Iran&#8217;s senior Shiite cleric has declared war on the President of the United States. The Islamic Republic’s Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi issued a <a href="https://x.com/mdubowitz/status/1939343304836911200">fatwa</a> stating that threats against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — particularly by President Trump — constitute a war against Islam. &#8220;Any collaboration,&#8221; he wrote, &#8220;is forbidden. Muslims must respond with &#8216;severe punishment.'&#8221;
This is not empty rhetoric. It’s a directive. The regime is using religious law to justify action against American political leadership. This fatwa is not an outlier — it is state-sanctioned pretext for terror.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 FATWA: Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi — one of the most senior Shia clerics in Qom — has issued a ruling declaring that threats against Khamenei by President Trump and others amount to a “war against Islam.” Remaining silent is “haram,” he says, and Muslims must… <a href="https://t.co/2jbgPjpW0l">pic.twitter.com/2jbgPjpW0l</a>
&mdash; Mark Dubowitz (@mdubowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/mdubowitz/status/1939343304836911200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Islamic Republic has a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-princeton-scholar-was-once-a-high-ranking-iranian-official-why-is-he-still-here?author=Aidin+Panahi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=This+Princeton+Scholar+Was+Once+A+High-Ranking+Iranian+Official.+Why+Is+He+Still+Here%3F">documented history</a> of carrying out extraterritorial operations: assassinations in Europe, surveillance of U.S. targets, plots against dissidents, and support for militant proxies. Now, after President Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and humiliated Khamenei in his press conference, the regime is escalating. It is signaling its operatives — at home and abroad — that retaliation is not just permissible. It is required.
This fatwa gives legal and religious cover for future attacks. It sets the stage for proxy operations, lone actor violence, and state-sponsored terror framed as divine justice. The regime has already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-fordow-to-freedom-a-strategy-for-ending-the-islamic-republic?author=Aidin+Panahi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=From+Fordow+To+Freedom%3A+A+Strategy+For+Ending+The+Islamic+Republic">authorized</a> retaliation against American and Israeli targets. The network is active. The planning is done. All that remains is execution. The regime’s intentions are not hypothetical. In the months leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Iranian operatives were actively plotting to assassinate Donald Trump, according to Western intelligence sources.
<div id="attachment_941273" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-941273" class="size-large wp-image-941273" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1988734032-864x576.jpg" alt="Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is delivering a sermon during a turban-wearing ceremony at a seminary in the holy city of Qom, 145 km (90 miles) south of Tehran, on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1988734032-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1988734032-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1988734032-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1988734032.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is delivering a sermon. February 8, 2024. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images.</div>
These networks are not limited to Iran or the Middle East. They are embedded inside the United States. The regime has exploited Palestinian solidarity movements, college encampments, and so-called cultural centers to build cover and infrastructure for future operations. What appears to be activism is, in many cases, ideological and logistical preparation. The Islamic Republic has skillfully used progressive activists, woke institutions, and even elements of the Democratic political class as unknowing tools — shielding itself behind civil rights rhetoric while laying the groundwork for subversion and violence. In <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/two-men-charged-alleged-plot-assassinate-saudi-arabian-ambassador-united-states">2011</a>, an Iranian-American working for the Quds Force was charged with plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C. That was over a decade ago. The capabilities have only expanded since.
This is not a theoretical risk. It’s an operational doctrine.
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The United States must respond accordingly.
First: Federal authorities must treat this fatwa as an actionable threat. DHS, FBI, Secret Service, and intelligence agencies must identify and dismantle regime-linked cells, proxies, and influence networks operating inside the United States under cultural, religious, or diplomatic cover.
Second: Islamic Republic’s top officials who issue or endorse calls for violence must be designated as enablers of terrorism and sanctioned accordingly. That includes financial, digital, and travel restrictions without exception.
Third: The regime must not outlast this escalation. The U.S. must adopt a policy of full support for regime change led by the Iranian people. That means providing technical, financial, and political support to Reza Pahlavi, who has accepted the responsibility of leading the transition after millions of Iranians — both inside the country and abroad—have chanted his name and called on him to represent their national will.
Fourth: The U.S. must support Israel’s precision operations targeting the regime’s nuclear, military, and intelligence assets — and where necessary, extend that support to neutralizing select political and religious officials who are operational leaders in the regime’s state-directed terror infrastructure. This must be framed and executed as counterterrorism.
Fifth: The U.S. must initiate immediate and comprehensive <a href="https://www.hstoday.us/featured/perspective-the-u-s-must-investigate-iranian-regime-networks-inside-the-homeland/">screening</a> of Iranian nationals already inside the country — including visa holders, green card recipients, and naturalized citizens — who maintain any connection to regime institutions, propaganda networks, or clerical systems. If the U.S. accepts that it is under asymmetric threat, it must respond accordingly. A national emergency declaration should be on the table.
<div id="attachment_941281" style="width: 824px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-941281" class="size-large wp-image-941281" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2221794644-814x576.jpg" alt="28 June 2025, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Mainly exiles and German-Iranians protest against the Mullah regime in Iran at a rally at the Hauptwache in Frankfurt. One man holds a photo of Reza Pahlavi II, who is living in exile. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa (Photo by Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images)" width="814" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2221794644-814x576.jpg 814w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2221794644-300x212.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2221794644-768x544.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2221794644.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px" />28 June 2025, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: German-Iranians protest against the Mullah regime in Iran at a rally at the Hauptwache in Frankfurt. One man holds a photo of Reza Pahlavi II, who is living in exile. Photo: Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images</div>
These actions are not optional. They are overdue. If left unchecked, this regime will act on its threats.
There is no negotiation pathway. There is no moderation. The Islamic Republic is not a government. It is a transnational threat actor. It issues religious rulings as operational orders. It does not fear diplomacy; it fears consequences.
The fatwa against President Trump is a signal. September 11th began with similar rhetoric. Now, another one has been issued — and this time, the target is named. If the U.S. ignores it, the next attack will not be a press release. It will be a body count.
* * *
Dr. Aidin Panahi is an Iranian-American research professor, energy expert, and political activist. He is the cofounder of the “From Boston to Iran” initiative and his analyses on security and policy issues have appeared in outlets including The Jerusalem Post, Washington Times, the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, Middle East Forum, Homeland Security Today, and Visegrád24. X: @Aidin_FreeIran
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Iran-Pro-Hezbollah-Funeral

The Islamic Republic Issued A Fatwa On Trump. The U.S. Must Prepare Accordingly.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran

Islamic Jihad

Middle East

Muslims

President Trump

Secret Service

President Donald Trump on Friday responded to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s claim that Iran was victorious over the United States.
“Look, you’re a man of great faith, a man who is highly respected in his country, you have to tell the truth,” Trump said. “You got beat to hell.”
Trump added that the United States would “absolutely” bomb Iran again if it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-he-will-absolutely-start-bombing-iran-again-if-they-enrich-uranium-to-high-levels?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Says+He+Will+%E2%80%98Absolutely%E2%80%99+Start+Bombing+Iran+Again+If+They+Enrich+Uranium+To+High+Levels">tried</a> to develop its uranium to high levels again.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trump responds to Ayatollah Khameini claiming victory over the United States:
&quot;You have to tell the truth, you got beat to hell.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/kJSdYUfNY4">pic.twitter.com/kJSdYUfNY4</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1938645116752650533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump’s comments come after Khamenei declared victory on Thursday in a series of tweets and an address.
“My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime,” Khamenei posted. “The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hamas-is-preparing-attacks-on-american-contractors-helping-distribute-aid-in-gaza?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hamas+Is+Preparing+Attacks+On+American+Contractors+Helping+Distribute+Aid+In+Gaza">HAMAS IS PREPARING ATTACKS ON AMERICAN CONTRACTORS HELPING DISTRIBUTE AID IN GAZA</a>
After 12 days of conflict, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed to a ceasefire with Israel, brokered by Trump. The decision followed a series of major setbacks for the Iranian regime, including successful American strikes on key nuclear sites and military infrastructure. American forces used Tomahawk missiles and 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs — delivered by B-2 Spirit bombers — to cripple Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Trump has spent much of this week praising the precision of American pilots for delivering a direct hit on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordo nuclear site with massive bunker busters.
In another tweet, Khamenei claimed that “the Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the U.S.’s face,” a reference to Iran’s missile strike on the U.S. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council falsely <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-goes-full-baghdad-bob-claims-attack-destroyed-u-s-air-base-in-qatar">claimed</a> that its attack “destroyed the U.S. air base in Al-Udeid, Qatar.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-been-clear-for-14-years-that-iran-cannot-have-a-nuclear-weapon?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Has+Been+Clear+For+14+Years+That+Iran+Cannot+Have+A+Nuclear+Weapon">TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON</a>
The attack involved the launch of 19 missiles, 18 of which were reportedly intercepted. The one missile that landed caused no casualties and resulted in only minimal damage.
Trump said Iran had provided advance warning to his administration, allowing American personnel to shelter or evacuate during the strike, which has been regarded as a coordinated attack for the regime to save face.
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
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Throughout Israel’s entire 12-day campaign against Iran, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the IDF removed the threat of a significant number of Iranian ballistic missiles, and helped severely harm Iran’s nuclear program.
The IDF eliminated much of Iran’s senior military command and several leading nuclear scientists, destroyed the enrichment facility in Natanz, the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan, and the heavy water installation in Arak, according to Netanyahu. Other laboratories, factories, ballistic missile production facilities, and regime targets were also struck.

Trump and Ayatollah

Trump Responds To Ayatollah Claiming Victory Over The United States: ‘You Got Beat To Hell’

Donald Trump

New intel shows Iran’s nuclear capability is “severely damaged” – despite media reports and the Ayatollah’s claims. RFK Jr. pulls funding from a global vaccine group he says is ignoring the science. And New York is still reeling from a political earthquake after a self-styled socialist’s victory in the Democratic primary for mayor.
It’s Friday, June 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>Iran Intel &amp; More Peace In Middle East</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940129" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: New details have emerged on the severity of U.S. airstrikes on Iran, as the White House hints at new peace deals with Middle Eastern adversaries.
Ayatollah Khamenei hadn’t been seen or heard from since before Saturday, as he refrained from any electronic communication for fear of being targeted himself. But on Thursday, he released a video where he struck a defiant tone, declaring victory over the U.S. and Israel and threatening to “take action again” if necessary. Khamenei assured his people that the American strikes “were unable to do anything important” and that President Trump had “exaggerated” their effectiveness &#8212; those claims have been mirrored by some elements of the legacy media.
The war in Iran might have ended, but the fighting is still going on in Washington, with the White House going to battle with the media over the state of Iran’s nuclear program. Knocking out Iran’s nuclear program could end up being one of the president’s signature accomplishments, and he wants credit. Almost immediately after the strikes, which the president said totally obliterated the Iranian nuclear program, the media began reporting otherwise, saying the program had only been set back a few months. A leaked damage assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly claimed Iran could have their nuclear program up and running by the new year and that the three nuclear sites struck by the United States had potentially sustained only “moderate” damage. Democrats and the legacy media jumped on that report, saying it was proof the strike was actually a failure and that Trump was lying to the public.
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The White House is disputing this, saying the assessment in question was one of multiple preliminary estimates and that newer intelligence from the CIA and others has revealed the damage to be significantly more severe. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the press failed to report that the leaked document reported “low confidence” in its own assessment and had not been coordinated with the intelligence community more broadly.
&#8220;For people with common sense, everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Complete and total destruction and obliteration.”
On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, seemed to agree with the White House, saying Iran’s nuclear program “suffered enormous damage.” According to the agency’s director, “there’s a lot of debate about the degree of annihilation, total destruction, and so on. What I can tell you, and I think everyone agrees on this, is that very considerable damage has been done.”
The president has also suggested that other Middle Eastern countries might join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel in the coming days.
<h2>RFK Withdraws Funding For International Vaccine Organization</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940131" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the United States is withdrawing funding for an international vaccine organization that he says has lost the public’s trust.
Gavi is a global vaccine alliance that works to provide vaccinations to low-income people worldwide. It was founded by Bill Gates, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank back in 2000. Gavi has received more than $8 billion from the U.S. government since 2001 and claims to have vaccinated more than one billion children, saving millions of lives. 
RFK Jr.&#8217;s assessment of the group was not entirely negative: he commended Gavi for some of its work – particularly for keeping medicine affordable – when he announced that the United States would halt its financial contributions until Gavi could prove itself to be science-focused and transparent. Kennedy also stated that Gavi helped censor dissenting voices during the COVID pandemic and “ignored the science.” 

