Latest news with #CouncilonForeignRelations
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump celebrates U.S.-brokered peace deal between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
Washington — President Trump on Friday celebrated the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, marking what the Trump administration hopes will be the end of a deadly conflict that has spanned nearly three decades. The agreement brokered by the Trump administration is an effort to stop the bloodshed in the eastern part of the DRC, where a militia allegedly backed by Rwanda occupies large pieces of land. Rwanda has denied directly backing the rebels. Officials from both countries signed the agreement in Washington this week. "So we're here today to celebrate a glorious triumph, and that's what it is, for the cause of peace," Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. "This is a long time waiting. The signing of a historic peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. The conflict has continued and it's been going on for many, many years. It's been going from, I guess they say 30 years." The region has been unstable for decades, and conflict in eastern Congo has led to thousands of deaths recently, and about 6 million deaths over the last three decades, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The conflict has spawned a humanitarian crisis and widespread displacement in eastern DRC. Mr. Trump said the U.S. will be "putting a lot of pressure" on the countries to honor the agreement. "I will just say that there are big penalties if they violate," Mr. Trump said, including financial penalties. But, he added, he thinks they'll remain in peace. The agreement allows for U.S. access to the DRC's deposits of minerals, such as gold, copper and lithium. Mr. Trump on Friday took credit not just for the DRC-Rwanda agreement, but for his administration's role in intervening in other conflicts, too. "This is a tremendous breakthrough," he said. "In a few short months, we've now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, India and Iran, and the DRC and Rwanda, and a couple of others, also." Vice President JD Vance also praised the president's role in the DRC-Rwanda deal. "If I think about what I know about these two countries, for 30 years, pretty much the entire time that I can remember these two countries being in the news, much of the story has been about them fighting one another, about them killing one another," Vance said. "And now, we can look forward to a future where my children will look at this moment as the beginning of a new story, a story of prosperity and peace." Hegseth slams Iran strikes initial assessment that contradicts Trump's take Young Cuban girl asks Trump to lift travel ban stopping her from joining mom in U.S. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez set for star-studded wedding in Venice
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘both sides' approach to Israel, Iran comes into question
President Trump's strategy of playing both sides is coming into question as he fumed over Israel and Iran's continued fighting while demanding peace in the region. The president was so frustrated Tuesday morning he dropped an expletive on the White House lawn on his way to the NATO summit, contending that the two adversaries 'don't know what the f— they're doing.' He also offered a window into his handling of the situation in which he stressed criticism mostly for Israel but also Iran in his quest to end the fighting: 'All I do is play both sides.' Whether Trump's strategy to have a foot in each camp will be successful depends on if Israel and Iran will abide by his desire to stop fighting in the long term, but some foreign policy experts think it will take more disciplined diplomacy to reach a peaceful end. Elliott Abrams, U.S. special representative for Iran during Trump's first term, argued that if the administration took a more subdued approach and called on Israel to de-escalate instead of retaliate when Iran continued strikes, Trump would have likely not gone on his 'tirade' on Tuesday. 'With the announcement of the ceasefire and the Iranians cheating, the Israelis were going to respond. They did respond. And I think that had he or Rubio called Netanyahu and said, 'We don't want to lose the ceasefire. So how do you plan to respond? And, don't blow up Tehran, do something moderate.' That would have worked,' Abrams said. 'There was no need for a public and private tirade.' Abrams contended that while Trump may have been posturing toward both countries, his public outburst did the situation few favors. 'You never know with Trump how much is performative, but I think there was no need for what he did,' added Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump allies have argued that the president's flexibility and willingness to pivot on a dime is an asset, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Where critics see Trump as having few strongly held beliefs and a lack of commitment to long-standing allies, the president's supporters see him as able to shift his tone and approach to get whatever result he desires. White House officials this week have trumpeted that 'only' Trump could have produced the results he did with Iran, a nod to his unorthodox approach that can change from day to day or hour to hour depending on the situation. Fred Fleitz, vice chair of the America First Policy Institute's Center for American Security, argued some tension between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to be expected, but he emphasized that Trump is unwaveringly pro-Israel despite his public frustrations. 'Netanyahu is not Trump's puppet, and he has to look out for the interests of his nation, not simply do what Trump tells him to do,' Fleitz said. 