INTERNACIONAL
Lawyer for American detained in Iran says hostage deal is ‘easiest problem on the table’ for both sides
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The matter of American hostages wrongfully detained in Iran could be resolved during negotiations between Tehran and Washington as both sides navigate a fragile ceasefire amid attempts to end the conflict, one expert said.
Ryan Fayhee, a lawyer for Abdolreza «Reza» Valizadeh, 49, who has been detained by Iran for more than a year, stressed the urgency of a diplomatic solution to secure his client’s release as pressure on Iran remains high during the war against the United States and Israel.
«It is my job as Reza’s lawyer to make sure that it doesn’t get lost,» Fayhee told Fox News Digital. «While I have high confidence that this is part of the negotiations, even though the administration hasn’t stated so publicly… it is officially my job to make sure it remains part of those conversations. And equally so — and this is the bigger challenge, because obviously, I don’t have full control — it’s my job to make sure Reza is safe and alive to allow for those negotiations to take place that ideally will secure his release.»
Iran is currently holding six Americans, though only two have been publicly identified: Valizadeh and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati. Both hold dual Iranian and American citizenship and were being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.
WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR
In recent days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued warnings on social media for residents living near the prison to evacuate the area amid continuing airstrikes.
«Despite Reza and Kamran Hekmati both being American citizens, the Iranians don’t recognize their American citizenship,» Fayhee said. «For that reason, they don’t receive traditional consular services. And even if they did, we don’t have an embassy there.»
In February, the State Department designated Iran a «State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention» for arbitrarily arresting Americans to use as bargaining chips in future negotiations.
«For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states,» Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. «This abhorrent practice must end.»
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
A view of the entrance of Evin prison in Tehran, Iran Oct. 17, 2022. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
The designation adds extra layers of isolating tools, such as sanctions and travel restrictions, Fayhee noted.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House, which has called on Iran to release every American being detained.
«President Trump has been clear that he wants every American wrongfully detained to be returned home safe and sound, and that there will be dire consequences for regimes who treat Americans as political pawns,» a White House spokesperson told The Associated Press.
VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART
Islamabad is set to host peace talks between Iran and the U.S. on April 10. (Farooq NAEEM / AFP via Getty Images)
A second round of talks between Tehran and Washington has stalled as a clear path to a diplomatic resolution of the seven-week war remains uncertain. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he was under no pressure to make a deal with Iran, «although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!» he wrote on Truth Social.
Valizadeh was arrested in September 2024 during a visit to see family and was sentenced after being convicted of working with a «hostile government.» As a journalist, he previously reported on the 2009 pro-democracy protests in Iran and the regime’s heavy-handed response. As a result, he was exiled and began working for Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Securing a deal to free any Americans being held in Iran could prove difficult given Tehran’s proclivity for deception, Roger Carstens, the former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, previously told Fox News.
«Strangely, the Russians, the Chinese, the Taliban, and the Venezuelans — when you start getting into hostage discussions, they tell the truth, and they stick to what they promise. You can do a handshake deal with the Taliban, and they’re going to follow through,» Carstens said. «The Iranians? Absolutely not.»
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However, Fayhee, who also served as the lawyer for Paul Rusesabagina — the hotelier portrayed in the 2004 film «Hotel Rwanda» — said he maintains hope for Valizadeh’s release. He noted that Iran is increasingly isolated following its missile strikes on its Arab neighbors and the opposition it faces from Western powers.
«It is the easiest problem on the table to solve, and both sides should acknowledge that,» Fayhee said. «Both sides should focus on it because clearly they’re trying to build a relationship of trust in these negotiations, and this is the surest way to do that.»
«The easiest thing Iran can do to show they’re genuinely interested in backing themselves out of this corner is to release these Americans,» he added. «It is low-hanging fruit.»
conflicts, war with iran, iran, foreign affairs, israel
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s game plan for government-run grocery stores faced criticism Monday after a city official told reporters a «library-card-esque system» may be employed to prevent abuse of the 30% discounted markets.
Mamdani took a question from a reporter who asked about preventing bulk purchases of groceries at the artificial discount from being re-sold at MSRP or higher.
The mayor responded that the government grocery Request-for-Proposal makes clear «this is a program for New Yorkers to be able to put food on the table, not a program for people to be able to make a quick buck through reselling. I’m going to pass it over to our EDC head, Jeanny Pak, to add some additional details.»
