Turkey's President Warns Greece, France About Oil and Gas Exploration in Disputed Waters

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday delivered a menacing warning to countries challenging Turkish energy claims in the Mediterranean, asking the people of Greece and France if they are ready to pay the price for their “overambitious and incompetent leaders.” Read

Ahead of First Israel-UAE Flight, Netanyahu Says Palestinians No Longer Have ‘Veto’ on Peace

As they prepare to take the first commercial flight between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien both expressed optimism Sunday that other Arab countries would follow the UAE in normalizing relations with the Jewish state. Read

Beijing Claims It ‘Warned Away’ a US Destroyer Trespassing in ‘Chinese Territorial Waters’

The Chinese military claimed on Friday that it had warned off a U.S. Navy destroyer sailing in disputed waters in the South China Sea, one day after the Pentagon said China was escalating tensions in the area by firing ballistic missiles. Read

Parents of Slain ISIS Hostage: ‘To This Day, We’ve Never Heard From Joe Biden’

The parents of a young aid worker kidnapped by ISIS in Syria, raped repeatedly by its leader, and later killed, on Thursday contrasted the response of the Trump administration and that of its predecessor to their family’s plight. Read

At RNC, Young Congressional Hopeful Hauls Himself Out of Wheelchair, Recites Pledge

 A 25-year-old running for a seat that would make him the youngest member of Congress ended his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night by hauling himself out of his wheelchair, standing to recite an adaptation of the pledge of allegiance. Read

Networks Cut Away As Chinese Dissident Praises Trump’s Approach to China's Communist Party, ‘An Enemy of Humanity’

Chinese rights activist Chen Guangcheng, persecuted after drawing attention to forced abortions under the Chinese Communist Party’s notorious “one child” policy, said Wednesday President Trump has “shown the courage” to wage the fight needed “to stop the CCP’s aggression.” Read

Pompeo Praises Trump for Moving the American Embassy ‘to This Very City of God, Jerusalem’

In a speech recorded in Jerusalem earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised President Trump for foreign policies including moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel “to this very city of God, Jerusalem, the rightful capital of the Jewish homeland.” Read

Turkey Hits Back After US Criticizes Erdogan Meeting With Hamas Terrorists

Turkey’s Islamist government on Tuesday hit back after the State Department criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for hosting leaders of Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Read

Senior US Official to Take Up Navalny Poisoning Case With Russians

The administration’s number two diplomat will raise with the Russian government the subject of Alexei Navalny, the anti-Putin activist who appears to have been deliberately poisoned, according to U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan.  Read

Haley: Biden’s ‘A Godsend to Everyone Who Wants America to Apologize, Abstain and Abandon Our Values’

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday night skewered Joe Biden over some of the most pressing foreign policy issues of recent years, calling the Democratic presidential nominee “a godsend to everyone who wants America to apologize, abstain, and abandon our values.” Read

‘A Major Advance’: Trump Announces COVID-19 Treatment; Experts Cite Mortality Reduction of Up to 35%

 The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an “emergency use authorization” for transfusions into COVID-19 patients of plasma donated by those who have recovered from the disease, citing data showing a “significant” – up to 35 percent in some cases – reduction in mortality rates. Read

Pompeo Plan to Address RNC From Israel Upsets Jewish Democrats

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be addressing the Republican National Convention this week “in his personal capacity,” according to the State Department, but the decision to do so while on a visit to Israel has upset some Jewish Democrats, who see it as a ploy to politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship. Read

WH Security Adviser Warns of Potential Impact on Bilateral Ties, After Suspected Poisoning of Putin Critic

The suspected poisoning of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foremost critics was “extraordinarily concerning,” U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Thursday, warning that the incident could impact relations between the U.S. and Russia.  Read

Pompeo Initiates 30-Day Iran Sanctions Snapback; Says Europeans ‘Chose to Side With the Ayatollahs’

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday kick-started the process to restore almost all sanctions on Iran in one month’s time, he had blunt words for European allies who are rejecting the right of the U.S. to take the step, accusing them of choosing to “side with the ayatollahs.” Read

Pompeo Heads to NY to Initiate Iran Sanctions ‘Snapback,’ Already Rejected by Russia, China

