Iran planning Trump assassination? Khamenei advisor hints at drone attack at Mar-a-Lago
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Tensions between Iran and the United States escalated after a senior Iranian official hinted at a potential drone strike targeting former US President Donald Trump , even within his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the remarks on Iranian state television, referring to Trump's role in the 2020 killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, reported Newsweek."Trump can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago, because while he's lying down, a micro-drone might target and strike him right in the navel," Newsweek quoted Larijani as saying.His comments coincided with the emergence of an online campaign called Ahde Khoun (translated as Blood Pact), which has reportedly raised over $27 million as of July 8, reported India Today. The stated goal of the campaign is to finance retaliation against individuals accused of threatening Iran's leadership, particularly Supreme Leader Khamenei.The homepage of the campaign platform states that it will pay a reward 'to anyone who can bring the enemies of God and those who threaten the life of Ali Khamenei to justice.' Iranian state-affiliated media, including Fars News Agency, have covered the campaign and called for further public support.When asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy whether he considered Larijani's comments a direct threat, Trump said, 'Yeah, I guess it's a threat. I'm not sure it's a threat, actually — but perhaps it is.'Doocy followed up with a lighter question: 'When was the last time you went sunbathing?' Trump laughed and said, 'It's been a long time. Maybe when I was about 7. I'm not really into it.'The warning comes amid renewed regional tensions following recent US airstrikes on suspected Iranian nuclear sites. While Trump has said Iran may be open to resuming talks with Washington, Tehran has not confirmed this.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Today in Politics: All eyes on Parliament as Monsoon Session set to commence
The government on Sunday told an all-party meeting that it is ready to discuss all issues raised by the Opposition in the Monsoon session of Parliament, which will commence on Monday, while asserting that it will respond appropriately to demands for a response on US President Donald Trump's claims on Operation Sindoor. At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims. The government sought coordination with the opposition in the smooth running of the month-long session. There should be govt-opposition coordination in running Parliament smoothly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters after the meeting. He said the government will respond appropriately in Parliament on opposition raising the issue of Trump's claims on Operation Sindoor. The government, he emphasised, is open to discussing all issues in Parliament in line with rules and traditions and asserted that the government was very much open to discussing important issues like Operation Sindoor. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said his party sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on Trump's claims, 'lapses' which led to the Pahalgam attack and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of poll rolls in Bihar. The Monsoon Session of Parliament will also see the introduction of eight new bills by the central government. The Income-Tax Bill, 2025 is the government's top priority and was presented to the Lok Sabha on February 13 during the Budget Session of Parliament. TMC's Martyrs' Day rally With an eye on the Assembly polls next year, the TMC is gearing up to turn its annual Martyrs' Day rally into a powerful platform to sharpen its Bengali pride narrative and hit out at the BJP over the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants. Monday's rally in Kolkata's Esplanade is expected to see Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issue a clarion call to her party workers, reiterating her message that 'Bengalis are not second-class citizens in their own country'. 'Time and again, poor Bengali-speaking workers are being picked up, harassed, and branded as illegal infiltrators. The BJP is criminalising poverty and weaponising identity to harass the marginalised,' a senior TMC leader told PTI. The TMC has accused the BJP of resorting to 'linguistic othering' and has sought to reignite the emotional chord of regional identity that helped it counter the BJP's Hindutva wave during the 2021 assembly polls. 'Dignity, identity, and survival are at stake. BJP is out to erase Bengali self-respect under the garb of nationalism. Our fight is not just electoral-it's existential,' said a TMC MP. The BJP, on the other hand, has pushed back strongly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent rally in Durgapur, accused the TMC of promoting infiltration and endangering national security for vote-bank politics. 'It is the BJP that truly protects Bengali 'ashmita',' Modi had said, as he projected the BJP as the only credible alternative in Bengal. Ashim Ghosh to take oath as Haryana Governor Haryana's Governor-designate Ashim Ghosh will take oath of office in a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan here on Monday. He will succeed Bandaru Dattatraya. The new Governor will be administered the oath of office by the Punjab and Haryana High Court's Chief Justice Sheel Nagu. According to an official communique, the appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of office. Once a towering yet soft-spoken presence in Bengal BJP's formative years, Ghosh (81), a scholar with a sharp political mind, has made a surprise return to national relevance, over two decades after retreating from the daily bustle of active politics. 'It's a matter of great honour for me, and I would try to perform my duties with utmost sincerity. I will work with dedication to serve the people of Haryana,' the 81-year-old had told reporters in Kolkata on July 14. His elevation as governor is being seen as both an acknowledgement of his long political journey and a gesture of respect toward the older generation of BJP leaders who built the party's foundations in West Bengal, where it long remained marginal. – With PTI inputs
