International

Definitive green light in the EU to extend the suspension of tariffs on Ukraine for one more year

The European Union gave the definitive green light on Monday to extend for one more year, from next June 6 to June 5, 2025, the suspension of tariffs and quotas on imports of Ukrainian products as a measure to support Kiev in the face of Russian aggression.

This measure, approved by the Council of the EU (the countries), is a “vital” support of the Union for the Ukrainian economy in the face of the “devastation caused by Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression,” said the executive vice president of the European Commission and head of Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, in a statement.

The suspension of tariffs for one more year, to which the plenary of the European Parliament had given its approval on April 23, will guarantee “that we keep Ukrainian products in circulation, taking into account at the same time the concerns of the EU agri-food sector,” Dombrovskis said.

The new extension includes safeguard measures to protect certain European products, essentially agricultural, in the event that Ukrainian imports not subject to tariffs generate problems in their local markets, something that some States had complained about in recent months.

“Thanks to the income generated by Ukrainian exports to and through the EU, Ukraine will have more financial means to win this war and will be in a stronger position to recover from it,” said the Community executive vice president.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The suspension of tariffs and exports of Ukrainian cereals by the so-called European solidarity lines have made it possible that, despite the war, trade in Ukrainian products has remained relatively stable, the European Commission stressed in a statement.

EU imports from Ukraine amounted to 22.8 billion euros in 2023, compared to 24 billion euros in 2021, just before the war that broke out in 2022.

According to what was approved in the EU, the Commission can act quickly and impose any measure it deems necessary if there is a significant disturbance in the Union market as a whole or in the markets of one or more Member States of the Community club as a result of Ukrainian imports.

As part of the reinforced safeguard measures to protect the farmers of the Twenty-seven, the Commission can activate “an emergency brake” for particularly sensitive agricultural products such as poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, grains, corn and honey.

If imports of these products exceed the average volume of imports recorded in the second half of 2021 and all of 2022 and 2023, tariffs may be reimposed.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

FBI Warns of Possible Iranian Drone Attack on U.S. West Coast

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned police departments in California about a possible Iranian plan to carry out a drone attack against the west coast of the United States, according to a report published Wednesday by ABC News.

The warning was issued through a memorandum sent to agencies participating in a Joint Terrorism Task Force, outlining the possibility of a surprise attack involving unmanned aerial vehicles launched from a vessel off the U.S. coastline.

According to the document, intelligence suggested that in early February 2026 Iran may have considered an attack against unspecified targets in California if the United States carried out airstrikes on Iranian territory.

However, the memo also noted that authorities lack additional details about the timing, method, specific targets, or individuals responsible for the alleged plan.

Reports cited by U.S. media indicate that the alert coincided with the start of a military offensive by the administration of Donald Trump against the Iran, a development that has heightened tensions across the Middle East.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Law enforcement sources with counterterrorism experience told the Los Angeles Times that the warning is part of a routine precautionary advisory based on information from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The sources emphasized that there is no credible indication of an imminent attack and no evidence that Iran currently has the capability to successfully carry out such an operation.

California is home to the largest Iranian community in the United States. According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than half of Iranian immigrants in the country lived in the state in 2019, including around 140,000 people in Los Angeles County alone.

The city also hosts a neighborhood widely known as “Tehrangeles,” where a large Iranian community began settling in the 1960s and continued to grow following the Iranian Revolution.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Trump Says Iran Is Welcome at 2026 World Cup but Warns of Security Concerns

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said Thursday that the national football team of Iran is “welcome” to participate in the 2026 World Cup, although he suggested it might be safer for the team not to take part in the tournament.

“The Iranian national soccer team is welcome at the World Cup, but I really don’t think it’s appropriate for them to be there, for their own safety,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

His comments came a day after Iran’s sports minister, Ahman Donyamali, said that there are currently no conditions for the country to participate in the tournament following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during a military offensive launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States.

“After the corrupt government killed our leader, there are no conditions that allow us to take part in the World Cup,” the Iranian official said. He added that the country has faced two wars in the past eight or nine months, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths, making participation in the tournament unlikely.

On Tuesday, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, met with Trump at the White House.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Following the meeting, Infantino said that Trump reiterated that Iran’s national team would be allowed to compete in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“We discussed the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the conversation, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote on Instagram.

International

Iran issues threat to Trump as conflict escalates over Strait of Hormuz

The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, warning him to “beware of being eliminated.”

The Republican president had warned on Monday that he would strike Iran “very hard” if the Islamic Republic blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the war began eleven days ago.

“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Others more powerful than you tried to destroy the Iranian nation and failed. Beware that you are not eliminated,” Larijani wrote on X.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards — the ideological military force of the Islamic Republic — also said their forces would move to block oil exports from the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military offensive against Iran is far from over.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“Our aspiration is that the Iranian people free themselves from the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, that depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the measures taken so far we are breaking their bones, and we are not finished yet,” Netanyahu said in a statement.