US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made approximately 51,000 arrests in July, the highest monthly figure in the agency’s history, as the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement campaign.

Figures released by ICE and reports from US media outlets showed on Friday that the agency carried out an average of about 1,645 arrests per day during the month.

The total exceeded the previous monthly record of roughly 43,000 arrests recorded in June, making July the second consecutive month in which ICE reported record-breaking enforcement activity.

The rise in arrests follows President Donald Trump’s renewed push to expand immigration enforcement after returning to office. The administration has instructed federal agencies to increase operations targeting people living in the United States without legal status.

The intensified campaign has resulted in increased enforcement activity across the country, with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reporting a broader push to identify and remove individuals accused of violating immigration laws.

In Georgia, an expanded immigration enforcement operation resulted in the arrest of 1,226 people accused of immigration law violations.

ICE data also showed that more than 30 people were arrested at airports last month as part of expanded enforcement actions.

The increase in arrests comes as DHS reports a rise in deportations. The department announced in June that 356,389 people had been deported during the fiscal year to date.

DHS calls crackdown ‘public safety measure’

The Department of Homeland Security has tried to defend the expanded enforcement campaign, saying it is aimed at enforcing immigration laws and removing individuals it considers “threats to public safety.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “By removing these criminals, we are making America safe again.”

The increased enforcement activity has drawn criticism from immigrant advocates, who have raised concerns that some people detained during recent operations did not have criminal records and held valid work authorization or parole documents.

Advocates have questioned whether the expanded operations are affecting individuals beyond those with criminal histories.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Daniel Caine has privately urged senior Trump administration officials to seek a way to de-escalate the war with Iran, warning that further military escalation could achieve little while exposing US forces and allies to devastating retaliation, a report says.

CNN reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the discussions, that Caine raised his concerns with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance.

“Caine is looking for an off ramp,” one source told the outlet, as senior officials increasingly question whether President Donald Trump can force Tehran to accept his demands.

Caine and other senior officials were skeptical of a proposed escalation in late July because of fears that Iran could retaliate against US allies and regional energy infrastructure, the report said.

Trump ultimately postponed the operation after Persian Gulf partners warned that expanding the aggression could expose them to Iranian strikes, according to the report.

US officials are also increasingly concerned about depleted stocks of air-defense interceptors and precision munitions, potentially limiting Washington’s ability to sustain a prolonged war against Iran.

The report said officials are now searching for an outcome Trump could present as a political victory while leaving the door open to diplomacy, including a possible agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the consistent failure of the country’s war machine in the face of Iran’s retaliation and confronted Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over shortages of key US munitions, a report says.

According to a report carried by The Washington Post on Wednesday, the confrontation took place at Camp David last Friday, where Trump demanded answers from Hegseth over why he had apparently been given an “inaccurate picture” of US military capabilities as Washington faces shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors.

The shortages have become a constraint on American military options, with the United States running low, among other things, on Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems needed to protect American personnel stationed at the bases that have come under Iranian reprisal.

According to two people familiar with the situation, who were cited by The Post, Trump’s frustration over the situation boiled over during a Cabinet meeting.

The frustration peaked over “why he (Hegseht) had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran,” the sources told the daily.

Trump told Hegseth that he believed the munitions problem “had been fixed,” they said.

Hegseth reportedly attributed responsibility for the shortages and the failure to adequately communicate their extent to Deputy Secretary of War Stephen Feinberg.

The White House has, however, strongly denied that the confrontation occurred.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post that the report was “false” and rejected the account of a dispute between Trump and Hegseth.

The depletion of THAAD systems is particularly significant for US forces, given that Iranian strikes have targeted American personnel and positions in the region.

The shortages have also been cited as a reason Trump has refrained from ordering additional major strikes against Iran.

Late last month, American investigative outlet the Intercept cited a US official as saying that Iran had demonstrated an increasing ability to strike US military facilities across West Asia by combining attack drones with advanced ballistic missiles.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has issued a diplomatic warning to Bulgaria over reports that the country is preparing to host US military aircraft, while simultaneously securing assurances from Cyprus that foreign bases on its territory will not be used for hostile actions against the Islamic Republic.

In a telephone conversation with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ventsislava Petrova on Thursday, Araghchi firmly condemned Sofia’s reported agreement to allow the United States to station military aircraft at the Bezmer air base.

Tehran views the move as a direct contribution to US military posturing and tension-building in West Asia.

“Allowing the territory of one state to be used by another state for the purpose of committing an act of aggression against a third state constitutes an act of aggression itself,” Araghchi stated, citing Article 3 of UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, which defines acts of aggression under international law.

The Iranian foreign minister emphasized that such a decision is unacceptable and contradicts the traditional friendly relations between the two nations, urging the Bulgarian government to urgently reconsider its stance.

