Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Fox News on Thursday that Iran did not “choose war” with the United States and claimed the country was forced to fight back, while also denying the nation’s nuclear ambitions.

“Is Iran choosing war or a deal? Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked. “We did not choose war. The war was imposed on us. We do not seek war,” Pezeshkian replied.

“Rather, whenever they attack us, we are forced to defend ourselves,” he continued. “We’ve never started a war, but if they wish to keep fighting with us, we will respond strongly, resolutely. And today, the pressures that they keep imposing on us is — so as to force us to surrender outside of a legal framework of international law, which is impossible.”

“So is Iran choosing war or a deal?”@BretBaier presses Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an exclusive @SpecialReport interview as U.S.-Iran negotiations continue amid heightened tensions.

“We do not choose war. The war was imposed on us. We do not seek war,” Pezeshkian… pic.twitter.com/CIusXvkRyY

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 24, 2026

Baier also asked, “Do you want a nuclear bomb or not?”

“Not at all. Not at all,” he replied. “Our martyred, esteemed supreme leader had announced several times that, from a religious decree, it is unholy. It is illegal.”

These denials, however, clash with U.S. intel about Iran enriching uranium to levels far beyond those needed for civilian energy.

A congressional report from July about Iran’s nuclear weapons production stated: “Since the early 2000s, Tehran’s construction of gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facilities has generated widespread concern in Congress that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons.”

“According to past U.S. intelligence assessments, Tehran had the capacity to produce nuclear weapons at some point but had halted its nuclear weapons program and had not mastered all of the necessary technologies for building such weapons,” the report added.

Pezeshkian’s statements are also in direct contradiction with Iran’s actions over the past several decades when it comes to funding terrorist activity against the United States.

A 2021 report by the U.S. State Department outlines various instances in which Iran acted with intent to harm American interests and cited how the nation was “designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984.”

“Iran continued its support for terrorist-related activity in 2021, including support for Hizballah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various terrorist and militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East,” the report stated.

“Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to provide support to terrorist organizations, provide cover for associated covert operations, and create instability in the region,” it continued. “Iran has acknowledged the involvement of the IRGC-QF in the Iraq and Syria conflicts, and the IRGC-QF is Iran’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorist activity abroad. In 2019, the Secretary of State designated the IRGC, including IRGC-QF, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

Additionally, Iran has used “regional militant and proxy groups to provide deniability, in an attempt to shield it from accountability for its destabilizing policies.”

Pezeshkian claimed that Tehran would be willing to lower its enrichment levels and allow outside inspectors to verify their actions, but their inability to come to a deal with American officials has left things in limbo.

“So, that weapon’s mass destruction. We said we’re willing to dilute them. It’s not a big deal. We are willing to submit ourselves to verification,” he said.

Iran’s president also stated that the memorandum of understanding signed by himself and Trump should be used as a framework for the future.

“That agreement was signed, and, based on that, we are willing and still wish to move forward,” he declared. “And the framework was agreed upon. We had not closed the Strait of Hormuz; it was open without any legal justification or framework.”

Trump has been promising an end to the conflict for months, but has been unable to definitively conclude the war.

During the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on Tuesday, the president said “we’re making a lot of progress” on Iran, but it remains unclear if the conflict will come to a close before the midterm elections.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Iranian President Plays Victim on Fox News After Decades of Terror Funding: ‘We Do Not Seek War’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

German youth do not feel like going to war for their Globalist overlords.

We have been reporting here on TGP about how the lust for rearmament has befallen Europe in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

As is usually the case, Germany is one of the most engaged countries in this process.

Read: Germany Unveils Strategy for Turning the Bundeswehr Into Europe’s Strongest Military

In order to have sufficient manpower to make the Bundeswehr a formidable fighting force, Berlin is floating the idea of reinstating the compulsory military service.

Read: POWDER KEG EUROPE: German Men Now Have to Ask the Army for Permission to Leave the Country for More Than Three Months

But before such decisions are even implemented, students and teachers across the country are going on strike to protest against the possible reintroduction of the draft.

