Author

admin

Browsing

First Majestic Silver (TSX:AG,NYSE:AG) CEO Keith Neumeyer’s silver price prediction of over US$100 per ounce came true in 2026. When will silver prices make a more lasting hold in triple digit territory?

The silver price was up over 189 percent year-on-year as of March 2, 2026, on the back of economic uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical tensions, as well as support from long-term demand fundamentals.

The silver price broke through its previous all-time high in October 2025, blasting through the US$50 per ounce mark. From then, it rallied to new highs again and again.

Only a few weeks into 2026, the price of silver finally hit triple digits when it overtook the US$100 level. It went on to rise to its latest all-time high of US$121.62, which it set on January 29, 2026.

The catalysts for silver’s price surge above the critical US$100 level included the trade tensions between the US and Europe following US President Donald Trump’s renewed bid for Greenland; Trump’s public statements about possible military airstrikes on Iran; and a significant structural supply deficit exacerbated by increased institutional investment demand.

Well-known figure Keith Neumeyer, CEO of First Majestic, had frequently said he believes the white metal could hit the US$100 mark or even reach as high as US$130 per ounce.

Neumeyer has voiced this opinion often over the past decade. He put up a US$130 price target in a November 2017 interview with Palisade Radio, when silver was just US$17 per ounce. He reiterated his triple-digit silver price forecast in multiple interviews with Kitco over the years, including one in March 2023.

In 2024, Neumeyer made his US$100 silver call in a conversation with ITM Trading’s Daniela Cambone at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, and in April of that year he acknowledged his reputation as the ‘triple-digit silver guy’ on the Todd Ault Podcast.

Speaking with Chris Marcus of Arcadia Economics on January 16, 2026, a day after the price of silver had broken through US$93 per ounce for the first time, Neumeyer stated that “triple digits is definitely on its way.” He was finally proven right less than two weeks later.

At times Neumeyer has been even bolder, suggesting in 2016 that silver could reach US$1,000 if gold were to hit US$10,000.

In order to better understand where Neumeyer’s opinion comes from and why a triple-digit silver price finally materialized, it’s important to take a look at the factors that affect the metal’s movements, as well as where prices have been in the past and where other industry insiders think silver could be headed.

First, let’s dive a little deeper into Neumeyer’s US$100 silver prediction.

In this article

    Why has Neumeyer called for a US$100 silver price?

    Neumeyer’s belief that silver could hit US$100 is based on a variety of factors, including its consistent deficit, its industrial demand and how undervalued it is compared to gold.

    When he first made the prediction more than a decade ago, there was significant distance for silver to go before it could reach the success Neumeyer had boldly predicted.

    Neumeyer expected a triple-digit silver price in part because he believed the market cycle could be compared to the year 2000, when investors were sailing high on the dot-com bubble and the mining sector was down. He believed it was only a matter of time before the market corrected, like it did in 2001 and 2002, and commodities would see a big rebound in pricing. It was during 2000 that Neumeyer himself invested heavily in mining stocks and came out on top.

    “I’ve been calling for triple-digit silver for a few years now, and I’m more enthused now,” Neumeyer said at an event in January 2020, noting that there are multiple factors behind his reasoning. “But I’m cautiously enthused because, you know, I thought it would have happened sooner than it currently is happening.”

    Another factor driving Neumeyer’s position is his belief that the silver market is in a deficit at a time when demand is rising from new industrial sectors. In a December 2023 interview with Kitco, Neumeyer stressed that silver is more than just a poor man’s gold and he spoke to silver’s important role in electric vehicles and solar cells.

    In line with this view on silver, First Majestic is a member of a consortium of silver producers that in January 2024 sent a letter to the Canadian government urging that silver be recognized as a critical mineral.

    Silver’s inclusion on the list would allow silver producers to accelerate the development of strategic projects with financial and administrative assistance from the government.

    In this 2024 PDAC interview, Neumeyer once again highlighted what he says is a sizable imbalance in the silver’s supply-demand picture. “We’re six years into this deficit. The deficit in 2024 looks like it’s gonna be bigger than 2023, and why is that? Because miners aren’t producing enough silver for the needs of the human race,” he said.

    More controversially, Neumeyer is of the opinion that the white metal will eventually become uncoupled from its sister metal gold, and should be seen as a strategic metal due to its necessity in many everyday appliances, from computers to electronics, as well as the technologies mentioned above. He has also stated that silver production has gone down in recent years, meaning that contrary to popular belief, he believes the metal is actually a rare commodity.

    Neumeyer’s March 2023 triple-digit silver call was a long-term call, and he explained that while he believed gold would break US$3,000 that year, he thought silver will only reach US$30. However, once the gold-silver ratio is that unbalanced, he believes that silver will begin to take off, and it would just need a catalyst.

    ‘It could be Elon Musk taking a position in the silver space,’ Neumeyer said. ‘There’s going to be a catalyst at some time, and headlines in the Wall Street Journal might talk about the silver supply deficit … I don’t know what the catalyst will be, but investors and institutions will wake up to the fundamentals of the metal, and that’s when it will start to move.’

    In 2024, gold experienced a resurgence in investor attention as the potential for US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts came into view. In an interview with Cambone at PDAC 2024, Neumeyer countered that perception, stating, “There’s a rush into gold because of the de-dollarization of the world. It has nothing to do with the interest rates.”

    In an April 2025 Money Metals podcast, Neumeyer reiterated his belief that silver is in an extreme supply deficit and that eventually silver prices will have to rise in order to incentivize silver miners to dig up more of the metal.

    ‘You need triple-digit silver just to motivate the mining companies to start investing again because the mining companies aren’t going to make the investment because there’s just so much risk in it,’ he said.

    After the price of silver surged from the US$50 level up into more than US$70 per ounce in late December 2025, Neumeyer actually cautioned investors not to get too excited about a potential quick run to US$100 during an interview with The Deep Dive.

    “I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t go to US$100 on this move. I don’t think that would be particularly healthy at all. I would prefer to see it start to slow down here and chalk a little bit sideways for two to three months and find a level that people can get use to. It’s going to take sometime for people to get used to US$70 silver,” he advised.

    While he admitted high silver prices are great for silver producers such as First Majestic and their shareholders, he said “personally, I’d rather see some stability,” and have silver reach triple digits in 12 to 24 months out so that the mining sector has more time to react and better take advantage of higher silver prices.

    A month later, when silver was above US$100 per ounce, during an interview with Kitco at the 2026 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC), Neumeyer said, “calling triple digit silver and it’s actually happening is pretty interesting,” but he believes it’s still early stages in this new bull market and he’s done predicting metals prices.

