President Donald Trump kicked off the week delivering remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, and closed it out by attending the 2025 Ryder Cup golf competition. 

During his address to the U.N. General Assembly debate Tuesday, Trump cautioned that Europe is in a crisis due to an influx of illegal immigration and warned that U.N. countries are ‘going to hell’ in the ‘failed experiment of open borders.’ 

‘Europe is in serious trouble,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe. Nobody is ever. And nobody’s doing anything to change it, to get them out. It’s not sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they’re doing just absolutely nothing about it.’ 

The Trump administration has taken a tough stance against illegal immigrants to advance Trump’s mass deportation agenda. 

‘The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,’ Trump said. ‘In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net. We have reasserted that America belongs to the American people, and I encourage all countries to take their own stand in defense of their citizens as well.’ 

After his remarks before the General Assembly and after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that he believes Ukraine, with the backing of the European Union, could secure back all of its territory as the war between Russia and Ukraine persists. 

‘After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,’ Trump said in a Tuesday Truth Social post. ‘With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.’ 

‘Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,’ Trump said. ‘This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’’ 

Meanwhile, Trump headed to Farmingdale, New York, Friday along with his granddaughter Kai for the Ryder Cup golf competition at Bethpage Black Course. 

Trump has appeared at two other sporting events in New York in September: the U.S. Open men’s final and a New York Yankees game Sept. 11. 

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and Ryan Morik contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump said Friday that ‘I think we have a deal’ on ending the Israel-Hamas war.

‘It’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza, and we’ll let you know. I think it’s a deal that will get the hostages back. It’s going to be a deal that will end the war,’ Trump told reporters while departing the White House.

‘It’s going to be peace,’ the president added. ‘I think we have a deal.’

Trump unveiled a 21-point initiative to end the Gaza war during meetings with Arab leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week. 

A White House official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital, ‘The President underscored his desire to bring fighting in Gaza to an expeditious close. U.S. special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff summarized the U.S. plan for Gaza, including the return of all hostages living and deceased, no further attacks on Qatar, a new dialogue between Israel and Palestinians for peaceful coexistence and more.

‘Foreign partners expressed broad agreement that President Trump was the only one who could end the fighting in Gaza and expressed the hope that they could work together with Special Envoy Witkoff to consider the President’s plan as Americans continue to engage with Israeli officials,’ the White House official added. 

Speaking at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York, Witkoff described a ‘very productive’ meeting Tuesday between Trump and officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.

‘We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Middle East,’ Witkoff said. ‘I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as concerns of neighbors in the region.’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in a recorded UNGA address after being barred from entry to the U.S., also signaled support. 

‘We declare that we are ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, the United Nations and all partners to implement the peace plan that was approved in the conference that was held on the 22nd of September, in a way that would lead towards a just peace and regional cooperation,’ Abbas said.

Abbas added that the PA is prepared to take over security and governance in Gaza, while Hamas must disarm. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

A coalition of conservative energy and environmental groups are calling on leaders within the Trump administration to snub the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil as President Donald Trump rails against climate change as the ‘greatest con job ever.’

‘As President Trump rightly moves our nation away from climate alarmism, there is nothing to be gained from participating in an anti-American international effort that is designed to cripple the U.S. energy system and economy, compromise our national security, and steal from U.S. taxpayers under the guise of climate aid and/or reparations,’ a group of seven conservative energy and environment groups wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital Friday. 

The U.N. Climate Change Conference is a yearly event that brings together leaders worldwide to map out and negotiate measures to limit climate change. The conference will be held in Brazil for 2025, running from Nov. 10 through Nov. 21. 

The letter was addressed to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Signatories of the letter included the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, American Energy Institute, Heartland Institute, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), Truth in Energy and Climate, CO2 Coalition and American Lands Council.

