President Donald Trump offered a remarkably specific assessment of North Korea&#8217;s secretive nuclear arsenal on Wednesday, saying dictator Kim Jong Un has 57 nuclear weapons as he confirmed plans for another meeting with the North Korean leader.
Trump made the comments during an impromptu meeting with reporters while touring a new White House helipad, where he was asked whether the two leaders would meet again.
The reporter began by asking whether or not Trump had been exchanging letters with Kim, and while the president refused to answer that question, he asserted that it was a good thing to have a working relationship with a leader who has nuclear weapons.
&#8220;I can’t tell you that,” Trump said of any possible correspondence. &#8220;But I get along with him. And you know what? The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.&#8221;
&#8220;He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. They should have never allowed it to happen. They should&#8217;ve never allowed it,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;If I were president [then] I wouldn&#8217;t have allowed it, but he&#8217;s got them.&#8221;
The figure was notably more precise than American officials typically offer, though it aligns with widely reported outside estimates. It remains unclear how Trump arrived at the number.
Trump said again that he got along well with Kim — and that he knew the North Korean leader &#8220;very well.&#8221;
&#8220;He&#8217;s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to be fine. If we have a dumb president, then he&#8217;s probably not going to be so fine.&#8221;
The reporter then pressed him further, asking whether he planned to meet with Kim before the end of the year.
&#8220;Yeah, I will be,&#8221; Trump replied before turning and walking away.
A <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/trump-pushes-for-kim-jong-un-meeting-this-year-2a9f9ae0?eafs_enabled=false">report</a> published Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal indicated that Trump has been pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader, possibly in November, in conjunction with an already-planned trip to Asia. The report suggested that Trump&#8217;s goal was to encourage the dictator to abandon his country&#8217;s nuclear weapons program altogether.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Gives Surprisingly Specific Number For Kim Jong Un’s Nuclear Arsenal

Trump Reveals How Many Nuclear Weapons Kim Jong Un Has

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Kim Jong Un

North Korea

Nuclear Weapons

Politics

Iran&#8217;s Foreign Ministry flatly contradicted U.S. claims that Tehran had agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors into the country, setting up a sharp public dispute over the outcome of talks in Switzerland.
Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran had held no meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi and had made no arrangements for the agency to inspect nuclear facilities damaged in U.S. and Israeli strikes.
&#8220;Neither have we had a meeting with the director general of the IAEA, nor is there a plan for agency inspections of Iran&#8217;s damaged nuclear facilities,&#8221; Baghaei <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202606237072">declared</a>. &#8220;There is no protocol for this issue.&#8221;
The denial came after Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/22/world/live-news/iran-war-trump-israel-lebanon-hnk?post-id=cmqph0dfm00003b6wl4svidml">told reporters</a> in Switzerland that Iran&#8217;s agreement to admit IAEA inspectors was &#8220;probably what we&#8217;re most excited about as Americans.&#8221; Vance <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/22/jd-vance-says-iran-agreed-allow-nuclear-inspectors-country-hails-good/">called it</a> part of a &#8220;good foundation&#8221; for a final peace deal to end the war that began in late February.
Iran&#8217;s account of those same talks was starkly different. Iranian officials told state media that nuclear issues were not negotiated during the Switzerland discussions and that Tehran had accepted no new obligations. Any future arrangements — including access to damaged nuclear sites or decisions about Iran&#8217;s enriched uranium stockpile — would be subject to a separate mechanism to be hammered out during the 60-day negotiating window established by the existing memorandum of understanding.
Baghaei framed Iran&#8217;s position as one of continuity rather than concession. As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said, Iran remains committed to its existing safeguard agreements — a formulation that stops well short of expanded access.
The dispute cuts to one of the central unresolved questions of the peace framework: what, if anything, Iran has actually committed to on the nuclear file. As former Pentagon official and current Director of Policy Analysis at the Middle East Forum Dr. Michael Rubin <a href="https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/06/the-flaw-in-jd-vances-iran-deal-the-iaea-only-inspects-declared-nuclear-sites/">noted</a>, “The problem with IAEA inspections is that they are limited to declared nuclear sites. If Iran doesn’t declare a site, the IAEA cannot inspect it. This is true even if U.S. or Israeli intelligence points to likely nuclear activity at a suspect site.”

