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Trump’s favorite field marshal: Who is Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir with deep intel ties
Mark Dubowitz says Trump holds ‘maximum leverage’ over Iran as ceasefire begins
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, analyzes President Trump’s firm Iran policy following a two-week ceasefire agreement. He highlights the regime’s weakened state after 15 months of Trump’s administration, making Iran’s 10-point peace plan with «ridiculous demands» unlikely to be accepted. Dubowitz discusses the choice facing Iran’s new regime.
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President Donald Trump publicly thanked what he called Pakistan’s «great prime minister and field marshal, two fantastic people!!!» in a Truth Social post Friday praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s military chief, Asim Munir.
Sharif quickly responded on X, «On behalf of the people of Pakistan, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and on my behalf, I express my deep and profound appreciation for your kind and gracious words.»
The public exchange capped a remarkable rise for Munir, who has become one of the few foreign officials trusted both by Trump and by Iran’s security establishment.
TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ
In this photo released by the Inter Services Public Relations, Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces and Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, center, Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, left, and Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar attend a guard of honor ceremony at the joint military command headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Inter Services Public Relations via AP)
Munir recently became the first foreign military leader to visit Iran since the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, according to Pakistani and Iranian reports. Arriving in full military uniform, he was warmly greeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and held meetings with senior Iranian military officials.
Retired Pakistani Gen. Ahmed Saeed told Fox News Digital that Munir has for months served as an informal back channel between Washington and Tehran, Iran, as the Trump administration tries to negotiate an end to the conflict, Iran’s nuclear program and the naval blockade in the Persian Gulf.
Few foreign figures appear to have closer ties both to Trump and to Iran’s military hierarchy.
That has raised a striking question: How did the same man become close both to Trump and to some of Iran’s most powerful commanders?
Saeed, who said he has known Munir personally for years, told Fox News Digital that Munir began building ties with Iran while serving as Pakistan’s director general of military intelligence in 2016 and 2017.
«He has been interacting with the leadership. He has been interacting with the intelligence community. He has been interacting with the IRGC,» or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saeed said.
According to Saeed, Munir built ties not only with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps but also with Iran’s regular army and intelligence apparatus. Saeed said Munir had longstanding contact with former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in 2020, commander Hossein Salami, who was killed in an Israeli strike in June 2025, and other Iranian military figures.
JD VANCE SAYS THE BALL IS ‘IN IRAN’S COURT’ AFTER PAKISTAN PEACE TALKS STALL
Few foreign figures appear to have closer ties both to Trump and to Iran’s military hierarchy. (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«He continues to be a figure internationally who has personal interactions, a personal equation in the intelligence community in Iran, in the military hierarchy in Iran, in the diplomatic corps of Iran and also on the side of the political leadership,» Saeed said.
That longstanding relationship appears to explain why Iran welcomed him so warmly, even as he remains in direct contact with Trump and his team.
Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital that, «Trump should not trust the Pakistanis. Pakistan was a perfidious ‘ally’ in Afghanistan, backing the Taliban while pretending to be our friends. Munir’s ties to the IRGC should be a massive red flag for the Trump admin.»
Munir’s relationship with Trump dates back to the India–Pakistan crisis of May 2025. Munir played a key role in helping de-escalate the confrontation, and afterward Pakistan formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, a move widely viewed by Pakistani analysts as encouraged by Munir.
Pakistan’s Asim Munir has become one of the few foreign officials trusted by both President Donald Trump and Iran’s security establishment, according to Pakistani analysts and officials. (Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Since then, Trump repeatedly has praised him. Trump has called Munir an «exceptional man,» a «great fighter» and «my favorite field marshal.»
Pakistani officials and media reports say the two men now speak directly.
Pakistani analyst Raza Rumi told Fox News Digital that Munir’s appeal to Trump is not surprising.
«Trump has long shown a preference for strong, decisive leaders,» Rumi said. «Munir fits that mold as a centralized authority figure who can deliver outcomes.»
WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)
Rumi described Munir as «a disciplined, institution-first leader with a strong emphasis on order, hierarchy and strategic clarity.»
«Unlike more publicly charismatic military figures, his style is relatively understated, shaped by intelligence work and operational experience rather than overt political signaling,» Rumi said.
Munir’s background helps explain both his style and his influence.
Munir studied at the Fuji School in Japan, the Command and Staff College in Quetta, the Malaysian Armed Forces College in Kuala Lumpur, and Pakistan’s National Defence University, where he earned an master of philosophy degree n public policy and strategic security management, according to Pakistan’s Geo News. Munir was the first army chief in Pakistan to receive the Sword of Honour, the military’s highest distinction for a cadet. The outlet also described him as an avid reader, traveler and sportsman.
