President Donald Trump on Monday said that since as part of any peace talks, he鈥檒l demand the same. It鈥檚 part of , who鈥檚 arguing that Iran is on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though the decades of financial sanctions it faces aren鈥檛 an immediate conflict-ending tool.
Prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Trump secretly flew out of last month鈥檚 , on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear he was with the press pool on Air Force One, .
The president鈥檚 media company has tried a half-dozen businesses to lift its stock, but nothing has worked. , telling investors Monday that Truth Social will focus on a move raising ethical questions.
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Former Air Force Secretary says he鈥檒l sue Trump administration to restore his security clearance
Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Monday said he鈥檒l sue to force the Trump administration to restore his security clearance, which after claiming he had disclosed sensitive information about the Qatari-gifted jet now serving as Air Force One.
Kendall, a West Point graduate who served as President Joe Biden鈥檚 head of the Air Force, said on CNN Monday that he鈥檒l sue the administration, noting it has a history of retaliating against critics by stripping their clearances. 鈥淎s my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies,鈥� said Kendall, who has denied disclosing classified information.
Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. 鈥淢ore to come,鈥� Zaid wrote.
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As Trump Media scraps some businesses, it鈥檚 doubling down on Truth Social and the president
The president鈥檚 media company has tried its hand at a half-dozen new lines of business to lift its stock, but nothing has worked. Now it鈥檚 getting back to its roots.
In a conference call with investors Monday, the company behind Truth Social said it will be unwinding much of its expansion and doubling down on its original media business , a move that has raised big ethical questions among Democrats and government watchdogs.
Trump started Truth Social after he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook, but the two reinstated him more than three years ago, so the company has had to transform itself. Instead of a 鈥渇ree speech鈥� forum, it now acts more like a 鈥渉ear it here first鈥� site, a second White House press office where people get scoops from the president on everything from the Iran war to tariffs to the future of the U.S. central bank.
But shares of the parent company, Trump Media & Technology, kept falling so it decided to become than a media company and branched into unrelated industries like online betting, finance, investment funds, buying and storing bitcoin and nuclear energy.
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Trump used elaborate ruse to fly out of Turkey following summit because of Iran threat, report says
Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump secretly flew out of last month鈥檚 , on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday.
The Post said the operation was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the annual gathering of NATO country leaders.
The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president鈥檚 travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.
The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post report of the secret operation to whisk Trump out of the country on a third aircraft, or the reported elaborate ruse to make it appear he was on the baby blue Air Force One jet flying to Mildenhall.
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Trump pivots back to sanctions for Iran as other strategies to end his war fizzle
The Trump administration is hoping that months of bombing have pushed Iran鈥檚 economy to a breaking point that will to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the to oil and natural gas tankers.
The president on Monday said that since as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It鈥檚 part of a larger pivot this weekend by Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict.
The shift comes as have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.
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