INTERNACIONAL
Pentagon flexes US military’s decoys and strategic deception that took Iran and world by surprise
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The U.S. military and Trump administration leveraged strategic deception and decoys to carry out the surprise and successful strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday evening that took the world by surprise after President Donald Trump indicated such an operation could unfold in the coming weeks, not necessarily days.
Trump announced the Saturday evening strikes on Iran in a Truth Social post that was not preceded by media leaks or speculation that strikes were imminent. The unexpected social media post was followed just hours later by a brief Trump address to the nation while flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
The strikes, which the administration has described as an overwhelming success that obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities and backed the nation into a corner to make a peace deal, were celebrated by Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine as ones that were cloaked in secrecy and intentionally deceptive to confuse the enemy.
«At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States,» Caine said during a Sunday morning press conference from the Pentagon. «As part of the plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy. A deception effort, known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.»
HEGSETH, PENTAGON BRASS PRAISE TRUMP’S ‘SPECTACULAR’ MILITARY SUCCESS IN IRAN NUCLEAR STRIKES
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth takes a question from a reporter during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images)
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES
Ahead of the Saturday evening strikes, six B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri were en route to a U.S. Air Force base in Guam, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News.
«The main strike package, comprised of seven B-2 spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications,» Caine said. «Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelings. Once overland, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed maneuver, requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications.»
RETIRED GENERAL TELLS CNN HE’S ‘IMPRESSED’ BY TRUMP STRIKING IRAN, SAYS AMERICAN LIVES POTENTIALLY SAVED
Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said during a Saturday evening appearance as news broke of the strikes that reports of the bombers were likely part of the «misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had had put off the decision.»
President Trump looks on in the Situation Room on June 21, 2025. (The White House via X)
«Those six B-2 bombers that were heading west toward Guam, they would not have made it to Iran in time to take part in this strike,» she said, while speaking with Fox News’ Bret Baier Saturday evening. «So, that suggests to me that there was an additional B-1 package that perhaps flew eastward from Whiteman Air Force Base. Again, this was all part of the deception. There was a great deal of sort of misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had put off the decision and that this would happen two weeks from now.»
TRUMP LAUNCHES PRECISION STRIKES AGAINST IRAN. TRIUMPH OR TRAP?
Hegseth said in his remarks before the media Sunday morning that the U.S. military had leveraged «misdirection» and total secrecy, aside from top national security officials, to carry out the strikes «without the world knowing at all.»
«It involved misdirection and the highest of operational security. Our B-2s went in and out of … these nuclear sites, in and out and back, without the world knowing at all,» Hegseth said. «In that way, it was historic.»
It was the longest B-2 spirit bomber mission since 2001, the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown and the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, Hegseth and Caine said during the Sunday press conference.
The surprise strikes following Trump saying, via comment delivered by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Thursday during a press briefing, that he would make a decision on Iran within the next two weeks, which initially signaled that such strikes could unfold in the coming weeks and not imminently.
«I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, ‘Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,’» Leavitt said at a White House press briefing Thursday, quoting Trump.
TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON ‘SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS’ OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Trump said in his address to the nation late Saturday that «Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated» and that Iran now faces the choice of making peace or facing future attacks.
«And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.»
MISDIRECTION AND ‘DECEPTION’ LIKELY KEY IN TRUMP ADMIN’S SURPRISE IRAN STRIKE
Trump described the strikes as a «spectacular military success.»
«A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,» he said. «Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number-one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.»
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs,» Trump continued. «That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular.»
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire numerous Democrat-appointed members of independent agencies, but one case still moving through the legal system carries the greatest implications yet for a president’s authority to do that.
In Slaughter v. Trump, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to fight what she calls her «illegal firing,» setting up a possible scenario in which the case lands before the Supreme Court.
The case would pose the most direct question yet to the justices about where they stand on Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the nearly century-old decision regarding a president’s power over independent regulatory agencies.
John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital he thinks the high court is likely to side with the president if and when the case arrives there.
SUPREME COURT SAYS TRUMP CAN PROCEED WITH FIRING DEMOCRAT-APPOINTED CPSC MEMBERS
The Supreme Court is photographed, Feb. 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
«I think it’s unlikely that Humphrey’s Executor survives the Supreme Court, at least in its current form,» Shu said, adding he anticipates the landmark decision will be overturned or «severely narrowed.»
What is Humphrey’s Executor?
