[Just The News] The Justice Department announced Tuesday that two foreign researchers with the National Institutes of Health have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement.
The department accused 53-year-old Vincent Munster, a citizen of the Netherlands, and 38-year-old Claude Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon, of allegedly lying to Customs and Border Protection officials at an airport in Detroit about the contents of a large black plastic case they carried with them from a trip to the Republic of Congo in January, where an outbreak of monkeypox was occurring.
The two men, who worked at the NIH's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, claimed the case contained diagnostics and testing equipment, but a subsequent investigation by CBP and the FBI revealed it contained 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers. The FBI has tested 20 of the vials so far and 17 have contained deactivated monkeypox virus.
#1
The following outbreaks or were found in the USA and contained
we have been treated to in 2026 (SO FAR).
Ebola
Monkeypox
Andes hantavirus
Bird Flu
Salmonella
E. coli X
Bundibugyo
Norovirus
Oropouche virus
Chikungunya
Plus there is talk of a new strain of HIV & Cow bugs also.
According to the criminal complaint, Vincent Munster, a citizen of the Netherlands, 53, is the Chief of the Virus Ecology Section, Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. Claude Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon, 38, is a research fellow in Munster’s section. The work of both men is focused on “emerging viral pathogens” and how those pathogens “cross the species barrier.” They work at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, which employs the highest level of biosafety precautions for scientific research of known and potential human pathogens.
On January 25, 2026, Munster and Kwe arrived at the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with travel originating from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where an outbreak of monkeypox was occurring. Monkeypox is an infectious virus that can result in painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fevers and other ailments.
Munster and Kwe were inspected and interviewed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials upon their arrival. CBP officers observed Kwe and Munster traveling with a large black plastic case. Munster and Kwe falsely told CBP officers that the black case contained diagnostics and testing equipment. But subsequent investigation by CBP and FBI agents revealed that the case actually contained 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers. As of the date of the complaint, the FBI has tested 20 of the 113 vials. Seventeen of them contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained the Chickenpox virus, and two contained only human DNA.
They’d gone on a trip specifically to pick up samples for their research, the Dutchman is the department head, the samples were deactivated, so the risk should be minimal — all they had to do was submit the proper paperwork instead of lying to the Border Patrol inspectors. The average IQ for a PhD is 125, but I don’t see any signs of intelligence in this tale.
#11
Meat is horrible for the planet, if we all went veggie it would be great.
And we would turn stupid, weak and die young!
Seems that Meat proteins is not the same as plant proteins, we get essential nutrients from meat such as needed brain vitamins and ammo acids (such as vitamin B12 that can only be gotten from meat) that we need for a healthy functioning brain and also to build and maintain good muscle tones a well as help prevent diabetes.
The convenient generalisation and broad use of labels such as “bandits” and “terrorists” – often without distinguishing between the various armed actors operating across Northwest and Northcentral Nigeria – means that significant… https://t.co/LeYQx5U5tG
The convenient generalisation and broad use of labels such as “bandits” and “terrorists” – often without distinguishing between the various armed actors operating across Northwest and Northcentral Nigeria – means that significant successes and developments can pass largely unnoticed.
Someone heard me complaining. Thank you, universe!
One such example occurred over the weekend in Niger State, where more than 200 fighters linked to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) were killed in an ambush by Nigerian security forces, supported by vigilantes.
What is particularly striking is that the sheer scale of the reported casualties generated relatively limited national attention, public curiosity, or broader discussion about the implications of the operation. This is despite the fact that over 200 fighters were neutralised in a single day, even though the wider operation reportedly began several days earlier.
Assuming the number given is true, of course. One assumes a certain amount of puffery in certain cultures. If it were really on only twenty, or two, the lack of attention becomes self-explanatory.
The incident once again highlights the growing complexity of insecurity in Northwest and Northcentral Nigeria. The multiplicity of actors operating across these regions – bandit factions, jihadist groups, local militias, and transnational networks – increasingly makes attribution difficult, even for security actors themselves. In many cases, attacks are simply attributed to “bandits” or “terrorists” without deeper analysis of who the actors actually are, their affiliations, or their strategic objectives.
