Romanian F-16 shoots down drone after airspace breach, marking first for NATO ally

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered the country’s airspace without authorization Friday, marking the first time the NATO member has intercepted and destroyed a drone inside its national airspace, authorities said.

Romanian officials have not yet identified the drone’s origin or purpose. Romania’s army chief said pilots described it as appearing to be a Shahed-type drone, Reuters reported, the Iran-designed attack drone widely used by Russia against Ukraine. 

The incident carries direct implications for the U.S. and its NATO allies, as repeated airspace breaches along the alliance’s eastern flank have fueled concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spill across NATO borders. Romania, which borders Ukraine, has reported dozens of drone incursions or debris incidents since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the interception took place over an unpopulated area in Buzău County.

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"Today at 11:02 AM, a Romanian pilot flying an F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered our airspace without authorization — the first time a drone has been intercepted and destroyed in Romania's national airspace," Țoiu wrote on X.

Țoiu previously told Fox News Digital July 2 that Russian drones had been detected inside Ukraine roughly 19 miles from Romania’s border, prompting two Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets operating from Romania’s 86th Air Base in Fetești to scramble under NATO’s Enhanced Air Policing mission. A Romanian Air Force IAR 330 Puma helicopter was also deployed, she said at the time.

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"Such incidents have constantly accompanied Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," Țoiu told Fox News Digital.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Defense Minister Radu Miruță reaffirmed the country’s commitment to protecting its airspace and investing in modern air-defense and anti-drone capabilities, according to Țoiu.

The incident underscores the growing danger along NATO’s eastern flank as Russia continues strikes across Ukraine and Kyiv increasingly targets Russian military and energy infrastructure deeper inside Russia.

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The drone shootdown came as Ukraine reported deadly Russian strikes in the Kyiv region and Slovyansk. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a rescue operation was underway in the Kyiv region after a Russian missile strike killed six people and wounded dozens. Reuters later reported that Ukrainian officials and industry representatives said the strike killed 10 people and injured close to 100 at a site where a defense industry event was being held.

"There were also casualties in Slovyansk following guided aerial bomb strikes," Zelenskyy said. "Five people were killed. My condolences to their families. Nine others were injured. The Russians damaged ordinary homes, the consulate building, and vehicles."

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said Latvia’s honorary consulate building in Slovyansk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, was destroyed Friday morning in a Russian attack involving a KAB-250 guided aerial bomb, according to information provided by Ukrainian authorities.

Braže said Latvia’s honorary consul, Oleksandr Pavenko, was not injured, but two consulate staff members were wounded. She informed European Union and NATO foreign ministers and international organizations about the incident, while Latvia summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires and delivered a note of protest.

"Russia will be held accountable for this and other violations of international law," Latvia’s Foreign Ministry said. "All war crimes committed by Russia must be thoroughly investigated, and those responsible must be brought to justice."

Zelenskyy called the strikes "brutal attacks on civilians" and again pressed Ukraine’s partners for air-defense support.

"Interceptors for Patriot systems are the number one priority," he said.

Ukraine also said its forces had struck one of Russia’s key military enterprises in Kirov, which Zelenskyy said supplies components for Russian aircraft and missile systems used in attacks on Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had also hit an oil facility nearly 840 miles away and that operations against Russian logistics supplying drone components, navigation equipment and military gear remained underway. Ukrainian outlet UNN reported that Zelenskyy confirmed the Kirov strike and the long-range strike on the oil facility.

The Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine Monday at 10 a.m., as requested by Ukraine, according to a United Nations schedule viewed by Fox News Digital. The meeting comes after Kyiv has repeatedly urged the international community to respond more forcefully to Russia’s attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

The back-and-forth comes as Kyiv is trying to show battlefield momentum despite continued Russian missile and drone attacks. 

Outgoing Ukrainian Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine had recaptured 270 square miles of territory in 2026 and was handing over to his successor "an army that is not only holding the defence but is also on the offensive," Reuters reported Wednesday. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Russian defense ministry but didn't receive a response in time for publication.

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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Could this African nation become Trump's next terror target as jihadists close in on power?

JOHANNESBURG: The U.S. is reportedly considering airstrikes against al Qaeda-linked terrorists in Mali, according to regional analysts and recent media reports.