MAMDANI’S CITY GROCERY PLAN COULD LEAVE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR EVERY BANANA
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds up bananas as he speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
It was Pak’s follow-up that raised eyebrows, given Mamdani and many Democrats’ staunch opposition to voter ID and Republicans’ SAVE America Act moving through Congress.
«[W]e are looking to make sure that we target New Yorkers, whether it be a sort of a library card-esque thing, and also we manage who’s buying and that is focused on everyday New Yorkers,» Pak said.
«So, we are mindful of that, and so we’re going to make sure that we have all the things in place to ensure that that does not happen.»
SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS
When asked about the apparent divergence between Pak’s response referencing a possible ID card-type system and opposition to voter ID, a Mamdani spokesperson said it was an apples-to-oranges contrast.
«Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply. This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn,» Mamdani’s spokesperson said.
«It is a practical inventory management tool to ensure affordable groceries remain available for the people who need them instead of being cleared off shelves for resale.»
EXPERTS SCORCH MAMDANI’S GROCERY PLAN AS AN ‘ILLUSION’ THAT WILL HAVE TAXPAYERS FOOTING THE BILL
The spokesperson pointed to the mayor’s comments specifically regarding bulk-buying concerns, saying that was the premise of the reporter’s question — not whether people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey or upstate New York would be able to shop at the subsidized outlets.
«To be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone,» the spokesperson said.
«There will be no system to verify identity, residency, or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop.»
Instead of an «ID,» the spokesperson said the stores may employ a «customer card» similar to loyalty programs at other grocers like ShopRite, Food Lion or Weis.
The «customer card» would be designed by the «private operator» of the city-run store to «help manage supply and prevent people from buying large quantities of discounted staples for resale» and is strictly intended to «make sure the savings reach families putting food on the table.»
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La Marqueta, a Latino marketplace in East Harlem, is chosen as the site of the first city-owned grocery store announced by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on April 14, 2026. (Kendall Rodriguez/Newsday RM/Getty Images)
Customers will not need to apply through City Hall or any agency, the spokesperson added.
Critics were unconvinced.
«ID for government cheese,» said Philadelphia radio host Rich Zeoli.
«After all, we have to make sure no one crosses the border and if they do, the police will be called. So it’s good to see Mamdani now supports ID (just not for voting), border control, and law enforcement,» Zeoli tweeted.
Former Texas congressional candidate Nick Plumb commented on X that «Mamdani wants to protect taxpayer funded grocery store[s] from non-NYC residents they’ll need an ID card to enter. You can[t] make this up.»
Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a supporter of voter ID who also opposed the Old Dominion’s recent failed attempt to redraw congressional lines to Democrats’ advantage, also criticized the mayor.
«So let me get this straight: Taxpayer-funded grocery store? Better show a valid ID or you can’t buy milk,» Miyares said.
«Voting for the people who decide how those taxes get spent? A valid ID is somehow ‘racist’ and ‘oppressive’. Unbelievable,» he said.
When asked whether the mayor’s office believed the loyalty card system constituted a form of identification, a Mamdani spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to a paragraph in the Request for Proposal (RFP) that prospective store operators must follow:
«The Operator(s) will create a voluntary free-to-access membership card program to monitor sales activity, and implement the discount program and any associated demand management measures. The savings card shall not be required for physical access to N.Y.C. Groceries site(s) and shall be made easily available to any individual requesting one,» the section read.
«Make it make sense,» added FOX News host Sean Hannity.
New York Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney added: «So ID for government grocery stores to stop people abusing the system is fine, but requiring ID to vote not? Got it.»
SAVE Act supporter Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., added on X that the hypocrisy must «stop.»
«Democrats: Are fighting to ensure you don’t have to show an ID before voting in our elections. Also Democrats: Want you to show an ID before entering a supermarket.»
«Oh, the irony is too much,» said X CEO Elon Musk.
zohran mamdani, state and local, domestic policies, grocery deals, new york city, socialism, voter fraud concerns, voting
INTERNACIONAL
Masacre en el Mar Negro: un ataque ucraniano con drones provoca siete muertos en una playa de Rusia
INTERNACIONAL
Moscow bombing exposes potential security gaps around Putin’s military elite, expert says
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s drive to project «normalcy» in Moscow may have created a dangerous security blind spot, giving adversaries like Ukraine greater opportunities to target the Kremlin’s military elite, an analyst said Monday.
