Poland to close Russian consulate in Krakow
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland has withdrawn consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Krakow due to evidence that Moscow was responsible for a massive fire that nearly completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping centre in May 2024, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a post on X on Monday.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Regime change in Tehran? Putin says Iran is consolidating around its leaders
By Simon Robinson ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Iranian society was consolidating around the Islamic Republic's leadership when asked by Reuters if he agreed with Israeli statements about possible regime change in Tehran. Putin was speaking as Trump kept the world guessing whether the U.S. would join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile sites and as residents of Iran's capital streamed out of the city on the sixth day of the air assault. Putin said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel's right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state. Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks that regime change in Iran could be the result of Israel's military attacks and U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for Iran's unconditional surrender, Putin said that one should always look at whether or not the main aim was being achieved before starting something. "We see that today in Iran, with all the complexity of the internal political processes taking place there is a consolidation of society around the country's political leadership," Putin told senior news agency editors in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg. Putin said he had personally been in touch with Trump and with Netanyahu, and that he had conveyed Moscow's ideas on resolving the conflict. He said Iran's underground uranium enrichment facilities were still intact. "These underground factories, they exist, nothing has happened to them," Putin said, adding that all sides should seek a resolution that ensured the interests of both Iran and Israel. "It seems to me that it would be right for everyone to look for ways to end hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to come to an agreement with each other," Putin said. "In my opinion, in general, such a solution can be found." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Moscow was telling the United States not to strike Iran because it would radically destabilise the Middle East. A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry also warned that Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclar facilities risked triggering a nuclear catastrophe. (Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Gleb Bryanski in St Petersburg, Russia, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow and Darya Korsunskaya in London; editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew Osborn)
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump talk of joining Iran-Israel conflict unnerves lawmakers in both parties
Senators in both parties are growing increasingly nervous about the possibility that President Trump could insert the United States directly in the Israel-Iran war with a decision to bomb Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It's not clear whether Trump has made a decision himself on an issue that divides his own party and the MAGA movement. On Wednesday, he said, 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' The Wall Street Journal later in the day reported that Trump had told senior aides he had approved of an attack plan for Iran but was holding off on giving a final order to see if that country abandons its nuclear program. On Capitol Hill, there is broad support in both parties for Israel, but there is also fear about getting drawn into a larger war in the Middle East. 'I'm uncomfortable,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who noted that Trump campaign on keeping the U.S. out of foreign conflicts. Since taking office, Trump has so far unsuccessfully sought to get peace deals in the Russia-Ukraine war and in the Middle East. 'These decisions are always a function of assessing risk accurately and your reward,' said Hickenlooper. 'What do we get out of it? And I'm not sure what's in it for the American people. That's the argument the president ran on.' 'We run the risk of getting dragged into a much more serious conflict,' he continued, while noting he's '100 percent' on the Israeli side. 'But I'm not sure this is necessary to their survival for us to do something like this.' Lawmakers are also worried about what their constituents back home are thinking. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( said U.S. officials 'need to be contemplative and look at all the ramifications.' 'I'd imagine every American's like, 'hoo, this situation's spiraling,'' she said. While Capito expressed concern, she also said she believes Trump will only strike Tehran if he feels fully compelled to do so beyond a reasonable doubt. 'I don't really worry with this president because he doesn't pay as much attention to the rhetoric, when the Ayatollah says, 'ohhh we'll ruin you,'' Capito said. 'I just think … slow it down if you can, make sure you're making the right decision. I trust the president to make the right decision, but it's tough.' According to one Senate GOP aide, the GOP conference has a 'healthy mix' on the question of getting more involved. At one end is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close ally of Trump but also a hawkish member who is pushing for regime change. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) represents another end of the spectrum, and has called for the U.S. to stay out of the situation entirely. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters Wednesday that he was wary of the U.S. getting increasingly ingrained in yet another conflict in the Middle East. 'I don't want us fighting a war. I don't want another Mideast war,' he told CNN. 'I'm a little concerned about our sudden military buildup in the region.' Hawley said he had spoke to Trump on Tuesday night. 'I think Trump's message to them is if you don't [give up nukes], you're on your own with Israel,' Hawley said of the Iranians. 'I think all that's fine. It's a very different thing though for us to then say, but we are going to offensively … go strike Iran or insert ourselves into the conflict,' he continued, adding that a U.S. offensive is something 'I'd be real concerned about.' 'I don't think there's a need for the United States to affirmatively insert ourselves,' he said. Democrats are pressing for more information. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday told reporters that he requested an all-senators classified briefing that is set for early next week. Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, separately expressed frustration about being kept in the dark. 'I'm a member, as you said, of the gang of eight and we're supposed to know. I have no foggy idea what this administration's plans are or what the foreign policy is vis-a-vis Iran,' he said on CNN on Wednesday afternoon. The surprise for some Republicans is that it is clear Trump is seriously considering joining the assault on Iran. This is a shift given Trump's aversion to foreign wars. The president has been a harsh critic of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) posted a meme on X exemplifying the MAGA coalition's lack of enthusiasm for a more intense role in Iran. Democrats, meanwhile, are divided on the possibility of asserting Congress's authority over war powers amid talk of a U.S. strike on Tehran. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) launched a push to curb the president's ability to launch a unilateral strike earlier in the week by rolling out his measure to require congressional authorization or a formal declaration of war before action can be taken. However, only a few of his colleagues have backed his effort publicly, with leadership keeping their options open. 'Senate Democrats, if necessary, will not hesitate to assert our prerogatives and our ability on this bill,' Schumer said. Republicans broadly believe that Trump has the authority to order a strike on Iran if he so chooses. The line they do not want to see crossed is the putting of troops on the ground in the region, and some of them do not see Trump taking that kind of step. 'We're not talking about American boots on the ground,' said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). 'That would be something different.'
