While former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki praised in a Persian-language television interview the issuance of a fatwa calling for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump, his daughter is living in New York City with her husband, an Iranian diplomat serving at the permanent mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, Fox News digital confirmed.

Mottaki, who served as Iran’s foreign minister from 2005 to 2010 under then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and remains a prominent figure in Iran’s political establishment, said Iran’s Supreme Leader had determined that Trump was a criminal and suggested Iran’s judiciary should act, according to a video reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

He also described as a ‘brave and significant act’ a religious ruling calling for the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mottaki’s daughter, Zahra Assadi Nazari, is married to Nasser Assadi Nazari, who is listed as a third counselor at Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York.

The situation echoes previous controversies involving relatives of senior Iranian officials living in the United States. 

In January, Emory University dismissed Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of Iranian official Ali Larijani, from a teaching position after protests over her employment at the university’s medical school.

On Sunday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeid Iravani, sparred with U.S. envoy Mike Waltz during a Security Council session, telling the American ambassador to ‘be polite,’ a remark that drew a sharp rebuke.

‘I have one word only: I advise the representative of the United States to be polite,’ Iravani said during the meeting.

Moments later, Waltz responded: ‘Frankly, I’m not going to dignify this with another response, especially as this representative sits here in this body representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people and imprisoned many more simply for wanting freedom from your tyranny.’

Fox News Digital contacted Iran’s mission to the United Nations asking whether it could confirm the relationship. The mission declined to comment.

Fox News Digital also requested comment from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations regarding Mottaki’s remarks and the broader implications of a former senior Iranian official appearing to endorse violence against the sitting U.S. president while his immediate family resides in New York. No response was received by the time of publication.

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President Donald Trump is meeting Friday with top U.S. defense industry executives as his administration looks to accelerate weapons production while military operations against Iran continue.

The White House emphasized the session was scheduled weeks ago and was not convened in response to immediate battlefield shortages. Officials described the meeting as part of a broader effort to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and speed production of American-made weapons.

‘The US military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to continue demolishing the Iranian regime and finish Operation Epic Fury, no matter how long it lasts,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News.

‘Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthening our military, which is why this meeting with defense contractors was scheduled weeks ago. The President will continue to call on these US companies to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the absolute best in the world.’

Companies attending are Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell and L3Harris Technologies. 

The meeting comes as U.S. forces remain engaged in Operation Epic Fury, a campaign targeting Iranian military assets following coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes. Administration officials have maintained that U.S. readiness remains strong, even as the pace of missile defense operations has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

During the 2025 12-day Iran conflict, U.S. forces fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors — roughly a quarter of the global inventory — to shield Israel and U.S. assets from Iranian missile attacks, according to defense assessments. Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles are currently produced at a rate of roughly 600 to 650 annually, with replenishment timelines measured in months or years rather than weeks.

U.S. and Israeli officials previously estimated that Iran had a large ballistic missile arsenal — roughly 2,000 to 3,000 missiles of various types at the outset of the conflict. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday Iran’s missile attacks have decreased 90% since the start of the conflict.

Defense planners have described missile defense inventories as part of a broader strategic balancing act. The same high-end systems used to protect U.S. bases and partners in the Middle East are also supplied to Ukraine and positioned in the Indo-Pacific, creating what some analysts characterize as a ‘zero-sum’ competition for inventory across theaters.

Lawmakers emerging from recent classified briefings have raised questions about sustainability if operations expand. 

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., warned the campaign could become a ‘math problem,’ balancing incoming missile volumes against finite interceptor supplies and production capacity. 

Other members, including Republicans briefed on the operation, have said officials assured Congress U.S. forces remain in strong shape.

Current and former defense officials have drawn a distinction between offensive strike weapons — which can often be surged from prepositioned stocks — and defensive interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD systems, which require longer production timelines and cannot be rapidly manufactured at scale.

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The Israeli military spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital this week that multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory since the start of the conflict with Iran to eradicate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons facilities, missile systems and terrorism infrastructure. 

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesman, said that the army has had a ‘near complete success’ rate in stopping Iranian drones from hitting Israeli targets. 

The drones fired from Iraq are presumed to come from the Iranian regime-controlled Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. An umbrella organization of Shiite terrorists, that attacked Israel with drones in 2024 during Israel’s war against the Tehran-backed Hamas movement. 

An Iraqi Kurdish official told Fox News Digital, ‘Iraq has become a vessel for the Iranians. Is it so hard to see? I don’t see a distinction between the PMF and the state. They’re paid by the state, hold sovereign portfolios in this cabinet, go on foreign travel and now they’ve entered the federal legislature.’

The official continued: ‘In the last two decades, Iran has systemically taken over the state, weaponizing what were supposed to be institutions into tools to protect the Shia regime in Baghdad and punish any threat to it, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through Baghdad and state institutions, it has economically strangled the Kurdistan Region, torn strips from our autonomy and exposed us to more attacks.’

An attack was reported on the country’s shrinking Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, from the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote on X on Thursday: ‘A miracle no one was injured when 2 drones struck our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center that serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university & schools are also closed so the young can be with their parents. Please pray for us & for all who suffer in this war.’ 

Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and ​said it was carried out by two ​drones.

Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Fox News Digital about the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school that ‘Kata’ib Hezbollah was first to talk about it and it was likely Kata’ib Hezbollah, but it is possible it was another two pro-Iran militias because they all work together on drone launches.’

A drone attack struck an oil field operated by U.S. firm HKN Energy in Iraq’s ​Kurdistan region on Thursday, causing a fire ‌and halting production, according to a Reuters report citing security sources and an oilfield engineer.

No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.

If so, the attack would mean Iran‑aligned ​Iraqi militias, who have vowed to retaliate for the killing ‌of ⁠Iran’s supreme leader, have expanded targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.

Production at the field was halted as a precaution ​after an ​explosion at ⁠its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.

Some ⁠energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan shut oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution ⁠after ​the U.S. and Israel ​launched strikes on neighboring Iran.

Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, echoed the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish official in his statement to Fox News Digital: ‘The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally included as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, more than $3 billion is allocated annually just for salaries, but when logistics, weapons, food, and other operational costs are included, the PMF’s budget likely exceeds $10 billion. That is the size of the budget of a small country in the Middle East,’ he claimed.

Qanbar said there is a way to change Iraq’s behavior: ‘If the United States wants to stop this situation, there are clear tools available. Sanctions must be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another powerful mechanism involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The United States could suspend transfers of those funds unless Baghdad halts the financing of the PMF. Make no mistake: every terrorist who launches drones or rockets against Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states or military bases is effectively being paid by the Iraqi government,’ he claimed.

When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Shiite militias from the PMF to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, ‘The Mission declined to comment.’

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is ‘not tolerating any attempt aimed at dragging Iraq into war or threatening the country’s stability,’ according to Kurdistan24. 

Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, referred Fox News Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry page for official statements by his minister and the government. He did not respond to follow-up messages and calls on whether Iraq’s government was failing to crack down on the PMF.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to the Long War Journal.

However, Iraq’s government has issued mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025 al-Sudani was quoted as saying, ‘Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces constitute a basic force in defending Iraq.’

Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp and telephone queries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he was unable to provide Fox News Digital a comment.

The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, after military strikes eliminated a senior officer from Kataeb Hezbollah — Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia — south of Baghdad that PMF militias pledged to strike the Middle East interests of European nations that joined in the ‘Zionist-American’ strikes on the Islamic Republic and its proxies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department.

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President Donald Trump’s move to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as her replacement triggered a domino effect in Congress.

Before Mullin can take the helm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he has to be confirmed. And once confirmed, someone will have to take his seat. Both caveats come with their own hurdles.

Senate Democrats may try to toss a wrench into the confirmation process and extract promises for reforms to the agency, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS has been closed for three weeks, and the shutdown will likely continue for at least a month.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has vowed to oppose Mullin and argued that changes need to be made regardless of who runs the agency.

‘It’s a question of policy, not personnel,’ Schumer said. ‘The Senate should not consider any DHS secretary nominee until DHS and ICE are reined in.’

Mullin has staunchly opposed Democrats’ demands to reopen the agency and whether he’ll budge to get their votes remains to be seen.

But he’s open to speaking with Schumer and his caucus and wants to earn their votes. Whether he can do that before Trump’s March 31 deadline is up in the air.

‘The Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody — regardless of whether you support me, if you don’t support me, regardless of what your thoughts are — I’m here to enforce the policies that Congress passed,’ Mullin said.

Then there’s the race for succession. Mullin, who is currently near the end of his first term in the upper chamber, was in the midst of running for re-election. With his appointment by Trump, that seat is now wide open for Republicans hungry to reach the Senate.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, will choose who fills Mullin’s Senate seat in the short term. But it’ll be up to voters in the Sooner State to pick their next senator.

‘I will be looking to appoint a strong, small-government conservative voice to support President Trump and protect Oklahomans’ way of life,’ Stitt said on X.

And GOP hopefuls have already begun crowding the potential primary race for his seat within hours of Trump’s announcement.

Reps. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., are already showing interest, Fox News Digital was told.

A source close to Bice told Fox News Digital that she was considering running for the likely open Senate seat first, which Bice followed with her own public statement on Thursday evening.

‘President Trump has made an excellent choice. Markwayne is a great friend and a fierce advocate for the America First Agenda. I’m excited for him to take the helm at DHS,’ she posted on X. ‘It’s the honor of a lifetime to stand side by side with President Trump for the people of Oklahoma. I’ve received encouragement from every corner of this great state to run for the U.S. Senate. And it’s something I’m carefully considering.’

