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This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

President Donald Trump and the monarch of the repressive Saudi regime spoke on the phone for more than an hour on Sunday. According to a White Housestatement,The two leaders reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The official Saudi Press Agencyreportedthat Trump and Saudi King Salman stressed the depth and strength of the strategic relations between the two countries.

The two agreed to greater military intervention in the Middle East, and the creation of so-called safe zones in Syria and Yemen. The details of how such zones would be created are not clear, but if they were instituted, it would likely take direct U.S.military involvement.

Hillary Clinton ran her 2016 presidential campaign against Trump on a pledge to create a safe zone in Syria, though she had previously acknowledged that instituting a safe zone could kill a lot of Syrians and lead to American and NATO involvement where you take a lot of civilians.

Reutersreported, citing a senior Saudi source, that the two leaders agreed to step up counter-terrorism and military cooperation and enhance economic cooperation.

The White House said Trump and Saudi King Salman also agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of radical Islamic terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally since the 1930s, is a theocratic absolute monarchy that brutally represses all internal dissent, beheads nonviolent protesters and funds and spreads extremist Islamismthroughout the globe. A leaked 2014 email from Hillary Clinton revealed,citingWestern intelligence sources, that the U.S.-backed regimes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar supported the genocidalmilitant group ISIS.

Saudi Arabia also has the worlds second-largest oil reserves, plays a leading role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and has been offered more than $115 billion inweapons dealsby the U.S. government in the past eight years. U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia continue uninterruptedunder Trump.

While agreeing on Middle East policy, Trump and King Salman took a hard line against Iran, Saudi Arabias arch nemesis. The White House said they agreed to address Irans supposed destabilizing regional activities. Reuters reported, according to the Saudi source, that, Trump agreed with Riyadhs suspicion of what it sees as Tehrans growing influence in the Arab world.

Trumps administration is full ofanti-Iran hawks.

Saudi Arabia, which speaks of itself as the home of Islam, has remained silent on Trumps extremist anti-Muslim policy, while massive protests have errupted throughout the U.S. and the world. Iranians are the group most affected by Trumps immigration ban, whereas Saudis are not targeted.

The Saudi Press Agency summarized the discussion, writing, The views of the two leaders were identical on the files that were discussed during the call, including the fight against terrorism, extremism, their finance, formulating the appropriate mechanisms for that, and confronting those who seek to undermine security and stability in the region and interfere in the internal affairs of other states.

The White House noted that President Trump likewise voiced support for the Kingdoms Vision 2030 economic program, a plan to revamp the Saudi economy that includes few political reforms and does not guarantee equal rights for women, who face systematic subjugation.

Both leaders expressed a desire to explore additional steps to strengthen bilateral economic and energy cooperation, the White House statement added.

The Saudi Press Agency said the two leaders invited each other to visit their respective countries.

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Trump and the Saudi king discuss major pact to confront Iran - Salon

Iranian leaders are working to give a terrorist proxy the ability to launch guided missiles at Israel's most important secular and religious sites, according to a top Republican.

"What they intend to do is transfer a GPS capability to what right now are dumb rockets and dumb missiles," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said Wednesday during an event with the Israel Project. "If they succeed in this, they can pick the tallest buildings in Tel Aviv, the main landmarks in Jerusalem, the airport, the ships in the harbor."

That warning punctuated Royce's call for President Trump to prepare to reverse some of the economic concessions that the Obama administration made while negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. And the crackdown has bipartisan support, as Royce's Democratic counterpart on the committee emphasized throughout the panel.

"I hope that the new administration will slap sanctions on them and they'll certainly have my support if they decide to do it," said New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Engel and Royce predicted that Israel would have to go to war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a terrorist group funded by Iran, and reiterated that President Obama miscalculated by doing a deal with the regime. "I think from day one [of the talks] that they played us like a fiddle," Engel said of Iran.

But Engel cautioned against walking away from the agreement entirely, because Iran has already received the infusion of cash it sought from the agreement. "If we were to simply walk out of the deal now, they'd have all this money without really doing anything and I don't think we should let them off the hook," he said.

That requires swift condemnation of Iranian support for terrorists and other destabilizing activities, according to the lawmakers. The regime tested a ballistic missile over the weekend, which the lawmakers called a violation of their obligations under the terms of the nuclear deal.

Royce suggested that Trump should warn Iran that if it conducts another test, the Treasury Department will bar international banks from conducting dollar transactions with the regime. And a message should be sent to international companies that hope to do business in Iran.

