Iran ready to negotiate with US but not under Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’
‘Maximum pressure’ policy pushed by US ‘would not be a negotiation but a form of surrender’, Iranian FM says. Iran has said it is ready to negotiate with the United States but not under the “maximum pressure” strategy by Donald Trump. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on Saturday that “the lifting of sanctions requires negotiations, but not within the framework of a ‘maximum pressure’ policy, because it would not be a negotiation but a form of surrender”. Araghchi’s statement came after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the government not to negotiate with the US, calling such an approach “reckless”. Khamenei, who has the final say on all strategic decisions in Iran, referred to Iran’s previous experience negotiating with Washington. In 2015, Iran struck a landmark deal with the US, France, Germany, United Kingdom, China and Russia to regulate its nuclear programme in return for the easing of international sanctions. However, during his first term in 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement and reinstated heavy sanctions on Tehran, despite European opposition. Advertisement Trump on Wednesday called for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, adding that it “cannot have a nuclear weapon”. Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons. The US president, however, reinstated on Tuesday his “maximum pressure” policy, with Washington on Thursday announcing financial sanctions on entities and individuals accused of shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian crude oil to China. Aragchi said on Saturday that “Iran does not want to negotiate with a country that is simultaneously imposing new sanctions”. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli air strike kills six in eastern Lebanon amid fragile ceasefire
Israeli drone attack targets the Shaara area in eastern Bekaa region. An Israeli air raid has killed six people and wounded two in eastern Lebanon amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that a drone targeted the Shaara area, near the town of Jennata, in the eastern Bekaa region on Saturday. The Israeli army issued a statement saying the targets were what it claimed to be Hezbollah operatives “within a site for the production and storage of strategic weapons”. “Activities within the site are considered a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it said, referring to the ceasefire agreement signed on November 27 that brought to a halt the conflict between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. Since the deal came into effect, Israel has continued military action against what it says are Hezbollah sites. While the agreement called for a 60-day implementation period ending on January 26, Israel delayed the withdrawal of its troops from southern Lebanon, claiming the agreement had not been fully enforced by Lebanon. Advertisement Under the terms of the truce, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers in the south, taking the place of Hezbollah forces. Israel has also launched a wave of attacks in the eastern Bekaa Valley, also typically considered a Hezbollah stronghold. On January 31, at least two people were killed as the Israeli army claimed to have struck multiple Hezbollah targets near the border with Syria. Hezbollah official Ibrahim Moussawi condemned the air raids at the time, calling them “a very dangerous violation and a blatant and explicit aggression”, calling on Lebanon to halt Israel’s continued attacks. Adblock test (Why?)
Real Madrid rescued by Mbappe after Alvarez penalty for Atletico
Real striker Kylian Mbappe’s second-half equaliser cancels out Julian Alvarez’s penalty for Atletico in Madrid derby. Kylian Mbappe scored in his first derby against Atletico Madrid as Real Madrid fought back for a 1-1 draw and kept its slim lead in the Spanish league. Julian Alvarez put Atletico ahead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. The kick was awarded after the referee was called to review a challenge by Aurelien Tchouameni on Samuel Lino. Mbappe equalised in the 50th minute for the hosts, who have stayed one point ahead of second-placed Atletico in the standings, after latching onto a blocked effort by Jude Bellingham to slot home. Bellingham hit the crossbar with a header as Madrid searched for a second goal, while Atletico goalkeeper Jan Olbak made saves to deny Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior and Mbappe to split the points in the Spanish capital. “We knew how to hang in there and had our chances,” Alvarez said. “We are in the fight and will stay in it right to the end.” Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid scores his team’s first goal from the penalty spot [Angel Martinez/Getty Images] Atletico, who spent big last summer to acquire Alvarez and other reinforcements, are trying to add to league titles in 2021 and 2014 under coach Diego Simeone. Advertisement They arrived in fine form, having won 19 of their previous 21 games in all competitions, and they showed why they have the best defence in Europe’s top five leagues with 15 goals conceded in 23 games. On Saturday, despite losing defensive stalwart Robin Le Normand to suspension, Simeone’s side was once again rock-solid at the back, frustrating Real’s stellar attack who were unable to create a single shot on target in the first half. Real coach Carlo Ancelotti was quick to accept that it was a game of two halves: “We controlled the second half well. We scored and had chances. We played a very good second half. First half was different. We were very slow and not aggressive enough. “The penalty affected the team. After the penalty, and before, we were playing very slow. We didn’t take advantage of the