U.S. Officially Withdraws from the World Health Organization

U.S. Officials Withdraws From WHO

Jim Hᴏft

After 77 years, the United States has officially severed ties with the World Health Organization (WHO).

President Donald Trump, fulfilling a promise he made to the American people, completed the withdrawal on Thursday, exactly one year after signing the executive order that set the wheels in motion.

The controversial Ethiopian politician and Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, practically begged the United States to rejoin the UN-run agency after Trump signed the executive order.

Reuters reported:

According to a press release from the U.S. Health and State Departments, the U.S. will only work with the WHO in a limited fashion in order to effectuate the withdrawal.

“We have no plans to participate as an observer, and we have no plans of rejoining,” a senior government health official said. The U.S. said it plans to work directly with other countries – rather than through an international organization – on disease surveillance and other public health priorities.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in a document released on Thursday that the government had ended its funding contributions to the agency. Trump had exercised his authority to pause the future transfer of any U.S. government resources to the WHO because the organization had cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, the HHS spokesperson said.

The U.S. flag had been removed from outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, according to witnesses.

More....

Rosenberg: WHY MIGHT WAR BE IMMINENT?

Is Trump poised to launch a massive Iran attack at any moment? I see 3 scenarios

Joel C. Rosenberg

This is getting little or no attention in the American or Western media.

But you need to know that a bloody new war could break out here in the coming hours or days.

Tensions here are sky high.

Events are moving rapidly.

And the prospect of an apocalyptic new missile war in the region is, I’m afraid, very real.

It is, by no means, certain.

But it’s already causing the Israeli military to go on full alert.

It’s causing government officials, journalists, and business leaders to alter their plans and avoid flying to Israel or other countries in the region this week.

No one knows exactly what’s about to happen.

But many suspect the U.S. is about to launch a massive military attack against the Iranian regime at any moment – and that Iran might then retaliate by firing hundreds or thousands of ballistic missiles at U.S., Arab, and Israeli targets.

Let me explain here on ALL ISRAEL NEWS, just as I’ll do tonight on THE ROSENBERG REPORT at 9 p.m. EST on TBN, including Part 2 of my exclusive interview with former Israeli Mossad chief Yossi Cohen.

WHY MIGHT WAR BE IMMINENT?

Thousands of Iranian protesters have been murdered by the tyrants in Tehran.

Some reports put the number between 15,000 and 20,000, or more.

Tens of thousands more have been arrested by the regime.

President Donald J. Trump has ordered two American aircraft carrier strike groups into the region, along with hundreds of fighter jets, bombers, missile defense batteries, and American troops.

Over the weekend, the president made huge headlines by calling for an end to so-called Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s 37-year-long reign of terror, telling Politico, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”

Trump called the Ayatollah “a sick man” whose “country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership.”

So, what will happen next in Iran?

I see three possible scenarios.

SCENARIO #1: PUNT

Trump talks tough against the regime but, in the end, does nothing, concluding that it’s simply too risky to his presidency, the roaring American economy, and Republican prospects in the midterm congressional elections this fall to do anything more.

Much of the media thinks Trump will punt [drop the ball].

Some say he has “chickened out” or “lost his nerve.”

Others say “the moment has passed,” and Trump would prefer a “negotiated settlement” to the crisis.

All that is possible.

But Trump and his team also see a high risk in his not keeping his word, especially with Moscow and Beijing watching.

The Commander in Chief told Iranians to pour into the streets and not to worry because the U.S. military was “locked and loaded and ready to move” if the Iranian regime started murdering the protesters.

When the regime did start its slaughter, Trump promised, “Help is on the way.”

Trump doesn’t want to be seen as a man of bluster rather than action.

So, I believe it’s more likely he will take action in the coming hours or days.

SCENARIO #2: PUNISH

Trump orders a large but limited strike designed to punish – but not topple – the Iranian regime for murdering so many protesters.

