Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here and our coverage of today’s midterm elections here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain held classified briefings on the US-Israel war in Iran for all members of the Senate and House of Representatives. After, lawmakers’ statements to reporters provided a window into the rationale the Trump administration is using to justify the military operation. Tim Burchett, a Republican representative from Tennessee, said the Trump administration made the case that Iran posed an imminent threat by outlining examples from as far back as the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a 1983 Hezbollah attack and the 2003-2011 Iraq war, listing incidents that align with a fact sheet posted on the White House website yesterday. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, said members of the House of Representatives “got no additional information on what the imminent threat was.” She added, “There were a lot of references to the 47 years of Iran being a problem. That is not imminent, that is in the past.”
Ahead of those classified briefings, Rubio attempted to backtrack on his remarks that a plan from Israel to attack Iran spurred the Trump administration to take pre-emptive strikes. “I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program,” the secretary of state insisted, without fully addressing his comments about Israel’s plan to attack first.
While meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Donald Trump insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend. “I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Donald Trump said while speaking to reporters, contradicting comments on Monday by his secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Throughout his appearance in the Oval Office, the first in-person meeting with a world leader since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Trump also chided two European allies. He criticized Spain, after the country denied the US permission to use jointly operated military bases on its territory as it continued its attacks against Iran. Trump said that he’s instructed treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Madrid. The president also scolded the UK, after Keir Starmer refused to aid the US in its ongoing war on Iran. “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of the British prime minister.
The president said, while answering a question about who he envisoned would take over in Iran, that “most of the people we had in mind are dead”, following strikes from the US and Israel. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, on Tuesday would not retract her statements calling the two US citizens who were killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis earlier this year “domestic terrorists”. Appearing before Congress for the first time since the killings, Noem evaded questions by the Senate Democrats on the judiciary committee about whether she would take back the false accusations about Renee Good and Alex Pretti. She also claimed that immigration agents do not abide by quotas for arrests.
Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported.
Donald Trump has endorsed Aaron Flint, a conservative radio host and veteran running to fill a House of Representatives seat that Ryan Zinke announced yesterday he will vacate at the end of his term.
Updated
The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed since the US-Israel war in Iran began this weekend.
The four Army Reserve soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday, they are: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa.
House speaker Mike Johnson called efforts to advance a war powers motion in Congress “dangerous” in remarks to reporters following a classified briefing.
Iran is “trying to intimidate America, they’re trying to test our resolve, and the idea that there’s some members of this legislative body that would play along with that plays right into the hands of the enemy,” he said.
Tim Kaine, the junior senator from Virginia, said there’s a “troubling pattern” of the Trump administration launching military operations without the consent of Congress, in a statement to reporters after a classified briefing to senators on the US-Israel strikes on Iran. He named instances of recent military actions in Venezuela, Nigeria and Iran.
“It’s convinced many of us in the room that you’ve decided that you will never come to Congress,” Kaine said. “You don’t think you ever have to come to Congress for war authorization.”
US has no communications with Iran since start of strikes, Trump officials say
The United States has not had backchannel communications with the current Iranian regime since the start of strikes, senior Trump administration officials told reporters on a background call earlier.
Specifically, the officials said, the US has not had any contact - written or verbal - with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi or top national security official Ali Larijani since the start of the conflict.
The officials also said a sanctions relief package is being prepared for any future Iranian leadership willing to abandon proxies, ballistic missiles and a military nuclear program.
Updated
House Democrat says Rubio briefing brought no information on 'imminent threat' for Iran strikes
Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, said members of the House of Representatives “got no additional information on what the imminent threat was” during a briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran.
“There were a lot of references to the 47 years of Iran being a problem. That is not imminent, that is in the past. Imminent means immediate threat to the US,” she said.
She also raised concerns that Donald Trump violated his war powers. “One person saying that in his opinion this is the right thing to do is the tradition that we broke with of monarchs and kings making singular decisions to take their countries to war,” she said.
Updated
Following a briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran to members of Congress, members of the House of Representatives have begun sharing statements with reporters.
Tim Burchett, a Republican representative from Tennessee, said the operation is “going a lot faster than they thought it would,” but “a lot has to do with the Iranian people themselves. They’re going to have to step up and take over, like they did when they overtook the Shah.”
He added that the Trump administration made the case that Iran posed an imminent threat by outlining examples from as far back as the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, a 1983 Hezbollah attack and the 2003-2011 Iraq war, listing incidents that align with a fact sheet posted on the White House website yesterday.
“They gouge little girls’ eyes out that want to wear make-up, and little boys that get on Twitter they hang them, they throw homosexuals off of buildings, women that get raped they stone them to death. These people are archaic, man, they’re demonic,” he said.
In response to a question about MAGA-aligned voters, who might be wary of the United States entering another forever war, Burchett said, “Stay concerned. Be concerned, be vigilant, hold our feet to the fire, keep us honest on that issue.” He added, “Just don’t tell the president that I said that.”
Shortly after, Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, said she will remain “a no for now” on a war powers resolution “but if this thing goes beyond a couple weeks, I’m going to be more concerned”.
