4 hours ago
Pinned
Trump says ‘we win regardless’ over Iran as negotiations continue in Pakistan
President Donald Trump struck a triumphant tone Saturday as high-stakes negotiations with Iran continue, saying the U.S. has already secured victory, deal or no deal.
“We win regardless of what happens,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don’t.”
The president said the U.S. is “in very deep negotiations” with Iran while also moving to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have minesweepers out there. We’re sweeping the strait,” he added.
Trump also claimed Iran’s military capabilities have been largely wiped out, saying U.S. forces have “defeated their navy” and “defeated their air force.”
At the same time, he took aim at allies, saying, “We were not helped by NATO,” and warned China would face “big problems” if it moves to support the regime.
The remarks come as Islamabad talks stretch on with no official breakthrough and no clear timeline.
39 mins ago
Sun rises over Islamabad as US-Iran talks stretch into second day
The sun is rising in Islamabad — and U.S.-Iran negotiations are still underway.
Vice President JD Vance arrived at the Serena Hotel just after noon local time Saturday, with the Pakistani delegation arriving shortly after. Vance first held meetings with Pakistani officials before trilateral talks with Iran began around 5 p.m.
As of 5 a.m. Sunday local time, the negotiations have stretched roughly 12 hours since trilaterals began, and closer to 17 hours since Vance first arrived on-site.
There is still no official readout, but neither side appears to have left the table, a sign talks remain active as a tentative ceasefire between the United States and Iran was first announced on Tuesday.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich and Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this reporting.
5 hours ago
Pope Leo XIV calls for end to war: ‘Enough of the display of power’
Pope Leo XIV issued a sweeping call for peace Saturday, urging an end to war and what he described as a growing “idolatry” of power and money.
In posts on X and during a prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff warned that war “divides” while hope and faith unite humanity.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money. Enough of the display of power. Enough of war,” he wrote. “True strength is shown in serving life.”
The remarks came after a Holy Week vigil focused on global peace, where he emphasized that those who turn to prayer “do not kill or threaten with death,” but instead recognize their own limitations.
Leo also warned against a world increasingly defined by conflict and division, calling on leaders to “sit at the table of dialogue and mediation” rather than pursue violence.
The message comes as international tensions remain elevated, with negotiations ongoing between Vice President JD Vance and Iranian officials and a fragile ceasefire underway in the Middle East.
5 hours ago
Vance in talks for 12+ hours as Iran negotiations drag into night
Vice President JD Vance has now been at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad for more than 12 hours as high-stakes negotiations with Iran continue.
The White House has yet to provide guidance on either timing or progress.
Sources say a press conference is likely if a deal is reached tonight — though the prolonged duration suggests negotiations are still fluid.
The U.S. delegation, including Vance and top negotiators, also endured a nearly 17-hour flight with a refueling stop to reach Pakistan ahead of the talks.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this reporting.
6 hours ago
Vance-Iran talks stretch late into the night as negotiations continue in Pakistan
Talks between the U.S. and Iran stretched late into the night Saturday in Islamabad, with no immediate readout as negotiations continue.
Speaking on ‘Fox News Live,’ host Aishah Hasnie and correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reported the discussions lasted more than two hours before breaking and later resumed.
There are indications the U.S. delegation could remain in Pakistan overnight, though details are being closely held for security reasons.
The talks, mediated by Pakistan, bring Vice President JD Vance face-to-face with Iranian officials as the U.S. pushes to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and preserve a fragile ceasefire announced on Tuesday.
Both sides have remained tight-lipped, with no official update on progress.
6 hours ago
SEE IT: AP captures rare inside look at Vance’s Iran talks in Pakistan
New Associated Press photos offer a rare inside look at Saturday’s high-stakes diplomacy in Pakistan, where Vice President JD Vance is taking part in talks tied to the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
The images, taken by AP photographer Jacquelyn Martin, show Vance arriving at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel and participating in a bilateral spray with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The photos are the only U.S. press images from inside the peace talks so far. Other visuals released throughout the day have come from the Pakistani government.
