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Sheriff Chris Nanos Dismisses New Claim of Nancy Guthrie Video

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has dismissed a new letter sent to TMZ from someone claiming to have a video of missing Nancy Guthrie.

TMZ reported on Friday that it had received a new letter from someone who has previously been in contact with the outlet. In the letter, the person alleged there are two people responsible for Guthrie’s kidnapping and a video on a phone in a secure location shows the “main guy” and Guthrie that was captured on “the day that was probably her last.”

Nanos, who is leading the investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance, responded to the report during an interview on KVOI AM 1030's Buckmaster Show on Friday.

“I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes,” he said. “It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today.”

It comes after new details emerged earlier this week about the content of purported ransom notes that were sent to media outlets in the days after Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home near Tucson, Arizona in February.

The first note demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin in exchange for her return and the second note said that Guthrie had died, NBC News and other news outlets reported.

Three Firefighters Die as Wildfire Outbreak Spreads Across Western States

Three firefighters were killed and two others were injured Saturday while battling fast-moving wildfires along the Colorado-Utah border, officials said, as an expanding outbreak of blazes fueled by extreme heat, wind, and drought continues to grip the West.

The firefighters were part of a multi-agency response to the Knowles and Gore fires, which have since merged and are now known as the Snyder fire, according to federal officials.

The two surviving firefighters suffered burn injuries and are receiving medical treatment, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) announced Sunday in a social media post. Authorities have not yet released the identities of those who died.

"Our immediate focus is on supporting their families, friends, and fellow crewmates during this incredibly difficult time," USWFS said.

The fatalities underscore the escalating danger across the region, where days of critically dry and windy conditions have pushed fire behavior to extreme levels, stretching firefighting resources thin and forcing emergency declarations in several states.

Newsweek reached out to the USWFS by email Sunday for more information.

Fires Spread Rapidly Across the West

The largest active blaze, the Cottonwood Fire in southwestern Utah, has exploded to more than 92,000 acres—about 144 square miles—and remains completely uncontained. Fire crews are struggling to gain ground against the flames in steep, rugged terrain.

At least 1,200 responders have deployed to the Fishlake National Forest near Beaver, Utah, to build containment lines. The cause of the Cottonwood Fire remains under investigation, according to InciWeb, the federal wildfire tracking system.

"A Fire and Fuels Advisory has been issued for the state of Utah due to low fuel moistures and the potential for extreme fire behavior and rapid fire growth," officials noted Sunday on the incident page.

Nearby, the Snyder Fire has charred tens of thousands of acres along the state line, prompting evacuation warnings for several communities. Meanwhile, from Alaska to Florida, crews worked Saturday to corral dozens of fires, including three dozen that were classified as large and uncontained.

George Soros and son Alex have funneled staggering $103M into midterms so far, on track to shatter spending record

Billionaire Democratic kingmaker George Soros and his son Alex spent a staggering $102.8 million in the midterm election cycle — making the family chief architects of the party’s seismic shift toward the radical left.

With the November elections still more than four months away, George Soros could shatter his own spending record of $128 million set during the last midterms four years ago, when he was the biggest single donor.

“Money talks, and Soros money says the most insidious, unconstitutional, costly tax hikes in American history are on the table,” said Douglas Kellogg, state projects director for Americans for Tax Reform.

Soros is a “wannabe Bond villain,” responsible for the radical takeover of the Democratic Party, he added.

Only a fraction of this cycle’s contributions — $793,800 — were made in the 95-year-old mega donor’s name, a review of publicly available Federal Election Commission data reveals.

Almost all of the money — $102 million — was funneled through the Democracy Political Action Committee, the super PAC Soros launched in 2020, which acts as the family’s main political arm, obfuscating efforts to know which radical candidates the clan is propping up.

Of that, a little over half, $52 million, came from George Soros through the private corporation Geosor under his name and the other half, $50 million, from Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit which lists Alex Soros as director in tax filings.

And that’s without counting the family’s main organization, the Open Society Foundation — which funds efforts to decriminalize drugs, open the border and abolish the police — and its lobbying wing the Open Society Action Fund, which is even more obscure as it doesn’t have to disclose political spending because it’s registered as a nonprofit claiming to do mere advocacy work.

