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Iran official exposes Tehran's global assassination program as US trial of alleged regime hitmen continues

The Manhattan-based federal trial of two alleged contract killers hired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to murder the Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad coincided with shocking revelations that Tehran ordered the assassinations of dissidents in Europe, news that could have profound implications for President Trump’s Iran policy.

The trial of the two suspects and the disclosures of a former founder of the U.S.-sanctioned terrorist organization IRGC that the ayatollahs ordered the murders of Iranians in exile add greater urgency to the need to address Iran’s threats to murder President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iranian-American critics of the regime, according to experts.

Mohsen Rafiqdoost, a former high-level IRGC official who also served as a bodyguard for the Islamic republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, declared in a video interview that he oversaw operations to eliminate exiled Iranian dissidents. 

In an interview on the Iranian regime-controlled outlet Didehban-e Iran, he said the dissidents included former Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, the popular artist Fereydoun Farrokhzad, who was murdered in Bonn, Germany, and military officials Gholam-Ali Oveissi and Shahriar Shafiq.

Rafiqdoost said, "The Basque separatist group in Spain carried out these assassinations for us. We paid them, and they conducted the killings on our behalf."

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said, "Mohsen Rafiqdoost’s comments are an admission of guilt. They should be replayed whenever an Iranian official is interviewed by a Western journalist denying complicity in assassination plots. The trial beginning on Monday is a reminder that the regime’s terror threat is real, potentially lethal, and will not go away by just burying our heads in the sand."

Last week, foreign ministers from the G-7 democracies announced in a joint statement, "That Iran is the principal source of regional instability and must never be allowed to develop and acquire a nuclear weapon. They emphasized that Iran must now change course, de-escalate and choose diplomacy. They underscored the threat of Iran’s growing use of arbitrary detention and foreign assassination attempts as a tool of coercion."

The reference to "foreign assassination attempts" is an unusually tough collective rhetorical rebuke for Iran because of its efforts to assassinate Trump, Alinejad and Iranian dissidents across the globe.

In November, Fox News Digital reported that the Justice Department announced it thwarted an Iranian plot to kill Trump in the weeks leading up to the election.

DHS: Deported Brown University doctor attended Hezbollah chief's funeral, supported terror leader

Federal authorities said the Brown University assistant professor and doctor deported to Lebanon despite having an H-1B visa expressed support and attended the funeral of a slain Hezbollah leader responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans.

"Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah – a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah."

"A visa is a privilege, not a right – glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security," McLaughlin said.

"Foreign nationals who promote extremist ideologies or carry terrorist propaganda are inadmissible to the U.S., plain and simple," Hilton Beckham, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, added in a statement to Fox News Digital. "A visa does not guarantee entry – CBP has the final authority after conducting rigorous security checks. Officers act swiftly to deny entry to those who glorify terrorist organizations, advocate violence, or openly support terrorist leaders and commemorate their deaths. Anyone found with extremist materials linked to a U.S.-designated terrorist group will be removed."

Rasha Alawieh, a 34-year-old physician specializing in kidney transplants who was most recently living in Rhode Island, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday while coming back from a trip to Lebanon.
Alawieh was questioned by CBP and allegedly told federal agents she had attended the funeral of Nasrallah, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sady reportedly wrote in a new filing Monday.

The filing has since been placed under seal, but Politico and The Providence Journal were able to report its contents beforehand.

Alawieh allegedly stated she supported Nasrallah "from a religious perspective," but not politically, according to Politico.

Federal authorities said they also conducted a search of Alawieh's phone and found "sympathetic photos and videos" of Hezbollah leaders, as well as materials showing "various other Hezbollah militants" in a deleted folder.

Trump says Biden’s autopen pardons are ‘void, vacant and of no further force or effect,’ vows probe of Jan. 6 House select committee

President Trump said early Monday that he was voiding all the last-minute pardons former President Joe Biden made using autopen.

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Monday morning.

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” he said of the oldest-ever president and concerns at his age-related mental abilities at 82.
[Truth Social Post]
The 47th president also alleged that the pardons were not “approved” by his predecessor.
“The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden,” he wrote. “He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
Trump also warned that members of the former Jan. 6 House select committee who Biden issued pardons would be “subject to investigation at the highest level.”

