Foreign
US Supreme Court Allows Trump’s Ban On Trans Troops To Take Effect
A divided US Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military personnel to take effect while litigation plays out, putting thousands of troops at risk of dismissal.
The ruling — which the court’s three liberal justices opposed — is a significant victory for Trump, who has made rolling back transgender rights a major part of his second term in office, and has railed against judges who blocked parts of his agenda.
Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation — which filed the lawsuit that had resulted in a lower court temporarily blocking the implementation of the ban — slammed the Supreme Court’s decision.
The ruling “is a devastating blow to transgender servicemembers who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense,” the organizations said in a statement .
“Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same values as all who serve. We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down,” they said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed the ruling as “another MASSIVE victory in the Supreme Court,” saying in a post on X that Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth “are restoring a military that is focused on readiness and lethality — not DEI or woke gender ideology.”
Hegseth meanwhile responded to the news with a post on his personal X account that said: “No More Trans @ DoD.”
In a January 27 executive order, Trump stated that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
Shifting policies
The Pentagon followed that up with a memo issued in late February stating that it would remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, as well as prevent transgender people from joining.
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the ban to take effect means thousands of currently serving troops could be removed from the ranks.
The restrictions in the Pentagon memo are aimed at those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria — of whom there were 4,240 serving in the military as of late last year, according to a senior defense official — as well as those who have a history of the condition or exhibit symptoms of it.
Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has sought to keep them out of the ranks.
The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama’s second term as president.
Under that policy, trans troops already serving were permitted to do so openly, and transgender recruits were set to start being accepted by July 1, 2017.
But the first Trump administration postponed that date to 2018 before deciding to reverse the policy entirely.
Trump’s restrictions on transgender military service — which underwent changes in response to various legal challenges — eventually came into force in April 2019 following a protracted legal battle that went all the way to the nation’s top court.
His Democratic successor Joe Biden moved to reverse the restrictions just days after he took office in 2021, but Trump was reelected last year after making clear he would again seek to target transgender rights.
Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.
AFP
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations but would maintain a US naval blockade of the country’s ports.
Trump posted on social media that he would “extend the ceasefire” until Iran came up with a proposal to end the conflict. However, he “directed our military to continue the blockade.”
Trump’s ceasefire extension came hours before it was believed to be set to expire.
It also came as the White House said Vice President JD Vance would not be going to Pakistan for what had been expected to be a second round of peace talks.
“The trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House,” a White House official said in a statement.
The US president cast the breakdown in more talks as resulting from Iranian infighting, adding that Pakistan’s leaders had asked him to extend the truce.
“Based on the fact that the government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site.
But the blockade of ports on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place, Trump said, while the US military will “in all other respects, remain ready and able.”
The ceasefire, he said, will be extended “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
US federal prosecutors said Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in an X post.
A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016,” the prosecutor said.
Mafi was arrested Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The post was accompanied by images of a woman presumed to be Mafi surrounded by federal agents at the airport, a large drone on a tarmac, a woman’s ID image and bundles of cash.
The United Nations recently warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping into “full-scale famine and collapse,” as the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its fourth year.
The UN Sudan chief, Denise Brown, told AFP Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and weapons from outside sources deserve part of the blame.
The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.
On one side, the Sudanese army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.
However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence that it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.
AFP
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and abandon ambitions for a nuclear weapon, describing negotiations as being on the verge of a major breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for Las Vegas, Trump said: “We’re very close to making a deal with Iran. We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything.”
He added that Iran had consented to return its enriched uranium, which he has repeatedly called “nuclear dust”, material believed to be buried deep underground following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump stated. He also suggested that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend and expressed uncertainty about whether the current fragile ceasefire would need extension.
The comments come amid efforts to end six weeks of conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for oil exports.
However, Iran has not publicly confirmed Trump’s assertions. Multiple reports indicate that Tehran has previously pushed back against similar claims, describing them as exaggerated.
Recent direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 collapsed without agreement, with core disputes remaining over the future of uranium enrichment inside Iran and the removal of existing stockpiles.
The White House has been discussing a possible second round of negotiations in Pakistan, with officials expressing optimism.
A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, adding pressure on Tehran.
Analysts caution that any final deal would require strict verification mechanisms, especially given the deeply buried nature of the material in question.
For Nigeria and other oil-producing nations, progress toward de-escalation could help stabilise crude prices, which have spiked due to fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
A lasting agreement might also open the door for sanctions relief on Iran, potentially shifting global energy dynamics.
Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a non-negotiable red line, while offering the prospect of broader regional stability in return for Iranian concessions.
No immediate reaction from Iranian officials was available as of press time. Further developments are expected in the coming days as diplomatic channels continue.
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