President Donald Trump clashed with a reporter Thursday over questions about a newly signed tariff, telling him that he had spent his first term ‘fighting lunatics like you.’ The intense exchange follows a White House signing ceremony for a series of executive actions aimed at expanding reciprocal tariffs and strengthening U.S. trade policy.

While speaking with reporters at the White House after the signing, a reporter confronted Trump on why he is emphasizing tariffs more in his second term. 

‘You’re weighing your decision to do that, your authority to do that based on a 1977 law. It’s never been invoked before,’ said the reporter. ‘Why didn’t you invoke this law in your first term? You could have taken in billions upon billions of dollars in your first term, but you waited until your second term?’

Without missing a beat, the president shot back: ‘Yeah, because in my first term, I was fighting lunatics like you who were trying to do things incorrectly and inappropriately to a president that was duly elected.’ 

‘And we did do certain tariffs in the first term,’ he continued. ‘If you look at China, China, we took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China.’ 

He also said that the COVID-19 pandemic also played a factor in his decision to not emphasize tariffs as much in his first term.

‘When Covid came the last thing I was going to do is tell France and Italy and Spain and a couple of other countries that we’re going to hit you with tariffs,’ he explained. ‘We had to fight the Covid situation when that came.’ 

‘But if you look at my first term,’ he went on, ‘We took in hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs, but you people didn’t cover it very well.’ 

A statement by the White House said that Trump’s executive actions taken on Thursday ‘reflects the President’s continued efforts to protect the United States against foreign threats to the national security and economy of the United States by securing fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade relationships to benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers and to strengthen the United States’ defense industrial base.’ 

This comes shortly after Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal between the U.S. and E.U. on Sunday.

‘We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%,’ Trump said.

‘So, we have a tariff of 15%. We have the opening up of all of the European countries, which I think I could say were essentially closed. I mean, you weren’t exactly taking our orders. You weren’t exactly taking our agriculture,’ he added, addressing von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen said Europe will also purchase $150 billion worth of U.S. energy as part of the deal, in addition to making $600 billion in other investments into the U.S.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

A longtime ally of former President Joe Biden told House Oversight Committee investigators that he could have been paid a total of $8 million if the former president won his 2024 re-election bid, a source familiar with the conversation told Fox News Digital.

Michael Donilon served as senior advisor to the president for the entirety of Biden’s four-year term. Their relationship goes back decades, however; Donilon first worked for Biden in 1981 when he was a U.S. senator from Delaware.

He is the latest ex-Biden administration official to sit down with the committee behind closed doors as it investigates whether the former president’s inner circle covered up evidence of his alleged mental decline, and if executive actions were signed via autopen without Biden’s full awareness.

Donilon said he did not know what the autopen was used for and did not recall having any knowledge of the autopen, the source told Fox News Digital.

But Donilon, who was the top strategist for Biden’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns, would have apparently earned some $8 million total if Biden won.

Donilon told investigators he was paid $4 million to work on Biden’s 2024 campaign, the source said. That information was reported by Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN host Jake Tapper in their book ‘Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.’

The $4 million he would have gained in addition would have come if Biden had won in 2024.

Biden infamously dropped out of the 2024 race after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump in June of that year, after weeks of mounting pressure by fellow Democrats, both in public and in private.

Donilon told investigators he ‘believes the punditry and Democrats in Congress overreacted after Joe Biden’s disastrous debate,’ the source said. Donilon also argued Biden’s communications skills ‘got stronger’ during his time as president, the source added.

‘During his interview, Mr. Donilon admitted that Joe Biden’s presence wasn’t as commanding, and he could stumble over more words. Mr. Donilon stated he was frustrated and knew it was difficult to get past the visuals of President Biden that people were seeing,’ the source said.

In his opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, Donilon emphasized his 40-year relationship with Biden and touted the Democratic administration’s accomplishments through the COVID-19 pandemic, the rebound in job growth in its wake and the Inflation Reduction Act and other legislative wins.

‘I was with President Joe Biden from his first day in office to the last day. What I saw, day in and day out, was a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues, both at home and abroad,’ Donilon said in his statement. 

‘Every President ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any President has ever faced.

‘I thought that experience was enormously valuable for the nation. I believed that President Biden was the best person to lead the country on the day he took the oath of office and I continued to believe that was true every day he served as President.’

Donilon is the eighth ex-Biden White House official to appear for the probe led by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

A source familiar with the Biden team’s thinking previously called Republicans’ probe ‘dangerous’ and ‘an attempt to smear and embarrass.’

