Donald Trump

Trump Insists Iran Nuclear Programme set Back 'Decades'

President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that US strikes led to the “total obliteration” of Iran's nuclear capabilities and set the country's atomic program back “decades”, while Israel said it was still early to fully assess the damage. Over a 12-day conflict, Israel pounded Iranian nuclear and military sites ...

US Asked France to Speak to Iran Before Israel Truce

France conveyed to Iran the terms of a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel at the request of Washington in the hours leading up to the truce, a French diplomatic source said Wednesday. On Monday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to "inform him of the US wish for a ceasefire provided there ...

Iran-Israel War: Latest Developments

Classified US intelligence suggests that American strikes on Iran set back its nuclear program by just a few months, contradicting President Donald Trump's claim of total destruction. Here are the latest developments as a truce between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding early Wednesday:  'Significant hit'  The Israeli ...

What Does NATO's 5% Spending Deal Really Mean?

NATO leaders are set to sign off Wednesday at their Hague summit on a defense spending pledge to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demand for a headline figure of five percent of GDP. Here are the details of what NATO is signing up to: Five percent? Not really  Trump has insisted NATO countries hit the five-percent bar -- well beyond the ...

Trump Whirlwind to Test NATO Summit Unity

Will he play nice? That's the question for NATO leaders nervously waiting to see if a carefully choreographed show to please US President Donald Trump will pay dividends when the alliance summit gets down to business on Wednesday. Every precaution is in place to avoid a Trump blow-up at the Hague summit, from giving him credit for a historic ...

Trump Rattles NATO Allies as He Descends on Summit

US President Donald Trump swept into NATO's Hague summit Tuesday, with allies hoping a pledge to ramp up defence spending will keep the mercurial leader of the military superpower committed to protecting them. Trump joined leaders from NATO's 31 other members to kick off the two-day gathering with a dinner hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander in ...

As War Recedes, Oil Prices Plunge and Markets Rally

From Cold Sweats to Cooling Oil: Why Crude Prices Are Plunging After the Iran-Israel De-Escalation A bomb can send oil prices soaring – unless it doesn’t hit as hard as expected. That’s exactly what played out in the markets following Iran’s limited strike on a United States base in Qatar, followed by a surprise ceasefire between Tehran ...

Oil Slides, Stocks Rise as Trump Says Iran-Israel Ceasefire Holds

Oil prices sank and stock markets rose Tuesday as US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was taking hold after he berated both countries for violating the truce. In volatile trading, crude futures slumped more than five percent after Trump announced a ceasefire. "This morning's ceasefire further reduced the perceived ...

Trump on Ceasefire Violations: Iran and Israel 'Don't Know What the F... They're Doing'

The Israeli army carried out a “symbolic attack” against Iran on Tuesday afternoon in retaliation for the Iranian strike earlier that morning, which killed seven people on Israeli territory. The Israeli attack took place despite a strong warning issued a little earlier by US President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv. Trump made an urgent ...

The 12 Days That Redefined the Middle East

With the announcement of a ceasefire, Donald Trump blew the final whistle. Twelve days were all it took to upend the geopolitical order of the region. Twelve days of war between Israel and Iran, following years of shadow conflict, thunderous ultimatums and unspoken red lines. Twelve days that reshaped the strategic balance in the Middle East and, ...

Qatar PM Persuaded Iran to Accept Ceasefire

Qatar's prime minister persuaded Iran to agree to a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel after Iranian missiles targeted an American base near Doha, an informed source said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani spoke to the Iranians at Washington's request following Monday's unprecedented attack on Qatari soil, the ...