“The World Health Organization and Gavi partnered together during the COVID-19 pandemic to recommend best practices for social media companies to silence dissenting views, to stifle free speech and legitimate questions during that period,” Kennedy said. “When vaccine safety issues have come before Gavi, Gavi has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem.”
Kennedy said Gavi must re-earn the public’s trust before the U.S. financial contribution continues. He advised Gavi to “consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms.”
The Gates Foundation, in reaction to RFK Jr.’s remarks, has already pledged to give $1.6 billion over the next five years to support Gavi.
<h2>New York City&#8217;s New Frontrunner</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940133" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani shocked New York – and many in the Democratic Party – by rising out of seemingly nowhere to win the city’s Democratic primary for mayor.
A left-wing New York assemblyman, Zohran Mamdani, 33, won an upset victory in the NYC Democratic primary against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 67. Despite recent polling suggesting it would be a close race, Mamdani overperformed in the early returns with a decisive enough lead that Cuomo conceded within hours.
“Mamdani pulled it off by increasing the turnout among mostly white progressives,” Ryan Girdusky, host of the “It’s a Numbers Game” podcast, told The Daily Wire. “Cuomo&#8217;s turnout was not high enough among black voters. And at the same exact time, Mamdani&#8217;s voter turnout was absolutely like general election turnout. And that, along with being able to siphon off support from the Asian community &#8212; he had an immense amount of Asian outreach despite being against SATs. And the growing Muslim population certainly helped him. And then his last part of his coalition was he was able to splinter a sizable chunk of the Hispanic vote who do not live in the Bronx. He lost the Bronx terribly. But among other Hispanic communities, he did very, very well.”
Mamdani is a self-described socialist who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/nyregion/mamdani-policies-stances.html">campaigned</a> on rent control, government-owned grocery stores, raising taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers, and offering sanctuary to illegal aliens. He has also been highly critical of the state of Israel, which he has described as “an apartheid state” that committed “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
While many prominent New Yorkers, from billionaire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-pledges-to-bankroll-any-nyc-mayoral-candidate-who-can-beat-zohran-mamdani?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Billionaire+Pledges+To+Bankroll+Any+NYC+Mayoral+Candidate+Who+Can+Beat+Zohran+Mamdani">Bill Ackman</a> to rapper <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-feeling-this-plan-nyc-native-50-cent-says-hell-put-up-six-figures-for-mamdani-to-go-away">50 Cent</a>, have come out against Mamdani since his victory, he remains the favorite to win the general election. While he is not likely to win a majority of voters, Mamdani will likely face off against three other candidates who are likely to split much of the conservative-to-moderate electorate: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who chose to run as an independent this election after previously being elected as a Democrat, Cuomo, who despite losing the Democratic primary is also registered to run as a third-party candidate, and Republican Curtis Silwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime prevention group.
All three other candidates have their own baggage – Governor Cuomo resigned in disgrace after a sexual harassment scandal, Adams was accused of accepting bribes in a federal investigation that has since been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-corruption-case-against-nyc-mayor-eric-adams">dropped</a>, and Silwa, a former radio host and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/nyregion/curtis-sliwa-mayor-cats.html">eccentric</a> conservative, faces an uphill battle in a city that favored Democrats over Republicans by <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york-city/new-york-city-2024-election-vote-totals/5959798/">more than 2:1</a> in the last presidential election. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTRLhkPIu0">Adams</a> and <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/defiant-gop-candidate-curtis-sliwa-insists-on-staying-in-nyc-mayoral-race/">Silwa</a> are currently set on staying in the race, while Cuomo is presently &#8220;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/andrew-cuomo-zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-primary-election/">weighing his options</a>.&#8221;
Girdusky told The Daily Wire that if one or more of the other candidates dropped out and allowed their supporters to coalesce, “they could probably beat him. I don&#8217;t know if anyone&#8217;s ego is small enough to allow that to happen.”

MRN 6.27.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Ayatollah Downplays U.S. Strikes, RFK Cuts Funding For Vaccine Org, NYC Mayoral Race

Andrew Cuomo

Eric Adams

Israel

Media

Morning Wire

New York City

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Vaccines

Zohran Mamdani

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Thursday proclaimed victory over the United States.
“My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime,” Khamenei posted. “The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing.”
Khamenei entered into a ceasefire with Israel brokered by Trump after 12 days of conflict and the Iranian regime suffering blows to its nuclear program and military infrastructure.
In another tweet, Khamenei claimed that “the Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the U.S.’s face,” a reference to Iran’s missile strike on the U.S. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council falsely <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-goes-full-baghdad-bob-claims-attack-destroyed-u-s-air-base-in-qatar">claimed</a> that its attack “destroyed the U.S. air base in Al-Udeid, Qatar.”
The attack involved the launch of 19 missiles, 18 of which were reportedly intercepted. The one missile that landed caused no casualties and resulted in only minimal damage.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hamas-is-preparing-attacks-on-american-contractors-helping-distribute-aid-in-gaza?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hamas+Is+Preparing+Attacks+On+American+Contractors+Helping+Distribute+Aid+In+Gaza">HAMAS IS PREPARING ATTACKS ON AMERICAN CONTRACTORS HELPING DISTRIBUTE AID IN GAZA</a>
Trump said Iran had provided advance warning to his administration, allowing U.S. personnel to shelter or evacuate in the strike, which has been regarded as a coordinated attack for the regime to save face.
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Throughout Israel’s entire 12-day campaign against Iran, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the IDF removed the threat of a significant number of Iranian ballistic missiles, and helped severely harm Iran’s nuclear program.
The IDF eliminated much of Iran’s senior military command and several leading nuclear scientists, destroyed the enrichment facility in Natanz, the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan, and the heavy water installation in Arak, according to Netanyahu. Other laboratories, factories, ballistic missile production facilities, and regime targets were also struck.
Following Israel&#8217;s first day of strikes on the Iranian regime, Khamenei responded, promising “severe punishment.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-announces-complete-and-total-ceasefire-between-israel-and-iran?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Announces+%E2%80%98Complete+And+Total+Ceasefire%E2%80%99+Between+Israel+and+Iran">TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL CEASEFIRE’ BETWEEN ISRAEL AND IRAN</a>
“The Zionist regime has opened its dirty and bloody hand to commit a crime in our beloved country at dawn today, and has revealed its evils more than ever before by targeting residential areas,” he said. “This regime must expect severe punishment. The strong hand of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not abandon it, God willing.”
Khamenei made similar threats at Trump after the president called for an unconditional surrender before the U.S. took direct action against the regime, including claiming that the “harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily.”
Just three days later, the U.S. directly entered the conflict by bombing key Iranian nuclear sites with Tomahawk missiles and 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs carried by B-2 Spirit bombers.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-been-clear-for-14-years-that-iran-cannot-have-a-nuclear-weapon?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Has+Been+Clear+For+14+Years+That+Iran+Cannot+Have+A+Nuclear+Weapon">TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON</a>
Khamenei addressed Trump’s calls to surrender again in Thursday&#8217;s tweet storm, posting: “The US President stated, &#8216;Iran must surrender.&#8217; Needless to say, this statement is too big to come out of the US president&#8217;s mouth.”
Following the ceasefire, Iranian authorities have begun to crack down internally on its citizens with mass arrests, executions, and military deployments, despite no significant protests taking place during the 12 days the regime was weakened. The security crackdowns are reportedly primarily focused on the Kurdish areas where wide-scale protests have broken out in the past.
Over 705 people have been arrested since the start of the war, according to Iranian rights group HRNA, with many of them being accused of spying for Israel.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei Declares Victory Over United States