    “What we do know is that we’ve created a new pricing paradigm, we’re not going back to the old pricing that we’re all used to over the past 20 or 30 years,” he added.

    What factors affect the silver price?

    In order to glean a better understanding of the precious metal’s chances of breaching the US$100 range again, it’s important to examine the elements that could push it to that level or pull it further away.

    The strength of the US dollar and Fed rate changes are factors that will continue to affect the precious metal, as are geopolitical issues and supply and demand dynamics.

    Although Neumeyer believes that the ties that bind silver to gold need to be broken, the reality is that most of the same factors that shape the price of gold also move silver.

    For that reason, it’s helpful to look at gold price drivers when trying to understand silver’s price action. Silver is, of course, the more volatile of the two precious metals, but nevertheless it often trades in relative tandem with gold.

    First, it’s useful to understand that higher interest rates are generally negative for gold and silver, while lower rates tend to be positive. That’s because when rates are higher, investment demand shifts to products that can accrue interest.

    The Fed’s rate moves have played a key role in pumping up silver prices over the past year. However, Trump doesn’t think Fed Chair Jerome Powell is lowering rates fast enough.

    Trump’s feud with the Fed over interest rates escalated in early January 2026 when the US Department of Justice served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas targeting Powell with a criminal indictment. The uncertainty over Fed independence is driving gold prices higher as investors expect a weaker dollar.

    While central bank actions are important for gold, and by extension silver, another key price driver lately has been geopolitical uncertainty. The past decade has been filled with major geopolitical events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war, and rising tensions between the US and other countries including Russia, China and Iran, and more recently Venezuela, Canada and Denmark.

    Trump’s tariffs have also rattled stock markets and ratcheted up the level of economic uncertainty pervading the landscape in 2025 and continuing into this year. This has proved price positive for gold and silver, with silver outperforming gold in the last year.

    However, silver’s industrial side can not be ignored. In an economically uncertain environment, the industrial case of silver could weaken in the short term, but in the longer term silver’s demand side is still highly prospective for larger gains.

    Samuelson explained in March 2025 that silver is particularly vulnerable to a supply shock as the London Bullion Market Association’s physical silver supplies had already decreased by 30 to 40 percent, while gold had only lost 3 to 4 percent.

    The next month, Smirnova explained that silver has been in a supply deficit of 150 million to 200 million ounces annually, but production has been stagnant or declining over the past decade.

    Looking at the runup in silver prices into the triple digits that occurred in late 2025 to early 2026, this structural supply-demand deficit, magnified by an explosion in industrial demand for solar energy and AI data centers, played an outsized role. Further adding fuel to the fire was record-low physical inventory levels in COMEX and Shanghai vaults, which caused a shift from ‘paper’ silver to physical hoarding.

    Higher industrial demand from emerging sectors due to factors like the transition to renewable energy and the emergence of AI technology will be highly supportive for the metal over the next few years. Solar panels are an especially exciting sector as manufacturers have found increasing the silver content increases energy efficiency.

    Frank Holmes of US Global Investors (NASDAQ:GROW) said in a December interview that silver’s “ability to be a transformative part of renewable energy,” particularly in solar panels, is an outsized factor in the latest run in the silver price. “And I don’t think that is going to go away,” he added.

    Could silver hit US$100 per ounce again?

    It seems likely that we will reach a US$100 per ounce silver price again in 2026 as there is plenty of support for Neumeyer’s belief that the metal is undervalued and that “ideal conditions are present for silver prices to rise.”

    For much of 2025, silver and gold rose higher on factors including persistent inflationary pressures brought on by Trump’s aggressive tariff announcements and the ongoing geopolitical risks in the Middle East. The commodity’s price uptick also came on the back of very strong silver investment demand.

    In the fourth quarter, silver rapidly outpaced gold’s gains, and by early January silver reached US$95, more than doubling in value from its Q3 close of US$46. It continued higher to breach US$120 by the end of the month.

    While silver and gold prices both pulled back significantly over the following days, silver spent February consolidating and stabilized above the US$80 mark in the second half of the month.

    On March 1, the silver price once again approached the US$100 mark as the US started a war with Iran, peaking at US$96.40 before seeing a smaller pull back.

    As silver’s momentum continues upwards and the price stabilizes at these higher values, silver market experts are agreeing with Neumeyer’s triple-digit silver hypothesis that the price of silver still has further room to grow.

    “You know, whether in the short term or the long term, one way or another, we’re going to run into a supply demand brick wall. And when that day happens, we could see triple-digit silver prices in a very, very short period of time,” he said. “I figure it’s going to be US$200 to US$400 an ounce, at least, before this is all over.”

    This set up bodes well for those not only invested in physical silver, but in silver mining stocks as well.

    “I have to be honest, I was not necessarily expecting triple-digit silver this quite this fast,” he said. “I was saying, if and when we break through US$54 silver, then the path of least resistance becomes a conservative, measured move target of US$96 or within a few pennies … So, I’m not really surprised at all, and in fact, I think we’re headed higher in the fullness of time.’

    Penny sees Fed policy actions as a potential catalyst for silver’s next leg up.

    “I think it’ll be the Fed’s response to the next crisis that causes the big move, the 1979 moment where you go up,” he explained, noting that in 1979, the price of silver went up 700 percent in 12 months. “I think that that moment still lies ahead. It’ll be the Fed’s response to the next crisis that is the catalyst for that huge move.”

    Eugenia Mykuliak, founder and executive director of B2PRIME Group, shared another reason she believes Fed rate cuts are bullish for silver.

    In late January, Citigroup (NYSE:C) analysts upgraded their silver forecast to US$150 per ounce in the second quarter of 2026. ‘We expect the bullish factors to stay intact in the very near term, supporting strong investment/speculation demand and likely leading to further physical tightening in major ex-US trading hubs,’ said the firm.

    FAQs for silver

    Why is silver so cheap?

    The primary reason that silver is sold at a significant discount to gold is supply and demand, with more silver being mined annually. While silver does have both investment and industrial demand, the global focus on gold as an investment vehicle, including countries stockpiling gold, can overshadow silver.

    Additionally, jewelry alone is a massive force for gold demand.

    There is an abundance of silver — according to the US Geological Survey, to date 1,740,000 metric tons (MT) of silver have been discovered, while only 244,000 MT of gold have been found, a ratio of about 1 ounce of gold to 7.1 ounces of silver. In terms of output, 26,000 MT of silver were mined in 2025 compared to 3,300 MT for gold.