‘And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge,’ that source said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Donilon’s lawyer and a representative for Biden for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report

The Secret Service must move to ‘course correct’ after reports a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife onto a Secret Service cargo plane accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to Scotland, according to a former agent. 

Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during the administrations of presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said the alleged incident was unusual and that the agency must ‘step up’ to address growing threats against Trump. 

‘The threats to the President are serious and growing,’ Miller said in an email Thursday to Fox News Digital. ‘This agency must step up to address these threats. … Imagine a world where our elected leaders are not safe to lead the critical issues facing our world? 

‘The mission that they have been given requires the absolute best people available who have the highest level of commitment, experience, professionalism and skill.’

While Miller predicted conduct like this would have previously resulted in a suspension or firing of the agent, Miller said that is unlikely given that the Secret Service did not fire those on duty during the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. 

The agency did, however, announce that it suspended six of its agents due to their response to the attempt.

Likewise, Miller said he anticipates an investigation into the Scotland incident will be handled meticulously. 

‘I am confident that they will thoroughly investigate this matter,’ Miller said. ‘To that end, the Secret Service must course correct and hold agents accountable for these types of errors in judgment. The current threats are too high. It’s time for high levels of accountability and a return to mission focus. The lives of our elected leaders depend on it! This truly is a ‘no fail’ mission!’ 

Even so, Miller said the agency did the right thing in identifying the threat and fixing the problem. 

‘The bottom line is there is more to this story and, with the exception of one agent’s extremely poor judgment, the Secret Service did a good job identifying and correcting this issue,’ Miller said. 

RealClearPolitics first reported that a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife aboard a Secret Service cargo aircraft during Trump’s travels for his Scotland trip.

Trump told reporters Tuesday he had just heard about the alleged incident, describing it as a ‘weird deal.’ He also told reporters the agency is handling the matter. 

‘I don’t know, that’s a strange one. I just heard that two minutes ago. I think Sean’s taking care of it. … Is that a serious story?’ Trump told reporters on Air Force One Tuesday, appearing to reference Sean Curran, Secret Service director.

The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that Trump had been briefed on the matter and that an investigation was ongoing. 

‘The U.S. Secret Service is conducting a personnel investigation after an employee attempted to invite his spouse, a member of the United States Air Force, aboard a mission support flight,’ a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

‘The aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force, was being used by the Secret Service to transport personnel and equipment,’ the spokesperson added. ‘Prior to the overseas departure, the employee was advised by supervisors that such action was prohibited, and the spouse was subsequently prevented from taking the flight. No Secret Service protectees were aboard, and there was no impact to our overseas protective operations.’

Three Senate Republicans are backing up Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s possible effort to reform the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, saying that the group has recently been ideologically motivated.

The ‘independent’ task force is used to determine recommendations of what services health insurance companies in the United States have to cover for free, such as checking for cancer.

‘Americans deserve to know health guidelines are based on real science, not radical wokeness. The Task Force needs to get back to its mission of giving clear, evidence-based recommendations people can trust,’ Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy is considering removing members of the board, and the senators are saying they back any change to veer away from certain DEI tactics employed by the group currently, including the 2023 Report to Congress on High-Priority Evidence Gaps for Clinical Preventive Services and ‘social justice activism’ by people in the group.

‘In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework. The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration,’ the letter added.

‘Far from simply recognizing health disparities between certain populations, ‘health equity’ as described by the USPSTF includes ‘information on risk factors that intersect with race and/or ethnicity or other disadvantaged populations (e.g., sexual and gender minorities) and that affect prevalence and burden of disease’ and ‘any inequities in how preventive services are provided, accessed, or received.’ These criteria would allow the Task Force to issue recommendations outside its proper purview and impose leftwing ideology,’ it continues.

Specifically, they said that changes could be needed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to scrap DEI efforts within the federal government, along with an EO on ‘restoring merit-based opportunity’ and ‘ending illegal discrimination.’

‘Allowing the Task Force to pursue the Health Equity Framework means allowing it to exceed its statutory mission and target social groups that comport with a progressive agenda. It means discounting universally beneficial recommendations as inadequate. It means disregarding statutory limits and instead undertaking a social justice crusade through the lens of critical race theory and gender ideology. This would be a mistake. The result is ineffectiveness, discrimination, and division. The USPSTF should be working for all Americans equally,’ the letter added.

‘No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,’ an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement when asked about the WSJ report. 

