Satellite photos reveal damage to Iranian missile bases after Israeli strikes
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Trump's immigration raids split White House
Donald Trump's hardline stance on immigration has caused a split in the White House, pitting the policy's chief architect against politicians under pressure from farming lobbies. The president's administration has been ramping up immigration raids to fulfil Mr Trump's campaign pledge to carry out the 'largest deportation program' in US history. Under the direction of Stephen Miller, Mr Trump's deputy chief of staff, agents trying to hit targets of 3,000 arrests per day have chased migrant workers through fields in Southern California. But on Wednesday, Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, warned Mr Trump that farming groups were concerned raids on agriculture would decimate an industry that relied on immigrant workers, the New York Times reported. She said farmers relied on migrants to work long hours and that farm groups were concerned they would stop turning up for work out of fear. More than 40 per cent of US farmworkers are undocumented immigrants, according to a 2022 report by the US Department of Agriculture. The following day, the US president responded to a post on Truth Social that said migrants in the farming and hospitality industries were 'very good, long time workers'. He wrote: 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. 'In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the criminals out of the USA. Changes are coming!' New guidance issued by Tatum King, a senior official at the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), instructed agents to put a 'hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture [including aquaculture and meat packing plants], restaurants and operating hotels', according to the newspaper. But White House aides such as Mr Miller, were reportedly furious, exposing divisions within the administration over its immigration policy and Mr Trump's priorities to boost deportations while retaining his political support. Agricultural associations, whose members are typically Republicans, are understood to have been raising concerns with their Senate and congressional offices about the raids. The Trump administration had initially focused on targeting criminal migrants but has shifted gears in recent weeks. Mr Miller is credited as the mastermind who pushed for raids to be expanded to places where immigrants congregate and workplaces in a bid to drive up the numbers. Last month, Mr Miller set quotas for a t least 3,000 arrests a day, a steep jump from the roughly 660 daily arrests during Mr Trump's first 100 days in office. He is understood to have directed ICE chiefs to start targeting spots where migrants congregate, such as farms, stores like Home Depot, and workplaces. Following a spate of raids in Los Angeles, protests erupted in the city, which has spread across the US.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: US Export-Import Bank considers $120 million loan for Greenland rare earths project
June 15 (Reuters) - Critical Metals Corp (CRML.O), opens new tab has received a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a loan worth up to $120 million to fund the company's Tanbreez rare earths mine in Greenland, in what would be the Trump administration's first overseas investment in a mining project. The loan, if approved, would boost U.S. access to minerals increasingly at the center of global economic trade and help offset the country's reliance on market leader China. It also comes after President Donald Trump openly mused earlier this year about acquiring the Danish island territory, an overture that has been repeatedly rejected. In a letter dated June 12 and reviewed by Reuters, New York-based Critical Metals has met initial requirements to apply for the $120 million EXIM loan and, if approved, would have a 15-year repayment term, longer than the company likely would have with private financing. The project would have to be "well-capitalized with sufficient equity from strategic investors" to receive the loan, the letter said. EXIM, which acts as the U.S. government's export credit agency, said in the letter that Critical Metals qualifies for a loan program designed to support companies that compete with China. The Tanbreez project is expected to cost $290 million and the EXIM funds would be used to fund technical work and get the mine to initial production by 2026. Once fully operational, the mine is expected to produce 85,000 metric tons per year of a rare earths concentrate and two minor metals. "This funding package is expected to unlock significant value for our project and our stakeholders," said Tony Sage, the company's CEO. Representatives for EXIM were not immediately available to comment. The move is the latest in a series of supportive actions by Washington toward the Tanbreez deposit and Greenland's mining sector. Reuters reported in January that former President Joe Biden's administration had successfully lobbied privately held Tanbreez Mining not to sell to a Chinese developer and instead sell to Critical Metals. Biden officials were visiting Nuuk as recently as last November trying to woo additional private investment, opens new tab in the island. Trump sent Vice President JD Vance to the island in March. The island's mining sector has developed slowly in recent years, hindered by limited investor interest, bureaucratic challenges and environmental concerns. Currently, only two small mines are in operation. Rare earths have strong magnetic properties that make them critical to high-tech industries ranging from electric vehicles to missile systems. Their necessity has given rise to intense competition as Western countries try to lessen their dependence on China's near-total control of their extraction and processing. Beijing in April put export restrictions on rare earths as part of its trade spat with Trump. The two countries earlier this month reached a truce, although Beijing's control of the sector has exacerbated the West's over-reliance and sparked a global hunt for fresh supplies. Despite the loan potential, Critical Metals would still have to either build a processing facility or find an existing site with spare capacity. The company told Reuters that its goal is to process the material inside the U.S., a goal the EXIM loan would make more achievable. Last year, Critical Metals had applied for funding to develop a processing facility from the U.S. Department of Defense, but the review process stalled ahead of Trump's January inauguration. For the EXIM loan's additional funding requirements, Critical Metals said it is considering offtake agreements, royalty streams and funding from other U.S. governmental agencies. Critical Metals told Reuters earlier this year that it has held supply talks with defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab, among others. Critical Metals' 10th-largest investor is brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald ( which was formerly led by Howard Lutnick before he joined Trump's cabinet as secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department. Sage told Reuters in January he had never met or talked to Lutnick, but acknowledged Cantor's investment was a positive for his company. EXIM last year extended a letter of interest to Perpetua Resources (PPTA.O), opens new tab for a loan worth up to $1.8 billion for its antimony and gold mine in Idaho.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Donald Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader
US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan, presented to the US, to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a US official. The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that it had developed a credible plan to kill Mr Khamenei. Advertisement Donald Trump reportedly vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei(Niall Carson/PA) After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Mr Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move. The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel's military operation aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Mr Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilise the region. Asked on Sunday about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan. 'But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,' Mr Netanyahu said. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would 'do what we need to do' (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File) Mr Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the reports. Mr Trump's rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters. It comes as the president issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on US targets in the Middle East while also predicting that Israel and Iran would 'soon' make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Mr Trump in an early morning social meeting posting said the United States 'had nothing to do with the attack on Iran' as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. Advertisement 'The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and… — The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 15, 2025 Iran, however, has said that it would hold the US, which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry, for its backing of Israel. Israel targeted Iran's Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences and slammed into buildings deep inside the country. Mr Trump said: 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.' Hours later, the US president took to social media again to predict that 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal'. Advertisement The US president made the claim that he has built a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities 'just like I got India and Pakistan to' after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation. Mr Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia. 'Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!' Mr Trump said. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' The growing conflict between Israel and Iran is testing Mr Trump, who ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine and build a foreign policy that more broadly favours steering clear of foreign conflicts. Advertisement Mr Trump has struggled to find an endgame to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And after criticising President Joe Biden during last year's campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Mr Trump found himself making the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance. His administration's push on Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the US and other world powers reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement in 2015 that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Mr Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the growing Israel-Iran conflict, and he is set to travel to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Mideast crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union.
