Most Republicans support Trump ordered military strike on Iran’s nuclear program: poll
More Americans say they oppose rather than support this past weekend’s U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new national poll. However, the Reuters/Ipsos survey points to a wide partisan divide, with most Republicans supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to launch aerial attacks against Iran in order to prevent the Islamic State from acquiring nuclear weapons. Thirty-six percent of adult Americans questioned said they supported the airstrikes, with 45% opposed and 18% unsure or skipped answering the question. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE AFTERMATH OF THE U.S. AIRSTRIKES ON IRAN However, among Republicans, support for the military strikes stood at 69%, with 17% opposed. Only 13% of Democrats supported the attack, with nearly three-quarters opposed. Among independents, support stood at 29%, with nearly half opposed. The survey was conducted on Sunday and Monday following the attacks, which the president announced to the nation on Saturday evening. The airstrikes came after more than a week of daily exchanges between Iran and Israel, sparked by an initial Israeli attack on Iranian territory. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS Just over a third of those surveyed (35%) said they approved of how Trump is handling Iran, with half saying they disapprove. There was an expected partisan divide, with 70% of Republicans but only 10% of Democrats and 28% of independents giving the president a thumbs up on his handling of Iran. Trump announced following the attacks that “the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” AMERICANS AGREE WITH TRUMP THAT IRAN POSES NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO U.S. – POLL However, some independent experts say that commercial satellite imagery of Iran’s facilities after that attack suggests that Tehran’s nuclear program is far from destroyed. The poll also indicated that six in 10 believe U.S. airstrikes on Iran will not make America safer, with 36% saying they will make the nation safer. As with the previous questions, there is a wide partisan divide, with just 12% of Democrats, 29% of independents and two-thirds of Republicans saying the strikes will make America safer. The poll also indicates that four in five worry that Iran may target U.S. civilians in response to the airstrikes. The Reuters/Ipsos poll questioned 1,132 adult Americans, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Bondi vows to ‘protect every religion in this country’ after Wray-era controversy
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) efforts to protect religious freedom rights during a House hearing Monday and indicated to lawmakers that she was focused on a range of religions, from Judaism to Islam. “It’s not only Catholics, it’s every religion, and even mosques that were slow-walked under the Biden administration and not allowed to open,” Bondi said. “We will protect every religion in this country.” The attorney general’s remarks came in response to questions from Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., who asked what budget resources Bondi needed to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the department. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF PROTESTERS Bondi also referenced recent high-profile incidents that appeared to be rooted in antisemitism, including the murder of two people who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. The pair were gunned down in May outside the Capitol Jewish Museum by a man who shouted “free Palestine!” as he was arrested. Bondi’s nod to mosques was an apparent reference to a handful of blue-leaning states closing all religious buildings as part of their COVID-19 protocols in 2020 during the Trump administration. The attorney general said she talks “almost daily” with the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which handles discrimination cases, and she commended division head Harmeet Dhillon, who has upended the division and shifted its focus, in part, to religious freedom. “They are working to protect people of all religions,” Bondi said. SUSPECT CHARGED WITH MURDERING ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFF COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY Moore also broached a controversial internal memo that originated in the FBI Richmond Field Office under former FBI Director Christopher Wray. The memo, which Congress made public in 2023 after receiving it from an FBI whistleblower, offered a threat assessment of “radical-traditionalist Catholics.” The internal document laid out what the FBI perceived as a pattern of extremism among a small group of Catholics, identifying them as those who opposed modern-day popes, held “extremist ideological beliefs,” and “engaged in violent rhetoric.” The document pointed to three real-life examples of criminal suspects who identified with that sect of Catholicism to illustrate its point, and it used the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning nonprofit, to bolster its assessment. In response to backlash, the FBI retracted the memo. Wray later said he admonished employees involved with making it but also said he did not uncover any “bad faith conduct” among them. Bondi said during Monday’s hearing that under her tenure, the DOJ will not use the Southern Poverty Law Center as a resource.