“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” Trump wrote Monday.

“The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!”
Biden preemptively pardons all nine members of the Jan. 6 Committee, including the two leaders — Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who later pledged to vote for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2025 election,

On the last day of his presidency, Biden issued a string of 11th-hour pardons, including preemptive pardons to Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Milley has publicly called Trump a “wannabe dictator” and detailed his conduct around the deadly Jan. 6 attacks during the House investigation.

Biden sources suspect key aide may have abused autopen as Trump’s ‘far more restrictive’ signing rules revealed

A key aide to former President Joe Biden may have exceeded their authority by liberally using an autopen to sign official documents, according to two former White House sources, as President Trump’s aides set up “far more restrictive” rules governing the use of the mechanical device.

A document obtained by The Post outlines the narrow set of circumstances in which Trump’s signature can be affixed to documents, following controversy this week kicked off by a Heritage Foundation analysis of Biden signatures on various records, including last-minute pardons.

A small group of officials under both Biden and Trump have been delegated the power to get documents “signed” robotically, but 82-year-old Biden’s perceived cognitive decline sparked debate about whether some aides may have assumed his wishes in his final stretch as commander-in-chief.

One Biden White House source told The Post they suspect that a key aide to the then-president may have made unilateral determinations on what to auto-sign. The Post is not publishing that staffer’s name due to the lack of concrete evidence and refutations by other colleagues.

The Biden aide, who did not respond to requests for comment, would frequently make mention of what “the boss” wanted, the source said, but compatriots would have “no idea” if it was true because the internal culture was to not ask questions.

“I feared no one as much as I feared that [staffer]. To me, [the staffer] basically was the president,” the person said. “No one ever questioned [the staffer]. Period.”

Judge orders reinstatement of USAID functions, says DOGE effort to shutter agency likely unconstitutional

A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were likely unconstitutional, and has ordered it to ultimately reinstate the agency’s lawful functions.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang concluded DOGE’s efforts "to shut down USAID on an accelerated basis, including its apparent decision to permanently close USAID headquarters without the approval of a duly appointed USAID officer, likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways."

Chuang said these actions "not only harmed the plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public’s elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress."
The judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking DOGE and the administration from further actions against USAID, likely an emergency Department of Justice (DOJ) appeal to the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, then potentially to the Supreme Court.
In his ruling, Chuang, a 2014 Obama bench appointee, also ordered immediate restoration of email and computer access to all USAID employees, including those placed on administrative leave.

DOGE is now prohibited from any further cuts to USAID.

The lawsuit was filed by current and former agency employees and contractors.

Chuang's decision marks the first time a judge has ruled that Musk is likely exercising enough independent authority to require him to be confirmed by the Senate under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, the Hill reported.

This decision comes after a different federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay the remainder of foreign aid owed to contractors for completed work last week, noting in a new court ruling that the administration likely violated the separation of powers doctrine by "unlawfully impounding" nearly $2 billion in funds appropriated by Congress.

U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said in the ruling that the Trump administration likely exceeded its constitutional authority in attempting to block the payments owed by the State Department and USAID to grant recipients and foreign aid contractors.

"Here, the executive has unilaterally deemed that funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid will not be spent," Ali said. "The executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds, but usurps Congress’ exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place."

Ali had previously ordered the Trump administration to pay all owed foreign aid funds for previously completed work, totaling $1.9 billion, by Feb. 26, at 11:59 p.m.

DeSantis proposes solution as Trump's agenda is stymied by judges
DeSantis said that judges 'sabotaging' President Trump's agenda 'was predictable'

As aspects of President Donald Trump's agenda are stymied by judges amid legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress could strip federal courts of jurisdiction.

"Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place. The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?" DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

When someone responded by asking how such a move could pass when 60 votes would be needed to push it through the Senate, DeSantis replied, "Attach it to a ‘must pass' bill…"

DeSantis, who sought the 2024 Republican presidential nod but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump after the GOP Iowa presidential caucus, floated the idea of stripping federal courts of jurisdiction when replying to a tweet from Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

"Lots of noise about impeachment. We must study every ruling & act accordingly w/ everything on the table (noting: 14 Dem votes required in Senate). But, more fertile ground… 1) House can pass a resolution stating there is/was an invasion, 2) we can defund radical courts," Roy had posted.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President," Trump declared in the post. "This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

What the JFK assassination files have revealed so far — including apparent KGB probe into Lee Harvey Oswald

The long-awaited release of tens of thousands of files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Tuesday night sparked a desperate search for new clues in the shocking 62-year-old crime — but much of the trove turned out to confirm information long known.

Gerald Posner, the author of the best-selling 1993 book “Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK,” told The Post in a phone interview on Wednesday he was “about 22,000 pages” into the newly released files — but had yet to see a bombshell piece of evidence.

“I haven’t seen anything yet that is real news, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something,” Posner said. “The biggest question I have as I go through is, ‘Why were these classified for so many years?’ It’s pretty preposterous.”

The documents do contain some tantalizing tidbits surrounding the tragic events of Nov. 22, 1963, with one file exploring a theory that a “small clique” in the CIA being involved — as well as an apparent KGB investigation to determine whether assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was a secret Russian agent.

A June 1967 memo details how a former US Army intelligence officer, Gary Underhill, fled Washington, DC, “very agitated” the day after Kennedy was shot — and claimed to a friend that a “small clique within the CIA” was behind the assassination.

“The day after the assassination, Gary Underhill left Washington in a hurry. Late in the evening, he showed up at the home of a friend in New Jersey,” reads the memo, quoting from a story in the comtemporary left-wing magazine Ramparts.

“He was very agitated. A small clique within the CIA was responsible for the assassination, he confided, and he was afraid for his life and probably would have to leave the country,” the document goes on.

“Less than six months later Underhill was found shot to death in his Washington apartment. The coroner ruled it a suicide.”

Underhill, a Harvard graduate and former US Army captain who worked as a journalist and intelligence officer during World War II, was said to be on a “first-name basis with many of the top brass in the Pentagon” and on “intimate terms with a number of high-ranking CIA officials.”

“The friends whom Underhill visited say he was sober but badly shook. They say he attributed the Kennedy murder to a CIA clique which was carrying on a lucrative racket in gun-running, narcotics, and other contraband,” the Ramparts passage reads.

It noted that the CIA clique allegedly killed Kennedy because he caught “wind” of their business and was “killed before he could ‘blow the whistle.’”

Underhill’s suicide was also called into question since he had been found with a gunshot wound behind his left ear, but Asher Brynes, his writing partner who found his body, said, “Underhill was right-handed.”

Anti-climactically, the memo — created in response to a much-criticized 1967 probe of the assassination by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison — described Underhill’s connection to that investigation as “tenuous” and did not address the claims reported by Ramparts at all.

In another document released Tuesday, a teletype US intelligence report dated Nov. 20, 1991, said a KGB official known only as Nikonov or “Slava” investigated whether Oswald “had been a KGB agent.”

“Nikonov is now confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB,” the document says.

Nikonov “doubted that anyone could control Oswald, but noted that the KBG [sic] watched him closely and constantly while he was in the USSR,” where the Marine veteran had lived from 1959 to 1962.

The file also noted that “Oswald was a poor shot when he tried target firing in the USSR.”

Nikonov also noted that Oswald had “a stormy relationship with his Soviet wife [Marina], who rode him incessantly.”

Months prior to the assassination, Oswald had visited the Cuban Consulate in Mexico City, where he made contact with the Soviet Embassy in pursuit of a travel visa.

NYPD transit commander punished for allegedly faking NYC subway crime stats

NYPD transit commander punished for allegedly faking NYC subway crime stats

The head of an NYPD transit district in Queens was stripped of his command amid allegations that he had police reports falsified to downplay subway crimes on his watch, sources tell The Post.

Capt. Steven Hyland, who headed Transit District 20 in Jamaica, allegedly had two sergeants and a lieutenant under his command falsify reports — even forging signatures — to play down assaults and grand larcenies in the subway system, the law enforcement sources said.
In one incident, Hyland allegedly ordered a cop to change a complaint marked “legit” to snuff it out.
“This dude was so bad, he victimized the victim,” one source said.

Now, the veteran cop has been reassigned to a lesser detail in the Brooklyn court system after bringing internal charges against him Wednesday.

