INTERNACIONAL
Iran in crisis as US talks collapse, Mojtaba’s ‘mafia’ regime blocks Khamenei burial: analyst
US ships move to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz
Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub discusses President Donald Trump’s announcing U.S. ships are preparing to remove mines from the Strait of Hormuz. Fox News correspondent Alex Hogan reports on ‘Fox Report.’
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A prolonged delay in the burial of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signals a deepening crisis inside the Islamic Republic, according to a prominent Iranian strategist.
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad’s remarks came as peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled and internal tensions raised questions about the regime’s stability.
Fortieth-day mourning ceremonies for Khamenei began in Iran on April 9, with authorities withholding information about his burial more than 40 days after his killing. A three-day state funeral scheduled for early March 2026 had already been postponed.
IRAN’S CEASEFIRE PUSH MAY BE A ‘CYCLE OF DECEPTION,’ ANALYSTS WARN AS SHADOWY FIGURE GAINS POWER
Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran and second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 13, 2024. (Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA/Reuters)
«Forty-four days have passed, and the regime does not have the confidence to publicly bury Mojtaba’s dead father,» Sepehrrad of the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) told Fox News Digital.
«That is an indicator of the fear within this regime from top to bottom,» Sepehrrad added, before describing how, usually, «a religious regime believes that their dead must be buried in 24 hours.»
Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 in a strike targeting a regime compound in central Tehran, with a separate strike affecting his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who succeeded him.
Mojtaba is said to be still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters on April 11.
Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in central Tehran, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, three sources told the outlet.
«The 56-year-old is nonetheless recovering from his wounds and remains mentally sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.»
IRAN MODERATES PUSHING TRUMP DEAL RISK BEING ‘ELIMINATED’ AS REGIME FRACTURES DEEPEN
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the head of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, attend the meeting of the interim leadership council of Iran in an unknown location, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Iran, March 1, 2026. (IRIB/WANA/Handout/Reuters)
He is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is engaged in decision-making on major issues, including the war and negotiations with Washington, two of the sources say, according to reports.
The report came as Iran navigated diplomatic efforts with the U.S. in Islamabad aimed at easing tensions amid a two-week ceasefire, which ultimately failed to produce a breakthrough.
«Mojtaba input in the broad red lines of negotiations, even if he is not the public face,» Sepehrrad claimed. «At the end of the day, for more than 10 years, he served as his father’s right-hand man and as a conduit to the IRGC.»
«Mojtaba may be less rhetorical, less publicly ideological, and more operational because his primary focus is survival of the regime.»
Iran also confirmed Sunday it had no plans for further peace talks after the marathon summit, where Pakistan mediated.
«No plan has yet been announced for the time, place, or next round of negotiations,» Iranian state news agency Nour reported Saturday, citing the country’s Supreme National Security Council, with no statement from the new Supreme Leader.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES
A mourner holds a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (top-L) on March 5, 2026, during a funeral procession for members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) who were killed in a strike in Baghdad the previous day. The Tehran-backed Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah said on March 5 that one of its commanders was killed in a strike in southern Iraq the previous day. (Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP)
«Mojtaba is less the supreme leader in the traditional sense and more the coordinator of a security-led system,» Sepehrrad explained before describing him as «more like a security-backed coordinator.»
«This regime does not communicate with one unified voice. It communicates by function,» Sepehrrad said.
«One channel negotiates, another threatens, another punishes, and another tries to maintain ideological continuity. It is now a mafia,» the strategist claimed.
«The key point is not harmony but division of labor. What holds them together is regime survival, not trust.»
«What we are seeing now is deeper: a leader who lacks organic authority and therefore governs through the institution that controls force,» Sepehrrad said.
On the Iranian side, negotiations, the analyst said, also did involve «diplomats,» but a wider circle of security-linked figures shaping Tehran’s posture, reflecting the increasing dominance of hardline institutions.
US-SANCTIONED MOJTABA KHAMENEI NAMED IRAN’S NEXT SUPREME LEADER AFTER FATHER’S DEATH: REPORTS
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)
«This was a brittle coalition of security men,» Sepehrrad said, before describing how Mojtaba is «at the top, but is heavily reliant on the Guards, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, SNSC chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, Judiciary chief Mohseni-Ejei, and law enforcement chief Ahmad-Reza Radan.»
