US ramps up warning to Iran as Israel and Iran continue to trade fire
Middle East Correspondent Matthew Doran and North America Correspondent provide an update on the situation between Israel and Iran as well as the increasing pressure on Iran from Washington.
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News.com.au
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Trump warns against ‘ultimate betrayal' as voting begins to pass his megabill
US President Donald Trump has warned Senate Republicans that refusing to support his 'big beautiful bill' would represent the 'ultimate betrayal'. 'With its passage, Americans will keep more of their hard-earned money while taking home much bigger paychecks,' according to a White House statement obtained by NewsNation on Saturday local time. 'Failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.' The warning shot was fired as Senate members later Saturday prepared to take a procedural vote to kick off debate on the revised, 940-page multi trillion-dollar bill that makes Mr Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, ends taxation on tips and overtime, boosts border security funding and scraps green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration. The megabill is expected to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram all the provisions in. It could be a make or break moment for the Republican Party – which has invested much of its political capital on Mr Trump's signature domestic policy plan. At its core, the legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Mr Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Mr Trump's mass deportation agenda. The Senate will work through the weekend to try and pass Mr Trump's bill by his July 4 deadline. With a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, the GOP can only afford to lose three votes and still pass the package with a tie-breaking ballot cast by Vice President JD Vance, The NY Post reports. A version of it passed the House by a single vote May 22. But the lower chamber will have to vote on the bill again after the Senate finalises its changes to it. Senator Thom Tillis, R-N. C., said he is concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. 'I'm voting no on the motion to proceed,' he said. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. 'There's no good reason for Republicans to chase a silly deadline,' he added. Mr Trump had been hoping the bill would pass both chambers and reach his desk for signing by July 4. 'The Great Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working all weekend to finish our 'ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,'' the president posted on his Truth Social on Friday.
ABC News
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Iran holds funeral for military commanders and scientists killed in Israel war
Hundreds of thousands of mourners have lined the streets of downtown Tehran for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), as well as other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during Iran's 12-day war with Israel. The caskets of IRGC chief General Hossein Salami and the head of the group's ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were among a group of caskets driven on trucks along Azadi Street on Saturday as people in the crowd chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched strikes it said were intended to destroy Iran's nuclear program. State media reported more than 1 million people turned out for the funeral procession, a number that could not be independently confirmed. However, the dense crowd packed the main Tehran thoroughfare along the entire 4.5-kilometre route. There was no immediate sign of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral. Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in the past held prayers for fallen commanders over their caskets before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was on hand, and state television reported that General Esmail Qaani, who heads the foreign wing of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and General Ali Shamkhani were also among the mourners. Shamkhani, an adviser to Khamenei who was wounded in the first round of Israel's attack and hospitalised, was shown in a civilian suit leaning on a cane in an image distributed on state television's Telegram channel. Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed about 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to a Washington-based human rights group. Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Saturday's ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children. Khamenei's last public appearance was made on June 11, two days before hostilities with Israel broke out, when he met with Iranian parliamentarians. On Thursday, however, he released a pre-recorded video in his first message since the end of the war, filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic's longtime adversaries. The 86-year-old claimed victory over Israel, and downplayed US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites as having not achieved "anything significant". The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterised the damage done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran's Fordow nuclear site, which was built into a mountain, as "very, very, very considerable". AP
ABC News
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