World
Incoming UK ambassador walks back comments on ‘danger’ of Trump: ‘Ill-judged and wrong’
EXCLUSIVE – Newly appointed U.K. ambassador to the U.S., Lord Peter Mandelson, is readying himself to take up the top job of preserving the “special relationship” long championed by London and Washington, but first he’s looking to set the record straight.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Mandelson, when asked about previous comments he made regarding the recently re-elected president, including in 2019 when he said President Donald Trump was “a danger to the world,” said his opinion of the president had changed.
“I consider my remarks about President Trump as ill-judged and wrong,” he said. “I think that times and attitudes toward the president have changed.”
Peter Mandelson, former Labour MP and European commissioner, speaks to the media following the result of the EU referendum, in London, June 24, 2016. (Reuters/Stefan Wermuth)
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“I think that he has won fresh respect,” he added in reference to Trump’s second election as president. “He certainly has from me, and that is going to be the basis of all the work I do as His Majesty’s ambassador in the United States.”
The incoming ambassador’s comments come amid reports that the U.K.-U.S.’s “special relationship” could be put to the test, and Mandelson’s appointment may be blocked by the White House.
Mandelson rejected these claims and said, “I’ve heard nothing from the president or the White House or anyone working for him that suggests that there’s going to be any difficulty about my appointment.”
But speculation on the reliability of the U.S. in that trans-Atlantic relationship remains high following comments made by officials from Trump’s campaign, as well as by close ally and tech titan Elon Musk.
Musk, who engaged in a social media spat leveled at British Prime Minster Keir Starmer earlier this month, is not in Trump’s Cabinet, but he has been charged with overseeing the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Despite the negative social media banter by those who have Trump’s ear, the president and Starmer engaged in an apparently friendly phone call over the weekend – suggesting Trump may look to prioritize the U.S.-U.K. partnership.
Elon Musk speaks with former President Donald Trump during a campaign event, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
AS UK REPRESENTATIVE, I WANT TO MAKE OUR ALLIANCE WITH THE US GREAT AGAIN
“They’re not Siamese twins, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer, but they’re both pragmatic people. They know where each is coming from, they want to find common ground,” Mandelson said. “I feel very optimistic. I feel very upbeat about the relationship that they’re both going to have.”
Mandelson is the first non-career diplomat to take up the job as chief U.K.-U.S. liaison in over half a century. That could prove beneficial for Mandelson when up against Trump, who has long strayed from engaging in traditional diplomacy.
“The president isn’t a career diplomat, and I’m not a career diplomat,” Mandelson said. “I came into politics to change things for the better for people, and so did he.
“We share a similar, if not identical, outlook on the world and motivation in politics. But I think above all, we believe in something which is really special between our countries,” he added, pointing to the enduring relationship between the U.S. and U.K.
Mandelson said his chief priorities will be to work with the U.S. on trade, technological developments and defense partnerships – particularly in the face of adversarial powers like China.
“I think that the United States and Britain, working together, can outsmart and keep ahead of the curve as far as China is concerned,” the incoming ambassador said. “[Trump] wants a dialogue with China, he wants to do deals with China. But he’s also not going to be naive about China.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses members at the Labour Party in Liverpool, England, on Tuesday. (AP)
“We face a challenge together from China, and we’ve got to make sure that we are able to deter that challenge or that threat when they’re having aggressive intents toward us,” he added.
Mandelson championed the trilateral alliance shared by the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, established with the intent of countering China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
“Security in the Euro-Atlantic area depends on making sure that China is kept at bay in its own region,” he said. “China has the right to prosper, to generate higher standards of living for its own people, but not at the expense of others.”
Mandelson argued that despite international apprehensions over certain security uncertainties under the Trump administration, the U.K. does not share in these concerns.
“There are so many threats and challenges the world is facing at the moment. It takes courage, somebody, sometimes, who’s prepared to be argumentative and, indeed, disruptive, not just take business as usual,” he detailed.
“Frankly, I think President Trump could become one of the most consequential American presidents I have known in my adult life,” Mandelson said.
World
Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies
Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.
Published On 2 Mar 2026
Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.
At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.
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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.
Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.
Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.
“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.
In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.
Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.
Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.
The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.
Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
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People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
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