Indeed.
So, what happened in Niger? Sources said hundreds of JNIM fighters had travelled from Kwara State to the Borgu forest in Niger State for a meeting with a senior JNIM leader believed to have arrived from Mali. Some fighters also crossed into Nigeria for the meeting from Malanville in Benin Republic through Kamba in Kebbi State.
The meeting reportedly took place late Friday into the early hours of Saturday. As the fighters headed back toward Kwara, security forces, possibly acting on intelligence and supported by local vigilantes, laid an ambush.
Among those believed to have survived the operation was Amir Akibu Armiya’u, JNIM’s leader in Nigeria.
Troops, Immigration Personnel Arrest Suspected ISWAP Informant in Niger State
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the 221 Battalion, in collaboration with personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), have arrested a suspected informant linked to the Boko Haram in Niger… pic.twitter.com/thb0gIsr8Y
Troops, Immigration Personnel Arrest Suspected ISWAP Informant in Niger State
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of the 221 Battalion, in collaboration with personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), have arrested a suspected informant linked to the Boko Haram in Niger State.
Security sources told Zagazola that the suspect was apprehended during a targeted operation conducted at about 1:00 p.m. on May 30 in Koro Community, Kainji area of Borgu Local Government Area.
According to the sources, the operation was carried out under Operation Savannah Shield following intelligence reports on the activities and movement of the suspect.
The sources alleged that the suspect served as an informant for Boko Haram elements and was involved in providing support during a previous terrorist attack in Kwankoso village.
A civilian passenger bus struck a pressure-plate IED west of Bamako, likely placed by JNIM militants as part of the blockade against the capital, according to reports eight civilians were killed and a dozen injured, Africa Corps mercs arrived later to visit the scene. pic.twitter.com/KZ63fewY1X
A civilian passenger bus struck a pressure-plate IED west of Bamako, likely placed by JNIM militants as part of the blockade against the capital, according to reports eight civilians were killed and a dozen injured, Africa Corps mercs arrived later to visit the scene.
NEW | The Congolese government conducted an unsuccessful offensive on Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the eastern DRC, likely aiming to capture a key mining town controlled by M23.
M23 separately carried out its first successful drone attack on the main Congolese army (FARDC)… pic.twitter.com/YMHY8FXhfY
— Critical Threats (@criticalthreats) June 2, 2026
Text:
NEW | The Congolese government conducted an unsuccessful offensive on Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the eastern DRC, likely aiming to capture a key mining town controlled by M23.
M23 separately carried out its first successful drone attack on the main Congolese army (FARDC) airbase hundreds of miles away from the eastern DRC front lines, in response to the DRC’s ongoing decapitation strike campaign in the eastern DRC.
More at the link
The rest of the thread is equally interesting, including another map:
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
The FARDC and Congolese-backed Wazalendo militia fighters launched the ground offensive around May 18, capturing numerous villages on lines of advance toward Rubaya, a major coltan mine controlled by M23 in Masisi district in North Kivu province.
M23 reportedly began consolidating forces for several days before launching a counteroffensive and recovering most of the positions that it had lost in Masisi, however. 2/7
9:31 AM · Jun 2, 2026
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
13h
The Congolese government likely views capturing Rubaya as a major economic and political objective.
Tax revenue from Rubaya, which is estimated to produce 15 to 30 percent of the global coltan supply, is likely a key source of income for M23 as the group struggles to stimulate the local economy.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has offered the mine to the United States as one of the assets under the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in December 2025, but Rubaya was also reportedly at the “heart” of discussions between US and Swiss mediators and M23 during meetings in Rwanda in late May. 3/7
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
13h
M23 launched its fourth drone barrage on the FARDC’s airbase at Kisangani since the beginning of 2026, likely in response to the DRC’s escalating decapitation campaign against rebel leaders.
The FARDC or FARDC-employed private military contractors conducted drone attacks that likely targeted but failed to kill M23’s North Kivu governor and M23’s military commander in North Kivu on May 24.
