A Dutch pro-abortion organisation has placed lockboxes containing abortion pills across Malta and Gozo, directly challenging one of Europe’s last remaining pro-life countries. The campaign is being presented as a humanitarian intervention […]
The post Abortion Activists Supply Illegal Drugs in Malta, Violating National Law first appeared on The Expose.
Intensifying leaks and tense phone calls between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting a relationship breakdown over Iran were part of a calculated strategic effort to keep Tehran guessing, a leading defense analyst told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
The public display, which projected American diplomatic patience while shutting out Jerusalem, covertly laid the groundwork for a unified front, he said.
The strategy culminated in a weekend synchronization phase, with Trump and Netanyahu showcasing total alignment by Sunday, suggested Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute.
TRUMP, NETANYAHU TO MEET AT WHITE HOUSE IN HIGH-STAKES TALKS ON IRAN, GAZA PLAN
Axios had reported Thursday that a difficult call between the leaders focused on a revised U.S. proposal sent to Iran via Pakistan, which Netanyahu reportedly rejected in favor of renewed military action to degrade Tehran’s infrastructure.
One U.S. source told the outlet that "Netanyahu’s hair was on fire" after the exchange.
Separately, weekend reports suggested Israeli leaders were being marginalized from U.S.-Iran negotiations after Netanyahu’s prewar push for a joint campaign to topple the Iranian regime failed to materialize.
Netanyahu broke his silence Sunday, posting on X to declare absolute solidarity with the White House and project a unified stance.
IRAN’S NEW SUPREME LEADER IS ‘HIS FATHER ON STEROIDS,’ EXPERTS WARN OF HARDLINE RULE
"The partnership between us and our two countries has been proven on the battlefield and has never been stronger," Netanyahu shared on X. "My policy, like President Trump’s, remains unchanged: Iran will not have nuclear weapons."
Michael viewed the public friction and targeted leaks as a calculated tactical feint designed to keep Tehran blindsided.
"Neither President Trump nor Prime Minister Netanyahu has any interest in any crisis, but by leaking the story of a crisis between Trump and Netanyahu, the Iranians might find themselves surprised by the timing of the next military attack," Michael said.
"The leak created a sense of disagreement between the two leaders and positions Trump as the leader who gives another chance to the diplomatic path despite the pressures of Prime Minister Netanyahu," he said.
"Trump understands who the Iranians are."
The final synchronization followed a weekend phone call in which Trump reassured Netanyahu that any final agreement with Iran would fully dismantle Tehran’s nuclear program.
UN'S NUCLEAR WATCHDOG WARNS ITS UNABLE TO CONFIRM IRAN'S PROGRAM IS 'ENTIRELY PEACEFUL'
Netanyahu also said Trump also "reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon."
Washington has been keeping Jerusalem updated on the negotiations "over a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter negotiations toward a final agreement on the points that remain in dispute," an official statement read.
Following the Sunday call, Netanyahu also thanked Trump for his "exceptional commitment to Israel’s security."
"Netanyahu’s last post about his last conversation with Trump can be understood as the ultimate closure to this deception and any accusations," Michael added.
"This is trying to prepare the Israeli public for the idea that everything was fully coordinated with the U.S., and the diplomatic developments will serve the Israeli interest."
Michael added, however, that skepticism remained in Jerusalem over whether the gaps between the U.S. and Iran will be bridged, or whether "Trump will accept the Iranian position."
Nuclear weapons experts are raising the alarm bells over the pressing need for the Trump administration to codify in any new deal a ban on Iran’s attempts to use plutonium from its facilities to build an atomic bomb.
The administration and non-proliferation experts have largely focused on the Islamic Republic’s atomic weapons facilities that use uranium as the material for building nuclear bombs. Tehran could take advantage of this blind spot and covertly build a plutonium-based nuclear weapon.
Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital: "I do believe any proposed deal with Iran needs to address the plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons. Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026. Intelligence suggested Iran had repeatedly attempted to reconstruct the facility even after the bombing, so any deal with Iran should cover the plutonium pathway."
TRUMP BLOCKADE SQUEEZING IRAN SO HARD REGIME MAY BE DUMPING OIL INTO GULF, EXPERTS SAY
Iran’s regime could use plutonium from spent fuel at its nuclear reactor at Bushehr to build an atomic weapons device, according to Henry Sokolski, the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center and former deputy for nonproliferation policy in the Department of Defense (1989–1993).
Writing last month on the website of Real Clear Defense, he noted "Washington should make sure that Iran doesn’t remove Bushehr’s spent fuel and strip out the plutonium. This can and should be done without bombing the plant."
Sokolski wrote the "Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr. It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones. Second, any ‘peace’ deal President Trump cuts with Tehran should include a requirement that there be near-real-time monitoring of the Bushehr reactor and spent fuel pond, much as the IAEA had in place with Iran’s fuel enrichment activities."
In another article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in April, Sokolski argued that Iran has enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs. He said, "The last time IAEA inspectors visited Bushehr was August 27, 2025. Even when agency inspectors had routine access to the plant, they only visited every 90 days — more than enough time to divert the spent fuel and possibly fashion it into nuclear weapons."
He added that "President Obama did not insist on such surveillance even though the IAEA asked Iran to permit it. Tehran said no."
Recent IAEA reports have not addressed the plutonium path to a bomb with any specificity.
TRUMP CLAIMS IRAN 'STARVING FOR CASH,' 'COLLAPSING FINANCIALLY' AFTER EXTENDING CEASEFIRE
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, "Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to the United States and the entire world."
The spokesperson continued, "Iran today stands in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to provide full cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s leadership must engage in serious diplomatic negotiations with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue once and for all."