Global Politics

World

The Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions suffered a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-israeli-intel-confirms-total-obliteration-of-iranian-nuclear-sites">serious blow</a> last weekend but its hold over the Iranian people has only tightened. Mistaking tactical success in striking nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan for strategic victory would only repeat decades of Western policy errors. Deterrence alone is insufficient without a clearly articulated policy of sustained pressure. Now is not the time for withdrawal.
The recent strikes were necessary but not regime-ending — they served as a tactical check. True deterrence requires sustained, visible consequences. The Islamic Republic is regrouping.
Abroad, Tehran didn’t just issue threats — it launched missiles at the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-weighs-retaliation-against-us-strikes-nuclear-sites-2025-06-23/">U.S. base</a> in al-Udeid, Qatar. The regime also sent a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/u-s-officials-iran-threatened-terror-attacks-inside-u-s-242058821681">warning</a> to the Trump administration via G7 intermediaries, threatening to activate sleeper cells on American soil. The Department of Homeland Security has placed regime-linked individuals under watch, while <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-urges-americans-sweden-remain-vigilant-citing-threat-attack-2025-06-23/">the State Department</a> confirmed Tehran is mobilizing operatives in Sweden to target Americans and Israelis — signaling its intent to export terror across the West.
At home, the regime has escalated repression, militarized cities, and launched an aggressive surveillance campaign. Inside Iran, fear dominates daily life. Armed IRGC <a href="https://x.com/RichardGrenell/status/1936771750106390725">checkpoints</a> every kilometer control movement. Phones are searched, homes raided, and civilians arrested without due process. The regime has executed dozens over the past several days — some accused of spreading protest videos, others targeted for mere association with opposition voices. These are not signs of strength — but symptoms of a regime in existential panic, terrified of its own population.
Compounding its repression, the regime <a href="https://www.fdd.org/in_the_news/2025/06/21/iranian-regime-launches-nationwide-internet-blackout/">imposed</a> an unprecedented information blackout. Internet access has been severed and landline usage severely restricted. Millions are sealed inside a controlled propaganda bubble, told only that Israel and America attacked without provocation. Cut off from truth and external leadership, Iranians face the regime’s lies alone.
Strategic clarity, not caution, must guide American policy now. This is not a call for American boots on Iranian soil but rather a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-tactical-trap-why-its-time-to-flip-the-script-on-iran?author=Aidin+Panahi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+Tactical+Trap.+Why+It%E2%80%99s+Time+To+Flip+The+Script+On+Iran.">strategic opportunity</a> to amplify internal resistance, weaken the regime’s regional terror infrastructure, and shape Iran’s post-regime landscape to serve American and global interests.
First, Israel must have American diplomatic backing to continue surgical operations targeting IRGC facilities, cyberwarfare centers, and proxy command hubs in strategic locations in the Middle East. These strikes are stabilizing, not escalatory. Eliminating terror infrastructure strategically denies the regime asymmetric retaliation options, directly enhancing American and Israeli security.
Second, Washington must actively counter Tehran’s information warfare. The Iranian people cannot mobilize or resist oppression without access to truth. The Trump Administration and Congress should urgently authorize <a href="https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/internet-access-can-complement-maximum-pressure-on-the-iranian-regime">satellite-based internet</a> coverage over Iran’s urban centers. This effort can be funded using Iran’s frozen assets — redirecting the regime’s own resources to empower its people. Under the existing Iran Human Rights and Democracy Promotion Act, Congress has both the legal authority and the moral obligation to provide these resources without delay.
Third, the U.S. and its allies must coalesce around a credible Iranian transitional figure to minimize post-collapse chaos. <a href="https://www.meforum.org/mef-observer/the-u-s-must-engage-with-reza-pahlavi">Reza Pahlavi</a>, whose consistent advocacy for secular democracy, human rights, and a national referendum has won respect among diverse Iranian demographics, offers exactly that credibility. Recognizing him publicly as part of a transitional governing council provides clarity to the Iranian opposition movement and stabilizes the inevitable regime transition.
For Americans who ask, &#8220;Why should we care?&#8221; — the answer is starkly evident. The Islamic Republic directly undermines American interests globally. It funds militias killing American servicemen in Iraq, orchestrates terror plots in Europe and Latin America, and destabilizes oil markets critical to U.S. economic security. A liberated Iran would cease destabilizing the Middle East, ending costly American military deployments aimed at containing Iranian aggression.
A free, stable Iran could emerge as a critical U.S. partner, anchoring stability in a troubled region rather than fueling its conflicts. No longer under IRGC control, Iran would abandon terror networks and normalize maritime trade in the Persian Gulf — directly enhancing global economic stability and reducing burdens on American naval forces.
President Trump’s decision to authorize precision strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites was strategically prudent and tactically effective. However, this is only the first step. The regime’s nuclear infrastructure is damaged, but its radical ideology and authoritarian apparatus remain firmly entrenched. America’s response should now be escalatory pressure, not premature diplomacy or concessions.
If America hesitates now, history proves the price of inaction: prolonged conflict, strengthened terror proxies, and sustained threats to regional stability. The regime has not been this vulnerable since the 1979 revolution. Failure to capitalize on this vulnerability would perpetuate instability, embolden Tehran’s hardliners, and sustain conflicts draining American resources.
America does not need to rebuild Iran; Iranians themselves will handle reconstruction. They simply require the opportunity. No more negotiations with a regime that systematically abuses human rights, supports terrorism, and openly mocks diplomatic engagement. A free Iran, aligned with Western values and open markets, would attract massive global investment — and American businesses will be among the first to benefit.
This strategy does not mean invasion or occupation. It represents coordinated external pressure combined with an internal Iranian awakening. Without deploying American troops, the United States can ignite the spark that ends one of the last ideological threats on earth.
Now is the time to finally make Iran great again — for the sake of freedom, regional stability, and American strategic dominance. A free Iran advances the MAGA agenda by eliminating a major source of global chaos. History will remember those who acted decisively when the regime was weakest and liberty was within reach.
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Dr. Aidin Panahi is an Iranian-American research professor, energy expert, and political activist. He is the cofounder of the “From Boston to Iran” initiative and his analyses on security and policy issues have appeared in outlets including The Jerusalem Post, Washington Times, the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, Middle East Forum, Homeland Security Today, and Visegrád24. X: @Aidin_FreeIran
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Daily Life In Kashmir, India

From Fordow To Freedom: A Strategy For Ending The Islamic Republic

Iran Nuclear

Opinion

Iran&#8217;s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly drafted a short list of potential successors as a contingency in case Israel targets him next.
The Iranian supreme leader has spent much of the last couple of weeks in hiding as Israeli forces systematically targeted nuclear research facilities, nuclear scientists, and military leaders — and as The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-israel-war.html">reported</a> on Saturday, those targeted strikes have Khamenei worried that he could be next on the list.
According to the report, Khamenei has resorted to speaking through a &#8220;trusted aid&#8221; and refuses to use electronic communications in order to better obscure his location. The NYTimes quoted several anonymous officials as confirming that the ayatollah had also chosen replacements for a number of his military leaders.
Khamenei, the officials said, is taking steps to avoid being assassinated — but they also said that if an attempt were to succeed, he would view himself as a martyr. &#8220;Given the possibility, the ayatollah has made the unusual decision to instruct his nation’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader, to choose his successor swiftly from the three names he has provided,&#8221; the report stated.
Khamenei&#8217;s short list circumvents the typical process for selecting a successor — during which clerics also submit names for consideration — but as Johns Hopkins University professor and Iran expert Vali Nasr explained, &#8220;The top priority is the preservation of the state. It is all calculative and pragmatic.&#8221;
The surprising move, according to the quoted officials, is that Khamenei did not put his son Mojtaba on the list despite most believing that he was a frontrunner for the position. Instead, the list is reportedly comprised of the names of three senior clerics.
The news came just hours before President Donald Trump announced that the American military had successfully executed strikes on three major nuclear targets in Iran.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The President will make an Address to the Nation at 10:00PM ET. Tune in! <a href="https://t.co/WT0AeS3ghA">pic.twitter.com/WT0AeS3ghA</a>
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1936579227845079385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Iran’s Khamenei Has Drafted Short-List Of Successors In Case Israel Targets Him Next

