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In an echo of the Cold War, ice hockey has become central to international diplomacy, after it was mentioned by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump during talks on Ukraine, and during tensions between the United States and Canada over trade.The US and Russian presidents’ phone call on March 18 focused on Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy sites, US military aid to Kyiv, and peace negotiations.But according to the Kremlin, Putin also brought up a subject close to his heart — ice hockey — and raised the possibility of matches between players of both countries.”We’ve been seeing efforts by the Russians to warm up the situation with Donald Trump and vice versa… Putin is a big hockey fan,” Gary Smith, a former Canadian diplomat and author of “Ice War Diplomat”, told AFP.Smith’s book focuses on a series of hockey matches between Canada and the Soviet Union during the Cold War in 1972, which is considered one of the most significant events in 20th-century Canadian history.”The advantage of sports is that it impacts foreign societies from top to bottom because there’s such a mass interest in sports,” he added. “So you have an opportunity to really convey a message, a cultural message. And what it does is it helps break down cultural stereotypes.”For instance, we didn’t like the communists at all but they had a goaltender, 20 years old, named Vladislav Tretiak, and he put a human face on communism.”- ‘Relationships of trust’ -Whether ice hockey can help to “humanise” modern-day Russia more than half a century later remains to be seen.First, games would have to actually take place between the Americans and Russians and despite Trump’s agreement in principle, this is not yet a done deal.The North American NHL cut ties with its Russian counterpart, the KHL, after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Russia is banned from international competitions until at least 2026. Smith assesses the chance of the offer coming to fruition as “50-50″ — and dependent on the course of the war.”The longer the war in Ukraine goes on, the less likely this series will happen,” he said, noting that the White House read-out of the call made no mention of ice hockey.Putin, 72, portrays himself as having a healthy and athletic lifestyle and took up ice hockey late in life, playing in high-profile gala matches every year.Ice hockey “brings people together and helps build relationships of trust”, he said during one match in 2019 when asked about possible “hockey diplomacy”.By coincidence, Russian Alex Ovechkin, who plays for NHL franchise the Washington Capitals, is closing in on the league record of 894 goals set by the player widely considered the greatest of all time, Wayne Gretzky.Ovechkin founded “PutinTeam” to support the Russian president in the 2018 election and his Instagram profile picture shows him standing with Putin.- Elbows up! -In recent weeks, ice hockey has also emerged as a proxy for tensions between North American neighbours the United States and Canada. In February, a clash on the ice between the two countries in an international tournament in Montreal was marked by three fights in the first nine seconds and a chorus of deafening boos.Faced with Trump’s repeated calls to make their country the “51st state”, Canadians have adopted a rallying cry of resistance directly drawn from the vocabulary of their national sport: “Elbows up!”New Prime Minister Mark Carney, himself a former player, also alluded to ice hockey in a speech about the trade war with Washington over tariffs. “Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” he said, referring to ice hockey’s notorious punch-ups. “The Americans should make no mistake: in trade as in hockey, Canada will win.”The former central banker donned his national team jersey for the final of the tournament.Despite a phone call from Trump himself to the American players before kickoff, the United States lost the final 3-2 to Canada.