There has already been some opposition to the possibility of removing the members, including from the American Medical Association.

‘USPSTF plays a critical, non-partisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services,’ the AMA wrote in a letter to Kennedy. ‘As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption.’

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are slated to visit Gaza Friday, after both met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday in Israel to discuss ways to provide food and aid to Gaza. 

‘Special envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground,’ Leavitt told reporters Thursday. ‘The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.’ 

‘President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart, and that’s why he sent special envoy Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,’ Leavitt said.  

Leavitt’s comments come as President Donald Trump has pushed back against Netanyahu’s repeated statements denying a starvation crisis in Gaza. 

For example, Netanyahu flat out rejected claims there is any starvation crisis in Gaza in a social media post Monday. 

‘There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza, and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals,’ Netanyahu said in a Monday X post. ‘We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more.’

When asked if he agreed with the Israeli prime minister, Trump appeared to cast doubt on Netanyahu’s assessment of the situation. 

‘Based on television … those children look very hungry,’ Trump said Monday in Scotland. ‘But we’re giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up. …Some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff.’ 

Trump also pledged to work with European allies and establish ‘food centers’ in Gaza to address the issue. 

Meanwhile, ceasefire talks in Qatar recently crumbled, and the U.S. and Israel claimed afterward that Hamas wasn’t interested in finding an agreement. 

Trump addressed the ongoing conflict Thursday, pushing for Hamas to surrender and release hostages immediately in order to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

‘The fastest way to end the humanitarian crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!’ the president said in a post on Truth Social Thursday. 

From shampoo and sunscreen to tampons, many personal care products on American shelves contain chemicals linked to cancer, infertility, and hormone disruption—ingredients that are banned or restricted in the European Union and other countriesDespite these alarming associations, no federal law in the U.S. requires companies to disclose potentially harmful ingredients. Only California mandates limited transparency, leaving most Americans in the dark about what they’re putting on—and absorbing into—their bodies.

For Tiah Tomlin-Harris, a two-time survivor of triple-negative breast cancer, that lack of transparency was a wake-up call. Diagnosed before age 40 with no genetic predisposition, Tomlin-Harris began asking hard questions: Where is this coming from? Genetic testing came back negative, placing her among the 80–90% of breast cancer patients whose illness isn’t linked to family history. Her background as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry gave her a unique perspective—and a critical eye for labels.

‘I started to dig into the causations,’ she told FOX. ‘The first thing I did was remove every single product in my house—from hair care to dish detergent. I went back to grandma’s remedies—baking soda, vinegar—because I didn’t know what was safe anymore.’ As she researched, she realized just how many widely used beauty and hygiene products are packed with potentially harmful chemicals.

While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed for the removal of toxic additives in processed foods, he has yet to tackle the personal care industry. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary admits the agency is in a ‘deregulatory mindset,’ saying, ‘[We’ve] been regulating too much.’

That mindset has led to an explosion of consumer-driven tools like Yuka and Clearya, apps that scan barcodes and analyze ingredient safety using AI. ‘Most people are shocked,’ said Julie Chapon, Yuka’s co-founder. ‘They assume green packaging means safety.’

Tomlin-Harris emphasized the disproportionate impact on women of color, particularly Black women. ‘We spend nine times more on beauty products than any other demographic, yet these products often contain the most harmful ingredients—parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, benzene. These aren’t just linked to cancer. They’re weakening chemotherapy drugs. They’re disrupting hormones. They’re impacting fertility—for men and women.’

A found carcinogens in 10 of the top braiding hair brands, many of which are marketed to Black women and girls.

Janet Nudelman, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, agrees that consumers are often left choosing ‘between protecting against skin cancer versus increasing their risk of breast cancer’ because of harmful ingredientsDr. Leonardo Trasande, whose studies highlight the health hazards of common chemicals, called the current system ‘rigged to produce chemical exposures that are toxic to our hormones.’ The consequences, he warns, are societal: higher healthcare costs and lifelong reproductive and developmental health problems.

The federal government is slowly responding. The Safer Beauty Bill package, reintroduced in Congress, seeks to ban toxic ingredients, increase ingredient disclosure and protect vulnerable populations like hairstylists, nail technicians, and women of color. But for now, consumers are largely left to protect themselves.

FDA Commissioner Makary insists change is coming: ‘We’re doing an inventory of all chemicals in the food supply to see how we can make it safer.’ Still, advocacy groups say the U.S. is far behind the EU in regulating cosmetic safety.

