INTERNACIONAL
Iran draws missile red line as analysts warn Tehran is stalling US talks
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would not negotiate on its ballistic missile program, rejecting a core U.S. demand and further dimming prospects for a breakthrough deal.
He again warned in an interview with Al Jazeera that Tehran, Iran, would target U.S. bases in the Middle East if provoked, calling Iran’s missile program «never negotiable.»
The warnings came as U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in early February in Oman, even as Washington continued to build up military forces across the region — a posture U.S. officials say is meant to deter further escalation but which analysts argue also underscores how far apart the two sides remain.
Despite the imbalance in military power, analysts say Iran believes it can withstand U.S. pressure by signaling greater resolve — and by betting that Washington’s appetite for war is limited.
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While the U.S. possesses overwhelming military capabilities, Defense Priorities analyst Rosemary Kelanic said Iran is relying on the logic of asymmetric conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would not negotiate on its ballistic missile program, rejecting a core U.S. demand and further dimming prospects for a breakthrough deal. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
«One country is much stronger, but the weaker country cares more,» Kelanic said. «And historically, the country that cares more often wins by outlasting the stronger one.»
«Iran is trying to signal resolve as strongly as it can, but it likely doubts U.S. resolve — because from Tehran’s perspective, the stakes for Iran are existential, while the stakes for the United States are not,» she added.
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Behnam Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Tehran’s primary leverage is its ability to threaten wider regional instability, even if it cannot win a prolonged conflict.
«The Islamic Republic’s leverage is the threat of a region-wide war,» Taleblu said, noting that while U.S. and Israeli defenses could intercept most attacks, «something will get hit.»
Iran buying time
Analysts across the spectrum agree that Iran is using negotiations less as a path to compromise than as a way to delay decisive action.
Oren Kessler, analyst at global consulting firm Wikistrat, said Iran is using talks to stabilize its position internally while avoiding concessions on core security issues.
«Both sides want a deal, but their red lines are very hard for the other side to overcome,» Kesler said. «The talks are going well in the sense that they’re happening, but they’re not really going anywhere.»
Taleblu echoed that assessment, arguing that Tehran is treating diplomacy as a shield rather than a solution.
«The regime is treating negotiations as a lifeline rather than a way to resolve the core problem,» he said.
Taleblu added that Iran’s leadership sees talks as a way to deter a strike in the short term, weaken domestic opposition in the medium term, and eventually secure sanctions relief to stabilize its economy.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles must be part of any agreement to avoid military action.
«At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage with Iran,» Rubio said in early February. «In order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles. That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.»
Anti-government protests beginning at the start of 2026 led to a brutal crackdown in Iran. The regime has admitted to 3,117 deaths linked to the demonstrations, though human rights groups and Iranian resistance organizations peg the death toll as much higher.
The U.S. also has demanded that Iran give up all enriched uranium stockpiles, which can be used for civilian energy at low levels but for nuclear weapons at higher concentrations.
Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Iran is willing to negotiate on nuclear issues but insisted enrichment is an «inalienable right» that «must continue.»
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured sitting next to senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
«We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment,» he said. «The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.»
Iran’s atomic chief said Monday that Tehran would consider diluting its 60% enriched uranium — a level close to weapons-grade — but only in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions.
As negotiations unfolded, the U.S. continued to expand its military footprint in the Middle East.
In late January, the U.S. dispatched a carrier strike group centered on the USS Abraham Lincoln to the North Arabian Sea, accompanied by multiple destroyers and other naval assets. Additional F-15E strike aircraft and air defense systems have also been repositioned at bases across the region, alongside thousands of U.S. troops.
Taleblu said the administration may be using diplomacy to buy time of its own.
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«The charitable interpretation is that the president is buying time — moving assets, strengthening missile defense, and preparing military options,» he said. «The less charitable interpretation is that the United States is taking Iran’s threats as highly credible and still chasing the optics of a deal.»
In 2025, five rounds of talks similarly stalled over U.S. demands that Iran abandon enrichment entirely — talks that ultimately collapsed into Operation Midnight Hammer, a U.S.-led bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities.
iran,nuclear proliferation,ali khamenei,donald trump,marco rubio
INTERNACIONAL
Pánico en Líbano: Israel llama a evacuar los suburbios de Beirut porque «terminarán como Gaza»
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The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday released a video it said shows the moment an Israeli F-35I «Adir» stealth fighter jet shot down an Iranian air force Yak-130 over Tehran, marking the first time the advanced aircraft has downed a manned fighter in combat.
«Completed. Target down. The target is down,» the pilot can be heard saying in the footage set to «Star Wars» theme music.
Israel’s military said Wednesday that the shoot down over the Iranian capital was a key milestone for its F-35 fleet.
Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli air force, commended the pilots who carried out the mission as part of Operation Roaring Lion.