In previous election cycles, the Open Society Action Fund’s cash flowed to groups backing lefty stars like “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and embattled pal Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but its tax filings for 2025 aren’t yet available.

100 Long Island retirees caught ‘double-dipping’ on Medicare, costing taxpayers $1.6M: audit

Nearly 100 Nassau County retirees were caught double-dipping on Medicare checks for over 20 years — costing taxpayers over $1.6 million, a new audit found.

Some 94 county retirees were confirmed to have collected Medicare Part B reimbursements from Nassau County for spouses who are also retired public workers — while those same spouses still collected a payment for the same bill from their own former public employers, according to the audit released June 15 audit by county Comptroller Elaine Phillips.

“Preventing the improper ‘double dipping’ of health benefits can be complex, particularly given the coordination required across multiple plans, carriers, and eligibility systems,” the comptroller said, vowing to strengthen its verification process and oversight surrounding the process.

Nassau is required by state law and union contracts to reimburse eligible retirees and their spouses for Medicare Part B premiums, which is the monthly cost of coverage for doctor visits and outpatient care.

The county cuts those checks twice a year, with one simple rule — retirees can only collect those reimbursements from one source.

But nobody was checking if retirees were actually following the rules, until Phillips’ office launched a probe in October after staff stumbled upon the duplicate payments dating as far back as 2002, according to the audit.

Her office then combed through health benefits records for all 10,240 living Nassau retirees — flagging 99 as suspicious, the audit read.

Out of that 99, five spouses cleared themselves by proving they weren’t collecting elsewhere, while 94 were confirmed double-dippers, the audit said.

Obamacare recipients include more than 1M without Social Security numbers, Dr. Oz, RFK Jr. reveal: ‘Plagued by fraud’

WASHINGTON — More than 1 million people enrolled in Obamacare plans lack Social Security Numbers, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Kennedy called that “a glaring warning sign for fraud” across the Obamacare program and faulted President Trump’s predecessors for not maintaining proper guardrails in social safety net programs.

“The Obamacare marketplace is plagued by fraud in large part because the Biden administration dismantled basic program integrity guardrails, while partisan lawfare blocked common sense efforts to protect taxpayers,” Kennedy grumbled in a video announcement with Oz on Saturday.

“Why are we paying people we don’t know if they actually exist?”

An estimated 19.2 million Americans are enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan, according to the latest data from HHS.

That’s down from about 23.4 million in 2025.

Notably, the enhanced Obamacare subsidies put in place under the Biden administration expired at the end of last year.

Kennedy and Oz have been crusading against fraud in social spending on healthcare. They didn’t say how many of the 1 million Obamacare enrollees who lacked Social Security numbers were suspected of fraud.

But they argued that the systems in place should’ve identified the lack of proper vetting earlier.

Oz claimed that “rogue agents and other bad actors” have been enrolling “unsuspecting Americans in health plans they never signed up for,” and using fake identities to collect fees from insurance companies for “selling plans they never legitimately sold.”

Nevada rape convict lied his way into US citizenship by hiding sex assaults, feds say

A man living in Nevada has been charged with fraudulently obtaining US citizenship by denying he had ever committed a crime, despite committing one rape before applying for citizenship and a second before becoming naturalized, federal prosecutors said.

The Justice Department has charged Kevin Jesus King with naturalization fraud, contending he lied on his 2018 US citizenship application when asked if he had ever committed or assisted in an offense for which he was not arrested, or if he had ever lied to government officials.

Both times, he checked a box indicating “No,” authorities said. King was eventually naturalized during a ceremony on June 15, 2018, in Reno.

On or about July 25, 2024, he pleaded guilty to two instances of sexual assault, which occurred on or about July 25, 2017, and March 18, 2018, court documents state.

“United States citizenship is one of the most meaningful privileges our Nation can bestow, and it cannot be obtained through lies, concealment, or fraud,” Sigal Chattah, the US Attorney for the District of Nevada, told Fox News Digital.