The assessment came after a deadly explosion ripped through an upscale Moscow restaurant on Aug. 1, where a senior Russian general was reportedly attending a private celebration. Several Russian media outlets claimed the bombing targeted Col. Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who led the troops that made a botched attempt to storm the Ukrainian capital in 2022 and recently was appointed the chief of Russia’s aerospace forces. The claims could not be independently verified.
If Chaiko was indeed at the restaurant, «that would establish a compelling motive for Ukraine,» Dr. Mark Episkopos, a Eurasia research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told Fox News Digital. «But there has been an ongoing discourse inside Russia that, despite numerous such attacks, Russian elites and even military figures continue to flout [operational security] best practices by holding parties like this in the first place.»
The Russian Embassy in Rome accused Kyiv of carrying out the attack and said in a statement Aug. 2 that the attack was «evidence that the Ukrainian terrorist contagion is already beginning to spread.»
MAYOR CALLS UPSCALE RESTAURANT BOMBING A ‘BRUTAL TERRORIST ACT’
Law enforcement officers and emergency services personnel stand near the site of an explosion at a restaurant in central Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 1, 2026. (REUTERS)
«The other factor here is that Putin has done his best to preserve a sense of ‘normalcy’ in Moscow and St. Petersburg, cultivating a facade of stability that Ukraine has been able to exploit,» Episkopos added.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said an unidentified woman carried an improvised explosive device to the Balzi Rossi restaurant. The committee said the woman was stopped by security before the bomb was detonated near the restaurant’s entrance. The Russian Embassy in Rome on Monday said five people were killed and 19 were injured in the attack.
UKRAINE LAUNCHES WHAT APPEARS TO BE ONE OF ITS LARGEST DRONE ATTACKS AGAINST RUSSIA: REPORT
Police block an area near a deadly explosion at a restaurant in Moscow, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency via AP)
«This particular event did seem to have a substantial level of security, which is why the person carrying the explosive was reportedly stopped and questioned at the entrance,» Episkopos noted.
Russian investigators suggested the courier may not have known she was transporting explosives and said the device was detonated remotely.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin condemned the «brutal terrorist attack,» vowing that those responsible would be punished, according to Deutsche Welle.
‘A NEW KIND OF WAR’: INSIDE UKRAINE’S HIDDEN FACTORIES MASS-PRODUCING COMBAT DRONES
Russian President Vladimir Putin crosses himself during the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on April 12, 2026. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
«The means by which this attack was executed — a remotely detonated explosive device delivered on-site by a civilian — are also consistent with other assassinations deep inside Russian territory previously attributed to Ukraine,» Episkopos said.
«These include those of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and others,» he said.
Ukraine had not publicly commented on the restaurant bombing as of Monday afternoon, and no group had claimed responsibility.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of targeting senior military officers, pro-war figures and Russian-installed officials.
MOSCOW, TALIBAN FORGE MILITARY ALLIANCE IN POWER GRAB AFTER US AFGHANISTAN EXIT: REPORTS
Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian forces, on the side of a road in Lugansk region on February 26, 2022. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Episkopos noted that Kyiv has increasingly used unconventional tactics to offset Russia’s superiority in conventional manpower and firepower.
«Ukraine has pioneered a new style of asymmetric warfare that plays to its strengths and Russia’s weaknesses — relatively porous borders and vast territory that’s difficult to monitor, let alone defend,» he said. «Ukraine’s interior is smaller and comparatively better controlled, and the intelligence it receives from Western partners plays a role here.»
NATO MEMBER SCRAMBLES FIGHTER JETS AS RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE KILLS 8
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference after meetings with the heads of the EU and Ireland, following a formal ceremony to mark the launch of Ireland’s eighth EU presidency, at Dublin Castle in Dublin on July 1, 2026. (Paul Faith / AFP via Getty Images)
Episkopos added: «This makes operations like this more difficult to pull off. Russia has generally relied on its advantage in raw firepower to conduct airstrikes, as opposed to covert assassinations, against high-value Ukrainian targets.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
russia, vladimir putin, volodymyr zelenskyy, bombings, assassinations murders, ukraine
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