The military junta that has been running this West African country in the Sahel region since coups in both 2020 and 2021 turned away from France and the U.S. to get military protection from Russia and its Africa Corps mercenaries against jihadist groups.

But now the largest of these groups, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which has Mali’s capital under siege, is credited, along with another group, for killing 50 Malian soldiers this month, for the death of the country’s defense minister earlier this year and has reportedly sent battalions of Russian soldiers retreating on at least two occasions this year.

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JNIM is said to want to change the country into an Islamist Jihadist state. If they succeed, Mali would be the first country in the world to be run by a jihadist group. The organization was designated officially as a Foreign Terrorist Organization during the first Trump administration in 2018.

Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist groups are also operating freely in Mali, and are linked to terror groups in neighboring Nigeria.

A State Department official didn’t respond to a Washington Post report that the U.S. is considering strikes against JNIM in Mali, but used strong language Thursday when talking to Fox News Digital, leading analysts to suggest the time for talking may be over.

"The United States unequivocally condemns the terrorist activity in Mali," the official said, adding, "in the Sahel, the United States is committed to promoting regional ownership and cooperation against terrorist threats, and monitoring indicators and warnings of threats to our homeland."

Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British and United Nations diplomat, said the U.S. could order military action, to primarily try and stop jihadists becoming entrenched in Mali. Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital, "Mali is mainly important to the U.S. because, as a failed state becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda and ISIS, it looks like the first of several African dominoes likely to fall."

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth P. Ekman, who until last year, served as the Department of War’s West Africa Coordination Element lead, said that with strike action the administration may be able to persuade Mali’s rulers to turn away from Russia, and towards the U.S. for protection – and purchases of military equipment.

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Ekman told Fox News Digital, "JNIM has a stranglehold on the government and much of the population. The Russians are woefully ineffective and extractive. Cooperation with U.S. forces offers a disproportionate and positive impact."

Ekman said that U.S. forces have supported partner-led operations against JNIM before, as recently as 2022, adding "⁠recent proposals amount to returning to similar cooperation against a mutual threat."

The administration may also be in a minerals frame of mind. Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing nations. It also has substantial deposits of lithium, used extensively in rechargeable batteries.

Fitton-Brown said that "President Trump may be less reluctant than his predecessor to work with the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, if they are losing faith in their Russian friends."

He continued, "The U.S. is certainly a more capable partner. France has already been displaced so all three countries might accept U.S. help if it comes only with strings attached that don’t offend or disadvantage them. Whether even the U.S. is capable of stopping the political decline of these countries, and the rise of militant Islam, is another matter. That cannot be achieved by military force alone."

The FDD’s Fitton-Brown said U.S. assets such as aircraft may not be directly involved if there is a strike, "The U.S. might work with French and other intelligence services to develop local intelligence for strikes on JNIM leadership, but this is unlikely to achieve much. The organization is resilient and will be able to replace those killed."

A former senior Department of War official told Fox News Digital the U.S. has at its disposal cruise missiles and long-range bombers. Attack drones would probably not come into play, and the U.S. Naval Institute’s Fleet Tracker shows no American aircraft carriers anywhere near African waters, effectively ruling out carrier operations.

However, Ekman believes airstrikes are under consideration, noting "JNIM and ISIS are a threat to U.S. interests, and are ascendant in West Africa."

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Is Israel really isolated? Polls and diplomacy point in opposite directions

President Donald Trump predicted in recent days that additional countries would soon join the Abraham Accords, renewing debate over whether Israel is becoming increasingly isolated or continuing to expand its most important strategic relationships.

"The Abraham Accords have been, I think, a tremendous success," Trump said during a Tuesday Oval Office meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. "I think you’re going to see a lot of countries joining pretty soon."

Trump's prediction underscores a central debate about Israel's global position: Public support for the country has fallen sharply in the United States and across much of the world, yet Israel continues to build or preserve diplomatic, military, energy and technology relationships with foreign governments.

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The Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sunday. Trump has made expanding the agreements a central goal of his Middle East strategy. 

The dispute depends partly on how isolation is measured. Critics point to worsening public opinion, pressure at international institutions and growing opposition among Democrats and younger voters. Israeli officials and conservative foreign-policy experts argue that government-to-government cooperation remains strong and, in some regions, is expanding.