Industry representatives push back. The Personal Care Products Council asserts: ‘PCPC and our member companies are fully committed to upholding the highest standards of safety, quality and transparency.’

But for advocates like Tomlin-Harris, promises aren’t enough. ‘This isn’t just a women’s issue,’ she said. ‘It’s a people’s issue. Men are affected. Children are affected. Our entire population is being exposed to chemicals we didn’t consent to, and we’re paying the price.’

Her message is clear: ‘We need transparency. We need regulation. And we need accountability from the companies creating these products. It’s time to detox our routines, demand safer alternatives and prioritize our health.’

Changes to the confirmation process are on the table as frustrations among Senate Republicans continue to fester while Senate Democrats continue their blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees.

Republicans have spent much of the week working deep into the night to confirm nomination after nomination, but Democrats have yet to relent and allow for any speeding up of the process.

That reality, and a request from Trump to consider canceling the fast-approaching August recess to ram through more of his nominees, has the Senate GOP mulling changes to the rules, like shortening the debate time on nominees or bundling together some picks.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., charged that Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominations was ‘Trump derangement syndrome on steroids.’

‘If we’re going to do something, we’re going to look at how we would make a modification to our rules to ensure that we can’t have the kind of delay and obstruction and blocking that the Democrats are currently using,’ Thune said.

Changing the rules, however, could open the door for Democrats to take advantage of the modifications and set a new precedent for the confirmation process.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital that Senate Democrats were just playing by the same rules that Republicans operated under when they had the majority.

‘I think that’s the only way to — a do unto others situation,’ he said. ‘And I warn them: things that sound so appealing now to make a quick change in the rules, they may soon have to live with.’

However, Senate Republicans did play ball, for the most part, with their counterparts when former President Joe Biden was in the White House. This time four years ago, Biden had 49 civilian nominees confirmed by a voice vote, a much faster and simpler process that didn’t require a full vote on the Senate floor.

And during Trump’s first term, he had five civilian nominees confirmed by voice vote. While the Senate has now confirmed over 100 of the president’s nominees, more and more of his picks — over 160 and counting — are being added to the Senate’s calendar, and Republicans are hoping that Democrats agree to a deal to move a package of nominees through the Senate.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., believed his colleagues were inclined to make changes to the rules in the face of continued Democratic resistance.

‘I think it is a big mistake where we are now,’ he said. ‘Push is going to come to shove. If there is no negotiation and no settlement before that, I believe that the rules will change.’

Some Republicans, like Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are not too concerned about changing the precedent in the Senate, given that over the last several years the nomination process has deteriorated into a partisan stand-off.

‘I’m happy to change the precedent to allow any president, Republican or Democrat, to be able to staff his administration,’ Johnson told Fox News Digital. ‘I think the confirmation system is completely out of control. I can’t imagine our Founding Fathers really thought the Senate ought to be able to advise consent on hundreds and hundreds of positions. It’s ridiculous.’

Meanwhile, Trump targeted Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for not doing away with ‘blue slips,’ a longtime Senate practice that effectively gives senators the ability to veto district court and U.S. attorney nominees in their home states.

Grassley said that he was ‘offended’ by Trump’s attack, but didn’t appear to budge on the blue slip issue. However, Grassley did ignore blue slips in 2017 to hold hearings for a pair of the president’s judicial nominees during his first term.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital that he didn’t know why Republicans wouldn’t want to have normal scrutiny and debate over their nominees.

‘Trump says jump and Senate Republicans ask how high, which is really sad for an institution with such a great sense of tradition and self-respect,’ he said.

The White House made digs at former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a Thursday press briefing, saying she’s the reason Congress is eyeing a measure to ban all lawmakers from trading stocks. 

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump accused Pelosi of accruing her wealth ‘by having inside information’ in stock trading.

‘The reason that this idea to put a ban on stock trading for members of Congress is even a thing is because of Nancy Pelosi,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday. ‘I mean, she is rightfully criticized because she makes $174,000 a year. Yet she has a net worth of approximately $413 million. In 2024, Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio — this was a fascinating statistic to me — grew 70% in one year in 2024.’ 

‘I think the president stands with the American people on this,’ Leavitt said. ‘He doesn’t want to see people like Nancy Pelosi enriching themselves off of public service and ripping off their constituents in the process.’ 

Pelosi addressed Trump’s comments during an interview Wednesday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, where she herself accused Trump of ‘projecting.’ 

