us president
US strikes Iran targets for second time in three days
The US military has carried out new strikes on Iran, targeting a military site in Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city. US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces also shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz. The site in Bandar Abbas was struck as it was about to launch a fifth drone, Centcom said. Iranian media reported that explosions were heard to the east of the city. The strikes come amid a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, and protracted negotiations to end the three-month war that has choked traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and shot up global energy prices.
A decade on, Trump will return to a stronger and more assertive China
When China's leader Xi Jinping hosts his American counterpart in Beijing this week, Donald Trump will be reminded of his last visit in 2017 - he was wooed hard, complete with dinner inside the Forbidden City, an honour no US president before him had received. This week's reception promises to be just as grand, including a stop inside Zhongnanhai, the rarefied compound where China's top leadership lives and works. The agenda too will be just as thorny, with Iran being a new source of tension, alongside trade, technology and Taiwan. But a lot has changed as Trump returns to a stronger and far more assertive China. Now well into an unprecedented third term, an ambitious Xi has been pushing forward with plans for new productive forces with heavy investments in renewable energy, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Ros Atkins on... Trump's mixed messages on the war
Ros Atkins on... Trump's mixed messages on the war For every day of this war, President Trump has been sharing his perspective and his thinking - whether in press conferences, in video statements or in posts on social media. In the last week, that's continued - as strikes have been exchanged - and pressure has built on the supply of oil and gas from the region. The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins has looked at what the President's been saying. Watch: Sean Penn receives'Oscar' in Ukraine after skipping US ceremony The Academy Award winning US actor won his third Oscar on Sunday, but skipped the ceremony to visit Ukraine. Voiced by Domhnall Gleeson and directed by John Kelly, Retirement Plan is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
Watch: Trump compares attack on Iran to Pearl Harbor in meeting with Japanese PM
In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump was asked why he didn't inform allies about his plan to attack Iran. Trump responded by raising Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, saying, Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Watch: Sean Penn receives'Oscar' in Ukraine after skipping US ceremony The Academy Award winning US actor won his third Oscar on Sunday, but skipped the ceremony to visit Ukraine. Voiced by Domhnall Gleeson and directed by John Kelly, Retirement Plan is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. 'I don't know why we're doing it' - Americans divided on Iran war Ten days since President Trump first announced the attack, people from across the US tell the BBC what they think the best outcome of the conflict could be.
Watch: Why Kharg Island is a lifeline for Iran
Kharg Island is a small rocky outcrop just 15 miles (24km) off the coast of Iran - but despite its size, it is one of the most critical pieces of Iran's energy infrastructure. US President Donald Trump recently posted on Truth Social that the US military had conducted what he called one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, obliterating every military target on the island. BBC Security Brief's Mikey Kay breaks down why Kharg Island is a lifeline for Iran, and why it is so strategically important for the US. As turmoil continues in the Middle East, the price of crude oil rose to more than $100 a barrel on Monday. Watch: Ukrainian anti-drone'bullet' that could help defend Gulf The BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale, is in Ukraine to see the latest anti-drone technology the country has to offer.
US president's son Eric Trump invests in drone maker with gov't contracts
Why was El Paso airspace shut down? US president's son Eric Trump invests in drone maker with gov't contracts United States President Donald Trump's son Eric is investing in an Israeli drone manufacturer, prompting renewed conflict-of-interest concerns as the Trump family expands its business holdings during its patriarch's second term as president. Eric Trump is investing in a $1.5bn merger between Israeli drone maker Xtend and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings, a small construction company, in a deal aimed at taking Xtend public this year, JFB said in a news release on Tuesday. Drone maker Unusual Machines, which tapped Eric's brother Donald Trump Jr in November 2024 as an adviser, is also investing in the merger, JFB said. JFB builds commercial and residential properties, including multifamily communities and shopping centres.
Trump says Putin will not attack Ukraine cities during cold week
US President Donald Trump says Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities and towns for a week due to extraordinary cold weather. Russia has not confirmed any such agreement, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's announcement and said he expected Russia to keep its promise. Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, but temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are due to plummet from Thursday night and reach -24C (-11F) in the next few days. Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the bitter winter, as it has during cold periods since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington DC, the US president said: I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that.
Greenland 'will stay Greenland', former Trump adviser declares
Greenland'will stay Greenland', former Trump adviser declares Donald Trump will not be able to force Greenland to change ownership, a former top adviser to the US president has told the BBC. IBM's vice chairman Gary Cohn, who advised Trump on the economy in his first term, said Greenland will stay Greenland and linked the need for access to critical minerals to his former boss's plans for the territory. Cohn is one of America's top tech bosses, a leader in the race to develop AI and quantum computing, and served under Trump as director of the White House National Economic Council. In a sign of how seriously business leaders are taking the crisis, he warned invading an independent country that is part of Nato would be over the edge. He also suggested the president's recent comments about Greenland may be part of a negotiation.
Trump faces extraordinary moment in spat with Fed chair
It is extraordinary enough to see the world's top central banker make an unscheduled video statement on social media. My first thought upon seeing the post from the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell was: Is this an AI deepfake? That sense did not go away as I listened to what were indeed the real words of the world's most important financial official. The background here is a long-running spat between President Trump and the man responsible for setting interest rates in the US and indirectly much of the rest of the world. In theory, this has officially been about the cost of a renovation project at the Federal Reserve, the US equivalent of the Bank of England.