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Iran’s Khamenei warns of ‘strong blow’ as Trump threatens to drop bombs, Putin silent on US ire
Furious comments issued by President Donald Trump over the weekend prompted a swift and aggressive response from Iran, while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains tight-lipped in the face of the U.S. leader’s ire.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a warning on Monday and said it would respond «decisively and immediately» to any threat issued by the U.S. after Trump said there «will be bombing» and likely more tariffs if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington.
«The enmity from the U.S. and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,» Khamenei said according to a Reuters report.
TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB IRAN UNLESS THEY END NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND BEGIN TALKS ON NEW DEAL
President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One before arriving at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Mar. 28, 2025. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
«And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,» he added.
Despite Iran’s refusal and warning directed at both the U.S. and Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Khamenei’s comments are an attempt to «buy time» while balancing growing external and internal pressures on his regime.
«At once, Khamenei sought to both downplay the chances of President Trump or Israel taking military action while also looking to deter such an eventuality due to the regime’s own policies,» he told Fox News Digital. «This is a tightrope Khamenei will increasingly be forced to walk as he plays for time and engages in nuclear escalation.
«U.S. policy should be to keep Khamenei off balance,» he added.
While Iran takes an offensive stance against Trump and his ambitions to finally bring Tehran to heel on its nuclear expansion, Russia is taking a different approach as it refuses to bow to Trump’s plans to see an end to the war in Ukraine.
TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran. (Dmitry AZAROV / SPUTNIK / AFP)
Over the weekend, Trump said he was «pissed off» over comments made by Putin on Friday when he suggested the work Washington was doing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine was moot because he believes the government in Kyiv to be illegitimate and therefore cannot sign any deals.
«If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault … I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,» Trump said, noting that tariffs could be as high as 50%.
The president later said his ire could «dissipate quickly» if Putin «does the right thing,» and once again noted he has «a very good relationship with [Putin].»
However, the Kremlin chief, who reportedly has another call scheduled with Trump this week, has not responded to Trump’s heated comments.
The chief spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that Russia will continue to work on «restoring» relations with Washington that he said were «damaged by the Biden administration» following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and noted that Putin remains in «open contact» with Trump.
However, Putin’s lack of public response and the toned-down statements from the Kremlin are all part of Putin’s broader strategy, former DIA intelligence officer and Russia expert, Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, D.C., on Mar. 30, 2025, when he said he was «pissed off» at Russian President Vladimir Putin. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
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«Putin, like Trump, thrives on confrontation,» Koffler said. «Except his approach is different. The Kremlin deliberately is projecting that Putin is cool, calm, and collected now, which he is.
«The fact that President Trump reportedly got mad and used those words means to Putin that he finally got to him, the way he got to Biden, Obama, and others who called him a killer and other derogatory words,» she continued.
«Putin now feels that not only Russia has an upper hand on the battlefield over Ukraine and in terms of total combat potential over NATO, but he also was able to unbalance Trump,» Koffler explained. «That is the whole point – it’s a judo move.»
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Democrats are sticking to their skepticism about President Donald Trump’s performance on the economy, blasting the country’s «unaffordability» even as the reporting from January exceeded expectations on inflation and the job market.
January’s inflation report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed just a 2.5% increase in prices over last year — a number that inches the economy closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Similarly, the U.S. jobs report for last month showed that the economy added 130,000 jobs, beating out projections from forecasters like Reuters, Oxford University and Bloomberg.
Many predictions had estimated the U.S. would add just 50,000 to 75,000 in January.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP TARGETS AFFORDABILITY WITH RECONCILIATION 2.0 PLAN AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
The Department of Labor shown in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
The reports are the latest in a series of reports during the second Trump administration that have defied Democrat predictions of persistent inflation and economic downturn amid the implementation of GOP policies that Democrats oppose, such as Trump’s tariffs and a more aggressive focus on domestic production.
But to Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, the numbers don’t make good on the promises Trump made on the campaign trail.
«Donald Trump promised to lower costs ‘on day one.’ But one year into his second term, food continues to get more expensive, utility costs are soaring, and housing prices are rising,» Warren said in a statement on the inflation report.
«Trump is making life less affordable for American families – and instead of fixing the economic pain he’s caused, he says this is the Trump economy, and he is ‘very proud’ of it,» she said.
Among the policies Democrats believe are contributing to high prices, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, singled out Trump’s position on tariffs in his own statement about the price index.
«Donald Trump promised he would end inflation on ‘day one.’ Today is Day 389, and prices are higher than ever,» Boyle said.
