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Europe must invoke ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran, US lawmakers say, as Trump resumes ‘maximum pressure’

FIRST ON FOX: Europe must reinstate harsh United Nations sanctions on Iran, U.S. lawmakers insisted in a new resolution that accused Tehran of repeated violations of the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration.

The bipartisan legislation calls on the U.K., France and Germany to invoke “snapback” sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council immediately – and follow the U.S.’s lead under President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” executive order to isolate Iran over its nuclear activity.

“Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and their actions have led to the murder of American servicemembers,” said Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., the number two Republican on Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill, which has 11 cosponsors in the Senate.

“Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon would threaten our security and the security of our allies. Snapback sanctions are key to ensuring that President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign is successful.”

IRAN’S COVERT NUCLEAR AGENCY FOUND OPERATING OUT OF TOP SPACE PROGRAM LAUNCH SITES

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visits the defense achievements exhibition in Tehran, Iran, February 12, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/ Handout via Reuters )

Reps. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., issued companion legislation in the House.

Under the 2015 Iran deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran evaded U.N., U.S. and E.U. sanctions in exchange for promises not to pursue a nuclear weapon. But Iran eventually cut off independent inspectors’ access to its sites and resumed nuclear activities.

A “snapback” provision of the agreement said that any of the nations privy to the deal – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, U.S. or Germany – could demand the export controls, travel bans and asset freezes be reimposed.

But the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal entirely under President Donald Trump’s first administration and imposed its own “maximum pressure” sanctions regime. The Biden administration subsequently issued sanctions waivers and toyed with the idea of returning to a nuclear deal with Iran, but ultimately those efforts faltered.

Tenney urged the European nations to invoke the snapback sanctions before the deal expires in October 2025.

“Invoking snapback sanctions will restore all the UN sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the Obama administration’s failed Iran nuclear deal,” she said.

Iran is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, below the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon, according to U.N. nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi. Western states have said there is no civilian use for 60% uranium.

TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN

“Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and their actions have led to the murder of American servicemembers,” Senator Pete Ricketts, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee and lead sponsor of the bill, said. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Britain, France and Germany told the U.N. Security Council in December they were ready to trigger the snapback of all international sanctions on Iran if necessary.

Trump himself said he was “torn” over a recent executive order that triggered harsh sanctions on Iran’s oil sector, adding that he was “unhappy to do it.”

“Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump told reporters.

But he reiterated, “We’re not going to let them get a nuclear weapon.”

Trump suggested first trying a “verified nuclear peace agreement” over military escalation. “I would much rather do a deal that’s not gonna hurt them,” the president told Fox News on Monday, adding that “I’d love to make a deal with them without bombing them.”

”No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” said Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni, citing past “experience.”

Iran viewed the president’s remarks as a threat and took negotiations off the table.

”No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” said Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni, citing past “experience.”

He called for the country to further develop its military capabilities.

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“We cannot be satisfied,” Khamenei said. “Say that we previously set a limit for the accuracy of our missiles, but we now feel this limit is no longer enough. We have to go forward.”

“Today, our defensive power is well known, our enemies are afraid of this. This is very important for our country,” he said.

February 13, 2025
Israeli hostage’s mom tells Trump, Netanyahu her son could die if war resumes

Idit Ohel, the mother of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, urgently pleaded for President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of the remaining Oct. 7 captives held by Hamas amid fears the current ceasefire deal is disintegrating.

“They have no more time. And please don’t go back to war. Please. Because if that happens, if we go back to war, the hostages could die. The hostages that are alive could die,” she told Fox News Digital. “That’s what happened last time. Last time we saw that after the hostages came out and war started, so many hostages died and were murdered by Hamas. So we cannot let this happen. Please do everything in your power and do something for my son. He’s in the tunnels. He’s crying for help.”

Idit Ohel said she received confirmation that her son is still alive from released hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, two of the three gaunt, frail-looking Israelis forced to speak Saturday during a Hamas hand-over ceremony in Gaza.

