Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel is entering the war’s second phase with ‘additional surprises’ as Trump says he’ll pick Iranian leader – or else
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Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir salutes during the funeral of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin who was killed during the six-week 2014 war in Gaza, at a military cemetery in Kfar Saba on November 11, 2025.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleThe U.S. and Israel have almost total control of Iranian airspace, IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a video statement on Thursday.
They “achieved near-complete air superiority over Iranian skies,” and Operation Roaring Lion, as Israel named the war with Iran, is entering its second phase, Zamir said.
The war is moving, he said, from the initial phase — beginning with Saturday’s “surprise strike” and followed by additional sorties to establish air superiority and degrade Iran’s ballistic missile array — to “further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities.”
“We have additional surprises ahead, which I do not intend to disclose. We will pursue our enemies, all of them, and we will overtake them,” Zamir added, paraphrasing Psalms 18:38.
Zamir said he is in “continuous contact with my American counterparts. We are fighting based on shared interests and shared values. We are fighting shoulder to shoulder. Through synchronized action, we are stripping the regime of its military capabilities, strategically isolating them and bringing them to a point of weakness unlike any it has known. This is truly historic cooperation״
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said on Thursday that the military had struck over 300 of the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile launchers and advanced defense systems in over 113 waves of strikes in western and central Iran, neutralizing 80% of Iran’s aerial-defense systems and over 60% of its ballistic missile launchers.
CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a press conference on Thursday that Iranian ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since Operation Epic Fury, the White House’s name for the operation, began on Saturday, with drone attacks declining by 83%.
The U.S. military has bombed nearly 200 targets inside Iran, including dropping 2,000-pound penetrator bombs targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers stored underground, and sunk over 30 Iranian navy ships.
“We’re not just hitting what they have, we’re destroying their ability to rebuild. And so, as we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress,” Cooper said.
President Donald Trump told Politico on Thursday, “We’re taking out a threat to the United States of America, major threat, … and doing it like nobody’s ever seen before.”
Iran has “no navy. They have no air force. They have no detection of air. It’s all wiped out. Their radar is all wiped out. Their military is decimated. All they have is guts,” the president said.
Trump also said he plans to have a decisive influence on the next leader of Iran. “I’m going to have a big impact [on Iran’s future leadership], or they’re not going to have any settlement, because we’re not going to have to do this again,” Trump said. “We’ll work with the people and the regime to make sure that somebody gets there that can nicely build Iran but without nuclear weapons.”
The U.S. plans to “work with them to help make the proper choice,” so that the next Iranian leader will not “lead to having to do this [war] again in another 10 years.”
Trump said that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war, was a poor choice: “The reason the father wouldn’t give it to the son is they say he’s incompetent.”
Also on Thursday, the IDF launched its 26th wave of strikes in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut —a stronghold of the Hezbollah terrorist militia — hitting over 500 targets, including some in residential buildings in the Lebanese capital that the military said were used for terrorist infrastructure and UAV storage.
“Hezbollah made a strategic error,” Zamir said in his video statement, “[and] despite it directly conflicting with the interests of the Lebanese people, chose to join the campaign. Hezbollah is paying a heavy price.”
Israel killed the head of Hezbollah’s firepower array, known as Fidaa, whom Zamir said was “responsible for the deaths of many Israelis.”
“We will not let up on the objective of disarming Hezbollah,” Zamir added.
Magen David Adom emergency services reported 44 people injured amid attacks from Iran and Lebanon on Thursday through early Friday morning, all while making their way to shelters. MDA treated and evacuated 502 casualties from the start of Operation Lion’s Roar, including 359 injured on their way to shelter and five traffic accidents during sirens; there have been 12 fatalities.
Trump called out the commentator after he characterized the U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran as ‘absolutely disgusting and evil’
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President Donald Trump shakes hands with Tucker Carlson at the conclusion of a conversation during Carlson's Live Tour at the Desert Diamond Arena on October 31, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
President Donald Trump accused Tucker Carlson on Thursday of having “lost his way” following recent criticism from the commentator of the U.S. military operation in Iran, asserting that the former Fox News host was not representing the views of the Make America Great Again movement.
Trump made the comments while speaking to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Thursday afternoon after being asked about Carlson’s characterization of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli operation as “absolutely disgusting and evil” and his broader attacks on the Trump administration’s friendly relationship with Israel.
“Tucker has lost his way,” Trump said. “I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.”
In response, Carlson told Status News, “There are times I get annoyed with Trump, right now definitely included, but I’ll always love him no matter what he says about me.”
The president told journalist Rachael Bade on Monday that Carlson’s vocal opposition to his strikes on Iran had “no impact” on him, adding that Carlson “can say whatever he wants.”
“MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” he added, referring to Carlson and Megyn Kelly.
The criticism came less than a day after Carlson dropped a new episode of his podcast in which he accused the Chabad Lubavitch movement of seeking to start a “religious war” to facilitate the destruction of al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in order to build the Third Temple on top of its ruins.
Carlson claimed in the episode that the goal of the Hasidic sect’s movement is the rebuilding of the Temple, based solely on the fact that Orthodox Jews believe that the Temple will be rebuilt when the Messiah comes, a prophetic vision that has been a part of daily Jewish prayer for two millennia. He failed to mention, however, that no mainstream Jewish denomination, including the Hasidic and the Orthodox, advocates for the destruction of the al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, in order to build the Temple.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), the D.C.-based Chabad which engages with foreign and domestic political leaders, told Jewish Insider late Thursday that he welcomed Trump’s rejection of Carlson’s embrace of anti-Israel and antisemitic ideas.
“With regard to Tucker Carlson, the president must have come to the conclusion that while difficult and perhaps unpleasant, his own statement earlier today was necessary,” Shemtov told JI. “In a more perfect world, Tucker might recognize that some of his expressed beliefs simply do not coincide with established facts and historic Jewish beliefs. He might also realize that Israel and the Jewish people are merely an appetizer for the voracious hateful appetite of the Iranian regime. America and the West would be the main course.”
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, a Chabad rabbi in Lexington who leads the Kentucky Jewish Council, told JI that Carlson’s attacks on the Hasidic group had prompted an outpouring of support from Jewish and non-Jewish supporters.
“This is not someone stumbling. These are intentional choices. They are choices that are intended to make Jews around the world feel unsafe, and they had the exact opposite reaction,” Litvin said of Carlson. “There were more positive tweets about Chabad today than there have been since I’ve been on Twitter, which is, I think, 15 years. There has never been as many positive tweets about Chabad in a day as there are right now.”
Some told JI they were concerned that President Trump could use it as legal justification to continue the campaign against Iran
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House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), joined by fellow Democrats outside of the U.S. Capitol on July 02, 2025 in Washington, DC.
In a surprise vote on Thursday afternoon that baffled some observers in Washington, 53 House Democrats voted against a resolution “reaffirming Iran remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism.” For some, their opposition traces to a desire not to give President Donald Trump rhetorical, or potentially legal, justification for continuing the Iran war, lawmakers said.
The resolution passed by a vote of 372-53, with two members voting “present.”
Most of the lawmakers voting against the resolution — like Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) — are progressives, many of them frequent critics of Israel.
But a handful of others who ended up voting against the resolution are relative moderates who have taken more hawkish stances on Iran, such as Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and Steve Cohen (D-TN), who also voted against the resolution.
Many of the more moderate lawmakers who voted against the resolution are facing either competitive reelection races with challengers from their left or, in Krishnamoorthi’s case, running for higher office.
Newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who had thus far not encountered any House votes on Middle East policy and faces Rep. Al Green (D-TX) in a member-on-member primary runoff, also voted no, as did Green.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), a Democratic rising star who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Jewish Insider he felt the legislation was meant to provide additional support for the war.
“Right now there’s an active situation that I oppose,” Garcia said. “That [resolution is] just meant to provide more pressure on that action. I think that right now, it’s a purely political stunt, and something that I won’t agree with.”
Another House Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous, explained that they were concerned about two clauses in the legislation, which they said could provide Trump with legal justifications for continuing the war.
One clause notes that “Tehran continues to harbor a network of senior al-Qaeda leaders, providing them with sanctuary space to fundraise in support of its fighters.” Given that the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force that approved the Afghanistan war includes language allowing the use of military power against any nations that harbored the organizations or individuals responsible for planning, carrying or aiding in the 9/11 attacks, the Democrat said that Trump could use the language “as a legal justification” for the war.
The other clause describes Iran as a “direct and persistent threat to the United States,” which the Democrat said could trigger the president’s self-defense authorities under Article II of the Constitution.
“Iran is a leading state sponsor of terrorism led by a regime that represses its own people and poses real dangers we must confront. We must ensure it never obtains a nuclear weapon. I will continue to support targeted efforts to counter the threats posed by Iran, but I voted against a separate resolution on Iran that President Trump may soon use to politically justify this war,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“Iran is obviously a state sponsor of terrorism. There’s no debate on that. The issue is that Republicans are using this to claim that Iran is harboring Al Qaeda (sound familiar?) and is a direct and persistent threat to the U.S. so they can legally justify this reckless war,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) said on X.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), a progressive Israel critic who voted against the resolution, called it a “political messaging bill” designed to take attention away from the war powers resolution that failed in the House shortly after.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee — who supported the resolution — said in a statement, “I agree with the principal assertion of this resolution that Iran is a bad actor. Iran’s malign and destabilizing actions in the region and treatment of its own citizens should be denounced. I have never contested this. What I do contest is that going to war is the reasonable response to this assertion. I support this resolution. I do not support the president’s war of choice with Iran.”
Four Democrats and two Republicans broke with their parties to oppose and support the resolution, respectively
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U.S. Capitol on March 05, 2026 in Washington, DC.
A day after Republican senators blocked a vote to end the U.S.-Israeli operations in Iran, the House voted 219-212 to defeat a similar war powers resolution, with four Democrats breaking with their party to oppose an immediate end to the war, and two Republicans voting with other Democrats to oppose military action.
Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jared Golden (D-ME), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) were ultimately the only Democrats to vote against the resolution, which was led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY). Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who said they would oppose the resolution before the war began, ultimately voted in favor.
On the Republican side, Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), both of whom have isolationist leanings, were the only members of the GOP to support the resolution.
Moskowitz had argued before the war that voting preemptively on the resolution would remove U.S. leverage in negotiations, but argued that the situation has since changed and that the U.S. is now in a full-scale war.
“I didn’t flip at all,” Moskowitz told Jewish Insider. “Circumstances have changed since my first statement two weeks ago.”
In a statement, he condemned Iran and its regime, saying he is “happy that [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] is no longer able to reign terror on his country,” but added, “Regardless of how one feels about this war, or this President, Congress’s constitutional role in any declaration of war is a completely separate issue,” expressing concern at the erosion of congressional war powers over the past year.
“We must reestablish our Article I authority which grants Congress all legislative powers,” Moskowitz said, adding that he did not believe the resolution would prevent continued efforts to protect U.S. bases and personnel nor intelligence sharing with allies.
Gottheimer emphasized in a statement that the U.S. “simply can’t afford to get this wrong — we must win and crush” the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, emphasizing that he is not, in principle, opposed to military action against Iran and that the regime “deserves the punishment they’re receiving.
“With the defeat of the War Powers Resolution in the Senate, the vote in the House today shifted from an unacceptable call that could put our troops in harm’s way to a clear call for this Administration to articulate the goals for the mission, the end game, and their plan to avoid a protracted conflict,” Gottheimer continued — suggesting that he voted for the resolution because it was, in essence, symbolic given that it did not pass the Senate.
“Unlike some of my colleagues who are opposed to combatting the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, I’m supporting this resolution to send a clear message to the Administration: the American people deserve a coherent explanation of what precipitated this war, what success looks like, and how we will know when the mission has been achieved,” he continued, criticizing “shifting justifications and objectives” from the administration. “I’m not opposed to taking action against Iran. I believe that steps to address the persistent threats are merited and necessary to protect our broader national security interests.”
He pledged to make sure the military has sufficient resources, signaling that he may support supplemental funding for the mission if and when requested.
The beginning of combat operations, the loss of some American soldiers and the administration’s inconsistent messaging and strategy — as well as an aggressive push from Democratic leadership — likely helped Democrats close ranks on the war powers resolution.
After the vote, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that he would call up another war powers resolution 60 days from the start of the war, the limit under which an administration can conduct military operations without congressional authorization under the War Powers Act.
“Members who voted against today’s WPR on the assumption that Trump’s war will be swift or limited will not have that excuse once we’ve entered the third month of open-ended hostilities,” Meeks said.
Like Moskowitz and Gottheimer, a handful of other Democrats who have offered a degree of support for the U.S. operations in Iran ultimately voted for the resolution. Some have pointed to concerns about constitutional process and the administration’s failure to seek congressional approval for the war, rather than opposition to the war in general.
“I will vote for the war powers resolution because I cannot support unchecked authority for the administration to engage, indefinitely, in an already deadly war with unknown size and scope, especially considering Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth’s suggestion that he is willing to” use ground troops in the operation, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate House Democrat, said.
At the same time, Suozzi said that “Iran is weaker and the regime’s leadership has been decimated — those are good things. If these operations make the region more secure and America safer, those would also be good things.” He added that the war powers resolution would not prevent Congress from authorizing the use of force in Iran “if necessary and properly presented to Congress.”
Davidson, one of the two Republicans who voted for the resolution. said on the House floor on Wednesday that operations against Iran were just, and potentially necessary, but unconstitutional.
“For some this debate will be about whether we should even be fighting in Iran. For me, the debate is more fundamental: is the president of the United States, regardless of the person holding the office, empowered to do whatever he wants?” Davidson said. “That’s not what our Constitution says. … I rise in support of this war powers resolution today because the moral hazard posed by a government no longer constrained by our Constitution is a grave threat.”
Davidson argued that his Republican colleagues were ignoring the clear definition of what constitutes a war, and repudiating Trump’s campaign promises.
The House resolution, unlike the Senate version, included no specific protections to allow for continued U.S. intelligence sharing with Israel and other allies, and defensive operations to protect allies like Israel and U.S. forces.
Earlier this week, Gottheimer, Landsman, Suozzi, Cuellar, Golden and Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) and Adam Gray (D-CA) had introduced an alternative resolution that would give the administration 30 days from the start of the war to wind down operations in Iran, rather than demanding an immediate halt, while banning any ground operations.
Gottheimer said in his statement he plans to call up his resolution during the week of March 23, but he hopes that, “Between now and then, I hope either the conflict has reached its objectives or the Administration has made a strong case to Congress and the American people for why this mission must continue.”
But most ultimately voted for the Massie-Khanna resolution.
Suozzi said that the Gottheimer resolution “would prevent a reckless and potentially unsafe removal of our forces and allow us to continue to protect American troops and our allies in the region during this perilous time,” a seeming indictment of the war powers resolution he nevertheless supported.
Top lawmakers supporting the war powers resolution have largely failed to articulate what the implications of immediately ending operations would be, with some claiming, in spite of the resolution’s language, that U.S. forces would be allowed to finish their mission and wind down.
Some former Democratic officials argued that Gottheimer’s alternative effort would be a more prudent path, with U.S. forces and embassies under fire from Iran, and that any realistic and safe withdrawal would take time. One also argued that the resolution, if brought to a vote, might pick up enough Republican support to pass.
Daniel Silverberg, a former advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), emphasized that a similar effort to cut off the U.S.’ Libya operations led by “one of the most ardent anti-war activists in the House,” then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), included a 15-day wind-down provision.
“The Massie-Khanna resolution lacks it. The notion that Democrats would not, at a minimum, support that amendment to allow for a responsible withdrawal of forces is problematic from a national security perspective and from a messaging perspective,” Silverberg said.
Jeremy Bash, a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration, told JI that the Khanna-Massie resolution “requires [a] very strange outcome” that would be “dangerous for our troops” and that it was not “credible” because it lacked any buffer period.
Plus, Kristi Noem gets the boot
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Reps. Thomas Massie, (R-KY), left, and Ro Khanna, (D-CA), conduct a news conference outside a Department of Justice office in NoMa on Monday, February 9, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon,
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump announced he’s replacing Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), after Noem had rankled the president and some Republican members of Congress with her oversight of widespread turmoil at the agency, among other issues. Mullin still needs to be confirmed by the Senate to assume the post.
Mullin, if confirmed, would take the helm of DHS amid its continued partial shutdown, and as it has repeatedly come under fire for its handling of issues related to antisemitism from lawmakers and Jewish community groups. Noem, meanwhile, will become special envoy to a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere being launched by Trump this weekend…
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other GOP leadership called on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) to drop out of his reelection race, after the lawmaker admitted yesterday to having an affair with a staffer who later committed suicide. Gonzales is headed to a May runoff with his primary opponent, social media influencer Brandon Herrera; if Gonzales does step aside, Herrera, who has a history of antisemitic posts about the Holocaust, is all but guaranteed the GOP nomination in a solidly Republican district…
Trump said he “[has] to be involved in the appointment” of the next Iranian leader, in an interview with Axios, “like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela.” He called Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has emerged as his father’s likely successor, “unacceptable.” The president’s comments seem to widen the administration’s stated war aims, which have thus far focused on eliminating Iran’s naval, air and nuclear assets.
Trump also insisted in the interview that Israeli President Isaac Herzog issue a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “today,” as he wants Netanyahu “to focus on the war and not on the f**king court case. I want the only pressure on Bibi to be the fighting against Iran”…
Some Democratic lawmakers — including Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) — told Politico they won’t “rule out” voting in favor of an emergency supplemental funding request to shore up the military should one come from the administration amid the campaign against Iran, despite widespread Democratic condemnation of the White House’s failure to consult Congress beforehand…
A vote on a war powers resolution to stop the military campaign in Iran failed in the House this afternoon 219-212, with two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davison (R-OH) — crossing the aisle in support and four Democrats — Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) — breaking with their party to oppose it.