No U.S. television pool cameras or print reporters were allowed into the meetings.
The closed-door talks come as the Trump administration pushes to preserve a tenuous ceasefire with Iran while also moving to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
7 hours ago
Iran’s supreme leader severely disfigured by US strikes: report
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is severely disfigured after suffering leg and face injuries as a result of joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Tehran in February, Reuters reported Saturday.
Khamenei is recovering after incurring the injuries in the February 28 airstrikes that killed his father, former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. He has not been seen publicly since being hospitalized.
Despite the injuries, Khamenei allegedly remains “mentally sharp,” Reuters reported, citing a trio of anonymous sources within his inner circle. The new supreme leader is in communication with the Iranian delegation in Pakistan for peace talks with a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance.
The Reuters report corroborates an earlier statement from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who told reporters on March 13 that Khamenei was “likely disfigured.”
He then reiterated the claim in a Thursday press conference while outlining the U.S. military’s achievements in Iran.
“Their top leadership was systematically eliminated, their previous Iranian supreme leader dead, the supreme national security council secretary dead, the supreme leader office advisor dead, the supreme leader military office chief dead, the defense minister no longer with us, the IRGC commander dead, the armed forces general staff commander dead, the intelligence minister dead, the IRGC navy commander no longer here, the IRGC Intel chief dead,” Hegseth listed.
8 hours ago
US forces launch mine clearance mission in Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says
U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that its forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations are ongoing between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan.
“USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” added Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
This is the first time U.S. guided-missile destroyers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the war with Iran began.
The USS Frank E. Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy were previously in the Arabian Sea before crossing the Strait.
CENTCOM described the Strait of Hormuz Saturday as “ an international sea passage and an essential trade corridor that supports regional and global economic prosperity.”
“Additional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days,” it said.
Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this report.
8 hours ago
IDF says it has struck more than 200 Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon over the last day
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it has struck more than 200 Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon over the last 24 hours.
“The Israeli Air Force continues to strike Hezbollah infrastructure and aid the ground forces operating in southern Lebanon,” it said. “In addition, the IDF continues to strike launchers in order to thwart fire toward Israeli citizens.”
The Israeli military released a video Saturday showing an airstrike targeting loaded launchers in southern Lebanon.
The IDF has continued to strike Hezbollah during Operation Roaring Lion, despite the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
9 hours ago
Trump says Strait of Hormuz ‘will soon be open,’ slams ‘Fake News Media’ coverage of Iran war
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz “will soon be open,” as he slammed the “fake news media” for their coverage of the Iran conflict.
“The Fake News Media is CRAZY, or just plain CORRUPT! The United States has completely destroyed Iran’s Military, including their entire Navy and Air Force, and everything else,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Their Leadership is DEAD! The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open, and the empty ships are rushing to the United States to ‘load up.’ But, if you listen to the Fake News, we’re losing!” he added.
Trump made the remark as Vice President JD Vance and a U.S. delegation are holding talks Saturday with an Iranian delegation in Pakistan.
10 hours ago
ICE detains family tied to 1979 Iran hostage crisis after Rubio revokes legal status
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the relatives of a 1979 Iran hostage crisis figure are now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he revoked their legal status.
“Masoumeh Ebtekar — also known as ‘Screaming Mary’ — was the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days — subjecting them to beatings, starvation, and mock executions,” he wrote on X.
Rubio said Ebtekar’s son and his family were granted visas by the Obama administration to enter the U.S. in 2014 and in June 2016, they were given “lawful permanent resident status via the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.”
“This week, I terminated their lawful permanent resident status and today, Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending their removal from our country,” Rubio announced. “Her family should never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country.”
Rubio also said, “America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump Administration, it never will.”
10 hours ago
US, Iran and Pakistan holding tri-lateral meeting: senior US official
A White House official told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the United States, Pakistan and Iran are now holding a trilateral face-to-face meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Vice President JD Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are representing the American delegation.
The delegation also includes Andrew Baker, a Deputy National Security Advisor to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, and Michael Vance, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Asian Affairs, a U.S. official said.
