Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Hero Kanu has added 22 pounds since last season, now weighing 321 lbs. The Ohio State transfer is taking a leadership role and targeting a CFP national championship in 2026.
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Hero Kanu bulks up to 321 pounds, and he's just getting started
Using Female-Fronted Now As A Genre Is Just As Lazy As It Was 30 Years Ago
Just out of curiosity – does Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox sound in anyway similar to say, Kiarely “Kia” Castillo or Janel Monique Duarte (formerly) of Conquer Divide? Do Lizzie Hale of Halestorm and Fernanda Lira of Crypta share some common characteristic that defines what they sound like? Or are all of the bands just lumped together because of their gender? Do Babymetal and Jinjer belong in the same ‘female-fronted‘ genre when that description does absolutely nothing to describe what any of these artists sound like. Do ‘female vocalists’ carry more weight than say, female guitarists, bassists, drummers, songwriters, producers, or engineers?
Kawaii metal, progressive metalcore, melodic death metal, deathcore, symphonic doom metal – those are genres that actually define what an artist sounds like. So fucking what, it’s a ‘female-fronted’ band. Tell me what their music sounds like. We don’t say ‘male-fronted’ or ‘male vocalist,’ so if we’re talking about equality here, in its true theory – gender shouldn’t be mentioned. It’s not a factor in how a band sounds. Courtney LaPlante, Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Vélez of The Warning, Fernanda Lira, and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and their vocals don’t have a whole lot in common except for the fact that they often fall in women’s normal range – but that’s about it.
Zines like Sonic Cathedral trace the roots of not only the word ‘female-fronted,’ but metal’s own variation ‘femme-metal,’ all the way back to the 50s with the ‘doo-woop’ girl groups because, you guessed it – they’re all trailblazing women. But, ‘femme-metal’ became used to not only describe, but lazily market, symphonic doom metal bands like Nightwish or Within Temptation that started emerging in the late 90s, early 2000s, the actual description of the technicalities of the all-encompassing, gloriously skin-crawling structures that any one of the ‘femme-metal’ produced, reduced to a mere description of what society deemed to be feminine. The new genre description notably became prevalent with record-labels and magazines as journalists ran with this sensationalist story-angle, sectioning women off from the genre, suggesting that metal is inherently male at its default. Sensationalism and selling records – obviously – became far more important than the innovative nature of bands like Holy Moses, Theatre of Tragedy, and Lacuna Coil, further separating them from the ‘metal’ genre they were actively contributing to.
The sectioning-off of women from the metal genre not just suggested, but reinforced the subconscious – or conscious – belief that metal belongs to men, and ‘femme-metal’ and ‘female-fronted’ rock bands were merely variations and not naturally members of a genre, without prejudice, and yet, we still find ourselves cycling through the same terminology and the same conscious exclusion and belief that metal is masculine. But it’s a tale as old as time, women have existed in the same space as men since the beginning of Homo sapiens – females and males have existed since the beginning of life. So, why is it surprising or sensational that a woman is doing the same thing as a man? Why does a genre have an inherent gender?
But it’s a relevant question for the consistent highlighting of a vocalist’s gender when it is a woman behind the microphone. And then where do women like drummers Denise Dufort [Girlschool] and Meredith Henderson [VCTMS], guitarists Nita Strauss and Diamond Rowe [Tetrarch], and bassist Jo Bench [Bolt Thrower] fall in this entire conversation? Just straight up not apart of it because they aren’t the lead singer? Well, that is until they’re asked ‘What it’s like to be a woman in a band?‘ with expectant eyes from a male interviewer they’ve never met before, then women are apart of the equation. Men have never had to justify or highlight the fact that they were a man in an interview, an album, at a festival – yet there’s an expectation that women should not only be highlighted, but almost… (patronisingly) praised. ‘Ah, yes, you can be a part of this too. Look at you! Good job.‘ There’s a certain diminishing and chauvinist nature to this kind of labelling that is honestly more destructive than productive.