The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday published what it said was the entire text of a chat group mistakenly shared with a journalist by top US national security officials laying out plans of an imminent attack on Yemen.The stunning details, including the times of strikes and types of planes being used, were all laid out in screenshots of the chat, which the officials had conducted on a commercial Signal messaging app, rather than a secure government platform.The magazine, which initially only published the broad outlines of the chat, said it was now publishing the details after the Trump administration repeatedly denied that any classified information had been included.The scandal has rocked President Donald Trump’s administration, which for now is reacting defiantly — attacking The Atlantic and denying any wrongdoing.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly responded to say The Atlantic was conceding “these were NOT ‘war plans.’ The entire story was another hoax.”National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes had said Monday the chain cited by The Atlantic appeared to be “authentic.”Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in the Signal chat — also including Vice President JD Vance and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe — right ahead of strikes against the Huthi rebels on March 15. For reasons unknown, Goldberg’s phone number had been added to the group.Goldberg also revealed disparaging comments by the top US officials about European allies during their chat.The Atlantic initially did not publish the precise details of the chat, saying it wanted to avoid revealing classified material and information that could endanger American troops.But on Tuesday, Ratcliff and other officials involved in the chat played down the scandal, testifying before Congress that nothing critical had been shared or laws broken — and that nothing discussed was classified.The Atlantic said on Wednesday that it asked the government whether in that case there would be any problem in publishing the rest of the material.Leavitt responded, The Atlantic said, telling the magazine again that “there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat.”And a CIA spokesperson asked only that one of the agency’s officials referenced in the chain not be identified by name.- ‘More F-18s LAUNCH’ -The Atlantic said its publication Wednesday included everything in the Signal chain other than that one CIA name.It includes Hegseth laying out the weather conditions, times of attacks and types of aircraft being used. The texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off and two hours before the first target, described as “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be bombed.The details are shockingly precise for the kind of operation that the public usually only learns about later — and in vaguer terms.”1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package),” Hegseth writes at one stage.”1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”A short time later, Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing “Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID” and “amazing job.”The Huthi rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US. The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the group in response to constant Huthi attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.

Denmark welcomed on Wednesday Washington’s decision to limit a US delegation’s visit to Greenland to a US military base, after previous plans for the unexpected trip sparked criticism.US Vice President JD Vance announced Tuesday that he would accompany his wife Usha on Friday to the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the Danish self-governing island coveted by President Donald Trump.Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants to take over Greenland for national security purposes, refusing to rule out the use of force to do so.Vance’s announcement came just hours after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede harshly criticised plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited.Egede had qualified the initial plans as “foreign interference”, noting that the outgoing government had not “sent out any invitations for visits, private or official”.Following March 11 elections, Greenland has only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government.”We have asked all countries to respect this process,” Egede had said in a Facebook post.Yet the White House announced Sunday that Usha Vance would travel to Greenland from Thursday to Saturday, while Egede had said US national security adviser Mike Waltz was also expected to take part.US media had reported that Energy Secretary Chris Wright would be part of the visit as well.Usha Vance had been scheduled to view “historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage and watch the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race,” in the southwestern town of Sisimiut, the White House had said.Frederiksen denounced that visit as “unacceptable pressure” being put on Greenland and Denmark, and vowed “to resist”.- ‘Very positive’ -JD Vance said in a video statement that he and Usha would travel only to the Pituffik base to visit US Space Force members based there and “check out what’s going on with the security” of Greenland.”I think it’s very positive that the Americans have cancelled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR on Wednesday.”The cars (from the US advance security detail) that were delivered a few days ago are in the process of being sent back home, and the wife of the US vice president and the national security adviser will not visit Greenlandic society,” Lokke Rasmussen said.”The matter is being wound up and that’s positive,” he added.A US Hercules plane later took off from Nuuk airport, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.com.Marc Jacobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the US change of plan was a “de-escalation” aimed at saving face after Danish and Greenlandic leaders made it clear the US officials were not welcome. Locals in Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-biggest town of 5,500 people, had announced a protest during Usha Vance’s visit, following another anti-US protest outside the US consulate in Nuuk on March 15.”They didn’t want to risk… photos being shown to US voters on social media,” Jacobsen told AFP.Jacobsen also dismissed Vance’s claims in his video announcement that other countries were trying to use the territory to “threaten the United States, to threaten Canada, and, of course, to threaten the people of Greenland”.”The only country threatening Greenland, that’s actually the US,” Jacobsen said. “If he meant China or Russia, they’re not threatening Greenland. They have no interest in attacking Greenland.”A self-governing territory that is seeking to emancipate itself from Copenhagen, Greenland holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned.It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change.Greenland’s location also puts it on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States.Greenlandic officials have repeatedly said the territory does not want to be either Danish or American, but is “open for business” with everyone. According to opinion polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed Wednesday to the Caribbean looking for ways forward on violence-torn Haiti and to show support for oil-rich Guyana in its dispute with Venezuela.Donald Trump’s top diplomat departed for Jamaica, where he will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community, before stops Thursday both in Guyana and neighboring Suriname.At the Caribbean summit, Rubio will meet the leaders of Haiti as well as host Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the State Department.It is Rubio’s second trip south of the US border since taking office as the Trump administration puts a laser-focus on preventing migration.Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has been at a breaking point for years with the collapse of government authority, rampant violence and the crumbling of public health services.A Kenyan-led international security mission supported by former president Joe Biden has deployed to Haiti in hopes of bringing stability, but the troop force has come up short and violence has resumed.More than 60,000 people have been displaced in one month inside the capital Port-au-Prince in a resurgence of gang violence, the International Organization for Migration said last week.Rubio has made an exemption to sweeping cuts in US assistance to allow the continuation of US support to the Haiti mission. The Trump administration has yet to announce new ideas on Haiti, beyond revoking deportation protections for thousands of Haitians living in the United States.Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, said Rubio hoped to speak with Caribbean nations to hear their views on Haiti.”The circumstances are dire,” he told reporters.”We are developing a strategy in order to be able to continue to support the Haitian National Police, in order to deal with this,” he said.”It is a strategy in development.”Rubio, visiting the Dominican Republic last month, said the international mission in Haiti “needs to be broadened for it to be able to eliminate these gangs.” “If that can be achieved, we need to discuss the future of Haiti,” which can include incentives for domestic manufacturing, Rubio said.- Guyana, the new Gulf Arab ally -Rubio will be the third successive US secretary of state to visit Guyana with interest spiking after the discovery of major oil reserves. The South American country now has the largest crude oil reserves in the world on a per capita basis.The oil is concentrated in the Essequibo border region which is disputed with Venezuela, led by leftist US nemesis Nicolas Maduro. Guyana earlier this month denounced what it called a Venezuelan military vessel’s incursion in its waters. Venezuela denied any violation and requested a meeting between Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, who dismissed the offer.Claver-Carone likened Guyana to oil-rich Gulf Arab nations where the United States stations troops, in recent decades due to tensions with Iran.”We want to work with Guyana in order to ensure the cooperation there and its guarantees on its security. We’ve seen the threats from Venezuela,” he said.Trump has severed a deal by Chevron to operate in Venezuela and threatened a new tariff effective April 2 for countries that buy Venezuelan oil.Ali, despite his cooperation with the United States, said that Caribbean nations have concerns they would raise with Rubio about another threatened Trump move — fines for use of Chinese-made container ships.”We have to have early conversations to ensure that we mitigate or minimize the impact on the region,” Ali said.

China remains the main threat to the United States globally but of increasing concern is its closer cooperation with Russia, Iran and North Korea, said an annual US intelligence report released Tuesday.China’s rise in all areas of power has been identified for years by the US as its main threat, and was behind Barack Obama’s strategic Asia-Pacific pivot.But Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.”China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security,” the report said.Beijing was also making “steady” progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, it said.The report, which compiles assessments from US intelligence agencies, warned that Beijing would keep expanding its “coercive and subversive malign influence activities” to weaken the US internally and globally.And the Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a “US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing’s global relations and overthrow” the Chinese Communist Party, the report said.Beijing’s military is gearing up to challenge US operations in the Pacific and “making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan,” it assessed.But, it said, the Chinese leadership would seek to reduce tensions with the United States as it seeks to “protect its core interests, and buy time to strengthen its position.”China was more “cautious” than Russia, Iran and North Korea — other key US adversaries — about appearing “too aggressive and disruptive.”The report said that the autocratic style of President Xi Jinping — China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong — was affecting its ability to respond to challenges.”Xi’s focus on security and stability… and securing other leaders’ personal loyalty to him is undermining China’s ability to solve complex domestic problems and will impede Beijing’s global leverage,” the report found.Beijing called the report “biased” and accused it of “exaggerating the China threat.””The US publishes these kinds of irresponsible and biased reports year after year,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing. “We have no intention of surpassing anyone or replacing anyone,” he said Wednesday.US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate hearing Tuesday that “China is our most capable strategic competitor” based on current intelligence.- Ukraine lessons -In addition to China, the assessment analyzed threats to the United States posed by Russia, North Korea, Iran and “non-state transnational criminals,” including Mexican drug cartels and Muslim extremist groups.It warned countries grouped together under the acronym CRINK — China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — were stepping up cooperation and could pose new challenges to US power on a global scale.”This alignment increases the chances of US tensions or conflict with any one of these adversaries drawing in another,” it said.But it called their cooperation “uneven and primarily motivated by a common interest in… weakening US power,” moderated by a “desire to control escalation.”Within that group, cooperation between China and Russia posed the greatest and “most persistent” threat to the US.The allies have drawn closer since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent Western attempts to isolate Moscow.The war and Western sanctions have made Moscow “a catalyst for the evolving ties,” the report said, as it becomes more reliant on other countries.It has stepped up cooperation with Iran to acquire drones and North Korea for supplies and troops, all to be used in Ukraine.The conflict has afforded Moscow an array of lessons in battling Western weapons and intelligence.”This experience probably will challenge future US defense planning, including against other adversaries with whom Moscow is sharing those lessons learned,” the report concluded.