“If ground troops get involved, I think that’s a very different conversation,” she said.
Hawley says he will vote against Iran war powers resolution
Josh Hawley said he will still vote “no” on a war powers resolution after attending a classified briefing on the US-Israel war in Iran for all senators this afternoon.
The Missouri senator said his view could change if “they were to introduce ground troops” but that he “didn’t hear in there any prediction of ground troops”.
“Personally, I would hope for a very swift conclusion, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case,” he said.
Updated
A top United Nations official has called for the protection of civilians in the US-Israel war on Iran, as the UN human rights office calls for an investigation into the deadly bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, Reuters reports.
“Strikes are hitting homes, hospitals, and schools,” said Tom Fletcher, an under-secretary-general at the UN’s humanitarian affairs office. “International law remains the best protector against the vicious cycle of violence and war. We will hold the line, and continue to do all we can.”
Donald Trump has endorsed Aaron Flint, a conservative radio host and veteran running to fill a House of Representatives seat that Ryan Zinke announced yesterday he will vacate at the end of his term.
“Aaron is a MAGA Warrior, who is strongly supported by many of the Greatest America First Patriots in Montana, including Senator Tim Sheehy, Congressmen Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing, and Governor Greg Gianforte, among others!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
As they wait for election results in their state’s primary, North Carolina voters have spoken to The Guardian about the US and Israel’s strikes against Iran.
Brenda Patterson, who is unaffiliated but voted in the Republican primary, said, “I don’t like war at all. We’d been independent on oil for a while, but all of a sudden (domestic) pipelines are closed, and now we’re going back to getting oil and stuff from the Middle East.”
Angela Iwaniuk, who is a registered Democrat for the primary, spoke in favor of the US’ actions, saying, “ I hate that it’s happening,” she said. “But I think it’s a good thing that we’re doing what we’re doing. I’m in favor of it.”
Nancy Stone, of Wilson, NC. who is also unaffiliated, but voted in the Republican primary, shared a sentiment similar to Iwaniuk. “They (Iran) have been killing U.S. service members and our proxies for decades,” she said. “That’s why I support it.”
Yamilka Almeyda, a Democrat and pediatrician out of Greenville, said, “I’ve been here for 18 years and never seen a situation like what we’re facing,” she said. “I feel like Iran is a distraction from our internal problems. I think this war is unnecessary.”
Updated
DHS launches investigation into Bovino's alleged disparaging remarks - report
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported.
Bovino, who became the public face of the heavily scrutinized immigration crackdown in Minnesota that left two US citizens dead at the hands of federal agents, allegedly mocked federal prosecutor Daniel Rosen during a January phone call with state prosecutors. According to the Times, Bovino allegedly made sarcastic comments about Rosen’s observance of Shabbat – the weekly period of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset – and used the phrase “chosen people” in a derisive tone during the 12 January call.
On Tuesday, the Times reported that John Breckenridge, a special investigator with Customs and Border Protection, had launched an “official inquiry into the allegation” that Bovino made “unprofessional comments.” Breckenridge contacted the Times seeking assistance with the inquiry but did not say whether other aspects of Bovino’s conduct were under review.
DHS did not immediately reply to the Guardian’s request for comment.
Bovino was ultimately removed as head of Operation Metro Surge after federal immigration agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti within two weeks of each other. In the aftermath, Donald Trump dispatched his “border czar,” Tom Homan, to take control of the operation, which eventually led to a drawdown of the roughly 3,000 federal agents deployed across Minnesota.
Separately, a Minnesota prosecutor announced Monday that her office is pursuing a criminal investigation that could result in charges against federal officers – including Bovino – for alleged misconduct during the surge. Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty said her office is examining 17 cases, among them an incident captured on video in which Bovino is seen throwing a smoke canister at protesters on 21 January.
Updated
The US Department of State has announced a series of charter flights for Americans looking to get out of countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In a statement released on Tuesday, a department spokesperson said the government has helped over 9,000 Americans leave the Middle East since the recent strike on Iran and has received requests for assistance from another 3,000 US citizens seeking to return to the States.
Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets. For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the Department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel,” the statement reads.
Here's a recap of the day so far
While meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, the president insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend. “I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Donald Trump said while speaking to reporters, contradicting comments on Monday by his secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Ahead of classified briefings to the full Senate and House, Rubio attempted to backtrack on his remarks that a plan from Israel to attack Iran spurred the Trump administration to take pre-emptive strikes. “I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program,” the secretary of state insisted, without fully addressing his comments about Israel’s plan to attack first.
Throughout his appearance in the Oval Office, the first in-person meeting with a world leader since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Trump also chided two European allies. He criticized Spain, after the country denied the US permission to use jointly operated military bases on its territory as it continued its attacks against Iran. Trump said that he’s instructed treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Madrid. The president also scolded the UK, after Keir Starmer refused to aid the US in its ongoing war on Iran. “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of the British prime minister.
