Trump: Oil Spike Small Price to Pay for Safety; NYC Bombing Inspired by ISIS |NTD News Today March 9

Welcome to NTD News Today. Here are today's top stories. G7 finance ministers hold an emergency meeting today as oil tops $100 a barrel and markets tumble amid the Iran war. And President Trump's response to the spike in oil prices. The Iranian regime has named a new leader. What we know about him and what President Trump has said about any new leadership in the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, Central Command warns that Iran is launching attacks from civilian areas. And Secretary of War Pete Hexeth says the U.S. and Israel will fight until Iran surrenders. Secretary of State Marco Rubio marks hostage and wrongful detainee day, warning that countries holding Americans will face consequences. The NYPD says a third suspicious device was recovered after an IED was thrown near police at dueling protests outside Gracie Mansion. Officials are investigating the incident as an ISIS-inspired terrorist act. A federal judge gives the Trump administration more time to process tariff refunds. What the complicated process involves. This is NTD News Today, live from our global headquarters in New York City. March 9th, I'm Kevin Hogan. The group of seven nations ruling out the use of strategic oil reserves for now. The French finance minister says the group is not yet ready to release reserves. He made the comment after chairing a meeting of seven G7 finance ministers in Brussels. He said the G7 remains prepared to take coordinated steps if needed. Those steps could include using strategic oil stockpiles to stabilize markets. Soaring oil prices triggered global market turmoil today. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite both dropped over 1% at the opening bell this morning in New York. The Dow Jones slid nearly 700 points. Crude oil briefly jumped above $119 a barrel this morning before dropping back down. It came as supply through the Strait of Hormuz remains almost completely halted. Stock markets around the The pan-European stocks, 600, fell for a third straight session, down nearly 2% after shedding over 5% last week. Asian markets also tumbled, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping over 5% and South Korea's KOSPI sinking 6%. President Trump says higher oil prices are a very small price to pay for safety and peace as the Iran war continues. The president adding, quote, only fools would think differently. Here's Energy Secretary Chris Wright addressing rising gas prices on Fox News. Yeah, the plan is to get oil and natural gas and fertilizer and all the products from the Gulf flowing through the Straits before too long. And I may break a little news here, but one large tanker has already gone through the Straits with no issues at all. So as the general just described, we're massively attriting their ability to strike with missiles and drones, and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days. So we'll be cautious, we'll be careful, but energy will flow soon. Wright says energy markets are massively well supplied. The Energy Secretary says the recent run up in prices has nothing to do with any shortage of oil or natural gas. He added that the culprit is fear and perception of the unknown, that the Iran war could be some long drawn out crisis. Meanwhile, Trump administration officials yesterday defended a decision to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil. Officials say it's a 30 day pause to allow the millions of barrels of oil that are sitting on ships to go to Indian refineries. The Iranian regime has a new leader. Iran's ruling clerical body naming the now deceased Ali Khamenei's own son to take his place, a signal that hardliners remain in charge. The Iranian regime announced the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei shortly after midnight local time. Everyone was waiting to see who would be the next supreme leader. Now we know and we assume that he will be a continuation of what his father was, which is a very hardline ideological cleric. The 56 year old cleric is the son of Ali Khamenei who was killed when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran late last month. The newly appointed regime leader has strong connections within Iran's revolutionary guard and religious leaders. President Trump earlier said Iran's next leader could face serious consequences if Washington does not approve. The president telling ABC News, if he doesn't get approval, he's not going to last long. And Trump previously criticizing the younger Khamenei, calling him a lightweight. Last week telling Axios that Iran is wasting its time with Khamenei's son, saying he would personally have to be involved with this election. The leadership change comes as the Iran war intensifies. Israeli forces launching a new wave of attacks over the weekend. Six army reserve soldiers were previously killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait. President Trump honoring the fallen troops during a ceremony in Delaware this weekend. In a post on X, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth paid tribute to the soldiers, calling them heroes forever. The White House also weighing in, saying the fallen soldiers represent the very best of America, giving everything in service to our country. More now on the Iran war. The Pentagon has identified the seventh U.S. service member killed in Operation Epic Fury. The Pentagon announcing that 26-year-old Sergeant Benjamin Pennington of Glendale, Kentucky, died from his injuries on Sunday. He was stationed at an air base in Saudi Arabia when the Iranian regime attacked the base on the second day of the war. The attack is under investigation. Pennington was part