Last week, as growing protests in Iran were met with violent crackdowns, Donald Trump issued a threat to the country’s leadership: “You’d better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.”
This week the White House is doubling down on Trump’s saber-rattling.
Speaking to Fox News, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said although diplomacy remained Trump’s “first option”, he was “unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary”.
“Airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander-in-chief,” Leavitt continued, adding: “He’s made it quite clear he certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran, and unfortunately, that’s something we’re seeing right now.”
In recent weeks, the Iranian regime has confronted its largest protest movement since 2009, which its leadership has sought to downplay, attributing the unrest to “American-Zionist terrorism”.
Trump official says military force is an option for Iran as president announces tariffs
Pointing to last year’s US strikes on Iran’s three major nuclear sites – which subsequent satellite imagery suggested caused more limited damage than Trump had claimed – White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt said of Trump’s potential use of US military force: “Nobody knows that better than Iran.”
Following Leavitt’s comments on Monday afternoon, Trump announced on Truth Social: “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”
Ex-Fed chairs condemn Trump’s bid to weaken central bank
Every living former head of the Federal Reserve condemned an “unprecedented” attempt by the Trump administration to weaken the central bank’s independence, after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into its chair, Jerome Powell.
Ex-Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen warned similar prosecutorial attacks in other countries had led to “highly negative consequences” for the cost of living – and argued they had “no place” in the US.
Minnesota sues Trump administration to end surge of ICE agents in state
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison announced a lawsuit Monday against the federal government, seeking to end the surge of ICE agents in the state.
“This is in essence a federal invasion of the Twin Cities, and it must stop,” Ellison said during a press conference, noting the shutdown of schools and the closure of local businesses. “This surge has made us less safe.”
Greenland says it cannot accept US takeover ‘under any circumstances’
Greenland’s government has said it “cannot under any circumstances accept” Donald Trump’s desire to take control of Greenland, as Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte said the organisation was working on ways to bolster Arctic security.
At the start of a critical week for the vast Arctic island, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, the US president restated his interest in the strategically located, mineral-rich territory, saying the US would take it “one way or the other”.
Trump officials urged to halt violence against journalists amid ICE protests
After a year in which US journalists faced a dramatic increase in violence from law enforcement, news organizations and advocacy groups have recently tried to better protect reporters through outreach to the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump threatens to block ExxonMobil from Venezuela over CEO’s ‘uninvestable’ comment
Donald Trump has said he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil company’s chief executive called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week.
Darren Woods told the US president that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives.
Trump’s cannabis order will still leave users at risk of prosecution, experts say
Experts say Donald Trump’s recent executive order on cannabis rescheduling is unlikely to make a meaningful difference for those most vulnerable to cannabis-related criminal charges, which the president has ramped up in various ways during his second term.
What else happened today:
The US supreme court will consider state bans on transgender athletes on Tuesday in a major LGBTQ+ rights legal battle that could have far-reaching consequences beyond youth sports.
Democratic US senator Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to nullify the “chilling” attempt by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to reduce the military veteran’s rank and pension as punishment for speaking out against the Trump administration.
Thousands of nurses are set to walk off the job at several of New York City’s largest hospitals on Monday, staging a strike amid an intense flu season. The action comes three years after a previous strike that compelled some of the same hospitals to move patients elsewhere and reroute ambulances.
US plans to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves could by 2050 consume more than a tenth of the world’s remaining carbon budget to limit global heating to 1.5C, according to an exclusive analysis.
Dozens of artists, including Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo and Ilana Glazer, have joined with doctors, human rights leaders and humanitarian organizations to call for the immediate restoration of medical care in Gaza in a letter addressed to the state of Israel and world leaders.
Paramount Skydance plans to nominate directors to Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) board to vote against the approval of its deal with Netflix, and filed a lawsuit seeking disclosure of financial information related to the $82.7bn (£61.4bn) agreement.
Google’s parent company hit a major financial milestone on Monday, reaching a $4tn valuation for the first time and surpassing Apple to become the second-most valuable company in the world.
Former Alaska representative Mary Peltola announced on Monday she is running for Alaska’s US Senate seat, handing Democrats a major recruitment victory as the party battles to reclaim the chamber’s majority in this year’s midterm elections.
Donald Trump has said he regrets not getting the US national guard to seize voting machines after his 2020 election defeat, as he continues to falsely claim that he won the race.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Sunday 11 January.
