From ‘evacuate Tehran' to ‘two weeks': Behind Trump's shift on Iran
Four days after President Donald Trump abruptly left a summit of global leaders in Canada, calling on civilians to 'evacuate Tehran' and stoking global talk of war, the president on Friday said he still wanted more time to decide.
Trump said he was waiting to see 'whether or not people come to their senses.' He also would not commit to calling for a ceasefire as negotiations continue. Speaking to reporters as he headed to his New Jersey golf club for a fundraiser for his super PAC, the president reiterated the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, but said he was 'not going to talk about' what a hypothetical U.S. response would look like.
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CBS News
34 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mahmoud Khalil arrives in New Jersey after release from ICE custody
Mahmoud Khalil has arrived in New Jersey after a federal judge ordered his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Louisiana. The Columbia University graduate and activist arrived on a flight to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday after spending months in ICE custody as the Trump administration fights to deport him. He is speaking with reporters at the airport. Watch his remarks in the player above. Khalil released after being detained by ICE for months The Trump administration has been seeking Khalil's deportation for his role in Columbia campus protests against Israel. He has not been charged with any crimes, but the administration says he should leave the country due to activities it deems are aligned with Hamas. "Trump and his administration, they chose the wrong person for this," Khalil said, addressing reporters after leaving the facility on Friday to return to New York. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Fabiarz ruled Khalil is neither a threat to his community nor a flight risk. He called Khalil's detention "highly unusual" and the federal government's actions "an effort to use the immigration charge to punish the petitioner" for his anti-Israel speech. Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian citizen and U.S. permanent resident, center, speaks after his release from an ICE processing center in Jena, La., Friday, June 20, 2025. Matthew Hinton / AP The government had said in court papers that Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Khalil's "presence or activities [in the United States] would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest." Despite rejecting Rubio's determination to continue to hold Khalil on foreign policy grounds, the judge left open a path for the government to continue its effort to deport him for reasons such as problems with his green card application. Ultimately, the judge determined Khalil does not need to be detained while the deportation proceedings play out. He said he would not order electronic monitoring either. Khalil's arrest set off series of protests Khalil was arrested by federal immigration agents in the lobby of his Columbia-owned Manhattan apartment on March 8, setting off a series of protests and nationwide discussions over free speech. Hours after his arrest, he was transferred to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, far from his legal team and pregnant wife. The government refused to release him to attend the birth of his son. Khalil's arrest was the first of several similar incidents across the country. Another Columbia activist, Mohsen Mahdawi, who has a green card, was arrested on April 14. Mahdawi was detained for allegedly posing a risk of "adverse foreign policy consequences." He was released about two weeks later by a federal judge who ruled that he was likely being punished for protected speech. He graduated from Columbia after his release. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student, was released in May at the order of a federal judge after she was detained for more than a month. Her attorneys said she was taken into custody over to an op-ed she wrote for a campus newspaper. contributed to this report.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Life is full of unexpected surprises': People trying to call Iran meet mysterious voice message
People trying to call friends and loved ones inside Iran have instead been met with strange, pre-recorded voice messages, which some experts believe may be part of the regime's wider internet blackout. In a recording of a telephone call heard by CNN, a person outside of Iran hoping to hear their friend's voice on the other line, was instead met with a robotic voice. 'Hello, and thank you for taking the time to listen,' the voice says. 'Life is full of unexpected surprises,' it continues, 'and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while, at other times, they challenge us. 'The key is to discover the strength within us to overcome these challenges.' The unsettling message, which lasts nearly 90 seconds, then goes on to recommend the listener close their eyes and imagine themself in a place that brings them 'peace and happiness.' While different variations have been reported, this version appears to have been the one most commonly heard by people outside Iran placing calls to mobile phones inside the country on Wednesday and Thursday. No similar message was reported when calling landlines. The messages were widely heard after Iran imposed nationwide temporary restrictions on internet access on Wednesday, citing security concerns. This meant WhatsApp was down, so people abroad began calling their friends and family in Iran directly, rather than via the app. The message is reportedly not heard if the call is made through an app. The initial assumption for many Iranians was that the messages were the result of an Israeli cyberattack. Others see the Iranian authorities as being behind them. Alp Toker, the founder and director of NetBlocks, a non-governmental organization that monitors internet governance, believes the messages are an attempt by the Iranian government to limit telecommunications, as part of the wider internet censorship measures. 