World
Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump seeks ‘best deal’ with Iran
Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire for three weeks at a meeting at the White House brokered by President Donald Trump, who said he was prepared to wait for “the best deal” to end his conflict with Iran.
Fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has been one of a number of sticking points to resolving the wider eight-week regional conflict, along with Iran’s nuclear ambitions and control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
Trump said he was in no rush to reach a peace agreement and wanted it to be “everlasting,” while continuing to assert that the U.S. had a clear upper hand in the naval stand-off in the Strait.
A day after Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key shipping corridor, Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran’s “little wise-guy ships” and said he believed Tehran was hamstrung from making a deal because its leadership was in turmoil.
On Thursday, he said the U.S. Navy has orders to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats laying mines in the strait and the U.S. could knock out in a day any refurbishing of weapons that Iran may have made during a ceasefire in place since April 8.
But navigation in the passage remained effectively blocked, and the Iranian capture of two huge cargo ships was a reminder that the U.S. struggles to keep control of the strait and Tehran continued to cause trouble for oil markets and pose major strains to the global economy. The U.S. has maintained a blockade
IRANIAN UNITY
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday rejected Trump’s claim of disarray in the leadership describing it as “the enemy’s media operations” to maliciously undermine Iranian unity and security.
“Unity will become stronger and more solid, and enemies will become weaker and more humiliated,” he said in a post on X, as he remained out of the public eye since taking over from his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed by U.S. strikes in the early days of the war that began on February 28.
Trump said this week he would indefinitely extend what had been a two-week ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, which have yet to be scheduled.
“Don’t rush me,” he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal. “I want to make the best deal … I want to have it everlasting.”
He ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, telling reporters they were unnecessary because the U.S. had “decimated” Iran with conventional arms.
“No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” Trump said when asked by a reporter at the White House.
DEADLY WEEK
Despite the extension of their ceasefire, fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces continued to pound the Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets following some of the deadliest days since their earlier deal to halt fighting on April 16.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it killed two armed individuals in southern Lebanon after identifying them approaching soldiers and posing what it described as an immediate threat.
Those killed by Israeli strikes this week included Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military official and her employer, Al-Akhbar newspaper.
Hezbollah said it carried out four operations in south Lebanon on Wednesday in response to Israeli strikes. The group was not present at the ceasefire talks in Washington.
Israel has sought to make common cause with Lebanon’s government over Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and which Beirut has been seeking to disarm peacefully for the past year.
Separately, before the announcement in Washington on Thursday, Israel warned it was ready to restart attacks on Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was waiting for a “green light” from the U.S. to resume the war, saying that if it did, it would begin by targeting Khamenei and “return Iran to a dark age.”
Israel established a covert military installation in the Iraqi desert to support its air operations against Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing individuals familiar with the matter, including U.S. officials.
The report said the facility was used as a logistical hub for the Israeli Air Force and also housed special forces, as well as search-and-rescue units prepared to assist any downed pilots during operations.
According to the newspaper, the base was built with the knowledge of the United States shortly before the onset of what it described as a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
The report added that Israeli forces conducted airstrikes against Iraqi troops on at least one occasion after they allegedly came close to discovering the site, in order to prevent exposure of the facility.
The existence of the installation reportedly came under threat in early March, when Iraqi state media said a shepherd had alerted authorities to unusual military activity in the area, including helicopter movements. Iraqi forces were subsequently dispatched to investigate.
The Wall Street Journal further reported that Iraqi troops were struck by Israeli air operations while approaching the area, based on accounts from sources familiar with the incident.
Later in March, Iraq submitted a complaint to the United Nations alleging that foreign forces were involved in attacks in the area and initially attributed responsibility to the United States. However, the report cited a source familiar with the matter as saying the U.S. was not involved.
At the order of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Defense Department on Friday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings to provide what it called “unprecedented transparency” to the American people, though analysts said many of the documents had already been made public.
The disclosure of documents, photos and videos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” will be followed by future releases as more materials are declassified, the Defense Department said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Trump was the latest president to release U.S. government reports on UFOs, a disclosure process that began in the late 1970s. Experts said the batch of around 160 files released on Friday contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.
The files include a 1947 report of “flying discs” as well as grainy photos of “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface by the 1969 Apollo 12 lunar mission and a transcript of the Apollo 17 crew describing unidentified objects seen from the moon in 1972.
‘BRIGHT PARTICLES’ DURING APOLLO 17
Apollo 17 mission pilot Ronald Evans reported “a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” based on the transcript.
“Roger. Understand,” mission control replied.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Hegseth said in a statement.
The records release is likely to fuel fresh debate over government secrecy and the possible existence of life in the cosmos.
“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Trump said in a statement. “Have fun and enjoy!”
The move was welcomed by U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett and Anna Paulina Luna, both proponents of declassifying UFO files. Luna said an additional tranche of material was expected in about 30 days.
“The files show that UAP are not simply a matter of speculation or public curiosity,” Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb said in an email to Reuters. “The government has collected records.”
The images from Apollo 12 and 17 were fascinating but could be the result of asteroid impacts on the lunar surface, Loeb said.
DISTRACTION FROM POLITICAL PROBLEMS?
Some critics cast the UFO disclosures as a distraction from Trump’s political woes, including the unpopular U.S. military campaign against Iran and public pressure to release further files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda,” former Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.
UAP investigator Mick West said the administration of former President Joe Biden disclosed much of the same information as Friday’s release.
“They’re evidence of us not being able to identify a small white dot that’s a long distance away,” the Sacramento, California-based analyst said of the new UAP videos and images.
Independent journalist Leslie Kean said the release showed there was still a lot of government information on UAP that should be disclosed. Kean co-authored a 2017 New York Times story on a secret Pentagon UAP program, which prompted Congress to push for declassification of UFO documents.
“I think we’ve already proven the existence of UAP, but that doesn’t mean we’ve proven they’re alien or extraterrestrial or that we know what they are,” said Kean.
World
Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement on ending the Gulf war, Reuters reported.
“We’re going to get it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White House event.
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has yet to hand over more than 900 pounds (408 kg) of highly enriched uranium.
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