‘Golden Dome’ comprehensive weapons defenses in the works as lawmakers make Trump dream a reality
EXCLUSIVE – With the Iran situation intensifying, senators will put forward a bill Tuesday that creates the “Golden Dome” missile defense system modeled off Israel’s Iron Dome that President Donald Trump asked for at the beginning of his term. Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., came together to craft the Ground & Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (Golden Dome) Act, a $21 billion congressional authorization split among more than two dozen individual defensive strategies. It comes after Trump ordered in January that a defense system be realized in response to the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.” Trump later confirmed his plan to seek construction of the Golden Dome at a May White House appearance with Sullivan. “The escalating missile threats we’ve witnessed from the Iranian terrorist regime and the rapidly evolving hypersonic, cruise missile and drone threats from Russia, China, and other adversaries demonstrate why we need to develop a robust, modernized missile defense system to protect the entire country—which the Golden Dome Act will do,” Sullivan told Fox News Digital. IN ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, GOVERNOR SAYS DEFENSES ARE STRONG “The three prongs of successful policy in D.C. are presidential leadership, appropriated funding and comprehensive authorizing legislation.” Trump’s order cited former President Ronald Reagan’s so-called “Star Wars” plan to build laser-based nuclear defense systems against the Soviet Union, while Sullivan and Cramer took a big step Tuesday toward creating something even more comprehensive. Similar to “Star Wars,” the Golden Dome plan calls for the development and deployment of space-based weapons sensors, as well as research into another orbital component, Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Sullivan’s state of Alaska is home to some of North America’s most important extant defense systems, particularly at Clear Space Force Base near Fairbanks and Fort Greely in Delta Junction. The latter is home to Alaska Army National Guard members who provide “operational control and security for the nation’s ground-based interceptors,” according to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. There are about 80 interceptors at-the-ready at Fort Greely. The Golden Dome plan builds on such defenses, by creating, maintaining and/or revitalizing other sites as well, including the Cobra Dane – a land-based “passive electronically scanned array” radar system positioned in the Aleutian Chain. “Alaska is a big part of [missile defense] because the location is sort of perfect,” Trump said. As both the easternmost and westernmost state in the union, Alaska is also the commercial and defensive gateway to Asia, state officials have noted. Specifics of the Golden Dome Act would focus first on present situations the U.S. can respond to in the near-term, including upgrading systems and replenishing munitions short-in-supply like PAC-3 “Patriot” missiles. AK SENATOR LITERALLY TEARS UP BIDEN’S ENERGY ORDERS, BOOSTS WH EFFORTS TO LEVERAGE ARCTIC LNG IN ASIA TRADE The second piece of the puzzle is forward-looking, according to a source familiar with the effort, focusing on technologies like space-based interceptors and air-moving-target indicators — capabilities the U.S. has yet to fully master. Some assets for use in any China-Taiwan contingency are already in Alaska, foreshadowing that the components of the Golden Dome would be subject to a robust testing regime. The Golden Dome would also include a battle-management system, allowing Trump or a future commander in chief to have visibility and the panoply of options at his fingertips if an attack on the U.S. surfaces. The Golden Dome would also include the AEGIS Ashore missile range in Kauai, Hawaii, and, in Cramer’s state, the Perimeter Acquisition Radar System at Cavalier Space Force Base. Additional mobile launch systems would be created across the country, as well as an “early warning” radar installation to be developed somewhere in the South. “The GOLDEN DOME Act increases our national security by enhancing all-domain awareness — eyes and ears upon which any missile-defense architecture relies; bolstering missile and drone defeat capacity to meet the peer and near-peer threat; and accelerating new capabilities to the force to counter future threats to the homeland,” Sullivan and Cramer’s plan read. “Despite this increasing threat, United States homeland missile defense policy has been severely limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Cramer, whose state was subject to suspicious Chinese land purchases near a sensitive military base, said U.S. adversaries’ weapons tech has advanced, so the U.S.’ defense should stay ahead of them. “We have to act in order to defend against the evolving and complex threat landscape. Senator Sullivan and I introduced the GOLDEN DOME Act to build a layered missile defense system, which protects our homeland from catastrophic attacks from modern missiles,” Cramer said. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., who will lead companion legislation in the House, added that the U.S. “must stand ready to prevent nuclear weapons from harming our citizens.”
