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Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump exerted 'maximum pressure' on Iran and Israel to 'deliver peace': Leavitt
President Trump exerted "maximum pressure" on Israel and Iran in an effort to "deliver peace" after his historic and decisive strikes decimated the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities. The president vowed throughout his 2024 campaign to reach "peace through strength," and he has taken steps in recent days to do just that, with an added pressure campaign on both Israel and Iran. "President Trump directing the perfect execution of the most secretive and successful military strikes in history – and then negotiating a ceasefire to the war within 48 hours – is the epitome of peace through strength," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. "Nobody knows how to exert maximum pressure to deliver peace better than Donald Trump." Trump, this week, participated in the NATO Summit in the Netherlands, where he was praised by allies for his decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump as a "man of strength" and a "man of peace." "I just want to recognize your decisive action on Iran," Rutte said at the start of his joint remarks with the president. "You are a man of strength, but you are also a man of peace. And the fact that you are now also successful in getting this ceasefire done between Israel and Iran – I really want to commend you for that. I think this is important for the whole world." Rutte, on his social media, also congratulated the president for his "extraordinary" action in Iran, saying it was "something no one else dared to do." "It makes us all safer," Rutte said. The president also brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announcing Monday that the "12-Day War" was coming to an end – just over a week after Israel launched a preemptive strike, citing fears that Tehran was dangerously close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. The two countries subsequently traded rocket fire over the following days, and over the weekend, the U.S. launched its own airstrikes on three of Iran's key nuclear facilities. Iran responded by shooting rockets at a U.S. air base in Qatar on Monday, but not without giving advance notice to U.S. and Qatari officials. No injuries were reported in that attack. The ceasefire had gotten off to an uncertain start, with the president unleashing frustration with both countries. "I'm not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, OK, now you have 12 hours, you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either, but I'm really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning," Trump said on Tuesday. He continued, "We basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don't know what the f--- they're doing." "I'm gonna see if I can stop it," he added. "ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!" Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after boarding Marine One. Minutes later, he announced that Israel was canceling its plans for an attack on Tuesday morning. "ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he wrote. Israel did not attack. From the NATO summit, the president warned that the U.S. will strike Iran again if it attempts to rebuild its nuclear program. And Trump's historic strikes in Iran have the Islamic Republic admitting that their nuclear facilities were decimated. Assessments from the U.S., Israel and Iran agree the strikes were successful.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's strike against Iran was ‘America First' in action
My young family and I were in Israel when the military and the Mossad began their offensive operations against Iran on Friday, June 13, commencing what President Trump has since called the '12-Day War.' Although the Mossad's intelligence and the Israel Defense Forces' rapid establishment of air superiority inside Iran proved to be nothing less than extraordinary, my wife and I lived on pins and needles for those first few days of the war. We had to be ready day or night, at a moment's notice, to drop everything, grab our 6-month-old baby and race to the house's 'safe room' (that is, bomb shelter). Trust me: This is not a fun way to live — especially not with an infant. Meanwhile, too many of Iran's ballistic missiles — considerably more lethal than the rockets typically fired into Israel from Gaza and Lebanon — were evading Israeli air defense. They were finding their targets. Too many homes were being destroyed, and too many people, tragically, were being killed. Though a proud Jew and Zionist, and even the author of a recent book on Israel's fate, I decided to do what any American parent of an infant would do in such a situation: get us home. I am a Floridian, and I heard about a program the state of Florida had launched to evacuate American citizens from the war zone. We first took a bus to the Jordanian border. We next got to Amman, where we spent the night. We then flew to Cyprus, a hub for those fleeing (and returning to) Israel, where we also spent a night. And finally, we flew from Cyprus to Tampa, where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised our group by meeting us at the airport. The day after my family got home to Florida, the world changed in an instant: Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer, delivering a devastating — perhaps fatal — blow to the Iranian regime's three most prized nuclear facilities, Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. In his brief remarks at the White House following the strikes, Trump repeatedly linked the national interests and fates of the United States and Israel. Despite months of tendentious leaks, palace intrigue and the often-parroted media reports of a rift between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that bilateral relationship is clearly stronger than ever. Looking back at both the pre-strike debate and the post-strike fallout, the more interesting question — especially given the hostility toward Trump's move from certain high-profile talking heads within the broader MAGA fold — is perhaps this: Is Midnight Hammer an aberration from Trump's 'America First' foreign policy doctrine, or is it entirely consistent with it? As the definitive essay on the topic, a 2019 Foreign Policy magazine article — appropriately titled 'The Trump Doctrine' — from former Trump administration national security official and current State Department Director of Policy Planning Michael Anton put it, Trump's