«Several of the most important surviving figures are not primarily diplomats,» Sepehrrad said before suggesting that that should «change how we should read everything coming out of Tehran.»
«That is a different system from the one many Western analysts still think they are dealing with,» Sepehrrad explained. «Dual track — tactical flexibility in talks and a harsher repression at home.»
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«While the regime negotiates to buy time, reduce pressure on its forces, and prevent broader external escalation, internally, it is likely to intensify arrests, executions, intimidation, and internet controls now,» the strategist warned.
«The regime fears internal unrest more than diplomacy,» Sepehrrad said.
mojtaba khamenei, ali khamenei, national security, iran, assassinations murders
Abdul El-Sayed faces backlash over ‘ogre on a pike’ remark targeting Fetterman
Democratic strategist Al Mottur and former U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley discuss the backlash against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after he referred to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., as an ‘ogre on a pike’ during a donor call. El-Sayed later defended the remark during a debate, drawing criticism from fellow Democrats over his rhetoric and far-left agenda.
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Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., branded Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdulrahman El-Sayed «Pontiac Platner» after the left-wing upstart called for the «ogre» to be put on a «pike» at a campaign event, in comments widely understood to reference the Pennsylvania lawmaker.
A recording from a Zoom call with donors obtained by Politico appeared to depict El-Sayed railing against those who have criticized his far-left policy platform, while singling out Fetterman and allegedly envisioning his head on a stake.
Fetterman later responded to CNBC’s Joe Kernen by blessing El-Sayed with a new nickname:
«I never worked out in male modeling, you know you could call me «Senator Shrek» — whatever — but this guy is really the Pontiac Platner, and now he’s really running to be, be the head of our emerging pro-Hamas wing here in the party,» Fetterman said of El-Sayed.
DEM SENATE HOPEFUL UNDER FIRE FOR RESURFACED COMMENTS CALLING COPS ‘OPPORTUNISTIC COWARDS’
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Pontiac is a well-known name in Michigan, stemming from the 18th-century Odawa chief to his namesake city and the now-defunct General Motors brand that was discontinued following the 2008 financial crisis.
El-Sayed has routinely criticized the Israeli government, and some of his policy positions overlap with those of Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner, who dropped his Senate bid after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct involving women.
«Politically, some of the things that he said or done are unacceptable to me. I’m not really sure what I’ve really done or voted for that that has offended the little guy so much,» Fetterman went on.
BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., left; Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, right. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
He added that Democrats are engaging in a «serious game» by allowing people in the «Bernie Sanders» wing of the party who «created the Platner disaster» some policy oxygen.
During El-Sayed’s Zoom call, the millennial left-winger spoke out specifically against Fetterman:
«In the interim need to be organizing downward and outward. So, a big pickup for us could be that John Fetterman seat [in Pennsylvania]. I’m like a lot of folks — they’re going to ‘F’ around and give me carte blanche to go take them out,» El-Sayed said.
«Y’all came at me so now I get to come at you and primary people like John Fetterman, and I have no problem with that — I’m looking forward to it.»
El-Sayed dismissed the longstanding custom against primarying sitting senators, a norm recently broken in the GOP when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in their primary.
«Then, what happens is, ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,» El-Sayed said.
The 6-foot-9 Fetterman took the insult in stride in his interview with Kernen, alluding to El-Sayed’s barb being his latest comparison to Mike Myers’ beloved green ogre that have cropped up in memes and elsewhere over the years.
«It’s incumbent on us, Republican and Democrat [alike], to police your own ranks. So that’s what I’m willing to do,» Fetterman said, adding that he is warning fellow lawmakers against eliminating the filibuster in one example.
El-Sayed and Platner also share several policy positions, including support for a single-payer, government-run Medicare-for-all system, anti-corporate housing policies, higher taxes on wealthy Americans and alignment with Sanders, a Vermont socialist.
While El-Sayed says he is neither a Democratic Socialists of America member nor a democratic socialist, he has a history of speaking at DSA events.
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Between 2017 and 2020, El-Sayed attended and spoke at six events held by the DSA, including a 2019 fundraiser which he headlined. Despite the longstanding relationship, El-Sayed has distanced himself from the DSA when interviewed by the press and outright rejected being labeled as a «socialist.»
