Trump’s Art of the Deal Meets Iran’s Long Memory of Foreign Exploitation

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As the government’s standing plummets to an all-time low due to a reckless disregard for the welfare of its people, mass protests sweep across major Iran’s cities, including Shiraz, Tabriz and Tehran. Driven by a threat to their economic survival, the merchant class, or bazaaris, are leading the demonstrations.

This is not a news report from December 2025. This is the spring of 1891, the opening salvos of the Persian Tobacco Protest. Recognizing that unfettered concessions to foreigners pose a threat to both national sovereignty and their own economic interests, the powerful Shia clergy joined the merchants in an open revolt. It was Iran’s first bitter lesson in what happens when a ruler sells out the nation to ensure his own political survival. It wouldn’t be the last.

Iranians know their history well, especially when it comes to confronting foreign aggressors. Amid whispers of diplomatic backchannels and leaks about potential deals, Iranian officials have taken to the social media platform X to send cryptic, and at times humorous, references to past triumphs. Most notably, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei invoked the Sasanian Empire’s victory over Roman Emperor Philip the Arab, when Rome was forced to accept peace on Persian terms in the 3rd century.

But make no mistake: these posts are not cautionary tales directed at the United States and Israel alone. They can also be read as stern warnings to Tehran’s own negotiators. Any concessions, or capitulations, made by the Islamic Republic can trigger severe domestic backlash because in the Iranian historical imagination, yielding an inch inevitably leads to Western exploitation and destabilizing protests. For Iran’s hardliners, a deal is tantamount to surrender.

This mindset can be traced to what Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University, describes as a “long historical memory which is very much alive and resonant in their contemporary politics.”

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Americans Travel to Pakistan to Free Christians Trapped in Modern-Day Slavery: ‘God’s Hand as in it’

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Idaho resident Aaron Hutchings arrived at a Pakistani brick factory in January. The devout Christian told Fox News Digital that he was shocked to see children turning bricks under the hot sun to work off the debts that their families had incurred, sometimes over the course of generations.

Within hours of his arrival, Hutchings paid off the debts for two enslaved Christian families and escorted them to freedom, breaking the “curse that they’ve had for hundreds of years.”

There are up to one million Christians working in slave and bonded labor in Pakistan, according to Emma Hall, a persecution researcher working with charity Open Doors U.K. and Ireland, told Fox News Digital. This could comprise as much as 30% of Pakistani Christians, counted at 3.3 million in the 2023 census and accounting for 1.37 percent of the population.

Hall noted that “extreme poverty drives desperate families to accept advance loans (peshgri) for emergency and basic needs, trapping them in cycles of debt bondage where repayment systems are structured in ways that make exit extremely difficult.”

Emmanuel Hernandez said he was shocked when he first heard that Christians in Pakistan were living in debt-based enslavement in Pakistan’s brick-making industry. After traveling to Pakistan to meet the woman who would later become his wife, Hernandez witnessed bonded laborers at a brick factory for the first time. (Read more from “Americans Travel to Pakistan to Free Christians Trapped in Modern-Day Slavery: ‘God’s Hand as in it’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Part of Southern Philippines — Tsunami Possible for Some Coasts

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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.

Power outages were reported and people were urged to go to higher ground. No further information on damage or casualties was immediately available.

[Photo credit: Quero Ya/Facebook]

The epicenter was 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos city on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It struck at 7:37 a.m.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

“We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas. (Read more from “7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Part of Southern Philippines — Tsunami Possible for Some Coasts” HERE)

Following U.S.-Mediated Talks, Israel and Lebanon Agree to Ceasefire if Hezbollah Ends Attacks

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Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework contingent on Hezbollah ending its attacks, withdrawing operatives from southern Lebanon, and allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume exclusive control over newly proposed security zones, as Iran simultaneously warned that renewed Israeli strikes on Beirut could trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the broader regional war.

Following two days of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, Washington, Jerusalem, and Beirut issued a joint statement announcing that the ceasefire would require “a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire” and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from areas south of the Litani River, while establishing “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese army would exercise exclusive control “to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement read, while further emphasizing that “the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments” and rejecting attempts by “any state or non-state actor” to “hold Lebanon’s future hostage” — a clear reference to Iran and its Hezbollah proxy, which has sought to tie the Lebanon conflict to ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the broader regional war and Strait of Hormuz crisis.

