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.
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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.
INTERNACIONAL
Japón proveerá drones y tecnología a Argentina, Uruguay, Perú y Ecuador para frenar la pesca ilegal china
Japón implementará un programa de asistencia a países sudamericanos que enfrentan flotas pesqueras chinas operando ilegalmente en sus aguas, proporcionando drones de vigilancia y otro equipamiento para reforzar los patrullajes marítimos, anunció el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores nipón.
Ecuador, Perú, Argentina y Uruguay recibirán la ayuda a través de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito, según informó este lunes Nikkei Asia. El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores japonés destinó 300 millones de yenes (1,9 millones de dólares) para la iniciativa, que incluye botes patrulleros inflables y equipos que analizan imágenes tomadas por drones. Esta tecnología permitirá identificar el registro de las embarcaciones, el tamaño de la tripulación y las rutas que siguen los buques.
Las flotas pesqueras chinas mantienen una presencia activa en las aguas alrededor de las Islas Galápagos de Ecuador. Con sus transpondedores GPS aparentemente apagados, estas flotas navegan hacia el sur frente a las costas de Perú y Chile. En el Atlántico, se ha confirmado actividad de flotas chinas en aguas cercanas a Argentina y Uruguay.
Estas flotas chinas son sospechosas de pesca ilegal, no declarada y no reglamentada, así como de actividades de recopilación de información, incluyendo el mapeo del lecho marino. .
Cuando una flota pesquera desactiva el rastreo GPS, determinar la trayectoria y el número de embarcaciones involucradas se vuelve extremadamente difícil. Tomar medidas de aplicación requiere capacidades superiores de guardacostas, de las cuales muchos países sudamericanos carecen.
Los buques pesqueros chinos también operan ilegalmente en el Banco de Yamato del Mar de Japón, y embarcaciones pesqueras japonesas han estado involucradas en incidentes frente a la costa del Pacífico del noreste de Japón. El gobierno japonés busca apoyar a países que enfrentan problemas similares.
La presencia de la flota china en aguas sudamericanas ha generado gran preocupación en la región. En Argentina, la actividad pasó de 61.727 horas por cada 500 kilómetros cuadrados en 2013 a 384.046 horas en 2023 en la zona conocida como “Milla 201”, al borde de la Zona Económica Exclusiva del país, según datos de Global Fishing Watch citados por Infobae.
La Prefectura Naval Argentina informó recientemente que reforzó el monitoreo de “más de 500 buques pesqueros extranjeros que arribarán a la Milla 201 en la próxima zafra del calamar”, de los cuales ya detectó 148 “en tránsito”. La mayoría proviene de China, Corea del Sur y Taiwán, reportó Infobae.
Investigadores locales han denunciado además actividades sospechosas de mapeo de la Plataforma Continental Argentina por parte de buques chinos. El arrastrero Lu Qing Yuan Yu 205, que en 2016 había realizado pesca ilegal dentro del Mar Argentino, fue detectado este año realizando movimientos en cuadrículas que sugieren prospección del fondo marino, según Milko Schvarzman, investigador del Círculo de Políticas Ambientales, citado por Infobae.
En Ecuador, el episodio de mayor tensión tuvo lugar en 2017, cuando las autoridades capturaron el carguero chino Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 dentro de la reserva marina de Galápagos cargado con 6.623 tiburones de diversas especies.
También se han planteado preocupaciones sobre posibles abusos a los derechos humanos de trabajadores en embarcaciones pesqueras ilegales en Sudamérica. Según reportes, estos trabajadores enfrentan largas jornadas en condiciones difíciles en barcos sin control de temperatura.
Muchos de los trabajadores son del Sudeste Asiático, según el ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores japonés. Intensificar la aplicación de medidas contra las flotas pesqueras ilegales en Sudamérica podría ayudar a proteger a esos trabajadores, según Nikkei Asia, proporcionando potencialmente una oportunidad para que Japón refuerce las relaciones con los países del Sudeste Asiático.
INTERNACIONAL
Minnesota Dem Senate candidate faces call from opponent to apologize over viral ‘pandering’ hijab video
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Minnesota Republican senatorial candidate David Hann is calling on one of his potential Democratic opponents to apologize after a video of her wearing a hijab and supporting the Somali community amidst a massive fraud scandal went viral on social media.
