The labor organization representing America's career diplomats verified this constitutes the first such widespread recall targeting career diplomats serving as ambassadors or mission chiefs. "Those affected report being notified abruptly, typically by phone, with no explanation provided," American Foreign Service Association spokeswoman Nikki Gamer informed The New York Times. "That method is highly irregular."

"The lack of transparency and process breaks sharply with longstanding norms," Gamer declared. After consulting institutional archives, the union determined it "can say definitively that such a mass recall has never happened since the founding of the Foreign Service as we know it," Gamer added.

"This is a standard process in any administration," the State Department declared when questioned about the recalls. "An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president's right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda."

An unofficial roster circulated within diplomatic networks on Monday, The New York Times reported. The document indicated that ambassadors from every global zone faced recall, with approximately a dozen stationed in sub-Saharan Africa receiving exit orders. Multiple diplomats confirmed the list's general reliability.

Trump hasn't selected candidates for several vacant sub-Saharan African ambassadorships. Globally, scores of US embassies operate without confirmed ambassadors. In these cases, deputy mission chiefs – usually career diplomats – function as acting mission leaders.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio supervised what he termed a "reorganization" of the department this year. The department declared approximately 1,300 layoffs in July, affecting 264 foreign service officers. Numerous terminated diplomats held Washington assignments between overseas postings and worked in offices targeted for elimination.

Ambassador candidates receive presidential nominations followed by Senate confirmation, The New York Times noted. Two categories of ambassadors exist: career diplomats and political appointees. Political appointees typically include presidential donors or associates who traditionally submit resignations during administration changes. This practice occurred following Trump's January swearing-in, with resignations immediately accepted. Career diplomats, by contrast, usually continue serving well into successor administrations under established precedent. The Trump administration disclosed no justification for the recalls and made no public declaration.

The post 'Such a mass recall has never happened': Nearly 30 US ambassadors ordered home by Trump administration appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has raised the prospect of the 63-year-old socialist leader relocating to the gas-rich emirate, which is facilitating negotiations, a senior Trump administration source disclosed to The Post.

Five administration officials – three serving and two former – told The Post they view the arrangement as plausible.

"Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE love to do stuff like this. It helps build chits with the US," an administration-connected source remarked to The Post. "All three compete against each other – in the region and for the ultimate affection of the US."

However, a source knowledgeable about Qatar's Venezuela mediation efforts insisted to The Post that Maduro is not seeking residences in Doha. Qatar's rulers previously facilitated a Trump-proposed peace framework between Israel and Hamas, and the emirate had been hosting senior Hamas figures before Israeli airstrikes in September targeted them for elimination.

"It is untrue that Maduro is fleeing to Qatar," this person stated, according to The Post.

Trump contacted Maduro last week demanding immediate resignation, with the embattled Venezuelan leader reportedly suggesting a power transfer to his vice president alongside comprehensive amnesty for himself and confederates, The Post learned.

The State Department declined to comment when contacted, according to The Post.

Last month, the Trump administration classified Maduro and his associates as foreign terrorist organization members, broadening US military authority for Venezuela operations, The Post reported. Rubio branded the purported Cartel de los Soles, allegedly commanded by Maduro, "responsible for terrorist violence."

The White House has invoked the terrorist classification to legitimize military operations against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in Caribbean waters, including a September 2 dual strike that eliminated survivors, according to The Post.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt justified the continuing boat operations – which have eliminated at least 80 individuals – by citing "self-defense to protect Americans and vital United States interests."

Trump convened Monday afternoon with Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and additional senior officials to evaluate subsequent actions against Maduro, The Post reported.

US officials are presently collecting intelligence to shape recommendations, with a determination anticipated later this week or early next week, according to The Post.

One prospect involves targeting suspected narcotics smugglers within Venezuela's territorial boundaries – extending 12 nautical miles from shore, The Post learned. Such operations would intensify political demands on Trump to obtain congressional war authorization, as legislators across party lines have already rejected the boat operations conducted without their approval.

