation.
“Make no mistake, they still want to wash away blood with blood,” Taleblu told The Daily Wire.
U.S. bombers dropped payloads on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei put out a <a href="https://x.com/IRIMFA_SPOX/status/1936803750435271082">statement</a> after the attack accusing the United States of “colluding” with Israel and expressing Iran’s determination “to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security and people by all necessary means.”
For roughly 15 years, Iran has cultivated relationships with transnational gangs to murder targets in the United States, according to Taleblu.
“The Iranians have tried to kill – on U.S. soil – the Saudi ambassador by working with Mexican drug cartels. They&#8217;ve tried to go after a journalist, a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York, by working with, I think it was an Eastern European mafia. And they&#8217;ve tried to go after others by even using a Canadian biker gang,” Taleblu said.
Threats against President Donald Trump from Iran have <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/16/iran-plot-assassinate-trump-00168830">surged</a> in recent years since he greenlit the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. In November, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-murder-hire-and-related-charges-against-irgc-asset-and-two">announced</a> charges against an Iranian man in connection with a plot to murder the then-president-elect.
In addition to organized violence, federal, state, and local law enforcement should look out for potential lone wolf terrorists, as well, according to Taleblu.
Abroad, Iran may be able to tap into terrorist proxy networks, though its most lethal proxies – Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen – have been gutted in military operations by Israel and the United States in recent months.
“Some of them are called amateur jobs, but the Islamic Republic only needs to get one of them right to be able to land a blow,” said Taleblu. “And given that they&#8217;ve shown a real capability to do anything from lone wolf attacks to proxy attacks to work with these transnational criminal cutouts, it makes the job of law enforcement and the national security apparatus” much more difficult.
Many United States assets in the Middle East are under direct threat from Iran. While Israel has decimated Iran’s medium range missiles, Tehran has stockpiles and launchers for shorter-range, more precise munitions that could hit U.S. sites in Iraq, for instance.
“Infrastructure that Washington has all around the southern part of the Persian Gulf could be struck potentially by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Taleblu.
In the weeks leading up to the strike, the United States has taken precautions against a potential strike at military and diplomatic sites across the Middle East. Over a week ago, the United States began moving nonessential personnel and American families out of the Middle East because of tensions between Iran and Israel.
Trump has also moved military assets around. Roughly 40,000 American troops are currently <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/us-forces-middle-east-buildup/">stationed</a> in the region with two carrier strike groups and several fighter squadrons.
Iran’s own military has been decapitated at the highest levels because of targeted strikes by Israel on Tehran’s top military officers and nuclear personnel.
“The regime, just like its proxies, is down, but it is not out,” said Taleblu. “We’ve seen them be able to, again, enter negotiations with a weak hand, leave with a strong hand, be able to play to its adversaries’ fear of a wider war, be able to draw on its adversaries’ concern for restraint, be able to prey on its adversaries’ desire for a more responsible and stable Middle Eastern order.
“Simply by being a more disruptive actor, even with the capabilities and even with the persons that they have still at the helm, they can still do damage,” he continued. “When you’re looking at a political system like the Islamic Republic of Iran, regardless of the musical chairs with the commanders, ‘Supreme Leader’ is a title meant to be taken rather literally. An Iran Supreme Leader, an 86-year-old ideological man is currently hosting, or holding, I should say, a nation of 91-plus million Iranians hostage.”

Tehran

Expert Details Iran’s Routes To Retaliation Against U.S.: ‘Wash Away Blood With Blood’

President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced a trade agreement to cut tariffs between the two countries.
The two leaders announced the trade agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven Summit in Canada. The president said the deal is “fair to both sides.”
“We have our trade agreement with the [United Kingdom] and it&#8217;s a fair deal for both, and it&#8217;s going to produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income, and we have many, many other ones coming,” said Trump. “The level of enthusiasm is very good, but the relationship that we have is fantastic.”
Starmer called the deal a “really important agreement.”
“This is a very good day for both of our countries, a real sign of strength. So, thank you again, Donald. A really important day for both of us,” he said.
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and UK Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Keir_Starmer</a> present their signed trade agreement: &quot;It&#39;s a fair deal for both — going to produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/CyQOUHVlvW">pic.twitter.com/CyQOUHVlvW</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1934718659974574526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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A copy of the general agreement released by the White House would set a 10% tariff for the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the United States from Britain. The agreement would also remove a host of tariffs on aerospace products.
The agreement does not set final terms for trade on steel and aluminum. The outline said that the British government would be working to meet American standards for supply chain security.
“In the General Terms, the United Kingdom also committed to working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminum products intended for export to the United States and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities,” the draft <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/implementing-the-general-terms-of-the-united-states-of-america-united-kingdom-economic-prosperity-deal/">agreement</a> says.
Trump and Starmer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-announce-major-trade-deal-with-united-kingdom">announced</a> in May that the United States and United Kingdom had reached agreement on vehicles, steel, and aluminum.
“The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come,” the president posted on Truth Social at the time. “Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement.”