“As alleged, this defendant hid serious felony conduct while seeking the rights and benefits of citizenship,” Chattah added. “Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the naturalization process.”

The indictment does not specify the country King is originally from.

The charges come as the Trump administration continues to ramp up denaturalization efforts to strip foreign-born Americans of citizenship if they allegedly obtained it by fraud or concealed serious crimes during the naturalization process.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced that it was moving to revoke the citizenship of 17 people who allegedly obtained naturalization through fraud or deception.

Moment California cops swoop on South American burglary crew behind mass luxury home raids

Six South Americans including several minors were arrested Tuesday in connection with a series of home burglaries that have terrorized California neighborhoods over the past year. 

Andres Zarate, 32, Darlyn Alejandra Acosta Serrano, 32, and four other suspects identified as 17-year-old minors were booked on burglary and conspiracy charges, according to the Irvine Police Department.

It’s not clear if the crew was operating as its own burglary ring or if they were part of a larger network, the LA Times reported.

“We are dedicated to the safety of our community,” Police Chief Michael Kent said in a statement.

“This successful investigation sends a clear message to all that crime will not be tolerated here. We have the technology, resources, and expertise to find those who commit crimes in Irvine and ensure they are held accountable.”

Police said through extensive surveillance and evidence gathering they were able to identify the suspects that led to arrests across the state, including Bellflower, Huntington Beach, and Los Angeles.

The crew is responsible for more than 10 residential burglaries in neighborhoods throughout Irvine, police said, but it’s unclear if they are part of the burglary tourism trend where foreign nationals travel to the US to break-in to homes.

Torrential thunderstorms, hail flood suburban streets with ice floats on first full summer weekend in Idaho

Parts of Idaho looked like the Arctic on the first full weekend of summer when torrential thunderstorms and hail flooded the streets with ice floats, according to dramatic social-media footage.

In a wild scene Saturday outside the state’s capital of Boise, a resident was caught on Instagram footage paddling a bright green kayak through the ice-covered floodwaters rushing down a suburban road — while a rural county near Nevada was hammered with a staggering 553 lightning strikes.

“It was small hail, but there was an awful lot of it,” said Josh Smith, the Boise-based National Weather Service’s lead meteorologist, to the Idaho Statesman.

Cars parked along local streets were nearly swallowed by surging water from the relentless rains – with some vehicles submerged up to their windows – while trash bins floated through the makeshift river, the surreal footage shows.

The widespread storm damage across the Gem State’s Treasure Valley region – a heavily-populated area that encompasses parts of Ada and Canyon counties – was also fueled by winds topping 50 mph, the Statesman said.

As for the hail, “Even some of our employees that were in northwest Meridian said they had several inches of small hail on the ground,” Smith said.

“That probably led to some of the flooding issues with some of those neighborhoods because all that melted off quickly, and the drains weren’t able to handle it – in addition to the inch-plus rain that we received,” Smith explained.

Lightning was also relentless throughout the storm, with rural Owyhee County – located about 150 miles south of Boise, near the Nevada border – recording a mind-boggling 553 lightning strikes.

EUROPE

Organised crime in the EU: Europol has identified 731 networks and 400,000 members

Brussels – Organised crime in Europe is not on the decline; it is adapting. This is the key message of Europol’s new report, presented today (26 June) in Brussels, “Decoding the EU’s Most Threatening Criminal Networks“. Compiled with contributions from all 27 Member States and Europol’s international partners, the document provides an overview of 731 criminal networks active in the European Union, with over 400,000 members of 118 nationalities, accounting for 60 per cent of the global total. Compared with the 821 networks identified in 2024, 76 per cent no longer appear on the current list.

“This does not mean that organised crime has declined,” clarified Jürgen Ebner, Deputy Executive Director of Europol. “It simply reflects what Member States are seeing in their investigations.” In place of the dismantled networks, 533 new ones have emerged. There is, however, a positive and significant figure: around 80 per cent of the groups identified two years ago have been neutralised. This shows that “international cooperation is working and that our collective efforts are yielding results,” added Ebner.

