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Putin caught executing enormous ‘semi-dark’ ship-to-ship oil transfer in Gulf of Oman
Russia has turned to its so-called "shadow fleet" to carry out a roughly $29.3 million "semi-dark" ship-to-ship oil transfer in the Gulf of Oman, deliberately sidestepping Western sanctions, according to reports.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI reported on March 8 that the Russian-flagged tanker M/V TRUST— a vessel already blacklisted by the U.S., European Union and United Kingdom — carried out a "high-probability" covert crude transfer in Omani territorial waters.
Based on an estimated price of about $90 per barrel on March 10, the cargo involved in the transfer was valued at roughly $29.3 million.
"The timing of the operation coincided with heightened military escalation in the Gulf following Operation Epic Fury, suggesting the vessel exploited regional instability to conduct the transfer under reduced scrutiny," Windward said.
HORMUZ ERUPTS: ATTACKS, GPS JAMMING, HOUTHI THREATS ROCK STRAIT AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES
The tanker had previously loaded approximately 325,000 barrels of Russian crude oil at the Russian port of Ust-Luga, Windward said.
Windward described the operation as a "semi-dark" activity, meaning one of the vessels transmitted its Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal while the other did not.
According to the firm, the M/V TRUST had anchored and switched off its AIS transponder while holding what it called a "prolonged stationary meeting" with another tanker, likely producing an anonymous vessel to transfer cargo process.
TRUMP SAYS IT’S AN ‘HONOR’ TO KEEP STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN FOR CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES
A fully "dark" meeting, Windward said, typically involves two vessels not transmitting, but in this case only one ship appeared to be broadcasting, creating partial visibility that still complicates tracking efforts.
Such tactics are part of a broader strategy by Moscow to continue exporting crude despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The semi-dark oil transfer comes amid heightened volatility in global energy markets tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East and limited traffic in the Strait of Hormuz given the joint U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran.
US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED
Oil topped $100 a barrel on March 9 as traders priced in the risk that the conflict was disrupting flows through the Strait, which carries about a fifth of global supply, CNBC reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 9 that Russia — the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holder of the largest natural gas reserves — stands ready to resume long-term energy cooperation with European customers if they choose to return, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that Russia "should not be involved" in the escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
His comments followed reports suggesting Moscow may be providing intelligence support to Tehran, though the Kremlin has not publicly confirmed the claims.
On Russia's ship-to-ship semi-dark cargo transfer amid the ongoing conflict and Windward highlighted "operational blind spots that enable illicit maritime activity to proceed largely uninterrupted."
Stranded American in Bahrain recounts surviving reported Iranian strike on high-rise building, pleads for help
As the conflict between the United States and Iran enters its second week, flight cancellations and airport closures have rippled across Middle Eastern airspace, leaving many Americans abroad scrambling to find a way home.
Stranded American citizen Yahir, who was in Bahrain when the conflict erupted, told Fox News Digital he had a close call over the weekend when an alleged Iranian drone slammed into the lower floors of a high-rise building where he was staying. The building was a luxury residential tower that reportedly housed many American tourists and U.S. Navy personnel likely stationed with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquartered near the capital, Manama.
Yahir, from Los Angeles, said despite witnessing terrifying scenes of the conflict and experiencing one firsthand, he is still waiting for help getting home, claiming local U.S. embassies and State Department officials have put him through a maze of logistical hurdles with no clear next steps.
"Two days ago, my building was hit," Yahir said, referring to Fontana Infinity, located in Manama. "I was in the building at the time and, of course, the whole building shook. It felt like an earthquake."
STATE DEPARTMENT GIVES UPDATES ON AMERICANS FLEEING MIDDLE EAST
"It was a shock, but it makes sense because everyone living there was American besides a few Russians here and there, but Fontana was full of American Navy," he added.
Yahir added that he has witnessed horrific scenes of Iranian drones and missiles striking not only military targets but also civilian areas, triggering powerful explosions and sending massive plumes of smoke billowing into the air.
"We saw right in front of our faces, the drone hitting it," Yahir said, describing the moment he witnessed a building being struck. "I remember everyone around there was crying. They were evacuating all the buildings. People were crying. It felt really devastating."
Blasts have reportedly become a daily occurrence, some feeling like earthquakes that would violently shake nearby areas.
"The interceptors were hitting the missile and the ground shaking. You'll feel that every day at this point," he said. "It's been literally every day."
The chaos in the region has reportedly led to residents receiving numerous daily alerts of incoming missiles on their phones. Each warning forces civilians to take immediate shelter, Yahir said, recalling one instance when he had to shelter in a basement of a well-known mall, The Avenues, for more than an hour.
"At this point, I'm thinking I even get them when I'm sleeping, and it wakes me up," he said. "I feel like over ten times a day we get those alerts."
TRUMP SAYS DEFENSE GIANTS WILL QUADRUPLE PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS
The ongoing missile strikes have profoundly affected daily life in Bahrain, turning once-bustling areas into virtual "ghost towns."
Yahir said his friends have stopped going to work, and shops are either fully closed or closing far earlier than usual.
He added that the heightened security presence is palpable across the country, with police stationed on nearly every corner and large military vehicles patrolling the streets daily.
PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM HELPING AMERICANS EVACUATE THE MIDDLE EAST AMID WAR WITH IRAN
Yahir further expressed deep frustration with the local U.S. Embassy, saying there has been little government assistance and describing the overall experience as "terrible."
When inquiring about evacuation flights, calls to the embassy often triggered an automated message stating that citizens should not expect help from the U.S. government and that the embassies cannot assist with anything, according to Yahir.
"I feel like they need to focus on the embassies around the world because I feel they're useless to Americans. They don't help us at all," Yahir said. "I just want to go home."
Despite submitting a crisis intake form shared by the State Department, he has received few updates on evacuation plans. The delays and lack of clear communication, he said, have left him feeling stranded and anxious with no concrete plan for returning home.
Over 40,000 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since Feb. 28, the State Department told Fox News Digital Tuesday. A spokesperson noted that U.S. authorities directly assisted over 27,000 of those Americans abroad by offering travel assistance and other security guidance.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State has completed over two dozen charter flights and has safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East," the department said. "The State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen who wishes to depart the Middle East to do so."
American citizens stranded in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel are urged to complete the Crisis Intake Form on the State Department website or call +1-202-501-4444.
US consulate in Toronto struck by gunfire, police say; no injuries reported
The U.S. consulate in Toronto was struck by gunfire early Tuesday morning in what authorities are calling a "national security incident."
Deputy Chief Frank Barredo of the Toronto Police Service said two male suspects exited a white Honda CR-V around 4:30 a.m. and discharged firearms at the heavily fortified building before fleeing the scene.
Police said the CR-V was traveling westbound on Dundas Street West before turning southbound onto University Avenue, and stopping in front of the consulate.
