WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump made fun of the French president and his wife during a private lunch Wednesday, as he lambasted Nato allies for not joining the war against Iran that has roiled the Middle East.

“We didn’t need them, but I asked anyway,” Trump told a private lunch in a video posted briefly on the White House YouTube channel before access was blocked.

“I call up France, Macron — whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw,” Trump said.

He was referring to a May 2025 news video that appeared to show Brigitte Macron shoving the French president’s face on a trip to Vietnam, which Macron later rejected as part of a disinformation campaign.

“And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately,'” Trump continued.

He then mimics a French accent to give Macron’s alleged answer: “‘No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won,'” he said.

“I said, ‘No no, I don’t need after the war is won Emmanuel,'” Trump said.

“So I learned about Nato — Nato won’t be there if we ever have the big one, you know what I mean by the big one,” Trump said, without elaborating.

He also branded Nato a “paper tiger,” the latest salvo by Trump and his top officials against the transatlantic alliance since he returned to the White House last year.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with Nato once the war against Iran has concluded.

• No immediate casualties; islands urged evacuation preparedness.
• Indonesia issued tsunami warnings, with 0.3-1m waves possible.
• Guam, Japan, Malaysia, PNG, Philippines, Taiwan may face waves.
  

An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck the Northern Molucca Sea off Indonesia’s historic spice island of Ternate on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning for neighbouring Southeast Asian nations.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, though the agency reported aftershocks of magnitude as high as 5, and Indonesia issued tsunami warnings for areas in its provinces of North Maluku and North Sulawesi.

Regional governments in some cities, such as Ternate and Tidore, the former spice islands, were urged to prepare citizens for evacuation, while news channel Metro TV broadcast images of damaged buildings.

The quake, its magnitude revised down from an initial 7.8, struck at a depth of 35km (22 miles), greater than the early figure of 10km (6 miles), the USGS added.

Its epicentre was about 120km (75 miles) from Ternate, in North Maluku, which has a population of more than 200,000, the agency said.

Hazardous tsunamis were possible along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia within 1,000km (620 miles) of the epicentre, US tsunami warning authorities said.

Waves of height ranging from 0.3m to 1m (0.98ft to 3.28ft) above the tide level could hit some coastal areas of Indonesia, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

It also warned of the risk of waves less than 0.3m (1ft) over tide levels for the coasts of Guam, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Japan may see waves of up to 0.2m (8 inches), but no damage is expected, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, as it warned a tsunami could occur in the Pacific.

Indonesia straddles the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity where tectonic plates meet, and earthquakes are frequent.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday published an open letter directly to the American public, challenging the rationale behind the ongoing US‑Israeli campaign against Tehran and urging citizens in the United States to reconsider the motives driving Washington’s foreign policy.

In the wide‑ranging message, Pezeshkian questioned longstanding assumptions about Iran as a security threat, traced grievances in bilateral relations back decades, and insisted that Iran’s recent military measures are grounded in self‑defence rather than aggression.

The letter comes as US President Donald Trump prepares to address the nation on the state of the conflict.

Here’s the full text of his letter:

“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

“To the people of the United States of America, and to all those who, amid a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives, continue to seek the truth and aspire to a better life:

“Iran — by this very name, character, and identity — is one of the oldest continuous civilisations in human history. Despite its historical and geographical advantages at various times, Iran has never, in its modern history, chosen the path of aggression, expansion, colonialism, or domination. Even after enduring occupation, invasion, and sustained pressure from global powers — and despite possessing military superiority over many of its neighbours — Iran has never initiated a war. Yet it has resolutely and bravely repelled those who have attacked it.

“The Iranian people harbour no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighbouring countries. Even in the face of repeated foreign interventions and pressures throughout their proud history, Iranians have consistently drawn a clear distinction between governments and the peoples they govern. This is a deeply rooted principle in Iranian culture and collective consciousness — not a temporary political stance.