«It’s emblematic of the way she and other Democrat politicians in Minnesota have behaved over the past decade or so. They’re very political,» said former Minnesota state Sen. David Hann, who is running for Senate in the Republican primary, of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s video wearing a hijab and defending the Somali community amid a massive fraud scandal that has rocked Minnesota over the past several years.
«They just are pandering to political constituencies, and they’re not doing the job that they were elected to do.»
In the video, which was widely criticized by conservatives on social media last week, Flanagan can be seen donning a hijab while talking to Somali constituents.
MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKERS CITE CONSTITUTION IN CALL FOR WALZ TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD CRISIS
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is facing backlash over a viral video defending Somalis amid a massive fraud scandal. (Getty)
«Salam alaikum,» Flanagan says in the video giving an Arabic greeting before saying, «The Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota.»
«I am here shopping today and just encouraging other folks to show up, support our Somali businesses, support our immigrant neighbors, and I know that things are scary right now,» Flanagan added in the video that was aired on Somali TV.
«Being part of Minnesota and growing up here, the Somali community has always been a part of my Minnesota,» Flanagan added, while telling residents to «show up and support our Somali businesses and our immigrant neighbors.»
«We’ve got your back,» Flanagan said.
Flanagan, who has not spoken out in response to the viral investigation from journalist Nick Shirley highlighting the alleged fraud problem in Minnesota, faced criticism over the video from those who accused her of downplaying the scandal.
MEDIA ‘COMPLICITY’ BLAMED AS FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD CRISIS COULD REACH $9B: ‘SHOWN THEIR TRUE COLORS’
«This is what political performance looks like — symbolism over accountability — while billions in taxpayer dollars vanish,» Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham posted on X. «Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wears hijab in solidarity with Somalis as feds probe multibillion-dollar fraud scandal.»
Hann told Fox News Digital that Flanagan should apologize for and retract the video.
«They did not do their duty out of concern that they would offend a political constituency,» Hann said. «So they haven’t done anything to take responsibility for what the public expects them to do. So yes, she should apologize.»
«She certainly should not be sent to Washington to oversee federal dollars being spent. But it’s emblematic of the way Democrats have governed in this state. They like to posture, they like to tell people how compassionate they are. They tell us our high taxes are helping people, but they really haven’t demonstrated a concern for helping people. They’re more interested in just spending.»
Fox News Digital has extensively reported in recent weeks on the Minnesota fraud scandal, including concerns that the fear of being called «racist» helped provide cover for the fraud, which primarily occurred within the state’s Somali community.
LAWMAKERS PROBE SBA LOANS LINKED TO MINNESOTA’S $9B FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘RECKLESS DECISION MAKING’
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan speaks as Gov. Tim Walz, right, listens. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
«The Somali voting block is significant in the Minneapolis area, of course, and they’re concerned about that,» Hann told Fox News Digital. «And yes, I’ve seen those reports as well, that there were concerns about how this would appear. Most of the fraud was conducted by Somalis who put up these shell companies and looted the public treasury and I think the Democrats were concerned that if they went after that, they would appear to be picking on the Somali community when, in fact, they needed to enforce the law.»
«I think every community wants to see the laws enforced and people in Minnesota want to see laws enforced. And this is why this is so terrible. They are just failing to do the duty that they were elected to do.»
The lieutenant governor, who has been in office since 2019, is challenging two other Democratic candidates in the Senate primary race to fill the seat of outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Former Democratic presidential candidate and current Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves as the other senator from the state.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flanagan spokesperson Alexandra Fetissoff said the focus should be on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants in Minnesota.
«While the Lt. Governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect,» Fetissoff said. «The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the constitution.»
Flanagan’s team also clarified that while many on social media have claimed she said Somalis «built» Minnesota, «she does not say that in the video.»
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Senate candidate David Hann speaks to Fox News Digital in a 2024 interview when he was chair of the Minnesota GOP. (Fox News Digital)
Last week, Fox News Digital first reported on legislation introduced by GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks named after Tim Walz that is aimed at addressing future fraud like what has occurred in Minnesota and could total as much as $9 billion, according to federal prosecutors.
If elected to the Senate, Hann told Fox News Digital he would push for more «safeguards.»
«But I think we should also be looking at, how can we reform the whole welfare establishment?» Hann explained.
