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Trump ‘Strongly Considering’ New Sanctions on Russia to Force Cease-Fire Deal

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Trump ‘Strongly Considering’ New Sanctions on Russia to Force Cease-Fire Deal

President Trump said on Friday that he was “strongly considering” imposing sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and permanent peace deal was reached in its war with Ukraine.

In his announcement, which was posted on his social media site, Truth Social, Mr. Trump said he was “strongly considering” imposing what he described as “large scale” sanctions, including on banks, because of the perilous state of the war, now in its fourth year.

His post came as Russia unleashed a furious bombardment aimed at critical Ukrainian infrastructure overnight on Thursday and on Friday. Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, said Russian forces launched a “massive missile and drone” assault on power and gas facilities across the country.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Mr. Trump wrote. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late.”

New sanctions would be the latest turnabout for Mr. Trump’s management of the war in Ukraine. He has spent weeks aligning himself with President Vladimir V. Putin’s narrative of the war, criticizing Ukraine for being invaded by Russia, and accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine of being the “dictator” who didn’t want peace.

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Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have spent recent days smoothing over tensions after an explosive Oval Office meeting last week, which resulted in Mr. Zelensky’s leaving the White House without signing a deal that would grant the United States a share of its revenues from mining rare earth metals.

Following the meeting, the United States halted military aid to Kyiv, as well as intelligence sharing, in an effort to pressure Ukraine to resume negotiations. In his post on Friday, Mr. Trump urged Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky to “get to the table right now, before it is too late.”

But Mr. Trump has basically ignored Russia’s role as the aggressor in the war, and been elusive about what Moscow ultimately wants to broker a peace deal.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, Mr. Trump said he believed that Mr. Putin wanted to end the war and would “be more generous than he has to be.” Mr. Trump then suggested that it was Ukraine that would be more difficult to work with.

“In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia,” he said, “which is surprising, because they have all the cards, and they’re bombing the hell out of them right now.”

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Asked whether he believed Mr. Putin was taking advantage of the U.S. pause of military aid to Ukraine, Mr. Trump appeared to defend his decision to do so, saying that he thought “he’s doing what anybody else would do.” Mr. Trump also said he would not provide air defenses to stop Russia’s “pounding” until he knew that Ukraine would “settle.”

“If they don’t want to settle, we’re out of there,” he said, “because we want them to settle.“

Russian officials met last month with top Trump officials in Saudi Arabia, though Russia has not given any public indication that it would accept any truce, cease-fire or end to the war it started three years ago.

But U.S. officials have said Russia has shown openness to continuing discussions. On Thursday Mr. Trump said that he believed they would make a deal because “in a certain different way — a different way that only I know, only I know — they have no choice.”

The Biden administration imposed numerous sanctions on Moscow, seeking to cripple the Russian economy and choke off its funding for its invasion, most recently targeting Russia’s energy sector and its “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

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Mr. Trump’s announcement on Friday came as many business leaders and government officials in Moscow have been expressing optimism that American sanctions would be lifted soon.

The head of Russia’s main industrial lobbying group said on Friday that he had discussed the lifting of sanctions with the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. Sanctions against Russia’s aviation industry and the potential return of Russian banks into the Western-led global bank transfer system were discussed, Aleksandr Shokhin, the head of the lobbying group, told Tass, a Russian state news agency.

But Oleg Kouzmin, chief economist at Renaissance Capital, a Moscow investment bank, said that Mr. Trump’s Friday threats made it clear that “the situation remains very uncertain, and the future is unwritten.”

Ever since the United States first imposed sanctions on Russia more than a decade ago, Moscow has honed the art of circumventing them. Russian cities are full of Western goods, be they luxury cars or everyday consumer items. And with the help of third countries — most of all China, Turkey and Central Asian states — Russian companies, including airlines, have been able to buy new equipment and service their old parts.

The United States could still try to target Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers Moscow has been using to deliver oil to its customers. But such a move would also likely increase the price of oil, as has happened before. For any oil sanctions to be fully effective, the United States would need to solicit cooperation from China and India, which have emerged as the top buyers of Russian crude.

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U.S. and Ukrainian officials confirmed Thursday that Ukraine would send a delegation to meet with “military representatives of countries that are ready to make greater efforts to reliably guarantee security within the framework of ending this war.”

Mr. Zelensky said the Ukrainians would insist at next week’s meeting on a number of commitments from Russia to test whether a lasting peace could ultimately be reached. Those demands include Russian pledges not to attack Ukraine’s energy or other civilian infrastructure; a truce for missiles, bombs and long-range drones; and no military operations in the Black Sea. Mr. Zelensky said the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, but did not specify who would attend.

“Ukrainians truly want peace, but not at the cost of giving up Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said. “The real question for any negotiations is whether Russia is capable of giving up the war.”

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting from Tbilisi, Georgia, and Nataliya Vasilyeva from Istanbul.

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US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

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US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

The U.S. and Israel have been conducting strikes against targets in Iran since Saturday morning, with the aim of toppling Tehran’s clerical regime. Iran has fired back, with retaliatory assaults featuring missiles and drones targeting several Gulf countries and American bases in the Middle East.

“All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” Central Command said.

“The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” it added.

In a separate statement later Monday, Central Command said that American forces had been killed during combat since the strikes began.

“As of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” it said.

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Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” Central Command added.

This story has been updated.

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Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

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Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

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Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran's Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

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Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

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Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

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Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak Airbase were struck with precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

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And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

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Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

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Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

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Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

The first battle of the midterm elections will be the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. Our Texas bureau chief, David Goodman, explains why Democrats and Republicans across the U.S. are watching closely to see what happens in the state.

By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski

March 1, 2026

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