Finland's parliament votes to lift decades-old ban on nuclear weapons in historic NATO defense shift

Finland’s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, approving a major defense policy shift aimed at aligning the country more closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence strategy.

Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said a strong majority backed the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, calling it a "historic reform" that strengthens Finland’s security and that of the alliance.

"The Parliament approved the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act with a strong 2/3 majority," Häkkänen said in a post on X. "This historic reform strengthens the security of Finland and of NATO as a whole.

In April 2023, Finland joined NATO in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ending decades of military non-alignment. The move, aimed at securing Finland’s collective defense, roughly doubled NATO’s border with Russia.

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"The overall nuclear weapons policy has been one of the most challenging issues in the Ministry of Defence during this parliamentary term. Years of study, discussions with nuclear-weapon states and other allies, and assessments of how Finland's security can best be strengthened in NATO," Häkkänen said.

The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives.

If enacted, the legislation would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, supplied or possessed in Finland where the country’s military defense requires it.

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According to Euro News, 125 deputies backed the government proposal, 61 voted against it and 13 abstained.

The bill now moves to the president for final approval.

"I thank all the Members of Parliament who supported our legislative proposal for their strong backing," Häkkänen said. "Thank you to the defense administration professionals at home and abroad for their high expertise also in this project."

Despite the bill passing, the proposal has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers, who warned it could escalate tensions, make Finland a potential primary target, and break from regional norms, noting that several neighboring countries have rejected hosting or permitting nuclear weapons.

The introduction of the proposed law also provoked a strong reaction from Russia last March, according to Reuters.

"This is a statement that leads to an escalation ​of tensions on the European continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"This statement adds to Finland's vulnerability, a ​vulnerability provoked by the actions of the Finnish authorities. The fact is that by deploying ⁠nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us. And if Finland threatens us, we take appropriate measures."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Colombian military neutralizes five terrorists accused in bus bombing that killed 20, injured 45 civilians

Colombian military forces announced on Wednesday they successfully neutralized five members of the militant group responsible for a devastating bus bombing that killed 20 civilians and left 45 others injured.

In a statement from the Military Forces of Colombia, officials said the neutralized suspects were members of the "Estructura Jaime Martínez," an organized armed group.

In addition to planting the explosives in the municipality of Cajibío, authorities claim the group's criminal activities included stealing vehicles along the Pan-American Highway and indiscriminately deploying drones loaded with explosives.

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A video shared along with the statement appeared to show body bags laid out in front of a military helicopter and numerous seized weapons.

The military retaliation followed an April 26 terror attack, when an explosive device detonated on a passenger bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the volatile Cauca region. 

The blast killed 15 women and five men, according to a report from The Associated Press.

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While initial local reports said 36 people were injured, including several children, the Colombian military's recent update noted that 45 civilians were wounded in the explosion.

Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia's armed forces, quickly condemned the bus bombing as a "terrorist act."

He attributed the attack to dissident factions of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), specifically pointing to the Jaime Martínez faction and the network of "Iván Mordisco," one of the country's most wanted figures.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights previously urged authorities to "guarantee justice for the victims."

Southwestern Colombia has become a battleground for illegal armed groups vying for control over coca leaf cultivation areas and crucial drug trafficking routes leading to Central America and Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Elon Musk demands prison for politicians who 'turned a blind eye' to grooming gangs as new report released

Elon Musk reignited international attention on Britain’s grooming gangs scandal this week, amplifying a citizen-funded report that accuses the U.K. government of failing to protect children and teenagers from organized sexual exploitation.

"The politicians who turned a blind eye to the Rape of Britain must go to prison," Musk wrote on X on June 16, after Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP and leader of Restore Britain, released a more than 200-page independent report into the scandal.

The report, authored by barrister Graham Smith and released through Rupert Lowe's independent grooming gangs inquiry, was funded through public donations. Its Crowdfunder page showed roughly $1.1 million raised from more than 23,000 supporters as of Wednesday. 

Lowe’s report argues that many Britons no longer trust the government to investigate its own failures after years of outrage over grooming gang cases in towns including Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford, Oxford and Oldham, where girls were groomed, raped, trafficked and abused by groups of men, including a high number of Pakistani decent, while police, social services and local authorities repeatedly failed to intervene.

