INTERNACIONAL
Waltz promises US will defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory after Russian jets flew into Estonia
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NEW YORK, NY – New U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz warned Monday the U.S. and its allies will defend «every inch» of NATO territory after Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace.
«The United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these airspace violations, and I want to take this first opportunity to repeat and to emphasize the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory,» Waltz said during opening remarks of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. «Russia must urgently stop dangerous behavior.»
The warning marked one of Waltz’s first public statements since winning Senate confirmation Friday. It came days after three Russian MiG-31 jets flew deep into Estonian airspace — the closest such incursion to the Baltic nation’s Parliament building in years — raising fears Moscow is testing NATO’s resolve.
Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna revealed Monday morning that the jets were armed. The jets were in Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.
RUSSIA SHIFTS FROM TALK TO ACTION, TARGETING NATO HOMELAND AMID FEARS OF GLOBAL WAR
Waltz vows U.S. will defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Tsahkna noted that Russia remains a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council even as it continues its war on Ukraine and now pushes into NATO territory.
Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an armed attack against one or more NATO members in Europe or North America is considered an attack against them all. In practice, this means that if any member nation is attacked, the others are committed to take action.
Waltz, a former House member from Florida, served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor until May. His confirmation to the U.N. was held up in the Senate until last week, when a 47-43 vote confirmed him as U.S. permanent representative to the U.N. Security Council.
A separate vote to confirm him as U.S. representative to the General Assembly did not come up — it’s unclear whether that will have any effect on his participation at UNGA.
Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting. ( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Estonia incursion followed an incident where at least 19 Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace just one week after Polish President Karol Nawrocki met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Last week, Romania reported a Shahed drone of Russian origin was found in its territory.
Russia called reports of the incursions «groundless accusations.»
«There is no proof except the Russophobic hysteria coming from Tallinn,» said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., referring to Estonia’s capital.
RUSSIAN JETS VIOLATE ESTONIAN AIRSPACE, FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS
NATO jets deployed to «push out» Russian MiG jets. (Didier Lauras/AFP via Getty Images)
«There was a time when Europe was associated with the renaissance, enlightenment cutting edge of philosophy, culture and science. Yet today unfortunately all of that is gone and it’s gone for good,» the representative went on.
Polyansky claimed the «only ideology» of European states is «primitive hatred» for Russia.
«Any events are immediately interpreted through an anti-Russian prism,» he said. «The idea that war with Russia is unavoidable is being frantically pounded into the heads of the European populace.»
On Monday, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the jet incursions into Estonia at Tallinn’s request.
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«Russia’s reckless actions represent not only a breach of international law, but also a destabilizing escalation that brings the entire region closer to conflict than at any time in recent years,» Tsahkna said.
«Such a provocation is profoundly disrespectful towards the collective and tireless efforts of the international community to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and to restore peace and stability in accordance with international law.»
united nations,russia,the european union,nato,politics
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Iranian officials pushing for negotiations with the United States risk being labeled traitors and «most likely eliminated,» according to a policy expert, as internal fractures emerge inside Iran’s new regime.
Hooshang Amirahmadi, president of the American Iranian Council, said moderates advocating engagement with Washington are increasingly vulnerable at a moment when the Trump administration says it is in contact with elements of a «new» leadership.
«If the moderates were to push toward negotiation and a ceasefire, they will be considered traitors and will most likely be eliminated,» Amirahmadi told Fox News Digital.
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Amirahmadi’s warning came as Washington also appears to be navigating internal «fractures» amid the ongoing conflict.
President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. is engaged in serious talks with a «new» and «more reasonable» regime in Iran as the war enters its fifth week, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to say who exactly the U.S. is negotiating with but cited «fractures.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting with China’s Foreign Minister (not pictured) in Munich Feb. 13, 2026, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. ( Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
«Well, I’m not going to disclose to you who those people are, because it probably would get them in trouble with some other groups of people inside of Iran. Look, there are some fractures going on there internally,» Rubio said on «Good Morning America.»
«Anyone in Iran who speaks of negotiation is suspected of paving the way for more war and destruction,» Amirahmadi said before stating that the moderate reformers are thought of as «infiltrators and deemed traitors.»
Amirahmadi also confirmed Rubio’s comments and highlighted an internal struggle within Tehran’s power structure, where remnants of what he called the «old regime,» or the Khamenei-era system, still exist.
«Many of them support negotiation or a ceasefire. But the emerging new regime is made up of more hard-line elements and views the others as traitors,» he said.
«For a long time, there has been a serious gap — what we call a cleavage — between the hardliners or radicals and the moderates or reformists.»