The mother said the released hostages, who were held with her son for part of their nearly 500 days in captivity, told her that Alon Ohel is unable to see out of an eye after being struck by shrapnel when Hamas was closing in on Oct. 7, 2023. Alon Ohel, a civilian, was attending the Nova music festival when terrorists attacked, and he took cover in a bomb shelter. Hamas pounded the shelter with grenades and gunfire, and he “was taken, wounded, with blood all over him,” Idit Ohel said.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

A placard of Alon Ohel seen during a rally marking his 24th birthday in Tel Aviv. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Alon Ohel’s ancestors survived the Holocaust, including his great-grandfather who weighed just 30 kilos [about 66 pounds] when he was released from the Auschwitz concentration camp, Idit Ohel said. “So if he was alive today, he would probably die instantly just knowing that his great-grandson in the year of 2025 is starving,” she said. “Alon has these genes. So he’s fighting. He’s fighting for his life every day.”

Under the deal, another three hostages were due to be released by next Saturday, but Hamas said Monday that the group would not let them go, accusing Israel of violating terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Concerns that fighting will resume are rising. Trump has since said that Hamas must release all remaining 76 hostages by noon Saturday, or he would demand the ceasefire deal be canceled and “let all hell break out.” Netanyahu backed the demand.

Israeli media is reporting that Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is being dispatched to Israel and Qatar this week to prevent the ceasefire deal from unraveling. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected in Israel on Saturday.

To Trump and Netayanhu directly, Idit Ohel said, “Do something and bring them home. Please. Please.”

Idit Ohel speaks to the crowd during a Tel Aviv rally marking the 24th Birthday of her son Alon Ohel who is held hostage by Hamas. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Give him a chance. It’s unbearable. Something has to change. You have to do everything in your power to bring him home to me, to his family,” she said. “There’s still hostages alive. There’s still hostages alive. Please. Please, do something.”

Idit Ohel said she learned her son is being held in tunnels without medical attention and little food and has been “tortured, chained and starved.”

“It’s not humane. There’s so much food getting into Gaza, and he’s not getting any of it,” she said.

HAMAS SAYS IT’S DELAYING NEXT HOSTAGE RELEASE, CLAIMING CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

“Alon, right now as we speak, is still being not fed, sleeping on the floor, being chained, constrained. So he cannot move for 494 days,” Idit Ohel said. “My son is important. My son is only an innocent civilian. He went to the Nova festival to have fun. He’s a pianist. He loves music. He did nothing wrong to nobody. We need to get him out now. He cannot continue. This is humanitarian.”

Days before Trump took office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. Former President Joe Biden said at the time that the first phase involved a “surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza” – something Idit Ohel stressed her son is not getting.

She said the International Committee of the Red Cross “have never seen Alon and have never seen any of the hostages – [he] didn’t get any treatment.”

Israelis stand under placards with photos of hostages during a rally in Tel Aviv marking the 24th Birthday of Alon Ohel, who is held by Hamas in Gaza. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Where is he? Why is he not coming?” Idit Ohel added. “I do not understand it. I will never understand it. This is wrong. This is not moral.”

Ohel rallied thousands in Tel Aviv over the weekend on her son’s 24th birthday – the second birthday he has spent in captivity since the Oct. 7 attacks.

“I wanted to say happy birthday to my son. I couldn’t even talk [to him] and see and hear his voice,” she said. “When I heard about his condition, I fainted … I haven’t been sleeping for days … I cannot control what Hamas is doing to my son.”

“Every mother in this world. Think just for a second. If there’s one night that your son or daughter doesn’t eat, you can’t even live with yourself,” Ohel added. “My son has not been getting food for 494 days.”

The mother also delivered a message directly to her son.

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“If you’re listening to me, you know I love you and your father loves you. And we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that you’re home alive. You’re coming home. And there’s so many people all over the world and in Israel that are with you and are praying for you,” Ohel said, asking fellow musicians to play songs in her son’s honor in the coming days. “And you are not alone, Alon. You are not alone.”

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 13, 2025
Louisiana resumes inmate executions, includes new nitrogen gas method

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has finalized and implemented a protocol allowing sentences for death row inmates to be carried out using the nitrogen hypoxia method, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday.

The new protocol will allow for death sentences to be carried out again after a 15-year pause and builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama.