The president said, while answering a question about who he envisoned would take over in Iran, that “most of the people we had in mind are dead”, following strikes from the US and Israel. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, on Tuesday would not retract her statements calling the two US citizens who were killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis earlier this year “domestic terrorists”. Appearing before Congress for the first time since the killings, Noem evaded questions by the Senate Democrats on the judiciary committee about whether she would take back the false accusations about Renee Good and Alex Pretti. She also claimed that immigration agents do not abide by quotas for arrests.
Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview.
Lutnick to appear before House committee investigating Epstein
Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, the committee’s chair announced Tuesday.
James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview.
“I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee,” Comer said in a statement.
Lutnick has acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island in 2012 with family members – a trip that contradicted his earlier claim that he had severed ties with Epstein in 2005.
Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
Updated
Rubio attempts to backtrack on comments about Israel's plan of attack on Iran
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, ahead of classified briefings to the full Senate and House, Marco Rubio attempted to backtrack on his comments yesterday that a plan from Israel to attack Iran spurred the Trump administration to take pre-emptive strikes.
The media pressed Rubio today after the president contradicted his secretary of state in the Oval Office earlier. “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Trump said.
“I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program,” the secretary of state insisted, without fully addressing his comments about Israel’s plan to attack first. “Once the president made a decision that negotiations were not going to work … the decision was made to strike”.
Rubio added: “The bottom line is this. We, the president, determined we were not going to get hit first.”
Updated
Pete Hegseth co-signed Donald Trump’s claims earlier that the US did not receive pressure from Israel to strike Iran first.
“If anything, I might have forces Israel’s hand,” the president said in the Oval Office earlier. Trump’s defense secretary reposted a clip of the president and said his comments were “100% correct”.
Again, this appears to contradict what Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday. The secretary of state said the US “knew there was going to be an Israeli action” which would “precipitate an attack against American forces”.
Trump says US Navy to escort tankers through strait of Hormuz 'if necessary'
Donald Trump has said the US Navy will begin escorting tankers through the strait of Hormuz as soon as possible “if necessary”.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president also said he had ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation to provide insurance and guarantees for the financial security of all maritime trade, including oil tankers, traveling through the Gulf region.
Iran closed the strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping routes, last night, and threatened to attack any ship that tries to pass through, causing oil prices to soar.
Sustained disruption of shipping traffic in the strait, through which roughly 15% of the world’s oil and 20% of its liquefied natural gas passes, poses significant risk to the global economy.
Updated
Thune noted today that he believes the US has the “resources necessary to conduct the operations that they are that are under way right now”, when asked about the possible need for Congress to confer funds to bolster Operation Epic Fury.
This comes as Donald Trump said earlier that the US ammunition stockpiles have “never been higher or better”, meaning that wars could be fought “forever”.
The Senate majority leader also said that Iran’s counterattacks, which have hit several neighboring Arab countries, have forced several allies to show their military capabilities.
Top GOP senator says that Trump will not need congressional approval for military action against Iran
On Capitol Hill today, Senate majority leader John Thune said that the president would not need to authorization from Congress if the onoging military action against Iran exceeds 60 days and risks violating the war powers resolution.
“I think the president was perfectly within his rights to take the steps that he took,” Thune said ahead of a briefing by top administration officials on the US-Israel war on Iran.
The top Republican emphasized that the Trump administration did brief the Gang of Eight – which includes House and Senate leadership from both parties, as well as top intelligence committee lawmakers from both chambers.
“They did inform us. They met with us last week,” Thune said. “I was notified the day that the actual operations got under way.”
In a short while top administration officials will brief the full House and Senate on the US-Israel strikes against Iran.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain will address lawmakers in the upper chamber at 3:30pm ET, and the lower chamber at 5pm ET.
We’ll bring you the latest lines from members of Congress following the classified briefings.
In an update to the earlier post about lawmakers criticizing the state department for not organizing evacuation flights, Reuters reports that assistant secretary for global public affairs Dylan Johnson said on Tuesday that the department was “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East”, but did not say when such flights would be available.
The department was in contact with nearly 3,000 US citizens abroad, Johnson added, urging citizens to call a phone number for assistance.
Updated
The US military has hit more than 1,700 targets in Iran since it began its operations in the country on Saturday, according to an update from the US Central Command, reports my colleague Lucy Campbell.
The targets hit include missile sites, navy ships, submarines and control centres, it said.
Follow further updates in our Middle East blog here:
The Pentagon’s policy chief on Tuesday distanced the United States from the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying he was killed by an Israeli strike.
Testifying before the Senate armed services committee, Elbridge Colby said the strike that killed Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders was not part of the American military campaign, reported AFP.
“Those are Israeli operations,” Colby said, pushing back when pressed by lawmakers about whether regime change was an objective of US action.
Colby’s restrained tone contrasted with that of Donald Trump, who has framed the conflict in sweeping and triumphant terms since the strikes began.
In a social media post, Trump said Khamenei was “unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems” and that, “working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”
Colby described the primary targets as Iran’s missile firepower – which he said had grown substantially – as well as its capacity to produce those weapons and elements of the Iranian navy. Those goals, he argued, were “scoped and reasonable objectives that can be attained”.
