The Doctor was in (and out): Biden’s physician invokes Fifth Amendment during deposition
Dr. Kevin O’Connor made a house call this week. Specifically to the House of Representatives. O’Connor served as President Biden’s physician. The House Oversight Committee wanted to talk to O’Connor about whether Biden was fit to serve as president. So House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., issued a subpoena for O’Connor. The doctor was in. But not for very long. After 20 minutes behind closed doors with Comer and company, the deposition concluded. Committee attorneys peppered O’Connor with questions about whether he thought former President Biden was up to the job and if he was asked to lie about the commander in chief’s health. But Comer got the same response each time. Even when committee lawyers posed a simple question, asking O’Connor if he understood the proceedings. REPUBLICANS NAVIGATE POST-VICTORY AGENDA AFTER TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ BECOMES LAW O’Connor deployed his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination each time. The committee even took the rare step of releasing a video from most of the deposition the same evening. “Most people invoke the Fifth when they have criminal liability. And you know, that’s what it would appear (to be) on the surface here,” said Comer after the deposition concluded. “The American people have a right to know the health condition of the president. Both physical and mental.” Comer observed that O’Connor’s silence “adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up.” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Tex., was the only Democrat who showed up for the deposition. Crockett just bowed out a few weeks ago from a bid to become the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee after the death of late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. “It was important to make sure that a Democrat was in the room. Because unfortunately, sometimes people like to cherry pick and make sure that they can give whatever fits their narrative,” said Crockett. But the video revealed O’Connor repeatedly citing the Fifth Amendment “on the advice of counsel.” That’s why Comer hoped to shape one narrative about the health of former President Biden. Comer also suggested the potential lengths that O’Connor was willing to go to in order to protect the former president. And perhaps himself. Crockett was incredulous at Comer’s assertions. “It’s kind of astounding to hear someone say, if you invoke the Fifth Amendment, that is only because you are guilty,” said Crockett. “(Republicans) have been very good at rallying people up and getting them emotional because they don’t fully understand some of our processes.” Crockett added that patients “have the right to confidentiality when it comes to your health care.” The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the use of the autopen by Biden. O’Connor’s lawyers say that led their client to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights. RACE AGAINST TIME: HOW CONGRESS BARELY MADE JULY 4 DEADLINE ON ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “We want to emphasize that asserting the Fifth Amendment privilege does not imply that Dr. O’Connor has committed any crime,” said his legal team. And the statement also indicated there was concern about O’Connor keeping medical information of the First Patient in confidence. “The Committee has indicated that it will demand that Dr. O’Connor reveal, without any limitations, confidential confirmation regarding his medical examinations, treatment and care of President Biden,” read the statement. “Revealing confidential patient information would violate the most fundamental ethical duty of a physician.” His attorneys went on to say that O’Connor could face “civil liability” and “revocation” of his medical license. Regardless, O’Connor wasn’t answering any questions anywhere. Inside the meeting room. Heading to the meeting room. Or heading home. “Will you invoke the Fifth? What about patient doctor confidentiality?” yours truly asked O’Connor as he navigated a third-floor hallway in the Rayburn House Office Building with a small coterie of attorneys. “Do you think (President Biden) was up to the job? Do you think he was up to serve?” No response. O’Connor reprised his reticence on the way out. “Did you take the Fifth because you’re trying to cover up what the President’s state was?” I asked as he departed down a Rayburn stairwell. Nothing. The statement from the physician’s counsel declared that the pact between doctors and patients “require that Dr. O’Connor refuse to testify.” This is a question which vexes even doctors who double as lawmakers. Such is the case with Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. He’s an OB-GYN. IS THE VOA, DOA? WITH KARI LAKE IN CHARGE OF THINGS, IT MIGHT BE “I can see both sides of it. I can certainly see, as a physician, you take an oath of confidentiality with every patient. If there’s a national security issue, does that outweigh that relationship?” pondered Marshall. “I would really have to think about that. I want to get a couple of consults myself and talk to some constitutional lawyers.” But aside from the Constitutional, ethical and medical questions, Democrats reverted to defending the former president. I asked Crockett if she ever perceived health problems with the president. “No. None. No. None. I had none. Now, granted, I didn’t see Joe Biden every single day. But I did have an opportunity to interact with the president. I never had a concern,” said Crockett. “He may get fumbled up by words. But that’s not anything new. And it’s not anything that (didn’t come) with age.” There had been discussion about getting O’Connor to cooperate without a subpoena. Comer contends his investigation isn’t about plowing some of the same Biden political fields explored a couple of years ago when it was thought the former president might seek a second term. This isn’t about business dealings or Burisma or “influence peddling.” But Comer is posing a legitimate question here about the fitness of a president. Any president. Regardless of what Crockett says, there are plenty of questions about Mr. Biden’s acuity and whether staff made decisions – in lieu of the president. And these questions aren’t new when it comes to presidential health. President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke during his time