Humphrey’s Executor centered on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to fire an FTC commissioner with whom he disagreed politically. The case marked the first instance of the Supreme Court limiting a president’s removal power by ruling that Roosevelt overstepped his authority. The court found that presidents could not dismiss FTC commissioners without a reason, such as malfeasance, before their seven-year terms ended, as outlined by Congress in the FTC Act.
However, the FTC’s functions, which largely center on combating anticompetitive business practices, have expanded in the 90 years since Humphrey’s Executor.
«The Federal Trade Commission of 1935 is a lot different than the Federal Trade Commission today,» Shu said.
He noted that today’s FTC can open investigations, issue subpoenas, bring lawsuits, impose financial penalties and more. The FTC now has executive, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, Shu said.
SCOTUS greenlights other firings
If the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily allow two labor board members’ firings is any indication, the high court stands ready to make the FTC less independent and more accountable to Trump.
In a 6-3 order, the Supreme Court cited the «considerable executive power» that the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board have, saying a president «may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf.»
TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FINDS FAVOR WITH SUPREME COURT
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS)
The order did not mention Humphrey’s Executor, but that and other moves indicate the Supreme Court has been chipping away at the 90-year-old ruling and is open to reversing it.
The case of Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya gets closest to the heart of Humphrey’s Executor.
Where does Slaughter’s case stand?
Slaughter enjoyed a short-lived victory when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that Trump violated the Constitution and ruled in her favor on July 17.
She was able to return to the FTC for a few days, but the Trump administration appealed the decision and, on July 21, the appellate court paused the lower court judge’s ruling.
Judge Loren AliKhan had said in her summary judgment that Slaughter’s case was almost identical to William Humphrey’s.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS
Rebecca Slaughter, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«It is not the role of this court to decide the correctness, prudence, or wisdom of the Supreme Court’s decisions—even one from ninety years ago,» AliKhan, a Biden appointee, wrote. «Whatever the Humphrey’s Executor Court may have thought at the time of that decision, this court will not second-guess it now.»
The lawsuit arose from Trump firing Slaughter and Bedoya, the two Democratic-appointed members of the five-member commission. They alleged that Trump defied Humphrey’s Executor by firing them in March without cause in a letter that «nearly word-for-word» mirrored the one Roosevelt sent a century ago.
Bedoya has since resigned, but Slaughter is not backing down from a legal fight in which Trump appears to have the upper hand.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«Like dozens of other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission has been protected from presidential politics for nearly a century,» Slaughter said in a statement after she was re-fired. «I’ll continue to fight my illegal firing and see this case through, because part of why Congress created independent agencies is to ensure transparency and accountability.»
Now a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee is considering a longer-term pause and asked for court filings to be submitted by July 29, meaning the judges could issue their decision soon thereafter.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday and wasted little time lashing out at European leaders over mass immigration, warning that the crisis is «killing» the continent and calling it a «horrible invasion.»
Trump fulfilled a key campaign promise by effectively closing the southern border with Mexico while Europe and the U.K., in particular, are still struggling to get to grips with the crisis as dozens of boats packed with illegal migrants continue to pour into the country every day from France.
«On immigration, you better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore,» Trump said to reporters after landing at Prestwick airport on Friday evening.
President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday and wasted little time lashing out at European leaders over mass immigration, warning that the crisis is «killing» the continent and calling it a «horrible invasion.» Secretary of State for Scotland (R) and Warren Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (C) stand nearby as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025, in Prestwick, Scotland. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
TRUMP HEADS TO SCOTLAND TO TALK GOLF, POLITICS AND TRADE
«You got to get your act together and last month we had nobody entering our country. Nobody. Shut it down. And we took out a lot of bad people that got there with Biden.»
Biden repeatedly had single days when apprehensions ranged from 8,000 to 10,000 migrants, with his highest single month being December 2023, when 249,785 Border Patrol apprehensions were recorded.
«Biden was a total stiff. And what he allowed to happen,» Trump continued, chiding his predecessor.
«But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe.»
Migrants packed tightly onto a small inflatable boat as they attempted to cross the English Channel near the Dover Strait, the world’s busiest shipping lane. (Luke Dray/Getty Images)
TRUMP HEADS TO SCOTLAND, CONTINUES IRONING OUT TRADE DEALS AFTER NOTCHING SIX MONTHS BACK IN OFFICE
«Many countries in Europe, some people, some leaders have not let it happen. And they’re not getting the proper credit. They should. I could name them to you right now, but I’m not going to embarrass the other ones. But stop this. Immigration is killing Europe.»
The U.K. saw a major surge in 2022 and 2023 when small boat crossings reached over 44,000 per year, according to government figures.