Iran's Khamenei Has Drafted Short-List Of Successors In Case Israel Targets Him Next

President Trump continues to play his cards, and everybody seems roiled by this.
Everybody on the anti-Israel Right and Left, the horseshoe theory group, seems to be very encouraged by the idea that President Trump is going to TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) out with regard to Iran, that somehow he&#8217;s now going to let Iran have a clear pathway to a nuclear weapon or something like that. And some people on the pro-Israel side are very agitated about this as well, thinking the same sort of thing.
That&#8217;s not what&#8217;s happening.
The Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime in Iran is a deeply evil regime that represses its people. It shoots protesters in the streets. It targets its various geopolitical opponents, ranging from Israel, which it wishes to extirpate, to Saudi Arabia. Remember, it wasn&#8217;t all that long ago that they were attempting to burn Saudi oilfields.
Does that mean that the goal here should be regime change by either Israel or the United States? Benjamin Netanyahu has said that regime change is not, in fact, the goal. President Trump also has said that if regime change occurs as a result of taking down the nuclear regime in Iran, destroying their capacity to create nuclear weapons, that&#8217;s only a side product.
But nobody — no one — and this is important because you&#8217;re hearing many, many people, on that horseshoe theory Right and on that horseshoe theory Left lie about the actual agenda here, just lie straight up — no one is calling for hundreds of thousands of boots on the ground in order to effect regime change in Iran. 
And when people compare this to Libya, that&#8217;s ridiculous. It is not like Libya. In Libya, most of the work was done by people who are already on the ground. There was some tangential association with Western intelligence. I opposed it at the time. It was wrong. We shouldn&#8217;t have done it.
But in this particular case, the goal is to extirpate the Iranian nuclear program. If the regime falls, it&#8217;s up to the Iranian people. That&#8217;s their job. It&#8217;s their country. But no one is calling for a full-scale, boots-on-the-ground, Iraq-style nation-building operation. The phrase nation-building has not even entered the conversation on any side here with regard to Iran.
So all the people who are suggesting that all of this must end because otherwise Iran is going to cascade into chaos and violence and the regime is going to fall and then we&#8217;re going to get involved and we&#8217;re going to be the ones responsible are just wrong.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2222-trump-s-final-ultimatum-two-weeks-to-stop-the-attack?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The big news yesterday was that at the White House press conference with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement from President Trump that essentially set yet another deadline with regard to the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program: It read: “Based on the fact that there&#8217;s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future. I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”
Okay. Within the next two weeks. So first of all, not in two weeks, within the next two weeks. In that period, President Trump is going to make a decision.
My guess is that the president already knows what he is going to do, because the reality is that the Iranians have no interest in giving up their nuclear program.
And that’s the point when you listen to the rest of what Karoline Leavitt had to say yesterday.
Donald Trump put out a post on Truth Social quoting Marc Thiessen of The Washington Post saying, “Donald Trump is not an isolationist, but I think some of the Republican isolationists are suddenly discovering that they&#8217;re out of touch with the MAGA movement and Donald Trump…I have total confidence in Donald Trump. This is the guy who killed Qasem Soleimani. You think he&#8217;s afraid to take out Fordow? Of course not.”
If you listen to what the rest of the White House Press Secretary was saying, Trump has not changed his opinion, and he&#8217;s not going to change his opinion. Iran cannot be nuclear.
“Let&#8217;s be very clear,” she stated. “Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the Supreme Leader to do that. And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would, of course, pose an existential threat not just to Israel, but to the United States and to the entire world.”
And then she continued by suggesting, what are the conditions for a deal to be made? And guess what? The conditions are precisely the same as they&#8217;ve always been. 
I don&#8217;t know who&#8217;s high on their own supply here, who believes that President Trump has now radically shifted his position. He has not. He just put a clock on this issue. That&#8217;s all.
“No enrichment of uranium &#8230; Iran is absolutely not able to achieve a nuclear weapon. The president has been very clear about that,” Leavitt stated.
No uranium enrichment, no working toward a nuclear weapon. Does that sound like President Trump has changed his opinion now?
There was a quasi-celebration that broke out among the horseshoe theory folks suggesting that perhaps, finally, the isolationists got their win. Perhaps now Donald Trump was abandoning his entire stated goal with regard to the Iranian nuclear program for two decades.
Guys, you read him wrong. You are still reading him wrong. That&#8217;s not what the president of the United States is saying. That&#8217;s not what the president of the United States is doing.
Do you guys not speak English?
“Nobody should be surprised by the president&#8217;s position that Iran absolutely cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. He has been unequivocally clear about this for decades, not just as president, not just as a presidential candidate, but also as a private citizen,” she said. “In fact, I have some quotes for you. In 2011, President Trump said America&#8217;s primary goal with Iran must be to destroy its nuclear ambitions. We cannot allow this radical regime to acquire a nuclear weapon that they will either use or hand off to terrorists. In 2015, the president said, the problem is that Iran poses an existential threat to Israel, our Middle Eastern allies and the United States. And of course, the president has repeated that in his first term as president, in his second term as president as well. That&#8217;s why he was adamantly opposed to the disastrous Iranian nuclear agreement that was implemented by President Obama. And as I just told you from the president directly, he will make a decision within two weeks.”
Is this Trump chickening out? No. This is President Trump setting a clock again and saying, “This is your final chance. This is your final, final chance.” There are no more final chances. Do not pass go; do not collect $200.
Leavitt points out that the president is doing a good job of getting the whole world on board. And one of the astonishing things about this is virtually everyone agrees — yeah, the Europeans are mewling a little bit, but that&#8217;s what you would expect, when the Israelis want the opinions of the French on something, they can always call the French and learn how to surrender in war —the truth is most of the Europeans are truly grateful to Israel for taking out the nuclear program. In fact, the chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, said specifically that he is thankful that Israel is doing the dirty work the rest of the world has ignored for several decades.
“Well, certainly the entire world is on the president&#8217;s side when it comes to the fact that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said. “This is something that pretty much all of humanity — except for the Iranian terrorist regime themselves — agree upon.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, says his country will not surrender.
For all those who believe that this is likely to end in some sort of conciliatory negotiation with the Iranians, I think it’s highly doubtful.
Very highly doubtful.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump’s Final Ultimatum To Iran

