🇷🇺🇺🇸 Putin, Trump discuss Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela in recent call — Kremlin aide

Key points from the phone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov:

🔹 The call was initiated by the US president, lasted about one hour, and was described as businesslike and constructive.

🔹 The main focus was on the Iran conflict and negotiations on Ukraine.

🔹 The leaders also discussed the situation in Venezuela, including its impact on the global oil market.

🔹 Putin described developments along the line of contact in the Ukraine conflict zone.

🔹 Trump expressed interest in bringing the Ukraine conflict to a ceasefire as soon as possible.

🔹 Putin gave positive assessments of US mediation efforts, including Trump’s personal role, in seeking a settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

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🚨 ‘I think the war is very complete, pretty much’ — Trump on Iran

💬 “They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force,” US President Donald Trump told CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang.

According to Jiang, Trump also said he is “thinking about taking over” the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump added that he has someone in mind to replace Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, but did not elaborate.

💬 “They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country,” Trump warned Iran, Jiang reported.

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🇺🇸🇮🇱 How Iran’s toxic rain reveals US-Israel discord

🔊 The main Israeli goal is to cause as much chaos as possible and draw the US even deeper into the war, security expert Dr. Simon Tsipis tells Sputnik.

🟠 US Energy Secretary Chris Wright accuses Israel of bombing Iranian fuel depots, insisting the US targets no energy facilities

🟠 Axios reports that the US was informed ahead of the Israeli attacks, but the huge scale of damage shocked Washington

🟠 The attack caused an environmental disaster with black acid rain in Tehran

👉 This situation reveals a divide between the allies, Tsipis said:

🔶 Israeli forces behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu want to trigger a full-scale war in the Persian Gulf

🔶 The US realizes it has been drawn into a project that has nothing to do with its own goals

💬 "Israel has effectively set a trap for its long-time allies among American Christian evangelicals," Tsipis says. “A strong opposition is growing within the US, openly declaring that the current course does not serve the nation’s interests.”

🇺🇸 The US is taking most of the blame with Israel’s role forgotten, the pundit says.

💬 “This creates enormous reputational risks for the US, turning it into a hostage of someone else’s strategy,” Tsipis says, “one that brings no benefit to the White House while forcing it to bear all the costs of supporting the conflict.”

Consequences:

🟧 A regional conflict escalates into a global threat

🟧 The US is caught in a strategic trap

🟧 US allies in Europe are caught in a deepening crisis

🟧 A rift is growing inside the US

🟧 The reputational damage will have long-term consequences for US influence in the world

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🚨 ‘The Navy is gone. Forty-six ships’ — Trump on Iran

President Donald Trump claimed the US had destroyed dozens of Iranian naval vessels during the conflict.

He added that he asked military officials why the vessels had not been captured instead.

💬 “They said, it’s more fun to sink them,” Trump said.

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🚨 ‘We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated’ — Trump on Iran

President Donald Trump said the US would continue its aggression against Iran and claimed several Iranian leaders had already been killed.

💬 “The terrorist leaders are gone or counting down the minutes until they will be gone,” Trump said.

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🚨🇮🇷 IRGC links Hormuz passage to expulsion of US and Israeli envoys

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said any Arab or European country that expels the ambassadors of Israel and the United States from its territory will, starting the next day, receive full freedom of passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

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🚨🚢 US may lift some oil sanctions to stabilize prices — Trump

President Donald Trump said the US plans to waive certain oil-related sanctions on some countries in an effort to reduce energy prices.

💬 “We’re going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Trump said.

He also said the US Navy and its partners could escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary to ensure safe passage.

💬 “When the time comes, the US Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait, if needed,” Trump added.

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🚨 ‘I was disappointed to see their choice’ — Trump on Iran’s new Supreme Leader

US President Donald Trump said he was disappointed with the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader.

💬 "I was disappointed because we think it's going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country," he added.

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🗣 Trump raises tally of Iranian ships sunk from 46 to 51

US President Donald Trump increased his estimate of Iranian naval vessels destroyed during the conflict while speaking about the US-Israeli aggression.

💬 “Most of Iran's naval power has been sunk. It's on the bottom of the sea… It's almost 50 ships,” Trump said, adding he had just been informed the number was “51 ships.”

⌛️ Earlier in his remarks, Trump had said “46 ships” had been sunk.

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🚨 Trump threatens to ‘hit’ Iran ‘TWENTY TIMES HARDER’ over Strait of Hormuz oil flows

💬 “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added that the US could target sites that would make it “virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again,” while saying he hopes such a scenario “does not happen.”

Trump described the policy as “a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait.”

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📹 US military releases footage of new strikes on Iran

US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted a video it says shows new strikes targeting Iranian missile launchers.

💬 “The Iranian regime can try to hide their missile launchers, but US forces won’t stop looking. When we find them, we’re taking them out,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

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🕯🇷🇺 US considering easing Russian oil sanctions amid price surge — reports

The Trump administration is weighing options to ease sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to calm rising global energy prices following disruptions linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

According to Reuters, the measures under consideration could include broad sanctions relief or targeted steps allowing certain countries, such as India, to purchase Russian oil without facing US penalties.

🔼 A temporary US waiver issued last week covered Russian crude already stranded on tankers at sea, enabling purchases by Indian refiners as markets reacted to supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, the report said.

🗓 A decision on additional measures could be announced as soon as Monday, sources told Reuters.

A White House spokesperson said the administration continues to review options to stabilize energy markets.

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🇭🇺 Detention of Ukrainian couriers sparks panic in Kiev — Szijjarto

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Ukraine reacted with “noticeable panic” after Hungarian authorities detained Ukrainian citizens transporting large amounts of cash and gold through Hungary.

💬 “Today our ambassador in Kiev was summoned again to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The Ukrainians broke into noticeable panic after they were caught red-handed moving hundreds of millions of euros and hundreds of millions of dollars through Hungary,” Szijjarto said at an event in Budapest.

❌ He said Ukraine “confined themselves to demanding the return of the money and could not give answers” to questions from Hungarian authorities.

🔍 Budapest has demanded explanations from Kiev and said Hungary will conduct its own investigation into the transfer of the funds and gold.

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📹 US MQ-9 drone reportedly shot down over Basra

Circulating footage appears to show the moment an American MQ-9 drone was shot down in Iraq’s Basra province.

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