Pressed by Jack Reed, the panel’s top Democrat, on how the killing of Iran’s top leader fit with those objectives, Colby reiterated that he was “talking about the goals of the American military campaign”.
Key event
The first votes of the 2026 midterm cycle will be cast on Tuesday, with a pair of high-stakes US Senate primaries in Texas that will test both parties’ appetite for political change in the Trump era.
Voters across the state will decide their nominees for a critical Senate seat, as well as for several key congressional contests reshaped by a mid-decade gerrymander sought by Donald Trump to preserve the GOP’s fragile House majority.
Early voting has soared, particularly on the Democratic side, while political ad spending has surpassed $122m, according to data from AdImpact, making it the most expensive Senate primary on record.
The vast majority of the money is being spent to help four-term incumbent John Cornyn fend off a challenge from Ken Paxton, the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general and a conservative culture warrior.
Cornyn, 74, has emphasized his seniority and record, which he has defended as closely aligned with the president. By contrast, Paxton, 64, has presented himself as Maga’s vanguard in Texas, willing to battle both Democrats and Republicans.
On the Democratic side, state representative James Talarico has crisscrossed the deep-red counties that voted for Trump, preaching a “politics of love” that roots progressive policy in the teachings of his Christian faith. The 36-year-old former middle school teacher and current seminary student argues that the central divide in American politics is “not left v right” but “top v bottom” and says Democrats can rebuild trust in rural and suburban communities without abandoning their core values.
He faces congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand progressive whose unsparing attacks on Trump and Republicans have earned her a starring role in the resistance movement to his second term. Crockett, 44, entered the race in December, just before the filing deadline, embracing a different political playbook. Casting herself as a “proven fighter” who “drives the president crazy”, Crockett contends that high turnout among young voters and voters of color – not ideological moderation – is the key to winning statewide.
US lawmakers criticize state department for not organizing government evacuation flights from Middle East
US lawmakers have criticized the state department for not organizing government evacuation flights, as many Americans are stranded in the Middle East as the conflict with Iran widens.
“Warnings to citizens to evacuate 3 days into this war, when airspace is closed, is a clear sign of ZERO strategy and planning by the Trump admin,” Democratic senator Andy Kim said in a post on X. “Now Americans have limited options to evacuate at an extremely dangerous moment with no government assistance. This administration is failing its citizens.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that “it all happened very quickly” when asked why there was no evacuation plan for American citizens.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy said on social media: “So the state department is forcing everyone to immediately leave the region but is also refusing to help people leave the region. Incompetence everywhere.”
The state department did not immediately respond to questions on how exactly Americans should be departing in the absence of available commercial flights or whether Washington was planning evacuation flights, reported Reuters.
The US embassy in Jerusalem said on its website: “The US embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.
“Ben Gurion Airport remains closed, and there are no commercial or charter flights operating from there.”
'We're going to cut off all trade with Spain,' says Trump after it refuses to let US use jointly operated bases for Iran strikes
Donald Trump has threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after the Nato ally refused Washington permission for two jointly operated bases in southern Spain to be used in US strikes on Iran.
“Spain has been terrible,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, adding that he had told treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Spain.
He added: “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
Trump’s threat came hours after Spain’s foreign minister had played down the chances of any retaliatory actions.
“The bases used jointly with the US are Spanish sovereign bases that operate within the framework of the treaty with the United States, and it is within that premise – of our sovereignty and the treaty framework – that they can be used,” José Manuel Albares told reporters after Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting.
“Therefore, there is nothing strange or surprising about it, and we do not expect any consequences whatsoever.”
He also said Washington had not requested the use of the bases in Rota and Morón.
“I haven’t had a single conversation with any US representatives nor have I had any requests regarding that,” he added.
Trump also criticized Spain once again for refusing to accept Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP.
“Everybody was enthusiastic about it – Germany, everybody – and Spain didn’t do it,” he said. “And now Spain said we can’t use their bases – and that’s OK. We could use their bases; if we wanted, we could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it. But we don’t have to. But they were unfriendly.”
Spanish government sources responded, saying: “Spain is a key Nato member that fulfils its commitments and makes a significant contribution to the defence of European territory. It is also a major exporting force within the EU and a reliable trading partner for 195 countries worldwide - including the United States, with whom we maintain a longstanding and mutually beneficial trade relationship.
“If the US administration wishes to review this relationship, it must do so respecting the autonomy of private companies, international law, and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States.
“Our country has the necessary resources to mitigate potential impacts, to support sectors that could be affected, and to diversify supply chains. In any case, the Spanish government’s commitment is – and always will be – to work for free trade and economic cooperation between countries, based on mutual respect and compliance with international law. Because what the public demands and deserves is greater prosperity, not more problems.”
Throughout his meeting with Merz, the president was appreciative of Germany’s willingness to let the US land in certain areas throughout their military operation against Iran.
“They’re just making it comfortable,” Trump said. “We’re not asking them to put boots on the ground.”
Trump says that most leaders in mind to take over in Iran 'are dead'
The president said, while answering a question about who he envisoned would take over in Iran, that “most of the people we had in mind are dead”.