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The Lowe report claims that grooming gangs "operated with either the active or passive consent of public authorities" and describes the scandal as a "rotting stain" on Britain’s history. Its recommendations include a sweeping overhaul of sentencing guidelines, life imprisonment starting points for organized child rape, deportation of foreign nationals convicted of group-based child sexual exploitation, a dedicated Crown Prosecution Service unit, stronger protections for child witnesses and possible private prosecutions against officials accused of failing victims.

"If they fail to take the necessary steps, we will deploy private prosecutions to obtain justice at last," Lowe wrote in the report.

The report also makes claims about the ethnicity and religion of offenders, arguing that Muslim men, particularly men of Pakistani heritage, were overrepresented in organized grooming gang cases. It claims the number of victims could reach at least 250,000 when known local patterns are extrapolated nationally.

That figure has not been verified by the British government. Baroness Louise Casey’s government-commissioned 2025 audit found serious institutional failures and said authorities had often avoided difficult questions about ethnicity out of fear of racism accusations. 

She wrote, "We found that the ethnicity of perpetrators is shied away from and is still not recorded for two-thirds of perpetrators, so we are unable to provide any accurate assessment from the nationally collected data."

However, her report also stated that "Despite the lack of a full picture in the national data sets, there is enough evidence available in local police data in three police force areas which we examined which show disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation, as well as in the significant number of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity identified in local reviews and high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions across the country, to at least warrant further examination."
 

Her audit also identified other perpetrators, including White British, European, African or Middle Eastern individuals.

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Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the U.K.-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital: "The government should take this report seriously. While some of its headline figures rely on extrapolation and parts of its methodology will rightly be challenged, it raises questions about grooming gangs, institutional failures and offender demographics that cannot simply be ignored."

The British government has already launched a statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs across England and Wales. The inquiry was formally established in April 2026 and is expected to examine institutional failures, local and national responses, possible cover-ups and the role of ethnicity, religion and culture in group-based child sexual exploitation.

A Home Office spokesperson told Fox News Digital: "The grooming gangs scandal is one of the darkest moments and most shameful failures in our nation’s history, and we pay tribute to the immense bravery of those who have shared their experiences in the fight for justice."

"We are determined to get victims and survivors the answers they deserve. That is why we have launched the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs with legal powers to hold institutions to account for past failures, and backed the police with record funding to track down and put perpetrators behind bars," the spokesperson said. "There will be no hiding place for those responsible."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament last year that more than 800 previously closed grooming and child sexual exploitation cases had been identified for formal review, with the figure expected to rise above 1,000. She also said the government would introduce mandatory reporting, aggravated offenses for grooming offenders and new ethnicity and nationality data collection.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously rejected attacks over his handling of the scandal, accusing critics of spreading "lies and misinformation" and saying some were more interested in politics than victims. Starmer has defended his record as former director of public prosecutions, saying he reopened closed cases and changed the prosecution approach to child sexual exploitation.

A central counterpoint to Lowe’s report is that Britain has already held multiple inquiries into child sexual abuse and grooming gangs, including the seven-year Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and that the urgent priority should be implementing recommendations and prosecuting offenders rather than launching parallel investigations.

But others say the very existence of a privately funded inquiry shows a deeper collapse of public trust. They argue that previous investigations exposed failures but did not deliver enough accountability for victims or consequences for officials who ignored warnings.

"Perhaps the most striking finding is not in the report itself but in how it was funded," Schubart told Fox News Digital. "The fact that more than 20,000 people contributed to a citizen-funded inquiry reflects a growing lack of confidence that public institutions are willing to confront the issue fully. Whether you agree with every conclusion or not, that loss of trust should concern policymakers just as much as the report’s findings."

The issue has also drawn public criticism from the Trump administration. The State Department previously warned the U.K. over its handling of the grooming gangs scandal, saying thousands of girls had suffered "unspeakable abuse" before authorities acted.

Lowe said that the government’s statutory inquiry risks becoming another long process that delays accountability, comparing it to other British scandals where official reckoning came only years later.

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3 Brazilian men charged after woman tossed from bridge without safety rope

Three men face potential charges after a 21-year-old woman died when rope-jumping instructors allegedly launched her from a bridge without attaching the safety ropes meant to stop her fall, authorities said.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, a 21-year-old student, died Saturday during a rope-jumping event at an abandoned bridge about 90 miles northwest of São Paulo, Brazil.

Police investigator Andrea Levy told reporters Monday that the three instructors involved in the jump acknowledged that Rodrigues de Freitas was not connected to any safety equipment before she was launched from the bridge.