Trump reinforced that strategy Thursday by saying a U.S. civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia would depend on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords. The statement showed the administration attempting to use one of Washington’s most valuable offers to Riyadh to secure normalization with Israel, but it did not demonstrate that Saudi Arabia had agreed to do so.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon rejected the contention that Israel had become isolated.

"The claim that Israel is an isolated country is simply not true," Danon told Fox News Digital. "While the campaign to dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization has drawn international criticism, Israel’s relationships with other countries have not weakened. They have evolved."

Former White House national security official Richard Goldberg similarly argued that Israel retains strong support among conservatives and that its electoral gains are translating into closer government relations.

"Polling in the United States shows massive support among conservatives and Republicans, including self-described MAGA, for Israel still," Goldberg told Fox News Digital. "And that’s reflected around the world, particularly among conservative candidates and parties that win elected office right now."

Goldberg pointed to political changes in Latin America, expanding partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean and Israel’s continuing defense and technology relationships as evidence that public criticism has not translated into comprehensive strategic isolation.

The dispute comes amid polling that shows Israel retaining deep support among Republicans while losing ground across the broader American electorate and much of the world.

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Eighty percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans said Israel’s security matters to U.S. security and prosperity, a Reagan Institute survey released in June found, while 73% supported sending Israel U.S. weapons. Among MAGA Republicans under 30, 63% said Israel’s security matters to the United States and 60% supported sending weapons.

The same survey found that broader support was narrowing. Sixty-five percent of Americans said Israel’s security matters to U.S. security and prosperity, down six percentage points from a year earlier. 

The figure fell nine points among Democrats to 57%, compared with 75% of Republicans and 80% of MAGA Republicans.

A Pew Research Center survey published in June found that a median of 67% of adults across 36 countries viewed Israel unfavorably, while 25% viewed it favorably. The findings came from Pew’s Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey.

In the United States, 60% of adults viewed Israel unfavorably, up from 53% in 2025 and 42% in 2022, according to a separate Pew survey conducted March 23 to March 29. Eighty percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents held an unfavorable view, while negative assessments were also widespread among adults under 50.

Israel no longer held a statistically significant advantage over the Palestinians in Americans’ sympathies, Gallup reported in February. Forty-one percent said they sympathized more with the Palestinians and 36% with the Israelis, although Gallup said the five-point difference was not statistically significant. 

In 2023, 54% sympathized more with Israelis and 31% with Palestinians.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel highlighted that erosion during a July 8 speech at Tel Aviv University.

"Support for Israel around the world is declining," Emanuel said, "The only diplomatic achievement Israel has secured in the past three years is Somaliland."

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Emanuel’s conclusion focuses on Israel’s declining public legitimacy and its strained position in traditional diplomatic institutions. Goldberg and Danon argue that it overlooks expanding government-to-government relationships built around defense, intelligence, energy, technology and trade.

Goldberg pointed in particular to Latin America, where he said newly elected conservative governments have made closer ties with Israel an early priority.

"Every time a government in South America right now flips from left wing to right wing, one of the first things they do is reestablish better relations with Israel, withdraw recognition of a Palestinian state and see what else they can do to make Israel a strategic partner," Goldberg said.

He cited Argentina under President Javier Milei and the proposed "Isaac Accords," along with political changes in Chile, Colombia and Bolivia, as evidence of a broader realignment.

Goldberg also argued that Israel remains central to emerging partnerships involving energy, defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure.

"If you’re in the Eastern Mediterranean and you’re Greece and you are Cyprus, you’re thinking about how do we work with Israel to make the Eastern Mediterranean partnership even stronger," he said. "If you’re Armenia and Azerbaijan in a tough neighborhood between Turkey and Iran, you’re talking to Israel, you’re getting closer to Israel."

Israel, Greece and Cyprus reaffirmed their strategic partnership during a trilateral summit in December 2025, agreeing to expand cooperation in energy, security, emergency preparedness and regional connectivity.

Danon said the diplomatic shift is visible even inside the United Nations, an institution where Israel routinely faces critical resolutions and public condemnation.

"We see this every day in the corridors of the United Nations," he said. "While many South American countries were once highly critical of Israel in recent years, we are now cooperating with many of them. These discussions are happening in public and behind the scenes."

"As Israel’s official representative to the United Nations, I regularly meet with ambassadors from around the world, including from Arab countries, to quietly advance initiatives where we share common interests," Danon said.