David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told Fox News Digital that he is "Highly skeptical that Iran would use plutonium from Bushehr’s spent fuel to make nuclear weapons."
The former weapons inspector, Albright, argued that, "One, Iran would need a design it has not developed. There is nothing in the Nuclear Archive on a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. Two, a diversion from Bushehr would be detected and undoubtedly lead Russia to suspend enriched uranium supplies, leading to a shutdown of a multibillion-dollar investment that supplies the area with electricity. Third, almost all the plutonium in the spent fuel is reactor-grade, and it is feasible that none is weapon-grade."
Albright added that "Reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make a nuclear weapon, but it is tricky to do so if a significant explosive yield is wanted." He added that Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton "has been raising this issue for decades, and it is a remote possibility. It was rejected first in the Bush administration."
Concerns persist about Iran’s devious behavior and its aim to build a nuclear weapon at all costs. As a result, there are calls to outlaw Iran’s plutonium reprocessing and impose rigorous surveillance on Iran’s plutonium infrastructure in a future deal with the U.S.
Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, told Fox News Digital. "The United States must insist on a permanent and verified ban on plutonium reprocessing in Iran under any deal."
Stricker noted that Moscow had realized the danger too. "To Russia’s rare credit, it insisted Iran let inspectors back in to safeguard the Bushehr reactor after the June 2025 strikes. Those inspections resumed last August. Plutonium produced at the reactor is not of desirable quality for nuclear weapons, and Iran has not focused on the plutonium route to nuclear weapons since the early 2000s, so it could be difficult for Tehran to work with. They would also need to illicitly acquire and outfit a plutonium reprocessing plant as well as sophisticated equipment to handle and chemically convert the fuel. All of this creates significant obstacles to its use as fuel for nuclear weapons."
She continued that "The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) could mitigate any proliferation risk at Bushehr by increasing the frequency of inspections to monthly. Russia could also remove the spent fuel that has accumulated at the site."
As President Donald Trump signals progress toward a possible agreement with Iran, Israeli officials and analysts increasingly are outlining what Jerusalem believes any deal must include to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its military and regional power.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel and the United States remain in "full coordination" as negotiations continue.
"We share common objectives, and the most important objective is the removal of the enriched material from Iran, all the enriched material, and the dismantling of Iran’s enrichment capabilities," Netanyahu said at the opening of a security cabinet meeting.
US AND IRAN CLASH OVER URANIUM ENRICHMENT AS NUCLEAR TALKS RESUME IN ROME
"We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday.
At the same time, Trump warned that if negotiations fail, "we’ll have to go a big step further."
For Israel, the question is not simply whether the war ends, but whether Iran emerges from negotiations weakened or repositioned to rebuild. Israeli officials fear a weak agreement could allow Tehran to preserve strategic capabilities, regain economic breathing room and eventually restore the regional network of armed groups that threatened Israel before the war. Jerusalem is also seeking guarantees that any future deal preserves military leverage and freedom of action if Iran violates its commitments.
Against that backdrop, Israeli analysts say Jerusalem’s red lines focus on four core areas: dismantling Iran’s enrichment infrastructure, restricting its ballistic missile program, preventing Tehran from rebuilding Hezbollah and Hamas, and ensuring the regime does not gain political legitimacy or strategic relief from the negotiations.
On the nuclear issue, former Israeli National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror said Israel’s position remains uncompromising.
"Weaponized uranium must leave Iran," Amidror said. "The Iranians must not be allowed to enrich uranium."
Israeli journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal agreed, adding that Israel is seeking a much stricter framework than previous agreements.
"Israel wants Iran to stop enrichment for as long as possible and for the enriched material to leave Iran," Eyal said, adding that Jerusalem is looking for "an arms control agreement that would be extensive and robust."
Avner Golov, vice president of the Mind Israel think tank, told Fox News Digital that Israel also wants Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure dismantled entirely.
"In the nuclear arena, what matters is the removal of the enriched material, the destruction of the underground facilities, including those still being built, and a prohibition on new sites," Golov said.
Golov also warned against "sunset clauses" that would allow restrictions to expire after several years.
"There must be an agreement without sunsets," he said, calling for "unprecedented monitoring and supervision, anywhere, under any conditions and not dependent on Iranian approval."
Jonathan Ruhe, Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) fellow for American strategy, told Fox News Digital, "Ultimately the United States and Israel should have strongly similar redlines for an acceptable deal," he said, including "shutting down Iran’s nuclear weapons program completely, permanently and verifiably."
Ruhe said that goes beyond Iran handing over highly enriched uranium and includes shutting down remaining enrichment-related facilities at Pickaxe and Isfahan.
Alongside the nuclear issue, Israeli analysts say Iran’s ballistic missile program has become equally central to Israel’s security concerns.
"One of the key questions is whether there will be any sort of limitation on the ballistic missile program of the Iranians," Eyal said. "Israel sees this as no less of an existential threat than the nuclear issue."
Amidror warned that without missile restrictions, the threat could eventually extend beyond Israel and Europe.
"If there are no restrictions on the missile program, then missiles that today can reach half of Europe will, within five to 10 years, be able to reach the United States," he warned.
Golov argued that a nuclear-only agreement would leave Iran free to rebuild a missile shield protecting a future nuclear breakout.
"A deal that focuses only on the nuclear program would allow the Iranians to produce thousands of missiles and create a protective shield around their nuclear program."
Ruhe similarly said limiting Iran’s missile arsenal must include preventing Iran from rebuilding production capabilities damaged during the war.
IRAN DRAWS MISSILE RED LINE AS ANALYSTS WARN TEHRAN IS STALLING US TALKS
Another major Israeli concern is that sanctions relief or renewed trade could funnel money back to Iran’s regional proxies.