Ben Shapiro

Iran Nuclear Deal

The Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors. The 6–3 decision is a landmark victory for parents and conservatives, and a defining blow to transgender activism. The United States continues to fortify the Middle East as Trump ramps up the pressure on Iran to surrender. And, as Trump escalates deportation plans, Democrats make headlines by getting themselves arrested.
It’s Thursday, June 19, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>SCOTUS Upholds Gender-Mutilation Ban</h2>
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Topline: In a major win for conservative activists and parent groups, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law banning transgender drugs and surgeries for children.
In the case of United States v. Skrmetti — the justices decided that Tennessee’s law does not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs in the case — which included trans-identifying teens and their families — claimed that Tennessee’s law banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors discriminated against them on the basis of sex. More than 20 states have bans similar to Tennessee’s.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the court’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf">opinion</a> and rejected the plaintiffs’ argument. He also said the plaintiffs “contort the meaning of the term ‘medical treatment,&#8217;” writing, “Notably absent from their framing is a key aspect of any medical treatment: the underlying medical concern the treatment is intended to address.”
“The main argument from the other side when we did the oral argument in front of the court was if you have a boy who wants testosterone to resolve a developmental defect, then they can get it,”  Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told The Daily Wire. “But a girl who wants testosterone to deepen her voice can&#8217;t. The dissenting justices thought that this was some sort of discrimination. But with any medical treatment, you&#8217;re not just handing someone a drug, you&#8217;re giving them a treatment to treat a specific condition. And different drugs have different effects on different conditions. And we differentiate between those purposes all the time. So I thought that was a fatal flaw in the argument on the other side.”
Roberts noted that the number of minors requesting “sex transition treatments” has increased in recent years, and meanwhile, European countries have cracked down on these procedures and drugs. Medical skepticism around these drugs and procedures is only growing – last month, the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/gender-dysphoria-report-release.html">HHS</a> released a review saying the “science and evidence do not support” the use of these drugs and procedures for children.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in which he said, “there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children,” and “recent revelations suggest that leading voices in this area have relied on questionable evidence, and have allowed ideology to influence their medical guidance.”
Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent joined by the two other liberal-leaning justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor claimed that teens needing transgender drugs “can be a question of life or death.” Advocates of these drugs and surgeries have <a href="https://www.heritage.org/gender/report/puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-and-youth-suicide">pushed</a> a similar line to parents of trans-identifying children for years, even as newer evidence has shown that these treatments do not improve children’s mental health.
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<h2>Iran Says It Will &#8216;Never Surrender&#8217; While Trump Teases Possible Strikes</h2>
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Topline:  As the war between Israel and Iran approaches its seventh day, the Ayatollah says his country will never surrender.
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei let the world know he would never agree to President Donald Trump’s demand for an unconditional surrender. In a video statement, Iran’s theocratic leader said, “Those with wisdom who know Iran, its people and its history, never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation will not surrender…The United States must know that our people will not surrender, and any military intervention by them will lead to irreparable consequences.” 
That video came a day after President Trump threatened to strike the Ayatollah, and as Israel continues to hammer Iranian nuclear and military facilities. To date, the Israelis have killed 11 of Iran’s 12 highest-ranking military leaders.
The expectation from military experts is that if Trump joins Israel’s offensive, the Iranians would respond by launching missiles at American military installations across the Middle East, particularly those in Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, which are just across the border. 
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935338837695189018">said</a> at the White House on Wednesday. “Nobody knows what I’m gonna do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble. And they wanna negotiate. And I said, &#8216;Why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction?'&#8221;
The president also made it clear that whatever course he takes, he intends to avoid a protracted war and is solely focused on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. In the latest <a href="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/57_favor_u_s_military_action_against_iran_s_nukes">Rasmussen polling</a>, 57% of Americans support American strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, compared to just 30% who oppose them. But 69% of Americans say that even if they support airstrikes against Iran, they prefer the two sides negotiate an agreement.
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<h2>Immigration Pushback Continues As Trump Admin Sticks To Its Guns</h2>
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Topline:  Blue cities are in rebellion against Trump’s immigration agenda. Protests and riots threaten immigration officers, while Democratic officials openly challenge the federal government.
Most of the pushback against immigration enforcement is in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The resistance involves everything from activist coordination to impeding ICE operations and local officials getting in between ICE and local law enforcement. 
Chicago has suspended an online portal for illegal aliens to apply for IDs. The CityKeys program was shut down after ICE subpoenaed its records. The Chicago city clerk then shut it down and told the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/14/ice-subpoena-chicago-city-clerk-online-municipal-id/">Chicago Tribune,</a> “We’re going to fight giving over any data to the federal government.” Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has been adamant that Chicago would “take to the streets” if it had to resist Trump. 
Comments like that haven’t stopped Trump from targeting these cities.
“Biden allowed 21 million people to come into our country,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1934638998640537748">said</a> earlier this week. “Vast numbers of those people were murderers, killers, people from gangs, people from jails. They emptied their jails out into the US. Most of those people are in the cities, all blue cities, all Democrat-run cities, and they think they&#8217;re going to use them to vote. It&#8217;s not going to happen.” 
Local law enforcement is also cracking down on anti-ICE riots  – a bevy of new charges were announced Tuesday from state and federal officials. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman outlined dozens of counts from curfew violations to assault of law enforcement. Hochman said that his district attorney’s office has charged at least 30 people. The U.S. attorney has brought an additional 20 counts. 
Lawmakers on both sides have condemned violence, but Democrats also seem to court their own run-ins with law enforcement. Earlier this month, New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was charged after chaos erupted at an ICE detention center in Newark. More recently, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is a candidate for mayor, was arrested outside an immigration court on Tuesday. Police say he was impeding law enforcement. Then last week, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) had to be forcefully removed from a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles.