Danon went further than Goldberg in assessing Israel’s position since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent war.

"Compared to the period before October 7th, Israel is in a far stronger geostrategic position," Danon said. "That is reflected not only in regional developments but also in the country’s diplomatic relationships around the world."

The competing evidence suggests that much of the disagreement depends on how isolation is defined.

Israel may be losing public support and influence in traditional international institutions while simultaneously preserving or expanding government-to-government cooperation in defense, technology, intelligence, energy and agriculture.

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Goldberg acknowledged that relationships driven by conservative political victories could become vulnerable when governments change.

But he argued that Israel is increasingly building relationships around durable national interests rather than political ideology alone.

The central risk for Israel is that today’s collapse in public opinion could eventually reshape tomorrow’s government policies. Conservative governments may currently protect and expand strategic ties, but younger voters and left-wing parties could alter those relationships after future elections.

Israel is scheduled to hold national elections Oct. 27, the country’s first since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Goldberg argued that a change in Israel’s government would provide a test of whether international opposition is directed primarily at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or at Israel itself.

"If there is somebody else who becomes prime minister next, we will have to evaluate," Goldberg said. "Those very loud detractors of Israel who right now use Netanyahu as their symbol for bashing and say it’s not about Israel, it’s about Netanyahu, they’ll be put to the test very quickly."

He noted that the boycott movement and anti-Israel campus organizations remained active during the previous government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, when Netanyahu was not prime minister.

"Is their hatred and venom really just about Bibi Netanyahu, or is it fundamentally about a Jewish state that they don’t like existing?" Goldberg asked.

For now, both realities appear to be unfolding at once: Israel remains a sought-after military, intelligence and technology partner for a growing group of governments, while its support among the global public has fallen to levels that could eventually threaten those relationships.

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French modeling scout linked to Jeffrey Epstein found dead in Paris apartment

A French modeling scout with ties to Jeffrey Epstein was found dead inside his Paris apartment, prosecutors said.

The body of Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered Monday night, and an autopsy is pending. Siad's attorney, Menya Arab-Tigrine, told Fox News Digital that he died from a heart attack.

"While he died of a heart attack, the unbearable waiting, the stigma cast upon him—and, by extension, his loved ones—as well as the daily pressure and anxiety he endured, undoubtedly played a role," she said. "We must await the autopsy results to determine whether his body simply gave out."

Fox News Digital has reached out to French prosecutors. 

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Siad's name appeared around 2,000 times in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department, Reuters reported.

"I am here in Barcelona I have girls staying with me from Australia Croecian origin, so you can speak with her very Sweet," Siad allegedly wrote to Epstein in one email.

"I am looking to place her here and Paris," he added.

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"Photo?" Epstein replied.

Another email from Siad to Epstein from April 2009 included images of a 17-year-old Slovakian girl while he was scouting models in Bratislava.

At least 24 women have come forward as victims or witnesses of alleged acts committed by Siad or others following the February launch of a human trafficking and fraud probe, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told Reuters.

Investigators looked into Siad, but there wasn't enough evidence to justify his immediate arrest, said Arab-Tigrine.

"Let us not forget that he was never prosecuted, nor was he ever formally implicated in any legal proceedings," she said. "In the coming days, we must respect the grief of his loved ones. He has passed away, and he was innocent."

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Nicaragua's parliament plans to eliminate elections to codify President Ortega's declaration

Nicaragua's lawmakers announced plans to abolish elections in the Central American country, following through on President Daniel Ortega's declaration over the weekend that there would be no more elections, which enraged the international community.

The move was revealed on Tuesday by Nicaragua's congress, which is firmly in the hands of Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo. Lawmakers said planned constitutional overhaul will ensure Nicaragua's "peace, security and stability."

With the announcement, lawmakers are making good on Ortega's promise of no more elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with Murillo, whom constitutional reforms elevated from vice president to "co-president."

"There won't be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power," Ortega said on Sunday during a speech commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega participated in the overthrow of the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.

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"The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over — never again," he declared.

The declaration appeared to eliminate the possibility of a future electoral challenge as Ortega and Murillo continue consolidating control over the country’s political institutions.

Ortega and Murillo expanded their authority through sweeping constitutional changes that took effect in 2025. The reforms included extending the presidential term from five years to six and placing the legislative, judicial and electoral institutions under the authority of the presidency.

