All posts tagged: threatening

Why Trump is threatening to blockade a strait he wants reopened

Why Trump is threatening to blockade a strait he wants reopened

Published by Sam Flores

The US military said it would block shipping traffic in and out of Iran’s ports starting at 10am ET (10pm, Singapore time) on Monday (Apr 13), a move that would prevent roughly two million barrels of Iranian oil a day from entering the world’s markets, further tightening global supply. Here’s how it would work, what it means for oil markets and why US President Donald Trump is threatening to restrict access to a strait that he wants Iran to reopen. WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED? After weekend peace talks in Islamabad between negotiators from the US and Iran ended without a deal, Trump said the US Navy “will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz”. The US military’s Central Command later said the blockade would apply only to ships going to or from Iran, including all Iranian ports on the Gulf and Gulf of Oman.  US forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, and …

Trump slammed by George Clooney for threatening to wipe out Iran: ‘That’s a war crime’

Trump slammed by George Clooney for threatening to wipe out Iran: ‘That’s a war crime’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter George Clooney has accused Donald Trump of committing a war crime over his threats to Iran. The U.S. president has been widely criticized for using social media to threaten Iran, after writing on Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” According to reports published by the Italian news agency ANSA, Clooney was addressing high school students at an event in Cuneo, Italy when he said: “Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime.” The 64-year-old actor continued: “You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it.” The White House shot back in a statement to The Independent, with Communications Director Steven Cheung saying: “The only person committing war …

Marjorie Taylor Greene Slams Trump For Threatening Iran On Easter Day

Marjorie Taylor Greene Slams Trump For Threatening Iran On Easter Day

Published by Sam Flores

Former US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted President Donald Trump for issuing more threats against Iran, in what she called an “evil” social media post on Easter Sunday. “On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted,” she began in an X post alongside a screenshot of Trump’s scathing Truth Social Post. “Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness.” Greene, a once staunch Trump ally, said the president has “gone insane” and all of his supporters are “complicit.” Noting that she’s “not defending Iran,” she continued, “But let’s be honest about all of this. The Strait is closed because the US and Israel started the unprovoked war against Iran based on the same nuclear lies they’ve been telling for decades, that any moment Iran would develop a nuclear weapon.” The ousted MAGA outlier then accused Israel of having nuclear weapons. “You know who has nuclear weapons? Israel. They are more than …

Trump signs order threatening up to 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals

Trump signs order threatening up to 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that could slap long-threatened pharmaceutical tariffs of up to 100 percent on some patented drugs from companies that don’t reach deals with his administration in the coming months. Companies that have signed a “most favoured nation” pricing deal and are actively building facilities in the US to onshore production of patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients will have a 0 percent tariff. For those that don’t have a pricing deal but are building such projects in the US, a 20 percent tariff will apply but will increase to 100 percent in four years. A senior administration official told reporters on a press call that companies still have months to negotiate before the 100 percent tariffs kick in – 120 days for bigger companies, and 180 days for everyone else. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the executive order before it was issued, did not identify any companies or drugs that were in jeopardy of getting hit with the increased tariffs but noted the administration had …

I Am Here to Watch the Birthright-Citizenship Arguments, but Not in a Threatening Way

I Am Here to Watch the Birthright-Citizenship Arguments, but Not in a Threatening Way

Published by José Betancourt

Subjects! Yes, I am here watching the oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara. What of it? Can’t a sitting president come watch an oral argument at the Supreme Court on a Wednesday without it being viewed as an attempt to coerce the justices? You know how much I love an oral argument. I am a big fan of the law. I like the faint, wheezing sound it makes as I trample on it, and the mountains of litigation that result. I am not here to cause problems for the justices by listening in a menacing way. I would never! I come from the New York Real-Estate Business, one of the less threatening business traditions. Besides, everyone knows how much I love listening while other people talk and not falling asleep. When do they start the praise, though? This seems like a long time for people to talk in front of me without mentioning that I am a great genius, physically prepossessing, and the one Messiah toward whom all history has been tending (I am paraphrasing …

Tesla named on Iran’s 18-company target list threatening Gulf operations

Tesla named on Iran’s 18-company target list threatening Gulf operations

Published by skeptic

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has named Tesla among 18 US companies whose Middle East operations it is threatening to attack in retaliation for the killings of Iranian military leaders. The threat carries an explicit deadline: 8:00 PM Tehran time on April 1. Tesla has been rapidly expanding across the Gulf over the past year, with showrooms, service centers, and more than 30 Supercharger stations now operating in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar — all directly in the crosshairs. The IRGC threat In a statement published through Sepah News, its official outlet, the IRGC declared that “for every assassination, a U.S. company will be destroyed,” and warned that 18 American firms should “expect the destruction of their respective units” starting Wednesday evening. The full list includes Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Dell, Palantir, Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase, Tesla, General Electric, Boeing, Spire Solutions, and UAE-based AI firm G42. Advertisement – scroll for more content The IRGC’s justification centers on its claim that these technology and AI companies play a direct …

Trump Continues Threatening War Crimes If Iran Doesn’t Capitulate ‘Immediately’

Trump Continues Threatening War Crimes If Iran Doesn’t Capitulate ‘Immediately’

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on March 29. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday continued to threaten Iran with war crimes if it does not comply with his demands, even as he also insisted a ceasefire deal with the country’s new, “more reasonable” rulers was soon at hand. “If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched,’” Trump posted on social media. “This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror.’” Destroying a country’s electrical and drinking water infrastructure, unless it is done for a specific military …

This Is How Trump Is Already Threatening the Midterms

This Is How Trump Is Already Threatening the Midterms

Published by skeptic

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the meetings, but an official who was not authorized to speak on the record, told WIRED at the time: “The White House does not comment on mysterious meetings with unnamed staffers.” Simultaneously, Trump has also sought to absolve officials of any wrongdoing in the wake of the 2020 election. Last year, Trump gave “full, complete and unconditional” pardons to a slate of people who had tried, and failed, to help him overturn the 2020 election results. In recent months, Trump has pressured Colorado governor Jared Polis to release Tina Peters, the former county clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, who became a hero for the right’s election deniers when she facilitated a security breach during a software update of her county’s election management system. Peters was found guilty of four felonies, but Trump has been mounting a campaign in recent months to get her released, even going so far as to say he “pardoned” her, even though he has no power to do so …

Grab Your Betrayal-Themed Popcorn Buckets, Because Microsoft Is Threatening to Sue OpenAI

Grab Your Betrayal-Themed Popcorn Buckets, Because Microsoft Is Threatening to Sue OpenAI

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Mutual success has only heightened tensions between Microsoft and OpenAI, whose partnership helped kickstart the AI boom. Now, the Financial Times reports the latest escalation between the two heavyweights: Microsoft is considering suing OpenAI. The drama is a bit of a corporate love triangle, and concerns a $50 billion deal to offer OpenAI’s new product, Frontier, on Amazon Web Services, the e-commerce giant’s cloud computing platform. Microsoft believes this violates the spirit and the letter of its own exclusivity agreement with OpenAI, which holds that all access to OpenAI’s AI models should only be through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Frontier is still unreleased, and no legal action has been set into motion yet, as both companies are still in talks. But Microsoft is signaling that it isn’t gun-shy. “We know our contract,” a person familiar with Microsoft’s position told the FT. “We will sue them if they breach it. If Amazon and OpenAI want to take a bet …