Protesters clash with conservatives at Turning Point’s Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay
Protesters lined the streets outside Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Saturday afternoon, rejecting President Donald Trump’s agenda and his crackdown on illegal immigration. The Tampa Police Department (TPD) disrupted a brief scuffle between the protesters and TPUSA attendees, after they began counter-protesting and chanting “USA” to the swarm of protesters shouting about a myriad of issues. Police officers were on the scene when a conflict with counter-protesters left one protester bloody in the street. The multi-day conservative conference has featured remarks by co-founder Charlie Kirk, Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, border czar Tom Homan and Donald Trump Jr., among other conservative leaders. RILEY GAINES SAYS ‘LITERAL HUMAN FECES’ THROWN IN PROTEST OF TURNING POINT USA AT UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON As Saturday afternoon’s summit continued inside, protesters marched outside, chanting, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “TPD, KKK, ICE – they’re all the same.” CAR DRIVES THROUGH ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS AS CHICAGO JOINS NATIONWIDE ANTI-ICE UNREST AMID TRUMP CRACKDOWN The protesters held large signs that said, “Defeat the Trump agenda,” and one man, wearing a “public school strong” T-shirt, held a large, oversized model of a toilet paper roll over his head. Messages reading, “TP for the USA: When history gets messy, FLUSH IT” and “100% whitewashed,” plastered the protest sign, trolling the ongoing conservative convention. The demonstrations on Saturday followed protests that delved into riots in Los Angeles last month, as rhetoric against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has reached a boiling point. But the message was much broader this weekend as protesters held signs and chanted about a range of issues, from “Free Palestine” chants, rejecting the war in Gaza, to a “No ICE on campus” poster, speaking out against ICE raids targeting illegal immigrants. One woman held a sign that said, “Due process,” one of the Democratic Party’s leading arguments against Trump’s deportations. Many signs equated those attending the conservative gathering to “Nazis.” After marching outside the TPUSA summit and confronting young conservative attendees, protesters moved back to City Hall for speeches. According to the protest flier via Mobilize, the protest titled, “Turn the Tide Against TPUSA – Reject SAS 2025!” was hosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a student activist organization, and volunteers were organized by Indivisible. The protesters accused TPUSA of “turning our city into the staging ground for its largest youth indoctrination summit of the year … to spread an extremist agenda across schools, universities, and communities.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The protesters organized to “defend LGBTQ+ & reproductive rights”, reject censorship in schools, “demand an end to deportations & U.S. aid to apartheid,” and “reject white nationalism,” according to the flier.
Trump administration’s Texas flood disaster response ‘fundamentally different’ from Biden’s approach: Noem
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Saturday that the federal response to the deadly floods in Texas Hill Country last weekend was a good indication of the improved disaster response the Trump administration is committed to providing. Devastating floods on the Fourth of July claimed at least 119 lives, and more than 150 others are missing. Among those killed were 27 girls attending Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas. “What you saw from our response in Texas is going to be a lot of how President [Donald] Trump envisions what [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] (FEMA) would look like in the future,” Noem said during a news conference Saturday. “We did things in Texas, in response, very different than Joe Biden.” PRESIDENT TRUMP, FIRST LADY HEAD TO VISIT KERRVILLE, TEXAS FOLLOWING FATAL FLOODS In response to the 2023 Ohio train derailment in East Palestine, the Biden administration said the chemical disaster did not meet legal requirements for a FEMA disaster declaration, waiting two weeks to deploy a team to assist. In the 2023 Maui fires, more than 100 people were killed, and historic Lahaina was reduced to rubble. Survivors were left without food, water and shelter. At the time, FEMA Administrator Michael Brown called President Joe Biden’s response to the deadly fires “an abject failure.” Slow responses and inadequate aid were also widely reported after Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina in late 2024. “I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump said in January while visiting North Carolina. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.” DEADLY TEXAS FLOOD EXPOSES ‘NEGLECTED’ WEATHER ALERT SYSTEM TRUMP AIMS TO MODERNIZE Noem noted that, during the most recent disaster, federal assistance was on the ground in Texas as soon as the flooding hit. “We deployed our Coast Guard, helicopters, [aircraft] and swift water rescue teams out of Customs and Border Protection,” she said. “Our [Border Patrol Tactical Unit] (BORTAC) teams, which I like to call the Department of Homeland Security’s ninjas, are specifically trained for situations like that, where the unprecedented is happening.” After the floods, Noem said she immediately met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and spoke with him about getting a major disaster declaration signed. Within an hour or two of the request, she said, it was approved by the White House. “We pre-deployed dollars right to Texas so that they can make the best decisions responding to their people,” Noem said. “FEMA has never done that before — pre-deployed dollars to a state so that they could use that to save their people, so they could use that to go out and save lives.” Noem said the president wants the states to be empowered during emergencies. GOV. ABBOTT DEMANDS COMPREHENSIVE OVERHAUL OF TEXAS FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS AS DEATH TOLL RISES “Emergencies are locally executed,” she said. “They are state-managed and then the federal government comes in and supports you. [No one] ever wants to sit back and wait for someone from the federal government to show up and rescue you out of your house because that, in the past, has not served people well under the Biden administration. Under President Trump, Noem said, federal officials were there immediately to help local and state officials manage the response. She added her belief that FEMA “will cease to exist the way that it is today.” “We are fundamentally reforming that agency,” Noem said. “President Trump may want to, in his prerogative, as he likes to do, rename things. He may come up with a new name for this agency that reflects the fundamental change that’s going to happen there. But this agency will no longer be the bureaucratic agency where people have to wait 20 years for their claim to be paid. “It will be an agency that immediately says to that state, and to that local emergency management director, ‘What do you need? How can we support you?’ And then trains them to have the skill set that they need to be serving their people immediately, because they’re always there faster. They’re right there on the streets.” It is unclear what the new agency name might be. When asked about reports of calls to FEMA from Texas residents going unanswered, Noem said she was “throwing the bull—- flag,” claiming she did not think that was true. “I will get rid of any contract that doesn’t respond to people because they know they are empowered to do it,” she said. FEMA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump defends embattled AG Pam Bondi, says ‘nobody cares about’ Jeffrey Epstein
President Donald Trump on Saturday defended Attorney General Pam Bondi as doing a “fantastic job” after she came under fire from some Trump supporters over the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday. “We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.” He referred to Epstein as the “guy who never dies,” adding, “For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.” He continued to question why people were “giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.” DAVID MARCUS: TRUMP IS FLUNKING HIS MAGA BASE’S JEFFREY EPSTEIN TEST “They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,” Trump wrote. “Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?” The president said the FBI “must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein.” “LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 — That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more,” he wrote. “One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.” FBI’S DAN BONGINO THINKING OF RESIGNING AFTER CLASH WITH AG PAM BONDI OVER EPSTEIN FILES: SOURCE His comments mirrored what he told a White House reporter during a recent Cabinet meeting, in which he called the late sex criminal and financier a “creep.” “Can I just interrupt for one second?” Trump said after a reporter directed an Epstein question at Bondi. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” “This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking.… We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people are still talking about this guy, this creep?” Trump asked. “That is unbelievable.” Some MAGA supporters have criticized Bondi or even called for her resignation after the DOJ and FBI on Sunday released a joint review that ended theories about an alleged Epstein client list, concluding there was no such roster of names of the world’s elite who allegedly took part in Epstein’s history as a sexual predator. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The DOJ also concluded the disgraced financier committed suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting further sex trafficking charges. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reportedly clashed with Bondi over her handling of the Epstein matter and has told confidantes that he may resign if Bondi remains in her post. Fox News’ Amanda Macias, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Bondi says all charges against doctor who allegedly destroyed COVID vaccines have been dropped
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that charges against a doctor accused of destroying COVID-19 vaccines and giving children fake shots at their parents’ request have been dropped. “At my direction @TheJusticeDept has dismissed charges against Dr. Kirk Moore,” Bondi wrote on X. “Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.” Moore, whose trial got underway Monday, was facing decades in prison for allegedly destroying more than $28,000 in COVID-19 vaccines and fraudulently completing and distributing hundreds of vaccination record cards. The Utah-based plastic surgeon was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023. FBI’S DAN BONGINO THINKING OF RESIGNING AFTER CLASH WITH AG PAM BONDI OVER EPSTEIN FILES: SOURCE Prosecutors say Moore and his three co-defendants ran a scheme out of Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc. to “defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she was writing a letter to the Justice Department to urge it to drop charges against Moore. “This man is a hero, not a criminal,” she contended on X. “The charges were filed under Biden’s DOJ, not Trump.