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Plus: Washington prepares for Trump’s military parade
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IRAN RETALIATED with a swarm of drone and missile attacks Friday after Israel launched surprise strikes that killed nearly two dozen senior Iranian officials, bringing the Middle East adversaries to the brink of war and upending President Trump’s push for a nuclear deal with Tehran.
Israeli officials said Friday Iran’s counterattack is “ongoing,” with the Islamic Republic firing dozens of ballistic missiles and explosions rocking Tel Aviv.
The U.S. is reportedly helping Israel shoot down Iranian missiles, while millions of Israelis have rushed into bomb shelters in targeted cities.
“We will take every measure necessary to protect the people of Israel,” Israel’s ministry of foreign affairssaid Friday on X.
The U.S. has sought to distance itself from the Israeli surprise attacks, which wiped out top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and nuclear scientists, and destroyed several nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile sites.
Hours before the strike, Trump warned a unilateral move by Israel would jeopardize U.S. nuclear talks with Iran. Negotiators had planned to meet for the sixth round of talks in Oman on Saturday, but Iran has since pulled out.
Trump posted on social media that he’s still hopeful for a “diplomatic solution.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,” he said.
“My entire administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a great country, but first they must completely give up hopes of obtaining a nuclear weapon!”
In an interview with CNN, Trump said some of the Iranian “hardliners” he’s been negotiating were killed in the strike.
“So what you’re saying is Israel has now killed the people who you were dealing with?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked.
“They didn’t die of the flu, they didn’t die of COVID,” Trump responded.
Still, the U.S. has offered support for Jerusalem. And the administration is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East, The Associated Press reports.
The U.S. had begun moving assets out of the region before the Israeli strike.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that Israel acted alone.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the operation was to “damage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile factories and military capabilities.”
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” he said. “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “that [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment.”
“By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished,” he posted on X.
The stock market dropped Friday and oil spiked on news of the conflict, which will be top of mind as Trump and other world leaders head to Alberta for the Group of Seven (G-7) meetings starting Sunday.
REPUBLICANS DIVIDED
Many Republicans were quick to signal their support for Israel, but there are growing signs the populist right is ready to break with the longtime U.S. ally.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a traditional Republican and staunch ally to Israel, said the U.S. should “go all-in” to help Israel if Iran refuses a nuclear deal.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley praised Israel for its strikes, saying “we owe them a debt of gratitude.”
“Israel took decisive action to put an end to Iran’s nuclear capabilities and made America and the world safer,” she said.
Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a strong response, warning it’s “fantasy” to think Iran does not pose a threat to the U.S.
“Iran has killed hundreds of American troops,” he posted on X. “It tried to assassinate an ambassdor in D.C. It tried to kill President Trump. Its leaders chant death to America. We must never let this terrorist regime get a nuclear weapon.”
But Tucker Carlson wrote in his influential newsletter that it’s time to “drop Israel” and “let them fight their own wars.”
Carlson said Trump was “complicit in the act of war.”
“What happens next will define Donald Trump’s presidency,”he wrote.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a fiscal hawk who has steadfastly voted against GOP spending bills, posted on X:
“Israel doesn’t need US taxpayers’ money for defense if it already has enough to start offensive wars. I vote not to fund this war of aggression.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the U.S. must maintain its commitment to Israel’s security.
“The United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and defense must be ironclad as they prepare for Iran’s response,” he said in a statement. “The Iranian regime’s stated policy has long been to destroy Israel and Jewish communities around the world. I have long said that Israel has a right to defend itself and that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Ensuring they never obtain one must remain a top national security priority.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) called for Israel to “keep wiping out Iranian leadership and nuclear personnel.”
💡Perspectives:
•CNN: Trump didn’t want Israel to strike. They did it anyway.
•The Free Press: Everything you need to know about the Iran attack.
•The Jerusalem Post: Why Israel acts alone when it needs to defend itself.
•Foreign Affairs: How the US could be dragged into the Israel-Iran war.
