INTERNACIONAL
Trump threatens to bomb Iran unless they end nuclear weapons program and begin talks on new deal
JERUSALEM—President Donald Trump’s overtures via a letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, to jump-start talks on dismantling Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program, were met with rejection by the theocratic state on Sunday, following Trump’s latest threat to the regime.
Trump told NBC on Saturday that «If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,» he said. «But there’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago.»
Trump added the U.S. and officials from the Islamic Republic are «talking.»
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday «We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,» according to the Associated Press. He added, «They must prove that they can build trust.» The White House did not immediately respond to Iran’s rejection of the talks, the AP reported.
Pezeshkian still noted that in Iran’s response to the letter that indirect negotiations with the Trump administration were still possible.
WALTZ TELLS IRAN TO GIVE UP NUCLEAR PROGRAM OR ‘THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES’
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the media during elections in Tehran, Iran, on May 10, 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The apparent return of Iran’s regime to its standard playbook of opaque indirect talks between the U.S. and Tehran’s rulers raises questions about whether Trump would greenlight military strikes to eradicate Iran’s vast nuclear weapons program.
After Iran launched two massive missile and drone attacks on Israel last year, Trump could also aid the Jewish state in knocking out Iran’s nuclear weapons apparatus.
Indirect talks between the U.S. and the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, according to Democratic and Republican administrations, have not compelled Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital that the Iranians «do not want to provide President Trump with a casus belli to strike Iran’s nuclear program. There may be indirect and non-public responses through various intermediaries. I think some Iranian officials perceive a fissure among President Trump’s national security team on Iran. This explains Iran’s foreign minister’s comment in recent days that President Trump’s letter to the supreme leader poses challenges as well as opportunities.»
TRUMP VINDICATED AS EXPLOSIVE REPORT CONFIRMS IRAN SUPERVISES HOUTHI ‘POLITICAL AND MILITARY AFFAIRS’
Iran’s first functioning nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, on April 28, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Brodsky said, «These Iranian officials seek to bypass experienced hands like President Trump’s national security advisor and secretary of state, who have been demanding the dismantlement of Iran’s entire nuclear program in keeping with President Trump’s long-standing and rightful position on this issue, and cultivate individuals around President Trump who do not have experience with Iran or are considered non-traditional conservatives who would be more receptive to their entrees.»
Trump promised that «bad things» would happen to Iran if the regime does not come to the table for nuclear negotiations. «My big preference is that we work it out with Iran, but if we don’t work it out, bad things are gonna happen to Iran,» he said on Friday.
Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, just shy of the 90% weapons-grade. Experts say it could have a nuclear weapon within weeks if it were to take the final steps to building one. Fox News Digital reported in late March that Iran’s regime has enriched enough uranium to manufacture six nuclear weapons, according to a U.N. atomic agency report.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian at U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 24, 2024. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)
Alireza Nader, an Iranian-American expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital, «Khamenei may be signaling that he’s not interested in negotiations, but his regime desperately needs economic relief. Otherwise, another popular uprising against him could start. Khamenei doesn’t have the cards.»
There is widespread discontent among Iranians against the rule of 85-year-old Khamenei.
TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House, Feb. 4, 2025. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)
Iran’s has upped the ante ever since Trump told FOX Business he sent a letter to Khamenei. Iran has disclosed video footage of its underground «missile city.»
Trump also told FOX Business, «I would rather negotiate a deal.»
He continued, «I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily. But the time is happening now, the time is coming up.
«Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I’ve written them a letter, saying I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing for them.»
Brodsky said, «That means the Islamic Republic may dangle a JCPOA-like deal, with minor modifications from the previous 2015 agreement. Iranian media has been hyping such an arrangement.»
In 2018, Trump withdrew from the Obama-negotiated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal because, he argued, that the agreement failed to ensure Iran would not build nuclear weapons and did not codify restrictions against Tehran’s missile program and sponsorship of Islamist terrorism.
IRAN’S LEADER WARNS US COULD RECEIVE ‘SEVERE SLAPS’ FOLLOWING TRUMP’S THREATS TO HOUTHIS
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has analyzed where Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is located. (Image provided by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) )
Brodsky said, «These Iranian officials believe they can lure the Trump administration into this arrangement and then President Trump will wave a magic wand and bring the entire Republican Party along with Democrats to support the deal and make it more politically durable than the 2015 JCPOA. This is all despite President Trump’s consistent and strong record in rejecting the JCPOA framework. It reflects desperation in Tehran and a desire to buy time with another failed diplomatic gambit. But it’s important to have eyes wide open here as to the games the Iranians will (and are already) playing.»
While Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the intelligence community «continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamanei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003,» she did note that Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile.
In sharp contrast to U.S. intelligence since 2003, Fox News Digital has previously reported that European intelligence agencies believe Iran is working toward testing an atomic weapon, and sought illicit technology for its nuclear weapons program.
