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Marco Rubio welcomes release of Dennis Coyle, who was detained in January last year for violating unspecified lawsAfghanistan’s Taliban authorities have released the American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul on Tuesday, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s supreme court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient”. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's improvised comments about Iran while boarding Air Force One on Monday demonstrated his chaotic approach to military strategy — and his apparent blindness to critical consequences unfolding around him, according to a report.The president made a comment revealing that Iran's regional retaliation caught planners of the military action against the country off guard."Look at the way Iran attacked unexpectedly all of those countries surrounding them. That was not supposed to-- nobody was even thinking about it," the president conceded before reasserting without substantiation, "But they wanted to take over the Middle East."The remarks prompted analysis from New Republic correspondent Greg Sargent and Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy.Sargent highlighted the troubling implications on his podcast. "He said no one anticipated that Iran would attack other countries in an effort to widen the war," he commented. "But in saying that, Trump revealed that he didn't anticipate it — which is a striking admission about his own lack of foresight."He continued, "We think this captures something broader. On one front after another, Trump plainly didn't prepare for eventualities that most experts fully did anticipate. So how directly responsible are these failings for what we're seeing right now — that by most indications, the war is getting worse for Trump and the U.S. on many fronts?"Duss responded, "Well, we know that this is going much worse than Donald Trump himself thought it would. We know that Donald Trump does not do the reading. We know that Donald Trump has the attention span of a fly. We know that he just makes stuff up all the time. Trump made this threat over the weekend to bomb power plants — which is clearly a war crime, to attack plants that produce power for civilians. And then I think he woke up and saw that the stock market is in trouble, oil prices are continuing to go higher."Duss dismissed Trump's characterization that the attacks blindsided everyone as fundamentally dishonest."Everyone anticipated this," he stated flatly. "Every one of these countries that Iran has attacked — we should have expected it, whether it's Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, obviously Israel. This is part of Iran's defensive strategy. This is part of how they believe they were creating deterrence."He went on, "So Iran is following through — they have to follow through, in a sense, if they want to make sure that this doesn't happen again in the future. So yes, to answer your question, of course, people knew Iran was going to do this. Again, Donald Trump does not bother to do the reading."

According to former Defense Secretary Mike Esper, who served in Donald Trump’s first administration, the leadership of Iran is feeling pretty confident about its position after three weeks of having war waged upon them by the president.In a clip shared on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” Esper admitted the Pentagon’s military objectives seem to have been met, but now the hard part begins — and Iran has some leverage to make demands.“In terms of the military objectives that [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Gen. Dan Caine outlined, you know, taking down the navy, the air force, ballistic missiles production, etc. Degrading the nuclear, they've made incredible progress on those things,” he said before adding the caveat, “I'm not hearing as much about the nuclear, but I think the military objectives are being accomplished.”“Now, of course, it's unclear what the political objectives are," he continued. “The president has moved around and said different things at times, and so it's hard to see what the yardstick is at when it comes to that. At the end of the day, it's going to be the political yardstick that determines, you know, win-loss. You know how much of a victory, whatever the case may be.”“But what's interesting now, I think, is the Iranians. My sense is they survived the decapitation,” he elaborated. “They probably feel like they've taken three weeks of, you know, America's and Israel's best, and they've survived. There's no signs of the regime fracturing.”“I mean, the [director of national intelligence] said that the other day in the hearing,” he pointed out. “And they feel emboldened, so much so that they're making demands as to what it would take to have a negotiated end to the conflict. So they are emboldened.”“I don't see them giving up anytime soon,” he predicted. - YouTube youtu.be

Donald Trump is searching for an exit strategy from his increasingly unpopular war with Iran, but Saudi Arabia's de facto leader is pushing hard in the opposite direction — pressuring the president to view the conflict as an opportunity to reshape the entire Middle East.According to the New York Times, controversial Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been aggressively urging Trump to intensify the war against Iran, according to people briefed by American officials on the private conversations.In discussions over the past week, Prince Mohammed has told Trump that he must accelerate efforts toward dismantling Iran's hard-line government, according to those familiar with the talks.Prince Mohammed contends that Iran represents an existential long-term threat to the Gulf region that cannot be adequately addressed without regime change, the sources said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly regards Iran as a long-term threat, though the two allies have divergent strategic interests. Analysts note that Israeli officials would likely view a destabilized Iranian state consumed by internal chaos as a strategic victory, whereas Saudi Arabia sees a failed Iranian state as a direct and immediate security catastrophe.Yet senior officials within both Saudi and American governments harbor serious concerns about prolonged conflict. They fear Iran will unleash increasingly devastating strikes against Saudi oil infrastructure while the United States becomes mired in an indefinite war.Trump's public messaging has been erratic, oscillating between declarations that the war could end imminently and suggestions of escalation. On Monday, the president wrote on social media that his administration and Iran had engaged in "productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities," though Iran denied that any negotiations were taking place.The war's toll on Saudi Arabia — economically and strategically — has been severe. Iranian drone and missile strikes, launched in response to American and Israeli military action against Iran, have already triggered significant disruptions throughout global energy markets.Saudi Arabia's government flatly disputed claims that Prince Mohammed has advocated for prolonging the conflict."The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict, even before it began," the Saudi government said in a statement, adding that officials "remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged."

