Trump | Pakistan

THE HAGUE: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday likened President Donald Trump to a “daddy” intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US leader repeatedly berated Middle East foes Israel and Iran this week including with a profanity. Talking to reporters alongside Rutte at a Nato alliance summit, Trump again berated Israel and Iran. “They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2-3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” he said. In response, Rutte laughed and said: “And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop.” On Tuesday, after a ceasefire deal, Trump had raised eyebrows by saying Israel and Iran had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”. With the 32-member Nato alliance endeavouring to placate Trump after complaints that it was over-reliant on US financial and military muscle, Rutte was asked if he might be over-flattering the US pr...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again credited Field Marshal Asim Munir for helping prevent a nuclear conflict with India, adding that he persuaded both sides to back down by linking peace to trade. Explaining how he helped defuse tensions across the globe — from Ukr­­aine to Serbia — Trump said “the most impo­r­­tant” of these conflicts was last month’s war scare between India and Pakistan. “And that was not whether or not they may someday have nukes, like we are talking about the Middle East, like we are talking about with Israel and Iran. This is — they have nuclear weapons,” President Trump said at his news conference in The Hague, at the conclusion of a Nato summit. Referring to recent tensions between the two South Asian neighbours, Trump said, “I ended that with a series of phone calls on trade. I said, ‘Look, if you are going to be fighting each other…’ It was getting very bad — you know how bad that last attack was. It was very bad. If you are really going to go fighting with ...

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, a move that the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions. “China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the US, also,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, just days after he ordered US bombings of three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump was drawing attention to no attempts by Iran so far to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, as a closure would have been hard for China, the world’s top importer of Iranian oil, a senior White House official told Reuters. “The president continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions,” the official said. After the ceasefire announcement, Trump’s comments on China were another bearish signal for oil prices, which fell nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday. Any relaxation o...

Israel’s military said Iran launched waves of missiles on Tuesday, with emergency services reporting four people killed, hours after US President Donald Trump announced a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end a 12-day war. Witnesses said they heard explosions near Tel Aviv and Beersheba in southern Israel. Israel’s military said six waves of missiles were launched by Iran and Israel’s national ambulance service said four people were killed in Beersheba, the first reported deaths in Israel since Trump announced the ceasefire late on Monday. Trump said on Tuesday a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was now in place and asked both countries not to violate it, only hours after Iran launched waves of missiles, which Israel’s ambulance service said killed four people. “The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it!” he said in a Truth Social post. Earlier, a senior White House official said Trump had brokered a ceasefire deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel...

Iran said on Monday that the US attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called US President Donald Trump a “gambler” for joining Israel’s military campaign against the Islamic Republic. Since Trump joined Israel’s campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning, Tehran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. But while it has continued to fire missiles at Israel, it has yet to take action against the United States itself, either by firing at US bases or by targeting the 20 per cent of global oil shipments that pass near its coast at the mouth of the Gulf. “Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English at the end of a recorded video statement. Iran and Israel traded another wave of air and missile strikes on Monday as the world braced for Tehran’s response. Trump’...

Pakistani politicians on Sunday raised their concerns over the government’s decision to recommend US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, as Washington joined Israel’s war with Iran. The government had decided to nominate Trump for the prestigious award to hail his “decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during last month’s Pak-India conflict, when both neighbours stepped back from the brink of war with US mediation. In a statement, it had highlighted that Trump “demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi”, which ultimately secured a ceasefire. However, after the US bombed Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites, with Trump saying they were “totally obliterated”, leaders across the political spectrum joined Pakistani citizens in voicing their reservations. Veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), demanded that t...

President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, day after saying that he would make a decision within a fortnight on whether to take military action. “I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump […]

Iran won’t hold negotiations until Israeli aggression stops China proposes 4-point plan to resolve Iran-Israel conflict Trump approves plan to attack Iran: Report Iran fires new salvo of missiles, explosions at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem Field Marshal Asim Munir discusses Iran with President Trump Khamenei warns US against strikes on Iran Qatar receives letter from Iran’s […]

WASHINGTON: The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Some of Trump’s most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies. Bannon, one of many influential voices from Trump’s “America First” coalition, on Wednesday urged caution about the US military joining Israel in trying to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme in the absence of a diplomatic deal. “We can’t do this again,” Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington. “We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq.” Bannon continued to preach patience on his popular “War Room” podcast on Thursday, contending that Trump was being set up to be responsible for toppling the I...

Trump calls Juneteenth and other non-working holidays too costly, sparking backlash over his Truth Social remarks.