Donald Trump, Keir Starmer

‘Fair To Both Sides’: Trump, U.K. Prime Minister Starmer Say They Have A Deal On Trade

‘Fair To Both Sides’: Trump, Starmer Say They Have A Deal On Trade

Economy

Keir Starmer

United Kingdom

World

The United States partnered with European authorities to shut down one of the world’s largest darknet drug trafficking websites, which is also one of the few online marketplaces for fentanyl.
American officials partnered with Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, to shut down Archetyp Market, which authorities say had trafficked at least $290 million worth of drugs to more than 600,000 users over five years.
A law enforcement coalition that included the national police forces of several European nations and multiple American agencies conducted a three-day operation across five countries. Officers seized Archetyp Market infrastructure in the Netherlands and arrested a 30-year-old German administrator in Barcelona.
One Archetyp Market moderator and six of the market’s highest vendors were also apprehended, along with around $9 million in assets.
“With over 17,000 listings, it is one of the few darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids,” <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/europe-wide-takedown-hits-longest-standing-dark-web-drug-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Europol</a> wrote on its website.
The operation required “years of intensive investigative work” to “map the platform’s technical architecture and identify the individuals behind it.” Law enforcement achieved this by “tracing financial flows, analysing digital forensic evidence, and working closely with partners on the ground.”
&#8220;With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark web&#8217;s longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the world&#8217;s most dangerous substances.&#8221; Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of operations at Europol, stated, per Reuters.
&#8220;By dismantling its infrastructure and arresting its key players, we are sending a clear message: there is no safe haven for those who profit from harm.”
All that’s left of the site is a seizure banner and a link to “Operation Deep Sentinel,” a <a href="https://operation-deepsentinel.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> warning any remaining users that “Everything comes to an end.”

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Announces Large Heroin Bust

United States, Europe Shut Down Major Dark Web Fentanyl Market

Drugs

European Union

Fentanyl

President Donald Trump took executive action on Wednesday to ban travel from a dozen countries and place partial restrictions on travel from seven more.
The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/">memorandum</a> directs to “fully restrict and limit” travel from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Partial travel restrictions will be placed on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
“The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security,” the memorandum says.
The directive is set to take effect on Monday.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the United States Government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States,” the memorandum states.
Trump’s order says that the targeted countries have failed to build adequate “information-sharing and identity-management procedures” and that immigration from some of the countries can increase the risk of terrorism in the United States.
“Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety,” the memorandum says.
In a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114627858736860268">video</a> posted to his Truth Social account, Trump cited the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, on a demonstration in support of hostages in Gaza. According to authorities, that attack was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/colorado-hits-egyptian-anti-israel-terror-suspect-with-charges-including-murder">carried out</a> by an Egyptian national who was in the country illegally after overstaying his visa.
The Boulder attack &#8220;underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign national who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,&#8221; Trump said, adding, &#8220;we don&#8217;t want them!&#8221;
The president issued a similar order during his first term banning almost all travel from Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia. He also placed restrictions on travel from North Korea and banned government officials from Venezuela.
After a legal fight, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/26/606481548/supreme-court-upholds-trump-travel-ban">voted</a> 5-4 to uphold Trump’s travel ban, which Trump at the time called “a tremendous victory for the American People and the Constitution.”
“In this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians, we must properly vet those coming into our country,” Trump said in a statement at the time. “This ruling is also a moment of profound vindication following months of hysterical commentary from the media and Democratic politicians who refuse to do what it takes to secure our border and our country.”

