All posts tagged "iran"

Trump confronted with bizarre assassination 'threat': 'Can no longer sunbathe!'

President Donald Trump was confronted with a bizarre "threat" from an Iranian official during a question-and-answer session at the White House on Wednesday, where he met with African leaders.

Fox News's Peter Doocy paraphrased Mohammad-Javad Larijani, "a regime figure and adviser to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," who said on Iranian television, "Trump can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago, because while he's lying down, a micro-drone might target and strike him right in the navel."

According to Newsweek, Larijani "laughed as he made the remark...as part of a discussion about the country's military technology."

Doocy asked the president if he thought it was "a real threat," before throwing out, "and when is the last time you went sunbathing, anyway?"

Trump smiled as he mused, "It's been a long time. I don't know; maybe I was around seven or so. I'm not too big into it."

Trump then got serious as he responded to the threat of assassination at the hands of the Iranians.

"Yeah, I guess it's a threat. I'm not sure it's a threat, actually. But, perhaps it is."

It's the latest in the war of words between Trump and the Iranians. Shortly before ordering the U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June, Trump posted to Truth Social, "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."

Also in June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' Bret Baier that Iran tried to assassinate Trump twice "through proxies."

And last November, the Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges against an alleged Iranian asset who claimed he was charged with killing the then-former president before the election, according to The Associated Press.

Watch the clip below via The White House.

Top ally displeased after 'zombie visit' with Trump: journalist

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn't quite get the warm reception from President Donald Trump that he hoped for following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, according to reporting on MSNBC.

Journalist Noga Tarnopolsky told host Katie Tur on Tuesday that Netanyahu "expected a lot more pomp and circumstance" to celebrate the bombing campaign during his White House visit and to boost his flagging popularity back in Israel.

"I think his goal, his stated goal, basically for this trip to Washington, which is his third since President Trump returned to office, was a victory lap," Tarnopolsky said. "And I think he really expected to meet the press on the White House lawn, to shake hands, to raise, you know, high fives, maybe from the White House balcony....and instead, President Trump did receive him, did eventually accede to inviting him, but really toned the visit down."

MAGA supporters have called Trump's airstrikes "hypocritical," because he campaigned on his ability to bring peace to the Middle East.

Tarnopolsky added that "from the point of view of the media, it's been virtually a zombie visit thus far."

The White House did agree to a one-on-one with Netanyahu, "but it's going to be held when it's after 11 p.m. Israel time," Tarnopolsky said, "and my understanding is that the discussion is going to be firm...and about Gaza."

Tarnopolsky called the visit "a discreet tussle between Prime Minister Netanyahu, who hoped for a victory lap without having to pay a price, and President Trump, who really wants to see a deliverable regarding Gaza."

At a dinner on Monday night, Netanyahu presented Trump with a nomination for the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, saying, "President Trump is 'forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other. So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It's nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well-deserved.'"

Watch the clip below via MSNBC.

'Beyond parody': Critics left staggered by latest Trump Nobel Peace Prize stunt

Critics were quick to jump on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for re-nominating President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize after a Ukrainian official withdrew his recommendation, and Pakistani officials considered doing the same following the president's bombing of Iran.

Netanyahu "surprised" Trump with the nomination at a White House dinner on Monday.

The White House posted the moment to social media, recounting Netanyahu's words: "President Trump is 'forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other. So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It's nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved.'"

Writer Linda Mamoun called the moment, "Beyond parody," while political commentator @SundaeDivine wrote, "International war criminal nominates convicted felon for Nobel Peace Prize."

Writer Brian Krassenstein wrote his own parody of the situation: "'Hey Donald can you bomb this sovereign nation for us?' Trump: 'Sure'. Netanyahu: 'You deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.'”

@BeckettUnite posted, "We are truly living in a time of imperial authoritarianism: A wanted war criminal, Netanyahu Who has murdered 20,000 children in Gaza presents a letter to the man who gave him the weapons for genocide...Sickening."

"I hope you find something you're as passionate about in life as these guys are about getting Trump a Nobel Peace Prize," posted journalist Aaron Rupar, along with a video clip of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) praising the nomination as "certainly warranted."