Esmail Baghaei Hamaneh, current spokesperson of Ministry of

Iran Denies Any Agreement On Nuclear Site Inspections

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Iran

J.D. Vance

A dual U.S.-Iranian national living in one of California&#8217;s most exclusive zip codes has been <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ceo-iran-tech-company-arrested-federal-charge-supplying-us-equipment-irans-nuclear-and">arrested</a> for secretly supplying American technology to Iran&#8217;s nuclear and military establishments.
This is the latest in a growing series of federal cases exposing the Islamic Republic&#8217;s aggressive efforts to exploit U.S. systems, steal American technology, and intimidate dissidents on American soil.
Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, California, was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. As CEO of Tehran-based tech firm Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. (FPR), Ghomi spent more than a decade obtaining sophisticated American-made networking, security, and encryption equipment for Iranian customers, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the agency directly responsible for Iran&#8217;s centrifuge and uranium-enrichment programs, and Iran&#8217;s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
To hide what he was doing, Ghomi routed shipments through front companies in the UAE, instructed co-conspirators to scrub his name from shipping paperwork, hid U.S. equipment inside larger shipments, and referred to Iran internally as the &#8220;Motherland.&#8221; He smuggled more than 250 metric tons of networking equipment into Iran between 2014 and 2018 alone. FPR&#8217;s annual sales exceeded $10 million.
The money laundering was just as brazen. Ghomi moved more than $15 million from Iran into his U.S. bank accounts, falsely reporting the funds to the IRS as a foreign inheritance. During the same period, he claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit — a benefit for low-income workers — in seven different tax years, while reporting almost no income. He used the illicit proceeds to build a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/06/03/tech-ceo-with-35-million-california-mansion-charged-with-secretly-aiding-irans-nuclear-program/">$35 million Newport Coast mansion</a> that federal prosecutors intend to seize.
The Ghomi case is far from an isolated incident. The DOJ has been methodically dismantling Iran&#8217;s American networks across multiple fronts.
In December 2023, federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-indicts-two-men-who-allegedly-sold-microelectronics-to-irgc-irans-terror-organization?utm_source=chatgpt.com">charged</a> Iranian national Hossein Hatefi Ardakani and a Chinese co-defendant with allegedly procuring U.S. microelectronics for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&#8217; (IRGC) drone program. Those were the same one-way attack UAVs later found deployed in Ukraine. The components included military-grade transistors and microwave amplifiers routed through a web of front companies.
In March 2026, the DOJ <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-seizes-iranian-domains-behind-cyberattacks-death-threats?utm_source=chatgpt.com">seized</a> four allegedly Iranian government-linked web domains used to dox dissidents, threaten journalists, leak stolen data, and incite violence against American citizens and Israeli officials. One email uncovered by investigators offered a $250,000 bounty for the beheading of two targets, claiming Iranian operatives had partnered with a Mexican cartel to carry out the killings on U.S. soil.
Taken together, the cases paint a picture of a regime with deep, active, and multifaceted infiltration of American institutions — using U.S. technology, U.S. financial systems, U.S. borders, and U.S.-based operatives to advance its nuclear ambitions and terrorize its enemies.
Ghomi faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth Holds Pentagon Press Conference On Iran Strikes

