President Donald Trump said that two Muslim Democratic US Representatives, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, should be “institutionalised” and sent back to “where they came from,” a day after they had a heated exchange with him during his State of the Union address.

Both Omar and Tlaib shouted “you’re killing Americans” at Trump during his speech, with Omar also calling him a “liar.”

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said the two lawmakers “had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized.”

“We should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible,” Trump added. Both Omar and Tlaib are U.S. citizens.

House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries cast Trump’s rhetoric against Tlaib and Omar as “xenophobic” and “disgraceful.” Tlaib said on X that Trump’s comments showed “he is crashing out.”

Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations also said Trump’s comments were racist.

“It’s racist and bigoted to say two Muslim US lawmakers should be sent to the country they were born in or where their ancestors came from based on their criticism of the gunning down of Americans by ICE,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that members of the media have “smeared” the president as a racist.

Trump’s immigration enforcement actions were criticised following two separate January fatal shootings of US citizens by federal agents in Minnesota. At least eight people have died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centres since the start of 2026, following at least 31 deaths last year.

During his Tuesday speech, Trump reiterated his accusation that Somali communities in the US have engaged in fraud and claimed that “Somali pirates” had ransacked Minnesota. His administration had used fraud allegations to deploy armed federal immigration agents in Minnesota.

Trump has cast his actions as aiming to tackle fraud and improve domestic security.

Rights groups say the crackdown has created a fearful environment and that Trump has used isolated fraud cases as an excuse to target immigrants. They also dismiss Trump’s ability to tackle fraud, citing pardons from him to those who have faced fraud convictions in the past.

Trump also recently faced criticism after his social media account posted a video that contained a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

• US military buildup has raised fears of regional conflict.
• Khamenei faces internal pressure due to economy, protests.
• Iran has indicated it could make concessions.

GENEVA: Iran and the US hold the latest round of talks in Geneva on Thursday aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new US strikes on Iran following a large-scale military buildup.

The two countries renewed negotiations this month, hoping to tackle a decades-long stand-off over Tehran’s nuclear program, which Washington, other Western states and Israel believe is aimed at building nuclear arms. Tehran denies this.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the indirect talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a US official told Reuters. The talks follow discussions in Geneva last week and will be mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.

US President Donald Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying his preference was to solve the problem through diplomacy, but that he would not allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.

Pressure inside and outside Iran

On Wednesday, US Vice President JD Vance underscored Trump’s argument.

“Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. That would be the ultimate military objective, if that’s the route that (Trump) chose,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News.

The US has been assembling a massive military force in the Middle East, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. In June last year, the US joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has threatened to retaliate fiercely if attacked again.

Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10-15 days, warning that “really bad things” would otherwise happen.

Araqchi on Tuesday said his country aims to achieve a fair, swift deal, but reiterated that it would not forgo its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Washington views nuclear enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons.

“A deal is within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority,” Araqchi said in a statement on X.

Reuters reported on Sunday that Tehran was offering fresh concessions in return for removal of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, as it seeks to avert a US attack.

However, both sides remain sharply divided – even over the scope and sequencing of relief from crippling US sanctions — a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Within Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy struggling under the weight of tightened sanctions and renewed protests following major unrest and a bloody crackdown in January.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi is also expected to be in Geneva during the talks to hold discussions with both sides, as he did last week.

• US sees evidence Iran is rebuilding its nuclear programme.
• Trump says June strikes destroyed key facilities.
• Geneva talks between US, Iran set for Thursday.

WASHINGTON: The United States sees evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear programme after US-led strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June, Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the strikes in June destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites and that he will not allow Tehran to reconstitute the programme.

“The principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters, a day ahead of talks in Geneva between US and Iranian delegations.

Vance said US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be meeting an Iranian delegation in Geneva on Thursday to assess whether an agreement can be reached, with a massive US military presence in the region.