"Israel is demanding that the Islamic Republic isolate itself from involvement with Lebanon and Gaza and stop supporting armed groups that operate against Israel," Eyal said.
"For Israel, it is a material issue that the money injected into Iran will not be used to rebuild the proxies in the region," he added.
Amidror said Iran’s ability to support Hezbollah and Hamas has already been weakened by the collapse of regional supply routes.
"The Iranians cannot effectively support the proxies because there is no longer a land bridge from Iran to Syria," he said, but warned that if negotiations leave the impression that Washington backed down, Iran’s regional proxies could emerge stronger even after the war.
Ruhe similarly argued that Israel wants to avoid any agreement that restores legitimacy to the Iranian regime without fundamentally weakening it.
"Avoiding anything that legitimates Iran’s regime and abandons the Iranian people" is critical, Ruhe said, including "giving guarantees against future attacks or compensating Tehran for wartime damages."
Ruhe warned that for Israel, a "bad deal" is ultimately any agreement that restrains Israel’s future freedom of action against Iran and its proxies.
"This is one big reason Iran wants to ensnare the Trump administration in open-ended negotiations that sideline military options and create daylight between Washington and Jerusalem," Ruhe said.
Amsterdam has reportedly become the first capital city in the world to ban public ads for meat and fossil fuels — wiping burgers, gas-powered cars, and airline promotions from billboards, tram stops and metro stations.
Since May 1, the Dutch capital and tourist hotspot’s advertising landscape has undergone a dramatic shift. Ads once showcasing chicken nuggets, SUVs, and budget flights have been replaced with promotions for museums and concerts, according to BBC News.
Local politicians say the sweeping move is part of an aggressive climate agenda, with goals to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and cut meat consumption in half, the outlet reported.
‘MEAT-CENTRIC’ MEALS LIKE THANKSGIVING CONTRIBUTE TO A CLIMATE CRISIS: BLOOMBERG
"The climate crisis is very urgent," Anneke Veenhoff from the GreenLeft Party said. "I mean, if you want to be leading in climate policies and you rent out your walls to exactly the opposite, then what are you doing?"
But critics argue the policy crosses a line — calling it an overreach that attempts to engineer personal choices, according to BBC News.
The Dutch Meat Association blasted the ban as "an undesirable way to influence consumer behavior," warning that meat provides essential nutrients and should remain visible and accessible, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, travel industry leaders say the restrictions unfairly target businesses.
FLARING CLIMATE PROTESTS BECOMING MORE CONFRONTATIONAL AS FREE SPEECH TESTED GLOBALLY
The Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators called the ban on airline advertising a disproportionate blow to commercial freedom, according to BBC News.
Supporters, however, are framing the policy as a broader cultural shift — even comparing meat ads to cigarette campaigns of decades past.
"Because if I look now back at like old pictures, you have Johan Cruyff," Hannah Prins, a paralegal at Advocates for the Future, told the outlet. "The famous Dutch footballer. … He would be in advertisements for tobacco. That used to be normal. He died of lung cancer."
Prins added, "I don't think it's normal to see murdered animals on billboards. So I think it's very good that that's going to change."
CLIMATE GROUPS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER EPA'S BOMBSHELL DEREGULATION DECISION
Other Dutch cities — including Haarlem, Utrecht and Nijmegen — have rolled out similar restrictions, while cities across Europe continue pushing to curb fossil fuel advertising, BBC News reported.
Meanwhile, in the United States, federal officials have taken a markedly different approach to food policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year unveiled updated dietary guidance featuring an inverted food pyramid. The top of the pyramid, now the wider part of the structure, is built on meat, fats, fruits and vegetables, while whole grains are at the narrow bottom.
Fox News Digital's Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
As the leader of President Barack Obama’s negotiating team on the nuclear agreement with Iran, Wendy Sherman launched a no-holds-barred attack on President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy over the weekend.
Sherman, who served as undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Obama administration and as deputy secretary of state under President Joe Biden, took aim at Trump’s Iran policy in recent interviews.
Sherman’s assault on the Trump administration’s war strategy in a Bloomberg News interview raised eyebrows because it comes at a time when the administration is inflicting enormous economic pressure on Tehran’s rulers via the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
TRUMP UNLEASHES ON OBAMA'S 'DISASTER' IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, SAYS HE WAS 'HONORED' TO RIP IT APART
Having played a key role in sealing the widely criticized 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, she slammed Trump’s Iran plan in the Bloomberg interview. "He doesn’t have a strategy. He’s very tactical [and] very transactional — as he was as a developer. In this case, I don’t think that approach will work."
She added, "He has cost our alliances, American taxpayers, 13 American lives, our inventory of weapons, our ability to project power abroad."
In response to her controversial comments, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott strongly pushed back, telling Fox News Digital, "She was literally part of the team that handed the Iranian regime billions of dollars and a roadmap to a nuclear weapon. She has no credibility. The facts: Under the previous administration, wars broke out, and our enemies grew stronger. Under President Trump, historic peace deals have been signed — including an unprecedented peace plan for Gaza — and the Iranian regime will never obtain a nuclear weapon."
NUCLEAR EXPERTS WARN IRAN’S URANIUM ‘RIGHT’ IS A MYTH, SAY TRUMP IS RIGHT TO HOLD FIRM
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who just dropped his Democratic Party membership by registering as a Republican, told Fox News Digital: "She is the primary villain of the deal that gave Iran a nuclear bomb. She has no credibility. If Iran develops a bomb, it should put her name on it."
Adding to the growing anti-Israel sentiment among Democrats, Sherman also attacked Israel in the interview. She said, without giving any evidence, "I also believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has led us down a road — and we have been part of it — that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East."