California CEO Arrested For Smuggling U.S. Tech To Iran’s Nuclear Program

Theft

There is an old quote from Ernest Hemingway: “Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.”
This is true of our conflict in Iran. We must win. Nothing less than victory is an option for America. We need to embrace the Apollo 13 mindset: “Failure is not an option.” Talks continue for when and how this conflict will end. I pray for peace and a denuclearized Iran.
However, Iran’s radical Islamic leadership has chanted “Death to America” for nearly half a century. To them, that’s not a slogan; it’s a promise. When your enemy tells you who they are, believe them.
Iran has spent decades building up its military and propping up terror networks for the sole purpose of killing innocent Americans.
In October 1983, Iran-sponsored suicide bombers killed 241 U.S. servicemen in Beirut. On October 7, Iran-backed Hamas terrorists brutally executed over 1,000 innocent people in Israel, including American citizens. This year, Iran executed 30,000 of their own people for peacefully protesting the government. The murder of the innocent will be the legacy of this Iranian regime.
President Donald Trump has done what his predecessors could not. He said, “Enough.” He said Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon to kill innocents en masse.
While the Washington, D.C. beltway class wants to traffic in speculation about how this conflict ends and what it will cost, I want everyone to remember the core objective: Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Different “experts” are trying to read the tea leaves about what terms are acceptable to wind down the conflict and how the Strait of Hormuz affects global trade. We need to keep a clear focus on the first principle of this conflict: Iranian nuclear ambition. We cannot dismiss their bloodlust. That’s the arena.
This objective should exist outside of American political theatrics and electoral math. The price of gas is high. Fertilizer costs are spiking; these concerns cannot be dismissed.
I grew up in a poor family. I understand how this squeezes a family’s budget and how unfair it feels when prices rise. Fortunately, I know that President Trump is laser-focused on lowering prices while keeping Americans safe.
We all must remember that this is the greatest nuclear threat America has faced since the Soviet Union fell. Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon for deterrence. The regime actively wants to detonate a nuclear weapon in our homeland and kill millions of Americans. Our nation has never experienced such a violent tragedy, and we cannot passively watch Iran achieve that ambition. That’s why I support this operation.
If your neighbor spent the last decade saying he wants to burn your house down, you might dismiss him as crazy. But if he starts making Molotov cocktails in his garage, you’d worry he wants to use them. It doesn’t take more than common sense to predict his target.
That is our situation with Iran. We need to act now and win. Once we achieve our objective, we can withdraw to keep our servicemen safe and give our citizens peace of mind. That is how we’ve defined victory, and we cannot accept anything less.
This November, I want Americans to cast their ballots in the midterms knowing that our government and military are doing everything in our power to protect the country so they can enter the voting booth freely.
That’s a privilege Iran denies its people. It’s why, regardless of how anyone feels about how this conflict started, America must win.
These are the stakes. It is life and death. Iran wants to kill Americans. They want to kill me, and they want to kill you.
That’s not the world I want to leave for my children and grandchildren. I doubt Americans disagree.
Because of Operation Epic Fury, Iran’s economy is in free fall. The government is shattered. And the last remnant of the regime’s most radical believers, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is on the ropes.
However, Iran’s nuclear ambitions have not abated, and they still want to kill us. But if we can decapitate the terror-supporting regime of Iran and let the people choose their future, we may never have to worry about the Strait of Hormuz closing ever again.
This is a once-in-a-generation chance to finally neutralize the nuclear threat Iran poses to every American.
I continue to support President Trump and the efforts of the U.S. military because they are in an active combat zone. At a time like this, we need to focus on helping warriors accomplish the mission, not bicker about process in Washington and speculate on cable news.
Americans need to come together again. We don’t want another 9/11, and we can’t have an Iranian dirty bomb on our soil.
Our military is on the brink of victory. We can’t wait for Iran to rebuild. We can’t wait for Iran’s next attack.
The radical Islamist regime is hearing its death knell. It’s time to deliver the final blow.
***
Rick Scott is currently serving as a U.S. Senator from Florida.