For the most part, women don’t give a fuck if it’s a male vocalist. It’s never been a point of comparison – “Yeah, he’s pretty good for a male vocalist” – rather, it’s “Yeah, he’s pretty good.” Why is it necessary to point out that “she’s pretty good for a female vocalist.” It’s an irrelevant, unnecessary, and quite honestly, lazy, description of any ‘female-fronted‘ artist. The Warning‘s melodic hard rock – as well as contributions from bassist Alejandra Villarreal Vélez and drummer Paulina Villarreal Vélez – is overshadowed by the fact that they’re a young, ‘female-fronted’ band; Crypta‘s soul-crushing death metal in which vocalist Fernanda Lira serving also as the bassist is overlooked; Within Temptation‘s pioneering steps into symphonic metal forfeited to be described in favour of a marketing ploy; Jinjer‘s progressive metalcore that doesn’t entirely set them apart from a rather legendary status, and Kittie‘s heavy metal become reduced to a mere three word description that doesn’t tell the listener, a potential fan, anything about the band except for their damn gender.
Calling bands ‘female-fronted’ doesn’t actually include women in metal spaces, rather it separates them, and creates a divide between how bands are categorised and identified sonically – women become commodities and inclusion becomes something to be ‘praised.’ Then, introducing that level of commodity leads to objectification, sexualised, and the oppression of women in heavy metal and rock spaces as their actions are then dictated by what sells – and we all know what sells. Instead of lauded for their accomplishments in their respective genres, women are pinned against each other, held to unrealistic beauty standards, taught that they can’t respond to others in the same way their male counterparts can, and reduced to visual entertainment rather than artists performing or promoting their artwork.
So, when you’re inevitably about to hit ‘post’ on that Instagram story, sharing one those ‘female-fronted’ playlists on streaming platforms on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, whatever, for this Women’s Month – don’t. You’re perpetuating the very same issue that you may find abhorrent. Instead, close the Instagram app and start adding those artists to your playlists that fit their genre, their ‘vibe.’ Do some research on what they’re about. Don’t rely on the word ‘female’ to be a tagline that is commodified and exploited for the sake of making men money. Go to your local record shop, buy a record from that artist. Support them directly – not because they’re women, but because it’s good music and you like it.
Pictured: Arch Enemy, Babymetal, Calva Louise, Conquer Divide, Crypta, Evanescence, Halestorm, Lacuna Coil, Jinjer, Kittie, Spiritbox, The Warning, Within Temptation
Rivian CEO’s AI-Powered Robotics Startup Raises $500 Million
Mind Robotics is building factory robots, joining up with the electric-vehicle maker on training and testing.
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Big East basketball tournament 2026 scores, bracket as St. John’s wins back-to-back titles
No. 1 seed St. John’s defeated No. 2 seed UConn 72-52 on Saturday in the Big East Tournament championship game for its second consecutive conference tournament win under coach Rick Pitino. The Red Storm recorded a wire-to-wire win for the third consecutive day.
On the eve of Selection Sunday, St. John’s (28-6) made one final statement to the committee with a convincing victory over UConn (29-5), a team vying for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
After struggling in the last matchup against UConn, St. John’s star big man Zuby Ejiofor had a performance to remember. He finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks — which set a record for the most blocks in a Big East title game. The other player who accomplished the feat was Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) in 1984.
Now, UConn and St. John’s will await their seeding on Selection Sunday. The Big East is expected to send three teams to the tournament: UConn, St. John’s and Villanova.
More conference tournament scores, results: ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | SEC
Get up-to-date results, plus what they mean for the NCAA Tournament bubble and seeding with our CBS Sports Bracketology LIVE BLOG.
