Did Trump leak Israeli intelligence again? Sam Kiley explains
For a second time, Donald Trump appears to have disclosed top-secret intelligence on allied operations in enemy territory.
The US president twice appeared to suggest at the Nato summit in the Hague that Israel had agents on the ground in Iran assessing the damage done by America.
Intelligence assessments were leaked to the New York Times and CNN that cast doubt on his claim to have 'obliterated' the nuclear programme.
Sam Kiley breaks down how Mr Trump used the most sensitive work of an allied nation to bolster his claims.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I didn't call him daddy!' Nato chief insists he did not call Donald Trump daddy... like that
Nato chief Mark Rutte has been forced to backtrack on an embarrassing remark - where he apparently called US president Donald Trump 'daddy.' During a meeting of the defence bloc in the Hague yesterday, Rutte and Trump met following the US president's crass comment on the Iran-Israel war. It was there that the US President he said: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing.' Rutte said on Wednesday that 'Daddy has to use strong language' to get Israel and Iran to sort things out, to which Trump agreed. 'You have to use strong language. Every once in a while you have to use a certain word,' the president said. But the Nato chief's comments raised eyebrows across the world, and later in the day Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands, was forced to backtrack. He said: 'The daddy thing, I didn't call [Trump] daddy, what I said, is that sometimes... In Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, "hey, Mark, will the US stay with us?" 'And I said, "that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, 'hey, are you still staying with the family'"? So in that sense, I use daddy, not that I was calling President Trump daddy.' But Trump himself appeared to enjoy being called 'daddy' as he was referred to at Wednesday's Nato Summit in the Hague by Rutte, who has led the defence bloc since October 2024. During Trump's whirlwind press conference that marked his final appearance at the summit, a reporter asked him how he felt when Rutte had referred to the American president as 'daddy' earlier in the day. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) giggles behind President Donald Trump (left) as he answered questions about being called 'daddy' by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte during the Wednesday conference in the Hague, Netherlands 'No, he likes me, I think he likes me! If he doesn't I'll let you know and I'll come back and I'll hit him hard OK?' Trump told the journalist. 'He did it very affectionately though,' Trump continued. '"Daddy, you're my daddy,"' the president said with a smile. Alongside Trump was the usually stoic Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But the former Florida senator couldn't contain his laughter, bending down and giggling during the back-and-forth. The president had previously mouthed the F-word at a campaign rally in 2016 and used the word 'bulls***' while making a briefing room appearance earlier this year. Trump also said during his meeting with Rutte that he believed the Iran-Israel ceasefire will hold. 'They're not going to be fighting each other, they've had it,' the president argued. 'Like two kids in the schoolyard, they fight like hell, you can't stop them. Let them fight for two or three minutes then it's easy to stop them.' The 'schoolyard' comment prompted Rutte's 'daddy' observation. During Trump's press conference, the reporter followed up by asking if the U.S. president viewed 'your Nato allies as sort of children?' 'They're obviously listening to you and they're spending more, and are obviously appreciative of that. But do you think they can actually defend Europe on their own, without you?' the journalist asked. Trump said he believed the European nations would 'need a little help at the beginning.' 'And I think they'll be able to,' he continued. 'And I think they're going to remember this day and this is a big day for Nato, this is a very big day.' Earlier on Wednesday the Nato nations agreed to something Trump had long pushed - a massive increase in defence spending. Most of the 32 Nato countries agreed to language that said 'allies commit to invest 5 percent of GDP annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending by 2035.' But Nato member Spain pushed back on the agreement, and said it would increase its spending to just 2 per cent, which Trump said he would respond to by forcing high tariffs on the nation. He said he doesn't know what 'the problem' with Spain, calling the country's position unfair to other members of the Nato alliance. 'They want a little bit of a free ride, but they'll have to pay it back to us on trade,' he said, making up for it through higher tariffs. But Spain belongs to the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of all 27 member countries. They are not meant to negotiate trade deals individually. Asked about that, Trump said, 'I'm going to negotiate directly with Spain. I'm going to do it myself.' The reporter pressed again asking Trump if the European nations could defend themselves without the U.S. 'Well ask Mark, I think you have to ask Mark, OK?' Trump said. The president was previously nicknamed 'daddy' by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who broke with Trump recently over the president's decision to bomb Iran's three nuclear sites this past weekend. The president has since left The Hague after spending less than 24 hours there for the NATO summit. The summit wrapped up Wednesday and Trump held a subsequent press conference. Air Force One, which had touched down on Tuesday at 7:36 p.m. local time, took off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shortly before 6 p.m. local time. The flight was expected to take more than six hours, putting Trump back at the White House on Wednesday evening.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Mamdani's stunning upset in New York's Democratic mayoral primary carries risks, rewards for national Democrats
NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's unexpected upset in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday exhilarated progressive activists, who had banded together to prevent the more moderate former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo from triumphing. But the surprise outcome also generated excitement from a very different group of people: national Republicans. Soon after it became clear that Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker, was likely to prevail, Republican Vice President JD Vance sent congratulations on social media to the "new leader of the Democratic Party." The Republican's congressional campaign arm called him an "antisemitic socialist radical" and promised to tie him to every vulnerable Democrat in next year's midterm elections. And on Wednesday, Republican President Donald Trump - a native New Yorker - piled on, writing on social media, "It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor." The reactions underscore both the risks and the rewards for the Democratic Party - still trying to find its footing five months into Trump's term - in having an unabashed left-wing nominee running in the country's biggest city this fall. Mamdani's campaign, which drew plaudits for its cheery tone and clever viral videos, could help energize young voters, a demographic that Democrats are desperate to reach in 2026 and beyond. His rise from a virtual unknown was fueled by a relentless focus on affordability, an issue Democrats struggled to address during last year's presidential race. "Cost of living is the issue of our time," Neera Tanden, the chief executive of Democratic think tank Center for American Progress wrote on X in response to Mamdani's win. "It's the through line animating all politics. Smart political leaders respond to it." His history-making candidacy – Mamdani, born in Uganda to Indian parents, would be the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor – could also drive engagement among Asian and especially Muslim voters, some of whom soured on the party after the Biden administration's support for Israel's war in Gaza. 'These elections aren't about left, right or center, they're about whether you're a change to the status quo. People don't want more of the same, they want someone who plays a different game,' said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. But Mamdani's criticism of Israel and his democratic socialism are also likely to show up frequently in Republican attack ads. Much of the Democratic establishment had lined up behind Cuomo, including former President Bill Clinton, partly out of unease over Mamdani's platform. Mamdani has repeatedly said he is not antisemitic. "I think he's an easy target for Republicans who want to use scare tactics to talk about the Muslim mayor from New York City who's uber-left," said Patrick Egan, a political science professor at New York University. But Egan noted, Mamdani has also proven to be an adept politician. "When people get exposed to this guy, they tend to like him," he said. Basil Smikle, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University's School of Professional Studies, said heavy-handed attacks on Mamdani could backfire by energizing "a lot of the Democratic voters to want to push more against Trump." "I don't think it hurts Democrats in the long run," he said. "I actually think it helps them." For his part, Mamdani seemed ready to embrace his role as a party leader, telling supporters in his victory speech that he would govern the city "as a model for the Democratic Party – a party where we fight for working people with no apology." He vowed to use his mayoral power to "reject Donald Trump's fascism." Democratic voters say they want a new generation of leaders and a party that concentrates on economic issues, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month. "The Democratic Party is trying to figure itself out," said Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York. While Mamdani enters the general election as the favorite in a city dominated by Democrats, the race is more unsettled than usual. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is running as an independent after his popularity plummeted following his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent decision by Trump's Justice Department to drop the case. Cuomo also retains the ability to run as an independent, though he has not yet decided whether to do so. The Republican candidate is Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels. Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor, is running as an independent, as well. The primary had become a two-man race by Election Day between Mamdani and Cuomo, echoing other Democratic nominating contests in which the party's establishment and liberal wings have wrestled for power. But it was also a generational clash between Mamdani and Cuomo, the 67-year-old scion of a New York political family. That said, Cuomo carried plenty of personal baggage, four years after he resigned the governorship amid allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied. "Some people were voting for Mamdani to express their displeasure for Cuomo," Greer said. Mamdani's unlikely ascension bore some of the same hallmarks of similar rises for two other democratic socialists, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom endorsed his campaign. Sanders, an independent, emerged as a leading Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, while Ocasio-Cortez pulled off an upset in 2018 by defeating a longtime incumbent Democrat.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
CIA says Trump strikes will set back Iran's nuke programme by YEARS as White House calls for leaker to be JAILED
Iran confirms death of top military commander Ali Shadmani after Israeli strike Iran has officially confirmed the death of Ali Shadmani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, following Israeli air strikes last week. State media outlet IRNA quoted a statement from the headquarters, which said Shadmani died from injuries sustained in the attack, the BBC and Sky News reported. The Israel Defense Forces had previously announced his death on June 17, citing 'precise intelligence.' Shadmani, known as Iran's 'wartime chief of staff,' was a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He had only been appointed commander on June 13, following the death of his predecessor Gholamali Rashid in an earlier Israeli strike. The IRGC's command centre has vowed 'harsh revenge' for his killing. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Ali Shadmani in Tehran
