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Trump Says Iran 'Totally Defeated'

US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 13, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 13, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
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Trump Says Iran 'Totally Defeated'

US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 13, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 13, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has been "totally defeated" in the US-Israeli military campaign against the country and wanted a deal he would not accept, despite Iranian officials pledging to continue the fight.

"The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.

Trump's comments came after he said that Washington had heavily bombed military targets on Iran's oil hub Kharg Island and the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

But as the US strikes on Iran persisted, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel.

Iran's top diplomat said this week that talks remain off the table and attacks would continue for as long as necessary.

"I don't think talking with the Americans would be on our agenda anymore," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told PBS News this week, adding Tehran had a "very bitter experience" during previous negotiations with the US.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing sources, that more than 15 explosions were heard on Kharg during the US attacks. The sources said air defenses, a naval base and airport facilities were hit, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.

Iran also claimed success in shooting down five drones over its airspace, bringing to 114 the total US and Israeli drones it has downed ⁠during the war, Iranian state TV reported on Saturday.

On Friday, the Israeli military said its air force had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air-defense systems and weapons production sites.

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World

Russia Arrests German Woman in Alleged Bomb Plot

People visit the observation deck at Vorobyovy gory (Sparrow Hills) with the main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in the background during a spring day in Moscow, Russia, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
People visit the observation deck at Vorobyovy gory (Sparrow Hills) with the main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in the background during a spring day in Moscow, Russia, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
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Russia Arrests German Woman in Alleged Bomb Plot

People visit the observation deck at Vorobyovy gory (Sparrow Hills) with the main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in the background during a spring day in Moscow, Russia, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
People visit the observation deck at Vorobyovy gory (Sparrow Hills) with the main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in the background during a spring day in Moscow, Russia, 17 April 2026. (EPA)

Russia said Monday it had arrested a German woman found with a homemade bomb in her backpack in what it alleged was a Ukrainian-hatched plot to blow up a security services facility in the south.

Russia has arrested dozens of people throughout the four-year war, mostly its own citizens, on allegations of working for Ukraine to carry out sabotage attacks.

There has been a string of high-profile arrests of Western citizens since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine -- typically on espionage charges that are widely seen as baseless, with those detained later swapped in exchange for Russians jailed abroad.

Detentions of Western citizens for carrying out or preparing actual attacks are much rarer.

The FSB security agency said the woman, born in 1969, had been dragged into the alleged plot by a citizen from a Central Asian country, who was working on orders from Ukraine.

She was detained and found with an improvised explosive device in her bag in the Caucasus city of Pyatigorsk, the FSB said.

The FSB said it had "prevented a terrorist attack planned by the Kyiv regime against a law enforcement facility in the Stavropol region, involving a German citizen born in 1969," the agency said in a statement.

The FSB said the device -- which contained an explosive charge equivalent to 1.5 kilograms (three pounds) of TNT -- was supposed to be detonated remotely, killing the German woman.

The blast was prevented by electronic jamming, the FSB added.

- 'Radical ideology' -

A man from an unidentified Central Asian state, born in 1997 and "a supporter of radical ideology", was found and arrested near the targeted site, it added.

The pair face life in prison on terrorist charges.

There was no immediate reaction to the allegations in Kyiv or Berlin.

Video footage of the purported arrest published on state media showed armed Russian security agents approach the woman, who was lying face down dressed in all black in a car park.

Another video showed masked plainclothes agents pulling a man into a station, followed by a controlled explosion of the backpack.

Russia has previously accused Ukraine of working with fundamentalists to carry out terror attacks inside Russia, without providing evidence.

Officials initially alleged that the perpetrators of a 2024 massacre at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow that killed 150 people were ISIS members in coordination with Ukraine.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack, making no reference of any Ukrainian involvement, for which no evidence was presented by Moscow and which Kyiv denies.

World

Iran Foreign Ministry Says US Not Serious About Pursuing Diplomacy

An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting of Iran’s national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting of Iran’s national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Foreign Ministry Says US Not Serious About Pursuing Diplomacy

An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting of Iran’s national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting of Iran’s national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday that the United States was not serious about pursuing diplomacy, citing what it called "violations" of their two-week ceasefire.

"While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviors that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

He said a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship early Monday, the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and delays in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the ceasefire".

Iran has been at war with Israel and the United States since February 28 when strikes killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering a conflict that has engulfed the region.

Tehran and Washington have since held a round of negotiations which failed to culminate in a deal to end the war. It took place against the backdrop of a fragile two-week ceasefire which began on April 8.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he had ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on Monday to hold another round of talks, but Iran has yet to confirm its attendance.

"As of now, while I am at your service, we have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said Baqaei.

Key sticking points include Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the outbreak of the war.

"Regarding the issue of transferring enriched uranium, neither during this period of negotiations nor before has transferring it to the United States been discussed," Baqaei said.

"It was never raised as an option for us," he added.

World

Tsunami Warning as 7.4-Magnitude Quake Hits Northern Japan

A television screen shows a news report on Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) to reach large coastal areas in northern Japan after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan April 20, 2026.(Reuters)
A television screen shows a news report on Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) to reach large coastal areas in northern Japan after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan April 20, 2026.(Reuters)
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Tsunami Warning as 7.4-Magnitude Quake Hits Northern Japan

A television screen shows a news report on Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) to reach large coastal areas in northern Japan after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan April 20, 2026.(Reuters)
A television screen shows a news report on Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (9.84 feet) to reach large coastal areas in northern Japan after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan April 20, 2026.(Reuters)

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan Monday, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, issuing a tsunami warning for waves up to three meters (10 feet).

The quake, which hit at 4:53 pm (0753 GMT) in Pacific waters off northern Iwate prefecture, was strong enough to shake large buildings as far as Tokyo, hundreds of kilometers away.

Around 40 minutes later, an 80-centimeter (31-inch) tsunami wave hit a port in Kuji in Iwate, according to the JMA.

"Evacuate immediately from coastal regions and riverside areas to a safer place such as high ground or an evacuation building," it said, warning that damage due to tsunami waves was expected.

"Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe ground until the warning is lifted," it said.

Footage from national broadcaster NHK did not show any immediate visible damage around several ports in Iwate.

A JMA official warned in a televised press briefing that more quakes could strike the area.

The prime minister's office said it had set up a crisis management team.

"For those of you who live in areas for which the warnings have been issued, please evacuate to higher, safer places such as higher ground," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters, adding that the government was trying to confirm whether there were any casualties or property damage.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.

Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed around 18,500 people and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory of a possible "megaquake" along the Nankai Trough.

This 800-kilometer undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is "subducting" -- or slowly slipping -- underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.

The government has said a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage.

The JMA lifted the 2024 advisory after a week but it led to panic-buying of staples like rice and prompted holidaymakers to cancel hotel reservations.

It issued a week-long second "megaquake" advisory in December 2025 after a magnitude-7.5 tremor struck off the northern coast.

The December 8 quake triggered tsunami waves of up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) and injured more than 40 people, but no major damage was reported.