Trump Praises Israel Attack, Warns Iran on Next Steps in Grim Message
Israel barraged several Iranian cities and nuclear sites early Friday, and Donald Trump has done nothing but incense the situation.
In a phone call with ABC News's Jonathan Karl, the president referred to the attacks as 'excellent,' remarking that Iran 'got hit hard, very hard,' and that there was 'a lot more' to come.
In early morning posts to Truth Social about the escalating situation, Trump claimed that he had pushed Iran for months to come to terms on a new nuclear deal, and warned that—if the nation refused—there would be 'nothing left.'
'I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,' Trump wrote. 'I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done.'
The president also promised that Israel would continue to strike Iranian territory with American-made weapons.
'I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it,' he continued.
'Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!' Trump said.
In a separate post, Trump claimed that he had given Iran 60 days to make a deal approximately two months ago. 'They should have done it!' he wrote, adding that the country now has a 'second chance' to return to the negotiating table. But Iran has already said it would not participate in nuclear talks this weekend in the wake of the attack.
Iran has argued that it is seeking uranium for peaceful purposes. Iranian officials announced Thursday afternoon their intentions to expand their nuclear program, despite facing a censure from a U.N. nuclear watchdog for failing to uphold nonproliferation obligations. Israeli strikes have so far killed four senior Iranian commanders, including Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian state media confirmed late Thursday, though regional sources told Reuters that up to 20 senior commanders had been killed.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, said there would be 'severe punishment' for the strikes.
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Los Angeles Times
20 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Why some key Tehran allies are staying out of the Israel-Iran conflict
BEIRUT — Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran this week, the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the fray. A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has also remained mostly quiet — even though Israel allegedly used Iraq's airspace, in part, to carry out the attacks. Domestic political concerns, as well as tough losses suffered in nearly two years of regional conflicts and upheavals, appear to have led these Iran allies to take a backseat in the latest round convulsing the region. Hezbollah was formed with Iranian support in the early 1980s as a guerrilla force fighting against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. The militant group helped push Israel out of Lebanon and built its arsenal over the ensuing decades, becoming a powerful regional force and the centerpiece of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the ' Axis of Resistance.' The allies also include Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, and the group's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, once boasted of having 100,000 fighters. Seeking to aid its ally Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and Israel's offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border. That drew Israeli airstrikes and shelling, and the exchanges escalated into full-scale war last September. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, killing Nasrallah and other top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal, before a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted that conflict last November. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes. For their part, the Iraqi militias occasionally struck bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis fired at vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and began targeting Israel. Hezbollah and its leader, Naim Kassem, have condemned Israel's attacks and offered condolences for the senior Iranian officers who were killed. But Kassem did not suggest Hezbollah would take part in any retaliation against Israel. Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia — a separate group from Lebanon's Hezbollah — released a statement saying it was 'deeply regrettable' that Israel allegedly fired at Iran from Iraqi airspace, something that Baghdad complained to the U.N. Security Council over. The Iraqi militia called on the Baghdad government to 'urgently expel hostile forces from the country,' a reference to U.S. troops in Iraq as part of the fight against the militant Islamic State group, but made no threat of force. Hezbollah was weakened by last year's fighting and after losing a major supply route for Iranian weapons with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, in a lightning rebel offensive in December. 'Hezbollah has been degraded on the strategic level while cut off from supply chains in Syria,' said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst and associate professor at King's College London. Many Hezbollah members believe 'they were sacrificed for Iran's greater regional interests' since Hamas' attack on Israel triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war, and want to focus on 'Lebanon-centric' interests rather than defending Iran, Krieg said. Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. 'This depends on political and field developments,' he said. 'Anything is possible.' Both the Houthis and the Iraqi militias 'lack the strategic deep strike capability against Israel that Hezbollah once had,' Krieg said. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iraq's Iran-allied militias have all along tried to avoid pulling their country into a major conflict. Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon — although its political wing is part of the government — the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition of groups that are officially part of the state defense forces. 'Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state — they're benefitting politically, economically,' Mansour said. 'And also they've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well.' That leaves the Houthis as the likely 'new hub in the Axis of Resistance,' Krieg said. But he said the group isn't strong enough — and too geographically removed — to strategically harm Israel beyond the rebels' sporadic missile attacks. Krieg said the perception that the 'axis' members were proxies fully controlled by Iran was always mistaken, but now the ties have loosened further. 'It is not really an axis anymore as [much as] a loose network where everyone largely is occupied with its own survival,' he said. Sewell writes for the Associated Press.