The structural problem remains. “If a high-value criminal target is arrested, the demand does not disappear,” said the deputy director, “but the opportunity for profit remains, and someone else will step in.” These networks do not merely respond to the demand for illicit goods, but “proactively scan digital, financial, and geopolitical systems in search of vulnerabilities to exploit.”

The 200 most persistent networks—that is, those that have withstood investigative pressure—“share specific characteristics,” explains the report, “namely a hierarchical structure, often family-based, international reach, financial stability, and the systematic use of corruption and intimidation.” Furthermore, “when their leader is arrested, they are immediately replaced,” noted Ebner. 64 per cent of the networks are hierarchically structured, up from 57 per cent in 2024. Almost 80 per cent have been active for at least three years, and a third have been operating for over ten.

According to the Europol report, 85 per cent of these networks use legitimate business structures to facilitate or conceal their activities. “Our economies remain deeply vulnerable to infiltration by organised crime,” emphasised the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner. “We are not talking about street gangs, but about full-fledged multinational crime syndicates.”

Drug trafficking remains the main sector, accounting for 36 per cent of the networks. Fraud comes second, with online scams growing rapidly. One in five networks has direct links to Latin America, which is used as a hub for cocaine trafficking. The report also highlights the issue of child recruitment. Six per cent of the networks actively recruit “children aged between 8 and 17 for risky tasks, ranging from drug dealing to acts of extreme violence.”

The European response is “already underway,” said Brunner, “from the anti-drugs strategy to the fight against digital fraud, because while competences remain at the national level, the solutions can only be European.” On Wednesday, the Commission proposed updating Europol’s mandate to make support for Member States “stronger, faster, more efficient, and smarter.” Under the Commission’s proposal, Europol’s budget would be doubled to €3 billion in the 2028–2034 financial framework. Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen spoke of a “European law enforcement package” to close “the loopholes that criminals exploit.”

France records 1,000 excess deaths in record-breaking European heat wave

PARIS – France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heat wave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that ‌the true figure was likely to be higher.

Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information ⁠became available about deaths in residential care and homes.

Europeans have been enduring blistering conditions during a heat wave that has been linked to dozens of deaths — shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure.

Scientists have said the heat wave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average.

Extreme heat eases in France

The heat wave has been moving east.

But while France’s weather agency said the extreme heat had diminished in most parts of the country, some areas in the northeast were still under a ⁠heat wave advisory.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper that the impact of the heat wave could linger for as long as ten ⁠days after the weather had ebbed.

“The episode is not finished,” she told broadcaster BFM.

Denmark plans to ban Islamic call to prayer: 'Shouldn't sound like a suburb of Islamabad'

Denmark is planning to ban the Islamic call to prayer, with the country's immigration minister claiming parts of the nation risk sounding like 'a suburb of Islamabad'.

Morten Bødskov said the government would reopen an investigation into whether the Muslim call to prayer can be outlawed nationwide, arguing that what he described as creeping 'Islamisation' was taking up too much public space.

'The call to prayer should not be heard over Danish rooftops,' the Social Democrat minister told Danish news agency Ritzau.

'It has no place in Denmark, and you shouldn't be in any doubt whether you've ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when you walk around Denmark.'

The Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, is traditionally broadcast five times a day to summon worshippers to mosques, often through loudspeakers mounted on minarets.

Bødskov's proposal marks the third attempt by a Danish immigration minister to establish a legal framework for banning the practice, following similar efforts in 2020 and 2025.

Parts of Denmark already restrict public calls to prayer. In Copenhagen, strict local noise regulations effectively prevent mosques from broadcasting the Adhan through loudspeakers.

The minister said an investigation would examine whether a nationwide ban could be introduced while remaining compatible with Denmark's constitutional protections for religious freedom.

The move comes as Denmark continues to pursue some of Europe's toughest immigration policies under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Under controversial 'ghetto' laws, authorities can force migrants to relocate from neighbourhoods deemed to have too many foreign residents, while asylum seekers may be required to surrender valuables to help cover accommodation costs.

During the 2015 migrant crisis, Denmark accepted significantly fewer asylum seekers than several neighbouring European countries.

Any attempt to prohibit the call to prayer is likely to face legal challenges.