Munir is also a Hafiz-e-Quran, meaning he has memorized the entire Quran by heart.
A former head of both Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s most sensitive regional relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India.
TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Vice President JD Vance shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on April 12, 2026, after talks on Iran. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, and U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Natalie A. Baker look on as Vance prepares to board Air Force Two. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
In 2025, after the India-Pakistan crisis, he was elevated to field marshal, the first Pakistani officer to hold the rank since former military ruler Ayub Khan.
Pakistani officials say that later that year, he also was given the newly created title of chief of defense forces, further cementing his authority above the country’s military branches.
Munir rarely gives interviews, but his speeches offer clues to his worldview.
WHO ACTUALLY RUNS IRAN RIGHT NOW? THE KEY POWER PLAYERS AS TRUMP CLAIMS TALKS TO ‘TOP’ OFFICIAL
A former head of both Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s most sensitive regional relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India. (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
At the Margalla Dialogue in Islamabad in November 2024, he warned that «absence of proper regulations for freedom of expression is leading to the deterioration of moral values in societies worldwide.»
The remark reflected a broader emphasis on order, discipline and centralized authority.
Rumi said Munir operates from «a transactional, state-centric worldview rather than an ideological one.»
Yet critics argue that his rise has come at a cost to Pakistan’s democracy.
After becoming army chief in 2022, Munir focused heavily on domestic politics, including what critics described as a crackdown on political opposition and an unprecedented concentration of military power, according to The Guardian, which reported that key negotiations with the United States and Iran have been coordinated not from Islamabad, Pakistan’s civilian capital, but from Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the military.
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A broken frame of Pakistan’s field marshal and army chief, Asim Munir, hangs on the wall after an attack at the Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school, in the South Waziristan district near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Nov. 13, 2025. (Aamir Qureshi / AFP via Getty Images)
Critics say that reflects a broader reality: Pakistan’s foreign policy is increasingly being run by the army rather than the elected government.
Rumi said Munir’s rise reflects «the military increasingly eclipsing civilian leadership in Pakistan.»
As the current negotiations continue, much appears to rest on Munir. Saeed said that is because Munir has spent years building trust on both sides and is unlikely to stop now.
«Knowing our field marshal, and from my own personal knowledge of him, he is relentless. He would not give up,» Saeed said.
donald trump, pakistan, iran, military
INTERNACIONAL
Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers
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DALLAS, Texas — The 30-minute U.S. military operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power has helped clear the way for a sweeping expansion of Venezuela’s battered energy sector, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, sharing that the country’s national energy production will more than double by the end of 2027.
«Chevron is going to more than double their energy production. In fact, that national energy production in Venezuela will more than double by the end of next year from the intervention on Jan. 3 this year,» Wright told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC Midterm Convention.
Wright said the military actions in Venezuela helped open the door for a major increase in oil production as the administration has increasingly taken an active role in the socialist country as part of a broader push to expand U.S. influence and investment.
U.S. forces entered Venezuela for Operation Absolute Resolve Jan. 3, capturing Maduro and his wife Flores. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was part of «massive joint military and law enforcement raid» and lasted less than 30 minutes.
TRUMP TOUTS ACCESS TO 65 BILLION BARRELS OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN DEAL HE SAYS WILL SLASH GAS PRICES
A view of the town of Agua Santa Rosa, on the shores of Lake Maracaibo, among dilapidated houses in Maracaibo, Venezuela, July 27, 2026. (Jose Isaac Bula/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«You had 25 years of communist dictatorship. The standard of living has just plummeted in Venezuela. Eight million Venezuelans fled. About a million of them, and not all of them good actors, came to the United States of America. People tried to beg, borrow, bribe, anything they could to change the Venezuelan government. No luck,» Wright said.
«President Trump is an out-of-the-box, bold foreign policy leader.
«A brief military operation, arrest two criminals and now we have leverage over the government. It’s an existing government. Are they perfect? No. But we have a lot of leverage.»
Chevron scored an investment of more than $7 billion over five years and more than double its Venezuelan oil production to 600,000 barrels per day, according to its press release.
Venezuela controls more than 300 billion barrels of crude reserves, roughly 20% of the world’s total. Despite holding an estimated 17% of the world’s oil reserves, Venezuela produces only about 1% of global output after years of political instability and deteriorating infrastructure undermined its energy industry.