Hamilton Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Protesters crowd into streets, parks and plazas at anti-Trump ‘No Kings' demonstrations across US
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'Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?' In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while other demonstrators brought larger versions to wave amid signs that ranged from pro-democracy and immigrant-rights messages to a variety of anti-Trump sentiments. In Los Angeles, thousands gathered in front of City Hall, hundreds gathered on the lawn in front of Mississippi's state Capitol and marchers in downtown Little Rock walked across a bridge over the Arkansas River. Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said, but no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will take place in the evening. The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the 'No Kings' name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement. The demonstrations come on the heels of protests that flared up across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire. Philadelphia Thousands gathered in downtown Love Park, with organizers handing out small American flags and many people carrying protest signs saying things like 'fight oligarchy' and 'deport the mini-Mussolinis.' Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support. 'I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,' she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration's layoffs of staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and the Trump administration trying to rule by executive order, she said. A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words 'young man' in the song 'Y.M.C.A.' to 'con man.' One man in Revolutionary War era garb and a tricorn hat held a sign with a quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: 'All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.' Los Angeles Thousands gathered in front of City Hall in a boisterous crowd, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle and dance performances. Signs included 'Protesting is not a crime,' 'We carry dreams not danger' and 'ICE out of LA.' One demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back. North Carolina Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte's First Ward Park and chanted 'we have no kings' before marching behind a 'No Kings' banner through the city, chanting 'No kings, no crowns, we will not bow down' and 'Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.' Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping for protesters along the way. Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to 'speak for what's right' after mass deportations and the deployment of the National Guard to deal with protesters in Los Angeles last week. 'If we don't stop it now, it's just going to keep getting worse,' she said of the Trump administration's actions. Minnesota Before organizers canceled demonstrations in the state, Gov. Tim Walz took to social media to issue a warning after the shootings . 'Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,' he wrote. Florida About a thousand people gathered on the grounds of Florida's old Capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted, 'This is what community looks like,' and carried signs with messages like 'one nation under distress' and 'dissent is patriotic.' Organizers of the rally explicitly told the crowd to avoid any conflicts with counterprotesters and to take care not to jaywalk or disrupt traffic. Organizers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the 'line is very clear' between peaceful demonstration and violence, and not to cross it. Urging calm and calling out the National Guard Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence. Some urged calm, while Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri were mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations. There will be 'zero tolerance' for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and 'if you violate the law, you're going to be arrested,' Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday. In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to 'wait for chaos to ensue.' Some law enforcement agencies announced they were ramping up efforts for the weekend. On social media, Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, called for peaceful protests over the weekend, to ensure Trump doesn't send military to the state. 'Donald Trump wants to be able to say that we cannot handle our own public safety in Washington state,' Ferguson said. ___ Associated Press journalists across the country contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
The Hill
24 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump, lawmakers react to ‘horrific' shooting of Minnesota legislators
Top leaders condemned a Saturday attack on Minnesota Democratic lawmakers as party tensions boil across the country. Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband were killed and State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife were also shot multiple times in a 'politically motivated' attack that was condemned by elected officials on both sides of the aisle. 'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,' President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 'God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!' he added. Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to investigate the incident and prosecute those involved to the fullest extent under the law while GOP leaders wrote Saturday posts on social media echoing the president's outrage. 'Horrified at the events unfolding in Minnesota. Kimberley and I are praying for the loved ones of the state lawmaker and her husband who were assassinated and the state senator and his wife who were also injured in this assassination attempt,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) wrote on X. 'Political violence has no place in our nation.' Former Vice President Harris said she was 'devastated by the loss of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in a horrifying act of violence' in a post on X. 'Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in our nation. Elected officials must be safe to do their job on behalf of the people. The hate and division that dominate our political discourse must end,' she added. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said, 'Such horrific political violence has no place in our society, and every leader must unequivocally condemn it. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) shared an emotional statement during the Saturday briefing where he gave updates on the criminal investigation and mourned the loss of state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a 'dearest' friend. 'Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,' Walz wrote on X, in a follow up post after the briefing. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) urged protestors to stay home while also commending Hortman for her service to the state. 'Melissa was a good friend and we started in politics at the same time and were always there for each other. She was a true public servant to the core, dedicating her life to serving Minnesotans with integrity and compassion,' Klobuchar wrote. 'Melissa's legacy will endure, but today we grieve deeply,' she added. Authorities say Hortman and her husband were shot after opening the door for a man impersonating a police officer. State Sen. John Hoffman (D-Minn.) and his wife were shot under similar circumstances. 'We cannot tolerate allowing our political differences to explode into political violence that threatens our safety and our democratic form of government,' Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said in a post on X. Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-Minn) said the Saturday deaths left her 'devastated' by the heinous crime while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the tragedies were 'deeply disturbing' and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called in an 'assault on democracy.' 'We must give hate and extremism no safe harbor and we must all unite against political violence as a nation,' former President Biden said on X. DNC Chair Ken Martin also pleaded for peace. 'This senseless violence must end. These heinous murders are a reflection of the extremism and political violence that have been fomented in our country,' Martin said in a statement sent to The Hill. 'Lawmakers should be able to do their job without fear for their lives.
