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| Trump travel ban: White House vows to overturn 'outrageous' court block – live | Trump travel ban: White House vows to overturn 'outrageous' court block – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.21am GMT | |
| 05:21 | |
| Passengers who are affected by the travel ban have been asked to check airline websites for information before travelling. But I’m not sure how much luck they are going to have. I’ve looked at several and can’t see any reference to the court ruling or what it means for anyone. | |
| 5.17am GMT | |
| 05:17 | |
| New US sanctions on Iran | |
| On what’s turning out to be a major news day in the Trump administration, the White House announced it was imposing sanctions on companies and individuals suspected of involvement in Iran’s missile programme and its support for foreign armed groups, warning there will be more pressure on Tehran to come. | |
| Donald Trump accused Iran of “playing with fire”. | |
| “They don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” he said in an early morning tweet. | |
| Iran is playing with fire - they don't appreciate how "kind" President Obama was to them. Not me! | |
| Here’s the full report by the Guardian’s Julian Borger and David Smith in Washington: | |
| The sanctions announced on Friday targeted on a dozen companies and 13 individuals, including Chinese firms suspected of supplying parts used in Iran’s missile development programme. The measures were invoked in response to a January missile test by Iran and the country’s support for Houthi rebels in Yemen. | |
| “The Trump administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests,” Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Flynn, said in a statement. “The days of turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over.” | |
| A senior administration official described the measures as “initial steps” while a broader review of Iran policy was under way. | |
| “Iran has a choice to make,” the official said. “We are going to continue to respond to their behaviour in an ongoing way at an appropriate level, to continue to pressure them to change their behaviour.” | |
| Iran said it would retaliate with its own blacklist of American nationals and companies it said gave support to terrorists. | |
| “The Islamic Republic will proportionately and reciprocally confront any action that targets the Iranian people’s interests,” the foreign ministry said. | |
| Sanctions experts said the new measures appeared to be in line with the Obama administration’s approach of incrementally expanding sanctions as procurement and influence networks are uncovered, but a senior Trump administration official said the decision to impose the new sanctions had been triggered by the 29 January Iranian test of a medium-range ballistic missile. | |
| Trump administration ‘officially putting Iran on notice’, says Michael FlynnRead more | |
| The sanctions were also declared to be in retaliation for a Houthi attack on a Saudi warship on 31 January. In a statement on Friday, Flynn referred to the Houthis as one of Iran’s “proxy terrorist groups”, although the Yemeni Shia militia is not designated by the state department as terrorist. It has fought a long-running insurgency in and seized the capital Sana’a by early 2015, triggering a full-scale war against the Yemeni president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and a Saudi-led coalition supporting him. | |
| The people and companies targeted in the new sanctions list are suspected of being parts of networks that import dual-use items that have been used in Iran’s nuclear programme, or transfer funds abroad for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to foreign armed groups. The measures do not reimpose any sanctions that were lifted as a result of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. | |
| “It is an appropriate response and consistent with the approach that the Obama administration took in dealing with missiles and terror,” said Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former senior sanctions adviser at the treasury department. “It doesn’t look that it is a major departure. What we see is a page from the playbook we know.” | |
| Tyler Cullis, legal fellow at the National Iranian American Council, said: “Trump has imposed targeted sanctions aimed at low-level individuals and entities alleged to be involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme. These sanctions are intended to evidence US pushback without sacrificing the nuclear accord. I wouldn’t have expected a President Clinton to act any differently.” | |
| US officials said that the missile test was “inconsistent” with UN security council resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal and “calls on” Iran not to develop or test missiles “capable of delivering nuclear weapons” but does not ban such activity outright. | |
| The Iranian defence minister, Hossein Dehghan, has insisted that the 29 January test did not violate the resolution and declared: “We will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs.” | |
| Trump’s belligerence towards Iran plays into the hands of Tehran’s hardlinersSaeed Kamali DehghanRead more | |
| A senior administration official insisted on Friday that the tested missile was nuclear-capable. | |
| “Those are ballistic missiles that can travel a certain distance and carry a certain payload and this ballistic missile falls within that parameter,” the official said. | |