Counter-proliferation experts, like the prominent physicist and nuclear specialist David Albright, have told Fox News that European intelligence institutions use an updated definition of construction of weapons of mass destruction to assess Iran’s progress in contrast to America’s alleged obsolete definition.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital sent press queries to the U.S. State Department and the National Security Council.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
One of President Donald Trump’s longtime Republican critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined Gang of Eight Democrats in opposition to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets.
Trump has not sought congressional approval for an attack on Iran, Massie wrote on X, rebuking «acts of war unauthorized by Congress.»
«I am opposed to this War,» Massie added in a second X post Saturday morning. «This is not ‘America First.’
«When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly met earlier this week with the Gang of Eight, and a spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital that Rubio called the speaker before the overnight strikes were carried out in Iran.
Notably, Trump has reminded the world that Iran’s regime had targeted him, including fomenting assassination talk in retaliation of his first administration’s taking out Islamic Republican Guard QUDs force commander Qasem Soleimani Jan. 3, 2020.
«I was the hunted, now I am the hunter,» Trump said on the White House lawn before the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes and amid past warnings to Iranian leaders.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, but a U.S. official told Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin that Trump’s U.S. military armada in the Middle East, working in concert with Israel, is targeting military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an «imminent threat.»
The U.S. military is not targeting Iran’s leadership, but Israel is, the official added.
KHANNA AND MASSIE THREATEN TO FORCE A VOTE ON IRAN AS PROSPECT OF US ATTACK LOOMS
Alerting Congress was a topic of contention during the stealth operation to extract Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, when Trump and Rubio said they did not alert the Gang of Eight in advance, fearing leaks and putting U.S. troops at risk before the operation.
The Gang of Eight consists of the four Republican and Democrat leaders of Congress and four other members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, is part of the group.
«Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame,» Himes wrote in a statement. «As I expressed to Secretary Rubio when he briefed the Gang of Eight, military action in this region almost never ends well for the United States, and conflict with Iran can easily spiral and escalate in ways we cannot anticipate. It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history.
«The president’s own statement acknowledges this is war, and the Constitution requires the administration to come to Congress for authorization, something it has not done. Next week, the House will vote on a war powers resolution, and I will support that resolution. In the meantime, I will be praying for the safety of our service members and all civilians who are in harm’s way.»
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, spoke out against Trump’s Operation Epic Fury action.
GOP LAWMAKERS SPLIT ON US MILITARY INTERVENTION TO FULFILL TRUMP’S CALLS FOR REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN
«Iran’s leadership has long supported terrorism across the region, undermined regional stability, continued to advance its nuclear ambitions and brutally repressed its own people, but acknowledging those realities does not relieve any president of the responsibility to act within the law, with a clear strategy, and with Congress,» Warner wrote in a statement.
«The American people have seen this playbook before — claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building. We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past.»
Warner added a call for Trump to give the «country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?»
TRUMP HAS THREE STRIKE OPTIONS THAT WOULD AID THE PROTESTERS AND DEVASTATE IRAN
«The president moved forward without seeking congressional authorization,» Warner’s statement concluded. «The Constitution is clear: The decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations — particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States — raises serious legal and constitutional concerns.
«Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war.»
Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, noted Trump gave «Iran plenty of opportunities to take the diplomatic route.»
REPUBLICAN SENATORS SAY LEAKED IRAN DAMAGE REPORT WAS INACCURATE, POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
«Prior to the initiation of this action, in earnest diplomatic engagements with Iran, President Trump was very clear about his red line from the start and his expectations of Iran during these negotiations,» Crawford wrote in a statement. «Iran absolutely cannot be allowed to maintain a nuclear weapon or capabilities. The safety and security of Americans and our allies are on the line.»
Crawford’s statement stressed concern for American forces conducting the operation versus Democrats’ concerns over Trump’s authority as commander in chief.
TRUMP ISSUES STERN IRAN WARNING AS TEHRAN ANGRILY REACTS TO SPEECH AMID MUTED WORLD REACTION
«The United States of America has the most premier military in the world, and I am confident it will successfully carry out the very clearly stated goals of this operation,» Crawford wrote. «As the operations continue, we pray for the safety of the U.S. military forces involved, Americans in the region, and our allies.
«I would strongly advise the Iranian regime heed President Trump’s warning.»
Trump warned in his State of the Union earlier this week that he will hold to his longtime vow that «Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,» saying in his Truth Social video overnight to explain the strikes that Iran was attempting to reconstitute its designs on a nuclear arsenal.
TRUMP TELLS IRANIANS THE ‘HOUR OF YOUR FREEDOM IS AT HAND’ AS US-ISRAEL LAUNCH STRIKES AGAINST IRAN
«One thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,» Trump said in the State of the Union. «Can’t let that happen.»