Trump dares AOC to try to impeach him: ‘Make my day’
President Donald Trump dared progressive “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to try and impeach him over the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, after she had suggested such a measure. “Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump said the “reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration.” “The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again,” he wrote. AOC, OTHER ANGRY DEMOCRATS, CALL FOR TRUMP IMPEACHMENT OVER ATTACK ON IRAN Trump said Ocasio-Cortez’s “test scores” will show that “she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all. “ The president was referring to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Texas Democrat who called Trump “the mo-fo” who is “occupying the White House” during a 21-minute social media video rant about the U.S. strikes in Iran. He was also referring to another progressive, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who recently claimed Trump is turning the United States into one of the “worst countries” in the world. The congresswoman originally came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia. “How dare ‘The Mouse’ tell us how to run the United States of America!” Trump wrote. “We’re just now coming back from that Radical Left experiment with Sleepy Joe, Kamala, and ‘THE AUTOPEN,’ in charge. What a disaster it was!” Trump said Ocasio-Cortez should be forced to take the same cognitive test that he completed at Walter Reed Medical Center as part of his annual physical. DEMOCRATIC SEN. FETTERMAN SHUTS DOWN AOC’S CALL FOR TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT AFTER IRAN STRIKES “As the Doctor in charge said, ‘President Trump ACED it,’ meaning, I got every answer right,” Trump wrote. “Instead of her constant complaining, Alexandria should go back home to Queens, where I was also brought up, and straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore.” Trump addressed how Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly weighing a primary run against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez won re-election in November and next defends her House seat in the 2026 midterms. The congresswoman has come under fire for perceived inaction against a notorious “Red Light” prostitution strip and illegal street vendors plaguing her migrant-heavy district in New York City. “She better start worrying about her own Primary, before she thinks about beating our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, whose career is definitely on very thin ice!” Trump wrote. “She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!” Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday condemned what she called Trump’s “disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.” “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” the democratic socialist wrote on X. “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Under Trump, US strikes on Somalia have doubled since last year. Why?
Mogadishu, Somalia – Ending the United States’ “forever wars” was a major slogan of Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign, during which he and many of his supporters spoke out against American resources and lives being put to waste in conflicts across the globe. But on February 1, a mere 10 days after being inaugurated for a second time, President Trump announced that the US had carried out air strikes targeting senior leadership of ISIL (ISIS) in Somalia. “These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States,” his post on X read. This marked Trump’s first military action overseas, but it wouldn’t be his last. In the time since, the US has provided weapons and support to Israel in its wars in Gaza and across the Middle East; it has launched strikes on Yemen; and even attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. At the same time, in the Horn of Africa, US strikes have more than “doubled” since last year, according to US Africa Command (AFRICOM). AFRICOM, which oversees US military operations on the continent, has carried out at least 43 air strikes in Somalia in 2025, according to think tank New America, which tracks strikes using AFRICOM data. More than half of those, which are conducted in coordination with Somalia’s federal government, targeted IS-Somalia, the ISIL affiliate in northeast Puntland state, while the remainder targeted al-Shabab. The uptick in US air strikes targeting IS-Somalia appears to be linked to growing concerns that the group has become a hub for regional and global ISIL affiliates in terms of financing and attacks, according to US officials. Advertisement At the same time, experts also note the recent worrying gains being made by al-Shabab in Somalia. But why is this a war the “Make America Great Again” Trump administration has an increasing hand in – especially given that decades of US policy in Somalia have been marred by controversy, disaster and failure? A June 2010 file photo shows a US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile that has been used against targets from Afghanistan to Somalia [File: Massoud Hossaini/AP Photo] American intervention in Somalia: A failure since the start? “Ever since Black Hawk Down, Somalia was a no-go zone for the US,” said Abukar Arman, a Somali analyst and former special envoy to the US, referring to the failed 1993 US military intervention in Somalia during which 18 US troops and thousands of Somali civilians were killed. “That changed after 9/11 when Somalia became one of the key theatres of so-called GWOT [global war on terror]. That political facade has three objectives: It justifies US sustained lethal drone attacks in the public psyche; it enables the US to guard its geopolitical interests in the Horn of Africa; [and] it enables American predatory capitalists to engage in economic exploitation,” Arman told Al Jazeera. In 2007, Somalia became the first country on the African continent to fall victim to a US air strike in the post 9/11 era as part of its so-called “war on terror”. In the decades that followed, US aerial bombardment of the country has not only persisted but intensified. During the combined 16 years under former presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, there were more than 50 US air strikes on Somalia, while Trump’s first term alone saw a staggering 219 strikes, according to New America. With dozens more strikes just five months into his second term, analysts say if it continues at this rate, Trump is sure to surpass the 51 strikes the Biden administration conducted during its entire four years in office. Jethro Norman, a senior researcher with the Danish Institute for International Studies, suggests that in Somalia, Trump has made an ideal stage on which to remotely project US power capabilities – as it combines high firepower, low oversight and little