‘We Don’t Want Them!’: Trump Slaps Travel Ban On Countries Whose Citizens Aren’t Vetted

'We Don't Want Them!': Trump Slaps Travel Ban On Countries Whose Citizens Aren’t Vetted

Immigration

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed President Donald Trump in front of a crowd chanting “death to America” in recent comments as the United States tries to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran.
Khamenei accused Trump of lying about attempts to bring peace to the Middle East and said that the United States should leave the region. The supreme leader also referred to Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that needs to be “uprooted,&#8221; according to a translation of his comments by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute.
“Some of the things the U.S. president said in his recent visit to the region are not even worthy of a response,” the supreme leader said Saturday in a video published and translated by the institute. “Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace. He is lying.”
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Trump Is Lying and His Statements Are Not Worth a Response; Israel Will Be Dismantled; Crowd Chants “Death to America” Multiple Times <a href="https://t.co/STqgNBsSP5">pic.twitter.com/STqgNBsSP5</a>
&mdash; MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/1924053709585043708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In reaction to Khamenei’s comments throughout the roughly four-minute clip, the crowd of supporters alternately chant “death to America,” “death to England,” and “death to Israel.” The crowd also calls for “death to those who oppose the rule of the Jurisprudent,” a <a href="https://institute.global/insights/geopolitics-and-security/what-velayat-e-faqih" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reference</a> to the Islamic law that the Iranian regime is based on.
“[Trump] and other senior officials in the American administration have used power to perpetrate a massacre in Gaza, to stir up war wherever they could, and in order to support their mercenaries,” the supreme leader said. “When have they ever used power for peace?”
Khamenei then said that Iran intends to “increase our power.”
“Indeed, one can use power for peace and security. This is why we will increase our power and the power of our country every day whether the enemies like it or not, inshallah,” he said, according to the institute translation.
The Iranian supreme leader’s comments come after Trump completed a tour of Middle East countries, announcing agreements and commitments that will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/while-trump-pulls-in-investments-in-middle-east-trip-white-house-touts-investments-on-home-front" target="_blank" rel="noopener">generate</a> roughly $2 trillion in trade and investment. At the same time, the United States is attempting to strike a new deal with Iran to keep the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that the Trump administration has drawn a “red line” at nuclear enrichment capabilities in its negotiations with Iran.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” said Witkoff on ABC’s This Week. “We cannot have [enrichment] because enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here.”
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On negotiations with Iran for a new nuclear deal, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that uranium enrichment is the Trump administration’s “one very, very clear red line.”
“We cannot have that. Because enrichment enables weaponization.” <a href="https://t.co/eXpYGKlkRR">https://t.co/eXpYGKlkRR</a> <a href="https://t.co/WmauqQuAEV">pic.twitter.com/WmauqQuAEV</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1924100073819943307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Iran’s Supreme Leader Accuses Trump Of ‘Lying’ While Crowd Chants ‘Death To America’