M23 then attacked Kisangani, which houses many of the long-range drones that have been integral to the FARDC’s air campaign, on May 23 and 24, with up to eight separate projectiles or drones on various sites used by the FARDC drone command at the base. 4/7
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
The attack reportedly damaged a mobile drone command center, air defense systems, and possibly other facilities, although the DRC claimed that it intercepted the projectiles before reaching their targets. 5/7
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
Congolese government attempts to capture major territory and kill senior rebel leaders in military operations further undermines trust and the already-struggling peace process with M23.
The DRC’s offensive on Rubaya and use of air assets to conduct regular drone strikes across the front lines violates its commitments to halt hostilities and secure a permanent ceasefire, while undermining efforts to negotiate a political resolution to the conflict in peace talks. 6/7
Critical Threats
@criticalthreats
14h
Read the full assessment in this week’s Africa File, which also covers Fano’s disruption of Ethiopian elections and Puntland state forces’ intensified operations against the Islamic State Somalia Province in northern Somalia. https://criticalthreats.org/analysis/ethiopia-fano-tplf-abiy-somalia-isis-puntland-drc-m23-rwanda-rubaya-africa-file-may-28-2026 7/7
[AOL-Reuters] The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on commanders of gangs it accused of driving the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... , where fighting has continued despite mediation efforts by Washington.
Clashes have continued in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels, which the U.N. says are backed by Rwanda, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia rooted in the 1994 genocide, are fighting on opposite sides. Rwanda denies backing M23.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on M23 commander and chief of intelligence John Imani Nzenze, as well as Gustave Kubwayo, an FDLR commander and leader of an intelligence and special operations unit.
"President Trump has been clear that there is an urgent need to resolve the horrific conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States is committed to peace and prosperity in the region," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
"Persistent violence by gangs is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis and presents a threat to U.S. interests in the region. Today’s sanctions support a peaceful resolution and end to the bloodshed."
Nzenze, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government and the Democratic Republic of Congo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in December as part of U.S. President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... 's push to broker peace and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.
Days after that ceremony, however, M23 rebels entered the eastern Congo city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, in the war's biggest escalation in months. They later pulled out under U.S. pressure.
VIDEO: Navy Uses Drone Intelligence to Arrest Terrorist Logistics Suspect in Lake Chad
The Nigerian Navy has arrested a suspected terrorist collaborator in the Lake Chad area following a successful Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operation conducted under… pic.twitter.com/eodM88pTzY
Navy Uses Drone Intelligence to Arrest Terrorist Logistics Suspect in Lake Chad
The Nigerian Navy has arrested a suspected terrorist collaborator in the Lake Chad area following a successful Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operation conducted under Operation HADIN KAI.
[Breitbart] A cargo ship was attacked by drones while sailing near the Umm Qasr port in Iraq on Monday. On Tuesday, Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for a missile attack against a commercial vessel, describing it as justified retaliation for an attack by the “terrorist and child-killing U.S. military” against an Iranian ship.
The first incident occurred on Monday, roughly 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said the ship involved was hit by an unknown “projectile” on its starboard side, resulting in a large explosion.
According to Iraqi officials, a second blast on the same ship was caused by a drone attack while emergency crews were addressing the damage from the first explosion.
“As we were assessing the damage from the first explosion, we heard a drone hovering overhead, followed by a powerful blast that sparked a fire on the tanker,” said a member of the Iraqi maritime patrol.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and UKMTO did not identify the vessel that was targeted.
Later on Monday, the EOS Marine security service said the ship was the Panama-flagged MSC Sariska V, owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest container shipping line.
“MSC Sarisky V was struck with what is likely a USV in Iraqi territorial waters after it had completed unloading its cargo at the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq,” said EOS Marine Head of Advisory Martin Kelly. USV stands for Uncrewed Surface Vessel, or a drone boat.
MSC confirmed on Tuesday that Sariska V was hit by two projectiles at Umm Qasr. The company said it was “deeply concerned by these unprovoked attacks and the risk they create for its innocent seafarers and essential maritime trade in the region.”
