World
Trump says Iran war’s core objectives near completion
The United States will carry out aggressive strikes on Iran over the next two to three weeks and is nearing completion of its main strategic objectives in the war, President Donald Trump said in a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday.
Addressing a war-weary U.S. public, Trump said his military had delivered “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” during 32 days of military strikes and that Iran was no longer a security threat, Reuters reported.
“I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,” Trump said in a nationally televised address.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.”
Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, U.S. bases and the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon.
The conflict, which prompted Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway carrying about a fifth of global oil supplies — has rattled financial markets and weighed on Trump’s sagging approval ratings months ahead of pivotal midterm congressional elections.
Stocks fell and oil prices rose sharply after Trump’s speech, with investors disappointed that a clearer path to swiftly ending the conflict was not spelled out.
Trump said the United States does not need the Strait of Hormuz and he challenged U.S. allies who rely on oil in the region to work toward reopening it.
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” Trump said. “This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers of neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.”
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International Energy Agency on Wednesday warned the war was having “substantial, global and highly asymmetric” effects and said they would coordinate their response, including through potential financial support to those countries hit hardest.
NUCLEAR THREAT
In an interview with Reuters earlier on Wednesday, Trump said U.S.-Israeli strikes had ensured Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons, adding that U.S. forces could return with “spot hits” if the threat resurfaces.
“They were right at the doorstep (of a nuclear weapon),” Trump said in his TV address, without providing evidence.
“In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” he said. “We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders.”
Prior to Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a letter addressed to the American people that his country harbors no enmity towards ordinary Americans.
Yet prospects for a near-term end to the fighting remained elusive. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran is demanding a guaranteed ceasefire to halt its attacks and said no talks have taken place through intermediaries on a temporary truce. The New York Times reported separately that U.S. intelligence agencies assess Iran is currently unwilling to engage in substantial negotiations to end the war.
Trump said that discussions were ongoing with Iranian leaders he considered less radical than previous leaders.
“Yet if during this period of time, no deal is made we have our eyes on key targets,” Trump said. “If there’s no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants, very hard and probably simultaneously.”
TRUMP CONSIDERS QUITTING NATO
Trump said on social media earlier on Wednesday that Iran had asked for a ceasefire but that he would not consider it until Tehran ceased blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
Iran denied making any such request.
Two security sources from Pakistan, which is mediating in the conflict, told Reuters that Islamabad had proposed a temporary ceasefire but had not heard back from either side.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance communicated with intermediaries from Pakistan about the Iran conflict as recently as Tuesday, according to a source briefed on the matter, making clear that Trump was open to a ceasefire if certain demands were met, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the source said.
Trump had suggested on Tuesday he could wind down the war in two to three weeks even without a deal, while scaling up threats to pull the U.S. out of the NATO defence alliance if European states did not help stop Iran from blocking the waterway.
In his remarks to Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said he had planned to express his disgust with NATO for what he considers the alliance’s lack of support for U.S. objectives in Iran.
Trump did not explicitly mention NATO in his address, but appeared to be sending a message to European allies, urging countries in need of oil to buy it from the United States or to “build up some delayed courage” and use the Strait of Hormuz.
“Go to the Strait and just take it,” Trump said. “Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy.”
European states have taken pains to appear unruffled, and France’s junior army minister Alice Rufo said operations by NATO in the Strait of Hormuz would be a breach of international law.
World
San Diego mosque security guard hailed as hero after deadly shooting
A security guard who was killed during a deadly shooting at a mosque in San Diego is being remembered as a hero after authorities said his actions helped save lives.
Amin Abdullah, a father of eight and longtime security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was among three people killed in Monday’s attack, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego (CAIR-SD).
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl praised Abdullah’s response during the shooting, saying his actions were “heroic” and likely prevented further casualties.
“Undoubtedly, he saved lives today,” Wahl told reporters during a news conference.
The other victims were identified by CAIR-SD as Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad.
According to police, two teenage suspects carried out the attack before later taking their own lives. Authorities said the suspects, aged 17 and 18, were found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside a vehicle several blocks from the mosque.
Investigators are treating the incident as a suspected hate crime. Police said “hate rhetoric” was connected to the attack, though officials have not yet released additional details about the suspects or their motives.