| Michael Elleman, a missile expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it was not clear what Iran had launched, but said most likely it was a Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile based on the North Korean Nodong missile, and which was first tested in 1998. | |
| Trump’s attempt to shock and awe both allies and adversaries in his first two weeks in office has deepened global uncertainty as Trump has taken an abrasive approach to diplomacy from Australia to Mexico. | |
| Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said the administration was in the midst “of a full review of all US policies towards Cuba”, with a focus on its human rights policies, as part of a commitment to such rights for citizens throughout the world. | |
| It also emerged that more than 100,000 visas may have been revoked as a result of Trump’s fiercely contentious ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. The number was revealed by a government attorney during a lawsuit brought on behalf of two Yemeni brothers who arrived at Dulles International Airport near Washington on Saturday, only to be put on a return flight to Ethiopia. | |
| But the state department contradicted the attorney’s figure, saying that fewer than 60,000 visas had been cancelled under Trump’s order. | |
| In a highly provocative move last month, Trump signed an executive order that affects people holding passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and also halts temporarily the entry of refugees into the country. The White House contends the moves are necessary for national security but Democratic attorneys general in several states have called them unconstitutional. | |
| Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president – daily updatesRead more | |
| In a separate case, a federal judge in Detroit ruled that US green card holders should not be affected by Trump’s travel ban following a suit by the Arab-American Civil Rights League. The nonprofit argued in US district court that the president’s executive action is unconstitutional and targets immigrant communities. | |
| Criticism of the White House’s misrepresentation of the issue intensified after Kellyanne Conway, counselor to Trump, was forced to issue a correction after blaming two Iraqi refugees for a massacre that never happened. | |
| Conway cited the fictitious “Bowling Green massacre” in an interview in which she backed the travel ban. Interviewed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball programme on Thursday evening, Conway compared the executive order issued by Trump in his first week in the White House to what she described as a six-month ban imposed by his predecessor, Barack Obama. | |
| This claim has been debunked by commentators who have pointed out that the 2011 action was a pause on the processing of refugees from Iraq after two Iraqi nationals were arrested over a failed attempt to send money and weapons to al-Qaida in Iraq. | |
| Conway told Matthews: “I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalised and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.” | |
| The two Iraqi men arrested in 2011 did live in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and arecurrently serving life sentences for federal terrorism offences. But there was no massacre, nor were they accused of planning one. The US Department of Justice, announcing their convictions in 2012, said: “Neither was charged with plotting attacks within the United States.” | |
| After a barrage of mockery on social media, Conway tweeted on Friday: “I meant to say ‘Bowling Green terrorists’ as reported here,” and she linked to a 2013 news report about the men. | |
| Trump met business leaders at the White House and promised to roll back financial regulations that resulted from the 2007-08 financial crisis. He was set to issue directives targeting the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform, although only Congress can rewrite it. | |
| The Department of Labor announced that the economy added a total of 227,000 jobs in January, while wages rose by 2.5% over the last year. Democrats hailed it as an “emphatic capstone” on the economic legacy of Barack Obama. | |
| House Democrats will gather for a conference in Baltimore next week, strategising a way forward for the party after Trump’s stunning election defeat of Hillary Clinton and the helter skelter start to his presidency. They are under pressure from an energetic base to shift to the left and, for example, oppose Trump’s supreme court nominee Neil Gorsuch at all costs. | |
| 5.07am GMT | |
| 05:07 | |
| Protests over ban continued in US on Friday | |
| Protests over the travel ban continued in the US on Friday, including a large group that gathered in a parking lot of Kennedy International Airport in New York for the Friday Prayer. | |
| 4.59am GMT | |
| 04:59 | |
| According to the New York Times, is is not unusual for district courts to issue nationwide injunctions blocking executive actions. It says the “federal government must obey such injunctions even when other district courts have declined to issue injunctions in similar cases.” | |
| You can see the full NYT story here | |
| 4.42am GMT | 4.42am GMT |
| 04:42 | 04:42 |
| US Airlines told to allow in previously banned travellers | US Airlines told to allow in previously banned travellers |
| One of our correspondents in the US, Alan Yuhas, has just filed a story on US airlines being told to let in people previously banned under the executive order. He says the Seattle court ruling opens the path for states to sue the White House. | One of our correspondents in the US, Alan Yuhas, has just filed a story on US airlines being told to let in people previously banned under the executive order. He says the Seattle court ruling opens the path for states to sue the White House. |
| Here’s are top lines from Alan’s report: | Here’s are top lines from Alan’s report: |
| After a federal judge in Seattle ordered a temporary halt on Donald Trump’s travel ban for refugees and people from seven predominantly-Muslim nations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reportedly told US airlines that they could board travelers who had been barred. | After a federal judge in Seattle ordered a temporary halt on Donald Trump’s travel ban for refugees and people from seven predominantly-Muslim nations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reportedly told US airlines that they could board travelers who had been barred. |
| Trump administration offers conflicting numbers of revoked visas after travel banRead more | Trump administration offers conflicting numbers of revoked visas after travel banRead more |
| District judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order on Friday after hearing arguments from Washington state and Minnesota that the president’s order had unlawfully discriminated against Muslims and caused unreasonable harm. | District judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order on Friday after hearing arguments from Washington state and Minnesota that the president’s order had unlawfully discriminated against Muslims and caused unreasonable harm. |
| It was not immediately clear whether authorities would comply with the broad order, especially after officials reacted in confusion a week earlier, detaining valid visa holders and arguing with lawyers. But the justice department said it would not immediately file for an emergency stay, at least on Friday night, and reports said Customs and Border Protection (CBP0 had informed US airlines that they should board travelers who had been barred by an executive order last week. | It was not immediately clear whether authorities would comply with the broad order, especially after officials reacted in confusion a week earlier, detaining valid visa holders and arguing with lawyers. But the justice department said it would not immediately file for an emergency stay, at least on Friday night, and reports said Customs and Border Protection (CBP0 had informed US airlines that they should board travelers who had been barred by an executive order last week. |
| “We are a nation of laws. Not even the president can violate the constitution,” Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson told reporters outside the courtroom. “No one is above the law, not even the president.” | “We are a nation of laws. Not even the president can violate the constitution,” Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson told reporters outside the courtroom. “No one is above the law, not even the president.” |
| “This decision shuts down the executive order immediately, shuts it down,” he added. “That relief is immediate, happens right now. That’s the bottom line.” | “This decision shuts down the executive order immediately, shuts it down,” he added. “That relief is immediate, happens right now. That’s the bottom line.” |
| You can read Alan’s full report here. | You can read Alan’s full report here. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.48am GMT | at 4.48am GMT |
| 4.41am GMT | 4.41am GMT |
| 04:41 | 04:41 |
| China accuses US of putting stability of Asia-Pacific at risk | China accuses US of putting stability of Asia-Pacific at risk |
| Trump’s defence secretary has put the cat among the pigeons on his visit to Japan. James Mattis said today that the US would defend Japan if it got into a conflict with China over the disputed South China Sea islands. | Trump’s defence secretary has put the cat among the pigeons on his visit to Japan. James Mattis said today that the US would defend Japan if it got into a conflict with China over the disputed South China Sea islands. |
| The Chinese foreign ministry says the US should avoid complicating the issue and “bringing instability to the regional situation”. | The Chinese foreign ministry says the US should avoid complicating the issue and “bringing instability to the regional situation”. |
| Our man in Tokyo, Juystin McCurry, has filed a report on this and here’s the top lines: | Our man in Tokyo, Juystin McCurry, has filed a report on this and here’s the top lines: |
| China has accused the US of putting the stability of the Asia-Pacific at risk after Donald Trump’s defence secretary said Washington would come to Japan’s defence in the event of a conflict with Beijing over the disputed Senkaku islands. | China has accused the US of putting the stability of the Asia-Pacific at risk after Donald Trump’s defence secretary said Washington would come to Japan’s defence in the event of a conflict with Beijing over the disputed Senkaku islands. |
| James Mattis, on a two-day visit to Japan, said the islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, fell within the scope of the Japan-US security treaty, under which Washington is obliged to defend all areas under Japanese administrative control. | James Mattis, on a two-day visit to Japan, said the islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, fell within the scope of the Japan-US security treaty, under which Washington is obliged to defend all areas under Japanese administrative control. |
| Mattis also made clear that the US opposed any unilateral action that risked undermining Japan’s control of the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets that are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially large natural gas deposits. | Mattis also made clear that the US opposed any unilateral action that risked undermining Japan’s control of the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets that are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially large natural gas deposits. |
| “I want to make certain that Article 5 of our mutual defence treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago - and as it will be a year, and 10 years, from now,” Mattis, a retired marine general who has served in South Korea and Japan, told Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on Friday evening. | “I want to make certain that Article 5 of our mutual defence treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago - and as it will be a year, and 10 years, from now,” Mattis, a retired marine general who has served in South Korea and Japan, told Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on Friday evening. |
| We’ll launch Justin’s full report very soon ... | We’ll launch Justin’s full report very soon ... |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.41am GMT | at 4.41am GMT |
| 4.35am GMT | 4.35am GMT |
| 04:35 | 04:35 |
| The executive order signed by Donald Trump on 27 January suspended the entire US refugee admissions system, already one of the most rigorous in the world, for 120 days. It also suspended the Syrian refugee program indefinitely, and banned entry to the US to people from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – for 90 days. | The executive order signed by Donald Trump on 27 January suspended the entire US refugee admissions system, already one of the most rigorous in the world, for 120 days. It also suspended the Syrian refugee program indefinitely, and banned entry to the US to people from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – for 90 days. |
| A district judge in the state of Virginia ordered the White House to provide a list of names of “all persons who have been denied entry to or removed from the United States” – a total that tops at least 60,000 people, according to the state department. | A district judge in the state of Virginia ordered the White House to provide a list of names of “all persons who have been denied entry to or removed from the United States” – a total that tops at least 60,000 people, according to the state department. |
| 4.28am GMT | 4.28am GMT |
| 04:28 | 04:28 |
| Department of Justice won't rule tonight | Department of Justice won't rule tonight |
| The Department of Justice has reportedly said it will not act tonight to counter the Washington state court ruling, so there won’t be any legal challenge until Saturday at the latest. It’s unclear on what grounds the justice department might appeal the ruling. | The Department of Justice has reportedly said it will not act tonight to counter the Washington state court ruling, so there won’t be any legal challenge until Saturday at the latest. It’s unclear on what grounds the justice department might appeal the ruling. |
| 4.19am GMT | 4.19am GMT |
| 04:19 | 04:19 |
| "Keep 'evil' out of our country" – Trump | "Keep 'evil' out of our country" – Trump |
| President Trump has not commented so far on the Washington court’s ruling to stop his travel ban, but earlier on Friday he denounced the attempted knife attack on soldiers guarding the Louvre Museum in Paris. He tweeted that “We must keep ‘evil’ out of our country! | President Trump has not commented so far on the Washington court’s ruling to stop his travel ban, but earlier on Friday he denounced the attempted knife attack on soldiers guarding the Louvre Museum in Paris. He tweeted that “We must keep ‘evil’ out of our country! |
| A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S. | A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S. |
| We must keep "evil" out of our country! | We must keep "evil" out of our country! |
| 4.12am GMT | 4.12am GMT |
| 04:12 | 04:12 |
| The ruling in Washington has created confusion about travellers about which ruling applies to them. The US Customs & Border Protection agency told American airlines that they can once again board travellers who had been barred by an executive order last week. But it’s unclear what it means as yet to travellers who are stuck overseas. | The ruling in Washington has created confusion about travellers about which ruling applies to them. The US Customs & Border Protection agency told American airlines that they can once again board travellers who had been barred by an executive order last week. But it’s unclear what it means as yet to travellers who are stuck overseas. |
| 4.10am GMT | 4.10am GMT |
| 04:10 | 04:10 |
| Legal challenges in seven states | Legal challenges in seven states |
| Legal challenges challenging the travel ban have been taking place in seven states across America, including Washington, where the temporary stay on the ban was handed down, Massachusetts, where a judge ruled the travel ban could re-start on Sunday, Hawaii, New York, Virginia, Michigan and California. You can read the full story on the challenges here. | Legal challenges challenging the travel ban have been taking place in seven states across America, including Washington, where the temporary stay on the ban was handed down, Massachusetts, where a judge ruled the travel ban could re-start on Sunday, Hawaii, New York, Virginia, Michigan and California. You can read the full story on the challenges here. |
| 4.03am GMT | 4.03am GMT |
| 04:03 | 04:03 |
| Politico website says the conflicting court rulings prompted a “typically combative reaction from the Trump White House but in a departure from recent patterns, the most confrontational language was quickly dialled back.” That’s a reference to the fact that the White House originally called the court ruling to temporarily stop the travel ban “outrageous”. | Politico website says the conflicting court rulings prompted a “typically combative reaction from the Trump White House but in a departure from recent patterns, the most confrontational language was quickly dialled back.” That’s a reference to the fact that the White House originally called the court ruling to temporarily stop the travel ban “outrageous”. |
| White House hits back after judge issues broad block against @realDonaldTrump's travel ban https://t.co/5SPV025m9R via @joshgerstein pic.twitter.com/GSGWaxEzot | White House hits back after judge issues broad block against @realDonaldTrump's travel ban https://t.co/5SPV025m9R via @joshgerstein pic.twitter.com/GSGWaxEzot |
| 3.54am GMT | 3.54am GMT |
| 03:54 | 03:54 |
| Trump's nominee for Army Secretary withdraws nomination | Trump's nominee for Army Secretary withdraws nomination |
| In the middle of the legal questions over the travel ban, Trump’s pick for secretary of the army has withdrawn his name for consideration for the job. The Military Times reported that Vincent Viola, an army veteran and founder of a high-speed trading firm, cited his inability to get around Defence Department rules concerning his family businesses. In a statement, Viola told the Military times he was “deeply honoyred” to be nominated for the post, but concluded that he would not be able to successfully navigate the confirmation process. | In the middle of the legal questions over the travel ban, Trump’s pick for secretary of the army has withdrawn his name for consideration for the job. The Military Times reported that Vincent Viola, an army veteran and founder of a high-speed trading firm, cited his inability to get around Defence Department rules concerning his family businesses. In a statement, Viola told the Military times he was “deeply honoyred” to be nominated for the post, but concluded that he would not be able to successfully navigate the confirmation process. |
| More big news— Trump's pick for Army Secretary, Vincent Viola, has withdrawn his name from consideration tonight https://t.co/hjyeHHtvu5 | More big news— Trump's pick for Army Secretary, Vincent Viola, has withdrawn his name from consideration tonight https://t.co/hjyeHHtvu5 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.57am GMT | at 3.57am GMT |
| 3.48am GMT | 3.48am GMT |
| 03:48 | 03:48 |
| The legal controversy comes as President Trump takes a weekend break at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with his wife Melania. | The legal controversy comes as President Trump takes a weekend break at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with his wife Melania. |
| 3.46am GMT | 3.46am GMT |
| 03:46 | 03:46 |
| 'No one is above the law' | 'No one is above the law' |
| Washington attorney general, Bob Ferguson hailed the court decision as “the first order of its kind” and declared that it “shuts down the executive order immediately”. Ferguson said: “No one is above the law – not even the president.” | Washington attorney general, Bob Ferguson hailed the court decision as “the first order of its kind” and declared that it “shuts down the executive order immediately”. Ferguson said: “No one is above the law – not even the president.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.05am GMT | at 4.05am GMT |
| 3.44am GMT | 3.44am GMT |
| 03:44 | 03:44 |
| Washington state governor Jay Inslee’s impassioned comments about the ruling has, not surprisingly, divided opinion on social media. | Washington state governor Jay Inslee’s impassioned comments about the ruling has, not surprisingly, divided opinion on social media. |
| @JayInslee is dangerous for this country. | @JayInslee is dangerous for this country. |
| @JayInslee Bravo!! Thank you for doing the right thing!! As former residents of WA state, so proud!! #factsmatter | @JayInslee Bravo!! Thank you for doing the right thing!! As former residents of WA state, so proud!! #factsmatter |
| @VickyBrush @JayInslee @realDonaldTrump you own any attack on our country. why cant we suspend immigration to set new policy and questions | @VickyBrush @JayInslee @realDonaldTrump you own any attack on our country. why cant we suspend immigration to set new policy and questions |
| Let's all move to Washington State tomorrow with @JayInslee @OUGradPolitico @Lowe1966 | Let's all move to Washington State tomorrow with @JayInslee @OUGradPolitico @Lowe1966 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.45am GMT | at 3.45am GMT |