U.S. Military Launches Operation Epic Fury Attacking Iran

Rick Scott: Victory In Iran, Nothing Less

DW Opinion

Iran war

Special Reporting

A ceasefire is not peace. It is not the formal end of hostilities. It is a pause.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made that unmistakably clear at a Pentagon press conference on April 8, his first since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran the previous evening: “A ceasefire is a pause, and the joint force remains ready, if ordered or called upon, to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days.”
Iran’s rulers should now understand that this president does not bluff. The United States and Israel remain, in Trump’s words during January’s anti-regime uprising, “locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Since that warning, the landscape has changed dramatically.
Domestically, more than 40,000 Iranians have died after the regime unleashed extraordinary violence against demonstrators. Militarily, Iran has been badly weakened by combined U.S.-Israeli operations: its navy crippled, air defenses penetrated, missile stockpiles and launchers significantly reduced, and key elements of its defense-industrial and economic-industrial base severely damaged. The supreme leader and 51 of his top commanders and advisors have been eliminated along with thousands of members of the IRGC, Basij, law enforcement, and intelligence apparatus.
Diplomatically, nearly six weeks of attacks on Arab capitals have shattered what little trust remained between Tehran and its Gulf neighbors, and Iran is increasingly isolated even from American allies who have their fair share of differences with President Trump. Psychologically, Iran’s leadership has learned that beneath Trump’s social media theatrics — offensive to many — lies a president willing to act.
As in many wars, both sides now claim victory. But Iran’s claim is far less persuasive. For now, the regime has achieved the minimum objective of survival. Yet survival under sustained military, economic, and political pressure is not strategic success. The possibility of an Iran freed from Islamic Republic rule remains very much alive.
As talks begin this weekend in Pakistan to solidify the ceasefire, Washington should negotiate from a position of maximum leverage, not compromise. None of the 10 points reportedly included in Tehran’s public proposal deserves serious consideration: lifting all sanctions, preserving Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding war reparations, permitting continued uranium enrichment, and insisting on an indefinite halt to hostilities would amount to strategic surrender by the United States. Tehran’s original 10-point proposal was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and, as the White House put it, “completely discarded.”
That should remain the administration’s posture. The central reality has not changed during these volatile weeks: The Islamic Republic remains the most dangerous force destabilizing the Middle East and a direct threat to American security. Replacing it with a government that allows Iranians to reclaim their country should remain the central objective of U.S. policy.
That requires abandoning illusions about trade-offs. Unlike the Obama administration&#8217;s pursuit of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Trump administration should not seek to persuade, incentivize, or rehabilitate Iran’s rulers. It should present terms and insist on compliance.
That means no enrichment. It means surrendering Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. It means intrusive, unannounced inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a prelude to dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile program. It means freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. It means maintaining all sanctions until Tehran proves over time that it has ended support for regional terror proxies and complied fully with American demands.
And if protest conditions re-emerge inside Iran, Washington should stand openly with those protesters regardless of diplomatic timing. Claims that Iran’s protest movement is dead ignore a quarter-century of repeated uprisings. Again and again, the regime has crushed dissent; again and again, outside observers have declared the opposition finished; again and again, they have been wrong.
Since the 12-Day War of June 2025, when U.S. and Israeli aircraft struck Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, Tehran has learned what maximum pressure actually means. There is no reason to ease it now — and every reason to intensify it.
If Iran refuses — as it almost certainly will — then the alternative to accepting American defeat is exactly what Gen. Caine described: resume combat operations.
***
Mark Dubowitz is chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the presenter of <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.fdd.org/category/podcasts/the-iran-breakdown/__;!!F0Stn7g!CXgsIlEBML2AYFaX0372v0_L5qnUjHMgegvX8DDMWsMIjt3f0Sf06wIzQZDE2vGSfwN3STHRx9Y$">“The Iran Breakdown”</a> podcast. Ben Cohen is a research fellow at FDD.

