Crypto offers a wide avenue for conflicts of interest
Might the crypto world sour on Donald Trump? At the White House's vaunted Digital Assets Summit on March 7, the president who promised to turn the United States into 'the crypto capital of the world' somewhat deflated people's enthusiasm with his promise to create a federal 'strategic reserve' of cryptocurrency.
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CNBC
22 minutes ago
- CNBC
U.S. preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy over regional security risks: Reuters sources
The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, U.S. and Iraqi sources said on Wednesday. The four U.S. and two Iraqi sources did not specify which security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4%. "The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details. A White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump was aware of the move. The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and its allies. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail and on Wednesday he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that Iran would retaliate against U.S. bases in the region if the nuclear talks failed and it was subjected to strikes. The United States has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain -- where the bulk of them are based. "The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the U.S. military is standing by if help is requested," a third U.S. official said. An Iraqi foreign ministry official said a "partial evacuation" of U.S. embassy staff had been confirmed due to what the official termed "potential security concerns related to possible regional tensions." Another U.S. official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the U.S. embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual. Oil futures climbed $3 on reports of the Baghdad evacuation with Brent crude futures at $69.18 a barrel. Earlier on Wednesday Britain's maritime agency warned that increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran. Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and its arch regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Tehran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces. Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking U.S. troops. Top U.S. regional ally Israel has also struck Iran-linked targets across the region, including Iraqi armed groups operating both inside Iraq and in neighboring Syria. Iran's U.N. mission on Wednesday posted on X: "Threats of 'overwhelming force' won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability." The statement appeared to be a response to an earlier comment by U.S. Central Command chief U.S. Army General Michael Kurilla that he had provided the president with "a wide range of options" to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
CNN
27 minutes ago
- CNN
US moves to relocate non-essential personnel from the Middle East amid heightened security concerns
The US State and Defense departments on Wednesday made efforts to arrange the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East, according to US officials and sources familiar with the efforts. It's not clear what is causing the sudden change in posture, but a defense official said US Central Command is monitoring 'developing tension in the Middle East.' President Donald Trump is aware of the recent personnel movements, a White House official said. While the reasons for the heightened security concerns in the region are not clear, the planned departures come as tensions involving Iran and Israel have recently escalated as the Trump administration continues to pursue a new nuclear deal with Iran. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, according to the official. 'The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East,' the official said. The State Department is also preparing to order the departure of non-essential personnel from the US embassies in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait due to increased security risks in the region, according to a separate US official and another source familiar with the matter. A departure of non-essential personnel will also be ordered for the US consulate in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, the sources said. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump has said he's grown less confident in being able to strike a deal with Iran curbing the country's nuclear ambitions, saying in a new interview that Tehran could be 'delaying' striking an agreement. 'I'm getting more and more less confident about it. They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame, but I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago,' Trump said in an interview with a New York Post podcast that was released earlier on Wednesday. 'Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made,' he went on, saying it was his 'instincts' telling him a deal was moving further from reach. CNN also reported Wednesday that Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop talk of an attack on Iran, according to a source familiar with the conversation. The two leaders spoke on the phone on Monday. Trump later said the call went 'very well, very smooth.' Iran's defense minister warned Wednesday that if the nuclear talks with the US fail and conflict breaks out, the US would be 'forced to leave the region.' Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said that in such a scenario 'the adversary will certainly suffer heavier casualties,' though he did not specify whether the 'adversary' was the US, Israel or both. In his comments published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, the defense minister said some officials from the opposing side had 'made threatening remarks, warning of potential conflict in case no agreement is reached' in the US-Iran talks. 'In that case, the US will have no choice but to leave the region, as all of its bases are within the reach of Iranian military and they will not hesitate to target all of them in their host countries,' Nasirzadeh said.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GOP Senator Says Trump's Military Parade Reminds Him Of North Korea
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump's upcoming military parade featuring dozens of tanks and other armed vehicles in the nation's capital this week isn't sitting well with some members of his party on Capitol Hill. Asked about the June 14 event, which will cost taxpayers up to $45 million and will commemorate the Army's 250th anniversary, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) expressed concerns about its cost and the imagery typically associated with authoritarian regimes in the former Soviet Union and North Korea. 'I love parades but I'm not really excited about $40 million for a parade,' Paul told HuffPost. 'I don't really think the symbolism of tanks and missiles is really what we're all about.' 'If you ask me about a military parade, all the images that come to mind, the first images, are of the Soviet Union and North Korea,' he added. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) also said he would spend the money on other things. 'The United States of America is the most powerful country in all of human history,' Kennedy told Fox News. 'We're a lion, and a lion doesn't have to tell you it's a lion. Everybody else in the jungle knows, and we're a lion. I would save the money, but if the president wants to have a parade, he's the President, and I'm not.' The Saturday parade — which happens to fall on the president's birthday ― will feature a massive amount of military equipment and thousands of soldiers in Washington, D.C. It comes amid nationwide protests against Trump's immigration crackdowns and his decision to deploy military troops to help quell unrest in Los Angeles. Trump on Tuesday threatened anyone planning to protest the parade, even though U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to peacefully assemble. 'If there's any protest that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force, by the way. And for those people that want to protest, they're gonna be met with very big force,' the president said from the Oval Office. Millions of people are expected to take part in 'No Kings' protests in more than 1,500 cities across the country on Saturday, organizers of the demonstrations have said. The effort is focused on pushing back against Trump's attacks on the rule of law. However, no 'No Kings' protests are planned for Washington, D.C., where the parade is being held. 'In America, we don't do kings,' reads a website for the demonstrations. 'They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too. far.'