3 hours ago
Trump vowed to be a 'peacemaker' but foreign conflicts only ramping up on his watch
President Donald Trump, in January's inaugural address, predicted his "proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and a unifier." Six months into his second term, conflicts are raging on three fronts around the world. Iran and Israel are trading strikes amid fears of an all-out war in which the U.S. could become involved. Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks on Ukraine's capital in months overnight earlier this week. In Gaza, people are struggling to find food and dozens have been killed in recent incidents near aid locations. "He's clearly not a peacemaker, but he's not a warmaker, either," Aaron David Miller, a State Department diplomat in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations -- now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace -- told ABC News. Trump vowed speedy ends to the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two conflicts that broke out in the previous administration that Trump has labeled "Biden's wars." He often mused on the campaign trail that he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours -- a comment that once in office he walked back as an "exaggeration." "He has made comments on all of them that this could be done quickly or easily and that there are solutions to these three problems," Miller said. "And yet, he has not been successful in even identifying what I would consider to be a potentially effective strategy for managing or let alone resolving them. And therein lies the challenge." While Trump has made new diplomatic efforts a priority amid his flurry of initiatives during his first months, he's expressed increasing frustration with the foreign leaders involved and continually condemns what he calls "the death" the conflicts have wrought. "He has followed through on his promises to try," said Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations who worked as special representative for Iran and Venezuela in Trump's first administration. "He has tried in Ukraine and he has tried in Gaza and he's tried in Iran, and none of them has worked out." One claim of success on the foreign policy front that Trump frequently makes, and says he can replicate by pushing trade deals, is how he says he stopped the recent fighting between India and Pakistan. Trump's claimed he hasn't received enough credit: "I got it stopped. I don't think I had one story." Trump now faces difficult choice on Iran and Israel Trump departed a Group of Seven summit early, citing tensions in the Middle East and ordering his national security team to huddle in the Situation Room upon his return to Washington. He's received a range of options, including using U.S. military assets to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump didn't rule out the possibility, telling reporters on Wednesday: "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do." The president's messaging on the conflict has been mixed. Trump had publicly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any strikes could derail talks between the U.S. and Iran on a nuclear deal. But after Israel's attacks last Friday on Tehran, Trump seemed to change his tune, telling ABC News they were "excellent" and saying they could drive Tehran to the negotiating table. In the last few days, he's floated sending Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to speak with the Iranians while also demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender." Officials have said the U.S. has not been involved in Israel's offensive, while Trump claimed "we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran." "His words and deeds are chaotic and inconsistent," Miller said of Trump. "And the notion that he's unpredictable and that helps him certainly hasn't proven to be the case so far in these three conflicts." The White House and Vice President Vance have defended Trump's position on Iran, saying he's long been clear and consistent that the nation can't have a nuclear weapon. Abrams concedes Trump's messaging might be "confusing" but is representative of a rapidly changing situation on the ground in Tehran. "One thing he's trying to make clear to the Ayatollah is that if he attacks American ships from bases he's done, that's the end of the regime. That is something any president should do," Abrams said. Peace in Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars remains out of reach As the administration ramps up its focus on Israel and Iran, other areas are at a standstill. "On Gaza, no one has come up with a workable plan," Abrams said. "It's a wicked problem. [Joe] Biden didn't come up with a plan in his 15 months after October 7 and Trump hasn't come up with a workable one." An initial three-phrase peace deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza, which was brokered by members of both the Biden and Trump administrations, collapsed in March. Since then, proposals for a temporary ceasefire have fallen through. In Eastern Europe, Trump took a different approach than his predecessor in engaging with both the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, often saying his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin would produce results. Some progress appeared to be made when Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first face-to-face meeting since the invasion began back in mid-May. But talks have since stalled, with the Trump administration taking a step back while Ukraine and Russia have been intensifying attacks in recent weeks. "The president did a lot of huffing and puffing on the need for peace, but he hasn't been prepared to really push Putin in that direction," said Stephen Sestanovich, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as the State Department's ambassador-at-large for the former Soviet Union. William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine during the Obama administration currently serving as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Putin is not going to be swayed diplomatically. "Putin is going to be swayed by a combination of military and economic pressure," Taylor said. "So President Trump should do that." No new commitments have been made for U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine and no new sanctions have been placed on Russia, however, and there are now reports that the Trump administration disbanded a group focused on pressuring Russia. "For someone who claims to have mastered the art of the deal, this is a pretty spectacular failure," Sestanovich said of Trump's approach to the Russia-Ukraine war so far.