"They do not remember whether they forgot to attach [the ropes], or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check. But the fact is the ropes were not attached to her," Levy said.

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The three instructors were arrested following the incident and could face criminal charges, The Associated Press reported.

Brazilian authorities said the three instructors were arrested on suspicion of homicide with "eventual intent," a legal concept under Brazilian law that generally applies when a person is deemed to have accepted the risk that a death could occur. According to Brazilian outlet G1, citing investigators, the instructors were booked on the charge at the scene.

Investigators said Rodrigues de Freitas requested to be launched from the bridge "airplane style," with two instructors lifting her above their shoulders while she stretched out her arms.

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Video shared online appears to show two helmeted men tossing the young woman from the abandoned bridge moments before the fatal fall. The instructors appear to be wearing harnesses connected to safety lines.

Authorities said Rodrigues de Freitas fell approximately 130 feet.

Brazilian media reported that Rodrigues de Freitas had purchased a guided hiking excursion that included the rope jump from the abandoned bridge.

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Rope jumping is an extreme sport that differs from traditional bungee jumping. Instead of elastic cords that create a vertical bounce, rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes designed to transform a fall into a pendulum-like swing.

The City of Limeira identified Rodrigues de Freitas as a resident of Jandira and issued a statement expressing condolences to her family.

"At this moment of pain, the City of Limeira stands in solidarity with the young woman's family, friends and loved ones," municipal officials said in a statement Saturday.

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The city said it would cooperate with authorities investigating the incident.

Rodrigues de Freitas was buried Sunday.

Levy told Brazilian television program "Jornal Nacional" that investigators were examining whether the group conducting the jump was authorized to operate at the site. According to G1, Levy said investigators believe a failure to verify the placement of the safety rope contributed to the fatality.

In a statement cited by G1, attorneys for the three instructors said their clients had experience conducting the activity and that the incident was the first fatality during their years of operation.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the apparent safety failure, including who was responsible for ensuring participants were properly secured before jumping.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Russia linked to arson attacks on properties connected to UK PM Keir Starmer, police say

Officials on Monday revealed new details about a series of arson attacks targeting properties connected to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alleging the suspects were recruited and directed by a Russian-speaking handler.

According to police and court reporting, the suspects were promised payment to carry out a coordinated campaign in London in May 2025, including attacks involving a vehicle and two properties linked to Starmer.

A new investigation reported that the handler is believed to be a diplomat trained in information warfare and part of a broader Russian sabotage and disinformation operation directed from Moscow, according to the Kyiv Post.

Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted in connection with the arson plot after Lavrynovych was recruited by a Russian-speaking Telegram handler known as "El Money," according to police and court reporting. Kyiv Post reported that Carpiuc was also born in Ukraine. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted.

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According to police, Lavrynovych was recruited through Telegram by a Russian-speaking handler saved in his phone contacts as "El Money," who allegedly directed him through a series of increasingly serious tasks while promising payment in return.

"Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you the money you need to leave the city," the handler allegedly wrote in one message cited by investigators, according to Kyiv Post.

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The handler reportedly offered Lavrynovych Russian citizenship in exchange for carrying out the attacks and frequently voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the outlet. Evidence also suggested that "El Money" was trained in information warfare by propagandists and intelligence operatives, the outlet said.

Investigators added that Russian operatives allegedly coordinated the campaign remotely through social media platforms and Telegram, using fake far-right and Muslim online communities to sow division and fear in the U.K., Kyiv Post said.

The Russian Embassy has reportedly denied any involvement, rejecting "any attempt to associate Russia or its foreign ministry with unlawful activities," according to the report.

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According to officials, the three arson attacks occurred over a five-day period in May 2025.

The first attack took place on May 8, when a Toyota vehicle formerly owned by Starmer was set ablaze.

A second fire was set on May 11 at the entrance of a residential property that was managed by a company in which Starmer had previously served as a director and shareholder.

The third attack occurred on May 12 at a house that is owned by the prime minister.

"The actions of the two men involved in these arson attacks were incredibly reckless, and it was sheer luck that nobody was killed or injured," Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement.

Police said Lavrynovych was arrested on May 13 last year after detectives linked the suspect to the attacks through CCTV footage and phone records indicating he had conducted reconnaissance ahead of the fires.

Authorities said Carpiuc was arrested on May 17 in the departure lounge at Luton Airport moments before boarding a flight to Romania.