A congenial interview with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) grew tense Monday morning when MS NOW host Joe Scarborough became increasingly impatient with the Senate Minority leader — and snapped at him with “you don’t understand me.”Schumer, who has been the subject of stories that some Democrats want him to step away from his leadership position, was asked about Donald Trump’s decision to back off on some of the attacks on Iran. That led to the “Morning Joe” co-host lecturing his guest on the public’s perception of the unprovoked war.“First of all, is it a good thing that we're degrading Iran's military infrastructure?” the New York Democrat was asked, which led Schumer to focus on the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the high cost of gasoline.“No, no, no, hold on a second,“ the MS NOW host protested. “You've got to answer my question first. Is it a good thing that Iran, I think you would agree with me, the epicenter of terrorism in the world since 1979, is it good that their military infrastructure is being degraded to the degree that it is? Yes or no?”“You can't, because it's a premature question. What's going to happen in the next several months?” Schumer replied.Scarborough cut him off with, “No, no, I can ask that question. You have the military side. You have the political side. I'm simply asking on the military side, is it good? Regardless of whether we agree with going in or not, is it good that Iran's military infrastructure has been seriously —.”“Again, I have to tell you, Joe, first, you can't,” the lawmaker interrupted. “What's going to happen three months from now? Is it worth it? What's going to happen? Will the world economy collapse? Will something happen even worse? Will the whole energy infrastructure of the world go up in smoke?” “Let me answer the question for everybody in America,” the exasperated Scarborough shot back as he held up his hands to the entire silent panel. “The answer is ‘yes’ it's good that that terrorist regime, their military has been and capabilities have been degraded radically. The question though, is political. It's the political question. What is the political impact? What's the impact in the streets? What's the impact in the region?”“In all due respect, if you ask the American people if you have the choice of degrading the military, the military structure in Iran, but having gasoline be $6 a gallon, and our economy falling into a deep recession where millions lose their job," Schumer protested.“Senator, you're not listening to me,” the MS NOW host shot back. “That's the political side.” - YouTube youtu.be

Iranian officials reportedly contradicted President Donald Trump after he claimed that he had fruitful talks with the regime to postpone his 48-hour deadline on bombing power plants.“VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST," Trump wrote on a Monday Truth Social post. "I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD."CNBC reported that an Iranian official told a different story on state TV.“There is been no negotiation and there is no negotiation, and with this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to its pre-war conditions nor will there be peace in the energy markets," the official said.Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that Trump had postponed a "possible war crime.""This isn’t a message to Iran. It’s a panicky message to the markets," he pointed out. "No war escalation until markets close on Friday."

More than a few of Donald Trump’s supporters were displeased early Monday morning after the president called off imminent attacks on Iran’s power plants as discussions took place aimed at ending the war.In an all-caps Truth Social announcement, that was reposted moments later to fix multiple typos, the president declared, in part, “I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.”That did not sit well with some MAGA fans who voiced their unhappiness on Truth Social.Retired Air Force veteran Birdnut implored, “Please dont let this drag on like Ukraine. Pauses do not benefit anyone but the enemy.”“Any kind of agreement with the Islamic Republic is a betrayal of the people of Iran. If the Republic survives, it will massacre the people just as it is executing them every day. And be sure that if it survives, it is a wounded snake that will seek revenge on the world as soon as it comes to its senses,”warned Mina45.Viji demanded, “Finish the job.”“Don’t believe a word they say!!!!” wrote patriot4ever45 to which Ceyberdog added, “Don’t trust these people!!!! Only a complete surrender is acceptable…. Have been negotiating for 47 years and they do not abide.”FlyingFox advised, “I wouldn’t believe a word the Iranians have said - any agreement will be broken within hours - blame will then be laid at the feet of Israel and the U.S. The world press will then write another fake news report blaming President Trump. The merry go round starts again! Appeasement doesn’t work with Terrorists! Nothing short of total destruction has any future benefit regrettably!”“Please don't negotiate with the Islamic regime terrorists. Finish the job, Mr. President. clean up those jihadists from the earth. end this dictatorship and let the world and Iranians to breath!” added MiladDev.Misaelmesa pointed out, “That wicked regime will not back down; they are merely stalling for time to regroup. You must press on to the very end, granting no quarter to those damned Satanists.”“If they're [sic] capability of developing a nuclear bomb is not completely halted, then we have lost,” lamented SallySunshine75.

At least 400 killed in Pakistan’s strike on drug rehab centre, Taliban say, with families searching unmarked mass gravesSohrab Faqiri spent Eid, the Muslim festival to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, looking for the grave of his brother, killed in a massive Pakistan airstrike on Kabul this week.Pakistan’s bombardment campaign, on what it says is terrorist and military infrastructure in neighbouring Afghanistan, appeared to have gone catastrophically wrong. A rehabilitation centre for drug addicts was hit on Monday night, according to the United Nations and the Afghan authorities. The UN’s preliminary death toll is 143 people, while the Taliban administration puts the figure at more than 400 dead. Continue reading...