President Trump said on Thursday that the Iranian national soccer team is welcome to the United States for the World Cup. However, Trump said he didn’t think it was “appropriate” for them to be there. “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he said. TRUMP: The Iran, national soccer team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. pic.twitter.com/zH79liTuQb — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 12, 2026 ESPN shared further: Iran, one of 48 teams in the tournament, is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. On Wednesday, the Iranian sports minister said that Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup following airstrikes against the country by the United States and Israel. “Given that this corrupt government assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Ahmad Donyamali reportedly told Iranian state television. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first day of attacks. He has since been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. “What has happened in the past few months shows that the conditions for our national football team to participate in the World Cup do not exist and this team will not participate in the upcoming event,” Donyamali said, according to Good Morning America. Iran will not participate in the World Cup this summer amid the ongoing U.S. and Israeli-led strikes on the nation, the country's sports minister said Wednesday. https://t.co/Cnv8ygejNF — ABC News (@ABC) March 11, 2026 Good Morning America has more: The United States is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico, with matches being played across all three North American nations. President Donald Trump met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday and told him that the Iranian soccer team is welcome to participate at this year’s World Cup, a White House official and a source familiar with the conversation told ABC News. Sources described it as a “long” meeting that included the White House’s World Cup task force executive director Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The Iranian women’s soccer team has also faced uncertainty due to the ongoing war. Seven members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team were granted asylum in Australia this week, as international concern grew around the fate of the team, who had been playing in a tournament there when the U.S. war with Iran started. The team had faced criticism from Iranian state media after some of its players refused to sing along with their country’s national anthem ahead of their March 2 match against South Korea.

President Trump announced that America First Refining will open the first new U.S. oil refinery in 50 years in Brownsville, Texas. “THIS IS A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL — THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY, A MASSIVE WIN for American Workers, Energy, and the GREAT People of South Texas! Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment. It is because of our America First Agenda, streamlining Permits, and lowering Taxes, that have attracted Billions of Dollars in Deals coming back to our Nation. A new Refinery at the Port of Brownsville, will fuel U.S. Markets, strengthen our National Security, boost American Energy production, deliver Billions of Dollars in Economic impact, and will be THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD,” Trump explained. “It will power Global Exports, and bring THOUSANDS of long overdue Jobs and Growth to a Region that deserves it. This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. AMERICA FIRST, ALWAYS!” he continued. President Donald J. Trump announces that America First Refining is opening the FIRST new U.S. Oil Refinery in 50 YEARS in Brownsville, Texas. This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. pic.twitter.com/UTOW7wECCI — The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 10, 2026 CNBC explained further: The refinery’s opening coincides with elevated global oil prices driven by the intensifying conflict in the Middle East. Since the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the prices of crude have been volatile, hitting nearly $120 on Monday. Higher fuel prices are beneficial for shale refiners. U.S. crude oil was up 1.15% up $84.71 per barrel at 10:38 p.m. ET. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.33% at $88.98. Reliance Industries and America First Refining did not respond to a request for comment. America First Refining said in a statement Tuesday that it received a “9-figure investment from a global supermajor at a 10-figure valuation,” without giving any further details about the investors. The “same global supermajor” has also signed a 20-year deal to purchase, process, and distribute shale oil sourced and produced stateside, America First Refining added. The refinery will process 1.2 billion barrels of U.S. light shale oil, valued at $125 billion, and produce 50 billion gallons of refined products worth $175 billion. “It’s a win for American workers, it’s a win for American consumers, it’s a win for America, and it’s a win for American shale producers,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. Footage below: "It's a win for American workers, it's a win for American consumers… and it's a win for American shale producers." — @SecretaryBurgum on news of the first new U.S. oil refinery in nearly 50 years opening in Brownsville, Texas. pic.twitter.com/dGh8pdNWJZ — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 11, 2026 Fox Business has more: Unlike many existing U.S. refineries that depend on foreign oil, the facility will not require imported crude, which strengthens U.S. national and economic security. Key advantages of the refinery include the capacity to process 60 million barrels per year of 100% U.S. light shale oil, a strategic location at a deep-water U.S. port, enabling distribution to domestic and international markets and the production of some of the cleanest gasoline, diesel and jet fuel refined at scale in the U.S. From 2014 to 2024, the U.S. exported nearly 10 billion barrels of crude, while still importing roughly 28 billion barrels, costing American consumers and workers more than $1.8 trillion. Once operational, the AFR refinery will redirect up to 60 million barrels of U.S. crude annually back into domestic refining, strengthening American industry, energy security and economic growth. Beyond industrial growth, the company’s website notes it will drive community engagement through educational partnerships and apprenticeships designed to foster long-term social equity and economic stability in the area. The executive management team collectively has more than a century of experience in the chemical and refining industries, having managed nearly $40 billion in complex capital projects.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against the story from ABC News that said the FBI warned California police departments about the possibility of Iran launching drone attacks against the West Coast. “Iran Allegedly Aspired” To Conduct Drone Attack On California, FBI Warned "This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?" Leavitt said. "TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did," she added. This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even… https://t.co/jKey9ahsNk — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 12, 2026 Leavitt shared a post from FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson. "On the left is the way ABC (or their source) reported the FBI alert. On the right is the actual FBI alert that went to JTFF partners. You will notice the word left out —'Unverified,'" Williamson wrote. The way ABC News reported the FBI alert: “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack." The alert that went to JTFF partners read: "We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack." On the left is the way ABC (or their source) reported the FBI alert. On the right is the actual FBI alert that went to JTFF partners. You will notice the word left out —“Unverified.” https://t.co/zSBHObisAI pic.twitter.com/XEZPeNKmDA — Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) March 12, 2026 A closer look: More from The Hill: Concern over potential threats to the U.S. in the wake of the strikes on Iran have risen in recent days. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he has been briefed on how many Iranian sleeper cells are in the U.S. “A lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border,” the president said. “But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them, I think.”

