California governor slams Trump Marine deployment as 'deranged'
California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the "deranged" decision Monday by "dictatorial" US President Donald Trump to deploy hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles after days of unruly protests against immigration raids.
"US Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defence of democracy," Newsom posted on X. "They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
Trump frustrated with rising oil prices and Fed's Powell
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was frustrated with rising oil prices over fears that tension in the Middle East could disrupt supplies. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude, surged on Wednesday to their highest level since April, before slightly easing on Thursday. 'I don't like – the oil prices have gone up just a little bit over the last few days,' Mr Trump told reporters at the White House. Brent crude fell 45 cents, or 0.64 per cent, to $69.32 per barrel while WTI crude fell by 20 cents, or 0.29 per cent, to $67.91 per barrel. 'It's gonna keep going down a little bit, right? Because we have inflation under control,' Mr Trump said. An analysis conducted by Goldman Sachs last month indicated that he prefers crude prices to range between $40 and $50 per barrel, based on his social media posts. Prices rose on Wednesday after the US was preparing to evacuate non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad amid stalled progress in talks with Tehran to reach a nuclear deal. The two sides were expected to meet again in Oman on Sunday. Mr Trump, who this week said he was becoming less confident that a deal could be reached, warned that Israel could soon strike Iran. 'I don't want to say imminent but it looks like it's something that could very well happen,' he said. Mr Trump this year began his second term in office with a 'drill, baby, drill' approach to energy, pledging to increase the country's domestic oil production. However, US crude-oil production is expected to dip over the next 18 months as producers decrease drilling due to lower prices, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday. 'With fewer active drilling rigs, we forecast US operators will drill and complete fewer wells through 2026,' the EIA said. The agency said it expects US crude oil production to fall from a record high of 13.5 million barrels per day this year to about 13.3 million barrels per day by the fourth quarter of 2026. The EIA forecast Brent crude to average $61 per barrel by the end of this year and average $59 a barrel in 2026 due to rising global inventories. Trump lashes out at Powell Meanwhile, Mr Trump also expressed his frustrations with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell as the US central bank is expected to keep interest rates steady when it meets next week. Mr Trump added that he 'may have to force something' if the Fed does not lower interest rates, although he did not elaborate. His comments came hours after government data showed that US producer prices rose less than anticipated last month, helping to calm fears of a tariff-fuelled inflation surge after separate inflation data came in softer than expected this week. Mr Powell and other Fed officials have indicated a cautious approach towards interest rates, due to uncertainty over the economic affects of tariffs, immigration and other Trump policies. Mr Trump also said he is 'not going to fire' Mr Powell, although the Fed chairman maintains the law does not give the president authority to sack him. A ruling from the Supreme Court in May give him special protection from being fired by the president based on the central bank's quasi-private structure.
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
'RFK must fall': CIA releases Sirhan Sirhan diary pages and Kennedy assassination files
Previously classified documents related to the 1968 murder of presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy and his Palestinian Christian assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, have been released by the CIA. One of the files details an emergency meeting of the Palestine Arab Delegation in the Arab League offices of New York's Chrysler building following the killing of Mr Kennedy. Sirhan, a Palestinian who emigrated from Jordan to the US, shot and killed Mr Kennedy on June 6, 1968, after he won the California Democratic presidential primary. Several investigations by the Los Angeles police and FBI indicated speeches given by Mr Kennedy on the campaign trail in support of Israel prompted Sirhan's motivation. 'Kennedy must fall … Kennedy must fall' reads one of the diary entries written by Sirhan, released in the latest document dump. Another document, an intelligence report circulated in the CIA, shows that the Palestinian Arab Delegation was closely monitored by the intelligence agency after Sirhan was taken into custody. At an emergency meeting of the group held during the assassin's trial, Issa Nakhleh, a former senior adviser to the UN Palestinian Delegation, described Sirhan as an 'Arab guerrilla' whose murder of Mr Kennedy was 'motivated by political events'. 'Nakhleh informed the group that one of his aims in briefing the group was to enlist their support for a trip to the Middle East which he planned to make in order to collect funds to aid Sirhan's defence,' reads the document. The source for those particular meeting notes appears to be an informant, described by the CIA as a 'Middle East national with a leftist political orientation who has good contacts at the UN'. It also alleges that Mr Nakhleh had in the past been accused of being a 'loose handler' of funds – that he had previously raised money for various causes, but that the funds later 'found a way into his pockets'. Another released document shows that both the CIA and FBI were particularly concerned with how the Soviet Union was portraying Sirhan. 'Soviet media have displayed predictable sensitivity to the fact that the suspect is an Arab immigrant,' reads one of the reports, which also examined how a Soviet journalist's opinion piece critiqued the US reaction to Sirhan. 'Izvestiya Kondrashov accused the US press of 'playing on the Arab origin of the assassin' and on evidence of his 'anti-Israeli attitudes' in order to shift the blame from the American way of life, 'the real guilty party in the tragedy.'' A report compiled before the assassination, titled 'The Arab Nationalists Movement', was also circulated in the CIA shortly after Mr Kennedy was killed, while investigators were trying to learn about Sirhan's motives. 'In Jordan recently, a new Arab Nationalists Movement commando group has been organised to carry out raids within Israel,' the report reads. In April of 1969, a jury found Sirhan guilty of assassinating Mr Kennedy. Despite a preponderance of evidence, conspiracy theories have thrived for decades, with some suggesting Sirhan's innocence. In a previous interview with The National, author Mel Ayton, widely considered to be one of the foremost experts on Sirhan and the assassination, said that all of those theories fall apart under even the most basic examination. Any documents that remain classified, he explained, are classified for security reasons. 'It wasn't about covering anything up, it was about protecting sources, police sources and potential informants – that's what it all comes down to,' he said. Sirhan's many attempts to be paroled have so far been unsuccessful. He was briefly granted parole by the California parole board in 2021, only to have the decision vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the assassination was one of the most notorious crimes in US history. For the 17th time since being incarcerated in 1969, Sirhan was again denied a parole request in 2023. He will be eligible again in 2027. The prisoner, 81, has periodically made contradictory comments about his role in the assassination. During some interviews, he claims not to remember the events, while in others, he seems to express remorse.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Iran and Turkey increasingly involved in Gaza negotiations as Egypt takes a step back