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also praised Moore on X in April, writing, “Dr. Moore deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!” Greene thanked Bondi on Saturday. “Thank you AG Pam Bondi for dropping the WRONGFUL charges against Dr. Kirk Moore!” she wrote on X. “We can never again allow our government to turn tyrannical under our watch. Thankfully, as soon as I told Pam Bondi about Dr. Moore’s case she swiftly moved to drop the charges against him. This is a big win!” Bondi wrote that getting the charges against Moore dropped would not have been possible without Greene, “who brought this case to my attention. She has been a warrior for Dr. Moore and for ending the weaponization of government.” Bondi’s actions come as some supporters of President Trump are calling for her resignation after the Justice Department and FBI on Sunday released a joint review that ended theories about an alleged Jeffrey Epstein client list, concluding there was no such list detailing the names of the world’s elite who allegedly took part in Epstein’s history as a sexual predator. PROSECUTORS TIED TO JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT CASES FIRED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: REPORTS The DOJ also concluded the disgraced financier committed suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting further sex trafficking charges. Public outrage ensued after the release of a prison surveillance video that the administration used to prove that no one entered Epstein’s cell in the hours leading up to his death. The 10-hour video, though, has one minute missing, which has fueled conspiracy theories that the administration is participating in a cover-up involving Epstein’s death. “President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi’s efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime. The continued fixation on sowing division in President Trump’s Cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is also considering resigning over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files after a heated argument with Bondi this week, a source told Fox News Digital this week. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Bongino has not been seen in his office since Wednesday, a source said, adding he has yet to make a final decision about his future. Fox News’ Amanda Macias, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Meet ‘China’s man in Lima’ who jetted over to US to collect trains donated by Biden admin
A key China ally with presidential ambitions in Peru traveled late last month to California to participate in a sending-off ceremony for a batch of trains donated by the Biden administration, according to reporting by Peruvian news outlets. Peruvian outlet Justo Medio reported at the time that Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who is rumored to be considering a run for president of Peru in 2026, was in California late last month to discuss the transport of a batch of CalTrain locomotives, which were donated to Lima by the U.S. government under the Biden administration. Nate Picarsic and Emily de La Bruyère, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), recently published a study on Lopez Aliaga’s “deep” financial ties to China through his company PeruRail, which has seen its revenue rise to over $65 million per year due to increased shipments from Minera Las Bambas, a Chinese-owned joint venture counting state-owned mining giant China Minmetals as its majority backer. The report alleged that China has been “cultivating” Lopez Aliaga for higher office in Peru in hopes of growing its mineral and battery supplies harvesting in South America. The report goes so far as to dub Lopez Aliaga “China’s man in Peru.” CHINESE EDUCATOR WITH SEVERAL CCP TIES COZIES UP TO TOP NEW YORK DEMOCRATS: ‘OUR OLD FRIEND WHO LISTENS’ “China’s mining presence in Peru is a direct boon for López Aliaga,” the report said, giving Beijing “a powerful beachhead in Peru.” The report said, “This leaves an influential Peruvian political leader aligned with and linked to China, its resource project, and the broader Belt and Road Initiative of which it is part.” In the last several years, Chinese investment in South America, and Peru especially, has significantly increased. According to NBC News, China invested $1.3 billion in a massive deepwater port in Chancay, Peru, just north of Lima. Chinese President Xi Jinping participated in the port’s opening ceremony in 2024, during which he called the port the start of China’s 21st-century maritime Silk Road, according to the outlet. FLORIDA AG SUBPOENAS CHINESE COMPANY OVER ‘COMPROMISED’ MEDICAL DEVICES THAT CAN TRANSMIT PRIVATE DATA According to Picarsic, China has also been investing heavily in Lima’s infrastructure, most notably dominating its electricity industry, all of which Lopez Aliaga has been a “linchpin” piece in moving Chinese dominance forward. Now, with Lopez Aliaga possibly entering Peru’s presidential race, Picarsic explained that this all “looks like a telltale sign of China’s handiwork.” He also called the U.S.’s donation of trains to Peru “too little, too late” to combat China’s growing influence in the region. SENATORS RICKETTS, FETTERMAN UNITE AGAINST CHINA’S QUIET INVASION OF US FARMLAND “We’re coming with a donation of some number of decommissioned rail cars. But this guy, who is in cahoots with China, who’s coming to take them and he’s taking them back to run on Chinese rail feeding into a Chinese port, helping to move goods from a Chinese mine.” Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in a train-donation ceremony last November in Lima, Peru, where he praised the project as an opportunity to “strengthen the ties between Peru and the United States” and said the trains “are not just a symbol, but the practical manifestation of possibilities – the possibilities that come when we connect to each other.” “This agreement is a testament to the strength and durability of the U.S. and Peru’s longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship,” he added. “I am so proud to have Caltrain be a member of that mutually beneficial relationship.”