The agreement followed days of mounting tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including continued Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and threats from Jerusalem that additional Hezbollah attacks on Israeli population centers could trigger expanded Israeli operations in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that any renewed Israeli military action against Beirut would lead to a “full-scale resumption” of the war, insisting that Tehran viewed the Lebanon conflict as inseparable from ongoing negotiations surrounding the broader Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis. (Read more from “Following U.S.-Mediated Talks, Israel and Lebanon Agree to Ceasefire if Hezbollah Ends Attacks” HERE)

Netanyahu Declines to Discuss Infamous Trump Call, Says President the ‘Greatest Friend that Israel Has Ever Had in the White House’

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During an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen that aired Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports of a tense expletive-laden phone call[.] . .

Partial transcript as follows:

EISEN: So let’s talk about the call that you had with him this week, which is getting a lot of attention. The president confirmed that he said, you’re effing crazy. How did you react to that?

What really happened in that call?

NETANYAHU: Well, I’m not going to get into details of our conversations. We’ve had thousands, well, a lot, a lot of them. And if you think this is a crisis, you should be in some other conversations, but we’ve always found a way.

We have so many agreements. We agree on the main things. We want to get Iran, the nuclear program in Iran, finished.

We want to make sure that Iran doesn’t pose a threat to Israel, to the Middle East, to America, that it doesn’t develop nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, not only to Israel and to every capital in Europe, but to every city in the United States. That’s our common goal. That’s what we set out to do, and to expand the circle of peace, as the president and I did in the Abraham Accords together.

So we have common goals. Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements. We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends.

We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common action.

EISEN: So I was going to say, has your relationship at all shifted with him?

NETANYAHU: No, no. This has been a great relationship, because he’s been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And he respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences.

EISEN: Did he say that you’d be in jail if not for me?

NETANYAHU: Look, I’m not going to get into the details, but he’s been very vocal about the absurdity of this fake trial that I’m going through. You know, they asked me, I don’t know if this came up with the last time you were here, but since then —

EISEN: Two years ago.

NETANYAHU: Yes, well, since then, they’ve asked me in the court, you know, I’m supposed to be receiving gifts. So one of the first things they said to me is, Prime Minister, 30 years ago, your five-year-old child received a Bugs Bunny gift from a friend. So this trial is ridiculous.

The president understands what a ridiculous trial is, and he’s been very vocal about that. I appreciate it. But it’s unraveling on its own.

It’s just so ridiculous.

(Read more from “Netanyahu Declines to Discuss Infamous Trump Call, Says President the ‘Greatest Friend that Israel Has Ever Had in the White House’” HERE)

Drone and Missile Attacks Target Cargo Ships near Iraq

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A cargo ship was attacked by drones while sailing near the Umm Qasr port in Iraq on Monday. On Tuesday, Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for a missile attack against a commercial vessel, describing it as justified retaliation for an attack by the “terrorist and child-killing U.S. military” against an Iranian ship.

The first incident occurred on Monday, roughly 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said the ship involved was hit by an unknown “projectile” on its starboard side, resulting in a large explosion.

According to Iraqi officials, a second blast on the same ship was caused by a drone attack while emergency crews were addressing the damage from the first explosion.

“As we were assessing the damage from the first explosion, we heard a drone hovering overhead, ​followed by a ​powerful ⁠blast that sparked a fire on the tanker,” said a member of the Iraqi maritime patrol.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and UKMTO did not identify the vessel that was targeted. (Read more from “Drone and Missile Attacks Target Cargo Ships near Iraq” HERE)

Israeli Military Attempts To Halt Catholic Marian Festival In West Bank, Until Cardinal Intervenes

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Israeli military officials allegedly attempted to halt a Catholic Marian festival in honor of the Virgin Mary in a Christian village located in the West Bank on Friday, sources say.

Jason Jones, founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP), told the Daily Caller that VPP had witnessed an Israeli military vehicle enter the village of Taybeh in the early morning and order organizers preparing for the festival to leave the area.

“A permitted Catholic festival honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary was nearly shut down by armed military intervention before it even began,” Jones said.

VPP told the Caller that it had been stationed in Taybeh to document the festival as part of its Save West Bank Christians Campaign, following concerns that the annual celebration may have been the target of Israeli settlers encroaching on the Christian village.

Approximately 30 minutes later, another military vehicle appeared and delivered the same orders, VPP told the Caller.

The parish priest overseeing the festival, Fr. F, contacted church authorities immediately, until the matter reached Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. (Read more from “Israeli Military Attempts To Halt Catholic Marian Festival In West Bank, Until Cardinal Intervenes” HERE)

Feds Mysteriously Drop All Charges Against Israeli Who Ran Illegal Biolab in Las Vegas

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In a development that has ignited outrage and raised urgent questions about federal accountability, U.S. prosecutors have abruptly dropped all federal charges against Ori Solomon, the 55-year-old Israeli national who managed an east Las Vegas property where authorities uncovered an illegal biolab.