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to New York on Thursday for an encounter that could lead to the biggest crisis in the U.N. Security Council in years, as the administration seeks to restore all of the U.N. sanctions against the Iranian regime that were lifted under the nuclear deal.  Read

Linda Sarsour Row Deepens: Islamic, Arab Groups Want Biden to Apologize

Arab American and Islamic American leaders on Wednesday demanded that Joe Biden apologize after a campaign spokesman distanced the Democratic presidential nominee from the views of Linda Sarsour, a controversial Palestinian American activist and former Women’s March co-leader. Read

‘Hezbollah Operatives Do Not Freelance’ Says Pompeo After Hariri Murder Trial Verdict

After a special tribunal on Tuesday found a Hezbollah member guilty for his role in the most politically-charged assassination in Lebanon’s history – but said it found no evidence that “the Hezbollah leadership” was involved – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remarked, “Hezbollah operatives do not freelance.”  Read

AOC Hails Movement to 'Repair Wounds of Racial Injustice, Colonization, Misogyny and Homophobia’

Before the virtual Democratic National Convention on Tuesday formally nominated Joe Biden for president, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), in a minute-and-a-half statement, reminded the party what progressives are aiming for. Read

Sanders: Ideas Viewed as ‘Radical’ a Few Years Ago Are Now Mainstream

Addressing the virtual Democratic National Convention on Monday night in support of Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy, Sen. Bernie Sanders said that his own now-suspended campaign had “moved this country in a bold new direction,” adding that that many ideas considered radical just a few years have become mainstream. Read

Hillary Clinton Misleads on Iran Sanctions at the UN: Unlike Bush, ‘We Did It’

Hillary Clinton claimed on Monday that the Obama-Biden administration, with her as secretary of state, had succeeded where its predecessor had not in securing international pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. But the historical record does not bear that out. Read

Afghan Deal Hits New Hurdle as US Allies Object to Freedom For Terrorists Who Killed Their Citizens

 The troubled Afghan peace process, designed to end America’s longest war, has hit a new roadblock as two U.S. allies oppose the release of terrorists convicted of killing their citizens. Read

Trump: US Will Push This Week to ‘Snap Back’ Sanctions on Iran

After the U.N. Security Council decisively defeated a U.S. bid to extend the arms embargo against Iran, the administration is preparing in the coming days to invoke a “snap back” of sanctions against the regime, President Trump confirmed at the weekend. Read

Kushner: Trump’s Mideast Approach Is One of ‘Future Thinking,’ Not ‘Failed Conventional Thinking of The Past’

 White House senior advisor Jared Kushner on Sunday dismissed opponents of the historic Israel-United Arab Emirates agreement as people who “want the region to be stuck in old conflicts,” while President Trump’s approach is one of “future thinking” that is delivering results. Read

Historic Israel-UAE Agreement Upsets Rep. Tlaib: ‘We Won’t Be Fooled’

 A U.S.-brokered agreement that normalizes relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a historic achievement in a region plagued by conflict, but in a sour note Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) declared, “We won’t be fooled by another Trump/Netanyahu deal.”  Read

Biden Seeks Credit for US-Brokered Israel-UAE Agreement: ‘I Personally Spent Time …’

Welcoming Thursday’s agreement on the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates – a diplomatic success for President Trump less than 12 weeks before the election – presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said pointedly that it built on the efforts of the Obama-Biden and other previous administrations. Read

Harris, Like Biden, Wants to Rejoin Iran Deal, Placate NATO

Sen. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, has little foreign policy experience, although positions she has taken align largely with those of the presumptive Democratic nominee, including on rejoining the Iran nuclear deal and correcting what critics view as President Trump’s inappropriate treatment of NATO. Read

Flashback: That Time When Biden Overlooked Kamala Harris – Then Denied Having Done So

 Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden picked Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate less than nine months after he appeared to have forgotten for a moment that she existed. Read

Israel Warned the UN a Year Ago About Hezbollah Smuggling Arms Through Beirut Port

 Hezbollah opposes the idea of an international inquiry into the devastating explosion in Beirut a week ago, stoking suspicion that the Iran-backed terrorist group worries an independent inquiry may draw unwelcome attention to its alleged use of the port for smuggling weapons into Lebanon. Read

Ilhan Omar Easily Wins Her Primary; 'Our Support Has Only Grown'

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota easily won her Democratic primary on Tuesday, setting her and the rest of the so-called “Squad” of left-wing congresswomen on track to return to Congress next year in their respective solidly Democratic districts. Read

Trump: China, Iran and Russia ‘Are Hoping That Joe Biden Wins’

 China, Iran and – yes – Russia are hoping Joe Biden wins the November election, President Trump claimed on Monday, portraying a second presidential term as something the three unfriendly regimes are all anxious to avoid. Read

Trump Returns to Briefing Room After Shooting Near WH: ‘Do I Seem Rattled?’