Predictions of widespread shortages from President Donald Trump’s trade wars have fallen flat as supply chains and retailers weather the uncertainty of tariff hikes.
The first quarter of 2025 came back with negative GDP growth, but economic signs are pointing toward a positive return in the Commerce Department’s next quarterly report. A positive report should tamp down severely pessimistic predictions about the state of the economy and the impact of tariffs.
“I&#8217;ve told people this is gonna be a skinned knee. This is not a broken leg,” Jim Nelles, a veteran supply chain consultant, told The Daily Wire.
“If you look at the data, we&#8217;re ahead of where we were this time in 2023 and just slightly down from where we were this time in 2024,” said Nelles regarding ships traveling between the United States and Asia.
Since the United States and China <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/tariffs-china-trump-agree-slash-levies-duties-business-markets-bessent-rcna206193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slashed</a> tariffs, shipping in the Pacific is set to pick up, according to Nelles. “The shipping companies are scrambling to redeploy ships to Chinese ports, and American companies are scrambling to secure containers to put on those ships to bring goods into the United States,” he said.
The most recent <a href="https://www.descartes.com/resources/knowledge-center/descartes-releases-may-global-shipping-report-april-us-container-imports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on U.S. imports from the supply chain and logistics company Descartes shows that 2025’s container import volume is higher through April of 2025 than it was in either 2024 or 2023.
Trump announced sweeping new tariffs last month, threatening heavy levies on America’s trading partners. The shock sent the stock market plummeting and had media outlets and financial experts warning about an economic collapse on par with the coronavirus pandemic.
Headlines in recent weeks have catastrophized about shortages slamming Americans. Stories suggested that supply chains are breaking under Trump’s gambit to remake global trade like they broke under COVID. “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/10/business/zero-ships-china-trade-ports-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">For 12 hours, zero ships left China bound for California’s top ports. That hasn’t happened since the pandemic</a>,” says one CNN headline from May 12.
Other headlines have warned of empty ports and empty shelves for Americans. “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-05-07/empty-store-shelves-might-be-coming-sooner-than-you-think" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Empty Store Shelves Might Be Coming Sooner Than You Think</a>,” says a May 7 headline from Bloomberg. An April 29 Reuters report warned: “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/shipping-volume-will-plummet-35-next-week-la-port-official-says-cnbc-interview-2025-04-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shipping volume will plummet 35% next week, LA port official says in CNBC interview</a>.”
Major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan predicted last month that the United States was likely to fall into recession. They have since <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-13/jpmorgan-drops-us-recession-call-after-us-china-trade-truce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reversed</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/goldman-forecast-a-recession-then-almost-immediately-rescinded-it-after-trump-tariff-pause.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">those</a> forecasts.
“The panic was silly and it was driven by the media because they ran out of things to talk about,” said Nelles.
Shortages that did appear would be localized, Nelles said. Generally, businesses properly read the administration’s signals and prepared before the president began slamming down tariffs. That preparation is reflected in Commerce Department data that show imports to the United States spiking in the months leading up to the tariffs falling into place. Imports to the United States in March <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-trade-deficit-hits-record-high-march" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hit</a> an all-time high.
“At the end of the day, we would&#8217;ve seen nothing like we saw during COVID,” said Nelles. “We just would never have gotten to that point.”
“If you look at what actually happened in December, January, and February, shipments were up. People were stocking their shelves and adding inventory so that they could withstand any sort of tariff action that took place,” he said.
The most pressing problem that Nelles expects has to do with container ships sitting in U.S. ports full of goods that nobody is able or wants to receive.
“Those have to be shipped back to China, unloaded, and then loaded with other goods,” he said. “So, we might have, maybe a four week period where the equipment needs to be rebalanced between North America and Asia. But that&#8217;ll sort itself out.”
The Commerce Department’s quarterly report on GDP released last month <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> that the U.S. economy contracted 0.3%, at the time raising fears that the United States may hit the technical definition of a recession, two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.
New economic data has since <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/15/tariffs-inflation-recession-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relieved</a> those concerns. In April, retail sales rose by 0.1%. Revised data showed that retail sales rose by 1.7% in March, a 0.2 percentage point increase. With positive signs for consumer spending, inflationary signals also came back positive. The Producer Price Index fell by 0.5% in April after holding steady in March.
“If you actually take a very hard look at the data, a lot of the shrinkage in GDP was driven by reduction in government spending, which is a good thing,” said Nelles on negative growth in the first three months of the year.
“I think that when they do the second review of GDP, it&#8217;s probably going to be zero to slightly positive,” he predicted. “I think Q2 is going to be positive as well, but it wasn&#8217;t a concern.”
The latest Consumer Price Index data on April came in cooler than expected, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/business/inflation-prices-tariffs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing</a> a 2.3 % increase in prices from a year ago.
“That&#8217;s the third consecutive month that we&#8217;ve had cooler than expected inflation, which tells me that the economy isn’t quite sure what it wants to do yet,” said Nelles. “But it definitely it’s saying I don&#8217;t feel like I need to heat up right now. I just need to bring inflation down and we need to see what’s gonna happen.”
“What I wish the president would do is get rid of uncertainty. I wish he would talk about what the plan is because, right now, it feels like the plan changes based on what he sees on X or on Truth Social,” Nelles said. “That creates a lot of uncertainty in the economy and in the business world, and that&#8217;s why you saw the stock market go down so much in the month of April. But now we&#8217;ve actually gone back up to the point where we&#8217;ve regained everything that we&#8217;ve lost. So, you know, the market likes what we&#8217;re doing.”
Since Trump’s Liberation Day announcement, the administration has entered into negotiations with dozens of countries to rewrite the United States’ trade deals. The process could take a year if not longer to hammer out the details. In the meantime, businesses in the United States will be forced to reckon with the tariff system largely put in place by the president.
The White House could choose to lighten tariffs on countries that agree to negotiate in good faith, Nelles said, or the president may leave in place broad 10% tariffs on countries to increase revenue to the federal government until new trade agreements are signed. If the president chooses the latter option, buyers and suppliers will have to work out together how to handle the tariffs while international trade continues to flow.
Either way, “the net impact will be quite low,” said Nelles.

Apocalyptic Predictions About Trump’s Trade Wars Never Came True. Here’s Why.