field. In the second half, we opened the field and made it wider, and took advantage of that. We created lots of problems in the second half,” he said. A spate of injuries left Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti relying on a makeshift backline of Lucas Vázquez, regular midfielder Tchouameni, youth player Raul Asencio, and Fran García. It was the reckless stretch of his boot by Tchouameni that ended up tripping Lino but it still required VAR to intervene for the kick to be awarded. Former Manchester City striker Alvarez gently stroked his penalty down the middle as Thibaut Courtois dived to his left. Antoine Griezmann showed again his great value to Atletico with precision passing even under duress. The French midfielder twice placed perfectly weighted balls that left Alvarez and Lino in a good position to get off shots inside the area, but clumsy touches by both ruined the opportunities. Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid scores his team’s equalising goal [Angel Martinez/Getty Images] Rodrygo sparked the Madrid comeback just after halftime when he dribbled past Javi Galan and Lino on the right side and slipped a ball to Bellingham in the heart of the box. Advertisement Bellingham’s scuffed shot hit a defender and fell to Mbappe, who had missed the first Atletico derby of the season – a 1-1 draw in September – because of injury, to rifle home for his first goal against Real’s cross-city rivals. Madrid poured forward searching for a second goal with Atletico rattled. Vinicius dribbled down the left side and scooped the ball for Bellingham, who smashed a header off the woodwork. Simeone changed both his fullbacks with Reinildo and Nahuel Molina in the 63rd, but Oblak still had to come to Atletico’s rescue on three occasions. “In the first half, we played very well,” Simeone said. “In the second half, they scored right away, then hit the bar. It was very intense. “After 20 minutes in the second half, we also had our opportunities … Julian [Alvarez] slipped on one, [Marcos] Llorente a couple of times. At the end, it was a draw, [but] both teams thought they could win the game.” Barcelona, in third place, are now five points behind Madrid ahead of their trip to Sevilla on Sunday. Adblock test (Why?)
Meet Delhi’s richest MLA, owns properties worth Rs 258 crores including in US, his net worth is Rs…
Delhi Assembly election results 2025 are out and with it is the smashing defeat of the AAP and a historic win of the BJP. During the nominations process candidates disclosed their assets and among them Delhi BJP leader Karnail Singh was found to be the richest.
Atishi celebrates win in Kalkaji constituency, Swati Maliwal calls it ‘shameless dispay,’ watch viral video
Despite Atishi’s victory, the overall election outcome was dismal for AAP, which only managed to secure 28 seats.
Trump directs Secret Service to give him ‘every bit of information’ about his attempted assassins: report
President Donald Trump said he has directed the Secret Service to give him “every bit of information” known about his two attempted assassins last summer during the presidential campaign, according to a report. “I want to find out about the two assassins,” the president told the New York Post Friday. “Why did the one guy have six cellphones, and why did the other guy have [foreign] apps?” Trump told the Post the Secret Service had been holding back information because of President Biden. IF IRAN ATTEMPTS ASSASSINATION, ‘THEY GET OBLITERATED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP “I’m entitled to know. And they held it back long enough,” he added. “No more excuses.” Trump was shot in the ear July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, while speaking at an outdoor campaign rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by the Secret Service after shooting at Trump, killing a rally attendee and injuring two others. Two months later, Ryan Routh, 59, allegedly waited for over 12 hours in brush with a rifle on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach as Trump was golfing Sept. 15. FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY CALLING FOR TRUMP ASSASSINATION ON FACEBOOK; SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATING A Secret Service agent saw Routh allegedly pointing a rifle through a fence and fired at him. Routh fled and was arrested that day. He has pleaded not guilty to several counts, including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and assault on a federal officer, and remains in federal custody. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2025. Six cellphones were reportedly found in Routh’s car after his arrest. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Crooks had encrypted messaging accounts on multiple platforms based in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany, according to Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who was appointed to a congressional task force investigating the assassination attempt. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Trump removes Antony Blinken, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg’s security clearances among others
President Donald Trump has decided to remove security clearances for several Democrats, including former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom are vocal Trump critics. Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and attorneys Andrew Weissmann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen. The move comes a day after Trump stripped his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, of his security clearance and his access to presidential daily briefs. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday night. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He added the precedent was set by Biden himself. “He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump wrote. Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Who is Norm Eisen? Meet the anti-Trump attorney repping FBI agents suing the DOJ
