Tag: no-latest

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. carried out another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said that recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire.

Military officials said in a social media post that the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait.

The action comes just a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.

The social media post said that the U.S. “is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”

Iranian state media reported explosions, including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait and in Sirik, another southern coastal city. State media also reported explosions were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.

A day earlier, Iranian state television said eight members of the Army’s air and naval forces were killed in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.

Trump threatened to ‘hit them hard again’

At a military base in the United Kingdom after leaving a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran, and issued another warning to Tehran.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Earlier in the day, Trump said the U.S. would “probably hit them hard again tonight” and later added that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

A day after assaults on commercial shipping escalated into an exchange of strikes on Iranian and U.S. military targets, Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the strikes are continued retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“They are behaving very badly,” he said of Iran, accusing the country of launching drones and a missile at ships. After three tankers were hit Tuesday, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Persian Gulf.

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X: “The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

The exchange of fire raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, and Trump fueled those concerns by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial to the global economy.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump’s remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month, when he also questioned whether the U.S. “has the stomach for it.” Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran’s leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Military says it hit air defenses and small boats

On Tuesday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said American forces hit Iranian targets including air-defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Those boats have been key to threatening ships in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war. Iran’s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage.

On Wednesday morning, both Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to U.S. Army forces, sounded missile alerts. The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement acknowledging targeting U.S. military installations in both countries.

Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry said a number of lines were out of service after shrapnel fell on them.

U.S. revokes license allowing the sale of Iranian oil

After the Iranian strikes on shipping, the U.S. revoked a license that — for the first time in years — had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in U.S. dollars, as part of the interim deal.

Iran and the United States agreed as part of the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted it must control the vessels’ routes and vowed to later charge fees for passage. That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked Tuesday all appeared to be using a route close to Oman’s shore, rather than one ordered by Tehran.

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.

Elsewhere, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi and other Iranian and Iraqi officials attended funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Khamenei’s body will be returned to Iran to be buried Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.

Dozens of people were charged with felonies after trying to steal thousands of beagles from a Wisconsin research facility — a major development in a case that has drawn increased attention to animal testing practices.

The facility, Ridglan Farms, outside Madison, breeds the beagles for research intended to improve veterinary medicine, but is now winding down operations. Protesters have tried on separate occasions in recent months to steal beagles from the facility in response to allegations of animal mistreatment, and in one case succeeded. The company has denied that it abuses animals.

Prosecutors in Dane County, Wis., filed charges on Friday against at least 47 people they believe participated in a March break-in that ended with the removal of 22 dogs. The people, including members of a national animal welfare group, have each been charged with burglary, according to a criminal complaint. Four other individuals who authorities believe played a large role in the incident face additional charges, filed in April.

For all but those four individuals, the maximum sentence for this latest round of charges is 12.5 years. Members of the group include residents of 19 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.

On March 15, the group, wearing a mix of white lab jumpsuits and all-black outfits, piled out of vans parked near Ridglan Farms. Some used hammers, crowbars and other tools to cut through fencing surrounding the facility and to break at least one window, according to the complaint. A few carried portable radios with attached earpieces. Others livestreamed their actions on Facebook, the complaint said.

Weeks of planning predated the incident, according to the complaint. Organizers recruited participants, created a travel guide, held a training session, scoped out the facility and purchased materials, including protective gear, saws and mallets. Local authorities arrested dozens of participants at the scene.

“Roads were blocked,” said Kalvin Barrett, the Dane County sheriff. “Drones were used.”

About a month later, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets to halt another attempt by a group of more than 1,000 activists, and several more were arrested.

Wayne Hsiung, founder of Direct Action Everywhere, a national animal welfare group, was among those arrested. “Only a deeply corrupt system” would deploy tear gas and rubber bullets against “peaceful activists,” Hsiung previously said in a statement from jail.

Law enforcement officials were “just trying to protect the property and uphold the law,” Barrett said.

Charges filed last week in Dane County concern the theft of beagles in March. But the sheriff’s office has also recommended charges related to the April incident to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, Barrett said.

It could not be reached for comment.

All individuals charged thus far are expected to appear in court in August, a Dane County official confirmed. Meanwhile, Ridglan Farms is winding down its operations.