He reiterated that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to defend its national security and interests, warning that “any party that participates in any way in a military attack against Iran must bear responsibility for its consequences.”

In response, the Bulgarian foreign ninister recalled the historically good relations between the two countries, asserting that Bulgaria has no intention of participating in any war and reaffirming its commitment to diplomacy and regional de-escalation.

Securing neutrality in Cyprus

In a separate diplomatic push, Minister Araghchi spoke with Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos, stressing the critical importance of preventing hostile forces from misusing foreign military bases stationed in Cyprus to target Iran.

The Cypriot foreign minister affirmed his country’s commitment to the principles of international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Kombos announced that Cyprus has been in direct contact with the UK government and has received explicit assurances that the foreign military bases on the island will not be used against any country, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The diplomatic warnings come amid reports that the Bulgarian government is seeking parliamentary approval to station up to eight US aerial refueling tanker aircraft at the Bezmer military facility, located southeast of Sofia.

Public opposition to the US aggression against Iran is growing across the United States, with a new poll showing rising dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s handling of the war.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, conducted between July 23 and July 27, found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the war against Iran has not been worth fighting.

Only about two in 10 Americans support continuing the war against Iran. By comparison, about three in 10 favor pausing the aggression to pursue negotiations, while another two in 10 want the war to end altogether.

Even among Trump’s supporters, backing for the war was limited. The survey found that only about half favored continuing the war, while roughly three in 10 supported either a ceasefire or an immediate halt to US military aggression.

The poll also showed Trump’s approval rating for his handling of the Iran war falling to 28 percent down from 34 percent last month, while his overall job approval stood at 33 percent.

The backlash has extended to Trump’s political base, with Republican approval of his handling of the war dropping from 71 percent in June to 61 percent, signaling growing discontent over the military campaign.

Economic concerns also emerged as a major source of public dissatisfaction, with about 72 percent of respondents saying preventing further increases in domestic oil and gasoline prices is an extremely or very important priority.

About four in 10 Americans said gasoline prices have become a major source of financial stress in their daily lives, up from about three in 10 when the war began earlier this year.

The survey also found broad public support for diplomacy, with about 7 in 10 Americans saying securing a permanent ceasefire with Iran is an extremely or very important priority.

The latest round of aggression against Iran began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched large-scale strikes on Iranian territory.

Iran responded with daily waves of missile and drone attacks targeting US and Israeli assets across the region, while also restricting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran and the United States later signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17 in an effort to end the war across all fronts.

However, renewed US military aggression in recent weeks has prompted Tehran to resume missile and drone strikes against US assets in the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House Tuesday for his first in-person talks with President Donald Trump since the Iran war began, with the Israeli leader saying they discussed ensuring Tehran does not acquire nuclear arms.

The closed-door talks — which the White House described as “positive and productive” — lasted for about an hour and a half and came as Netanyahu and Trump sought to patch over public disagreements on the war.

Netanyahu said in a video message after the meeting that it was “one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with the president of the United States” and that it touched on “our common goal: ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.”

The Iran war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes but has seen a recent pause in the fighting, with Washington saying it wants to give negotiations a chance.

Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, which flared earlier this month as an April ceasefire collapsed.

The meeting was the eighth between the two leaders since Trump’s return to office in early 2025 and came ahead of key electoral tests later this year for both Netanyahu and the US president: national elections in Israel and midterm polls in the United States.

Netanyahu’s office said he attended a private memorial dinner in Washington on Monday evening in honor of the late senator Lindsey Graham.

He also went to a memorial service for Graham after the meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

Relations between Trump and Netanyahu reached a low point in April during negotiations on the ceasefire with Iran, with Trump unleashing profanity-laced tirades against his Israeli ally.

Trump later described Netanyahu in an interview as a “very difficult guy.”

Netanyahu downplayed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements,” saying they were aligned on the goals of the war.

On Tuesday, the leaders were expected to discuss the implementation of a US-sponsored framework deal signed by Israel and Lebanon last month, whose application on the ground has been challenging.

The talks were also expected to touch on Gaza, as diplomatic efforts to kick-start the devastated Palestinian territory’s reconstruction are at a standstill.

Nearly three years after the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, and Israel continues to regularly target people the military says are militants.

‘No break’ in ties

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday that Netanyahu’s visit came at a “critical time for the Middle East,” with Iran continuing “to choose terrorism over negotiations” and blocking the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.

Yonatan Freeman, an international relations expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the primary aim of the visit was to dispel reports of a cooling in ties between the allies.

“I think that the main issue… is to show the world, to show Iran, and also even Lebanon and others… that there is no break or any kind of major disagreement between the United States and Israel,” he told AFP.

“There’s more in agreement between the two leaders than disagreement.”