Prince Harry Files Release Nears as Government Reviews 2,500 Pages

The U.S. State Department is preparing to release the first tranche of thousands of pages of documents relating to Prince Harry following a lawsuit over his visa records.

The Heritage Foundation previously sued the Department of Homeland Security seeking access to Harry's visa records but the court upheld Prince Harry’s privacy rights over his visa application in 2025.

However, the right wing think tank then filed a new case against the U.S. State Department seeking other documents it holds relating to Prince Harry. This led to a review of 307 documents comprising 2,487 pages which officials have spent months processing.

Court filings seen by Newsweek show the State Department hopes to begin releasing these files at the end of July potentially offering a rare glimpse into how the Duke of Sussex is discussed within the U.S. government.

Newsweek approached Harry's team for comment. The State Department told Newsweek it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

Why It Matters

The Heritage Foundation will not get the actual visa papers they initially requested but will be on the lookout for material that could support their wider argument that Harry was given special treatment by immigration officials when he moved to America.

The added scrutiny of Prince Harry's relationship with America comes at a time when his focus appears increasingly to be shifting back to Britain.

Why the Heritage Foundation Wants Harry's Visa

Heritage filed their original case against the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] in an effort to discover what the prince said in his visa application about past drug use.

Heritage cited passages in Harry's memoir, Spare, in which he described taking drugs including cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and ayahuasca, and argued that this should have rendered him ineligible to enter the United States.

Lawyers for Heritage told the court Harry must either have failed to declare his past drug use or been given favorable treatment.

Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in March 2025 that some documents related to the case could be released but not the actual application, meaning there was still no clear insight into what, if anything, Harry wrote on his visa application about past drug use.

UKRAINE WAR

Russia reports one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks on its soil and annexed Crimea

Ukraine launched its heaviest drone attack on Russian territory since the war began, with hundreds of drones exploding across the Russian heartland and occupied territory.

At least 660 Ukrainian drones were downed by Russian defenses Thursday night into Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported, though it remains unclear how many were actually fired.

Ukraine’s previous record involved 556 drones on May 17.

At least 12 regions were targeted in the attack, including Moscow and the surrounding area, St. Petersburg, Crimea and Russian-occupied territory on the war’s eastern front.

A hydroelectric plant and a chemical plant were reportedly damaged in the Tula region south of Moscow – with the chemical plant being a key piece of Russia’s explosives infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said.

At least two military vessels were also hit in Crimea – which Russia has held since 2014 – along with a series of air defense systems in Crimea’s eastern Kerch region, according to CBS News.

The full extent of the wider attack’s damage remains unclear, however, as Russia typically conceals information about the reality of Ukraine’s successes.

But the attacks followed Zelensky’s promise earlier this week to launch “a 40-day influence operation” with the goal of “compelling [Russia] to end the war.”

That vow was accompanied by days of other Ukrainian attacks which caused significant damage to Russia’s war infrastructure.

Ukraine pummels key Russian oil hub for second time in June as Kyiv ramps up pressure on Putin

Ukraine pummeled a strategic oil hub that supplies Moscow for the second time this month on Saturday — part of a new 40-day “influence operation” to force Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to end the war.

Drones detonated at the Vtorovo oil pumping station, 140 miles east of the Russian capital, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on Telegram.

“Each affected facility means fewer resources for waging war and a higher price the Kremlin is forced to pay for continuing the aggression,” Ukraine’s Security Service wrote.
The plant, run by Russia’s state-owned Transneft, pumps diesel fuel to major oil depots around Moscow, Russian airports and export hubs on the Baltic Sea. It was previously hit by Ukrainian forces on June 10.

Kyiv also hammered one of the Kremlin’s key artillery-production facilities in Volgograd overnight, 550 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Fire erupted at the Titan-Barrikady plant, after Ukraine unleashed its long-range “Flamingo” missiles.
“Every Russian defense facility that serves the war against Ukraine is a just target,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X Saturday.

“The reach of Ukraine’s long-range weapons continues to expand. And it is precisely our pressure, day after day, that lays the groundwork for a dignified peace in the end.”