    Looking at these numbers, that puts gold and silver production at about a 1:7.88 ratio last year, while the price ratio on March 3, 2026, was around 1:62 — a huge disparity.

    Can silver hit $1,000 per ounce?

    As things are now, it seems unlikely, and at the same time almost a possibility, that silver will ever reach highs of US$1,000 per ounce, which Keith Neumeyer predicted in 2016 could happen if gold ever climbed to US$10,000 per ounce.

    This is related to the gold to silver production ratio discussed above. At the time of the 2016 prediction, this ratio was around 1 ounce of gold to 9 ounces of silver, or 1:9.

    If silver was priced according to production ratio today, when gold is at US$5,000 per ounce, then silver should be around US$555. However, the gold to silver pricing ratio today is around 1:62, although that’s a bit lower than the typical range of 1:70 to 1:90. In early March 2026, gold is trading around US$5,100 per ounce and silver is about US$82 per ounce.

    Is silver really undervalued?

    Many experts believe that silver is undervalued compared to fellow currency metal gold. As discussed, their production and price ratios are currently incredibly disparate.

    While investment demand is higher for gold, silver has seen increasing time in the limelight in recent years, including a 2021 silver squeeze that saw new entrants to the market join in.

    Another factor that lends more intrinsic value to silver is that it’s an industrial metal as well as a precious metal. It has applications in technology and batteries — both growing sectors that will drive demand higher.

    Silver’s two sides have remained prominent as the market navigates persistent supply shortages and shifting investor sentiment. Following a record high in 2022, according to data from the Silver Institute, silver demand reached 1.16 billion ounces in 2024, supported by a fourth consecutive year of record industrial fabrication at 680.5 million ounces. However, total 2024 demand saw a 3 percent decline due to a 22 percent drop in physical investment, which hit a five-year low as Western investors took profits at higher prices.

    Is silver better than gold?

    There are merits for both metals, especially as part of a well-balanced portfolio. As many analysts point out, silver has been known to outperform its sister metal gold during times of economic prosperity and expansion.

    On the other hand, during economic uncertainty silver values are impacted by declines in fabrication demand.

    Silver’s duality as a precious and industrial metal also provides price support. As a report from the CPM Group notes, “it can be seen that silver in fact almost always (but not always) out-performs gold during a gold bull market.”

    At what price did Warren Buffet buy silver?

    Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) bought up 37 percent of global silver supply between 1997 and 2006. Silver ranged from US$4 to US$10 during that period.

    In fact, between July 1997 and January 1998 alone, the company bought about 129 million ounces of the metal, much of which was for under US$5. Adjusted for inflation, the company’s purchases in that window cost about US$8.50 to US$11.50.

    How to invest in silver?

    There are a variety of ways to get into the silver market. For example, investors may choose to put their money into silver-focused stocks by buying shares of companies focused on silver mining and exploration, or even precious metals royalty stocks. As a by-product metal, investors can also gain exposure to silver through some gold companies.

    There are also silver exchange-traded funds that give broad exposure to silver companies and the metal itself, while more experienced traders may be interested in silver futures. And of course, for those who prefer a more tangible investment, purchasing physical bullion in silver bar and silver coin form is also an option.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    Apple’s all-new MacBook features a durable aluminum design, a stunning 13-inch Liquid Retina display, the power of Apple silicon, and all-day battery life — all for the breakthrough starting price of just $599

    Apple® today unveiled MacBook Neo ™, an all-new laptop that delivers the magic of the Mac® at a breakthrough price, making it even more accessible to millions of people around the world. MacBook Neo starts with a beautiful Apple design, featuring a durable aluminum enclosure in an array of gorgeous colors — blush, indigo, silver, and a fresh new citrus. Its stunning 13-inch Liquid Retina® display brings websites, photos, videos, and apps to life with high resolution and brightness, and support for 1 billion colors. Powered by A18 Pro, MacBook Neo can fly through everyday tasks, from browsing the web and streaming content, to editing photos, exploring creative hobbies, or using AI capabilities across apps. In fact, it’s up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks like web browsing, 1 and up to 3x faster when running on-device AI workloads like applying advanced effects to photos, 2 compared to the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5. Providing up to 16 hours of battery life, MacBook Neo allows users to go all day on a single charge. 3 A 1080p FaceTime HD® camera and dual mics make it easy to look and sound great, and the dual side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio deliver crisp, immersive sound. MacBook Neo also features Apple’s renowned Magic Keyboard® for comfortable and precise typing, and a large Multi-Touch™ trackpad with support for intuitive gestures, enabling smooth and precise control. Completing the MacBook Neo experience is macOS® Tahoe, with powerful built-in apps like Messages, Pages, Calendar, and Safari®; seamless integration with iPhone®; Apple Intelligence™; as well as broad compatibility with third-party apps. And starting at just $599 and $499 for education, MacBook Neo is Apple’s most affordable laptop ever, providing an unprecedented combination of quality and value. MacBook Neo is available to pre-order starting today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

    ‘We’re incredibly excited to introduce MacBook Neo, which delivers the magic of the Mac at a breakthrough price,’ said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. ‘Built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people, MacBook Neo is a laptop only Apple could create. It features a durable aluminum design in four beautiful colors; a brilliant Liquid Retina display; Apple silicon-powered performance; all-day battery life; a high-quality camera, mics, and speakers; a Magic Keyboard and Multi-Touch trackpad; and the intuitive and powerful features of macOS. There is simply no other laptop like it.’

    Beautiful and Durable Aluminum Design

    MacBook Neo features a beautifully crafted aluminum design that’s built to last. With its soft, rounded corners, MacBook Neo looks elegant while feeling solid and comfortable to hold. At just 2.7 pounds, it’s also easy to carry in a backpack or handbag. Bringing a fun touch of personality and style to everyday computing, MacBook Neo comes in a spectrum of four gorgeous colors: blush, indigo, silver, and citrus. These colors extend to the Magic Keyboard in lighter shades and new wallpapers, creating a cohesive design aesthetic and making MacBook Neo the most colorful MacBook® yet.

    Stunning 13-Inch Liquid Retina Display

    A gorgeous 13-inch Liquid Retina display features a 2408-by-1506 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and support for 1 billion colors, bringing to life sharp, crystal-clear text and vibrant images. The display is both brighter and higher in resolution than most PC laptops in this price range, putting it in a class of its own. Finally, an anti-reflective coating provides a comfortable viewing experience in a variety of lighting conditions, allowing users to watch movies, edit photos, or take video calls from anywhere.

    Apple Silicon-Powered Performance

    At the heart of MacBook Neo is A18 Pro, enabling users to power through things they do every day, like browsing the web, creating documents, streaming content, editing photos, and taking advantage of AI. Users can seamlessly work between their favorite apps, like Messages, WhatsApp, Canva, Excel, Safari, and more. MacBook Neo with A18 Pro is up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5. 1 And for more demanding activities, it’s up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads 2 and up to 2x faster for tasks like photo editing. 4 The integrated 5-core GPU brings graphics to life while playing action-packed games or exploring creative hobbies. And a 16-core Neural Engine supports fast on-device Apple Intelligence features and everyday AI tasks like summarizing notes in Bear or using the Clean Up tool in the Photos app, while ensuring user data stays private and secure. MacBook Neo is also fanless, so it runs completely silent.

    All-Day Battery Life

    Thanks to the incredible power efficiency of Apple silicon, MacBook Neo delivers up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge. 3 This makes it a perfect on-the-go companion for work or play, from the classroom to the coffee shop, and everywhere in between.

    Magic Keyboard and New Multi-Touch Trackpad

    MacBook Neo features Apple’s much-loved Magic Keyboard, which provides a comfortable, precise typing experience, while a large Multi-Touch trackpad lets users click, scroll, swipe, and pinch anywhere on its surface. The MacBook Neo model with Touch ID® enables easy, quick, and secure login authentication, and the ability to conveniently authorize purchases using Apple Pay®.

    1080p Camera; Dual Speakers and Mics

    The 1080p FaceTime HD camera on MacBook Neo has optimized image processing to deliver vibrant video calls. Dual mics with directional beamforming are designed to reduce background noise and isolate a user’s voice, allowing it to come across loud and clear for an excellent video conferencing experience. And dual side-firing speakers with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos produce immersive sound for watching a movie, listening to music, or using apps like GarageBand®.

    Essential Connectivity

    MacBook Neo features two USB-C ports for connecting accessories or an external display. 5 Both ports can be used for charging. MacBook Neo also includes a headphone jack for wired audio. Wi-Fi 6E provides fast wireless connectivity, and Bluetooth 6 ensures reliable wireless connections for peripherals and accessories.

    Powerful Productivity with macOS

    macOS is Apple’s powerful and intuitive operating system for Mac. 6 With incredible features and built-in apps like Safari, Photos, Messages, and FaceTime, macOS enables users to get started right out of the box. Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools, Live Translation, and more are deeply integrated across macOS, elevating the user experience by bringing intelligence to the apps users rely on every day. 7 Advanced privacy and security also come standard, featuring industry‑leading encryption, robust virus protections, and automatic free security updates to help keep users protected.

    Seamless Integration with iPhone

    iPhone users can tap in to Continuity features built in to macOS to make working across iPhone and Mac a breeze. Handoff® lets users start a task on MacBook Neo and continue it on iPhone, while Universal Clipboard allows users to copy and paste content between devices. With iPhone Mirroring, users can view and interact with their iPhone directly on MacBook Neo, and users switching to Mac for the first time can use iPhone to conveniently and securely transfer settings, files, photos, passwords, and more.

    Built with the Environment in Mind

    MacBook Neo was built from the ground up to be Apple’s lowest-carbon MacBook, and brings the company even closer to reaching its ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030. It features 60 percent recycled content — the highest percentage of any Apple product. 8 This includes 90 percent recycled aluminum overall and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. The enclosure is manufactured with a material-efficient forming process that uses 50 percent less aluminum compared to traditional machining methods. MacBook Neo is manufactured with 45 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. It also meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. Additionally, the paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled. 9

    Pricing and Availability

    Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1 Testing was conducted by Apple in January and February 2026 using preproduction MacBook Neo systems with Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB SSD, as well as production Intel Core Ultra 5-based PC systems with Intel Graphics, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and the latest version of Windows 11 Home available at the time of testing. Bestselling PC laptop with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5 processor is based on publicly available sales data over the prior six months. Speedometer 3.1 performance benchmark tested with pre-release Safari 26.3 on macOS Tahoe, and both Chrome 144.0.7559.110 and Edge 144.0.3719.104 on Windows 11 Home. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Neo.

    2 Testing was conducted by Apple in January and February 2026 using preproduction MacBook Neo systems with Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB SSD, as well as production Intel Core Ultra 5-based PC systems with Intel Graphics, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and the latest version of Windows 11 Home available at the time of testing. Bestselling PC laptop with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5 processor is based on publicly available sales data over the prior six months. Adobe Photoshop 2026 27.3.0 tested using the following filters and functions: super zoom, depth blur, JPEG artifact removal, style transfer, photo restoration, and landscape mixer. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Neo.

    3 Testing was conducted by Apple in January 2026 using preproduction MacBook Neo systems with Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB SSD. Wireless web battery life tested by browsing 25 popular websites while connected to Wi-Fi. Video streaming battery life tested with 1080p content in Safari while connected to Wi-Fi. All systems tested with display brightness set to eight clicks from bottom. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See apple.com/batteries for more information.

    4 Testing was conducted by Apple in January and February 2026 using preproduction MacBook Neo systems with Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 256GB SSD, as well as production Intel Core Ultra 5-based PC systems with Intel Graphics, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and the latest version of Windows 11 Home available at the time of testing. Bestselling PC laptop with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5 processor is based on publicly available sales data over the prior six months. Tested with Affinity v3.0.3.4027 using the built-in benchmark 30000. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Neo.

    5 MacBook Neo features two USB-C ports — USB 3 (left) and USB 2 (right). External display connectivity supported on left USB 3 port only.

    6 macOS Tahoe is available as a free software update. Some features may not be available in all regions or in all languages. See requirements at apple.com/os/macos .

    7 Apple Intelligence is available in beta with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/en-us/121115 .

    8 Product recycled or renewable content is the mass of certified recycled material relative to the overall mass of the device, not including packaging or in-box accessories. Comparison excludes accessories.

    9 Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations.

    NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple Newsroom ( www.apple.com/newsroom ), or email Apple’s Media Helpline at media.help@apple.com .

    © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, MacBook Neo, Mac, Liquid Retina, FaceTime HD, Magic Keyboard, Multi-Touch, macOS, Safari, iPhone, Apple Intelligence, MacBook, Touch ID, Apple Pay, Garage Band, Handoff, Apple Store, Apple Trade In, AppleCare, AppleCare+, AppleCare One, Today at Apple, Apple Card, and Daily Cash are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260304013394/en/

    Starlayne Meza
    Apple
    starlayne_meza@apple.com

    News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt would not rule out the possibility of the U.S. sending ground troops to Iran, though she said Wednesday it is not being considered at the moment.

    During the first White House press briefing since Operation Epic Fury was launched, a reporter asked whether ground troops would be sent into Iran.

    ‘Well, they’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time, but I certainly will never take away military options on behalf of the president of the United States or the commander in chief, and he wisely does not do the same for himself,’ Leavitt said.

    ‘I know there’s many leaders in the past who like to take options off of the table without having a full understanding of how things could develop. So, again, it’s not part of the current plan, but I’m not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table.’

    Since Saturday, the U.S. and Israel have carried out attacks on Iran using airstrikes and naval attacks, but neither country has put boots on the ground. The attacks that have been carried out thus far have targeted the regime’s security and military infrastructure, including the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.

    Leavitt said the U.S. has four main objectives with Operation Epic Fury: eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile threat, destroy its naval capability, disrupt its missile and drone production infrastructure and cut off Iran’s pathway to a nuclear weapon.

    The press secretary was asked multiple times if the U.S. wished to see regime change in Iran. She repeated the objectives she previously detailed and reiterated the administration’s stance on the regime.

    ‘Obviously, as the president has said numerous times, do we want to see Iran being led by a rogue terrorist regime? No, of course not,’ Leavitt said.

    So far, the U.S. has hit nearly 2,000 targets in Iran, and more than 17,500 Americans have returned to U.S. soil from the Middle East since the operation began.

    Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave an operational update earlier on Wednesday, saying he U.S. was ‘decisively’ winning, and later adding that Iran was ‘toast’ and if it didn’t already realize it, it would ‘soon enough.’

    ‘I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Epic Fury. America is winning — decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,’ Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon.

    ‘The two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies. Uncontested airspace.’

    Related Article

    74 retired US generals, admirals back Iran strikes, warn Tehran seeks to ‘spill American blood’
    74 retired US generals, admirals back Iran strikes, warn Tehran seeks to ‘spill American blood’

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    House Republicans are signaling that they’re largely OK giving President Donald Trump the reins as the U.S. and Israel continue their joint operation against Iran.

    But one red line looms on the horizon for most GOP lawmakers, one that would put dozens of them in a difficult position between supporting their party leader and keeping in line with Congress’ constitutional authorities.

    ‘I would like to see congressional approval for boots on the ground,’ Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. He added, however, that ‘right now, it’s just an intervention, which is very similar to what Obama and Clinton and other presidents throughout my lifetime have done.’

    The ongoing strikes, which killed Iran’s supreme leader and other high-ranking members of Tehran’s repressive regime, have so far been comprised of coordinated missile launches on military targets.

    But the Trump administration has not ruled out having a U.S. presence on the ground there despite assurances that the mission will be finite and only lasting a matter of weeks rather than months or years.

    ‘The president is doing what he should be doing. … I agree with the policy,’ Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. ‘If at some point this extends beyond … in terms of boots on the ground and budgetary need and scope, that starts to then demand our involvement, then we’ll look at it.’

    Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she too backed the operation, but added, ‘If ground troops get involved, I think that’s a very different conversation. That’s not where we are today.’

    ‘We’re taking it day by day at this point to see how things progress, but that would certainly be something that we as Congress would like to be involved in the discussion,’ Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital.

    But he also argued that forcing the operation to end too early could do more harm than good.

    ‘Once the president has taken that action, that first action, if we were to pull back, it would actually leave us more vulnerable and less safe by leaving all of their capabilities in place but having started a conflict like this,’ Mackenzie said. 

    ‘So, we do need to follow through on the objectives, but we also need to be very much on guard to make sure that it doesn’t expand beyond what we are able to achieve.’

    Others, like Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., were skeptical it would get to that point.

    ‘I don’t think we’re going to get to that point. This is much different than Iraq or Afghanistan. The capabilities that we’ve developed, the intelligence that we developed, working with the IDF — we had the capabilities now that we did not have,’ Alford told Fox News Digital.

    ‘Now, should it come to boots on the ground, which I don’t think it will, that’s an entirely different story. … We’re only five days into this, and I think what you’ve seen so far is having tremendous effect.’

    Related Article

    JONATHAN TURLEY: How Trump boxed Congress into fight or flight choice on Iran
    JONATHAN TURLEY: How Trump boxed Congress into fight or flight choice on Iran

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    New York’s Medicaid program is being thoroughly examined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, who claims there is evidence of widespread fraud. 

    In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday, Oz asked state officials 50 questions about the program and gave Hochul and her team 30 days to get the requested information to the Trump administration.

    Oz asked that she and her team give CMS detailed information on ‘program integrity and provider screening and enrollment oversight within New York’s Medicaid program.’

    ‘Recent data reporting, federal prosecutions, and analyses raise serious concerns about New York’s oversight of personal care, home health, adult day care programming, non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), and behavioral health services,’ Oz’s letter addressed to Hochul and several state health officials read. ‘This evidence, combined with New York’s elevated per capita Medicaid spending and workforce utilization patterns that significantly exceed national norms, underscore the need for immediate investigation, corrective action, and enhanced transparency.’

    ‘The data is clear: New York far outspends other states on its Medicaid program on a statewide and per beneficiary basis,’ he added.

    In a video message, Oz said New York spends more than $100 billion a year on Medicaid, the second highest in the nation. He said New York’s average spending on each beneficiary is more than $12,500, 36% higher than the national average. 

    ‘As a result, New York’s average Medicaid spending per resident was the highest in the country, nearly 80% higher than the national average,’ Oz said in the video.

    ‘That alone demands scrutiny. But it gets worse. Personal care services, these help Medicaid patients do something that our families would normally do for us, like carrying groceries. New York State made the screening even more lenient by allowing problems like being ‘easily distracted’ to qualify for a personal care assistant. And that’s led to 45 billion in spending in just over two years,’ Oz added.

    Last year, Oz said, 5 million beneficiaries — nearly three out of four enrollees — received those personal care services. He argued that that level of utilization is ‘unheard of’ and has made personal care services ‘the number one occupation in New York state.’ He argued New York has turned a program intended to help the most vulnerable into ‘a massive jobs program reimbursed by federal taxpayers.’

    Oz also argued that home health aide payments jumped by 65% year over year twice in a row, even though the number of patients did not increase ‘at that crazy high rate.’

    He said adult daycare spending spiked by more than 100% in the last three months while federal prosecutors found a $68 million alleged fraud scheme involving kickbacks at the adult care centers.

     ‘This isn’t about politics,’ Oz said. ‘It’s about protecting patients and protecting taxpayers. We owe New Yorkers transparency. We owe beneficiaries integrity. And we owe the American people accountability.’

     ‘When the numbers don’t make sense, we ask hard questions, and we expect an honest answer,’ he said. ‘Governor Hochul has a month to share a reasonable corrective action plan to fix the fraud, waste and abuse in New York state or CMS will start deferring payments to protect Medicaid.’

    A spokesperson for Hochul told Fox News Digital that she was leading efforts to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid before President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The spokesperson also said that Hochul’s office would work with the administration to ‘identify bad actors.’ However, the spokesperson also classified CMS’s probe as politically motivated.

    ‘Well before the Trump administration even took office, Governor Hochul was leading efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse — including sweeping CDPAP reforms that shut down hundreds of wasteful Medicaid middlemen and saved over $2 billion for state and federal taxpayers while protecting home care for those who need it,’ a spokesperson for Hochul told Fox News Digital.

    ‘But let’s be clear about the real goal for Donald Trump and Washington Republicans: eliminating programs that support our most vulnerable and ripping away healthcare from everyday New Yorkers,’ the spokesperson added.

    The probe into the state’s handling of Medicaid comes amid recent positive interactions between Trump and Democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The two have exchanged niceties and met at the White House last week.

    On Tuesday, Trump posted a photo of Mamdani in front of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office and said, ‘Zohran has come a long way embracing, of course, the Declaration of Independence while at the Oval Office — Big progress!’

    Fox News Digital also reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.

    Related Article

    Eyeing 2028, Dem Gov Shapiro leans into fraud crackdown, boosting tough-on-crime image
    Eyeing 2028, Dem Gov Shapiro leans into fraud crackdown, boosting tough-on-crime image

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    A House Democrat with a background in physics is sounding the alarm over what he views as a lack of a plan to deal with Iran’s nuclear sites during the U.S. offensive campaign.

    After a classified briefing Tuesday with top administration officials, Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said lawmakers were not presented with a clear plan to secure or neutralize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

    ‘We have heard that they never had a plan for that nuclear stockpile of enriched uranium — to destroy that, to seize it or to put it under international inspection,’ he

    The U.S. intervention was publicly justifiedby the Trump administration as a necessary step to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 

    U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran, including ballistic missile launch sites, air defenses, naval assets and command centers. Core nuclear facilities, however, have not been among the primary targets.

    ‘Until that happens, Iran will be very, very close to making — as many observers have pointed out in a nonclassified situation — Iran can use that material to make a handful of Hiroshima-style nuclear devices,’ Foster told Fox News Digital. ‘Not the sort you can put on a missile, but the sort you can deliver by a number of other ways and are very hard to stop.’ 

    Foster was referring to Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, material that, if weaponized, could be used to build a nuclear explosive device.

    Experts note that building a compact warhead that fits on a ballistic missile is technically complex and requires advanced engineering. But a simpler, larger nuclear device — similar in basic concept to the bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 — would not need to be miniaturized to fit on a missile. Such a device could not be delivered by long-range rocket but could theoretically be transported by other means.

    Foster argued that containing Iran’s nuclear materials, most of which are buried deep underground, would likely require U.S. forces to enter Iran.

    Recent satellite imagery shows damage to support buildings and access points at Iran’s Natanz enrichment site, though the deepest underground infrastructure at key nuclear facilities has not been confirmed as a primary target in the current campaign.

    U.S. and international officials previously have acknowledged that while strikes can damage enrichment infrastructure, stockpiled enriched uranium stored underground may remain intact and potentially retrievable unless physically secured or removed.

    ‘You have to go in there with boots on the ground and grab a bunch of equipment,’ Foster said. ‘You have to go underground into those facilities and lose a lot of soldiers’ lives doing that.

    ‘They’re unwilling to do that, or they’ve decided not to or they’ve decided it’s impossible. In any case, they did not present to us any plan that would actually get the material under control.’

    Without securing the nuclear material, he argued, military operations may push Iran closer to a nuclear weapon than diplomatic negotiations would have.

    ‘The only positive thing about the ayatollah is that he had a fatwa against building nuclear weapons,’ Foster said. ‘Who knows what the next generation of ayatollahs are going to feel? They’re going to be under a lot of pressure from the IRGC, which was not so much against having a nuclear weapon.’

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli operations, had previously issued a fatwa, a religious edict, opposing the pursuit of nuclear weapons. Analysts have long debated how binding or durable that ruling was.

    At a White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration believes Iran ‘wanted to build nuclear weapons to use against Americans and our allies,’ framing the strikes as necessary to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear ambitions.

    Missile suppression strategy faces ‘math problem’

    Senior administration officials have emphasized that the current phase of the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s ability to project force with missiles, drones and naval assets. 

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has highlighted strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile systems, air defenses and naval capabilities, describing the effort as a push to degrade the conventional tools Tehran uses to threaten U.S. forces and regional allies. 

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly has said the United States is working to ‘systematically take apart’ Iran’s missile program, so it could not ‘hide behind’ it to develop a nuclear weapon. 

    While the broader justification for intervention centered on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, the most immediate threat facing U.S. troops and partners has been Iran’s ongoing missile and drone launches. Administration officials contend Iran’s missile buildup was meant to create a deterrent buffer, shielding its broader strategic ambitions, including its nuclear program, from outside attack.

    Lawmakers emerging from classified briefings said the campaign has become, in part, a question of sustainability.

    ‘We do not have an unlimited supply,’ Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said of U.S. and allied interceptor inventories. He warned the conflict could become a ‘math problem,’ balancing launch volumes against finite air defense munitions and the ability to replenish them without weakening readiness in other theaters.

    ‘At some point — and we’re probably already in this — this becomes a math problem,’ Kelly added.

    He said he pressed defense officials on how interceptor stocks are being replenished and whether diverting munitions to the Middle East could strain U.S. readiness elsewhere.

    ‘How can we resupply air defense munitions? Where are they going to come from? How does that affect other theaters?’ he said. ‘The math on this currently seems to be an issue.’

    Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said he also sought clarity on interceptor inventories but did not receive detailed answers.

    ‘I am very concerned about that,’ Kim said. ‘I did not get any specificity today. … Something akin to ‘trust us’ is not good enough for me.’

    Republicans, however, pushed back on the notion that interceptor supplies are strained. 

    Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said officials told lawmakers U.S. forces are ‘in great shape,’ dismissing concerns about shortages.

    Ehud Eilam, a former Israeli defense official and national security analyst, said that while a nuclear weapon remains the most serious long-term threat, missile and drone systems pose the most immediate danger if intelligence assessments conclude Iran is not on the verge of assembling a device.

    ‘As long as it is estimated Iran cannot produce a nuclear weapon soon, then the focus moves to missiles and drones,’ Eilam said, noting that ballistic missiles would ultimately be required to deliver any future nuclear warhead. Suppressing mobile launchers, crews and command networks can reduce Iran’s firing tempo, conserving interceptor supplies while degrading Tehran’s broader military capacity, he said.

    The concern is not theoretical. 

    During the intense June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict, U.S. forces reportedly fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, roughly a quarter of the global inventory, along with large numbers of ship-based Standard Missile interceptors to shield allies. 

    Analysts note that replenishing high-end air defense systems such as Patriot, THAAD and SM-3 interceptors could take more than a year under current production rates.

    The Pentagon also is balancing competing demands. The same missile defense systems used to protect U.S. bases and Gulf partners are being supplied to Ukraine to defend against Russian cruise missile attacks, creating what some analysts describe as a ‘zero-sum’ competition for inventory between Europe and the Middle East.

    ‘There is a limit to how many THAAD missiles can be used,’ Eilam said. ‘These are not systems you can reproduce overnight.’

    The White House and Pentagon could not immediately be reached for comment. 

    Related Article

    Rubio says in ‘simple English’ Iran run by ‘lunatics,’ defends Trump strike as ‘right decision’
    Rubio says in ‘simple English’ Iran run by ‘lunatics,’ defends Trump strike as ‘right decision’

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    Every year around this time, Jews read the ancient Scroll of Esther and remember a Persian courtier named Haman who plotted ‘to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews’ of the empire in a single day. The story feels less like distant history and more like a chilling parallel to our present reality, because, once again, a regime in Persia — today’s Islamic Republic in Iran — openly dreams of annihilation and domination, with Jews as a central target but far from the only ones.

    The holiday of Purim is often presented as a children’s tale of costumes and noisemakers, but at its core is a political battle between good and evil. A powerful ideologue identifies a people as an intolerable obstacle to his vision, secures state power behind his hatred and issues a bureaucratic death sentence. It takes courage, unity and a willingness to fight back to stop this brutal plot. Replace scroll and signet ring with rockets and proxies, and you have the worldview of today’s Iranian regime toward Israel, the United States and now, several neighboring Persian Gulf States.

    When Hamas stormed Israeli communities on Oct. 7, murdering, raping and kidnapping civilians, it did not act in an ideological vacuum. Hamas has long relied on Iran’s regime for training, funding and supplying weapons.

    The terror group sits within a wider ‘axis of resistance’ Tehran has painstakingly built around Israel and across the region. Whether or not Tehran signed off on the exact timing, the regime has spent decades forging a regional ‘ring of fire,’ including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Syria and Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, explicitly to make good on its promise that Israel is a ‘cancerous tumor’ to be removed and that American power in the Middle East must be driven out.

    But in the 21st century, the Iran regime’s war is not only against Jews and not only fought with rockets and drones. It is fought with code, cameras and carefully crafted narratives aimed at Israelis, Arabs, Americans, Europeans, dissident Iranians and anyone who stands in the way of the regime’s revolutionary project. The regime has developed a sophisticated influence apparatus that uses botnets, fake personas and social media influencers to shape how global publics understand the conflict and how free societies see themselves.

    Investigations have exposed networks of inauthentic accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram pushing divisive, demoralizing content at scale. In one documented campaign, bots flooded Hebrew‑language discourse with tens of thousands of posts in under two days, amplifying internal Israeli divisions and sowing panic about the fate of hostages. Other operations have impersonated Israelis, Americans and Europeans online, pushing narratives that call for Western retreat, civil conflict and the abandonment of allies from Israel to Ukraine.

    This is not the random trolling we’ve seen for years. It is state‑directed information warfare intended to achieve strategic goals, including to weaken Israeli morale, to crush the Iranian opposition, to fracture Western support, and to invert victim and aggressor in the eyes of the world. When regime‑linked operations amplify incendiary content about ‘Zionist control,’ repackage anti‑Jewish conspiracy theories as anti‑Israel ‘anti‑colonialism,’ and simultaneously smear Iranian dissidents as foreign agents, they are targeting anyone who challenges Tehran’s ambitions.

    The West should recognize how a hostile regime is using every tool, including terror proxies abroad, repression at home, campus activism in the West, and algorithm‑hacking online to delegitimize democratic allies and normalize violence against minorities and dissidents. The same regime that arms Hamas and Hezbollah also guns down women removing their headscarves in Tehran, supplies drones to Russia for use in Ukraine and threatens Persian Gulf Arab states that dare to work openly with Israel. The ideological hatred that animated Haman has simply been updated and universalized.

    That is why this Purim, we can all be considered like the Jews who were in the regime’s crosshairs in the sense that the story demands a vulnerable minority singled out by a power that cannot tolerate their existence, ordered to bow and vanish for the sake of someone else’s totalizing ideology. To stand with Israel after Oct. 7 is not to ignore other victims of Iran’s regime; it is to understand that the same system that dreams of erasing the Jewish state also dreams of crushing Americans, Europeans, Sunni Arabs, women on the streets of Mashhad, Shiraz or Esfahan, and students on Western campuses who refuse to chant its slogans.

    Purim ends with the intended victims standing up, fighting back and surviving. For Israel and the Islamic Republic’s other targets to do the same today, free nations must be willing to confront the regime across all fronts: degrade its military capabilities, defeat its terror proxies on the battlefield, support its domestic dissidents, harden our information space against manipulation and deny Tehran the impunity it has enjoyed for far too long. The lesson of the Scroll of Esther is not parochial. It is that when a regime builds its identity around annihilation, indifference is complicity and by the time the decree reaches your own door, it may be too late.

    Related Article

    Beyond the Iran Deal: Why Trump’s refusal to ‘kick the can’ just saved generations
    Beyond the Iran Deal: Why Trump’s refusal to ‘kick the can’ just saved generations

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered one of his bluntest defenses yet of President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran Tuesday, sharply rejecting criticism and describing the regime as ‘lunatics’ as he argued the president acted at the right moment to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

    ‘Let me explain to you guys this in simple English, okay? Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics,’ Rubio told reporters.