Tariffs

A Spirit Airlines passenger posted a video which has since gone viral showing cockroaches crawling around on the inside of the aircraft, which prompted a response from airline reps.
Symoné Beez originally shared the post to X on May 11. “Never again will I fly [Spirit Airlines],” she wrote in the video caption. “I&#8217;ve flown over 500,000 miles on Delta and have never in my life seen roaches on a plane this is crazy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Never again will I fly <a href="https://twitter.com/SpiritAirlines?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpiritAirlines</a> . I&#39;ve flown over 500,000 miles on Delta and have never in my life seen roaches on a plane this is crazy. <a href="https://t.co/gIIMHpsOG9">pic.twitter.com/gIIMHpsOG9</a>
&mdash; Symoné B. Beez (@SymoneBeez) <a href="https://twitter.com/SymoneBeez/status/1921526062887936034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One video showed a brown roach crawling up the back of a chair from the back seat pocket as another airline passenger murmured in the background. Another clip showed a roach crawling up the plane’s wall.
The next day, Beez posted a follow up that said, “Update I was given a $60 [Spirit Airlines] credit… I won&#8217;t be flying Spirit again one and done for me lol.”
The airline passenger posted a photo of the letter she received with the voucher. It said, “We sincerely apologize for what happened on your recent trip. We care about your satisfaction and want to make this right. Please accept our apologies along with this voucher for future travel to any of our destinations.”
She also responded to commenters who said cockroaches were commonly seen on planes.
“All the people saying roaches are common on planes are lying LMAO I&#8217;ve flown 550,000 miles with  Delta. I&#8217;ve never even seen an ant on Delta let alone two big a** roaches in first class,” Beez wrote.
Spirit Airlines responded to the video by issuing a statement saying the company was &#8220;aware of the video&#8221; and their &#8220;maintenance team thoroughly inspected the aircraft involved and addressed the issue.&#8221;
&#8220;We maintain high standards of cleanliness across our fleet and want all of our guests to feel comfortable when traveling with us,&#8221; a spokesperson told <a href="https://people.com/cockroaches-captured-on-video-crawling-up-the-walls-of-spirit-airlines-cabin-to-trapped-passenger-s-horror-11734815">People</a>.
The clip of the crawling roaches has 8 million views on X as of Thursday. Many commenters weighed in on the situation, including those who stated they were airline employees.
“I’ve deada** never seen a roach on a plane and been on all different kind of planes except Spirit,” one person <a href="https://x.com/camperry21/status/1921982318488559677">noted</a>.
“[I]t’s not common, but it’s not unheard of,” another person <a href="https://x.com/nonamerising/status/1922047588716388837">replied</a>. “I worked for a major airline for years. those planes don’t get deep cleaned like you’d think, and people (travelers and employees) can bring from home all kinds of stuff. roaches, bedbugs, etc. I’ve seen roaches in both DCA and PHL.”
“I used to work for a major airline and have flown internationally and domestically. I have never seen so much as an ant on a plane. Spirit is just ridiculous. They’re so awful that I forfeited my return ticket on them. I ate it &amp; paid another carrier more because, NO,” someone else <a href="https://x.com/alloydesq/status/1922003862367465490">wrote</a>.

cockroach

Video Of Roaches Crawling Walls Of Spirit Airlines Flight Goes Viral; Airline Responds

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Vanity Fair is making some bold claims about the popularity of protein, saying that it’s become popular because of “influential podcast bros,” the MAGA movement, and an “undeniably gendered” interest from those who have more testosterone.
The article is being absolutely trashed online by many who understand that protein is a building block of the human diet and is beneficial for both men and women. 
&#8220;This is undeniably one of the dumbest, most hate inspired screeds I’ve ever seen. The hard left (ie Vanity Fair &amp; their supplicants) want you drugged, sick and sterile. What a sad, pathetic existence this must be,&#8221; one X user <a href="https://x.com/joeschmo1616/status/1919061152719335684">wrote</a> in reply. 
&#8220;You know things are going good when vanity fair is upset about protein,&#8221; Trent Staggs, a mayor from Utah, <a href="https://x.com/MayorStaggs/status/1919200254924095833">wrote</a> in reply.
“Vanity Fair&#8217;s ‘MAGA protein’ piece is peak idiocy. Mocks basic fitness as a far-right scheme, skipping science for dumb clicks. Garbage,” another reply <a href="https://x.com/SockstoBed/status/1919095114304999894">said</a>. 
The <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/protein-maga-craze?srsltid=AfmBOoq1dzywwPVzEFeodGZyZN0DGUc-IWHudBjT-loBMjzgPvmvPr7N">article</a> by Keziah Weir gives several examples from the “manosphere helmed by Donald Trump” which includes a “vocal contingent of intense protein-maxing ‘health’ obsessives.” Weir mentions podcasters, including Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and “The Liver King,” as prime examples of those promoting protein intake.
“By 2015, psychologists were finding that the overconsumption of protein among men could constitute an eating disorder. Was it correlation, coincidence, or some lean-meat canary in the proverbial coal mine that it was into this proteinous landscape that Donald Trump—burger loving, locker room talking, and all—announced his bid for the presidency?” the author wrote.
Weir added, “And now, amid a shrinking economy, following strides and setbacks for women’s rights via #MeToo and its backlash (including the overturning of Roe v. Wade), as well as marriage equality, visibility, and media representation for queer and trans people with a similar subsequent ‘anti-woke’ recoil—we have a second Trump term, MAHA, and what menswear commentator Derek Guy calls the &#8216;slim-fit revolution&#8217; of the manfluencer sphere.”
“Whether our current protein path leads to an accidental brush with transcendence, or face down on the pavement as gunshots ricochet nearby, remains to be seen,&#8221; the author writes in conclusion.