Investigators recovered multiple shell casings and found damage to the building’s glass and door.
ENEMY WITHIN: COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERTS FEAR SLEEPER CELLS COULD BE POISED INSIDE USTO
Barredo said he believes there were people inside the building at the time of the shooting, though no injuries were reported.
Chris Leather, chief superintendent and officer in charge of criminal operations for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Ontario, told reporters the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team has been engaged and is working with Toronto police, federal partners and U.S. counterparts, including the FBI.
He said it is too early to determine a motive or whether the shooting will ultimately be classified as terrorism under Canada’s criminal code.
"There will be no tolerance for any form of intimidation, harassment, or harmful targeting of any communities or individuals in Canada," Leather added.
'LOUD BANG,' DAMAGE REPORTED AT US EMBASSY IN NORWAY; POLICE INVESTIGATING
Security has been increased at the U.S. and Israeli consulates in Toronto and in the Ottawa region as a precaution.
US EMBASSY STRUCK BY DRONES IN SAUDI ARABIA AS AMERICANS INSTRUCTED TO SHELTER IN PLACE
Officials said there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety as the investigation continues.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital the agency is aware of the incident and is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with local law enforcement.
"The shooting that took place at the U.S. consulate early this morning is an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbours," said Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario.
"Everyone at all levels of government and across Canada needs to make clear that there is zero tolerance for this sort of intimidating and dangerous behaviour, and that we will do whatever it takes to prosecute and punish the people responsible to the fullest extent of the law," he wrote on X.
Iran regime cited as Trump admin set to designate Sudan’s Muslim Brotherhood a terror group
JOHANNESBURG: The Trump administration, citing Iran, is taking more action against the Muslim Brotherhood—this time in one of the world’s worst conflicts: the civil war in Sudan.
On Monday, the State Department declared the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood (SMB) to be a "Designated Global Terrorist and intends to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, effective March 16, 2026." The statement also contained a warning to Iran regarding its meddling in the conflict.
"The SMB has contributed upwards of 20,000 fighters to the war in Sudan, many receiving training and other support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," the statement noted.
It added, "As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Iranian regime has financed and directed malign activities globally through its IRGC. The United States will use all available tools to deprive the Iranian regime and Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism."
TRUMP ADMIN RAMPS UP SUDAN PEACE EFFORT AS CIVIL WAR LEAVES TENS OF THOUSANDS DEAD
In November, the State Department sanctioned the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, declaring it to be a terrorist organization in those countries.
The organization, the State Department noted, is "composed of the Sudanese Islamic Movement and its armed wing – the al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade (BBMB), (and) uses unrestrained violence against civilians to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan and advance its violent Islamist ideology."
The statement added that the group’s "fighters have conducted mass executions of civilians in areas they captured, and repeatedly and summarily executed civilians based on race, ethnicity or perceived affiliation with opposition groups."
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital that the Muslim Brotherhood’s links within the Sudanese government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are deep and contribute aggressively in the war against the Rapid Support Forces.
Fitton-Brown, a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen, added that the Brotherhood has a "strong component" in the Sudanese regular army.
Adding that the Brotherhood in Sudan has historical links with Osama Bin Laden, responsible with al Qaeda for the 9/11 terrorist attack, Fitton-Brown stated that the State Department’s move is significant. "It is the first concrete indication that the November executive order was only the start of a process."
ANOTHER CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AT RISK IN AFRICA AS EXTREMISTS AND WAR TAKE THEIR TOLL
On the sanctioning of the Brotherhood in several countries in the region, he said, "I expect there will be many more, possibly starting with al-Islah in Yemen." He said the move "puts Sudan under political pressure because it is effectively associating its government with a terrorist entity."
The effects of the nearly three-year-long civil war on the people of Sudan are dire. Last month, the Council on Foreign Relations’ global conflict tracker stated the "death toll estimates vary widely, with the former U.S. envoy for Sudan suggesting as many as 400,000 have been killed since the conflict began on April 15, 2023. More than 11 million have been displaced, giving rise to the worst displacement crisis in the world.
On Monday, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., posted on X, "This is a vital step to curb the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in the region, especially as hardline Islamists seek to reassert themselves. Now, we must also seriously consider the same FTO designation for the genocidal Rapid Support Forces and their terror campaign in Sudan."
Fitton-Brown said the State Department’s designation against the Brotherhood in Sudan "is good because it objectively targets a group of people who have brought untold misery to Sudan over decades. It is not a statement of support for the RSF. It is potentially empowering of democratic forces inside Sudan, although it will not be sufficient to change the way Sudan is governed or end the civil war, without much more proactive external involvement in the country."
Nicholas Coghlan, a former Canadian diplomat in Khartoum, was not as hopeful, telling Toronto’s Globe and Mail that hardline factions within leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s government alliance "will push him now to ignore the U.S. and other potential mediators and go all out," adding "they have nothing further to lose by holding back."
Cuban activist to Trump: ‘Make Cuba great again’ by ending communist rule
As Cuba faces rolling blackouts, food shortages and renewed protests, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá is warning in an interview to Fox News Digital that the island’s deepening crisis cannot be solved with economic reforms alone and is urging the United States to maintain pressure on the communist government in Havana.
The recent outages and shortages are tied to Cuba’s worsening energy and economic crisis.
A recent nationwide blackout was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the island’s largest power station, cutting electricity across much of the country, according to Reuters. The crisis has been compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration moved to curtail oil shipments to the island, particularly from Venezuela — one of Cuba’s main suppliers.
Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the country’s economic difficulties, while repeated power plant failures and an aging electrical grid have left millions facing prolonged blackouts that have fueled growing public frustration and protests.
The state-run company blamed U.S. sanctions in an official statement, saying, "Without ending the financial blockade, there can be no permanent energy stability," according to CubaHeadlines.
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Cuba in recent months, tightening sanctions and targeting oil shipments that help power the island’s energy system. The measures are part of a broader effort to weaken the Cuban government and support democratic change on the island.
"To President Trump, it's important for you to know that the Cuban people are grateful for what this administration is doing and that we are ready, and we want to make Cuba great again," Payá said, addressing him directly. "And that means an end to the communist dictatorship, not just a new economy, but a new republic."
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most prominent Cuban–American voices in U.S. politics, long has advocated a tougher stance toward Havana and stronger support for pro-democracy movements on the island.
The Trump administration has recently increased pressure on the Cuban government, including measures targeting oil shipments that help sustain the island’s struggling energy sector.
Trump praised Rubio during a press conference Tuesday and suggested he could play a central role in any potential negotiations with Havana.
"Marco Rubio is doing a great job," Trump said. "I think he's going to go down as the greatest secretary of state in history. They trust Marco."