«Are there better ways to help people? We should be more concerned about trying to make sure people’s lives are improved, rather than just spending money. It seems to me that the Waltz administration has been focused on just handing out money, Democrats in Washington just hand out the money and no accountability and no attempt to figure out the effectiveness of the programs that we have, we need to take a hard look at that.»
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
minnesota fraud exposed,politics,minnesota
INTERNACIONAL
Eurostar forced to cancel all services to and from London after ‘major disruption’ in Channel Tunnel
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The international high-speed passenger rail service that connects the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands was forced to cancel all services to and from London after experiencing a «major disruption.»
«Eurostar services to and from London are suspended until further notice due to overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel, followed by a failed LeShuttle train,» Eurostar said in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital.
«We advise our customers to rebook their journey for another day, with free exchanges available,» the statement added. «We apologize for the disruption and will continue to keep customers updated with the latest information.»
YOUR HOLIDAY TRAVEL PLANS COULD BE RUINED IF YOU WEAR ONE PARTICULAR ITEM TO THE AIRPORT
Travelers queue for Eurostar services at St. Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)
Eurotunnel said that «LeShuttle service resumed very gradually» just before 3:00 p.m. CET. The company noted that service was «operating alternatively in both directions with significant delays.» Shuttles will be added Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that its services to and from London would resume at approximately 6:00 p.m. GMT. The company is urging travelers to rebook their trips, as the power issues are still impacting service.
«As the overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel still remain, only one line is available to run trains on. This means there will continue to be delays and longer journey times than usual this evening,» Eurostar said in a statement.
Customers whose trains have been canceled are advised not to come to the station, as those trains are not slated to be reinstated.
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that passengers whose travel has been canceled can, within three months of their original travel date, choose from a variety of compensation options. This includes a free exchange for a ticket on another day or an e-voucher for the unused ticket that will be valid for 12 months. Additionally, they may request refunds for their unused tickets.
Passengers who were left stranded by the disruption are eligible to have Eurostar cover a variety of expenses, including hotel accommodations up to approximately $199 per room, per night, taxi costs of up to around $70 per journey and food and drink expenses up to approximately $47 per person, per day.
Passengers wait after a Eurostar spokesperson said they were suspending its cross-Channel train services to and from London until further notice following a power supply problem in the Channel Tunnel that links Britain and France, at St. Pancras International station in London, Britain, Dec. 30, 2025. (Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)
MILLIONS AFFECTED AS MAJOR AIRLINE ENDS ADVANTAGE MILES PROGRAM ON BASIC ECONOMY TICKETS
Earlier on Tuesday, Eurostar issued a warning to travelers to postpone their journeys due to a power supply issue. The company said passengers could see severe delays and last-minute cancellations as a result. Customers were instructed not to go to the station unless they already had a ticket, according to the BBC.
The U.K.’s National Rail issued a similar statement urging passengers to postpone their travel amid delays and cancellations between London St. Pancras International and Paris Nord, the BBC reported.
«An incident related to the power supply to trains occurred last night in part of the Channel Tunnel, affecting train and shuttle traffic. A technical intervention is required, which is currently underway,» Eurotunnel said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. «The service is temporarily suspended in both directions.»
Eurostar told Fox News Digital that no passengers were stranded in the tunnel and that the broken shuttle, known as LeShuttle, had been removed.
LeShuttle, which is separate from Eurostar’s passenger-only rail service, runs between Folkestone, U.K., and Calais, France, bringing passengers and their vehicles through the Channel Tunnel in just 35 minutes.
People gather near a Eurostar train at Gare du Nord station, after Eurostar announced a power supply problem in the Channel Tunnel that links Britain and France, in Paris, France, Dec. 30, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)
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London North Eastern Railway (LNER) told Fox News Digital that customers with tickets for Dec. 30 whose travel was affected by the Eurostar disruption could travel to their home station on an alternative LNER train for no additional fee.
«Any LNER customers who have had to abandon their journey in London King’s Cross are able to return to their home station on the next available LNER service at no additional cost,» LNER told Fox News Digital. «LNER customers who choose to defer their Eurostar travel to a different day may use their existing LNER ticket to travel on that same day.»
In response to a request for comment, National Rail referred Fox News Digital to Eurostar’s media center.
LeShuttle did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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