Police brass received one complaint regarding Hyland falsifying a report – prompting the department to launch its own audit, finding three more, sources said.

“When the police commissioner learned this was an investigation she told all parties to take the matter incredibly serious,” another source said. “He was transferred immediately.”

Trump admin planning to consolidate HIV programs, slashing 'overhead' and DEI: official

The Trump administration is planning to make cost-saving cuts by merging two similar HIV/AIDS prevention programs run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an administration official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. The cuts will pertain to administrative costs and DEI-related spending.

The tentative proposal, which is still "a concept of a plan," is to merge them into one program under HRSA to streamline efficiency – in line with the administration's downsizing of federal government agenda – as having two separate programs doing similar functions doesn't make sense, the official said.

"One of those things is still very preliminary, but obviously, you don't need two $1 billion budgets for this, with $1 billion going to the CDC and $1 billion going to HRSA," the official said. "Some of that will go toward paying the administrative overhead costs and that sort of thing."

Both the CDC and HRSA are part of the Department of Health and Human Services, overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"If this goes through, that will be more definitive… like with examining DEI spending with these two programs," the official said. The Trump administration has already moved to slash federal funding of DEI programs and initiatives in one of his early executive actions titled, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing."

While the CDC has a department dedicated to the prevention of HIV and other infectious diseases, HRSA also runs a program called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP), which provides medical care for low-income people with HIV.

During his first term, in 2019, Trump launched the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, with the aim of reducing cases of HIV by 75% by 2025 and by 90% by 2030. The initiative is operated by the CDC.

Progressive leader says Schumer faces 'uphill' climb to win back Democrats' trust

The co-founder of a leading progressive group says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faces a difficult challenge in winning back the trust of Democrats following his controversial support last week of a Republican-crafted federal government funding bill that averted a government shutdown.

The move by Schumer, the longtime lawmaker from New York and top Democrat in the Senate, infuriated many, not only on the left but across the party, who want Democrat leaders to take a tougher stand in resisting President Donald Trump's agenda.

"Can he win back the trust of those who don’t have faith in Democratic leadership?" asked Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a major grassroots organization that promotes economic populism and democracy through electoral and issue advocacy efforts.

Green, in a Fox News Digital interview, answered his own question, saying, "The answer is yes, but it’s uphill."

Schumer initially signaled last week that Senate Democrats would fight back against the GOP's partisan funding bill. But one day later, he said he would reluctantly support the measure and help deliver to the GOP the Democrat votes needed to boost the bill to passage through the Senate.

In an interview Tuesday on ABC News' "The View," Schumer said he "knew it was a difficult choice" but added that "I felt I had to do it." And he argued that a partial government shutdown would have allowed Trump to inflict "devastation like we’ve never seen."

Despite the intense backlash from his own party, Schumer said in a "CBS Mornings" interview that he's still the "best leader for the Senate."

"We have a lot of good people," Schumer said. "But I am the best at winning Senate seats."

But hours later, Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents a solidly-blue district in Maryland, became the first Democrat in Congress to call on Schumer to step down from his longheld leadership position.

And in comments on Tuesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is a longtime ally, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic Party vice presidential nominee, were critical of Schumer.

Green said many in the PCCC membership, which the group says stands at roughly 1 million people, are far from happy with Schumer.

The PCCC is asking in a questionnaire to its membership, "Do you have confidence in Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic Leader?

According to PCCC, with nearly 22,000 responses by Tuesday afternoon, 84% said "no."

Trump holds 'very good' call with Zelenskyy following deal with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump held a "very good" phone call on Wednesday, during which the pair discussed the preliminary agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin one day prior.

"Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine," Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social just moments after the hourlong call wrapped. "Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs.

"We are very much on track," Trump added.

Zelenskyy said the call was "positive, very substantive, and frank" in a lengthy statement posted to social media Wednesday afternoon.

"I thanked him for a good and productive start to the work of the Ukrainian and American teams in Jeddah on March 11—this meeting of the teams significantly helped in moving toward ending the war," the Ukranian president said. "We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and lasting peace. We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year."

Putin on Tuesday agreed to stop hitting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, though the ceasefire did not extend to the frontlines or civilian populations as the Trump administration had originally hoped.

