Trump warns Iran ‘bad things’ will happen if they fail to make a ‘meaningful’ deal, and appears to set 10-day deadline for US military action<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has warned Iran that \u201cbad things\u201d will happen if no deal is reached and appeared to set a 10-day deadline before the US might take action.<\/p>\n
During the first Board of Peace meeting, Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted that Tehran has to reach a \u201cmeaningful\u201d agreement. \u201cOtherwise, bad things happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump spoke of the airstrikes the US carried out in June on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, claiming that the country\u2019s nuclear potential had been \u201cdecimated\u201d. \u201cWe may have to take it a step further or we may not,\u201d he said, hinting that he could take a decision very soon.<\/p>\n
double quotation markYou\u2019ll be finding out over the next probably 10 days.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s comments follow months of massive US military buildup of aircraft carriers, warships and jets in the region \u2013 its largest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq<\/a> \u2013 that has fuelled fears that a full-scale attack on Iran could be imminent.<\/p>\n Iranian and US negotiators met on Tuesday and Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said they had agreed on \u201cguiding principles\u201d. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the two sides remained apart on some issues.<\/p>\n Trump said \u201cgood talks are being had\u201d, and a senior US official told Reuters that Iran would make a written proposal on how to address US concerns.<\/p>\n Trump, meanwhile, called on Tehran to join the US on the \u201cpath to peace\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey can\u2019t have a nuclear weapon, it\u2019s very simple. You can\u2019t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an analysis on the current situation from the Guardian\u2019s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.54 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n ‘I’ve won affordability’ Trump says<\/p>\n Donald Trump is currently giving a campaign-style speech<\/a>, boasting about what he calls his economic accomplishments to workers at a steel service center in Rome, Georgia.<\/p>\n So far, the most eye-catching claim has been Trump\u2019s statement, unsupported by anything like evidence, that he has triumphed over \u201caffordability\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you notice, what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I\u2019ve won, I\u2019ve won affordability. I had to go out and talk about it,\u201d the president said, in the clearest example yet of his deep-seated belief that the cost-of-living crisis so many Americans are experiencing is a partisan attack on him, rather than reality.<\/p>\n Trump is speaking in Georgia\u2019s 14th Congressional District, where early voting began this week in an election<\/a> to replace the district\u2019s previous representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after publicly breaking with Trump over issues including his claim that her concern about the victims of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s sex crimes was also \u201ca hoax\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.06 EST<\/p>\n The Trump banner on the justice department building has already received some criticism as a sign of the president\u2019s overarching power over the nation\u2019s legal arm.<\/p>\n Bill Kristol, a prominent conservative commentator and founder of The Weekly Standard, said on X<\/a>, \u201cShameful\u2014but in a way useful. No one should any longer pretend we have a \u201cDepartment of Justice.\u201d We have a Department of Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n A new banner depicting Trump on the DoJ building in Washington. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters<\/p>\n Senator Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, posted<\/a>, \u201cThe Department of Justice is supposed to work for and represent you, not him.\u201d<\/p>\n Workers setting up the Trump banner on Thursday. Photograph: Allison Robbert\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.47 EST<\/p>\n In other news, the Associated Press is reporting that a large banner featuring president Donald Trump\u2019s face is seen on the exterior of justice department headquarters in Washington DC.<\/p>\n A banner of president Donald Trump is hung on the Department of Justice on 19 February. Photograph: Heather Diehl\/Getty Images<\/p>\n From the Associated Press:<\/p>\n While Trump banners have been hung outside other agencies across Washington, the decision to place one on the storied justice department building Thursday amounts to a striking symbol of the erosion of the department\u2019s tradition of independence from White House control. The banner, hung between two columns on one corner of the building, says, \u201cMake America Safe Again,\u201d a slogan used by the administration to tout its efforts to clamp down on illegal immigration and violent crime.