Trump declared on October 23 he was preparing congressional notification of plans for land operations inside Venezuela, but has delayed while pursuing Maduro's negotiated resignation and departure, according to The Post.

During Tuesday's Cabinet session, Trump issued warnings about striking land-based Venezuelan narcotics traffickers – and indicated Colombian operators also face danger, The Post reported. "Anybody that's doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack," Trump declared. "No, not just Venezuela."

The post Maduro's last stand? Qatar exile reportedly explored by US appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Pollard confirmed the meeting to the newspaper and noted this was the first time an American official hosted him in an office since his release. "It was a friendly meeting," he was quoted as saying. It should be noted that after being released from prison, Pollard is prevented from returning to the US, so the meeting with Huckabee could only take place in Israel.

The post Huckabee meets with Jonathan Pollard – Washington left in the dark appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The post Biden-era general claims Israel deliberately killed journalist appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

SCOOP

Pro-Iranian Regime Jihadi Muslim Tied To NIAC @NIACouncil
FIRED From US State Department @StateDept's Office of Press and Public Diplomacy In The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Where He Was Pushing Pro-Iranian Regime Propaganda Under The Trump Administration

I… pic.twitter.com/0ZOAEbCSSO

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 20, 2025

Shahed Ghoreishi, who lost his post Monday, had suggested including the line, "We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza." The phrasing matched remarks by both President Donald Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff, who previously said Washington was not advancing an "eviction plan" for the territory. According to The Washington Post, department leaders ordered that the language be removed.

Anonymous officials told The Washington Post that Ghoreishi's firing underscored an uncompromising stance inside the department: public messaging must adhere closely to pro-Israel framing, even if alternative language is rooted in long-standing US positions.

Spokesman Tommy Pigott would not specify a reason for the dismissal. "We do not comment on leaked emails or allegations," he said, adding that the department has "zero tolerance" for leaks and expects staff to prioritize "the duly elected president's agenda." Ghoreishi told The Washington Post that he received no explanation for his termination but said it raised troubling implications regarding potential mass relocation of Palestinians, although Israel has denied any such measures and has shown that such plans are merely to prevent them from being harmed as Israel takes out Hamas terrorists.

"Despite a strong reputation and close working relationship with many of my colleagues, I was unable to survive these disputes," Ghoreishi said, stressing that the wording he advanced had been approved for use since Trump assumed office in January.

Tensions also surfaced after the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and others in Gaza City. Israel maintained al-Sharif was affiliated with Hamas, a claim denied by Al-Jazeera. No such assertion was made about the other victims. Ghoreishi recommended a condolence statement mourning the deaths of journalists, but leadership rejected the idea in an Aug. 10 email: "No response is needed. We can't be sending out condolences if we are unsure of this individual's actions," The Washington Post reported.

Central to the disputes was David Milstein, senior adviser to Ambassador Mike Huckabee. Officials familiar with the matter claimed to The Washington Post that Milstein often overreaches his role by intervening on behalf of Israel. Critics described him as eager to satisfy Israeli officials, while Pigott countered that he was a "valued advocate for the policies of the Trump Administration and for the American people."

According to the report, Milstein previously pushed for a Rubio-signed statement denouncing Ireland's move toward banning settlement-related trade. European and Middle East diplomats resisted, insisting on private diplomacy with Dublin, and ultimately blocked its release.

He later pressed for use of the terms "Judea and Samaria" instead of "West Bank," the Post reported. A memo he wrote lauded House Speaker Mike Johnson for visiting "Judea and Samaria." Ghoreishi intervened, revising the phrasing to the internationally recognized "West Bank" before its release.

This week, Ghoreishi was targeted by far-right commentator Laura Loomer, who accused him on social media of being a "Pro-Iranian Regime Jihadi Muslim Tied To NIAC." Ghoreishi confirmed he had interned with the National Iranian American Council in 2013.