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Harvard faculty who fear school's destruction seeks deal with Trump admin
Kit Parker is used to being an anomaly on Harvard University's campus. The physicist — an Army Reserve colonel who served in Afghanistan — is a long-time critic of the school's hiring practices and what he sees as liberal biases. For months, he's urged the university to address criticisms from the White House, even as the vast majority of his colleagues applauded Harvard's decision to resist President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape higher education. These days, in Parker's telling, he finds himself less isolated as Harvard confronts the harsh realities of a sustained fight with the US government. Faculty such as Parker and Eric Maskin, an economics and mathematics professor who won a Nobel Prize in 2007, want Harvard to resolve the clash with Trump before punishing financial penalties cause irreparable damage to the school and the US. They and other faculty agree that reform is needed to address issues including antisemitism, political bias and academic rigor. Harvard declined to comment on negotiations with the Trump administration. The stakes for Harvard will be in focus on Monday, when a federal judge in Boston will hear arguments on whether the Trump administration illegally froze more than $2 billion in research funding, as the university claims. In a sign that the Trump administration isn't running out of ways to challenge the school, government agencies in July threatened Harvard's accreditation and subpoenaed data on its international students. Just last week, Garber warned the combined impact of the federal government's actions could cost the school as much as $1 billion annually — a figure that takes into account federal research cuts, a higher endowment tax and the government's continuing attempt to ban it from enrolling foreign students. Garber said that the school will continue to slash expenditures and that a hiring freeze will remain in place. 'There's a point at which the grant cuts destroy Harvard as a leading university,' said law professor Mark Ramseyer. 'That point is far below $1 billion. So we were already fully in the disaster zone.' Faculty members like Parker, Maskin and Ramseyer – all members of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard, a campus group that says it supports free inquiry, intellectual diversity and civil discourse – remain a minority in the wider Harvard community. In a survey of professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 71% said they believed Harvard shouldn't try to reach an agreement with the Trump administration. The poll was conducted by the student newspaper in April and May, and less than a third of some 1,400 professors it was distributed to responded, meaning it might not be a representative sample of views overall. FAS houses 40 academic departments. An alumni group called Crimson Courage continues to urge Garber to fight, and many students would find a settlement unpalatable. 'Standing strong is not merely an operational exercise: it is a moral imperative,' Crimson Courage said last month in a letter to Garber and the board that oversees the university. 'The world is watching and needs Harvard's leadership and courage now.' The splits hint at the delicate position Harvard's leadership is in after months of standing up to the Trump administration, including by suing the government for cutting off federal funding and to prevent a ban on international students. In the hearing Monday in the federal funding case, Harvard is poised to argue the administration's freeze violated its First Amendment rights and failed to follow proper procedures under civil rights law. But the administration argues that Harvard failed to address antisemitism, and the US acted properly under federal law in terminating funding. Harvard has said it is working to combat antisemitism with steps like updating its rules on use of campus spaces, reviewing its disciplinary processes and funding projects aimed at bridging campus divisions. For Garber and the Harvard Corp., the powerful governing body led by Penny Pritzker, striking a deal quickly would offer significant benefits. Students are set to start returning to campus in a matter of weeks, so reaching a settlement before then would potentially allow the school to provide a measure of clarity to international students before the start of the academic year. If funding were restored as part of an agreement, it could also end months of uncertainty for researchers. David Bergeron, a former acting assistant secretary at the Department of Education in Barack Obama's administration, pointed to another advantage for Harvard of arriving at an agreement soon. 'There are fewer faculty and students around in the summer to object,' Bergeron said. Now that the school has become an avatar for resistance to Trump's efforts to transform higher education, a settlement will be perceived by some key constituencies as a capitulation. Bertha Madras, a professor at Harvard Medical School since 1986, said that she thinks some of the changes that could stem from an agreement would benefit the university – even if she thought Trump's tactics for achieving them were aggressive. 'This new reality calls for institutional pride to yield to negotiations,' said Madras, a professor of psychobiology, adding that she sees 'an opportunity for timely self-examination and fast-track reforms.' Maskin, who is one of seven co-presidents of the Council on Academic Freedom, holds a similar view. 'There are plenty of things that Harvard could be doing and should be doing. To go ahead and do them is not caving. It's making the university better,' Maskin said. Still, it's not clear how much progress Harvard and the Trump administration have made toward a deal. While President Trump said last month that Harvard was close to a 'mindbogglingly' historic deal, Bloomberg News later reported that talks between the administration and the school had stalled. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in July that the administration was 'negotiating hard' with both Harvard and Columbia University. 'I think we're getting close to having that happen. It's not wrapped up as fast as I wanted to, but we're getting there,' she added.