When asked about Sherman’s criticism of Israel, Dershowitz said, "She is a bigot and anti-Israel. She sees everything through the lens of Barack Obama."
Obama faced criticism during his tenure for his alleged anti-Israel policies, including allowing an anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution to pass in the last days of his presidency.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion article last week, Dershowitz wrote: "The Democratic Party has become the most anti-Israel party in U.S. history. Last week, all but seven Senate Democrats voted for an arms embargo against the Jewish state… There is no denying that the hard left, anti-Israel wing of the Democratic Party has moved from the fringe to the mainstream."
Asked to respond to the criticism of her remarks on Iran, Israel and Dershowitz’s comments, Solveig Reeker, a representative for Sherman, told Fox News Digital, "I'm sorry Ambassador Sherman is not available at this time and must decline."
The United States, joined by the United Arab Emirates and backed by concerns from key European powers, sharply condemned the United Nations’ decision Monday to grant Iran a leadership post at a major nuclear treaty conference.
Iran’s selection as one of dozens of vice presidents at the monthlong review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty reignited scrutiny over what critics say is a recurring pattern of Iran gaining procedural legitimacy inside international institutions despite longstanding concerns over its nuclear conduct.
The clash erupted as the 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened at U.N. headquarters in New York, where Iran was selected as one of 34 vice presidents through the Non-Aligned Movement bloc.
The conference includes 191 treaty parties and convenes every five years to review implementation of the pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
IRAN SECURES UN ROLE WITH BACKING FROM UK, FRANCE, CANADA, AUSTRALIA AS US STANDS ALONE
For the administration, the symbolism was immediate and explosive.
"Rather than choosing to use this review conference to defend the integrity of the NPT and call Iran to account, we instead elect Iran a vice president," Christopher Yeaw, U.S. assistant secretary for arms control and nonproliferation, told delegates. "It is beyond shameful and an embarrassment to the credibility of this conference."
The UAE and Australia publicly backed the American objection, while Britain, France and Germany also expressed concern, marking a broader coalition than in earlier U.N. disputes where the U.S. often stood largely alone in challenging Iran’s procedural elevation.
The diplomatic uproar follows a pattern previously highlighted by Fox News Digital. On April 13, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body that plays a central role in shaping U.N. policy and staffing key committees, nominated the Islamic Republic of Iran to the U.N.’s Committee for Program and Coordination, which helps shape policy on human rights, women’s rights, disarmament and counterterrorism, with the United States the only country to formally object.
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During Monday’s debate, Iranian envoy Reza Najafi rejected the criticism as "baseless and politically motivated," accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy and pointing to America’s nuclear history while defending Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear development. Russia also defended Iran, with Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov objecting to what he called the politicization of the conference.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told Fox News Digital that the secretary-general "is not involved in any way in the election of Member States to leadership roles in various conferences or legislative bodies."
"Member States are responsible for electing other Member States, and they must be accountable for the results of these elections," Dujarric said.
He added that the U.N.’s focus remains on the broader nuclear threat rather than the procedural controversy surrounding Iran’s appointment.
"We strongly encourage all Member States participating in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to focus on what is most important: stopping the spread and threat of nuclear weapons, which remains a global threat," he said.
Iran’s appointment comes amid heightened international concern over Iran’s nuclear trajectory. Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised alarms over Iran’s enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels and disputes over inspections, while Tehran insists its program is strictly civilian.
Critics say the controversy exposes a structural contradiction at the heart of the U.N. system: geopolitical blocs can elevate states under scrutiny into positions of procedural authority, even at conferences dedicated to the very norms those states are accused of violating.
The last NPT review conference in 2022 failed to produce a consensus document after Russia blocked the agreement, underscoring how great power divisions have increasingly paralyzed the treaty’s review process, according to The Associated Press.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, told Fox News Digital the vote reflects what he described as a broader erosion of institutional credibility at the United Nations.
"This is part of a disturbing trend," Neuer said. "Iran has been accumulating senior roles across the U.N. system, from human rights bodies to key committees. Each appointment chips away at the credibility of international institutions, reinforcing the perception that political deal-making outweighs basic standards of conduct."
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Further signs of turmoil are emerging in Iran’s U.S. negotiating team as hardliner Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf looks set to be replaced by a veteran conservative known for rejecting nuclear concessions, according to reports.
Iran International reported April 24 that Saeed Jalili, 60 — who already leads what has been described as a "shadow government" — is expected to succeed Ghalibaf following his sudden departure amid internal disputes.
Jalili also heads Iran’s ultra-hardline faction known as the Stability Front (Paydari), which is known to be a "bastion of ultraconservatism in Iran," according to reports.
Ali Safavi, an official with the Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital that Jalili "has evolved from a nuclear negotiator to an influential actor within the regime."
TRUMP'S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL
Ghalibaf was reportedly forced to step down after attempting to bring the nuclear issue into talks with Washington, a move that triggered backlash within Iran’s political establishment.
President Donald Trump had called off plans for U.S. envoys to travel to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on April 25.
The rivalry between Jalili and Ghalibaf is said to span more than a decade and intensified during the 2024 elections, when Jalili refused to step aside, contributing to the victory of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Safavi said, "The increased visibility of latent divisions stems from recurring nationwide uprisings, deep economic crises and the pressures of war, all of which have intensified internal feuding.
"Far from signaling transformation, these developments reflect accelerating erosion and mounting pressure, deepening fractures and leaving the regime ever weaker and more vulnerable," he added.
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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also seeking a continued leading role in negotiations, highlighting competing centers of influence over Iran’s diplomatic strategy, sources said.
