TV News LIES

During the U.S.-Iran talks in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland in late June, Iranian negotiators sent a private message to Vice President JD Vance through an intermediary. The Iranians warned Vance that the continued presence of President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would undermine the chance of turning the June 17 framework into an enduring deal, a senior Iranian official told Drop Site.

The Iranian official spoke to Drop Site on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. In the message, according to the official, Iran conveyed to Vance that the pair were more interested in exploiting insider knowledge of the negotiations to profit in financial markets than they were in reaching a deal. Iranian negotiators also expressed concern about repeated leaks from Kushner to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (A U.S. official told Axios that since the negotiations began, Witkoff and Kushner “talk almost every day to Netanyahu” and the head of Mossad.)

In the weeks leading up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the official said, Iran presented written documentation to mediators of what it characterized as evidence that “individuals close to President Trump” were abusing the Iran war and diplomatic developments to manipulate financial markets. “Even before the Islamabad talks kicked off [in April], we had already sent multiple messages to Trump through the Pakistanis, warning them about [Witkoff’s] overall destructive role in the previous negotiation,” the Iranian official said.

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Hamas has elected Khalil al-Hayya as the new head of its political bureau, placing one of the movement’s most experienced negotiators at the centre of its leadership during a period where Gaza is still facing Israeli genocide and the region faces a renewed war.

The movement announced the result on Monday after an internal ballot of the leadership in which Hayya secured 35 votes, narrowly defeating Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas abroad and a former political bureau chief, who received 34, according to Al Jazeera Arabic Palestine bureau chief, Walid Al Omari.

The vote completed a leadership process that began in May after Hamas failed to settle the contest in its first round.

Hayya, who is based in Qatar, succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who took charge after Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024. Israeli forces killed Sinwar during fighting in Rafah three months later.

In the months that followed, Hamas relied on a five-member interim council led by Mohammed Darwish, the head of its Shura Council, to manage its political affairs and oversee negotiations.

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A former United Nations investigations chief has accused the International Criminal Court’s executive body of subjecting Prosecutor Karim Khan to a “stitch-up” in their decision to suspend him from office over misconduct allegations.

Ben Swanson is a former UN assistant secretary-general and deputy head of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), and has previously served as director of the OIOS Investigations Division. 

Over the past year, he has submitted four expert's opinions commissioned by Khan's legal team to the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), criticising the manner in which the investigation into misconduct allegations facing the prosecutor was conducted, and the subsequent handling of the process by the bureau.

In his latest submission on 28 June, obtained by Middle East Eye through independent sources, Swanson denounced the 8 June decision by the bureau, which suspended the prosecutor after concluding by a majority that he committed “serious misconduct”. 

The bureau’s decision departed from the unanimous conclusion of a panel of three judges it appointed, which in March concluded that the facts presented in the UN investigation "do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant framework".

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New visa restrictions could make it harder for international students to study in the U.S., in another example of how the Trump administration's goals for cutting immigration are at odds with the aims of American higher education.

The Department of Homeland Security says it's cracking down on foreign students who intentionally take a long time to earn their degrees. It's adding strict time limits to student visas and restricting how international students transfer schools or change their study plans.

The rule announced last week could have a big impact on college campuses, where international students can make up as much as a fifth of the student body. Foreign students bring diversity and alternative worldviews, and they contribute heavily to colleges' financial health — they don't qualify for federal aid, so many pay full tuition. They also help fuel American innovation in a countless number of fields, in graduate programs, Ph.D. programs and research positions.

"What is at stake is frankly the preeminence of American higher education," says Fanta Aw, the executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She called the move misguided and unnecessary bureaucracy. "At a time when there's increased competition, we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot every single time."

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Nicaragua’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has said the country will hold no further elections to prevent the opposition from coming to power.

The 80-year-old authoritarian leader, who has been in office since 2007, also said he would work with the congress he controls to pass new laws that would “build a wall” against the opposition.

Ortega made the announcement on Sunday during the official ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which he helped overthrow the brutal dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.

Although his administration and that of his wife and “co-president”, Rosario Murillo, had already been marked by the steady erosion of democracy in the Central American country, many are describing his announcement as a significant rhetorical escalation.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he expects to hold “key conversations” on Monday to formulate a strategy aimed at concluding the war, following a weekend of extensive consultations with military commanders.

In his evening video address on Sunday, July 19, Zelensky stated that the priority is evaluating active operations and establishing a future strategy to compel a conclusion to the conflict on terms acceptable to Ukraine.

“This has various components, and I want to hear how the commanders in our Defense and Security Forces see it,” Zelensky said. “Tomorrow I have key conversations. Ukraine must achieve its goals, and it will.”

The president noted that over the weekend, he held discussions regarding the situation on the front line and broader military strategy with several experienced military personnel.

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