Trump in situation room with Hegseth and Caine amid Iran attack on US bases – report
Joint Chiefs Chair General Caine and Secretary Hegseth are in the Situation Room right now monitoring potential Iranian retaliation, per a senior White House official. Trump is currently in the room with them, CNBC reports.
Key events
An Axios reporter, citing an Israeli official, said that six missiles had been launched by Iran directed towards US air bases in Qatar.
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A western diplomat told Reuters that there has been a credible Iranian threat against the US-run al Udeid airbase in Qatar since noon.
The airbase in Qatar is the Middle East’s largest US base that houses about 10,000 troops.
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Iran is moving missile launchers into place for a potential attack on US forces in the Middle East, citing US officials.
Macron says ‘no framework of legality’ for US strikes on Iran nuclear facilities
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said today that there was no “framework of legality” regarding the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, adding any regime change in the country should be a result of the will of the people, not of bombs.
“There is no framework of legality in these strikes, even if France shares the objective not to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons,” he told reporters during a press conference in Oslo alongside the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre.
“I believe in the sovereignty of peoples and territorial integrity … so I don’t think we can take the place of a people to change its leaders,” Macron added.
Joseph Gedeon
A group of 12 House Democratic military veterans are backing efforts to constrain Donald Trump’s military authority, announcing they will support a War Powers Act resolution in response to the US president’s go ahead for airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The veterans – some of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan – were strongly critical of Trump’s decision to launch what they called “preventive air strikes” without US congressional approval, drawing explicit parallels to the run-up to some of America’s longest recent wars.
“Twenty years ago, in their rush to appear strong and tough, politicians – from both parties – failed to ask the hard questions before starting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” they wrote in a letter led by Representative Pat Ryan to Trump sent on Monday. “We refuse to make those same mistakes.”
Their intervention comes as multiple war powers resolutions are gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, with the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, pushing for a vote as early as this week to rein in the president’s military actions. The veterans did not specify which measure they would support, as competing versions are being drafted by different Democratic factions alongside a bipartisan effort.
The day so far
Trump is scheduled to meet with his national security team at 1pm ET in the Oval Office.
Trump responded to Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia and an ally of Vladimir Putin, who said on social media that a “number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads”. In response, Trump said that “The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.’”
Trump issued a warning about oil prices after White House adviser says Iran strike won’t disrupt markets.
The US embassy in Qatar advised American citizens there to “shelter in place until further notice” and on Sunday night, the state department issued a “worldwide caution” security alert advising US citizens abroad to “exercise increased caution”.
Pakistan has condemned Trump for bombing Iran, less than 24 hours after saying he deserved a Nobel peace prize for defusing a recent crisis with India.
Trump is set to attend the two day Nato summit beginning on Tuesday. The White House said that at the summit, Trump will push Nato members to increase defense spending.
Trump insisted that “monumental damage” had been done by US strikes to Iran’s nuclear sites, but the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says no one in a position to fully assess damage to Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the US position on Iran regime change has altered, despite Trump raising the prospect of regime change in Iran on Sunday.
Democratic senator John Fetterman called US strike on Iran “entirely appropriate” and criticized his Democratic colleagues who have condemned the strikes.
On Monday morning, Trump once again hit out at Republican representative Thomas Massie, who has publicly opposed Trump’s decision to strike Iran.
The LA county sheriff’s department deleted and then apologized for posting a message expressing sympathy for “the victims and families impacted” by US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Trump responds to Medvedev on countries readying to help Iran with nuclear weapons
Donald Trump has responded to Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia and an ally of Vladimir Putin, who said on social media that a “number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads”.
In a post on Sunday, Medvedev also wrote that Trump, who he said was “once hailed as ‘president of peace” has “now pushed the US into another war”.
On Monday morning, Trump responded on Truth Social, writing in a lengthy post, “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?”.
He added: “The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.’”
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that there was “no reason to criticize” the US over its strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.
In a speech on Monday, Merz said:
There is no reason to criticize what America did at the weekend. Yes, it is not without risk. But leaving things as they were was not an option either.
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Messaging app WhatsApp has been banned on devices used by staff in the US House of Representatives, per reports.
According to Reuters and Axios, the US House’s chief administrative officer (CAO) notified congressional staffers on Monday that WhatsApp is now prohibited from their government devices.
The email, obtained by Axios, reportedly stated that the “Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.”
It further specified, “House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products.”
Additionally, it mentioned that those who have the WhatsApp application on their House-managed devices will be contacted to remove it.
The email listed Microsoft Teams, Wickr, Signal, iMessage and FaceTime as acceptable alternatives to WhatsApp.
Fetterman on US strike on Iran: ‘I think it was entirely appropriate’
On Fox News this morning, Democratic senator John Fetterman, who has been a vocal supporter of Israel and has advocated for the US to join Israel’s attack of Iran, criticized members of his own party who have condemned Trump’s attack on Iran over the weekend.