The pair now exercise control over nearly every branch of government, including the armed forces, police and judiciary.

Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has remained in power until early 2028, although his statement on Sunday effectively canceled Nicaragua’s next elections, which had been scheduled for November 2027.

Critics say Ortega had already effectively eliminated meaningful electoral competition during elections in 2011, 2016 and 2021.

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Many prominent opposition leaders have been imprisoned, forced into exile or stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship, while opposition parties and independent civic organizations have lost their legal status.

A United Nations group of experts has accused the Ortega-Murillo government of systematically violating human rights as part of a campaign to eliminate criticism and preserve its hold on power. The experts said some alleged violations may amount to crimes against humanity.

The government launched a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018. More than 300 people were killed during the unrest, according to international human rights groups.

Ortega's effort to abolish elections prompted widespread condemnation from foreign governments, including the U.S.

"Daniel Ortega’s declaration that under his family’s dictatorship, Nicaragua will never again hold elections lays bare their true authoritarian nature. Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have abandoned even the pretense of popular consent," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

"The Nicaraguan people have the right to choose their own leaders through democratic elections. The United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere," he added.

The Trump administration has described the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and imposed sanctions on members of the government and their allies. The State Department has also enacted visa restrictions targeting more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their family members.

Volker Türk, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, denounced Nicaragua's legislative ambitions on Wednesday, saying that "people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office."

"These latest developments further deepen the severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the steady erosion of the rule of law," Türk said in a statement.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Israeli UN envoy blasts Mamdani as 'clown' over call to arrest Netanyahu: 'It's a stunt'

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a "clown" for demanding federal authorities arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when Netanyahu arrives in the city.

Danny Danon’s remarks came after Mamdani accused Netanyahu of being a "war criminal" and the "architect of a horrific genocide" against Palestinians while calling on the federal government to execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan in September.

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"Those baseless remarks about harassing the prime minister — it's a joke, and he's a clown," Danon told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

"Everyone knows it's a show. It's a stunt," Danon added. "A mayor should be dealing with the homeless people, the garbage in New York, and leave foreign affairs to the people in Washington who are elected to do it. He should take care of the security of the people in New York, especially the Jewish community, which is seeing the rise of antisemitism. That is his first responsibility."

The YouTube channel for the New York City Mayor's Office released a video July 21, "Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal."

"Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people," Mamdani said, repeating comments he made in an interview with The New York Times.

Mamdani leveled a series of allegations against the Israeli leader, claiming he was "responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anesthesia."

He also accused Netanyahu of targeting neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers and alleged that he blocked food and humanitarian aid.

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"Just last month, the U.N. confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces, more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire," Mamdani said. 

"All as we, as Americans, pay for the bombs that do the killing. There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest."

Danon pushed back sharply against the mayor's accusations.

"There is a lot of humanitarian aid coming into Gaza every day," Danon argued.

"Nobody speaks about those issues anymore, but he wants to resume spreading blood libels, promoting the claims of genocide, starvation and all those lies that were spread by him, by his wife and by other people during the war.

"He wants to go back to this situation, but today there are no humanitarian issues in Gaza," Danon added.

"Mamdani continues to promote those blood libels against Israel and against the Jews."

Mamdani also said that City Hall cannot act on the warrant unilaterally.

"It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant," Mamdani said.

"Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large."

MAMDANI’S ‘DERANGED’ ISRAEL TAKE RESURFACES AS HE TARGETS NETANYAHU

Israeli officials strongly deny all charges. Netanyahu’s office has rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction, labeling it "a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis."

"People are smart; they know there's no legal basis for his remarks," Danon said. "The U.S. is not part of the ICC. There is no warrant that is actually effective against the prime minister in the U.S. So it's a political stunt."

"We have serious issues to deal with — the war with Iran and other critical matters.

"The prime minister is not actually dealing with Mamdani's remarks at all. He said it very clearly: He intends to come and speak at the U.N.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York and will speak in the General Assembly," Danon said. "The only thing the mayor can do is come to the U.N., grab a seat, listen to the Prime Minister and maybe learn something from his speech.

"Last year, Mayor Adams came to the prime minister's speech," Danon noted. "A local leader can come and hear. That's the only thing he can do."