He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
When asked about rising oil prices in the wake of the strikes on Iran, Trump remained convinced that a hike in prices at the pump would be temporary.
“As soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” the president said.
Merz had little chance to speak during today’s availability with reporters, but he did express concern about the economic impact of the war on the global economy.
“This is true for the oil prices, and this is true for the gas prices as well,” he said. “That’s the reason why we all hope that this war will come to an end as soon as possible.”
Trump chides Starmer for unwillingness to back US strikes on Iran
While speaking to reporters today, Donald Trump also scolded UK prime minister Keir Starmer after he refused to aid the US in its ongoing war on Iran.
Starmer has allowed the limited use of British bases for defensive action to protect allied forces and nations in the Gulf and Middle East, who have been hit by a wave of retaliatory strikes. However, the prime minister has defended his decision to not join the attacks on Iran, saying the UK did not believe in “regime change from the skies”.
Trump, for his part, was unimpressed. “I’m not happy with the UK either,” he said. “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” referring to Starmer.
The president also said the UK had been “very uncooperative” when it came to Starmer’s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. “They they ruin relationships, it’s a shame,” Trump said, after striking a cordial relationship with the British prime minister since returning to the White House last year.
While meeting with Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, the president criticized Spain after the country denied the US permission to use jointly operated military bases on its territory as it continued its attacks against Iran.
Trump said that he’s instructed treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Madrid.
“Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people. They have great people, but they don’t have great leadership,” the president said, while repeating his criticism of the country after it rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP.
Bessent chimed in to say that the recent supreme court ruling which invalidated many of the president’s tariffs, still allowed him to implement duties using different legal pathways. Most recently, the administration used these to institute a 15% global tariff on all imports to the US.
Updated
Donald Trump said that the “worst possible outcome” of the US-Israel war on Iran would be if a new leader takes over who is “as bad” as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a large-scale air attack on the country over the weekend.
Trump advised Iranians to not protest against the regime just yet. “It’s very dangerous out there, a lot of bombs are being dropped,” he said.
When it comes to the possible change of leadership, the president compared it to the US’s operation in capturing the now-deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
“We kept government totally intact,” Trump said. “We have Delcy [Rodriuez] who’s been very good … the relationship has been great.”
Trump said that the US and Israel are hitting Iran “where it is much more appropriate”. However, this comes after the worst mass casualty of the strikes so far was on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran. The attack killed at least 168 people.
“We’re hitting them very hard,” Trump said today. “They no longer have air protection. They no longer have any detection facilities at all left. And so they’re going to they’re going to be in for a lot of hurt. These are bad people.”
Updated
Trump insists Israel did not force US hand on Iran attack
The president insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend.
“I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Donald Trump said while speaking to reporters. “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [Iran] were going to attack first.”
The president noted that the strikes have had a “very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out”, but expressed his surprise that the Iranian regime was launching strikes against many of its neighbours in the Middle East. “Now those countries are all fighting against them and fighting strongly against them,” Trump added.
His comments appear to contradict Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, who said on Monday that the US attacked Iran after understanding that Israel was planning to strike first.
Updated
Merz also noted the importance of discussing ongoing negotiations in another conflict – the war in Ukraine.
“There are too many bad guys in this world, actually. And, this is an issue we have to talk about, because we all want to see this, war coming to an end as soon as possible,” Merz said in the Oval Office. “But Ukraine has to preserve its territory and their security interests.”
Trump and Merz meet at the White House, touts success of strikes against Iran
In his first in-person meeting with an ally since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Donald Trump welcomed German chancellor Freidrich Merz to the White House.
“We’ll obviously be talking a little bit about Iran today, and he’s been helping us out,” Trump said, while touting the military success of the operation so far.
“They have no navy it’s been knocked out. They have no air force has been knocked out. They have no air detection that’s been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out, and just about everything’s been knocked out,” Trump said of the Iranian regime. “We’re doing very well.”
In one of the few exchanges with a Republican that appeared to be somewhat critical of Noem’s leadership, senator John Kennedy questioned the homeland security secretary about reports that DHS spent $220m on TV advertisements, where Noem was featured prominently.
The Louisiana lawmaker also noted that the contract to make the ads was awarded to a strategy group run by the husband of Noem’s former spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
“They went out to a competitive bid, and career officials at the Department chose who would do those advertising commercials,” Noem said. “I did not have anything to do with picking those contractors.”
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Top congressional Democrats demand specific answers from Trump officials ahead of briefing
Ahead of a classified briefing later today for all members of the Senate and House of Representatives about the US war with Iran, a group of top Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding specific answers about Washington’s strategy in the conflict.
“The decision to initiate or expand armed conflict is among the gravest responsibilities entrusted to our government. When US forces are placed in harm’s way, Congress and the American people are owed clear objectives, legal justification, and a defined strategy. Unfortunately, to date, you have failed to articulate this information,” reads the letter addressed to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine, all of whom are set to address lawmakers this afternoon.