Nearly 22,500 people have arrived in the U.K. so far this year after crossing the English Channel, up 57% on the same point last year.
Net migration to the UK was 431,000 last year, down almost 50% from 2023.
Hungary and Poland are two of the most prominent European countries to take hardline stances against immigration, particularly irregular migration and asylum seekers. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a Trump ally.
Trump is in the U.K. for a five-day trip where he will check in with his golf resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen, as well as with British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and head of the Scottish government, First Minister John Swinney.
The president is expected to discuss the latest U.S.-U.K. trade agreement, a deal dubbed the «Economic Prosperity Deal» last month, which agreed to slash tariffs. The U.K. is one of the few countries with which the U.S. has advanced its trade agreements under relatively amicable terms.
A small boat heads off into the English Channel after picking up migrants at sunrise on July 2 in Gravelines, France. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am, as you’ve probably heard. But he’s a good man, he got a trade deal done,» Trump told reporters. «And they’ve been working on this deal for 12 years. He got it done. It’s a good deal. It’s a good deal for the U.K.»
Trump added that he would be meeting Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission about securing a trade deal with Europe.
«We’re meeting with the European Union. And that would be actually the biggest deal of them all if we make it,» Trump said.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Los taiwaneses rechazaron la propuesta de expulsar a legisladores afines al régimen de China
Los votantes taiwaneses rechazaron un intento de destituir a cerca de una quinta parte de sus legisladores, todos del opositor Partido Nacionalista, en un referéndum revocatorio celebrado este sábado, lo que reduce las expectativas del partido gobernante de cambiar el equilibrio de poder en la legislatura de la isla autogobernada.
El Partido Progresista Democrático (DPP), afín a la independencia, ganó las pasadas elecciones presidenciales, pero los Nacionalistas favorables a China, también conocidos como el KMT, y el más pequeño Partido Popular de Taiwán, suman suficientes escaños para formar un bloque mayoritario.
Los resultados oficiales preliminares mostraron que los intentos de destitución no lograron remover a ninguno de los aproximadamente dos docenas de legisladores del KMT. La magnitud de estas elecciones revocatorias no tiene precedentes, y otros siete legisladores del KMT enfrentarán una votación similar el 23 de agosto.
El KMT posee actualmente 52 escaños, mientras que el DPP tiene 51. Para que el DPP obtenga la mayoría legislativa, al menos seis legisladores del KMT tendrían que ser destituidos y el partido gobernante tendría que ganar las elecciones complementarias, que deben celebrarse dentro de los tres meses posteriores al anuncio de los resultados.
Para que la revocatoria prospere, más de una cuarta parte de los votantes habilitados en el distrito electoral debe votar a favor, y el número total de partidarios debe superar al de quienes voten en contra.
Las urnas cerraron a las 16:00 hora local. La Comisión Central Electoral de Taiwán anunciará los resultados oficiales el 1 de agosto.
Si los resultados de la votación del mes próximo tampoco son favorables al DPP, significará que el gobierno de la presidenta Lai Ching-te podría seguir enfrentando fuerte resistencia dentro de la legislatura antes de las elecciones previstas para 2028.
El presidente del KMT, Eric Chu, dijo a los periodistas que los votantes habían usado sus papeletas para demostrar que la democracia taiwanesa es madura y sólida, y exigió una disculpa a Lai.
“Todo el pueblo taiwanés eligió la estabilidad, eligió que el gobierno se concentre en realizar su labor, en vez de enredarse en luchas políticas amargas”, afirmó.
Pese al gran esfuerzo, quienes respaldan la revocatoria enfrentaban una “lucha cuesta arriba” al intentar destituir a legisladores en distritos bien organizados y fuertemente controlados por el KMT, indicó Lev Nachman, profesor de Ciencias Políticas en la Universidad Nacional de Taiwán.
El resultado dificultará aún más que Lai impulse su agenda, especialmente antes de las elecciones locales del año próximo, añadió Nachman, experto en elecciones taiwanesas.
“Por ahora, hay muy poco que Lai pueda hacer más allá de buscar otras formas creativas de captar la atención del público”, dijo a Associated Press.
Fu Kun-chi, uno de los legisladores más poderosos y controvertidos afectados por la revocatoria, señaló que el resultado deja a Lai sin más opción que dialogar con la oposición y “buscar una vía para que Taiwán avance de modo más estable en este mundo caótico”.