Iran’s state-run Tasnim news service published a statement from the IRGC Navy that said it attacked the Sariska V, a vessel owned by the “U.S.-Zionist enemy” with a cruise missile in retaliation for a U.S. attack against an Iranian ship called MV Lian Star in the Sea of Oman.
The IRGC added that “any act of aggression by the U.S. military in the region would be met with a decisive response.”
The Lian Star is a Gambia-flagged cargo ship that attempted to penetrate the U.S. blockade of Iran on Friday night. After the ship ignored more than 20 warnings from the U.S. Navy, it was disabled with a Hellfire missile strike on its engine room and left adrift in the Gulf of Oman.
“U.S. forces have disabled five commercial vessels and redirected 116 to fully enforce the blockade as a ceasefire with Iran remains in effect,” CENTCOM noted in its statement on the Lian Star incident.
[IsraelTimes] Youssef Ayesh Awad Ramadan among those who abducted Ohel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eliya Cohen and Or Levy from a roadside bomb shelter after killing others seeking shelter
A Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... terrorist who kidnapped four Israeli hostages during one of the most brutal incidents of the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in a Monday Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... , the military announced Tuesday, sparking celebrations from one of his former captives.
According to the IDF, Youssef Ayesh Awad Ramadan, a deputy commander of a Nukhba Force cell, invaded Israel on October 7 and took part in the abduction of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alon Ohel, Eliya Cohen and Or Levy from a roadside kaboom shelter near the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... border community of Re’im.
The strike targeting Ramadan on Monday was to "remove a threat" to troops, the statement said.
The IDF added that during the war and recently, Ramadan advanced attacks on Israeli troops and citizens, "and therefore posed an immediate threat to our forces operating in the Gaza Strip."
In April, the IDF announced that another Hamas terrorist who kidnapped those four hostages from Re’im was also killed, alongside several other Hamas operatives.
Ohel, Cohen, and Levy were released from Hamas captivity in hostage-ceasefire deals with the terror group in 2025, while Goldberg-Polin was murdered in captivity, and his body was recovered by the IDF in August 2024.
Reacting to the announcement, Ohel thanked the IDF for their "incredible work" in killing his former captor, adding "Until the last terrorist."
People escaping from the Supernova Festival, where turbans had bumped off hundreds of party-goers, had run into the shelter to hide, but soon came under attack again as the turbans continued to maraud through the area.
The turbans fired into the shelter and threw in multiple grenades. A young off-duty soldier Aner Shapiro defended civilians huddled inside, lobbing the grenades back out, one after the other. He did so seven times, before the eighth grenade mortally maimed him.
After Shapiro was injured, turbans entered the shelter and killed some of those inside, injured others and took some hostage. Polin-Goldberg lost an arm in the attack and Ohel was maimed in the eye.
Those who survived did so by hiding under the bodies of the dead for hours until rescuers arrived at their location.
Israel has reportedly compiled a list of all Paleostinians who took part in the October 7 invasion, and is aiming to kill or arrest each one. According to the Wall Street Journal, the initiative began immediately after the attacks, and "hundreds" have since been crossed off the list, from high-level terror commanders to civilians who crossed the border and joined the attacks.
GAZA STRIKES CONTINUE
Earlier Tuesday, the IDF said it struck and killed five terror operatives in the Gaza Strip in recent days, "to remove an immediate threat" to troops.
The operatives had planned attacks on forces stationed in Gaza "in the immediate timeframe," the military said.
They were identified by the IDF as Salem Qariqa, a member of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion who worked to build explosives and advanced sniper attacks on troops; Saeed Shamali, a Nukhba Force team commander; Ahmad Khallas, a sniper platoon commander in the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... ; and two more Hamas commanders who planted bombs targeting Israeli troops.
Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him... Israeli fire killed at least four Paleostinians in separate incidents across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Gaza health officials said.
Medics said at least one person was killed and four were maimed when an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The blast left the vehicle a mangled skeleton.