Jim Skea insists the IPCC, the UN climate panel he chairs, is not in crisis and remains relevant despite criticism it is too slow in publishing its landmark scientific reports on climate change. In an interview with AFP in Paris, the British sustainable energy professor addressed divisions within the IPCC, the US retreat on climate cooperation, and record-breaking global temperatures.A: “No, I don’t think the IPCC is in crisis. We will resolve this issue about the timeline. I mean, we had a lot of big successes in Hangzhou… So IPCC is moving forward.”On the timeline issue overall, there were two options that are basically on the floor there. One for a timeline that is aligned with the second global stocktake under the Paris Agreement (due in 2028) and another one which is slower.”And for the countries that are proposing the slower timeline, there are another set of considerations. It’s about the time that’s available for countries to review the draft reports of IPCC and it’s about the time that’s available for people from developing countries to produce literature.”So we need to get to the issue at the next meeting of IPCC, which should take place in the last quarter of this year. And I’m optimistic we will get a solution there and move forward.”A: “We don’t normally comment on who’s at a particular meeting until the reports come out. But, you know, it’s been widely reported that the US didn’t register for, or participate in, the meeting in Hangzhou, and that is indeed the case.”At every meeting we have 60 or 70 countries or members of IPCC that don’t turn up for the meeting, don’t register. The US was one of these at this meeting, and it was a business as usual meeting. We got the job done. We got the outlines of the reports agreed.”A: “It’s manifestly relevant. The 1.5 (degrees Celsius) report in the last cycle just had an absolutely huge impact, globally, in terms of negotiations. And if you go along to every Conference of the Parties, you will find every delegation standing up and saying, we have to rely on the science and refer back to IPCC reports.”So the absolute evidence there is that IPCC continues to be relevant. What we are not is a 24/7 news organisation because of these five to seven year cycles. We have a very elaborate process of review. It takes time to go through them.”But when we produce our reports, they have the stamp of authority of the scientists and consensus among governments, and that makes them very powerful. And I think if we compromise our procedures, we would lose that authority.”A: “There’s a lot of intense scientific work going on at the moment to try and understand, precisely, what’s happened over the last two to three years, and what explains things. “The understanding I have, from talking to scientists — and just to say, I am not a physical climate scientist myself — my understanding is that we are at the boundary of exceptional circumstances for the global indicators. But for particular regions and for example, for ecosystems, we are also well beyond the boundaries of the expected range.”So there’s a lot of work going on to try and understand that at the moment… We hope there will be enough literature to provide a better explanation when IPCC next reports, probably 2028 for the Working Group (1) Physical Science report.”

