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Mar 3, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he would direct the American military to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a major global shipping corridor. Trump and his administration have faced growing criticism over plunging stocks and the rising prices of global gasoline and oil amid the U.S. and Israel military strikes on Iran. Iran has launched counterattacks targeting other countries in the Middle East and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the closure of the critical energy channel, according to The Washington Post.Trump wrote the following on Tuesday on his Truth Social platform. "Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP"

Mar 3, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel did not pressure the United States to launch strikes against Iran. Trump was meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and speaking about the conflict with Iran at the White House when he took questions from reporters inside the Oval Office. He claimed that Iran's navy, air force and radar technology had been "knocked out.""I might have forced their hand," Trump said. "You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics and it was opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn't do it. They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that, and we have great negotiators, great people, people that do this very successfully and have done it all their lives very successfully. And based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first and I didn't want that to happen."Trump's comments somewhat differed from Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks on Monday about how Israel claimed Iran was planning to attack. Trump appeared to say he had pushed for the strikes instead."So if anything I might have forced Israel's hand but Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we've had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now," Trump said.Trump commented that Iran has targeted Arab countries that were neutral, targeting civilians and hotels, but now those countries have planned to fight back. "They hit countries that have nothing to do with what's going on... which shows you the level of evil that we're dealing with," Trump said. Q: Did Israel force your land to launch these strikes against Iran?TRUMP: No. I might've forced their hand. It was my opinion that these lunatics were gonna attack first. pic.twitter.com/KcDmIbI6Vr— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 3, 2026

Mar 3, 2026 - World

An analyst revealed the difficult challenge ahead for President Donald Trump as the war in Iran now enters its fourth day. In an interview on MS NOW's Morning Joe with David Ignatius, columnist and associate editor of The Washington Post, and Shashank Joshi, defense editor at The Economist, Joshi discussed the Trump administration's mixed messaging about objectives for the military strikes in Iran, including regime change, then "imminent threats" from Iran against Israel and the push to stop Iran from developing ballistic missiles. "What we heard yesterday from Dan Caine, from Secretary Rubio, from Secretary Hegseth, others, was a very, very different set of aims narrowly focused around Iran's missile program," Joshi said.The war aims, such as regime change, could take weeks, Joshi explained. "Now that, I think, can be done in a short period of time, they can degrade missile stockpiles, and we've already heard the Iranians the Israelis say they have destroyed about half of the Iranian missile launches that Iran's able to bring to bear and I think you could have really long lasting and severe damage done to Iran's missile program by the end of this week," Joshi said. "There's no doubt about it. But the problem is, you would still have an Iran led by individuals who are more hardline in some respects than the leaders who have been killed by the strike so far. You have, you know, a new leader of these Islamic Revolutionary Guard, called Vahidi, who is this man? Well, you know, David is, you know, he is a former head of the expeditionary, IRGC. He was associated with the bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina in the 1990s. This is not a regime that will be more moderate, more pragmatic, more deterred than that, of Ayatollah Khamenei." Despite the killing of Khamenei and the dismantling of Iran's weapons, the problem over Iran's leadership will still remain. "And so, I still think at the end of this week, even though enormous damage may have been done to Iran's missile program, including the supply chain, the explosives, the guidance systems, you will still have the political problem sitting in Iran over regime, that cast this incredible U.S. missile shadow over the Persian Gulf, and I think the Trump administration will find it very hard to articulate that and frame that as some kind of decisive win," Joshi added. The strikes have wiped out the regime, but it could take time for Iranians to reform their government. "But I think the focus of these first three days of operations have been on Iran's missile forces, Iran's navy and nuclear and missile sites as well as political leadership," Joshi said. "I think if you are going to give the Iranian people the confidence to say, 'if we go back onto the streets in a week's time and we want confidence, we are not going to be gunned down in the same way.' I think what you need to see is an Israeli and American set of strikes over the next four or five days that systematically break down Iran's domestic security apparatus." But history could repeat. "I think that is a very hard thing to do, and I think that President Trump will face the dilemma between doing that and upholding his commitment to the Iranian people that he has made and sucking himself into a longer campaign, but it'll, he should remember the case of George H.W. Bush in 1991, who, as you will recall at David and others, called upon the Iraqi people to rise up in 1991 after the first Gulf War and the Shias in the south and the Kurds in the north did so, and they were massacred by Saddam Hussein," Joshi said. "That should be, I think a very, very cautionary tale for American strategy today."

Mar 3, 2026 - World

At least 169 killed in raid near Sudan border as clashes between government and opposition forces intensifySouth Sudan is reeling from an escalating conflict between the government-aligned army and opposition forces and allied groups that observers say risks returning the country to a full-blown civil war.Violent confrontations in the world’s youngest country between the military, which is loyal to President Salva Kiir, and insurgents believed to be allied to the suspended vice-president, Riek Machar, have increased in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Mar 3, 2026 - World

Peace talks between the United States and Iran may have been a smokescreen as a decision to strike had already been made, an analyst has claimed. Bill Press, the former California Democratic Party chair, believes Donald Trump's administration already knew a strike on Iran would be made while also hosting peace talks with representatives. In a column for The Hill, Press claimed a decision could have been made as early as before Trump delivered his State of the Union address. Press wrote, "Iran didn’t walk away from making a new deal. The U.S. did — and it started bombing the next morning. In fact, there is reason to believe that the entire Geneva operation was only a smokescreen, designed to fool Iran’s leaders into thinking the U.S. was negotiating in good faith. "Clearly, the decision to bomb Iran had already been made before the State of the Union, while the Trump administration was still pretending to be seriously interested in diplomacy." Press went on to suggest that the deal the US and Iran had discussed before the bombing was nearing a reasonable conclusion. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump to take advantage of the opportunity to kill Khamenei," he wrote. "Trump agreed to do their dirty work."It is also not true, as Trump claims, that Iran 'walked away from the table' without agreeing to abandon plans to build a nuclear bomb. In fact, as late as last Friday, negotiations between Iran and the U.S., moderated by Oman, were still underway in Geneva — with public assurances of progress being made."Trump issued a statement on the Iran war earlier today (March 3), with the president claiming a war with the Middle Eastern country could last much longer than anticipated. He wrote, "The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better - As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!)."At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high-grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries."Sleepy Joe Biden spent all of his time, and our Country’s money, GIVING everything to P.T. Barnum (Zelenskyy!) of Ukraine - Hundreds of Billions of Dollars worth - And, while he gave so much of the super high-end away (FREE!), he didn’t bother to replace it. Fortunately, I rebuilt the military in my first term, and continue to do so."The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP."