US Terminates $60 Million in Harvard Grants over Alleged Antisemitism

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, April 15, 2025.   REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo/File Photo
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US Terminates $60 Million in Harvard Grants over Alleged Antisemitism

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, April 15, 2025.   REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo/File Photo

The US Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that it was terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University saying the Ivy League institution failed to address antisemitic harassment and ethnic discrimination on campus.

US President Donald Trump's administration has frozen or ended federal grants and contracts for the university worth nearly $3 billion in recent weeks.

Since taking office in January, the Republican president has sought to use federal research funding to overhaul US academia, which he says has been gripped by anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies.

The administration has accused Harvard of continuing to consider ethnicity when reviewing student applications and of allowing discrimination against Jews as a result of the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled American campuses last year.

New York's Columbia University has also been targeted over alleged antisemitism.

"Due to Harvard University’s continued failure to address antisemitic harassment and race discrimination, HHS is terminating multiple multi-year grant awards ... over their full duration," the health department said in a post on X on Monday.

Harvard University did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institution has previously said that it "cannot absorb the entire cost" of the frozen grants, and that it was working with researchers to help them find alternative funding. It is also suing the Trump administration over its decision to cut grants.

Earlier this month, the university settled a high-profile lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish student who said Harvard was ignoring antisemitism on campus.

The settlement came four months after Harvard promised additional protections for Jewish students, as it resolved two lawsuits claiming it was a hotbed of antisemitism.



Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to No Nuclear Weapons

A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to No Nuclear Weapons

A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

US President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

"The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They've agreed to that, and it was very interesting," he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on her Fox News program on Saturday night.

But Tehran has previously cast doubt on Trump's assertions and the parties appeared far apart on their key priorities.

Iran has said it requires the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before it moved to substantive talks on issues such as its nuclear program and called earlier Trump comments that its enriched uranium -- a precursor for nuclear weapons -- would be destroyed "baseless", according to Iranian media.

Tehran has also insisted that Lebanon must be included in any end to the war despite ongoing fighting.

After Trump and US officials earlier said they were on the brink of striking a deal, he struck a less urgent tone and hinted at renewed military action in the Fox interview.

"I'm in no hurry," he said. "Slowly but surely we're getting, I think, what we want and if we don't get what we want, we're going to end in a different way."


Trump Reportedly Asked for Tougher Terms in Proposed Iran War Deal

US President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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Trump Reportedly Asked for Tougher Terms in Proposed Iran War Deal

US President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

President Donald Trump has sought to change several terms of a proposal to end the Middle East war, US media reported Saturday, as a finalized deal remains elusive among the parties.

The New York Times reported Trump's changes involved toughening the terms of the deal, and has sent the new framework back to be considered by Iran, according to officials familiar with the proceedings.

The report said it was not immediately clear what the changes entailed, but news site Axios reported Trump wanted to reinforce multiple points of the deal that he personally felt were important, such as what is done to Iran's nuclear material.

The new tweaks could prolong negotiations between the parties for days before a decision is reached on whether the deal would end the war which began after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28.

US sources had told AFP that the proposal had been waiting on Trump's sign-off, but he made no decision after a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal included Iran agreeing to never develop nuclear weapons and the re-opening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply transits.


US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

 Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

 Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)

The US military has stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports, a US official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star ignored multiple warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The ship was disabled by US aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there, the official said, adding that US forces have not boarded it.

With the latest action, US military has stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade. One was allowed to proceed.

The US launched the blockade on April 17 in response to Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz after the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7.

Now the region and wider world await word on whether a deal is being reached to extend it by 60 days while new talks would be held on Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

Events in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman have shaken the global economy, with shipments of significant amounts of oil, natural gas and related supplies like fertilizer largely stranded, increasing the strain on consumers and food producers.

The US blockade seeks to limit Iran’s own shipments and further weaken its access to cash, creating more pain for its long-weakened economy.

US President Donald Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.