The letter, which was signed by the top Democrats on the House committees on foreign affairs, armed services, appropriations, intelligence and the defense appropriations subcommittee, continues by outlining specific areas the lawmakers want the briefing to address.
These include the legal justification for the war, the specific US objectives in the conflict, details of its costs and impact on the military’s overall readiness and Washington’s assessment of who is leading Iran after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The same administration officials yesterday briefed a smaller group of congressional lawmakers, and two Democrats who attended found their answers lacking. You can read more about that below.
Friedrich Merz arrives at White House for Trump meeting
The press pool covering Donald Trump’s meeting with German chancellor Merz note that he has arrived. He entered the White House campus via the executive office building – which houses the vice-president’s office.
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In a short while, Donald Trump will welcome German chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House.
Since Merz will be the first foreign leader to visit Trump since strikes on Iran, there is no escaping this issue – even if the German chancellor would rather focus on other matters.
Merz is likely to publicly back Trump on Iran as he previously said that Berlin shared the Iranian people’s “relief” that “the mullah regime is coming to an end,” and declined to “lecture” the US and Israel on legality of the strikes.
But that doesn’t mean their chat will be easy at all, despite clever diplomatic tricks – which last time round saw Merz give Trump his grandfather’s German birth certificate.
Merz historicially was, and is probably still a generally committed pro-US politician – but has markedly changed his positions since assuming power last year and in response to somewhat erratic decisions of the US president, Donald Trump.
He repeatedly criticised Trump’s decisions on transatlantic trade and the US president’s ambitions to control Greenland, which is part of a Nato ally, Denmark.
Trump’s tariffs are particularly tricky for Germany, and it’s already ailing economy, so Merz is likely to make representations on that point as he hopes to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries.
Merz also repeatedly sought the US administration’s support for Ukraine and against the increasingly dangerous Russia, which he sees as critical for the future of the continent – sometimes putting him at odds with Trump.
He will probably see it as his task to do whatever it takes to bring Trump closer to Europe on Ukraine and Russia.
In his speech at the Munich Security Conference last month, Merz pointedly warned Trump that “in the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.”
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Noem says there are 'no quotas' for DHS arrests during Senate hearing
In a line of questioning by Democratic senator Chris Coons, Noem is being grilled about her department’s relationship with Trump’s top adviser Stephen Miller. Coons noted Miller’s public comments to reporters about a 3000 arrests per day quota.
“When there’s pressure on you to hit high numbers,” Coons said. “It’s easier to simply round-up people here, breaking no laws and contributing to our communities.”
For her part, Noem was resolute that there are “no quotas” and insisted that DHS conducts “targeted law enforcement”.
Noem says that there are still 650 federal immigration agents in Minnesota
Kristi Noem said that she believes there are about 650 federal immigration agents still stationed in Minnesota, while answering questions from one of the state’s Democratic senators – Amy Klobuchar.
This comes after Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan announced there would be a substantial drawdown of immigration enforcement in the state last month. Throughout Operation Metro Surge there were about 3,000 agents in Minnesota.
“What I want to know is, when are you going to get down to the original footprint as promised to us?” Klobuchar asked Noem today. Prior to the crackdown in the North Star state, there were about 150 federal immigration officers present.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham asked Noem about the mass shooting in Austin over the weekend during his questions today.
A reminder, officials in Texas are continuing to investigate at a bar in the state capital by a man wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie as an act of potential terrorism, as fears rise over the possibility of further attacks following US airstrikes on Iran. The shooting killed two people, and wounded 14 others.
Police shot and killed Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese national and naturalized US citizen, after he reportedly opened fire at the downtown bar. The Associated Press, citing an unidentified law enforcement official, said the gunman wore a T-shirt under his hoodie with an Iranian flag design.
During today’s hearing, Graham said he wondered “how many people are like that here, waiting to pounce”. GOP Texas lawmakers and officials have already issued statements that the shooting was in response to the coordinated US-Israel military action in Iran.
“Radical Islam has no place in Texas and our country,” said Republican senator John Cornyn, who is up for re-election this year. His opponent in Tuesday’s primary, attorney general Ken Paxton, said that it is “a legitimate concern” that the suspect “might have been part of a sleeper cell”.
Noem does not retract statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti 'domestic terrorists'
When asked by ranking member Dick Durbin if Noem would retract her statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti – the two US citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis – “domestic terrorists”, Noem evaded the question.
“When we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well,” the homeland security secretary said.
Durbin noted that the leaders of ICE and CBP – both of whom testified before the House judiciary committee last month – said they did not provide information to Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem insisted.
“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin pushed back.
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Noem says DHS will continue to investigate possible 'Iranian sleeper cells' in wake of ongoing war
Kristi Noem said that her department will continue to investigate “any threats to the homeland here within our borders” after chairman Grassley asked her about possible “Iranian sleeper cells” in the US, amid the war in the region.
“We work with the FBI often, and homeland security investigation specializes in this kind of work each and every day,” Noem added, while denigrating the Biden administration’s immigration policy. “We don’t necessarily know who all came into our country. We know that we have many dangerous individuals that came in, unvetted, and we are working every single day to find them and to make sure that we’re preventing the next attack.”