US-ISRAEL-IRAN-WAR-HEGSETH

Washington Should Not Compromise — It Has The Upper Hand Over Iran

Iran Nuclear Deal

Joe Kent claimed on Tuesday that he did not believe the Iranian regime had presented an &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States prior to President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to attack — but he sang a very different tune in 2020, when he called for the elimination of Iran&#8217;s nuclear capabilities.
Kent announced that he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-kent-wasnt-involved-in-iran-war-planning-intel-official-says">leaving his post</a> as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and claimed in his resignation letter he could not &#8220;in good conscience&#8221; support the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, at least in part because there was no &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States from the regime.
But in January of 2020, when a U.S. strike ordered by President Trump eliminated top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Kent argued on social media that the president — to his way of thinking — had not gone far enough.
On January 7, four days after Soleimani was killed, Kent appeared to <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1214778671564611584">address</a> the threats coming from Iran promising retaliation for the strike on their general: &#8220;We remain in striking distance by choice for no clear benefit. We should crush their ballistic &amp; nuke capes and get out of Iraq, with sanctions to follow. Cut Iran off from funds and targets. Let them deal with proxies looking for $ &amp; their protesters. We don&#8217;t need IZ (Iraq) or IR (Iran).&#8221;
One day later, on January 8, Iran launched a dozen ballistic missiles at two targets in Iraq: Al Asad Airbase and another site near Irbil.
&#8220;Trump’s restraint shows that he wants a deal with Iran &amp; his red line is American loss of life &amp; IR nuke development. Our fundamental venerability remains — Troops in striking range of IR weapons &amp; proxies w/ no vital US mission,&#8221; Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1214960125200330752">posted</a> on the 8th, adding, &#8220;I personally think we should have crushed their ballistic &amp; nuke capes, but Trump has a plan, he has definitely earned the confidence of any clear eyed observer.&#8221;
Even as recently as 2024, Kent&#8217;s posture toward Iran was far more in line with President Donald Trump&#8217;s current actions than with his own resignation letter that would come less than two years later.
On October 7, 2024 — one year after Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists crossed the border into Israel and slaughtered more than one thousand Israelis — Kent blamed former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration for allowing Iran access to the kind of money that could fund such an operation.
&#8220;October 7th b/c happened Biden/Harris gave Iran access to over 100 billion,&#8221; Kent <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1843402393461182550">posted</a>. &#8220;Trump used diplomacy to build the Abraham accords, cut off Iran’s funding &amp; killed key terrorists. America &amp; our allies were safe &amp; there was less war. No more neocons, no appeasement, Trump ‘24.&#8221;
Just a few weeks earlier, he took a <a href="https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/1840425323743395853">similar tone</a>: &#8220;Iran’s goal in orchestrating 7 Oct was to break up the Abraham accords because the historic alliance isolated Iran’s terror regime. Trump used a balance of diplomacy, economic pressure &amp; targeted strikes to contain Iran. The embodiment of peace through strength. Israel’s dismantling of Hezbollah would have been much more challenging, if not impossible had Trump not taken out Iran’s terror mastermind Qasim Solemani.&#8221;
On March 17, 2026, however, Kent claimed in his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-intel-official-joe-kent-quits-over-iran-strikes-claims-israel-controls-trump">resignation letter</a> that Iran posed no &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to the United States and that Trump was taking action against the regime because he was being pushed into it by Israel.
&#8220;Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,&#8221; he wrote.
&#8220;Who got to Joe Kent?&#8221; Steve Guest <a href="https://x.com/SteveGuest/status/2033947809758548390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2033947809758548390%7Ctwgr%5E3399c8bcd88c7621f5a833b70157ac50cef0ca02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fsamj%2F2026%2F03%2F17%2Fold-posts-come-back-to-haunt-joe-kent-n2426119">wondered</a>.

House Homeland 12/11/25

Joe Kent, Circa 2020: ‘I Personally Think [Trump] Should Have Crushed Their Ballistic & Nuke Capes’

Joe Kent, Circa 2020: 'I Personally Think [Trump] Should Have Crushed Their Ballistic & Nuke Capes'

ballistic missiles

Military

Social Media

President Donald Trump said that destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities was worth the price of increasing oil prices. 
Trump made the comments after the price of global benchmark Brent crude oil <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oil-prices-jump-as-iran-celebrates-attacks-on-oil-tankers?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Oil+Prices+Jump+As+Iran+Celebrates+Attacks+On+Oil+Tankers">surpassed</a> $100 per barrel for the second time this week on Thursday morning. The president said increasing prices would generate more revenue for the United States. 
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is [stopping] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!”
The Pentagon echoed the president&#8217;s statement and said the focus of the Iran operation is destroying its ability to develop nuclear weapons for the long term. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran was developing a conventional shield system to protect its nuclear capabilities. 
While the war continues, Trump said that he would release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He said Wednesday night that the reserve would be quickly refilled when possible. 
The Trump administration is also considering waiving the Jones Act, a federal law that requires goods transported between U.S. ports to be owned and operated by American citizens. The action could help lower the costs of shipping oil and other products. 
“In the interest of national defense, the White House is considering waiving the Jones Act for a limited period of time to ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports. This action has not been finalized,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/us-israel-iran-war-2026/card/white-house-considers-jones-act-waiver-to-speed-up-oil-food-shipments-NYw1QdN1qNujoWrisCAv?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfKgrOffwj7nNj_oNixHtC_R9mwUZ6vswIucLIMk049Qy0Hr4AXWEKIkZfWPFs%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69b2ebd2&amp;gaa_sig=8zLfyEUY54kp6wetZ5-FX6LYoVNr_WuQ7U6TeJO-E7zBnsh0ew-KKU_IUuU2yq0M0cymSK-sUPj0_U7M6V-zSA%3D%3D">said</a>. 
Since the launch of the Iran operation, gas prices have risen significantly across the United States. The national average on Thursday was $3.59 per gallon compared to $2.94 one month ago, <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to AAA.
Trump has also floated using U.S. Navy ships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday that it may happen soon, but said the military was focused on the Iran operation at the moment. 
“It’ll happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now,” he <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/energy-secretary-wright-says-us-not-ready-to-escort-tankers-through-strait-of-hormuz-yet.html">told</a> CNBC. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.”
“I’ll be over at the Pentagon later today — that is what the military is working on,” he added. 
Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran, said in a message released Thursday that they would continue to make passage through the Strait of Hormuz difficult. “Certainly, the lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used,” he said. 
Both Iraq and Oman closed oil terminals on Thursday after two oil tankers were struck by projectiles in the Persian Gulf. Iran took credit for one of the attacks, while Iraqi officials suspected Iran was to blame for the other tanker attack.