A White House official told Fox News Digital Tuesday that, "The United States supports the Cuban people’s pursuit of democracy, prosperity, and fundamental freedoms. The United States calls on the Cuban regime to end its repression, release all unjustly detained political prisoners, and respect the rights and freedoms of all Cuban people."
"We want to work with President Trump and with Secretary Rubio, the opposition is united," Payá said. "We have a plan. It's called the Freedom Accord," she added, referring to a democratic transition framework promoted by opposition groups in Cuba. "We are ready to lead this process. The moment is now, Mr. President."
Opposition groups have developed the Freedom Accord, a political roadmap for democratic change, which she says would guide a transition away from the current system in Cuba.
Payá, 37, who escaped the country 13 years ago, has spent the past decade advocating internationally for democratic change in Cuba.
She is the daughter of prominent dissident Oswaldo Payá, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and architect of the Varela Project, a petition campaign in the early 2000s that gathered more than 25,000 signatures demanding free elections and civil liberties in Cuba.
Her father died in 2012 alongside fellow activist Harold Cepero in what Payá describes as an assassination by the Cuban regime. Cuban authorities said the men were killed in a car crash in eastern Cuba, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights later concluded there were "serious indications" that Cuban state agents were involved in the deaths.
"After the Cuban regime assassinated my father … I have been trying to follow his legacy together with many, many other Cubans on the island and in exile that today believe that we have a real chance and freedom," she said, describing a movement that today includes activists both on the island and in exile.
FLORIDA LAUNCHES PROBE AFTER CUBA KILLS 4 ABOARD US-FLAGGED SPEEDBOAT NEAR KEYS
The crisis inside Cuba has reached a level where basic survival has become a daily struggle for many families, according to Payá.
"The situation today is that mothers don't know if they are going to be able to feed their child tonight," she said. "Most of the island has been suffering blackouts that last for days on many occasions."The island has experienced waves of unrest in recent years driven by economic collapse and political repression.
The largest demonstrations against the regime erupted on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island chanting "freedom" in the biggest protests since the 1959 revolution.
Authorities responded with mass arrests and prison sentences for many demonstrators.
For Payá, those protests reflected something deeper than economic frustration.
"The Cuban people have been fighting for freedom for the last 67 years," she said. "We are demanding political freedom, not just a new economy."
Despite comparisons between Cuba’s crisis and the political turmoil in Venezuela, Payá argues the situation in Cuba is fundamentally different.
"Cuba's situation is quite different," she said. "This is the longest running communist dictatorship in the Western hemisphere."
MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION
While she emphasized that Cubans themselves must ultimately drive political change, Payá said international pressure remains essential because of the regime’s ability to repress dissent.
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions.
Payá said the Cuban opposition hopes the United States will continue supporting democratic change on the island.
"I believe that President Trump knows very well, better than anyone, the difference between a real deal and a better one," she said. "He understands that this dictatorship must end."
"To end the crisis," she added, "we need to end the regime."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment and has not yet received a reply.
Vietnam urges work from home amid fuel supply, price crunch in Mideast
Vietnam’s trade ministry is urging businesses to encourage employees to work from home to curb fuel consumption as the country grapples with supply disruptions and sharp price increases triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war involving Iran.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government said Vietnam has been among the nations hardest hit by the turmoil due to its heavy reliance on energy imports from the Middle East. Citing a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it called on companies to "encourage work-from-home when possible to reduce the need for travel and transportation."
Fuel prices have surged since the end of last month, with gasoline up 32%, diesel rising 56% and kerosene climbing 80%, according to data from Petrolimex, the country’s top fuel trader. Long lines of cars and motorbikes were seen at petrol stations in Hanoi on Tuesday.
The ministry also urged businesses and individuals not to hoard or speculate on fuel.
GAS PRICES COULD JUMP AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS THREATEN GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday held calls with leaders of Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to secure additional fuel and crude oil supplies. The government has also removed import tariffs on fuels through the end of April in a bid to ease pressure on the market.
President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran have made for volatile crude markets, with prices surging to $120 a barrel in the U.S. over the weekend before dipping back to just over $80 on Monday night as Trump spoke to a Republican retreat in Florida.
Prices have stabilized after Trump assured investors the Strait of Hormuz will be safe for oil tankers in the Middle East, a notorious choke point for the largely dismantled Iranian regime.
TRUMP IS REALIGNING WORLD ENERGY MARKETS AND THE IRAN STRIKES ARE ACTUALLY HELPING
The situation in the region remains tenuous as Iran has announced Mojtaba Khamenei as the next supreme leader, a decision that Trump told Fox News that he "was not happy" about.
"I don't believe he can live in peace," Trump said from Air Force One.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday they would not let any oil out of the Middle East until U.S. and Israeli attacks cease, a threat that had prompted Trump to threaten to hit Iran "20 times harder" if it blocked exports.
US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED
Despite the defiant rhetoric from both sides, investors placed strong bets Tuesday that Trump would call off his war soon, before the unprecedented disruption it has caused to energy supplies causes a global economic meltdown.
"I'm hearing they want to talk badly," Trump said, as the Department of War has claimed 50 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk and Trump is suggesting the war objections are weeks ahead of schedule, if not nearly "complete."
"It's possible," Trump added of engaging the new Iranian leadership, descendants of the deceased leaders, but said it "depends on what terms, possible, only possible."
"You know, we sort of don't have to speak anymore, you know, if you really think about it, but it's possible," he said.
Fox News' Trey Yingst and Reuters contributed to this report.
Ukraine sending drone team to help protect US bases in Jordan at Washington’s request, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine has dispatched interceptor drones and a team of drone specialists to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan as fighting tied to the Iran war intensifies across the region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New York Times.
Zelenskyy told the NYT that Washington made the request on Thursday, and Kyiv moved swiftly to respond, dispatching the drone team the following day.
"We reacted immediately," Zelenskyy said. "I said, yes, of course, we will send our experts."
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for confirmation.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
The reported request comes as the U.S. and Gulf states work to intercept hundreds of Iranian missiles and thousands of drones launched in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian drones have struck the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, including an attack on a tactical operations center in Kuwait that killed six U.S. service members.
The high volume of Iranian Shahed drone launches has drawn attention to the cost disparity between the relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft and the far more sophisticated air defense systems, such as Patriot missiles, used to intercept them.
PETRAEUS CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA OVER ALLEGED INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT TO IRAN
According to the Department of the Army's Fiscal Year 2026 budget estimates, the cost for a single Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor is $3.8 million.
A basic Iranian-designed Shahed drone costs roughly $20,000 to $50,000, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
"Iran knows it can’t match the U.S. or Gulf states plane for plane or missile for missile, but it can change the economics of the conflict," said Patrycja Bazylczyk, an associate director with the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, in an interview with Military Times.
"Drones let Iran punch above its weight, keep its adversaries off balance, and project power across the region at minimal cost. We can’t just play whack-a-mole in the sky," she added. "Shooting drones down one by one is the most expensive way to fight the cheapest threat. We have to go after the roots – the launch sites, the production lines, and the storage depots."