2026 Big East Tournament scores, results
First round — Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: No. 9 Providence 91, No. 8 Butler 81 | Recap
Game 2: No. 10 Xavier 89, No. 7 Marquette 87 | Recap
Game 3: No. 11 Georgetown 63, No. 6 DePaul 56 | Recap
Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 12
Game 4: No. 1 St. John’s 85, No. 9 Providence 72 | Recap
Game 5: No. 4 Seton Hall 72, No. 5 Creighton 61 | Recap
Game 6: No. 2 UConn 93, No. 10 Xavier 68 | Recap
Game 7: No. 11 Georgetown 78, No. 3 Villanova 64 | Recap
Semifinals — Friday, March 13
Game 8: No.1 St. John’s 78, No. 4 Seton Hall 68 | Recap
Game 9: No. 2 UConn 67, No. 11 Georgetown 51 | Recap
Big East Tournament Championship Game — Saturday, March 14
Game 10: No.1 St. John’s 72, No. 2 UConn 52 | Recap
Rwanda threatens to withdraw its counterinsurgency troops from Mozambique
KAMPALA, Uganda — Rwanda will withdraw its counterinsurgency troops from Mozambique if the mission’s foreign backers don’t maintain “sustainable funding,” the foreign minister said on Saturday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said in a post on X that Rwandan troops were “being constantly questioned, vilified, criticized, blamed or sanctioned by the very countries that benefit from our intervention in Mozambique.”
Nduhungirehe said: “It’s not that “Rwanda could withdraw.”
“It’s that “Rwanda WILL withdraw” its troops from Mozambique, if sustainable funding is not secured for its counter-terrorism operations in Cabo Delgado,” he said, referring to a northern province of Mozambique.
Last week, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on “several senior Rwandan officials for fueling instability” in eastern Congo, intensifying pressure on the East African country after sanctions that targeted Rwanda’s military.
The unnamed Rwandan officials allegedly support Congo’s M23 rebel group, which the U.S. government says persists despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed in December between the governments of Rwanda and Congo.
Eastern Congo’s M23 rebellion has caused the death or displacement of thousands of people. Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N.
M23 emerged in 2012 as a Tutsi-led rebel group whose members said that a 2009 agreement signed to look after their interests — including integration into the army and the return of refugees from elsewhere in East Africa — had been violated by Congo’s government.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has described M23’s struggle as justified in defense of the rights of Congolese Tutsis, who have sought shelter in neighboring countries over the years.
Rwandan authorities have criticized what they feel is injustice over U.S. sanctions. They say Congo hasn’t been targeted for its own alleged violations of the agreement.
The sanctions marked an ongoing change in U.S. government policy toward Rwanda, which for years had avoided international censure for its alleged military involvement in the territory of its much larger neighbor.
In Mozambique, however, Rwandan troops are helping to deter a jihadi insurgency launched in 2017 in Cabo Delgado.
The insurgent group, known as Islamic State-Mozambique, gained notoriety when it launched a 12-day attack on the coastal town of Palma in 2021, killing dozens of security officers, local civilians and foreign workers — and forcing French energy company TotalEnergies to halt a $20 billion offshore liquified natural gas project nearby.
That project is key to Mozambique’s development — one reason authorities there welcomed the deployment of Rwandan peacekeepers in July 2021.
Nduhungirehe complained that Rwandan troops were being condemned, despite their “ultimate sacrifice to stabilize this region” and allow internally displaced people to go back home.
In a separate post on X, government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said the cost of deploying to Mozambique is at least 10 times more than the roughly 20 million euros (nearly $23 million) disbursed by the European Peace Facility. Makolo was responding to a Bloomberg report that European Union funding for Rwandan deployment in Mozambique will expire in May.
If Rwanda’s military authorities “assess that the work being done by Rwandan Security Forces in Cabo Delgado is not appreciated, they would be right to urge the government to end this bilateral counter-terrorism arrangement and pull out,” Makolo said.
Impact winds across New Mexico on Sunday with fire danger
Impact winds across New Mexico on Sunday with fire danger
Sunday is an IMPACT Weather Day for strong northwest winds; power outages possible.