Despite skepticism from Ukraine and European leaders, special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday said he believes a full ceasefire can be achieved in a couple of weeks.

He also said an official meeting between Trump and Putin is "likely to happen," as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security advisor Mike Waltz plan to return to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss the details of the Tuesday agreement.

It is unclear at this time if a Ukrainian delegation will also be returning to Saudi Arabia to begin discussions with Russian counterparts.

LATIN AMERICA

Last Sunday...

First 250+ migrant gang members from US arrive in El Salvador — where they’ll be held in a notorious mega-prison

The US has flown more than 250 accused migrant gang members to El Salvador, where they were sent to a notorious mega-prison — in direct defiance of a federal judge’s ruling against the Trump administration.

The flights included 238 members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, as well as least 21 members of MS-13, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele revealed Sunday morning.

Upon landing in El Salvador, the accused men were met on the tarmac by dozens of armed commandos and immediately transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), according to dramatic video posted by Bukele.

The deportations came just hours after US District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked the Trump administration from invoking the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to swiftly boot the gangbangers from the country without a formal hearing.

Two flights to El Salvador were in the air when the order came down, and the Trump administration decided the ruling did not apply because the planes were “outside US airspace,” Axios reported.

Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 53, met with Bukele, 43, and brokered a deal in which the El Salvadoran leader agreed to house convicted US citizens or deported criminal illegal migrants of any nationality into the country’s most infamous clink.

With more than 15,000 prisoners, CECOT is internationally known for its horrendous conditions. It’s well-known to human rights groups as an overcrowded nightmare facility where brutality is rampant and inmates experience harsh treatment, many crammed in their cells nearly 24 hours a day.

The food provided is minimal — only beans and pasta — and rival gang members routinely fight to the death over food and water, according to reports through the years.

MIDDLE EAST

Syria's new regime hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over claims its fighters were executed

Fighting along the Syrian-Lebanese border intensified on Monday as deadly clashes erupted between the Syrian military and Hezbollah-aligned forces.

The escalation follows accusations from Syria’s interim government that Hezbollah terrorists crossed into Syrian territory, kidnapped three soldiers and executed them on Lebanese soil. In response, the Syrian army launched artillery strikes on Hezbollah positions, targeting what it called "gatherings" of fighters responsible for the killings. Hezbollah has denied involvement.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that the Syrian army successfully captured the village of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali on the Syria-Lebanon border during the confrontations. Currently, most of the fighting is near the village of Al-Qasr.

Earlier this morning, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported intermittent clashes between the Syrian army and Hezbollah forces along the border. The report also claimed that a Hezbollah ammunition depot in Lebanon was destroyed by Syrian artillery fire.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun addressed the escalating violence, saying, "What is happening on the eastern and northeastern border cannot continue, and we will not accept its continuation. I have instructed the Lebanese army to respond to the sources of fire."

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least five additional Syrian soldiers were killed during the clashes. Civilians, including families with young children, were seen fleeing toward the Syrian village of Hermel as violence spread across the border region.

The newly established Syrian government, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa of the U.S.-sanctioned terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, issued a rare statement vowing retaliation against Hezbollah.

"They took them to Lebanese territory and killed them. The Ministry of Defense will take all necessary measures in response to this escalation by Hezbollah," the statement reads.

The conflict reflects deeper sectarian and ideological divisions. HTS, a Sunni terrorist group with roots in Syria’s jihadist insurgency and former ties to al Qaeda, and Hezbollah, a Shiite terrorist force backed by Iran, represent opposing factions in the ongoing struggle for regional dominance.

"Hezbollah is trying to take advantage of the new government’s weakness in Syria, but the group itself is in a precarious position. It has suffered major setbacks from Israeli strikes, the fall of Assad, and now new adversaries in Syria," Javed Ali, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and former senior director at the National Security Council, told Fox News Digital.

The collapse of President Bashar Assad’s government in December marked a major turning point, as Hezbollah had spent 14 years backing him alongside Russia and Iran’s pro-Shiite militias. However, in late November, Syrian rebels launched a surprise offensive against Assad’s forces, just as a ceasefire was announced in northern Gaza, leading to the final collapse of his rule.