The post State Department official who undermined pro-Israel language fired appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Former director of the Shin Bet Security Agency Avi Dichter brushed off Tuesday the use by the United States of the term "terror attack" to condemn the killing of a 19-year-old Palestinian in the town of Burqa, as a court ruled one of the Jewish settlers held as suspects be released to house arrest.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

"We strongly condemn the terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers," the US State Department's Near East Bureau said on Saturday, in its first application of the term in the context of settler violence.

Video: Anti-judicial reform protests outside the home of Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter. Credit: Yaniv Zohar

Israeli police arrested the two settlers on Friday, with lawyers saying it was a self-defense shooting by one of them at a much larger group of rock throwers.

Police initially accused the settlers of "deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide" with a racist motivation, but Dichter – now Agriculture Minister – argued that culpability for the Burqa death was far from clear.

"I wouldn't advise treating the US definition as a precise professional definition. At the end of the day, they are not drawing on intelligence, but on media reports," he said. "Everything gets poured into media reports – things that are correct, things that are wrong, tendentious, and other things. At the end of the day, what is important as far as we are concerned is what happened there."

Police guard

Jerusalem District Court heard arguments that the suspects – one of whom had been hospitalized, with a police guard, for a head wound – should be freed pending possible prosecution.

It ruled one should be released to house arrest while the other will be kept in remand in hospital.

"Their act was to save lives – their lives and others' lives," defense lawyer Nati Rom told reporters.

The State Department appeared disinclined on Monday to elaborate on its sharpened censure over the Burqa killing.

"The thinking is that it was a terror attack, and we are concerned about it, and that's why we called it that," spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We have made quite clear our concerns, but I would note that the government of Israel has made an arrest in this case and is seeking to hold the perpetrator accountable, and that's an appropriate action."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Minister brushes off US terrorism label for killing of Palestinian in Burqa appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The United States is seeking more information from the Israeli government about the decision that soldiers will not be criminally prosecuted over the death of a Palestinian-American man, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Israel's military advocate general said on Tuesday that soldiers who left Omar As'ad outside overnight after detaining him, and who was later found dead, will not be criminally prosecuted, but will face disciplinary measures.

"Since Mr. As'ad's tragic death, we have continued to discuss this troubling incident with the Israeli government," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday. "We're aware of the conclusion of the investigation, and we are at this time seeking more information from the Israeli government about it."

Israeli forces detained 78-year-old As'ad in the West Bank town of Jiljilya last January. The soldiers left him supine and unresponsive at a construction site, saying they assumed he had fallen asleep. As'ad was later found dead in the early morning with a plastic zip-tie still around one wrist.

Following an initial probe, the military dismissed two officers and reprimanded a battalion commander over As'ad's death, which it said resulted from "a moral failure and poor decision-making."

On Tuesday, the army's chief legal body said in a statement that its decision was made "following the hearings and after a thorough examination of the investigation materials, which indicated no causal link was found between the errors in the conduct of the soldiers and (As'ad's) death."

A Palestinian autopsy found that As'ad, a former Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resident who had a history of heart problems, had suffered cardiac arrest caused by stress.

The Military Advocate General said a military medical official found it impossible to determine whether As'ad's death was caused specifically by the soldiers' conduct and that the soldiers could not have been aware of his medical condition.

Washington at the time said it was "deeply concerned" and expected "a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories! 

The post US seeks information from Israel after IDF ends probe into death of Palestinian-American appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Biden administration rebuked Israel on Sunday over an order that allows Jewish presence in Homesh, a former settlement that was removed as part of the 2005 Disengagement Plan in northern Samaria. The criticism follows a similar condemnation from the US after Israel Hayom reported on the planned move several days ago.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

The IDF GOC Central Command signed an order on Thursday that allows Israelis to enter the Homesh outpost area, paving the way for a formal settlement to be built there. The State Department has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from any moves that escalate tensions with Palestinians, like formalizing settler outposts, and specifically warned it over Homesh.

"We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government's order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which according to Israeli law was illegally built on private Palestinian land," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The order is inconsistent with Israeli government commitments made in 2004 and more recently to Biden administration officials, Miller said. Israel's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the order in question was intended to allow Israelis to keep attending an existing yeshiva in Homesh, and that the government has no intention of rebuilding the settlement or allowing Israeli presence on private Palestinian land.

The reproach by the US comes after months of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians that have tested ties between Washington and its main ally in the Middle East.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from the far-Right Otzma Yehudit party, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, sacred to both Muslims and Jews, who know it as Temple Mount, and declared Israel was "in charge." Miller said Washington was also concerned about the "provocative visit" and "accompanying inflammatory rhetoric."

"This holy space should not be used for political purposes, and we call on all parties to respect its sanctity," he said, also reaffirming the U.S. position that the status quo should be maintained at Jerusalem's holy sites.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post US condemns Israeli decision on Homesh as IDF finalizes repeal of Disengagement Law appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Biden administration continues to maintain subtle contact with Iran over various issues and might be exploring a limited nuclear deal, Israel Hayom has learned after inquiring on the matter with the US State Department.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

A State Department spokesperson said the US has various means of communication with Iran on issues – such as on the release of imprisoned US citizens – but would not go into detail. The response comes amid Israeli concern that the administration was still pursuing a return to the 2015 pact. On Tuesday, in his first cabinet meeting since returning to power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that was still a possibility "despite the conventional wisdom." Netanyahu's comments were in stark contrast to what Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in their conversation that week, in which the former said the nuclear deal could not be salvaged.

In response to an Israel Hayom query, the State Department spokesperson said that the JCPOA has not been on the agenda for several months and that it was no longer the main focus of the administration, noting that since September – when the so-called HIjab protest broke out in Iran – the focus has been on standing by the Iranians over the fight for basic liberties and countering the deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

However, the State Department would not respond to a question on whether there are other backchannel talks with Iran on various other forms of deals that are not the full restoration of the JCPOA. Although the department noted that it has means to communicate with Iran on various issues, this could have been in reference to the humanitarian channels through Switzerland, which have been used to secure the release of Western detainees.

The spokesperson refused to say whether these means of communication have been used to pursue a possible alternative to the JCPOA. In the past, there have been reports that President Joe Biden was considering finalizing a limited version of the JCPOA that would see partial sanction relief in exchange for stopping uranium enrichment activities, as well as other formulas.

Israeli and US officials have recently noted that there are indications that the US has yet to fully shut the door on finalizing a full restoration of the deal. They further noted as evidence that the US has so far stopped short of demanding that the European countries that have remained in the deal invoke the snapback mechanism that would reinstate UN Security Council sanctions on Iran. Another indication is in the US public statements on the door for a deal still being open.

In response to a question, the State Department said that questions on the snapback should be directed at those European members of the deal. The Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post US official to Israel Hayom: JCPOA revival not main focus, contact with Iran remains appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Biden administration hopes the next Israeli government continues to uphold the countries' shared values of an "open, democratic society, including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups," State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

"What makes this [Washington-Jerusalem] relationship so strong, and what has made it so strong since Israel's independence to the present day, is that this is a relationship that has always been based on our shared interests, but importantly our shared values," said Price.

The remarks were an apparent reference to the growing likelihood of the inclusion of the Religious Zionism Party in a Likud Party-led government, with opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu returning to the Prime Minister's Office following Tuesday's general election. The party is a union between two far-Right parties: the National Union led by Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom are expected to hold senior portfolios in the emerging cabinet.

"Regardless," Price added, "we have a close and enduring relationship with Israel … and certainly that will continue." Price refused to comment on Ben-Gvir's potential inclusion in the parliament despite his past association with racist figures.

Also on Wednesday, US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides released a statement saying that he "look[s] forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government on our shared interests and values."

Both Price and Nides suggested that it was still too early to predict the exact composition of the next government in Jerusalem, even as Netanyahu's right-religious bloc appears to be poised for a resounding victory.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories! 

The post US says too early to comment on election, but hopes gov't will uphold its values appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.