One note, Grassley did acknowledge the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “Mistakes have been made,” the Iowa lawmaker said. “Let’s make it clear, one death is too many.”
Ahead of Noem giving her opening statement she was interrupted by a protester in the hearing room, who identified themself as a former FEMA employee, and said that the homeland security secretary should be “ashamed” of herself. As they were escorted out of the room they issued a call to “abolish ICE”.
The top Democrat on the judiciary committee, senator Dick Durbin issued a sharp rebuke of DHS under Noem’s leadership. He said that the department is “devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law” and noted that “without hesitation or remorse” federal immigration agents have “wreaked havoc in our cities”.
During his opening remarks, Senate judiciary committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, blamed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but highlighted four agencies: the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Coast Guard.
Democrats are demanding tighter guardrails for federal immigration enforcement, but a sweeping tax bill signed into law last year conferred $75bn for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means the agency is still functional amid the wider department shuttering.
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Trump says US munition stockpiles mean wars can be fought 'forever'
In a late night post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that the US munition stockpiles “at the medium and upper medium grade” have “never been higher or better”.
He added that the US has a “virtually unlimited supply of these weapons”, meaning that “wars can be fought ‘forever’”.
This comes after Trump said that the US-Israel war on Iran could go beyond the four to five weeks that the administration initially predicted. The president also did not rule out the possibility of US boots on the ground in Iran during an interview with the New York Post on Monday.
“I rebuilt the military in my first term, and continue to do so. The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!” he wrote.
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DHS secretary to testify before Congress
The embattled homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, will answer questions from lawmakers on the Senate judiciary committee today.
This will be the first time she’s addressed members of Congress since federal immigration officers fatally shot two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – during a surge of law enforcement in Minneapolis.
The actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) throughout the crackdown drew condemnation from both parties. Now, a funding bill to keep Noem’s department open remains stalled on Capitol Hill. Democrats have pushed for stronger guardrails on immigration enforcement agents, while Republicans have called many of their demands (like the need for officers to appear visible and no longer wear masks while patrolling and making arrests) non-starters.
Several Democrats have also called for Noem to resign or risk impeachment.
We’ll bring you the latest lines as things get underway.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. We will hear from him at 11am when he welcomes German chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House for a bilateral meeting. We’ll bring you the latest lines from that summit, particularly the president’s first in-person meeting with a close ally since the US-Israel war on Iran began. The conflict enters its fourth day, with six US service members killed and 787 Iranian casualties since strikes started on Saturday.
Later Trump will meet with energy secretary Chris Wright at 2pm ET. That will be closed to the press but we’ll let you know if the opens up.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Tehran wanted to talk but it was too late, as the United States continued its military operation against Iran.
“Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said “Too Late!” Trump said in a Truth Social post commenting on an opinion piece.
Trump rebukes Starmer over UK refusal to back strikes on Iran
Donald Trump has criticised Keir Starmer again over the UK’s refusal to aid the offensive strikes on Iran, saying the “relationship is obviously not what it was”.
Starmer had issued his strongest rebuke yet of Trump’s action in Iran, saying the UK did not believe in “regime change from the skies” and defended his decision not to allow the use of British bases to conduct the strikes.
But the prime minister said the UK would allow the use of its bases for defensive action to protect allied forces and nations in the Gulf and Middle East who have been hit by a wave of retaliatory strikes after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Speaking to the Sun, Trump compared Starmer’s actions unfavourably with France’s support for the strikes and with the backing of the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. “He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK,” he said.
“It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before. It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.”
A North Carolina congressional primary on Tuesday is an early test of datacenter politics – a fight increasingly shaping elections nationwide.
In the Durham-area fourth district, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term against progressive challenger Nida Allam, a Durham county commissioner she defeated in 2022.
The heated rematch comes against the backdrop of a major datacenter battle in the district. Allam has come out staunchly against a massive new proposed facility, and is supporting a federal datacenter moratorium. Foushee, meanwhile, said she does not personally support the new development, but that datacenter decisions should be left to local leaders, not federal ones.
Until mid-February, Allam’s campaign donations dwarfed Foushee’s, thanks to Pacs such as Justice Democrats and gun control activist David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve. In the last two weeks, that picture has changed dramatically as major Pacs have raced to back the incumbent.
Chief among them is Jobs and Democracy, a Super Pac whose sole disclosed donor is Anthropic, the AI firm behind Claude. The group has spent about $1.6m on Foushee’s re-election campaign since February 21.
Though Anthropic has no known links to the local datacenter proposal, opposition to it has left some local residents especially skeptical of all political funding tied to big tech.
Anthropic brands itself as safety-focused, making headlines in recent days for refusing the Pentagon’s demand for unfettered use of its products, though its tools have since reportedly been used in strikes on Iran. The company has backed some state AI safeguards and last year helped defeat a federal ban on state AI regulations.