TOP ENERGY TRADER HAILS TRUMP’S VENEZUELA OIL DEAL AS A ‘GENERATIONAL WIN’ FOR GAS PRICES
President Donald Trump takes questions from members of the press aboard Air Force One Jan. 11, 2026, while traveling from Palm Beach, Fla. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Wright said shifting the center of global energy production toward the Western Hemisphere will put the U.S. at the center and major producers, including Canada, Guyana and Mexico supplying more of the world’s oil and gas.
Millions of barrels of new Venezuelan production would be processed through U.S. refineries and produced using American rigs and infrastructure, creating thousands of American jobs, according to the White House.
STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ‘TOTAL COMPLIANCE’ FROM VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT IN RELIEF EFFORTS AFTER MADURO ARREST
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks to Fox News Digital at the RNC Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas. (Fox News Digital)
The administration’s emerging approach to Venezuela could use U.S. leverage with energy investment to prompt political change.
That deal comes with added importance as the war with Iran disrupts oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The average U.S. price for regular gasoline rose to about $4.22 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA, up from roughly $3.19 a year earlier.
«We’re solving a 47-year conflict with Iran. We cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran. This is a nation sounding death to America and doing everything they can to implement it. But we’ve massively grown United States natural gas exports, good for our economy, good for the world economy,» Wright said.
energy, socialism, venezuelan political crisis, foreign policy, nicolas maduro
INTERNACIONAL
Cilia Flores solicitó prisión domiciliaria por “problemas de salud” mientras espera el juicio por narcotráfico junto a Maduro
Cilia Flores, esposa del ex dictador venezolano Nicolás Maduro, solicitó a un tribunal federal de Nueva York que se le permita esperar su juicio por narcotráfico bajo arresto domiciliario en lugar de continuar detenida en una prisión de Brooklyn. Sus abogados presentaron el pedido el miércoles ante el juez Alvin K. Hellerstein, con el argumento de que una afección cardíaca que padece desde hace años se agravó desde su ingreso al centro de detención.
Según el escrito judicial, firmado por los defensores Mark Donnelly y Andrés Sánchez, Flores convivía con un “prolapso de la válvula mitral” antes de su arresto y recibía un tratamiento mensual con inyecciones que no ha podido continuar durante su reclusión. En su lugar, el equipo médico del penal le prescribió aspirina infantil, una estatina, diltiazem y nitroglicerina para los episodios de dolor en el pecho.
“Merece la oportunidad de esperar su juicio en confinamiento domiciliario”, escribieron los abogados, quienes detallaron que su clienta perdió más de once kilos, sufrió la pérdida de dos molares y presenta reflujo y gastritis persistentes desde enero. La defensa añadió que médicos recomendaron realizarle un cateterismo cardíaco, procedimiento que podría derivar en intervenciones adicionales y que, según argumentan, requiere un entorno de recuperación distinto al que ofrece una cárcel federal.
El documento también hace referencia a un episodio de salud ocurrido el 29 de julio que, de acuerdo con los propios abogados, “aparentemente” pudo tratarse de un infarto leve, aunque este punto no cuenta con confirmación médica oficial.
La defensa propuso un esquema de detención alternativa: una residencia privada dentro del distrito judicial de Manhattan, custodiada por guardias armados durante las 24 horas, con visitas restringidas a las personas autorizadas por la corte y la fiscalía, líneas telefónicas intervenidas y monitoreo por video. Flores ofreció además asumir los costos del traslado y entregar su pasaporte como garantía adicional para permanecer bajo custodia estadounidense.
Los abogados subrayaron que el personal del centro de detención “ha sido extremadamente respetuoso” con la pareja y que Flores “no cuestiona que ha recibido una atención excelente” por parte de los profesionales médicos que la atendieron tanto en la prisión como en el hospital. Sin embargo, insistieron en que “un centro de detención carece de las condiciones necesarias” para una recuperación adecuada tras eventuales procedimientos cardíacos.
Bajo sello el historial médico de Flores
Paralelamente, el juez Hellerstein aceptó una petición complementaria de la defensa para mantener bajo sello el historial médico de Flores presentado como respaldo del pedido de arresto domiciliario. En su resolución, el magistrado sostuvo que “los tribunales de este circuito autorizan regularmente la presentación de historiales médicos bajo sello”, al considerar que prevalece el interés de la acusada en proteger la privacidad de esa información sobre la presunción de acceso público a los expedientes judiciales.