This is the most likely scenario, as I see it.

It would explain why Trump has ordered two aircraft carrier strike groups – one from Asia, the other from the Caribbean – to race to the Middle East, along with much more military hardware and American forces.

Under this scenario, the delay is to get properly prepared for action – not because Trump has lost his nerve.

SCENARIO #3: PERISH

Trump goes all-in and orders massive and continuous military attacks designed to decapitate the Iranian leadership and severely damage – even destroy – the leadership and offensive capabilities of Iran’s military, paramilitary, intelligence, and police and security forces in order to effect regime change, causing the Iranian regime to perish from the face of the earth.

To be sure, this is the riskiest, most expensive, and most controversial option.

Can the U.S. destroy the Iranian regime using only air power (and cyber warfare and possible special operations), without putting hundreds of thousands of boots on the ground in Iran?

I’m not sure they can.

And no one I know supports an American ground invasion of Iran in 2026, the way George W. Bush ordered a ground invasion of Iraq in 2003.

If Trump explicitly states he is trying to topple the regime and fails, his credibility would be severely harmed.

To be sure, if such a move is done right and succeeds, it could create the greatest geopolitical victory of the 21st century and the greatest accomplishment of Trump’s presidency.

Done wrong, however, it could prove disastrous.

Like so many, I want to see the Iranian people set free politically and spiritually.

But I’m not certain Trump is prepared to go that far.

I lean toward thinking that Trump is more inclined to go with scenario #2.

Regardless, I urge all Christians to pray without ceasing for the president, for the people of Iran, and for the peace of Jerusalem.

Trump warns Iran on nuclear reset as US carrier group deploys to Middle East

Trump warns Iran on nuclear reset as US carrier group deploys to Middle East

REUTERS

A US military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets will arrive in the Middle Eastregion in the coming days, two US officials said on Thursday, even as US President Donald Trump voices hopes of avoiding new military action against Iran.

US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several destroyers, and fighter aircraft, started moving from the Asia-Pacific last week as tensions between Iran and the United States soared following a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in recent months.

One official said additional air defense systems were also being considered for the Middle East. The United States often increases US troop levels in the Middle East during periods of heightened regional tensions, something experts note can be entirely defensive in nature.

However, the US military staged a major buildup last summer ahead of its June strikes against Iran's nuclear program, and later boasted about how it kept its intention to strike a secret.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but protests dwindled last week, and Trump's rhetoric regarding Iran has eased. He has turned his gaze to other geopolitical issues, including his pursuit of Greenland.

On Wednesday, Trump said he hoped there would not be further US military action in Iran, but said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear program.

"They can't do the nuclear," Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, noting major US air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025. "If they do it, it's going to happen again."

It is now at least seven months since the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, last verified Iran's stock of highly enriched uranium. Its own guidance is that it should be done monthly.

ran must file a report to the IAEA on what happened to those sites that were struck by the United States and nuclear material thought to be there, including an estimated 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level. That is enough material, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick.

Details of the agreement between the US and Hamas

Details of the agreement between the US and Hamas

Israel National News

The details of the agreement being developed between the United States and Hamas were revealed this evening (Thursday) on i24NEWS. The agreement concerns the disarmament of Hamas and includes several key principles.

According to the report, Hamas is expected to declare that "at Israel's request, it no longer poses a threat." The agreement will be based on a distinction between heavy, offensive weapons and light, personal, and defensive weapons, according to definitions that will be formulated by Hamas.

If signed, the agreement will be referred to as the "Understanding Agreement on the Issue of Weapons," rather than a "Weapons Surrender Agreement."

The agreement was first reported by Sky News Arabic, which reported that in exchange for recognition as a political body, Hamas would agree to surrender its weapons and provide maps of the tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

The sources mentioned that under the agreement, "the cessation of weapons use will allow some members of Hamas' leadership, both military and political, to leave the Gaza Strip with an American assurance that Israel will not harm them in the future."