A summary of Alabama’s protocol allows for the condemned person to communicate with a spiritual adviser. It also allows for “designated victim relationship witnesses.”

LOUISIANA GOV. LANDRY SIGNALS PUSH FOR STATE TO RESUME DEATH ROW EXECUTIONS

Gov. Jeff Landry announced the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has implemented protocol to carry out death sentences using nitrogen gas. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni, File)

The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola will carry out the executions and is responsible for checking all aspects of the system.

“Once escorted to the death chamber, medical monitors will be attached to the inmate to evaluate the relevant vital signs,” the summary says. “The inmate will be offered the opportunity to make a final statement, and then, the specialized mask for administration of the nitrogen will be fitted onto the inmate.”

The statement says the coroner will confirm the death, then the warden will issue a statement confirming the death.

Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas last year, marking the first use of the method in the US since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982. The state has since executed three more people by that method.

Louisiana’s new execution protocol builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama. (AP)

The Protocol for Executions of Death Sentences includes the procedures for the nitrogen hypoxia method recently approved by the Louisiana Legislature with bipartisan support.

“For too long, Louisiana has failed to uphold the promises made to victims of our State’s most violent crimes; but that failure of leadership by previous administrations is over,” Landry said. “The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed.”

“These capital punishment cases have been reviewed at every judicial level, have had decades of unsuccessful appeals, and the death sentences affirmed by the courts,” Landry continued. “I expect our DA’s to finalize these cases and the courts to move swiftly to bring justice to the crime victims who have waited for too long.”

BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCES OF 37 FEDERAL DEATH ROW INMATES IN FINAL MONTH OF PRESIDENCY

Gov. Jeff Landry (above) said the time for an execution pause has ended and the state is ready to seek justice for victims of these crimes. (Getty Images)

Approximately 60 inmates are on death row in Louisiana, but executions have stalled due to legal challenges and drug shortages.

Also on the list of state sanctioned execution methods is electrocution – sponsored by State Rep. Nicholas Muscarello. Louisiana last carried out a death by electrocution 34 years ago. That method was abandoned after legal challenges became an issue, forcing the state to retire it.

As of now, there is no set date or plan for when the state will carry out the first execution as death penalty cases often are tied up in litigation for years.

State Attorney General Liz Murrill also publicly stated support for resuming executions in Louisiana. (Attorney General of Louisiana Liz Murrill )

State Attorney General Liz Murrill has sided with Landry and praised the state’s move toward resuming executions.

“Those sentenced to death have been convicted by a jury of their peers for the most heinous and barbaric crimes imaginable. These are the worst of the worst,” she said in a statement. “Governor Landry and I are committed to moving this process forward to finally get justice for victims.”

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State Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, also released a statement supporting Landry.

“Justice for the victims is long overdue. I fully support Landry in his efforts and his administration in following the law as overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature,” she said.

February 11, 2025
NIH resumes critical grant making process

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will resume important meetings and travel associated with the critical grant-review process amid an agency-wide communications freeze at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While the agency is working its way back to normalcy, its operations are still not completely back to what they were before President Donald Trump took office. The advisory council and scientific review meetings associated with the NIH’s grant-making process, in which outside scientists provide a final grant review and strategic advice before the finalization of a new program, have continued but will not yet meet in open session.

When Trump took office, he initiated a freeze on external communications at HHS and all of its sub-agencies. Earlier this week, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said that “several types of external communications” are no longer subject to the pause, and “all HHS divisions have been given clear guidance on how to seek approval for any other type of mass communication.”

MEDICAL EXPERT GIVES HEALTHY, COST-EFFECTIVE PROTEIN ALTERNATIVES FOR CHICKEN, EGGS

A seal that reads “U.S. Public Health Service” adorns a building on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, March 9, 2001, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Newsmakers)

NIH is currently taking things day-by-day to ensure they are meeting their obligations under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which governs the operation of federal advisory committees and emphasizes public involvement through open meetings and reporting.

Last week, NIH director Matthew Memoli sent a letter to staff seeking to clarify the ongoing communications pause. According to Memoli, the freeze had been issued to “allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization,” but noted that due to “confusion on the scope of the pause” he wanted to provide additional guidance.