Last fall — after former employees testified that dogs at the center had undergone eye surgeries without general anesthesia — a special prosecutor found that Ridglan Farms performed procedures that constituted animal mistreatment.

The highly publicized beagle theft attempts prompted increased scrutiny of Ridglan Farms’ operations this year. In response to public concerns about the welfare of dogs at the facility, the sheriff’s office in April requested to accompany state officials on an unannounced walk-through of Ridglan Farms. That request was denied, Barrett said. Ridglan Farms could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

“Law enforcement cannot just go in there and shut it down because we don’t agree with what we’re seeing or what’s happening there,” Barrett said.

Ridglan Farms previously bred beagles for experiments done on site and sold the dogs to other research labs. The company was expected to surrender its breeding license this summer, ending its ability to sell dogs to outside labs — a consequence of a state investigation. The facility would have maintained permission to perform experiments on its own beagles.

Now, though, Ridglan Farms is on track to close in August, said Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue.

After purchasing dogs from Ridglan Farms in May, Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which has campuses in Florida and Alabama, reached a deal with the company: Ridglan Farms will close its Wisconsin center, and Big Dog Ranch Rescue will purchase the remaining beagles, Simmons said.

Other rescue groups across the country have also purchased dogs from Ridglan Farms. Currently, nearly 500 beagles remain there, Simmons said.

“I think with all of the activists’ actions that brought this really to the world’s attention, I think they may have had enough,” Simmons said. The beagles that Big Dog Ranch Rescue has purchased from Ridglan Farms range from puppies to 10-year-olds, Simmons said. Many were scared and shy when they first arrived, she added, but “have really rebounded.”

“This facility had a long history of violations, and they’re not the only one,” Simmons said. “Animal testing in this country, especially on dogs, is cruel and unnecessary.”

ANKARA, Turkey — Denmark on Wednesday vowed to defend its territory after President Donald Trump insisted again that the United States should control Greenland, upending a NATO summit in Turkey meant to be a show of strength and unity.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.

“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people’s right for self-determination,” Frederiksen said ahead of the meeting of NATO leaders. “Greenland is of course not for sale.”

Trump had reopened old wounds on the eve of the meeting by insisting that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory.

Arriving at the summit on Wednesday, Trump said he was “not happy with NATO” for its member nations’ pushback against his earlier efforts to take over Greenland, adding that the territory “is very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark.”

Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The organization is normally focused on outside threats such as that posed by Russia. It is not designed to deal with threats from within.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland,” and called for unity in the face of Russia, which she called “the biggest threat.”

NATO chief backs latest U.S. strikes on Iran

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said from Ankara on Wednesday that he believes the United States is fully committed to the alliance. He praised Trump for the series of U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte said to Trump. “It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this.”

The U.S. strikes, as well as the revoking of a license allowing Iran to sell its oil on global markets, underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting.

Trump said Wednesday the interim agreement with Iran is “over” after the strikes, but that he will allow talks to continue.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump responded when asked about the status of the ceasefire. “It’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”

NATO leaders sought to show Trump they were boosting defense

The meeting in Ankara was meant to focus on progress made toward meeting the alliance’s spending targets — something Rutte highlighted by noting numerous countries that are already investing more.

“The commitment is there, no doubt,” Rutte said before chairing the summit, but noted the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadian will equalize their spending with the United States.”

In an attempt last month to mollify the U.S. leader, Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.

Yet Trump has demanded “loyalty” and branded NATO a “paper tiger” after some allies refused to grant open access to their bases for U.S. forces to attack Iran.

Trump on Wednesday blasted NATO member Spain for its refusals to allow U.S. forces to use its bases to attack Iran, saying it was a “terrible partner in NATO” and renewing his threats to cut off trade with Spain.

As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

NATO diplomats and officials had hoped that Trump would take the win, but judging by some of his remarks since arriving in Turkey, they are in for yet another dressing down.

NATO braces for Trump’s grievances

Trump has long argued that the U.S. carries more than its fair share of the defense burden for NATO. At last year’s summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.

Yet new figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, and the Czech Republic could be in hot water with the Trump administration as they struggle to meet the alliance’s old spending target of 2% of GDP.

The Trump administration wants to see a more lean and lethal “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.

However, the Pentagon has launched a six-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.