“For this reason, portraying Iran as a threat is neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts. Such a perception is the product of political and economic whims of the powerful — the need to manufacture an enemy in order to justify pressure, maintain military dominance, sustain the arms industry, and control strategic markets. In such an environment, if a threat does not exist, it is invented.

“Within this same framework, the United States has concentrated the largest number of its forces, bases, and military capabilities around Iran — a country that, at least since the founding of the United States, has never initiated a war. Recent American aggressions launched from these very bases have demonstrated how threatening such a military presence truly is. Naturally, no country confronted with such conditions would forgo strengthening its defensive capabilities. What Iran has done — and continues to do — is a measured response grounded in legitimate self-defence, and by no means an initiation of war or aggression.

“Relations between Iran and the United States were not originally hostile, and early interactions between the Iranian and American people were not marred with hostility or tension. The turning point, however, was the 1953 coup d’etat — an illegal American intervention aimed at preventing the nationalisation of Iran’s own resources. That coup disrupted Iran’s democratic process, reinstated dictatorship, and sowed deep distrust among Iranians toward US policies. This distrust deepened further with America’s support for the Shah’s regime, its backing of Saddam Hussein during the imposed war of the 1980s, the imposition of the longest and most comprehensive sanctions in modern history, and ultimately, unprovoked military aggression — twice, in the midst of negotiations —against Iran.

“Yet all these pressures have failed to weaken Iran. On the contrary, the country has grown stronger in many areas: literacy rates have tripled —from roughly 30 per cent before the Islamic Revolution to over 90pc today; higher education has expanded dramatically; significant advances have been achieved in modern technology; healthcare services have improved; and infrastructure has developed at a pace and scale incomparable to the past. These are measurable, observable realities that stand independent of fabricated narratives.

“At the same time, the destructive and inhumane impact of sanctions, war, and aggression on the lives of the resilient Iranian people must not be underestimated. The continuation of military aggression and recent bombings profoundly affect people’s lives, attitudes, and perspectives. This reflects a fundamental human truth: when war inflicts irreparable harm on lives, homes, cities, and futures, people will not remain indifferent toward those responsible.

“This raises a fundamental question: Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behaviour? Does the massacre of innocent children, the destruction of cancer-treatment pharmaceutical facilities, or boasting about bombing a country ‘back to the stone ages’ serve any purpose other than further damaging the United States’ global standing?

“Iran pursued negotiations, reached an agreement, and fulfilled all its commitments. The decision to withdraw from that agreement, escalate toward confrontation, and launch two acts of aggression in the midst of negotiations were destructive choices made by the US government —choices that served the delusions of a foreign aggressor.

“Attacking Iran’s vital infrastructure — including energy and industrial facilities — directly targets the Iranian people. Beyond constituting a war crime, such actions carry consequences that extend far beyond Iran’s borders. They generate instability, increase human and economic costs, and perpetuate cycles of tension, planting seeds of resentment that will endure for years. This is not a demonstration of strength; it is a sign of strategic bewilderment and an inability to achieve a sustainable solution.

“Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime? Is it not true that Israel, by manufacturing an Iranian threat, seeks to divert global attention away from its crimes toward the Palestinians? Is it not evident that Israel now aims to fight Iran to the last American soldier and the last American taxpayer dollar — shifting the burden of its delusions onto Iran, the region, and the United States itself in pursuit of illegitimate interests?

“Is ‘America First’ truly among the priorities of the US government today?

“I invite you to look beyond the machinery of misinformation — an integral part of this aggression — and instead speak with those who have visited Iran. Observe the many accomplished Iranian immigrants — educated in Iran — who now teach and conduct research at the world’s most prestigious universities, or contribute to the most advanced technology firms in the West. Do these realities align with the distortions you are being told about Iran and its people?

“Today, the world stands at crossroads. Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before. The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come. Throughout its millennia of proud history, Iran has outlasted many aggressors. All that remains of them are tarnished names in history, while Iran endures —resilient, dignified, and proud.”