World
Macron under fire over Iran, Hezbollah policy as Trump admin hosts Israel-Lebanon talks
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism for his lack of support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and demands to include Lebanon in the current ceasefire as historic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin Tuesday.
The historic meeting brokered by President Trump between Lebanon, a former French mandate, and Israel will take place at the ambassador level as hopes for an agreement evolve — most noticeably without French involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to host both nations’ ambassadors.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel’s government requested that France be excluded from the talks. An Israeli official told the paper that “France’s conduct over the past year – including initiatives aimed at limiting Israel’s ability to fight in Iran, and a complete lack of willingness to take concrete steps to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah – has led Israel to view France as an unfair mediator.”
IRAN’S TERROR PROXIES FROM IRAQ-TO-LEBANON SAY READY TO RESPOND TO US-ISRAEL ATTACKS
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with President Trump and other world leaders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
On Monday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem called on the Lebanese government to cancel the Tuesday meeting in Washington, while describing the talks as pointless. In a televised speech, Qassem said the armed group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah violated a ceasefire to enter the war on its patron, Iran’s side, in March, when it launched rockets into Israel after the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic began. Still, Macron has demanded Israel stop attacking Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in Lebanon.
Israeli Brig. General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Macron was “working against the best interests of the Lebanese state and government. This is a very problematic direction.” He accused Macron of taking the side of Hezbollah and normalizing Hezbollah because he is focused on “narrow interests.”
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
Hezbollah al-Mahdi scouts parade with big portraits of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Khomeini, foreground, and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, background, during an event for Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
The former head of research for the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, Kuperwasser, added that the “Americans want us to engage with the Lebanese along with the military [in Lebanon]. Our expectations are very similar. We want to see Lebanon do something about Hezbollah, something real, not just issue statements and pledges. We believe we have helped them by weakening Hezbollah militarily since they decided to launch missiles on March 2. If there is a breakthrough, Lebanon has a lot to gain,” but said it has to “disarm Hezbollah.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Macron has faced accusations over the years that he has normalized Hezbollah. His government, in contrast to Germany, the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria and many other Western and non-Western countries, refuses to designate Hezbollah’s entire organization a terrorist entity. France has classified Hezbollah’s “military wing” a terrorist organization but declined to ban its “political wing.” Hezbollah considers itself a unified movement without branches.
The French politician François-Xavier Bellamy, who is a member of the European Parliament for the Republicans Party, said last week on French television that “France must stop normalizing Hezbollah.” Macron sparked outrage in 2020 when he reportedly held a private conversation with a top elected Hezbollah official, according to the Paris-based daily Le Figaro.
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital, “France is forced not to come out against Hezbollah in order to legitimize its involvement in Lebanon.”
A French diplomat told the Times of Israel that “what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon.”
When asked if France would pressure Lebanon to recognize Israel as a state, Pascal Confavreux, a spokesman for France’s Foreign Ministry, told “Fox News Sunday” that, “Iran has to stop terrorizing Israel through Hezbollah because Hezbollah chose to bring Lebanon into a war which is not Lebanon’s war… Lebanon has to be included in the ceasefire, something that we are pushing diplomatically.” He continued that we are in favor of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
It is not known if France asked for a seat at the talks. Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to France’s embassies in Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv.
IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON
Hezbollah launches long-range missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel within 48 hours of strikes on Iran, escalating the widening conflict amid Operation Epic Fury. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
On Saturday, Macron again pushed his desire for a ceasefire and wrote on X that he had discussions with Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian: “I stressed the importance of full respect for the ceasefire, including in Lebanon. France extends its full support to the actions of the Lebanese authorities, who alone are legitimate to exercise the sovereignty of the State and decide the destiny of Lebanon.”
Walid Phares, an expert on Lebanon and the region, told Fox News Digital that while the talks are important, problems exist. “It is at ambassadors’ level, which means it is not destined to reach a top level of decision-making.”