Trump says it’s an ‘honor’ to keep Strait of Hormuz open for China and other countries
President Donald Trump said he wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying it would be an "honor" to do so in an effort to help other nations that rely on the vital Middle East waterway.
Trump was speaking with reporters in Florida on Monday, when he was asked about the global energy choke point, which has been disrupted amid back-and-forth attacks between Iran and Israel and the United States.
IRAN SEIZES OIL TANKERS, THREATENS 'MASSACRE' IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ HOURS BEFORE US TALKS
At about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is between Iran and Oman and carries roughly 20 million barrels a day and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas, making it a top-value target when conflict in the region erupts.
"We're really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the Straits," Trump said. "We have a good relationship with China. It's my honor to do it."
US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN
Trump is slated to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month. While touting the United States' new energy partnership with Venezuela, Trump noted that China gets its oil through the strait.
"I mean, we're doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China," he said. "They get a lot of their oil through the straits."
"We have a very good relationship with President XI (Jinping) and China," he added. "I'm going there in a short period of time, and we're protecting the world from what these lunatics are trying to do, and very successfully I might add."
The U.S. will also waive all oil-related sanctions on some countries in an effort to reduce energy prices amid the conflict in the Middle East, Trump said.
Later, Trump reaffirmed his position on the strait in a fiery Truth Social post.
"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!," he wrote.
"This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait. Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Iranian Kurdish fighters say they’re ready to strike Tehran, waiting for opening
EXCLUSIVE: Iranian Kurdish opposition groups say they are prepared to challenge Tehran but are holding back for now as the war between the United States, Israel and the Islamic Republic continues to unfold.
Khalid Azizi, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that Kurdish forces are closely watching developments but have no plans to launch a ground offensive at this stage.
Reports in recent days have suggested that President Donald Trump spoke with Mustafa Hijri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, as Washington explores possible Kurdish involvement in pressure on Iran.
Azizi declined to confirm or deny whether such a conversation took place.
74 RETIRED US GENERALS, ADMIRALS BACK IRAN STRIKES, WARN TEHRAN SEEKS TO ‘SPILL AMERICAN BLOOD’
Azizi himself has firsthand experience with Iran’s military retaliation.
In 2018, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at the KDPI headquarters in Koy Sanjaq in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region during a leadership meeting, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens.
"We have been targeted by the Islamic Republic," Azizi said. "The first Iranian missile was sent to my headquarters and I was personally injured in that attack," Azizi said.
Despite the risks, Azizi said Kurdish resistance remains strong after decades of confrontation with Iran.
"The Iranian Kurdish resistance movement is actually very strong because we have been on the ground since the Iranian revolution," he said.
Azizi spoke from Washington, D.C., where he said Kurdish representatives were meeting with policymakers and institutions to discuss the situation in Iran and the role Kurdish groups could play if the conflict evolves.
But for now, Kurdish groups say they are waiting to see how the broader war develops.
"We are ready and our party is well organized," Azizi said. "But right now we do not have any intention to enter Iranian Kurdistan because the ground forces in this war have not been a topic."
"It’s very easy to start a war," he added. "But it will be more complicated how to end this war."
KEANE WARNS IRAN STRIKE BECOMING ‘REGIONAL WAR,' SAYS THREE GULF STATES PREPARING FOR COMBAT
The KDPI is one of the oldest Kurdish opposition movements fighting Iran’s Islamic Republic. The group is a member of the Socialist International and operates primarily from bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and has been in armed and political opposition to Tehran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Azizi said Kurdish political movements have recently taken a significant step by forming a joint alliance aimed at coordinating their political strategy.
"We have managed to create a unity among the Kurdish political parties," he said. "This has been welcomed by the Iranian Kurdish people and by different Iranian political parties."
The alliance, known as the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, brings together several historically divided Kurdish factions that oppose the Islamic Republic.
Azizi said the future of Iran will ultimately depend on whether Iranians themselves rise up against the regime.
US SURGES FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AS PENTAGON WARNS IRAN FIGHT ‘WILL TAKE SOME TIME'
"If you look at the goal of the United States and Israel in this war, they have been targeting the Iranian military, security and political institutions. In this aspect Iran has been weakened," he said.
"But the regime still remains in power because people are not on the streets and there is no alternative right now to replace this regime."
Azizi urged Western governments to focus not only on the military campaign but also on helping Iranian opposition movements coordinate politically.
Iran, he said, is a multi-ethnic country whose future stability will depend on building a democratic system that includes all of its communities.
"The path and the roadmap for rebuilding Iran must be based on the participation of all ethnic groups," Azizi said. "Iran is a multi-ethnic society."
For now, he said, Kurdish fighters remain in a holding pattern.
"We have the ability and we have the capacity," Azizi said. "But it is not easy right now for us to make any decision regarding entering Iranian Kurdistan."
Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘his father on steroids,’ experts warn of hardline rule
"Think of Mojtaba Khamenei as his father on steroids."
That is how Kasra Aarabi, director of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps research at the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, described Iran’s new supreme leader in comments to Fox News Digital following reports that the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been selected to lead the Islamic Republic.
"Mojtaba was already operating as a ‘mini supreme leader’ in the Bayt-e Rahbari — his father’s office and the core nucleus of power in the regime," Aarabi said.
IF KHAMENEI FALLS, WHO TAKES IRAN? STRIKES WILL EXPOSE POWER VACUUM — AND THE IRGC’S GRIP
"His father had created the Bayt’s extensive apparatus as a hidden power structure to ensure continuity should he be eliminated — and through Mojtaba’s appointment, this is exactly what we will get," Aarabi said.
President Donald Trump also reacted to Mojtaba Khamenei’s rise. In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he was "not happy with" the younger Khamenei replacing his father as leader of Iran’s theocratic system but declined to elaborate on how the United States might respond. "Not going to tell you," Trump said when asked about his plans regarding the new supreme leader. "Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him."
An Iranian source with knowledge of the leadership transition told Fox News Digital that earlier speculation Mojtaba might pursue reforms now appears unlikely given the circumstances surrounding his appointment.
"Previously there were whispers suggesting that if Mojtaba were to become the leader, he might introduce reforms that would both open up the domestic political space and bring a more interactive approach to foreign policy," the source said.
"However, now this possibility seems very weak."
Mojtaba was chosen "amid disputes, controversies, and pressure from the IRGC," according to the source, meaning he "owes his appointment to their support and therefore cannot act against their wishes."
TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S SUCCESSION BENCH WIPED OUT AS ISRAELI STRIKE HITS LEADERSHIP DELIBERATIONS
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has spent decades building influence inside the power structures surrounding Iran’s supreme leader.