Trump Monitors Military Operations at White House

Trump Nukes Oil Price Critics, Puts Real Stakes In Perspective

Gas Prices

Strait of Hormuz

In an interview with Fox News&#8217;s Sean Hannity, Trump negotiator Steve Witkoff offered a chilling account of the failed talks that preceded the recent escalation with Iran, arguing that the regime was not seeking a deal but instead was intent on building an arsenal.
Witkoff described the scene where Iranian negotiators, emboldened by years of strategic ambiguity, attempted to strong-arm the United States. According to Witkoff, the regime’s arrogance was on full display from the jump:
<blockquote>So just to give you a little bit of a taste for how these three days&#8230; Negotiations went three separate times, Jared and I opened up with the Iranian negotiators, telling us they had the inalienable right to enrich all their nuclear fuel that they possessed. We, of course, responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks. They then went on to say that beyond the inalienable right to enrich, that that was going to be their starting point. And Jared and I just sort of looked at ourselves, flummoxed, and said, well, we&#8217;re really in for it now.</blockquote>
Witkoff said the Trump administration even offered a good-faith alternative to prevent catastrophe: the U.S. would pay for civilian fuel if Iran agreed to cease all enrichment for ten years.
&#8220;We actually had that. And they rejected that,&#8221; Witkoff noted, &#8220;which told us at that very moment that they had no notion of doing anything other than retaining enrichment for the purpose of weaponizing.&#8221;
The most harrowing moment of the interview came when Witkoff laid out the sheer proximity of Iran to a nuclear breakout — a reality the Iranians bragged about during the talks. Witkoff outlined what he described as Iran&#8217;s breakout capacity.
According to Witkoff, Iran currently possesses roughly 10,000 kilograms of enriched material, including approximately 460 kilograms enriched to 60% purity and another 1,000 kilograms at 20%. He argued that the 60% stockpile could be further enriched to weapons-grade levels within days.
Witkoff said Iranian negotiators “said to us directly with no shame that they controlled 460 kilograms&#8221; enriched to 60%, and they were aware that such material could theoretically be converted into enough weapons-grade uranium for as many as 11 bombs.
&#8220;They were proud of it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.&#8221;
As Hannity noted, it &#8220;defies all logic and reason&#8221; that the regime thought they could dictate terms to Donald Trump while sitting on a nuclear powder keg.
Despite the administration&#8217;s efforts to address the missile program and proxy destabilization, Witkoff concluded it was &#8220;impossible&#8221; to find a viable partner for peace. According to Witkoff, the negotiations revealed how close Tehran was to a potential nuclear breakout, and why the White House concluded diplomacy had run its course.
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Steve Witkoff

‘THEY WERE PROUD OF IT’: Witkoff Reveals Chilling Details Of Iranian Nuclear Arrogance