'And I think that creates conflict from time to time.' One Trump ally noted that the Iran-Israel conflict was far from the first time the president has deployed an 'all sides' approach. They argued Trump has used it at times when addressing the war in Ukraine, alternately attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and bellowing that he is unhappy with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he attempts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. A version of that was also on full display Tuesday as Trump posted a cascade of Truth Social posts as he was flying to the Netherlands for the NATO summit this week. While he left the White House just after sunrise in a huff, his Truth Social posts soon began suggesting that the ceasefire was holding and that he was telling Israel to turn their planes around. By the time Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One, he relayed that he spoke to Netanyahu and that he was optimistic a truce would hold. 'The ceasefire is very much in effect, and I think we're going to keep it there for a long time,' he said. 'I said, 'You got to turn back the planes.' And there was going to be a retaliation this morning by Israel and I said, 'You got to call back the planes. It's enough, it's enough.' And they did, which I respect very greatly,' he said. By late Tuesday, the ceasefire appeared to have been held by both Israel and Iran with few if any reports of Tehran striking Israel after Trump's earlier remarks. Trump said there wouldn't be consequences for the fighting that occurred overnight when the ceasefire was supposed to initially begin. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the most hawkish Trump allies in Congress, argued in response to Trump's outburst that Israel and Iran can't be lumped together. 'I can understand his frustration, but there's no moral equivalency between Iran and Israel,' Graham said on Fox News. 'Israel is our friend, Iran is our enemy.' The U.S. entered into a days-long conflict between Israel and Iran when it struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday with some of the most powerful ammunition in the U.S. arsenal. Iran struck back Monday with several missiles over Qatar where a large U.S. military base is located but gave fair warning to the U.S. before doing so, which prevented casualties, according to Trump. Trump announced the parameters of a ceasefire deal later Monday, but fighting between Iran and Israel continued overnight, much to the president's chagrin Tuesday morning. Abrams said he was surprised that Trump was upset with Israel and Iran, but added, 'another thing you never know … what is the factual basis for his comment.' He added, 'God knows what someone said to him over the phone or what tweet he read that set him off. He may actually not have understood the situation.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump doubts U.S. intel report on Iran nuclear program
President Trump continues to stand by his claim that Iran's nuclear program is set back by decades, despite a U.S. intelligence report stating otherwise. Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Steven Cook and Iranian-American Writer Hooman Majd join Katy Tur to discuss.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's ‘both sides' approach to Israel, Iran comes into question
President Trump's strategy of playing both sides is coming into question as he fumed over Israel and Iran's continued fighting while demanding peace in the region. The president was so frustrated Tuesday morning he dropped an expletive on the White House lawn on his way to the NATO summit, contending that the two adversaries 'don't know what the f—k they're doing.' He also offered a window into his handling of the situation in which he stressed criticism mostly for Israel but also Iran in his quest to end the fighting: 'All I do is play both sides.' Whether Trump's strategy to have a foot in each camp will be successful depends on if Israel and Iran will abide by his desire to stop fighting longterm, but some foreign policy experts think it will take more disciplined diplomacy to reach a peaceful end. Elliott Abrams, U.S. Special Representative for Iran during Trump's first term, argued that if the administration took a more subdued approach and called on Israel to de-escalate instead of retaliate when Iran continued strikes, Trump would have likely not gone on his 'tirade' on Tuesday. 'With the announcement of the ceasefire and the Iranians cheating, the Israelis were going to respond. They did respond. And I think that had he or [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio called Netanyahu and said, 'we don't want to lose the ceasefire. So how do you plan to respond? And, don't blow up Tehran, do something moderate.' That would have worked,' Abrams said. 'There was no need for a public and private tirade.' Abrams contended that while Trump may have been posturing toward both countries, his public outburst did the situation few favors. 'You never know with Trump how much is performative, but I think there was no need for what he did,' added Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump allies have argued that the president's flexibility and willingness to pivot on a dime is an asset, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Where critics see Trump as having few strongly held beliefs and a lack of commitment to long-standing allies, the president's supporters see him as able to shift his tone and approach to get whatever result he desires. White House officials this week have trumpeted that 'only' Trump could have produced the results he did with Iran, a nod to his unorthodox approach that can change from day-to-day or hour-to-hour depending on the situation. Fred Fleitz, vice chair of the America First Policy Institute's Center for American Security, argued some tension between Trump and Netanyahu is to be expected, but that Trump is unwaveringly pro-Israel despite his public frustrations. 'Netanyahu is not Trump's puppet, and he has to look out for the interests of his nation, not simply do what Trump tells him to do,' Fleitz said. 