Born in 1969 in Mashhad, he pursued clerical studies in Tehran, Iran, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought his father to prominence. Over time, however, analysts say his influence developed less through traditional clerical authority and more through Iran’s security institutions.
In 2019, the United States sanctioned Mojtaba under Executive Order 13867. The U.S. Treasury Department said he had been "representing the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father."
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Iran Program, said Mojtaba’s background reflects a broader shift inside the Islamic Republic.
"Despite donning a turban, Mojtaba is the product of the regime’s national security deep state," Ben Taleblu told Fox News Digital. "Expect him to work with and through the IRGC to keep his hold on power."
Aarabi said Mojtaba has spent years consolidating influence behind the scenes.
"His past tells us he enjoys micromanaging every aspect of authority to satisfy his thirst for power," Aarabi said, describing how Mojtaba allegedly relocated IRGC command centers to his office during protests, engineered election outcomes and installed loyalists across state institutions.
Since 2019, Aarabi added, Mojtaba has also been implementing what he described as his father’s effort to "purify" the regime by promoting ideological loyalists across the political system.
"Mojtaba is a deeply antisemitic, anti-American, and anti-Western ideologue," Aarabi said. "He has personally been involved in repression in Iran and terror plots abroad."
IRAN'S SENIOR CLERICS ‘EXPOSED’ AFTER BUILDING STRIKE IN QOM, SUCCESSION CHOICE LOOMS
Analysts say Mojtaba’s rise may further strengthen the role of Iran’s security institutions.
"The rise of the younger Khamenei expedites trendlines seen in Iranian politics and national security for years," Ben Taleblu said. "From one Khamenei to another, things in Iran can be expected to go from bad to worse if this regime survives."
"And like the elder Khamenei, corruption runs in the family," he added.
Ben Taleblu warned that the regime may also escalate tensions externally as a survival strategy.
"The regime knows it is weak, but believes it can extract a price and widen a crisis in order to survive," he said.
For opposition groups inside Iran, the leadership transition signals continuity rather than reform.
"He's the son of Khamenei and they have same ideology and they same strategy and they try to continue the same policy," said Khalid Azizi, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran.
"So far it's very difficult to say what he will be done and is he going to have a different policy? I don't expect this."
The Iranian source who spoke with Fox News Digital said that while engagement with the United States and the West is theoretically possible in the future, the chances remain slim.
"As I mentioned," the source said, "this possibility is very weak."
"In short," Aarabi said, "Mojtaba is his father on steroids. He’s certainly no MBS."
Hegseth warns ‘more casualties’ expected in Operation Epic Fury against Iran
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are expected in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven U.S. soldiers having been killed so far in the fighting.
Hegseth made the comment during an interview with CBS’ "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday.
"The president's been right to say there will be casualties," Hegseth said. "Things like this don't happen without casualties."
"There will be more casualties," he continued. "And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it's like to see Americans come home in caskets, it's — but that doesn't weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish."
WATCH: CAPITOL HILL DEBATE ERUPTS OVER WHETHER TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES AMOUNT TO ‘WAR’
Six U.S. service members were killed in a March 1 Iranian drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. military said a seventh service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
The U.S. and Israel last week launched joint strikes against Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that if the U.S. deploys ground troops in Iran, "we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them."
"We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes," he said. "We continue to defend ourselves and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale."
When reporters asked President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Saturday about potential ground troops being used in the Iran operation, the president said there would "have to be a very good reason."
"And I would say if we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level," Trump told reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Private security firm helping Americans evacuate the Middle East amid war with Iran
As Americans are stranded in the Middle East amid the U.S. and Israel war with Iran, government and private agencies are working around the clock to conduct evacuations.
In addition to the U.S. Department of State's 24/7 task force aimed at evacuating Americans, private security firm Global Guardian is also working around the clock to complete the same mission.
As of Friday, Global Guardian has evacuated more than 4,000 people from the Middle East, according to its CEO and President, Dale Robert Buckner.
While operations and logistics teams sit in an office building in northern Virginia, the firm has personnel in more than 140 countries, allowing Global Guardian access to nearly every corner of the world for emergency response or evacuations.
TRUMP SAYS DEFENSE GIANTS WILL QUADRUPLE PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS
"We provide medical evac services, we provide kidnap, ransom, extortion negotiation payment if someone is kidnapped or extorted," Buckner said. "We're providing about 300 missions a month of executive protection travel, in about 84 countries a month."
The private security firm also conducts camera surveillance of residences and commercial property and has cyber analysts monitoring mobile devices.
After the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in a joint attack last weekend, the firm has been coordinating multiple emergency response evacuations — but this isn't the first time it has assisted Americans out of a crisis zone.
"That means getting people out of Puerto Vallarta a week ago, and Jalisco, Mexico. That means getting people out of Asheville, North Carolina when it got wiped out by a hurricane," Buckner said.
STATE DEPARTMENT GIVES UPDATES ON AMERICANS FLEEING MIDDLE EAST
Logistically, getting tourists out of a war zone and back to safety is a process, but the firm works fast, completing their first border crossing within the first six hours of the missile strikes.
Immediately, the firm received a call from a pair of students studying abroad, Deputy Vice President of Operations Colin O'Brien told Fox News. He said they were trying to leave Dubai.
"Within about four and a half hours from the phone call, we had our teams in motion to go pick these people up and it was two college-aged women," said O'Brien.
"Put them in the car, we were then able to move from the Omani border and by eight hours we were at the border. Work through the border checkpoint to a hotel in Muscat, where we could stop and give them a short rest while we arrange their transportation home," he says.
The group said it remains active year-round to ensure evacuation plans are in place before disasters strike.
"There's a narrative of, here’s the pickup point, here’s the key crossing site," Buckner said. "This is what you’re gonna need from a paperwork standpoint, legally. And then we’re gonna put you in a hotel or straight onto a commercial flight. Most likely, at this point in the war, we’re gonna put you on a private charter."
WHAT'S NEXT IN OPERATION EPIC FURY
Buckner said most of these missions happening in the region are ground movement, done by locals. He says in the 140 countries the firm is in, they have ground teams working year-round. Consistently training year-round.
"We're communicating, we're coordinating, we're executing. Executive protection agents, armed agents, armed vehicles, large-scale event support with medical and security personnel," he said, describing the firm's standard operating capabilities.
"We're coordinating whether the firm needs drivers. From Dubai to Oman, Israel to either Oman, Jordan or Egypt. Out of Bahrain into Saudi Arabia," Buckner said.
While the firm is coordinating with the State Department, it said it has not yet conducted a flight mission on behalf of the department.
Global Guardian offers these services through what it calls a "Duty of Care Membership," which Buckner said costs $15,000 per year for a family of five.
"You are going to sign a contract — whether it's a family, a family office or typically a large corporate logo. Then we become, at your beck and call," Buckner said, describing the emergency response services included in the agreement.
