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How Trump Is Using Truth Social to Concoct and Spread Conspiracy Theories

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How Trump Is Using Truth Social to Concoct and Spread Conspiracy Theories

Former President Donald J. Trump’s penchant for amplifying easily debunked conspiracy theories is well known. But an extensive analysis of his posts and reposts on Truth Social reveals a candidate who promotes sinister conspiracy theories at a scale and frequency well beyond his already infamous playbook.

The New York Times’s examination of Mr. Trump’s activity on Truth Social shows that, often multiple times a day, the former president is concocting or promoting dark, paranoid material and pushing it out to his millions of followers. Mr. Trump is so hungry for this content that he appears to be willing to share outlandish information from anyone, including both well-known conspiracists and anonymous accounts that tag him.

The Times analyzed thousands of Mr. Trump’s posts and reposts over a six-month period in 2024 and found that at least 330 of them met two tightly defined and striking criteria: They each described both a false, secretive plot against Mr. Trump or the American people and a specific entity supposedly responsible for it. The unfounded theories ranged from suggestions that the F.B.I. had ordered his assassination to accusations that government officials had orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

About 75 percent of the conspiracy-theory posts came directly from Mr. Trump’s account. The rest Mr. Trump reposted from other social media accounts. The Times also analyzed hundreds more of his posts and reposts that didn’t strictly meet both criteria but still invoked the theories with slogans and subtle references.

In addition to the posts themselves, the analysis zeroed in on the 170 Truth Social accounts that Mr. Trump had amplified on the platform. Some are ones he follows; others have just come across his radar. The vast majority of the accounts regularly promoted conspiracy theories, the analysis showed.

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The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.

A spokeswoman for Truth Social did not answer questions from The Times about the company’s policies on conspiratorial content and the accounts that spread it. Instead, the spokeswoman criticized reporters.

Since Mr. Trump inaugurated the platform with its first post in 2022, Truth Social has attracted the kinds of users, and the kinds of posts, that mainstream and more heavily moderated social networks might not have tolerated. Mr. Trump’s use of the platform is near constant; he averaged 30 posts a day in the six-month period The Times analyzed. That frequency far surpasses his posting on any other social media network this year, and shows how much Mr. Trump relies on the platform, and its users, to bolster his conspiratorial worldview.

From July to September, Truth Social received an average of about 4.7 million unique monthly visitors, according to the web analytics firm Similarweb. Those users are, in general, part of a group whose fealty to Mr. Trump sets the network apart from larger ones like Facebook or X, which have monthly user counts orders of magnitude higher. While Truth Social is populated by many everyday fans and supporters of Mr. Trump’s, there are also sensationalist right-wing media upstarts, Covid deniers and devotees of QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory whose adherents think that satanic pedophiles control the “deep state.”

“He’s building a coalition of people who just see the world in a very dark way,” said Joseph Uscinski, who is a co-author of the book “American Conspiracy Theories” and a professor of political science at the University of Miami. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, he said, isn’t meant to cater to traditional Republican values, but instead appeals to those “who just want to see the system blown up.”

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The conspiracy theories that Mr. Trump is exposed to on Truth Social have made their way into his campaign speeches and public appearances. He has repeatedly referred, both online and off, to an “enemy from within” that includes Democrats and government officials, and suggested that the military might be needed to handle them. In October, Mr. Trump described the Jan. 6 riot as a day of “love” at a town hall event and two days later shared a Truth Social post that claimed the attack had been staged by the federal government.

Times alt text of image in post: A pair of images of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol, with superimposed text reading:

To analyze Mr. Trump’s account, The Times collected all 5,641 of his Truth Social posts and reposts from March 12 to Sept. 12 using computer code. Reporters also manually analyzed hundreds of posts from each profile Mr. Trump amplified to identify whether those accounts had displayed a pattern of propagating conspiratorial content.

Much of the activity on Mr. Trump’s feed consisted of general campaign-related fare, like videos from rallies or endorsements of other political candidates. It also included disinformation and hateful rhetoric about immigrants, his political opponents and other targets.

But over and over — almost twice a day on average — Mr. Trump’s account went one step further and promoted conspiracy theories to his 7.9 million followers.