The United States has presented new seismic data to substantiate its allegations that China tested a nuclear device in 2020, violating an international agreement against such tests.
A seismic monitoring station in Kazakhstan registered a 2.75 magnitude seismic event on June 22, 2020, the date that Washington has said Beijing tested a nuclear device in northwest China. The reading may be minor, but it picked up on an event that happened over 450 miles away, according to Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw.
“There is very little possibility that it is anything other than an explosion, a singular explosion,” Yeaw said on Tuesday, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5716046/u-s-releases-new-details-on-alleged-secret-chinese-nuclear-test">NPR</a>. “It is quite consistent with what you would expect from a nuclear explosive test.”
Yeaw said that the event that was measured in Kazakhstan originated from Lop Nor, long recognized as one of China’s main nuclear test sites.
The revelation of the seismic data comes as the United States is pushing China to join in nuclear talks between Washington and Moscow. Earlier this month, an arms treaty that limited nuclear weapons <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nuclear-caps-gone-as-u-s-russia-treaty-expires">expired</a> between the United States and Russia.
President Donald Trump said last year that China and Russia have conducted secret nuclear weapon tests. Trump said that the United States would begin testing, too.
“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report,” the president said during an interview with “60 Minutes.” “We’re going to test, because they test and others test.”
Days after the CBS interview, the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-major-decision-on-nuclear-weapons">announced</a> that he had directed the Department of War to begin conducting nuclear tests.
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” the president said in a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115499324245510580">post</a>. “This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term. Because of other countries [sic] testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
In a video message, Trump added, “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it, having to do with nuclear weapons, but I really had no choice. Russia is second in line, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”

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Trump Admin Reveals Seismic Data To Confirm Secret Chinese Nuclear Tests

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that any new U.S. nuclear treaty must reflect the rapid expansion of China&#8217;s nuclear arsenal. 
Rubio’s comments come a day after the New START Treaty, which limited deployed strategic nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia, officially expired. He argued that any replacement framework should address a new era beyond the Cold War model, one that recognized both Russia and China as nuclear peers. 
“A treaty requires at least two parties, and the choice before the United States was to bind itself unilaterally or to recognize that a new era requires a new approach. Not the same old START, but something new. A treaty that reflects that the United States could soon face not one, but two, nuclear peers in Russia and China,” he <a href="https://statedept.substack.com/p/the-next-era-of-nuclear-arms-control">wrote</a> on the State Department’s Substack page. 
Rubio said China&#8217;s nuclear stockpile has nearly tripled since 2020, growing from the low 200s to almost 600, with projections topping 1,000 warheads by 2030. 
“China’s rapid and opaque expansion of its nuclear arsenal since New START entered into force has rendered past models of arms control, based upon bilateral agreements between the United States and Russia, obsolete,” Rubio wrote. “An arms control arrangement that does not account for China’s build-up, which Russia is supporting, will undoubtedly leave the United States and our allies less safe.”
President Donald Trump has accused China of conducting secret nuclear tests. Under Secretary of State Thomas DiNanno <a href="https://x.com/UnderSecT/status/2019714341344362507">said</a> Friday on X that China had used a technique called &#8220;decoupling&#8221; to mask nuclear explosive tests by reducing the effectiveness of seismic monitoring, including one conducted on June 22, 2020.
Rubio also criticized Russia, noting that Moscow announced in 2023, amid its war with Ukraine, that it would stop recognizing the New START Treaty. Although Russia later said it would continue observing the treaty&#8217;s limits, the agreement capped deployed nuclear warheads at 1,550. 
“Russia and China should not expect the United States to stand still while they shirk their obligations and expand their nuclear forces. We will maintain a robust, credible, and modernized nuclear deterrent,” Rubio wrote. “But we will do so while pursuing all avenues to fulfill the President’s genuine desire for a world with fewer of these awful weapons.”
Ahead of New START’s expiration, President Donald Trump said he wanted a broader nuclear agreement that could include other countries like China. In a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116019511106186158">post</a> on Thursday, Trump criticized the Obama-era deal as poorly negotiated.
“Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump wrote.