The official noted that a full suite of U.S. experts on relevant subject areas are present in Islamabad as well, with additional experts providing support from Washington.
11 hours ago
Pakistan streets mostly empty amid heightened security for US-Iran talks
Photos emerged Saturday showing streets in Islamabad, Pakistan, mostly empty amid heightened security ahead of planned U.S.-Iran negotiations in the city.
Images depicted mostly empty sidewalks, with few passersby, at a market that was closed in Islamabad. Officials there declared a two-day public holiday ahead of U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Another photo showed what appears to be a Pakistani military vehicle Saturday outside the Serena Hotel, where the negotiations are expected to take place.
Vice President JD Vance made a short stop at the U.S. embassy in Pakistan before arriving at the Serena Hotel, according to his office. The vice president met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the White House said.
The U.S. delegation includes included U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Pakistan delegation included Sharif, Pakistan Minister for the Interior Mohsin Naqvi and Foreign Minister / Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Vance, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to meet with the Iranian delegation for negotiations.
11 hours ago
Trump backs farmers amid Iran conflict, says US won’t accept price gouging by ‘fertilizer monopoly’
President Donald Trump said Saturday that “I am watching fertilizer prices CLOSELY during our FIGHT FOR FREEDOM in Iran.”
“The United States will not accept PRICE GOUGING from the fertilizer monopoly! American Farmers, we have your back!” Trump added.
The reduction of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been driving up fertilizer prices.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told FOX Business on Monday that “80% of our farmers locked in their fertilizer last fall for this planting season, we are concerned with the 20% that didn’t.”
“We waived the Jones Act, we’ve opened up lines from other countries. We have another couple big announcements coming on that soon,” Rollins said. “We have had some great fertilizer companies that have said ‘we’re not going to raise prices for our American farmers.’ I’m talking to the others that haven’t quite done that yet. But we are very, very focused on that. Food security is national security and the president completely backs us up on everything we can do to make sure that our farmers are supported.”
12 hours ago
US is now ‘starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,’ Trump announces
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others.”
“Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves. Very interestingly, however, empty Oil carrying ships from many Nations are all heading to the United States of America to LOAD UP with Oil,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The announcement comes as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are set to unfold Saturday in Pakistan, involving Vice President JD Vance.
“The Fake News Media has lost total credibility, not that they had any to begin with. Because of their massive Trump Derangement Syndrome (Sometimes referred to as TDS!), they love saying that Iran is ‘winning’ when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG!” Trump also said on Truth Social.
“Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!” he added. “The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may ‘bunk’ into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea.”
12 hours ago
US military keeping aircraft carrier at ‘peak readiness’ during Iran ceasefire
U.S. Central Command said Saturday that sailors are keeping the USS Abraham Lincoln at “peak readiness” in the Middle East during the ceasefire with Iran.
The ship is one of several stationed in the region in support of Operation Epic Fury.
“Daily operations continue aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as thousands of sailors ensure the ship maintains peak readiness while sailing regional waters in the Middle East,” CENTCOM wrote on X alongside images of sailors working to maintain the ship.
The U.S. military struck more than 13,000 targets since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine announced Wednesday.
“CENTCOM forces destroyed approximately 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, striking more than 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities, 801 one-way attack drones storage facilities,” Caine added. “All of these systems are gone.”
12 hours ago
Trump says ‘massive numbers’ of empty oil tankers heading to US amid Strait of Hormuz tensions
President Donald Trump said Saturday that “massive numbers” of empty oil tankers are heading to the United States, a day after Fox News Digital reported that oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted.
“Massive numbers of completely empty oil tankers, some of the largest anywhere in the World, are heading, right now, to the United States to load up with the best and ‘sweetest’ oil (and gas!) anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We have more oil than the next two largest oil economies combined — and higher quality. We are waiting for you.”
A backlog of roughly 3,200 vessels — among them 800 tankers and cargo ships — built up west of the strait as of Friday, with ships idling as operators wait for clarity on whether it is safe to pass.
Trump also told reporters on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz “will open fairly soon.”
