Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Iran, stating they will “pay the price” for not reaching a peace agreement after prolonged discussions.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump criticized Iran’s military capabilities, saying, “Iran’s Military is in shambles. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, is practically nonexistent now—they’ve been thoroughly defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Middle East bully is gone!”

He further commented, “They’ve dragged their feet on a deal that would have been beneficial to them, and now they’ll face the consequences!”

Trump’s remarks follow a series of strikes he authorized against Iran. These strikes were in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Both pilots survived the incident, which Trump described as a “miracle,” noting that an Iranian drone became lodged between the pilots without detonating.

A senior U.S. official revealed to Fox News Digital that on Tuesday night, 20 targets within Iran were successfully struck.

On Wednesday, Trump indicated that he might direct the US military to strike Iranian infrastructure, specifically bridges and power plants.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump explained that the potential escalation comes because Iran’s leadership has delayed progress on peace negotiations.

‘I may keep going,’ Trump stated. ‘They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.’

He further noted that Tehran has merely been ‘tapping the US along’ in discussions that have ultimately yielded few results.

Donald Trump warned Iran will ‘pay the price’ after failing to strike a peace deal after months of negotiations

In a separate post today, Trump slammed the ‘fake news’ media, claiming it ‘refuses to report how effective the US Naval blockade is.’

He continued: ‘Nothing gets through unless we want it to. It is a steel wall! 

Trump proceeded to call Iran a ‘failed nation,’ claiming Tehran ‘is doing zero business, not paying their military, or any of their bills,’ finishing the post with a ‘Praise be to Allah!’ 

This escalation in US tone comes after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps promised a ‘decisive response to the US aggression’, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The US and Iran have been locked in a stalemate for weeks, with Trump insisting that a peace deal is close, only for it to fall apart.

Trump remains adamant that Iran must give up its nuclear ambitions, while Tehran has demanded that any deal must include a truce in Lebanon.

US Central Command said Tuesday that it launched ‘self-defense strikes against Iran’ at Trump’s direction in response to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter with two pilots – both unharmed. The Apache is the second crewed aircraft shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter jet in April.

‘The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.’

Fighter jets from the U.S. Air Force and Navy targeted ‘air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites’ in Iran, which acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.

The US airstrikes prompted a fresh wave of attacks from Tehran, with strikes targeting sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response.

An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, on March 11

US Central Command said two pilots were rescued from a Middle Eastern waterway after their aircraft crashed off the coast of Oman. The President confirmed that Iran was responsible

The helicopter was brought down by an Iranian Shahed drone, with one US official saying it remains unclear whether the aircraft was initially targeted

Taking to his Truth Social account, Trump wrote: ‘Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess

Iranian forces ‘will leave no attack or threat unanswered,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. ‘Leave our region if you want to be safe.’

Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting US forces.

Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles at Israel after it attacked Tehran’s proxy terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel retaliated, but the two sides agreed to halt attacks on Monday after Trump’s demand for the strikes to stop.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that three people including two members of the Army Air Defense Force were killed in the Israeli strikes. 

No deaths were reported in Israel following the exchange.

They also reported early Tuesday that Tehran’s international airport, closed during the missile exchanges, had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.

This is a breaking story and will be updated. 

Group C in the World Cup promises thrilling matchups, with Brazil and Morocco emerging as the group’s titans, while Scotland brings along its vibrant and devoted fan base. This group is expected to deliver some of the most exciting matches in the tournament’s early phase.

Here’s a detailed preview of Group C.

The teams are listed in the order we predict they’ll finish.

Morocco

Odds to win the group: +350

What you need to know: Walid Regragui’s resignation from the manager’s post following defeat to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final — changed to a forfeit victory months later in a highly controversial decision — brought home just how far Moroccan football has come, and how high the expectations are going into this World Cup. Regragui’s side, which went to the 2022 World Cup semifinals, hadn’t lost a game since 2023, and he still lost his job. Mohamed Ouahbi, who previously helmed Morocco’s U20 and U23 squads — he did win the U20 World Cup last year — took over less than 100 days from the World Cup.