Araghchi is in Islamabad, Pakistan, after returning from a short trip to Muscat, Oman, where he is holding high-level diplomatic talks on the conflict. Reports indicate Araghchi will travel to Moscow.
Jalili’s potential appointment, however, signals a hardening of Iran’s stance, with more emphasis on resistance over compromise.
"Within this regime, there are a number of constants espoused by all factions," Safavi said before highlighting that these were "repression, the export of terrorism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons."
"The factions all ultimately move along a common path: the preservation of power. They differ in methods, not in objectives," Safavi cautioned.
Jalili, meanwhile, served as Iran’s top nuclear negotiator from 2007 to 2013 under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later ran for president three times. He also served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
A former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Jalili lost his right leg at 21 during the Iran-Iraq War, earning him the title of "Living Martyr".
The Paydari Front, which he is associated with, opposes engagement with the West — particularly the 2015 nuclear deal — and advocates a doctrine of "active resistance."
During Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, Jalili also established a "shadow government" to counter the administration’s policies, especially the nuclear deal.
On April 7, he wrote on X: "Yes — ‘infrastructure’ is on the verge of collapse; the infrastructure of domination and the American order. And after that, a better foundation will be built."
A day earlier, he posted: "‘Shut up’ is not the appropriate response to Trump’s ramblings; let him speak more. Nothing is more effective in laying bare the true nature of the United States than Trump’s outbursts."
"In dealing with this regime," Safavi said, "we must bear in mind that in the 45 years since the mullahs consolidated their rule in 1981 by crushing all peaceful political life, so-called reformists have governed for nearly half that time — presiding over some of its darkest crimes."
"These include the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, the assassination of dissidents abroad, the chain murders of intellectuals inside Iran and the relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons."
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday sanctioned a major Chinese oil refinery and dozens of ships tied to Iran's "shadow fleet," escalating efforts to choke off Tehran's main source of revenue.
Officials said in a press release the move targets Hengli Petrochemical, one of Iran’s largest oil buyers, along with a network of shipping companies and tankers responsible for transporting billions of dollars worth of petroleum products to foreign markets.
The Treasury Department identified these "shadow fleet" vessels as the financial lifeline for Iran's "unstable regime."
SECOND TANKER SEIZED NEAR VENEZUELA AS US ENFORCES OIL BLOCKADE
The crackdown is part of Economic Fury, a broader campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy by limiting its ability to sell oil abroad, revenue the U.S. says funds the regime’s military and destabilizing activities across the Middle East.
"Economic Fury is imposing a financial stranglehold on the Iranian regime, hampering its aggression in the Middle East and helping to curtail its nuclear ambitions," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. is a China-based "teapot" refinery, a term used for independent facilities known for purchasing discounted crude, including from sanctioned countries.
The refinery, one of China’s largest independent facilities, has received Iranian oil cargoes from sanctioned shadow fleet vessels since at least 2023. Hengli has also purchased oil tied to Iran’s armed forces, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the Iranian military.
Hengli has also received shipments tied to Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, a firm identified by U.S. officials as a front for Iran’s armed forces that helps facilitate oil sales abroad.
The company operates on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, using a network of intermediaries and vessels to move sanctioned crude, with proceeds helping fund the country’s military programs and regional proxy groups.
IRAN’S REMAINING WEAPONS: HOW TEHRAN CAN STILL DISRUPT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The new sanctions also target the network that makes these oil sales possible, a "shadow fleet" of aging tankers and shell companies that move petroleum across global markets while evading sanctions and obscuring the origin of shipments.
These ships avoid detection by transferring cargo from one tanker to another in the open ocean. Treasury officials said 19 vessels were targeted in the action.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s renewed "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, aimed at cutting off the regime’s primary source of revenue through oil exports and sanctions enforcement.
U.S. officials say oil exports remain the backbone of Iran’s economy, and efforts to restrict those flows are designed to limit the government’s ability to fund its military, support proxy groups and advance its nuclear program.
Treasury officials warned that additional sanctions are likely as the U.S. continues targeting the networks, intermediaries and buyers that enable Iran to move oil on the global market.
Amid charged exchanges between President Trump and Iran’s fragmented leadership over the regime's insistence that it retain its nuclear enrichment system, top experts on Iran’s atomic weapons program support the commander in chief’s ironclad goal to dissolve it.
One of the main sticking points during the intense talks between Tehran and Washington centers on Iran’s claim that the rogue regime has a right to enrich and possess weapons-grade uranium, the material required to build an atomic bomb.
The showdown over enriched uranium might be the core deal-breaker issue when and if the next round of talks to reach a nuclear agreement goes ahead in Pakistan.
GOP SENATORS: CONGRESS SHOULD VOTE ON TRUMP'S POTENTIAL IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, vehemently rejected Trump’s demand last week on state-controlled television.
"Iran’s enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere under any circumstances," Baqaei declared.
Trump claimed Iran had agreed to "give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground." The President terms Iran’s 440 kilograms of enriched uranium as "nuclear dust" after sustained U.S. military strikes on Iranian sites that store the country’s stockpile of uranium.
"The United States should insist on a permanent ban of Iranian enrichment and its full dismantlement in negotiations. Iran retaining any enrichment infrastructure in anticipation of the end of a moratorium would allow it to cheat as soon as Trump leaves office and resume its path to nuclear weapons," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' nonproliferation program, told Fox News Digital.
Jonathan Ruhe, fellow for American strategy at JINSA, echoed Stricker on the importance of abolishing the Iranian enrichment program. He told Fox News Digital, "An acceptable deal would have to embody many of Trump’s stated redlines from his first administration, and from the run-up to last summer’s 12-Day War.
"This means permanent bans on enrichment, reprocessing and weaponization capability and, equally importantly, full verification of Iran’s compliance with these strictures."
IRANIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR NEGOTIATION AND DIALOGUE AS NUCLEAR TALKS CONTINUE
President Trump withdrew from President Obama’s widely criticized nuclear deal with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018.
"In theory, the so-called ‘Iran deal’ was supposed to protect the United States and our allies from the lunacy of an Iranian nuclear bomb, a weapon that will only endanger the survival of the Iranian regime," Trump said at the time. "In fact, the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout."
Ruhe said, "The JCPOA failed to ensure IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspectors could monitor, and account for, the entirety of Iran’s program and its compliance with the deal. This problem has worsened significantly in the decade since, as Iran systematically stonewalled inspectors.
"Iran’s negotiators always drag out talks and avoid giving clear answers. They still think time is on their side, with their blockade hurting the global economy and their missile arsenals being dug out and prepared for renewed conflict. Trump should insist on a definitive response from Tehran and be ready for renewed operations.
IRAN SIGNALS NUCLEAR PROGRESS IN GENEVA AS TRUMP CALLS FOR FULL DISMANTLEMENT
"As a cautionary tale: The Obama team first entered nuclear talks with stringent redlines, but then they let Iran call their bluffs, ignore their deadlines and wear down their demands until we ended up with the JCPOA," Ruhe said.
Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that obligates it not to enrich uranium for military purposes. However, U.S. and European intelligence reports have documented Iran’s illicit proliferation activities.
Ruhe said, "This regime cynically wants it both ways: They insist the NPT gives the ‘right’ to peaceful enrichment, yet they flout the treaty’s safeguards. By claiming this ‘right,’ they try to make certain core issues non-negotiable. By this logic, they should get to retain enrichment capacity. So, the questions then become how much and what the U.S. has to give in return for this supposed sacrifice by Iran.
"As the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s name indicates, it’s an agreement to prevent proliferation, not to promote nuclear development."
Stricker said Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, recently said, "It’s fiction that the NPT specifically mentions ‘enrichment’ in its peaceful uses clause. Moreover, the prevailing legal demand from the U.N. Security Council is that Iran stop enriching and come back into compliance with its nonproliferation obligations.
For nearly 25 years, the IAEA has been unable to conclude that all of Iran’s nuclear material and activities are devoted to peaceful uses."
She added that "Iran’s enrichment program began through illicit procurements and covert facilities, under a nuclear weapons program that planned to use enriched uranium as fuel. Iran was clearly stockpiling material for an apparent nuclear weapons breakout."
The killing of Iranian nuclear scientists in U.S.-Israeli military strikes has raised fears that, if the regime destabilizes, weakened control over uranium stockpiles and the spread of nuclear expertise could increase proliferation risks.
While Iran can replace its lost personnel, experts say the lost expertise will be harder to rebuild and undisclosed sites in the country may also leave dangerous materials and knowledge vulnerable.
"Currently, the risk of nuclear terrorism or nuclear material moving to the black market remains low," said Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association.
"Non-state actors would face challenges in accessing enriched uranium, and it is unlikely they would have the infrastructure to enrich it to weapons-grade levels and convert it into the metallic form required for a warhead core," she said.
UN NUCLEAR CHIEF WARNS STRIKE NEAR IRAN REACTOR RISKS CROSSING ‘REDDEST LINE’
"However, if the current Iranian government implodes or the conflict causes significant internal instability, there is an increased risk that nuclear materials will be stolen or diverted to undeclared sites."
"There is also a risk that Iranian nuclear scientists may be willing to sell their expertise to states or non-state actors seeking nuclear weapons," Davenport said in a new report.
Several senior figures in Iran’s nuclear and defense infrastructure have been killed over the past two years, coinciding with the campaign of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities between 2025 and 2026.
Among them is Hossein Jabal Amelian, head of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), who was killed in 2026 during Operation Rising Lion and Operation Epic Fury.
SPND is seen as the successor to Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons program and plays a key role in new weaponization research.
Others killed in 2025 include Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, Akbar Motallebizadeh and Said Borji, all linked to weaponization work.
"The full impact of this campaign on Iran’s weaponization capabilities remains unclear," Jim Lamson, a senior research associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Fox News Digital.
"There will be replacements of the managers and scientists, but the impact on the killed officials' experience and expertise will be hard to replace," the former CIA analyst said.
"Many key scientists involved in suspected weaponization work were killed in 2025 and 2026."
"Their successors may also fear being targeted in the future, whether by military strikes or assassination. That could affect their motivation and willingness to participate in any nuclear weapons program."
AFTER THE STRIKES, HOW WOULD THE US SECURE IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM?
Lamson also said many of those targeted were embedded in sensitive areas of Iran’s nuclear work, including the fuel cycle and weaponization.
"These scientists had expertise in areas of the nuclear fuel cycle of key concern for nuclear weapons, including the production of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which was Iran's main pathway for fissile material," he said.
"The scientists also had expertise in weaponization — that is, in key aspects of the design and production of nuclear explosive devices," Lamson added.
That said, U.S. and Israeli targeted strikes have also hit a network of sites tied to their work, creating extra obstacles for Iran’s program in the near term, he said.
"We have identified at least 11 weaponization-related sites that have been hit since 2024," Lamson said.
"These include SPND headquarters, a newly identified site called Min-Zadayi in northeast Tehran, SPND’s Taleghan and Sanjarian explosives testing sites, the Defense Ministry’s Shahid Meisami complex in western Tehran and several research universities."
These facilities were all involved in neutronics, explosives, metallurgy and nuclear physics — all tied to nuclear weapons development, he said.
TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY REVEALS WHAT LED TO BREAKDOWN IN IRAN TALKS BEFORE OPERATION EPIC FURY
Despite the scale of the latest strikes, Iran retains enriched nuclear material, with President Donald Trump saying April 17 that the U.S. would work with Iran to recover "nuclear dust" — enriched uranium — from sites, adding that both countries would use heavy machinery to remove it.
The International Atomic Energy Agency also estimates Iran still holds more than 200 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% at Esfahan—enough for roughly five weapons if further enriched.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also said it remains "under the rubble" of previous strikes and that Tehran has no plans to recover it.
"It is always possible that Iran has additional sites that were not known to Israel and the U.S.," Lamson said.
"We will have to wait to see how much these operations translate into a lasting strategic impact on Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons."
"It’s easier to identify the damage and death caused by the Israeli and U.S. strikes, and harder to assess their actual impact on Iran's capabilities and intentions to produce a nuclear weapon," Lamson clarified.
A British bride has battled depression and has been unable to work in the nearly two years since she was drenched in black paint by her spiteful sister-in-law. The attack occurred moments before she was slated to walk down the aisle to wed her childhood sweetheart — the climax of a revenge attack amid an ongoing feud.
Gemma Monk, 35, a mother of two, was looking forward to marrying her now-husband, Ken Monk, in May 2024. She was walking with her father on a cream-colored carpet at the venue in Maidstone, England, when someone called out her name. Seconds later, she was splashed with black paint, she told Kent Online in an article published Friday.
Realizing the attacker was her sister-in-law, Antonia Eastwood, who is married to Gemma’s older brother, Ashley, Gemma grabbed her by the hair, but Eastwood managed to get away. The bride was left distraught and in tears.
JEALOUS EX-BOYFRIEND ACCUSED OF ‘VICIOUS’ ACID ATTACK THAT LEFT COLLEGE STUDENT SEVERELY BURNED: DA
"This has had a dramatic impact on my life," Monk told Kent Online on Wednesday, after Eastwood was sentenced by a British court for two offenses of criminal damage. "Even while I was providing this statement at the police station, I got extremely emotional and started crying while talking about the incident.
"Since the incident, if it wasn’t for my children or my family, I don’t think I would even get out of bed to care for myself," she added. "I have lost all my dignity and good habits in life. I have lost who I used to be. This has turned the most special day of my life into the worst memory — one I will never forget, and neither will my family."
The attack occurred after Monk had lost significant weight during a cancer scare. Though she has since been given a clean bill of health, Monk said her sister-in-law knew about the medical struggle at the time but "still decided to ruin the most important day of my life and put me at risk."
Eastwood, 49, had been banned from the wedding following a feud that stemmed from her own nuptials, during which Monk was accused of "trying to trip up" Eastwood.
In court, Eastwood was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to perform 160 hours of community service.
"This was meant to be a special day for Gemma Monk and her family. Courtesy of your conduct, it turned into a nightmare," Judge Oliver Saxby told Eastwood before imposing the sentence.
Eastwood's husband, Ashley, was once Ken Monk's best friend and actually introduced him to Gemma when she was only 14.
Despite the attack, Gemma scrubbed the paint from her face and body in the changing room and borrowed a dress fetched by an usher so she could marry her partner of more than 20 years.
"We had waited for that day for so long. Nothing was going to stop me," she said. "I did not think twice; I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers and with black paint over my face if I had to."
However, Monk, a mental health worker, has since suffered from depression and has been unable to work. In a statement to the court, she said the incident changed her outlook on life and "made me question whether I had done something really bad, whether I had done something wrong."
The couple also called off a planned honeymoon to the Maldives because Gemma "wasn't up to it."
"I had a gut feeling—a bad feeling that something was wrong—when I got out of the car with my dad," Monk said. "But he said it must be nerves."
"I will never accept her apology," she added. "I thought the sentence was too light. She should have received at least 23 months for the wait we have had to get this to court."
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Iran has an "inalienable" right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes during a state visit to China on Wednesday, according to the Times of Israel.
"The right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes is an inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Lavrov said during a Tuesday press conference following a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Times of Israel.
Access to said uranium has been a hard line for U.S. President Donald Trump in ongoing peace negotiations with Iran.
"There will be no enrichment of Uranium," Trump wrote in an April 8 post on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. would be working with Iran to dig up all remaining nuclear materials in the country to ensure the Islamic Republic would not have access to any uranium.
STOP CALLING THIS BRINKMANSHIP. TRUMP'S HORMUZ MOVE IS THE REAL PRESSURE
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation during Saturday negotiations with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, doubled down on that red line.
"The enriched uranium that the Iranians currently possess, we have said that we want that to come our of their country, and we would like to take possession of it," Vance told Fox News' Brett Baier on Monday.
"The president doesn't want to leave the next president or the president after that to be worrying about this program so we would like to get that material out of the country completely so that the United States has control over it."
PAKISTANI GENERAL SAYS IRAN DIPLOMACY STILL ALIVE, DESPITE US BLOCKADE, FAILED TALKS
Despite the U.S. hard line, Russia's top diplomat appeared to openly defy the U.S.' demands, speaking in strong terms against what he viewed as American global control.
"Neither China nor Russia, nor the majority of countries throughout the world, can accept this approach," Lavrov said in remarks posted to a Russian state website.
The peace talks in Iran stalled, according to Vance, because of their refusal to completely give up their nuclear program. Nuclear experts praised the decision.
"The U.S. team was wise to walk away once it became clear the Iranians would not agree to Washington’s core nuclear demands. Tehran maintaining enriched uranium stocks and uranium enrichment capabilities provides it with a pathway to nuclear weapons, plain and simple," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ nonproliferation program, told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital contacted the U.S. State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment but did not hear back immediately.
