INTERNACIONAL
Iran’s good cop, bad cop game implodes as experts warn regime views US as ‘evil’
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Days after Iran’s leadership projected a unified front, undermining the long-cited moderate-vs.-hardliner divide, President Donald Trump canceled planned talks with Tehran in Islamabad, Pakistan, citing «infighting and confusion» inside the regime.
Iranian-American experts argue that social media posts from Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other key officials reveal that the «good cop, bad cop» tactic that the regime exploited to deceive adversaries and secure generous concessions in nuclear negotiations has collapsed.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump announced he canceled the trip, citing «too much time wasted on traveling» and «too much work!»
«Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,’» the president added, noting «nobody knows who is in charge, including them.»
President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026, updating the nation on the war in Iran. (Getty Images)
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«Also, we have all the cards, they have none!» Trump wrote. «If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!»
The implosion of the hardline-moderate dichotomy within the regime could have profound consequences for Trump’s approach to the atomic talks in Islamabad, experts said. Trump appeared to allude to a blurry divide between factions within Iran last week.
«Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), and it is CRAZY!» Trump wrote in an X post Thursday.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran and second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran. (Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA/Reuters)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei quickly fired back, claiming «due to the strange unity created among compatriots, a fracture has occurred in the enemy.»
«With practical gratitude for this blessing, cohesion has become even greater and more steel-like, and the enemies will become more wretched and diminished,» Khamenei wrote in a reply. «The enemy’s media operations, by targeting the minds and psyches of the people, intend to undermine national unity and security; may our negligence not allow this sinister intent to come to fruition.»
Mariam Memarsadeghi, a senior fellow at The Macdonald-Laurier Institute and founder and director of the Cyrus Forum for Iran’s Future, told Fox News Digital the Islamic Republic has, for decades, fooled Western policymakers by sending moderates to negotiations as a «window dressing for its terror and subjugation.»
A poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is pasted on a motorcycle windshield as government supporters gather in Tehran on April 9, 2026, marking the 40th day since the killing of his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
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The officials would then tell their counterparts that they are under pressure from hardliners, implying that the West must make concessions to strengthen them internally.
«Because of the war, the Trump administration is in a remarkably advantageous situation vis-à-vis the imperial terror state, one never before attempted, much less achieved,» Memarsadeghi said. «But every time Trump says regime change has already happened, he denies America the opportunity to finally, truly be rid of the world’s top sponsor of terror and the existential threat it poses not just to the people of Iran but to all the world.»
Navid Mohebbi, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department’s Public Affairs Bureau, cautioned that while rivalries and factions do exist within the Islamic Republic, they are united on the regime’s core principles.
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«Their disagreements are primarily over tactics, not fundamental direction,» Mohebbi told Fox News Digital, stressing that real decision-making power in Iran has always rested with the supreme leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
«So-called moderates have never had the final say on key strategic issues and are often used to soften the regime’s image abroad,» he said. «From the perspective of the Iranian people, there has been little difference. Across administrations labeled ‘moderate’ or ‘hardline,’ the system has consistently relied on repression.»
Mohebbi cited the example of Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani, who presented himself as a moderate, but whose security forces violently killed 1,500 protesters during the November 2019 uprising.
Members of security forces watch over the crowd during a funeral procession for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri and other senior naval commanders killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes in late March in Tehran, Iran, on April 1, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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«The same pattern has continued under Masoud Pezeshkian in the January 2026 protest massacre, reinforcing the reality that these labels have not translated into meaningful change on the ground,» he said.
A regional official, however, insisted there are clashes between moderates and hardliners in Iran. The official told Fox News Digital that Pezeshkian is a moderate, but he «could not even make good on his campaign promise regarding internet freedom. To be honest, he’s not even been able to do s—.»
«The joint reaction by the heads of the three branches of power was in response to Trump’s reference to the issue of rift, and also to the fact that there are indeed hardliners and moderates,» the official added. «Look, whenever Iran wants to make concessions, they throw moderates under the bus so that the moderates make a deal, and then, the hardliners blame them for the same concessions all of them had agreed to make.»
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Lawdan Bazargan, who was imprisoned by the Islamic Republic in the 1980s for her political dissident activities, told Fox News Digital that what officials are seeing now is not the disappearance of the divide, but the exposure of what that divide actually was.