Senate Armed Forces Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., praised the «decisive action» against «the world’s leading proliferator of terrorism.»
«This is a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests,» Wicker wrote in a statement. «The president has stated the operation’s goals clearly: thwart permanently the ayatollahs’ desire to create a nuclear weapon, degrade their ballistic missile force and their production capacity, and destroy their naval and terrorism capabilities.
RUBIO, RATCLIFFE TO DELIVER CLASSIFIED IRAN BRIEFING TO ‘GANG OF EIGHT’ AHEAD OF TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION
«These are the hardest decisions that face any American commander-in-chief, and I appreciate that President Trump and his team conducted a comprehensive strategy using all tools of national power and a well-orchestrated military planning process.»
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, echoed the long-time Trump position against «regime-change wars.»
«Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?» Kaine wrote in a statement.
MASSIE-LED PUSH TO HANDCUFF TRUMP ON IRAN GETS JEFFRIES’ BACKING
«For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war — especially wars that aren’t authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don’t have a clear objective.
«These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives,» Kaine said. «The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,» Kaine added.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., echoed the call to vote on Kaine’s war powers resolution.
«Americans don’t want to go to war with Iran,» Kim wrote in a statement. «By launching strikes, President Trump has made the same dangerous and foolish decision President Bush did a generation ago. He put Americans in harm’s way without clearly showing there’s an imminent threat to our national security. He put the Iranian people in harm’s way by calling on them to rise up without a broad coalition of partners to assist in their protection.
«And Trump once again started a cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control,» he continued. «This is unacceptable. The Senate should vote on Senator Kaine’s War Powers Resolution immediately.
«I stand ready to do so today.»
Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
defense,donald trump,iran,foreign policy
INTERNACIONAL
Irán anunció que bombardeó el portaaviones Abraham Lincoln de los Estados Unidos, pero el Pentágono salió a negarlo
Los Guardianes de la Revolución de Irán afirmaron este domingo haber atacado el portaaviones estadounidense USS Abraham Lincoln, ubicado en la zona del Golfo, después de que el líder supremo iraní muriera en una ofensiva militar de Estados Unidos e Israel. Sin embargo, el Pentágono lo negó.
«El portaaviones estadounidense Abraham Lincoln fue alcanzado por cuatro misiles balísticos», afirmaron desde la agencia de noticias oficial iraní en un comunicado difundido por medios locales, y advirtieron que «la tierra y el mar se convertirán cada vez más en el cementerio de los agresores terroristas«.
Es la primera vez que desde Teherán apuntan directamente a uno de los buques insignia de la Armada norteamericana desde el inicio del conflicto. Sin embargo, el Pentágono salió negar que el buque haya sido alcanzado.
«El CGRI de Irán afirma haber atacado el USS Abraham Lincoln con misiles balísticos. MENTIRA -respondieron desde el mando militar de Estados Unidos para Oriente Medio (Centcom)-. El Lincoln no fue alcanzado. Los misiles lanzados ni siquiera se acercaron«, confirmaron desde Washington en un posteo en la red social X.
🚫Iran’s IRGC claims to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles. LIE.
✅The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by… pic.twitter.com/AjaeHMemtA— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2026
El ataque anunciado por Irán y desmentido por Estados Unidos tampoco pudo ser verificado de manera independiente. No está claro si el lanzamiento de los misiles hacia el portaaviones realmente ocurrió o si el anuncio forma parte de una campaña propagandística destinada a proyectar fortaleza ante los partidarios del régimen en un momento de extrema vulnerabilidad, tras la muerte del ayatollah Ali Khamenei y de decenas de altos mandos militares en los bombardeos del sábado llevados a cabo por Israel y Estados Unidos.
Por lo pronto, el ejército estadounidense había reportado daños mínimos y ninguna baja pese a “decenas de ataques con misiles y drones iraníes” desde el inicio del conflicto.
El portaaviones estadounidense Abraham Lincoln había llegado a la zona del Golfo el 25 de enero pasado junto a tres destructores de misiles guiados. Según se informó en ese entonces era «para reforzar la presencia naval estadounidense durante las negociaciones con Irán sobre su programa nuclear».
El USS Abraham Lincoln es el quinto portaaviones de la clase Nimitz de la Armada estadounidense. Lleva aviones furtivos F-35, capaces de evadir los radares enemigos y cuenta con tres destructores equipados con misiles de crucero Tomahawk para ataque terrestre. El navío, suele ir acompañado de un submarino de propulsión nuclear, que dispara el mismo tipo de arma.
El presunto ataque informado por los Guardianes de la Revolución se suma a los ocho oleadas de misiles y drones contra Israel y bases militares estadounidenses ubicadas en Bahréin, Kuwait y Qatar.