'The point is, when the internet is cut, the phones need to go somewhere, and that will go to the fallback message on the device,' he told CNN. Toker added it was a phenomenon NetBlocks had seen in different places around the world when internet access was cut. 'Sometimes it will have an advert for summer vacations and sometimes it will have some other nonsense,' he said. According to Toker, the messages are text-to-speech generated. He believes they appear to have been set up rapidly. 'It's in the format of a normal gateway answering message of the type you might get from a national gateway when a phone doesn't answer,' he said. 'It seems that they've gone with the settings, and there's a little box where you can put in the settings and they've put something in there, pre-AI generated.' Meanwhile, a UK-based telecommunications expert who listened to a recording of the most commonly heard message told CNN that 'the call appears to be hijacked after the second ring, which is highly unusual and deeply concerning. This suggests interference at the network level – well before a proper connection is established.' The expert asked not to be named for safety reasons. Neither Israel nor Iran has made a public statement on the recorded phone messages. Access to international internet services had been partially restored in parts of Iran on Saturday 'after approximately 62 hours of severe disruption,' NetBlocks said. 'While some regions have seen improvements, overall connectivity remains below ordinary levels, continuing to hinder people's ability to communicate freely and access independent information,' it added. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that international internet services would resume by 8 p.m. local time Saturday, citing the communications minister. However, Tasnim later reported that this was not the case, citing the same minister. According to the communications ministry, Iranians abroad can now contact their families inside Iran through domestic messaging apps. The Iranian government has frequently restricted internet access in the country. During nationwide protests in 2022, authorities implemented multiple internet shutdowns in an effort to stifle dissent.
37 minutes ago
Greenland celebrates its National Day to mark summer solstice
NUUK, Greenland -- Greenlanders celebrated National Day, the Arctic island's biggest summer festival, on Saturday to mark the solstice with songs, cannon salutes and dances under 24 hours of sunlight. Revelers across the semi-autonomous Danish territory, which is also coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump, honored the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer, with a march through their hometowns waving flags and participating in a seal hunting competition. The national holiday was declared in 1985, following a referendum on home rule six years earlier, with the inaugural raising of the red-and-white Greenlandic flag. As the sun came out, locals gathered for the day of festivities, visiting friends and families, eating and dancing together. Greenland's roughly 56,000 inhabitants look forward to the midnight sun each year from May 25 to July 25, before the long, dark winter reappears. The strategic, mineral-rich island has made headlines after Trump declared it his mission to make it part of the U.S., saying it's crucial for American security in the high north. Trump has not ruled out military force to seize Greenland despite strong rebukes from Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland itself. Danish and Greenlandic leaders say the island is not for sale and have condemned reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering there. On Saturday, Greenlanders tried to leave politics behind to enjoy the seemingly endless summer sunshine. Locals in traditional clothing made of pearl collars and seal hides started the day by marching toward the Colonial Harbour with Greenland's national flags. Johannes Ostermann, 20, said he loved the holiday because 'you get to go out in the city and you get to meet the people you haven't met in a while, and you know they're going to be there because it's a big day for Greenland and we enjoy each other's company.' 'Everyone says congratulations to each other, everyone's saying hi, everyone's being very very nice because it is a very nice day for us all,' he added. At 9 a.m., a cannon salute marked the beginning of the annual seal hunting competition, with participants in boats rushing into the sea. It took about an hour for the first hunter to come back with the seal. The animal was cut open for an inspection. The organizer said the meat will be distributed to nursing homes, and all other parts will be used to make clothing. Pilo Samuelsen, one of the winners of the competition, enjoyed his victory and the fact that the holiday brings together the community and keeps their culture alive. 'The seal hunt competition is a nice tradition,' Samuelsen said. 'It's a day of unity and the celebration." Sofie Abelsen, 33, said she hoped her people would continue their celebrations because 'modernization and globalization is a danger to all Indigenous people and Indigenous countries.'