US domestic political risk. “By loosening Obama-era restrictions, he enabled a surge in preemptive strikes with minimal vetting or accountability. The logic wasn’t just strategic; it was theatrical: a way to perform toughness, signal contrast with previous administrations, and claim counterterrorism ‘wins’ without entanglement,” Norman told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “So, what you see now is a spike in drone activity, but without any corresponding investment in long-term peacebuilding or governance support,” he explained. Norman also highlighted how infighting within the Trump White House on policy direction in Somalia played a role in the massive uptick in US strikes. “There were also competing camps within his [Trump’s] administration. Some pushed hard for kinetic engagement in Somalia and Yemen, while others argued that counterterrorism was a distraction from great-power rivalry with China. “That policy push and pull [between spectacle and strategy] helps explain why air strikes surged even as Trump talked about ending forever wars,” he said. A man sits beside the wreckages of burned military supply vehicles used by suspected ISIL fighters in Cal Miskaad mountain range in Bari, Puntland region, Somalia, in January 2025 [File: Feisal Omar/Reuters] Al-Shabab gains Some analysts suggest that another reason for the uptick in US strikes could be al-Shabab’s unprecedented counteroffensive this year. In it, the armed group reversed most of the Somali government’s territorial gains and seized dozens of towns and villages in the Middle Shabelle region of the semi-autonomous Hirshabelle state – the home base of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Complicating matters further is that during this counteroffensive, al-Shabab was able to advance on the capital and set up checkpoints on main roads leading in and out of Mogadishu. This shows not only the deep structural weakness within the Somali security forces but also the resilience of the armed group as they inched closer to the seat of power in Mogadishu, experts say. “These [recent US strikes] appear to relate more closely to conditions on the battlefield – and in particular, the perceived threat from an al-Shabab offensive that has reversed some of the gains of prior Somali government offensives,” said David Sterman, the deputy director of the Future Security programme at New America. “There may also be other
Israel-Iran ceasefire off to rocky start, drawing Trump’s ire after fanfare
The ceasefire between Israel and Iran is already showing signs of strain – and has triggered frustration, and a televised expletive, from United States President Donald Trump, who accused Israel of undermining the deal just hours after its announcement. The ceasefire, brokered by the US and Qatar, came into effect late Monday following days of intensive missile barrages between the two foes. Israel’s last wave of strikes targeted Iranian military infrastructure near Isfahan, prompting retaliatory drone launches by Tehran. Iran violated the ceasefire, “but Israel violated it too”, Trump told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn on Tuesday as he departed for the NATO summit. “So I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either. But I’m really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning.” “I’ve got to get Israel to calm down,” he said. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before.” As he prepared to head to a NATO summit in The Hague in the Netherlands, Trump’s anger flared on the White House Lawn: “We have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.” A day earlier, Trump boasted on his Truth Social app that “the Ceasefire is in effect!” “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt,” Trump wrote. Trump’s unusually public display of anger at Israel saw the US leader apparently trying to force his ally to call off warplanes in real time on Tuesday. Advertisement Earlier the same morning, he had posted on Truth Social: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS” – without it being clear which bombs he was referring to. “IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to quickly accede, with his office saying in a statement on Tuesday that Israel still carried out one more attack near Tehran after Trump’s appeal, but is refraining from “further strikes”. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said earlier on Tuesday that he had ordered the military to mount new strikes on targets in Tehran in response to what he claimed were Iranian missiles fired in a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire. Iran denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour and a half beyond the time the ceasefire was meant to start. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country would not fire at Israel if it was not fired upon, but that a “final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later”. Despite the rocky start, Trump voiced support for the ceasefire itself, clarifying he is not seeking regime change in Iran, after some mixed messaging in recent days, and insisting that the ceasefire remains in effect. If it holds, the truce would be a big political win for Trump in the wake of his risky gamble to send US bombers over the weekend to attack three nuclear facilities in Iran that Israel and the United States claim were being used to build an atomic bomb in secret. US intelligence and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog had previously recorded no indication Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said Iranian officials appeared to welcome Trump’s remarks, viewing them as a potential opening for diplomatic engagement. “It might give the impression that Trump is serious about this ceasefire,” Hashem said. In Washington, Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle, said Trump is feeling “quite annoyed” at and perhaps “betrayed” by Netanyahu violating the ceasefire. “He was angry with both Israel and Iran. But you could really tell some of the extra anger there, the extra fury was aimed at Israel,” Lavelle said. The US leader had said the truce would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at about 04:00 GMT Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations first. He said Israel would follow suit 12 hours later. Israel has been bombing Iran in an offensive that began June 13. The US joined the attack with a mission starting overnight Friday to Saturday against the deeply-buried and hard-to-access Fordow complex and two other sites. Advertisement Iranian officials say more than 400 people have been killed in air strikes. Retaliatory missile strikes have killed 28 people in Israel, the first time large numbers of Iranian missiles have penetrated – and on a daily basis – its much vaunted air defence systems, which mainly the US has provided. Adblock test (Why?)