‘It’s time America walked away from the U.N.’s endless climate conferences, which have never improved the environment but have impoverished billions while enriching China,’ Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told Fox News Digital of the letter. ‘By refusing to send a delegation to COP-30, the administration can send a clear message: America will no longer be a victim of the global climate hoax.’ 

The letter to the trio of Trump administration leaders outlined that the U.S. has participated in the conference since its inaugural launch in 1995, but that the meetings and negotiations ‘have accomplished nothing for the environment.’ 

‘They have only wasted taxpayer money and squandered federal resources while: (1) harming the U.S. by motivating trillion-dollar Green New Scam policies and spending: (2) wantonly destroying the U.S. coal industry; (3) dramatically increasing higher energy prices and causing inflation; (4) compromising the U.S. electricity grid; and (5) making our energy system dependent on technology from Communist China. UN climate activities and treaties (both Kyoto in 1997 and Paris in 2015) caused Europe’s dependency on Russia for energy and financed Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine,’ the letter continued. 

Heartland Institute President James Taylor said the upcoming climate conference would only ‘illustrate the hypocrisy of the self-appointed ruling class,’ while they ‘saturate the atmosphere with CO2’ with their travels. 

‘The annual UN climate talks exist solely to saturate the atmosphere with CO2 from people congregating from all around the globe, give traveling perks to government bureaucrats and NGOs, and illustrate the hypocrisy of the self-appointed ruling class,’ Taylor said. ‘By not sending an official U.S. delegation, President Trump would be doing more to reduce carbon dioxide emissions than all the participating nations combined.’ 

Trump has railed against strict climate policies established under previous Democratic administrations since retaking the Oval Office in January, including signing executive orders targeting ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives, such as the ‘Unleashing American Energy’ January executive order, which prevented the disbursement of climate-related federal funding through the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The letter comes after the U.N. General Assembly began in New York City Monday. Trump addressed the body and slammed climate change as a ‘con job’ of massive proportions. 

‘It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,’ Trump said Monday. ‘All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong.’

‘They were made by stupid people that have cost their country’s fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success,’ he continued. 

Signatories of the letter to the Trump officials argued that the U.S. snubbing the conference would send a message ‘that the U.S. will no longer be a victim of the global climate scam. The message it sends to the American people is that the Trump administration is putting America first.’ 

‘The White House should host a counter conference to emphasize economic prosperity and energy resilience for developing nations, offering the opportunity to pursue real solutions rather than the crippling green policies being pushed at COP,’ they wrote. 

Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, told Fox Digital that Trump’s comments this week show the U.S. does not need to deploy any officials to Brazil for the conference. 

‘President Trump this week called climate a hoax and a con job,’ Milloy said. ‘He said countries embracing the green agenda were going to destroy themselves. He slammed the UN as ineffectual. So, there is no need for anyone in the Trump administration to participate in the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Brazil.’ 

‘Instead, President Trump should consider holding a White House event on energy and economic development for poor countries. Let’s move these people forward with proven ideas and opportunities instead of crippling them with green nonsense.’ 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was blasted across Gaza for Palestinians to hear thanks to a scheme from Israeli intelligence.

The prime minister said he wanted to speak directly to the 20 living hostages who remain in Hamas captivity. 

‘I want to do something I’ve never done before. I want to speak from this forum directly to those hostages through loudspeakers. I’ve surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone, in the hope that our dear hostages will hear my message.’ 

Netanyahu’s office said he had ordered his speech to be played over loudspeakers from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.

He also said Israeli intelligence had found a way to broadcast the speech on cellphones across Gaza.

‘Thanks to special efforts by Israeli intelligence, my words are now also being carried. They’re streamed live through the cell phones of Gazans.’ 

But Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had been ordered to set up speakers and broadcast the speech inside the Gaza Strip — not on the border.

‘To Netanyahu’s regret, he is not Kim Jong-un, and the Israeli army does not need to broadcast the ruler’s speeches over loudspeakers while endangering soldiers in the field,’ opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X. 

Soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip and their families released a statement claiming they’d been ordered to enter Gaza to set up the loudspeakers. 

‘The prime minister is lying,’ said a joint statement from the families. ‘We know from our children in uniform that the loudspeakers were placed inside Gaza. This action endangers their lives, all for the sake of a so-called public diplomacy campaign to preserve his rule.’

They continued: ‘He is doing PR at the expense of our children’s lives and security. Today we lost the last shred of trust we had in the political echelon and in the army leaders who approved this scandalous operation.’

During his speech, Netanyahu said directly to the hostages: ‘We have not forgotten you. Not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.’

Netanyahu took the U.N. main stage at a time when hostilities with the international body reached an all-time high. Amid mounting international pressure over Israel’s offensive campaign in Gaza, the U.N. has held meetings this week to push for a two-state solution. 

Dozens of U.N. delegates walked out of the General Assembly hall as the prime minister spoke. After the walkout, there were far more empty seats than delegates watching the speech. 

Member states voted to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to speak remotely on Thursday, where he accused Israel of ‘genocide’ and demanded full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state. Abbas received a 30-second round of applause after his address.

The prime minister eviscerated nations that recognized a Palestinian state — notably France, the U.K., Australia, and Canada. 

‘I say to the representatives of those nations, this is not an indictment of Israel,’ Netanyahu said. ‘It’s an indictment of you. It’s an indictment of weakness. Leaders who appease evil rather than support a nation whose brave soldiers guard you from the barbarians at the gate. They’re already penetrating your gates. When will you learn?’

Netanyahu also claimed 90% of Palestinians ‘celebrated’ Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7th. 

‘Nearly 90% of Palestinians supported the attack on October 7th. It’s not supported, they celebrated it. They danced on the rooftops. They threw candies. That’s what was both in Gaza and in Judea. Samaria, the West Bank, as you call [it]. And it’s just the way they celebrated another horror — 9/11. They danced on the rooftops. They cheered. They threw candy.’

Speaking to those who support a Palestinian state, Netanyahu claimed: ‘They don’t want a state next to Israel. They want a Palestinian state instead of Israel.’

‘What you’re doing is giving the ultimate reward to intolerant fanatics who perpetrated and supported the October 7th massacre. Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving al-Qaida state one mile from New York City after Sept. 11th. This is sheer madness. It’s insane. And we won’t do it,’ Netanyahu went on. 

The prime minister touted Israel’s military campaigns and the attacks on Iran and Hezbollah.

‘Remember those beepers? The pagers? We paged Hezbollah… and believe me, they got the message,’ he quipped. 

Pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah exploded last year across Lebanon, killing and injuring locals. 

And after the U.S. carried out unprecedented strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, he said more work remained to be done to eradicate Iran’s nuclear threat. 

‘We must not allow Iran to rebuild its military nuclear capacities. Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, these stockpiles, must be eliminated.’

The prime minister faces the shadow of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2024, which has complicated his international travels and intensified scrutiny of his wartime decisions.

The U.S. does not adhere to ICC decisions, and banned Palestinian leaders from traveling to New York for UNGA. 

But the prime minister took a circuitous route to New York, avoiding the airspace of Spain and France, both signatories of the Rome Statute of the ICC, which could make him subject to arrest if he were to land in their country. 

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank — an option Israeli officials had said was on the table in response to the growing swell of Palestinian recognition. 

‘I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,’ Trump said in the Oval Office, adding that he’d spoken to Netanyahu on the topic. 

‘It’s been enough. It’s time to stop now,’ he added.

On Thursday, Trump officials presented a 21-point plan to end the war in Gaza, which would focus on releasing the remaining hostages and a ceasefire. 

Senate Democrats earlier this year were unwilling to shut down the government over fears of mass firings and deep cuts to spending, but now with a similar threat on the horizon, they seem unwilling to keep the lights on.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus have further dug into their position in the week that Congress has been away from Washington, D.C., and they appear ready to not provide the needed votes to avert a partial government shutdown by Sept. 30.