One of the attorneys representing anonymous FBI agents suing the Department of Justice to block the public identification of agents who investigated Jan. 6 is a longtime anti-Trump lawyer who worked with House Democrats on President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. Norm Eisen is an attorney, CNN legal analyst and expert at the Brookings Institution public policy think tank who previously served as the U.S.’ ambassador to the Czech Republic and special counsel for ethics and government reform under the Obama administration, when he earned the nicknames “Dr. No” and “The Fun Sponge” for reportedly ensuring the administration abide by ethics rules. Eisen appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb involving a pair of lawsuits filed by two groups of FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol Building as well as former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations and cases against Trump. Eisen serves as executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, which filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the FBI agents who investigated Trump-related cases. State Democracy Defenders Fund is a nonprofit that bills itself as focused on defeating “election sabotage” and “autocracy in 2025 — and beyond.” FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS “Credible reports indicate the FBI has been directed to systematically terminate all Bureau employees who had any involvement in investigations related to President Trump, and that Trump’s allies in the DOJ are planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to terminate,” State Democracy Defenders Fund wrote in its press release of the emergency order to block the public release of FBI personnel names involved in the Jan. 6 investigation. Fox News Digital took a look back on Eisen’s rhetoric and actions across the past few years and found that he has repeatedly been at the forefront of the legal cases against Trump, notably serving as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment of Trump beginning in 2019. FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION House Democrats tapped Eisen — who early in his career specialized in financial fraud litigation and investigations — to help lead the first impeachment against the 45th president, which accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to allegedly seeking foreign interference from Ukraine to boost his re-election efforts in 2020. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump, but the Senate ultimately voted to acquit him. Eisen revealed following the impeachment effort that he initially drafted 10 articles of impeachment against Trump, not just two, which would have included issues such as “hush money” payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Although the payments were not included in the impeachment articles, they were a focal point of the Manhattan v. Trump trial that found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’ “This was only the third impeachment trial of a president in American history, so it’s remarkable that we even got those two,” Eisen said in an NPR interview in 2020. “I will tell you that those two articles are a microcosm of all 10 of the impeachment articles that we drafted. They have features of all 10.” Eisen told Fox News Digital, when asked about his history of anti-Trump cases, that he was initially open to working with the first Trump administration, but that the president, “turned against the Constitution.” “I was initially open to Trump and even advised his first presidential transition,” Eisen told Fox Digital in an emailed comment on Friday. “But he turned against the Constitution and laws.” “In his first administration and now, he was and is using the presidency to break the law and to help himself and his cronies like Elon Musk — not the American people,” he continued. “To ensure the integrity of our democracy, I am pushing back through the bipartisan institutions I work with such as State Democracy Defenders Fund, which has strong conservative representation on our board.” Eisen is the co-founder of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which made waves in 2023 and 2024 when it helped to initiate a Colorado court case to remove Trump from the primary ballot in the state, The New York Times reported. The lawsuit, which ultimately landed in the Supreme Court, argued that Trump should be deemed ineligible from holding political office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause and that his name should thus be barred from appearing on the 2024 ballot. The group said that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters breached the U.S. Capitol, violated a clause in the 14th Amendment that prevents officers of the United States, members of Congress or state legislatures who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution from holding political office. Other states made similar legal claims to remove Trump, but each of the nine Supreme Court justices ruled in Trump’s favor in a decision released last March, ending the Colorado case and all others that were similar. DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW The State Democracy Defenders Action, which Eisen co-founded, has also been involved with other Trump-involved court cases, including in the Manhattan v. Trump case. The group helped file an amicus brief in February, advocating that presiding Judge Juan Merchan sentence Trump just days ahead of his inauguration. Trump was ultimately sentenced to unconditional discharge, meaning he faces no fines or jail time. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May 2024. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump had falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star, Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her
