Write a short, clear, factual news headline based on this article:
French authorities Wednesday charged a young man and three minors in connection with an attempted attack against a Bank of America branch in Paris, as investigators explored suspicions a pro-Iran group was involved.
The plot, thwarted before dawn on Saturday, came more than a month after US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked a regional war, sending energy markets into a tailspin.
A source following the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man in his early twenties from a Paris suburb had been charged with “terrorist criminal conspiracy” and remanded in custody.
French counter-terrorism prosecutors suspect he asked teenagers to place an explosive device outside the US financial institution near the famed Champs-Elysees avenue.
The investigation suggested he recruited three minors the night of Thursday to Friday, offering to pay them 500 to 1,000 euros ($580 to $1,160) for the job, the National Counterterrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said earlier in the day.
After a failed attempt that night, “two of three minors tried again the following night”, it said.
The man’s lawyer did not wish to comment when asked by AFP.
Police arrested the three minors over the course of the past few days and they have been remanded in custody.
The lawyers for one of them criticised PNAT for divulging to the press “a detailed synthesis of the case even before the investigative magistrates and the lawyers had been informed”.
Lawyers representing another of the minors declined to comment, while lawyers for a third said their client had “excellent school results” and there was “no element indicating a terrorist intention”.
A source close to the case said that “the minors know each other; they are from Montreuil (just outside Paris). The adult, who was hanging around the neighbourhood, had already given them paid jobs.”
“The teenagers said they had been pressured by the adult,” another source close to the case added.
The PNAT says the incident could be linked to a little-known Islamist group with possible links to Iran, though no firm link has yet been established.
The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) group, meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Police had on Monday last week been informed of a HAYI propaganda video on social media “specifically targeting the French headquarters” of Bank of America, the PNAT said.
The adult suspect told investigators “a third party, presenting themself as an intermediary, had approached him via a social network’s messaging service to have the explosive device planted as part of a personal vendetta”, it said.
“The explosive device was allegedly delivered to his home by a person he did not know,” it added.
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Article:
French authorities Wednesday charged a young man and three minors in connection with an attempted attack against a Bank of America branch in Paris, as investigators explored suspicions a pro-Iran group was involved.
The plot, thwarted before dawn on Saturday, came more than a month after US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked a regional war, sending energy markets into a tailspin.
A source following the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man in his early twenties from a Paris suburb had been charged with “terrorist criminal conspiracy” and remanded in custody.
French counter-terrorism prosecutors suspect he asked teenagers to place an explosive device outside the US financial institution near the famed Champs-Elysees avenue.
The investigation suggested he recruited three minors the night of Thursday to Friday, offering to pay them 500 to 1,000 euros ($580 to $1,160) for the job, the National Counterterrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said earlier in the day.
After a failed attempt that night, “two of three minors tried again the following night”, it said.
The man’s lawyer did not wish to comment when asked by AFP.
Police arrested the three minors over the course of the past few days and they have been remanded in custody.
The lawyers for one of them criticised PNAT for divulging to the press “a detailed synthesis of the case even before the investigative magistrates and the lawyers had been informed”.
Lawyers representing another of the minors declined to comment, while lawyers for a third said their client had “excellent school results” and there was “no element indicating a terrorist intention”.
A source close to the case said that “the minors know each other; they are from Montreuil (just outside Paris). The adult, who was hanging around the neighbourhood, had already given them paid jobs.”
“The teenagers said they had been pressured by the adult,” another source close to the case added.
The PNAT says the incident could be linked to a little-known Islamist group with possible links to Iran, though no firm link has yet been established.
The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) group, meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Police had on Monday last week been informed of a HAYI propaganda video on social media “specifically targeting the French headquarters” of Bank of America, the PNAT said.
The adult suspect told investigators “a third party, presenting themself as an intermediary, had approached him via a social network’s messaging service to have the explosive device planted as part of a personal vendetta”, it said.
“The explosive device was allegedly delivered to his home by a person he did not know,” it added.
President Donald Trump said US forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defence of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago.
Trump gained a wide audience and a chance to articulate clear objectives for the war after weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he is winding down or ready to escalate military operations – even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbours and airstrikes pounded Tehran.
But he spent much of his time repeating some of the same points he made in recent weeks, while also suggesting that the US was close to meeting its major military objectives in Iran and reiterating his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks. He promised US forces would continue to hit Iran very hard.
“For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But in the end, those are just words if you are not willing to take action when the time comes,” Trump said.
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The president added, “In these past four weeks our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” and slammed previous decades of US policy, saying past presidents “made mistakes and I am correcting them.”
“The situation has been going on for 47 years and should have been handled long before I arrived in office,” he said.
Trump also acknowledged rising oil prices and volatile financial markets, but insisted those effects would be temporary.
Polling shows many Americans feel the US military has gone too far in Iran – even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the US and Israel first launched attacks, raising questions about whether it is now too late for his speech to break through.
At an Easter lunch Wednesday afternoon, the president said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”
“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily. I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”
The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on why it was removed.
In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway vital to global oil supplies – or the US would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president also said the US “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it did not open the strait by April 6.
At the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to secure the Strait of Hormuz, while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up.
“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force – let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”
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In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It was unclear to whom the US president was referring, since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signalled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to US citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the US withdrew. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly said it could be over soon, while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional US troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.
Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. The US could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile – a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.
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Adding to the uncertainty is what role Israel – which has been bombing Iran alongside the US – might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war, which has pushed up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.
The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including demands for the strait to be reopened and for Iran’s nuclear programme to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. Last week, an anonymous official quoted by Iranian state TV’s English-language broadcaster said Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the Al Jazeera interview, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the US could yield results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any US attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, US officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf will not be targeted, according to three officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
Donald Trump has privately asked cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, venting frustration that she shielded a former deputy who undercut his rationale for war with Iran, according to two people briefed on the discussions.
It is not clear that Trump will actually fire Gabbard over the episode. Currently, there is no standout candidate to take the job, and advisers have cautioned that creating a high-profile vacancy before a successor is ready could cause unhelpful political distractions.
But Trump’s discussions marks an ominous development for Gabbard, given the president tends to poll his advisers when he starts to seriously consider whether a personnel change is necessary. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Trump’s doubts about Gabbard followed her testimony at the world wide threats hearing on Capitol Hill last month where she declined to condemn Joe Kent, who had resigned days earlier after arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, the people said.
The nature of Kent’s departure and his criticism of the war had already angered Trump, but he expressed particular frustration about Gabbard seemingly defending Kent and appearing reluctant to defend the administration’s position to attack Iran, the people said.
Asked on Sunday whether he still had confidence in Gabbard’s leadership, Trump offered a mixed endorsement. “Yeah, sure,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I mean, she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve.”
Republican plan to fund DHS could get first test vote later today
The Senate is expected to try quickly passing a measure later today that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), though it’s unclear how soon the House will follow to largely end the longest partial government shutdown in history.
House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate majority leader John Thune announced a plan yesterday to fully fund the DHS as part of a two-step process, AP reported.
The agreement puts the leaders on the same page for ending the impasse after they pursued separate plans that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week without a fix.
Johnson and Thune announced a return to the bipartisan Senate plan worked out with Democrats that funds most of the department, with the exception of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Border Patrol.
Republicans would then try later to fund those agencies on their own through party-line spending legislation that could take months to finish.
Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks even though president Donald Trump has given his support.
Phillip Inman
Before Donald Trump declared “liberation day” on 2 April 2025 and shocked the world by raising import tariffs on nearly every country the US did business with, he had spent almost three months causing chaos in Washington.
The wholesale slashing of government jobs under Doge (the “department of government efficiency”) and the defunding of US aid agencies had shown White House watchers that the US president was in a hurry to upset institutions he considered profligate or useless.
Investors quickly understood that chaos was an essential tool in Trump’s armoury. Almost as soon as he was inaugurated, there was a steady decline in the value of the dollar against other currencies. Investors sold assets denominated in dollars and bought assets elsewhere: Europe, Asia, South America.
“If you think that discouraging investors from buying assets in the US is a victory, then you don’t believe in a growing economy,” said Dario Perkins, the head of global research at the consultancy TS Lombard. “If it was possible for Trump to have spent the last 14 months on the golf course, we would be in a better place.”
Russ Mould, the investment director of the British stockbroker AJ Bell, said:
America is still home to the world’s largest economy and its reserve currency, as well as the globe’s largest equity and bond markets, but investors continue to reassess their exposure one year on from liberation day.
The economy has either gone sideways or declined, depending on the preferred measure. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that US companies, which were supposed to be the victors in Trump’s new tariff war, stopped hiring almost as soon as liberation day was announced.
Significant revisions in February to data covering 2025 pushed payroll employment down by 403,000 jobs, resulting in the addition of 181,000 jobs last year. This small boost is set against the 163 million people who are employed in the US.
Commission to vote on Trump’s White House $400m ballroom project after injunction granted
The National Capital Planning Commission will meet this afternoon to decide on Donald Trump’s White House $400m ballroom project, after a federal judge halted construction earlier this week.
Although the order did not take place with immediate effect, judge Richard Leon’s injunction prompted the president to claim, in a Truth Social post, that his administration did not in fact require “express authorization from Congress” to proceed. The government is appealing against the decision.
Trump’s fellow Republicans have up until now not felt the need to weigh in on the project, Politico reported. One exception was Lexi Hamel, a spokesperson for representative Mike Simpson, who said in a statement on Wednesday the Idaho Republican “believes the ruling is stupid” and that “nobody raised hell when Roosevelt or Truman renovated the White House (at taxpayer expense).”
The federal panel postponed an expected vote on the project last month, after receiving thousands of negative public comments. Before meeting, the commission released more than 9,000 pages of public comments it received about the project.
The commission has said that more than 35,000 people had submitted written comments, with the majority opposing Trump’s plans to build a 90,000 sq ft ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood, and condemning the demolition of the East Wing, which began in October.
Historic preservationist groups have sued and attempted to halt the project. In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit, seeking to block the construction of the new ballroom, arguing that the administration violated laws by tearing parts of the White House “without any review whatsoever”.
In other developments:
House Republicans announced that they will pass a bill, advanced by the Senate last week, to end the record-breaking partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown after previously rejecting the measure.
Democrats quickly celebrated the win with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer saying “House Republicans caved” after previously “[derailing] a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction”.
Nasa’s lunar rocket successfully launched and the astronauts on the first crewed lunar rocket in more than 50 years received praise from across the US.
Attorney general Pam Bondi’s job with the Trump administration is reportedly at risk. The president is said to be unhappy with Bondi’s performance as the head of the justice department and the controversy surrounding the Epstein files, according to a New York Times report.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation on Wednesday to require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote and to begin a process that will eventually unenroll voters who have not provided citizenship documentation.
Supreme court justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s argument to restrict birthright citizenship for hundreds of thousands of children born to undocumented immigrants of temporary foreign nationals. Trump himself attended the hearing, widely considered to be the first time a sitting president has attended arguments at the supreme court.