President Trump Meets With Visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Rubio Warns China’s ‘Rapid’ Nuclear Buildup Is Making U.S. ‘Less Safe’

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An arms control treaty between the United States and Russia limiting deployed strategic nuclear warheads expired Thursday, marking the first time since 1972 that either country is no longer bound by formal caps on its nuclear forces. 
The New START Treaty, negotiated under former President Barack Obama and taking effect on February 5, 2011, expired on February 4 with no announced replacement. The expiration comes as President Donald Trump has directed the Departments of War and Energy to prepare for potential changes to nuclear weapons policy. 
“If it expires, it expires,” Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html#:~:text=“If%20it%20expires%2C%20it%20expires%2C”%20he%20said.%20“We’ll%20do%20a%20better%20agreement%2C”%20he%20added%2C%20insisting%20that%20China%2C%20which%20has%20the%20fastest%2Dgrowing%20arsenal%20in%20the%20world%2C%20should%20be%20incorporated%20in%20any%20future%20agreement.">told</a> The New York Times in an interview last month. “We’ll do a better agreement.”
“You probably want to get a couple of other players involved also,” Trump added. 
New START capped Russia and the United States at 700 deployed strategic delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), along with a limit of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers.
“New START limits all Russian deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons, including every Russian nuclear warhead that is loaded onto an intercontinental-range ballistic missile that can reach the United States in approximately 30 minutes,” the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/new-start-treaty">said</a>. 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that “Russian interests” would drive the next stage of relations with the United States. 
&#8220;What happens next depends on how events unfold,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/new-nuclear-age-beckons-clock-ticks-down-last-russia-us-arms-deal-2026-02-04/">said</a>. &#8220;In any case, the Russian Federation will maintain its responsible and attentive approach to the issue of strategic stability in the field of nuclear weapons and, of course, as always, will be guided first and foremost by its national interests.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115460423936412555">said</a> in October that the United States would begin testing its nuclear weapons, arguing the move was necessary because Russia and China were conducting secret nuclear tests. China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding its nuclear weapons stash and is projected to have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sounds-alarm-china-and-russia-conducting-secret-nuke-tests?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Sounds+Alarm%3A+China+and+Russia+Conducting+Secret+Nuke+Tests">said</a>. “We’re going to test, because they test and others test.”
Trump administration officials later clarified that the planned tests would be &#8220;systems tests&#8221; and would not involve nuclear detonations. The United States has not detonated a nuclear weapon since 1992.
Russia <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-nuclear-rules-start-treaty-vladimir-putin-ukraine-missiles-rcna71805">suspended</a> participation in the New START Treaty in 2023 amid its war with Ukraine, but claimed it would continue to comply with the treaty&#8217;s limits. Since coming into office, Trump has pushed strongly for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. On Thursday, special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that the United States, Russia, and Ukraine had agreed to a 314-person prisoner swap.
&#8220;This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive. While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine,&#8221; Witkoff <a href="https://x.com/SEPeaceMissions/status/2019354305661137340">said</a>. &#8220;Discussions will continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks.&#8221;

U.S. President Trump And Russian  President Putin Meet On War In Ukraine At U.S. Air Base In Alaska

Nuclear Caps Gone As U.S.-Russia Treaty Expires

President Donald Trump warned Iran early Wednesday morning that it must agree to a nuclear weapons deal or risk an attack from the United States. 
Trump said on Truth Social that a “massive Armada” of American warships is moving toward Iran and is prepared to take action if Tehran doesn’t “come to the table.” The president made multiple references to the operation in Venezuela earlier this month that led to the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro. 
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela,” Trump wrote. “Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal &#8211; NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS &#8211; one that is good for all parties.”
Trump also pointed to the Air Force&#8217;s June bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities during “Operation Midnight Hammer,” warning that the “next attack” would be even more destructive if Iran failed to begin negotiations. 
“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said. 
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the Middle East, said Monday that it would conduct a multi-day readiness exercise “to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower across” the region. 
Trump previously threatened to intervene in Iran after massive anti-government protests broke out across the country. 
“If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump posted on Truth Social on January 2. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Thousands of people have reportedly been killed in Iran during the weeks of protesting, with some estimates placing the death count as high as 30,000.

U.S. President Trump Attends World Economic Forum In Davos

‘Time Is Running Out’: Trump Warns Iran To Make Nuclear Deal Or Face Another U.S. Attack

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