INTERNACIONAL
Trump team holds ‘constructive’ face-to-face nuclear talks with Iran, will meet again next weekend
American and Iranian officials sat down for a first round of direct talks Saturday in Oman, a major step after years of rising tensions and stalled diplomacy that will continue with further discussions next weekend, according to a statement released by the White House.
The meeting between U.S. Special Envoy Steven Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was the first face-to-face exchange since President Donald Trump returned to office as Iran continues to expand its nuclear program.
The White House described the discussions as «very positive and constructive,» adding, «the United States deeply thanks the Sultanate of Oman for its support of this initiative.»
Witkoff, joined by U.S. Ambassador to Oman Ana Escrogima, told Araghchi Trump had personally instructed him to try to resolve differences through diplomacy, if possible.
DELEGATES FROM IRAN, US HOLDING TALKS IN OMAN AMID ONGOING TENSIONS: WHAT TO KNOW
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy for the Middle East, met with Iranian officials Saturday. (AP/Ben Curtis)
The talks took place on the outskirts of Oman’s capital, Muscat, and lasted just over two hours. Omani Foreign Minister Said Badr hosted the meeting.
Iranian state TV later confirmed the sides exchanged several rounds of messages, and there was a short, direct conversation between the American and Iranian diplomats.
Military pressure appears to be a big reason Iran came to the table. Rebecca Grant, a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute, told the «Fox Report» Saturday the U.S. has sent a clear signal by moving powerful military assets into the region.
TRUMP DEMANDS DO-OR-DIE NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN. WHO HAS THE LEVERAGE?
«All the options are not only on the table. They’re all deployed to the Middle East,» Grant said. «Somewhere between four and six B-2 stealth bombers [are] forward in Diego Garcia, [along with] two aircraft carriers. That has really gotten Iran’s attention.»
Grant said Iran now faces a choice.
«Iran either has to talk or get their nuclear facilities bombed,» she said.
Tensions between the two countries have been high since 2018, when Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Donald Trump (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA; Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)
That agreement placed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program. Since then, Iran has been enriching uranium at much higher levels. The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran is enriching uranium to 60% purity, just below weapons-grade, and has stockpiled over 18,000 pounds of it. Under the original deal, Iran was limited to 3.67% purity and a much smaller stockpile.
While U.S. intelligence agencies do not believe Iran has started building a nuclear weapon, they warn the country is getting closer to being able to do so if it decides to.
Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News military analyst, said Iran’s leaders now believe Trump is serious about using military force if they don’t agree to limit Iran’s nuclear program.
«They’ve come to the conclusion that the president is dead serious about supporting an Israeli-led, U.S.-supported strike on Iran to take down their nuclear enterprise,» Keane said.
An Iranian man holds an anti-U.S. poster during a rally in downtown Tehran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Grant explained that the U.S. and its allies are ready for such a strike if talks fail.
«Israel took out a lot of Iran’s air defenses last year,» she said. «Then you have two [U.S.] carriers, land-based fighters in the region and B-2 bombers with bunker-busting bombs. That’s the threat display.»
She added that Iran has no real need to enrich uranium since it can buy nuclear fuel on the open market.
«It is time for them to start to make a deal,» she said. «And I think, maybe, due to our military pressure and Trump’s resolve, they’re beginning to realize it.»
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has said he’s not open to direct negotiations on the nuclear program but has also blamed the United States for breaking past promises.
«They must prove that they can build trust,» Pezeshkian said in a recent Cabinet meeting.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned of consequences if threats continue.
«Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace,» he wrote on social media. «The US can choose the course… and concede to consequences.»
Iran launches a medium-range ballistic missile called Hayber (Hurremshahr-4) May 7, 2023. (Iranian Defense Ministry/Hanodut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News no deal can happen unless Iran gives up its nuclear weapons plans.
«We have to fully, verifiably eliminate their nuclear weapons program for there to be any agreement,» he said. «All we ask is that they behave like a normal nation.»
