Category World News

‍United States President Donald Trump has ordered the ‍Department of Homeland ⁠Security (DHS) to avoid getting involved ​in protests in Democrat-run cities unless they ask for federal help.

The announcement on Saturday followed weeks of protests sparked by a large deployment of Border Patrol and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ​to the city of Minneapolis, and the killing of two US citizens by federal agents there.

Trump, a Republican, said on his Truth Social platform that he has instructed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that “under no circumstances are we going to participate” in Democrat-run cities with regard to protests “unless, and until, they ask us for help”.

But ICE and Border Patrol will act aggressively to protect federal buildings, he wrote.

“There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence,” he said.

“We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection, to be damaged in any way, shape, or form,” he added.

There was no immediate comment from the DHS or the office of Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey.

Trump launched the immigration crackdowns last year, targeting Democrat-led states and cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, saying the militarised operations were necessary to remove criminals from the US.

The crackdown in Minneapolis, the biggest city in the state of Minnesota, is the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, according to federal officials, with some 3,000 agents deployed. The operation began in November, with officials tying it in part to allegations of fraud involving residents of Somali origin.

The surge has pitted city and state officials against the federal government, prompted daily clashes between activists and immigration officers, and led to the killings of Alex Pretti on January 14 and Renee Good on January 7 by federal agents, who said they were reacting to threats. Bystander videos and witness accounts contradict those claims, however.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis and other US cities on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and others also challenged the immigration enforcement surge in the state, arguing that DHS is violating constitutional protections.

But a federal judge has said she will not halt enforcement operations as the lawsuit proceeds. Department of Justice lawyers have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous”.

Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo, reporting from Minnesota, said Trump’s latest announcement signals a softer tone from the White House on the immigration crackdown.

He noted that it followed the Trump administration’s decision to replace the senior Border Patrol commander, Greg Bovino, who had been leading the crackdown in Minneapolis, with border tsar Tom Homan.

The top official said on Thursday that federal agents would focus on targeted operations in Minneapolis, shifting away from broad street sweeps that have drawn outrage, and that he would reduce the number of agents deployed to the city if he received “cooperation” from state and local leaders.

“All of this signals more cooperation between local authorities and federal officials, which has created a little bit of a sense of optimism here in the city that tensions may be beginning to calm down,” said Rapalo.

It all started with a direct US attack on Venezuela earlier this month.

Back then, US President Donald Trump made it clear that he was only interested in the country’s substantial oil reserves.

On Thursday, the government in Caracas announced a massive overhaul of the petroleum sector.

Venezuela’s interim president has signed a law easing state control and opening the door for private firms to invest in the country.

For many, it paves the way for US oil giants to return to Venezuela with significant investments.

But who will stand to gain from the changes, Venezuela or the United States? Or both?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests

Elias Ferrer – founder and director of Orinoco Research

Andrew Lipow – president of Lipow Oil Associates

Iran’s top security official has said progress is being made towards negotiations with the United States, even as the Iranian foreign minister again accused Washington of raising tensions between the two countries.

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a social media post on Saturday that, “unlike the artificial media war atmosphere, the formation of a structure for negotiations is progressing”.

Larijani’s post did not provide further details about the purported framework for talks.

Tensions have been rising between Iran and the US for weeks amid US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to attack the country over a crackdown on recent antigovernment protests, and his push to curtail the Iranian nuclear programme.

The Trump administration has also deployed a naval “armada” to Iran, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, escalating fears of a possible military confrontation.

Senior Iranian leaders have said they are open to negotiations with Washington, but only once Trump stops threatening to attack the country.

Earlier this week, Trump said the US vessels being sent to Iran were ready to use “violence, if necessary” if Iran refused to sit down for talks on its nuclear programme.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) also warned Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday over its plans to hold a two-day naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf maritime passage that is critical to global trade.

“Any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation, and destabilization,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi hit back on Saturday, saying in a social media post that the US military, operating off Iran’s shores, “is now attempting to dictate how our Powerful Armed Forces should conduct target practice on their own turf”.

“CENTCOM is also requesting ‘professionalism’ from a national military the U.S. Government has listed as a ‘terrorist organization’, all while recognizing the right of that same ‘terrorist organization’ to conduct military drills!” Araghchi wrote.

The US designated the IRGC, an elite branch of the Iranian military, as a “terrorist” organisation in 2019, during Trump’s first term in office.

Araghchi added, “The presence of outside forces in our region has always caused the exact opposite of what is declared: promoting escalation instead of de-escalation”.

Reporting from the Iranian capital, Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the situation remains “quite fragile and delicate” amid the US military buildup in the region.

Still, he said that Saturday’s statement by Larijani, the Iranian security official, about progress being made on efforts to hold negotiations was a “positive” sign.

“Diplomatic [efforts] are [on]going,” Asadi said, noting that senior Iranian officials have held talks with allies in recent days amid a push to prevent a confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met with Larajani in Tehran on Saturday to discuss “efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region”.

Sheikh Mohammed reiterated Qatar’s “support for all efforts aimed at reducing tensions and achieving peaceful solutions that enhance security and stability in the region”, the ministry said of the talks in a statement.

Iraq’s main Shia alliance, which holds a parliamentary majority, has reiterated its support for reinstating Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister, despite United States President Donald Trump threatening to end US support to the country.

The Coordination Framework said in a statement on Saturday that it “reiterates its support for its nominee, Nouri Kamel al-Maliki, for the premiership.”

“Choosing the prime minister is an exclusively Iraqi constitutional matter … free from foreign interference.”

Earlier this week, Trump warned Iraq that if al-Maliki were chosen as Iraq’s next prime minister, then Washington would withdraw support, the latest in a growing list of interventions in the politics of other nations made by Trump or members of his administration.

Al-Maliki rejected Trump’s threat on Wednesday in a post on X, condemning the “blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs” and insisting that he would not withdraw his candidacy for the top job.

Trump has been running a campaign to curb the influence of Iran-linked groups in Iraq, which has long walked a tightrope between its two closest allies, Washington and Tehran.

Al-Maliki, 75, is a senior figure in the Shia Islamic Dawa Party. His tenure as prime minister from 2006 to 2014 was a period marked by a power struggle with Sunni and Kurdish rivals, accusations of corruption and growing tension with the US.

He stepped down after ISIL (ISIS) seized large parts of the country in 2014, but has remained an influential political player, leading the State of Law coalition and maintaining close ties with Iran-backed factions.

Following United States forces’ abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a new set of questions is emerging as to how far Donald Trump is prepared to go in pushing US power abroad through direct intervention.

But is this a real break with past policy – or the latest iteration of the US’s longstanding interventionist power play in Latin America?

And with Cuba back in the administration’s sights, will Trump push for further action in the region?