Pritzker trolls Trump by ‘renaming’ Lake Michigan as ‘Lake Illinois,’ joking he’d annex Green Bay
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken a satirical jab at President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico and annex Greenland. A straight-faced Pritzker released a choreographed video on Friday, with fake camera shutter clicks going off in the background, where he asserts that he is renaming Lake Michigan to “Lake Illinois,” poking fun at Trump’s recent executive order where he changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. PRITZKER BASHES TRUMP ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘WE WILL NOT FOLLOW AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDER’ “The world’s finest geographers, experts who study the Earth’s natural environment, have concluded a decades-long council and determined that a great lake deserves to be named after a great state,” Pritzker said. “So today, I’m issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter, Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois. The proclamation has been forwarded to Google to ensure the world’s maps reflect this momentous change.” Trump signed Executive Order 14172 on his first day back in office which changed the name of the ocean basin. The order also renamed the highest peak in North America to “Mount McKinley,” reversing the 2015 decision to call it by its centuries-old name Denali. Google has said it will make Trump’s changes once the Department of the Interior updates the Geographic Names Information System. As of today, Google Maps still refers to it as the Gulf of Mexico. In the video, Pritzker then switches his attention to Green Bay, a Wisconsin city near Lake Michigan. And just like how Trump vowed to take over Greenland from Denmark, Pritzker pledged to snap up Green Bay from The Badger State. “In addition, the recent announcement that to protect the homeland, the United States will be purchasing Greenland… Illinois will now be annexing Green Bay to protect itself against enemies, foreign and domestic,” Pritzker said. TRUDEAU SAYS TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT CANADA BECOMING 51ST STATE: REPORTS “I’ve also instructed my team to work diligently to prepare for an important announcement next week regarding the Mississippi River.” “God bless America and bear down,” Pritzker said, a nod to Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers, one of Chicago Bears’ biggest rivals. The video comes on the heels of a Justice Department lawsuit filed against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago for allegedly interfering with federal immigration enforcement with its sanctuary polices. The lawsuit claims that several state and local laws are designed to interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. Pritzker and Trump have also clashed over Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, with Pritzker declaring the move unconstitutional. Trump’s order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States. They also feuded during Trump’s first term in office when Pritzker claimed the state only recovered a quarter of its requested personal protective equipment from the federal government.
Lebanon names new government after two-year caretaker cabinet
PM Salam has formed a new government as Hezbollah appears increasingly sidelined. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has announced the formation of a new government after more than two years of an interim cabinet amid political wrangling and a major economic collapse. The presidency said on Saturday it accepted the resignation of the caretaker government and appointed Prime Minister Nawaf Salam‘s new cabinet of 24 ministers, the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022. The cabinet is now charged with drafting a policy statement – a broad outline of the upcoming government’s approach and priorities – and will then need a vote of confidence from Lebanon’s parliament to be fully empowered. Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), promised to reform Lebanon’s judiciary, implement economic reforms and bring about stability. Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace, he said Lebanon would implement UN resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and calls for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other non-state armed actors from the area south of the Litani River, on the border with Israel. Advertisement Lebanon’s new government marks a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, as Beirut hopes to access reconstruction funds and investments after last year’s devastating war with Israel and to recover from a debilitating economic crisis that has gripped the country since 2019. Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with him over the Shia Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. Former army chief Aoun – also a candidate not endorsed by Hezbollah and key allies – was elected president in early January, ending that position’s vacuum. The announcement comes after US Deputy Middle East Envoy Morgan Ortagus on Friday demanded that Hezbollah be excluded from Lebanon’s government, saying that Washington had made its continued presence in the cabinet a “red line”. The US Embassy to Lebanon issued a statement on Saturday saying it welcomed the new government and hoped it would implement reforms and rebuild state institutions. The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the announcement saying the end of the political impasse “heralds a new and brighter chapter for Lebanon”. Adblock test (Why?)