Iran said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz for shipping transit due to what it called a violation of the ceasefire by Israel, as continued attacks in southern Lebanon pose a growing setback to prospective peace talks.
President Donald Trump said Giorgia Meloni did not let the U.S. use Italy's landing strips in its war against Iran and rejected being friends with her.
Just hours after the Strait of Hormuz was closed again as the tentative peace deal between Washington and Tehran crumbles, President Donald Trump asked his followers Saturday to weigh in on what he called a “very important matter”: whether he should insult Democrats with the nickname “Dumocrats” or “Dumbocrats.”“POLL: Which do you prefer, Dumocrat or Dumbocrat?” Trump asked his followers on his social media platform Truth Social. “In one case, you simply exchange the ‘e’ for ‘u,’ so simple and precise (Many people don’t know, or assume, that DUMB ends in ‘b’). In the other case, you spell out DUMB, but it seems to lose some of the identity to Democrats when done this way. Which is better?”Trump’s social media post also included a poll where users could select their preference for how the president should insult Democrats, along with a “thank you” from Trump for helping him address the “very important matter.” As of 9:15 a.m. ET, Trump's followers preferred the name "Dumocrat" by 66%.Iranian military officials announced that the Strait of Hormuz was closed again Saturday morning citing a violation of the first clause of the 14-point memorandum of understanding agreed to by Washington and Tehran. Within the first clause is a provision that requires Israel to halt its military operations in Lebanon, which to date it’s refused to do.
Veteran journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, whose reporting has exposed a number of previously unknown revelations about Jeffrey Epstein, had her attempt to flee the United States thwarted by the Trump administration, she claimed on Saturday.In May, Valdes-Rodriguez claimed that her home was targeted in “attacks” by those she believed were “unhappy” about her reporting on Epstein, which included a report suggesting the disgraced financier may have had ties to the CIA. The attacks, she alleged, were potentially “direct energy weapon attacks,” which she claimed had left her "permanently injured.”After announcing her intention to flee the country, however, she hit a snag that she blamed directly on the Trump administration – namely, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative that was established, in part, to reduce wasteful government spending.“My departure from the US has been delayed by shocking and unexpected legal matters, including but not limited to the fact that DOGE managed to erase my father's naturalized citizenship status and records from the Social Security database,” Valdes-Rodriguez wrote in a recent statement published on Substack. “My dad has been a United States citizen since the 1960s. The Trump administration doesn't care about the law. They are illegally erasing people's citizenship. My father is unable to fight this himself due to his Alzheimer's disease.”Valdes-Rodriguez also argued that her father’s alleged citizenship status challenge was likely systemic, a claim supported by a whistleblower’s allegation that DOGE put millions of Americans’ Social Security data at risk.“The Trump administration quietly erased the legal United States citizenship of an 81-year-old retired professor emeritus in memory care, who was born in Cuba but came to the US as a child, in an attempt to deny his Social Security benefits and perhaps do worse to him,” she wrote. “I knew the issues facing us as a family would likely escalate into lawfare, but this is not the route I expected they would take, to try to make my father stateless.”My departure from the US has been delayed by shocking and unexpected legal matters, including but not limited to the fact that DOGE managed to erase my father's naturalized citizenship status and records from the Social Security database. My dad has been a United States citizen since the 1960s. The Trump administration doesn't care about the law. They are illegally erasing people's citizenship. My father is unable to fight this himself due to his Alzheimers disease. Read that again. The Trump administration quietly erased the legal United States citizenship of an 81-year-old retired professor emeritus in memory care, who was born in Cuba but came to the US as a child, in an attempt to deny his Social Security benefits and perhaps do worse to him. I knew the issues facing us as a family would likely escalate into lawfare, but this is not the route I expected they would take, to try to make my father stateless. This is precisely why I was trying to get all of us to Mexico last year, that I could see the Trump adminiatration eventually trying to revoke naturalized citizenship to fill more private prisons with progressive people of color the white Christofascists hate. This situation also places me before the very institutions looking for reasons to prevent me from leaving, as well. Please pray for my family, even if you aren't the praying type. - Alisa Valdes-RodriguezRead on Substack
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Saturday morning that it closed the Strait of Hormuz over fighting in Lebanon, while Iran’s foreign ministry’s diplomatic team embarked for Switzerland for peace talks. Fighting in Lebanon erupted on Saturday for the second day in a row, despite both sides agreeing to the ceasefire. After a day of […]
Now fighting is over, the question is how Iran's government will behave. Early clues point to more authoritarianism and prioritising relations with China
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it was closing the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, even as Vice President Vance said there was no evidence that it had been shutdown.
The Iranian armed forces announced Saturday they will close the Strait of Hormuz — just three days after it reopened — alleging America's failure to rein in Israeli attacks on Lebanon violates the new ceasefire deal. Why it matters: This is the first big crisis between the U.S. and Iran since signing a memorandum of understanding to end the war earlier this week. It takes place as President Trump's envoys are already in Switzerland ahead of a potential first round of nuclear negotiations planned for Sunday. The Iranian delegation headed by speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Switzerland on Saturday.State of play: A senior U.S. defense official said the U.S. military is still not seeing any Iranian military movements on the ground that reflect a potential "closing" of the strait. "Safe passage through the international waterway remained intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets," U.S. CENTCOM said Saturday.What they're saying: Shortly before Araghchi announced he is traveling to Switzerland, the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters of the Iranian armed forces announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz."In light of the United States' clear bad faith and breach of its commitment to implement the first clause of the memorandum of understanding for ending the war, and in response to the continuous and ongoing violations of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon, it is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to maritime traffic."The Iranian military said this is "the first step" in responding to alleged violations of the ceasefire. "Should the aggression continue, further measures have been planned and will be implemented to compel the enemy to abide by and carry out its obligations."Shortly after that, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps navy said the strait "is closed to all vessels" and warned ships not to approach.
Political strategist and commentator Keith Edwards claimed Friday that he was paid a visit by the FBI over comments he made online – more specifically, comments about President Donald Trump’s botched $14 million restoration of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has been plagued with algae and peeling paint just days after completion.On Friday morning, Edwards issued a plea on social media: he offered to pay anyone willing to send him a piece of the “‘American flag blue’ paint peeling off the reflecting pool,” insisting he “must have it and frame it.” He also offered to pay $86.47, a reference to the term the Justice Department cited in its criminal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, which some conservatives have interpreted as a threat to Trump's life.Just hours later, Edwards took to social media again to provide his more than 175,000 followers on X an update.“The FBI just showed up at my door because I tweeted about people picking up paint debris and sending it to me,” Edwards wrote Friday evening. “I asked them where's Savannah Guthrie's mom.”Trump’s FBI has been reported to have visited the homes of other critics of the administration, including participants in the No Kings protests. The FBI has also visited Americans’ homes over social media posts critical of Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza, which countless human rights groups and a United Nations committee have labeled a genocide.Edwards has amassed nearly 1.3 million subscribers on his political commentary YouTube channel and previously worked on Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign.The FBI just showed up at my door because I tweeted about people picking up paint debris and sending it to me.I asked them where's Savannah Guthrie's mom https://t.co/SejMe7W0UH— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) June 19, 2026