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 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.

• Modi expresses condolences for victims of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
• Says India supports efforts towards durable peace and regional stability.
• Netanyahu praises India’s support, calls it defensive wall against barbarism.

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi told lawmakers in Jerusalem on Wednesday that India stands “firmly” with Israel following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.

Modi also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a two-day visit aimed at deepening trade and defence ties that has drawn criticism at home.

“I… carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7,” Modi said in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

“We feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.”

In his speech, Modi did not explicitly mention the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza during the more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

But he said that India “supports all efforts that contribute to durable peace and regional stability”.

Modi also told Israeli lawmakers that his country’s economic growth and Israel’s leadership in technological innovation formed a “natural foundation for our forward-looking partnership”.

“I see a lot of synergies in areas such as quantum technologies, semiconductors and artificial intelligence,” he added.

Netanyahu told Modi that “India supports Israel because it understands that Israel serves as a defensive wall against barbarism”, adding that his visit will allow them to “further reinforce our ties”.

It is Modi’s second visit to Israel as prime minister since he took office in 2014.

‘A real friendship’

Earlier on Wednesday, a red carpet was rolled out at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and Modi was greeted with a hug by Netanyahu as he disembarked the plane.

“The two leaders share a special and a personal relationship,” Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for Netanyahu’s office, said in a video posted on X.

“The bond between Israel and India is a powerful alliance as we are partners in innovation, security and a shared strategic vision,” she added.

Netanyahu’s office said the two right-wing leaders held a private meeting after the welcoming ceremony, with the Israeli premier hailing “a real friendship”.

In a post on X, Modi described the meeting as “excellent”.

“We discussed a wide range of topics aimed at deepening and strengthening the bilateral relations between our two countries,” he said.

The pair “held an in-depth conversation about major developments in the region”, he added.

Modi is also scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog during the visit.

New Delhi has steadily expanded cooperation with Israel across the defence, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity sectors, while balancing diplomatic interests in the Middle East.

Talks opened in New Delhi on Monday for an India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India’s government said in a statement, noting that merchandise trade reached $3.62 billion in 2024-2025.

Full diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. Ties deepened after Hindu-nationalist leader Modi took office in 2014.

Criticism at home

Modi first visited Israel as prime minister in 2017, before Netanyahu made a reciprocal visit to India the following year.

In 2023, grand plans were unveiled in New Delhi for an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor — to link railways, ports, electricity, data networks and pipelines, including through Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Those plans were stalled by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which responded with a devastating war in the Gaza Strip.

Months after his 2017 visit to Israel, Modi travelled to Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority.

His current visit has sparked criticism at home.

Senior Congress party figure Priyanka Gandhi — sister of opposition leader Rahul — posted on social media on Wednesday that she hoped Modi would mention the killing of “thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza” during his address to the Israeli parliament.

India, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, is majority Hindu, but an estimated 220 million Indians are Muslim.

One of India’s largest conglomerates, Adani Group, operates the Israeli port of Haifa, while Israeli military drone technology played a pivotal role during India’s May 2025 clash with Pakistan.