«I’m not technically or practically DSA,» El-Sayed told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. In an interview with CNN, he similarly stated that «I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated.»
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Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman and El-Sayed for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.
john fetterman, michigan, bernie sanders, graham platner, elections, michigan wolverines, maine, israel
INTERNACIONAL
Creadores de contenido arriesgan su seguridad y libertad al ingresar a la casa donde cayó alias “Diablo”, advierten autoridades costarricenses
Las visitas de creadores de contenido a la vivienda donde se realizó la Operación Némesis, en la que fue detenido Alejandro Arias Monge, alias “Diablo”, han encendido alertas entre las autoridades de Costa Rica.
El Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) advirtió que quienes ingresan a la casa ubicada en San Bernardino de Sarapiquí, Heredia, y difunden videos en redes sociales, pueden enfrentarse a consecuencias legales y riesgos contra su integridad.
La advertencia la realizó el director interino del OIJ, Michael Soto, tras la circulación en Internet de imágenes del interior del inmueble, escenario de un violento enfrentamiento armado.
Según informó Teletica, los creadores de contenido han publicado grabaciones donde muestran los daños causados por los disparos y las pertenencias que aún se encuentran dentro de la propiedad.
Las imágenes evidencian los rastros de la operación que llevó a la captura de Arias Monge y de Jonathan Pérez Méndez, alias “Tan”. El operativo, ejecutado el viernes 24 de julio por el Servicio Especial de Respuesta Táctica (SERT) y agentes contra el crimen organizado, culminó con la muerte de una persona identificada como “Coco Guácimo” y dejó agentes heridos.
Este video fue elaborado por un creador de contenido de Costa Rica, identificado como Ricky Molina, quien muestra imágenes de la vivienda donde fue arrestado Alejandro Arias Monge, conocido como «Diablo», quien es acusado por varios delitos, entre ellos, narcotráfico; por lo que era considerado como el hombre más buscado en este país./ (TikTok de Ricky Molina)
La publicación de estos recorridos ha provocado la reacción del OIJ. Michael Soto calificó la acción como “irresponsable” y solicitó máxima prudencia a quienes buscan contenido viral en este tipo de escenarios.
“Irresponsable desde dos puntos de vista: estamos hablando de que ya no es una casa de interés policial, pero que tiene propietario y que podría acusarlo de violación de domicilio y, segundo, que esta estructura criminal es una de las más peligrosas que hay en el país y todavía hay personas de este grupo libres, están en procesos de investigación y que, tal vez, no les guste el video y puedan hacer algo contra esta persona”, declaró Soto, según Teletica.
El titular del OIJ subrayó que el inmueble ya fue inspeccionado por los agentes, quienes recolectaron todas las pruebas necesarias posterior al enfrentamiento a balazos. Tras las diligencias, la vivienda “ya no reviste interés policial”, pero permanece bajo la titularidad de un particular. Soto explicó que, de acuerdo con la investigación, la casa no pertenece ni a Arias Monge ni a los demás integrantes del grupo criminal.
“Ellos se movían constantemente de una casa a otra, cambiaban de casa cada semana, cierta cantidad de días, a veces 15 días,” afirmó Soto, citado por Teletica. Agregó que la propiedad fue alquilada por un tercero, quien aparentemente se dedica a gestionar viviendas para el grupo.
La incursión de creadores de contenido en este tipo de espacios puede derivar en denuncias por violación de domicilio, ya que el propietario podría presentar cargos aunque no tenga relación con los involucrados en la operación. Además, el riesgo personal se extiende al ámbito criminal, dado que existen miembros de la organización aún prófugos o bajo investigación.
“Debe tener mucha prudencia porque estamos hablando de algo muy serio y muy delicado, y por ganarse unos ‘likes’, puede poner en riesgo su libertad, desde el punto de vista legal, y su integridad, desde el punto de vista de la estructura criminal”, indicó Soto, según recogió Teletica.
El impacto de la Operación Némesis y la posterior viralización de imágenes del sitio han puesto en el centro del debate la responsabilidad de quienes generan contenido digital a costa de su seguridad y de las normas legales. El OIJ reiteró que las inspecciones policiales concluyeron y que cualquier acceso posterior al inmueble no cuenta con aval de la institución. Hasta el momento, no se ha reportado la presencia del propietario durante el operativo ni en las horas siguientes.