In addition to halting announcements, press releases, website and social media posts, new guidance, and new regulations, the freeze also halted public appearances and travel by agency officials, and prohibited new purchases or service requests related to agency work. The move caused anger and confusion among both HHS officials and those in the broader medical community, particularly due to the potential pause of critical health research.

SEAFOOD SAMPLES CONTAIN HIGH LEVELS OF MICROPLASTICS IN US STATE, SAY RESEARCHERS

NIH Acting Director Matthew Memoli

In his memo to staff, Memoli clarified that any research or clinical trials initiated before Jan. 20 can keep going “so that this work can continue, and we do not lose our investment in these studies.” Officials working on these studies may also purchase any “necessary supplies” and conduct meetings related to such work. Although new research projects are still prohibited, NIH staff were told they could continue submitting papers to medical journals and can communicate with those journals about submitted work.

Travel and hiring for such work can continue as well, Memoli indicated, but his office must grant specific exemptions for new hires as Trump also initiated a freeze on the hiring of new federal civilian employees across all agencies during his first week in office. Routine travel planned for after Feb. 1 “does not need to be canceled at this time,” Memoli added. Patients receiving treatment at NIH facilities can also continue to do so.

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NIH can also submit documents to the Federal Register and send correspondence to public officials.

While the pause at HHS has caused a firestorm of concern and criticism, Dr. Ali Khan, a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who is now the dean of the University of Nebraska’s school of public health, told the Associated Press that such pauses are not unusual. Khan said concern is only warranted if the pause was aimed at “silencing the agencies around a political narrative.”

February 7, 2025
Interstellar Voyager 1 resumes operations after pause in communications with NASA

NASA has confirmed that after a pause in communications with Voyager 1 in late October, the spacecraft has regained its voice and resumed regular operations.

Voyager unexpectedly turned off its primary radio transmitter, known as its X-band, before turning on its much weaker S-band transmitter in October.

The interstellar spacecraft is currently located about 15.4 billion miles away from Earth and the S-band had not been used in over 40 years.

Communication between NASA and Voyager 1 has been spotty at times and the switch to the lower band prevented the Voyager mission team from downloading science data and information about the spacecraft’s status.

NASA RECONNECTS WITH INTERSTELLAR VOYAGER 1 SPACECRAFT USING TECHNOLOGY NOT USED IN DECADES

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Earlier this month, the team was able to reactivate the X-band transmitter and resume collection of data from the four operating science instruments onboard Voyager 1.

Now that the data can be collected and communications have resumed, engineers are finishing a few remaining tasks to return Voyager 1 back to the state it was in before the issue came up. One task is to reset the system that synchronizes Voyager 1’s three onboard computers.

The S-band was activated by the spacecraft’s fault protection system when engineers activated a heater on Voyager 1. The fault protection system determined the probe did not have enough power and automatically turned off systems that were not necessary to keep the spacecraft flying in order to keep providing power to critical systems.

VOYAGER 1 DETECTS ‘HUM’ WHILE IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE: REPORT

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, shown in this illustration, has been exploring our solar system since 1977, along with its twin, Voyager 2. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

But in the process, the probes turned off all nonessential systems except for science instruments, NASA said, turning off the X-band and activating the S-band, which uses less power.

Voyager 1 had not used the S-band to communicate with Earth since 1981.

NASA PUBLISHES NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF ‘RAVIOLI’ MOON ORBITING SATURN

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the most distant spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California announced this week that Voyager 1’s four scientific instruments are back in business after a technical problem. (NASA via AP, File)

Voyager 1′s odyssey began in 1977, when the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched on a tour of the gas giant planets of the solar system.

After beaming back dazzling postcard views of Jupiter’s giant red spot and Saturn’s shimmering rings, Voyager 2 hopscotched to Uranus and Neptune. Meanwhile, Voyager 1 used Saturn as a gravitational slingshot to power itself past Pluto.

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There are 10 science instruments on each spacecraft, and according to NASA, four are currently being used to study the particles, plasma and magnetic fields in interstellar space.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.

January 23, 2025