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Iran regime change talk resurfaces as Trump says Tehran 'wants to meet' amid US strikes

Elements of the Trump administration are again debating whether the United States should support the downfall of Iran’s government as the war intensifies again, according to a recent analysis. 

The analysis, published Monday by Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman, says the discussion reportedly includes efforts to encourage an internal uprising and the possible revival of proposals to support armed Iranian opposition groups, including Kurdish factions that have fought Iran for decades.

The question has gained urgency as the United States resumes strikes against Iranian military targets and officials debate whether continued pressure should remain narrowly focused on maritime security or evolve into a broader effort to weaken the Islamic Republic from within.

Such a shift would present President Donald Trump with a consequential choice: continue using military and economic pressure to force Iranian concessions, or adopt the far more ambitious objective of helping Iranians remove the Islamic Republic from power.

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Trump, however, signaled Tuesday that he has not closed the door on diplomacy, saying Iran is seeking talks behind the scenes.

"They want to meet desperately to try and end it because they’re getting decimated," Trump told reporters during a Tuesday press conference.

Asked what talks were possible, Trump said: "They want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest…" 

"Honestly, they haven't seen anything yet. We've been nice," the president added.

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Trump’s comments suggest that military pressure and diplomacy remain intertwined, even as questions grow over whether some administration officials favor a broader strategy aimed at weakening or ultimately replacing Iran’s leadership.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the military command responsible for American operations across the Middle East, said Monday that it struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air-defense systems as part of an effort to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The current military mission remains focused on protecting global shipping, Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly said Sunday. 

"The only reason why the U.S. is conducting strikes is against assets of Iran that are being used to attack global commercial shipping," Rubio told reporters Sunday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. "That’s what the objective of this mission is. That’s what it continues to be."

Experts say the distinction between weakening the regime and making its collapse a formal military objective is critical.

"Collapsing the regime remains a long-term goal using all forms of national power, but it doesn’t appear to be a military objective right now," Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told Fox News Digital. "This is Project Freedom — it’s focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz, and any escalation is likely tied to that mission."

Goldberg said some high-value targets, including nuclear facilities such as Pickaxe Mountain, could be treated as exceptions because of their strategic importance. Pickaxe Mountain is a deeply buried and largely uninspected complex near Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility that U.S. and Israeli officials suspect could be connected to Iran’s nuclear program. 

But, he argued that most current U.S. operations are designed to advance maritime security rather than trigger a broader campaign to topple the government. 

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"Where this gets confusing is when Central Command targets assets that are necessary for the Hormuz mission but could still provoke wider escalation, like dual-use infrastructure or certain leadership figures," Goldberg said. "That doesn’t mean the U.S. wouldn’t welcome the regime’s collapse, but that outcome is more likely to come through economic pressure, covert action and targeted decapitations over time."

Any move toward regime change would immediately raise questions about who could replace Iran’s rulers and whether Washington could support a political transition without becoming responsible for another prolonged Middle Eastern conflict.

One proposal reportedly discussed earlier in the war involved assisting Iranian Kurdish groups operating near the Iraqi border. Trump was open to supporting armed factions willing to fight Iran’s government, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal in March. 

The administration had contacted Kurdish leaders about possible assistance, The Washington Post separately reported. 

Such groups could provide Washington with partners on the ground without the deployment of U.S. forces. But they remain divided, militarily constrained and vulnerable to retaliation against their bases and supporters in neighboring Iraq.

The central question is whether those groups are now positioned to exploit perceived weakness inside Iran or whether increased fighting amounts to another round of limited clashes.

Majeed Gly, president of the American Kurdish Committee, said recent clashes involving Kurdish groups indicate a change in how some opposition forces perceive the regime’s strength. He cautioned that the violence should not be mistaken for a full-scale uprising, but said it should not be dismissed as routine border fighting.

"What I’m hearing is, this is not business as usual," Gly told Fox News Digital earlier in July. "This is not like periodic clashes on the border. This is operations, and it seems to be deep inside."

"What has changed is the perception of weakness of Iran," Gly added. "They are less afraid of the regime."

The broader Iranian opposition remains fragmented among monarchists, ethnic movements, secular activists, left-wing organizations and other groups that disagree over leadership and the structure of a future government.

That leaves the administration confronting the same problem that has complicated previous attempts to encourage political change in Iran: widespread opposition to the Islamic Republic does not necessarily translate into a unified movement capable of replacing it.

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