Here’s the situation: Approximately 45,000 people in 100 cities across Germany participated in rallies organized by students and schoolchildren protesting the potential reinstatement of mandatory military conscription. pic.twitter.com/QX2qDAwNYt

— (@SprinterPress) September 25, 2026

BBC reported:

“One of the organizers of the strike, Bela Breitner, from School Strike Against Compulsory Military Service said the federal government was ‘serious about gradually reintroducing compulsory military service’.

At one protest in Hamburg, demonstrators waved flags and held up banners emblazoned with the words ‘We won’t take part in your wars’.”

Russia is not the enemy!”
Thousands of students across Germany protested against the introduction of mandatory military service.
The reason for the dissatisfaction is the new rules for mandatory military service: men of military age must fill out questionnaires about their health… pic.twitter.com/SmYxtujZIE

— (@SprinterPress) September 25, 2026

Boosting the German military is one of failing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s main priorities – but we are talking about a ‘leader’ that polls show 78% of voters want out of office, so it’s no surprise that this particular initiative is highly unpopular.

“A new law introducing voluntary military service came into force in January, with the aim of recruiting volunteers to increase the number of soldiers.

However, if the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers come forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered by Germany’s Parliament, the Bundestag.”

Das russische Fernsehen berichtet:

„Merz, wir haben genug!“, „Eure Kriege – ohne uns!“, „Schüler gegen den Wehrdienst!“

In Deutschland gewinnt die Protestaktion „Schulstreik gegen die Einberufung“ an Fahrt. Die Organisatoren geben an, dass mehr als 45.000 Menschen teilnehmen. https://t.co/IZbmEJdtb8 pic.twitter.com/S7M6M4nVcl

— RUSSNiUS (@vladi2726) September 25, 2026

One protester, 16-year-old Elias Bernhard, from Hamburg, said that the responses to the questionnaires “show that young people do not want to join the Bundeswehr [Germany’s armed forces]”.

“The questionnaire is mandatory for men and voluntary for women. All 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for possible military service.”

And in some towns, the young people are being sent ‘invitations’ for military medical exams, regardless of their expressed lack of interest in serving in the military.

Read more:

Germany Approves Major Package of Attack Drones for the Bundeswehr, With a Half a Billion Euro Initial Purchase

The post German Students on Strike Against Mandatory Military Service (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump went off on CNN and MS Now this morning after CNN complained that they were blocked from traveling aboard Air Force One with the President this weekend. 

Trump nuked CNN and MS Now, aka “MSDNC,” early this morning, questioning why they should be given access when they continue to cover him negatively and dishonestly almost 100% of the time.

“Why should perpetrators of FAKE NEWS, like CNN and MSDNC, be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House? Despite my big Election Win, almost 100% of ‘TRUMP’ coverage is negative, and has been for years!” Trump wrote.

“FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!! IT HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AT A TREMENDOUS COST TO OUR COUNTRY,” Trump added in another post.

Real America’s Voice, The Gateway Pundit, and Red State Media are currently traveling with the President and covering his attendance at the University of Tennessee vs. University of Texas football game this afternoon. Earlier this week, Real America’s Voice also took over the press pool to cover Trump’s trip to New York. Lindell TV later stepped in to cover Chinese President Xi Jinping amid a boycott by the mainstream media following Trump’s ban last week on CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House.

We spoke to RAV correspondent Taylor Mitchell this morning before boarding Air Force One. “We take our job very seriously, and we believe that we have a responsibility to the people to provide this footage and content of the President of the United States,” she said.

WATCH:

Another big day for the new media at the White House. @RealAmVoice’s @taymitchell_tv is replacing CNN again on Air Force One Today

We are both joining President Trump at the University of Tennessee vs. University of Texas Football Game!

Follow along with RAV and… pic.twitter.com/NtVlwjYpFz

— Jordan Conradson (@ConradsonJordan) September 26, 2026

CNN said they were prevented from covering Xi Jinping’s arrival at a state dinner on Thursday, and CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene and Anderson Cooper announced on live TV that CNN was not listed as television pool in the White House’s daily guidance last night.

“The White House is now preventing CNN from carrying out their TV duties,” Treene claimed. “It’s unclear what’s going to happen to [the pool coverage] now.”

CNN also dishonestly reported that “no outlet was listed as replacing CNN, meaning there will be no television pool coverage of his trip,” despite Real America’s Voice being listed in the television pool.

MORE:

WATCH: CNN Whines About Being Replaced by Real America’s Voice and LindellTV on Air Force One Trip

The post Trump Blasts Fake News as CNN Barred From Air Force One – RAV and TGP Travel with POTUS appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

French popular response has been overwhelming.

No quasi-pagan ‘blessing of the ice’, no gay rainbow clothes in Cathedrals, no focus on leftist proselytism, no obsessing over Ukraine and Gaza.

Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit was surprisingly filled with… religion.

The eldest daughter of the Church, France blossomed to receive the Pontiff: church bells rang across the country for seven minutes to mark the arrival.

Leo rode his Popemobile while 300,000 people lined the streets of Paris with chants and flags.

He spent Vespers at the magnificent Notre-Dame Cathedral, the first papal visit since the 2019 fire and 2024 reopening.

There, 8,000 people chanted the Salve Rainha with him, bringing him to tears.

Moving scenes as Pope Leo XIV cries as thousands of faithful sing the Salve Regina in Latin to honour Our Lady of Paris, on the steps of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. pic.twitter.com/bsIKknJGFE

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) September 25, 2026

But there was so much more to come: Leo’s youth vigil at Stade de France gathered 80,000 fervent young people aged 17–35.

A visibly moved Leo called them ‘the saints of France’.

The sound you hear is the noise of 80,000 young people gathered in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis to listen to the encouraging words of the Vicar of Christ himself, Pope Leo XIV. pic.twitter.com/4ZfezzRM9J

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) September 25, 2026

It was one of the most moving moments of Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer Vigil with young people at the Stade de France.

Hundreds of actors represented France’s more than 1,700 saints and blesseds, creating a striking image of a true “army of holiness.”

Pope Leo XIV was deeply moved and,… pic.twitter.com/NaRj50JSBR

— EWTN News (@EWTNews) September 25, 2026

Saint Joan of Arc honoured by a woman on horseback at Pope Leo XIV’s Youth Vigil with 80,000 young people in the Stade de France pic.twitter.com/QUFhis4aOd

— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) September 25, 2026

And the Christian ‘popular response’ in France is perhaps best expressed by the surge in adult baptisms.

The ‘secular Republic’ is seeing a sharp rise in chosen (rather than inherited) faith: in Easter 2026, a total of 21,386 adolescents and adults received baptisms – up 28% from 2025, and more than tripled since 2016 (4,124 that year).

In total, up to a million people are expected – in Paris alone – to catch a glimpse of Leo in the first Papal state visit to France in 18 years.

FRANCE

‘A President who claims to be uninterested in the church and Catholics would be failing in his duty’

Pope Leo XIV to Emmanuel Macron in Paris pic.twitter.com/Nbuy8yHqjr

— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) September 25, 2026

So, the terrain was fertile for Leo’s most important statement of the state visit, so far:

Pope kicks off French visit with rebuke on assisted dying laws https://t.co/8fTHROkhkN

— The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes) September 25, 2026

The Telegraph reported:

“Pope Leo XIV criticized assisted dying in a speech at the Elysée Palace in front of Emmanuel Macron, just weeks after France passed a law allowing euthanasia.

[…] Mr. Macron rolled out the red carpet at the presidential residence for the Pope, whose grandmother was French, but that did not prevent the pontiff from criticizing the new law.

‘I am concerned at times by those trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death’, he said with Mr. Macron by his side.”