"If there's another test, all you companies out there in Europe and beyond know that we have a know your customer law in the United States," Royce said. "And guess what would be out of compliance with know your customer? Any conduct with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps."

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The bipartisanship of the panel was diluted only by Engel's worry that Trump might not recognize Russian President Vladimir Putin as a threat to the United States and a supporter of Iran.

"They're all in it together," Engel said. "Russia and Iran have collaborated, it's my belief that they collaborated all during the negotiations on the JCPOA [nuclear deal] and I think that that's the old line of the axis of evil, I think this is the axis of evil today. And we have to confront it."

Top Story

President Trump and his daughter Ivanka departed the White House for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Wednesday afternoon to witness the arrival of Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, who was killed during an intelligence gathering raid in Yemen last weekend.

Owens, a member of the Navy's SEAL Team Six, was killed in a clandestine raid at an al Qaeda facility that Trump had authorized early Sunday morning. The operation left four additional U.S. service members wounded and marked the first military fatality under the new administration.

Trump, who was to be joined by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., upon arriving at Dover, had a "very somber and lengthy" conversation with Owens' family on Tuesday.

02/01/17 3:38 PM

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Royce: Iran prepping smart bomb attacks on Jerusalem - Washington Examiner (blog)

DETROIT (WJBK) - The leader of a mosque in Dearborn has confirmed to FOX 2 that a man who claimed his mother died in Iraq after being barred from returning to the United States under a ban instituted by President Trump this weekend, lied to FOX 2 about when her death occurred.

Imam Husham Al-Hussainy, leader of the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn, says Mike Hager's mom did not pass away this weekend after being barred from traveling to the United States. The Imam confirms that Hager's mother died before the ban was put in place.

After the story aired on FOX 2 and was posted on FOX2Detroit.com, we received many questions about the validity of Hager's claims that his mother died waiting to be approved to come home. FOX 2 has confirmed that his mother died five days earlier.

According to Al-Hussainy, Hager's mother had kidney disease and was receiving treatment in Michigan - where she lived - before traveling to Iraq to visit family. The Imam said she passed away on January 22, 2017, five days before President Trump instituted the travel ban.

On Tuesday, Mike Hager told FOX 2 that he and his family were stopped while trying to return from Iraq to Michigan. He said that he was allowed through because of his American citizenship but his ailing mother and other family members were not. He then claimed that his mom passed away in Iraq on Saturday, as he was traveling to the United States.

Travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia are banned from traveling to the United States for 90 days so the country can detect "individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States."

FOX 2 is continuing to try and contact Hager for more details.

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Man who claimed mom died in Iraq after Trump's ban lied, Imam confirms - Fox 2 Detroit

Common Dreams

Taking Iraq's Oil... The Trump Edition Common Dreams The leaders of the United States have provided many reasons for their numerous interventions in Iraq. President Donald Trump has focused on one thing: the United States should take the country's oil. During late 2015, when he first began campaigning to ... Trump immigration policy endangers progress in IraqCharleston Post Courier After working in Iraq for UN, Pittsfield senator opposes President Donald Trump's immigration orderMassLive.com all 42 news articles »

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Taking Iraq's Oil... The Trump Edition - Common Dreams

Iran has stopped issuing visas to Americans, the countrys foreign minister said, in an expected response to PresidentDonald Trumps 90-day ban on Iranian citizens entering the U.S.

Irans Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it would take reciprocal and proportionate action after Mr. Trump issued an executive order barring entry to the U.S. of nationals from Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, as well as Iran. Tuesdays move came the same day Iraq said it wouldnt take any reciprocal action against Americans in light of the decree.

Iranian Foreign MinisterJavad Zarifconfirmed that Tehran would no longer issue visas to U.S. citizens. He also said exceptions to the ban were possible and specific cases would be reviewed by a foreign ministry committee.

Irans move could affect efforts byBoeingCo.to seal an 80-plane sale to Iran Air that the U.S. company said is still subject to government approvals. Some U.S. lawmakers are trying to block the deal, which was agreed on in December.

Were continuing to assess any impact the executive order might have and are closely monitoring congressional, administration and judicial actions, a Boeing spokesman said.

Despite the ban, USA Wrestling, the sports federation that oversees American Olympic wrestlers, on Monday said it planned to participate in an international tournament in mid-February in Kermanshah, Iran.

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Iran halts visas to Americans as Iraq keeps door open - Fox News