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) both changed their positions and voted in favor of the resolution, weeks after Moskowitz told Jewish Insider — before the campaign began — that its sponsors “should just rename [the resolution] the Ayatollah Protection Act because that’s what it does.” Asked by JI about the shift in his stance today, Moskowitz answered, “I didn’t flip at all. Circumstances have changed since my first statement”…
Antisemitic podcaster Tucker Carlson’s latest extreme rhetoric took aim at the Chabad Lubavitch movement, with sweeping conspiratorial language accusing the Hasidic sect of seeking to start a “religious war” amid the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Carlson argued in an episode of his show that dropped last night that Jews see the war against Iran as an opportunity to feud with Islam and to target Christians. Carlson’s remarks prompted outrage among Chabad’s backers, who pointed out that Chabad emissaries have for decades played a crucial role in connecting American Jews to their faith and to each other…
In a conversation with ABC News, Trump said this afternoon that Tucker “has lost his way. I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. … Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that”…
In a discussion with the New York Post, Trump railed against European countries which have continued to oppose the campaign against Iran, calling Spain “a loser” and the U.K. “very disappointing.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, said today that the Iran war is a “failure” of the international order, but would not “categorically rule out” Canada’s participation…
Iran’s indiscriminate attacks are bringing allies together worldwide: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s deploying specialists to assist the U.S. after Washington requested “specific support in protection” against Iranian Shahed drones, which Ukraine has been battling for several years as Russia has regularly deployed them, and the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council held a joint meeting to discuss Iran’s “unjustifiable, unprovoked, and unlawful attacks”…
The New York Times profiles Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, as he helps lead Israel’s efforts in the campaign against Iran…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at Jack Cocchiarella, the progressive Gen Z podcaster who has made a name for himself hosting high-profile Democratic candidates — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom in New Hampshire tonight — and who has recently taken a turn towards bashing Israel.
Team Israel will play its first games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Saturday against Venezuela and on Sunday against Nicaragua.
Also Sunday, AJ Edelman, the Israeli Olympic bobsled team pilot, will speak in conversation with Neil Goldman at Chabad of West Village in New York.
Birthright Israel’s Excelerate26 summit is also taking place in New York this weekend, with keynote speeches on Sunday from Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots; Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor during the Biden administration; and Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
Stories You May Have Missed
MILITARY UPDATE
Day 6: Repatriation flights briefly delayed in the air as Iran shoots missiles at Israel
Tehran also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport
ABOUT-FACE
Ruben Gallego transforms from pro-Israel moderate to face of antiwar opposition
The Arizona senator’s outspoken commentary has repeatedly placed blame for the military operation on Israel, leading one Jewish Democrat to pull her support
The group’s warning came as Gov. Gavin Newsom said Israel could be considered an apartheid state
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO & national director, speaking at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.
The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday urged public figures to refrain from promoting antisemitic rhetoric amid the U.S. and Israel’s operation against Iran, as some leading Democrats have invoked anti-Israel sentiment since the war began last week.
“Since the start of hostilities with the Islamic Republic of Iran last weekend, we are witnessing an alarming pattern of escalating, inflammatory rhetoric from voices across the political and ideological spectrum,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL. “This rhetoric distorts reality and fuels dangerous antisemitic narratives.”
The ADL’s statement comes as several Democratic elected officials have condemned the joint U.S.-Israel ongoing strikes in Iran.
Greenblatt expressed concern that “too many voices” have “engaged in this dangerous game,” which he said includes statements calling Israel an “apartheid state” or accusing it of “genocide,” which “inflame hatred.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday on the liberal podcast “Pod Save America” that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel. Amid the Iran operation, he told the podcast’s hosts that Israel could “appropriately” be described as an apartheid state.
The comments marked a shift for Newsom — widely considered a 2028 presidential contender — who traveled to Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in 2023 and said in an October 2025 interview that he would not consider eliminating U.S. military aid to Israel.
Additionally, the ADL condemned rhetoric that claims pro-Israel organizations and supporters are “anti-American” for advocating for a U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as rhetoric that blames Israel or frames American policy as manipulated by Jewish influence.
During an address at J Street’s convention in Washington on Sunday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said the pro-Israel advocacy group “may call itself pro-American. They may call themselves pro-Israel. But they are neither.”
“It is a sad irony that an operation against the world’s largest sponsor of antisemitism has prompted so much antisemitism,” said Greenblatt.
The ADL’s statement, which does not mention Newsom or any other figures by name, is a contrast from one put out by the American Jewish Committee on Wednesday, which directly condemned the governor.
“Governor Newsom’s recent comments about Israel were confusing and problematic at a critical moment, as the United States, Israel, and their regional partners confront significant threats from the Iranian regime,” the AJC said.
“Invoking the term ‘apartheid’ is wrong and inflammatory, does not reflect the complex realities on the ground, and only risks inflaming tensions. Policy disagreements between Israeli and U.S. leaders should not undermine the enduring importance of the U.S.–Israel relationship, grounded in shared values and strategic interests.”
Iranian ayatollahs have issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to take revenge for the killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei
Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Metropolitan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation officers stand guard at a perimeter near the Capital Jewish Museum on May 22, 2025 in Washington.
Since the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran began last Saturday, Jewish communities worldwide have seen an increase in threats and harassment — including a 95% rise in violent online posts targeting Jews, according to a new report from a leading American Jewish safety and security organization.
A bulletin distributed by the Secure Community Network to law enforcement on Thursday reports that the ongoing strikes on Iran, which included the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, have widespread foreign and domestic security implications.
Iranian ayatollahs Hossein Nouri Hamedani and Naser Makarem Shirazi on Sunday issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to take revenge for the killing of Khamenei. They told Muslim adherents to “aveng[e] the blood of the martyred leader of the revolution” and added that it “is obligatory for all Muslims.” Additionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a public proclamation in Farsi that “the enemy … will no longer have security anywhere in the world, even in their own homes.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded in a confidential law enforcement report obtained by Jewish Insider that the fatwas, Iranian government rhetoric and online messaging heighten the threat of violent extremism in the U.S.
SCN warned that the heightened risk of lone wolf attacks inspired by the strikes may have already begun to play out. Less than 24 hours after the killing of Khamenei, a gunman killed three people in a mass shooting at an outdoor beer hall in Austin, Texas. While authorities are still investigating a motive for the shooting, they noted that there were indicators on the suspect and in his vehicle that suggest a potential terrorist connection: During the attack, the suspect wore a hoodie with the words “Property of Allah” and a shirt with an Iranian flag design underneath.
Since the airstrikes began in Iran, antisemitic online posts impacting the Jewish community — some of which use explicitly violent rhetoric — have nearly doubled, according to SCN, with 4,322 violent posts tracked in the past six days, compared to 2,211 in the week prior to the strikes. These posts include long-standing “Zionist Occupied Government” conspiracies about Israeli control over governments and influence in the U.S., as well as suggestions that the strikes were intended as blood sacrifices for the Jewish holiday of Purim.
The Secure Community Network said it has not yet identified any specific threats to the Jewish community or U.S. homeland. In a list of precautionary recommendations, it urged law enforcement, security partners and Jewish institutions to remain vigilant, refrain from broadly advertising events and consider adding increased armed security.
Retaliatory calls to harm American Jewish communities and facilities, in addition to general calls for “death to America,” have also proliferated online, including in tweets from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of over 80 university student groups.
Plus, Tehran attacks Azerbaijan
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Entertainment Industry Foundation
Governor Gavin Newsom attends a pep rally to celebrate the second year of the Roybal Film and Television Production School on October 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on yesterday’s failed war powers resolution vote in the Senate and preview a similar vote in the House today. We take a closer look at the leftward shifts on Israel by both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) as both men gear up for potential 2028 presidential bids, and spotlight a series of recent public opinion polls in Israel and the U.S. about attitudes toward the war in Iran. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ahmad Vahidi.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The House is slated to vote on a war powers resolution today, a day after a similar effort was blocked by Senate Republicans. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), an isolationist-leaning lawmaker, said he plans to vote with most Democrats in support of the resolution, joining Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). A few Democrats are expected to oppose the resolution. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate House Democrat, said he will also support the resolution. With razor-thin margins in the House, the ultimate outcome could come down to the number of Democratic defections, and potential absences, though Republicans have expressed confidence that the vote will fail.
- The House will separately vote on a Republican-led resolution affirming that Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
- Elbridge Colby, the Trump administration’s under secretary of defense for policy, is testifying this morning on the U.S. National Defense Strategy before the House Armed Services Committee.
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this morning with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, the Muslim World League is hosting an interfaith iftar gathering later today.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to be interviewed by anti-Israel podcaster Jack Cocchiarella in New Hampshire today for a conversation that is expected to heavily focus on Israel. More below on Newsom’s sharp left turn on Israel in recent months.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV AND TAMARA ZIEVE
More than 80% of Israelis support the war against Iran, polls by two major Israeli research institutions found this week, while several U.S. polls found that a majority of Americans oppose it.
The Israel Democracy Institute found that 82% of Israelis — 93% of Jewish Israelis and 26% of Israeli Arabs — support the war with Iran. Among Jewish Israelis, the war has strong support across the political spectrum, with 76% of respondents on the left backing it, 93% of voters from the center and 97% from the right.
Similarly, the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University found that 81% of Israelis back the war against Iran, and 63% support continuing military efforts until the Iranian regime falls. Among Jewish Israelis, support for the war was at 92%, while only 38% of Israeli Arabs support it. About half (49%) of Israeli Arabs oppose the war, while the rest said they did not know.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS shortly after the war began on Saturday, found that nearly 41% of Americans approve of the U.S. military action in Iran, with a sharp divide between Republicans, Democrats and independents — 77% of Republicans approve of the launch of the operation, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats. The poll found that 59% of Americans disapprove of the U.S. decision to strike.
Similarly, an NBC poll found that 41% of American registered voters approve of President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, while 54% disapprove and 5% aren’t sure. Just 8% of Democrats approve of the president’s handling of the situation, while 79% of Republicans and 28% of independents approve of it. In addition, the poll found that 52% oppose the current U.S. military operation. A sizable majority of Republicans (77%) agree with the U.S. decision to strike Iran, while 89% of Democrats and 58% of independents disagree.
There is a further divide between self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans and other Republicans, the poll found: 90% of the former back the strikes, while 54% of the latter support them. The CNN poll found that MAGA Republicans are 30 points more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to strongly approve of the decision to take military action.
MILITARY UPDATE
Day 6: Repatriation flights briefly delayed in the air as Iran shoots missiles at Israel
Some of the first repatriation flights carrying Israelis who had been stranded abroad were briefly held mid-flight on Thursday morning as Iranian missiles were fired at central Israel. El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa repatriation flights began departing for Israel on Wednesday evening from dozens of destinations in Europe, the U.S. and Thailand, and began landing Thursday morning. Several flights needed to briefly detour while en route to Ben Gurion Airport after Iran shot missiles toward central Israel. The flights are expected to continue through the weekend, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Developments: Iran also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time Thursday morning, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport. Shortly after, Baku vowed to respond to the attack. Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands said they would send naval vessels to Cyprus, after an Iranian UAV struck a British base on the island state. The IDF has been preparing for the possibility that the Houthis will begin striking Israel as they have done sporadically since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli media reported. The Houthis have threatened to fire at Gulf States if they attack Iran, and Saudi Arabia increased security for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in case of a Houthi attack, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
FINGER IN THE WIND
Gavin Newsom shifts hard left on Israel policy amid presidential primary considerations
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday night on a popular liberal podcast that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel, a marked evolution for a politician who traveled to Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in 2023 and who said in an October interview that he would not consider eliminating U.S. military aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Asked by Jon Favreau, the co-host of “Pod Save America,” if the U.S. should, in the future, rethink its military support for Israel, Newsom responded, “It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice.”
Zoom out: Newsom’s move away from military support for Israel is a shift even from his recent positions. In October, during an interview with the “Higher Learning” podcast, Newsom said he would not support ending U.S. military aid to Israel. He touted his decision in December 2023 to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also defending Israel’s right to exist. Newsom is widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, and he has been shifting his public stances on Israel to the left in recent months in response to questions from progressive interviewers.
Bonus: The Free Press’ Peter Savodnik writes that Newsom “seems congenitally incapable of rising above his tribe and conceiving of the war [in Iran] as anything other than yet another opportunity for politicking, for taking a few shots, scoring some points.”
ABOUT FACE
Ruben Gallego transforms from pro-Israel moderate to face of antiwar opposition
With a series of pugnacious tweets and media appearances, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has made himself a face of the Democratic opposition to the war in Iran, issuing one of the first comments from a U.S. lawmaker opposing the effort in the early hours of Saturday morning. Gallego’s outspoken commentary, which has repeatedly pinned blame for the operation on Israel — a notion that colleagues on both sides of the aisle have disputed — also coincide with Gallego’s endorsement of Graham Platner, the progressive Maine Senate candidate who has faced a series of scandals related to antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Current messaging: The high-profile moves come as Gallego, who claimed victory in Arizona in 2024 even as President Donald Trump won the state, is seen by political observers as positioning himself for a 2028 presidential campaign — and as anti-Israel policies have become a litmus test for the progressive left. “So Netanyahu now decides when we go to war? So much for America First,” Gallego said earlier this week, in response to comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that seemed to suggest that the timing of the war was dictated by Israel. “What the f*** happened to America First?” Gallego wrote in another post, adding that the U.S. should have left Israel to go ahead with the operation alone.
VOTED DOWN
Senate defeats resolution to halt Iran war, largely along party lines
With the U.S.-Israel operation against Iran widening, the Senate voted 53-47 on Wednesday afternoon — largely along party lines — to block a procedural vote on a war powers resolution that would have forced the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What happened: Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with their respective parties as expected, with Paul voting for and Fetterman voting against the motion, with all other lawmakers voting along party lines. The vote showcased how the Iran war has quickly become a partisan issue, despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing long-standing concerns about the threat from Iran and its malign activities and some Democrats offering a degree of positive commentary about the U.S. strikes. Though widely expected to fail, Democrats view the resolution, and a similar one up for a vote in the House tomorrow, as a critical avenue to go on record with their opposition to the Trump administration’s military offensive.
STEERING CLEAR
Lawmakers keep arm’s length from WH’s reported Kurdish insurgency push in Iran
Lawmakers are largely keeping an arm’s length from the administration’s reported discussions with Kurdish leaders in Iraq about supporting an armed offensive against the Iranian regime, as an on-the-ground force aligned with U.S. interests in the ongoing American and Israeli air campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Many Republican senators indicated Wednesday that they knew little about the effort. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told JI he couldn’t comment on the subject due to classification issues, but said generally that “the Kurds know how to fight — you don’t want to tangle with the Kurds.” Some seemed broadly supportive, while not commenting on the specifics of the reported moves. Democrats are generally skeptical of the reported plan. “I am struck by the hypocrisy of pulling the rug out from under the Kurds in Syria and then asking them to fight again for Iran. Kurds deserve better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said.
NOT CONVINCED
Iran ‘catastrophically’ miscalculated in striking Arab countries, experts say
Leading Middle East foreign policy experts warned that Iran’s decision to expand its response to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign by striking neighboring Arab states could prove to be a major strategic miscalculation — one that risks isolating Tehran further and potentially drawing Gulf countries to take action, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. In the days following the launch of the campaign, Iran carried out widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, striking all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Oman.
Tehran ‘encircled’: Alexander Gray, a former National Security Council chief of staff under President Donald Trump and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told JI that Iran’s decision to attack Arab countries was an “extraordinary strategic miscalculation.” Gray said, “Not only has Iran forced the region’s Arab states to openly support the U.S. and Israeli operation, but it has encircled itself far more effectively than any American diplomacy could have accomplished.” Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at Israel Policy Forum, called the action a “risky move at best.”
Ankara angle: Iran and Turkey moved to de-escalate tensions between them in the immediate aftermath of the downing of an Iranian missile over Turkey on Wednesday, but the development signals dangerous potential if the conflict heats up between them, experts told JI’s Lahav Harkov.
Worthy Reads
A New Middle East: In Semafor, Jason Greenblatt, who served as White House Middle East envoy in the first Trump administration, posits that shifting regional dynamics have created an environment for a new power structure in the Middle East. “For the first time in decades, there is a convergence of strength in the Middle East: A US president willing to confront threats directly; an Israel capable of degrading proxy networks and striking hard at Iran’s military infrastructure; and Arab leaders who have built dynamic economies focused on modernization and long-term competitiveness. Working together, they can isolate the Iranian regime diplomatically, dismantle much of its proxy infrastructure, severely degrade its military reach, and strip it of the intimidation it has used to dominate the region.” [Semafor]
Why America Went to War: In The Free Press, Haviv Rettig Gur considers the broader global geopolitics at play amid debates in the U.S. over the main drivers of the war with Iran. “There is a regional chessboard, on which Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the other Gulf states all play. Iran’s proxies, its drones and ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions, its funding of Hezbollah and the Houthis: All of that belongs primarily to this smaller game. … But there is a second chessboard, vastly larger, on which the United States and China are the primary players. … America went to war in Iran because Iran made itself a Chinese weapon. It didn’t need to do this, to invest so much of the administration’s political capital and of the military’s firepower, just to shore up a second-run Israeli operation.” [FreePress]
Lonely is the Head…: In The Wall Street Journal, RealEye CEO Kevin Cohen looks at Israel’s strategy of targeting the top echelon of Iranian leadership. “The logic is straightforward. Authoritarian systems recover from shocks by quickly re-establishing hierarchy. If that re-establishment becomes dangerous, decision-makers hesitate. Hesitation spreads uncertainty through the entire structure. A regime can survive sanctions. It can survive airstrikes. It can even survive the death of a supreme leader. What it struggles to survive is doubt about who holds authority next. That doubt ripples outward. Commanders delay orders until legitimacy is confirmed. Rival factions position themselves cautiously. Security services turn inward, searching for infiltration. Decision cycles lengthen. Under pressure, elongated decision cycles become fragility. This strategy depends on intelligence rather than brute force.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Seventy-five retired U.S. generals and military officials signed onto an open letter from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America supporting the U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran…
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, expressed concerns about reports that the FBI had fired staff involved in countering threats from Iran in retaliation for their involvement in investigating President Donald Trump…
First in JI: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) endorsed James Leuschen, a former staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) running for Congress in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. “Americans are getting squeezed by high grocery prices, health care, child care, rent, and utility bills,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “They want results, not rhetoric. James Leuschen knows that serving the district where he was born and raised means working with anyone to lower costs and deliver real solutions — and to stop Donald Trump’s chaos”…
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) dropped his reelection bid hours before the deadline to file in Montana; Daines endorsed U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme, who filed to run for the seat shortly after Daines withdrew from the ballot…
Far-left Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam conceded to Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in the Democratic primary in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District after falling short in her second bid for the seat…
Former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) is expected to step down as inspector general of the Labor Department as soon as today and announce a comeback bid for the Long Island House seat he lost to Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) in 2024…
A federal judge in Florida ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to declare the Council on American-Islamic Relations a terrorist group was unconstitutional and violated the group’s First Amendment rights…
A New York State Supreme Court justice who also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s law school dismissed the punishments — including expulsions, degree revocations and suspensions — of Columbia students who participated in the takeover of the school’s Hamilton Hall in 2024 to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, determining that the school could not use sealed arrest records as evidence in disciplinary proceedings; the ruling came as a result of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision to drop criminal charges against the students, thereby sealing their records…
Florida International University is conducting a criminal investigation into a group chat of students associated with Miami-Dade County’s Republican Party in Florida where participants repeatedly used racial slurs, praised Nazi ideology and discussed violent acts against Black people…
Jewish leaders in Chicago are calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to follow the recommendation of the city’s Commission on Human Relations and create an antisemitism task force…
A local Democratic candidate in Northern Virginia’s Prince William County is under fire for recently unearthed racist and antisemitic social media posts from 2012 and 2015…
The U.K. is undertaking an official review into antisemitism at British schools and universities, following a report from the Community Security Trust that showed that school-related antisemitic incidents had doubled since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
Poland repatriated more than 90 artifacts from Greece’s Jewish community that had been looted by the Nazis’ Rosenberg Taskforce during Germany’s occupation of the country during World War II…
The New York Times reports on how the Australian Jewish community, and specifically the Sydney Jewish Museum, is memorializing the victims of the December terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach…
Ahmad Vahidi, a key suspect in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was named the new head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Iran’s decision to build underground “missile cities” to store munitions has backfired, with U.S. and Israeli jets poised to strike missile launchers as they emerge from the underground caverns…
Pic of the Day
A delegation of the American Jewish Committee, led by CEO Ted Deutch (center) and President Bobby Lapin, met Tuesday with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña (far left) in the group’s first-ever visit to Paraguay.