of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Six other U.S. soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait, also on March 1st. According to Fox News, citing a senior U.S. official, eight other service members are seriously injured and still fighting for their lives. And as mentioned, the Iranian regime chooses a new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. He's the son of the previously assassinated leader Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile, a seventh U.S. service member dies in the war with Iran. And here for analysis is retired Captain Douglas Ernest, a U.S. Army war veteran, political analyst, and the author of The Spirit of a True Patriot. Thanks for your time, Captain. Does Khamenei's son as regime leader mean anything to U.S. strategy going forward? A pleasure to be with you today. You from a military analyst perspective, and that would be number one, he could be a caretaker of his previous father's work and be able to carry on his legacy of what he's done for the Iranian people, which has made them a power point in that part of the country and part of the world. He could also be a hardliner and give the U.S. a very, very, very hard time of doing business in that area. And finally, and we hope he will do, is become a pragmatist. And that is someone that will just take a very simplified, easy understanding approach and try to help the Iraqis in the economy because their economy has been pummeled. And right now their country is being decimated by the bombing from Israel and from the United States. And a seventh service member has died. President Trump has acknowledged there could be more casualties as the conflict goes on. How high is the risk for U.S. personnel in the region, even with the decline of Iran's The risk is extremely high. When I fought in the war, we thought we had, you know, had overwhelming force, just like we do right now. We had air superiority, and we had the same condition surrender, unconditional surrender as we did for Iraq, but we still lost thousands of troops in these warfare. Right now, the good thing is we don't have boots on the ground. I personally don't support boots on the ground, as most military analysts do not, because you're going to be in there fighting with the IRGC. But if we can have only air superiority and fighting from the sky, we're going to lose some soldiers, some forces, and many civilians because these bombs are being leveled indiscriminately from Iran. They don't have target placement like the U.S. does, and they're not very skeptical of human casualties. Captain Earnest, we heard War Secretary Pete Hegstead say that the U.S. is going for unconditional surrender of Iran. Is that within reach? Iran has a lot of firepower, but of course its capabilities have been degraded thus far. You know, great question. Number one, Secretary of War Pete Hegstead said we're going to use our overwhelming force, which we have. He's also, the President is calling for unconditional surrender. But if we can get a bonus, and that's regime change, which we've not had so far, that would be the icing on the cake to help the Iranian people. Right now, Iran feels cornered. A hypothetical is that they're going to act on disparity, and they're going to unleash some of the worst things you're about to see that they're capable of. Now, with that being said, their missile launches are down about 80 to 90 percent. When this started, our analyst's expectation was to have around 2,500 ballistic missiles. They're now under 1,000, and a lot of their launching pads have been destroyed by our air superiority. So right now, they're going to be acting on a disparity, and we're going to hope that they don't feel a need to strike back and to hurt civilians and to cause and inflict pain on their neighbors in that region of the world. Where does the U.S.-Israeli operation stand right now? What are the targets? You know, right now, it's just to take these out, these ballistic missiles. Something that happened over the weekend that was a little bit controversial, and if you read the news feeds over the weekend, you saw that Israel had started taking out the fuel supply chains in that part of the world. And that's kind of a little bit hard because that's going to put a little bottleneck in the strategy that's going on with the Trump administration right now. We don't want to isolate the Iraqi people. We want to help facilitate, hopefully, a power change over there. But right now, we're going after the ballistic missiles. We want to find this enriched uranium, which they're about 60% of the way towards a nuclear bomb, after we did the bombing about six months ago. And finally, we want to find a way to hopefully limit the power of the IRGC. This is where the real power nuclei is in this country. We have the Supreme Leader, the Revolutionary Guard, and the Assembly of Experts. They have to all three work together to maintain power in this area. So if we can just penetrate one of these subsets of this leadership hierarchy, we could be able to affect massive change in the Middle East. Senator Kevin Cramer, who's on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says the U.S. operation in Iran could serve as a deterrent to the Chinese regime in any potential attack on Taiwan, and that it also sends a message to Russia as it wages war in Ukraine. What are the broader ripple effects from this conflict beyond Iran's borders? Well, that's another great question. And right now, the U.S. has been leading with Secretary of War Pete Hagseth and President Trump with peace through strength. And that's something we've not done for the last four or five years in our country. We've always been reactive, not proactive. But right now, if we aren't making