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Netanyahu's Israel grapples with Trump-Iran deal as details remain unclear

TEL AVIV, Israel: Reactions in Israel to the Memorandum of Understanding reached by President Donald Trump and Iran on Sunday have been a mix of wait-and-see-the details and outright criticism.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Sunday that Tehran and Washington had finalized a memorandum of understanding ending the war after months of negotiations. In a statement, the council said all military operations across multiple fronts, including in Lebanon, would cease "immediately and permanently."

Talks on a comprehensive final agreement will reportedly begin only after both sides have implemented their obligations under the framework and are expected to continue for up to 60 days.

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While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment, on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz, held back from directly criticizing the deal but said that the IDF would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, warning that if Iran attacks Israel in response to the fighting against Hezbollah, "we will strike it with full force."

He said, "The IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza, without any time limit, to protect the border and Israeli communities against jihadist elements."

Katz described the security zones as "among the IDF’s greatest achievements" in the multi-front war since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, adding that Israel therefore opposes an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon despite all the pressures that will still come.

Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had conveyed these positions to U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior American officials, including U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

"We will not compromise on Israel’s security interests and the protection of our citizens," he concluded.

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Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former chief of the research division in the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, told Fox News Digital that the details of the agreement remain sketchy.

"There was a debate within the Iranian leadership over whether to accept the deal," he said. "It appears that the information we are hearing is coming from those who opposed it. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong, but it raises major concerns in Israel. If this is the deal, it is a disaster. If one listens to President Trump, the deal is probably something different."

Kuperwasser defined a "good deal" as one in which Iran gives up all components of its nuclear program, grants access to enriched uranium and establishes a robust monitoring system capable of reaching anywhere at any time, including military facilities likely being used for atomic purposes. He added that such an agreement should also prohibit production of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

"Lebanon’s fate is a matter to be discussed between Washington, Jerusalem, and Beirut," Kuperwasser said. "Iran is not a party to those talks and should not be according to the Lebanese government. If Lebanon is to be part of a deal with Iran, it means Tehran has a say in Lebanese matters."

Kuperwasser noted that Israel has lived under the shadow of Iran’s nuclear program since 1998, while noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is uniquely positioned to assess the issue given his decades of involvement. He said it remains unclear whether Netanyahu is satisfied with the outcome or what his final assessment will be.

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, now leader of the opposition, referred Fox News Digital to his comments on X.

"The emerging agreement achieves none of Israel’s war goals. The regime survives, the missile program exists, and Iran can rebuild its nuclear program. This is a complete failure by Netanyahu, and in the process, he is turning us into a client state that takes orders about its national security," he wrote.

On March 19, Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined three war objectives for the U.S.-Israel joint operation against Iran: "One, removing the nuclear threat. Second, removing the ballistic missile threat and removing both of these threats before they're buried deep underground and become immune from aerial attack. And third, this means creating the conditions for the Iranian people to grasp their freedom, to control their destiny," the premier stated at the time.

Dr Meir Javedanfar, Iran lecturer at Reichman University, told Fox News Digital that Israel’s most immediate concern regarding the deal is the clause dealing with Lebanon.

"There is genuine concern that this could tie Israel’s hands," he said. "An additional concern is that Hezbollah could use this clause to regroup and strengthen its armed forces and positions along the border with Israel."

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Javedanfar said it is too early to assess whether the deal would leave Israel in a significantly stronger position than the 2015 Obama-era nuclear agreement, citing the fate of Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium and its atomic infrastructure.

"Will Iran be allowed to continue enriching uranium on its soil? If yes, at what percentage? And how will the international community oversee Iran’s nuclear program? What kind of inspection program will they have? How intrusive will they be?" he added.

Israel’s controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday insisted that the MOU does not bind the Jewish state. "Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation," he tweeted, adding that Jerusalem’s duty is to its citizens, its soldiers and the Jewish people."

He stated, "My position is clear: we are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way," he said, adding that while Israelis "love" the United States and "are grateful" to Trump, "the State of Israel is not a banana republic."

On Friday, Netanyahu's office stated that "Even though Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump's commitment that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations will include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran's support for its terrorist proxies in the region." 

Quoting the prime minister, the statement added that "As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel – Iran will not have nuclear weapons. President Trump and I are in full agreement on this issue. For over 30 years, I have been at the forefront of the international struggle against Iran's nuclear program. Were it not for this struggle, Iran would have long ago possessed atomic bombs to destroy Israel. Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I am dedicating my life to preventing them from doing so. As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, this will not happen."