Birthdays
Actor and screenwriter, Jason Isaac Fuchs turns 40…
Particle physicist and astrophysicist, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, Carl William Akerlof turns 88… Retired university counsel for California State University, Donald A. Newman… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he is an associate fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Roy Gutman turns 82… Retired partner of Los Angeles law firm, Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, LLP, Mark Edelstein… President of Los Angeles PR firm Robin Gerber & Associates, Robin Gerber Carnesale… Managing partner at Lerer Hippeau, a NYC-based VC firm, he co-founded Huffington Post and was the longtime chair of BuzzFeed, Kenneth B. Lerer turns 74… Political philosopher and professor at Harvard Law School, Michael Joseph Sandel turns 73… Founder and retired CEO of the DC-based News Literacy Project, Alan C. Miller… Author of Judaism: A Way of Being and former professor of computer science at Yale University, David Hillel Gelernter turns 71… Maryland state senator since 2019, Benjamin F. Kramer turns 69… Actor, screenwriter and film producer, he has been a contestant on three seasons of CBS’ “Survivor,” Jonathan Penner turns 64… Retired tennis player, she won 10 doubles tournaments, Elise Burgin turns 64… Former senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former NPR reporter, Sarah Chayes turns 64… Professor at Université de Montréal, most noted for his work on artificial neural networks and deep learning, Yoshua Bengio turns 62… Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, former president and board chair of AIPAC, Betsy Berns Korn turns 58… President and founder of West End Strategy Team, Matt Dorf turns 56… Los Angeles-area builder and developer, Michael Reinis… Renewable energy executive, Michael N. Kruger… Recording music industry executive, best known for his association with the game show “Jeopardy!,” Austin David “Buzzy” Cohen turns 41… Chief communications officer at Jenner & Block, Daniel S. Schwarz… Managing director at Portage Point Partners, Steven Shenker… Disgraced and jailed founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried turns 34… Manager of operations support at TEKsystems, Andrew Leiferman… Singer and influencer, her career started with a song she performed at her own bat mitzvah, Madison Elle Beer turns 27…
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warns his Iranian counterpart not to allow the conflict to spread across the region
Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images
A view of an Iranian missile after it fell near Qamishli International Airport, near the Turkish border in the Qamishli district of Hasakah, Syria, on March 4, 2026, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Iran and Turkey moved to de-escalate tensions between them in the immediate aftermath of the downing of an Iranian missile over Turkey on Wednesday, but the development signals dangerous potential if the conflict heats up between them, experts said.
NATO air defense systems shot down an Iranian ballistic missile heading for Turkish airspace on Wednesday. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, warning Araghchi not to allow the conflict to spread across the region. Turkey summoned the Iranian ambassador to Ankara for a reprimand.
“All necessary steps to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation,” including consulting with NATO allies to protect the country, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Officials told The Wall Street Journal the missile was targeting the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, which hosts American troops. At the same time, a Turkish official told Agence France-Presse that the missile was likely aimed at Cyprus, where Iran has struck British military assets.
Zvi Yehezkeli, an Arab affairs expert for i24 News, interpreted the missile over Turkey as mostly symbolic, meant as an Iranian message to Ankara to stay out of the war.
Though Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was saddened by the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the war, his response “was viewed in Tehran as hypocrisy,” and they see Erdogan as “playing a double game,” according to Yehezkeli.
“Ankara knows that this symbolic shot was mostly meant for domestic needs in Tehran,” Yehezkeli stated. “For Turkey, silence and containment are the most comfortable way at the moment.”
Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University specializing in Turkish foreign relations, told Jewish Insider that there were “efforts on both sides to minimize the significance of the event.”
In Ankara, she said, “some said [the missile] was meant for Cyprus, some said it was shot by independent groups and not under orders from Tehran. The Iranians said there was no attempt to harm Turkey.”
Lindenstrauss said that while Iran’s intentions are hard to confirm, they may have aimed at the Ceyhan port, through which Azerbaijan ships oil to Israel, especially in light of Iran’s strike on Azerbaijan the following day.
“The attempt to strike Turkey is part of an Iranian policy of trying to get everyone involved in the conflict. They are shooting in all directions. I don’t think [targeting Turkey] is a one-time thing,” she said.
Lindenstruass said she sees several possible negative consequences for Turkey from the war.
“Turkish commentators who understand the severity [of the missile attack] say that Iran is suicidal,” she said.
In addition, Ankara is very concerned about the “spillover of destabilization,” including the possibility of the Kurds getting involved in the conflict, of European navies sending ships to the region to defend Cyprus, and a wave of refugees attempting to enter Turkey from Iran.
Turkey has long had a wall on its border with Iran, and hundreds of Iranians have successfully crossed the border since the start of the war on Saturday, according to Reuters.
“For Israelis, what is most concerning is a growing view [in Turkey] of Israel as a threat that has grown too strong,” Lindenstrauss said. “They have the idea that Israel is behind the events. They don’t blame the U.S.; they blame Israel for a provocation and sabotaging the negotiations.”
At the same time, Turkey is making gains from the conflict in its defense industry, she said.
“Turkey is supplying drones to Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia and Egypt are interested in the fighter jet that Turkey is building. The Gulf States are not happy with Turkish behavior, but they will not isolate Ankara because of its defense industry. That is seen [in Turkey] as a game-changer,” Lindenstrauss said.
David Wurmser, former Middle East advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney and a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, warned in a message, obtained by JI, that he sent to Israeli and American officials that Turkey may choose to join the war against Iran, expressing a broader concern about the involvement of radical Sunni countries.
After Iranian missiles struck Qatar, the Gulf state’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, rejected Iran’s claim that they were aiming for American assets and said Tehran “was seeking to inflict harm on its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs.”
Pakistan publicly warned that Iran “should keep … in mind” that it signed a mutual defense pact last year with Saudi Arabia, which has been struck repeatedly by Iranian missiles and drones in recent days. Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
“Any intervention by Turkey, Pakistan or Qatar is extremely dangerous,” Wurmser said. “It adds nothing, but transforms the texture of this war in extreme, dangerous ways. Even to the point that it can complicate or potentially even make [Israel and the U.S.] lose this … If a Sunni shark-feeding frenzy emerges, Iranians will hunker down, and become passive in fear, perhaps passive even against this regime.”
Intervention by those countries would “transform the narrative of this war,” Wurmser said. “Right now, the war [is] one of the civilized world defending itself and returning Iran to the Iranian people from a lunatic, evil and sadist regime. It cast the Iranian people as our allies and part of our team in battle.”
“The Sunni threat to Iran, however, is seen by Iranians in their gut and bones as a matter of threatening death,” he added.
Wurmser noted that most Sunni states in the region “opposed this war; they tried to sabotage it.” He accused Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar of now “try[ing] to swoop in on the prey.”
Yehezkeli also wrote about the role of deep-seated divisions between Sunni and Shi’ite states.
The Shi’ite leadership of Iran “has a clear accounting of who supported [them], who was silent and who is the real enemy,” Yehezkeli wrote. “The background goes deeper than recent events. The hatred between the Sunnis and the Shi’ites, which began in Islam’s early days, never disappeared. It was only hidden at times behind political interests and temporary alliances.”
Lindenstrauss, however, said she thinks “the Turkish context is more complex” when it comes to the Sunni-Shi’ite divide.
“The largest minority in Iran is Azeris, and they’re Shi’ite and so is [Turkey ally] Azerbaijan,” she noted. “The Kurds are Sunni and that doesn’t calm the Turks down about them. … I don’t see Sunni cooperation against Iran.”
Lindenstrauss said she thinks “Turkey’s interest is for the Islamic Republic to stay in charge [of Iran] but weaker, yet not so weak that there will be a wave of refugees and a Kurdish uprising.”
The Arizona senator’s outspoken commentary has repeatedly placed blame for the military operation on Israel, leading one Jewish Democrat to pull her support
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Then-Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill on June 9, 2022.
With a series of pugnacious tweets and media appearances, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has made himself a face of the Democratic opposition to the war in Iran, issuing one of the first comments from a U.S. lawmaker opposing the effort in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Gallego’s outspoken commentary, which has repeatedly pinned blame for the operation on Israel — a notion that colleagues on both sides of the aisle have disputed — also coincide with Gallego’s endorsement of Graham Platner, the progressive Maine Senate candidate who has faced a series of scandals related to antisemitism.
The high-profile moves come as Gallego, who claimed victory in Arizona in 2024 even as President Donald Trump won the state, is seen by political observers as positioning himself for a 2028 presidential campaign — and as anti-Israel policies have become a litmus test for the progressive left.
“So Netanyahu now decides when we go to war? So much for America First,” Gallego said earlier this week, in response to comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that seemed to suggest that the timing of the war was dictated by Israel.
“What the f*** happened to America First?” Gallego wrote in another post, adding that the U.S. should have left Israel to go ahead with the operation alone.
Though some lawmakers emerged from a Monday briefing echoing that line, Rubio has since said his comments were misrepresented, and others on both sides of the aisle have denied that Israel forced the U.S. into the conflict.
“They’re following Netanyahu, who has literally told us … that he’s been trying to do this for 47 years. I know — I suffered the first attempt at this in 2005, and now America is suffering again because of it,” Gallego said on MS NOW this week, referencing his service in Iraq. “There’s a lot of ways that we can be supportive of Israel. There’s a lot of ways that we could defend Israel’s existence, its sovereignty. I’m 100% for that. We don’t need to go to war for them, especially when it’s a dumb war.”
He said that the U.S. should have threatened to withhold intelligence, support and munitions from Israel if it went ahead with an attack on Iran.
And he said on “Pod Save America” that the U.S. should have tried “calling Iran, saying ‘This is not us, we’re going to be staying out of this.’ No, we just decided that we’re going to let Netanyahu choose our wars. This is very disturbing to me.”
The Arizona senator also said he would not support funding to replenish U.S. munitions expended in the war, saying that Middle Eastern partners should be responsible.
“When the bill comes to pay for the replenishment of interceptors and munitions, the Middle Eastern countries that we have been protecting need to pay for it,” Gallego said on X. “We aren’t cutting more Medicaid, food stamps for protecting these countries in a war of choice and not in our interest.”
In a podcast appearance on The Bulwark this week, he also urged fellow Democrats to reject the war forcefully and wholeheartedly, without caveats or appeals to constitutional authority as other lawmakers have used to justify their opposition.
“Why are we spending all this money? All these countries in the Middle East have a lot of money. Why are we spending all this money?” Gallego continued, explaining questions he’s hearing from constituents. “These are the things that are very simple for people to understand. I think we should not be afraid to communicate that.”
Endorsing Platner, Gallego called him “the kind of fighter Maine hasn’t seen in a long time, someone who tells you exactly what he thinks, doesn’t owe anything to the special interests, and wakes up every day thinking about working families,” also referencing their shared history as veterans.
Platner most recently faced scrutiny for appearing on a podcast in January with an antisemitic conspiracy theorist of whom Platner said he was a “longtime fan.” Just before that podcast appearance came to light, Platner came under fire for retweeting a prominent neo-Nazi influencer. Platner also, for decades, had a tattoo that closely mirrored a Nazi emblem on his chest.
While Platner has claimed not to have been aware of the significance of the symbol, both Jewish Insider and CNN reported that Platner described the tattoo as a Totenkopf, a symbol used by an SS unit.
Gallego and Platner are both represented by the same consulting firm, Fight Agency, which has signed on a number of far-left candidates who have made opposition to Israel a central focus of their campaigns. Another one of the Fight Agency’s clients is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who the senator defended during his polarizing mayoral campaign.
Gallego, who has a Jewish child with his ex-wife, has spoken in the past about his concerns about antisemitism and its impacts on his own family. But pressed this week on Platner’s antisemitic ties, a Gallego spokesperson referred JI to an interview Gallego conducted on “Pod Save America” about the endorsement.
Asked about Platner’s appearance on and praise for the antisemitic podcaster, Gallego downplayed the situation, noting that many Democrats have appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has also spread antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“A working class man goes and has a conversation on a platform that is very similar to what Joe Rogan talks about … but everyone freaks out on this guy,” Gallego said. “Why? Because the establishment doesn’t want him. This is very simple … so they’re going to make sure that he looks bad.”
Gallego also said that Platner was “young and stupid” when he got the tattoo but argued that it was not clearly identifiable as a Nazi symbol, and that subsequent security checks and physicals did not identify the tattoo as a problem.
And he argued that Democrats are too focused on finding “perfect” candidates who are ultimately unable to appeal to voters.
The Arizona senator separately said on a Bulwark podcast this week, “I also endorsed Haley Stevens and Angie Craig, right? And, I was accused by the left of being in the pocket of Israel.” He said that he’s supporting people he believes can win general elections.
Arizona state Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Jewish Democrat and outspoken supporter of Israel, said she was surprised and disappointed by Gallego’s endorsement of Platner.
“It is a really hard one to justify. I, quite frankly, do not care if they are both veterans. There are plenty of veterans who are not complete bigots and jerks who you could endorse,” Hernandez told JI. “There is a woman who’s running, who is the governor, who has not had any history of being a bigot like this individual. I mean, for God’s sake, he has a Nazi tattoo.”
She added, “you can’t excuse and pretend that there is no pattern of bigotry and, quite frankly, just a real disregard for Democratic values” from Platner, pointing to offensive comments about people of color and women that the Maine candidate has made.
“I’m disappointed as an Arizonan, as a woman and as a Jewish woman,” Hernandez continued. “I think it says a lot about a person who’s willing to put their name behind someone like him.”
Hernandez said that, in response to Gallego’s support for Platner and his shifting stance and recent comments on Israel, she’s heard from other Jewish Democrats in Arizona who say they won’t support Gallego going forward.
In the House, Gallego was generally a supporter of Israel — and voted against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — within what was at the time the mainstream of the Democratic Party, but was not particularly active on the issue.
The then-congressman appeared to take a more hawkish position during and immediately after his Senate race in 2024, leading an effort to expand U.S.-Israel counter-tunneling cooperation, supporting efforts to sanction the International Criminal Court, backing the redesignation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, strongly condemning Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for including the phrase “from the river to the sea” in a video she posted and quickly urging the administration to freeze Iranian assets shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, when other Democrats were slower to endorse that position.
He also said, through a spokesperson, that he would have opposed efforts earlier this year to block certain U.S. aid shipments to Israel that were supported by a majority of Senate Democrats. Gallego himself was absent for the vote, citing family duties as a new father.
But Gallego’s recent statements, particularly since the start of the Iran war, indicate a sharp tack in the opposite direction as he eyes a potential national campaign. Other potential 2028 Democratic candidates, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, appear to be making a similar calculation.
JINSA’s Hussein Mansour: ‘During the 12-day war, Qatar called Iran the sisterly Islamic Republic. Nine months later, Qatar is shooting down Iranian jets’
Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images
A yacht sails past a plume of smoke rising from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai on March 1, 2026.
Leading Middle East foreign policy experts warned that Iran’s decision to expand its response to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign by striking neighboring Arab states could prove to be a major strategic miscalculation — one that risks isolating Tehran further and potentially drawing Gulf countries to take action.
In the days following the launch of the campaign, Iran carried out widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, striking all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Oman.
Some Iranian strikes hit U.S. military installations in those countries, as well as the U.S. consulate in Dubai and the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, in what analysts said was an apparent attempt to raise the costs for Washington and lead allies to pressure it to halt the campaign.
But Iran also indiscriminately struck civilian targets — including airports, hotels and major oil and gas infrastructure — causing damage that is sending oil prices soaring and could have lasting economic consequences for the region. Prior to the attacks, several of the affected Arab governments had publicly stated they would not allow their territory to be used to launch strikes on Iran.
On Sunday, the U.S. issued a joint statement along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, strongly condemning Iran’s “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region.”
The attacks have only continued and expanded since then: On Wednesday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said that Iran had launched a ballistic missile towards its airspace that was intercepted by NATO defense systems. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart condemned the incident, adding that NATO “stands firmly with all allies.”
While Arab officials have sought to distance their countries from the conflict and have largely remained silent as they weigh their options, experts said Iranian attacks are a significant error from Tehran that risks pushing Arab states toward direct involvement.
Alexander Gray, a former National Security Council chief of staff under President Donald Trump and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Jewish Insider that Iran’s decision to attack Arab countries was an “extraordinary strategic miscalculation.”
“Not only has Iran forced the region’s Arab states to openly support the U.S. and Israeli operation, but it has encircled itself far more effectively than any American diplomacy could have accomplished,” Gray said. “Over the long term, this unifying force may offer the U.S. a unique opportunity to return to the economic and diplomatic track of the Abraham Accords on a broader, regional basis after the conclusion of the military operation.”
Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at Israel Policy Forum, echoed those sentiments, calling the action a “risky move at best.”
“Iran’s decision to attack neighboring Arab states was intended to impose escalating costs that would theoretically put pressure on the U.S. to bring the war to a halt,” Koplow said. “So far it has backfired as the U.S. and Israel show no signs of backing down, while there are reports that the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are contemplating taking their own action against Iranian missiles and launchers.”
He added that the latest missile fired toward Turkey is “a sign of Iranian regime desperation,” and follows a similar pattern. Koplow also noted that Gulf states are likely to have a “much lower tolerance threshold for Iranian attacks and provocations” going forward, warning that the result could be “an even more isolated Iran facing a regional coalition that takes a more aggressive posture toward its own defense.”
