British Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, deputy commander of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that "there has been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq or Syria." In a rare rebuke of an allied military leader, U.S. Central Command said Ghika's comments "run counter to the identified credible threats" from "Iranian-backed forces in the region."
But Ghika is hardly alone in his apparent skepticism of recent U.S. warnings about Iran and its unspecified plots against U.S. "interests" in the Middle East.
"Intelligence and military officials in Europe as well as in the United States said that over the past year, most aggressive moves have originated not in Tehran, but in Washington," specifically from National Security Adviser John Bolton, The New York Times reports. One American official told the Times that "the new intelligence of an increased Iranian threat was 'small stuff,'" and "the ultimate goal of the yearlong economic sanctions campaign by the Trump administration was to draw Iran into an armed conflict with the United States."
The Trump administration's "anti-Iran push has proved difficult even among the allies, which remember a similar campaign against Iraq that was led in part by Mr. Bolton and was fueled by false claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," the Times reports. "Privately, several European officials" suggested Bolton and fellow Iran hawk Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are "pushing an unsuspecting" President Trump toward war with Iran "before the president realizes it."
On Monday, Pompeo "unsuccessfully crashed a gathering of European foreign ministers, hoping to gin up a united front on Iran" but leaving rebuked, Ishaan Tharoor writes at The Washington Post. Spain announced Tuesday it's "withdrawing a frigate from a U.S.-led naval group in the Persian Gulf because Madrid wanted no part in an explicitly anti-Iran mission." Iraqi officials told the Times they are also skeptical of U.S. intelligence Pompeo shared about purported threats to U.S. facilities and personnel. Peter Weber
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have evidence pointing to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' girlfriend Lauren Sanchez as the person who provided her brother, Michael Sanchez, with text messages that he later sold to The National Enquirer for its article about Bezos' extramarital affair with Sanchez, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. There are no reports, however, that Lauren Sanchez was aware of her brother's plans.
The sources said the prosecutors' evidence includes text messages Sanchez sent her brother containing flirtatious messages and photos from Bezos in 2018.
The revelation comes on the heels of speculation that Saudi Arabia may have played a role in the leak, which was enhanced by reports that Bezos' phone was hacked after a WhatsApp conversation with an account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The Verge notes that it still seems likely that Michael Sanchez was the primary source behind the Enquirer's story, but it's still possible that Saudi Arabia hacked Bezos' phone for separate reasons. Saudi Arabia denied the allegations. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Tim O'Donnell
As experts tell people to not to panic about the unfamiliar coronavirus, several governments are taking steps to limit its spread.
A second case of the respiratory virus that originated in Wuhan, China, leaving more than 40 people dead and causing quarantines and transit closures throughout China, has been confirmed in the United States. Officials said Friday that a Chicago woman in her 60s has been diagnosed with the virus, and they're monitoring 63 other possible cases across 22 U.S. states. The Chicago patient, who last week returned home from Wuhan, is reportedly isolated in the hospital, and officials say she's doing well and has had limited contact with others.
The U.S. is reportedly planning to evacuate its citizens and diplomats from Wuhan on Sunday via a chartered plane — any additional seats may be offered to non-U.S. citizens. Elsewhere, Hong Kong, where there's five confirmed cases, on Saturday declared the outbreak "an emergency," scrapping Lunar New Year celebrations, restricting links to the mainland, and keeping schools closed. Australia, Malaysia, and France also reported cases Friday.
More than 1,300 have been infected across the globe, mostly in China. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. Tim O'Donnell
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose known for being wary of the press, apparently did not enjoy his latest interview.
Pompeo reportedly berated NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly on Friday after she interviewed him about the ousting of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. During Friday's interview, which aired on NPR's Morning Edition, Pompeo said he has "defended every State Department official on his team," but did not provide Kelly with a specific example of him defending Yovanovitch. Pompeo complained that he was there to talk about Iran, but Kelly assured him she confirmed with his team that she would ask him about Ukraine, as well.
Following the interview, Kelly said she was summoned by a Pompeo aide to a private room where Pompeo "shouted" at her, asking if she thought "Americans care about Ukraine" and challenging her to point to the country on an unmarked map, which the well-traveled, veteran reporter was able to do.
Journalists like CNN's Jake Tapper defended Kelly's line questioning, while Democratic politicians blasted Pompeo's behavior. The State Department didn't have much to say on the matter, though.
At the end of their encounter, Kelly said Pompeo told her "people will hear about this." They sure did - straight from Kelly. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell
At least 14 people are dead and hundreds more injured after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit eastern Turkey on Friday, Turkish officials tell The Associated Press.
The quake hit at 8:55 p.m. in the Elazig province, where Gov. Cetin Oktay Kaldirim told NTV television that three people had died. Gov. Aydin Barus of the the neighboring Malatya province told state TV that five people had been reported dead there. At least 225 people were injured in Elazig and 90 in Malatya, the Daily Sabah reported.
Several aftershocks followed the initial quake, with the harshest ones hitting magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.1. Some buildings collapsed in Elazig and one caught fire in the town of Sivrice, but it was quickly doused. A four- or five-story building had also collapsed in the town of Maden, and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told NTV television earlier Friday that rescuers were on the scene.
Some people's homes were too damaged to return to, and others were afraid to go back inside in case of later shocks or collapses, so they were "being moved to student dormitories or sports center amid freezing conditions," AP writes. Kathryn Krawczyk
After Annabella Sciorra testified that disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s, Rosie Perez took the stand Friday to back her up.
Perez testified in the ongoing Weinstein rape trial after Sciorra told jurors Thursday that in 1993 or 1994, Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment. Bolstering Sciorra's claim, Perez said Friday that in 1993, Sciorra told her, "I think I was raped," The New York Times reports.
Although Perez testified that Sciorra initially did not name the alleged perpetrator, she said Sciorra later told her it was Weinstein.
"She swore me never to tell anybody," Perez said. "I told her to go to the police, and she said: 'I can't. He will destroy me. He will destroy my career."
Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 80 women, is facing charges of sexual assault and rape. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex acts. Prosecutors allege Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on a woman in 2006 and raped a woman in 2013, but Sciorra testified as a "prior bad acts" witness as prosecutors attempt to establish a pattern of behavior. If convicted, Weinstein faces possible life in prison. Brendan Morrow