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital was told that Hern — who currently serves in House leadership in the role of GOP Policy Committee chairman — already began calling players within the Republican orbit to get their support.

Multiple people familiar with Hern’s thinking told Fox News Digital that he intends to run.

Hern is also generating buzz among Senate Republicans. Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have all come out in support of him.

Neither Hern nor Bice is interested in being appointed by Stitt, however, likely due to Oklahoma’s unusual laws dictating how Senate vacancies must be filled.

A mid-term vacancy is traditionally filled by the state’s governor, after which an election occurs at the next pre-scheduled race date. The governor’s appointee must sign an affidavit swearing they will not run in that election.

In this case, Mullin was up for re-election in November, so anyone seeking the office will have to run in a June primary and then be up for a full six-year term at the end of this year.

But that also means that Bice and Hern will both be able to run for Mullin’s current seat without risking the House GOP’s own razor-thin majority.

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President Donald Trump took Washington by surprise Thursday with his decision to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, but few lawmakers on Capitol Hill questioned his decision. 

Though Republicans rarely criticized Noem during her tenure, many GOP lawmakers argued Thursday that the secretary’s ouster was the right move. Trump quickly nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a close ally, to head the sprawling agency Thursday afternoon.

‘I think the president is doing what’s necessary to make sure the department is going to be operating effectively,’ Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who welcomed the news of Mullin’s appointment, said Thursday. ‘It was time.’

Mullin, a 48-year-old lawmaker, is a member of Senate Republicans’ leadership team and previously served several terms in the House of Representatives.

Noem’s time helming DHS was rocked by a series of controversies involving an expensive ad campaign she claimed had Trump’s approval and her widely-panned response to the fatal shootings of two Americans in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers earlier this year.

‘Obviously, it did not go well,’ Donalds added when asked about Noem’s appearance during two hearings on Capitol Hill this week.

Several GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Kennedy, R-La., tore into Noem during her appearance before the Senate’s judiciary panel on Tuesday. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a moderate lawmaker retiring at the end of his term, echoed Kennedy’s criticism questioning Noem’s prominent role in the costly ad campaign and her ties to recipients awarded contracts.

‘There’s legit concerns. When there was a $200 million advertising [campaign], we should be better stewards of our money,’ Bacon said. ‘I think the president probably saw a need for change.’

DHS has fired back that the massive ad campaign resulted in millions of self-deportations.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital Thursday that Noem’s departure would eliminate ‘distractions’ and ‘conflicts’ that erupted at DHS under her leadership.

‘The department needs to be entirely focused on its mission, given the situation in the Middle East right now,’ Lawler said, referring to Operation Epic Fury in Iran. 

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who is not running for reelection, wrote on social media Thursday that a ‘change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was long overdue.’

House Democrats, many of whom fiercely criticized Noem’s role in the Trump administration, appeared to agree.

‘She’s done enough damage that the president finally came to his senses,’ Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the lead Democrat on the House homeland security panel, said Thursday. 

‘I think it’s the right decision by the president. It’s been a long time coming,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., told Fox News Digital.

Moskowitz, who tussled with Noem during her testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, argued that she would go down as the worst DHS secretary in the agency’s two-decade history. He declined, however, to sign on to articles of impeachment circulated by House Democrats.

When asked about Mullin’s appointment, Moskowitz said he wished him good luck. ‘She’s left him a disaster, but obviously I want him to succeed,’ the Florida Democrat said of Noem’s tenure. ‘We should all want that, so let’s give him that opportunity.’

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An Iranian ship offloaded more than 200 members of its crew to Sri Lanka on Friday after suffering an engine failure at sea, just days after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in an Indian Ocean torpedo attack. 

The IRIS Bushehr, described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship, is being brought first to the port of Colombo, according to Sri Lanka navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath. Sailors are being taken to a naval base in Welisara following medical exams and immigration procedures. 

‘We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation,’ Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Thursday. ‘It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions.’ 

Dissanayake added that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr following discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed. He said some crew members would remain on board to help the Sri Lankan navy later navigate the vessel to Trincomalee on the island’s northeast coast, about 165 miles from Colombo.

The moves come after the U.S. sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday.  

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said it was ‘the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.’ 

The Indian navy said Thursday that it had initiated search and rescue operations after receiving a distress signal from the Dena, deploying two aircraft along with a sailing training vessel. By the time the response was launched, the Sri Lankan navy had already started its own rescue efforts, it said.

The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies after the attack, according to The Associated Press. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Thursday that the U.S. will ‘bitterly regret’ striking and sinking that ship. 

‘The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,’ Araqchi wrote on X. ‘Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning.’

‘Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,’ he added. 

Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the Iranian vessel was ‘effectively neutralized’ in a Navy ‘fast attack’ using a single Mark 48 torpedo.

He added that the U.S. Navy achieved ‘immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.’ 

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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