Politics
Trump vows to stand firm ahead of Putin summit
US President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he would not be intimidated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin ahead of a high-stakes summit, stressing that Ukraine would be part of any agreement concerning its future.
Putin is set to arrive in Alaska on Friday at Trump’s invitation, marking his first visit to a Western nation since ordering the 2022 invasion of Ukraine a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
With Russia making battlefield advances, the Kremlin confirmed the two leaders would meet one-on-one, fueling concerns among European leaders that Putin might pressure Trump into accepting a settlement on Kyiv’s terms.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “I am president, and he’s not going to mess around with me.”
“I’ll know within the first few minutes whether we’re going to have a good meeting or a bad one,” Trump continued. “If it’s bad, it’ll be over quickly. If it’s good, we could see peace in the near future.” He estimated the summit had a one-in-four chance of failing.
Trump has previously expressed admiration for Putin and faced backlash after the 2018 Helsinki summit, where he appeared to side with the Russian leader over US intelligence assessments regarding Moscow’s election interference.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaska meeting, has criticized it as a reward for Putin and rejected Trump’s calls to cede territory.
Trump promised not to finalize any deal with Putin alone, and said he hoped to hold a three-way summit with Zelensky, possibly immediately afterwards in Alaska.
“The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal.
And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy’ things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term,” Trump told Fox News Radio.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters any future deal needed also to ensure “security guarantees” for Ukraine.
But Trump has previously backed Russia’s stance in ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.
– Shifting Trump tone –
Trump had boasted that he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January.
But his calls to Putin — and intense pressure on Zelensky to accept concessions — have failed to move the Russian leader and Trump has warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin keeps snubbing his overtures.
The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military installation in Alaska that has been crucial in monitoring Russia.
Zelensky met in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who vowed solidarity, a day after receiving support in Berlin.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Putin on Friday to seize the “opportunity” of a ceasefire.
“The goal must be a summit also attended by President Zelensky” where “a ceasefire must be agreed”, he said in a statement, adding that Trump “can now take a major step toward peace”.
Russia has made major gains on the ground ahead of the summit.
Ukraine on Thursday issued a mandatory evacuation of families with children from the eastern town of Druzhkivka and four nearby villages near an area where Russia made a swift breakthrough.
Mixed views on diplomacy
Diplomacy since Russia’s invasion has largely failed to secure agreements beyond swaps of prisoners.
Russia said Thursday it had returned 84 prisoners to Ukraine in exchange for an equal number of Russian POWs.
The war has proved divisive in the United States, with a Pew Research Center poll finding that 59 percent of Americans lacked confidence in Trump’s wisdom on the issue.
Anchorage, nestled under mountains, bore few indications it was the center of global attention except for signs denouncing Putin put up on downtown streets, where people gave mixed opinions of the summit.
“I think it’s a travesty to invite a war criminal like Putin to the United States. My primary concern is that he’s going to negotiate away everything and it’s not going to be possible to have a peaceful solution,” said Jay Ahuja, 62, a retiree from North Carolina.
But Kimberly Brown, a 63-year-old retiree from Ohio, said Alaska was a “perfect place” for the summit.
“I just think that Trump is the best person to negotiate world peace.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed, as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Several countries, global bodies and prominent groups responded to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, urging de-escalation.
Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced the targeting of Iran’s supreme leader in joint strikes by the United States and Israel, saying such actions were a “violation of the norms of international law”.
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said that it was an age-old convention that the heads of state or government should not be targeted.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over the violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
China
China said it “strongly condemns” the United States and Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling again for a halt to military actions.
The assassination was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”.
Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday “unreservedly” condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“I unreservedly condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This act places the Middle East on the edge of grave and sustained instability. I extend my condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Iranian people at this profoundly difficult momen,” wrote
Indonesia’s Ulema Muslim Clerical Council
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “illegal act of aggression”.
The attacks “constitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature”, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.
Iranian president
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had launched ballistic missile strikes targeting a US aircraft carrier, identifying the vessel as the USS Abraham Lincoln, as part of what it called “Operation True Promise 4.”
In a statement, the IRGC’s public relations office said four ballistic missiles were fired at the carrier, adding that Iran’s military campaign had entered a “new phase.” The group warned that both land and sea would become the “burial place” for what it described as aggressors.
Multiple Waves of Strikes Announced
Earlier, the IRGC said it had launched the seventh and eighth waves of strikes under the same operation, in response to what it termed ongoing aggression by the United States and Israel.
Iran claimed it had carried out precision strikes on military targets in Israeli territory, including areas near Tel Aviv and Haifa. It also alleged that Israeli officials had taken shelter due to heightened security concerns.
Targets Across the Gulf
The IRGC further stated that it had targeted US-operated facilities in West Asia, including the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, as well as installations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
There has been no immediate confirmation from US or Israeli officials regarding the reported missile strikes or the extent of any damage.
Rising Regional Tensions
The developments mark a sharp escalation in regional tensions following reported military exchanges between Iran, Israel and US forces over the weekend.
Independent verification of the claims remains pending, and international observers have urged restraint amid fears of a broader conflict across the Middle East.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
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