"More Nations Should Step In": Israel On What Can End Hormuz Chokehold

03/19/26 9:53 PM

As fast as more countries come and step to the plate to engage with this effort to restore order and to send a very clear message to this regime - that what they are doing is unacceptable - the crisis will end sooner," Israel's Ambassador to India R

"Pakistan Has A History": India On US Intel Chief's Nuclear Threat Remark

03/19/26 6:42 PM

US Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard, while presenting the intelligence community's 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, said that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan are the most significant nuclear threats to the United States.

'Greenland was a breaking point': EU allies say Trump dug his own grave

03/17/26 4:59 PM

CNN anchor Jim Sciutto reported that European Union (EU) officials had turned their backs on President Donald Trump in Iran after he poisoned the well by trying to take over Greenland and threatening the NATO alliance.In an angry Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said NATO countries "don't want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran.""We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need," the U.S. president complained. "Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance — WE NEVER DID!""WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"Sciutto said he had spoken to EU officials about the president's accusations."Many already doubted Trump's commitment to their defense alliances, informed by his public questioning of Article 5, threats to reduce U.S. deployments, and generally dismissive rhetoric," Sciutto wrote on X. "His attempts to take Greenland were a breaking point for many. Some will see this not so much as punishment for failing to join the Iran war, but as his honest thoughts about alliances in general."

'I'm thinking': Tulsi Gabbard falls into awkward silence over Iran war objectives

03/19/26 2:08 PM

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) was met with silence when he asked Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about the objectives of the war with Iran.During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday, Castro noted that Israel had struck Iran's energy infrastructure despite President Donald Trump telling the country not to."So my question is, what does the intelligence community assess Israel's goals in this war to be?" Castro asked. "And are those goals aligned with the goals of the United States?"Despite having a working microphone, Gabbard was unable to respond for several moments."I'm thinking carefully here," she finally said, "about what can be said in this open setting versus a closed setting.""Are the goals aligned?" Castro repeated."The objectives that have been laid out by the President are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government," Gabbard admitted. "We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership and taking out several members, obviously, beginning with the Ayatollah and the supreme leader. And they continue to focus on that effort.""How does that differ from our goals?" the congressman wondered. "The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their Navy, the IRGC Navy, and mine-laying capability."Castro observed that "death and destruction continues, the economic costs to the United States, to Israel, to the Gulf states, and to the world continues to increase."He then asked CIA Director John Ratcliffe: "Do you know why Israel decided to strike that infrastructure despite the fact that the president said it should be off limits?""I wouldn't speak for Israel," Ratcliffe replied."What do you guys know? We're at war. What do you guys know?" Castro demanded as his time ran out."Let's take that for the record," the chair said.

'Insulting and laughable': Leavitt rips 'false claims' after official quits over Iran

03/17/26 4:03 PM

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back at U.S. intelligence official Joe Kent after he resigned over President Donald Trump's war with Iran."After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today," Kent wrote Tuesday in a post on X.Kent insisted in his resignation letter that Iran had not posed an imminent threat."This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over," Leavitt replied later on Tuesday. "Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.""The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury," she continued. "The President, through his top negotiators, gave the regime every single possible opportunity to abandon this unacceptable course by permanently giving up their nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief, free nuclear fuel, and potential economic partnerships with our country.""President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America's national security interests."Leavitt also blasted Kent for suggesting that Iran had pushed him into the war."The Commander-in-Chief determines what does and does not constitute a threat, because he is the one constitutionally empowered to do so - and because the American people went to the ballot box and entrusted him and him alone to make such final judgments," she said. "And finally, the absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable. President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.""As someone who actually witnesses President Trump's decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what's in the best interest of the United States of America — period," she added.Trump was later asked about Kent's resignation."It's a good thing that he's out," the president said. "We don't want those people."

'It's an insult': MAGA in tailspin as Trump's terror chief quits over Iran war

03/17/26 2:45 PM

MAGA followers were enraged Tuesday after Joe Kent, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in protest over the U.S. war in Iran. Kent, a longtime MAGA ally of President Donald Trump who was appointed by him, shared his public statement and rejection of the conflict in the Middle East. This was the first time an administration official had rebuked the military action and spoken out against it. MAGA loyalists had seething responses to Kent's announcement: "Gold Star wife here. My husband didn’t die for Israel. He died because this war has been targeting Americans for decades. Long before most people ever started paying attention. We didn’t suddenly stumble into this because of Israel. Our service members have been in the crosshairs of Iranian-backed terror networks for years. That’s the reality families like mine have lived with. So spare me the talking point that this is 'Israel’s war.' Some of us have already paid for it in American blood," Sharrell Anne, who self-describes as "America First" wrote in a post on X. "Very disappointing from you. It's an insult to Trump to imply he has no agency and no ability to resist pressure from anyone, including Israel," Jon Murray, who shares pro-MAGA content and commentary, wrote on X. "'Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation' ok good you left because seems like you're an ignorant ...," Samuel Cardillo, who frequently shares MAGA talking points, wrote on X. “'Without getting us drawn into never-ending wars.' It’s been 3 weeks lol," conservative commentator and attorney Matt Bilinsky wrote on X."Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work. He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States. This isn’t some principled resignation—he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser," Taylor Budowich, former deputy White House chief of staff and cabinet secretary to Trump, wrote on X.