The ramped-up strikes are part of a 40-day campaign launched by Zelensky this week, tapping Ukraine’s military intelligence to coordinate strikes deep inside the heart of Russia “compelling it to end the war.”

At least 2 dead after Ukraine drone assault sets fire to major oil refinery in Russia: report

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south and killing at least two people, Russian authorities said Sunday.

Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for its invasion — now in its fifth year — and make Russians feel the consequences.

The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries. According to Western analysts, it has also slowed Moscow’s efforts on the battlefield, heaping pressure on the Kremlin to come to the negotiating table.

“Tonight, our ‘long-range sanctions’ reached two oil refineries in Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.

“Each (strike) means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace.”

Debris from downed Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, a town in Russia’s Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, according to Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev.

The falling debris killed one person in Slavyansk and injured another in a nearby village, according to regional authorities.

The Slavyansk site is one of southern Russia’s major refineries, processing close to four million tons of crude per year, according to its operator’s website.

It is also a key source of petroleum products intended for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.

Most Russian recruits have life expectancy of just 20 minutes on Ukraine front lines, chilling report claims

New Russian recruits have a life expectancy of just 20 to 35 minutes in combat in Ukraine — showing how quickly Vladimir Putin’s troops are falling victim to drone warfare, according to chilling reports from Moscow.

Once a soldier is signed up to fight, he can expect to live for just 10 days to three weeks — from arrival at the training ground to death in combat, according to historian Peter Frankopan in an op-ed for Foreign Policy, citing Russian military bloggers.

As the bloody conflict in Ukraine approaches the four and a half year mark, Russian military brass are desperately seeking new soldiers for Putin’s meat grinder.

In late 2025, Russian officials claimed they had recruited more than 420,000 new soldiers for year-long military contracts, but even state media admits those numbers are down some 30% this year.

According to military bloggers, Russia still recruits roughly 800 to 1,000 new voluntary contract soldiers per day, with many of them rushed through just a handful of days of combat training.

Average monthly casualties are now running at more than 30,000, with various Western sources putting the total Russian casualties at more than 1 million since the start of the war in February 2022.

Russia — which has a population of about 143 million — is now suffering eight casualties for every one lost by Ukraine, according to estimates cited by Frankopan.

With the struggle to find fresh recruits, some are being offered sign-up bonuses of up to $80,000 and up to $140,000 in debt relief in order to encourage volunteers.

For context, the average monthly salary in Russia is only around $1,000 a month, and far lower in many of the remote regions where Putin is recruiting soldiers.

The extremely high Russian casualty rate is blamed on the astonishing rise in military drones, which have become Ukraine’s most effective weapons.

Ukraine is also increasingly striking at targets deep inside Russia, including a huge attack on Moscow’s largest oil refinery in June that has reportedly put it out of action until next year.

MIDDLE EAST

NATO boss backs Trump’s Iran operation after European leaders balked: ‘I commend the president’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte threw his support behind President Trump’s military campaign against Iran Thursday, praising the operation even as some European leaders have sought to distance themselves from the strikes.

“What the US did is crucial,” Rutte told reporters in a roundtable interview. “I commend the president for doing that.”

The NATO chief said both last year’s Midnight Hammer nuclear facility bombing campaign and the recent war operations — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — played a key role in degrading Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

“This whole operation, Epic Fury, and the bombing last year is all part of degrading the nuclear capability,” Rutte said. “Which is crucial for Europe; crucial for, of course, the Middle East.”

The remarks put Rutte at odds with several European politicians who have criticized Trump’s approach toward Iran or sought to publicly distance themselves from the operation — with some countries denying the US access to its military bases during the war.

For example, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in March blasted the US-led operation as “illegal, reckless and unjust” and warned that the West could not “play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions of people.”

Spain saw the majority of Trump’s ire over a lack of NATO support for the war, with Madrid barring US war-related flights from Spanish airspace in addition to being one of the several countries that refused to allow American forces to use jointly operated military bases for the campaign.

Still, Rutte argued Europe helped in other ways.

“More generally speaking, Europe functioned as the power projection platform of the US,” he said, citing thousands of US military sorties launched from European bases.