For Americans currently stuck in the Middle East, Buckner said the cost of evacuation using ground and air resources varies depending on the situation and location.
US-sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei named Iran’s next supreme leader after father’s death: reports
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to reports.
Iran International cited sources who claimed the decision was made "under pressure" from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei and was born in Mashhad in 1969.
His early childhood coincided with his father’s rise as a revolutionary figurehead opposing the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S SUCCESSION BENCH WIPED OUT AS ISRAELI STRIKE HITS LEADERSHIP DELIBERATIONS
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ali Khamenei moved from a dissident cleric to a senior government official, holding key posts in the regime including deputy defense minister.
The family moved from Mashhad to Tehran, where Mojtaba attended Alavi High School, which is a school that is known for educating members of Iran’s political and religious elite.
There, he received a general and religious education and graduated in 1987. In 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei was appointed supreme leader.
ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN LEADERSHIP MEETING CHOOSING KHAMENEI SUCCESSOR
That same year, Mojtaba began his formal clerical studies in Tehran. He studied under his father as well as Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who later served as Iran’s chief justice.
Over the years, Mojtaba was seen constantly with his father and was also regarded as an influential figure behind the scenes.
In 2019, the U.S. sanctioned Mojtaba Khamenei under Executive Order 13867. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that he had been "representing the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position aside from work in the office of his father."
The Treasury also said that the supreme leader had delegated part of his leadership responsibilities to Mojtaba.
It said he worked closely with commanders of the IRGC’s Quds Force and the Basij Resistance Force, positioning him as a key player in both domestic and international security affairs.
Mojtaba is married to the daughter of former Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel.
Among Ali Khamenei’s sons, he is considered the most powerful and politically influential, according to reports.
Initial reports had indicated Mojtaba was among around 40 officials killed in Feb. 28's strike targeting Iran’s highest-ranking cleric.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, President Trump said strikes on Iran eliminated much of the regime’s anticipated leadership succession bench. "Most of the people we had in mind are dead," Trump told reporters Tuesday.
As yet, Iranian state media has not confirmed the succession reports.
CENTCOM issues safety warning to Iranian civilians as regime uses ‘heavily populated’ areas for launches
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday issued a safety warning to civilians in Iran, accusing the regime of launching military operations from densely populated areas and putting civilian lives at risk.
CENTCOM said Iranian forces are using "heavily populated" cities, including Dezful, Isfahan and Shiraz, to launch one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. forces urged civilians in Iran to remain at home, warning that locations used for military purposes could lose protected status under international law and become legitimate targets.
"Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people," Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces take "every feasible precaution" to minimize civilian harm but cannot guarantee safety near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
CENTCOM's announcement said Tehran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones since the start of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, though launch rates have declined as U.S. and partner forces have targeted Iran’s military capabilities.
Iran has targeted civilian airports and hotels across the Middle East as part of retaliatory attacks against several Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA
The UAE’s Ministry of Defense on Sunday released footage of its air defenses intercepting and destroying Iranian drones.
The ministry said 17 ballistic missiles were detected, with 16 destroyed and one falling into the sea.
Air defenses also detected 117 drones, intercepting 113 of them while four fell within the country’s territory.
STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS ‘PROACTIVE’ EVACUATION EFFORTS AGAINST DEMS' CLAIMS OF DIPLOMATIC CHAOS
Since the start of Iran’s attacks, the UAE says it has intercepted 221 ballistic missiles and 1,342 drones, along with eight cruise missiles.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed on X that Iran has not attacked "friendly and neighboring countries," saying its strikes have been aimed at U.S. military bases and installations in the region.
Cartels fear US retaliation as Trump-era pressure reshapes strategy: 'They fear the United States'
MEXICO CITY: Mexican drug cartels are increasingly calculated in their targeting decisions, often avoiding deliberately attacking American tourists and citizens out of concern it could prompt intensified U.S. retaliation, according to experts.
Following last month's killing of Ruben "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the powerful leader of the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joined 'Fox & Friends' and had a warning for the drug gangs: "The Mexican drug cartels know not to lay a finger on a single American, or they will pay severe consequences under this president."
Analysts say actions by President Donald Trump — including the designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and high-profile operations abroad such as the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran — have reinforced cartel perceptions of heightened risk.
TRUMP’S ‘TOTAL ELIMINATION’ STRATEGY PAVED WAY FOR FALL OF CARTEL KINGPIN ‘EL MENCHO’
Mexican drug cartels have long operated with a primary objective: protect revenue streams and avoid actions that could trigger an overwhelming government response. Security analysts and former U.S. officials say that calculus often includes avoiding the deliberate targeting of American tourists and citizens inside Mexico.
"Of course, drug cartels are afraid of President Trump since he declared them terrorist organizations. That may be one of the reasons why they don't attack American citizens or tourists," cartel expert and activist Elena Chávez told Fox News Digital.
She said the cartels "modernized and are well-informed about what is happening, especially because they know there are bounties on their heads. That's why they fear the United States, even more so since Trump became president and declared the cartels terrorist organizations. Of course, they monitor all of this and have people who keep the leaders informed about how things are moving. The price on "El Mencho's" head in the United States was very high."
Adding to the pressure, Trump spoke Saturday at the newly minted Shield of the Americas Summit in Florida — a coalition of 12 Latin American and Caribbean nations — coming together to take on the cartels, among other policies.
"We have to knock the hell out of them because they're getting worse. They're taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can't have that. Too close to us," Trump warned.
"Right now, there must be more than a million Americans coming to Mexico to spend their vacations in their homes. The drug cartels don't mess with them or their homes. They know there's no way to avoid a reaction from the United States if they mess with its citizens. There's an unwritten rule that says you shouldn't mess with American citizens; if you do, you'll suffer retaliation from the United States. And even more so now with the Trump administration" national security expert and former Prosecutor of the Specialized Unit on Organized Crime Samuel González told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF DRUG CARTEL CRACKDOWN, ISSUES GRIM WARNING TO IRAN
While high-profile killings of Americans in Mexico have occurred, experts describe them as isolated and liabilities to cartel interests rather than part of a strategic campaign.
"There are several precedents that demonstrate why the cartels are particularly careful not to touch American citizens. One of the most important was the Camarena case: the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985 in Mexico, perpetrated by leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel (Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo) in retaliation for the destruction of "El Búfalo" marijuana ranch.
"This crime marked a turning point in the anti-drug relationship between Mexico and the U.S., prompting the DEA's "Operation Leyenda" to capture those responsible and revealing the complicity between drug traffickers and high-ranking Mexican officials."
He added, "Another case is that of Agent Zapata. On February 15, 2011, gunmen from "Los Zetas" cartel killed Special Agent Jaime Zapata of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE/HSI) and shot Agent Victor Avila on a highway in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The murder triggered intense pressure from the United States on Mexico to combat the cartels, resulting in the capture of several implicated Los Zetas members, including Julián Zapata Espinoza, alias "El Piolín.