these strikes strategically around the world, that does deter further conflict and help advance our alternative motives across the world, which is to keep peace, defend the United States, and hopefully prevent future wars. But right now, the oil markets are in up level. The plan to have a hardline leader changed out has not come to fruition, and we don't have something else that's very, very important to this situation. And that is the variable of putting in another hardline leader is doubling down on Iraq's effect to fight back against President Trump. So I think everybody watching should stay tuned, because it's going to be a very exciting week to see how this all plays out. And Captain Earnest, do you have any other comments that you'd like to share with our audience, whether that's whether the United States and Israel have an intelligence advantage against Iran at this stage, or whether their operations are being effective based on any metrics? You know, we are at 99% to over 1%. So we have completely annihilated their air defense system. We've annihilated their air force. We've sunk 32 ships in the ocean. The only thing they can really do is just seek havoc and put some speed boats in the Strait of Hormuz to continue the oil disruption. We have overwhelming force. We're calling for unconditional surrender. And we really want to put a moderate regime in there, if you will. So right now, my heart goes out to the loved ones of these fallen soldiers, because that's the hardest part of watching this play out. We want to make sure that we limit the loss of life for our US soldiers, and for all these civilians that are in harm's way, that are the recipients of these bombs and all these casualties that are going on in this part of the world. We hope that the strategy by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, laid out by President Trump, will finally bring peace in the Middle East. And I think we're very close to that point. Captain Douglas Earnest, thank you for coming on. Pleasure is mine. US Central Command warns Iranians that the regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations. Entities Daniel Monaghan has the story, including comments from War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump. CENTCOM says the Iranian regime has been launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles from civilian areas and cities, including Dezful, Isfahan, and Shiraz. The command says locations used for military operations can lose their protected status under international law, and may become legitimate military targets. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was asked about a CBS News report that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on US positions and movements, speaking on 60 Minutes. No one's putting us in danger. We're putting the other guys in danger. That's our job. So we're not concerned about that. But the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they're going to live. Hegseth discussing President Trump's recent comments that there would be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. It means we're fighting to win. It means we set the terms. We'll know when they're not capable of fighting. There'll be a point where they'll have no choice but to do that. Whether they know it or not, they will be combat ineffective. They will surrender. Hegseth saying the fight with Iran was never meant to be fair. Our capabilities are overwhelming compared to what Iran's are. And frankly, when you combine our Air Force with the Air Force of the Israeli Defense Forces, it's the two most powerful Air Forces in the world. Asked about the possibility of US boots on the ground, Hegseth saying the administration will not discuss operational limits publicly. We're willing to go as far as we need to in order to be successful. We want the Iranians guessing and second-guessing and triple-guessing what we might be willing to do, because under President Trump, we just might. And they need to factor for that. Meanwhile, the Israeli military yesterday saying it attacked the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force in Tehran. Israel also says two Israeli soldiers have been killed at the country's northern border with Lebanon. Israel's military chief of staff warning yesterday the Iran war could take a long time. Right now, we need to show perseverance and patience. It will take a long time. You need to be prepared for that. And however long it takes, it will take. The Israeli military says an overnight strike by its navy killed five top commanders in Iran's IRGC. It said they served in the Quds Force's Palestine and Lebanon Corps and were involved in funding, arming and providing intelligence to terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas. I tell you that there is no safe place for the Iranian branches of evil anywhere in the Middle East, not in Beirut and not anywhere else. And huge fires burned in Iran's capital yesterday in the aftermath of Israeli attacks on oil infrastructure. Israel struck four oil storage tankers and a petroleum transfer terminal overnight. Israel's military said the oil depots were being used by Iran's military for fuel to launch missiles. President Trump says the timing of ending the war with Iran will be decided with input from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump says the two leaders are in close contact. Daniel Monaghan, NTD News. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered remarks today at the U.S. hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony. Rubio had some strong words for the Iranian regime. They are trying to hold the world hostage. They are attacking their neighbors. They are attacking neighboring countries, their energy infrastructure, their civilian population. They are attacking embassies. This is a terrorist government. This is a terroristic regime. And we are seeing them conduct terrorism using nation-state elements, using weapons like missiles and one-way attack drones. And the objective of this mission is to destroy their ability to continue to do that. The United States is currently engaged in an operation targeting one of the world's leading hostage takers, the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, the regime in Iran. And first, I think we would all take a moment both to offer our thoughts, our prayers, and our condolences, and to honor the families of those who have fallen, the seven Americans who have lost their lives in the initial hours of this operation. And we're here on the third U.S. hostage and wrongful detainee day. And it's a day that exists because families and loved ones refuse — because families refuse to let their loved ones be forgotten. We have this day to celebrate those who returned, to honor those who perished in captivity, and commit to returning those who are still in detention and holding also the perpetrators of this accountable act. Rubio said the U.S. has designated Iran a state sponsor of wrongful detention, warning that any country holding American citizens will face consequences. Rubio credited President Trump with making the return of detained Americans a priority, saying more than 100 have been brought home since his inauguration. Rubio says the Trump administration won't stop until every single unjustly detained American is returned home. The event also commemorated former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran 19 years ago and is believed to have died in captivity. Coming up, the NYPD says a third suspicious device was recovered after an IED was thrown near police at dueling protests outside Gracie Mansion in New York City. Hi there, an update on the Trump administration's tariffs. A federal judge is giving the administration more time to process tariff refunds. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs imposed under emergency powers. The judge initially ordered immediate compliance, but Customs and Border Protection says it needed 45 days to set up an automated system. The agency has collected over $160 billion in tariff revenue during the second Trump administration. The case involves about 330,000 importers, 50 million tariff entries, and lawsuits from over 2,000 companies. An investigation is underway after a homemade bomb was thrown outside New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani's official residence. It happened during dueling protests outside Gracie Mansion Saturday. Two men were arrested. Mamdani says two explosive devices were thrown during the protest. A third device was later found in a nearby vehicle. Police Commissioner Jessica Tish says the attack is now being investigated as an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State. I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS inspired terrorism. Preliminary test results determined that these were not hoax devices nor smoke bombs. They were improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death. Part of our initial investigation was to determine what energetic substance, if any, was used in the two devices, and our analysis showed that one of the devices deployed by the subjects contained the substance triacetone triperoxide known as TATP. Now TATP is a dangerous and highly volatile homemade explosive that has been used in IED attacks around the world. Our bomb squad then rendered safe both devices. The mayor says he and his wife were not home at the time of the attacks. Police Commissioner Tish says the third device tested negative for explosive material. She says the New York City Police Department has been on high alert because of the war in Iran. Saturday's protests erupted after conservative activist Jake Lang organized a demonstration against public Muslim prayer. Counter protesters gathered nearby. Authorities say an 18-year-old counter protester ignited and threw an explosive then attempted to flee with the second device obtained from a 19-year-old. Both suspects were arrested. Lang says the bombs were thrown at him and his supporters by pro-Islam protesters. Officials are expected to release a criminal complaint against the suspects this afternoon. The U.S. will soon label the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. The designation will take effect on March 16th. The State Department announcing today the group has already been designated as a specially designated global terrorist due to its role in Sudan's ongoing civil war. The department says the group uses violence against civilians and undermines efforts to resolve the conflict. According to the department, the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood includes the Sudanese Islamic Movement and its armed wing the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade. The brigade is accused of The terror group has contributed more than 20,000 fighters to the conflict, many receiving training and support from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The new designation blocks all property and financial interests linked to the group in the United States. It also bans business dealings with the organization. President Trump says he won't sign any new legislation until Congress passes the Save America Act. The president making the announcement in a Truth Social post yesterday. The House passing the bill last month with a vote of 218 to 213. It would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a government issued photo ID when voting in person. Republicans say the measure is aimed at protecting the integrity of U.S. elections. Democrats say it could create new hurdles for voters and shift more control over elections to the federal government. The bill awaits action in the Senate. More support from some Democrats is needed to gain 60 votes for passage. Lawmakers are raising concerns that a Chinese student group is working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to undermine national security and free expression. They're asking the State Department to take action. And today's Melina Wisecup reports. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association or CSSA operates around 200 chapters at U.S. colleges. Lawmakers say the group is actively advancing the Chinese Communist Party's interests through harmful and disruptive activities that chill free expression, undermine academic freedom and raise serious national security concerns. It's documented that the CCP funds initiatives for the student group. In a now deleted post, University of Pittsburgh CSSA said it was given $6,000 every year. A former CSSA treasurer and vice president from Northwestern University told the Epoch Times, they give the money and you do the work. It's just that simple. During the 2023 U.S.-China summit, CSSA members gathered to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping, describing it as a glorious mission. Chinese officials often appear at CSSA events and have encouraged attendees to tell China's story well. Lawmakers say the groups are used to monitor, control, manipulate and direct Chinese students abroad. They insist the CCP's exploitation of America's openness must come to an end. Chairman of the Committees on Education, Foreign Affairs and China now asking the State Department to designate the group as a foreign mission. If designated, CSSA chapters would need to first get the government's approval to hold public events in the U.S. The lawmakers say the designations do not even begin to scratch the surface of Beijing's influence and intelligence networks. Around 22 Chinese entities have been designated as foreign missions as of 2024. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weisskopf, NTD News. Coming up, NATO air defenses shoot down a second Iranian ballistic missile after it entered Turkish airspace. Turkey warns it will take necessary steps as regional tensions rise. China insiders say senior officials are instructed to draw lessons from the Soviet Union's collapse as the Chinese regime is rattled by the war in Iran. Welcome back. We're bringing up a live shot of Beirut, Lebanon and we are continuing our coverage of Operation Epic Fury. NATO air defenses have shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran that entered Turkish airspace. Turkey's defense ministry said the missile's debris fell in the southeast of the country. Officials say there were no casualties. This is the second Iranian missile to target NATO member Turkey in the past week. The ministry warns that Turkey will take all necessary steps without hesitation and urged all parties to heed its warnings. The situation underscores rising tensions in the region as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate. The U.S. State Department has ordered non-essential government staff and their families to leave the Consulate General in southern Turkey, citing what it called safety risks. The consulate has suspended all consular services. In its advisory, the State Department also strongly urged American citizens in southeastern Turkey to leave the area now. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU must be prepared to project its power more assertively. She says the bloc of nations can no longer rely on a rules-based system against threats. The Commission President adding that the EU must determine if its institutions and systems help or hinder its credibility. And I want to be clear, there should be no tears shed for the Iranian regime. This regime has inflicted death and imposed repression on its own people. They slaughtered 17,000 young people. And this regime has caused devastation and destabilization across the region through its proxies armed with missiles and drones. And many Iranian inside the country and across Europe and the world have celebrated Ayatollah Khamenei's demise. Von der Leyen gave an example of projecting power more assertively. She said the EU must counter aggression and foreign interference with all of its tools, whether economic, diplomatic, technological or military. She also said the bloc needs to be much more pragmatic when it comes to doing business around the world. The EU today also saying it plans to strengthen support for Gulf states by drawing on Ukraine's experience with drone defense. Norwegian police are hunting a suspect caught on surveillance after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo over the weekend. Investigators say the blast early yesterday damaged one of the embassy's entrances, sending thick smoke into the street. No one was injured in the explosion. Police described the device as an improvised explosive causing a powerful blast. They say the suspect has not yet been identified. Released images show a hooded figure in dark clothing carrying a bag with their face obscured. Norway's government has vowed a thorough investigation into the incident, which authorities say may be linked to tensions in the Middle East. President Trump dismissing the need for the U.K.'s help in the war with Iran. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office says the two leaders did communicate over the weekend. President Donald Trump has dismissed Britain's consideration of sending aircraft carriers to the Middle East, saying the United States does not need them to win the war with Iran. We don't need them. It's not the right time. It would have been nice to have had them two weeks ago. Trump was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after Britain's defense ministry said on Saturday it was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for possible deployment. But no final decision had been taken about whether to send it to the Middle East, a British official said. In response, Trump posted on social media that he will remember the lack of British support during the conflict with Iran. The president has repeatedly criticized Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his stance on the war. He suggested this week that Starmer helped ruin the country's historically close ties after London blocked initial US use of British bases to attack Iran. Starmer has defended that decision, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal and well-planned. He later granted US forces permission to use British bases for what he called limited and defensive strikes to weaken Tehran's capabilities. On Sunday, Starmer's office said the pair had spoken on Iran as two US Air Force planes arrived at an airbase in England. The Prime Minister's office released a statement saying the use of Royal Air Force bases was discussed, quote, in support of the collective self-defense of partners in the region. Starmer's office did not address Trump's criticisms, but said the Prime Minister offered his condolences over the deaths of six US soldiers killed in the conflict. The US and its strikes on Iran is using one-way attack drones, reverse-engineered from Iranian designs. The original Shahed drones were used extensively by Russia to attack Ukraine. Entity Sean Marshall has this story. The US military is not being shy about reverse-engineering an Iranian drone design and using it against Iran. Lucas drones, also known as low-cost unmanned combat attack system. The US military said they were low-cost and modeled after Iran's Shahed drones. Lucas, indispensable. As many of you know, and if you don't know, this was an original Iranian drone design. We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little Made America on it, brought it back here, and we're shooting at the Iranians. So I think it shows two things. One, the importance of drone warfare, specifically cheap drone usage for the US military in the 21st century. But two, it's a phenomenal information operation against Iran to say, we can do your drone, but we can do it better. Iran's Shahed drone, which Tehran has supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine, the Shahed is believed to be a copy of Israel's Harpy loitering munition, according to defense analysts. The Harpy design has been widely replicated by countries including China and Taiwan. But I think you have seen over a period of time us kind of get on the other side of this cost curve on drones in general. If I just walk back a couple of years, you remember we used to always hear, we're shooting down a $50,000 drone with a $2 million missile. These days, we're spending a lot of time shooting down $100,000 drones with $10,000 weapons. We will definitely continue to see this expand, and specifically a lot of smaller countries with less budgets, their militaries will probably be heavily reliant on these types of systems to really try to get an upper edge comparative to the United States or Europe. So, this is the new normal, and we'll definitely see this really be expanded across the world. The Lucas drone can be launched from the ground or a truck, costing around $35,000 each. It is far cheaper than the MQ-9 Reaper, which costs roughly $20 million to $40 million, but is reusable and far more sophisticated. Shell Marshall, NTD News. U.S. officials have been busy countering AI-generated fake war footage circulating online, along with false war reports from the Iranian regime. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. The U.S. military's Central Command ex-account has put out several posts countering war claims by the Iranian regime that they are calling fake and baseless. One U.S. clarification says rumors are circulating on social media of a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Basra. These are baseless and not true. Another post counters a false claim that says U.S. troops are withdrawing, and another that says Iran sank a U.S. destroyer. And fake AI-generated war footage has also been widely circulating on social media. Cybersecurity expert Dr. Jordan Powell told The Hill, In current geopolitical context, AI has allowed propaganda at scale, and it's really hard for individuals to know what information is real. Social media platform X has been adding labels to misleading war videos, as well as temporarily demonetizing accounts that post them, with permanent demonetization for repeat offenders. Head of product for X, Nikita Beers, says during times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground. With today's AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people. And government officials have been criticizing certain media outlets for how they have reported on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The assistant secretary of state for global public affairs posted a video with a reporter claiming to be in Iran and saying that the people seem calm and all the stores are open and well stocked. He said CNN appears to now be doing straight-up pro-Iran regime propaganda. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said on Wednesday that some media outlets are leaving out Operation Epic Fury's successes and just reporting negative news. Is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members? No, it's the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room. Jason Blair, NTD News. Now to China, where insiders say Iran's situation has rattled the Chinese regime, leaving many to worry about the regime's own stability. That's according to multiple sources shared with NTD's sister media, The Epoch Times. NTD's Flora Hua has more on the story. It's been a tough week for high-level officials in Beijing since the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Iran. According to a source close to Beijing's Politburo, the top governing body of the Chinese regime, high-level officials have been called to multiple secret meetings on Iran. The source shared that officials were instructed to draw lessons from the Soviet Union's collapse. It's worth noting this type of historical comparison is a rarity for internal meetings within the CCP. The source also shared that the CCP is on high alert, concerned domestic unrest could evolve into large-scale protests against Beijing, like the mass protests against the Islamic regime. Several separate sources confirmed the similar message, due to safety fears, they prefer to stay anonymous. NTD previously reported that protests varying in scale continued to break out across China, mainly caused by financial disputes and social injustice. Police were directed to suppress many of these protests. In January alone, protests occurred in 19 provinces in China, two-thirds of all provincial regions. Flora Hua, NTD News. Coming up, hundreds of Iranian Americans gathered in Los Angeles to show support for the Iranian people and call for change in Iran. NTD's Christina Corona reports from Los Angeles. Belgian authorities are condemning what they call an anti-Semitic attack. An explosion hit a synagogue in the city of Liege today, causing damage, but no injuries. Here are the details. An explosion hit a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liege early on Monday, in what authorities said was an anti-Semitic attack. The largely residential street on the bank of the river Meuse, opposite Liege city center, was cordoned off as police investigated the case. The blast took place around 4 a.m. local time, causing damage, but no injuries. It blew out the windows of the synagogue, as well as those of a building on the opposite side of the road, public broadcaster RTBF said. Mayor Wili Demeyer condemned the attack, and said the city would not allow conflicts from elsewhere to spread there. We are obviously very shocked by this act, which I have described as anti-Semitic, pending the investigation. And we stand with the Jewish community, and their presence in the Liege region is an old, positive and important one. So we will firstly protect them, and we will continue to live together. Investigators did not give a motive. The prosecutors said the case had been passed to federal authorities, which normally investigate incidents linked to terrorism or organized crime. Belgium's interior minister called the explosion a despicable anti-Semitic act, and said security measures around similar sites will continue to be reinforced. Federal prosecutors declined to give further details of the incident. A rally in Southern California this weekend brought together Iranian Americans speaking out about the situation in Iran. They say they're there to show support for the Iranian people. NTD's Christina Corona reports from Los Angeles. We're here in the Westwood neighborhood where Iranian Americans gathered to show support for the freedom of the Iranian people. Organizers say the event is also meant to show support for U.S. service members. Hundreds of Iranian Americans gathered outside the federal building in Los Angeles on Saturday to voice support for recent strikes targeting Iran's ruling regime. Many waved Iranian flags and held signs calling for democracy in Iran. We're here to thank President Trump and be out here in L.A., like he said, in support of targeted strikes. For many attending the rally, the issue is deeply personal. Several say they still have family members living in Iran where communication can be difficult and closely monitored. They cannot contact us. You know, I cannot contact them. Every three days, two days, if anybody directly call, which you know that all the calls they're listening to, they're listening to, they go after people. They threaten them. They shoot at them. They kill them. She says families sometimes have to pay government officials large sums of money just to make brief phone calls. For like 30 seconds, they say, we are alive. We're happy. We're good. Take care of yourself. Some people at the rally say this isn't about politics. It doesn't matter whether you are Republican or a Democrat. You just have to stand with humanity. That's all we're asking. See what they have done to the people of Iran. Organizers also encourage participants to bring white flowers to honor the six U.S. service members who were killed in the attack. It's in remembrance of the fallen soldiers, and we were going to drop them off at the veteran cemetery, which is right here, and we have a wreath for them as well. Some rally goers say honoring those service members was an important part of the event. My condolences to Sikh soldiers, American soldiers. My husband is a U.S. veteran, so that's why I just have empathy and sympathy with them to accept my condolences, all American. So we are with you, and thank you very much, President Trump, again, and we will support you. I really thank them for their service. They have been fighting for human rights, and I sincerely wish from the bottom of my heart that this wouldn't happen the way it's happening. Organizers say they plan to hold rallies every weekend here in the Westwood neighborhood. Reporting from Los Angeles, Christina Corona, NTV News. We'll have more coverage of the U.S.' Israeli strikes on Iran in just a moment. I'm Kevin Hogan. Thanks for watching.