Republicans are calling foul on their position and contend that their rhetoric is hypocritical to their stance from earlier this year, when Senate Democrats — including Schumer — voted to keep the government open.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., contended that their position now is completely counter to the one they held in March when the government was again on the brink of closure, especially given their concerns that the Trump administration and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would move ahead with mass firings.

‘The argument they made was that you don’t want to give Trump — basically by shutting the government down — carte blanche to do whatever he wants to do with these government agencies, and, you know, to let the OMB make decisions about who’s essential and who isn’t,’ Thune said on ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show.’

‘Because they do fundamentally believe they are the government party,’ he continued. ‘Which is why I think it’s going to be hard, can be really hard for them to sustain this over a long period of time, but we’ll see.’

The OMB circulated a memo to federal agencies this week that directed mass firings of federal employees beyond the typical shutdown furloughs, but Schumer chalked it up to ‘an attempt at intimidation.’

‘Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one — not to govern, but to scare,’ he said. ‘This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government. These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.’

When asked if he was concerned by what could happen if the government closed, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., countered that it was a ‘political question.’

‘That’s not the way I think about it,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘I represent a Virginia that’s been ravaged by what Donald Trump has done to the federal workforce, federal contractors.’

‘Donald Trump is doing stuff that hurts the country,’ he continued. ‘Donald Trump told Republicans not even to talk, to negotiate with Democrats on this.’

In March, when it appeared that Schumer would lead Democrats in lockstep to close the government, he backed down and argued that it was a ‘Hobson’s choice.’ Ultimately, he and nine other Senate Democrats advanced the bill.

Congressional Democrats at the time were fuming at the power that tech billionaire Elon Musk wielded and the impact a shutdown would have on the federal workforce, given the waves of firings and buyouts already taking place at the hands of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

He said during a speech on the Senate floor that a shutdown would ‘give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services,’ and it would let the GOP ‘weaponize their majorities to cherry-pick which parts of the government to reopen.’

Fast-forward to today and the only Senate Democrat publicly supporting the GOP’s short-term funding extension, or continuing resolution (CR), is Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.

He told Fox News Digital that shutting the government down would unleash chaos that the country didn’t need, particularly if President Donald Trump and the OMB were given no guardrails to rein in cuts or mass firings.

He said that if Democrats are concerned about the changes brought on by the Trump administration, shutting the government down is not the right answer.

‘We must keep our government open,’ Fetterman said. ‘If we shut our government down, you know, the kinds of chaos and the kinds of loss for the millions of Americans that count on that directly, it’s just not the appropriate time for that, especially after the [Charlie] Kirk assassination.’

Schumer and congressional Democrats offered a counter-proposal to the GOP’s CR that included a laundry list of demands, such as permanently extending Obamacare subsidies, repealing the healthcare title of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ and clawing back billions of canceled funding for NPR and PBS.

Both the Republican and Democrat proposals failed in the Senate last week.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., like the majority of his Democratic colleagues, was rooted in opposition to the GOP’s short-term extension because of its lack of language to address Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

When asked if he was concerned that shutting the government down would give Trump free rein to do as he pleased, Blumenthal told Fox News Digital, ‘I think Republicans would insist that he follow the law.’

Thune has signaled that conversations about the Obamacare subsidies, in particular, could happen after a shutdown is averted, but it so far has not been enough for Senate Democrats.

‘I mean, they passed 13 short-term resolutions during the Biden administration, and 96% of the Democrats voted for it,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. ‘And go check out their rhetoric. So now, all of a sudden, they can’t vote for it. It’s ridiculous.’

When pressed on whether Republicans would move on Obamacare subsidies, Hoeven said, ‘I think we’re gonna do something we haven’t decided. So we’re talking about a number of different things, but we’re working on it.’

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey is about pursuing long-standing corruption and not political payback.