THE DAY TOMORROW, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE WIND GUSTS MOVING IN RIGHT NOW, WE’RE NOT REALLY FEELING TOO MUCH. WE HAVE HIGH PRESSURE OFF TO OUR WEST, REALLY NOT SETTLED IN JUST YET. IT’S GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER DAY AND A HALF FOR THAT TO REALLY GIVE US WHAT WE NEED. BUT A COLD FRONT IS ON THE WAY AND THAT’S GOING TO STIR THINGS UP FOR US. IT WILL BE BREEZY. WE’RE KEEPING OUR WARM TEMPS INTO THE EVENING HOURS, BUT AS WE GET INTO THE OVERNIGHT, TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO DROP QUITE A BIT. SO BE PREPARED FOR A COOL MORNING START TOMORROW. AND SOME OF THAT WIND BEGINNING TO DIAL UP AFTER SUNRISE. SO FAR WE HAVE SOME PRETTY LARGE WIND GUSTS ACROSS OUR NORTHERN ZONES INTO THE 30S, MIDDLE AND UPPER 30S IN AND AROUND DURANGO. SO A LITTLE BREEZY TO WINDY FOR MANY OF US FOR OUR SATURDAY. AND WE’RE GOING TO DIAL IT UP TOMORROW. THAT’S ALSO GOING TO ELEVATE OUR FIRE DANGER. WE HAVE RED FLAG WARNINGS POPPING UP ALMOST ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE FOR TOMORROW. SO OUTDOOR BURNING DISCOURAGED. YOU WANT TO DISPOSE OF CIGARETTES PROPERLY AND MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU SEE THAT FIRE THAT YOU CALL 911, WE WILL HIT IMPACT MODE FOR THE ALBUQUERQUE METRO AND SANTA FE AS WE MOVE ON INTO THE SUNDAY TIME FRAME, THE WINDS WILL START IN THE MORNING, BUT THEY’LL GET MORE INTENSE ROUND ABOUT LATE MORNING THROUGH MIDDAY, THEN AROUND 2:00 3:00 YOU’LL NOTICE A SHIFT. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE VERY NICE ONCE WE GET TO SUNDAY NIGHT, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE COLD BEHIND THAT FRONT, SO BE PREPARED FOR THAT HIGH WIND WATCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. THOSE GUSTS COULD GET TO 50MPH OR MORE. WILL DEFINITELY SEE SOME WIND ADVISORIES ACROSS THE BOARD. BUT THOSE TURQUOISE SHADED AREAS WHERE WE HAVE OUR HIGH WIND WARNINGS, THAT’S WHERE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE PROBLEMATIC GUSTS NEAR 70MPH. LONG TERM FORECAST IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE A WARMING ONE. WE’RE ALREADY ENJOYING A VERY BEAUTIFUL EVENING IN AND AROUND RIO RUIDOSO 70 DEGREES RIGHT NOW. A LOT OF SUNSHINE AND VERY LOW HUMIDITY. AND IT IS THAT LOW HUMIDITY AND THE WINDS THAT WILL LEAD TO SOME OF THAT FIRE DANGER. SO BE PREPARED FOR MAYBE EVEN TREES DOWN, POWER LINES DOWN, AND EVEN SOME POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE TOMORROW. CURRENT TEMPS IN THE 80S AND 70S FOR MOST OF US. JUST A COUPLE OF 60S ON THE MAP, BUT THE WIND IS ON THE WAY. SUNDAY WILL BE OUR WINDIEST DAY. WE’LL SEE SOME BREEZY CONDITIONS ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY BEHIND THE FRONT, ALONG WITH THOSE COOL MORNING LOWS. FOR THE SHORT TERM THOUGH, WE ARE LOOKING GREAT. IT’S GOING TO BE A GREAT NIGHT TONIGHT. MAYBE YOU’RE MAKING PLANS TO STEP OUT THE DOOR IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO, BUT WATCH FOR THIS COLD FRONT AS IT PASSES EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. THAT’S WHAT’S GOING TO BEGIN. THE WINDY POTENTIAL FOR US. AND THEN CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. BUT BY 5:00 6:00, THE FRONT WILL CLEAR THE STATE AND WE WILL BE IN GOOD SHAPE. COLD ON MONDAY MORNING, BUT AT LEAST MUCH MORE QUIET TEMPERATURES ARE RAMPING UP. WE WILL SEE THURSDAY’S TEMPS AT 88. OUR RECORD IS 85. SO THESE STANDING RECORDS LIKELY SHATTERED AS WE MOVE INTO THE MIDDLE AND THE END OF NEXT WEEK FOUR CORNERS REGION. YOU’RE