Hussein Mansour, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, also said that Iran “catastrophically” miscalculated. “Iran created the conditions for the Gulf states to join the operation,” said Mansour. He added that Tehran’s decision to strike Arab neighbors destroyed “every diplomatic off-ramp it [Iranian leadership] had spent years cultivating.”
Dana Stroul, director of research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said “there is no question that Iran’s strategy of punishing U.S. allies and partners backfired.”
“Gulf leaders are also making clear they maintain the right to defend themselves and are likely considering the proposition that, given Iran’s willingness to unleash its missile and drone arsenal, the best defense is a strong offense,” Stroul said. “It should not be a surprise if in the coming hours or days we see an expanded role for Gulf countries under attack.”
Amb. Dan Shapiro, a former official in both the Obama and Biden administrations, also told JI that the recent Iranian attacks increases the potential for Arab partners to get involved, noting that the situation underscores the value for Arab countries in “being part of a regional air defense network that includes the United States, but also includes Israel.”
“The Gulf states mostly wanted to stay out of this conflict,” Shapiro said. Now, ”there’s at least some possibility you see the UAE and possibly other Gulf states participate in some measure in operations against Iran.”
Mansour said the strikes have pushed the Gulf states further away from Iran and towards the West.
“Last June, during the 12-day war, Qatar called Iran ‘the sisterly Islamic Republic,’ Kuwait accused the U.S. of violating international law, and Saudi Arabia called for ‘restraint,’” said Mansour. “Nine months later, Qatar is shooting down Iranian jets. Saudi Arabia has authorized retaliation and offered to place ‘all its capabilities’ at the region’s disposal. The UAE has shuttered its embassy in Tehran.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Trump administration official, told JI that he views Iran’s decision to attack Arab neighbors as more of a “reality of who the regime is” rather than a miscalculation.
“The regime is fighting for its survival, it sees all of these countries hosting U.S. bases or otherwise aligning with the U.S. in strategic ways. It knows one of their only cards to play is both to drain air defense assets and spike energy prices, so it wildly attacks civilian and critical infrastructure across the region,” said Goldberg. “The regime sees most of these countries as complicit in the attack simply by enabling the U.S. to operate in the Middle East, and it knows that if it can hit enough energy targets hard enough it can increase the pain point for the West.”
Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, said that while Arab Gulf states are “furious with Iran,” there are reasons for them to refrain from entering direct conflict.
“I suspect that [Arab states] not becoming a party to the war will be essential to negotiating workarounds with the Iranians,” said Diwan. “These will be necessary to get the breathing space in shipping and transport necessary to endure a long war.”
“This same logic will apply if Iran emerges from the war depleted but still dangerous,” Diwan added. “While America may depart the region, Iran will remain, and its Arab neighbors must find a way to live with it.”
Goldberg said that while there is “political benefit” for the U.S. in having Arab governments “endorse offensive military action against the regime,” he noted that “absent a major offensive military contribution to the war [from Arab states], the regime inflicts more costs on the region than it endures for doing so.”
“The GCC states are now on an escalation ladder they did not choose and cannot easily descend,” said Mansour. “If Iran continues to target energy infrastructure, I imagine the Gulf will retaliate severely. The bigger question is what happens after the war stops, and this will largely depend on how the war stops.”
Tehran also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport
JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 5, 2026.
Some of the first repatriation flights carrying Israelis who had been stranded abroad were briefly held mid-flight on Thursday morning as Iranian missiles were fired at central Israel.
El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa repatriation flights began taking off for Israel on Wednesday evening from dozens of destinations in Europe, the U.S. and Thailand, and began landing Thursday morning.
Several flights needed to briefly detour while en route to Ben Gurion Airport after Iran shot missiles toward central Israel. The flights are expected to continue through the weekend.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said that no casualties from the missile barrage had thus far been reported. Social media footage showed a crater in the ground, believed to be from falling missile fragments, in an open field near houses in central Israel.
As Iran launched missiles at Israel on Thursday morning, it also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport.
Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands said they would send naval vessels to Cyprus, after an Iranian UAV struck a British base on the island state.
The IDF has been preparing for the possibility that the Houthis will begin striking Israel as they have done sporadically since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli media reported. The Houthis have threatened to fire at Gulf States if they attack Iran, and Saudi Arabia increased security for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in case of a Houthi attack, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
Overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, the IDF struck an underground site in Iran used to store missiles. Amid the strike, an IAF jet detected Iranians loading a missile into a launcher and struck it.
The IDF completed a wide-scale attack on an Iranian military compound that featured the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij paramilitary force, Quds Force, cyber warfare, and internal security, including the unit for suppressing protests, the military said on Wednesday.
According to the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv University, over 1,000 people have been killed in Iran. Israel has struck over 600 targets and the U.S. has struck over 2,000, in addition to over 300 air-defense systems and ballistic-missile assets. The U.S. additionally destroyed 20 Iranian vessels and submarines.
There have been over 120 waves of Iranian attacks on Israel, including 200 missiles and over 120 UAVs, with 10 significant impacts. There have been 941 UAV attacks, 189 ballistic missiles and eight cruise missiles targeting the UAE, 92 UAVs and 74 missiles aimed at Bahrain, 41 UAVs and 112 missiles targeting Qatar, among other attacks, according to the INSS.
In addition, the INSS found that there have been 62 attacks launched from Lebanon toward Israel and six from Lebanon to Cyprus. Israel has struck over 250 targets in Lebanon since Hezbollah joined the war over the weekend.
Israel has eliminated more than 40 senior figures in Iran, 14 of whom the INSS characterizes as very senior, and 16 in Lebanon.
MDA reported 44 people injured as a result of missile strikes on Israel on Wednesday. Most were injured making their way to shelter. Since the start of Operation Lion’s Roar, MDA has treated 458 casualties; there have been 12 fatalities.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, thanking the U.S. for its support for Israel and saying the countries’ leaders are “changing regional and global history.”
Hegseth praised the cooperation between the militariess and said “keep going to the end; we are with you,” according to Katz’s office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic advisor, Ophir Falk, pushed back against the claim that the U.S. or Israel attacked a girls’ school in Iran on Saturday, killing at least 168, according to Iranian reports. Falk said the claim was being investigated, but that it appears that a misfired Iranian missile struck the school.
“From what I understand, that was clearly an Iranian strike; it’s a misfire from the Iranians,” Falk told CNN. “Those are Iranian missiles that misfired. Some 30% of their missiles are misfiring.”
Falk noted that similar incidents took place during the war in Gaza, adding: “For us, every civilian casualty is a tragedy. We do everything to prevent civilian casualties. … For [Iran], it’s a strategy. … I am 100% sure the American military did not intentionally kill civilians.”
The vote showcased how the Iran war has quickly become a partisan issue, despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing long-standing concerns about the threat from Iran
GETTY IMAGES
A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building from the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
With the U.S.-Israel operation against Iran widening, the Senate voted 53-47 on Wednesday afternoon — largely along party lines — to block a procedural vote on a war powers resolution that would have forced the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat with Iran.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with their respective parties as expected, with Paul voting for and Fetterman voting against the motion, with all other lawmakers voting along party lines.
The vote showcased how the Iran war has quickly become a partisan issue, despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing long-standing concerns about the threat from Iran and its malign activities and some Democrats offering a degree of positive commentary about the U.S. strikes.
Though widely expected to fail, Democrats view the resolution, and a similar one up for a vote in the House tomorrow, as a critical avenue to go on record with their opposition to the Trump administration’s military offensive. Many Democrats believe U.S. military engagement in Iran will be politically unpopular in a midterm election year, and are objecting to the administration’s decision not to seek congressional authorization for the operation.
Pressed by Jewish Insider in the days leading up to the vote, several top Democrats backing the resolution did not offer a clear articulation of the potential implications and impacts the resolution would have when U.S. assets and embassies are actively under fire from Iran.
Two argued, in spite of the directive contained in the legislation for U.S. forces to immediately withdraw, that the resolution would nevertheless allow for an orderly completion of the mission and drawdown of U.S. personnel.
Around 40 Democratic senators — most of the caucus — sat together at their desks on the Senate floor as the vote began, a break with usual Senate practice, which sees senators mingle on the floor and filter in and out of the chamber as votes proceed.
The tactic was likely designed to signal the nearly unified Democratic opposition to and concern about the legislation.
Republican Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) had all declined to tell reporters, in the days before the vote, how they planned to vote, but all three ultimately voted with their party against the motion.
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), a prominent Republican advocate for reclaiming congressional war powers, said in a statement earlier Wednesday that he believed, based on the information he received, “there was a very real possibility of Iran escalating those threats against us and our service members, so President Trump made the difficult decision to direct strikes.”
He said the danger to U.S. forces and allies “will only grow if we limit the President’s military options at this critical moment. An abrupt disengagement could pose increased risks to American lives and interests.”
At the same time, he also called for hearings and debate about the administration’s aims and strategy, particularly as the war continues.
Collins said in a statement, “Passing this resolution now would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops. At this juncture, providing unequivocal support to our service members is critically important, as is ongoing consultation by the Administration with Congress.”
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said after the vote, “I will say very clearly: Yes, I wish I would have been consulted. I wish my vote would have been asked for before this. But the president did act within his legal bounds to do what he has done.”
Murkowski, Collins, Paul, Young and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently voted with Democrats in favor of a procedural vote on a similar resolution to end U.S. operations in Venezuela, but Hawley and Young ultimately flipped on the vote on the resolution itself, leading the Venezuela resolution to fail.
Paul argued that the war in Iran was contrary to Trump’s campaign message of opposing regime change and preemptive wars, which he said had resonated with him and with other Trump voters.
The general GOP unity around the resolution isn’t necessarily a signal that all Republicans are directly in lockstep behind Trump’s efforts, however, or that they would remain so regardless of how the campaign proceeds.
Hawley — who generally favors a more restrictionist foreign policy — for example, told reporters on Tuesday that he believed Trump would need congressional approval to put troops on the ground in Iran. But Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) offered the opposite view.
Collins said in a statement that “sustained combat operations require full engagement with Congress. The Administration has adhered to the provisions of the War Powers Act that require notification to Congress within 48 hours of hostilities commencing, and it has provided numerous classified briefings to Congress.”
Some former Democratic officials have questioned the wisdom of the approach taken by the war powers resolutions up for debate in the Senate and House, which demand the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat with Iran.
They’ve argued that it’s unreasonable, unrealistic and dangerous for U.S. forces to be required to pull out immediately, without any drawdown period.
“We have U.S. servicemembers in harm’s way. Some are flying combat sorties as we speak. We can’t call them in the cockpit and say ‘Congress has prohibited you from completing this mission. Please turn around and stop what you’re doing.’ If that sounds a little strange, it is because the Ro Khanna [D-CA] resolution requires that very strange outcome,” Jeremy Bash, a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration, told JI, referring to a similar resolution in the House.
“An immediate withdrawal is dangerous for our troops. Any pullback needs to be orderly and safe. We need to give the combatant commander at least a few weeks to do this safely,” Bash continued. “For a war powers resolution to be credible, it has to build in several days for the commanders to act responsibly to protect their troops. This cannot be done immediately.”
Without congressional authorization, the administration is required under law to end the operation 60 days from its start.
The House is set to vote on similar legislation tomorrow, with most lawmakers again expected to vote along party lines.
The vote was held open for an extended time to allow Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to return to the Senate after his Tuesday night primary election.
Washington reporter Matthew Shea contributed reporting.
Plus, Qatar rebuffs Iranian diplomacy
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) speaks with press in the Hart Senate Office Building on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Good Wednesday afternoon,
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
On the fifth day of the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed.”
Hegseth also revealed that an American submarine sank an Iranian warship by torpedo, the first time such a thing has been accomplished since World War II. Responding to concerns over whether the U.S. will be able to maintain enough munitions throughout the conflict, Hegseth dismissed “stories and speculation,” instead asserting: “Iran cannot outlast us”…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to insist that Iranian drones and missiles attacking Qatar are really directed at U.S. assets and “not intended to target the Gulf state.”
Al Thani “categorically rejected” that claim, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry, “citing the civilian and residential areas inside the country struck by the attacks.” He told Araghchi that Iran’s actions do not “indicate any genuine desire for de-escalation or resolution” and are trying to drag Qatar into a war “that is not theirs”…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the White House Monday to ask about intelligence that indicated the U.S. might be communicating with Iran, Axios reports, which administration officials told him was false. A New York Times report found that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence had indirectly sent a message to the CIA attempting to start negotiations to end hostilities…
NATO air defense systems shot down an Iranian missile that was flying through Iraq and Syria on its way toward Turkey, the Turkish defense ministry said this morning. It’s the first attack by Iran on a NATO country’s territory. The U.K. and France, also NATO countries, are sending additional planes and warships to the region after Iran targeted a British base in Cyprus…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked about reports of the U.S. arming Kurdish militias to assist in regime change in Iran, told reporters that Trump has spoken to Kurdish leaders in recent days about the U.S. military base in northern Iraq, but “any report suggesting that the president has agreed to any such plan” about arming the Kurds “is completely false and should not be written”…
Leavitt also said that the U.S. is now coordinating with Spain on the military operation in Iran, after Trump threatened yesterday to cut off all trade with Madrid over its refusal to let the U.S. use military bases on its soil and its lack of defense spending. Spain categorically denied that it is cooperating with the U.S. or has changed its position at all…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio held phone calls with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani about the campaign against Iran. Turkey and Cyprus have both faced attacks by Iranian projectiles, while Italy summoned its Iranian ambassador to protest the attack on Cyprus…
Trump indicated he’s close to offering his endorsement to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who beat expectations by finishing ahead of right-wing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in yesterday’s primary. While both Republicans are headed to a May runoff, a Trump endorsement would make Cornyn the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination — and alleviate a lot of GOP anxiety over the possibility that a scandal-plagued Paxton could lose to state Rep. James Talarico, the newly minted Democratic nominee…
In North Carolina, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) holds a narrow lead over her far-left opponent, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, who has indicated she will seek a recount. Foushee said in a statement that she would “welcome the opportunity” for a recount and is “confident that the Democratic voters of North Carolina will have nominated me to serve a third term”…
Hegseth will headline a fundraiser next week for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), after four servicemembers who were previously stationed in his district were killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait on Sunday. Nunn, who has been a staunch ally of Israel in the House, is facing a competitive reelection race as Democrats target his seat in their attempt to take back the chamber…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a breakdown of the Senate’s consideration of the Iranian war powers resolution, led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), which is currently on track to fail on a procedural vote.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “advancing national security through diplomacy” with Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy.
The Muslim World League will host an interfaith iftar gathering on Capitol Hill.
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IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Day 5: Israel vows to eliminate Khamenei’s successor
Also Wednesday, an Israeli F-35I fighter jet shot down an Iranian YAK-130 fighter jet over Tehran, marking the first time an F-35 jet shot down a manned fighter aircraft, IDF says
PUSHING BACK
After classified briefing, senators reject claims Israel forced U.S. into Iran war
Republicans and some Democrats insisted Trump made the decision, while other Democrats said that the timing of the onset of hostilities was impacted by Israel’s plans
The defense secretary announced the death of the individual responsible for the Trump assassination attempt and said the U.S. sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
On the fifth day of the joint U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed.”
Hegseth, speaking alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, also touted the naval and air superiority achieved by the U.S. and Israel over Iran.
“The Iranian Air Force is no more … their navy is not a factor,” Hegseth said. “In fact, last night, we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani, and … yesterday in the Indian Ocean an American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.”
Caine noted that the U.S. has sunk more than 20 Iranian warships.
Still, Hegseth said, the operation is only in its early days.“We are accelerating, not decelerating,” he claimed, noting that “more bombers and more fighters are arriving today.”
“Starting last night and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world [the U.S. and Israel] will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace. Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the IRGC Iranian leaders, looking up and seeing only us and Israeli air power every minute of every day, until we decide it’s over. Iran will be able to do nothing about it.”
“Iran’s senior leaders are dead, the so-called governing council that might have selected a successor are dead, missing or cowering in bunkers too terrified to even occupy the same room, senior generals, mid- level, officers, enlisted ranks, they can’t talk or communicate, let alone mount a coordinated and sustained offensive,” Hegseth added.
Hegseth said the current campaign has wrought “seven times the intensity” than that of the 12-day war in June 2025, noting that the U.S. is “just getting started” and “more and larger waves are coming.”
Hegseth did not comment on whether the U.S. would deploy ground troops, but said that the department is working to move existing personnel around the region out of harm’s way.
“We have, from the start, put the protection of our troops ahead of everything else before we very publicly built up offensive combat power,” Hegseth said. “We moved the vast majority of American troops, over 90% of Americans that were on our bases, out of the range of Iranian fire.”
Hegseth credited Israel for its role in the operation, telling reporters that working with “such a capable ally” is a “force multiplier and breath of fresh air.” In addition to working with Israel, Hegseth said the U.S. is also closely coordinating with Arab partners.
“Whether it’s UAE or Qatar or Bahrain or Kuwait or Saudi on different levels, they’re reaching out to us … they’re giving us additional access basing and overflight … we’re working very closely and collaborating with them also on air defenses,” Hegseth said.
“The air defense capabilities of those countries are significant, and when combined with ours and we coordinate it, it brings simplicity to the shot doctrine,” he added.
Caine laid out the U.S.’ strategy moving forward: “CENTCOM is now shifting from large, deliberate strike packages using standoff munitions … into stand-in precision strikes overhead Iran,” he said. “This will allow the joint force to deliver significantly increased precision effects on the target.”
Caine said that Iran has been “indiscriminate” in its attacks, firing “more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2000 drones striking innocent civilian targets throughout the region.”
Responding to concerns over whether the U.S. will be able to maintain enough munitions throughout the conflict, Hegseth dismissed “stories and speculation,” instead asserting: “Iran cannot outlast us.”
“We’re going to ensure through violence of action and our offensive capabilities and our defensive capabilities that we set the tone and the tempo of this fight,” Hegseth said. “The only limits we have in this is President Trump’s desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people … You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three. Ultimately, we set the pace.”
Polls find a sharp divide between Republicans and Democrats and a further split between MAGA-aligned Republicans and other Republicans
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
People take shelter in an underground bomb shelter amid reports of incoming missiles on February 28, 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
More than 80% of Israelis support the war against Iran, polls by two major Israeli research institutions found this week, while several U.S. polls found that a majority of Americans oppose it.
The Israel Democracy Institute found that 82% of Israelis — 93% of Jewish Israelis and 26% of Israeli Arabs — support the war with Iran.