Others made some very harsh historical comparisons

The account of @BagdMilkSoWhat wrote, "Benjamin Netanyahu nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize… is like Joseph Stalin nominating Adolf Hitler for the Nobel Peace Prize."

@AntiTrumpCanada posted, "Netanyahu nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is like Benito Mussolini nominating Adolf Hitler for a Lifetime Achievement in Human Rights. Shameless, surreal, and an insult to the very concept of peace."

'What happened to Thomas Massie?' MAGA super PAC goes after longtime Trump thorn

The Trump-affiliated Kentucky MAGA super PAC has unleashed its first round of attacks on GOP contrarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after the lawmaker vehemently opposed the president's weekend strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

President Donald Trump's team was cobbling together the organization in the days before Massie joined with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to introduce a war powers resolution to prevent Trump from acting on his own against Iran, Axios reported Sunday. Trump ordered the strikes Saturday, before Congress could consider the resolution.

Massie, a deficit hawk who wears a "ticking debt clock" on his lapel, is also standing firm against Trump's megabill that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated would add more than $2.7 trillion to the deficit between 2025 and 2034.

Trump has called Massie a "grandstander" and vowed to back a primary challenger in next year's midterm elections.

Kentucky MAGA, which is headed by senior Trump advisers Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita, released its first anti-Massie attack ad Friday that Newsmax reported will air on Fox News and broadcast TV stations in the Cincinnati and Louisville markets.

The ad opens with the question, "What happened to Thomas Massie?" then lists the ways the Kentucky Republican has defied Trump on a variety of issues.

"President Trump is banning sex changes on minors; Massie voted against it," the voiceover said while showing a split screen of Massie and a drag queen. "President Trump is cutting taxes and saving Kentucky families $10,000; Massie voted against it. President Trump is securing our border and deporting criminal aliens; Massie voted against Trump again. And after Trump obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program, Massie sided with Democrats and the Ayatollah."

The ad superimposes Massie next to Iran's supreme leader, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

"Let's fire Thomas Massie," the ad concludes.

Massie responded to the ad on social media, writing, "The BBB now allows funding sex changes for minors! This ad slams me for voting against the BBB, but the Senate just stripped the 'ban on sex changes for minors' from the BBB. By the ads’ twisted logic, those who support the Senate’s edits now support sex changes for minors."

Watch below via MAGA Kentucky on YouTube.

'No, just listen!' Trump steamrolls CNN reporter defending Iran news report

Donald Trump steamrolled over Jeff Zeleny when the CNN reporter tried to push back over the president's claim of "fake news" on Iran.

During Friday's press conference on Trump's Supreme Court victories, Zeleny asked, "I'm wondering now, sir, if you believe that Iran has given up its long history of ambitions with nuclear weapons, or what you would like to see from them to prove that they do, and what type of meetings is your administration looking for next week with Iran?"

Trump answered, "So, Iran wants to meet. As you know, their sites were obliterated. They're very evil nuclear sites, they were now, it has been proven — we had some fake news for a little while. The same people that covered the Hunter Biden laptop was from Russia. The same people that did 3 or 4 of the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax."

When Zeleny tried to interrupt, Trump interjected, "No, no, wait, wait. Just listen."

He continued, "They came up with something that delayed the credit that our great pilots and these great Americans. I mean, they, what talent that was. And they hit it right down in the spot, 52,000ft. Think of this — dark, no moon. You couldn't see a thing. And they hit the refrigerator door, as they say. That's the size of a target. And overwhelmingly. And it's amazing what was done. We're the only ones that could have done it. And we took out the two of the other sites also. In addition to that, we finished them off."

Both Trump and Defense secretary Pete Hegseth have eviscerated CNN and The New York Times for questioning whether the Iran nuclear sites were truly "obliterated" as they claimed without providing proof.

Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link here.

'This feels different': Conservative says new scandal knocked Trump off-kilter

Conservative writer Charlie Sykes claimed in a new article that President Donald Trump has been so unnerved by the Iran scandal fueled by his own administration's claims that he can focus on nothing else.