‘That‘s ridiculous,’ Pelosi said Wednesday. ‘In fact, I very much support the stop the trading of members of Congress. Not that I think anybody is doing anything wrong. If they are, they are prosecuted, and they go to jail. But because of the confidence it instills in the American people, don‘t worry about this.’ 

‘But I have no concern about the obvious investments that have been made over time,’ Pelosi said. ‘I‘m not into it. My husband is, but it isn‘t anything to do with anything insider.’ 

Pelosi spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement to Fox News Digital: ‘Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.’ 

The lawmaker previously has come under scrutiny for insider trading, including in 2022 after Paul Pelosi purchased more than $1 million in shares of semiconductor company Nvidia prior to Congress voting on a subsidy to the industry. The purchase was revealed in a disclosure filing from Nancy Pelosi’s office. 

The issue has received renewed attention after the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Wednesday passed the Honest Act that Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has championed. 

The measure, which Hawley first introduced as the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act, or PELOSI Act, would bar all lawmakers and their spouses from trading stocks in office. 

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

The U.S. announced it would impose sanctions on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials just days after it disavowed a United Nations conference in which multiple countries agreed the PA should take over Gaza. Additionally, the U.S. sanctioned members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The State Department told Congress that neither the PA nor the PLO are acting in compliance with the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA). As a result of the sanctions, PLO members and PA officials will be denied U.S. visas.

‘It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,’ a State Department statement read.

The PLOCCA states any dialogue between the U.S. and the PLO is ‘contingent upon the PLO’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist, its acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and its abstention from and renunciation of all acts of terrorism.’

The MEPCA builds on the PLOCCA by requiring the imposition of sanctions if the president ‘determines that these entities have not complied with certain commitments made by the entities, and for other purposes.’

The State Department said that both the PA and the PLO violated the PLOCCA and MEPCA by ‘initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments’ and ‘taking actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel.’

It also condemned the PA and PLO for supporting terrorism, inciting and glorifying violence, and providing payments and benefits to families of Palestinian terrorists. Israel often refers to the policy of paying terrorists’ families as ‘pay-for-slay.’

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised the U.S. for issuing the sanctions and thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department for their ‘moral clarity.’

‘The PA must be held accountable for its ongoing policy of ‘Pay-for-Slay’ for terrorists and their families and incitement against Israel in its schools, textbooks, mosques and media,’ Sa’ar wrote on X. ‘This important action by [President Donald Trump] and his administration also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognize a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement.’

The announcement of sanctions comes just days after several countries signed onto an agreement at a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. The ‘New York Declaration’ calls on Hamas to disarm and surrender control of the Gaza Strip to the PA, something both Israel and the U.S. rejected.

Additionally, earlier this month, the U.S. announced sanctions against U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese over her ‘biased and malicious activities.’

‘Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West. That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,’ Rubio said in a statement.

A joint statement issued by the U.S., U.K. and a dozen other Western nations on Thursday called out Iran’s attempts to ‘kill, kidnap and harass’ foreign citizens by working with criminal networks abroad. 

The Western nations highlighted that dissidents, Jewish citizens and journalists, as well as current and former government officials, were being targeted by Iranian intelligence agents in countries across Europe and North America in a direct violation of national sovereignty.

‘We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,’ the statement, also backed by Canada, Germany and France, said. 

‘We consider these types of attacks, regardless of the target, as violations of our sovereignty,’ the statement, posted by the U.S. Virtual Embassy of Iran, added. ‘We are committed to working together to prevent these actions from happening and we call on the Iranian authorities to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories.’

More than a dozen nations condemned Iran’s actions as ‘unacceptable,’ including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

The statement, which served not only as an international rebuke, was also an alert to citizens across the European and North American continents of the hostile activities Tehran is pursuing. The warning comes as geopolitical tensions remain high following the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran last month.

Reports have long suggested that Iran has increasingly engaged in covert malign behavior to target foreign citizens.

Not only was Iran found to be behind an attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, but it was also found to be behind a slew of Europe and US-based attacks last fall, reported Reuters. 

The U.K. has also reported more than 20 incidents since 2022 of Iran-linked plots to kill or kidnap British nationals or individuals on British soil – the majority of whom were Iranian dissidents.

Journalists and activists have been targeted in the U.S. by Iranian murder-for-hire schemes and kidnapping plots for years, particularly in the wake of the 2022 mass protests that broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was killed following her arrest in Iran for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab. 

Tehran has repeatedly denied its involvement in the murder-for-hire and abduction plots.