GOING TO SEE SOME BLOWING DUST TOMORROW. THAT’S GOING TO REDUCE SOME VISIBILITY. GIVE US SOME IMPACT WEATHER. THEN WE COOL DOWN TEMPORARILY BEFORE THE REBOUND STARTS IN EARNEST. IT’S GOING TO BE A BEAUTIFUL START TO THE DAY TOMORROW FOR SILVER CITY. BUT THE WINDS WILL PICK UP THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND THE EVENING HOURS. WE’LL ALSO SEE BLOWING DUST IN AND AROUND ROSWELL, CARLSBAD AND HOBBS. SO MUCH FLOW THAT THIS COULD BE AN ALERT LEVEL. VISIBILITY POSSIBILITY FOR YOU INTO THE AFTERNOON AND THE EVENING. LIKEWISE FOR LAS VEGAS, RATON, AND RED RIVER. BE PREPARED FOR ANY POWER OUTAGES. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THOSE PHONES CHARGED, SOME BATTERIES AVAILABLE AND A LIGHT SOURCE FOR YOU FOR AFTER DARK. AND WE’RE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD IN SANTA FE, BUT IT WILL BE WINDY THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE DAY, IMPROVING INTO THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE EVENING. ENJOY THAT SUNSHINE TOMORROW, BUT COMES ALONG WITH A LOT OF WIND. WE’LL KEEP THE WINDS THROUGH MONDAY AND TUESDAY. AS I MENTIONED, FOR SAINT PATRICK’S DAY. BUT CHECK O
Impact winds across New Mexico on Sunday with fire danger
Sunday is an IMPACT Weather Day for strong northwest winds; power outages possible.
Hold onto your hats! We’ll dial up the winds across the state on Sunday as a cold front barrels through. Sunday is an IMPACT Weather Day for strong northwest winds at 30 mph, gusting to 40. Blowing dust will reduce visibility at times, and travel may be difficult. We have a High Wind Watch until 4 p.m. along with a Red Flag Warning until 8 p.m. Highs across the Albuquerque metro top out around 63 degrees; 56 in Santa Fe.Freezing temperatures expected on Monday morning behind the front. A strong area of high pressure will move over the region as we head through the middle of next week. That will boost temperatures to record levels for the month of March.
Hold onto your hats! We’ll dial up the winds across the state on Sunday as a cold front barrels through. Sunday is an IMPACT Weather Day for strong northwest winds at 30 mph, gusting to 40. Blowing dust will reduce visibility at times, and travel may be difficult. We have a High Wind Watch until 4 p.m. along with a Red Flag Warning until 8 p.m. Highs across the Albuquerque metro top out around 63 degrees; 56 in Santa Fe.
Freezing temperatures expected on Monday morning behind the front. A strong area of high pressure will move over the region as we head through the middle of next week. That will boost temperatures to record levels for the month of March.
ANTHRAX Guitarist SCOTT IAN Reveals Painful Back Injury After Freezing Cruise Show
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian revealed that he suffered from a serious back injury earlier this year, stating that freezing conditions during a performance on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise left him struggling to even walk.
Speaking with Australia’s Heavy ahead of Anthrax‘s upcoming Australian tour, the 62-year-old musician explained that the injury occurred in late January during the band’s second performance on the cruise.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had to answer that question this way. I injured my back. We were on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise at the end of January. And there was freak weather down off of the coast of south Florida and out in the Bahamas where that boat goes usually.