A grab bag of false conspiracies: George Soros, the Nord Stream pipeline and a ‘rigged’ election

The Times’s analysis identified 10 distinct themes in the conspiracy theories shared by Mr. Trump. Some of the posts depicted below referred to multiple false theories.

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Nearly 400 additional posts not depicted above used language to refer to conspiracy theories but did not spell out the full theory on their own. This included using slogans and phrases that a believer of the theory would understand, but that an average person might not.

The common thread through most of the conspiracy theories is a belief that Mr. Trump is the protagonist of every moment and that his political adversaries are the villains.

Experts said that it was particularly concerning that some of the theories shared on Mr. Trump’s account sought to undermine institutions the public relies on, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency during Hurricane Helene, and the institutions holding the former president to account, like the Justice Department.

Mr. Trump also — with stunning frequency — sowed doubt about American democracy itself.

In more than 260 posts in the six-month period The Times analyzed, Mr. Trump shared conspiracy theories that supported his frequently stated claim that the 2024 presidential election would be fraudulent. That includes saying the criminal cases against him are Biden administration plots to interfere in the election.

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This ridiculous political HOAX, which most thought was already won by me, comes right out of the White House and DOJ, and is being pushed by Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden against their political opponent, ME. Like all of the other Witch Hunt cases, it is being mocked by legal scholars and experts as gross election interference. This shouldn’t be happening in America! MAGA2024

Times alt text of image in post: A stylized image of Donald Trump with his hand over his heart, standing in front of a background featuring the image of a lion. Stylized text is superimposed and reads:

I truly wish people would remember that all of these “trials” are concocted and run by the Crooked Joe Biden White House, and DOJ, for the purpose of Election Interference and damaging Crooked’s Political Opponent, ME, as much as possible. These are not legitimate trials, they are merely part of an illegal POLITICAL WITCH HUNT the likes of which our Country has never seen before! MAGA2024

The Radical Left Democrats are already cheating on the 2024 Presidential Election by bringing, or helping to bring, all of these bogus lawsuits against me, thereby forcing me to sit in courthouses, and spend money that could be used for campaigning, instead of being out in the field knocking Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the History of the United States. Election Interference!

Some posts falsely alleged that Democrats were relying on undocumented immigrants to vote and sway the election. Mr. Trump also shared posts with references to replacement theory, a far-right false claim often promoted by white supremacists that says powerful forces are trying to replace American citizens with immigrants.

If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET. THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO “STUFF” VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN – CLOSE IT DOWN!!!

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For 3 years, Crooked Joe Biden has flooded our Country with tens of millions of Illegal Aliens, while insisting he could do nothing to stop it. Do NOT be fooled by any phony Biden Executive Order. Crooked Joe opposes Deportations, and he wants to turn his Illegal Migrants into Voting Citizens. He is giving them Free Welfare, Healthcare, and Housing, and he’s letting them crash our Hospitals, our Education System, and Social Security and Medicare, while our Communities are under siege from Migrant Crime. Joe Biden opposes the Laken Riley Act to deport Illegal Alien Criminals. Crooked Joe Biden’s Illegal Invasion is a crime against the United States of America. Ask Joe how many of these millions of Illegal Aliens, Murderers, and Terrorists his Order will deport – The answer is ZERO. On Day One, I will Deport Crooked Joe’s Illegals, and SHUT THE BORDER DOWN!

It’s unclear whether Mr. Trump or one of his campaign staffers wrote any individual post, but each one had been sent from the former president’s official account.

Max Read, a senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who studies election disinformation, said that after months of Mr. Trump’s false assertions about election integrity, some Truth Social users may accept only a Trump victory.

“Who are you going to go to to trust election results?” Mr. Read said. “It’s not going to be the media. It’s not going to be the professionals doing the elections. If you’re living in that reality and getting that information on Truth Social, you’re going to trust Trump and only Trump.”

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Other conspiracy theories Mr. Trump shared included claims that the Biden administration had blown up the Nord Stream pipeline to start a world war; that George Soros, a billionaire Democratic donor, was devising plots to undermine Mr. Trump (a claim that often has antisemitic undertones because Mr. Soros is Jewish); and that Vice President Kamala Harris had used artificial intelligence to fake the size of her crowds at rallies.