La vivienda, situada en una zona rural de Heredia, fue uno de los puntos clave del operativo dirigido a desarticular una de las estructuras criminales consideradas más peligrosas de Costa Rica. El OIJ recomendó a la población abstenerse de intentar ingresar o grabar material en lugares que han sido escenario de hechos violentos o investigaciones policiales, tanto por motivos legales como de seguridad personal.
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As multiple international crises grip the world, from Iran to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Sudan quietly remains one of the largest humanitarian and displacement disasters in the world.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in 2023, over 14 million people have been displaced and nearly 34 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian support, accounting for 10% of global needs, according to the International Rescue Committee.
«The war in Sudan has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and has escalated into a regional war involving all of its neighbors as well as numerous Middle Eastern powers,» Alan Boswell, Project Director for the Horn of Africa at International Crisis Group, told Fox News Digital.
«Despite this, world leaders continue to ignore the conflict, leaving it to subordinates. That approach continues to fail,» Boswell added.
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Women and children queue to receive free food being distributed in al-Mohayra camp for displaced people, near the city of El-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region, on June 29, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
The United Nations says that some 19.5 million people are experiencing acute hunger, and 4.5 million people have fled the country.
The U.S. also recently imposed an additional round of sanctions against the Sudanese Armed Forces for allegedly using chemical weapons in 2024 in violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Sudanese government denied the allegations.
The Trump administration has made significant efforts in trying to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, as well as bring Israel’s war against Gaza to an end. The administration is also trying to uphold a shaky ceasefire that was agreed with Iran to halt the war that began on February 28.
«For three years, we have warned that Sudan was on the brink of catastrophe, and those warnings have gone unanswered,» said International Rescue Committee Country Director Richard Data.
Sudan’s recent outbreak of civil war, following years of coups and credible accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide, persists under the radar.
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Members of Sudanese Armed Popular Resistance Force take part in a military parade for fresh graduates, in Al-Qadarif state, in eastern Sudan on May 20, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
The civil war broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as «Hemedti,» leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The two had been in an uneasy alliance ruling the country following the 2019 overthrow of Sudan’s longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power since 1989. Together, the generals staged another coup in 2021, toppling the interim civilian government that had been in power after the fall of Bashir.
While both the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF are accused of committing atrocities, recent reports have highlighted the brutality of the RSF.
A major focus of the deteriorating conditions has been in El-Obeid in North Kordofan state, where an escalating hunger crisis is plaguing over 100,000 displaced people in camps throughout the city.
«What we need to do is really now to plan for the scale-up beyond the 100,000 people that we have been supporting,» said World Food Programme Sudan Country Director, Abdallah Alwardat.
Members of the Sudanese army’s Special Mission Forces batallion in the Northern State hold a parade in Karima city on May 19, 2024. Sudan has been in the throes of conflict for over a year between the regular army led by de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. (AFP via Getty Images)
El Fasher in the Darfur region is another major flashpoint, where the RSF took control in October 2025 and killed more than 6,000 people in the initial siege of the city.
A recent July report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights revealed widespread acts of sexual violence against women and girls, some as young as 12, including reports of mass and gang rapes committed by the RSF.
The RSF is also accused of abduction, with survivors describing incidents of girls and women being beaten, having their hands tied behind their backs, and being driven away in a Land cruiser.
Sudanese displaced people gather at the Zam Zam refugee camp outside the town of El-Fashir in the Darfour region of Sudan, during a visit by U.N. officials, on July 1, 2004. The U.N. humanitarian aid and refugee agencies appealed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, for $4.1 billion in international support for embattled civilians in Sudan amid signs that some may be dying of starvation after nearly a year of war there between the forces of rival generals. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)
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The United Nations and other human rights groups have accused the RSF of perpetrating ethnically targeted attacks and concluded that at least three components of genocide have been overwhelmingly met, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life intended to destroy a group in whole or in part.
A U.N. report from September 2025 found that the Sudanese Armed Forces have also committed war crimes and attacked civilian populations and infrastructure. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the RSF, targeted civilians with perceived affiliations to the enemy, with executions, torture and rape commonplace.
africa, refugees, wars, conflicts, terrorism
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