Protein powder

Vanity Fair Trashed For Claiming MAGA Is To Blame For America’s Protein Obsession

Vanity Fair Trashed For Claiming MAGA Is To Blame For America's Protein Obsession

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Seven Iranians in Great Britain were arrested in two suspected terror cells for planning attacks or threatening national security, law enforcement said Sunday.
London&#8217;s Metropolitan Police said they had arrested five men between the ages of 29 and 46 on Saturday on suspicion of preparing “a terrorist act.” Four of the men were Iranian, while the nationality of the fifth was yet to be determined. The Iranians were questioned under section 5 of the United Kingdom&#8217;s Terrorism Act.
Three other Iranians were detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023, applicable to anyone involved in “foreign power threat activity.”
“Speculation mounted on Sunday evening the suspected terror group was looking to hit a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community,” The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14678925/sas-swoop-iran-terror-cell-major-attack-britain.html/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, adding that at the time of their arrests, the terrorists were “reportedly hours away from staging a massacre.”
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/04/uk-arrests-five-men-including-four-iranians-over-suspected-terrorist-plot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the “two major operations” arresting the suspected terrorists prevented one of the biggest threats “we have seen in recent years,” adding, “These are major operations and the ongoing investigation is immensely important, and, of course, it involves Iranian nationals in both investigations. But this reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security we continue to face.&#8221;
Last October, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/seven-iranian-nationals-arrested-terrorism-k4wwa0af">said</a> the agency had dealt with 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by Iran since 2022. In March of this year, similarly, former MI6 boss Sir Richard Dearlove said Iran and its proxies constitute a “threat” to British Jews.
“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” British security minister Dan Jarvis recently <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/terror-arrests-came-in-context-of-raised-warnings-about-iran-with-ongoing-chaos-in-its-own-backyard-13361523" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the British parliament.
“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies,” he continued. “Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”
Iran’s hatred of President Donald Trump has also been more in evidence lately; the editor of the Iranian newspaper Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, who is closely associated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, <a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/hossein-shariatmadari-kayhan-editor-and-close-associate-supreme-leader-khamenei-day-not-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on April 4 of Trump, “I said: He has crossed every line! The day is not far off when a few bullets will be fired into his hollow head to avenge the blood of the martyr [Qassem] Soleimani, and he will drink his cursed cup of death!” On April 7, he published an article in which he said his statements were based on Khamenei&#8217;s own comments.
As far back as 2011, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg73741/html/CHRG-112hhrg73741.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> before Congress, “Recent reports indicate that the Iranian government is a threat to homeland security by attempting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador on our soil using drug cartels operating on our doorstep. &#8230;  In February, the International Atomic Energy Agency director agreed that Iranian leaders seemed very determined to  build a nuclear weapon. &#8230; Remember that World War I started because of an assassination of a foreign diplomat.”
After noting the various instances where Iran’s proxies had killed hundreds of Americans, retired U.S. Army General John M. Keane prophetically warned, “This much I do know: If we continue the half-measures of the past, the Iranians will continue to kill us, will continue to sponsor terrorism and use their proxies against our interests, and will continue to pursue nuclear weapons. The next nightmare the world is awaiting is around the corner, and it is an unchecked Iran with nuclear weapons.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei

‘Hours Away From Staging A Massacre’: Numerous Iranians Arrested In Great Britain

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