How Israel failed in Iran
What did Israel accomplish in Iran after 11 days of incessant bombing? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in his statement acknowledging the ceasefire that the Israeli goals have been achieved. Such an assertion seems problematic, to say the least. At the start of the short-lived war, he declared two goals: “decapitating the nuclear programme” and “regime change”. Was the nuclear programme decapitated? The answer is likely negative. It seems that Iran transported fissionable material out of the Fordow facility attacked by the United States. This stockpile is the most important part of the nuclear programme, so “decapitation” seems to have failed. What damage, if any, did Israel inflict on the Iranian nuclear programme? That is also unclear. Israel managed to persuade the US to attack Iranian nuclear facilities using bunker-busting bombs, Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), but the US did little else to help the Israeli offensive. The extent of destruction would be hard to evaluate since Iran is unlikely to grant outside access. Has Israel generated “regime change” in Iran? The brief answer is that it has very much achieved the opposite. Israel attempted to trigger an uprising against the regime by killing military leaders of Iran’s various security structures. This strategy is based on the firm Israeli belief that the best way to destabilise an enemy is through assassinations of senior leaders. This has never worked. The only possible exception was the effect Hassan Nasrallah’s death had on Hezbollah in Lebanon, but that had a great deal to do with internal Lebanese political dynamics. In all other cases, Israeli assassinations have failed to create any major political change. Advertisement In the case of Iran, the assassinations rallied the people around the government. Israel assassinated the senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), perhaps the most powerful element in current Iranian politics, but also one of the most hated by the Iranian public. Regardless, many Iranians who consider themselves staunch opponents of the Islamic Republic and especially of the IRGC found themselves supporting it. Iranians saw Iran in its entirety under attack and not just “the regime”. Israel’s attempts to bomb “regime symbols” only made the situation worse. It attempted to spin its air strikes on Evin Prison, infamous for the torture of political prisoners, as a contribution to the struggle of the Iranian people against the repression of the Islamic Republic. But Israel’s bombs effectively worsened the situation of the prisoners, as the authorities moved many of them to unknown locations. Bombing the “Israel doomsday clock”, which Israelis often employ as a demonstration of Iran’s commitment to Israel’s destruction, was simply pathetic. Israel’s bombing of the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB was also absurd. Israel claimed it was curtailing the regime’s attempt to spread propaganda. As many Israelis pointed out, this bombing gave the Iranians the vindication they needed to threaten Israeli television stations as well. If Israel did not manage to achieve its stated war goals, did it at least manage to rally the world behind it, to make the public forget about Gaza and recast Israel again as fighting the good fight? That seems dubitable at best. True, President Donald Trump and the US did strike Iranian nuclear facilities. By doing so, they violated several major rules of international law. This is likely to have long-term implications. However, Trump did not join the war alongside Israel. Immediately after the strike, the strategic bombers returned to the US. Before and after carrying out the bombing, Trump iterated and reiterated his desire for a deal between the US and Iran, one that may also include Israel. It seems likely that the US president assisted Israel to serve his own interests as well as those of his allies in the Gulf. While several world leaders, most notably German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, were quick to support the US strikes and “Israel’s right to defend itself”, no one adopted Israel’s stringent list of demands, which included that Iran should not be able to enrich uranium at all. The world returned to the formula of “no nuclear weapon”, with which Iran had already announced it was willing to comply. Advertisement When it comes to the operational development of the Middle East, the world appears to find Iran a legitimate partner for doing business. This is a loss for Israel and a victory for Iran. The very real damage to the Israeli heartland should also be considered. Israel achieved aerial dominance over Iran very quickly and struck almost at will. Iranian missiles, however, repeatedly managed to penetrate the famed Israeli air defence