Three brothers of Iraqi origin have been arrested in connection with an explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Reports Of Explosion At U.S. Embassy In European Country The brothers, all in their 20s, are Norwegian citizens and were taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon. Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, authorities said Wednesday. https://t.co/RgNC42gAeb — CBS News (@CBSNews) March 11, 2026 CBS News explained further: The explosion occurred at one of the entrances to the U.S. Embassy around 1 a.m. local time, Oslo police previously said. Police incident commander Michael Dellemyr told public broadcaster NRK that the blast hit the entrance of the embassy's consular section. Police reinforced security measures in Oslo and increased their presence around the embassy after the blast. Police also upped security measures to protect the Iranian diaspora and Jewish communities in Norway. Officials said that there were no indications of a lingering threat after the explosion. Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo police investigation unit, told reporters at a news conference that it may have been a deliberate attack linked to the crisis in the Middle East, Reuters reported. He later told NRK that terrorism was one of several motives authorities were investigating. The brothers were arrested on suspicion of a "terrorist bombing" at the building. Investigators are still trying to determine a motive. "We are still working from several hypotheses. One of them is whether this is an order from a government entity," said police prosecutor Christian Hatlo, according to CBS News. "This is quite natural given the target — the U.S. embassy — and the security situation the world is in today," he added. Three Norwegian brothers of Iraqi descent arrested over US embassy 'terror bombing' in Oslo https://t.co/u43dVK0JG8 pic.twitter.com/AoZSHh2JZD — New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2026 More from the New York Post: One of the brothers is believed to have planted the improvised explosive, while the other two were involved in plotting the attack, where nobody was injured, Hatlo added. “We believe they detonated a powerful bomb at the US ​embassy with the intention of taking lives or causing significant damage,” Hatlo said, adding that none of the ​suspects had been interrogated yet. Authorities had released eerie images on Monday of one of the hooded suspects with his face hidden and carrying a backpack. Before the suspects were arrested, investigators had said that the bombing was possibly an “act of terrorism” linked to the escalating war in the Middle East after US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has found a new home. And it’s not because she wanted a better view either. Multiple reports have revealed that Bondi has moved into military housing after receiving numerous threats during her time as AG. The threats she has received are both domestic and foreign threats. The Independent reported her move to prosecute Maduro played a role in her seeking new housing: Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly been moved to secure housing on a Washington, D.C. area military base after she received threats from drug cartels and those angry over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to a new report. Sometime in the past month, Bondi was moved out of an apartment in Washington, D.C. after federal law enforcement officials flagged the threats against her, The New York Times reports, citing “people familiar with the situation.” Bondi reportedly began receiving threats in the wake of the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, a senior official with direct knowledge told The NYT. The report did not include specific details of any of the threats made against Bondi. The Daily Mail also confirmed that the way she has handled the Epstein files also played a role: Pam Bondi moves into secure military housing amid threats from cartels and outrage over Epstein files https://t.co/gyZzGjWVKd — Daily Mail (@DailyMail) March 11, 2026 The New York Times reported Bondi is not the only one from the Trump admin who is living in military housing: Other officials who have relocated include Stephen Miller, the president’s top domestic policy adviser and the architect of his hard-line immigration policy; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Kristi Noem, the exiting homeland security secretary; and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Daniel P. Driscoll, the Army secretary, has also moved into military housing, as has Navy Secretary John Phelan, whose home in Washington was damaged in a fire last year. It is not clear how much, if anything, officials are paying to stay at some of the most historic properties in the government’s possession. A spokeswoman for Ms. Noem, who was recently ousted from her job by President Trump, told The New York Times that she was paying “fair-market rent” for her accommodations last year. A spokesman for Ms. Bondi did not comment on the matter, other than to ask that The Times not publish the specific location of the base. With Republicans constantly getting targeted by radical leftists and with the potential of Iranian sleeper cells being activated, this was a smart move by Bondi.