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Tag: tensions

Iran warns Israel and US ‘can’t do a damn thing’ to thwart Tehran nuclear ambitions as tensions escalate

A senior Iranian official on Monday excoriated a meeting between U.S. and Israeli officials, calling it an illegal effort to thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei blasted the meeting as a violation of international law and an effort that, in his view, Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv remain powerless to stop.

“When it comes to a country like Iran, they cannot do a damn thing,” he told reporters Monday, according to a readout provided by state media.

Baghaei took aim at the sit-down between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday, just one day earlier. Their meeting reportedly focused heavily on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MODI TAKES PAGE FROM TRUMP, SAYS ‘MAKE INDIA GREAT AGAIN,’ OR ‘MIGA’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane en route to El Salvador at Panama Pacifico International Airport in Panama City on Feb. 3, 2025. (MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/Pool AP/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu, for his part, had signaled growing momentum between the U.S. and his country to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, telling reporters after the Sunday meeting, “I have no doubt we can and will finish the job.”

However, this was sharply disputed by Baghaei.

“You cannot threaten Iran on one hand and claim to support dialogue on the other hand,” he added.

Baghaei’s remarks come after Netanyahu boasted that Israeli military operations have weakened Iran’s proxy groups in the Middle East, including the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

“We can and will finish the job,” the Israeli prime minister said.

ISRAEL WILL ‘MAKE SURE’ HAMAS DOES NOT STAY IN POWER IN GAZA, DANNY DANON WARNS

President Donald Trump, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Some analysts have suggested that Israel’s increasingly bellicose rhetoric, including on Tehran’s nuclear program, could risk derailing Trump’s stated interest in reaching a peace deal with Iran.

Rubio said yesterday that the meeting furthered what he described as President Donald Trump’s “bold” plan for Gaza, describing Iran as the single biggest obstacle to peace in the region. “The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that’s bold and something that, frankly, took courage and vision in order to outline,” he said.

Netanyahu also said that he and Trump share a “common strategy” for Gaza that includes the complete destruction of Hamas as a political and military force.

SAUDI ARABIA CONTRADICTS TRUMP, VOWS NO TIES WITH ISRAEL WITHOUT CREATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE

President Trump has said he wants to “take over” Gaza. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump last week suggested removing Palestinians from Gaza, so the territory could be developed under U.S. ownership.

He has since said he stands by the plan, despite broad concerns and criticism of further conflict and displacement.

“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza,” Trump said then. “As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”

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The U.S.-Israel meeting also served a symbolic purpose. During the sit-down, the U.S. sent a shipment of heavy bombs and munitions to Israel, in keeping with Trump’s promise to do so last month.

The munitions and bomb shipments, “represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF,” an Israeli defense official said, “and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.”

Fox News’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.

February 17, 2025
Team USA stars brace for rivaled showdown vs Canada as tensions rise over national anthem controversy

Team USA and Team Canada are facing off in international best-on-best hockey at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday in Montreal, and the stakes are high.

It is the first time in nine years that NHL players will be able to compete in the bitter rivalry, as the NHL stopped allowing players to play in such an event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

“I’ve thought about this game for nine years,” Team USA star Matthew Tkachuk said via Sportsnet.

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Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

Adding to what is already going to be a hotly contested game on the ice, there is another part of the highly anticipated matchup that fans will be watching: the national anthems.

Prior to Team USA’s 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday, which was also in Montreal, the Canadian fans booed during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I didn’t like it. That’s all I got,” Tkachuk said postgame of the boos.

And Tkachuk played like someone who didn’t like it as he and his brother, Brady Tkachuk, each scored two goals in the win.

The Canadian fans would be wise to not give the Tkachuk brothers or Team USA any more reason to be fired up against team Canada on Saturday,

“I think it’s going to be the biggest game that I’ve ever played in my career. I’m really looking forward to that. There’s a big buildup to it. USA vs. Canada is bigger than just the guys on the ice,” Brady said postgame.

TEAM USA STAR MATTHEW TKACHUK DELIVERS STERN ONE-LINER AFTER CANADIAN FANS BOO DURING AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

“There’s so many people past, present and down the road [that it affects]. We’ve been talking about this game especially. It’s going to be a long couple days [waiting] until it happens, but it’ll be exciting.”

Team Canada star and Boston Bruins captain, Brad Marchand, wasn’t happy with the boos from Canadian fans during the national anthem.

“They should not be booing the Americans during that anthem. They have nothing to do with the political things that are going on. I do feel bad for those guys in that moment. I don’t think it’s right,” Marchand said via The Athletic.

“We respect the anthems; I’ll leave it at that,” Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby said via ESPN.

Since President Donald Trump’s threat to issue tariffs on Canada and even saying that the country could become the “51st state,” it has been common for boos to be heard during the USA’s national anthem.