Now in power, HTS has pledged to crack down on weapons and drug smuggling along the border, a move that directly threatens Hezbollah’s operations. The new Syrian government has already begun military deployments to secure its borders, further restricting Hezbollah’s ability to maneuver.

"Hezbollah is facing a confluence of threats unlike any time in its history," said Ali. "With HTS consolidating control in Syria, Hezbollah’s overland weapons supply route from Iran has been severely compromised. This disruption could significantly degrade its operational capabilities."

The rise of HTS as a governing force in Syria has also drawn U.S. attention. While Washington has designated HTS as a terrorist organization, analysts suggest that al-Sharaa's pragmatic approach should be assessed cautiously.

"The U.S. is navigating a complex landscape in Syria, and while it does not officially recognize HTS, there are strategic interests in seeing Hezbollah and Iranian influence further weakened," Ali noted.

HTS has attempted to rebrand itself from its extremist origins, portraying itself as a nationalist Islamist movement opposed to Iranian influence and Hezbollah’s expansion in Syria. While skepticism remains, the group’s control over key Syrian territory disrupts Iran’s ability to maintain a direct supply corridor to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US forces launch sleek fighter jets to target Houthi terrorists: video

The U.S. military recently launched fighter jets with the intent of targeting Houthi forces in Yemen, new video shows.

Fox News obtained the dramatic video that shows the jets taking off towards the terrorist targets. It comes soon after President Donald Trump launched "decisive and powerful" airstrikes against the Iran-backed organization, which has targeted commercial merchant vessels and U.S. military ships for several months.

"It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday. "The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times."

"Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at U.S. aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies," the president continued. "These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk."

Trump promised that the U.S. military would "use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective."

"To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!" his post concluded.

Since the strikes began on Saturday, Houthi drone, missile and air defense systems have been targeted by American forces. A senior defense official told Fox News on Sunday that at least a dozen Houthi drones have been shot down by U.S. forces so far.

On Monday, Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters that "dozens of military casualties" had so far been counted.

The Houthis claimed 53 people had been killed as of Monday, including five children, but that has not been confirmed by the U.S. military.

"This is also not an endless offensive," Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Monday. "This is not about regime change in the Middle East, this is about putting American interests first."

Iran and Houthis Respond to Trump's Fiery Threat Over Yemen Attacks

Officials from Iran and its Yemeni ally have warned that any action taken against them by the United States would not go unanswered after President Donald Trump issued a stark threat amid a series of escalations in some of the world's most crucial trade corridors.

Two days after ordering strikes across positions linked to the Iran-aligned Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, in Yemen, Trump warned Monday in a Truth Social post that additional attacks by the group that has targeted more than 100 vessels accused of having ties to Israel "will be met with great force."

The president further asserted that Iran had full "control" over Ansar Allah, and that Tehran also "will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire" should Ansar Allah press on with its operations.

Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) Amir Saeid Iravani hit back in a letter shared with Newsweek and sent to U.N. leadership, condemning the "recent belligerent statements by senior officials of the United States administration, including the president of the United States, while they were attempting desperately to unlawfully justify the US' acts of aggression and war crimes against Yemen, leveling baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran and openly threatening the use of force against Iran."

"While committed to its obligations to international peace and security, the Islamic Republic of Iran will resolutely defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests under international law against any hostile action," Iravani said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran warns that any act of aggression will have severe consequences, for which the U.S. will bear full responsibility."

A source within Ansar Allah also told Newsweek that the group would react decisively to any U.S. strikes against the group or Iran as the two allies condemn Israel's blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

"We will not allow Trump to support the Zionist enemy in its crime of killing the people of Gaza with hunger and thirst," the Ansar Allah source said. "We will increase pressure on the Zionists, and if the Americans escalate, we will confront their escalation with an escalation they do not expect."

"As for Iran, it is stronger and more capable of defending itself," the source added. "If it is subjected to any aggression, the majority of the people of our nation and region will stand with Iran because they hate America's policy and its unlimited support for the Zionist enemy, which remains the primary enemy of our people. Any attack against Iran will create an extraordinary state of sympathy for it."

