All articles tagged with #us policy
Pope Leo XIV used Palm Sunday to condemn the Iran war and urge a cease-fire, highlighting civilian casualties while signaling ongoing moral opposition to U.S. policy; the pope has previously criticized Trump-era immigration measures and supported bishops’ critiques, and will focus on migrant issues with a visit to Lampedusa, with no White House comment yet.
The White House is weighing sanctions relief for Iranian oil floating on the sea to help cap surging prices, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying about 140 million barrels—roughly 10–14 days of supply—could be released and redirected to markets beyond China to blunt the war-driven price pressures.
The article argues the initial US‑Israel plan to quickly topple Iran failed, with Netanyahu trapped and Trump overconfident. It outlines a two‑pronged Plan B: (1) use minority groups like Kurds or Baluchis to foment internal revolt, and (2) apply the Dahiya doctrine—punishing civilians to crush domestic support—through intensified strikes on Iran’s infrastructure. This could provoke Iranian retaliation against Gulf oil states and cause global economic disruption, making the conflict harder to end and risking months of escalation. Some Israelis and U.S. insiders may be rethinking the approach, but the war remains costly and uncertain.
Axios reports the Trump administration dismissed a Ukrainian offer last year to share battle‑tested anti‑Shahed drone defense tech, only to reverse course recently after Iran’s drone strikes intensified; Kyiv proposed interceptors, radar and ‘drone walls’ hubs to defend U.S. bases, but officials say the plan wasn’t acted on, a potential strategic misstep in confronting Iran’s drone threat.
Former Acting DEA Administrator Derek Maltz calls for an aggressive, offensive approach against drug cartels, arguing the U.S. must go after narco-traffickers with lethal force as President Trump endorses missile strikes and a 13-nation Latin American coalition coordinates new strategies to defeat cartel networks and narco-terrorists.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington could remove sanctions on more Russian oil to add supply, a day after a 30-day waiver allowed stranded Russian crude to India; he added the government is examining additional unsanctioning of Russian oil.
Foreign Affairs argues that a U.S.-led war against Iran is unlikely to deliver a stable, pro-American Middle East; even if Iran’s leadership is degraded, power vacuums and hard-line proxies could sustain regional wars, undermine Gulf alliances, and stagnate Arab-Israeli normalization, while China and Russia could benefit from Washington’s distraction—the only realistic path is cease-fire and targeted damage-control, not a wholesale ‘day after’ transformation.
Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are reportedly on standby to enter Iran for a cross-border operation, with some fighters moved toward the border and U.S. officials discussing support; Komala and PAK say they could cross within days, while Iraqi Kurdish leaders weigh risks of escalation and Tehran retaliation. The White House has not pledged to arm a specific faction, and any entry could signify a major escalation with regional spillover.
First Lady Melania Trump presided over a UN Security Council session on protecting children in war, urging enduring peace and safeguarding education amid Middle East tensions as the U.S. and Israel challenge Iran; the meeting highlighted civilian harm, with Iran condemning the session and reports of a deadly airstrike on a girls’ school in Iran, while the U.S. has cut funding to UNICEF and UNESCO and withdrawn from the UN’s Office for Children in Armed Conflict.
PolitiFact notes that, despite Trump’s claim of supporting legal immigration, his administration has aggressively restricted legal entry by ending humanitarian parole and TPS, pausing asylum and visa processing, implementing travel bans, and reducing refugee resettlement, signaling a broad tightening of legal immigration.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, suggested Israel could claim land across parts of the Middle East, prompting regional condemnation; a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the remarks were taken out of context and there is no change to U.S. policy.
Washington hosts 50+ countries for a Critical Minerals Ministerial to strengthen diversified, resilient supply chains amid China’s dominance, with talks on a minerals price floor, the Project Vault stockpile, and expanding processing capacity with allies like Australia and the EU, signaling a push to onshore critical minerals and reduce reliance on a single supplier.
The Trump administration is pursuing a U.S. strategic reserve for rare earth elements to reduce dependence on foreign sources and bolster national security by safeguarding minerals crucial for electronics and defense.
The United States has shifted away from backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after a rapid string of clashes and a Damascus offensive that eroded SDF power. A U.S.-mediated ceasefire led to the SDF signing a deal to dissolve its separate command and integrate fighters into the Syrian army, leaving a limited presence only in Hassakeh. The move marks a major realignment of U.S. policy toward Syria’s postwar governance and reflects deep disagreements over decentralization and minority protections, with Washington choosing not to intervene as the SDF hoped for continued U.S. backing if conflict with Damascus resumed.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers proposed a $2.5 billion federal agency to accelerate the domestic production and processing of rare earths and other critical minerals, aiming to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains and strengthen national security.