How they play: Morocco’s run to the 2022 semifinals was the best result in history for an African team at the World Cup and reset the bar. This tournament is as good a chance as any team from the continent has ever had to better that result, largely because of the Atlas Lions. With players such as Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, Brahim Díaz and Sofyan Amrabat, Morocco has a terrific core. They can win in a variety of ways, too — building out from the back, beating teams in wide areas, pressing high, playing deep.

Star player: Morocco has a deep, well-balanced squad, but Hakimi, their right back and captain, can lay claim to being their best player. A speedy two-way player, Hakimi has a strong record of performance for the Atlas Lions as well as at the club level for Paris Saint-Germain. Along with Ziyech, Hakimi holds the record for most World Cup games played by a Moroccan national with 10.

World Cup history: Prior to 2022, there wasn’t much of note. Morocco had made the knockout rounds just once, falling in the Round of 16 in 1986, and didn’t qualify from 2002-2018. The country’s golden generation, though, produced a result beyond their wildest dreams in Qatar. Another strong result before Morocco co-hosts the event in 2030 is very much the expectation.

Brazil

Odds: -310

What you need to know: As you would expect, Brazil brings an incredibly talented squad. From goal on out, nearly every player is world-class: Alisson, Gabriel Magalhães, Marquinhos, Raphinha, Casemiro, Vinícius Júnior, Gabriel Martinelli, Matheus Cunha, Endrick, Bruno Guimarães — Brazil will be leaving players at home who could easily start for most other teams in the tournament. Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s task is to balance egos and make it all work on the pitch, something Brazil, which last won a major trophy all the way back at the 2019 Copa America, has struggled to do lately.

How they play: Ancelotti’s great strength is his tactical flexibility. He’s evolved across a club career in which he’s won five Champions League titles as well as championships in all Big Five European leagues. The World Cup opener will be just his 13th game in charge of Brazil after the federation had a somewhat chaotic four-year cycle, so he’s still in the process of putting his stamp on the side. Broadly speaking, Brazil has played out of a 4-2-3-1 under him.

Star player: Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid winger widely rated as one of the best players in the world. Highly skilled and technically brilliant, Vinícius has dominated La Liga and the Champions League ever since moving from Flamengo to Madrid in 2018. What he hasn’t done is translate that performance to the Seleção, where he’s scored just eight times in 45 caps. Expectations for him, and for Brazil as a whole, will be incredibly high this summer.

World Cup history: Brazil is the king of the competition, having won it five times, three of those coming in a golden 12-year run from 1958-1970. The last time the competition was in the U.S. in 1994, Brazil beat Italy on penalties at the Rose Bowl to win, and took a fifth title eight years later, a record that still stands. Since that 2002 triumph, though, it’s been messier. Brazil has lost in the quarterfinals in four of the past five World Cups — and the lone exception was in 2014, when it suffered a disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semis.

Scotland

Odds: 10/1

What you need to know: Scotland’s traveling fans, known as the Tartan Army, are famous for their geniality and for traveling in large numbers. This summer, they’ll get to support what’s likely the best team the country has boasted in some time. Behind Scott McTominay, star left back Andy Robertson and midfielder John McGinn, Scotland qualified without needing to go through the playoffs. While they lack high-end goalscorers in their forward corps, Scotland’s midfield and work ethic make them a tough team to beat.

How they play: Steve Clarke has managed Scotland since 2019, and qualified it for two European Championships along with this World Cup, its first since 1998. He’s switched tactics a number of times over the years, but expect a 3-4-2-1 formation that functions as a back five and lends itself to counterattacking. His team also functions well in a high press.

Star player: McTominay, a box-to-box central midfielder who’s broken out as a superstar since leaving Manchester United two years ago for Italian side Napoli. The 29-year-old won Serie A’s Footballer of the Year award his first season in the league, and he has a flair for dramatic late goals. A native of Lancaster, England, he chose to play for Scotland — where his father is from — after then-manager Alex McLeish made the case to him in 2018.