For Freeman, any differences between Trump and Netanyahu concern the means — timeline, intensity, immediate objectives of operations — rather than the ends of the war.

He also suggested that Trump would mainly seek to focus on his two regional priorities, namely Iran and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, rather than on Gaza, which he sees as less of a priority.

The Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered normalization agreements signed during Trump’s first term, under which Israel established formal diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for the first time. Morocco later followed.

But other observers believe that the talks could address the possible easing of Israel’s military presence in the region, such as in Lebanon, Syria or Gaza.

Source: AFP

Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have voted to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from office, a move protested by his lawyer to have been taken amid “immense political pressure.”

The vote was held during a special session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday.

According to diplomatic sources, 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted by “secret ballot” on Friday in favor of his dismissal, surpassing the 63 votes required for an absolute majority. Thirteen states voted against the motion, while 15 abstained.

ASP President Paivi Kaukoranta announced that member states had concluded Khan “committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty” by engaging in “prohibited conduct against a subordinate staff member.”

The decision takes immediate effect and marks the first time in the ICC’s 24-year history that a sitting chief prosecutor has been removed by member states. Elections for a successor will follow.

Khan’s lawyer, Tayab Ali, condemned the decision, saying it ignored due process concerns raised by more than 180 rights groups and legal experts.

“The decision is unsupported by any lawful or properly reasoned finding that Mr Khan KC committed misconduct or breached his duties as Prosecutor,” he said, adding that Khan “was never given a fair opportunity to be heard.” Ali also warned that “the Prosecutor of this Court has been removed by an executive vote while under sanctions and while the Court is under immense political pressure.”

The vote centered on findings by the ASP Bureau that “the evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt” that Khan engaged in a “sexual relationship” with a subordinate staff member, arguing that “in the context of that power imbalance a sexual relationship could never be appropriate.”

Khan denied any sexual relationship, while the complainant’s account, investigated by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), alleged non-consensual conduct.

The decision comes amid heightened political pressure on the court. It followed threats by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Washington would “dismantle the ICC – brick by brick, if necessary,” while many ICC officials, including Khan, remain under US sanctions related to investigations into Palestine and Afghanistan.

The disciplinary process also followed Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes committed during Tel Aviv’s war of genocide on the Gaza Strip.

The process drew criticism after a panel of judges reportedly concluded that the evidence “do[es] not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant framework,” but the ASP Bureau proceeded with disciplinary measures.

More than 180 Palestinian civil society organizations and rights groups argued the process “has been reduced to a political referendum following the national interests of individual States Parties.”

Iran’s Army has targeted two key US bases in Bahrain and Jordan in response to deadly American aerial assaults on the Islamic Republic.

The Army’s Public Relations Department said on Friday that the attacks, launched under the 24th phase of Operation Saeqe (Lightning), involved launching Arash kamikaze drones at fuel storage facilities, large equipment warehouses and sheds, and the accommodation quarters of the terrorist US military personnel at Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

Iranian drones, it added, also hit aircraft shelters, aircraft maintenance hangars, and accommodation facilities for forces of the aggressor US army at Jordan’s al-Azraq Air Base.

“Any action against the legitimate and lawful interests of the Iranian nation and the sacred Islamic Republic establishment will also jeopardize the security and economic interests of other countries in the region,” it asserted.

For thirteen consecutive nights, the US military has conducted waves of air raids on Iran, committing war crimes by targeting civilian sites.

In response, Iranian armed forces have launched heavy reprisal attacks against strategic American targets across West Asia.

The US attacks, which have mainly targeted southern Iranian provinces, have so far destroyed several infrastructure sites, such as bridges and water desalination plants, and killed 55 and injured 645 Iranians.

Source: Presstv

Iran’s Health Ministry says recent US airstrikes on the country have killed 53 people and injured 592 others, including women and children.

“From June 27 to 8:30 a.m. today (July 22), US airstrikes on our country left 592 injured and 53 martyrs,” Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Health Ministry’s Public Relations Center, said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Kermanpour said six women and three minors were among those killed, while 39 women and 23 minors were among the injured.

“So far, 535 people have been discharged [from hospital] after treatment, 36 are still hospitalized, and 21 people have been treated on site,” he added.

The US military has carried out waves of deadly strikes across southern Iran and reinstated an illegal blockade of Iranian ports in flagrant violation of a war-termination deal.

In response, Iranian armed forces have launched heavy reprisal attacks against strategic American targets across the region, declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed “until further notice” and at least until “the end of US interference in the region.”

The latest escalation comes after the US and Israel launched another round of aggression against Iran on February 28.

Iran swiftly retaliated by launching barrages of missiles and drones at the Israeli-occupied territories, as well as US bases and interests across the region.

Since then, the aggression has increasingly centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass.

Source: Presstv