Rutte also credited Trump with forcing European nations to finally boost defense spending after years of lagging behind Washington.

“I would say largely thanks to this president,” Rutte said. “I credit him for this.”

Iran launches attacks on US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain: report

Iran says it launched a series of retaliatory strikes on US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain Saturday night and Sunday morning — after the US hit them earlier in the day as part of a rising series of strikes and counter-strikes between the two nations.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed they “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain.”

An official reportedly said there were no ⁠US casualties or major impacts ⁠or damage ‌to US bases after the barrage of missiles and drones.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said the strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and confirmed no one was killed.

The ministry released images showing an 8-story building with its top floor blown apart, windows shattered and rubble filling the interior.

Kuwait said it detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles Sunday morning, with no reports of injuries or damage.

The US has major bases in both Kuwait and Bahrain.

In its statement, Iran talked tough on social media, saying “Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets… will have a crushing response.”

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard also threatened to end peace negotiations if the US carries out further strikes, warning, “Let the enemy know that violating the cease-fire … will lead to a complete halt of ongoing processes.”

The saber-rattling came after President Trump posted on social media Saturday night threats against Iran if they continue with the tit-for-tat attacks as the two nations try to hash out a peace deal.

Iran must develop nuclear bomb to protect ‘peace and calm,’ IRGC media says — despite pledge to Trump

Iran has “no choice” but to develop a nuclear bomb, a media outlet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said — the latest threat to the peace deal.

The article, titled “No choice but to build the atomic bomb,” claims that Iran must negotiate with its enemies from a position of strength, and was published by Iranian state news outlet Fars on Sunday.

“To achieve the peace and calm that Iran needs, it must absolutely reach nuclear deterrence to ensure that the rest of the issues can be resolved through negotiation,” thunders the piece, before comparing Iran’s situation with the US to that of China in the 1970s.

“America threatened China with nuclear attack twice — similar to Trump’s recent nuclear threats against Iran — but when did Kissinger secretly meet with the Chinese and then negotiate? It was when China built the atomic bomb,” the article continues.

“Nuclear deterrence means that you can reach a balance of power against America and Israel, who possess atomic bombs — not so that war does not happen, but so that the scope of conflict remains controllable,” it goes on.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Washington and Tehran earlier this month, Iran agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to regain access to its nuclear sites after oversight was suspended last year.

It also pledged it would not develop a nuclear weapon.

The US has called on Iran to pause all nuclear enrichment for 20 years.

It comes after the head of the IAEA called for his inspectors to be given full access to Iran’s nuclear sites to monitor the program.

“The government of Iran has affirmed quite clearly that [developing nuclear weapons] is not their intention, but of course, intentions are not enough,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told reporters on Friday.

“In order to have certainty, we need to have a very strong system of verification as soon as practicable,” he added.

Iran doubles down on control of Strait of Hormuz after weekend of violence — as shipping traffic plummets

Iran doubled down on its control of the Strait of Hormuz Sunday — declaring on state-run TV that all ships must get permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps before sailing through the critical choke point.

The announcement followed Iranian attacks on two ships that were transiting the strait in recent days — prompting strikes by the US, and tit-for-tat retaliation by the Islamic republic.

The violence threatened to unravel the delicate peace deal less than a week after the two sides met in Switzerland for talks on a permanent agreement. President Trump accused Iran of violating the cease-fire and warned the US could return to all-out war.

The attacks also resulted in shipping traffic through Hormuz, which once carried 20% of the world’s oil, to drop to pre-peace deal levels.

Just 10 ships crossed on Saturday, compared with 40 to 50 earlier in the week.

The IRGC has maintained that Iran will keep full control over the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday it fired a drone on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship along the coast of Oman — after the vessel apparently used a route through the strait that avoided Iranian controlled waters.

Iran claimed the vessel, the container ship Ever Lovely, was using military escorts in the Oman-half of the strait, and that it undermined the Islamic republic’s control over the passageway.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Iran will exercise sole management of the Strait of Hormuz for the next 30 days before allowing full traffic to resume.

“Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights,” Araghchi told reporters in Iraq.