World Cup history: If they can get through the group stage this summer — which seems possible given the expanded format — it would mark Scotland’s best-ever performance on a World Cup stage. The Scots have qualified eight times prior, but never made it out of the group, and their last time playing in a World Cup was a generation ago, all the way back in 1998.

Haiti

Odds: 120/1

What you need to know: There’s no doubt Haiti is the underdog of this group, but with a large diaspora community on the East Coast — where they’ll play and set up base camp in New Jersey — their games should at least be a pretty loud party. Natives, though, won’t be in attendance. Haiti is one of four countries at the World Cup, along with Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Iran, on President Trump’s travel ban list. In fact, manager Sébastien Migné has never set foot in Haiti, as a result of the ongoing conflict that’s forced the national team to play home games in Curaçao.

How they play: Expect Haiti to sit back in a defensive shape with four at the back and try to pick and choose opportunities on the counterattack. That’s part out of necessity — Haiti will be a heavy underdog in all three of its games — but it worked well enough to get through CONCACAF qualifying, including wins over Costa Rica and Honduras. Players such as strikers Wilson Isidor and Duckens Nazon add some quality in attack.

Star player: Isidor, who plays for Sunderland in the Premier League, has put together a solid year domestically and is likely Haiti’s biggest player in terms of name recognition. Goalkeeper Johny Placide, though, wears the captain’s armband and has 79 career caps for the national team, having helped Haiti to a surprise semifinal run in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

World Cup history: Haiti’s lone appearance at the competition came in 1974, when they lost three games to Italy, Poland and Argentina to exit in the group stage. The country does have a 1973 CONCACAF championship to its name, as well as a Gold Cup semifinal in 2019 and a Caribbean Cup championship in 2007.

Group C World Cup Schedule

Brazil vs. Morocco, Sat., June 13, 6 p.m., New York/New Jersey

Haiti vs. Scotland, Sat., June 13, 9 p.m., Boston

Scotland vs. Morocco, Fri., June 19, 6 p.m., Boston

Brazil vs. Haiti, Fri., June 19, 9 p.m., Philadelphia

Scotland vs. Brazil, Wed., June 24, 6 p.m., Miami

Morocco vs. Haiti, Wed., June 24, 6 p.m., Atlanta

A tragic incident unfolded in New York City’s Central Park on Tuesday when a 16-year-old carriage horse passed away, as confirmed by the city’s police department.

Authorities received a report of a horse’s death near Central Park West and 72nd Street at 7:29 p.m. The horse-drawn carriage was carrying two passengers at the time of the unfortunate event.

“While out for a run, I witnessed a horse struggling to breathe on the ground, and then it sadly stopped breathing,” recounted Clara Bermudez, a witness to the incident.

According to the Transport Workers Union Local 100, the horse, affectionately known as Deniz, was cherished by those who cared for him. In March, the NYPD Mounted Unit’s veterinarian had examined Deniz and declared him healthy.

Eric Loegel from TWU Local 100 expressed, “Tragically, horses, much like other domestic animals, can suffer from sudden and severe health issues.”

Deniz will be taken for a full necropsy by the pathology department of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine to determine the cause of death.

It’s a contentious divide between animal rights groups and those who support horse drawn carriages.

“I just was walking my dog and see a dead horse on the path on my walk home. And again, this is the second incident that I’ve seen in 10 months,” Danielle Leean Chin said.

“For these people to come and just accuse him of mistreating his animal, that helps him feed his children is revolting,” Christine Hansen said.

PETA Director Ashley Byrne responded to the incident with a statement saying, “If City Council needed a sign that the time is now to pass Ryder’s Law, this is it. How many more horses must collapse and die on New York City streets before this deadly horse-drawn carriage industry is put out to pasture?”

Animal Rights Groups have been trying to ban carriage rides for years.

Even before this latest casualty, they were planning a rally at city hall for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the rides remain a popular attraction for tourists.