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
13 hours ago
Kuwait National Guard members injured in Iranian drone attacks
A Kuwait ministry of defense spokesperson said Friday that some of its National Guard members were wounded from Iranian drone attacks.
“The Armed Forces monitored and dealt with 7 hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace during the past 24 hours, and they were handled in accordance with established procedures,” Ministry of Defense Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said.
“The Iranian aggression resulted in targeting several vital facilities affiliated with the National Guard, leading to injuries among some of its members, who are currently receiving treatment with stable conditions, in addition to significant material damage,” he added.
14 hours ago
US has not agreed to release frozen Iranian assets, talks have not yet begun: senior US official
The U.S. has not agreed to release frozen Iranian assets, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, noting that negotiations between U.S. and Iranian teams in Pakistan had not yet begun.
Citing a senior Iranian source, Reuters reported on Friday that the U.S. had agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks.
“False. The meetings have not even started yet,” the senior U.S. official said Saturday, refuting Reuters’ report.
Vice President JD Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday for planned talks with Iranian negotiators as a fragile ceasefire holds.
Iranian parliament speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday that talks with the U.S. would not begin until Iranian assets were unfrozen and Lebanon also sees a ceasefire. Israel has continued strikes against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon this week, arguing the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran did not apply there.
14 hours ago
Vance lands in Pakistan for high-stakes Iran talks as ‘fragile’ ceasefire teeters
Vice President JD Vance arrived in Pakistan early Saturday, where he will lead high-stakes negotiations with Iran aimed at preserving a fragile ceasefire and preventing a broader regional war.
Vance was welcomed by a Pakistani honor guard on the tarmac in Islamabad.
The group welcoming the vice president included Field Marshal of Pakistan Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Federal Minister of Interior, Narcotics Control of Pakistan Mohsin Naqvi and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Pakistan Natalie A. Baker also greeted Vance.
Vance is joined by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as part of a senior delegation engaging Iranian officials in Islamabad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will be negotiating for Iran.
The talks, scheduled for Saturday, come over a month after the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28 — a sweeping military campaign targeting Iran’s military infrastructure following the collapse of nuclear negotiations.
That operation pushed the U.S. and Iran to the brink of a ground war before a tenuous diplomatic breakthrough in recent days.
Trump announced a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, agreeing to suspend further U.S. strikes on the condition that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route.
While Iran signaled it would allow passage through the strait as part of the agreement, traffic remains severely disrupted, with shipping companies hesitant to resume normal operations amid ongoing security concerns and uncertainty over enforcement.
Vance struck a cautious tone before departing, warning Iran not to test the U.S. negotiating posture.
“If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive,” Vance said, adding he still expects the talks to be “positive.”
14 hours ago
Vance meets with Pakistan’s prime minister ahead of Iran negotiations
Vice President JD Vance held a bilateral meeting Saturday with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad ahead of negotiations with Iran, the White House announced.
The American delegation at the meeting included U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while the Pakistan delegation included Sharif, Pakistan Minister for the Interior Mohsin Naqvi and Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Sharif played a key role in brokering a U.S.-Iran ceasefire that President Donald Trump announced earlier this week.
Iran’s lead negotiator on Friday warned that talks would not begin unless Lebanon also sees a ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran did not include Lebanon, and Israeli forces said they launched their largest attack yet against Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists there since Operation Roaring Lion began in February.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump had announced on Tuesday.
14 hours ago
Pakistan commends US peace efforts as Vance arrives for Iran talks
The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the arrival of the U.S. delegation in Islamabad on Saturday morning, reaffirming its commitment to facilitating a peace deal.
Vice President JD Vance landed in Pakistan just before 10:30 a.m. local time, where he will lead negotiations with Iran. He was joined by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as part of a senior delegation set to engage in talks with Iran later in the day.
Vance was welcomed by a Pakistani honor guard on the tarmac, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that it commends “the U.S. commitment to achieving lasting regional and global peace and stability.”
It added that the deputy prime minister and foreign minister hope all parties will “engage constructively.”
The foreign ministry said Pakistan will work to facilitate a “lasting and durable solution” to the conflict.
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