#FJB #TrumpWon2020 #Trump2024Landslide #ArrestBiden #ArrestObama #DeathPenaltyForPedophiles #MilitaryTribunalsForTreason

Times alt text of image in post: A screenshot of a post from Truth Social user @fireduptxlawyer. The text of the post reads:

The posts from Mr. Trump that did not meet the threshold of conspiracy theory on their own, but still referred to conspiratorial viewpoints, touched on some of the most dangerous and persistent false claims. For example, he has called the people in prison for their actions on Jan. 6 “hostages,” implying they had been falsely imprisoned in a plot against him. In one of those posts, Mr. Trump shared a song that combined his voice with a choir made up of people charged for their alleged roles in the attack on the Capitol.

January 6th hostages with President Donald J. Trump…

In more than a dozen instances, Mr. Trump shared posts that included known QAnon slogans and imagery, like the acronym “NCSWIC,” meaning “Nothing can stop what is coming,” and “Q+,” the movement’s nickname for Mr. Trump.

“He’s able to reference a series of claims and characters and so forth now,” said Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth College who studies misinformation and conspiracy theories. “There’s an incredible conceptual apparatus that has been built up around the various villains that he thinks are persecuting him and his followers.”

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The far-right universe Trump amplifies: real-life confidants and anonymous sycophants

Not everything Mr. Trump posts to Truth Social is a conspiracy theory. But almost every voice he amplifies at least dabbles in them — some even more extreme than what Mr. Trump shares from their accounts.

The Times’s analysis found that in the same six-month period this year, Mr. Trump reposted or quote-posted messages from 170 accounts, about 85 percent of which regularly promote conspiracy theories on their own feeds.

About one-third of those 170 accounts were run by people or organizations that Mr. Trump knows in real life, follows on Truth Social or both. They include some of the most extreme figures in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, many of whom regularly visit his Mar-a-Lago resort, like the far-right activist Laura Loomer and Michael T. Flynn, his former national security adviser.

Mr. Trump reposted a campaign endorsement from Mr. Flynn that alleged that children “will be enslaved by a corrupt, wasteful government of woke globalists” if he is not elected.

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Most of the other accounts reposted by Mr. Trump were not as well known, including 15 that had fewer than 500 followers. Because Truth Social allows for anonymity in its users’ public profiles, determining the identities of the owners of many of these accounts can be difficult.

U.S. officials have said that foreign nations have injected disinformation into dozens of social media platforms ahead of the 2024 election. It was unclear if any of these accounts were part of that effort.

The three posts below were all reposted by Mr. Trump, who shared material from each of the three accounts more than 20 times in the six months The Times examined:

TIME TO EXPOSE THIS COUP AGAINST AMERICA! BRING DOWN THE ENTIRE SOROS FAMILY AND ALL THESE TREASONOUS TRAITORS THAT HE FUNDS!

Times alt text of image in post: A grid of images that all feature Alex Soros, George Soros's son.
Times alt text of image in post: An image of FBI director Christopher Wray, with superimposed text that reads:
Times alt text of image in post: A stylized portrait of Donald Trump, standing with palms outstretched in front of Earth, with superimposed text reading:

In some cases, Truth Social users tag and reply to the former president over and over, and he intermittently rewards them with a repost. For instance, Mr. Trump reposted the image below after being tagged in a post:

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Let’s get an administration that is American First! #Trump2024 

Times alt text of image in post: A stylized image featuring various members of the Biden-Harris administration, with superimposed text reading:

In April, “Ultra MAGA Truther” tagged Mr. Trump in a post with a litany of conspiracy theories about Mr. Biden, including that “he stole the election” and “sold the influence of his office to China for millions.” Mr. Trump reposted it.

“Ultra MAGA Truther” is one of at least three dozen accounts amplified by Mr. Trump that either included a reference to QAnon in its bio or repeatedly posted messages with slogans and imagery associated with the conspiracy theory.

Mr. Trump also posts screenshots of content from Truth Social or other social media platforms without linking to the original post, or visual content that includes watermarks of social media handles. The Times looked at nearly 300 accounts identified in these kinds of posts, dozens of which also trafficked in conspiracy theories. They include well-known figures such as Elon Musk, whom Mr. Trump has suggested would have a job in his administration if he wins.