TRUMP HITS THE ROAD TO SELL ECONOMIC WINS, AS REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM SHOWDOWN
President Donald Trump speaks during a «Make America Wealthy Again» trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
«Instead of keeping his promise, Trump has increased the costs Americans pay through his massive tariff taxes — the highest tariffs since the Great Depression. Ordinary Americans simply can’t afford Trump’s reckless economic policies,» he said.
The criticisms from Boyle and Warren aren’t new. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blasted the administration on affordability even ahead of the reporting on inflation.
«Costs haven’t gone down in the United States of America. Costs have gone up under failed Republican policies. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Healthcare costs are out of control. Utility bills are out of control. And child care costs are out of control,» Jeffries said in a press conference last week.
Other Democrats believe the numbers themselves may come with an asterisk.
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he thinks the job report, in particular, doesn’t signal a strong market on its own.
«Beating expectations once doesn’t absolve the pain of the meager monthly average of 15,000 jobs created last year,» Neal said in a statement about the labor report.
«The fine print of this report, which shows significant downward revisions of Trump’s first year in office, casts strong doubt that people can rely on this administration to deliver for them,» Neal said, referring to other disappointing jobs reports from 2025.
‘PRICES ARE COMING DOWN’: TRUMP HAILS HIS ECONOMY, BLAMES BIDEN AS VOTERS SAY COSTS STILL STING
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., walks towards the House chamber on Capitol Hill on Dec. 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, believes Republicans are showing signs of nervousness about the economy.
She believes that Trump has already tacitly admitted that affordability remains an issue for Americans.
«Trump called this affordability crisis a ‘hoax,’ but he knows it’s real and now wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10%,» Waters said, referring to an idea floated by Trump earlier this year to limit the amount banks can charge borrowers.
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«Well, President Trump, I’m pleased to know if you’re listening, we don’t agree on much of anything, but we do on this,» Waters said.
Democrats contacted by Fox News Digital did not address whether the numbers from the January reporting indicated the country was on the right track, despite their other outstanding concerns.
congress,democratic party,economy,politics
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French police raided the headquarters of the Arab World Institute (AWI) on Monday as part of its investigation into a former government official’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Authorities searched the Paris headquarters along with several other locations, according to the national financial prosecutor. The investigators were searching for documents relating to ex-culture minister Jack Lang, who served as the AWI’s head until his resignation last month. AWI is a part of France’s foreign ministry.
Both Jack and Caroline Lang have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or receiving financial benefits from Epstein. Their lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told French broadcaster BFMTV this month that «there was no movement of funds.»
Fallout from the release of millions of new documents related to Epstein has rippled through Europe. On Saturday, Paris prosecutors set up a dedicated team to review the files, coordinating with the financial prosecutor and national police.
PRINCE WILLIAM, PRINCESS CATHERINE ‘DEEPLY CONCERNED’ BY EPSTEIN FILES REVELATIONS, PALACE SAYS
French police officers patrol in front of the Arab World Institute in Paris on Feb. 16, 2026. (Charlotte Siemon/AFP via Getty Images)
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a letter on Saturday that «all» Epstein files have now been released, consistent with Section 3 of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
«In accordance with the requirements of the Act, and as described in various Department submissions to the courts of the Southern District of New York assigned to the Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions and related orders, the Department released all ‘records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department’ that ‘relate to’ any of nine different categories,» the letter read.
The letter includes a list of more than 300 high-profile names, including President Donald Trump, Barack and Michelle Obama, Prince Harry, Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Kurt Cobain, Mark Zuckerberg and Bruce Springsteen.
Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and takes questions from Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram ahead of a House hearing. (Tom Williams)
CBS NEWS SCRAMBLES AS NEW CONTRIBUTOR’S EPSTEIN EMAIL CONNECTIONS SURFACE IN LATEST DOJ FILES
In accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the list of names includes «all persons where (1) they are or were a government official or politically exposed person and (2) their name appears in the files released under the Act at least once,» the letter said, adding that the names appear in a «wide variety of contexts.»
Some of the names mentioned had «extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell» while others were mentioned «in a portion of a document (including press reporting) that on its face is unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell matters,» the letter said.
The Department of Justice released a trove of Epstein documents on Dec. 19 following President Trump’s signature on the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
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The document outlines the broad range of Epstein-related materials, including records concerning Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; references to individuals—up to and including government officials—connected to Epstein’s activities; and documents tied to civil settlements and legal resolutions such as immunity deals, plea agreements, non-prosecution agreements and sealed arrangements.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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