CANADIAN HOCKEY FANS BOO TEAM USA PLAYERS, NATIONAL ANTHEM AT 4 NATIONS TOURNAMENT IN MONTREAL

Charlie McAvoy, #25, Jake Guentzel, #59, Zach Werenski, #8, Auston Matthews, #34, and Jack Hughes, #86 of Team United States stand at their blueline during the singing of the United States national anthem before the 4 Nations Face-Off game between the United States and Finland at Bell Centre on February 13, 2025, in Montreal, Quebec. (Vitor Munhoz/4NFO/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)

Both Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators fans have booed the USA’s national anthem since the tariffs were set to begin.

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke via phone last week just before additional 25% tariffs were to take effect on Canadian goods coming into the United States.

Trudeau said that Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan and appoint a fentanyl czar, in a post to X.

Trump had promised to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican goods, as well as a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, as he has long said that the countries have not done enough at the borders.

With the Canadian crowd now supporting their own team on Saturday, the boos could be thunderous during the United States national anthem.

PANTHERS’ MATTHEW TKACHUCK ‘GRATEFUL TO BE AN AMERICAN’ AS TEAM CELEBRATES STANLEY CUP TITLE WITH TRUMP

Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates with his teammates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

Team USA forward JT Miller said the booing gets them fired up.

“I think we like it. Not politically, but just in the sense of we know where we’re at, in Canada. I think that fires us up more than anything,” Miller said via the NY Post.

Team Canada also won their first game of the tournament, a 4-3 overtime thriller on Wednesday.

While their national anthem may not be booed, they will certainly be ready to roll for Saturday night.

“It’s a big game,” Team Canada superstar Connor McDavid told reporters after practice on Friday.

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Team Canada forward Sidney Crosby (87) prepares for a face-off against Team Sweden in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

“Playing the Americans in Montreal, best-on-best tournament, it’s what you dream of.”

In addition to the excitement of NHL players being able to take part in the USA-Canada hockey rivalry, there is a scenario that if Team USA wins, they can clinch a spot in the final in Boston next Thursday night.

It’s safe to say both of these teams will be bringing their best on Saturday night.

Fox News’ Louis Casano and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.

February 15, 2025
President Trump, India’s Modi to tackle trade, tariff tensions at high stakes meeting

John Catsimatidis, United Refining Co. and Red Apple Group chair and CEO, recalls the moment he reportedly told New York City’s mayor the DOJ was dropping charges against him; he also talks about consumer inflation.

President Donald Trump is expected to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House on Thursday. As only the fourth world leader to meet with the president since beginning his second term, the meeting underscores the importance of the U.S.-India relationship.

Modi, India’s most prominent leader in decades, remains a largely popular yet polarizing figure both at home and abroad. Officials in New Delhi are optimistic that his visit will pave the way for a renewed strategic partnership. Trump and Modi are expected to cover a broad range of issues; trade and tariffs are expected to dominate it.

Reuters reported that Modi is also expected to meet with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, whose Starlink’s entry to the South Asian market could be discussed. The two men are said to have a friendly relationship, with Musk meeting Modi in 2023.

“Trade is by far the most important agenda, with defense and foreign policy taking a secondary position this time around,” Siddhartha Dubey, a visiting professor of journalism at Bennett University in India, told FOX Business. The countries have “no progress on a trade deal,” he said.

India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, has been spared any tariffs so far. But the stakes remain elevated.

INDIA’S MODI SPEAKS WITH ‘DEAR FRIEND’ PRESIDENT TRUMP AMID HOPES OF FURTHERING TIES

President Donald Trump is shown with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on Feb. 24, 2020. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“This has been one of our strongest international partnerships in recent years,” Dubey said.

Trump and Modi enjoy a strong personal rapport, and their meeting is expected to shed more light on the evolving dynamics between the world’s most populous democracy and its most powerful one,

The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner, with trade reaching a record $129.2 billion in 2024. Currently, the trade surplus is around $35 billion in India’s favor. India is also one of the most protectionist economies, and Trump is sure to press for more access.

Dubey warned that “privately, many Indians feel Delhi could be in Trump’s crosshairs soon,” especially with the news of Trump saying he will implement reciprocal tariffs on any countries with tariffs on U.S. goods, which could include India. And most recently, he introduced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports with no exceptions. But Modi is keen to avert a potential trade war. Over the next few days, he is expected to offer some major concessions in an attempt to move toward what the White House calls a “fair bilateral trading relationship.”

India is already showing a willingness to ease its own tariffs in what are believed to be preemptive moves to stave off U.S. tariffs. India has slashed duties on key U.S. exports. This month, for example, India cut tariffs on motorcycles in a move that benefits American company Harley-Davidson. U.S. motorcycle exports to India amounted to only about $3 million last year.

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MODI’S 3RD-TERM VICTORY A WIN FOR BUSINESS: ‘THE SKY IS THE LIMIT’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, meets with Elon Musk in New York on June 20, 2023. (Indian Press Information Bureau/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Despite the steps India has taken to address Trump’s concerns, the country remains at risk. Trump has often criticized India as being one of the “very big tariff abusers,” and just last month he called the nation a “tremendous tariff maker.”

Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, echoed those criticisms on Monday, saying “India has enormously high” tariffs that act as an import barrier. During his first term, Trump railed against India’s steep tariffs, dubbing it a “tariff king.” In 2019, he revoked India’s special trade privileges, prompting India to retaliate by slapping tariffs on dozens of U.S. goods.

According to World Trade Organization data, India’s simple average tariff rate is 17%, significantly higher than the U.S. rate of about 3.3%.

“This is unfair,” Dubey told FOX Business. “And I do not believe that President Trump will turn a blind eye. India has to cut its high tariffs, there’s no question about it,” he added.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders on Monday imposing 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, the latest salvo in his ongoing effort to overhaul the U.S. trading relationship with the rest of the world. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via Getty Images)

Nonetheless, India remains confident in being able to navigate Trump’s “America First” policies. During the upcoming meeting, Modi is anticipated to propose an increase in energy product imports from the U.S. to address the trade imbalance. India’s oil secretary says companies there are hoping to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas after Trump lifted a ban on new export permits. As the fourth-largest importer of liquefied natural gas, India is well-positioned to further its energy trade with the U.S.

When it comes to defense imports, Reuters reports that Modi is negotiating the purchase and co-production of combat vehicles as well as finalizing a fighter jet engine deal. India is the world’s largest importer of military equipment, and Trump wants the country to buy more U.S.-made security equipment. The push comes as the U.S. and Russia are competing to secure India’s fifth-generation fighter jet deal. New Delhi is also focused on attracting greater investment from U.S. companies in manufacturing and services, particularly the insurance sector.

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Modi arrived in Washington on Wednesday after a visit to France for a global conference on artificial intelligence. During his time there, Modi met with Vice President JD Vance, further strengthening diplomatic ties. In a departure statement, Modi expressed eagerness for his meeting with “my friend, President Trump,” which is sure to present both opportunities and challenges.

Indo-U.S. trade ties have grown steadily over the years, but Modi has acknowledged that the partnership can be deepened in several critical areas, including technology, trade, defense, energy and supply chain resilience.

“Modi and his team need to do more to assuage Trump and his team that they will lift certain duties and make India a whole lot friendlier to U.S. exporters,” Dubey said.

February 13, 2025
Vance preaches unity to House Republicans as tensions boil at Trump retreat

DORAL, Fla. — Vice President JD Vance urged Republicans to stick together during a closed-door meeting at the House GOP annual issues conference on Tuesday, as tensions simmer over some lawmakers’ decisions to skip the multi-day event.

House Republicans are at President Donald Trump’s golf course and resort in Doral, Florida for three days of discussions on how to execute his legislative agenda.

Vance addressed the gathering on Tuesday in a speech that acknowledged the differences of opinion across the Republican conference, while imploring them to find a way to overcome those divisions and “be good” to one another, two lawmakers in the room told Fox News Digital.

Those fractures flared up a short while later, however, when two lawmakers stood up to criticize colleagues who were not attending the multi-day event during the question and answer portion of Vance’s appearance, two other sources said.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Vice President JD Vance addressed House Republicans in a closed-door speech on Tuesday at Trump Doral golf course and resort. (Getty Images)

It comes after Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on X that he was not attending the retreat, arguing the event was a waste of time.

“It is being reported I am not at the so-called Republican retreat in Florida. I am not,” Roy wrote. “I am in Texas, with my family & meeting with constituents, rather than spending $2K to hear more excuses for increasing deficits & not being in DC to deliver Trump’s border security [funding] ASAP.”

Roy told Fox News that he could not speak for fellow members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus who were missing from the retreat, adding, “we all have things that we’ve got to deal with.”

“If you’re asking me to go spend money to go sit in a resort rather than doing our damn job…no, I’m not going to do that,” he said.

Others argued that Roy and others’ absence was actively undermining attempts to unify behind a legislative roadmap.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

Rep. Chip Roy missed the GOP gathering in Florida. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Sadly enough, we have people sitting at home complaining about the meeting on Twitter, and they’re the ones who’d rather complain, attack, argue, than be part of the solution,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. “We know who they are. We just have to deal with it.”

With a razor-thin margin in the House, Republicans must vote in virtual lock-step to pass any legislation without Democratic support.

One lawmaker said Vance embraced a “team message” during his speech and “recognizes there will be differences, but we must come together once debate is over.”

Vance also told Republicans that Trump wants to raise the debt limit, something he will have to contend with this year, without support from or leverage by Democrats, Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told reporters after the meeting.

President Donald Trump addressed the retreat on Monday. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

Other Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital while leaving the event also embraced the Ohio Republican’s message and him as a messenger.

“He’s saying the things about fiscal sanity that we need to hear,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said.

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“He’s smart as hell, he’s eloquent,” Murphy said. “Trump really nailed it on that one – he was a great pick.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

January 28, 2025