George Clooney blasted President Donald Trump over his recent threat to unleash overwhelming military force against Iran’s infrastructure, calling the rhetoric a potential “war crime.”

In a Tuesday Truth Social post, Trump, 79, issued an ominous warning to Iran if the country did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway, and agree to a ceasefire deal before his 8 p.m. deadline.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote in part. A two-week ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran along with Israel was subsequently reached ahead of the deadline.

On Wednesday, Clooney, 64, a longtime critic of Trump, slammed the threat while speaking at the “Dialogues on Talent” event in Cuneo, Italy.

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“Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime,” Clooney said, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

“You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it,” he added.

The event, which was organized by Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney’s Clooney Foundation for Justice as well as the CRC Foundation and Collistioni Foundation, was attended by 3,000 high school students from across the province of Cuneo.

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The White House responded to Clooney’s comments in a statement on Wednesday.

“The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote.

On Wednesday, Clooney responded to the White House’s jab at his career and acting ability in a statement to Deadline. 

“Families are losing their loved ones,” Clooney said. “Children have been incinerated. The world’s economy is on a knife’s edge. This is a time for vigorous debate at the highest levels. Not for infantile name calling. I’ll start. A war crime is alleged ‘when there is intent to physically destroy a nation,’ as defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute. What is the administration’s defense? [besides calling me a failed actor which I happily agree with having starred in Batman and Robin?].”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

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While giving his remarks, Clooney also expressed his concerns over Trump’s suggestion that he was considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) due to its European members’ lack of support for the war against Iran.

“I’m worried about NATO,” the “Ocean’s Eleven” star said. “It has ensured that Europe, but also the rest of the world, has been safe. Dismantling an institution like this worries me. Aside from many mistakes, I believe the U.S. [with NATO] has also done many extraordinary things that have stood the test of time.”

Trump is set to discuss the possibility of the U.S. leaving NATO during a meeting with the alliance’s chief, Mark Rutte on Wednesday.

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Clooney and Trump have a history of publicly criticizing each other. In December, Clooney criticized ABC and CBS for settling lawsuits with Trump. 

CBS and ABC have shelled at least $16 million apiece to settle lawsuits brought by Trump. However, Clooney expressed his frustration that the networks didn’t fight back. 

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“If CBS and ABC had challenged those lawsuits and said, ‘Go f— yourself,’ we wouldn’t be where we are in the country,” Clooney told Variety.

“It’s a very trying time,” Clooney continued. “It can depress you or make you very angry. But you have to find the most positive way through it. You have to put your head down and keep moving forward because quitting isn’t an option.”

In a Truth Social post on New Year’s Eve, Trump celebrated Clooney and Amal’s decision to become French citizens.

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“Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration, much like we had under Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump wrote.

The president also referenced how Clooney “dumped” former President Joe Biden after his presidential debate with Trump in July 2024. Following the debate, Clooney wrote an op-ed for the New York Times urging Biden to exit the 2024 presidential race. The “Jay Kelly” star later endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in her run for the presidency.

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“Remember when Clooney, after the now infamous debate, dumped Joe during a fundraiser, only to go onto the side of another stellar candidate, Jamala(K!), who is now fighting it out with the worst governor in the Country, including Tim Waltz, Gavin Newscum, for who is going to lead the Democrats to their future defeat,” he railed.

Trump concluded his post by roasting Clooney’s acting career, writing, “Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies.”

“He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump added.

When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, Clooney responded with the following statement: “I totally agree with the current president. We have to make America great again. We’ll start in November.”

A string of killings across the United States involving suspects in the country illegally is fueling renewed outrage from lawmakers and immigration officials, who warn the violence is not an isolated trend but the result of systemic enforcement failures.

National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto told Fox News Digital the crisis has been building for years, arguing that millions were allowed into the country without proper vetting.

“It will not be the last—it’ll be more,” Del Cueto said. “We do not know what their intentions were… and then you have people in this country that are perfectly comfortable with these individuals roaming around the streets.”

Republican leaders are now calling for sweeping changes from aggressive deportation efforts to stricter interior enforcement as high-profile cases continue to mount.

Here are five recent cases driving the national debate:

The killing of 15-year-old Miles Young in Missouri has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate after prosecutors say he was lured into a trap and executed.

Authorities allege suspect Yefry Archaga, 18, chased the teen and shot him as he pleaded, “I just don’t wanna die.” Archaga is being held on a federal immigration detainer.

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Sen. Eric Schmitt blasted the case as part of a broader pattern.

“We are done sacrificing American sons and daughters at the altar of mass migration… We are going to relentlessly pursue the largest deportation operation in American history.”

Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital the killing highlights policy failures.

“In a premeditated and heinous act, 15-year-old Miles Young was targeted, lured, and ambushed—his life senselessly taken by someone who should never have been in this country,” Harris said. “This heartbreaking tragedy is yet another example of sanctuary city policies’ deadly consequences.”

Other Missouri officials echoed the outrage, arguing the killing underscores failures to remove dangerous individuals.

An illegal immigrant is accused of killing his wife in Texas, prompting federal officials to intervene to ensure he is not released.

Francisco Mendez-Marin, 24, is charged with felony homicide after authorities say he slit the throat of his 20-year-old wife, Karla Rangel, during a domestic dispute in Dallas. The couple had been married less than a month.

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Police say Mendez-Marin was found with blood on his clothes and a bloody pocketknife at the scene. Body camera video shows him telling officers, “I didn’t do anything bad” and “I was obligated to do it,” according to the arrest affidavit.