North Carolina kicks off some of first midterm primaries for key Senate and House races
The marquee matchup for the open US Senate seat in North Carolina will begin to resolve into focus Tuesday, with a well-known former Democratic governor and a Donald Trump-endorsed but untested Republican appearing to lead the field.
In the Democratic primary, former two-term governor Roy Cooper is ahead in recent polling against the slate of other candidates who have never held elected office. Cooper is widely seen among North Carolina’s Democrats as their best chance at flipping a Republican-controlled seat, now held by retiring US senator Thom Tillis, a conservative who has turned hard against the Trump administration on its handling of healthcare, defense and the Epstein file disclosures.
For Republicans, Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, leads the field in polling, with his closest competitor, representative Don Brown, in the single digits.
Polling in both primaries has been relatively scant and may have masked softness in conservative support for Whatley. About half of the Republican electorate remains undecided heading to voting booths Tuesday.
Whatley has Trump’s endorsement, but that hasn’t stopped the grumbling on the right.
“The president made a horrible mistake forcing Whatley on us,” said Brant Clifton, who publishes the Daily Haymaker, a conservative news site in North Carolina. Whatley has been closely connected to Tillis over the years, which sullies him among voters for whom Tillis has become unpopular, Clifton said.
“Trump spends a lot of time talking about how bad Tillis sucks and expressing his anger at Tillis, but here he is. He’s got the RNC working to shove Mike Whatley down our throats, but Tom Tillis and his wife are responsible for elevating Whatley out of obscurity to the state Republican party chairmanship.”
Noem to face questions over immigration enforcement and DHS shutdown
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee later today, with funding for her department still stalled due to Democratic objections to its aggressive tactics.
It will be the first time Noem has appeared before the committee since two people were killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January.
Noem, appointed by Trump last year, also may field questions on other matters including possible threats to the United States after the US attacks on Iran and reports of disorder within her department.
The former South Dakota governor has overseen Trump’s immigration agenda, including the deployment of thousands of masked federal agents to US cities, where they have swept through neighborhoods in search of possible immigration offenders and clashed with residents.
Noem is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Trump hosts Germany's Merz for talks eclipsed by Middle East war
President Trump hosts Germany’s Friedrich Merz later today for his first visit with a foreign leader since joining Israel in strikes on Iran.
The long-scheduled White House meeting was supposed to focus on the war in Ukraine and rocky EU-US trade relations, part of a wider effort to salvage frayed transatlantic ties.
But Trump’s signal that airstrikes against Iran could go on for weeks has upended the global agenda, with Tehran striking back against US bases and allies in the region, AFP reported.
Merz, a harsh critic of the Islamic republic’s leadership, said Berlin shared the Iranian people’s “relief” that the “mullah regime is coming to an end”.
Yet he declined to “lecture” the United States and Israel on the legality of the Iran strikes aimed at ending Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs.
Congress to be briefed on Iran strikes ahead of possible vote over president's war powers
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
With all members of Congress across both houses due to be briefed today on the Iran strikes, the Trump administration has presented a shifting new justification for its war.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth and general Dan Caine will brief the full membership of the Senate at 3:30pm ET and the House at 5pm ET on Tuesday – with a possible vote on parallel war powers measures to follow.
It comes after House speaker Mike Johnson suggested on Monday that the White House believed Israel was determined to act on its own, leaving the president with a “very difficult decision”.
The Republican was speaking following a classified briefing at the Capitol, the first for congressional leaders since the start of the conflict, a joint US-Israel military campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The strikes have quickly spiraled into a wider Middle East conflict, leaving hundreds of people dead, including at least six US military service personnel.
Johnson said the attack on Iran was a “defensive operation” because Israel was ready to act against Iran, “with or without American support”.
“The commander in chief has said this is going to be an operation that is short in duration,” Johnson said. “We certainly hope that’s true.”
Politico is reporting that he Senate could vote as early as Tuesday on senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul’s measure to limit Trump’s strikes, followed by a separate House vote on a resolution from Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna.
The Democrats’ strategy of forcing votes on war power resolutions has been portrayed as a way for Congress to reclaim its constitutional powers to declare war but have, so far, all failed.
In other developments:
In his first conference since the joint US-Israel operation against Iran, Donald Trump laid out his administration’s objectives moving forward. This includes destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilating their navy, preventing Iran from ever having nuclear weapons, and ensuring the country “cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside their borders”.
In a heated Pentagon press conference, Pete Hegseth initially said that US troops wouldn’t be in Iran, but later said he wouldn’t get into details. “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” he said. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless … Our generation knows better, and so does this president.”
US Central Command (Centcom) said that six service members have been killed in action, and eighteen have been seriously wounded in the US-Israel war on Iran.
The US state department is urging Americans to “depart now” from more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, following the US-Israel strikes on Iran. Hundreds of thousands of travelers are currently stranded in the Gulf states, as the airspace over some of the world’s busiest airports, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, closed over the weekend.
Kuwait air defences mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets flying in Iran-related operations, the US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday. All six crew members ejected safely, were safely recovered and in stable condition.
In an appearance on Fox News, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s “ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program” would have been “immune within months” if the United States and Israel had not struck the country this weekend.
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