The shocking dismissal comes just months after a joint FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department raid on January 31, 2026, at a short-term rental home on Sugar Springs Drive near Washington Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. The unlicensed property, which Solomon managed, contained laboratory equipment, multiple refrigerators stuffed with vials of unknown liquids, and hazardous materials. Multiple people who entered the biolab reportedly became gravely ill.

Investigators linked the Israeli’s Las Vegas site to a prior illegal biolab in Reedley, California, operated by Chinese national Jia Bei Zhu (also known as David He), who was convicted of fraudulently selling over a million misbranded COVID-19 tests. Solomon was described by police as a “main agent and conspirator” in that operation, with the Las Vegas biolab materials appearing to be remnants stored from the California scheme.

Solomon, an Israeli citizen in the United States on a non-immigrant E-2 visa (with both Israeli and French passports), was arrested and hit with federal charges for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Agents seized multiple rifles and handguns from his own residence during the investigation, firearms he was legally barred from owning due to his immigration status.

Yet the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nevada filed a motion to dismiss the federal complaint against Solomon. The terse explanation: “After a careful review of the evidence and additional information provided by defendant, the Government has concluded that the interests of justice require dismissal of the complaint at this time.” No further details were offered, and a spokesperson for the office declined to comment.

The move has left the public in the dark. While Solomon still faces a Clark County felony charge for improper disposal and discharge of hazardous waste—with a court appearance scheduled for June 4—the federal gun case that stemmed directly from the biolab probe has vanished into thin air. And he was released from custody in February.

The mysterious federal retreat has fueled widespread suspicion about why an apparently solid case against a visa-holding Israeli involved with a Chinese-linked biolab network on U.S. soil would walk with no real explanation from Trump’s Department of Justice.

Country Captures Notorious Drug Lord’s Nephew Wanted By US, Official Says

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Authorities captured the nephew of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman during a recent criminal operation, a Mexican official said Tuesday.

Mexican Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Garcia Harfuch said the suspect, identified as Isai “N,” was detained in Nogales, a city in the Mexican state of Sonora, according to a translation of his X post. The criminal operation that led to the suspect’s capture was coordinated by multiple agencies, including the Mexican National Guard.

In addition to the suspect’s capture, authorities executed a search warrant in Tapachula, Chiapas, and seized 687 kilograms of cocaine, 151 firearms, 363 magazines and 18 grenades, Harfuch said.

“These actions reflect the permanent coordination of the Mexican State to apprehend priority targets and weaken the operational capabilities of criminal groups. We thank the support and collaboration of the authorities of the Government of Chiapas,” his statement on X read in part.

The suspect’s uncle, El Chapo, got involved in drug trafficking in the late 1980s and eventually became the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to an archived version of the State Department’s website. He was arrested in June 1993 in Mexico and sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges related to murder and drug trafficking. El Chapo escaped from a federal maximum security prison in January 2001 before he was re-arrested in February 2014. He escaped from prison again in July 2015. (Read more from “Country Captures Notorious Drug Lord’s Nephew Wanted By US, Official Says” HERE)

Country Bans Nicotine Pouches

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France’s health ministry banned multiple nicotine products, with potential violators facing large fines and jail time.

The European country’s ban took effect April 1 and applies to nicotine sachets, or pouches, and beads, along with other oral nicotine products, according to the French Republic’s website. It represents one of the strictest bans against the pouches in Europe, covering import, use and possession of pouches as well as their sale, The Financial Times (FT) reported. Potential violators face up to 5 years in prison and an approximately $436,000 fine. The ban does not include certain medical products or chewing tobacco. Cigarettes and vape products also do not fall under the ban, which targets Zyn as one of the prohibited products, according to the New York Post.

In October 2024, then-French Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq said more teenagers were calling to report sometimes dangerous “nicotine syndromes linked to the use of e-cigarette pouches” during a Le Parisien interview. “It is our duty to ban their sale,” she said.

Nicotine pouches were used by around 0.3 percent of the adult European populace in 2021, though that rate was anticipated to triple by 2025, a European Parliament report found. Adolescents and young adults were the main users. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety alleged advertising of nicotine pouches and products like them was flooding social media and targeting younger people in November 2023, the New York Post reported.

The rule from the country’s health ministry labels nicotine a “toxic substance,” citing health concerns such as addiction and episodes of “acute nicotonic syndromes.” The latter can result in serious vomiting and the possibility of dehydration, seizures and additional symptoms, according to the ministry. (Read more from “Country Bans Nicotine Pouches” HERE)