So far, only one of 17 intelligence agencies released reports on the possible effects of last weekend's bombing, yet the Trump administration continues to call it a raging success. When the press has questioned exactly how Trump knows Iran's nuclear capabilities have been wiped out, the president has been going ballistic.

At Wednesday's NATO summit press conference at The Hague, Trump claimed The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC were out to disparage him and the brave men and women who defend the country.

"Trumpian rage rants are, of course, routine," Sykes wrote. "But Playbook suggests that this time feels different. 'The president posted 21 times on Truth Social yesterday about the supposed success of his military strikes. And at yesterday’s NATO summit — a moment specifically designed by the Western world for Trump to bask in the glory of a huge defense spending boost — he spent most of his public appearances repeating his assertions on Iran.'”

Sykes turned to Politico's reporting to find the reasoning behind Trump's "latest indignant frenzy."

"Critics see a president spooked by a bombshell leak that has undermined his authority," wrote Politico's Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns.

"Supporters say Trump is genuinely outraged by what he claims is false reporting and wants the record corrected. Either way — he’s using every tool in his arsenal to push back hard: Witness the hammer-like repetition that sites were 'obliterated'; the plentiful use of surrogates like Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio; the vindictive targeting of the journalists and media organizations involved; the barrage of statements from both U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs yesterday that the initial report was wrong," the report states.

On CNN Thursday, former Trump official Alyssa Farah Griffin warned that the administration was making matters worse by fighting over how successful the campaign was when the full scope of the strikes still wasn't in.

Read the Charlie Sykes article here.

'Did Hegseth start crying?' Defense secretary ridiculed for media 'tantrum'

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) poked fun at Defense secretary Pete Hegseth for his animated performance at Thursday's news conference on destruction caused by the airstrikes on Iran.

Hegseth unleashed on the media for "spinning" the news against Trump and the U.S. military because they wouldn't take Donald Trump's word that Iran's nuclear sites were "obliterated."

"It's like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad," Hegseth said. "You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope maybe they weren't effective. Maybe the way the Trump administration is representing them isn't true. So let's take half-truths, spun information, leaked information, and then spin it. Spin it in every way we can to try to cause doubt and manipulate the mind, the public mind, over whether or not our brave pilots were successful."

Swalwell posted to social media, "Did Secretary of Defense Hegseth start crying today during his press conference? My God. Is he emotionally stable enough to lead our military?"

Other onlookers piled on Swalwell's mockery.

Liberal commentator @covie_93 posted to his 140,000 followers, "Ok hegseth you cried and have your little tantrum but we'd still like to know if the enriched Uranium was moved before the strike and if so where?"

"No, I’m not watching Pete Hegseth cry, lie, and j--- o-- Trump for half an hour. This is the most pathetic Administration in history. Just a bunch of whiny losers," wrote Army combat veteran and podcaster Fred Wellman.

Lucas Sanders, who's followed by Republicans Against Trump and 36,000 other accounts wrote, "Did Pete Hegseth start crying today during his press conference? Yikes. Was he emotionally stable enough to lead our military or not?"

"F------ crybaby Hegseth is crying about the press. For guys who love to call themselves tough guys, this administration does a lot of whining," wrote attorney Thomas Protano.

'Fool's errand': Ex-Trump aide warns Hegseth he is making latest scandal worse

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served in the first Trump administration, had a warning to Defense secretary Pete Hegseth and other leaders to back off their attacks on the public for wanting more information on the Iran attacks.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. "obliterated" the Iranian nuclear facilities in last weekend's bombings, despite a lack of evidence. Thursday, Hegseth gave what CNN anchor Sara Sidner called an "extraordinary" press conference, where he accused the media of "spinning" a preliminary report "to try to cause doubt and manipulate the...public mind, over whether or not our brave pilots were successful."

Griffin told CNN that Hegseth's press conference was performative in order to please Trump, who staged his own attack on the media at Wednesday's NATO summit.

"Hegseth knew who he was performing for," Griffin began. "His job was to attack the media and to defend this as the most successful operation."