Times alt text of image in post: A screenshot of a post by Elon Musk on X. The text of the post reads:
Times alt text of image in post: A screenshot of a post by X user @TheRISEofROD. The text of the post reads,

In one post in August, Mr. Trump shared an image of a post on X that used the phrase “too big to rig,” a conspiratorial shorthand that promotes the baseless idea that the 2024 election will be fair only if Mr. Trump wins in a landslide. The Times found that the account behind the image had posted antisemitic content on X, including a post that said “Adolf Hitler was right.”

As Americans vote, Trump ramps up threats and undermines election

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Truth Social hails itself as a “free speech haven” and publicly says it doesn’t moderate content unless it is illegal or otherwise prohibited by its terms of service. In addition to the conspiracy theories, The Times found multiple posts from social media accounts Mr. Trump amplified that included crude sexual comments about Ms. Harris, racist disinformation about immigrants and manipulated images and videos used to attack his opponents.

Mr. Trump’s use of the platform continues to be constant: He posted more than 240 times last week.

On Friday, Mr. Trump took to Truth Social to repeat his false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen and that he would seek retribution on anyone who had been involved once elected. He said those people, including lawyers, donors, election officials and “illegal voters,” would be “sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was a Disgrace to our Nation! Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.

The post quickly gathered thousands of replies from other users who shared additional conspiracy theories and cheered on Mr. Trump’s call for retribution.

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Though most of these accounts are not household names, at least eight — including one that called former President Barack Obama “a sleeper cell terrorist” in a reply — may have looked familiar to Mr. Trump. He has reposted their content before.

Methodology

The New York Times collected 5,641 posts Mr. Trump made on Truth Social from March 12 to Sept. 12 using Truthbrush, a tool built by researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory, to scrape the text, media and metadata of Truth Social posts. The data didn’t include any posts he may have deleted before Sept. 13.

Times reporters then analyzed each post to determine if it contained the hallmarks of a conspiracy theory. For a post to meet the standard, it had to mention a secret and ultimately false plot against Mr. Trump, his allies or the American public and point out the people or entities supposedly behind it. An additional 388 posts that included only one of these elements or only subtly referred to the conspiracy theories, such as by using slogans known by their believers, were labeled as “conspiracy theory adjacent” and were not included in the eventual tally of at least 330 posts.

These posts were then categorized into one or more of 10 common topics that were referred to in the conspiracy theories.

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To understand whom Mr. Trump was interacting with, The Times also looked at the 170 accounts that Mr. Trump reposted or quote-posted in the time period. Each account was categorized into multiple buckets, including whether it had displayed a pattern of promoting conspiracy theories; whether its bio included references to QAnon or the account repeatedly shared QAnon content; whether it was followed by Mr. Trump or run by someone Mr. Trump knew in real life; and whether the account posted crude attacks of a sexual nature.

Mr. Trump also frequently shared videos and images containing watermarks by other users and screenshots of content from Truth Social and other platforms. To capture these accounts, The Times used an open-source machine learning model called Qwen-2 to extract the social media usernames visible in the images or in the first frame of videos from the 3,400 pieces of media in Mr. Trump’s posts and reposts. Times reporters then manually matched the extracted handles to the associated account on the correct platform.

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Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites

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Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites

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Iran launched missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. military facilities in multiple Middle Eastern countries Friday, retaliating after coordinated U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear-linked sites.

Explosions were reported in or near areas hosting American forces in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan, according to regional officials and state media accounts. Several of those governments said their air defense systems intercepted incoming projectiles.

It remains unclear whether any U.S. service members were killed or injured, and the extent of potential damage to American facilities has not yet been confirmed. U.S. officials have not publicly released casualty figures or formal damage assessments.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described the operation as a direct response to what Tehran called “aggression” against Iranian territory earlier in the day. Iranian officials claimed they targeted U.S. military infrastructure and command facilities.

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Explosions were reported in or near areas hosting American forces in Bahrain, pictured above. (Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adelola Tinubu/U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet )

The United States military earlier carried out strikes against what officials described as high-value Iranian targets, including IRGC facilities, naval assets and underground sites believed to be associated with Iran’s nuclear program. One U.S. official told Fox News that American forces had “suppressed” Iranian air defenses in the initial wave of strikes.