Another strike earlier in the day killed one person and maimed another in the nearby Zawayda town, they added. Later on Tuesday, an airstrike killed one person at a tent encampment in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on those incidents.
Israeli gunfire also killed one man in northwest Khan Younis, medics said, taking Tuesday’s corpse count to at least four.
The IDF said in a statement they had fired towards two people approaching the Israeli-controlled yellow line.
ISRAEL FOILS TOBACCO SMUGGLING ATTEMPT
Elsewhere in the Strip, security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle hundreds of tobacco pouches into the Gaza Strip today after finding the packages concealed inside a shipment of wheelchairs, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said Tuesday.
Inspectors from the Defense Ministry’s Land Crossings Authority, working alongside COGAT, discovered the hidden tobacco during a security inspection of aid destined for Gaza at the Tarqumiya Crossing in the West Bank.
COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi ordered an investigation into the incident, the agency said.
COGAT described the alleged smuggling attempt as a "cynical exploitation" of a humanitarian medical aid shipment, and says organizations coordinating aid deliveries bear responsibility for the contents of their cargo.
"While Israel allows and facilitates the entry of humanitarian aid and medical equipment, Hamas and other actors continue to exploit every opportunity, including medical shipments, for smuggling and military buildup," Halevi said in a statement.
"We will therefore continue to strengthen our monitoring mechanisms, conduct thorough inspections of every truck, and act with determination and zero tolerance against anyone who attempts to exploit the humanitarian assistance mechanism for the benefit of terrorist organizations," he added.
Israel has banned the entry of cigarettes and other tobacco products into Gaza during the war, with officials saying that such products, when smuggled illegally, are sold for high prices on the black market and heavily taxed by Hamas.
IDF soldiers apprehended a terrorist cell that was preparing to execute a terror attack in the Meneshe Brigade region:
Over the weekend (Friday), IDF soldiers, acting on IDF and ISA intelligence, during an operation in the area of Meithalun, apprehended three terrorists who were… pic.twitter.com/gO5GWdlFn1
Iran also attacked Bahrain and triggered air raid sirens there, according to Bahrain's Interior Ministry.
Meanwhile, reports emerged of sirens sounding in Saudi Arabia, though officials had not immediately confirmed an attack or released additional details.
The developments represent one of the broadest Iranian attacks on Gulf states since the conflict began, raising concerns about a wider regional escalation beyond Iran's direct confrontation with the United States and Israel.
Kuwait and Bahrain both host U.S. military facilities, including the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. American officials had warned in recent days that Iran could seek to target U.S. interests and partners across the region.
Officials in Kuwait and Bahrain had not immediately released information about damage, casualties or whether incoming missiles and drones had been intercepted.
More key posts:
CENTCOM rejects Iranian claim of successful attacks on US bases
U.S. Central Command on Tuesday pushed back on Iranian claims that its forces successfully struck American military facilities in the Gulf.
In a post on X, CENTCOM said assertions by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it hit the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a U.S. air base elsewhere in the region were "false."
"All Iranian attacks on American forces failed," CENTCOM said.
The statement came hours after CENTCOM announced that U.S. and partner forces intercepted multiple Iranian missiles and drones launched toward regional countries, including Bahrain and Kuwait. The military also said U.S. forces carried out self-defense strikes against an Iranian military target on Qeshm Island.
U.S. forces remain "vigilant and ready to defend against unwarranted Iranian aggression," CENTCOM added.
Oil reaches one-week high amid Middle East tensions
US forces disable oil tanker headed for Iranian port, CENTCOM says
US Treasury sanctions Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions against Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, as part of the Trump administration's "Economic Fury" campaign targeting Tehran.
According to a Treasury Department press release, officials accuse Nobitex of helping the Iranian regime evade sanctions, facilitate transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and move money through the global financial system.
Treasury said Nobitex processed more than half of all Iranian cryptocurrency inflows in 2025 and played a role in helping Iranian entities access international digital asset markets.
Treasury also sanctioned Nobitex Chairman and co-founder Amir Hossein Rad, along with several other company officials. Three additional Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges — Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex — were also designated.