The sources also added that the United States agreed to include several former Hamas police officers and officials in the management of "New Gaza," provided they undergo Israeli and American security screenings.

It was also reported that the US administration informed mediators that Israel has reservations about the agreement, especially regarding the possibility of Hamas remaining a political party in the Palestinian Arab arena.

After protests crushed, Iranian tells ToI many still hoping for US, Israel ‘savior’

After protests crushed, Iranian tells ToI many still hoping for US, Israel ‘savior’

Nava Freiberg

Still mourning the killing of his brother by government forces days earlier, a Tehran resident and fellow demonstrator painted a desperate and gruesome picture of conditions on the ground in Iran this week, with activists facing ongoing threats even as many still hope for foreign intervention, in a rare correspondence with Israeli media.

“The city smells of blood and death. Everyone carries grief in their hearts,” Ali, a pseudonym, told the Times of Israel on Monday.

Speaking as demonstrations appeared to have been halted by a brutal crackdown that saw thousands massacred by regime forces, Ali said protesters were hoping that both the United States and Israel would come to their aid by launching military action to assist in overthrowing the Islamic Republic.

“People are filled with rage,” he said. “They are simply waiting for a US and Israeli attack to put an end to this regime.”

A Tehran native who works in the city, Ali provided a written account in Farsi on condition of anonymity, as communication with foreign media, especially Israeli, poses a security risk.

The Times of Israel was able to reach Ali through Shervin Savadkoohi, an Iranian political exile and monarchist activist living in the United Kingdom, who has been working to get Iranians’ stories out amid regime efforts to quash accounts of what is happening inside the country.

While it was impossible to independently confirm his identity or accounts, Ali provided The Times of Israel with graphic images showing his deceased brother in a body bag and later being laid to rest, as well as hospital and police documents related to the incident.

Providing graphic photos of the incident, he recounted how, on January 9, he and his brothers were leading protesters when regime forces attacked the crowds: “My two brothers and I were on the front lines, leading others so people would stay motivated and not retreat. I, and one of my brothers, were hit by shotgun pellets, and my other brother was shot with live ammunition, later dying from severe bleeding.”

The protests began in late December as merchants went on strike over the plummeting value of the rial, with the country’s economy struggling to weather heavy international sanctions and leaders seen as unresponsive to people’s needs.

Within days, the demonstrations had spread across the country, bringing tens of thousands to the streets, many of whom began calling for an end to the Islamist regime ruling the country since the 1979 revolution that deposed Shah Reza Pahlavi, whose son urged on the protests from abroad.

Ali said the regime’s move to shut down internet access had made it difficult for protesters to organize, but demonstrations continued to take place spontaneously, with “braver individuals” guiding the rest of the crowd.

“All communication channels were blocked on the [first] nights of the protests — we didn’t even have access to phone calls,” he recalled.

A long-time opponent of the Islamic Republic, Ali said he also took part in the 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022 protests, but described the current unrest as “unprecedented.”

The regime’s response, which was largely shielded from international view by the internet shutdown, also seemed to be unprecedented, though reliable figures for the number of those injured, killed, or detained during the protests remain elusive.

Over the weekend, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that the protests have left “several thousand” dead. A report put together by Iranian doctors and cited by the Sunday Times put the death toll in the suppressed demonstrations at about 16,500.

Ali said he believed that “around 30,000 people have been killed.”

Though the protests appeared to have suppressed by early last week, the crackdown appears to be continuing.

A Wednesday report cited Iranian doctors alleging that Iranian security forces were deliberately firing at protesters’ heads and eyes to cause them debilitating injuries, with over 400 eye wounds said to be documented at a Tehran hospital.

Asked if protesters believe the regime can fall even amid the crackdown, Ali said that the tens of thousands who have taken to the street would need outside help. “Everyone is waiting for a savior, because this regime will not fall even with a million-person uprising — it will only produce more victims.”

More....