    ‘They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons,’ Rubio said. ‘This is the weakest they’ve ever been. Now is the time to go after them.’

    Rubio said Trump made the ‘right decision’ to dismantle Iran’s military capabilities before they could shield a nuclear program.

    ‘The president made the decision to go after them, take away their missiles, take away their navy, take away their drones … so that they can never have a nuclear weapon,’ Rubio said.

    He acknowledged ‘there will be a price to pay,’ but argued it would be far lower than allowing Iran to become nuclear-armed.

    ‘That is a much lower price to pay than having a nuclear armed Iran,’ he said.

    Rubio grew visibly sharper when pressed on whether Israel dictated the timing of the operation.

    ‘Your statement is false,’ he told one reporter who suggested the U.S. acted because Israel was about to strike.

    Rubio confirmed Monday that Israel was prepared to act independently.

    ‘We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,’ Rubio said. ‘And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them … we would suffer higher casualties.’

    He emphasized Tuesday that the decision ultimately rested with President Donald Trump.

    ‘The president determined we were not going to get hit first,’ Rubio said. ‘If you tell the president of the United States that if we don’t go first, we’re going to have more people killed and more people injured, the president is going to go first.’

    Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after a classified briefing that Israel was ‘determined to act … with or without American support,’ and that U.S. officials concluded ‘a coordinated response was necessary.’

    ‘I am convinced that they did the right thing,’ Johnson said.

    Despite Rubio’s harsh rhetoric toward Iran’s clerical leadership, administration officials have emphasized that the mission is not aimed at overthrowing the regime but at dismantling its military capabilities.

    Rubio repeatedly framed the operation as focused on destroying Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers, drone capabilities and naval assets.

    ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,’ he said. ‘It cannot have the things it was hiding behind to have a nuclear weapons program.’

    So far, U.S. and Israeli strikes largely have targeted missile infrastructure and military facilities. Officials have not indicated that nuclear enrichment sites have been the primary focus of the campaign.

    Some Democrats questioned whether the administration demonstrated an imminent threat to the United States.

    ‘There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. It was a threat to Israel,’ Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said after the briefing. ‘We equate a threat to Israel is the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States. Then we are in uncharted territory.’

    Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said after the classified briefing, ‘I have no idea what the objective is, and I didn’t get any additional clarity.’

    Rubio brushed aside the criticism, predicting opponents would emerge from briefings claiming they ‘didn’t hear anything’ while insisting the administration complied with congressional notification requirements.

    ‘This is an action by the president to address a real threat,’ Rubio said. ‘The world will be a safer place when these radical clerics no longer have access to these weapons.’

    Related Article

    Fetterman ‘baffled’ by lack of support for Trump’s Iran strikes and death of ‘evil’ leaders
    Fetterman ‘baffled’ by lack of support for Trump’s Iran strikes and death of ‘evil’ leaders

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    Iran postponed a planned farewell ceremony in Tehran for its late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Saturday in U.S.-Israeli strikes as part of Operation Epic Fury.

    The three-day program was scheduled to begin Wednesday at 10 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall, where large crowds were expected to gather to pay their respects, according to Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency. 

    Hojjatoleslam Seyed Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council of Tehran Province, said the postponement followed widespread requests to participate and the need to provide adequate infrastructure and facilities to accommodate attendees.

    ‘It was decided to hold the ceremony at a more appropriate time,’ he explained.

    No additional reason for the postponement was given, and it was not immediately clear when the ceremony would be rescheduled.

    Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iranian leadership in a post on X that any successor who tries to ‘destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people’ will be an ‘unequivocal target for elimination.’

    ‘It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides,’ Katz said.

    The funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, drew massive crowds in the country’s capital on June 11, 1989, with an estimated 10.2 million people in attendance, roughly one-sixth of the nation’s population at the time. 

    According to Guinness World Records, it drew the largest percentage of a population ever recorded at a funeral.

    Khamenei’s death triggers a closely watched succession process overseen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader.

    ‘The IRGC is a key stakeholder in this process, and will heavily influence its outcome,’ Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital.

    Related Article

    As Iran’s leadership shifts amid war, Hezbollah moves to reset the balance: expert
    As Iran’s leadership shifts amid war, Hezbollah moves to reset the balance: expert

    This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

    SSR Mining (NASDAQ:SSRM,TSX:SSRM,OTCPL:SSRGF) has agreed to sell its majority stake in the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey for US$1.5 billion in cash, shifting the company’s portfolio towards the Americas as the yellow metal continues to surge amid rising geopolitical tensions.

    The Denver-based miner announced it has signed a binding memorandum of understanding to sell its 80 percent interest in the Çöpler operation and related assets to Cengiz Holding A.S., one of Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerates.

    Under the terms of the agreement, the full US$1.5 billion purchase price will be paid in cash at closing, which is expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

    “Over the last two years, we have worked diligently to progress the Çöpler mine to allow for a safe and responsible restart of operations,” SSR Mining executive chairman Rod Antal said. “We have also concurrently worked closely with the Turkey government authorities to address each requirement to secure the necessary approvals to restart operations.”

    “We are also conducting a strategic review of our remaining platform in Turkey, including our 20 percent earned interest in the Hod Maden development project,” Antal added.

    SSR Mining said the transaction, alongside its 2025 acquisition of the Cripple Creek & Victor mine in Colorado, is a deliberate shift toward an Americas-focused portfolio.

    Cengiz Holding, the buyer, is a major Turkish industrial group with operations spanning mining, construction, energy, metallurgy, and chemicals.

    The transaction requires a US$100 million deposit from Cengiz Holding, which will be credited toward the purchase price at closing. The agreement also includes a reciprocal break fee of US$50 million.

    Either party may terminate the agreement upon payment of the US$50 million termination fee.

    The deal comes during a period of heightened investor interest in gold, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East push investors toward traditional safe-haven assets.

    Gold prices recently surged close to record levels, climbing above US$5,400 per troy ounce at one point as escalating conflict involving Iran raised fears of a broader energy crisis.

    Analysts say gold has benefited from a growing “global uncertainty premium” as investors reassess traditional defensive assets.

    “We are seeing bonds again failing to provide protection against risk-off events, even as gold delivers,” Seb Barker, chief market strategist at hedge fund firm Marshall Wace, told the Financial Times.

    At the same time, disruptions to global supply chains are adding another layer of volatility to the precious metals markets.

    Dubai, which handles about 20 percent of the world’s gold trade, has seen logistics disruptions after air traffic was suspended following military strikes in the region.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com