U.S. Secret Service agents ushered President Trump out of a press briefing at the White House on Monday evening following an incident in which a man claiming to be armed was shot by a Secret Service officer nearby. Read

Pelosi Questions Intel Agencies' Conclusion That China Would Prefer Biden: 'We Don't Know That'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday accused the intelligence community of improperly equating Russian and Chinese attempts to interfere in the U.S. elections. While she agreed that Russia is meddling in support of President Trump, Pelosi questioned the notion that China was doing so in support of Joe Biden. Read

Arab Gulf States Back US Call to Renew Iran Arms Embargo

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday welcomed a call by the six Arab Gulf states for the soon-to-expire U.N. arms embargo on Iran to be renewed, days before the U.S. pushes for a U.N. Security Council vote to achieve that goal. Read

U.S. Drops Global ‘Do Not Travel’ Advisory, But Identifies 55 Countries to Avoid

 The State Department on Thursday lifted its global level four – “do not travel” – advisory for U.S. citizens, indicating that as the coronavirus pandemic evolves it makes sense once again to differentiate between countries facing different situations. Read

Exiled Saudi Intelligence Official Says Crown Prince Sent Hit Squad to Kill Him

 A former top Saudi intelligence official credited with foiling terrorist plots against Americans is accusing the kingdom’s most powerful leader of sending a hit squad to Canada to kill him. Read

Rep. Tlaib Wins Primary: The Squad is ‘Here To Stay, And It’s Only Getting Bigger’

After easily defeating a primary challenge in her Michigan district, Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Wednesday that the “Squad” – as she and three other high-profile left-wing congresswomen are known – is “here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger.”  Read

US Offers Rewards of Up to $10 Million to Counter Foreign Cyber Meddling in Elections

For the first time, the State Department is leveraging a 36-year-old program created to help bring terrorists to justice, to counter efforts by cyber criminals backed by foreign governments to interfere in U.S. elections. Read

BLM Activist Heading to Congress Calls for 'End to US Imperialism’

Allies of “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are awaiting the result of her closely-watched primary but in the meantime are celebrating a progressive win in Missouri, where a Black Lives Matter activist has toppled a ten-term incumbent. Read

Trump: 8,600 US Troops in Afghanistan Will Likely Drop Below 5,000 by Election Day

The U.S. will “probably” have fewer than 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the time of the U.S. election, President Trump said in an interview aired Monday – the same day as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly held a virtual meeting with a senior Taliban official. Read

Trump: Military Officials Say Massive Beirut Blast Likely ‘A Bomb of Some Kind’

President Trump said Tuesday that U.S. military officials believed a massive blast in the Lebanese capital Beirut was likely “a bomb of some kind.” Read

VP Contender Karen Bass Has More Than Once Sidestepped Questions on Cuban Repression

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), reportedly on the shortlist to join the Democratic presidential ticket, has on several occasions sidestepped interviewers’ questions about repression in Cuba, typically responding by suggesting it’s just one of many odious regimes the U.S. deals with. Read

AOC: Ilhan Omar Facing Tough Primary Challenge Because She’s So ‘Damn Effective’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is facing a well-funded primary challenge next week because she was so “damn effective” against big money interests, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday. Read

China Says US Wants to Ban TikTok Because of Competition, Anti-Trump Teens

The real reason President Trump wants to act against TikTok is because U.S. tech firms can’t compete with the Chinese video app, and because it’s popular with American teenagers, “many of whom do not like Trump,” a Chinese Communist Party claimed on Sunday. Read

Pompeo Isn’t Buying Claim That Hong Kong Election Was Postponed Because of Coronavirus

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday called out the claim that Chinese authorities delayed legislative elections in Hong Kong – by a full year – because of coronavirus concerns, charging that the real reason was fear that pro-Beijing candidates would be “crushed.” Read