Trump Defends Iran Bombing, U.S. Braces For Retaliation: Live Updates

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he's not interested in regime change in Iran despite appearing open to the prospect over the weekend.

"I don’t want it," Trump said, claiming that the outcome would cause further uncertainty in the Middle East.

"Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don’t want to see so much chaos," he continued. “You know, the Iranians are very good traders, very good business people, and they’ve got a lot of oil. They should be fine. They should be able to rebuild and do a good job. They’re never going to have nuclear but other than that, they should do a great job.”

Trump on Sunday contradicted his own officials, including Vice President JD Vance, by not ruling out a regime change in Tehran about a day after the U.S. launched struck three Iranian nuclear sites.

“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!,” Trump said.

The president posted screenshots of a text message from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Truth Social while en route to The Hague; HuffPost confirmed with NATO that the message was sent this morning.

“Mr President, dear Donald,” the message begins. “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer.”

It continues: “You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent! Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world. You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done. Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win Safe travels and see you at His Majesty’s dinner!”

Breaks in the screenshots of the text make it unclear whether Trump posted the entirety of the message. Trump is scheduled to arrive in the Netherlands around 1pm ET and greet the nation’s king and queen shortly thereafter.

Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning, a White House official told CNN.

The president was "exceptionally firm and direct," the source said, as he urged the Israeli leader to refrain from any further attacks on Tehran.

As Trump pressed both sides to abide by the ceasefire, he wrote on Truth Social, "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!" he added.

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Trump condemned CNN and MSNBC for their coverage of this weekend's U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, claiming the networks should apologize to the B-2 Spirit bombers involved in the operation.

"They're really hurting great pilots that put their lives in the line. CNN is scum and so is MSDNC," Trump said in an apparent reference to the liberal network. "And frankly the networks aren't much better."

The president has said the strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear sites and appears angry over assessments that the full extent of the damage inflicted on Tehran's nuclear program remains unclear. Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said more time is needed to analyze how badly Iran's Fordo uranium enrichment plant was hit.

Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn, Trump expressed his discontent with both Israel and Iran, saying that the two countries "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing."

Trump claimed he would now try to stop Israel from attacking Iran after declaring that the ceasefire agreement he touted earlier has already been violated by both sides.

Trump told reporters Israel and Iran both violated a ceasefire agreement Tuesday before leaving for the NATO summit at The Hague.

On Friday morning, the man who made Joe Biden the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee weighed in on another contentious Democratic primary. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), 84 years old and no longer the assistant leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City.

Columbia University student and Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil said that his arrest by federal immigration agents and subsequent monthslong detention felt like he was being kidnapped — and that he will use his recent freedom to continue fighting not just on behalf of Gaza, but also for immigrants unjustly targeted by the United States.

Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ahead of his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday morning.

The president has repeatedly criticized Powell over the U.S. central bank's resistance to his calls for lowering interest rates.

"I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come."

A tentative truce faltered Tuesday when Israel vowed to retaliate after saying Iran launched missiles into its airspace more than two hours after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect.

Iran’s military denied firing on Israel, state media reported — but explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel midmorning. Earlier, both Israel and Iran had accepted the ceasefire plan to end their 12-day war.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the missiles a violation of the ceasefire and instructed Israel’s military to resume “the intense operations to attack Tehran and to destroy targets of the regime and terror infrastructure.”

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state television reported Tuesday that a ceasefire had begun in its war with Israel, even as Israel warned the public of a new missile barrage launched from Iran.

It wasn’t immediately possible to reconcile the messages from Iran and Israel on the 12th day of their war.

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Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to push back on Trump's claims of a ceasefire on Monday, but said the country will stop attacks if Israel does the same.

"As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations," he wrote on X. "However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards."

"The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later," he wrote.

In an interview with NBC News on Monday, Trump claimed the war between Israel and Iran is "completely over."

"I think the ceasefire is unlimited," Trump said when asked how long the agreement to suspend fighting would last. "It’s going to go forever.”

"A lot of people were dying, and it was only going to get worse," he said. "It would have brought the whole Middle East down."

An Iranian official confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, but there was no immediate comment from Israel, Reuters reported.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran’s agreement during a call with Iranian officials, an official briefed on the negotiations told the outlet on Tuesday.

Trump told Qatar’s emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire, according to the official.

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Pool via Getty Images

Trump claimed in a Truth Social post on Monday that Iran and Israel had reached a ceasefire.

That ceasefire is due to go into effect over the next 24 hours as both countries wind down active missions they’re currently engaged in, Trump said.

"Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World," Trump wrote.

This agreement was not immediately confirmed by Iran or Israel, however.

Shortly before Trump's post, CNN published a report citing a senior Iranian official who said that the country had not received a ceasefire proposal and didn't see a reason for one.

Trump, meanwhile, seemed to imply that hostilities between the two countries were on the verge of ending completely.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” he wrote.

A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to restart swift removals of migrants to countries other than their homelands, lifting for now a court order requiring they get a chance to challenge the deportations.