MRN 6.19.25 Thumbnail_V1

Morning Brief: SCOTUS Makes Trans Ruling, Iran Talks Tough, And Dems On Thin ICE

Brandon Johnson

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President Donald Trump elaborated on his call for an unconditional “surrender” from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
&#8220;Unconditional surrender, that means I&#8217;ve had it. I’ve had it, I give up. No more. Then we go blow up all of the nuclear stuff that&#8217;s all over the place there,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump demanded</a> an &#8220;unconditional surrender&#8221; from the regime, saying the United States knows “exactly” where Khamenei is hiding.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President Trump explains what an &quot;unconditional surrender&quot; would mean for Iran.
&quot;That means I&#39;ve had it, I give up&#8230; then we go blow up all of the nuclear stuff.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/IXmVTVCVml">pic.twitter.com/IXmVTVCVml</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1935346390818758810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” the president <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1935016557224050887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935016557224050887%7Ctwgr%5E022247051b238365fd44a836a8c42e88ff299a2b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fhe-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ayatollah-rejects-trumps-call-for-surrender-says-the-united-states-will-suffer-irreparable-harm?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ayatollah+Rejects+Trump%E2%80%99s+Call+For+Surrender%2C+Says+The+United+States+Will+Suffer+%E2%80%98Irreparable%E2%80%99+Harm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khamenei fired</a> back on Wednesday, rejecting Trump’s demand and threatening the United States.
He criticized Trump for his “absurd rhetoric” and “demands that the Iranian people surrender to him,” adding that he should “make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-official-removed-from-joint-chiefs-of-staff-for-anti-israel-posts?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pentagon+Official+Removed+From+Joint+Chiefs+Of+Staff+For+Anti-Israel+Posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PENTAGON OFFICIAL REMOVED FROM JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF FOR ANTI-ISRAEL POSTS</a>
“The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily,” Khamenei posted in another tweet. He added in another tweet that it “was already suspected” that the United States was involved in Israel’s attacks, but “considering their recent remarks, this suspicion is growing stronger day by day.”
So far, Israel has killed at least 20 of Iran’s top military leaders, damaged key nuclear facilities, destroyed more than a third of Iran’s missile launchers, and hit over 1,100 targets around Iran.
Of the 400 missiles fired at Israel, only 20 impacted urban areas, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. Of the 1,000 drones sent to Israel, fewer than 200 reached the Jewish state’s borders, and not a single one impacted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President Trump once again saying &quot;we&quot; captured the air in Iran. <a href="https://t.co/c8CLQigtNU">pic.twitter.com/c8CLQigtNU</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1935344522118185088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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During the White House event, Trump also said that “we” have captured Iran’s airspace. Trump made a similar comment on Wednesday, which raised eyebrows due to the U.S. only claiming it has taken indirect actions so far, such as shooting down Iranian missiles.
Following Israel’s attack on Iran last Thursday, Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-united-states-not-involved-warns-iran-against-attacking-u-s-personnel?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Says+United+States+Not+Involved%2C+Warns+Iran+Against+Attacking+U.S.+Personnel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Rubio said</a> the United States was not involved in the assault and warned against the Iranian regime attacking American military personnel stationed in the region.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-been-clear-for-14-years-that-iran-cannot-have-a-nuclear-weapon?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Has+Been+Clear+For+14+Years+That+Iran+Cannot+Have+A+Nuclear+Weapon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON</a>
Trump also said the Iranian regime should have made a nuclear deal when he first offered, adding that it has since requested to come to the White House for talks.
Iran’s Mission to the United Nations <a href="https://x.com/KassyAkiva/status/1935360937818464558" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> that any officials asked to come to the White House in a statement on X.
“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” the mission posted. “The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-israel-strikes-iran?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Trump+Calls+For+Iran+To+Surrender%2C+Says+The+Ayatollah+Is+An+%E2%80%98Easy+Target%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIVE UPDATES: Trump Calls For Iran To Surrender, Says The Ayatollah Is An ‘Easy Target’</a>
Trump said that “we haven’t won anything yet,” but “we sure as hell made a lot of progress,&#8221; adding that the next week or less will “be very big.”
“For 40 years they’ve been death to America, death to Israel, death to anybody else that they didn’t like,” Trump said. “They were bullies. They were schoolyard bullies. And now they’re not bullies anymore.”

Trump Explains What Unconditional Surrender Looks Like For Iranian Regime

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected President Donald Trump&#8217;s calls for unconditional surrender on Wednesday.
&#8220;It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender,&#8221; he posted to X. &#8220;What should the Iranian nation surrender to? We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is the spirit of the Iranian nation.&#8221;
In another tweet, he criticized Trump for his “absurd rhetoric&#8221; and &#8220;demands that the Iranian people surrender to him,” adding that he should “make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.”
Khamenei’s tweets came after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump demanded</a> “unconditional surrender” on Tuesday, saying the United States knows “exactly” where Khamenei is hiding.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ayatollah Khamenei has rejected Trump&#39;s calls for an unconditional surrender and is threatening the U.S. if it gets involved in the conflict. <a href="https://t.co/bZPup1xT7v">pic.twitter.com/bZPup1xT7v</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1935308111268720940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” the president <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1935016557224050887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935016557224050887%7Ctwgr%5E022247051b238365fd44a836a8c42e88ff299a2b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fhe-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
So far, Israel has killed at least 20 of Iran’s top military leaders, damaged key nuclear facilities, destroyed more than a third of Iran’s missile launchers, and hit over 1,100 targets around Iran.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-official-removed-from-joint-chiefs-of-staff-for-anti-israel-posts?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pentagon+Official+Removed+From+Joint+Chiefs+Of+Staff+For+Anti-Israel+Posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PENTAGON OFFICIAL REMOVED FROM JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF FOR ANTI-ISRAEL POSTS</a>
In subsequent tweets, Khamenei warned the United States against entering the conflict, stating that &#8220;the damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.&#8221;
“The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily,” he posted.
In another tweet he added that it “was already suspected” that the United States was involved in Israel’s attacks, but “considering their recent remarks, this suspicion is growing stronger day by day.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-has-been-clear-for-14-years-that-iran-cannot-have-a-nuclear-weapon?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Has+Been+Clear+For+14+Years+That+Iran+Cannot+Have+A+Nuclear+Weapon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TRUMP HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR 14 YEARS THAT IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON</a>
On Thursday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-we-now-have-complete-and-total-control-of-the-skies-over-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump said</a> that “we” control the skies over Iran.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” Trump said. “Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-israel-strikes-iran?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Trump+Calls+For+Iran+To+Surrender%2C+Says+The+Ayatollah+Is+An+%E2%80%98Easy+Target%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIVE UPDATES: Trump Calls For Iran To Surrender, Says The Ayatollah Is An ‘Easy Target’</a>
Following Israel’s attack on Iran last Thursday, Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-united-states-not-involved-warns-iran-against-attacking-u-s-personnel?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Says+United+States+Not+Involved%2C+Warns+Iran+Against+Attacking+U.S.+Personnel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marco Rubio said</a> the United States was not involved in the assault and warned against the Iranian regime attacking American military personnel stationed in the region. In recent days, the United States has taken indirect actions to help support Israel, including shooting down Iranian missiles.
In response to Israel’s attack, Khamenei initially said that “the Zionist regime has opened its dirty and bloody hand to commit a crime in our beloved country.”
&#8220;With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter and painful fate, and it will surely meet it,&#8221; he added.

Ayatollah Rejects Trump’s Call For Surrender, Says The United States Will Suffer ‘Irreparable’ Harm

Ayatollah Rejects Trump's Call For Surrender, Says The United States Will Suffer 'Irreparable' Harm