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Grant said any future deal will need strict terms.
«It’s going to have to include real inspections,» she said. «It’s going to have to include them giving up, frankly, some of that enriched uranium. There will have to be some limits on their ballistic missile development.»
The two nations are scheduled to meet again April 19 in Oman, according to the White House statement.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
DHS unloads on anti-ICE Dems after man arrested with manifesto, ‘disturbing’ alleged plot to kill agents
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FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security is speaking out against immigration rhetoric from Democrats and launching an investigation after a U.S. citizen in Oregon was arrested and found with a manifesto stating his plans to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Last week, the St. Helen’s Police Department north of Portland arrested an 18-year-old during a traffic stop after he was found with knives and materials used to manufacture Molotov cocktails, according to police, Fox 12 Oregon reported.
The individual, Rayden Coleman, is also alleged to have authored a manifesto outlining a plan to kill ICE agents at a Portland ICE office in an attack using Molotov cocktails and a gun. Additionally, Coleman reportedly told investigators about his plan and that he was set to pick up an AR-15 the next day from a licensed dealer to carry out the attack, and he is also reported to have admitted making statements about beheading ICE agents.
«Every day there are more assaults, more vehicle-ramming attacks, more attempts to kill our officers,» Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. «Now, we have an American citizen planning to kill ICE officers with Molotov cocktails and gun them down. It’s disturbing.»
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploy pepper balls, tear gas, and flashbang grenades as hundreds of protesters march from Portland City Hall to an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 1, 2026. (Sean Bascom/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«Sanctuary politicians comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols have real world consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must end.»
The DHS statement comes the day after several House Democrats railed against ICE during a hearing with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons comparing ICE agents to Nazis and the Gestapo as they slammed the Trump administration over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two anti-ICE activists killed during interactions opposing federal immigration authorities.
ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS says there is an ongoing investigation into the Oregon arrest with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and that Coleman is facing state charges on six counts of manufacturing a destructive device, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
Coleman is being held in the Columbia County jail and is listed as having a bail of $400,000.
ICE officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them, according to DHS, along with an 8,000% increase in death threats.
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Getty Images)
As Democrats rally against ICE across the country, Congress has until Friday at midnight to fund DHS, with Democrats threatening to shut down the government if their demands for ICE reforms are not meant and as the days go by, the odds of doing so are becoming increasingly slim.
«I think they (Democrats) are using families as political weapons,» DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exclusively told Fox News Digital last week. «And this is a little bit different, because when it’s the whole government that they shut down, they’re not necessarily just attacking security.»
«This feels like a direct attack on the security of our country, our homeland. And it’s almost as though they’ve gotten so extreme, they don’t care if we’re out there on the front lines keeping our country safe from terrorists, keeping our country safe from murderers and rapists,» Noem added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
immigration,politics,homeland security,illegal immigrants
INTERNACIONAL
Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received «credible reports» of «life-threatening mistreatment» of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
Ali and Kiana Rahmani, children of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, attend the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 award ceremony, where they accept the award on behalf of their mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway on Dec. 10, 2023. (NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS )
Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
«The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,» committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. «Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.»
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
Ali Rahmani, son of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, speaks after receiving the award on behalf of his mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway. (NTB/Fredrik Varfjell via REUTERS)
An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present «to chant norm‑breaking slogans» and «disturb the peace,» Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
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«Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,» it said.
iran,world politics,personal freedoms
INTERNACIONAL
Alejada de Estados Unidos y con Rusia en la mira, Europa dispara la producción de armamento
La industria militar europea vio con pánico el inicio de la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania. Kiev quemaba en un día más obuses de artillería y munición de los que podían producir las fábricas europeas en un mes. Los arsenales europeos empezaron a vaciarse peligrosamente para sostener al esfuerzo militar europeo. Cuando Rusia atacó, Europa producía menos de 300.000 obuses de 155mm al año. Estados Unidos poco más de 170.000. Rusia disparaba a diario más de 15.000.