NEW: Pope Leo to UNESCO in Paris hits back against euthanasia —

“The human being is certainly one who is born, but also one who dies.
Our dignity is not destroyed by illness or suffering, nor is it dependent upon our abilities.
Rather, it calls for loving care at every stage… pic.twitter.com/OAvVGRwmCM

— Michael Haynes (@MLJHaynes) September 25, 2026

Read more:

Notre Dame of Paris Holds First Wedding in 30 Years: A Carpenter Who Helped Rebuild Medieval Wooden Framework Marries His Bride in World-Famous Cathedral (VIDEO)

The post During Historic Visit to France, Pope Leo XIV Condemns Their Assisted Dying Laws to Macron’s Face (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Starbucks said Thursday it will close about 250 locations in North America later this week.

The Seattle-based chain called the move a “difficult decision” after reviewing stores that it says cannot deliver the experience it wants or a path to acceptable financial results, according to a report from Fox Business.

Coffee giant Starbucks announcing it’s closing hundreds of locations across North America in a sudden shakeup.

Starbucks says it will close approximately 250 coffeehouses that have been struggling to perform financially this week.

“Closing any coffeehouse is a difficult decision, and we know today’s news will be hard for the partners, customers and communities affected,” the company said in a statement.

Read the full details on the impending closures:
https://t.co/jyYXEUZeFz

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 24, 2026

The closures amount to about 1 percent of more than 18,000 North American locations.

“Closing any coffeehouse is a difficult decision, and we know today’s news will be hard for the partners, customers and communities affected,” Starbucks COO Mike Grams said in a statement.

Grams also framed the store cuts as ordinary portfolio management.

“Every year we close some coffeehouses and open others,” Grams said.

The company did not publish a list of addresses and is contacting workers at the affected stores directly.

Starbucks also told regulators it expects about $300 million in restructuring charges tied to the shutdowns. Roughly $200 million covers early lease exits and separation pay. About $100 million covers assets left behind.

Most of the closings are slated before the end of fiscal 2026, which ends this month. The chain still plans to open more shops than it closes this year. It now forecasts about 440 net new stores worldwide, down from an earlier target of 600 to 650.

The wave is the second major round under Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who took over in 2024 and branded his plan “Back to Starbucks.”

Niccol’s pitch has centered on fewer weak cafes, shorter waits, and shops that feel like coffeehouses again. The company said this week it is speeding café “uplifts,” with at least 1,500 redesigns by the end of the fiscal year.

Same-store sales recently rose 7.9 percent in the third quarter, beating Wall Street’s 5.7 percent estimate and topping the prior quarter’s 6.2 percent gain.

Starbucks Workers United, which represents hundreds of U.S. stores, said it did not yet know how many union partners would be hit.

The announcement landed days after Starbucks resolved a Florida DEI lawsuit that Attorney General James Uthmeier filed in December 2025. His office accused the coffee giant of violating the Florida Civil Rights Act by using race and sex-based goals, quotas, and preferences in hiring, promotions, pay, executive compensation, mentorship programs, supplier selection, and board makeup.

MASSIVE WIN: Florida just FORCED Starbucks to CAVE on their race- and gender-based DEI hiring goals. The company is paying $1M and agreeing to drop their ILLEGAL quotas and preferences.

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie: “That agreement, by the way, applies to all Starbucks locations nationwide.”

HUGE!

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) September 19, 2026

Under the settlement, Starbucks will pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs to cover the cost of bringing the case.

More important to the state’s demand, the company agreed to drop race and sex-based targets nationwide, not just in Florida, and to stop joining groups that require it to increase the racial diversity of its board.

Starbucks’ chief legal officer must certify compliance every year for four years.

Uthmeier said the point was simple: people should be hired and paid on merit, qualifications, and character. The store closure news and the DEI deal are separate files, but they hit in the same week of a company trying to reset both its cafés and its workplace rules.

Following the regulatory filing, analysts called the step costly but consistent with a turnaround that is still being judged on traffic, margins, and whether customers come back for more than a mobile order.

With the projected $300 million restructuring hit on the horizon, the focus remains squarely on execution. Market experts point out that while trimming underperforming assets stabilizes the balance sheet, the true benchmark for Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” initiative will be whether it restores the traditional “third place” cafe experience.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Starbucks to Close Down Hundreds of Underperforming Locations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.