Economic Times
5 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Still waiting for a fourth stimulus cheque in July or August? Here's why that $2,000 isn't coming
Stimulus Checks: Talk of a new $2,000 stimulus cheque landing in July or August 2025 has gone viral. But as of now, neither the IRS nor the US Congress has proposed or approved such a payment. The rumour, fuelled by social media and unverified reports, has no official backing. The deadline to claim the third and final stimulus passed in April 2025. While some US states continue to issue small inflation relief cheques, there is no federal fourth stimulus in the pipeline. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads IRS and Treasury: No fourth cheque in the works Trump's DOGE plan still just a proposal Cost of living rising, relief still sparse Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Stimulus payment scams and fake forms on the rise A quick look at past stimulus payments The first cheque, issued in March-April 2020, provided up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 per qualifying child under 17 The second cheque, sent by January 2021, was up to $600 per person and $600 per dependent The third cheque, delivered between March and December 2021, gave $1,400 per eligible individual, and $1,400 per dependent How to track refunds or missing stimulus payments Over the past week, rumours have surged online about a fourth stimulus cheque worth $2,000 supposedly coming in July or August 2025. These claims, heavily circulated on social media and through loosely sourced articles, suggest that new federal relief is on the way for struggling there is no official confirmation. Not from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), not from the US Congress, and not from the Treasury wave of misinformation follows a 19 July article by Rick Adams, which implied that lawmakers were considering new payments due to mounting public pressure. The article stated that single filers earning less than $75,000, and married couples earning under $150,000, would qualify. It also mentioned additional amounts for dependents, with direct deposits possibly starting late 2025 or early 2026 if that 'if' remains very much draft legislation, budget allocation or public statement supports these claims. The most recent IRS update, IR-2025-75 issued on 15 July, focused on tax security and extensions. It made no mention of new stimulus been no movement from the IRS or the Treasury to suggest that another stimulus is being last round of Economic Impact Payments was part of the American Rescue Plan in 2021. That provided up to $1,400 per eligible individual. As of now, the only related payments still being processed involve the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, with $2.4 billion in unclaimed funds still being issued. But that process ends by January IRS confirmed in bulletin IR-2024-314 that this is not a new cheque, just money left unclaimed from the third stimulus. Congress has not passed any law approving a fourth round. And the deadline to file for the third stimulus expired on 15 April in February, Donald Trump floated the idea of a one-time $5,000 'DOGE dividend' during a summit in Miami. He tied it to projected savings from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Trump said, 'We are considering using part of the 20% in savings DOGE identified and giving that back to taxpayers.'That proposal, however, has gone nowhere. There's been no follow-up from Congress, no formal plan, and certainly no timeline. It remains just an idea with no structure or funding behind no denying that many Americans are feeling the pinch. Rising costs of rent, food and healthcare continue to put pressure on households, especially the elderly and low-income earners. Adams noted this in his article, and there is some factual basis to that Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2025 aims to provide some support. But it's not keeping pace with actual inflation cited by calculated that the proposed DOGE savings of $130 billion, even if redistributed, would only amount to around $807 per taxpayer, far below the claimed $2,000. That figure also assumes full congressional approval, which has not been these rumours spread, so do the scams. Users on X (formerly Twitter) have flagged fake text messages and websites offering early access to the supposed IRS is urging caution. In a statement, it advised citizens to 'check for updates and avoid unsolicited payment requests.'It's also worth noting that some states have issued their own forms of inflation relief. These are not federal cheques, and the amounts are far example, New York sent one-time inflation cheques of $200 for individuals earning up to $75,000, and $400 for married couples earning up to $150,000. Pennsylvania, Georgia and Colorado also issued what they termed 'rebate cheques' to qualifying taxpayers or property owners. Each state uses its own put the $2,000 rumour into context by looking at the actual stimulus history:Any unclaimed stimulus payments had to be filed for via the 2021 tax return. The final deadline was 15 April 2025, with no extensions available. Even if a taxpayer requested a filing extension, that did not apply to the stimulus claim. The IRS made clear that 'any unclaimed stimulus payments become the property of the U.S. Treasury.'If you are waiting for a tax refund or think you might have missed a stimulus payment, the best step is to use the IRS's 'Where's My Refund' tool online. It updates daily and lets users track the progress of their federal return. You will need your Social Security number, filing status and the exact refund amount to access the you filed electronically with direct deposit, you can expect to see the refund in your account within 21 days. For paper filers, it might take up to eight the IRS helpline at 800-829-1954 is available for those unable to use the refunds, meanwhile, must be tracked via each state's own tax portal. For example, the Delaware Division of Taxation and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue each have dedicated online systems.