Among Jewish Israelis, the war has strong support across the political spectrum, with 76% of respondents on the left backing it, 93% of voters from the center and 97% from the right.
Similarly, the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University found that 81% of Israelis back the war against Iran, and 63% support continuing military efforts until the Iranian regime falls.
Among Jewish Israelis, support for the war was at 92%, while only 38% of Israeli Arabs support it. About half (49%) of Israeli Arabs oppose the war, while the rest said they did not know.
According to the IDI poll, three-fourths (74%) of Jewish Israelis said they supported continuing the war until the Iranian regime is overthrown, while only 18% of Israeli Arabs agreed; 61% of Israeli Arabs called for a ceasefire as soon as possible, while only 3% of Jewish Israelis chose that as their preferred option.
Over a third of respondents (37%) to the INSS poll said that Israelis would be able to live under the current war situation for up to a month, while 29% said they could continue for over a month.
At the start of last year’s Iran war, half of the respondents said it could continue for over a month.
IDI found that most Jewish Israelis (74%) feel protected from Iranian attacks, whereas only 15% Israeli Arabs feel the same. Among Israelis who have a safe room in their homes, 76% feel safe, whereas among those who have to go to a shelter elsewhere, 63% feel safe.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Jewish Israelis feel that Israel’s security is a central consideration for President Donald Trump, while only 43% of Israeli Arabs do.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS shortly after the war began on Saturday, found that nearly 41% of Americans approve of the U.S. military action in Iran, with a sharp divide between Republicans, Democrats and independents — 77% of Republicans approve of the launch of the operation, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats. The poll found that 59% of Americans disapprove of the U.S. decision to strike.
Similarly, an NBC poll found that 41% of American registered voters approve of Trump’s approach to Iran, while 54% disapprove and 5% aren’t sure. Just 8% of Democrats approve of the president’s handling of the situation, while 79% of Republicans and 28% of independents approve of it. In addition, the poll found that 52% oppose the current U.S. military operation. A sizable majority of Republicans (77%) agree with the U.S. decision to strike Iran, while 89% of Democrats and 58% of independents disagree.
There is a further divide between self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans and other Republicans, the poll found: 90% of the former back the strikes, while 54% of the latter support them. The CNN poll found that MAGA Republicans are 30 points more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to strongly approve of the decision to take military action.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just 27% of Americans approve of U.S. strikes — 55% of Republicans, 7% of Democrats and 19% of others. According to the poll, some 56% see President Donald Trump as too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests — with 87% of Democrats holding this view, 23% of Republicans and 60% of people who don’t identify with either major party.
A Fox News poll found that Americans were evenly split between support and disapproval of the current U.S. action against Iran with Republicans overwhelmingly supportive and Democrats overwhelmingly against. Most American respondents (61%) saw Iran as a “real national security threat,” and only 38% did not.
Also Wednesday, an Israeli F-35I fighter jet shot down an Iranian YAK-130 fighter jet over Tehran, marking the first time an F-35 jet shot down a manned fighter aircraft, IDF says
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, attends a demonstration to mark Jerusalem day in Tehran on May 31, 2019.
Any replacement selected to replace Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by Israel on the first day of the war with Iran on Saturday, will be in Israel’s crosshairs, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday.
“Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime will be a clear target for elimination,” Katz said. “The prime minister and I instructed the IDF to prepare and act by all means to accomplish the mission … We will continue acting with full force, together with our American partners, crush the regime’s abilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to topple and replace it.”
Katz’s remarks came after widespread reports that the slain supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is his likely successor.
Israel struck the building housing the Assembly of Experts, made up of senior clerics who would choose the new supreme leader. Initial reports stated officials counting the votes were killed.
Israel continued to strike the Iranian regime’s centers of power, including command centers of the Basij paramilitary force and internal security “used by the Iranian regime to maintain control throughout Iran and maintain the regime’s situational assessments,” the IDF stated.
The CIA is reportedly acting to destabilize the regime by arming Kurdish forces, according to CNN and Reuters, with the Trump administration said to be in talks with Kurdish leaders in Iraq, in addition to Iranian opposition leaders, to try to foment an armed uprising. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have repeatedly attacked Kurdish groups since war broke out over the weekend.
Also Wednesday, an Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet over Tehran, marking the first time an F-35 jet shot down a manned fighter aircraft, the IDF stated.
The IDF also continued to hunt missile launchers to degrade Iran’s ability to shoot large barrages around the region, striking a facility used to launch, produce and store ballistic missiles in Isfahan.
Iranian missile attacks on Israel injured 45 on Tuesday, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service. From the start of the war with Iran, there have been 12 fatalities and 404 additional casualties in Israel, including two severely injured and 288 who were injured making their way to shelters.
The Iranian regime has made increasing use of civilian structures as shields, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies found, noting that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei held a press conference in a school on Tuesday, and police and other security forces used schools as bases of operations.
The IDF sent emergency evacuation warnings to residents of over a dozen villages and towns in Lebanon ahead of continued strikes against Hezbollah terrorists and facilities on Wednesday.
‘If anything, I might have forced Israel's hand,’ Trump said after Rubio’s previous comments were interpreted as placing blame on Israel
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, center left, and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
A chorus of senior Trump administration officials, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to offer a decisive rebuttal on Tuesday to what they deemed to be a false narrative, which had spread like wildfire a day before.
They were all responding to the political tumult and online furor that erupted after Rubio briefed congressional leaders about the U.S. military operation in Iran on Monday afternoon.
A narrative quickly formed — based in large part on a viral post on X from the White House clipping an excerpt of Rubio’s comments — that Trump decided to strike Iran because Israel was already planning an attack, which would then prompt Iranian retaliation, thus putting American troops at risk.
“The president made the very wise decision — we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio told reporters.
The White House shared that sound bite in a post on X that was viewed more than 13 million times in less than a day. Rubio’s Monday messaging about Israel was echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) after he and other congressional leaders received Rubio’s briefing.
The question that was then posed dozens of times by reporters to policymakers: Had Israel forced America’s hand and dragged the U.S. into war?
Never mind that Rubio also said in those same remarks the U.S. was not “forced” to strike because of an impending Israeli action. “No matter what, ultimately, this operation needed to happen,” Rubio said. The White House shared that sound bite on X Tuesday morning, drawing 500,000 views, a fraction of the visibility of the earlier post. “No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran,” was the headline Leavitt posted on X. But the damage had already been done.
Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the same question in a Monday night interview. “You don’t have to drag him into anything,” Netanyahu said of Trump. “He does what he thinks is right for America.”
Another reporter then posed the question to Trump directly on Tuesday during an Oval Office meeting between the president and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“No,” Trump said decisively. “I might have forced their hand.” Hegseth then chimed in on X boosting Trump’s message: “This is 100% correct.”
Rubio similarly refuted a reporter who said the U.S. needed to get involved because Israel was going to strike Iran.
“Your statement is false,” he said Tuesday during another visit to Capitol Hill for all-member briefings in the House and Senate. “Somebody asked me the question yesterday, did we go in because of Israel … I told you this had to happen anyway. The president made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program, that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ability to conduct these attacks. That decision had been made.”
The question, he said, was “a question of timing, of why this had to happen as a joint operation. Not the question of the intent.”
Some questions remain unanswered. Trump told reporters alongside Merz that Iran was going to attack first, but it was not clear whom he expected Iran to attack, the Israelis or the Americans. A White House spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
“We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,” Trump said. “Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand, but Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we’ve had a very, very powerful impact.”
Even as the White House refuted the narrative that Israel had pulled the U.S. into war and put American servicemembers at risk, Democratic lawmakers and right-wing podcasters turned it into an online rallying cry.
“So Netanyahu now decides when we go to war? So much for America First,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said in a post on X on Monday. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama, argued Trump could not bring himself to say no to Netanyahu: “Donald Trump is so weak that he couldn’t tell Bibi Netanyahu no, so now we are at war,” he said in response to the Rubio clip.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who was in Monday’s briefing by Rubio, afterward described the strikes as “dictated by Israel’s goals and timelines” and said he opposed them.
On the right, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire sharply criticized Rubio. “So he’s flat out telling us that we’re in a war with Iran because Israel forced our hand. This is basically the worst possible thing he could have said,” Walsh wrote.
The conservative pundit Megyn Kelly said that the American servicemembers who have so far died in the campaign did not give their lives for the United States. “No one should have to die for a foreign country. I don’t think those four service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or for Israel,” she said on Monday.
Now progressive Jewish groups are attacking the White House, saying that pinning the war on Israel feeds into antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“Shifting blame for American military decisions to Netanyahu is an abdication of responsibility and comes with the dangerous side effect of fueling antisemitic sentiment in the United States,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said Tuesday.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America called Rubio’s language “unprecedented, dangerous and deeply irresponsible.”
“As Jewish Americans, we’re deeply concerned about the consequences of the White House effectively blaming Israel for its decision to launch a war against Iran, which has now spread to the entire Middle East,” JDCA said in a Tuesday statement.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, meanwhile, spent Tuesday reposting messages from the White House, the Senate Republican Caucus and the Pentagon that Israel had not, in fact, dragged the U.S. into war.
Rubio attempted to offer a final rebuttal of the narrative about Israel driving the war when he was back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. He acknowledged how his comments the day before had spread — although he did not mention that the White House played a role in amplifying them.
“If you’re going to play the statements, you need to play the whole statement, and not clip it to reach a narrative,” said Rubio.
The new resolution, put forth by a group of pro-Israel Democrats, gives the administration 30 days to end the campaign or seek congressional approval
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA
Pedestrians walk near near the U.S. Capitol Building, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
A group of six moderate House Democrats introduced an alternative war powers resolution on Iran, which — rather than demanding an immediate end to the ongoing U.S. operation — would give the administration 30 days in which to either end the campaign or come to Congress to seek approval for continued strikes.
The resolution is sponsored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jared Golden (D-ME) and Jim Costa (D-CA). It signals concern from the group of hawkish pro-Israel House Democrats about the efforts by their colleagues to demand an immediate end to operations in Iran, though at least some of the sponsors of the resolution still plan to vote for the existing war powers resolution this week as well.
“Iran is actively firing drones and ballistic missiles at U.S. troops, our embassies, allies, and is targeting civilians across the region,” Gottheimer said on X on Tuesday. “This new Democratic War Powers Resolution will uphold Congress’s constitutional authority — while also ensuring the U.S. can defend our troops, embassies, and allies from Iranian aggression.”
Landsman said that the resolution “allows for the short-term, targeted strikes on the regime’s missiles and bombs, requires Trump to come to Congress for a vote, and specifies ‘no ground troops.’ Destroy the [regime’s] ability to destroy more lives or cause any more mayhem or violence. Nothing more.”
In a press release, Gottheimer’s office pointed to concerns that the resolution led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), which is set to receive a House vote this week, would pull out U.S. forces even as Iran is targeting U.S. troops, assets, facilities and allies. “It is vital that we allow for a safe transition, that protects our service members, embassies, and allies, not a potentially precarious withdrawal,” the statement reads.
Lawmakers supporting the war powers resolutions in both chambers have largely not articulated what an immediate end to the war would entail or the potential consequences of abruptly pulling out U.S. forces.
The new resolution includes specific language forbidding the administration from deploying ground troops into Iran “in a combat role, including for regime change, or for occupation unless explicitly authorized by Congress,” but includes an exception for search and rescue and intelligence operations.
Gottheimer’s press release argues that an “open-ended commitment” and a potential commitment of ground troops would both be “unacceptable,” while also warning that “it is equally unwise to act in a precipitous way and endanger America’s security and put our service members in additional harm’s way.”
The Gottheimer-led resolution also contains language that would allow the U.S. to continue to defend its facilities, personnel and allies from “imminent attack;” keep forces in the region “for defensive purposes” and who are engaged in other missions and continue sharing intelligence with partners.
The war powers resolution that is set to receive a House vote later this week does not include similar language to specifically allow for continued intelligence sharing and defensive operations protecting allies, which could raise concerns for pro-Israel Democrats.
The Senate version of the resolution does include such protections.
While Gottheimer and Landsman have said they oppose the Massie-Khanna resolution, Panetta said on Tuesday that he would support it, despite also backing the Gottheimer resolution.
“The President has not abided by our Constitution when it comes to invading foreign sovereign states,” Panetta said in a statement. “That is why Congress must fulfill our obligations under the constitution by supporting this week’s bipartisan War Powers Resolution.”
Asked about the Gottheimer resolution, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized that the Massie-Khanna legislation will be coming to the floor on Wednesday. “That’s the one we have. This is continuing right now. We need to vote on this resolution tomorrow. I’m not considering any other [resolution].”
Jeremy Bash, a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration, told JI that the Khanna-Massie resolution is reckless.
“We have U.S. servicemembers in harm’s way. Some are flying combat sorties as we speak. We can’t call them in the cockpit and say ‘Congress has prohibited you from completing this mission. Please turn around and stop what you’re doing.’ If that sounds a little strange, it is because the Ro Khanna resolution requires that very strange outcome,” Bash said. “An immediate withdrawal is dangerous for our troops. Any pullback needs to be orderly and safe. We need to give the combatant commander at least a few weeks to do this safely.”
He said that Congress can and should be involved in debating the war and providing oversight, but “for a war powers resolution to be credible, it has to build in several days for the commanders to act responsibly to protect their troops. This cannot be done immediately.”
Bash called Gottheimer’s resolution a “very sensible alternative that will protect our troops.”
Daniel Silverberg, a former advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), emphasized that a similar effort to cut off the U.S.’ Libya operations led by “one of the most ardent anti-war activists in the House,” then-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), included a 15-day wind-down provision.
“The Massie-Khanna resolution lacks it. The notion that Democrats would not, at a minimum, support that amendment to allow for a responsible withdrawal of forces is problematic from a national security perspective and from a messaging perspective,” Silverberg said.
Amb. Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and senior State and Defense Department official, said that the resolution could serve as a “fallback” if the Massie-Khanna resolution fails, one which might have a chance of attracting GOP support.
“The 30 day clock … arguably addresses a concern that some members might have about troops who are actively engaged and in the field, and would need some window of time … to wind down and safely conclude operations,” Shapiro said.
Plus, Alex Soros boosts antisemitic conspiracy theorist
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor, center left, and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon,
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The Trump administration emphatically denied reports, based on partial comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday, that Israel forced the U.S. to launch the operation against Iran.
“If anything, I might’ve forced Israel’s hand,” President Donald Trump told reporters while meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office today. “You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [Iran] were going to attack first.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boosted the president’s comments, saying, “This is 100% correct,” while Rubio insisted his original remarks were misrepresented…
Trump continues to share optimistic assessments of the war’s progress: he told Politico that Iran is running out of missile launchers while claiming the U.S. has “a virtually unlimited supply” of weapons, saying, “wars can be fought ‘forever,’ and very successfully, using just these supplies”…
The Israeli Air Force struck a building where senior clerics had gathered to elect Iran’s next supreme leader, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told CNN, “and there’s a very good chance that the electors won’t be readily available for any further meetings”…
Trump is open to backing militias in Iran who will work to mount regime change, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, after he held phone calls with Kurdish leaders who maintain armed groups along the Iran-Iraq border.
Trump has wavered in recent comments on his vision for the future of Iran, saying today that “somebody from within” might be the best option to lead, rather than individuals like exiled former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi. At the same time, Trump told reporters, “Most of the people we had in mind are dead. And now we have another group, they may be dead also. Pretty soon we’re not gonna know anybody”…
Trump ordered the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance for all maritime trade traveling through the Gulf, as oil traffic has essentially halted and energy prices have soared. The U.S. Navy will also, if necessary, begin physically escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his country’s assistance to the UAE, as the Gulf country has been targeted by over 1,000 Iranian drones and missiles since the operation began Saturday. Ukraine has become particularly skilled in combating Iranian Shahed drones, something the UAE has little experience with, as Russia has regularly used them in its attacks on Ukraine…
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia was struck with two Iranian drones, with no casualties reported; the embassy was closed, along with U.S. embassies in Kuwait and Beirut. The State Department ordered the mandatory departure of all non-emergency personnel in several countries and has begun “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave” the region…
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear enrichment plant was struck in the course of hostilities in recent days. Trump has claimed the site was rendered inoperable during the U.S.’ June 2025 strikes…
Alex Soros, one of the progressive movement’s most influential donors, boosted a social media post today about U.S. casualties in the war with Iran from Max Blumenthal, a prominent anti-Israel conspiracy theorist, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports.
Soros also praised Spain for its refusal to allow the U.S. to use joint bases on its soil, calling Madrid the “leader of the free world” and reprimanding other European countries for not doing the same…
After issuing a statement solely attacking the U.S. and Israel over the campaign against Iran — which provoked backlash from members of the Iranian dissident and diaspora communities — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the “systematic repression” of the Iranian people by the regime, while declining to criticize the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Even as he acknowledged Tehran’s bloody suppression of protesters, Mamdani did not directly answer a reporter’s question at a press conference today about whether the Middle Eastern nation was better off without the radical cleric who ruled for nearly 37 years…
Amazon Web Services operations are “significantly impaired” after three of its data centers in the Middle East were struck by Iranian drones — two directly hit in the UAE and one sustaining damage in Bahrain. The strikes “caused structural damage, disrupted power delivery to our infrastructure, and in some cases required fire suppression activities that resulted in additional water damage,” AWS said…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the results of today’s high-stakes primary elections in North Carolina and Texas and their implications for pro-Israel voters.
The Heritage Foundation will hold an event to launch its 2026 “Index of U.S. Military Strength” with remarks from Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX), Pat Harrigan (R-TX) and Matt Van Epps (R-TN).
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will release its annual report tomorrow on Capitol Hill.
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SQUARING OFF
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PARTY PERSPECTIVE
Democrats argue eliminating top Iranian leaders increases dangers to Iranians, Israel, U.S.
Speaking at J Street’s national summit, Sen. Tim Kaine also said ‘virtually all’ Democratic senators now seek the group’s endorsement
Following criticism from leading Iranian dissidents, the mayor acknowledged Iran’s ‘brutal government’ without directly commenting on Supreme Leader Khamenei
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani answers questions on October 17, 2025 in New York City.
After issuing a statement solely attacking the U.S. and Israel over Saturday’s strikes on Iran provoked backlash from members of the Iranian dissident and diaspora communities, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the “systematic repression” of the Iranian people by the regime — even as he declined to criticize the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The mayor’s remarks followed an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, following criticism from Iranian-Americans and regime refugees who accused him of ignoring the Islamic Republic’s abuses of its own citizens and its neighbors. But even as he acknowledged Tehran’s bloody suppression of protesters, Mamdani did not directly answer a reporter’s question about whether the Middle Eastern nation was better off without the radical cleric who ruled for nearly 37 years.