"All these precedents are examples of why the cartels learned that it is not in their best interest to attack American citizens."
TROOPS REINFORCE PUERTO VALLARTA AS UNREST SHOWS SIGNS OF EASING FOLLOWING EL MENCHO’S DEATH
Security experts say cartels closely monitor political rhetoric in Washington, particularly statements suggesting unilateral U.S. military action or expanded cross-border operations. Public debate over labeling cartels as terrorist groups has resurfaced in recent years, with some lawmakers arguing it would provide additional tools to disrupt financing and logistics networks.
According to former federal officials, cartels’ avoidance of deliberately targeting Americans is rooted less in ideology and more in risk management. High-profile attacks on U.S. citizens can generate intense media coverage, diplomatic strain, and increased enforcement operations that disrupt trafficking routes.
Director General of the National Citizen Observatory, Francisco Rivas, told Fox News Digital: "Drug traffickers are much more afraid of attacking a foreigner than a Mexican because crimes against foreigners are prosecuted much more severely by the Mexican authorities. The greater media pressure when the victim is a foreigner creates more incentive for the police and prosecutors to investigate a kidnapping, extortion, disappearance, or homicide."
"In Mexico, more than 90% of intentional homicides and disappearances are related to people who had specific contact with the cartels, primarily for business reasons. The problems tourists experience in Mexico are the same as they might encounter in Miami, London, Rome, or Paris: robberies, fraud, and even some extortion, but these are proportionally marginal. Most crimes suffered in Mexico are suffered by Mexicans, and most violent crimes involve Mexican victims linked to cartels," he said.
While millions of Americans travel to Mexico each year without incident, law enforcement officials emphasize that criminal violence remains widespread in regions where cartels operate.
Authorities on both sides of the border maintain that cartel decision-making is driven by financial incentives and survival calculations. Actions perceived as likely to trigger direct U.S. retaliation are widely viewed by analysts as counterproductive to those interests.
Balkans on edge: Kosovo political crisis sparks fears of renewed instability
The Balkan nation of Kosovo is facing a constitutional crisis after a deadline passed for electing a new head of state. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, an ally of President Donald Trump, dissolved parliament and called for snap elections.
With conflicts raging around the globe and pressure on the NATO contingent based in the West Balkan nation to keep the peace, Osmani told reporters that "precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up. It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next," she said, according to Kiro7.
Trump recently praised Kosovo’s president for the "great job" she is doing in her country in a February speech. Osmani accepted an invitation from Trump to join the Board of Peace in January and has pledged resources to the International Stabilization Force for Gaza.
EUROPEAN LEADER PRAISES TRUMP'S 'PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH' FOR KEEPING COUNTRY SAFE FROM CONFLICT
Kosovo faces another possible domestic change that could impact Osmani’s standing. There is chatter of an impending reduction or reorganization of the international NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, which has been in place since 1999 to stabilize the country following war in the Balkans.
The commander of the peacekeeping force, Maj. Gen. Özkan Ulutaş, said in February that the U.S. does not plan to reduce its troop numbers in Kosovo, according to Reporteri. About 600 American troops are currently deployed in the country.
Following Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, tensions between the countries have remained high.
Former Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko told Fox News Digital, "Kosovo needs governance and then a compromise for the election of the president." He said he "hopes that the Constitutional Court will provide a solution."
EUROPEAN NATION AGREES TO 'TEMPORARILY' HOST DEPORTED IMMIGRANTS FROM US AMID TRUMP PUSH
The Kosovo Parliament has been besieged by stalemate for more than a year. Balkan Insight reported that a February 2025 poll failed to result in the formation of a government. Snap elections in December resulted in a win for the Vetevendosje party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but the party could not garner enough support from the opposition to elect a president.
Friday’s vote failed because the session fell 14 members short of a quorum. Opposition members boycotted the vote because they did not support Kurti’s nominee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca.
Osmani met with opposition party leaders Friday, a meeting Kurti chose not to attend. The prime minister said that "there should be a failure to elect a president in the third round before dissolving parliament and going to new elections."
Kurti’s party has appealed to the Constitutional Court for a review of the constitutionality of the election process, according to the European Western Balkans site.
New elections may be held as early as April 5, opposition leader Ramush Haradinaj suggested.
Majko told Fox News Digital that he does not see the debate between the parties as a problem, explaining that their ranking in the elections would not change even if they were held again. He said the idea of early elections is an exhausting political crisis that does not produce solutions.
Iran’s last line of resistance holds back — but Houthi terror group warns it’s ready to act
The Iran-backed Houthi terrorist movement has yet to enter the conflict on Iran's side but in recent days has been ratcheting up its rhetoric in support of Tehran, with its leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, declaring that it was prepared to enter the war against the U.S. and Israel if necessary.
"Regarding military escalation and action, our fingers are on the trigger, ready to respond at any moment should developments warrant it," al-Houthi said on Thursday.
"The reason why the Houthis have not intervened is they are last line of resistance for the axis. Especially after other axis members were degraded," Nadwa Al-Dawsari, an expert on Yemen and an associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) reads, "Allah is Greater. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse on the Jews. Victory to Islam."
Al-Dawsari, who has written extensively about Yemen and the Houthis, said: "I think the Houthis will intervene at some point. The longer the war continues, the more likely the Houthis will intervene. I think what the Houthis want to do — and they have been itching for a while to do — is to attack the Saudis. If the Saudis intervene, the Houthis will find a reason to attack the Saudis."
The Islamic Republic of Iran formed an "Axis of Resistance" prior to Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. Iran’s axis coalition of Shiite and Sunni terrorist proxies, includes the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the now-defunct Baathist regime in Syria.
Within the first few weeks of his administration, President Biden launched a reset with the Houthis and pressured the Saudis to end the war against the bellicose Houthi movement. "The war in Yemen must end," Biden declared in his first major foreign policy speech about the Mideast in February 2021.
TRUMP URGED TO AID YEMEN’S ANTI-HOUTHI FORCES AS TERROR GROUP ESCALATES ATTACKS ON SHIPPING
Biden’s reversal of American support for the Saudi-led allies in their war against the Houthis was also coupled with his administration de-listing the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. President Donald Trump swiftly reimposed the terrorist designation for the Houthis at the start of his second term and launched military strikes against the terrorists in Yemen.
Al-Dawsari also said that another reason why the Houthis have yet to join the conflict is that it's not in the interests of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "to drag the Houthis into a suicidal war." She argues that "If the Iranian regime collapses, and if a new regime emerges, I think the IRGC will regroup in Yemen or Somalia. Yemen is the key ally."
ISRAEL POUNDS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS, DARING LEBANON TO RECLAIM SOVEREIGNTY FROM IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXY
There has been discussion between the IRGC and Houthis about why the "Houthis' continued existence is of strategic importance to the IRGC," she said.
"The IRGC can’t afford to lose the Houthis. Yemen is so important to them. They need to preserve the Houthis for tomorrow for the IRGC to continue even after the regime," Al-Dawsari continued.
She noted that "Houthis have established themselves in the Horn of Africa. The IRGC is behind the Houthis. Intervention might be symbolic by the Houthis." She continued that Iran's "tactic now is to prolong the war and widen it across the region and to put more pressure on the U.S."
In May 2025, Trump announced that the U.S. would stop its air bombing campaign against the Houthis because, he said, the Houthis "don't want to fight."
"They just don't want to, and we will honor that. We will stop the bombings," Trump said. The Houthis had launched attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, as well as the Jewish state, to support their ally Hamas in Gaza.
Al-Dawsari said after the Trump announcement the Houthis did not attack American ships." They know Trump does not joke. They know they will suffer consequences."
'Loud bang,' damage reported at US Embassy in Norway; police investigating
Norwegian police are investigating an apparent explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo that caused no injuries and only minor damage.
Amid the war on Iran, the Norwegian Justice Minister Astri Aas-Hansen is deploying "considerable resources" to search for potential multiple perpetrators.
"This is an unacceptable incident that we are taking very seriously," she told Norwegian press agency NTB.
A "loud bang" was reported at the U.S. embassy in Oslo early Sunday morning at 1 a.m. local time (Saturday 7 p.m. ET), according to police, and eyewitnesses told Reuters that they saw thick smoke by the entrance of the consular section.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
"There was a very thick layer of smoke on the street," said Sebastian Toerstad, 18, a high school student who drove past the embassy at the time of the explosion.
"There was some damage to the entrance."
No explosive devices had been found in the area, according to police.
US EMBASSY STRUCK BY DRONES IN SAUDI ARABIA AS AMERICANS INSTRUCTED TO SHELTER IN PLACE
"Investigations have been carried out at the scene with the aid of dogs, drones and a helicopter, searching for one or more potential perpetrators," the Oslo police department said in a statement.
PST, the Norwegian police security service, called in additional personnel following the incident but has not changed the country's terror threat level, according to communication adviser Martin Bernsen.
PST operations manager Mikael Dellemyr does not "connect" the attack to U.S. bombings in the Middle East or terrorist or Iranian retaliation.
"It is far too early" in the investigation, he told Oslo's TV 2.
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
King Charles to address 'increasing pressures of conflict' in speech as Trump criticizes British PM on Iran
King Charles III will reflect on "the increasing pressures of conflict" across the world in a "time of great challenge" during a speech planned for Monday, according to multiple reports.
"We join together on this Commonwealth Day at a time of great challenge and great possibility," a preview of the 77-year-old’s Commonwealth Day speech says.
The king's speech continued: "Across our world, communities and nations face the increasing pressures of conflict, climate change and rapid transformation. Yet it is often in such testing moments that the enduring spirit of the Commonwealth is most clearly revealed."
The speech will come a little more than a week after the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran, which British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom didn’t take part in for the sake of their national interest.
"This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with," President Donald Trump said earlier this week in a criticism of Starmer amid a perceived lack of support for the U.S. and Israel’s joint military operation against Iran.
UK DEPLOYING WARSHIP, HELICOPTERS TO CYPRUS AFTER DRONE STRIKE
"By the way, I’m not happy with the U.K. either," the president said, referring to Starmer blocking the United States’ use of U.K. bases to launch attacks on Iran.
Britain has since allowed the U.S. to use its bases in the region for defensive purposes against Iran’s retaliatory strikes. It has also mobilized fighter jets and plans to send a destroyer and possibly an aircraft carrier.
The president referenced the Chagos Islands Tuesday, which are British territories in the Indian Ocean, saying it has taken "three, four days for us to work out where we can land there."
"It would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours, so we are very surprised," he said.
Later, the president said the United Kingdom has been "very, very uncooperative with that stupid island."
"It’s a shame," Trump said. "That country, the U.K., and I love that country, I love it."
"This is not the age of Churchill," he added.
Trump slammed Starmer again on Saturday, accusing the prime minister of joining the war after the U.S. had "already won."
"The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer – But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!"
Starmer has defended his decision to stay out of the conflict, saying the U.K. was "not involved in the initial strikes against Iran, and we will not join offensive action now."
"But in the face of Iran's barrage of missiles and drones, we will protect our people in the region," Starmer said in an address Monday to Parliament. "President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain's national interest. That is what I’ve done, and I stand by it."
UK BLOCKS TRUMP FROM USING RAF AIR BASES FOR POTENTIAL IRAN ATTACK: REPORT
The king and other senior royals will gather at Westminster Abbey on Monday for the annual Commonwealth Day celebration, which recognizes the 56 countries voluntarily connected to the U.K., many of which were once part of the British Empire.
The preview of the speech continues: "Working together, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to stand as a force for good — grounded in community, committed to the kind of restorative sustainability that has a return on investment, enriched by culture, steadfast in its care for our planet, and united in friendship and in the service of its people."
Charles’ speech at the abbey will also be the largest gathering of the royal family since former Prince Andrew was arrested on Feb. 19.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Russian missile strike kills 10 in Ukraine as Trump says 'hatred' between countries complicating peace deal
A Russian ballistic missile strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killed at least 10 people, including two children, and wounded 16 others Saturday, officials said.
The strike was part of a broader overnight assault in which Russia launched 29 missiles and 480 drones targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with damage reported in Kyiv and at seven other locations across the country, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy called for an international response following the attack.
"There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life. I thank everyone who will not remain silent. Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue," he said in a post on X.
"We count on active work with the European Union to guarantee greater protection for our people," he added. "I am grateful to everyone who helps strengthen our protection."
Preliminary Ukrainian data showed air defense systems downed 19 missiles and 453 drones, while nine missiles and 26 strike drones hit 22 locations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted Ukrainian military factories, energy facilities and air bases.
TRUMP SAYS 'HATRED' BETWEEN PUTIN, ZELENSKYY BLOCKING UKRAINE PEACE DEAL
Speaking Saturday at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, President Donald Trump said the "hatred" between Russia and Ukraine was complicating efforts to reach a peace deal.
"It's so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you'd think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It's very hard for them to get there. It's very, very hard to get there. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "But we've been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out."
"But we're losing, you know, they're losing, you know, doesn't really affect us very much because we've got an ocean separating. I'm doing it as a favor to Europe, and I'm doing it as a favor to life because they're losing 25,000 souls," Trump added. "Think of that every month. 25,000. Last month, 31,000. Both sides, 31,000 people died, mostly soldiers."
Last month, Zelenskyy told Fox News that Russia is trying "to play with the president of the United States" and stalling U.S.-brokered efforts to end the war.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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