«In reality, all of these figures — Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf [speaker of Iran’s parliament], Saeed Jalili [member of the Expediency Discernment Council], Pezeshkian, Ahmad Vahidi [head of the IRGC], Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei [head of Iran’s judiciary] — operate within the same ideological framework,» Bazargan said. «They are all committed to the preservation of the system, the projection of power in the region, and confrontation with what they define as ‘the forces of evil,’ namely the United States and Israel.»
mojtaba khamenei, middle east foreign policy, donald trump, war with iran, iran
INTERNACIONAL
Seis lesionados, entre ellos un bebé, tras múltiples accidentes de tránsito en San Salvador
Una racha de accidentes de tránsito ha encendido las alarmas entre agentes policiales y socorristas en San Salvador, tras registrarse múltiples percances de forma simultánea. Durante las primeras horas del domingo se reportaron al menos seis lesionados, entre ellos el motorista de un microbús del transporte colectivo el cual quedó atrapado entre los hierros retorcidos y un menor de solo cuatro meses que viajaba en un vehículo particular.
En uno de los hechos principales, un bebé de cuatro meses resultó lesionado cuando un microbús de la ruta 29-A chocó con un vehículo sedan en la intersección de la 3.ª avenida Norte y 3.ª calle Poniente, en San Salvador. Según información preliminar, el microbús, placas MB 1-736, conducido por Mauricio Molina, de 34 años, habría colisionado contra el automóvil por exceso de velocidad.
El impacto dejó la unidad contra un poste y al motorista atrapado dentro del vehículo, por lo que fue necesario diferentes maniobras de rescate por parte de socorristas de Cruz Verde y Cruz Roja. Posteriormente, el conductor fue trasladado al Hospital Zacamil. Mientras en el sedán viajaban Sergio Alexander Cárcamo, una joven identificada como Katerin y Jhonatan Alexander, de cuatro meses, quienes sufrieron múltiples lesiones de distinta gravedad.
En otro percance ocurrido durante la madrugada, dos personas resultaron lesionadas en un accidente sobre el bulevar Venezuela, en el barrio Lourdes, San Salvador. El incidente se produjo cuando un vehículo particular invadió el carril contrario al adelantar en una curva. Esto provocó que el automóvil impactara contra varios vehículos estacionados en la zona.
Después del choque, el vehículo involucrado se incendió. Las personas afectadas recibieron atención inmediata por parte de socorristas de Cruz Verde, quienes después de estabilizarlos en la zona los trasladaron a un centro asistencial.
En un tercer hecho, dos hombres fueron atendidos por Comandos de Salvamento en un accidente registrado sobre la carretera que va de Sonsonate hacia San Salvador, cerca del desvío al Cerro Verde, en Izalco. Según la información disponible, un vehículo particular chocó contra otro automóvil que estaba estacionado al costado de la vía.
Uno de los involucrados sufrió una laceración en la cabeza y múltiples golpes en el cuerpo, mientras que el otro salió ileso. Ambos recibieron atención prehospitalaria en el lugar y no fue necesario trasladarlos a un centro asistencial.
El territorio salvadoreño enfrenta un aumento significativo en la frecuencia de accidentes de tránsito a nivel nacional. En lo que va de 2026, el Observatorio Nacional de Seguridad Vial ha registrado más de 10,000 accidentes. Entre el 1 de enero y el 6 de junio, la institución contabilizó 10,136 siniestros viales, cifra que supera los 8,883 casos reportados en el mismo periodo de 2025.
El incremento también se refleja en la cantidad de personas lesionadas. En los primeros meses de 2026, se han reportado 6,891 lesionados, 1,316 más que en 2025. Estos datos muestran tanto el aumento de los incidentes como su gravedad e impacto social.
corresponsal:Desde San Salvador, El Salvador
INTERNACIONAL
Suspected Hamas terrorist arrested in Greece for allegedly plotting attack on Israeli cruise ship
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A suspected Hamas terrorist, reportedly granted asylum a year from the Gaza war, was arrested by Greek police for allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise line.
The Gaza man, 37, was arrested on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday for his alleged ties to one of four suspected Hamas terrorists previously arrested in Cyprus, having traveled with him to Malaysia, where they allegedly received training in making explosives from commercially available chemical agents.