'No Definitive Timeframe To End Iran War': Pentagon Chief

03/19/26 8:32 PM

Pete Hegseth also addressed a report that the Pentagon has requested more than $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict.

'Partial coup!' Alex Jones rallies MAGA against Trump over Iran war 'disaster'

03/17/26 8:10 PM

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones urged President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters to follow the lead of Joe Kent, an intelligence official who quit the administration over the war in Iran."Well, it's historic time for America and the world. Facts are all coming out. This is truly the age of revelation," Jones declared on his Tuesday broadcast. "Joe Kent. The head of the Office of National Counterterrorism, number two under Tulsi Gabbard, who oversees all 17 intelligence agencies, went public and resigned and said Israel's basically staged a coup over the Trump White House on foreign policy.""I mean, this is just incredibly insane," he continued. "And so to have him do this, be a gold star husband to his wife that died, highly decorated, extremely respected. And to have him come out like this, Trump must change course. This war is a disaster."According to Jones, Trump was notified of the danger of striking Iran days before Operation Epic Fury began battering the country."And so we have to just call it off what it is. There has been a partial coup over the United States of America," Jones said of Israel's ability to persuade Trump. "But now he's launched a new order, and Israel brags their papers that this all hurts U.S. interest, makes them strong... they will be the new center of the world and the new power structure."Jones said he did not think people understood "this Joe Kent situation.""This is going to cause a chain reaction. Other patriots to speak out. It's going to be whistleblowers like this that is going to change the courts. We're going to win! We have the initiative!" he exclaimed, comparing Trump to "the madness of King George." "Will he get back on track or will he fail?" he asked.

'Pathetic, craven': Tulsi Gabbard faces backlash after 'desperate' statement on Iran war

03/17/26 8:24 PM

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced criticism for her response to the resignation of Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.In his resignation letter, Kent said that he was quitting because he could not "in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran."Gabbard responded hours later by expressing tepid support for President Donald Trump. But she did not come out in favor of or criticize the war effort."The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions," Gabbard wrote. "After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.""Pathetic, craven, desperate for power, total and permanent drain of integrity," libertarian lawyer Glenn Greenwald replied. "This neither contradicts Joe Kent nor defends the President's Iran policy," former national security staffer Tommy Vietor noted."A statement clearly made in response to Kent, but one that actually never says if she supports the war!" the Bulwark's Sam Stein observed."The Director of National Intelligence says that an imminent threat is whatever the president says is an imminent threat," ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote. "But nowhere in this statement, does she say that she agrees that Iran posed an imminent threat — or that the intelligence supports such a conclusion.""What a worm this woman is. It's amazing how little dignity she has," Richard Hanania remarked. "Of all the people who've grabbed on to the Trump train, she is the one who has done so with the least to show for it and the least plausible story of how it fits with her principles. And that's saying a lot!"

'Train wreck': Senator fed-up as 'flailing' Trump admin can't keep its Iran story straight

03/18/26 8:57 PM

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) pointed out on Wednesday that after he questioned National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, it appeared that the Trump administration still couldn't get its story straight on what prompted the Iran war. The top Democrat and veteran spoke with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt after the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with Gabbard and several other senior intelligence officials, who were asked about global threats as the Trump administration has continued to send mixed messages about the military operation in the Middle East and its objectives. Lawmakers pressed the administration members to clarify whether the Trump administration knew the pending economic fallout, including rising gas prices or the Iranian regime's move to close the vital shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz. They also wanted clarification over claims that Iran posed an "imminent threat," something the Trump administration has cited in the last several weeks. Hunt asked Kelly if the Trump administration had underestimated how Iranians would respond to the military strikes. "They're flailing. This has been a train wreck," Kelly said. "They have not been able to tell the American people, you know, why we are in this fight. You know, what is the strategic goal? What is the plan? What's the timeline? How do you get out of it? And today we were trying to figure out what did the president know and when did he know it? And was he briefed on something pretty basic, which was the Strait of Hormuz, whether or not the Iranians would try to shut it down. And we've gotten different answers from the White House."Kelly also pointed out how the word "imminent" means something is about to happen, yet the Trump administration had gone back and forth, saying Iran was expecting to strike the United States and its allies in "the near future," which is not what the word "imminent" actually means."And I even got to the point I was trying to make this very simple for the DNI, for Tulsi Gabbard," Kelly said. "Was there a request for a brief, or did you offer a brief on the Strait of Hormuz? I didn't even ask her if it was given or what was in it. She would not even answer that question." He explained that getting to the truth hasn't been a problem with just Gabbard, but also with other Trump cabinet members and White House insiders. "And this is what happens when you put a lot of yes people in an administration where their number one priority is to please the commander in chief," Kelly added. "And when you do that, this is why this is a lot different than Donald Trump's first term with a lot of very professional people around him. This is what you get. You get a lot of non-answers, you get a lot of just trying to get around some pretty basic things."