Israel shoots down Houthi ballistic missile after ceasefire collapses

The Israeli military said it intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Tuesday, the terror group's first attack on the Jewish state following the collapse of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that sirens sounded in southern Israel after a missile launched from Yemen. The Israeli Air Force said it intercepted the missile before it crossed into Israeli territory.

President Donald Trump's ordering of U.S. strikes against the Houthis in Yemen over the weekend is believed to have deterred the terror group from resuming an attack on Israel sooner and with greater volume, IDF sources told the Jerusalem Post.

Nearly a quarter-million people were sent to bomb shelters across the central and southern desert Negev region as a precaution due to shrapnel from the interception Tuesday, Fox News has learned.

The Houthi attack came hours after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas crumbled over what U.S. officials said was the terror organization's refusal to release more Israeli hostages.

There are still 59 hostages in Gaza, but Israel believes only 24 of those who remain are alive.

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, eliminating the head of the Hamas government and other key terrorist leaders.

At least 404 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes so far, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. The death toll has not been independently verified.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with security officials at the Kirya, Israel’s version of the Pentagon, on Tuesday during the airstrikes.

"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," Netanyahu’s office wrote in a series of posts on X as the airstrikes commenced.

Take in consideration that Gaza's government is Hamas itself. So yes, they have all the incentives to lie about how many people died during the attacks.  

Netanyahu accuses media of echoing 'Hamas propaganda' as Gaza war resumes

Peace negotiations will now only take place as Israel continues to pummel Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday amidst a renewed military offensive campaign in Gaza.

"From now on, the negotiations will resume only under fighting," Netanyahu said in a brief public message.

The defiant Israeli prime minister said Hamas had "refused" to engage and return hostages and blamed the media for "echo[ing] Hamas propaganda" amid accusations that he had renewed the fighting for his own political survival.

"I hear the commentators reporting lies in the studios, as if the IDF's recommendation and IDF actions stem from political considerations," he said.

"They have no shame. They have no red lines. They simply echo Hamas propaganda time and time again."

Netanyahu went on: "We extended the ceasefire for weeks when we did not receive any hostages. We sent delegations to Doha. We sent delegations to Cairo. We made proposals together with the mediators. We accepted the proposal of the American envoy, [Steve] Witkoff. In contrast, Hamas has repeatedly rejected every offer."

Israel’s military launched a large-scale bombing campaign on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that had been in place since late January. The offensive mission killed at least 404 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which would make it one of the deadliest days of the war since October 7, 2023, if true.

"I want to assure you: This is just the beginning," Netanyahu said.

Why the Head of One of Europe's Largest Cities Faces Terrorism Charges

The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has sent shock waves throughout the powerful NATO member state and a city of 16 million people that straddles the European and Asian continents.

Imamoglu, a member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) that outperformed Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) nationwide last year, was arrested Wednesday on charges of aiding and abetting terrorism, specifically the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as well as links to organized crime. The detention came just days before Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as CHP's next presidential candidate on Sunday.

CHP leadership has alleged that Imamoglu's arrest, along with the simultaneous detention of more than 100 others, constituted a politically motivated "coup," and the move has prompted criticism from within Turkey and abroad, including France and Germany.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc argued, however, that the "rule of law" had been upheld throughout the judicial process and urged the media to "remain calm as we await the outcome of the investigation" in press comments shared with Newsweek.

"It is inappropriate to assess the initiated investigations without being fully informed about the case file, claims, and evidence," Tunc said. "It is utterly dangerous and wrong to mischaracterise the investigations conducted by the independent and impartial judiciary or describe them using expressions such as coup d'état."

"Moreover," he added, "engaging in disinformation regarding the investigations by calling for street protests and making misleading statements to the public are entirely unacceptable."

Fahrettin Altun, head of the Turkish Presidency's Communications Directorate, argued that "certain circles, particularly opposition party officials, are attempting to undermine the integrity of the investigations with political and ideological motives" in comments shared with Newsweek.

"We have also witnessed absurd accusations being made against our President amid political and ideological evaluations that disregard the content and details of the ongoing investigation," Altun said.

"We will stand firm against such efforts, which not only aim to damage the independence of our judiciary—exercising its authority on behalf of the Turkish Nation—but also seek to cast suspicion on our President," he added. "We will continue to protect the legal rights of our President against these ideological smear campaigns."