conception of 'America First' means that he has 'no inborn inclination to isolationism or interventionism, and he is not simply a dove or a hawk.' By contrast, Trump's foreign policy instinct is 'Jacksonian': It is a strand of pragmatic conservative realism that is intuitively skeptical. The mindset echoes George Washington's famous farewell address, which warned against getting overly involved overseas, but it also remains able, willing and eager to lash out and strike if necessary to defend core American national interests. In short, Trump has no interest in reprising the Bush-era moralistic nation-building enterprise, but he also has no interest in burying America's head in the sand and pretending that we simply have no interest in events abroad. It was Trump himself, after all, who both withdrew from President Obama's flawed nuclear deal with the Iranian terror regime and eliminated Islamic State founder Abu Bakr Baghdadi and Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general who commanded the Quds Force. There are indeed some fools, ignoramuses and scoundrels on the right who keep trying to mislead their MAGA-friendly audiences by imputing to 'America First' views that do not put America first and are not held by the president himself. But they are losing that battle: According to a recent CBS News poll, an astounding 94% of self-identified MAGA Republicans support Operation Midnight Hammer. It certainly seems that in voting for Trump, these Americans favored stopping the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism — a regime whose raison d'être is eliminating the 'little Satan' of Israel and the 'big Satan' of the United States — from acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons. After decades of debate about the Iranian nuclear program and months of pearl-clutching about the alleged imminence of World War III, the United States has devastated the illicit nuclear weapons program of a terrorist regime that chants 'death to America' on a daily basis — without a single American casualty, without any extended American troop presence on the ground and with a quick post-strike ceasefire to boot. To achieve a decades-long-sought foreign policy objective in this fashion is nothing less than astonishing. Operation Midnight Hammer is one of the greatest acts of presidential statesmanship and leadership in modern American history. It's also 'America First' in action. And looking back at the entire ordeal years from now, I strongly suspect it will also make everything my family went through in evacuating the Middle East more than worth it. Josh Hammer's latest book is 'Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West.' This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate. @josh_hammer
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Shock-and-Awe 'Midnight Hammer' Iran Strike Encapsulates Trump Doctrine
My young family and I were in Israel when the Israel Defense Forces and Mossad began their offensive operations against Iran on June 13, commencing what President Donald Trump has since called the "12-Day War." Although the Mossad's intelligence and the IDF's rapid establishment of air superiority inside Iran proved to be nothing less than extraordinary, my wife and I lived on pins and needles for those first few days of the war. We had to be ready day or night, at a moment's notice, to drop everything we were doing, grab our 6-month-old baby, and race to the house's "safe room" (that is, bomb shelter). Trust me: This is not a fun way to live—especially not with an infant. Meanwhile, too many of Iran's ballistic missiles—considerably more lethal than the rockets typically fired into Israel from Hamas and Lebanon—were evading Israeli air defense. They were finding their targets. Too many homes were being destroyed, and too many people, tragically, were being killed. Though a proud Jew, Zionist, and even author of a recent book on the subject, I decided to do what any American father of a beautiful baby girl would do in such a situation: Get us home. I am a Floridian, and I heard about a program the state of Florida had launched, in partnership with Grey Bull Rescue, to evacuate American citizens from the war zone. We first took a bus to the Jordanian border. We next got to Amman, where we spent the night. We then flew to Cyprus, a hub for those fleeing (and returning to) Israel, where we also spent the night. And finally, we flew from Cyprus to Tampa, where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised our group by meeting us at the airport. The governor asked me to join him for a press conference; though groggy and sleep-deprived, I of course obliged. The day after my family got home to Florida, the world changed in an instant: Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer, delivering a devastating—perhaps fatal—blow to the Iranian regime's three most prized nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. In his brief remarks at the White House following the strikes, Trump repeatedly linked the national interests and fates of the United States and Israel. Despite months of tendentious leaks, palace intrigue, and the often-parroted media reports of a rift between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that bilateral relationship is clearly stronger than ever. Looking back at both the pre-strike debate and the post-strike fallout, the more interesting question—especially given the hostility toward Trump's move from certain high-profile talking heads within the broader MAGA fold—is perhaps this: Is Midnight Hammer an aberration from Trump's "America First" foreign policy doctrine, or is it entirely consistent with it? U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) can be seen sitting in the Situation Room as they monitor the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, at the White... U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) can be seen sitting in the Situation Room as they monitor the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, at the White House on June 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images) More As the definitive essay on the topic, a 2019 Foreign Policy magazine missive—appropriately titled "The Trump Doctrine"—from former Trump administration national security official and current State Department Director of Policy Planning Michael Anton put it, Trump's conception of "America First" means that he has "no inborn inclination to isolationism or interventionism, and he is not simply a dove or a hawk." By contrast, Trump's foreign policy instinct is "Jacksonian": It is a strand of pragmatic conservative realism that is intuitively skeptical, a la George Washington's famous farewell address warning, of involvement overseas, but is also able, willing, and eager to lash out and strike if necessary to defend core American national interests. In short, Trump has no interest in reprising the Bush-era moralistic nation-building enterprise, but he also has no interest in burying America's head in the sand and pretending that America simply has no interest in events abroad. It was Trump himself, after all, who both withdrew from former President Barack Obama's flawed nuclear deal with the Iranian terror regime and eliminated ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and former Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' notorious Quds Force. There are indeed some fools, ignoramuses, and scoundrels on the Right who keep trying to mislead their MAGA-friendly audiences by imputing to "America First" views that do not actually put America first and are not held by the president himself. But they are losing that battle: According to a recent CBS News poll, an astounding 94% of self-identified "MAGA" Republicans support Operation Midnight Hammer. It certainly seems that in voting for Trump, these Americans favored stopping the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism—a regime whose raison d'etre is eliminating the "little Satan" of Israel and the "big Satan" of the United States—from acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons. After decades of debate about the Iranian nuclear program and months of pearl-clutching hysteria about the alleged imminence of World War III, the United States has devastated the illicit nuclear weapons program of a terrorist regime that chants "death to America" on a daily basis—without a single American casualty, without any extended American troop presence on the ground, and with a quick post-strike ceasefire to boot. To achieve a decades-long-sought foreign policy objective in this fashion is nothing less than astonishing. Operation Midnight Hammer is one of the greatest acts of presidential statesmanship and leadership in modern American history. It's also "America First" in action. And looking back at the entire ordeal years from now, I strongly suspect it will also make everything my family went through in evacuating the Middle East more than worth it. Josh Hammer is Newsweek senior editor-at-large, host of "The Josh Hammer Show," senior counsel for the Article III Project, a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation, and author of the new book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West (Radius Book Group). Subscribe to "The Josh Hammer Report," a Newsweek newsletter. X: @josh_hammer. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Iran executes three prisoners accused of spying for Israel in brutal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
Meanwhile, a Brit couple have been held in Iran for unspecified espionage charges SPIES HANGED Iran executes three prisoners accused of spying for Israel in brutal crackdown in wake of 12-day war Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IRAN executed three more prisoners accused of spying for Israel as it launched a major crackdown in the wake of the 12-Day War. The three men - named as Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul - were hanged yesterday morning. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up The trio were paraded on State TV in blue prison uniforms after being convicted of espionage. At least six men have been killed in the past 10 days on the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A further 700 have been rounded up and arrested. Iran human rights boss, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, said: 'After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival. 'Executions are the Islamic Republic's most important tool for instilling societal fear, and in the coming days and weeks, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of execution.' In May, a young son of a British couple imprisoned in Iran on spying charges revealed how devastated he was after hearing of his parents' arrest. Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent almost 150 days in jail since being detained during a round-the-world motorbike trip. The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state. The couple, both in their 50s, were held back in January on unspecified espionage charges. The Iranian government continues to claim they were 'posing as tourists' to gather intelligence against the Middle East nation. Ever since their incarceration, the pair have hardly spoken to their loved ones and mainly had contact with the Foreign Office. Secret Iranian fortress Trump's bombs CAN'T reach: Fears ultra-secure 'Pickaxe' mountain is perfect nuclear hiding place
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Iran executes three prisoners accused of spying for Israel in brutal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
IRAN executed three more prisoners accused of spying for Israel as it launched a major crackdown in the wake of the 12-Day War. The three men - named as Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul - were hanged yesterday morning. The trio were paraded on State TV in blue prison uniforms after being convicted of espionage. At least six men have been killed in the past 10 days on the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A further 700 have been rounded up and arrested. Iran human rights boss, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, said: 'After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival. 'Executions are the Islamic Republic's most important tool for instilling societal fear, and in the coming days and weeks, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of execution.' Husband and wife The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state. Most read in The Sun The couple, both in their 50s, were held back in January on The Iranian government continues to claim they were 'posing as tourists' to gather intelligence against the Middle East nation. Ever since their incarceration, the pair have hardly spoken to their loved ones and mainly had contact with the Foreign Office. Secret Iranian fortress Trump's bombs CAN'T reach: Fears ultra-secure 'Pickaxe' mountain is perfect nuclear hiding place 1 At least six men have been killed in the past 10 days on the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Getty