‘It’s about justice really, it’s not revenge,’ Trump said while departing the White House. ‘It’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on. They are sick, radical left people, and they can’t get away with it and Comey was one of the people.’

‘He wasn’t the biggest, but he’s a dirty cop,’ Trump added. ‘He’s always been a dirty cop. Everybody knew it.’

Trump’s comments came after Comey was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He was indicted on two counts: alleged false statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of congressional proceeding.

The president argued Comey gave a strong but false answer under oath and ultimately ‘got caught lying.’

‘The only problem is for him he didn’t think he’d be caught and he got caught,’ Trump said, emphasizing that Comey could have hedged or said he didn’t remember, but instead gave a very specific response.

‘It’s about justice. He lied. He lied a lot,’ Trump said. ‘He gave a very specific answer and then he verified it numerous times and he got caught.’

Comey was indicted by a grand jury following a probe centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia investigation at the FBI, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ 

Comey has denied the allegations, declaring himself innocent and labeling the charges politically motivated by the Trump Justice Department. 

‘My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,’ Comey said in an Instagram video after his indictment. ‘We will not live on our knees and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.’

‘But I’m not afraid,’ Comey added.

WATCH: Former FBI Director Comey responds after grand jury indicts him on two counts

The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he testified that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.

Comey’s arraignment is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 9 before District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, a judge appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, David Spunt and Greg Wehner contributed to this report. 

As Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, accusing the United States and Israel of ‘savage aggression,’ thousands of Iranian Americans and dissidents massed outside the building to denounce what they called the hypocrisy of the UN for giving Tehran’s rulers a platform.

Inside the hall, Pezeshkian claimed June’s U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities amounted to a ‘grave betrayal of diplomacy’ and a violation of international law. He said the attacks killed civilians, scientists and intellectuals, while insisting Iran ‘never sought weapons of mass destruction.’

Outside the U.N., however, the message was very different. Protesters waving Iranian flags and holding placards declared that Pezeshkian did not represent the Iranian people.

Mitra Samani, a former political prisoner held for four years in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison in the early 1980s, traveled from Los Angeles to attend. ‘We are here to say that the seat in the U.N. doesn’t belong to those murderous regime agents. It belongs to the people of Iran and their representatives, and we believe that is the National Council of Resistance of Iran,’ she told Fox News Digital.

Samani said she has attended the rally every year for three decades. ‘I promised myself when I was released from that dungeon that I would be the voice of my friends that I lost. That’s why I’m here every year.’

Nasser Sharif, chair of the Iranian American Community of California, said thousands came from 40 states to participate in the protest. ‘We’re here to support the Iranian Resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and to condemn the regime for its crimes against humanity,’ Sharif told Fox News Digital.

He added that the movement backs the plan for a free, secular, democratic republic in Iran: ‘We are asking the U.S. administration to put more pressure on the regime and side with the Iranian people and their desire for democratic change.’

Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, called the rally ‘an impressive show of force.’

‘Thousands of protesters supported the overthrow of the Iranian regime by the Iranian people, with no need for foreign boots on the ground or providing money and arms,’ he said.

Jafarzadeh also criticized the UN for giving Tehran a platform despite repeated condemnations of its human rights record. ‘It is appalling to see the world’s leading executioner play any role in any U.N. body dealing with human rights. It is like appointing a serial killer as a judge to rule on his own murders.’

Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said the UN’s willingness to elevate Iran reflects ‘an alternative reality.’

‘The U.N. is a lot like the Netflix show ‘Stranger Things.’ You walk through the door, the characters are the same, but it’s a horrifying alternative reality where a tyrannical, women-oppressing, nuclear-weapons-pursuing regime can serve as a leader of human rights, women’s rights and nuclear nonproliferation organizations,’ Goldberg said.

He added that Pezeshkian arrived in New York ‘with nothing — no popular support at home and no nuclear weapons program to scare the rest of the world,’ while facing looming U.N. sanctions that could destabilize Iran’s economy.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, said the speech was ‘short but not sweet.’