“It couldn’t cruise down to the Bahamas ’cause there was a bad storm. So we just kind of stayed off the coast of Florida – like 20, 30 miles off shore – and there was a freak cold weather shit that happened. ‘Cause Miami, Florida that time of year should be 70, 75 degrees Fahrenheit. And it was in the 30s — it was snowing weather. And we’re out on the ocean, and the winds are blowing 40 miles per hour. And the second show we do on the boat on the Saturday night, you do it on the big pool deck.
“There’s 3,000 people outside on the boat and you’re playing outdoors. And it was literally freezing fucking cold. And we tried to get them to change the schedule so we could play in the theater again, but they couldn’t move all the schedule around. And we didn’t wanna play in the freezing cold, ’cause it obviously makes it very difficult, and for the fans. But all the fans were out there, so we’re, like, ‘Well, they’re out there. We’re not gonna cancel.’
“So we played. And we are very physical performers. I move around quite a bit on stage, jumping, stomping; I’m all over the place. And there was no way for my muscles – even though I warmed up, my muscles never warmed up. And by the end of the next day, after playing that show in the cold, my back went out, and I could barely walk for a week probably. I couldn’t tie my shoes. I couldn’t fucking put pants on. I never had pain like that, back spasms like this. It was insane.”
The injury became even more challenging when Ian had to immediately travel to South America to complete shows with Mr. Bungle before continuing on tour with Anthrax alongside Megadeth and Exodus across Canada. “I was flying these 10-hour flights and I couldn’t even move, dude,” he said. “It was agony.”
Throughout that run, Ian relied heavily on massage therapists, osteopaths, and other treatments just to get through each performance. “Every night on the tour seeing massage therapists, seeing fucking osteopaths, anything to get me through the show every night,” he said, adding that he was performing at only “maybe 40%” of his normal ability.
While his mobility was limited, he still managed to power through the shows in true thrash fashion. “I couldn’t jump. I couldn’t stomp my feet… If anything, maybe my playing was better,” he joked. “What else can I do? I headbanged harder, because it didn’t hurt for me to headbang.”
Now, back home and undergoing physical therapy, Ian says he’s gradually improving and hopes to be close to full strength when Anthrax kick off their Australian run. “I’m definitely better than I was a week ago,” he said. “I’m hoping another week will go by, and by the time I get on stage in Brisbane… I’m hoping I’ll be somewhere in the 70-75% range of what I should feel like.”
Ian also pointed to the importance of self-care for veteran musicians, referencing Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, who recently announced his retirement from touring due to physical limitations.
“It was so hard some nights in Canada,” Ian admitted. “The audience doesn’t know I’m up there with fucking spasms running down my leg in the middle of the show. They don’t know – they just think I’m making a metal face.”
For Ian and his bandmates, maintaining their health is essential to keeping the thrash machine running.
“We’re hyper aware of having to take care of ourselves,” he said, praising Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna for maintaining his voice into his sixties. “The guy is in that rare air of dudes that age who can still sing like that,” Ian said. “And it’s not just because of magic – it’s because he takes care of himself.”
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Lufthansa Says More Than Half of Flights Will Run Thursday, Friday, Despite Planned Strike
Pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit, or VC, announced a strike for Thursday and Friday at core airline Lufthansa Classic and the group’s cargo carrier, and additionally on Thursday at hub line Lufthansa CityLine, amid a disagreement with the company over a change in pension provision.
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Red flag at IndyCar practice as workers walk on Texas track
ARLINGTON, Texas — IndyCar officials had to throw a red flag to slow the cars as they were pulling out of the pit area during Saturday’s practice when three workers were spotted on the hot track.
No one was injured.
Practice for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington resumed after a delay of several minutes as IndyCar officials checked the temporary 2.73-mile, 14-turn circuit on the streets around the stadiums of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
The television broadcast showed the trio of workers who appeared to be part of a catering crew. One of them was pushing a catering cart in a spot between AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys’ home, and a nearby hospitality area.
