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Apr 17, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's administration has attempted to shift the consequences of the Iran war to an ally, a report has found. Trump's team caused a fallout in Bahrain, which has undermined support for the United States. But internal documents shared by Politico show the admin has tried to pin the blame for the fallout on the United Kingdom. Nahal Toosi wrote, "Bahrain’s government is facing questions about whether the U.S. abandoned it to fend for itself against Iranian drones and missiles."Bahrain and the U.S. are stalwart allies, and the Middle Eastern country hosts an American military base that serves as headquarters for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet."But the Iran war has led to public perceptions that the U.S. abandoned Bahrain to focus on protecting Israel instead, according to the cable from the Bahraini capital, Manama."Internal documents added to this pressure on the United States's relationship with Bahrain. Toosi added, "Still, the cable also notes that such Bahraini neglect to mention the U.S. may have partly stemmed from a 'desire to protect and maintain the operational security of U.S. personnel and materiel.'"While the cable never directly says the embassy itself failed on messaging, it points out that the British Embassy’s highly active social media presence 'created a distorted perception of the scale of British assistance and an impression that the U.K. was stepping up where the United States was retreating.'"Trump has been outspoken about the lack of support received by NATO countries, including the UK, over the war in Iran. British officials cited concerns about the legality of the unilateral military action and the lack of clear congressional approval for the conflict. The UK's position reflects growing international skepticism about the war's justification and strategic objectives. Trump's response included threats to reconsider U.S. security commitments to the UK and NATO, warning that countries failing to support American military actions would face consequences. The dispute has exposed deep rifts between Trump and traditional Western allies over military intervention and international law.The UK's refusal signals that Trump's Iran war has further alienated America from longstanding partners, leaving the administration with diminished international coalition-building capacity for future military operations.

Apr 16, 2026 - World

Donald Trump's Iran negotiations are collapsing under the weight of incompetence with Middle East experts openly dismissing the negotiating team of Manhattan real estate developers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, saying they're completely out of their depth on one of the world's most complex geopolitical stages.According to interviews with Time, diplomats are unanimous in their assessment: the team lacks the fundamental understanding necessary to navigate Middle East complexities."Iran and the U.S. under [Trump son-in-law] Kushner and Witkoff? Failure. They get an F in diplomacy," observed former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller.Their track record speaks for itself, Miller explained as he pointed to Kushner and Witkoff's failed Russia-Ukraine negotiations and their stalled efforts between Israel and Hamas as evidence of unrelenting incompetence. "While even the most experienced negotiators would face steep challenges in such conflicts, Kushner and Witkoff failed to convey to either side the sense of urgency that a desirable deal was within reach—an essential condition for pushing negotiations forward.""You accept the notion that a successful negotiation, if you have urgency, is based on finding some balance of interest between the parties. If you want out of this, I think they're going to have to come up with something that allows the Iranians to say they won something," he elaborated. Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield outlined what actual competent negotiations require, telling Time, "Not only does the U.S. need to make clear what its goals were, and to know internally where it was prepared to concede, and where it was not prepared to concede, where the line would be held, the red lines, but to have a realistic sense of what the other side was bringing with it."A grasp of nuclear diplomacy also brings a whole new level of complexity.Former senior State Department official Robert Einhorn warned that "the negotiator at the table has to think about how the domestic audiences will affect the outcome. And I think the negotiator on a nuclear issue is more constrained by his or her government bureaucracy and by public opinion."The deepest problem is systemic: Trump surrounds himself with yes-men incapable of honest counsel, which Miller identified as Trump's fatal flaw in personnel selection:"There is a discussion in which the president's advisors talk truth to power and basically say to him…'You've got the ultimate control. But if you're going to do this, this is exactly what is likely to happen. And in my judgment…if you do this, you might fail.'"But such candor requires advisers willing to risk consequences. "Trump had four secretaries of defense in his first term. He had six national security advisors [during his two terms]. They know what happens if they embarrass the president or they become a problem."

Apr 16, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump claimed credit for a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.The 79-year-old president had announced that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would hold direct talks Thursday, which Lebanese officials later denied, but Trump claimed on Truth Social that he had spoke to both leaders and helped broker a ceasefire."I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel," Trump posted. "These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.""On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio," Trump added. "I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin' Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE. It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let's, GET IT DONE! President DONALD J. TRUMP."Rubio hosted the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. for an in-person meeting Wednesday, marking the first high-level engagement between the Middle Eastern nations since 1993.Aoun told Rubio in a call that same day that he would not speak to Netanyahu until a ceasefire was in place, according to the Lebanese media outlet LBCI.

Apr 16, 2026 - World

Lebanese officials directly contradicted President Donald Trump's breezy suggestion that its leader would speak with Israeli leadership.The 79-year-old president announced on Truth Social that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would speak Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they were "trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years," but Lebanese officials told Reuters that would not happen anytime soon."Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun will NOT hold a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future, three Lebanese officials told Reuters on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said leaders of both countries would speak," reported Reuters correspondent Hümeyra Pamuk.Two of the Lebanese officials said their embassy in Washington had notified the Trump administration before a call between Aoun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that their president would speak to Netanyahu, according to Middle East Eye.

Apr 16, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth once again used a Pentagon press conference to complain about the reporting on the Iran war that is trapped in a stalemate, claiming the straight reporting on Donald Trump's attack on Iran has been “garbage.”He then claimed he attended church last Sunday with his family and heard a sermon about the Pharisees that reminded him of the persecution of Jesus Christ –– then comparing them to the US press.After boasting about the US efforts in the Middle East, the terse Hegseth pivoted to what has become a regular feature of his press availabilities.“We urge this new [Iran] regime to choose wisely,” he stated before adding, “Speaking of choosing wisely, a note to the press, to the press corps. To the American media, I just can't help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage you cannot resist pedaling. Despite the historic and important success of this effort and the success of our troops, sometimes it's hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on. It's incredibly unpatriotic.”“This past Sunday, I was sitting in church with my family, and our minister preached from the book of Mark, the third chapter,” he claimed. “And in the passage, Jesus entered a synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees came to watch, and as the scripture reads, they came to see whether he, Jesus, would heal him or he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him.”“You see, the Pharisees, the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time, they were there to witness, to write everything down, to report,” he added. “But their hearts were hardened even though they witnessed a literal miracle. It didn't matter. They were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda. As the passage ends, the Pharisees went out and immediately held council against him how to destroy him.”“I sat there in church and I thought, our press are just like these Pharisees,” he stated. “Not all of you, not all of you, but the legacy Trump-hating press, your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors … The hardened hearts of our press are calibrated only to impugn. I would ask you to open your eyes to the goodness, the historic success of our troops, the courage of this president, and this historic moment for a deal that could end the Iranian nuclear threat.” - YouTube youtu.be