“There’s going to be a lot of people in my party who are going to disagree with the strike in Iran,” Fetterman said. “And I actually support that. I’ve always been calling for that thing. I think it was entirely appropriate. And again, there might be votes on that. So for me, that’s not a war. That was a very limited military exercise.
“I’ve been always calling to destroy these nuclear facilities,” he continued. “Now let’s talk about the context in the middle of all that now, too. Now, our party has been often wrong, and they were pushing for a ceasefire last year, and now Israel pushed through that and has broken Hamas and Hezbollah as well now, too.
“And now here it is right now, Israel has air supremacy over Iraq right now,” he said. “And now, here’s where Iraq – I mean, excuse me, where Iran is right now. Their capabilities are severely limited, and now that was an entirely appropriate to finally take out those nuclear facilities.”
The Los Angeles county sheriff’s department deleted and then apologized for posting a message expressing sympathy for “the victims and families impacted” by US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In the original post, according to a screenshot by local news station KTLA, the Sheriff’s department said: “Our hearts go out to the victims and the families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran.”
A swift online backlash followed, and the department then issued an apology on Sunday that referred to its own original post as “offensive and inappropriate” and “unacceptable”.
The Department said that the post was “made in error” and “does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G Luna or the Department”.
“As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters” the statement on Sunday added. “Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities.”
Read more about it here:
In a post on Truth Social this morning, Donald Trump has once again hit out at Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who has publicly opposed Trump’s decision to strike Iran.
Last week, in a rare moment of cross party cooperation, Massie collaborated with Democratic California congressman Ro Khanna, to introduce a measure that would force Trump to get congressional approval to enter Israel’s conflict with Iran.
On Sunday, Trump took aim at Massie in a lengthy post on Truth Social, describing him as “a negative force”, “a simple minded ‘grandstander’”, “weak” and “ineffective”.
“Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is,” Trump wrote on Sunday. “Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him.”
In response to Trump’s comments, Massie wrote on X: “@realDonaldTrump declared so much War on me today it should require an Act of Congress. #sassywithmassie” tagging Trump’s X account.
And now, on Monday morning, Trump added to his attacks on Massie, saying “GET THIS “BUM” OUT OF OFFICE, ASAP!!!”
Axios reported on Sunday that Trump’s political operation had launched an aggressive effort to unseat Massie.
Trump warns about oil prices after White House adviser says Iran strike won’t disrupt markets
In a post on Truth Social this morning, President Donald Trump issued a warning on oil pricing.
“EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!” Trump wrote on Monday morning.
In a second post, he added, “To The Department of Energy: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!.”
Earlier this morning, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said that the US strikes on Iran over the weekend had “not really disrupted global oil markets”.
In an interview with CNBC, Hassett said, “if you look at the excess reserves that oil producing countries have around the world, it’s maybe about three times as big as total Iranian production”.
“There’s a lot of room to adjust, should we need to,” he said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on Good Morning America this morning and said that the Trump administration was confident that the airstrikes the US carried out on Saturday in Iran “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“We are confident that Iran’s nuclear sites were completely and totally obliterated,” Leavitt said. “And we have a high degree of confidence that where those strikes took place is where Iran’s enriched uranium was stored.
“The president wouldn’t have launched the strikes if we weren’t confident in that” Leavitt added.
Trump will push Nato members to increase defense spending when he goes to the Nato alliance summit on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday morning, Leavitt said that Trump would push Nato members to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.
“One of the main topics of discussion will be that 5% threshold that our Nato allies have to hit” Leavitt said. “The president has been calling on our Nato allies to do more for quite some time. He got them to step up and do more in his first term, and you’ll hear the president talk about that on this next historic trip to Europe.”
The US president and his Nato counterparts are scheduled to meet for the annual Nato summit, which will take place over two days in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday.
Trump press secretary denies US position on Iran regime change has altered
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked just now about Trump’s statements last night regarding regime change in Iran.
“The President’s posture and our military posture has not changed” Leavitt said. “The President was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking, if the Iranian regime refuses to give up their nuclear program or engage in talks … if they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn’t the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?”
“That’s a question the President raised last night,” she added. “But as far as our military posture, it hasn’t changed.”
Leavitt also said that there has been both “public and private messages sent to the Iranians” since Saturday night.
Trump to meet with national security team after posting about regime change in Iran
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with his national security team at 1pm ET today in the Oval Office, according to his schedule.
This comes as on Sunday evening, Trump hinted at the question of regime change in Iran, despite top officials in his administration, including Vice-President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have stressed over the last few days that the Trump administration was not interested in overthrowing Iran’s government.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on social media. “MIGA!!!”.