system, strike at the heart of Israel and across the entire country, and bring it to a standstill while inflicting an unprecedented number of casualties as well as massive destruction. Israel was running low on interceptor missiles without hopes of immediate replenishment. The Israeli economy was quickly grinding to a halt. This was another triumph for Iran. Iran emerged from the war bruised and bombed, suffering hundreds of casualties and real damage from incessant bombing around the country. But the Islamic Republic did not crumble, even when facing a massive Israeli force. Iranian missiles hit home, Iran’s image was not tarnished (it was seen by most of the world as a victim of an Israeli attack), and Iran’s options for response were not severely constrained. Iran successfully de-escalated by warning in advance about its “retaliation” for the US strike on its military base in Qatar. Iran was powerful enough to convince Trump to warn Israel not to attack after the ceasefire appeared to have been violated. Iran emerged as it prefers to emerge – still standing, and with potential for the future. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
South Carolina AG mounts gubernatorial bid, advocates for abolishing state income tax, DOGE-ing government
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, an adopted son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., has announced a Palmetto State gubernatorial bid. “As your governor, we’ll deliver meaningful relief to hard-working people. We’re going to finally eliminate the state income tax,” Wilson, who has served as the state’s attorney general since 2011, said during a speech on Monday. “We’re going to DOGE South Carolina government from top to bottom,” he declared. “We will root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and we will expose it.” SOUTH CAROLINA AG TAKES ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIT-AND-RUN, PROMISES CRIMINALS ‘WE’RE COMING FOR YOU’ U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has said that she is considering running for governor, has previously accused Wilson of protecting pedophiles. “How does Alan Wilson explain his record of protecting kids vs. protecting p*dos? You either protect kids or you protect p*dos. You can’t do both. Alan Wilson chose p*dophiles. Hold the line,” Mace wrote in an April post on X. Robert Kittle, spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office, called Mace’s accusations “ridiculous,” telling Fox News Digital in an email on Tuesday that as an assistant attorney general, Wilson previously “prosecuted, and put behind bars, people who sexually abused children.” EXCLUSIVE: NANCY MACE DISMISSES ‘BURNER’ ACCOUNT ALLEGATIONS AS ‘BITTER EXES’ TALE Wilson appeared to push back against Mace’s attacks in a lengthy post on X in May. “I will not stand by and allow someone to lie about, not only me, but the dedicated men and women in my office who’ve been in the trenches protecting kids for years. A would-be candidate for Governor is attacking me, prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners who put their life on the line to protect children and catch predators. Enough is enough. Over the course of the last several weeks, this would-be candidate has peddled lies and mistruths for her own political ambitions and clicks on social media,” he asserted. “Specifically, she has brought up a handful of cases from the last decade related to offenders that obtained illegal images of children. Let me be clear, our ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) division has worked to get these criminals before a judge and hold them accountable. Our objective is to indict, prosecute, and get them added to the Sex Offender Registry,” he noted in part of the long post. “When the would-be candidate for Governor criticizes the Attorney General’s Office, she’s purposefully omitting the fact that judges give sentences, not prosecutors. When she criticizes the prosecutors, she’s ignorant to the fact that often, our office is working in sync with a federal agencies that can get more time,” Wilson declared. Mace fired back at the time, describing the post as “a very long-winded deflection full of excuses, half-truths and lies, as to why you can’t seem to do your job effectively as South Carolina Attorney General.” NANCY MACE BLASTS TIM WALZ AFTER HE FAILS TO DEFINE WHAT A WOMAN IS Current Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, is not eligible to seek another term in 2026 because the state constitution stipulates, “No person shall be elected Governor for more than two successive terms.” McMaster, who became governor in 2017 after Gov. Nikki Haley, also a Republican, stepped down to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, won the state’s 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections.