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.30 EST<\/p>\n Trump says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest is ‘so bad for the royal family’<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters en route to Rome, Georgia today, Trump weighed in on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a shame. I think it\u2019s very sad,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI think it\u2019s so bad for the royal family \u2026 To me, it\u2019s a very sad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump added:<\/p>\n double quotation markNobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive \u2026 but I\u2019m the one that can talk about it because I\u2019ve been totally exonerated. I did nothing, in fact, the opposite.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Here’s a recap of the day so far<\/p>\n Donald Trump has warned Iran that \u201cbad things\u201d will happen if no deal is reached and appeared to set a 10-day deadline before the US might take action. During the first Board of Peace meeting, Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted that Tehran has to reach a \u201cmeaningful\u201d agreement. \u201cOtherwise, bad things happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Also at the meeting, Trump said the United States will contribute $10bn to his Board of Peace. \u201cWhen you look at that compared to the cost of war, that\u2019s two weeks of fighting, it\u2019s a very small number. It sounds like a lot, but it\u2019s a very small number,\u201d Trump said. He offered no details about how the US would send this money to the board, or if he\u2019s requested approval from Congress for the funds.<\/p>\n While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>\u2019s arrest by British police today came after years of uproar over his association to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, documents show that he had been on the radar of US law enforcement for nearly 15 years. Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s name came up during a 2011 FBI inquiry into Epstein, investigative documents<\/a> recently disclosed by the justice department reveal. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all allegations of misconduct related to Epstein.<\/p>\n Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union address next week, top Democrats have announced in a statement. The Democratic rebuttal will immediately follow Trump\u2019s address to Congress next Tuesday. Spanberger, who served three terms in Congress, became Virginia\u2019s first female governor earlier this year, resoundingly winning an office previously held by a Republican.<\/p>\n Congressmen Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie plan to introduce a bipartisan war powers resolution next week, and try to force a vote on the House floor, to curb the Trump administration\u2019s possible military action against Iran. \u201cTrump officials say there\u2019s a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can\u2019t without Congress,\u201d said<\/a> Khanna, a California Democrat, amid the reports that the US is positioning aircraft carriers and amassing a large arsenal of fighter jets for a potential strikes.<\/p>\n Donald Trump announced today that the Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved his plans for a $300m White House ballroom. The president fired <\/a>the previous members of the board last year and installed several loyalists in January, which included his 26-year-old assistant.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ally-packed commission approves Trump’s plans for White House ballroom<\/p>\n Donald Trump announced today that the Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved his plans for a $300m White House ballroom.<\/p>\n The president fired <\/a>the previous members of the board last year and installed several loyalists in January, which included his 26-year-old assistant. On Thursday, six of the seven members of the commission moved to fast-track the final vote. One commissioner recused himself because he was an initial architect on the plans.<\/p>\n The independent agency\u2019s purview includes reviewing designs proposed for memorials and new or renovated government buildings, and the commission is intended to be staffed by experts in art, architecture and urban design.<\/p>\n The ballroom plans will also need to be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission \u2013 which is now run by Will Scharf, an advisor to Trump.<\/p>\n A federal court is weighing a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to put a halt to the ballroom\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.50 EST<\/p>\n Minnesota Democrats Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig will visit the BH Whipple federal building in Minneapolis on Friday, to conduct federal oversight of the conditions.<\/p>\n The Whipple building \u2013\u00a0also an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facility \u2013\u00a0became the site of sustained protests throughout the crackdown in the state in recent months.<\/p>\n Previously, the congresswoman were denied access to the site, despite federal law guaranteeing lawmakers the right to make un-nannounced oversight visits to investigate detention facilities.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger to give Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address<\/p>\n Virginia\u2019s governor Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union address next week, top Democrats have announced in a statement.