‘Sadly, these things have come to be expected from the U.N. when it comes to Iran. While the fact-finding mission on Iran languishes due to lack of funding and staff, the regime continues to be offered a platform to spew its invective and propaganda,’ he told Fox News Digital.

Taleblu highlighted the irony of Iran’s leadership roles in international organizations: ‘Can there be something more ironic than the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has long been a proliferator and seeking a nuclear weapon, being a vice president of the IAEA?’

He added that Pezeshkian’s remarks were overshadowed by recent comments from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ‘While Pezeshkian and [Iranian negotiator Abbas] Araghchi were in NYC trying to stall and prevent SnapBack, Khamenei did not mince words when it came to no negotiations with America. ‘Supreme Leader’ is a title meant to be taken rather literally after all.’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that Washington was talking to Iran and that the U.S. had a ‘desire’ to realize a permanent solution to the dispute. But Iran’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters Thursday that the U.S. saying it wanted a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program was a ‘deception.’

‘America’s claim of a desire for diplomacy is nothing but deception and blatant contradiction; one cannot simultaneously bomb a country while engaging in diplomatic negotiations and speak of diplomacy,’ ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Eastern European leaders are urging President Donald Trump to keep U.S. troops on NATO’s eastern flank after a wave of Russian air and drone incursions, warning that Vladimir Putin is ‘pushing the limits’ and will ‘believe only what he sees’ from allied defenses.

In interviews with Fox News Digital, ministers from Estonia, Lithuania and Romania said the alliance must harden its posture — moving from air policing to integrated air and missile defenses, sharpening rules of engagement and sustaining U.S. troop rotations — to prevent Russia from normalizing violations and eroding Article 5 credibility. They paired the military message with calls for tighter sanctions and an end to European energy dependence that funds the Kremlin’s war machine.

Their appeals land as Washington weighs a new national security strategy aimed at prioritizing homeland defense. Before the most recent incursions, U.S. officials had cautioned allies to prepare for a reduction of the American footprint, pressing Europe to take on a greater share of the burden.

‘We hope U.S. troops remain in the region. Their presence secures peace and sends a clear signal,’ Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said. ‘Putin understands only the language of strength. His goal is the restoration of the Soviet empire.’

This month Russian drones were detected in Polish and Romanian airspace, while Russian missile-carrying MiG-29s crossed briefly into Estonian territory. For the ninth time this year, Russian jets were also spotted inside the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.

Ahead of the U.S. expected global review of force posture, Lithuania’s foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said deterrence must be visible, not theoretical.

He said he has been making the case to U.S. counterparts: ‘This presence makes the difference. It forces Russia to change its calculations.’

‘Russia they have to see. They don’t believe in our plans and our protocols. They believe in what they see. So they are crossing our airspace, and they see no reaction,’ he went on. ‘With the presence of the troops. When they see that they are stationed there, and they are training. And they’re interacting with the local armed forces. For them, this is the message that, okay, we are not getting in there.’

‘U.S. rotational deployments are one of the most effective deterrents,’ Budrys said. ‘Russia doesn’t believe in our plans; it believes what it sees.’

Romania’s warning

Romanian foreign minister Oana Țoiu echoed the Baltics, adding that security on the Black Sea is tied to U.S. interests.

‘Every country sets its priorities, but the security of the eastern flank also serves U.S. security and financial interests — there’s real potential for joint investment, cyber, energy and infrastructure if security is ensured,’ she said.

Țoiu noted Romania has authorized its forces to shoot down Russian drones that threaten its territory and economy, and stressed the importance of NATO’s U.S. presence. Bucharest is also positioning itself as a regional energy supplier, expanding nuclear power with U.S. support and tapping natural gas fields in the Black Sea.

Washington’s role

About 80,000 American troops are stationed across Europe, according to U.S. European Command — down from roughly 105,000 just after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Thousands rotate through Lithuania, Estonia hosts a persistent U.S. contingent and roughly 3,000 are based in Romania, according to the State Department.

