Iran, Kelly v. Hegseth, Marine Le Pen and trans athletes
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Hi, I'm Kim Vinnell in Whanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, January 13th. Today, Trump threatens countries doing business with Iran with a 25% tariff. Mark Kelly sues Pete Hegsep for trying to drop his military rank. The Supreme Court takes up the battle over trans athletes in school sports. And France's Marine Le Pen appeals her corruption conviction.
What are the implications of Trump's 25% tariffs on countries doing business with Iran?
This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. U.S. President Donald Trump is ratcheting up 25% tariffs on any country that does business with Iran. The move posted on Truth Social comes as Iran continues its deadly crackdown on protesters. Hundreds have been killed as Iran aims to quell outcry in the country. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt says the Trump administration is in communication with Tehran, despite the Islamic Republic's attempt to suppress the demonstrations.
What you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately. And I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages.
One of Trump's options is military strikes. But as our White House reporter Steve Holland explains, that's not the only option.
Now, we are told that the options include other things like boosting anti-government sources online, use of cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, and putting more sanctions on the regime. The cyber attacks could include trying to shut down various buildings, infrastructure in Iran, but the Iranian regime has cut off Internet access to the citizens there. So that may be of limited use there. There's always a number of military targets that the U.S. are looking at that could put pressure on the regime. Short term, they'd love to help the protesters somehow. Long term, they are looking for ways to pressure Khomeini and his regime into getting him to step down. But as a caveat, you have to think about what would come in the vacuum created by Khomeini's departure.
So it's going to take a lot of very close diplomatic skills. The son of the late Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the United States, is presenting himself as a potential opposition leader. Now, Trump so far has declined a meeting with him. But if this progresses further, you could see that happening in the future.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is suing Pete Hegseth, saying the defense secretary violated his free speech rights. The Pentagon is attempting to demote Kelly from his rank of retired Navy captain. The action came after Kelly joined other lawmakers in urging troops to push back on orders to deploy in U.S. cities and carry out lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean, which the lawmakers say are unlawful. You can refuse illegal orders. The lawsuit alleges that the Defense Department's actions were retaliatory and asked the court to block Hegseth's review and declare his actions unlawful. And the legal action against the Trump administration doesn't end there. Next up, Minnesota's attorney general has announced his state is filing a lawsuit to block a surge of ICE officers following the fatal shooting of Renee Good last week.
We're filing against the United States Department of Homeland Security to end the unlawful, unprecedented surge of the federal law enforcement agents into Minnesota.
The lawsuit also names U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and asks a federal court in Minnesota to declare the surge unconstitutional and issue a temporary restraining order. Illinois has also filed a similar federal lawsuit against what its leadership is calling Homeland Security's dangerous use of force. and in another lawsuit, this time in the entertainment world. Paramount Skydance is suing Warner Brothers Discovery. It's asking for more information on a rival $82 billion deal with Netflix, escalating the fight to take control of the Hollywood studio. It also plans to nominate directors to the Warner Brothers board in an aggressive step to convince investors that its $108 billion cash bid is better than Netflix's cash and stock offer.
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