DHS officials sharply criticized the case, saying it underscores failures in immigration enforcement.

“This illegal alien should have never been allowed into our country to commit this heinous murder,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

ICE has lodged a detainer requesting local authorities not release Mendez-Marin as the case proceeds.

Federal officials announced the arrest of Rolbert Joachin, a Haitian national accused of killing a woman at a Fort Myers gas station.

Authorities say surveillance video shows Joachin smashing the victim’s windshield before repeatedly striking her in the head with a hammer in a daytime attack.

DHS said Joachin had a final order of removal but was granted Temporary Protected Status.

“Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman her life,” a DHS spokesperson said, pointing to the suspect’s release into the U.S. despite prior removal orders.

ICE agents arrested Marco Tulio Lopez-Romero in Fairfax County, Virginia, an illegal immigrant wanted for murder in El Salvador, according to WJLA. 

Authorities say he entered the U.S. illegally in 2016 and had an active foreign arrest warrant for aggravated homicide.

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ICE officials warned that such fugitives can be misclassified as “non-criminal” domestically despite serious allegations abroad.

The case has also intensified scrutiny of sanctuary-style policies in Virginia, where local leaders have limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Federal prosecutors charged illegal immigrant Jose Medina-Medina in connection with the murder of 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman.

Authorities say Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national released into the U.S. in 2023, shot Gorman as she ran with friends near campus.

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He now faces federal firearm charges in addition to multiple state charges, including murder.

A defense attorney suggested federal prosecutors stepped in because they lacked confidence in the state system.

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“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will take no chances that this illegal alien perpetrator will be released back into our community,” a federal prosecutor said.

Gorman’s family emphasized the human toll of the tragedy.

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“We cannot lose sight of the simple, devastating truth… Sheridan had a life too.”

Taken together, these cases are being cited by lawmakers and immigration officials as evidence of deeper systemic issues, particularly failures in vetting, detention, and removal.

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Del Cueto argued that political resistance to enforcement has worsened the problem.

“Anytime you want to do interior enforcement, they cry racism… meanwhile, innocent lives are being lost.”

Lawmakers like Schmitt say the solution is clear: prioritize deportations, expand cooperation between local and federal agencies, and tighten asylum and release policies.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 

Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid is making the case that Muslims don’t need to assimilate in America.

“The assimilation defense — look how well we’ve integrated — is satisfying to make. But it concedes a premise I no longer accept: that a minority community’s right to be in the United States depends on its willingness to converge with the cultural mainstream. It shouldn’t depend on that. It shouldn’t depend on anything,” Hamid wrote Wednesday.

Hamid, who is Muslim, titled his piece “I’m tired of proving I belong in America,” responding to rhetoric from GOP lawmakers like Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who last month wrote on X, “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who recently said, “I’m ready to get rid of the Muslims.”

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“Over the past decade, surveys have shown that American Muslims are patriotic, civically engaged and more likely than the U.S. general public to say that political violence is never justified. You’d think that would be enough. Except it shouldn’t have to be. And this is where it gets uncomfortable — for me, at least,” Hamid told readers, citing various data.

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“Muslims are different in certain ways. How could they not be?” he later wrote. “Islam shapes how its adherents think about family, sexuality and what it means to live a good life. Simply put, Islam is also a more public religion than Christianity. Muslim prayer is visually striking and often communal. If a Muslim doesn’t drink alcohol or fasts during Ramadan, that will be more noticeable to others.”

“Moreover, practicing Muslims — despite being repeatedly asked to — can’t disavow ‘sharia’ even if they wanted to. Sharia, roughly translated as Islamic law, includes guidelines on how to pray, fast and otherwise observe what it means to submit to God in daily practice,” Hamid continued.

The Post columnist insisted Muslims have “increasingly integrated into American civic life” while maintaining their religious commitments versus other minority groups, which he says begs the question “Why do Muslims need to be like everyone else?” He went on to cite data showing rates of Catholics among the Latino community have drastically fallen and “American acceptance” led to the decline of the Jewish population in the U.S. and the rise of their intermarriage rates.

“What strikes me about these stories is how much they resemble each other,” Hamid wrote. “The deal is always the same: You can stay, but you have to become less yourself. Less distinctively Muslim, less traditionally Jewish, less recognizably Latino. The specifics of your faith and culture — the things that make your community a community rather than a collection of individuals — are treated as obstacles on the path to real Americanness. The left and the right enforce this expectation. The right says: Assimilate or get out. The left, more gently: Assimilate and we’ll celebrate you. But the endpoint is the same.”

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Hamid went on to suggest that Muslim Americans are “more resistant to the secular pull of American culture” and their defense “should not rest on how ‘mainstream'” they become.

“A Muslim who prays five times a day and believes homosexuality is sinful is not less American than a Muslim who drinks alcohol and hasn’t been to a mosque in years. An evangelical Christian who believes marriage is between a man and a woman and home-schools his children is not less American than a mainline Protestant who marches in Pride parades. These are deep disagreements about how to live, and a country that is serious about pluralism shouldn’t treat them as problems to be solved,” he wrote.

He added, “America was not founded on the assumption that its citizens would eventually come to agree on foundational questions. It was founded on the more radical proposition that they wouldn’t — that people who disagree about God, religion and the good life could share a country anyway. Not because they would converge over time, but because convergence was beside the point. The question isn’t whether Muslims, Jews or Latinos will change. They will. The question is whether America will let them do it on their own terms.”