Cuatro años después la película es totalmente diferente gracias a una combinación de tres estrategias. Primero se pusieron en marcha fondos públicos que sirvieran de palanca para levantar inversión privada. El programa ASAP de la Comisión Europea, con 500 millones de euros, fue el germen. Los Estados miembros pusieron seguidamente 2.000 millones de euros más y la industria añadió 8.000 millones cuando los ministerios de Defensa empezaron a firmar contratos a largo plazo que aseguraba la venta de todo lo producido, para rellenar arsenales y para seguir ayudando a Ucrania.
La segunda pata fue la diversificación geográfica. Rheinmetall se expandió por el continente y ya tiene plantas en cinco países europeos: Alemania, España, Bulgaria, Hungría y Lituania. Además, desarrolla en Ucrania una fábrica conjunta con un socio empresarial ucraniano. KNDS fabrica ya en Francia, Italia y Letonia. Nammo en Noruega, Finlandia, Suecia y ultima la apertura de una fábrica en Dinamarca.
El tercer paso fue abrir el cuello de botella que frenaba el aumento de la fabricación de obuses. El problema no estaba en fabricar las carcasas metálicas, sino en rellenarlas de explosivos. KNDS usó 41 millones de euros del programa europeo para aumentar su producción de pólvora. Nammo triplicó esa capacidad en tres años en una fábrica sueca.
Europa producirá ya este año más de dos millones de obuses de artillería, más del doble que la industria estadounidense y sólo superada por una Rusia que tiene aportes sustanciales de Corea del Norte.
Para cuando arranque 2027, la producción europea llegará a 2,5 millones de obuses. Washington, en cambio, calculaba alcanzar 1,2 millones en 2025 pero se ha estancado en poco más de medio millón y ahora estima que necesitará todo 2026 para llegar al millón. Europa aumenta su capacidad militar industrial porque sabe que poco puede contar ya con Estados Unidos y que debe seguir armando a Ucrania y rellenar sus arsenales.
El cambio vino de la mano principalmente de unas pocas empresas: Rheinmetall, KNDS, BAE Systems y Nammo. Atraídas por los fondos nacionales y europeos, pero sobre todo por contratos a largo plazo que les aseguran ventas durante lo que queda de década, lanzaron una fuerte inversión en nuevas plantas y en nuevas líneas de fabricación.
El símbolo está en Unterlub, un pueblo de la Baja Sajonia alemana donde Rheinmetall inauguró la mayor fábrica de munición de Europa, construida en menos de 18 meses y con una inversión de más de 500 millones de euros. Sólo de esa fábrica podrán salir, trabajando en un solo turno, 350.000 obuses de artillería al año. Si la fábrica trabajara 24 horas al día triplicando turnos superaría el millón de obuses al año.
En menos de cuatro años los europeos han completado su mayor reconversión industrial militar desde el fin de la Guerra Fría, cuando redujeron rápidamente su producción militar porque no había comprador para tanta arma y tanta munición.
Mientras tanto, Estados Unidos se quedó atrás. En febrero de 2024, Washington dijo que en 2025 estaría fabricando 1,2 millones de obuses. Pero desde septiembre de 2024 su producción está estancada. Según los medios estadounidenses, el problema es que la certificación es más lenta que en Europa, pero sobre todo que la planta que General Dynamics debía poner a toda máquina en Mesquite (Texas) lleva un año de retrasos.
El cambio industrial tiene consecuencias que van más allá de los números de producción. Por primera desde 1945 los europeos estarían en situación de sostener una guerra convencional de alta intensidad con sus propias industrias. Además, Europa puede ahora suministrar a Ucrania casi todo lo que necesita en el plano militar, reduciendo esa dependencia de Estados Unidos. El 80% de la munición de artillería que dispara ahora Ucrania es europea.
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