An Israeli Air Force F-35I «Adir» shoots down an Iranian Yak-130 fighter jet in a historic aerial engagement. (@IDF/X)
«The historic shoot down over the Tehran skies is a testament to the strength of the Israeli Air Force and to your personal determination,» Bar said. «The war continues – return home safely. Get some rest. The next mission is already waiting for you.»
The F-35I is Israel’s customized version of the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation stealth fighter that anchors the country’s air fleet.
Israel became the first country to select the aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process in 2010 and received its first jet in June 2016.
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An Iranian Yak-130 is struck midair by an Israeli F-35I «Adir» during a high-stakes confrontation. (@IDF/X)
The Israeli air force gave the aircraft the Hebrew name «Adir,» meaning «Mighty One.»
The Yak-130, by contrast, is a Russian-made, two-seat combat training aircraft designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and manufactured by United Aircraft Corporation.
It first flew in 1996 and remains in active production.
Iran received its first Yak-130 aircraft in September 2023, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster, as part of a broader effort to modernize its air force.
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A Russian-made Yak-130 subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft maneuvers during a flying display on the third day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, England, on July 11, 2012. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
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In November 2023, Brig. Gen. Mahdi Farahi, Iran’s deputy defense minister, told Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency, that plans had been finalized for Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters and additional Yak-130 trainers to join the country’s armed forces.
Iran previously acquired MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia in the 1990s.
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war with iran,israel,middle east
INTERNACIONAL
Tom Emmer calls for Tim Walz, Keith Ellison to ‘serve jail time’ if fraud coverup allegations are true
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EXCLUSIVE: The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is calling for a deeper investigation into allegations that leaders in his state government knowingly ignored evidence of welfare fraud, and he called for those leaders to even face incarceration if proven true.
«People are sick and tired of elected officials having a double standard, being treated differently than they are. They’re held accountable for things that they should be held accountable for, when their elected officials are not,» House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital.
«If these two guys are dirty, they should be held accountable, and they should serve jail time.»
He was referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, two of several witnesses at a high-profile hearing on fraud conducted by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is criticizing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over the fraud scandal plaguing the state. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
Both Walz and Ellison insisted that they were serious about prosecuting fraud in the state’s social programs and that they took action to stop it once it was brought to their attention.
But Emmer cited a report by the House Oversight Committee that accused them both of knowing about the fraud earlier than previously thought and delaying public accountability for fear of political retribution from progressives in the state — particularly the Somali community in Minneapolis, who Republicans have accused of taking advantage of the state’s welfare system.
«They might have been able to qualify it enough that it wasn’t black and white, but if they lied to the committee this morning about knowing about the fraud and when they knew about the fraud and the FBI investigation, that is a criminal act of its own,» Emmer told Fox News Digital.
SCATHING AUDIT REVEALS MORE FRAUD CONCERNS INSIDE TOP MINNESOTA AGENCY WITH FABRICATED DOCUMENTS, ‘MISCONDUCT’
«So I do believe, depending on this report and what else the majority staff is doing, they very well may want to call them back in and depose them under oath.»
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (Tom Brenner/AP Photo)
He added at another point, «You have maybe 80 to 100,000 Somalis in Minnesota. Tim Walz won with 52%. They made a difference. Keith Ellison won by less than 1%. I think it was 20,000 votes. Makes a difference. So if those are connected, yeah, I mean, this is campaign fraud.»
«I’ve taken accountability for this. I’m not going to run again. I need to spend the time fixing this,» Walz said during the hearing. «This does undermine trust in government. Do I wish there were things that could have happened earlier? Yes. But in this job, ‘wish’ didn’t do it. I’m looking into where I see it.»
CONVICTED MINNESOTA FRAUDSTER ALLEGES WALZ, ELLISON WERE AWARE OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD
At another point, Walz attributed the rise in fraud statistics to an increase in prosecutions, telling Republicans, «When you catch people and prosecute them, it shows up as a fraud increase.»
He also dismissed accusations that he kept whistle-blowers quiet over fear of being seen as Islamophobic, «I can’t speak to it because it’s not anything I would say.»
Ellison, meanwhile, said he was happy to work across bipartisan lines to prosecute fraud.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
«I am here to work to improve this system, and there are improvements that can be made,» he said. «If we can get out of fixing the blame and get to fixing the problem, that would be an enormous thing for me.»
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But Emmer, who maintained that further investigation was needed, suggested he doubted their intentions.
«It’s power. They want power. In order for them to get power, they need to be elected. In order for them to get elected, they have to cheat in different ways. And that is exactly what they did,» Emmer said. «If the Somali community is being used by these public officials to get themselves into office…it sure does look suspect, it needs to be investigated.»
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politics,house of representatives politics,minnesota fraud exposed,tim walz
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