Trump on Iran war: If the crazies in Iran are still in power when I leave office, that would be a defeat | LIVE BLOG
In the same interview on the Salem News Channel, President Trump said that he would use force against Iran with "No hesitation," if American allies and ships were being terrorized
Donald Trump announced that he had asked his vice president, JD Vance, to focus on allegations of corruption and crime in Democratic-run cities and states, rather than negotiations with Tehran. The US president accused these administrations of allowing billions of dollars to be diverted each month. “We don’t need a deal,” Donald Trump said regarding Iran.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF chief are fully coordinated on Iran and will take “whatever measures are necessary” to protect Israel. Following a security assessment, Katz said decisions are made responsibly and jointly by the political and military leadership. READ MORE FROM THURSDAY
Sohlberg says suspicions of foreign interference in Israel’s election have not become evidence; says investigation must continue
Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg wrote in a letter to committee members on Thursday that the information underlying the investigation into suspected foreign interference in Israel’s election has not yet developed into evidence and may never do so, but still requires a thorough investigation.
“The investigation is ongoing. Classified information has been presented that has not yet developed into actual evidence, and may not; time will tell,” he wrote.
Sohlberg said he met with the investigation’s managers from the Shin Bet, police, and the State Attorney’s Office on Thursday morning and found no instance in which the government’s legal advisers refused an investigative request from the Shin Bet, adding that “the Shin Bet deserves gratitude and the public’s trust.”
He also criticized leaks from the inquiry, saying the main points of a classified opinion appeared in the media before the committee received it on Wednesday afternoon, and warned committee members to take media accounts “with a grain of salt.”
IRGC claims strike on US early-warning radar in Bahrain; says it was retaliation for attack on Iranian telecom tower
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, the first such claim of an attack on American military assets in a Gulf country since early September.
The IRGC said the strike was retaliation for what it described as an air attack on a telecommunications tower in Iran’s southern Sirik county, in Hormozgan province.
Trump says Iran’s leadership outlasting his presidency would be a defeat; warns he may use force “right now” if allies and ships are threatened
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that it would be a defeat for his presidency if Iran’s current leadership remained in power when he leaves office.
Asked by host Hugh Hewitt whether it would be a defeat if “the Iran crazies” were still in power at that point, Trump answered: “Yes, that would be a defeat.”
On the use of force, he said there would be “no hesitation” and that “if I saw things going the other way, I would do that, and it’s possible I would do it right now,” adding that Iran “will not exist very long any longer” if it killed a senior American official.
Trump claimed the US has not lost a soldier in five months and “totally” controls the Gulf, and said Iran’s regime “is collapsing,” citing “301% inflation” and a military that is “wiped out.”