Conservatively Speaking

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Trump Pressure Prevails: Allies Flip, Issue Statement on Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump let allies have it when some rejected sending ships to help with a coalition effort to ensure the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. His last take showed how exasperated he was with our "allies" who weren't stepping up when he said that maybe the U.S. should just step back and not protect the Strait for others.

That called the allies' bluff. You then had NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announce that yes, the allies were talking about how they could contribute. What a little pressure from Trump can get. It isn't just about the Strait itself; it's about sending a message to Iran and indicating that they are on the wrong side of countries condemning their actions.

Now six of the allies - the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan - issued a joint statement supporting the coalition.

In the statement, the six U.S. allies condemned Iran's attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf and on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations, "and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces."
"We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping," they wrote.
The six U.S. allies expressed readiness "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait" and start "preparatory planning."

That's a big flip after the Trump pressure. Maybe the Iranian-backed attack on the hotel that housed the EU Advisory Mission in Iraq opened their eyes a bit, too, that they can't sit on the sidelines, especially when it comes to their own interests.

Now, what their statement translates to isn't clear yet, but they're finally realizing that they need to be on the right side of the argument in condemning Iran and working to help keep the passage clear.

European Countries Get Bitten by Karma After They Turn Down Trump Request for Ships for Strait

It sounds like our oldest ally, the U.K., might have been shamed into ships.

The U.K. sent military officers to CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida to start working with the U.S. military on planning for a Strait of Hormuz coalition, according to a source with knowledge.
The UK navy has dispatched two war ships to the region to be ready to join a potential joint effort to reopen the strait.

They're joining India, which is sending ships to protect its own shipping, and the UAE has also said they are considering ships.

The U.S. is already softening up any of the Iranian missile batteries or positions that could threaten ships.

Meanwhile, the Gulf States and other leaders met in Riyadh and issued a statement against Iran, reserving the right to take military action against Iran for all their attacks on their neighbors. Saudi Arabia was particularly incensed at them and was talking about possible retaliatory military action.

Iran is painting itself into a corner, and they don't have a lot of options left.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/03/19/allies-finally-respond-on-strait-n2200396

Tempe Police Launch Investigation After Islamic Crescent Display Is Destroyed

Get ready for another round of lectures on "Islamophobia."

In Arizona, a crescent moon that was erected on top of a mountain to mark Ramadan was destroyed by persons unknown, and the outrage machine is gearing up to make this the hate crime of the century.

Here's more:

A 15-foot crescent moon that was created by students to commemorate Ramadan was destroyed on top of an Arizona mountain.
The City of Tempe announced Tuesday that the symbol atop A Mountain, where other religious symbols have been displayed, was found 'completely destroyed' after being reinstalled just years ago.
'A student group designed and built a 15-foot-tall crescent moon to shine a light on the holiday [of Ramadan] for the entire community,' read a statement from the city posted on X.
'It stood on A Mountain, just like religious symbols of other faiths have done in the past. It was found completely destroyed today.'
'The crescent moon is a key symbol of Ramadan, representing spiritual renewal, prayer and reflection,' the City of Tempe continued.
'There is no place in our community for this kind of hate. People of all faiths are welcome in Tempe and they have the right to feel safe and be safe.'
'Tempe Police are continuing to provide additional patrols near places of worship this holiday season and city leaders will continue to have conversations with faith leaders of all religions to maintain peace and safety throughout Tempe,' it concluded.
According to Tempe police, the damage totaled around $20,000 and an investigation has been launched, 12 News reported.

How many Christians are able to erect crosses on mountains in Muslim countries? None, if they want to live.

It's because Islam is (D)ifferent.

We cannot submit.

That's more accurate.

As do our mountains, apparently.

Of course. They will ignore or pretend that no one is outraged by Islamic symbols being erected in America.

Because the goal of Islam is conquest, not cohabitation.

Of course not.

When Leftists were vandalizing and destroying statues of Civil War generals and America's Founding Fathers, the Left applauded it. They aided and abetted the vandals by not arresting them and going so far as to melt down a giant statue of General Robert E. Lee rather than let a historical society preserve part of our nation's history.

Yet they become indignant when Americans reject the symbol of a sociopolitical movement that seeks to subjugate the world under its oppressive, backward ideology.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/03/19/arizona-islamic-crescent-destroyed-n2673103

Mojtaba Khamenei regime executes champion wrestler as Iran intensifies brutal crackdown during war

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s judiciary on Thursday ignored a U.S. State Department warning along with pleas from elite Iranian-American wrestlers to not execute 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi for protesting against the Khamenei regime.

Reports say Mohammadi was killed in a public hanging seen as a barbaric move by the Iranian regime to snuff out the ongoing movement seeking to topple it, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents.

Nima Far, a human rights activist and Iranian combat athlete who is an expert on elite Iranian wrestling, told Fox News Digital, "His execution was a blatant political murder, part of the Islamic Republic’s pattern of targeting athletes to crush dissent and terrorize society, as seen with Navid Afkari and others executed despite international outcry."

Wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi faces imminent execution in Iran for protest participation as international pressure mounts to save the athlete.

He said, "The IOC [International Olympic Committee] and UWW [United World Wrestling] should have intervened forcefully with public ultimatums, threatening immediate suspension of Iran’s NOC [National Olympic Committee] and federations if the killing proceeded rather than relying on ineffective quiet diplomacy, given their own commitments to protect athletes from politically motivated harm." Both organizations did put out statements after being asked for response from Fox News Digital upon Mohammadi's death sentence.

Far called on the wrestling authorities to take action, stating, "Iran must be banned from international competitions until it halts executions of protesters and athletes, releases those jailed in sham trials, and ends retaliation against competitors who speak out or defect."

Fox News Digital sent new press queries to the IOC and UWW.

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 9, 2026.

Reactions to his death came flooding in from Iranian commentators.

Alizreza Nader, an expert on Iran and the human rights situation in the country, told Fox News Digital, "I feel very bad for him and his family. There should be a boycott of the regime when it comes to international sport. I do worry about individual athletes who will be impacted by this, as athletes in Iran are enduring very harsh conditions, including some reported as being virtual hostages by the regime. But there must be a heavy price for the regime for executing young people like this. There must be a deterrent."

IRANIAN SECURITY FORCES GUN DOWN AMATEUR BOXER AS FATHER SEARCHES MORGUES FOR MISSING SON: SOURCE

Iranian American activist Masih Alinejad wrote on X: "Today, in Iran, in the middle of a war, the regime executed a 19-year-old national wrestling champion for the crime of joining January protests. After signaling to the world, including President @realDonaldTrump, that they would halt executions of protesters, the regime has done the exact opposite."

She added, "Three young protesters, Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in Qom after a sham trial. Reports indicate torture. Forced confessions. No access to chosen lawyers. Closed-door proceedings. No right to appeal. I call on @GlobalAthleteHQ to stand with Iranian athletes who are being silenced, imprisoned, and executed simply for raising their voices. This is not just about sports. This is about human dignity."

Fox News Digital reported in late January that the official X account for the State Department in Farsi wrote, "The United States is deeply concerned by reports that 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi is facing imminent execution. The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is massacring young people and destroying Iran’s future. We call on the Iranian regime to halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all those sentenced to death for exercising their fundamental rights. #SalehMohammadi #StopExecutionsInIran #HumanRights #IranProtest."

LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI'S SECRET DEADLY BLUEPRINT FOR CRUSHING IRAN PROTESTS

Elite Iranian American wrestlers told Fox News Digital in February that Iran’s regime must cease the executions of athletes. Sardar Pashaei, who won a Greco-Roman wrestling world championship title for Iran and coached the country’s elite Greco-Roman team, along with Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, the first American female wrestler to win a medal in world championship competition in 1989, urged the regime not to implement the targeted killing of athletes.

Pashaei told Fox Digital on Thursday that "My heart is broken for this young wrestler. Anyone who still shows sympathy for the Islamic Republic should understand — this is only a small glimpse of its brutality."

He added, "Before the internet was shut down, I spoke with one of Iran’s national wrestling team coaches. He warned me that Saleh’s case was critical. We were both deeply worried. I did everything I could — speaking to the media, raising awareness — but I could not save him. This regime is built on executions, fear, and hatred. It does not change. The International Olympic Committee and global sports bodies failed."

Iran International reported that Iran’s regime hanged Mohammadi and two additional Iranian men, Mehdi Ghasemiand Saeed Davoudi,"after being accused of killing two police officers during nationwide protests earlier this year, the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported."

Billboard shows Iran's three supreme leaders.

A billboard depicting Iran's supreme leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026) and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed above a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as its supreme leader on March 9, 2026.

The three men allegedly attacked "two police officers with knives and swords during protests on January 8 in the holy city of Qom."

The regime claimed that the men acted on behalf of Israel and the United States. Iran International noted this is "a frequent claim used by the Islamic Republic against protesters and dissidents."

Mohammadi won a bronze medal in September 2024, for Iran’s national freestyle wrestling at the Saytiyev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

The Hengaw organization for human rights posted wrestling footage of Mohammadi. Hengaw wrote on X: "Footage shows Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old athlete and member of Iran’s national wrestling team, who was secretly executed in the early hours of Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Qom Central Prison on charges of ‘enmity against God’ (moharebeh). Mohammadi had previously shared this video on his Instagram page, documenting his athletic journey and efforts toward success."

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department and Iran’s U.N. Mission in New York for comments.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/mojtaba-khamenei-regime-executes-champion-wrestler-iran-intensifies-brutal-crackdown-during-war

President Trump Again Calls for the State of Colorado to “FREE TINA PETERS”.

On Wednesday night, President Trump again called for the state of Colorado to free Tina Peters:

FREE TINA PETERS, A 73-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, WITH CANCER, GIVEN A NINE YEAR DEATH SENTENCE IN A COLORADO PRISON BY A DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR, JARED POLIS, AND A CORRUPT POLITICAL MACHINE, FOR EXPOSING FRAUD BY THE DEMOCRATS DURING THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. AGAIN, FREE TINA!

Peters served as a county clerk in Colorado with a legal duty to preserve election records. When she was informed that the election system was to be updated through a “Trusted Build”, she created a backup. Her concern was simple: once data is destroyed, accountability becomes impossible.

For this, she was charged, convicted, and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Tina Peters is 70 years old. A widow. A cancer survivor. A Gold Star mother who lost her Navy SEAL son in service to this country. Whatever one believes about the 2020 election, no rational standard of justice can justify a punishment of this severity for what amounts to record preservation.

Former Mesa County, Colorado Election Clerk Tina Peters broke no state or federal laws by backing up her Election Management Server (EMS) hard drive, having it analyzed, and even publishing the results. If she had, the federal and Colorado state governments would have legally come down on her for doing so, especially during the Biden administration.

In other words, not one state or federal charge resulted from Tina’s actions backing up her county’s server. Because they had NOTHING, Colorado (likely at the behest of the DOJ) had to manufacture imaginary felonies and misdemeanors against Clerk Peters and then prosecute her in the state courts.

President Trump had the absolute right and duty to do so. There is ample evidence that the federal government under Biden was involved in the Tina Peters case, which supports the argument that, because the federal government led the effort, directed it, or was a large part of the effort to indict and imprison Tina Peters, President Trump can pardon her.

The Biden Regime’s involvement in Tina Peters Case

The FBI issued a statement almost immediately after Peters came forward, stating that they would investigate her for potential violations of federal laws. The Biden regime never formally prosecuted Tina, but it appears that Biden’s Department of Justice was working closely with local Colorado officials who sought to put Peters in jail. (https://coloradosun.com/2021/08/17/tina-peters-replaced/)

The Mesa County District Attorney, Dan Rubinstein, included Matthew Kirsh, the United States Attorney for Colorado, in a May 17, 2022, email to multiple District Attorneys across Colorado. The email is titled “Rule 3.8 Meeting” which appears to reference the rules of professional conduct for prosecutors. (https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/meet-us-attorney, https://www.cobar.org/Portals/COBAR/Repository/12.1.22/Rule%203.8%20-%20Special%20Responsibilities%20of%20a%20Prosecutor.pdf?ver=h4k_BG_0T1kn7Rdgo8sLiQ%3D%3D )

Email from Dan Rubinstein to DOJ attorney and Colorado District Attorneys, apparently brainstorming how to appear legitimate and ethical while prosecuting Tina Peters

The email suggests that Rubinstein was having some trouble reconciling the prosecution of Tina Peters with prosecutors’ rules of professional conduct and had to call in the cavalry to help him brainstorm ways to avoid being “accused of wrongdoing.”

Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein

First, Rubinstein appears to recognize that there is no precedent for the prosecution he wants to undertake, as he expresses a desire that this group of legal minds start writing opinions and issuing guidance documents in the vein of the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) and the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council (CDAC). Without a coherent legal pathway for prosecution, it appears Rubinstein encouraged this course of action to give prosecutors cover.

Second, Rubinstein notes that it is problematic that they have no formal appointments from a government body to lay the groundwork to prosecute Peters.

Third, Rubinstein informs the group of their need to anticipate defending themselves as to why they didn’t seek an opinion on Peter’s case from the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Commission. Rubinstein and his cronies appear to have succeeded in giving their efforts the veneer of legitimacy because three months after this email was sent, Peters was indicted by a grand jury. (https://www.coloradopolitics.com/courts/tina-peters-arraigned-on-10-felony-misdemeanor-charges-in-case-alleging-election-equipment-breach/article_7ad92362-14ff-11ed-8571-7fe4f678dc82.html)

Another glaring piece of evidence that the Tina Peters case was led by the federal government is that if this was ‘only a Colorado issue’, why were US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Christopher Wray participating in initial Mesa County discussions via Webex regarding the findings of Clerk Peters and her actions related to those findings?

We also know that the full force of the federal government was directly applied to those associated with Tina’s situation, in that the FBI raided Tina’s home.

In addition, Tina’s associate, Sherronna Bishop, ’s home also raided by the FBI.

Also, ‘My Pillow’ CEO Mike Lindell was also targeted by the FBI, and they confiscated his phone while he was traveling in Minnesota. These were federal actions. He was communicating with Tina Peters and offered her his support.

Peters was convicted of first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and identity theft.

The official statement behind Tina Peters’ indictment included mention of the federal government,

“ The Mesa County District Attorney’s Office and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office assisted the FBI in the operation, which was described by Mesa County spokesperson Stephanie Reecy as “federally-authorized law enforcement actions into potential criminal activity by employees of the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s Office and others associated with those employees.” Read all about it HERE.

It’s easy to see that the federal government was involved in this case and that the federal actions noted above like the raids (that they conveniently ignore now), indicate that this was much more than a Colorado issue. (See Tina Peters story and watch “Selection Code” at https://tinapeters.us/ (links from dropdown menu)).

Despite all the evidence of wrongdoing against Tina Peters and a pardon by President Trump, Tina Peters sits in prison.

Set Tina Peters free.

https://joehoft.com/president-trump-again-calls-state-colorado-free-tina/