Despite speculation about U.S. drawdowns, Trump and senior officials have sharpened their rhetoric. On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz pledged Washington would defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory. Trump suggested intruding Russian aircraft should be shot down and insisted Ukraine, with European support, can take back all of its territory.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said those statements have resonance.

‘The unity of NATO has never been clearer,’ Wilson told Fox News Digital. ‘Sweden and Finland are now members. Trump correctly pointed out allies weren’t reaching 2 percent, now he’s moving to 5 percent. That means peace through strength.’

Eastern Sentry

In response to Russia’s provocations, NATO launched Eastern Sentry on September 12, 2025. The multidomain activity, led by Allied Command Operations, brings together fighter jets, naval assets and counter-drone systems from multiple allies to plug gaps and rotate forces across the eastern flank — from the Baltics to the Black Sea. Unlike a static buildup, the mission is designed to adapt quickly to emerging threats and demonstrate flexible deterrence.

An appellate court is poised to decide a case that supporters and opponents of abortion access are closely watching because the decision could put Planned Parenthood, a prolific abortion vendor, on the hook for up to $1.8 billion.

A full panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard oral arguments Thursday in the years-long case, which centers on Planned Parenthood’s use of Medicaid funds in Texas and Louisiana.

Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of March for Life, told Fox News Digital the ‘stakes couldn’t be higher’ and that the lawsuit could bankrupt Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit with hundreds of clinics across the country.

‘Planned Parenthood is facing a repayment obligation of close to $2 billion because it continued to fill its coffers with taxpayers’ money even after two states had already disqualified it,’ Lichter said. ‘If that obligation stands, it will strike a serious — even existential — blow to Planned Parenthood’s national operations and potentially change the abortion landscape in this country forever.’

The case comes after Texas and Louisiana stripped Planned Parenthood affiliates of their Medicaid qualifications in response to activist David Daleiden releasing video footage showing Planned Parenthood staff discussing selling aborted fetal tissue.

Daleiden faced a lawsuit and prosecution for illegally recording the staff, but his footage set off a firestorm in the pro-life movement and caused it to ramp up its efforts to weaken the nonprofit.

Planned Parenthood, however, sued Texas and Louisiana and initially won an injunction that allowed it to keep receiving the Medicaid reimbursements. But the decision was reversed on appeal years later.

An anonymous litigant then brought a new lawsuit on behalf of the two states seeking to claw back the millions of dollars Planned Parenthood had collected while the injunction had been in place.

Court papers indicate that the potential money Planned Parenthood could now owe — reimbursement of the Medicaid dollars it collected plus various multipliers — could add up to $1.8 billion. The exact dollar amount would be determined by a jury in the lower court.

But Planned Parenthood and the anonymous litigant, named in court papers as ‘Alex Doe,’ are now waiting to see where the conservative 5th Circuit will land.

The issue before the 5th Circuit’s en banc panel is about whether Planned Parenthood had immunity when it collected the four years’ worth of Medicaid dollars. Planned Parenthood has argued it has immunity because its counsel advised it to collect the payments during the injunction period.

Thursday’s oral arguments came after a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit comprising two Republican-appointed judges and one Democrat-appointed judge sided with Planned Parenthood.

Susan Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, blasted the Texas and Louisiana lawsuit as a ‘politically-motivated’ attempt to put the nonprofit out of business.

‘This baseless case has only one goal: to shut down Planned Parenthood and deny patients access to sexual and reproductive health care,’ Manning said in a statement this year. ‘Planned Parenthood health centers are nonprofits that provide essential, high-quality health care to more than 2 million people nationwide every year.’

Separately, pro-life activists made progress in their mission to defund Planned Parenthood this year when Congress voted to strip the nonprofit of Medicaid funding at the federal level for a one-year period.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit sided against Planned Parenthood in a lawsuit over the measure.