World

President Donald Trump blamed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for pushing him into the war in Iran.

During an event in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, Trump bragged about past gains in the stock market, which have recently taken a hit because of Operation Epic Fury.

A congenial interview with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) grew tense Monday morning when MS NOW host Joe Scarborough became increasingly impatient with the Senate Minority leader — and snapped at him with “you don’t understand me.”

Schumer, who has been the subject of stories that some Democrats want him to step away from his leadership position, was asked about Donald Trump’s decision to back off on some of the attacks on Iran. That led to the “Morning Joe” co-host lecturing his guest on the public’s perception of the unprovoked war.

Iranian officials reportedly contradicted President Donald Trump after he claimed that he had fruitful talks with the regime to postpone his 48-hour deadline on bombing power plants.

“VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST," Trump wrote on a Monday Truth Social post. "I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD."

More than a few of Donald Trump’s supporters were displeased early Monday morning after the president called off imminent attacks on Iran’s power plants as discussions took place aimed at ending the war.

In an all-caps Truth Social announcement, that was reposted moments later to fix multiple typos, the president declared, in part, “I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.”

Some Cubans got power back on Sunday after another nationwide blackout on Saturday—the second in less than a week and the third time the grid has collapsed this month after the Trump administration intensified the United States’ decades-long economic blockade, cutting off the island nation from Venezuelan oil.

“The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the total disconnection of the national energy system was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, without providing details on the specific cause of the failure,” according to The Associated Press.

Political analysts were floored on Sunday after Vice President JD Vance seemed to struggle selling President Donald Trump's war in Iran during a recent public appearance.

Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, co-hosts of "Pod Save the World," said during a new episode that Vance's recent appearance showed he is trying to "distance himself" from Trump's war, but not enough to anger the president. This stance seems to comport with Vance's rhetoric on the campaign trail, where he made it clear that he would rather take a restrained approach to foreign policy, including backing away from supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

Far-right politicians across Europe who enthusiastically embraced Donald Trump following his re-election are now rapidly retreating from the relationship, with the Iran conflict and his demands for NATO intervention serving as the breaking point.

According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal's Bertrand Benoit and Max Colchester, tensions have been building over Trump's tariff policies—which were struck down by the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling—but the invasion of Iran and subsequent demands that European nations share the military burden have pushed nationalist-minded European lawmakers to openly reconsider their alignment with the American president.

According to Donald Trump’s UN ambassador, the president should not be constrained from ordering the Pentagon to bomb Iran’s sole nuclear power plant located southeast of the city of Bushehr, situated on the waterfront of the Persian Gulf.

During an appearance on “Face the Nation,” Ambassador Mike Waltz, who was shuffled over to the UN after he was caught up in the “Signalgate” scandal, was asked about Trump’s 48-hour threat to begin bombing Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened to shipping.

As Donald Trump’s war on Iran enters its 23rd day, the administration is putting out signals that it would like to begin peace talks at the same time that the president is raising the threat that he will destroy the country’s energy infrastructure within two days.

Appearing on MS NOW, to discuss the mixed messaging, AXIOS reporter Eli Stokols stated that the president is clueless about the best path to proceed down, and events on the ground –– particularly the closing of the Strait of Hormuz –– show no signs of being easily resolved.

President Donald Trump issued a blistering ultimatum to the Iranian regime on Saturday night, one that raised the eyebrows of multiple political analysts and observers.

Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran has 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else the U.S. will strike multiple energy plants in the country. He made the threat as global energy prices continue to climb from the regime's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. ships.