PAKISTAN’S AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN TOO ‘WAR-TORN’ TO RESPOND QUICKLY AS TRUMP EXTENDS STRIKE DEADLINE
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf attends a news conference at a conference hall in the Iranian Parliament building in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 2, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Amirahmadi also described how «assassination in the Islamic Republic is not a new phenomenon. It has been there for a long time.»
Amirahmadi spoke ahead of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth saying Tuesday that Washington remains firm on reaching an agreement to end the monthlong conflict involving the U.S., Israel and the Islamic Republic.
Speaking at a news conference, Hegseth reiterated that Trump is willing to make a deal to end the war, adding the new regime is now in place.
«If Iran is smart, it will make a deal. The new Iranian regime should already know that. This new regime, having undergone a regime change, should be smarter than the previous one. President Trump does not bluff and will not back down. He will make a deal, he is willing and the terms of the deal are known to them,» Hegseth said.
«The field and the war are in the control of the radical colonels, and that is what matters at this point,» Amirahmadi added.
«The established bureaucracy is still run by the same old moderate regime, but then that is not a new regime. The new regime is certainly more radical.»
WHO ACTUALLY RUNS IRAN RIGHT NOW? THE KEY POWER PLAYERS AS TRUMP CLAIMS TALKS TO ‘TOP’ OFFICIAL
Iran’s power structure is increasingly dominated by IRGC figures like Ahmad Vahidi (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Since the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the succession of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, the regime appears more reliant on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran’s power structure is increasingly dominated by IRGC figures like Ahmad Vahidi and Qods Force chief Esmail Qaani, alongside judicial figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
While President Masoud Pezeshkian’s influence could have waned, figures like Saeed Jalili, Guardian Council insider Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi continue shaping Iran’s security posture.
«There are basically the colonels; there are the Revolutionary Guards, people that are in the military. A few non-military hardliners are in universities, in government and places,» Amirahmadi added.
«They have changed the regime into a very radical regime,» Amirahmadi warned, «I don’t even think Khamenei’s son would favor negotiation, at least initially.
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«His position and condition are not entirely clear. His leadership appears symbolic — a reaction, even a gesture against figures like Trump.
«Trump and Netanyahu wanted regime change, and they have already achieved it, but the regime has just become more radical,» Amirahmadi concluded.
war with iran, iran, donald trump, marco rubio, treason, state department
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President Donald Trump reacted on Tuesday after newly released photos appeared to show the husband of former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem cross-dressing in private messages to a number of women.
The images were allegedly part of a trove of hundreds of messages sent between Noem’s husband, Bryon, and three women, obtained by The Daily Mail.
The father of three appeared to be pictured in hot pink underwear, wearing a skin-colored shirt with large, faux breasts worn underneath.
The New York Post reported the photos were taken while acting out a «bimbofication» fetish, which focuses on hypersexual, exaggerated physical appearances.
Bryon Noem (L), husband of US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (R), listens as Secretary Noem testifies before the Senate Committee in Washington, DC, May 20, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
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Another image appeared to show Bryon Noem posing with large, fake breasts in a tight light blue T-shirt while making a kissy face.
Trump told the Daily Mail he did not know about the photos and was surprised the Noem family confirmed their authenticity.
«They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,» Trump told the outlet. «I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.»
It is unclear if anyone else inside the administration knew about the alleged photographs.
Fox News Digital was unable to authenticate the photos independently.
Bryon Noem, the husband of former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem listens as she testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security in the Cannon House Office Building on December 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. The committee convened to hear testimony from top national security officials on potential worldwide threats. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
FIRED DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM FACES CRIMINAL REFERRAL FROM CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS
Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as Homeland Security Secretary last week after Kristi Noem’s March 5 ousting.
Kristi Noem is currently serving as special envoy to the Shield of the Americas.
In a statement to The Post, a spokesperson for Kristi Noem said she was «devastated» by the discovery.
«The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time,» the spokesperson said.
While the couple has been married for more than 30 years, Fox News previously reported rumors of an alleged affair between Kristi Noem and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, contributed to her dismissal from the DHS post.
Bryon Noem, husband of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, watches as Kristi Noem, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), not pictured, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
NEWSOM DECLARES ‘TRUMP IS IN RETREAT’ AFTER NOEM OUSTER, DEMANDS MILLER BE ‘NEXT’
During her time as 33rd governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem was sued by a transgender and «gender nonconforming» advocacy group, The Transformation Project, after the state terminated a contract with the organization.
She also received backlash from the LGBTQ community for signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which advocates claimed sanctioned discrimination against queer people.
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The White House, Department of State and DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
kristi noem, homeland security
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