“The Iranian government has engaged in systematic repression of its own people, even killing thousands of Iranians who were seeking to express the most basic forms of dissent earlier this year,” Mamdani said. “It is a brutal government.”
This marks the second time the new mayor has only belatedly condemned the regime’s brutality. His slow response to the authoritarian government’s efforts to crush protests in January contrasted both with other New York officials and with his own rapid declarations of solidarity with demonstrators elsewhere, or his ever-swift condemnation of Israel.
Nonetheless, in his comments Tuesday, Mamdani sought to assure Jewish and Iranian New Yorkers, who he acknowledged might be celebrating Purim or the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, that he was looking out for their security. He reupped pledges from the NYPD to “increase agency coordination” and patrols at religious and consular facilities.
“In as much as I have shared my thoughts when I”ve been asked about the federal government’s actions, as well as the actions of the Israeli military, I’ve also focused my time and efforts in being in constant communication with our police commissioner as well as emergency management officials,” he said. “My primary responsibility is to keep you safe.”
The mayor also directed his criticism at the U.S. government generally, and did not call out the president, with whom he met just days before the strikes and has maintained a warm personal relationship. Rather, he appeared to allude to President George W. Bush’s campaign to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“While I may be a young mayor, I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country pursuing a war with the intent of regime change in that very same region not many years ago,” Mamdani said.
Noem said the department is ‘revetting’ some immigrations and working ‘to make sure that we’re preventing the next attack’
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Facing concerns from Senate Republicans over her agency’s preparedness, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday defended the department’s ability to respond against potential Iranian sleeper-cell threats as the Department of Homeland Security remains unfunded and under a partial shutdown amid an escalating conflict with Tehran.
“We work every single day with our intelligence agencies and law enforcement partners to make sure that we are investigating and finding any threats to the homeland here within our borders,” Noem said at an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Not only that — we are revetting some of the individuals and some of the programs that we may have concerns about, looking at social media, also going through those interviews that are necessary for some of our programs that the Biden administration abused and perverted under their time there as well.”
“We don’t necessarily know who all came into our country,” Noem added. “We know that we have many dangerous individuals that came in unvetted, and we are working every single day to find them and to make sure that we’re preventing the next attack and preventing the next crime perpetrated against the American people.”
The hearing unfolded as DHS has continued to operate without full appropriations since Feb. 14, after lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal, largely over disagreements about the Trump administration’s immigration strategy.
Congressional Republicans have warned that the DHS shutdown poses a national security risk and impacts the agency’s ability to conduct counterterrorism and domestic security operations against Iranian-backed threats at a crucial moment of conflict.
Those concerns intensified over the weekend after a shooting in Austin, Texas, left three people dead and 13 wounded. Authorities said a Senegalese man opened fire inside a bar while wearing a hoodie that read “property of Allah.” According to reports, investigators later found photos of Iranian leaders at his residence.
“I wonder how many people are like that here, waiting to pounce, and DHS doesn’t have appropriated funds,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during the hearing, referring to the incident in Texas. “This is insane. There are more people like this.”
Asked by Graham whether the threat level from “radical Islamist terrorists” is increased amid the ongoing military confrontation with Tehran, Noem responded: “Yep.”
Congressional Democrats said Monday they have no plans to end the funding standoff, but that they are willing to fund DHS agencies that do not handle immigration enforcement. However, Republicans have largely opposed splitting up DHS funding.
“Can we not understand America is under siege, now likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege and they’re going to hit back and we’re sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS?” said Graham.
Speaking at J Street’s national summit, Sen. Tim Kaine also said ‘virtually all’ Democratic senators now seek the group’s endorsement
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks to reporters on his way to a classified all-Senate briefing
Democratic lawmakers speaking at the Monday evening gala of J Street’s Washington conference argued that the joint U.S.-Israel operation that killed many top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would ultimately make Iranians, Israelis and the United States less safe.
“I do not believe that the United States or Israel should be leading a regime change operation in Iran. It will not bring safety or security to the people of Iran, to the region or to the United States, and it’s important that all of us here in this room continue to stand up and say that,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) said. “We’ve lived through this before. Regime change often backfires. It creates power vacuums, leads to even harder-line leaders and civil wars and failed states.”
She also argued the U.S. set Iran on the path toward the current regime’s leadership by backing the 1953 overthrow of the Mossadegh government in Iran.
Expressing her support for the war powers resolution vote taking place in the House later this week, Jacobs said, “We can’t be equivocal, that we have to say strongly and clearly that what is happening is not OK, and it is not making Jews in Israel or here in the United States any safer.”
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that he does not mourn Khamenei nor the other Iranian leaders who have been killed, “but we have not just cut off the head of the snake. We have almost certainly kicked up a hornet’s nest, one with remaining capabilities and appetite for revenge. Now we ask, what comes next?”
He said that the administration entered into the operation without any clear plan to effect the regime change it appears to desire, nor how to protect and support the Iranian civilians the Trump administration has urged to rise up against the regime.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), the lead sponsor of the war powers resolution set for a vote this week in the Senate, made the case for his legislation, saying, “That vote in front of the American people is a way of clarifying what’s at stake and deciding if the mission is so important that we should risk our own kids’ lives.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that the “vote is not about whether we should go in or not. The vote is that you cannot go in unless Congress gives you the [authority],” framing the vote as an affirmation of Congress’ constitutional power to declare war.
Kaine emphasized that J Street’s influence within the Democratic Party has grown, saying that “virtually all” Democratic senators now seek the group’s endorsement.
Throughout the Purim-themed evening, speakers repeatedly drew comparisons between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Trump’s administration and Haman, the villain of the Purim story.
“This is a moment not unlike the scenes that gave us the story of Purim: a hedonistic king less interested in justice than in his own pride and pleasure. A ruler flanked by evil advisors, his toxic grip on power unleashing danger and violence,” Schiff said. “It is all too reminiscent of the plots against the Jews driven by him.”
And in an unusual moment, Kaine capped off his remarks with a sing-along rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” playing his harmonica through the choruses.
Plus, Mamdani allies bankroll a $10M anti-AIPAC effort
Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images
Smoke rises from the area after it was targeted in attacks as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026.
👋 Good Tuesday morning, and happy Purim 🎭
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the latest developments in the Middle East as the conflict with Iran enters its fourth day, and preview the primaries taking place today in Texas and North Carolina. We report on the split on Capitol Hill over the Trump administration’s military moves against Iran, and spotlight the backers of the newly created American Priorities PAC, which has ties to allies of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and is opposing pro-Israel candidates. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: the Yeshiva University men’s basketball team, Zach Yadegari and Kate Schmier.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- We are monitoring developments across the Middle East as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike Iranian targets, Iran launches attacks against population centers in Israel and Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Multiple sirens have sounded across central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, throughout the morning as the IDF intercepted the barrages being fired from Iran.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is in Washington today. He’ll meet with President Donald Trump at 11 a.m.
- On Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to brief members of the Senate and House on the war in Iran.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy, is testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Trump administration’s national defense strategy.
- The Capitol Jewish Forum is hosting its annual Purim celebration on the Hill this afternoon, with more than a dozen Jewish legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), slated to attend.
- The first primaries of the 2026 election cycle are also taking place today. In North Carolina, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) is facing far-left anti-Israel activist Nida Allam. Read more below.
- In the Texas Senate primary, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) faces state Sen. James Talarico; On the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) faces primary challenges from Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) and scandal-plagued right-wing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Read more here and here.
- In the state’s 23rd Congressional District, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), also plagued by scandal amid allegations he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, faces his second primary challenge from right-wing social media influencer Brandon Herrera. Read more here.
- Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who has become a consistent detractor of Israel in the House, faces newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who has built solid relationships with the Houston-area Jewish community. Read more here.
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a Republican hawk, faces a serious challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth, who is running to his right. Both candidates have been supportive of Israel.
- And Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) faces a difficult renomination fight against former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who vacated the seat to run unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2024.
- It’s also primary day in Arkansas and Mississippi — but there are no major congressional primaries of note in either state.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MARC ROD
In the closing message of her campaign ahead of the North Carolina Democratic primary today, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, a far-left antagonist of Israel, is leaning into criticism of the war against Iran.
“President Trump just used our taxpayer dollars to bomb a school in Iran, killing over 100 elementary school children and starting another endless war abroad. This is reprehensible, and I strongly condemn it, as should every elected official,” Allam said in a direct-to-camera video ad posted on social media on Monday — despite no evidence that the U.S. or Israel were responsible for the strike.
Allam, who is Muslim, vowed that she would never accept support from defense contractors or pro-Israel groups, and said she “opposed these ‘forever wars’ my entire career, and I hope to earn your vote to be your proudly uncompromised pro-peace leader in Washington.”
By contrast, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), aiming to fend off a primary challenge from Allam, offered a condemnation of the “brutal and repressive” Iranian regime in a statement on Monday, while arguing that its “abuses do not give the president the authority to launch military strikes without Congressional approval.” She said Congress must vote to bring the war to an end.
In an initial statement on X over the weekend, Foushee issued an unequivocal condemnation of the operation, calling it “an unconstitutional escalation that risks dragging the United States into another catastrophic and endless war in the Middle East” that “ignores the will of the American people and recklessly puts our servicemembers in harm’s way” — without making mention of the Iranian regime.
Political observers said the Iran conflict could give late momentum to Allam. Given the leftward lean of the 4th Congressional District and Allam’s positioning to the left of Foushee — particularly on Middle East policy — it could very well make a difference,” Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, told JI’s Matthew Kassel on Monday. “Thousands of votes have already been cast, but for late deciders, this is exactly the kind of issue that could help tilt a voter to one side or the other. It’s hard to get more salient than war.”
In 2022, Foushee won the seat in the 4th Congressional District against Allam with significant backing from the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC, but Foushee has taken a more critical posture towards Israel over the last year. This year, significant outside spending has flowed into the race on both sides.
STATE OF PLAY
Day 4: Decrease in Iranian missile strikes on Israel result of targeting launchers, IDF says
A notable decrease in the number and frequency of Iranian missile strikes at Israel is the result of a focused strategy of hunting and taking out its launchers, Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s spokesperson for international media, said on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. “The missile and launcher hunt is happening in real time,” Shoshani told reporters. “We have been able to narrow [Iran’s] capability to fire missiles toward us. … We are putting our focus on continuing to do so in the coming days.”
Military update: “We were able to take out dozens of launchers,” since the operation began on Saturday, Shoshani said, adding that Iran currently has “a lack of capability to fire in large amounts” and that there is a diminished rate of fire. At the same time, he noted that part of the reduction in missile launchers may be attributed to Iran trying to ensure it can keep the war going over the coming weeks.
SUSTAINED CAMPAIGN
Trump, defense officials keep Iran operation open-ended
President Donald Trump and senior U.S. defense officials laid out an open-ended timeline for the ongoing operation against Iran on Monday, announcing more U.S. forces are headed to the region to carry out the American and Israeli campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s long-range strike capabilities and nuclear ambitions, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea and Emily Jacobs report.
Trump talk: Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday morning, Trump said that U.S. forces were “already substantially ahead of our time projections” with their mission in Iran, but added that the American military was prepared to continue the operation beyond his initial four-to-five week timeline. “Whatever the time is, it’s OK. Whatever it takes,” Trump said at a Medal of Honor ceremony. “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”
Caine’s comments: Adm. Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, “will receive additional forces even today,” said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a separate press briefing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the joint forces ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation’s choosing.” Caine also made clear the weekend barrage was only the beginning.
Team effort: In his first interview since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the timing of the operation’s launch and rebuffed the notion that he decisively pushed Trump to take action, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.
DUELING NARRATIVES
Congressional leaders split over whether U.S. faced imminent threat from Iran
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) emerged from a classified briefing with Cabinet officials on Monday split over whether the U.S. faced an imminent threat from Iran that necessitated and permitted the president to take military action under U.S. statute and the Constitution, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Johnson’s takeaway: “The most critical point is that this was a defensive measure, a defensive operation,” Johnson said. “Israel was determined to act in their own defense here, with or without American support. Why? Because Israel faced what they deemed to be an existential threat. Iran was building missiles at a radical, rapid clip, to the point where our allies in the region do not keep up.”
Warner’s worry: Warner said that the war is “a war of choice that has been acknowledged by others [that] was dictated by Israel’s goals and timelines. Israel is a great ally of America. I stand firmly with Israel, but I believe at the end of the day, when we are talking about putting American soldiers in harm’s way, when we have American casualties and expectations of more, there needs to be the proof of an imminent threat to American interests. I still don’t think that standard has been met.”
SQUARING OFF
Mamdani allies, deep-pocketed donors mobilize millions for anti-AIPAC effort
Three figures linked to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and a Brooklyn political operative — have joined forces with a bevy of wealthy business leaders to pump millions into a new political action committee dedicated to battling AIPAC, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Follow the money: American Priorities PAC has raised $2,050,000 to date and spent a quarter of it so far boosting Democrat Nida Allam, a vocal detractor of Israel, in her bid to oust Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show another $67,000 has gone toward promoting the candidacy of the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, the pastor of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), who is running for her House seat as she seeks the Senate. It’s all part of a plan to spend a minimum of $10 million countering candidates who have received past support from AIPAC, as NBC News previously reported. A spokesperson for the PAC refused to answer questions about its fundraising and decision-making practices, though they denied Mamdani was in any way involved.
Bonus: Politico talks to government watchdogs about Mamdani’s continued use of the messaging app Signal for official business, despite the platform’s encryption protocols and self-deleting capabilities being incompatible with freedom of information laws.
DEMS DEMAND
Democratic lawmakers rally support for war powers resolutions at J Street conference
Democratic members of Congress addressing J Street’s national convention in Washington on Monday used the occasion to rally support for long-shot resolutions coming before the House and Senate this week that will attempt to end U.S. military strikes against Iran, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
On the record: “The president’s refusal to pursue consent from Congress, as required by the Constitution, is perhaps his most grievous assault on democracy, and we should not let it stand,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said to the 1,500 activists gathered at J Street’s morning plenary. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) told the crowd that he expects to see “very robust, possibly unanimous support” from congressional Democrats on the measures, which would put an immediate end to U.S. operations against Iran.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).
More from Murphy: Addressing the conference, Murphy leaned on Jewish history to tailor his case to fight President Donald Trump specifically to American Jews. “The answer to thousands of years of the Jewish people’s faith being decided by emperors and queens and czars is not and cannot simply be the State of Israel. No, the rest of the answer is simple. It’s democracy,” he said.
Also spotted at the conference: Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is mounting a primary challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), and leaning into sharp criticism of Israel as part of his campaign.
Worthy Reads
Theory of Regime Change: In The Washington Post, Rob Satloff, the executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, considers the history of failed regime-change efforts in the Middle East as President Donald Trump calls for Iranians to rise up against their government. “On one end of the spectrum, will he, like [Franklin] Roosevelt, find an Iranian Delcy Rodríguez, leaving the structure of the regime intact under a new, more pliant leader? Or will he, like the first Bush, content himself with inflicting massive damage to Iran’s offensive military capability and choose an expedient path to end the war? Or, on the other end of the spectrum, will he, like the second Bush, get stuck in the muck of Iranian nation-building, triggering problems that we can’t even imagine today?” [WashPost]
The Warrior Prime Minister: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg posits that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-standing reluctance to pursue military options against adversaries ended with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, as Israel began to more aggressively pursue its enemies. “Before this seismic shift, Netanyahu’s longevity as prime minister was built on a foundation of conflict avoidance. That posture appealed to a risk-averse electorate. Under his premiership, Israeli voters who were comfortable with the status quo could rest easy knowing that their leader would be unlikely to upset it. … With each successful escalation, Netanyahu’s willingness to use force to settle Israel’s scores increased.” [TheAtlantic]
Remembering 1979: The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Hennessey suggests that support for U.S. military action in Iran is generational, noting that young Americans have little memory of Iran’s years of targeting American interests. “But I was born in the 1970s. I remember the shocking barbarism of the fatwa against Mr. Rushdie. I remember the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorism of the 1980s, the 1994 suicide attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. … The livestreamers will say this war is about oil. The Substackers will say it started with Mosaddegh. To them, this is an academic debate, something they heard about on a podcast once. Any American over 50 knows who started it.” [WSJ]
Drive for Democracy: In The New York Times, the Hoover Institution’s Abbas Milani considers Iran’s leadership quagmire, arguing that former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1979 takeover of the country was done under a “bait-and-switch” that rallied Iranians around the cause of democracy while establishing a radical theocratic regime. “The right question today is: What are the ideas for democratic governance, for fixing the economy, for keeping centrifugal forces at bay and for maintaining sovereignty and good relations with the world around which Iranians (inside the country and out) can unite, and how can they do so in a way that will deliver Iran out of political paralysis and economic morass?” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump slammed commentators Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who have criticized the administration’s military strikes targeting Iran; Trump told journalist Rachael Bade that Carlson “can say whatever he wants; it has no impact on me” and that “MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” referring to Carlson and Kelly…
The Financial Times does a deep dive into the yearslong effort by Israel to track the movements of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday, and other senior members of the Iranian regime; among the tactics used by Israel was the hacking of traffic cameras around Tehran, which allowed Israeli intelligence officials access to regime movements around the capital…
The Supreme Court blocked an effort to redraw Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ (R-NY) 11th Congressional District — the sole Republican-leaning district in New York City — that encompasses Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn; the move preserves the existing districts in the city, including NY-10, where Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is facing a primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander…
Federal prosecutors are filing an additional charge of damaging religious property against the man accused of ramming a car into the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch in Brooklyn in January…
The FBI is investigating recent antisemitic emails that were sent to members of Stanford University’s Jewish community, including more than half a dozen Jewish student leaders…
The Yeshiva University Maccabees are again heading to the Division III NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament after the team’s 79-72 win over the Farmingdale State Rams over the weekend secured their position as Skyline Conference champions…
MyFitnessPal acquired calorie-counting app Cal Al, including 19-year-old CEO and co-founder Zach Yadegari and the startup’s six additional employees…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights Blue Owl Capital co-founders Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz as the firm faces financial challenges tied to upheaval in the broader credit market…
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, bought an under-construction mansion in South Florida’s Indian Creek for $170 million, setting a new record in Miami-Dade County…
A new report from the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland found that Irish Jews self-reported 146 incidents involving antisemitism between July 2025 and January 2026…
Kate Schmier is joining the Jewish Book Council as director of publishing relations…
London retailer and fashion designer Bernard Lewis, the founder of Little Island, died at 100…
Pic of the Day
President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on Monday to Army Master Sgt. Roderick “Roddie” W. Edmonds, a World War II soldier whose defiance of a Nazi order saved more than 200 Jewish American prisoners of war, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Edmonds’ son, Chris Edmonds, accepted the award on his father’s behalf.