Scandal-plagued former Gov Andrew Cuomo aims to pull off political comeback in the nation’s biggest city
Andrew Cuomo is aiming to pull off the biggest political comeback since President Donald Trump won back the White House last November. Cuomo, the former three-term New York State governor who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, is the frontrunner of an 11-candidate field vying for heavily blue New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral nomination. The former governor – who saw his once-large lead deteriorate as progressives coalesced around Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens and a democratic socialist originally from Uganda – is highlighting his experience. “We know that we can make government work because that’s what we did in New York State. They said we couldn’t do it. We did it,” Cuomo told a large crowd of supporters at a union hall rally on the eve of Tuesday’s New York City primary, as he pointed to his progressive achievements as governor. TRUMP FRONT-AND-CENTER AS NATION’S BIGGEST CITY HOLDS MAYORAL PRIMARY Cuomo is showcasing his fortitude in defending the nation’s most populous city from what he argues are threats from Trump. “Democrats, we are going to stand strong, stand united, stand tall, you’re not going to separate us,” Cuomo emphasized as he referred to the Republican president. “We’re going to lock arms, and we’re going to go forward.” THIS FORMER PRESIDENT BACKS ANDREW CUOMO IN NEW YORK CITY’S DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY Cuomo, who recently said that as mayor that he would mount a national campaign to try and thwart Trump’s agenda, vows to protect New York City from what he suggests is a possible future Trump administration crackdown against immigration protests in New York City, similar to what occurred earlier this month in Los Angeles. Additionally, Cuomo pledged to “stand up to Trump before his antics reach New York.” It is often said that politics is full of second chances, thanks to a long list of politicians who suffered defeat or fell from grace before later winning redemption at the ballot box. Cuomo is trying to be the latest on that list. ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE STIRS TENSIONS ON NYC CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT RAGES The 67-year-old Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations, which he has repeatedly denied, forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo has faced plenty of incoming fire over his baggage from his primary rivals on the campaign trail and during the two debates between the candidates. However, Marist University Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee M. Miringoff told Fox News that “there’s a general sense that New Yorkers are willing to provide someone a second chance.” Cuomo’s bigger concern is Mamdani, who soared into second place in the polls this spring and was closing the gap with Cuomo ahead of the primary. Mamdani has taken aim at the former governor, pointing out that many of Cuomo’s donors backed Trump in last year’s presidential election. AOC BACKS RISING PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE IN NYC DEM PRIMARY IN PUSH TO DEFEAT FRONTRUNNER CUOMO “Oligarchy is on the ballot. Andrew Cuomo is the candidate of a billionaire class that is suffocating our democracy and forcing the working class out of our city,” Mamdani’s campaign argued in an email to supporters. Cuomo’s campaign in recent weeks has criticized Mamdani as a “dangerously inexperienced legislator” while touting that the former governor “managed a state and managed crises, from COVID to Trump.” “The mayor of the city of New York is the CEO of one of the largest corporations on the globe. This is not a job for a novice,” Cuomo said on the eve of the primary. “This is not a job… for on the job training. We need someone who knows what they’re doing on day one because your lives depend on it.” Mamdani, who among other things wants to eliminate fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system and make City University of New York “tuition-free,” landed a big boost earlier this month after winning an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left. A week later, he was also endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up. With multiple candidates on the left running in the primary, the endorsements by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders aimed to consolidate the support of progressive voters behind Mamdani. The candidate in third place heading into the primary was New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. He grabbed national attention in the closing days of the campaign after he was arrested in Manhattan by Department of Homeland Security agents. Lander was detained for allegedly assaulting a federal officer as he tried to escort a defendant out of an immigration court. Temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees in New York on Tuesday as the city holds its primary. The dangerously high temperatures may keep some older voters from heading to the polls. Because of that possibility, the heatwave could affect turnout in a race that may come down to Cuomo’s union support and campaign structure versus Mandani’s volunteer forces. New York City election officials said that more than 384,000 Democrats cast ballots in early voting, which ended on Sunday. The election is being conducted using a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate’s votes reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. The process is repeated until one candidate cracks 50%. Mamdani is hoping that the ranked-choice process boosts his chances against Cuomo. New York City’s primary comes as the Democratic Party works
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