He added, “Strangely, the Lebanese president and prime minister declined to invite the Lebanese foreign minister to the Washington talks, provoking a representation by Israel, also at ambassadorial level, showing that Hezbollah still has a strong influence on the Lebanese government. The militia is being rejected by the population on the ground and fears a meeting in D.C. would ostracize Hezbollah further.”
Iran rebuilds Hezbollah ties as Trump gives a 10-15 day deadline. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto)
Sethrida Geagea, a member of parliament from the Lebanese Forces party, posted on X ahead of the Israel-Lebanon talks an open letter to Nabih Berri, the powerful speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and leader of the Shiite Amal Movement. She issued indirect criticism of Hezbollah and its terrorist army within the state. Geagea appealed to Berri to unify the Lebanese to be “protected by a single army.”
Without naming Hezbollah, her letter stated that young Shiites have been plunged into war that has nothing to do with them and the conflict is really about an Iranian decision to retaliate for the joint U.S.-Israel war that killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28.
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The State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.
Reuters contributed to this report.
World
Video. Climate expert warns of ‘possible’ hottest summer ahead
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Heatwaves have become “much more common” and are affecting all Europe, not just the south, Carlo Buontempo, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, says. He warns that climate change is making these events “last longer” and increasing their “intensity”.
World
Enhanced Group Shares Tumble After PED-Friendly Opener
The Enhanced Games left Wall Street largely disappointed after its inaugural event over Memorial Day weekend. Shares of its parent company, Enhanced Group Inc., fell nearly 45% to close at $2.96 on Tuesday.
Enhanced Group began trading on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month under the ticker ENHA after merging with a special purpose acquisition company. The transaction valued the business at $1.2 billion, and in the immediate aftermath, shares saw a 21% spike. Now, its market cap is less than $400 million.
A spokesperson for Enhanced Group declined to comment on the company’s share price.
The Olympics-style competition—which allows the use of FDA-approved, performance-enhancing drugs—debuted on Sunday at Resorts World Las Vegas. Both enhanced and clean athletes competed in swimming, weightlifting and track and field for prizes ranging from $20,000 for coming in seventh to $250,000 for topping a podium. A $1 million bonus was dangled to those who broke world records.
When Australian businessman Aron D’Souza unveiled his plans for the Enhanced Games in 2023, he said athletes would “obliterate all the world records” by “unlocking human potential.”
But contrary to the company’s bold claims, numerous world records didn’t fall on Sunday. In fact, only one did after Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev completed the 50-meter freestyle in 20.81 seconds, besting the 20.88-second mark Cameron McEvoy set in March. And that was even subject to dispute after viewers called into question the veracity of the time. The Enhanced Games dismissed the claim, calling it “completely unfounded internet drivel,” according to The Guardian. Either way, the record doesn’t actually count because of Gkolomeev’s PED use and his high-tech suit that is outlawed in the sport.
U.S. Olympic bronze medalist sprinter Fred Kerley, who said he was competing without PEDs, crowed that Usain Bolt’s record time of 9.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash would get “destroyed,” while predicting he would match the 9.81 seconds he ran to land on the podium in Paris two years ago. Kerley did win the sprint, albeit with a time of 9.97 seconds; the race had to be restarted four times because of false starts and untied shoes.
A spokesperson for Enhanced Group said the company was “delighted with the performance of the inaugural Games” and called it “a first step toward success.” They pointed to the 22 personal bests set by 14 athletes, including Megan Romano beating her 50-meter freestyle time from 13 years ago. In total, athletes earned $6.6 million at the competition.
Official viewership data has not yet been released for the Enhanced Games, though the spokesperson said that could come this week. The broadcast, which featured former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho and Braintree founder and controversial anti-aging evangelist Bryan Johnson, was available on the Roku sports channel in North America, and it was streamed across YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Rumble, Twitch and Kick. As of Tuesday, it had picked up slightly more than 900,000 views on YouTube.
The Enhanced Games plans to stage competitions annually, and it’s eyeing a similar time in 2027 to hold its next event; the company has a three-year deal with Resorts World.
Declining share price or not, a person familiar with the matter said the company continues to be optimistic about its future and ability to fundraise.