Birthdays
Vocalist for indie-pop band Lucius, Jess Wolfe turns 40…
Australian residential property developer, colloquially known as “High-Rise Harry,” Harry Triguboff turns 93… Former justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, Dalia Dorner turns 92… Author of 32 books and the editor emeritus of Dissent magazine, Michael Laban Walzer turns 91… Researcher in Yiddish language at Sweden’s Lund University’s Centre for Languages and Literature, Henrik Lewis-Guttermann turns 77… Best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of financiers and politicians, Ron Chernow turns 77… President of CBS News until 2021, now president of See It Now Studios, Susan Zirinsky turns 74… Retired chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman, he served as president of AIPAC, Michael Kassen… Fashion designer and businessman, he is the founder and former CEO of an eponymous company, Steve Madden turns 68… NPR personality and the host and producer of the radio and television show “This American Life,” Ira Jeffrey Glass turns 67… Former director of policy for New York state under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, David Yassky turns 62… Israeli economist and diplomat, he served as Israel’s first ambassador to the UAE, Amir Hayek turns 62… MLB pitcher until 2001, his 557 appearances rank second in career games pitched by a Jewish pitcher, Scott David Radinsky turns 58… Co-founder and co-president of Clarity Capital, David Steinhardt turns 57… EVP and general counsel at Eli Lilly and Company, Anat Hakim… Founder of Bunk1, a provider of parent-engagement software for summer camps, he is a co-owner of the Miami Marlins, Ari Jack Ackerman… President and founder of Heppin Biosciences, Brett S. Abrahams, Ph.D. turns 53… Screenwriter and columnist in the Israeli newspaper Globes, Efrat Abramov turns 46… British rabbi who has run for mayor of London and of Manchester, Shneur Zalman Odze turns 45… Acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York for the first 24 days of the Trump 47 administration, Danielle R. Sassoon turns 40… Senior communications manager for Uber, she was the press secretary for former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Freddi Goldstein… Manager of public policy for hate speech at TikTok, Erica H. Mindel… Member of AJR, an indie pop multi-instrumentalist trio, together with his two brothers, Ryan Metzger turns 32…
The race to the left on Israel in the primary underscores the extent to which Middle East politics have shifted and criticism of the Jewish state has become a litmus test in left-wing circles and districts
Cornell Watson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Campaign signage for Democratic Congressional candidates Valerie Foushee and Nida Allam ahead of the North Carolina primary election in Durham, North Carolina, US, on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
In the closing message of her campaign ahead of the North Carolina Democratic primary today, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, a far-left antagonist of Israel, is leaning into criticism of the war against Iran.
“President Trump just used our taxpayer dollars to bomb a school in Iran, killing over 100 elementary school children and starting another endless war abroad. This is reprehensible, and I strongly condemn it, as should every elected official,” Allam said in a direct-to-camera video ad posted on social media on Monday — despite no evidence that the U.S. or Israel were responsible for the strike.
Allam, who is Muslim, vowed that she would never accept support from defense contractors or pro-Israel groups, and said she “opposed these ‘forever wars’ my entire career, and I hope to earn your vote to be your proudly uncompromised pro-peace leader in Washington.”
By contrast, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), aiming to fend off a primary challenge from Allam, offered a condemnation of the “brutal and repressive” Iranian regime in a statement on Monday, while arguing that its “abuses do not give the president the authority to launch military strikes without Congressional approval.” She said Congress must vote to bring the war to an end.
In an initial statement on X over the weekend, Foushee issued an unequivocal condemnation of the operation, calling it “an unconstitutional escalation that risks dragging the United States into another catastrophic and endless war in the Middle East” that “ignores the will of the American people and recklessly puts our servicemembers in harm’s way” without making mention of the Iranian regime.
In 2022, Foushee won the seat in the 4th Congressional District against Allam with significant backing from the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC, but Foushee has taken a more critical posture towards Israel over the last year. This year, significant outside spending has flowed into the race on both sides.
Allam’s allies have claimed that AIPAC is secretly spending to support Foushee, who vowed not to accept funding from the group last year. But AIPAC has strongly denied those claims. “Rep. Foushee rejected AIPAC support and we are not involved in or participating in any way in this race,” the group said Monday.
Foushee has faced a spate of attacks during the primary, including from the groups backing Allam, over her past support for Israel and relationship with AIPAC. She has gone to significant lengths to emphasize that she has cut ties with AIPAC, telling Politico, “My voting record and support for legislation to stop arms sales to Israel speaks for itself.”
The race to the left on Israel in the primary, in a deeply progressive district, underscores the extent to which Middle East politics have shifted and criticism of the Jewish state has become a litmus test in left-wing circles and districts. The shift comes as a new Gallup poll shows, for the first time, that Americans are now more sympathetic to Palestinians than Israelis.
Allam’s comments centering the U.S. as the perpetrator of atrocities in the Iran war also point to how radical she could end up being if elected to Congress.
The race also raises a key questionfor pro-Israel groups and voters going forward: when the two choices are a critic of Israel and an even more extreme critic of Israel, how should they respond? Is it worth backing someone critical of Israel to prevent someone with even stronger views from being elected?
The military engagement could energize the party’s activist base in a number of primaries, with races in North Carolina and Illinois serving as early tests
Wikimedia Commons
Nida Allam and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC)
The joint U.S.-Israeli military operation targeting Iran is already changing the dynamics of Democratic congressional primaries in which Middle East policy and the role of pro-Israel spending have featured prominently — as some progressive candidates seek to capitalize on the conflict to bolster their anti-Israel messaging.
In hotly contested House races in North Carolina and Illinois, for instance, the widening war is now emerging as a closing topic of conversation, providing some early signs of how it could reshape the leading issues in the run-up to this year’s midterm elections.
Nida Allam, a far-left Democrat and antagonist of Israel, who is challenging Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), released a closing message focused on her opposition to the Iran war, linking her rival to defense contractors and pro-Israel backers.
In a direct-to-camera message, Allam denounced the strikes for “killing over 100 elementary school children,” a claim yet to be confirmed by the United States or Israel, and accused Foushee’s campaign of accepting contributions from defense contractors and a super PAC linked to the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, whose technology was reportedly used to aid the attacks.
“I have opposed these ‘forever wars’ my entire career,” Allam said in the ad. “If you believe we need to do things differently, and you, like me, are praying for peace and demanding accountability, please consider voting for me.”
Foushee, who was elected to Congress in 2022 with support from the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC — backing she has since walked away from — disputed Allam’s criticism, and echoed other congressional colleagues in casting the strikes as an “illegal” overreach by President Donald Trump.
“I do not support Trump’s illegal war with Iran and will do everything I can in Congress to support War Powers Resolutions to stop it,” she said in an X post Saturday. “The American people are tired of endless wars and we cannot put our servicemembers at risk — period.”
But political observers said the Iran war could give a final jolt of momentum to Allam, who is seeking the nomination in a left-leaning district where her rhetoric might appeal to activist-minded voters who are increasingly wary of new foreign entanglements in the Middle East and beyond.
“Given the leftward lean of the 4th Congressional District and Allam’s positioning to the left of Foushee — particularly on Middle East policy — it could very well make a difference,” Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, told Jewish Insider on Monday. “Thousands of votes have already been cast, but for late deciders, this is exactly the kind of issue that could help tilt a voter to one side or the other. It’s hard to get more salient than war.”
Meanwhile, in a crowded open-seat primary for a progressive House seat in the Chicago suburbs, one candidate, Kat Abughazaleh, is likewise indicating that she intends to highlight her opposition to the ongoing Iran strikes as the March 17 race enters its final stretch, saying she “will be talking about it very vocally and often because this is very much a topic on people’s minds.”
One of Abughazaleh’s top primary opponents in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, Laura Fine, a pro-Israel Democrat who voiced support for Israel’s June 2025 bombing of Iran, also came out strongly against the new strikes, but framed her criticism as a response to Trump’s executive overreach and called for his impeachment.
“Donald Trump is leading us into another military conflict to distract from his own failures that puts American lives at risk and threatens to send the Middle East into further chaos,” Fine, a moderate state senator supported by pro-Israel voters, wrote on social media over the weekend. “He simply cannot be trusted and must be impeached. Congress needs to do its job and rein in Trump’s corruption and abuses of power.”
Frank Calabrese, a political strategist in Chicago, questioned the sincerity of Fine’s new rhetoric on Iran. “The reason why she’s doing that is because that’s what the polls are saying,” he told JI Monday.
The conflict “raises Middle East issues much more so than previously” in the race, he said, speculating that it would likely benefit Abughazaleh’s campaign “because she’s staked out a position that makes her different” than Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston and another leading primary rival who is sharply critical of Israel.
The Iran war “generally benefits progressives or liberals,” Calabrese said, “because people on the left end of the spectrum don’t like Donald Trump acting aggressively.”
For pro-Israel Democrats who have long criticized Iran, the war poses some unique complications, as the party tries to take advantage of widespread discomfort with Trump’s unilateral decision to pursue the strike without first having sought authorization from Congress. Other top pro-Israel candidates in congressional races in New York and Michigan, where Middle East policy has been a prominent source of debate, have made sure to distance themselves from the conflict, even if they are likely relieved the ayatollah is no longer in power.
For example, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), facing a primary challenge from a progressive Israel critic, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, wrote in a statement that Trump “is defying our Constitution to spend billions of dollars overseas while working families struggle to make ends meet at home.”
While he called Iran “a treacherous regime that represents a direct threat to the democratic world order and our own national security,” he said that “recent history has taught us that toppling Middle East dictators in the name of regime change is the beginning — not the end — of a process that too often results in expensive and deadly forever wars.”
Lander, for his part, was more forceful in his own comments, calling the strikes “an illegal war being waged by a sociopathic president whose goal is to distract people from his failing administration.”
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the pro-Israel moderate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, said that Trump had “once again put Americans in harm’s way without consulting Congress — the latest in a series of grave violations of our Constitution by this administration.”
She acknowledged, however, that “Iran’s state sponsorship of terror across the globe has led to chaos and unchecked violence.”
“We cannot ignore that an armed and nuclear Iran would bring even more violence and chaos to the Middle East and the entire world,” Stevens said in her statement. “We also cannot ignore the imperative to achieve freedom for the people of Iran, who have bravely spoken out through protest in recent weeks.”
Political strategists who spoke with JI said that the war, which early polling has shown is unpopular with voters, could help to broadly elevate progressives in key races — if the conflict remains a salient topic of conversation in the coming weeks and months.
Adrian Hemond, a political consultant in Michigan, said much depends on whether the war ends quickly or grows into a “protracted military effort” involving more American casualties. As of Monday afternoon, the U.S. had lost six servicemembers.
“That’s a horse of a different color,” he told JI. “If we’re still talking about this months from now, then it will have a huge impact on the primary and will probably benefit” Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left Senate candidate in Michigan campaigning on a stridently anti-Israel platform.
In a statement on the strikes, El-Sayed called Trump “a failed president” who is now “committing us to spending billions of our taxpayer dollars in yet another war with no aim.”
Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist in New York City, cautioned it was too early to predict how the war could shape the primaries or general election.
Still, he suggested that the conflict, which has also faced blowback from influential right-wing figures, “could have negative consequences” for Republicans in the midterms, particularly if it “drags on” and more American servicemembers are killed or oil prices continue to spike before November.
“It’s too soon to tell,” Coffey told JI on Monday. “If you open up a Pandora’s box, you don’t know what’s going to come out of it.”
'We were able to take out dozens of launchers,’ IDF spokesperson says
Jack GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Rocket trails from Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system are seen over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026.
A notable decrease in the number and frequency of Iranian missile strikes at Israel is the result of a focused strategy of hunting and aiming at launchers, Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s spokesperson for international media, said on Tuesday.
“The missile and launcher hunt is happening in real time,” Shoshani told reporters. “We have been able to narrow [Iran’s] capability to fire missiles toward us. … We are putting our focus on continuing to do so in the coming days.”
“We were able to take out dozens of launchers,” since the operation began on Saturday, Shoshani said.
Shoshani said that Iran currently has “a lack of capability to fire in large amounts” and that there is a diminished rate of fire.
“I’m sure all of you in Israel can feel it,” he added. “We have significantly limited their ability to fire toward our civilians and other civilians in the region.”
At the same time, Shoshani said part of the reduction in missile launchers may be attributed to Iran trying to ensure it can keep the war going over the coming weeks.
The IDF is also prepared for the war to continue for weeks, but “it is early to give estimates,” Shoshani said, adding that “we are in a more positive scenario than [what] we looked at in the beginning of the war.”
Israel has also destroyed hundreds of Iranian missiles, but “launchers, that’s the real thing that’s important,” the spokesperson said.
Shoshani did not have readily available information on how many missiles Iran has shot, because the Islamic Republic attacked several countries in the region and not just Israel.
Asked if he expects Israeli boots on the ground in Iran, following President Donald Trump’s remarks about deploying U.S. ground troops “if necessary,” Shoshani said he does not see such a scenario as realistic for Israel.
Most of the targets the IDF struck were found after Operation Rising Lion began on Saturday, including radar and detection arrays, surface-to-air missile launchers, surface-to-surface missile launchers and related infrastructure, command and control centers, strategic military bases in Tehran, and facilities belonging to the regime’s repression and enforcement mechanisms.
Among those targets was the Iranian regime leadership’s compound in Tehran, which includes the presidential office, national security council and a training facility for military officers.
Israel’s “aerial superiority now allows the IDF to continuously strike the Iranian regime’s terror infrastructure — including its command-and-control centers and other high-value assets — not merely through isolated sorties, but through sustained operations, fundamentally shifting the operational reality in Operation Roaring Lion and enabling the IDF and the Israeli Air Force to operate freely in Iranian airspace,” the military spokesperson’s office said.
About 30 female aircrew members, including pilots and navigators, have taken part in the strikes on Iran in recent days.
Combat Navigator Maj. S, whose name was kept anonymous by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, said that she and her crew “prepared for this operation for a long time — hours of training and briefings.”
Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder, the IDF’s intelligence chief, said on Monday, “In 40 seconds, we eliminated more than 40 of the most important people in Iran … and we are not finished. … We intend to add to the list every day.”
“We are sending a very clear message to our enemies — there is no place where we will not find them,” Binder added. “Anyone who chooses to engage in such actions against the state of Israel, against the residents of the state of Israel, against our future here, we will find them, and we will eliminate them.”
As Israeli strikes in Lebanon continue as far north as Beirut, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF will move to “take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon in order to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities.”
The IDF holds five positions in southern Lebanon, as permitted by the U.S.-negotiated late-2024 ceasefire, and Katz said he “authorized the IDF to advance and secure additional strategic areas in Lebanon, and from there to defend the border communities.”
Shoshani said that while Israel’s main goal is to “remove the existential threat” emanating from Iran, it is doing “we are acting defensively on the northern front in order to focus our effort on Iran.”
He also noted that “Hezbollah’s main lifeline is Iran,” and said that in the last year, Iran sent over $1 billion to its proxies, with Hezbollah getting the majority of the money.
Israel does not plan to evacuate civilians from towns on the Lebanon border as it did in October 2023, though they have been dealing with frequent drone and rocket attacks in recent days, Shoshani said.
The IDF struck over 70 weapons storage facilities, launch sites and missile launchers in Lebanon on Monday, the military said.
One target was Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters. The IDF killed Hussein Makled, Hezbollah’s chief intelligence official, a role he took on after Israel eliminated his predecessor in November 2024.
The IDF also said it eliminated the commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, Abu Hamza Rami, who was “responsible for advancing and carrying out hundreds of terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.”
Another target was the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which Hezbollah has said provides social services to the people of Lebanon. Al-Qard Al-Hassan has been sanctioned by the U.S. and others since 2007, and as such, deals exclusively in cash, which the IDF sought to destroy.
According to the IDF, “the terrorist organization uses these services to create economic dependency on the association and to exploit public funds for the purchase of weapons and the payment of salaries to its operatives.”
Also on Monday, the IDF Home Front Command extended restrictions until Saturday night, including closing schools and nonessential workplaces, and prohibiting large gatherings.
Two major missile barrages hit Israel on Tuesday, with two injured in the first one in Israel’s north, and no casualties in the second. Overnight Monday, Magen David Adom released its final casualty count for an Iranian missile strike on Beersheba, where 21 were injured. Since Operation Roaring Lion was launched on Saturday, there have been at least 371 casualties, including 12 fatalities and two severely injured.
Iran continued its strikes around the Gulf on Monday, with a drone causing minor damage to a U.S. Embassy building in Riyadh. Among the sites damaged by Iranian projectiles were three Amazon facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Trump briefed leaders of two main Kurdish factions in Iraq on what may come next in the war, a step that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had encouraged him to take, Axios reported. Kurdish groups throughout the Middle East have had close security and intelligence ties with Israel for decades. The Kurdistan Freedom Party has also accused Iran of targeting them with missiles and drones.
‘You don’t have to drag him into anything. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America,’ Netanyahu said in his first interview since the operation began
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025.
In his first interview since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the timing of the operation’s launch and rebuffed the notion that he decisively pushed President Donald Trump to take action.
“The reason that we had to act now is because after we hit [Iran’s] nuclear sites and their ballistic missile program [in June 2025] … they started building new sites, new places, underground bunkers that would make their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months,” Netanyahu told Fox News host Sean Hannity on his show Monday night. “If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future.”
Without undertaking military operations, Netanyahu warned that Iran would be able to “target” and “blackmail America” and argued that Tehran could threaten the U.S. and Israel “and everyone in between.” He added that the moment was also opportune due to the Iranian regime being “at the weakest point that it’s been since it hijacked Iran from the brave Iranian people 47 years ago.”
When asked about allegations from critics of the operation that he had “dragged” the U.S. into a wider conflict with Iran, Netanyahu dismissed the notion, calling it “ridiculous.” He said that Trump made the decision on his own because he “understands” the threat Iran poses to the U.S.
“You don’t have to drag him into anything,” said Netanyahu. “Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America.”
In comments Monday afternoon, both Secretary of State Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) suggested it was Israel’s determination to strike Iran, which would have prompted Iranian retaliation against U.S. assets, that necessitated U.S. preemptive action.
Netanyahu did not offer a timeline for how long he expects the joint operation to last; however, he emphasized that it will be “quick and decisive” and not an “endless war” as some critics have alleged.
