World
Trump welcomes Ukraine’s willingness to sign minerals deal, talk peace
Zelenskiy posted on X earlier that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal and talk peace and called a contentious Oval Office meeting last week after which it was put on hold “regrettable.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he appreciated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s willingness to sign a minerals deal with the United States and come to the negotiating table under his leadership to bring a lasting peace closer in Kyiv’s war with Russia, Reuters reported.
Trump said in an address to the U.S. Congress that Zelenskiy made the declaration in a letter to him earlier in the day.
Zelenskiy posted on X earlier that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal and talk peace and called a contentious Oval Office meeting last week after which it was put on hold “regrettable.”
The Trump administration and Ukraine plan to sign the minerals deal, four people familiar with the situation told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. Trump had told his advisers that he wanted to announce an agreement in his address to Congress, three of the sources said, cautioning that the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change.
Trump’s remarks suggested that progress had been made.
“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskiy of Ukraine. The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Trump said.
Trump said Zelenskiy had said he stood ready to work “under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts” and that he valued how much America had done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you,” Trump quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” Trump said, adding that “Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace.
Trump has said the agreement will help secure a peace deal by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine’s future. He views it as America’s way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago, read the report.
Zelenskiy was dismissed from the White House after being berated by Trump and his vice president, who said he should thank the U.S. for its support rather than asking for additional aid for Ukraine’s war against Russian in front of the media.
“You’re gambling with World War Three,” Trump said on Friday.
U.S. officials have in recent days spoken to officials in Kyiv about signing the minerals deal despite Friday’s blow-up, and urged Zelenskiy’s advisers to convince the Ukrainian president to apologize openly to Trump, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskiy said in his post on X. “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”
It was unclear if the deal has changed. The version that was to be signed last week included no explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but gave the U.S. access to revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources. It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50% of future monetization of any state-owned natural resources to a U.S.-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.
On Monday, Trump signaled that his administration remained open to signing the deal, telling reporters in a gaggle that Ukraine “should be more appreciative.”
“This country has stuck with them through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us.”
France, Britain and possibly other European countries have offered to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but would want support from the U.S. or a “backstop.” Moscow has rejected proposals for peacekeeping troops.
Daniel Fried, a former senior White House official and ambassador to Poland, said the path to getting the minerals deal done has been messy, but it would deliver two solid wins for Trump – Zelenskiy’s statement of regret and the agreement of Britain and France to provide security and boots on the ground, read the report.
“Trump can and should take the win. He’d be able to say that he … got the Europeans to stand up in front of an issue of European security, which they’ve never done before,” said Fried, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council.
World
US intelligence says Iran government is not at risk of collapse: report
U.S. intelligence indicates that Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not at risk of collapse any time soon after nearly two weeks of relentless U.S. and Israeli bombardment, Reuters reported citing three sources familiar with the matter.
A “multitude” of intelligence reports provide “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse and “retains control of the Iranian public,” said one of the sources, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence findings.
The latest report was completed within the last few days, the source said.
With political pressure building over soaring oil costs, President Donald Trump has suggested he will end the biggest U.S. military operation since 2003 “soon.” But finding an acceptable end to the war could be difficult if Iran’s hardline leaders remain firmly entrenched.
The intelligence reporting underscores the cohesion of Iran’s clerical leadership despite the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of the U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Israeli officials in closed discussions also have acknowledged there is no certainty the war will lead to the clerical government’s collapse, a senior Israeli official told Reuters.
The sources stressed that the situation on the ground is fluid and that the dynamics inside Iran could change.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SHIFTING OBJECTIVES
Since launching their war, the U.S. and Israel have struck a range of Iranian targets, including air defenses, nuclear sites, and members of the senior leadership.
The Trump administration has given varying reasons for the war. In announcing the beginning of the U.S. operation, Trump urged Iranians to “take over your government,” but top aides have since denied that the objective was to oust Iran’s leadership.