Cars practicing for Sunday’s race hadn’t yet gotten up to speed when the track breach was spotted.
Trump says Iran is ready to negotiate a ceasefire but he’s not ready to make a deal
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he’s not ready to make a deal to end the war with Iran despite the country’s willingness to do so “because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” but declined to say what those terms would be.
In a wide-ranging, nearly 30-minute telephone interview with NBC News, the president also said he is working with other countries on a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid surges in global oil prices, and he dismissed Americans’ concerns about rising gas prices since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint military operation two weeks ago.
The president also questioned whether Iran’s new supreme leader is “even alive.”
Trump said he was “surprised” that Iran decided to attack other Middle Eastern countries in response to the U.S.-Israeli operation, and that U.S. strikes on Kharg Island on Saturday “totally demolished” most of the island but that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
He also slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was “far more difficult to make a deal with” than Russian President Vladimir Putin over efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s comments follow criticism from global leaders after the U.S. eased sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to mitigate surging global oil prices.
Trump says he’s not ready to make a deal with Iran
On the phone call, Trump said he was unwilling to make a deal to end the war with Iran at this stage.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said, adding that any terms will have to be “very solid.”
When asked what the terms of a potential deal to end the war would be, the president responded: “I don’t want to say that to you.” But he agreed that a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.
Trump’s comments come after Reuters reported that the Trump administration had brushed aside efforts to advance talks to end the war.
He also previewed what the rest of the U.S. military operation in Iran could look like. It began last month with Israeli and U.S. forces launching joint strikes on the nation and Iran responding by launching strikes on Israel and U.S. targets in nearby countries. Thirteen active U.S. service personnel have died since the conflict began, including six U.S. crew members who died Friday after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq.
Trump administration officials have sent mixed messages in the last two weeks about what the U.S. military goals are in Iran and how long the conflict could last, with Trump at times saying it could take a month or longer and at other times times saying “we are way ahead of the timetable” and there’s “practically nothing left to target.”
On Saturday, the president said that “the only power they have, and it’s a power that can be closed off relatively quickly, is the power of dropping a mine or shooting a relatively short-range missile. But when we get finished with the shoreline, they’re not going to have that power either.”
He added later: “We’ve knocked out most of their missiles. We’ve knocked out most of their drones. We knocked out their manufacturing of missiles and drones, largely. Within two days, it’ll be totally decimated.”
Securing the Strait of Hormuz
Trump on Saturday said he is asking “numerous countries that are affected by the thuggery of Iran” to help secure the Strait of Hormuz — a key marine passageway for oil tankers — as global oil prices have surged amid the war.
Iran’s leaders, meanwhile, have vowed to keep the strait closed and have called for even higher oil prices since the conflict began.
The president said several countries have committed to helping secure the strait, but declined to name any of them.
“They’ve not only committed, but they think it’s a great idea,” he said.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, Trump wrote: “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” adding: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area.”
On the phone call, Trump said it’s not clear whether Iran has dropped mines into the strait.
“We’re going to be sweeping the strait very strongly, and we believe we’ll be joined by other countries who are somewhat impeded, and in some cases impeded from getting the oil,” he added.
The president demurred when asked whether the U.S. Navy would start escorting ships through the strait, saying, “I don’t want to tell you anything about that,” but adding that “it’s possible.”
The president also confirmed that U.S. forces carried out strikes on Kharg Island, a strategic island off the coast of Iran that is home to an oil terminal responsible for the majority of the nation’s oil exports.
U.S. Central Command said Saturday morning it had conducted “precision strikes” on 90 military targets while “preserving the oil infrastructure,” but Trump said later Saturday that “we totally demolished Kharg Island, but we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
“We’ve totally decimated it,” the president added. “Except, as you know, I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.”
Trump questions whether Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘even alive’
The president on Saturday questioned whether Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive after Khamenei did not appear on camera to issue his first statement as Iran’s leader on Thursday.