'And I think that creates conflict from time to time.' One Trump ally noted that the Iran-Israel conflict was far from the first time the president has deployed an 'all sides' approach. They argued Trump has used it at times when addressing the war in Ukraine, alternately attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and bellowing that he is unhappy with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he attempts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. A version of that was also on full display Tuesday as Trump posted a cascade of Truth Social posts as he was flying to the Netherlands for the NATO summit this week. While he left the White House just after sunrise in a huff, his Truth Social posts soon began suggesting that the ceasefire was holding and that he was telling Israel to turn their planes around. By the time Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One, he relayed that he spoke to Netanyahu and that he was optimistic a truce would hold. 'The ceasefire is very much in effect, and I think we're going to keep it there for a long time,' he said. 'I said, 'you got to turn back the planes.'' Trump said. 'And there was going to be a retaliation this morning by Israel and I said, 'you gotta call back the planes. It's enough, it's enough.' And they did, which I respect very greatly.' By late Tuesday, the ceasefire appeared to hold by both Israel and Iran with few if any reports of Tehran striking Israel after Trump's earlier remarks. Trump said there wouldn't be consequences for the fighting that occurred overnight when the ceasefire was supposed to initially begin. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the most hawkish Trump allies in Congress, argued in response to Trump's unleashing that Israel and Iran can't be lumped together. 'I can understand his frustration but there's no moral equivalency between Iran and Israel,' Graham said on Fox News. 'Israel is our friend, Iran is our enemy.' The U.S. had been pulled into a dayslong conflict between Israel and Iran when it struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday with some of the most powerful ammunition in the U.S. arsenal. Iran struck back Monday with several missiles over Qatar where a large U.S. military base is located, but gave fair warning to the U.S. before doing so, which prevented casualties, according to Trump. Trump announced the parameters of a ceasefire deal later Monday, but fighting between Iran and Israel continued overnight, much to the president's chagrin Tuesday morning. Abrams said he was surprised that Trump was upset with Israel and Iran, but added, 'another thing you never know… what is the factual basis for his comment.' He added, 'God knows what someone said to him over the phone or what tweet he read that set him off. He may actually not have understood the situation.'
DW
5 days ago
- Politics
- DW
From Iraq to UAE, Iran is surrounded by US military hubs – DW – 06/24/2025
The United States has more than 40,000 troops on land and water across the Middle East. Adding all locations together, US forces are either temporarily or permanently stationed at nearly 30 bases throughout the region. More than 40,000 US soldiers are currently deployed in the Middle East, with many of them on ships, according to the US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The number of troops is slightly lower than in October, during the previous escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran. In earlier years, there were far fewer US troops in the Middle East, totaling about 30,000. According to the recent overview by the CFR, the US has military facilities and troops spanning Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates — and beyond. US troops also use large bases that are formally operated by allies, such as in Djibouti, in East Africa, and in NATO partner Turkey. The largest US air force presence is the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, which was recently targeted with missiles by Iran. Operated by the Qatari air force, the airfield is also used by British and Australian air forces, as well as the US military. Adding all locations together, the US armed forces are either temporarily or permanently stationed at nearly 30 bases across the Middle East. The presence of US troops in the region is often linked to past deployments. The United States has operated several bases in Kuwait since the Gulf War in the early 1990s, when, Iraq attacked its small oil-producing neighbor and was repelled by US forces. After the second Iraq war in 2003, the United States retained its presence in two locations, partly to protect the Kurdish and Yazidi population in the northern region of Erbil. US troops are also still to be found in neighboring Syria: in the south and in the Kurdish-dominated north. In 2015, during the civil war, the United States began deploying special forces to the Rojava region, which is predominantly populated by Syrian Kurds. The Kurds faced extreme persecution by the terror organization the "Islamic State" during the civil war. So far, Iran has limited itself to its rather symbolic attack on Al-Udeid. Casualties were avoided as Tehran alerted the United States in advance, and the missiles were apparently intercepted by air defense. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It remains doubtful whether Iran could threaten US troops in the region with ballistic missiles on a wider scale, missile and drone expert Fabian Hinz told DW. Hinz, who conducts research for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), referred to reports from the United States that Iran could produce 50 ballistic missiles every month. "Although this is a considerable production rate, it is still not enough to maintain Iran's current rate of fire," he said — which means that the attacks on Israel since mid-June would quickly decimate its stock.