Griffin then admonished the administration to slow down and not be so quick to claim absolute victory over the strikes until all of the intelligence reports are out, not just the one from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

"I would encourage the White House take a beat," Griffin said. "You're going to get more assessments. You're going to hear from the Israelis. The Europeans will very likely do their own assessments. We've heard from one of 17 intel agencies with this DIA report. Being almost overly argumentative and defensive is making it look like a bigger story than it needs to be, because all indications point to...this very likely set the Iranians back significantly.

"And I'd also remind folks, 79% of Americans believe that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. So, attacking the public for wanting to have answers to questions about how successful this was is such a fool's errand. We actually just simply want to know, is the world safer today or is it not?"

Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.

'Got your timeline mixed up': Dem fact checks CNN anchor to his face

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) argued Tuesday that diplomacy was still the best option to ensure Iran's nuclear enrichment program remained below weapons-grade levels, now that a ceasefire has been reached over the nation's nuclear capabilities.

Smith blamed President Donald Trump for tearing up the original diplomatic solution, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal.

Inked during the Obama administration, the action plan gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for agreeing not to enrich uranium up to 60%, which is designated bomb-grade levels.

Trump scrapped the plan in 2018, claiming he would come up with his own agreement. At Tuesday's NATO summit in The Hague, however, Trump said he didn't "feel very strongly" anymore about signing an official agreement with Iran.

Smith called Trump's assertion "distressing."

"So, this is all part of Trump's sort of, you know, 'I'm tough. I solve problems just by looking at them.' But the reality is very different. Yes, diplomacy is the key. Iran is on their heels, no doubt about it," Smith said.

CNN's Boris Sanchez asked the lawmaker if Iran "violated the spirit" of the agreement by continuing to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels as Trump started his second term.

"You got your timeline mixed up there," Smith corrected. "Once Donald Trump tore up the agreement, yeah, Iran violated it. But before Donald Trump tore up the agreement, they had not done what you just said. Now, you can make an argument that just because Donald Trump tore it up, there were, I think, five other countries involved. Iran should have still paid attention to that agreement...but prior to Donald Trump walking out of the agreement, Iran was complying with it."

Smith continued that "the more important point, history aside, we are where we are — and where we are is, we still have Iran and Israel in a conflict, and we still have an Iran capable of building towards a nuclear weapon," which is why diplomacy still matters.

Watch the clip below via CNN.

'Ridiculous!' CNN host defends rival network after Trump's brutal take down

CNN's Dana Bash defended a rival network on "Inside Politics" after President Donald Trump used his platform at Tuesday's NATO summit to admonish the news media for reporting on an initial intelligence assessment of his strikes on Iran.

Bash recounted the early assessment made by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which reported the strikes didn't completely "obliterate" Iran's nuclear sites, as Trump has been claiming.

"That did not sit well with the president, who jumped on a few reporters during his press conference, including our friend Kelly O'Donnell at NBC, who is asking questions about that single initial assessment," Bash said before playing a clip of Trump's takedown.

"You, especially, you, should be proud of those pilots, and you shouldn't be trying to demean them," Trump addressed O'Donnell during a press conference in The Hague. "Those pilots flew at great risk, a big chance that they'd never come back home and see their husbands or their wives. Let me just tell you, you and NBC fake news — which is one of the worst — and CNN, New York Times, are all bad. They're sick. There's something wrong with them. But you know what? Youu should be praising those people instead of trying to find some — by getting me, by trying to go and get me, you're hurting those people."

Bash said she played the clip, "number one, because Kelly O'Donnell did a great job trying to get information out of the president in the face of sort of some personal attacks on her and the rest of us."

Bash continued, "But much more importantly, this was not anything to do with the U.S. military or their abilities, or their, you know, patriotism — anything at all. This was a report on an initial assessment by one intelligence agency — full stop. And...the president didn't like it, but it has nothing to do with the men and women of the U.S. military. And that was a 'tell,' the fact that he keeps harping on that and is trying to manipulate the conversation to make it like the reporters who are reporting on something that part of the U.S. government is trying to figure out has to do with not liking the military, which is just ridiculous on its face."

Watch the clip below via CNN or click here.