US warns Iran to stop plotting against Trump

US warns Iran to stop plotting against Trump
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 15 October 2024
Follow

US warns Iran to stop plotting against Trump

US warns Iran to stop plotting against Trump
  • Biden briefed regularly on threats, directs team to address Iranian plotting
  • Iran denies plotting, cites US interference in its affairs
  • White House warns of severe consequences for any attack on US citizens

WASHINGTON: The United States has warned the Iranian government to stop all plotting against Republican Donald Trump and said that Washington would view any attempt on his life as an act of war, a US official said on Monday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US President Joe Biden has been briefed regularly on the threats and directed his team to address Iranian plots against Americans.

At Biden’s direction, top US officials have sent messages to the highest levels of the Iranian government warning Tehran to cease all plotting against Trump and former US officials, the official said.

The Iranians have been told that Washington would view it as an act of war if any attempt was carried out against Trump’s life, the official said.

Iran has denied interfering in US affairs. Tehran, in turn, says Washington has interfered in its affairs for decades, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a US drone strike.

In January 2020, Trump ordered a US air strike that killed Iran’s then-top military commander, Qassem Soleimani, after receiving intelligence that Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on US diplomats and armed forces in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Trump, a Republican, is now seeking a return to the White House after losing the 2020 election to Biden. Trump is now in a battle against Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the Nov. 5 election.

His campaign said on Sept. 24 that Trump was briefed by US intelligence officials on the alleged threat from Iran.

The White House said the United States has been closely tracking Iranian threats against Trump for years and it warned of “severe consequences” if Tehran was to attack any US citizen. “We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats. Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

He said “appropriate agencies are continuously and promptly providing the former president’s security detail with evolving threat information.”

“Additionally, President Biden has reiterated his directive that the United States Secret Service should receive every resource, capability, and protective measure required to address those evolving threats to the former president,” Savett said.


Hungary’s Orban to block EU budget unless funds released

Hungary’s Orban to block EU budget unless funds released
Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Hungary’s Orban to block EU budget unless funds released

Hungary’s Orban to block EU budget unless funds released
  • Nationalist leader has for years clashed with Brussels over migration, LGBTQ rights and what critics see as eroding democracy in Hungary
  • The EU has suspended billions of euros earmarked for Hungary while a rule-of-law dispute drags on
BUDAPEST: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened on Saturday to torpedo the European Union’s new seven-year budget unless Brussels unlocks all suspended EU funds.
The nationalist leader has for years clashed with Brussels over migration, LGBTQ rights and what critics see as eroding democracy in Hungary. The EU has suspended billions of euros earmarked for Hungary while a rule-of-law dispute drags on.
“The approval of the new seven-year budget requires unanimity and until we get the remaining (frozen) funds, there won’t be a new EU budget either,” Orban said in a speech at a summer university in the Romanian town of Baile Tusnad.
The European Commission has proposed a €2 trillion ($2.35 trillion) EU budget for 2028 to 2034 with emphasis on economic competitiveness and defense.
Orban also criticized the EU for supporting Ukraine and accused Brussels of planning to install a “pro-Ukraine and pro-Brussels government” in Hungary at next year’s vote.
He also accused EU leaders of risking a trade war with US President Donald Trump’s administration that Europe “cannot win.”
“The current leadership of the EU will always be the last to sign deals with the United States and always the worst deals,” Orban added, urging a change in the bloc’s leadership.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Trump on Sunday in Scotland in search of a trade deal.
Orban, who swept the last four elections, faces a tough new opposition challenger Peter Maygar, whose center-right Tisza party has a firm lead over the ruling Fidesz in most polls at a time of economic stagnation.
Magyar told a rally on Saturday that Hungary must be firmly anchored in the EU and NATO military alliance, and Tisza would bring home all suspended EU funds if it wins in 2026.
“Hungary is an EU member and our relations as allies cannot be built on a political style of putting a spoke in the wheel,” Magyar said. He added that Tisza could not support the EU budget in current form but would be ready for talks on that.
“We need to make a clear and firm decision that our place has been and will be in Europe,” Magyar said, criticizing Orban’s close relations with Russia.

Russia seizes second village in central Ukraine

Russia seizes second village in central Ukraine
Updated 39 min 55 sec ago
Follow

Russia seizes second village in central Ukraine

Russia seizes second village in central Ukraine
  • Russian army said its forces ‘liberated the locality of Maliyevka’ in Dnipropetrovsk
  • Deeper Russian advances could mean more attacks on one of Ukraine’s largest cities

MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday said it had wrested a second village in Ukraine’s central Dnipro region in a fresh advance in the industrial mining hub.

Overnight strikes between Ukraine and Russia meanwhile claimed five lives – three in central Ukraine and two in western Russia, according to officials.

The army said its forces “liberated the locality of Maliyevka” in Dnipro, a part of Ukraine’s mining heartland, particularly for coal that powers the electricity grid.

Further Russian advances could harm Ukraine’s economy and energy supplies.

Authorities have already been ordering civilians with children to flee a front line that is creeping closer.

Deeper Russian advances could mean more attacks on one of Ukraine’s largest cities, Dnipro – though Russian troops are around 200 kilometers (120 miles) away.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea – that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.


Trump hits Scottish golf course as protesters set to rally

Trump hits Scottish golf course as protesters set to rally
Updated 47 min 55 sec ago
Follow

Trump hits Scottish golf course as protesters set to rally

Trump hits Scottish golf course as protesters set to rally
  • His presence has turned the picturesque and normally quiet area of southwest Scotland into a virtual fortress
  • US president professes a love of Scotland, where his mother was born, but has an uneasy relationship with the nation

TURNBERRY, United Kingdom: US President Donald Trump played golf on the first full day of his visit to Scotland Saturday, as protesters prepared to take to the streets across the country.

Trump emerged from his Turnberry resort with son Eric and waved to photographers following his arrival in Scotland on Friday evening.

His presence has turned the picturesque and normally quiet area of southwest Scotland into a virtual fortress, with roads closed and police checkpoints in place.

Officers on quad bikes or horses, others on foot with sniffer dogs, patrolled the famous course – which has hosted four men’s British Opens – and the sandy beaches and grass dunes that hug the course.

The 79-year-old touched down Friday at nearby Prestwick Airport, as hundreds of onlookers came out to see Air Force One and try to catch a glimpse of its famous passenger.

The president has professed a love of Scotland, where his mother was born, but his controversial politics and business investments in the country have made for an uneasy relationship.

Speaking to reporters on the tarmac, Trump immediately waded into the debate surrounding high levels of irregular migration.

“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore,” he said, adding that it was “killing” the continent.

Trump’s five-day visit has divided the local community.

“A lot of people don’t trust Trump and I’m one of them. I think the man is a megalomaniac,” retiree Graham Hodgson said.

“He’s so full of himself. I think he’s doing a lot of damage worldwide with his tariffs. And I think it’s all for the sake of America, but at the moment I think America is paying the price as well for his policies.”

But at Prestwick Airport a boy held a sign that read “Welcome Trump” while a man waved a flag emblazoned with Trump’s most famous slogan – “Make America Great Again.”

“I think the best thing about Trump is he’s not actually a politician yet he’s the most powerful man in the world and I think he’s looking at the best interests of his own country,” said 46-year-old Lee McLean, who had traveled from nearby Kilmarnock.

“Most politicians should really be looking at the best interests of their own country first before looking overseas,” he said.

As the police rolled out a massive security operation, the Stop Trump Coalition announced demonstrations on Saturday near the US consulate in Edinburgh and another in Aberdeen, where Trump owns another golf resort.

Police are also monitoring any other protests that might spring up near Turnberry.

Trump has no public meetings in the diary for Saturday, but he is due to discuss trade with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday and meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.


Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian state before it is established may be ‘counterproductive’

Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian state before it is established may be ‘counterproductive’
Updated 26 July 2025
Follow

Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian state before it is established may be ‘counterproductive’

Italy’s Meloni: Recognizing Palestinian state before it is established may be ‘counterproductive’
  • ‘I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it’
  • France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September draws condemnation from Israel and the US

MILAN: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognizing the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive.

“I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it,” Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica.

“If something that doesn’t exist is recognized on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t,” Meloni added.

France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. On Friday, Italy’s foreign minister said recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian entity. A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” toward a two-state solution.


Malaysians protest rising living costs

Malaysians protest rising living costs
Updated 26 July 2025
Follow

Malaysians protest rising living costs

Malaysians protest rising living costs
  • Rally organized by opposition parties marked the first major protest since Anwar Ibrahim was propelled to power
  • Protesters gathered at various points around the city center before converging on the city’s central Merdeka Square

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Malaysians took to the capital’s streets on Saturday to protest rising living costs and a perceived lack of reform by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

The rally organized by opposition parties marked the first major protest in Southeast Asia’s sixth-largest economy since Anwar was propelled to power after general elections in 2022.

Protesters gathered at various points around the city center before converging on the city’s central Merdeka (Independence) Square, carrying placards saying “Turun Anwar” – “Step down Anwar” in Malay – while police kept a close eye.

“He (Anwar) has already governed the country for three years and has yet to fulfil the promises he made,” said protester Fauzi Mahmud, 35, from Selangor just outside the capital.

Anwar “has been to many countries to bring investments, but we have yet to see anything,” Fauzi told AFP, referring to the premier’s recent trips, including to Russia and Europe.

“The cost of living is still high,” the engineer said.

Anwar was appointed premier on a reformist ticket and promised to tackle graft, nepotism and cronyism within the Southeast Asian nation’s fractured political system.

Days ahead of the rally, the premier laid out a string of populist measures aimed to address concerns, including a cash handout for all adult citizens and a promise to cut fuel prices.

Anwar on Wednesday announced that Malaysians above 18 years will receive a one-off payment of 100 Malaysian ringgit ($23.71), to be distributed from August 31.

He added that about 18 million Malaysian motorists will be eligible to purchase heavily subsidized medium-octane fuel at 1.99 ringgit per liter, compared to the current price of 2.05 ringgit.

Political analysts viewed the announcements as a strategic move to appease increasing public frustration and dissuade people from joining Saturday’s protest.

However, a recent survey done by Malaysia-based independent Merdeka Center for Opinion Research found that the majority of Malaysian voters gave Anwar a positive approval rating of 55 percent.

Reasons included the easing of political turmoil in recent years as well as efforts to raise Malaysia’s profile through this year’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).