In addition to Khamenei, the strikes have killed dozens of senior officials and some of the highest-ranking commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite paramilitary force that controls large parts of the economy.
Still, the U.S. intelligence reports indicate that the IRGC and the interim leaders who assumed power after Khamenei’s death retain control of the country.
The Assembly of Experts, a group of senior Shiite clerics, earlier this week declared Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, the new supreme leader.
Israel has no intention of allowing any remnants of the former government to stay intact, said a fourth source familiar with the matter.
It is unclear how the current U.S.-Israeli military campaign would topple the government.
It would likely require a ground offensive that would allow people inside Iran to safely protest in the streets, said the source.
The Trump administration has not ruled out sending U.S. troops into Iran.
INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS KURDS LACK FIREPOWER TO FIGHT IRAN
Reuters reported last week that Iranian Kurdish militias based in neighboring Iraq consulted with the U.S. about how and whether to attack Iran’s security forces in the western part of the country.
Such an incursion could put pressure on Iranian security services there, allowing Iranians to rise up against the government.
Abdullah Mohtadi, the head of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, part of a six-party coalition of Iranian Kurdish parties, said in an interview on Wednesday that the parties are highly organized inside Iran and that “tens of thousands of young people are ready to take up arms” against the government if they receive U.S. support.
Mohtadi said he has received reports from inside Iranian Kurdistan that IRGC units and other security forces have abandoned bases and barracks out of fear of U.S. and Israeli strikes.
“We have been witnessing tangible signs of weakness in Kurdish areas,” he said.
But recent U.S. intelligence reports have cast doubt on the ability of the Iranian Kurdish groups to sustain a fight against Iranian security services, according to two sources familiar with those assessments.
The intelligence indicates that the groups lack the firepower and numbers, they said.
The Kurdish Regional Government, which governs the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan where the Iranian Kurdish groups are based, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Iranian Kurdish groups have in recent days asked senior officials in Washington and U.S. lawmakers for the U.S. to provide them with weapons and armored vehicles, another person familiar with the matter said.
But Trump said on Saturday that he had ruled out having the Iranian Kurdish groups go into Iran.
World
As many as 150 US troops wounded so far in Iran war: report
As many as 150 U.S. troops have been wounded in the 10-day-old war with Iran, Reuters reported citing two people familiar with the matter.
The casualty figure has not been previously reported. Prior to Reuters’ publication of the figure, the Pentagon had only disclosed eight U.S. personnel seriously injured.
In a statement after Reuters published its report, the Pentagon estimated the figure to be approximately 140 wounded and said the vast majority of them were minor.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
He said 108 of the wounded service members had already returned to duty.
Parnell said the eight seriously wounded service members were receiving the highest level of medical care.
Reuters could not determine the types of injuries and whether they include traumatic brain injuries, which are common after exposure to blasts.
Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. military bases since the start of the conflict on Feb. 28. It has also struck diplomatic missions in Arab Gulf states as well as hotels and airports and damaged oil infrastructure.
The Pentagon says the number of Iranian strikes has fallen sharply since the start of the war, as the U.S. military bombs Iran’s weapons inventories and targets Iran’s more limited number of missile launchers.
Asked if Iran was a stronger adversary than he expected when the U.S. military drew up its war plans, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the fight was not harder than expected.
“I think they’re fighting, and I respect that, but I don’t think they are more formidable than what we thought,” Caine told a Pentagon briefing.
World
Trump tells Fox News it’s possible he would talk with Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that it’s possible he would be willing to talk with Iran but that it depends on the terms, the cable news network said on Tuesday.
Asked in an interview on Monday evening about the possibility of negotiations with Tehran, Trump told Fox he heard Tehran wanted to talk badly, according to the news network.
The Republican president also reiterated his unhappiness with Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, telling Fox: “I don’t believe he can live in peace.”
Trump also echoed his comments at a press conference earlier on Monday, telling Fox the results of the U.S. military operation in Iran were “way beyond expectation.”
Trump added that he was surprised that Iran was striking Gulf countries with missiles and drones, according to the network.
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