"While Iran's economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the press release.
Romania says it approved use of military bases for Strait of Hormuz operations
CENTCOM says US forces have redirected 122 commercial vessels during Iran blockade
Rubio reveals what Iran would have to give up to get sanctions relief
Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered new details on the peace negotiations with Iran during his appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
Rubio says that Iran would have to offer major concessions regarding its nuclear program in order to expect any sanctions relief from the U.S., including the physical removal of existing highly-enriched uranium.
"Everything that's been discussed with them is that any sanctions relief, now, remember...There's international sanctions, there's congressional sanctions, there's executive sanctions. So some we can release and some we cannot. But any sanctions relief is condition based, which means it has to be in return for the reason why those sanctions were put in place in the first place, which is their nuclear program," Rubio said.
"So yeah, look, Iran is being sanctioned because they enrich uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because they have highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities. If they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief associated with their commitment and compliance," he added.
Rubio lays out Trump's phase 1 and 2 demands in Iran negotiations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out President Donald Trump's strategy amid peace negotiations with Iran, saying the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is only a "prerequisite" for talks.
Rubio made the remarks during an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, telling lawmakers that Iran must end its belligerence in the region.
"They have to announce, very clearly, the straits are now open, we're not charging a toll, we'll help remove the mines that they put in there, and they will not fire on ships," Rubio said.
"In addition to the straits, that's the predicate that opens the door to phase two. Phase two is they have to commit to very specific negotiations on highly enriched--the disposition of highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere," he continued, adding that Iran would have to agree to long-term limitations on its nuclear program.
Gen Jack Keane: The Iranians are playing games, want to stretch conflict to midterms
Interesting point.
Fox News senior strategic analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane joined Fox News' "Hannity" to discuss Iran’s strategy to delay nuclear deal negotiations.
Keane argued that the regime in Tehran is dragging their feet to reach the U.S. midterm elections, which may force President Donald Trump's administration to accept a less favorable deal.
President Donald Trump insists diplomacy with Iran remains on track after Iranian state media said Tehran suspended talks with Washington following Israeli operations in Lebanon on Tuesday. Trump is foreshadowing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire “over the next week."
WHAT TO KNOW
Iran reportedly threatened to completely withdraw from peace talks on Monday over Israel's attacks in Lebanon.
President Donald Trump secured a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, going on to insist that talks with Iran remain active.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared before Congress on Tuesday for the first time since the Iran war began.
Rubio fended off criticism from Democrats of the Trump administration's actions against Iran, saying Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
#5
[TT] Leader urges national unity amid hostile attempts to create division In a message released on Thursday on the anniversary of the first session of Iran’s parliament on May 28, 1980, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei said the United States and Israel, having failed in their military aggression against Iran, are now plotting to sow discord within the country.
“The blind scheme and plot of the enemy, following the imposed war, economic pressure, and propaganda siege, is to sow discord and social fragmentation to compensate for their military defeats and bring the nation to its knees,” the Leader explained.
Extending congratulations on Eid al-Adha and the anniversary of the inauguration of the first Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) to the Iranian people and lawmakers, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed appreciation for the efforts of legislators, particularly Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in advancing the country.
The Leader described the Islamic Consultative Assembly as “the essence of the nation, the manifestation of religious democracy, and the pillar of law and legislation in the Islamic Republic,” saying it plays a vital role in exercising the will of the people.
Noting that three months have passed since the start of the “third Sacred Defense,” Ayatollah Khamenei said the Iranian people’s inner character and essence, “in faith, hope, and action,” have been demonstrated to both friends and foes alike.
He was referring to the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran that began on February 28 and came to a halt on April 8 following Iran’s strong retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli bases across the region during 40 days of defense.
[IsraelTimes] 5th round of talks to be held at US State Department; Lebanese army says 2 troops wounded in IDF strike; France’s FM: No justification for Israeli troops to stay deep inside Lebanon
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Just The News] The Justice Department announced Tuesday that two foreign researchers with the National Institutes of Health have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement.
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
..always the voice of sweet reason...