Desde Washington, se informó que hasta el momento son tres militares estadounidenses quienes murieron y otros cinco resultaron gravemente heridos en el marco de la operación contra Irán.
El anuncio fue realizado este domingo por el Centcom. Se trata de las primeras bajas estadounidenses conocidas desde que los norteamericanos e Israel lanzaron el sábado masivos bombardeos contra Irán.
El Centcom todavía no reveló ningún detalle sobre el lugar ni la identidad de los soldados en su comunicado publicado en la red social X.
«La situación es cambiante, así que, por respeto a las familias, retendremos cualquier información adicional, incluida la identidad de los guerreros caídos en combate, hasta 24 horas después de que sus allegados hayan sido informados», añadió el mando estadounidense.
Varios otros soldados sufrieron heridas «leves» por esquirlas y traumatismos cerebrales, pero están siendo «reasignados a sus funciones», precisó el Centcom.
El Mando Central de los Estados Unidos (USCENTCOM o CENTCOM) es uno de los 11 comandos combatientes unificados del Departamento de Defensa. Establecido el 1 de enero de 1983, y es responsable de las operaciones militares estadounidenses en una región crítica que abarca 21 naciones en el Medio Oriente, Asia Central y del Sur, y Egipto.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeid Iravani, sparred with U.S. envoy Mike Waltz at a Security Council session on Sunday, telling the American ambassador to «be polite,» a remark that drew a sharp rebuke from Waltz, who accused Tehran of killing «tens of thousands» of its own citizens and imprisoning many more simply for seeking freedom from «your tyranny.»
«I have one word only: I advise to the representative of the United States to be polite,» Iravani said during the emergency meeting.
Moments later, Waltz responded: «Frankly, I’m not going to dignify this with another response, especially as this representative sits here in this body representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people and imprisoned many more simply for wanting freedom from your tyranny.»
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S. Feb. 28, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Reuters)
The exchange came during an emergency Security Council briefing as the United States, Israel and Iran entered war, with diplomats offering sharply different interpretations of the expanding military campaign and its legality under international law.
In extended remarks at the session, Waltz rejected what he described as Iran’s «ridiculous and frankly farcical assertion» that U.S. actions violated international law, arguing that the United States acted «in close coordination with the Government of Israel» and «in line with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations,» which addresses self-defense.
He also reiterated that Iran supports armed proxies across the region and has destabilized the Middle East for decades.
AMBASSADOR MIKE WALTZ LAYS OUT ‘AMERICA FIRST’ VISION FOR US LEADERSHIP AT THE UN
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S. Feb. 28, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Reuters)
The clash unfolded against the backdrop of broader controversy surrounding Iran’s standing within the U.N. system, previously reported by Fox News Digital. Last mnonth Iran was elected vice-chair of the U.N. Charter Committee, a body focused on examining and strengthening the principles of the U.N.’s founding document — a move that drew criticism from Israeli and Western officials.
Fox News Digital also reported earlier that month on backlash after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres sent a congratulatory message to Iran marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a gesture critics described as «abjectly tone-deaf» given Tehran’s human rights record.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, attends a United Nations Security Council meeting, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S. on Feb. 28, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Reuters)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The United States is set to assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council on March 1, a role that shifts monthly and gives the presiding country control over the council’s agenda and meeting schedule, placing Washington in a key procedural position as tensions continue to mount.
Related Article
war with iran,united nations,iran,us
GOP Rep Massie joins Democrats in opposition to US Iran strikes
Cómo la gestión de Milei cambió el peso del intercambio con Brasil, China, EEUU y otros aliados comerciales
Canales para ver el Central Córdoba vs. Talleres por el Torneo Apertura
Irán anunció que bombardeó el portaaviones Abraham Lincoln de los Estados Unidos, pero el Pentágono salió a negarlo
Mike Waltz turns tables on Iranian envoy at heated UN meeting
Detuvieron a un grupo de ambientalistas que saltó las rejas del Congreso para protestar contra la Ley de Glaciares
Ginette Reynal dio una rotunda marcha atrás con una decisión que tomó hace dos meses: “No aguanto más”
Catherine Fulop contó el difícil momento que atraviesa su madre en Venezuela: “Está postrada”
Crisis en la industria: otra multinacional se achica y cierra una planta en la Argentina
Alarma por la salud de Divina Gloria tras salir de Gran Hermano: “La internaron directamente en terapia intensiva”
CHIMENTOS3 días agoGinette Reynal dio una rotunda marcha atrás con una decisión que tomó hace dos meses: “No aguanto más”
- CHIMENTOS3 días ago
Alarma por la salud de Divina Gloria tras salir de Gran Hermano: “La internaron directamente en terapia intensiva”
- CHIMENTOS2 días ago
¡Titi revolucionó Gran Hermano! Cuáles son las 5 cosas que ya extraña: «Accesorios, pilates, bondiola, auriculares y bailar»
