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Stephen Miller’s Wednesday Night Fox News appearance boast on how well the Iran war was on the receiving end of a great deal of both mockery and fact-checking moments after a clip was posted on social media.Appearing with Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, the high-ranking Trump advisor insisted, “The United States has achieved its objectives even faster than anybody thought possible,” before adding, “President Trump was aware of and has calculated through every permutation and every degree of strategy ... by far the most overwhelming victory based on the objectives.”Critics were quick to point out that one of the “permutations” that Trump did not anticipate was Israel making matters worse, which the president complained about hours after Miller’s appearance, as well as the oil stranglehold Iran has imposed at the Strait of Hormuz.That led former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to quip on X, “He’s a genius of course.”“’Every permutation’ hahah,” contributed former White House correspondent John Harwood.Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) called out Trump officials routinely lying to Fox News viewers, saying, “Trump officials routinely disrespect and look down on Fox viewers and Fox hosts. Trump officials routinely and blatantly lie to Fox viewers and Fox hosts,” and included a video of Trump admitting he was “shocked” at Iran’s retaliatory response. Critic Mary Jane Wallace asked, “Does he really believe we are buying that?”Campaign for New York Health Executive Director Melanie D'Arrigo pointed out, “Anyone who has ever heard Trump speak knows this is an absolute lie.”“lol yeah and im sure he war gamed the part where his own party starts backing away,” wrote the account Sugnal Observer.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declined to say that President Donald Trump's war in Iran was legal or constitutional.During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) reminded Gabbard of her 2020 remarks about Trump's strikes against Iran's leadership."President Trump has committed an illegal and unconstitutional act of war, pushing our nation headlong into a war with Iran without any authorization from Congress," Gabbard said at the time. "A war that would be so costly and devastating, it would make our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan look like a picnic.""This war has already been costly and devastating," Bera said of Trump's current war. "Thirteen American service members have lost their lives, including Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan from my home of Sacramento, California. Approximately 200 service members have been wounded."Bera noted that the war was also costing nearly $2 billion per day."Director Gabbard, do you still believe that strikes against Iran that don't have congressional authorization constitute an illegal and unconstitutional act of war?" the lawmaker asked."The cost of war weighs very heavily upon me and my colleagues here, especially for those of us who have experienced and seen the cost of war firsthand," Gabbard replied. "My own personal and political views, as I mentioned earlier, I was asked and required by Congress and by the president in this role as the Director of National Intelligence to check those views at the door to ensure that the intelligence assessments are not colored by my personal views.""And that's exactly what I am responsible to deliver," she added."Do you still believe the war with Iran would be so costly and devastating that it would make our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan look like a picnic?" Bera pressed. "Once again, in this role, it is essential that I do not allow any of my personal views on any issues to color or bias the intelligence reporting that we deliver to you and to the president," Gabbard responded.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was forced to walk a tightrope lest he alienate the only military ally he has in the war on Iran — and he was put in that spot Thursday by a MAGA media reporter.Late Wednesday night, President Donald Trump was less than diplomatic when he criticized Israel on Truth Social over a new front in the Middle Eastern war.On Truth Social, the president wrote, “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen. "Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.“I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so.”With that post in mind, Jordan Conradson of the conspiracy-minded, far-right website Gateway Pundit asked Hegseth, “So with this strike yesterday on South Pars gas field, you know, if the U.S. didn't know about it or didn't approve of it, it kind of seems like a trend of Israel apparently pursuing their own objectives over U.S. objectives. I'm not sure if you agree with that, but the president has said he doesn't want to hit Iran's oil infrastructure right now.”Hegseth replied with a defensive, “We hold the cards, we have objectives. Those objectives are clear. We have allies pursuing objectives as well.”“I mean, President Trump was very clear about that,” he continued. “Iran has weaponized energy for decades; Israel clearly sent a warning and POTUS has made it clear, very clear, Iran knows when you hit Kharg Island and you hit military capabilities on Kharg Island, which is the only thing we hit, we can hold anything at issue, anything.“The United States military controls the fate of that country. Iran has the ability to make the right choices. It should not, going forward, target Arab allies, Arab countries trying to create pain, the pain that they created themselves." - YouTube youtu.be

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.

In Lebanon, renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and displacement are draining the joy from Ramadan and the run-up to the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr for many

People struggle to cook and businesses bear brunt as closure of strait of Hormuz slows imports of liquefied petroleum gasFor four days, Maya Rani, 36, has been arriving each morning at a gas distributor’s office in Delhi, her six-month-old daughter in her lap, waiting for hours. And each day she returns home empty-handed, told that a cooking gas cylinder may not be available for at least another week. Around her, the queue keeps growing, people clutching forms and documents, hoping to secure a cylinder.The flame in her kitchen began to fade last week and her husband, as he always does, took their 5kg cylinder to a local refiller. This time, there was nothing. The only option left was to apply for a government-subsidised supply, a process that has meant repeated visits, long waits and no certainty. Continue reading...

Nigeria had largest increase in terrorism-related deaths, ranking fourth in global index behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and NigerJihadist violence rose sharply in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo last year, even as global deaths from terrorism dropped to their lowest level in a decade, according to a new report.Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally in 2025, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750, placing it fourth in the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Niger. Continue reading...

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."