Iran and Turkey have become increasingly involved behind the scenes in negotiations to reach a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, sources familiar with the talks have told The National. Mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying without success to broker a ceasefire since the last one collapsed in March. Neither Israel nor Hamas are making the compromises needed to pause or end the war − now in its 21st month − despite mounting international pressure over the rising civilian death toll and worsening humanitarian crisis. US President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged this week that Iran was playing a role in the talks. ' Gaza, right now, is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel, and Iran actually is involved,' he said. Although his comment appeared to suggest that Iran's involvement was a new development, Tehran has in fact been indirectly involved in the process since the negotiations began soon after the start of the war in October 2023, according to the sources. As Hamas's chief foreign backer, Iran has offered behind-the-scenes counsel to negotiators from the Palestinian militant group and separately engaged in talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, they said. However, they noted Iran's involvement was currently at a higher-than-usual level, possibly as a result of talks that Tehran and Washington have been holding on Iran's nuclear programme. Mr Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, leads the US negotiating teams on both Gaza and Iran's nuclear programme. 'Iran has been present in the Gaza talks from day one,' said one of the sources. 'But its profile has grown in recent weeks. The nuclear talks between the Iranians and the Americans appear to have given both sides a chance to discuss Gaza as well.' The sources said that Turkey's role in the Gaza talks, while of a somewhat lower calibre than Iran's, has gained weight after its Islamist allies in Syria toppled Bashar Al Assad's regime in December and quickly established a rapport with the West − including the US − as the country emerges from 14 years of devastating civil war. Turkey, a close US ally and Nato's only Muslim member, maintains close ties with Hamas and is home to several of its senior officials as well as vast investments by the group. Moreover, Turkey, along with Algeria, are the most likely destinations for Hamas leaders that Israel wants to send into exile from Gaza. 'Turkey has shown itself to the United States as a capable regional player with the kind of weight that can influence or contribute to the handling of trouble spots like Gaza and Syria,' said one of the sources. Egypt, in contrast, has seen its role in the Gaza negotiations partially diminished, but not necessarily because of the increased relevance of Turkey and Iran, with whom Cairo has recently been forging close ties. The Trump administration's use of an American-Palestinian – Bishara Bahbah – as its main go-between with Hamas negotiators has partially eroded the role played by Egypt, which neighbours both Israel and Gaza, according to the sources. Even before Mr Bahbah emerged on the scene in March, US negotiators ignored Washington's designation of Hamas as a terrorist group to hold at least one round of direct talks with its leaders in Qatar. The sources said Egypt's reduced role could also be attributed to Cairo's tense relations with Washington over Mr Trump's proposal in January to resettle Gaza's population in other countries − mainly in Egypt and Jordan. Egypt rejected the proposal, saying it would not be party to another injustice to the Palestinians and warning it would not allow a mass movement of Palestinians into its territory. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi postponed indefinitely a White House visit in February, according to sources at the time, and Mr Trump did not include Egypt − a close US ally of 50 years − in his visit to the region in May. 'Egypt sees its regional role to be driven by its size, history and past leadership as well as its institutional capacity,' said Michael Hanna, a New York-based Middle East expert at the International Crisis Group think tank. 'Its relevance at present is dictated by its geography; sharing borders with trouble spots in Gaza, Libya and Sudan. But it definitely no longer has the reach farther afield,' Mr Hanna said. He said recent US moves on the Gaza file, like the use of Mr Bahbah and direct talks with Hamas, may have also made Cairo feel left out. Egypt had brokered truces that ended previous wars between Israel and Hamas, most recently in 2021. Its relations with Hamas have improved greatly since the 2010s, when Cairo accused the group of meddling in its affairs and supporting insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula. In contrast, Egypt's relations with Israel have soured since the Israel-Gaza war began and are now at their lowest point since they signed a US-sponsored peace treaty in 1979. Israeli right-wing news outlets frequently claim that Cairo is preparing for war against the country. Adding to Egypt's woes is that the fallout from the war in Gaza has harmed its own national security, notably the capture by Israel in May last year of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in northern Sinai along with a narrow strip that runs the length of the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel maintains it captured the area to stop Hamas from receiving arms and other supplies through underground tunnels linking Egypt and Gaza. Egypt says it destroyed the tunnels nearly a decade ago. Attacks by Yemen's Houthis against Red Sea shipping since the start of the Gaza war have also hit hard traffic in Egypt's Suez Canal, denying Cairo billions of dollars in transit fees and deepening its economic crisis. The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians. Generally, said Mr Hanna, Egypt's regional weight has been somewhat devalued by its perennial economic woes. 'Egypt is often supplicant and that's not the posture of a country that can exert regional influence,' he added. Ammar Ali Hassan, a prominent Egyptian author and sociologist, said he partly disagreed with this analysis. 'Today's Egypt may have seen its regional role diminish despite its military capabilities,' he said. 'The absence of a clear political vision and will, as well as growing poverty, may have made safeguarding the country, rather than actively projecting regional influence − a priority given the turmoil surrounding Egypt.'