La fiscalía federal de Manhattan no ha presentado aún una respuesta formal a la solicitud y un portavoz de esa oficina declinó hacer comentarios. El juez tampoco se ha pronunciado sobre el pedido.
Flores, de 69 años, y Maduro, de 63, permanecen detenidos desde el 3 de enero, cuando fuerzas estadounidenses los capturaron en un operativo nocturno en su residencia de Caracas y los trasladaron a Nueva York. Ambos se declararon no culpables de los cargos que los acusan de integrar una conspiración para introducir cocaína en territorio estadounidense.
Las defensas de ambos acusados presentaron además mociones separadas para desestimar la causa, basadas en un reclamo de inmunidad soberana por sus cargos como jefe de Estado y primera dama al momento del arresto. Una audiencia para escuchar los argumentos sobre esas mociones está prevista para el 17 de noviembre, mientras que el inicio del juicio quedó fijado para el 1 de junio de 2027.
Crime,International Relations,Law Enforcement,Crime,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,North America
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Undercover video exposes Dem Senate nominee’s plan to embrace socialists: ‘Got to be together’
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Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor and a Democratic candidate for the Senate, believes his party should incorporate a big-tent approach to an emerging wave of socialist candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
When asked if he would sign the Promise to America, a repudiation of socialist stances put out by moderate Democrats, Cooper said he wouldn’t.
«I don’t see any need to,» Cooper said in video footage obtained by Fox News Digital.
«I think the party needs a wide spectrum, particularly at a time when the Republican Party is shrinking and having all kinds of loyalty tests. I think we need to have all kinds of folks to be a part of our party.»
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Then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat from North Carolina, speaks with reporters on Sept. 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)
Cooper’s comment comes as he wages a bid to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and win over a historically Republican-leaning state. It also raises questions of whether moderate Democrats believe their platforms can coexist with the aims of the DSA.
The DSA espouses positions like abolishing the U.S. Senate, establishing public ownership of corporations and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to their website.
The group paints a picture of what those policies could look like in practice on its website.
«You have no debt. You don’t need health insurance. You don’t pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right. Your retirement is publicly funded. Food, education, energy, medicine and transportation aren’t for-profit businesses; they are common goods and utilities,» the group states.
Cooper is not affiliated with or backed by the DSA and has pitched himself as a candidate with an ability to reach across the aisle. His campaign has highlighted his ability to work with a Republican-controlled legislature during his tenure as governor from 2017 to 2025.
In his own words, Cooper has pushed back on questions about being tied to the DSA.
TRUMP HERALDED AS GOP ‘KINGMAKER’ AFTER LOUISIANA SENATE RESULTS RATTLE PARTY ESTABLISHMENT
Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina, speaks to members of the media in the spin room following the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«For the record, no,» he told the New York Times on whether he was a Communist. «I have a record of working across the aisle. The people of North Carolina know that I can be a senator that puts them first. Before power, before party, before politics. I feel confident that at the end of the day, they’ll send me to Washington.»
When asked if Cooper’s platform is at odds with the DSA’s views, Cooper’s campaign declined to comment, noting that his commitments are reserved for his constituents.
«The only pledge Roy makes is to the people of North Carolina. Roy is not a socialist and he will work with anyone, including Republicans, as he has done his entire career to lower costs for hardworking families and fight for North Carolina,» his campaign told Fox News Digital.
Some Republicans are skeptical of that reasoning.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believes moderates are afraid to challenge their progressive flank as candidates championing the far left have surged in the 2026 midterm primaries.
«That dynamic is dangerous right now because they are terrified of the extreme left. Finding a middle ground on ideological issues right now is … the prospects for success, particularly between now and election day, are not high,» Cruz said at an energy summit hosted by Club for Growth and Arnold Ventures on Thursday.
«Schumer is truly terrified right now,» he added, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
In the video interview, Cooper said he believes the party will only weaken itself in its resistance to the administration if it doesn’t band together.
TRAFFIC DRAMA THREATENS TO END DEM GOVERNOR’S TENURE AS VOTERS HEAD TO POLLS IN RHODE ISLAND
Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina, during a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris, not pictured, at Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Particularly now when we’re in such difficult straits and we’re in a foxhole right now. We’ve all got to be together to take our government back,» Cooper said.
«We could fall to the autocracy, anytime we don’t stick together. So, I don’t see the need signing something,» Cooper said.
Having secured the Democratic nomination, Cooper now heads to the Nov. 3 general election where he faces off against Republican nominee Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
republicans elections, chuck schumer, ted cruz, politics, democratic party, rise of socialism
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