Enhanced Group isn’t solely in the business of staging athletic competitions. It also sells a collection of longevity and wellness products through its website and telehealth platform, including testosterone injections and peptides. The company’s largest shareholder is German biotech billionaire Christian Angermayer, who founded psychedelic drug startup Atai Life Sciences.
In the aftermath of its debut event, the Enhanced Group did boast about its success in sponsorships. On Tuesday, the company released a statement saying that it secured more than $32 million in “aggregate sponsorship deal value” ahead of the first meet, citing deals with Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), Betr and Rumble (NASDAQ: RUM). It also noted that with seven months left in the year, it already had exceeded its sports revenue guidance of $31 million.
“We reset what this category is capable of,” Maximilian Martin, CEO of Enhanced Group, said in the release. “The $32 million we secured with our first event is not a ceiling. It is a starting point.”
World
‘Designated target’ Mojtaba Khamenei to sign Trump deal in ‘unprecedented’ courier setup
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Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would have to approve any final deal with the U.S. through secret courier networks while remaining in hiding as a “designated target,” counterterrorism experts said Tuesday.
The unprecedented arrangement, they claimed, means Washington is negotiating a high-stakes accord with an entirely invisible counterparty, with a potential memorandum signed by a regime leader and a “designated target” who can never publicly show his face.
“Khamenei is a designated target, and every confirmed sighting is a coordinate,” Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.
“The courier system used for messaging is not transitional. It is the operating system of his rule.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER RUNS ‘STATE WITHIN A STATE’ THROUGH SECRET 4,000-PERSON NETWORK, REPORT SAYS
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)
“Any deal the United States signs will have to be designed for a permanently invisible counterparty whose enforcement depends on his continued survival. That is not arms control as it has been conventionally understood. It is a memorandum signed under American military pressure, with a regime whose leader cannot show his face.”
Mohammed’s remarks came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained to reporters in India why the deal was suffering delays.
“It’s just the response,” Rubio said. “I mean, when you get down on some of these things, you’ve got to hear back, and it takes the Iranians — takes them a little while longer to get back,” he explained.
“That is Secretary Rubio confirming the courier latency on the record,” said Dr. Omar Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University. “Rubio is describing a structural feature of negotiating with a supreme leader no one can locate.
IRAN’S KHAMENEI STAYS AWAY FROM TALKS AS JD VANCE SAYS DYNAMIC MAKES DIPLOMACY ‘MUCH MORE COMPLICATED’
President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Iran following an Israeli strike in Tehran on Feb. 28, 2026. (White House)
“Mojtaba is in hiding, messages are moving by courier, and responses are arriving days late.
“Rubio just confirmed the symptom, and the administration is being honest about the problem. The question is whether the framework can be designed to survive it,” Mohammed claimed.
Khamenei has spent nearly three months in hiding as tensions with the U.S. escalate.
He went underground as soon as a strike on Feb. 28 killed his father, amid reports that he was gravely injured.
He was struck in Operation Epic Fury — “wounded and likely disfigured,” according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. His wife and son were killed in the same strike.
“Officials at the highest levels of the Iranian government do not know where he is,” Mohammed said, meaning every piece of information he receives is “dated, and his responses come with significant latency.”
The remarks come as Iran and the United States continue talks aimed at reaching a deal to end the war that began Feb. 28.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES
Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced tough questions Sunday at a New Delhi, India, news conference about the Trump administration’s pressing India on trade, tariffs, visa and immigration reform. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP)
“If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it’s either going to be a good deal or there isn’t going to be one,” Rubio said Tuesday.
A senior administration official said the U.S. is prepared to ease sanctions if Iran makes major concessions on uranium enrichment. Frozen Iranian assets have also emerged as a key hurdle.
Iran said Monday that no agreement with the United States was imminent, despite progress toward a framework in talks.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the focus of talks remained ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and that a possible memorandum of understanding did not include specific details on managing the Strait of Hormuz.
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“The real question for Washington is not how fast the framework can be signed,” Mohammed added.
“It is also what enforcement looks like when the counterparty’s signature comes through a courier.”
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