In a written statement, Khamenei, the son of slain predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking U.S. allies in the region.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said on the phone Saturday.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump added, but called the news of his death “a rumor.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday said that the younger Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured” and called his written statement a “weak one.”
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father: dead; he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy,” Hegseth added.
Khamenei was named the new supreme leader earlier this week after the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran killed his father a week earlier.
Trump declined to say whether there was one particular Iranian leader whom he would like to see take over as supreme leader, saying instead, “We have people that are living that would be great leaders for the future of the country.”
Asked whether he’s in touch with any of the potential leaders, the president said: “I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to put them in jeopardy.”
Trump ‘surprised’ that Iran targeted other Middle Eastern countries
The president said Saturday that U.S. allies in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, “have been terrific” and “they got shot at unnecessarily.”
“I was very surprised,” Trump said about Iran targeting other Middle Eastern countries, adding it was “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”
According to an NBC News analysis, Iran has been firing drones into Middle Eastern countries including those Trump mentioned, plus Bahrain and Kuwait, and targeting oil infrastructure, logistics hubs and government centers.
The U.S. does not release data on the number of drones it faces or intercepts, but data from the UAE says that 1,475 unmanned aerial vehicles had been fired at the country as of March 10.
On Saturday morning, Iraqi officials said an Iranian strike hit a helipad inside a U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad. Also on Saturday, in the wake of the U.S. strikes on Kharg Island, Iran threatened to destroy oil and gas infrastructure throughout the region if the U.S. struck oil infrastructure on the island.
Trump ‘not concerned’ about rising gas prices
Trump, who in 2024 repeatedly attacked then-President Joe Biden over high gas prices, dismissed concerns on Saturday about whether rising gas prices in the U.S. could hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I think they’ll go lower than they were before, and I had them at record lows,” Trump said about gas prices, promising that they would drop soon after the war in Iran ends.
On March 1, the day after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran, gas was averaging $2.94 a gallon in the U.S., per GasBuddy. On Saturday, the average price was $3.66.
“There’s so much oil, gas — there’s so much out there, but you know, it’s being clogged up a little bit. It’ll be unclogged very soon,” the president added.
Asked directly about whether gas prices could affect the midterms, Trump said, “I’m not concerned at all.
“The only thing I want to do is make sure that Iran can never be the bully of the Middle East again,” he added.
Trump says Russia is ‘perhaps’ sharing information with Iran
Asked about his decision to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil amid surging global oil prices, the president said: “I want to have oil for the world. I want to have oil,”
He added that the sanctions, which were imposed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, will “go back as soon as the crisis is over.”
On Saturday, when asked about criticism from some foreign leaders about lifting the sanctions, Trump didn’t directly answer but trained his ire on the Ukrainian president, saying over the phone, “I’m surprised that Zelenskyy doesn’t want to make a deal. Tell Zelenskyy to make a deal because Putin’s willing to make a deal.”
“Zelenskyy is far more difficult to make a deal with,” the U.S. president added.
Zelenskyy earlier this month offered to help U.S. forces and their allies in the Middle East with intercepting Iranian drones, using the Ukrainian military’s experience with shooting down Russian drones.
But on Saturday, Trump said that “we don’t need help,” adding that the “last person we need help from is Zelenskyy.”
The president declined to comment on whether the U.S. has accepted Ukraine’s help with drone interception technology.
In a post on X on Friday, Zelenskyy wrote: “Countries in the Middle East have reached out to us, asking to share our expertise in intercepting Iranian ‘shahed’ drones during massive strikes. That is why we have already sent expert teams to three countries.”
Earlier Saturday, an Iranian politician said Ukraine was a “legitimate and lawful target” for Iran because Ukraine offered help defending against Iranian drones.
Asked to respond to reports that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran about the location of U.S. forces, Trump said, “Russia is perhaps giving information, perhaps they’re not.”
He added that the U.S. is “doing that against them,” because “we’re giving a little information to Ukraine and we’re trying to make peace between the two nations.”