El secretario general del DPP, Lin Yu-chang, aseguró que aceptan humildemente los resultados, y afirmó que la revocatoria no debe reducirse a una victoria o derrota partidista, sino considerarse una demostración de poder cívico. Dijo que su partido tiene la responsabilidad de reflexionar más cuidadosamente sobre el sentir ciudadano y ajustar su enfoque para responder a las expectativas de la sociedad.
Quienes apoyan la destitución de los 24 legisladores han criticado al KMT y sus aliados por bloquear leyes clave, sobre todo el presupuesto de defensa, y aprobar cambios polémicos considerados como una reducción del poder ejecutivo y favorables a China, que considera la isla como parte de su territorio.
Las acciones de la oposición suscitaron inquietudes entre algunos taiwaneses sobre la integridad democrática de la isla y su capacidad para disuadir amenazas militares chinas, lo que originó las campañas de revocatoria.
Pero el KMT acusó al partido gobernante de recurrir a la represalia política tras perder la mayoría legislativa, sosteniendo que las revocatorias buscan socavar y desafiar el sistema democrático de Taiwán.
Las elecciones han incrementado las tensiones entre quienes desean mantener el statu quo y quienes prefieren mejores relaciones con Pekín.
Críticos acusan a los políticos favorables a China de comprometer a Taiwán y reprueban sus encuentros con figuras del gobierno chino continental. Sin embargo, estos políticos afirman que sus relaciones son vitales para el diálogo, dado que Pekín se niega a interactuar con el DPP.
Consultada sobre el referéndum, la portavoz de la Oficina de Asuntos de Taiwán de China, Zhu Fenglian, mencionó en junio que, desde la llegada al poder de Lai, la administración ha buscado instaurar una “dominación de un solo partido” y ha practicado la dictadura bajo apariencia de democracia, según informó la televisora estatal CCTV. Dicha oficina depende del Partido Comunista chino, que mantiene un estricto sistema de partido único.
Zhu añadió que el gobierno de Lai no ha escatimado en esfuerzos para reprimir a los partidos opositores y a quienes respaldan el desarrollo de relaciones a través del estrecho.
El Consejo de Asuntos de China Continental de Taiwán señaló el miércoles que autoridades y medios estatales chinos intentaron interferir abiertamente en la votación.
Asia / Pacific,Elections / Voting,TAIPEI
De Cristina Kirchner al “adagio de Sarmiento” y la alusión a Villarruel: los puntos destacados del discurso de Milei en La Rural
Hay algo raro en esta cara y tu cerebro lo sabe (aunque no sepas explicarlo)
FTC firings take spotlight in Trump’s fight to erase independence of agencies
Atajó en Platense y se convirtió en el entrenador de arqueros de un equipo histórico de la Premier League
Trump slams Europe over immigration, says ‘horrible invasion’ is killing the continent
Nicolás Cabré se animó a hablar por primera vez de su escándalo con la China Suárez y la mudanza a Turquía: «Está todo en paz»
Expulsada del Gobierno, Victoria Villarruel empieza a tomar distancia, pero no tiene proyecto político para este año
🗳️ El chamuyo de las elecciones en la Provincia: se postulan, pero no a asumen
La CGT evalúa adelantar a octubre el recambio de sus autoridades y define una movilización contra Milei
Fuerte malestar en la CGT por la ausencia de gremialistas en las listas bonaerenses del peronismo
Máximo Kirchner declaró una fortuna de 8.300 millones de pesos: representa un 76% más que el año anterior
La justicia de Santa Cruz desafío a la Corte Suprema e incluyó a Cristina Kirchner en el padrón electoral
Milei habla ante el campo en el acto inaugural de la Exposición Rural de Palermo
El presidente Javier Milei hablará este sábado en la 137° Exposición Rural de Palermo en medio de una fuerte expectativa...
Un liberalismo de obedientes para destruir el sistema
Javier y Karina Milei vivieron la última semana un episodio desconcertante: el disenso de los obsecuentes. Los propagandistas libertarios que...
El análisis de Jorge Fernández Díaz sobre la política económica: “Veo una tragedia detrás del dólar barato”
Después de ser premiado con la distinción Mariano de Cavia en Madrid, el periodista Jorge Fernández Díaz analizó la situación...
POLITICA3 días agoMáximo Kirchner declaró una fortuna de 8.300 millones de pesos: representa un 76% más que el año anterior
- POLITICA2 días ago
La justicia de Santa Cruz desafío a la Corte Suprema e incluyó a Cristina Kirchner en el padrón electoral
- POLITICA3 días ago
Qué dijo Javier Milei en la Derecha Fest: las frases más impactantes
