Foreign
Barack Obama Gave Iran the Money to Finance What President Trump is Now Dealing With – Husted
A member of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, John Husted, has argued that President Donald Trump is now confronting the long-term consequences of policies implemented under former President Barack Obama, particularly in relation to Iran.
Speaking during an interview on Fox Business on March 17, 2026, Husted framed current U.S. actions in the Middle East as corrective measures aimed at reversing what he described as earlier strategic missteps.
Watch the full video here →
“Barack Obama gave them the money to finance what President Trump is now dealing with,” Husted said, pointing to the broader trajectory of U.S.–Iran relations over the past decade.
Husted’s remarks come at a time of heightened military and geopolitical tensions, with Washington intensifying efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile development, and regional influence. The senator suggested that previous diplomatic engagements, including agreements reached during the Obama administration, contributed to conditions that allowed Iran to expand its capabilities.
His comments reflect a long-standing criticism among some U.S. policymakers, who argue that earlier engagement strategies did not sufficiently constrain Tehran’s activities. According to this view, Iran leveraged the economic and diplomatic space created during that period to strengthen its military infrastructure and deepen its involvement in regional conflicts.
The debate has gained renewed urgency amid ongoing operations involving the United States and its allies, as well as concerns over Iran’s ability to project power through proxy groups and strategic waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz. Husted’s framing positions the current administration’s approach as a necessary response to accumulated challenges rather than a standalone policy shift.
At the same time, defenders of the Obama-era strategy maintain that diplomatic efforts were designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program and avoid direct military confrontation, arguing that such agreements provided oversight mechanisms and reduced the immediate risks of escalation.
Husted’s comments underscore the broader partisan divide in Washington over how best to manage Iran’s role in global security. As tensions persist, the competing narratives—whether current actions are corrective or escalatory—continue to shape both domestic political discourse and U.S. foreign policy direction.
Two men convicted of spying for Israel and its Mossad intelligence service have been executed, Iran’s judiciary said on Saturday.
Authorities identified them as Yaghoub Karimpour and Naser Bakrzadeh, saying their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court after legal proceedings. Officials allege Karimpour passed sensitive information to a Mossad officer during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June.
Rights groups have raised concerns about both cases. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights says Karimpour was sentenced to death on charges of “corruption on earth” tied to alleged espionage, and claims he was subjected to physical and psychological pressure to extract confessions.
Bakrzadeh, about 26 years old, was arrested in January 2024, according to HRANA, the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Bakrzadeh had his death sentence overturned twice by Iran’s Supreme Court before being sentenced again, with allegations that he faced rights violations during detention, HRANA said.
Press icon checks indicate that reports from the United Nations and human rights organizations, Iran has executed at least 21 people since the start of the conflict with the United States and Israel, which began following strikes on February 28, 2026.
The man suspected in the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting wrote a statement saying he wanted to target members of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the document.
Acting attorney general Todd Blanche said that the suspect in custody, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, appeared to be targeting members of the Trump administration, and potentially Trump, but that the information was “quite preliminary.”
Officials based their assessment on Allen’s writings, including a statement he sent to members of his family before the shooting, investigators said. D.C. interim police chief Jeffery Carroll said Saturday night that Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives when he charged through a security checkpoint toward the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where hundreds of journalists, politicians and celebrities were gathered for the dinner.
Culled: Washington
Post
By Wumi Tewogbade ,Abuja
The European Commission on Wednesday, announced €235 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable people in West and Central Africa.
In a statement issued by EU, in Abuja, the organisation said the fund will support those affected by current conflicts and food crises, forcibly displaced people, host communities, and hard-to-reach populations.
Out of the money, Nigeria is expected to get €33 million.
The statement reads, “Out of the €235 million, €75 million will be directed to the Central Sahel, over €16.6 million to Cameroon, €22 million to the Central African Republic, over €72 million to Chad, €4.8 million to Mauritania, €33 million to Nigeria, and over €6 million to coastal countries.
“An additional €6.4 million will support projects with a regional scope.
“West and Central Africa is facing a storm of humanitarian crises, driven by conflict, poverty, hunger, instability, and climate shocks.” said Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management.”
Lahbib said in the statement, “Last year in Chad, I saw the human cost with my own eyes: families who had fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their homes lost, their livelihoods destroyed. For millions of people, humanitarian aid is not a choice. It is food on the table, clean water, medicine, shelter, and a chance for their children to learn again.
“The European Union will always stand with people in crisis, as a reliable and principled humanitarian partner, to save lives, ease suffering, and bring hope where it is needed most.”
It would be recalled that the West and Central Africa region is plagued by various humanitarian crises, with significant needs for humanitarian assistance.
The primary driver of these crises is conflict, further intensified by the adverse effects of climate change and a multitude of local factors related to governance, demography and access to land and resources.
The epicentre of these crises is in the Central Sahel and Lake Chad regions, with the Central Sahel conflict spilling over in the coastal countries, fuelling large-scale displacement both internally and across borders. The ongoing Sudan crisis is also severely impacting the resilience of Eastern Chad. In addition to these intertwined dynamics, standalone crises persist in North-West Nigeria, North-West and South-West (NWSW) Cameroon, and the Central African Republic (CAR).
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