Tomahawk cruise missiles were used in the opening phase of the U.S. operation, according to a U.S. official. The campaign was described as a multi-geographic operation designed to overwhelm Iran’s defensive capabilities and could continue for multiple days. Officials also indicated the U.S. employed one-way attack drones in combat for the first time.

IF KHAMENEI FALLS, WHO TAKES IRAN? STRIKES WILL EXPOSE POWER VACUUM — AND THE IRGC’S GRIP

Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. (Reuters)

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Iran’s retaliatory barrage targeted countries that host American forces, including Bahrain — home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet — as well as Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and the UAE’s Al Dhafra Air Base. Authorities in those nations reported intercepting many of the incoming missiles. At least one civilian was killed in the UAE by falling debris, according to local authorities.

Iranian officials characterized their response as proportionate and warned of additional action if strikes continue. A senior U.S. official described the Iranian retaliation as “ineffective,” though independent assessments of the overall impact are still developing.

Smoke rises over the city after the Israeli army launched a second wave of airstrikes on Iran in Tehran on Feb. 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Regional governments condemned the strikes on their territory as violations of sovereignty, raising the risk that additional countries could become directly involved if escalation continues.

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The situation remains fluid, with military and diplomatic channels active across the region. Pentagon officials are expected to provide further updates as damage assessments and casualty reviews are completed.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report. 

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Iraq War flashbacks? Experts say Trump’s Iran buildup signals pressure campaign, not regime change
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Why Iran resists giving up its nuclear program, even as Trump threatens strikes

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Why Iran resists giving up its nuclear program, even as Trump threatens strikes

Embassy staffers and dependents evacuating, airlines suspending service, eyes in Iran warily turning skyward for signs of an attack.

The prospects of a showdown between the U.S. and Iran loom ever higher, as massive American naval and air power lies in wait off Iran’s shores and land borders.

Yet little of that urgency is felt in Iran’s government. Rather than quickly acquiescing to President Trump’s demands, Iranian diplomats persist in the kind of torturously slow diplomatic dance that marked previous discussions with the U.S., a pace that prompted Trump to declare on Friday that the Iranians were not negotiating in “good faith.”

But For Iran’s leadership, Iranian experts say, concessions of the sort Trump are asking for about nuclear power and the country’s role in the Middle East undermine the very ethos of the Islamic Republic and the decades-old project it has created.

“As an Islamic theocracy, Iran serves as a role model for the Islamic world. And as a role model, we cannot capitulate,” said Hamid Reza Taraghi, who heads international affairs for Iran’s Islamic Coalition Party, or Hezb-e Motalefeh Eslami.

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Besides, he added, “militarily we are strong enough to fight back and make any enemy regret attacking us.”

Even as another round of negotiations ended with no resolution this week, the U.S. has completed a buildup involving more than 150 aircraft into the region, along with roughly a third of all active U.S. ships.

Observers say those forces remain insufficient for anything beyond a short campaign of a few weeks or a high-intensity kinetic strike.

Iran would be sure to retaliate, perhaps against an aircraft carrier or the many U.S. military bases arrayed in the region. Though such an attack is unlikely to destroy its target, it could damage or at least disrupt operations, demonstrating that “American power is not untouchable,” said Hooshang Talé, a former Iranian parliamentarian.

Tehran could also mobilize paramilitary groups it cultivated in the region, including Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis, Talé added. Other U.S. rivals, such as Russia and China, may seize the opportunity to launch their own campaigns elsewhere in the world while the U.S. remains preoccupied in the Middle East, he said.

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“From this perspective, Iran would not be acting entirely alone,” Tale said. “Indirect alignment among U.S. adversaries — even without a formal alliance — would create a cascading effect.”

We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating and, again, they cannot have nuclear weapons

— President Trump

The U.S. demands Iran give up all nuclear enrichment and relinquish existing stockpiles of enriched uranium so as to stop any path to developing a bomb. Iran has repeatedly stated it does not want to build a nuclear weapon and that nuclear enrichment would be for exclusively peaceful purposes.

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The Trump administration has also talked about curtailing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support to proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, in the region, though those have not been consistent demands. Tehran insists the talks should be limited to the nuclear issue.

After indirect negotiations on Thursday, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi — the mediator for the talks in Geneva — lauded what he said was “significant progress.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there had been “constructive proposals.”

