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Iran Says It Will Consider ‘Opportunities’ as Well as Threats in Trump Letter

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran will consider the “opportunities” as well as the threats in a letter from US President Donald Trump that urged it to reach a new nuclear deal, and will soon respond, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday.
Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump‘s letter last week as deceptive, saying Trump‘s excessive demands would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.”
But Araqchi said Tehran was still evaluating the letter and weighing its reply.
“Trump’s letter was more a threat, but it claims to have opportunities. We paid attention to all points held in the letter and will consider both threat and opportunity in our response,” Araqchi said.
“There is an opportunity behind every menace.”
On Wednesday, Axios reported that Trump‘s letter gave Iran a two-month deadline to reach a nuclear deal or face stricter sanctions under the US President’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign.
Araqchi said Tehran would respond to Trump‘s letter in the coming days via appropriate channels, rejecting any direct negotiations as long as Washington levels “pressure, threats, and sanctions.”
In his first term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that had placed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits in the development of its nuclear program.
Western powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons by enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian program.
Tehran says the development of its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that it respects its commitments under international law.
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Israel’s National Security Council Warns of Increased Threats to Jews Abroad Ahead of Passover

El Al planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has issued a warning for Israeli and Jewish individuals traveling abroad during the upcoming Passover holiday, citing potential threats from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other extremist groups.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the NSC identified Iran as a key force behind global terrorism, stressing its ongoing support for operations targeting Israeli and Jewish communities worldwide.
“Iran is the main instigator of global terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, both directly and through its proxies,” the statement read. “It continues to use terrorism as a key policy instrument, in response to and in revenge for the harm inflicted on high-ranking Iranian officials and senior Hezbollah and Hamas operatives in the Swords of Iron war.”
Over the past year, several Iran-led terrorist plots targeting Israeli diplomatic missions in countries such as Sweden and Belgium were prevented.
Officials also said there have been efforts by Iranian terrorist groups to engage with Israeli citizens abroad, aiming to harm or abduct them.
Amid the renewed fighting in Gaza, the NSC also issued a warning about potential attacks by Hamas on Israelis abroad, anticipating that the Palestinian terrorist group will intensify its efforts.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, security forces have intercepted several attacks on Israeli targets worldwide and uncovered Hamas-linked terror networks operating in countries such as Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, and Sweden.
According to the NSC, Israel’s attempts to free the remaining hostages in Gaza and its renewed military campaign against Hamas are likely to intensify efforts against Jewish and Israeli interests overseas.
“With the collapse of the ceasefire and resumed fighting in Gaza, we are expecting to see an increase in attempted attacks against Israeli/Jewish targets abroad carried out by local initiatives or lone-wolf attackers,” the statement read.
The NSC also warned of threats from groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda, especially in Europe, while emphasizing that global jihadist operations and networks are primarily active in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
In addition to the increased terrorism threats, the advisory also highlighted the rising surge in hate crimes and antisemitic incidents targeting Jews and Israelis in countries such as Canada, Australia, and Germany.
“The bottom line is that the various terrorist entities (Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Global Jihad) are still highly motivated and active in advancing attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world,” the NSC warned.
“The backdrop of the hate-filled general feeling towards Israelis and Jews in many countries because of the war continues to fuel motivation among terrorists to carry out attacks against Israelis and Jews abroad.”
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Hamas Tortured and Murdered a Gazan Who Dared to Speak Out Against Them

Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Hamas kills Jews for being Jews, and kills Palestinians for wanting to live.
Uday Al-Raba’i wanted to live, so Hamas fixed him.
This is his story.
Uday used social media to criticize Hamas and its war. In response, Hamas took him and dragged him alive through the streets tied to the back of a car.
Hamas then returned him to his family as he took his last breaths. After he died, some Gazans who were sick of Hamas chanted “Hamas, out, out!” at his funeral.
Uday’s family was livid and called for immediate retaliation against Hamas.
Below are excerpts from a graphic video shared by his family, and a link to the video can be found at this link. Warning: Viewer discretion is advised due to the gruesome nature of the video.
Uday in hiding: Farewell video shortly before his murder
Uday Al-Raba’i: “I of course am done with this war, and now Hamas is attacking us. They want me, they want to shoot me. Before they wanted me and wanted to shoot me, they came to me recently also by surprise. A short while ago, they also shot my brother, and we still do not know who shot him. Masked men came to him — I figure they’re from [Hamas’] Qassam [Brigades], God knows — they shot him, and I’ve been running away since this morning
… And here Gaza is a ghost town, and I am running away through the streets. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what exactly they want from us, I don’t know. They’ve brought us to annihilation. They’ve brought disaster on us, and I don’t know what they want from the young people, what they want from them — they all have metal pins in their legs [are injured]. I swear to Allah, none of us knows what to do. May Allah save us, and that’s it.”
Uday’s tortured body
Uday’s funeral: “Out! Out! Hamas out! Hamas out!”
Uday’s family demands retaliation: “A rogue group from [Hamas’] Al-Qassam Brigades, a group of sinners, kidnapped my unjustly murdered son, Uday Al-Raba’i, under despicable and false pretexts. They dragged him and tortured him to death with everything they had, without caring about the sacred prohibitions — nor about his mother nor about the family’s feelings.
They took him treacherously, and murdered him. Therefore, they must be struck with an iron fist, these evil criminals who took this man, a Muslim, and murdered him unlawfully… Retaliation against the murderers. The only consolation will be retaliation against these evil murderers, even if it takes time. We ask Almighty Allah to inflict suffering upon them and to punish them severely … We demand that all human rights [organizations] and institutions stand in support of the residents of Gaza against [Hamas] these criminal evildoers.”
[Fatah-run Awdah TV, Telegram channel, March 30, 2025]
Itamar Marcus is the Founder an Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this story first appeared.
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Trump Administration to Review $9 Billion in Harvard Federal Funding

US President Donald Trump waves as he walks before departing for Florida from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Trump administration is reviewing $9 billion worth of federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard University, jeopardizing a substantial source of the school’s income over its alleged failure to quell antisemitic and pro-Hamas activity on campus following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.
“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations — the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said on Monday in a statement announcing the action. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from antisemitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”
McMahon added, “Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”
The news punctuates months of negative developments out of Harvard University. The institution, America’s oldest and arguably most prestigious of higher education, recently settled a merged lawsuit in which two groups accused it of refusing to discipline an allegedly antisemitic professor and other perpetrators of anti-Jewish discrimination, hate speech, and harassment. For months, its legal counsel strove to dismiss the complainants’ charges, arguing that they lacked legal standing. Meanwhile, its highly reputed Law School saw its student government issue a resolution which accused Israel of genocide; its students quoted terrorists during an “Apartheid Week” event held in April; and dozens of its students and faculty participated in an illegal pro-Hamas encampment attended by members of a group that had shared an antisemitic cartoon.
Antisemitic outrages continued into the 2024-2025 academic year. In November, Harvard’s Office of the Chaplain and Religious and Spiritual Life was criticized by rising Jewish civil rights activist Shabbos Kestenbaum for omitting any mention of antisemitism from a statement precipitated by antisemitic behavior. The sharp words followed the office’s response to a hateful demonstration on campus in which pro-Hamas students stood outside Harvard Hillel and called for it to be banned from campus.
Prior to its federal funding coming under review, Harvard University enacted several measures which appeared to be motivated by the widespread criticism of its response to surging campus antisemitism. It recently fired a librarian whom someone filmed ripping posters of the Bibas children, two babies murdered in captivity by Hamas, off a kiosk in Harvard Yard and denounced him as “hateful.” Additionally, it paused a partnership with a higher education institution located in the West Bank, a move for which prominent members of the Harvard community and federal lawmakers had clamored in a series of public statements.
On Monday, university president Alan Garber, responding to the Trump administration in a statement titled “Our Resolve,” committed to addressing antisemitism while arguing that Harvard’s federal funding contributes to the common good of the country.
“If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation,” Garber said, adding that “urgent action and deep resolve are needed to address this serious problem that is growing across America and around the world.”
He continued, “It is present on our campus. I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university. For the past fifteen months, we have devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism. We have strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them. We have enhanced training and education on antisemitism across our campus and introduced measures to support our Jewish community and ensure student safety and security.”
Harvard University is not the only elite institution to see its federal funding threatened by the Trump administration, which has mounted an aggressive response to the antisemitism crisis on American college campuses even as it oversees the closing of the Department of Education. In March, McMahon announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal contracts and grants for Columbia University, a move that secured the school’s acceding to a slew of demands the administration put forth as preconditions for restoring the money.
Princeton University’s partnerships with the federal government have been suspended as well, according to a Monday report by The Daily Caller, a conservative media outlet. According to the Caller, an administration official said the measure was prompted by a federal investigation of antisemitism on the school’s campus.
President Christopher Eisgruber confirmed the news on Tuesday in an email to the student body shared by The Daily Princetonian.
“Princeton University will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism” Eisgruber wrote. “Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of the university.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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