China poses the top threat to American interests and security globally and is making “steady” progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, an annual US intelligence report warned Tuesday.Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.”China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security,” the report said.The report provides an overview of the collective insights of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations.It warned that Beijing would keep expanding its “coercive and subversive malign influence activities” to weaken the US internally and globally.And the Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a “US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing’s global relations and overthrow” the Chinese Communist Party, the report said.Beijing’s military is gearing up to challenge US operations in the Pacific and “making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan,” it assessed.But, it said, the Chinese leadership would seek to reduce tensions with the United States as it seeks to “protects its core interests, and buy time to strengthen its position.”China was more “cautious” than Russia, Iran and North Korea — other key US adversaries — about appearing “too aggressive and disruptive.”And it said that the autocratic style of President Xi Jinping — China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong — was affecting its ability to respond to challenges.”Xi’s focus on security and stability… and securing other leaders’ personal loyalty to him is undermining China’s ability to solve complex domestic problems and will impede Beijing’s global leverage,” the report found.Beijing called the report “biased” and accused it of “exaggerating the China threat” on Wednesday.”The US publishes these kinds of irresponsible and biased reports year after year,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing. “We have no intention of surpassing anyone or replacing anyone”, he said.US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate hearing Tuesday that “China is our most capable strategic competitor” based on current intelligence.In addition to China, the assessment analyzed threats to the United States posed by Russia, North Korea, Iran and “non-state transnational criminals,” including Mexican drug cartels and Islamic extremist groups.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads Wednesday to the Caribbean looking for ways forward on violence-torn Haiti and to show support for oil-rich Guyana in its dispute with Venezuela.Donald Trump’s top diplomat will fly Wednesday to Jamaica for a summit of the Caribbean Community before stops Thursday both in Guyana and neighboring Suriname, the State Department said.At the Caribbean summit, Rubio will meet the leaders of Haiti as well as host Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the State Department.It will be Rubio’s second trip south of the US border since taking office as the Trump administration puts a laser-focus on preventing migration.Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has been at a breaking point for years with the collapse of government authority, rampant violence and the crumbling of public health services.A Kenyan-led international security mission supported by former president Joe Biden has deployed to Haiti in hopes of bringing stability, but the troop force has come up short and violence has resumed.More than 60,000 people have been displaced in one month inside the capital Port-au-Prince in a resurgence of gang violence, the International Organization for Migration said last week.Rubio has made an exemption to sweeping cuts in US assistance to allow the continuation of US support to the Haiti mission. The Trump administration has yet to announce new ideas on Haiti, beyond revoking deportation protections for thousands of Haitians living in the United States.Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America, said Rubio hoped to speak with Caribbean nations to hear their views on Haiti.”The circumstances are dire,” he told reporters.”We are developing a strategy in order to be able to continue to support the Haitian National Police, in order to deal with this,” he said.”It is a strategy in development.”Rubio, visiting the Dominican Republic last month, said the international mission in Haiti “needs to be broadened for it to be able to eliminate these gangs.” “If that can be achieved, we need to discuss the future of Haiti,” which can include incentives for domestic manufacturing, Rubio said.- Guyana, the new Gulf Arab ally -Rubio will be the third successive US secretary of state to visit Guyana with interest spiking after the discovery of major oil reserves. The South American country now has the largest crude oil reserves in the world on a per capita basis.The oil is concentrated in the Essequibo border region which is disputed with Venezuela, led by leftist US nemesis Nicolas Maduro. Guyana earlier this month denounced what it called a Venezuelan military vessel’s incursion in its waters. Venezuela denied any violation and requested a meeting between Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, who dismissed the offer.Claver-Carone likened Guyana to oil-rich Gulf Arab nations where the United States stations troops, in recent decades due to tensions with Iran.”We want to work with Guyana in order to ensure the cooperation there and its guarantees on its security. We’ve seen the threats from Venezuela,” he said.Trump has severed a deal by Chevron to operate in Venezuela and threatened a new tariff effective April 2 for countries that buy Venezuelan oil.Ali, despite his cooperation with the United States, said that Caribbean nations have concerns they would raise with Rubio about another threatened Trump move — fines for use of Chinese-made container ships.”We have to have early conversations to ensure that we mitigate or minimize the impact on the region,” Ali said.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered tighter controls on federal elections, including requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, as the Republican continues to attack a system he insists remains tilted against him.Experts swiftly denounced his executive order as an abuse of presidential power that could ultimately prevent millions of Americans from casting ballots, and rights groups already have vowed to challenge it in court.Trump, now in his second term, has never acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, and he maintains baseless claims of massive election fraud — particularly in absentee voting, a method which has become widely used across the United States.”Perhaps some people think I shouldn’t be complaining, because we won in a landslide” last November, Trump said as he signed the executive order in the White House.”But we’ve got to straighten out our election. This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections,” he said. “And we’re going to straighten it out, one way or the other.”The new rules will require proof of citizenship to be presented — through documents such as a passport — when registering to vote in one’s state of residence. US states that fail to comply with the directive could see cuts to their federal election funding.According to the executive order, the attorney general would be empowered to “take all necessary action… against States that violate these provisions by including absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes.”Several states allow absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked before the polls close in their state.For law professor Richard Hasen of the University of California, Los Angeles, this “dangerous” executive order could “potentially disenfranchise millions of voters.”On his Election Law blog, Hasen calls Trump’s directive “an executive power grab,” and notes that federal elections are largely the responsibility of the states, with Congress setting rules for the conduct of elections. The Brennan Center, a nonprofit public policy institute, denounced the executive order, posting on X that it “would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting. Presidents have no authority to do this.”The powerful civil liberties group ACLU also slammed the order as “an extreme abuse of power” and suggested legal challenges would be filed. “We’ll see him in court,” it said.Voting in US federal elections by non-citizens has been a criminal offense for decades, with the law threatening fines, imprisonment and deportation.