The Israeli cruise ship MS Crown Iris was the believed target of the attack before it was scheduled to arrive in Crete on Tuesday. Police did not publicly identify the man or name a target in their initial statement.
Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards, The Associated Press reported.
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A Wednesday protest at the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, opposing the arrival of the Crown Iris cruise ship was a prelude to the arrest of a suspected Hamas terrorist who is alleged to have plotted an attack. (Costas Baltas/Anadolu)
The suspect, an electrician who has been reportedly living in Crete for the past year and working at a hotel there after being granted asylum, will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.
The suspected terrorist had placed an online order for what police said were «chemical agents» that could be used in the manufacture of explosives, according to the report.
State broadcaster ERT, cited by Israeli and Greek media, reported that police also found laboratory equipment.
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The case appears to be part of a broader regional counterterrorism probe. Cypriot authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after intelligence led investigators to materials in two residences that police said could be used to manufacture explosives. Two more Palestinian men were detained May 29 as part of the same investigation, according to Greek police.
The Crown Iris has become a recurring flashpoint at Greek ports amid anger over the war in Gaza. Protesters gathered near the ship when it docked in Piraeus on Wednesday, June 3, and demonstrations against the vessel have followed it at Greek ports since last year.
Protesters allege that Mano Maritime, the owner of the MS Crown Iris, is profiting from the Hamas-Israel war by selling tourist services to Israel Defense Forces soldiers during breaks from active duty.
In July 2025, Greek police used tear gas and made arrests as demonstrators tried to block the ship at Agios Nikolaos on Crete.
Greek security forces were forced to protect Israeli tourists traveling on buses to board the Israeli-owned cruise ship MS Crown Iris at the port of Piraeus in Athens on June 3, 2026. (Aggelos Nakkas/AFP)
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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced formal charges against the suspect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
terrorism, cruises, counter terrorism, israel, hamas
INTERNACIONAL
WATCH: Mace says Trump’s endorsement hasn’t sealed SC gubernatorial race: ‘It’s a dog fight’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital ahead of Tuesday’s South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary that President Donald Trump’s endorsement has done little to boost her opponent’s standing with conservative voters, arguing that many grassroots Republicans are «very upset» with the decision.
«It’s not going over well for her with the grassroots, which is why she didn’t get much of a bump,« Mace said. «She got maybe a five point bump — not much.»
«And she’s going to be in a runoff and I think at that point all bets are off.»
Mace was referring to South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, whom Trump endorsed last week, as Mace and Trump have publicly broken in recent months.
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Mace and Trump have split publicly ahead of South Carolina’s governor’s race, with the congresswoman arguing her push for the release of Epstein-related files may have jeopardized her chances of securing the president’s endorsement. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
«It’s a dog fight,» Mace said. «We’re in it and I’m gonna fight to the death.»
Mace shared that she wasn’t shocked when Trump chose not to endorse her because of her vote in Congress to push for the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
«I knew it was on the line when I voted to release the Epstein files, and I’m a survivor,» Mace said. «If the price to pay for an endorsement was to not release those files, I would never pay it.»
Mace was one of four Republicans to sign a petition last year to force a vote in the House on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation that urged the Department of Justice to publish all its information on its probe into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell — millions of documents.
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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in 2005. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images)
Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary was also in favor of South Carolina’s current term-limited governor, Henry McMaster, who has also endorsed Evette as his potential successor. Trump wrote that he expected Evette would choose the current governor’s son, Henry McMaster Jr., as her lieutenant governor.
«Pam Evette is a good friend, fighter, and WINNER, and will be a terrific Governor of South Carolina,» the president posted. «Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!»
Trump’s endorsement came days before the June 9 primary and as early voting was getting underway in South Carolina.
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President Donald Trump signs an executive order directing a customs crackdown amid trade gaps in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Tuesday’s crowded Republican primary field includes Evette, Attorney General Alan Wilson, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., businessman Rom Reddy and Mace. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff — a situation Mace predicted could reshape the race despite Trump’s backing of Evette.
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«I disagree with this endorsement,» Mace said. «And I’m going to vote for myself. I’m asking voters in South Carolina to vote for me as well on Tuesday.«
south carolina, presidential primaries, donald trump, governors, republicans elections
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