The shooting unfolded after the mother of one of the teenagers reportedly contacted police earlier in the day to say her son had run away with a friend and might be suicidal.
Hours later, officers searching for the pair discovered three victims suffering from gunshot wounds outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, including Abdullah.
Members of the local Muslim community described Abdullah as a kind and devoted figure who had spent more than a decade protecting worshippers at the mosque.
In a statement, the mosque said Abdullah “put himself on the line for the safety of others” and continued protecting the community even in his final moments.
Friends and community members also paid tribute on social media, remembering him as compassionate and welcoming to everyone who visited the mosque.
“He would greet anyone and make sure they were OK,” community member Sam Hamideh told local media.
World
Trump says he paused attack on Iran, signals a nuclear deal may be possible
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, said Iran’s armed forces are “ready to pull the trigger” in the event of any renewed U.S. attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.
After Iran sent the U.S. a new peace proposal, Trump said he had instructed the U.S. military that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
No such attack had previously been announced, and Reuters could not determine whether preparations had been made for strikes that would mark a renewal of the war Trump started in late February.
Under pressure to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has previously expressed hope that a deal was close on ending the war, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if Tehran does not reach a deal.
In his post, he said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had requested that he hold off on the attack because “a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.” He did not offer details of the agreement being discussed.
Speaking to reporters later, he said the United States would be satisfied if it could reach an agreement with Iran that prevents Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” Trump told reporters gathered for an unrelated announcement.
Trump’s post on calling off an attack came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that Tehran’s views had been “conveyed to the American side through Pakistan” but gave no details.
A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides in the war in the Middle East since hosting the only round of peace talks last month, had shared the latest proposal with Washington. But the source suggested progress had been difficult.
The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have much time.”
Iran remained defiant in statements issued on state media after Trump’s announcement, warning the U.S. and its allies against making any further “strategic mistakes or miscalculations” in attacking Iran, while contending the Iranian armed forces were “more prepared and stronger than in the past.”
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, said Iran’s armed forces are “ready to pull the trigger” in the event of any renewed U.S. attack, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
“Any renewed aggression and invasion … will be responded to quickly, decisively, powerfully, and extensively,” the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya, Ali Abdollahi, was quoted as saying.
The Iranian peace proposal, as described by a senior Iranian source, appeared similar in many respects to Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage”.
It would focus first on securing an end to the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz – a major oil supply route that Iran has effectively blockaded – and lifting maritime sanctions.
In an apparent softening of Washington’s stance, the senior Iranian source said on Monday that the United States had agreed to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen funds – totalling tens of billions of dollars – held in foreign banks. Iran wants all the assets released.
The Iranian source also said Washington had shown more flexibility in agreeing to let Iran continue some peaceful nuclear activity under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The U.S. has not confirmed that it has agreed to anything in the talks.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency separately quoted an unidentified source as saying the U.S. had agreed to waive oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations were under way.
Iranian officials did not immediately comment on Tasnim’s report, which a U.S. official, who declined to be named, said was false.
A fragile ceasefire is in place after six weeks of war that followed U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, although drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran and its allies. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday condemning a drone attack on Sunday, in which Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted three drones that entered the country from Iraqi airspace.
World
China to buy at least $17 billion in US agricultural products annually, White House says
The $17 billion figure does not include the soybean purchase commitments China made in October 2025, the White House said.
China has committed to purchasing at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the White House said in a fact sheet released on Sunday.
The commitment was made during meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, the White House said.
The $17 billion figure does not include the soybean purchase commitments China made in October 2025, the White House said.
There has been a marked reduction in U.S. agricultural exports to China after last year’s rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs sharply curtailed trade, which fell 65.7% year-on-year to $8.4 billion in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
China has dramatically scaled back its reliance on U.S. farm goods since Trump’s first term, sourcing roughly 20% of its soybeans from the U.S. in 2024, the year before he returned to office, down from 41% in 2016.
China will work with U.S. regulators to lift suspensions of U.S. beef facilities and resume imports of poultry from U.S. states determined to be free of avian influenza, the White House said.
Confirming earlier statements from the Chinese government, the White House also said on Sunday the world’s two largest economies would establish a U.S.-China Board of Trade and the U.S.-China Board of Investment.
The boards will resolve concerns over market access for agricultural products and expand trade “under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement last week.
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