<\/p>\n The Democratic rebuttal will immediately follow Trump\u2019s address to Congress next Tuesday. Spanberger, who served three terms in Congress, became Virginia\u2019s first female governor earlier this year, resoundingly winning an office previously held by a Republican. She won the race by a double-digit margin, campaigning on affordability and lowering costs for families.<\/p>\n House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said that she \u201cembodies the best of America as a mother, community leader and dedicated public servant.\u201d<\/p>\n His Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer said: \u201cGov. Spanberger will lay out a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.41 EST<\/p>\n Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on US law enforcement radar 15 years before UK arrest<\/p>\n Victoria Bekiempis<\/p>\n While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>\u2019s arrest by British police today came after years of uproar over his association to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, documents show that he had been on the radar of US law enforcement for nearly 15 years.<\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s name came up during a 2011 FBI inquiry into Epstein, investigative documents<\/a> recently disclosed by the justice department reveal. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all allegations of misconduct related to Epstein.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump changed mind on Chagos deal \u2018after UK blocked use of Diego Garcia for Iran strikes\u2019<\/p>\n Peter Walker<\/a> and Dan Sabbagh<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump changed his mind on supporting the Chagos Islands<\/a> deal because the UK will not permit its airbases to be used for a pre-emptive US strike on Iran, the Guardian has been told.<\/p>\n In his latest change of heart<\/a> on the deal, the US president said on social media that Keir Starmer was \u201cmaking a big mistake\u201d by handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in exchange for continued use by the UK and US of their airbase on one of the islands, Diego Garcia.<\/p>\n While Trump had previously criticised the plan, which is backed by the US state department, earlier in February he had described it as the \u201cbest\u201d deal Starmer could make in the circumstances.<\/p>\n But in Trump\u2019s post on his Truth Social site he linked the deal with US military strikes against Iran in connection with Tehran\u2019s nuclear ambitions, which are believed to be imminent<\/a>. He wrote:<\/p>\n double quotation markShould Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime.<\/p>\n A pre-emptive strike on Iran would be unlikely to be in line with the UK\u2019s interpretation of international law. US bases in the UK, like Fairford in Gloucestershire, the home for US B-2 bombers in Europe, are only used for military operations if the UK government agrees and they are considered legal.<\/p>\n UK government sources said this was viewed as the reason for Trump to again turn against the Chagos plan.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump warns Iran ‘bad things’ will happen if they fail to make a ‘meaningful’ deal, and appears to set 10-day deadline for US military action<\/p>\n Donald Trump has warned Iran that \u201cbad things\u201d will happen if no deal is reached and appeared to set a 10-day deadline before the US might take action.<\/p>\n During the first Board of Peace meeting, Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted that Tehran has to reach a \u201cmeaningful\u201d agreement. \u201cOtherwise, bad things happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump spoke of the airstrikes the US carried out in June on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, claiming that the country\u2019s nuclear potential had been \u201cdecimated\u201d. \u201cWe may have to take it a step further or we may not,\u201d he said, hinting that he could take a decision very soon.<\/p>\n double quotation markYou\u2019ll be finding out over the next probably 10 days.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments follow months of massive US military buildup of aircraft carriers, warships and jets in the region \u2013 its largest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq<\/a> \u2013 that has fuelled fears that a full-scale attack on Iran could be imminent.<\/p>\n Iranian and US negotiators met on Tuesday and Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said they had agreed on \u201cguiding principles\u201d. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the two sides remained apart on some issues.<\/p>\n Trump said \u201cgood talks are being had\u201d, and a senior US official told Reuters that Iran would make a written proposal on how to address US concerns.<\/p>\n Trump, meanwhile, called on Tehran to join the US on the \u201cpath to peace\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey can\u2019t have a nuclear weapon, it\u2019s very simple. You can\u2019t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an analysis on the current situation from the Guardian\u2019s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.54 EST<\/p>\n Richard Luscombe<\/p>\n The Trump administration<\/a> is moving to arrest thousands of people already legally admitted to the US as refugees and detain them indefinitely for aggressive \u201crescreening\u201d, a report published on Thursday said.