Israel now has complete air superiority over the entire country of Iran. According to <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/06/17/idf-eliminates-iranian-chief-of-staff-who-took-office-over-weekend/">Israel Hayom</a>:
<blockquote>Israeli Air Force jets struck a manned command center in the heart of Tehran, killing Ali Shadmani, Iran&#8217;s &#8220;chief of war staff,&#8221; who was the most senior operational military commander in the country and the closest adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Shadmani had served as the chief of war staff and commander of the emergency command center of Iran&#8217;s armed forces, overseeing both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular Iranian army.</blockquote>
Shadmani was appointed to command Iran&#8217;s armed forces about five days ago because his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was eliminated on day one. These are all people working for one of the most evil regimes on the planet, a regime that not only spreads terror throughout the region, but is responsible for the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of American troops across the region, and also happens to oppress its own people to an extraordinary degree.
Iran keeps trying to fire missiles. The problem for them is that if they fire hundreds of missiles at one time, Israel can spot which ballistic missile launchers are lighting up and then can destroy the ballistic missile launchers. So instead, what they&#8217;ve been relegated to doing is firing ten at a time, five at a time, one at a time, in the hope that maybe somehow it will hold off a revolution from within. This is a radical decrease from the beginning of the war, when Iran was shooting off 100 or 200 missiles at a time. 
At the same time, <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202506176243">Iran International</a> reported, “The hacker group Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a cyberattack targeting Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s oldest financial institutions with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army. The group alleged it had “destroyed all data” at the bank. The claim comes amid reports of widespread banking disruptions in Iran.”
On Monday, Israel attacked Iranian state media headquarters.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2219?elementPosition=6&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
So the banking system is collapsing in Iran, the propaganda system is collapsing in Iran, and the military system is collapsing in Iran as well.
Qatar, a front for the Iranian regime, is trying to talk its way out of this, saying that the Israeli strikes are ill-considered and will have repercussions on oil prices, adding that they had discussed with the IAEA ways to improve the security of the nuclear facilities.
Too little, too late, guys. Sorry, but that&#8217;s going to be a big no on that one. By the way, the idea that there is a giant oil spike is also not true. Qatar is lying about this. According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/iran-israel-oil-prices-sanctions-trump-white-house-congress-lindsey-graham-c2c4d6b8">The Wall Street Journal</a>:
<blockquote>The big news in oil markets since Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear program is the price spike that wasn’t. Brent crude popped from $66 a barrel or so to a high of $78 last week, but by Monday it was back below $73. The non-panic owes to ample global supply, and it’s a lesson for Congress and the Trump Administration as they contemplate putting new sanctions on Russian oil exports.</blockquote>
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We&#8217;ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorizes everyone in the Middle East, has bombed the Aramco oil fields in Saudi Arabia, is spreading terrorism and subversion and sabotage everywhere. The forever war is what Iran wants. And they’re bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this, this aggression.”
Because the Iranian media were taken completely offline yesterday, Netanyahu actually gave a message to the Iranian people via an alternative network that was broadcasting into Iran. He stated: 
<blockquote>I think you should understand, these dictators in Iran, sure, they fear us, but they fear you, the people of Iran, even more. And your hour of freedom is near. It&#8217;s happening now. They understand that 80% of the people of Iran despise them. I hear a lot of them.
You know, I do these videos that I broadcast to the Iranian people. I tell them how we could offer them help in the water shortage that you have. The regime refuses, of course. We tell them how we could cooperate, these two glorious, ancient people that have cooperated from the times of Cyrus the Great, who freed the Jews. Now it&#8217;s time for you to be free. And you have that opportunity. The people of Iran, I think, have a brilliant future, and our friendship can be restored to what it was and what it should be. This is the time.</blockquote>
Thus far, the Israelis have basically done the world&#8217;s dirty work. The Israelis have taken out the vast majority of Iran&#8217;s ballistic missile launchers. They&#8217;ve now taken out Iran&#8217;s top military layer and many of the members of that secondary military layer. They&#8217;ve taken out a vast bevy of maybe up to 90% of its nuclear facilities. The only things really left on the table for the Iranians right now are the Ayatollah himself, the nuclear facility at Fordo, and the oilfields.
Israel has refrained from hitting the oil fields specifically because it does not wish to create any sort of serious oil spike, it has refrained from hitting Khamenei because it would like to see Khamenei surrender or flee, presumably because if Israel were to kill Khamenei, then there&#8217;s always the possibility that there&#8217;s some sort of red button somewhere that does let off the rest of the missiles all at once.
Then there&#8217;s the Fordow nuclear facility. If Fordow goes down, that ends all nuclear future for the ayatollahs. And at that point, the regime is extraordinarily vulnerable.
This is why the Ayatollah has built Fordow below a mountain, roughly 90 meters deep, encased in cement, in order to prevent exactly the kind of Israeli airstrikes that have been taking offline nuclear facilities at Natanz and Isfahan.
So the only people on planet Earth who have the planes capable of carrying the bunker busters, which would make the process easy, are the Americans. Israel, I&#8217;m sure, has come up with some clever ways to take out Fordow or to wreck the inside of the facility. There&#8217;s no way the Israelis went into this believing that there was no way they could take out Fordow.
The thing that would end this war pretty quickly, and when I say pretty quickly, I mean within 24 hours, is one B-2 sortie from the United States carrying a couple of bunker busters that drill Fordow. That&#8217;s the end of the story, because at that point, the Iranians have nothing to negotiate with.
At that point, Khamenei would have nothing to hold out for. He would likely say, “Listen, you guys got what you wanted. Please leave. Please, please, please.”
And then it&#8217;s just a question of whether the people of Iran want to do anything.
Meanwhile, President Trump is playing this absolutely brilliantly.
Trump was asked about negotiating, as there are some who&#8217;ve been leaking to the press that President Trump is trying to negotiate with Iran. Trump responded, “I told them to do the deal. They should have done the deal. The cities have been blown to pieces, lost a lot of people. They should have done the deal. I told them, do the deal. &#8230; I&#8217;m not too much in a mood to negotiate.”
“I&#8217;m not too much in the mood to negotiate” is just spectacular. This is great stuff. This is, among many other things, what I voted for. I voted for Trump 1.0 foreign policy. This is Trump 1.0 on steroids. And it is great.
This is what peace through strength looks like. Because guess what? Iran&#8217;s a hell of a lot less of a threat to the region now than they were even a week ago. And they will be a hell of a lot less of a threat a week from now than they are even now.
Trump was asked about a ceasefire, or just what specifically he was looking for. He answered, “A real end, not a ceasefire. Giving up entirely. That would be okay, too. &#8230; Give up. That’s possible.”
Trump has played this all the way to the mat. He&#8217;s got all the cards. As President Trump likes to say, he is the one with all of the cards.
That’s real.
And he&#8217;s playing all of those cards.

President Trump Departs Washington For G7 Summit In Canada

Trump: The Man With All The Cards

Benjamin Netanyahu

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he knew &#8220;exactly&#8221; where Iranian &#8220;Supreme Leader&#8221; Ali Khamenei was hiding, but that he had no plans to act on that information as of yet.
Trump made the announcement in a post to his Truth Social platform, hinting that while the ayatollah was &#8220;safe for now,&#8221; continued attacks by the Iranian regime against Israeli civilian populations could drive him past the limits of his patience.
&#8220;We know exactly where the so-called &#8216;Supreme Leader&#8217; is hiding,&#8221; the president posted. &#8220;He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/VoUY2xVnyK">pic.twitter.com/VoUY2xVnyK</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1935016557224050887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump also posted a message warning the Iranian regime, &#8220;We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured &#8216;stuff.&#8217; Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/QcySkOWWGN">pic.twitter.com/QcySkOWWGN</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1935016454644023767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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And a short time later, he sent one more message, demanding in just two words, &#8220;UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/4sy7jjESGk">pic.twitter.com/4sy7jjESGk</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1935016621569179804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump has made his position on Iran clear for more than a decade, saying repeatedly that the United States could not allow rogue nations to develop nuclear weapons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also drawn a red line at a nuclear-capable Iran, explaining in the aftermath of Israel&#8217;s preemptive strike that Iran&#8217;s refusal to halt the pursuit of nuclear weapons had left him with no choice but to stop them by force. Israel has since targeted Iranian nuclear sites and military commanders in an attempt to cripple both the Iranian regime&#8217;s nuclear program and its ability to strike Israel.

Trump

‘He Is An Easy Target’: Trump Says He Knows ‘Exactly’ Where The Ayatollah Is Hiding

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