Trump, however, struck a frustrated tone when speaking to reporters on Friday.

“We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating and, again, they cannot have nuclear weapons,” he said.

Trump also downplayed concerns that an attack could escalate into a longer conflict.

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This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9.

(Uncredited / Associated Press)

“I guess you could say there’s always a risk. You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything, both good and bad,” Trump said.

Three days earlier, in his State of the Union address Tuesday, said, “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon — can’t let that happen.”

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There are other signs an attack could be imminent.

On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Israel allowed staff to leave the country if they wished. That followed an earlier move this week to evacuate dependents in the embassy in Lebanon. Other countries have followed suit, including the U.K, which pulled its embassy staff in Tehran. Meanwhile, several airlines have suspended service to Israel and Iran.

A U.S. military campaign would come at a sensitive time for Iran’s leadership.

The country’s armed forces are still recovering from the June war with Israel and the U.S, which left more than 1,200 people dead and more than 6,000 injured in Iran. In Israel, 28 people were killed and dozens injured.

Unrest in January — when security forces killed anywhere from 3,000 to 30,000 protesters (estimates range wildly) — means the government has no shortage of domestic enemies. Meanwhile, long-term sanctions have hobbled Iran’s economy and left most Iranians desperately poor.

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Despite those vulnerabilities, observers say the U.S. buildup is likely to make Iran dig in its heels, especially because it would not want to set the precedent of giving up positions at the barrel of a U.S. gun.

Other U.S. demands would constitute red lines. Its missile arsenal, for example, counts as its main counter to the U.S. and Israel, said Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at the Defense Priorities think tank.

“Iran’s deterrence policy is defense by attrition. They act like a porcupine so the bear will drop them… The missiles are the quills,” she said, adding that the strategy means Iran cannot fully defend against the U.S., but could inflict pain.

At the same time, although mechanisms to monitor nuclear enrichment exist, reining in Tehran’s support for proxy groups would be a much harder matter to verify.

But the larger issue is that Iran doesn’t trust Trump to follow through on whatever the negotiations reach.

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After all, it was Trump who withdrew from an Obama-era deal designed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, despite widespread consensus Iran was in compliance.

Trump and numerous other critics complained Iran was not constrained in its other “malign activities,” such as support for militant groups in the Middle East and development of ballistic missiles. The Trump administration embarked on a policy of “maximum pressure” hoping to bring Iran to its knees, but it was met with what Iran watchers called maximum resistance.

In June, he joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that didn’t result in the Islamic Republic returning to negotiations and accepting Trump’s terms. And he has waxed wistfully about regime change.

“Trump has worked very hard to make U.S. threats credible by amassing this huge military force offshore, and they’re extremely credible at this point,” Kelanic said.

“But he also has to make his assurances credible that if Iran agrees to U.S. demands, that the U.S. won’t attack Iran anyway.”

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Talé, the former parliamentarian, put it differently.

“If Iranian diplomats demonstrate flexibility, Trump will be more emboldened,” he said. “That’s why Iran, as a sovereign nation, must not capitulate to any foreign power, including America.”

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Video: Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry

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Video: Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry

new video loaded: Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry

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Bill Clinton Says He ‘Did Nothing Wrong’ in House Epstein Inquiry

Former President Bill Clinton told members of the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door deposition that he “saw nothing” and had done nothing wrong when he associated with Jeffrey Epstein decades ago.

“Cause we don’t know when the video will be out. I don’t know when the transcript will be out. We’ve asked that they be out as quickly as possible.” “I don’t like seeing him deposed, but they certainly went after me a lot more than that.” “Republicans have now set a new precedent, which is to bring in presidents and former presidents to testify. So we’re once again going to make that call that we did yesterday. We are now asking and demanding that President Trump officially come in and testify in front of the Oversight Committee.” “Ranking Member Garcia asked President Clinton, quote, ‘Should President Trump be called to answer questions from this committee?’ And President Clinton said, that’s for you to decide. And the president went on to say that the President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved. “The way Chairman Comer described it, I don’t think is a complete, accurate description of what actually was said. So let’s release the full transcript.”

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Former President Bill Clinton told members of the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door deposition that he “saw nothing” and had done nothing wrong when he associated with Jeffrey Epstein decades ago.

By Jackeline Luna

February 27, 2026

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