Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared Tuesday that Iran intends to keep fighting for as long as necessary, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s prediction a day earlier that the conflict would end quickly.
At the same time, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani dismissed what he called Trump’s threats, saying the Iranian public was not intimidated by them.
“Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation,” Larijani warned Trump on X. “Watch out for yourself — lest you be eliminated.”
Araghchi’s comments, which also included a rejection of renewed negotiations with Washington, came as Iran launched another wave of strikes targeting Gulf states aligned with the United States. The attacks occurred just hours after Trump expressed confidence that the escalating war would soon come to a close.
Trump’s remarks had helped calm financial markets that had been shaken the previous day by the growing conflict. Stocks in Tokyo and Seoul rebounded sharply, while oil prices dropped by as much as five percent after surging above $100 per barrel the day before.
“It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” Trump told a news conference in Florida on Monday, after telling lawmakers that the campaign would be a “short-term excursion.”
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said.
Trump also warned that Iran would face a massive military response if it attempts to interfere with global oil shipments.
“We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world, if they do anything.”
In an interview with PBS News, Araghchi responded by saying Iran remains ready to continue its missile attacks.
“The firing continues, and we are prepared. We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”
Araghchi also dismissed the possibility of further diplomatic talks with the United States, saying previous negotiations had left Tehran distrustful.
Iran’s last direct confrontation with Israel in June 2025 — when the United States briefly joined strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities — also followed a round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
“I don’t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda,” Araghchi said, noting that the US had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks, before it launched the opening strikes of the campaign on February 28 along with Israel.
He further argued that the United States and Israel had failed in their early attempts to destabilize Iran’s leadership and were now operating without a clear objective.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued its own response to Trump, declaring that Iran itself would decide when the war ends and repeating warnings that oil shipments from the region could be halted if attacks continue.
Iran has already effectively prevented tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally travels through that route. According to the International Maritime Organization, recent attacks on commercial ships near the strait have killed at least seven sailors.
Trump later repeated his warning in a message posted on Truth Social.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
New York City is experiencing a sharp rise in pothole complaints after two major snowstorms battered the region this winter, with thousands of reports flooding the city’s 311 system and Queens accounting for the largest share of the problems, the NY Post reports.
“There’s potholes everywhere. My tires are literally crying hanging on by a thread,” an X user lamented of the city’s massive asphalt holes last week.
City records show that more than 11,300 pothole complaints have already been filed by residents in 2026. Nearly half of those reports have come from Queens alone, representing a dramatic 33 percent increase compared with the same point last year, according to a New York Post review of 311 data.
More than 5,000 warnings about potholes — described by drivers as both hazardous and aggravating — have been submitted from Queens so far this year.
Brooklyn ranks second with 2,107 reports, followed by Staten Island with 1,500 complaints. Manhattan has recorded 1,414 reports, while The Bronx has seen 1,259.
Some of the most commonly reported trouble spots include several busy Queens roadways. Northern Boulevard has generated more than 100 complaints since the start of the year, while Rockaway Boulevard has received 76 complaints and Union Turnpike has drawn 66.
Frustration from drivers has been widespread. One person said the potholes in Queens were “the size of craters,” while another called on city officials to address deteriorating sections of Queens Boulevard that are “not getting attention.”
Potholes typically develop when water seeps into cracks in pavement and repeatedly freezes and thaws, causing the asphalt to break apart. For drivers, hitting one can lead to expensive vehicle damage and repairs that can cost thousands of dollars. In addition, repairs can create traffic disruptions and longer commute times while crews work to fix the roads.
Auto repair shops are already feeling the impact. Mechanics in The Bronx told News12 last month that pothole damage is increasing, with roughly 20 repair jobs each week linked to vehicles hitting the road hazards.
“It’s going to be a peak year for potholes, not just a bad year,” said Tom Pratt, a part owner of a Long Island company that manufactures the asphalt used to repair potholes, to The New York Times.
He noted that the past few winters had been relatively mild, adding they had “almost seemed like a vacation from pothole season.”
The city’s Department of Transportation says its crews usually repair potholes within about two days of receiving a complaint.
However, a New York Post analysis of 311 records indicates that more than a quarter of the complaints filed so far this year remained unresolved as of Sunday afternoon, with cases listed as “open,” “pending” or “in progress.”
Among those still awaiting action are more than a dozen complaints involving major roads, including Union Turnpike as well as Roosevelt Avenue and Bruckner, Rockaway, Queens, Springfield and Northern boulevards.
Queens once again leads the city in unresolved cases, with 1,729 outstanding complaints — roughly one out of every three reports filed. Brooklyn follows with 453 unresolved cases, Manhattan with 414, The Bronx with 314 and Staten Island with 137.
The Department of Transportation says it fills about 170,000 potholes annually. Officials attribute much of the road damage to the harsh effects of winter weather and the equipment used to keep roads clear.
“high volumes of snowfall, salt, and use of tire chains all contribute to wear and tear on our roads.
“New York is one of the few cities in the country that runs its own asphalt plants, enabling us to pave more than 1,150 lane miles each year and fill potholes within two days of a complaint,” a DOT rep said.
“After this historic winter, we’re ramping up repairs citywide to make sure every borough’s streets are safe and smooth.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said Monday night that he is dissatisfied with the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, and suggested the new leader may struggle to maintain stability. Trump also indicated that Iran’s government may be seeking negotiations as the U.S.-Israel war with Tehran moves into its second week.
