France says decision on Iran sanctions to depend on release of French detainees
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
MAGA faithful cheer Trump for pausing Ukraine weapons after bristling at Iran strikes
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is getting praise from his most ardent supporters for withholding some weapons from Ukraine after they recently questioned the Republican leader's commitment to keeping the US out of foreign conflicts. This week's announcement pausing deliveries of key air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment to Ukraine comes just a few weeks after Trump ordered the US military to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Bombing those sites in Iran had some hardcore supporters of the 'Make America Great Again' movement openly questioning whether Trump was betraying his vow to keep America out of 'stupid wars' as he inserted the US military into Israel's conflict with Tehran. With the Ukraine pause, which affects a crucial resupply of Patriot missiles, Trump is sending the message to his most enthusiastic backers that he is committed to following through on his campaign pledge to wind down American support for Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia, a conflict he has repeatedly described as a costly boondoggle for US taxpayers. 'The choice was this: either prioritize equipping our own troops with a munition in short supply (and which was used to defend US troops last week) or provide them to a country where there are limited US interests,' Dan Caldwell, who was ousted as a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, posted on X. Caldwell publicly worried before the Iran strikes that US involvement could incite a major war and ultimately cost American lives. Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec, another ardent MAGA backer, warned as Trump weighed whether to carry out strikes on Iran last month that such a move 'would disastrously split the Trump coalition.' He was quick to cheer the news about pausing some weapons deliveries to Ukraine: 'America FIRST,' Posobiec posted on X. Both the White House and the Pentagon have justified the move as being consistent with Trump's campaign pledge to limit US involvement in foreign wars. 'The president was elected on an America first platform to put America first,' Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said. At the same time, the decision is stirring anxiety among those in the more hawkish wing of the Republican Party. Many are flummoxed by Trump's halting the flow of US arms just as Russia accelerates its unrelenting assault on Ukraine. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who hails from a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, wrote to Trump and the Pentagon on Wednesday expressing 'serious concern' about the decision and requesting an emergency briefing. 'We can't let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin prevail now. President Trump knows that too and it's why he's been advocating for peace,' Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, wrote on X. 'Now is the time to show Putin we mean business. And that starts with ensuring Ukraine has the weapons Congress authorized to pressure Putin to the negotiating table.' Trump spoke by phone with Putin on Thursday, the sixth call between the leaders since Trump's return to office. The leaders discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues but did not specifically address the suspension of some US weapons shipments to Ukraine, according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign affairs adviser. Zelensky said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he hopes to talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension. The administration says it is part of global review of the US stockpile and is a necessary audit after sending nearly $70 billion in arms to Ukraine since Putin launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022. The pause was coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby. Colby, before taking his position, spoke publicly about the need to focus US strategy more on China, widely seen as the United States' biggest economic and military competitor. At his Senate confirmation hearing in March, he said the US doesn't have a 'multi-war military.' 'This is the restrainers like Colby flexing their muscle and saying, 'Hey, the Pacific is more important,'' said retired Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Backers of a more restrained US foreign policy say the move is necessary, given an unsettled Middle East, rising challenges in Asia and the stress placed on the US defense industrial complex after more than three years of war in Ukraine. 'You're really coming up to the point where continuing to provide aid to Ukraine is putting at risk the US ability to operate in future crises,' said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities. 'And you don't know when those crises are going to happen.' 'So you have to be a little bit cautious,' she added.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Treasury Chief Sees 100 Countries Getting 10% Reciprocal Tariff
About 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10%, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, adding that he expects "a flurry" of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline that could see tariff rates increase sharply. "We'll see how the President wants to treat those who are negotiating, whether he's happy that they're negotiating in good faith," Bessent told Bloomberg Television. "I think that we're going to see about 100 countries who just get the minimum 10% reciprocal tariff and we'll go from there. So I think we're going to see a lot of action over the coming days," Bessent said. If 10% tariffs were given to 100 countries, that would be fewer than originally envisioned by the Trump administration. Its original reciprocal tariff list showed 123 jurisdictions that were given a 10% tariff rate - mostly small countries, along with some territories like Australia's uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands. Trump in April temporarily reduced the tariff rate for most countries to 10% to allow time for negotiations. Many countries with an initial 10% duty rate have not had any negotiations with the Trump administration, with the exception of Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines. Major trading partners now involved in negotiations with the US could see much higher tariff rates, including 20% for the European Union, 26% for India and 24% for Japan. Other countries that have not engaged in trade talks with the Trump administration face even higher reciprocal tariffs, including 50% for Lesotho, 47% for Madagascar and 36% for Thailand. Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that he said cuts US tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%, with many US products claimed to be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Says He Will Meet with Iran If Necessary
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran wants to speak to the US, and that he would meet with representatives of the country "if necessary." "Iran does want to speak, and I think they'd like to speak to me, and it's time that they do," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews while on his way to a rally in Iowa. "We're not looking to hurt them. We're looking to let them be a country again."
