Washington, May 2: US Vice-President J.D. Vance has sought to cast the ousting of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz as a “promotion” to be US Ambassador to the United Nations, blaming the media for framing his departure from the top national security post as a firing.

“He wasn’t let go. He is being made Ambassador to the United Nations, which, of course, is a Senate-confirmed position. I think you can make a good argument that it’s a promotion,” Vance told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Thursday in an interview from Charleston, South Carolina.

He continued, “The media wants to frame this as a firing. Donald Trump has fired a lot of people. He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz is going to better serve the administration — most importantly, the American people — in that role.”

Vance said that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s job is “safe” when asked if there are further changes coming to the President’s senior echelon of officials, and in particular if Hegseth’s job is secure.

“We’ve got total faith in Pete,” he added.

And pressed on whether the move was a direct result of Waltz’s actions in a Signal chat with top Trump administration national security officials, Vance said, “No, it’s not.”

He broadly characterised the situation as Waltz going into the National Security Council at the beginning of the administration, firing people they felt were disloyal, and bringing in “the right collection of people to actually make the National Security Council function”.

Vance went on to say, “Of course. Yeah. We fight for all our nominees,” when asked whether Trump plans to fight for Waltz during a Senate confirmation process.

He also denied the possibility that the recent move against Waltz could be connected to his involvement in Signal-gate, when the former NSA added the editor of The Atlantic magazine to a chat group of high-ranking officials discussing the Trump administration’s attack plans on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Waltz has been under scrutiny after the Signal-gate reveled finer details of US attack on Yemen and embarrassed the administration which has made several key appointments seen as unconventional.

The former NSA had said he takes full responsibility for the episode.

The White House described the episode as a “mistake” but defended him saying the reveal caused Americans no harm.

The Pentagon inspector general is investigating the use of Signal, and he has faced criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans.

Announcing a new role for Waltz, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would take over Waltz’s duties on an interim role and vowed to “fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN”.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his own social media platform.

Rubio will be holding two crucial positions at a time when the administration is facing multiple foreign policy challenges – grinding talks to end the Ukraine war, talks with Iran over its nuclear ambitions and global economic uncertainty after Trump’s provoked a tariff war with major trade partners.

Los Angeles, May 2: US President Donald Trump has reissued threats against Iran, saying any country or person that buys oil or petrochemicals from Iran would face immediate US sanctions, after the indirect talks between the two countries were postponed.

“All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW! Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions,” Trump wrote on Thursday on Truth Social.

“They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

Trump implemented what he calls a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran since taking office in January, including tougher sanctions on oil exports and threats of military action, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump’s comments came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday that the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US, scheduled for Saturday in Rome, had been postponed at the mediator Oman’s proposal.

Baghaei reaffirmed Iran’s determination to use diplomacy to safeguard the nation’s “legitimate and legal” interests and to end the sanctions and economic pressure against Iran.

Earlier in the day, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi announced on social media platform X that the fourth round of the Iran-US talks scheduled for Saturday had been postponed for “logistical reasons,” adding, “New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”

“For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3,” he wrote.

“New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”

Al-Busaidi, who has mediated the talks through three rounds so far, did not elaborate.

Rome will see the Vatican begin its conclave next week to pick a new pope after the death of Pope Francis. Two other rounds of US-Iran talks have been held in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity. The negotiations have been led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

The US President with his threat on social media would be going after Iran’s major economic resource. It produced an average of 2.9 million barrels a day in 2023 of crude oil, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran’s program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the US continues an airstrike campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” that has been targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who long have been backed by Iran. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on early Thursday warned Iran over the rebels.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote.

“You know very well what the US Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

Last Saturday’s round of talks, which included experts drilling down into the details of a possible deal, also took place as an explosion rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Jammu, May 2: Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing on Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the eighth consecutive day on Friday.

Defence Ministry statement on Friday said, “During the night of May 1 and May 2, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms firing from posts across the LoC opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Naushera, and Akhnoor areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”

“Indian Army troops responded in a calibrated and proportionate manner.”

In addition to the LoC, Pakistan Army also violated ceasefire on the International Border in Pargwal sector of Jammu on Thursday.

Tensions have mounted between the two countries after Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists sponsored and aided by Pakistan killed 26 innocent civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, on April 22 in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

The entire country was outraged by the cowardly act of terrorists as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his first reaction to Pahalgam killings that the terrorists, their handlers and backers would be chased and hunted down to the ends of the earth.

The Prime Minister has given a free hand to the Armed forces of the country to avenge the Pahalgam carnage by deciding on the timing, targets and the magnitude of response to hunt down the terrorists.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a 40-minute-long meeting with the Prime Minister on Monday.

The Defence Minister met the PM after he received a detailed briefing by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on the preparedness of the country’s armed forces to meet any eventuality.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha had a security review meeting with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi in Srinagar a few days ago.

The L-G asked the Army to use whatever force is required to hunt down the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Meanwhile, to send a powerful message to terrorists, their overground workers and sympathisers, security forces continue demolition of the houses of terrorists.

Last Friday, two houses belonging to Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh were demolished in the Tral and Bijbehara areas.

Both these terrorists were part of the LeT terrorist group involved in the Pahalgam killings.

Security forces have so far demolished the houses of 10 terrorists, who are reportedly still active in the Kashmir Valley.

On Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously condemned the dastardly terrorist attack and passed a resolution on this.