Speaking with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst during a flight on Air Force One from Miami back to Washington, Trump said Iranian officials appear eager to open discussions aimed at ending the conflict.
“It’s possible, depends on what terms, possible, only possible,” Trump told Yingst while aboard Air Force One en route to Washington from Miami. “You know, we sort of don’t have to speak anymore, you know, if you really think about it, but it’s possible.”
Trump added that he was displeased with the decision to elevate Mojtaba Khamenei to Iran’s highest position of power following the death of his father, the longtime supreme leader.
Earlier Monday, Trump had spoken with reporters at his Trump National Doral Miami golf club, where he delivered an upbeat assessment of the military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury.
“They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti-aircraft equipment, it’s all been blown up,” the president said of Iran’s military strength. “They have no radar. They have no telecommunications, and they have no leadership. It’s all gone.
“So, you know, you could look at that statement. We could, we could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave here. I could call it, or we could go further and we’re going to go further.”
Trump also defended the decision to launch the operation on Feb. 28, explaining that acting sooner prevented what he believed would have been an Iranian attack on U.S. or allied forces.
“if we had waited three days, I believe we would have been attacked” by Iran.
“When we attacked them first, we knocked out 50% of their missiles, and if we didn’t, it would have been a much harder fight,” said Trump, adding: “No other president had the guts to do it … I didn’t want some president who hasn’t got the courage in five years or ten years to go in.”
The president also said he had been informed last month by special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner that Iranian officials claimed to possess enough enriched uranium to build multiple nuclear weapons.
“I said, ‘You know, they’re not playing this smart. Because they’re basically saying that I have to attack them,’” Trump told Fox News. “They should have just said, ‘We’re not going to build a nuclear missile.’”
According to U.S. Central Command, American forces have struck more than 5,000 targets during the first ten days of Operation Epic Fury. Those strikes have included attacks on over 50 Iranian naval vessels that officials say were damaged or destroyed.
Trump also told reporters Monday evening that several major Iranian targets have intentionally been left untouched for the time being, suggesting they could be hit later if the conflict escalates.
“we’ve left some of the most important targets for later in case we need to do it. If we hit them, it’s going to take many years for them to be rebuilt.”
He explained that many of those potential targets involve infrastructure tied to Iran’s power supply and other critical systems.
“electricity production and many other things, so we’re not looking to do that if we don’t have to. But they’re the kind of things that are very easy to hit but very devastating if they are hit.
“We are waiting to see what happens before we hit them. We could take them all out in one day.”
{Matzav.com}New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted controversial anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil and his family for a Ramadan meal at Gracie Mansion, drawing renewed attention to the mayor’s public support for the Syrian-born activist, who has been accused by the Trump administration of sympathizing with Hamas.
The gathering took place as Khalil marked a year since his arrest by federal immigration authorities. Mamdani described the dinner in a message posted Monday on social media.
“Last night, as we marked the one year anniversary of his detention, Rama and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud, Noor, and their son Deen to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together,” Mamdani wrote in a Monday Instagram post.
The mayor shared a photo from the evening showing his wife, Rama Duwaji, holding a plate of food beside Khalil, who was seated at the table and smiling as he ate.
Khalil, who was born in Syria and later studied as a graduate student at Columbia University, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement early last year. The Trump administration has sought to deport him, alleging that he committed fraud on his green card application.
Federal officials have also argued that Khalil supports Hamas and have invoked a little-used provision of immigration law that allows noncitizens to be removed from the country if their views are considered a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.
Khalil has previously drawn criticism for comments he made about the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre carried out by Hamas against Israeli civilians, describing the attack as an inevitable development connected to the group’s “struggle.”
Despite that controversy, Mamdani praised Khalil in his social media post, portraying the past year of the activist’s life as a period marked by resilience.
For Mamdani, however, Khalil’s year “has been marked by profound hardship—and by profound courage,” he wrote glowingly in his Monday social media post.
“And yet, even in the face of that cruelty, there has also been beauty. New Yorkers raising their voices in solidarity. A city refusing to look away. Mahmoud won his freedom, and a father was finally reunited with his child,” the mayor continued.
Khalil’s son, the couple’s first child, was born while his father remained in ICE detention in another state. The child is expected to celebrate his first birthday on April 21.
“Mahmoud is a New Yorker, and he belongs in New York City,” Hizzoner declared.
Mamdani has repeatedly defended Khalil publicly. The activist spent three months in a federal detention facility in Louisiana before a three-judge appellate panel in New Jersey ruled in June that he should have been allowed to pursue his immigration case while continuing to work.
“I see this attack on him as part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for policy to human rights,” the mayor said at an unrelated press conference in January.
Khalil himself faced backlash late last year after comments he made appeared to justify the Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In remarks to The New York Times, he described the attack as a moment of desperation that Palestinians felt compelled to reach in order to be heard.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t avoid such a moment,” he said in an interview with the New York Times when asked about the attack by the terror group.
“To me, it felt frightening that we had to reach this moment in the Palestinian struggle,” Khalil added.
Officials in Washington were among those who sharply criticized those remarks, arguing that they reflected a pattern in which Khalil minimized the brutality of Hamas’ actions.
After being released from custody, Khalil again drew headlines when he attended an anti-Israel demonstration in New York City. At the rally, he cited the words of Anas al-Sharif, described as a Hamas operative and an Al Jazeera correspondent who was killed in an Israeli missile strike last August.
“The time is now, the bridges towards liberation start with us,” Khalil bellowed to the crowd as he recalled al-Sharif’s final words.
{Matzav.com}