Fox News Digital's Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
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With a second round of talks likely to take place between the U.S. and Iran’s regime this week over its illicit nuclear weapons programs, leading experts on Tehran’s program say the Trump administration was right to walk away.
After nearly a day of talks, Vice President JD Vance’s team pulled the plug on the negotiations taking place in Pakistan, something welcomed by experts in the field.
"The U.S. team was wise to walk away once it became clear the Iranians would not agree to Washington’s core nuclear demands. Tehran maintaining enriched uranium stocks and uranium enrichment capabilities provides it with a pathway to nuclear weapons, plain and simple," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ nonproliferation program, told Fox News Digital.
A core dispute between the U.S. and Iran is over Tehran’s desire to enrich uranium — the material used to build nuclear weapons.
WITKOFF WARNS IRAN IS ‘A WEEK AWAY’ FROM 'BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL' AS TRUMP WEIGHS ACTION
In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew from President Barack Obama’s nuclear weapons deal with Iran because his administration argued that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the deal, permitted Iran to build an atomic bomb.
When asked what a good nuclear agreement would look like, Stricker said, "A good deal requires the regime to not only turn over its nuclear fuel, dismantle key facilities, and commit to a permanent ban on enrichment, but to cooperate with an IAEA investigation that fully and completely accounts for and dismantles Iran’s nuclear weapons-relevant facilities, equipment, documentation, centrifuges and related production capabilities."
Stricker acknowledged that the process could take several years, but noted that "the IAEA is well-equipped for this mission and has experience dismantling nuclear weapons programs in Iraq, Libya and South Africa. Anything less and Iran will likely cheat on its commitments and reconstitute a breakout pathway."
TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE 'SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL' AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT 'NOT GOOD ENOUGH'
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he opposes a reported proposal by the U.S. for a 20-year ban on Iran’s uranium enrichment under a potential deal.
"I appreciate President Donald Trump’s resolve to end the Iranian conflict peacefully and through diplomacy. However, we have to remember who we’re dealing with in Iran: terrorists, liars, and cheaters," Graham posted on X.
"If this reporting is accurate, the idea that we would agree to a moratorium on enrichment rather than a ban on enrichment would be a mistake in my view," he said.
"Would we agree to a moratorium for al Qaeda to enrich? No."
A regional official from the Mideast confirmed to Fox News Digital that a 20-year moratorium on enriched uranium was made by the U.S. and rejected by the Islamic Republic.
David Albright, a physicist who is the founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C., praised the U.S. decision to end the talks in Pakistan. Writing on his X account, which is closely followed by Iran watchers, he stated: "The U.S. was Right to Walk Away in Islamabad."
Albright told Fox News Digital the move by the U.S. negotiators "makes it clear that this is not negotiating for negotiating’s sake. And leaving threw Iran on the defensive, signaling it as the losing state in the war. Moreover, the Iranians would not have shifted their positions in any significant way. They usually have no flexibility. But Iran wanted to have negotiations continue in order to try to tie the hands of the U.S. and Israel, while trying to portray themselves as victors. Now, Iran has to decide whether to accept the U.S. offer or risk war resuming."
He added that a good nuclear deal for the U.S. would mean "no enrichment and no stocks of HEU [Highly Enriched Uranium] and LEU [Low Enriched Uranium]; Iran cooperating with the inspectors and verifiably ending its nuclear weapons program and providing a complete nuclear declaration, something it has never done."
Albright continued that "If Iran signals willingness to accept the U.S. position, meeting again makes sense.
"Iran has absolutely no need to enrich. Its only civil need is for a small amount of 20% enriched for its small research reactor, the Tehran Research Reactor, and it has enough 20% enriched uranium in fuel or nearly made into fuel stored in Iran and in Russia under JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] arrangements for 20 years."
He concluded, "To be flip, and paraphrase Abbie Hoffman, I have the right to yell theater in a crowded fire, but I don’t. Iran’s emphasis on its right to enrich is as irrelevant and beside the point."
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un observed launches of two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from his prized new warship, the 5,000-ton-class destroyer Choe Hyon, state media claimed Tuesday.
The cruise missiles flew for more than two hours and the anti-ship missiles for more than 30 minutes along pre-set trajectories over the country’s western seas before accurately striking their targets on Sunday, according to North Korea’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
One image released by the Korean Central News Agency showed Kim standing next to North Korean officials while watching a projectile fly away from the ship.
Kim has hailed the development of the Choe Hyon, which was first unveiled in April 2025, as a major step toward expanding the operational reach and preemptive strike capabilities of his military.
NORTH KOREA FIRES MISSILES TOWARD SEA AFTER RIDICULING SOUTH'S HOPES FOR BETTER TIES
State media claim the warship is designed to carry a range of systems, including anti-air and anti-ship weapons as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean officials and experts say the vessel was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, but some experts question whether it’s ready for active service, The Associated Press reported.
After Sunday’s tests, Kim said his government remained focused on the "limitless expansion" of its nuclear forces and issued unspecified new tasks to sharpen the country’s nuclear attack and rapid-response capabilities. He also reviewed plans for the weapons systems for his third and fourth destroyers currently being built, Rodong Sinmun claimed.
NORTH KOREA RELAUNCHES WARSHIP THAT SUFFERED EMBARRASSING FAILURE DURING INITIAL LAUNCH
North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year – the Kang Kon -- but it was damaged during a botched launch at the northern port of Chongjin. It later was relaunched in June following repairs.
State media says a third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard on the country’s western coast is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary in October, according to the AP.
North Korea also conducted a series of tests last week that state media said involved various new weapons systems, including ballistic missiles armed with cluster-bomb warheads, while its senior officials issued statements ridiculing South Korean hopes for warmer relations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