In a matter of days, US President Donald Trump has extended a hand to Iran and bombed Tehran’s allies in Yemen. His administration has both demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear program and offered more flexibility.Trump has for years dangled force as a means to get his way in negotiations. But on Iran, some observers see less a strategy than mixed messaging, with a real debate on how the norms-breaking president will handle a US adversary of nearly half a century.”There is a lot of contradiction within the Trump administration on Iran,” said one Western diplomat, who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue. “Sooner or later, it will have to come to a head.”Trump said on March 7 that he had written a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offering talks on Iran’s contested nuclear program, but also warning of potential military action if he refuses — a threat also made by Israel.Trump, who in his first term ripped up a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by predecessor Barack Obama, returned to office saying he would resume his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions but openly said he was doing so reluctantly out of deference to hawkish advisors.Steve Witkoff, a friend of Trump who has quickly become his roving global envoy, hinted at compromise with Iran in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit and critic of military interventionism who dissuaded Trump from military action against Iran in his first term.Witkoff said Trump was proposing a “verification program” to show Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon — in line with Obama’s deal, which was backed by European allies.Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, quickly said the goal remained “full dismantlement.” Iran insists it is not seeking a nuclear bomb, but US intelligence believes it could build one quickly if it decided to do so.- Trump surrounded by hawks -Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group, which supports peaceful resolutions, said a maximalist position of ending the nuclear program was a non-starter with Iran.”The Iranians are never going to negotiate with a gun to their heads,” he said.Both Witkoff and the president himself are “not ideologically opposed to a mutually beneficial deal” with Iran, but no one else in the administration appears to agree, Vaez said.While Trump is the chief decision-maker, he has not shown he is focused on Iran, and Witkoff is spread thin as he also negotiates on Gaza and Ukraine, Vaez said.Khamenei already will struggle to accept negotiations with Trump due to his past track record, including ordering the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, voiced more optimism about diplomacy. He said Iran could even seek a deal of the sort Trump relishes, such as agreeing to buy US products after years of sanctions.”If Iran was smart, they would take this opportunity and say, well, here’s an American president who really doesn’t seem that heavily involved in this issue,” Vatanka said.”He just wants to be able to say that he got a better deal than Obama did in 2015.”- Play for time? -Trump’s outreach comes at a weak point for the Islamic republic after Israel decimated two of its allies — Hamas, the Palestinian militants who attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Iran’s main regional ally, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, fell in December after an offensive led by Sunni Islamists.Trump in recent days has unleashed major attacks on Yemen’s Iranian-linked Huthi insurgents who have been attacking Black Sea shipping in avowed solidarity with the Palestinians.Hanging over diplomacy is the prospect of military action by Israel, which already struck hard at Iran’s air defenses last year.Israel has sought to join forces on Iran with Gulf Arab nations, although Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive could jeopardize any open alliance.Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that a “credible American and Israeli military threat is instrumental” in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, including in leveraging a strong agreement.”There is a great amount of cognizance within folks in the administration that Tehran is trying to play the administration to stall for time, and that there needs to be some real benchmarks if diplomacy is going to be an option here,” he said.