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will make a decision on whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. Citing a message from Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations […]

President Donald Trump announced Thursday he had given social media platform TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. “I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025),” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for the third time. A federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump’s January inauguration. The Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video-sharing app. “I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.” TikTok on Thursday welcomed Trump’s decision. “We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users,” said a s...

US President Donald Trump and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir discussed joint counterterrorism efforts and expanding bilateral trade during their “cordial” meeting in Washington, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. Gen Munir met with Trump at the White House yesterday, becoming the first serving chief of army staff to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president. The occasion also marked the first time a serving Pakistani army chief had been formally received at this level, without holding political office or governing under martial law. The high-level engagement was scheduled at the Cabinet Room over luncheon, followed by a visit to the Oval Office. Secretary of State Senator Marco Rubio and Special Representative for Middle Eastern Affairs Steve Witkoff were present during the meeting from the US side, while National Security Advisor Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik — also the intelligence chief — accompanied the COAS. “Although initially scheduled for one hour, the mee...

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he was “honoured” to meet Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for talks at the White House — also marking the first time a US president has hosted Pakistan’s army chief at the White House unaccompanied by senior civilian officials. The meeting, listed on the president’s official schedule, was held in the Cabinet Room and closed to the press. The lunch is being seen in Islamabad as a major diplomatic win, particularly because earlier this month, an Indian delegation met US Vice President JD Vance and Indian media depicted it as a diplomatic success, contrasting it with the apparent inability of the Pakistani delegation to secure a similar meeting. Gen Munir’s invitation to the White House is now being projected by officials in Islamabad as a diplomatic counterpoint to those narratives. When questioned about the meeting in an interaction with the media later, Trump said, “I was honoured to meet him (Field Marshal Munir) today.” Asked whether the talks includ...

President Donald Trump left the question of whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran up in the air on Wednesday, as he said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations. “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters as he supervised the installation of a new flagpole on the White House South Lawn. Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised message that the country “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace” as the archfoes entered their sixth day of war. Israel launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences on Friday, killing top commanders, scientists, and civilians. It claimed the strikes are part of a broader operation codenamed ‘Rising Lion’ to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, which the latter has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes. Latest deve...

President Donald Trump dramatically stepped up his rhetoric against Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday amid the country’s ongoing fighting with Israel, saying on social media that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now.” The comments fuel questions as to whether Washington would join Israel’s attacks after insisting it had no hand in the campaign. Trump’s sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to both domestic and foreign policy. In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran’s “unconditional surrender!” as he fuelled questions about whether the US would join Israel’s attacks on Tehran’s leadership and nuclear facilities. “We know exactly where the so-called ‘supreme leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We ar...

A federal judge said on Monday that she would issue a brief extension of an order temporarily blocking United States President Donald Trump’s plan to bar foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard University while she decides whether to issue a longer-term injunction. US District Judge Allison Burroughs, at the end of a hearing in Boston in Harvard’s legal challenge to the restrictions, extended to June 23 a temporary restraining order that had been set to expire on Thursday. She said she wanted to give herself more time to prepare a ruling. “We’ll kick out an opinion as soon as we can,” she said. Ian Gershengorn, a lawyer for Harvard, told her that an injunction was necessary to ensure Trump’s administration could not implement his latest bid to curtail the school’s ability to host international students. The judge scheduled the hearing after issuing a temporary restraining order on June 6, preventing the administration from implementing a proclamation that Trump had signed a day earlier. A p...

US President Donald Trump directed federal authorities to ramp up deportation efforts in Democratic-led cities on Sunday, doubling down on a politicised anti-immigration drive after major protests in Los Angeles. “We must expand efforts to detain and deport illegal aliens in America’s largest cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “These, and other such cities, are the core of the Democrat power centre,” he claimed, citing debunked right-wing conspiracy theories that undocumented immigrants are voting in US elections in significant numbers. Trump has made deporting undocumented immigrants a key priority for his second term, after successfully campaigning against an alleged “invasion” by criminals. Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in Los Angeles have sparked days of mainly peaceful protests, though they have seen sporadic violence at times. Trump has pounced on the violent ...

US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering significantly expanding its travel ban by potentially banning citizens of 36 additional countries from entering the United States, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. Earlier this month, the Republican president signed a proclamation that banned the entry of citizens from 12 countries, saying the move was needed to protect the United States against “foreign terrorists” and other national security threats. The directive was part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students from US universities and deport others. In an internal diplomatic cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department outlined a dozen concerns about the countries in question and sought corrective action. “The Department has...

Group of Seven (G7) leaders will gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with US President Donald Trump. While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily. US ally Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Thursday, a blow to Trump’s diplomatic efforts to prevent such an attack. The summit will take place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 kilometres west of Calgary. The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak” and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique. “This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump...