US President Donald Trump said the administration could take a different approach on Iran if agreements are not reached, referring to a potential expansion of “Project Freedom."
“We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up… We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen — but it’ll be Project Freedom Plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things," Trump said.
Experts cited in a Fox News report said on Friday a large oil slick detected near Iran’s Kharg Island may be linked to operational strain in the country’s oil export system, with satellite images showing a spread of oil in the Persian Gulf.
Other experts said ageing infrastructure and the use of older vessels for storage or transport could also be contributing factors. The exact cause of the slick has not been independently confirmed.
US intelligence assesses that Iran’s leadership remains fractured but continues to shape war strategy and negotiations despite internal uncertainty, according to multiple sources familiar with the assessment, CNN reported.
The report said Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to be playing a role in strategic decision-making alongside senior Iranian officials, although his exact authority within the system remains unclear.
It added that Khamenei has not been publicly seen since sustaining serious injuries during an attack that killed his father and senior military leaders at the start of the war, with US intelligence unable to independently confirm his whereabouts.
Sources said Iran’s military capability has been degraded but not destroyed, with intelligence estimates suggesting a significant portion of missile systems remains operational despite US strikes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned why allies, including Italy, were not backing Washington’s efforts on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz after meeting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, Reuters reported.
Rubio said he did not understand why countries would not support US efforts, adding that opposition required “something more than just strongly worded statements.”
The meeting with Meloni lasted about 90 minutes and was described by the Italian prime minister as a “frank” discussion between partners willing to defend national interests while maintaining the transatlantic alliance, the report added.
As tensions escalate in the Middle East, critics say Canada’s “values-based realism” has left Ottawa a passive observer rather than an influential middle power confronting Iran’s threats and regional crises.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has emphasized diplomacy, multilateral cooperation and commitment to a rules-based international order. But critics, including parts of Canada’s Iranian diaspora and opposition politicians, describe Ottawa’s current approach as “beautiful words without operational backing."
Just one month before the start of Operation Epic Fury, Carney told the World Economic Forum in Davos that Canada would pursue a “values-based realism” approach, which he presented as a return to the country’s historical diplomatic role on the world stage.
Seventy years ago, during the Suez Crisis, Canada helped chart a path between war and paralysis through the initiative of Lester B. Pearson in establishing the first United Nations Emergency Force.
That episode became central to Canada’s diplomatic self-image as a middle power able to defuse conflicts through coalition-building and multilateral institutions.
It is this legacy that has raised expectations for Ottawa to play a meaningful role in today’s Middle East crises, from Iran’s nuclear program to security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Critics say the reality on the ground tells a different story.
Carney’s initial response to the latest tensions combined support, concern and caution. He stressed the need to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons, while also insisting that all parties, including the United States and Israel, must adhere to international law.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Ottawa has emphasized international cooperation, legal frameworks for maritime security and efforts to restore safe shipping lanes. Critics argue the approach amounts to crisis management without addressing the root causes.
Leo Housakos, leader of Canada’s Conservatives in the Senate, delivered a sharper critique in an exclusive interview with Iran International. He said Canada had shown leniency toward the Islamic Republic and argued that the government’s moral statements, without concrete action, had weakened Ottawa’s international credibility.
Housakos said Canadian foreign policy had become overly reactive to the actions of others and that the country no longer creates diplomatic opportunities as it once did. According to him, Ottawa often arrives late to negotiations and settles for participating in decisions already shaped by larger powers.
These criticisms also resonate among many Iranian Canadians. For them, diplomacy only has meaning if the available tools are properly used — from stricter enforcement of sanctions and immigration laws to confronting the Islamic Republic’s financial and influence networks inside Canada.
The case of Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s football federation and a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, became a prominent example of that debate.
Iran International reported that Taj had been granted a Temporary Resident Permit, a document that can allow entry for someone otherwise deemed inadmissible under normal circumstances.
After the report was published and political pressure mounted in Ottawa, Taj and his companions left Canada shortly after arriving. The incident renewed questions about how seriously Canada enforces its designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Housakos said Canada cannot simultaneously claim to stand with the Iranian people while showing leniency toward the Islamic Republic in practice. He argued that phrases such as human rights, women’s rights and freedom of expression should not remain rhetorical flourishes in speeches but should be reflected in government policy decisions.
According to critics, the current crisis is a test of Canada’s diplomatic capital. They say Ottawa still has the capacity, as a middle power, to help build new coalitions, defend freedom of navigation, contain nuclear threats and support Iranian civil society.
But they argue that role can only be revived if Canada moves beyond the broad language of diplomacy and demonstrates political will in practice — the very gap critics say now defines the distance between Canada’s diplomatic rhetoric and the realities of its foreign policy.
Satellite images reviewed by the Associated Press show what appears to be an oil slick in the Persian Gulf emanating from the western side of Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main crude export terminal.
The images, taken on Friday, show a slick covering about 27 square miles, with signs of possible ongoing leakage from the terminal, according to Ami Daniel, CEO of maritime intelligence firm Windward AI.
Daniel estimated around 80,000 barrels of oil may have spilled since the slick was first detected on Tuesday, though the cause remains unclear.
“This is the risk of fighting in an oil-rich area,” he said, adding that cleanup efforts are unlikely in what he described as an active war zone.
He said the slick appears to be moving southwest and could reach the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia within two weeks.