•Tucker Carlson: Drop Israel. Let them fight their own wars.
Kilmar Abrego Garciapleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges in a Nashville courtroom Friday after being returned to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison to face trial.
Meta is making a $14.3 billioninvestment in artificial intelligence (AI) company Scale and recruiting its CEO Alexandr Wang to join a team developing “superintelligence.”
Disney and Universal sued a prominent AI start-up for copyright infringement, bringing Hollywood belatedly into the increasingly intense battle over generative AI.
Thousands of protesters are expected to hit the streets this weekend in cities across the country, demonstrating against the Trump administration and the president’s immigration policies.
Tempers have flared in Washington over the administration’s immigration raids, as demonstrations against Immigration and Customs (ICE) have spread to multiple cities.
The weekend protests are poised to collide with images of Trump presiding over Saturday’s military parade in the nation’s capital.
Helicopters, war planes and tanks will roll through the streets of Washington, as Trump marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army with a show of military might that also falls on his 79th birthday.
Rain is in the forecast for the parade, which suddenly takes on heightened significance amid fears the U.S. could be drawn into the war between Israel and Iran. Some have also criticized the event’s $45 million price tag.
The group “No Kings” has coordinated protests across the country to counter the military parade. Trump warned earlier this week that unruly protesters at the parade itself would be met with “very big force.”
The “No Kings” protests coincide with existing protests against ICE deportation raids, which have spread beyond Los Angeles.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) declared a state of emergency and activated the state’s National Guard in anticipation of protests. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has done the same, as demonstrators march in Austin, Dallas and San Antonio.
Chicago, Seattle,Spokane, Las Vegas and Tucson are among the other U.S. cities to experience significant protests and instances of vandalism, looting or clashes between the police and protesters.
Curfews are in effect in Los Angeles and Spokane.
U.S. Marines and National Guard troops remain deployed in Los Angeles, after an appeals court temporarily lifted a judge’s block on the troop deployment.
The appeals court ruling came after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ordered the president to return control of the National Guard troops to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) by Friday.
Breyer chastised Trump by invoking the British monarchy.
“That’s the difference between a Constitutional government and King George,” Breyer said. “It’s not that a leader can simply say something and it becomes it.”
The Trump administration blasted the ruling in its appeal.
“That sort of second-guessing of the Commander in Chief’s military judgments is a gross violation of the separation of powers,” the Justice Department wrote. “Nearly 200 years ago, the Supreme Court made clear that these judgment calls are for the President to make—not a Governor, and certainly not a federal court.”
ON CAPITOL HILL...
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) wrote a letter to Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) saying they’re opening an investigation into the unrest in Los Angeles.
“You falsely claimed that state and local law enforcement had protests under control, however, police were clearly unable to quell the violence in Los Angeles prior to the arrival of the National Guardsmen,” the lawmakers said.
That’s likely to ignite further anger from Democrats, who are enraged after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was handcuffed on the floor after being forcefully removed from a Thursday press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in LA.
“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” Padilla said.
Senate Democrats are calling on Noem to resign. Even some Republicans expressed anger.
“It’s horrible. It is shocking at every level. It’s not the America I know,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.
Republicans say Padilla was deliberately trying to create a scene by disrupting the press conference in plain clothes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is restarting his successful “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that has drawn tens of thousands of supporters to rallies in surprising places across the country.
Sanders’s campaign website set dates for upcoming stops in three cities in Texas — McAllen, Amarillo and Fort Worth. There are also rallies planned in Tulsa, Okla., and Shreveport, La.
Event notices say Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) will appear at the Texas events.
• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), a potential 2028 presidential contender, will speak at the NAACP dinner later this month in battleground Michigan.
Moore will talk about the “work of repair,” while holding up Maryland as an example for Democratic governance.
Moore has said he doesn’t intend to run for president, but he’s attended recent events in swing-state Pennsylvania and in South Carolina, an early primary state.
