Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: U.S. launches more strikes on Iran after Trump declares ceasefire "over."
Plus, interceptors, Spain, McConnell and Syria.
Iran War
The U.S. launched fresh strikes against Iran this afternoon, hours after President Trump declared the ceasefire to be "over," calling the country's leaders "scum" and "evil, sick people."
"They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people, and they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over."
The memorandum of understanding was signed by both parties last month with the goal of halting the fighting, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and starting talks on curbing Iran's nuclear program, which the administration said was its primary objective in beginning the war in late February.
But Iran has repeatedly fired on commercial vessels transiting the strait, which it maintains it controls, and attacked three commercial tankers on Tuesday, prompting retaliatory U.S. strikes.
On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command launched a series of strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets, including air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and small boats. The U.S. also reimposed the sanctions on Iranian oil that had been lifted under the memorandum of understanding.
In response, Iran launched attacks on U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday.
President Trumpthreatened more strikes on Iran this morning, and U.S. Central Command said this afternoon that it had begun carrying them out.
"At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the combatant command said.
"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway."
Despite calling on the U.S. to "finish the job," President Trump told reporters he did not think the conflict would turn into a full-blown war again, saying whatever action the U.S. takes "will go very quickly."
"I don't think it's going to start again. I think it's going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder," he said. "When they hit, we hit 10 times harder."
The president also did not rule out the possibility that negotiations could resume after the funeral services for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, who was killed in February during the first wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them," he said. "Now, I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it. I don't like these people, you know that."
President Trumpsaid he plans to give Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, a major boost for Kyiv in the war against Russia. "A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we'll give them the right to make Patriots," he said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Turkey. "We'll show them how to do it. It's very complex actually, but it's — you'll figure out the complexity quickly." President Zelensky has long pressed the U.S. and its allies for more air defense systems to help defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks. "This way, you can't complain that we're not giving them enough," President Trump said of the agreement, which has yet to be finalized. Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp, the companies that produce the interceptors, had not been notified of the decision, and it's unclear where they would be built.
President Trump again lashed out at Spain, urging his team to cut off trade with the country over its failure to meet NATO defense spending targets and refusal to assist in the Iran war. "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way," he instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate. They don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits … Watch them come running back. Oh, they'll come running back." It's unlikely the U.S. can unliterally cut off trade with Spain since the 27-member European Union negotiates its trade terms as a bloc. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's office dismissed the remarks as "business as usual," saying it had no intention of changing Madrid's "excellent" relationship with Washington.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) office requesting an update on the longtime senator's health, amid mounting speculation and little information in the three weeks since he was hospitalized. "Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the health and well-being of Sen. McConnell," he wrote. "As Governor — and a fellow public official who understands the commitment we've made to the people we serve — I am requesting the Senator provide an update on his current health status." The former Senate majority leader was hospitalized on June 14, but his office has not disclosed what he is being treated for, saying only that he "continues to improve." Speculation about his condition intensified last week after multiple news outlets reported emergency personnel found an "unconscious" person at his home and administered CPR, according to dispatcher communications.
President Trumpsaid he will remove Syria from the State Department's State Sponsors of Terrorism list as he sat alongside the country's president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. "He's done a great job. Maybe he would have brought that up. That's a good question. Yeah, any problems with that? I think we should. Yeah, I will," he told reporters when asked about removing Syria from the list. President Trump heaped praise on President al-Sharaa, who once led an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and previously had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. "He's done a really fantastic job as president. He's unified the country in a very short period of time," President Trump said, describing him as a "strong person" who is "respected by everybody."
For your radar…
Emad Shargi, a former hostage of Iran, speaks Thursday about his captivity and the U.S.-Iran war at an event hosted by the Institute of World Politics in Washington, DC. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 5pm ET.