Air India fuel switches moved with “some form of human input”
Terry Tozer, a pilot and aviation analyst, believes there was some degree of human involvement in shutting off the fuel switches on the Air India flight prior to the crash. His comments follow an investigation that identified a disruption in the engine’s fuel supply as the likely cause of the incident. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says 30-percent tariffs against EU and Mexico to begin on August 1
This marks an increase of 5 percent and 10 percent on Mexican and EU goods respectively. United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 30-percent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, weeks after negotiations with the major trading partners failed to reach a more comprehensive trade deal. Trump, who announced the new tariffs on two of the US’s biggest trade partners in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform on Saturday, said they were due to what he said were Mexico’s role in undocumented migration and illicit drugs flowing into the US and a trade imbalance with the EU, respectively. Earlier this week, Trump issued new tariff announcements for more than 20 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, as well as a 50-percent tariff on copper. The duties are higher than the 25-percent levy Trump imposed on Mexican goods earlier this year – although products entering the US under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempted. The EU tariff is also markedly steeper than the 20-percent tax Trump unveiled in April. In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is prepared to take the necessary steps to safeguard its interests, “including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.” Von der Leyen said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by August 1”. Three other EU officials told the Reuters news agency that Trump’s threat of an EU tariff is a negotiating tactic. The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1 just days before the elevated rates were due to take effect. Advertisement The 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members, such as France, have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal that only benefits the US. Canada earlier received a similar letter setting out 35-percent tariffs on its goods, while Trump has threatened to impose a 50-percent tariff on goods made in Brazil, in retaliation for the “witch-hunt” trial against his far-right ally former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing prosecution over his alleged role in a plot to overturn the country’s 2022 election. Trump’s cascade of tariff orders since returning to the White House in January has begun generating tens of billions of dollars a month in new revenue for the US government. US customs duties revenue shot past $100bn in the federal fiscal year to June, according to US Treasury data on Friday. But the global economy and markets have been on a rollercoaster that seems set to continue for the foreseeable future. Adblock test (Why?)
Iranian FM warns UN sanctions would ‘end’ Europe’s role in nuclear issue
Abbas Araghchi also says that Tehran is reviewing the details of a possible resumption of nuclear talks with the US. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that any snapback of United Nations sanctions on the country “would signify the end of Europe’s role in the Iranian nuclear dossier“. A clause in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and world powers, which United States President Donald Trump torpedoed in 2018 during his first term, allows for UN sanctions to be reimposed if Tehran breaches the deal. Araghchi also said on Saturday that Tehran was reviewing the details of a possible resumption of nuclear talks with the US. “We are examining its timing, its location, its form, its ingredients, the assurances it requires” from Iran for possible negotiations.” Separately, Araghchi said any talks with major powers would focus only on Iran’s nuclear activities, not its military capability. “If negotiations are held … the subject of the negotiations will be only nuclear and creating confidence in Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions,” Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran. “No other issues will be subject to negotiation.” Last month, Israel unleashed large-scale strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites, its military leaders, nuclear scientists and residential areas, killing hundreds. Israel claimed its assault on June 13 was undertaken to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Iran said the war was an unprovoked aggression in violation of the UN Charter. In the frenetic days that followed, Iran retaliated, and the two countries exchanged daily barrages of missiles. The US later intervened on Israel’s behalf, deploying so-called “bunker buster” bombs and missiles to target the heavily fortified Fordow facility, as well as Natanz and Isfahan. Advertisement The final act in the 12-day conflict came when Iran responded by targeting a key US base in Qatar, with Trump announcing a ceasefire in the hours that followed. After the conflict, Iran announced that it was suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, amid a deep distrust for the organisation. Araghchi said on Saturday that cooperation with the nuclear agency “will take on a new form” after President Masoud Pezeshkian last week signed a law suspending Iran’s collaboration with the IAEA. “Our cooperation with the agency has not stopped, but will take on a new form,” said Araghchi. The new law outlines that any future inspection of Iran’s nuclear sites by the IAEA needs approval by the Supreme National Council. On Thursday, Pezeshkian warned that the IAEA had to drop its “double standards” if it wanted to restore cooperation with Tehran. The president added that “any repeated aggression against Iran will be met with a more decisive and regrettable response”. Adblock test (Why?)
Wedding of the Century: The grand celebration that put India back on global spiritual map
In an era of superficial grandeur, this event served a deeper purpose: to remind the world of India’s identity as the ancient spiritual nerve centre of humanity, where culture, faith, and service are inseparable.