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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Iran’s regime spins nuclear and Strait of Hormuz deal with Trump as victory over US, Israel

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s state-controlled media is promoting the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and address Tehran’s illicit nuclear weapons program as its triumph over the U.S. and Israel.

The major diplomatic breakthrough, known as by its initials MOU, is slated to be sealed at a signing ceremony on June 19 in Switzerland. Iranian state-controlled TV boasted that the "U.S. is forced to sign agreement to end the war."

The State Department has classified Iran as the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism and its state-controlled media apparatus is notorious, according to Iran experts, for spreading anti-U.S. propoganda.

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Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, according to the country's Tasnim News Agency, "This memorandum does not mean trusting the enemy; it has been written with active distrust. We will monitor the implementation of U.S. commitments." 

Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the nation’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, "emphasized that national cohesion and the active presence of the people serve as important capital and a primary pillar of Iran’s diplomatic authority."

Araghchi said, according to IRNA," that the true image of Iran’s power on the global stage stems not only from its military capabilities but also from national cohesion, resilience, and the active involvement of its people."

Tehran's top diplomat stated that the,"Iranian nation achieved not only tactical victories during the 12-day imposed war in June last year and the recent war, but also important strategic accomplishments whose impact can be observed in both regional and global equations."

President Trump announced some of the elements of the MOU on Sunday. He wrote on social media. "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete." He noted that "I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!"

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There are additional components of the MOU that have not been confirmed, including the timetable for sanctions relief and the end of Iran’s enrichment of uranium for the construction of nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a Sunday statement that all military operations across multiple fronts, including those in Lebanon, will cease "immediately and permanently" starting Sunday night.

Lisa Daftari, the founder and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk told Fox News Digital that, "Inside Iran, state media is selling this as a victory, not a compromise. The message on Iranian television is that a ‘strong and proud’ Islamic Republic has forced Washington to recognize its control over the Strait of Hormuz and to ease military pressure, while Tehran supposedly gives up very little in return."

Daftari, a leading expert on the Islamic Republic, added "The Islamic Republic’s very DNA is built on delay, deceit and deniability. Every agreement it has signed has been treated as a tactical pause on the way to more missiles, more proxies and more leverage, not a real change in behavior. So while it’s important to read the fine print of this new deal, it’s even more important to remember who is signing it. A system that survives by holding deadly weapons over its neighbors and by lying to its own people is not suddenly going to become a trustworthy partner."

She concluded, "The Trump administration should assume from day one that Tehran will test every loophole, hide every capability it can, and resume its nuclear program, amass its drones and missiles, fund its deadly proxies while continuing to torture the Iranian people at home."

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News' "The Big Weekend Show" Sunday that "I think it's a big moment for the United States of America. Thanks, of course, to the President's leadership and the hard work of the entire team. Three things that I think are important for the American people just to appreciate about what this deal does for all of us as Americans."

LETHAL ELITE 'BLACK-CLAD' KILL SQUAD GUARDS IRAN'S NEW SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI

He stressed that" Number one, this is the immediate opening of the straits of Hormuz and, of course, the lifting of the naval blockade that we've had on Iran along with it. The number two thing that it means is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and not just pursue a nuclear weapon for procure or try to buy a nuclear weapon as well."

Cameron Khansarinia, the chief of staff for Reza Pahlavi, the leader of the Iranian democratic opposition and exiled former crown prince of Iran, wrote on x: "Deal or no deal, the people of Iran will not stop the fight for freedom. Iran’s future has always been for Iranians for determine. And they will. With or without help, Iranians will topple the Islamic Republic. The fight continues. Prince Reza Pahlavi will lead Iran to freedom." 

Another leading Iranian opposition group's leader, Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said in a statement that, "The Iranian Resistance, which for nearly five decades has sought freedom and peace, welcomes any understanding to end the war and the suffering of the Iranian people. In Iran, no one except the remnants of the mullahs and the Shah has wanted or wants war."

She added that "The effort to produce nuclear weapons, warmongering, and meddling in the countries of the region are part of the survival strategy of the religious fascism ruling Iran, and it will not abandon them as long as it can. War is this regime’s shield against popular uprisings, while peace and a ceasefire are, as Khomeini put it, like "poison" for it. The overthrow of the regime is the responsibility of the Iranian people and their organized Resistance. I reiterate once again that any international agreement to end the war must include an end to the execution of political prisoners and the killing of protesters."

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