President Donald Trump set the tone for his administration’s Middle East policy with a memorandum signed yesterday to put “maximum pressure” on Iran.
Sanctions imposed on the Middle East nation are meant to choke the government’s ability to fund terrorist activities.
Government agencies are directed to identify methods to put economic pressure on Iran, with the goal of reducing oil exports to “zero.”
If Iran, or its proxies, were to assassinate the president, he said, “If they did that, they would be obliterated. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left."
He later met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign head of state to visit the White House in Trump’s second term.
Netanyahu committed to “finishing the job” of eliminating terrorists and said, “We see eye to eye on Iran. We’re both committed to rolling back Iran’s aggression in the region and ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.”
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Regarding the Gaza Strip, heavily destroyed by war, Trump said it’s been a “disaster for decades” and suggested the U.S. could develop and own the property “long-term” to help ensure stability.
The president said the area holds exceptional potential and could be rebuilt as a “Riviera” in the Middle East.
He said the approximately 1.8 million Palestinian refugees could find new homes in Jordan, Egypt, or other prospective locations.
In an executive order signed Feb. 4, the president removed the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council, citing anti-Israel bias and the inclusion of China and Iran as reasons for withdrawing from the international body.
The order also cuts funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, alleging the organization assisted terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
After buyout offers were sent to federal workers last week, more than 20,000 have accepted and signed deferred resignation letters. Those who accept by Feb. 6 will receive full pay and benefits until Sept. 30.
The day additional 10 percent tariffs took effect on products from China, Trump said he was in no hurry to talk to Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping. Levies will continue until the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals stops, and the rates could increase significantly, according to the president.
How to manage prisoners is a topic among administration officials, after Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, offered to house convicted criminals in the country’s prison system, including U.S. citizens, for a fee.
Trump expressed willingness, saying more than one country is making the offer, and said the legality of the proposal is under review.
A “big investigation” is also proposed for the high-speed rail project in California, which has run over budget and blown past construction timeline projections, according to the president. He
Department of Government Efficiency engineers, currently digging through data and analyzing cost outlays, are “smart people,” Trump said. The newly established department is aiming to cut $2 trillion of government spending.
The United States Agency for International Development, established in 1961, could be folded under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the president said. He has repeatedly accused the agency of overseeing decades of “fraud and abuse.”
—Travis Gillmore
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Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been approved by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and is one step closer to being confirmed as Director of National Intelligence. The vote may be tight; members of the Senate have expressed concern after Gabbard refused to label intelligence leaker Edward Snowden a “traitor.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will get his shot at confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, after narrowly passing a 14-13 vote by the Senate Finance Committee. Kennedy faces scrutiny from both sides of the aisle due to his pro-choice views and having been labeled—despite his objections—as an anti-vaxxer.
Joan Bell, whose pro-life activism netted her a 27-month jail sentence in 2024, was one of a handful of prisoners who spoke to The Epoch Times after being pardoned by President Donald Trump. “This is a great honor to sign this,” the president said while signing their pardon on his third day in the Oval Office.
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, insists that Trump’s proposed tariffs against Canada and Mexico were necessary to force those countries to police their respective borders with the U.S. “The president is fighting a drug war,” not a trade war, he said.
—Stacy Robinson