<\/p>\n Under the new policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that federal immigration officers can and should arrest anyone who has not yet obtained the right to permanent residence, a so-called green card, and subject them to interviews to assess their refugee claims while they are in custody, as first reported by the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n The memo reverses a 2010 Obama administration policy that said failure to apply for a green card within a year of admission to the US was insufficient basis for such an arrest or detention, the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n The DHS move is pertinent to an ongoing case<\/a> in Minneapolis in which a federal judge last month blocked the Trump administration from further arrests of settled refugees in Minnesota, and ordered the release of at least 100 more arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE<\/a>).<\/p>\n Officials said \u201cOperation Parris\u201d, which targeted about 5,600 refugees in Minnesota<\/a> who had not yet become permanent residents, was \u201ca sweeping initiative re-examining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019re keeping an eye on lawmakers who are rebukingDonald Trump\u2019s announcement that the US will pledge $10bn to the Board of Peace \u2013 of which the president serves as chair.<\/p>\n Trump offered no explanation as to how he plans to secure this money, nor did he mention whether he has sought approval from Congress, who would need to vote on a specific appropriations bill for the funds.<\/p>\n Senator Chris Murphy, who sits on the upper chamber\u2019s foreign relations committee called the move \u201ctotally illegal\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Top oversight Democrat says former prince’s arrest is ‘enormous step’ in fight to secure justice for Epstein survivors<\/p>\n In response to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s arrest today, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, Robert Garcia, said that it is \u201can enormous step forward in our fight to secure justice\u201d for the Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s survivors.<\/p>\n In November, oversight Democrats called for the former prince to sit for questioning as part of their ongoing investigation into the handling of the Epstein case. \u201cBritain is now holding him accountable with this arrest. Now it\u2019s time for the United States to end this White House cover-up,\u201d Garcia added in a statement.<\/p>\n Other Democratic members of Congress welcomed the news of Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s arrest, and how it might impact accountability stateside.<\/p>\n \u201cEven princes are not above the law,\u201d said congressman Ro Khanna, who led the effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act. \u201cBut why isn\u2019t more being done here? We should start with Howard Lutnick resigning,\u201d he added, referring to Donald Trump\u2019s commerce secretary \u2013\u00a0who admitted<\/a> that he visited Epstein on his private island in 2012, four years after the disgraced financier was convicted on state charges of soliciting prostitution. This, despite Lutnick\u2019s claims that he was no longer in touch with Epstein after 2005.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Melody Schreiber<\/p>\n Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health<\/a> (NIH), was named the acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, making him the fourth leader in a year at the embattled agency in an unprecedented move that further consolidates power among a small group of men at the helm of US health agencies.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been an ineffectual health leader whose attention will be further fractured, and as a close ally to Robert F Kennedy Jr<\/a>, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services and a longtime vaccine critic. Bhattacharya may sign off on further changes to the vaccine schedule, observers said.<\/p>\n Jay Bhattacharya attends an event with first lady Melania Trump at The Children’s Inn in Bethesda, Maryland, 11 February 2026. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/AP<\/p>\n Bhattacharya will continue serving in his current role as NIH director, where he has overseen dramatic cuts to research and staff. The CDC has similarly slashed grants to states and enacted massive layoffs even as officials under Kennedy have dramatically reshaped policy on routine vaccinations.<\/p>\n Staff say the controversial health economist has had little to do with the daily operations of the NIH.<\/p>\n \u201cHe won\u2019t actually run the CDC. Just as he doesn\u2019t actually run NIH,\u201d said Jenna Norton, an NIH program officer speaking in her personal capacity.<\/p>\n Jeremy Berg, former director of National Institute of General Medical Sciences, had a similar response. \u201cNow, rather than largely ignoring the actual operations of one agency, he can largely ignore the actual operations of two,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bhattacharya, who made a name opposing measures to prevent Covid-19, has strongly criticized officials who fund research and advise on policy simultaneously.<\/p>\n \u201cBureaucrats who fund the careers of scientists should play no role whatsoever in setting pandemic policy,\u201d Bhattacharya wrote in a post<\/a> on Twitter\/X in December 2021, saying the \u201cdual role\u201d was a conflict of interest that silenced scientists.<\/p>\n Read Melody\u2019s full report: <\/p>\n