“You’re not going to have an endless war,” said Netanyahu. “This is going to be a quick and decisive action, and we’re going to create the conditions first for the Iranian people to get control of their destiny, to form their own democratically elected government, which will make Iran different altogether. It may take some time, but it’s not going to take years.”
The prime minister argued that the current military confrontation is intended not only to neutralize an immediate threat but to reshape the region’s long-term trajectory, describing it as a potential “gateway to peace.”
“I think it changes the world,” Netanyahu said, arguing that dismantling Iran’s regime would remove what he called the Middle East’s primary driver of instability. “Iran has been the main engine of war over these years. Ninety-five percent of all the problems you see in the Middle East are generated by Iran and the worldwide terror network that they built.”
“When you take away Iran [Iranian leadership] — let the people of Iran have the opportunity to act and liberate themselves, free themselves from the work of this terror machine — you get a different future,” he added.
Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, have insisted that the U.S. objective in Iran is more constrained. The White House has asserted it is not seeking regime change, instead emphasizing that American action is narrowly focused on dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program, ballistic missile capabilities and naval assets.
Still, Netanyahu embraced a broader vision, suggesting that the fall of the Iranian regime would fundamentally reshape the region and open the door to normalization agreements and “many peace treaties” with Arab and Muslim-majority countries. He specifically pointed to Saudi Arabia as a potential partner.
“Saudi Arabia will have a lot to gain,” Netanyahu said. “All these countries around Iran are threatened by Iran. I think they [Arab countries] want to see this regime go down, even if they don’t publicly say that.”
“If Iran [Iranian leadership] is removed, that’s a great boon to Saudi Arabia, a great boon to these other countries, and I think peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be really possible — and probably very close — once this thing happens.”
Plus, Tehran takes aim at global energy
Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images
Smoke rises from the area after it was targeted in attacks as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon,
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump and senior U.S. defense officials laid out an open-ended timeline for the ongoing bombing campaign against Iran in several press briefings and interviews today, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea and Emily Jacobs report.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both declined to rule out a U.S. ground invasion of Iran, while Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine announced more American troops are en route to the region. “Every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it. I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary,’” Trump told the New York Post.
The president repeatedly said the operation is “ahead of schedule,” but added that the U.S. military is prepared to continue the campaign beyond his initial four-to-five-week timeline. Trump also told CNN that the “big wave” of strikes on Iran “hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon”…
On the American public’s perception of the strikes, Trump said, “I think that the polling is very good, but I don’t care about polling. I have to do the right thing. This should have been done a long time ago.” A new CNN poll found that 41% of Americans support the strikes against Iran, while 59% disapprove…
After Hezbollah jumped into the conflict by launching strikes on Israel overnight, prompting Israeli fire on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in return, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam banned the terror group’s “military activities,” restricting it “to the political sphere.”
Salam said the group’s actions are now “illegal” and called on the Lebanese Armed Forces to “prevent any attacks originating from Lebanese territory,” a long-awaited show of resolve from Beirut. The LAF has struggled to disarm Hezbollah forces since the signing of a ceasefire agreement with Israel in November 2024…
On a ground invasion of Lebanon, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said, similarly to the U.S. position on Iran, “all options are on the table”…
U.S. casualties in the course of the operation increased today to six servicemembers…
Qatar’s Ministry of Defense condemned attacks by Iran on a power plant and an oil facility in the country, further indicating Tehran is setting its sights on civilian and energy infrastructure. The targeted energy plant, Ras Laffan, is responsible for around a fifth of all global natural gas production — Qatar halted production after the strike which, along with decreased passage through the vital Strait of Hormuz, sent oil prices soaring…
Iran continues to sustain heavy losses: The U.S. said it has sunk all 11 of Iran’s warships in the Gulf of Oman while Qatar shot down two Iranian SU-24 tactical bombers, which were developed by Russia; the UAE also intercepted around 150 Iranian drones and 15 missiles today in addition to hundreds over the weekend…
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated in an address to parliament today that Britain will not be joining the strikes on Iran but will allow the U.S. to use its bases for “defensive actions,” noting that Iran has already struck a military base in Bahrain that houses around 300 British troops. “France and Germany are also prepared to enable U.S. action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones from the source,” Starmer added.
Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Starmer in an interview with The Telegraph, saying the prime minister “took far too long” in deciding to allow U.S. forces to utilize its bases…
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the campaign, calling it “really important … because it is taking out, degrading the capacity of Iran to get its hands on nuclear capability, the ballistic missile capability.” But, he said, “there are absolutely no plans whatsoever for NATO to get dragged into this”…
GOP lawmakers are pushing Democrats to agree to a funding deal for the still-shuttered Department of Homeland Security, as hostilities with Iran raise concerns about domestic terror threats…
The war is also making its way into some of the most heated primary races unfolding across the country: In North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, anti-Israel activist Nida Allam, who is challenging Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), put out a new campaign ad just before tomorrow’s primary slamming “Trump and Netanyahu’s reckless war.”
Allam accused the administration of using “our taxpayer dollars to bomb a school in Iran, killing over 100 elementary school children,” even though there has been no proof that the U.S. was responsible for the strike…
Some pro-Israel Democratic candidates in Illinois also took harsh stances against the Iran operation: state Sen. Laura Fine, running in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, called for Trump’s impeachment, while Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, running in the 2nd District, and Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, running in the 7th District, called the strikes “reckless” and “immoral,” respectively…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a rundown of the high-profile primaries on the ballot tomorrow in North Carolina and Texas.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House for a conversation that was set to focus on negotiations between Russia and Ukraine but will likely be overshadowed by the ongoing operation against Iran. Germany joined the U.K. and France over the weekend in offering a supportive but cautious stance on the hostilities.
It will be a busy day on the Hill, where administration officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will hold all-member briefings on Iran for the House and Senate. Rubio is briefing the Gang of Eight again this afternoon, and national security committees in both chambers were briefed over the weekend.
Elbridge Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, will brief the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy; Colby has previously drawn bipartisan ire from the committee over a lack of consultation by his team and alleged rogue decision-making on a range of issues by his office.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security with testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Capitol Jewish Forum will host its annual Capitol Hill Purim celebration, attended by a number of Jewish lawmakers.
Stories You May Have Missed
WEIGHING IN
As Iran war continues, Senate and House set for long-shot votes to cut it short
The resolutions are unlikely to pass; if they do, they will need two-thirds support to override an inevitable presidential veto
CLOSING RANKS
Arab states unite as Iran strikes every member of Gulf Cooperation Council
UAE and Saudi leaders spoke by phone; the GCC affirmed its ‘right to respond’
Without setting a definitive timeline, officials said more U.S. troops are headed to the region and would not rule out a U.S. ground invasion
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (L) speaks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine (R) during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
President Donald Trump and senior U.S. defense officials laid out an open-ended timeline for the ongoing operation against Iran on Monday, announcing more U.S. forces are headed to the region to carry out the American and Israeli campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s long-range strike capabilities and nuclear ambitions.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday morning, Trump said that U.S. forces were “already substantially ahead of our time projections” with their mission in Iran, but added that the American military was prepared to continue the operation beyond his initial four-to-five week timeline.
“Whatever the time is, it’s OK. Whatever it takes,” Trump said at a Medal of Honor ceremony. “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”
The president told CNN Monday morning that the “big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, “will receive additional forces even today,” said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a separate press briefing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the joint forces ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation’s choosing.”
Caine also made clear the weekend barrage was only the beginning.
“This is not a single overnight operation,” he said. Caine noted that the operation was the result of “months, and in some cases years,” of planning. “The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses.” Four U.S. servicemembers have already been killed in the course of the operations.
While officials emphasized that there are currently no American boots on the ground in Iran, Hegseth declined to rule out the possibility, saying the United States “will go as far as we need to go to advance American interests.”
Trump similarly kept the door open to a ground invasion in an interview with the New York Post. “Every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump said. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
Hegseth likewise acknowledged that a military effort “of this scope will include casualties” and declined to provide a timeline for completion. “President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take, four weeks, two weeks, six weeks, it could move up. It could move back,” Hegseth said.
“The commander in chief sets the tempo in terms of this fight. As I said, it’s on his terms,” said Hegseth. “Why in the world would we tell the enemy exactly how long we’ll go or how far we’ll go?”
“To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars’ — stop,” Hegseth added. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.” He argued that the operation is “clear, devastating, decisive” with narrowly defined objectives: “destroy the missile threat, destroy the Navy, no nukes.”
Trump also laid out his four priorities for the campaign: “First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities … Second, we’re annihilating their navy … Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon … And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders,” he said.
Hegseth insisted the campaign is not designed to topple Iran’s government, stressing that “this is not a war of regime change.” However, he noted that “the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it today.”
Iranian leadership “had every chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal, but Tehran was not negotiating,” said Hegseth. “They were stalling, buying time to reload their missile stockpiles and restart their nuclear ambitions.”
Hegseth framed the military confrontation as the culmination of decades of Iranian aggression against the United States, arguing that Tehran’s missile and proxy network had created a conventional shield for its nuclear ambitions and left American forces and allies in its crosshairs.
“For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America,” said Hegseth, calling the moment a “generational turning point.”
“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,” Hegseth said.
Speaking about cooperation with partners, Hegseth noted that Israel “did a great job in the conduct of that operation,” also stating that the U.S.’ integrated air and missile defense network has intercepted “hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. forces, our partners and regional stability.”
“As the threat grew, our partners surged in beside us,” said Hegseth. “Air defense batteries in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia joined the fight. Proof that years of training, trust and hard-earned integration pay off.”
All parties are planning for what could be a conflict that stretches across weeks, despite the decapitation of nearly all of Iran’s senior-most officials in the opening salvos of the war
Mahsa / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images
Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran on March 1, 2026, after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed a day earlier in a large U.S. and Israeli attack, prompting a new wave of retaliatory missile strikes from Iran.
As joint U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran and the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and drone attacks continue into a third day, all parties are planning for what could be a conflict that stretches across weeks, despite the decapitation of nearly all of Iran’s senior-most officials in the opening salvos of the war.
On his Truth Social site, Trump doubled down on his push for Iranian protesters to take action, calling on “all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”
Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. had sunk nine Iranian warships and destroyed its naval headquarters as it works to dismantle the country’s entire naval fleet.
The president told numerous media outlets over the weekend that the time frame for operations would take four to five weeks, but said that Iranian officials “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them.” Read more here.
Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s National Security Council, refuted the claim, saying, “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
With the status of talks and any potential off-ramps in question, strikes continue in Israel and Iran, with Iranian proxy Hezbollah entering the hostilities early this morning with missile barrages targeting northern Israel.
The last 48 hours have scrambled and deepened alliances across the Middle East as a number of Arab states coalesced behind the U.S. In a joint statement released Sunday night, the U.S., Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates slammed Iran’s “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region” and said the countries “stand united in defense of our citizens, sovereignty, and territory, and reaffirm our right to self-defense in the face of these attacks.”
Canada and Australia — both led by left-leaning governments that have clashed with the Trump administration — quickly announced their support for the U.S.- and Israel-led operation — though neither country’s official statement mentioned Israel. British, French and German leaders called on Saturday for the resumption of nuclear negotiations, pivoting a day later to calling on Iran to cease its “indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks.” Fox News reported that the U.K. is providing air policing and sharing intelligence, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that the U.K. is giving the Pentagon access to British bases in the region.
Israel and the U.S. prepared for the operation over the last two months. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump’s decision to move forward with the operation came amid a “weeks-long lobbying effort” by Israel and Saudi Arabia — which was denied by a Saudi spokesperson in Washington. Israeli officials have for the last several months traveled back and forth between Jerusalem and Washington for White House meetings, while Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was in Washington last month for meetings with administration officials as well as Jewish communal leaders.
In Washington, Congress is set to resume later this week and vote on two war powers resolutions being led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) that, if passed and able to override an inevitable presidential veto, would force the Trump administration to end its operations against Iran.
The assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has put officials and figures who are critical of the Trump administration in the awkward position of praising the killing of the supreme leader, who has directed attacks that have killed tens of thousands over decades and overseen the expansion of Tehran’s vast proxy network, while continuing to criticize Trump. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), previously a member of House Democratic leadership, called the strikes “an act of war” and the goal — “to stop Khamenei’s fanatical regime from committing further acts of terror — “defensible,” while blasting what he called Trump’s “unilateral, unconstitutional decision to go to war without congressional approval.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called Khamenei a “brutal dictator with the blood of Americans and Iranian civilians on his hands,” before stating that “his death does not mean regime change is imminent, and the potential consequences of these strikes are unpredictable, dangerous, and global.”
IDF chief announces offensive campaign against Hezbollah after overnight attacks against Israeli by the Iranian proxy
Stringer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Smoke from an Israeli air raid billows from Hezbollah positions in the southern Lebanese village of Dier Siran
Israel expanded its war effort against Iran to southern Lebanon on Monday after Iranian proxy Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel overnight.
“We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah,” Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, said in a situational assessment on Monday. “We are not only operating defensively — we are now going on the offensive as well. We must prepare for many prolonged days of combat ahead.”
The war against Iran and Hezbollah “requires strong defensive readiness and sustained offensive readiness, operating in continuous waves while constantly utilizing opportunities,” Zamir said.
On Sunday, Zamir also spoke of Israel’s “close cooperation with our most important partner — the United States of America. We are working in coordination with CENTCOM, with AFCENT, CENTCOM’s Air Force, and there is undoubtedly tremendous force here.”
Hours after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel at about 1 a.m. Monday, the IDF carried out strikes against dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and as far north as Beirut that extended into the morning. Targets included senior Hezbollah terrorists, command posts, infrastructure and a vehicle carrying operatives from the Sh’ia militia’s elite Radwan force.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem “decided on the attack under pressure from Iran [and] is from this moment a marked target for elimination.”
The IDF will “act forcefully against Hezbollah,” Katz added, “while continuing to advance the primary objective: crushing and defeating the Iranian terror regime and neutralizing its capabilities in Operation Lion’s Roar in order to remove the threats against the State of Israel and enable the citizens of Iran to rise up against the regime and overthrow it.”
The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued evacuation notices for 53 villages in southern Lebanon.
“The IDF had previously prepared for the possibility of Hezbollah joining the hostilities,” the military spokesperson’s office stated. “In the Northern Command, combat forces were significantly reinforced along the border with both defensive and offensive capabilities. This preparation enabled a rapid and robust counterattack while maintaining full operational protection across all scenarios.”
The expansion of the war to a second front followed a month of smaller IDF strikes in southern Lebanon, as Hezbollah continued efforts to rebuild after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and many other leading figures in the Iranian proxy group in late 2024.
As Operation Roaring Lion, as the IDF called its strikes on Iran, was launched on Saturday, the IDF called up 70,000 reservists to bolster its forces in all sectors, including the northern border, as well as Central Command, focusing on counterterrorism activity in the West Bank, and Southern Command, to defend the Yellow Line in Gaza and protect residents of southern Israel.
The IDF continued intercepting Iranian missiles on Monday, including over Jerusalem, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was targeting the Prime Minister’s Office and the home of Air Force Commander Tomer Bar.
Israel confirmed that on the first day of the war, it eliminated 40 commanders, including the Iranian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, whose predecessor was eliminated by the Israeli Air Force last year.
In addition, the IDF targeted the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, killing Sayed Yahya Hamidi, deputy minister of intelligence for ‘Israel affairs,’ who directed attacks on Jews around the world, and Jalal Pour Hossein, head of the espionage division, among others.
The Intelligence Ministry reported directly to Iran’s supreme leader and was also a central tool through which Iran monitored citizens and provided intelligence for the violent suppression of protests. It has long been under U.S. sanctions.
The IDF said that, in addition to missiles, the air force and navy have intercepted dozens of Iranian drones launched toward Israel.
Late Sunday and early Monday, Iranian missiles struck Jerusalem twice, including one that landed right outside the walls of the Old City.
The second strike, in a residential neighborhood, injured five, Magen David Adom reported.
On Sunday, 10 were killed as a result of missile strikes, mostly in a barrage that decimated a residential area in Jerusalem suburb Bet Shemesh.
Since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, there have been 12 fatalities in Israel. MDA reported 228 injuries.
Also Monday, Israel’s Energy Ministry instructed a halt on gas production at the Leviathan platform in the Mediterranean Sea.
Parsi has long faced allegations of closeness with the Iranian regime, while Rhodes’ nickname in the Obama WH was ‘Hamas’ in part due to his hostility toward Israel
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute speaks on February 12, 2020 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus organized an “emergency convening” on Saturday evening for members to receive a briefing on Iran from the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi and former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes, according to an invitation obtained by Jewish Insider.
CPC members have been largely unified in condemning the U.S. strikes on Iran.
Parsi, a cofounder of the National Iranian American Council, has long faced accusations of being overly cozy with and supportive of the Iranian regime, while Rhodes has come under scrutiny for his hostility toward Israel — a stance that earned him the nickname “Hamas” inside the Obama White House.
Throughout the first day of the war, Parsi was vociferous in condemning the attack, characterizing it as a U.S. operation in service of “Israel’s war” and condemning a variety of international actors, particularly in Europe, that he said have failed to respond forcefully enough and he claimed are acting as “vassals” of the U.S. and Israel.
He has further suggested that the public in Arab states are rallying around Iran, despite the forceful and united condemnation of Iran’s indiscriminate strikes across the region by all Gulf countries.
Parsi also highlighted a strike on a girls’ school in Iran which killed dozens, according to Iranian media, though the source of the missile has not been determined. He claimed such incidents would make a civilian uprising in Iran less likely.
Rhodes has also forcefully condemned the operation. “A war that has no domestic or international legal basis. A war that Americans do not support. A war in response to no imminent threat. A pointless war,” Rhodes said in response to the attack. “Trump and Netanyahu seem to be totally unconcerned about the human beings — on all sides — who will suffer.”
UAE and Saudi leaders spoke by phone; the GCC affirmed its ‘right to respond’
Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images
A yacht sails past a plume of smoke rising from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai on March 1, 2026.
Major Gulf powers are coming together in rare lockstep amid Iran’s strikes around the region, with the United Arab Emirates closing its embassy in Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council declaring it retains the right to respond.
After the U.S. and Israel launched a major operation against Iran on Saturday, the regime struck sites in at least nine countries around the Middle East, including Israel, Jordan, Syria and every member of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Despite claiming it is aiming at U.S. military assets in the region, Iran has struck widely at civilian infrastructure, including hotels, residential neighborhoods and airports in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq. At least 12 civilians were killed in Israel over the weekend, along with three U.S. servicemembers.
On Saturday, the first day of the operation, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss Iran’s aggression and their response, a significant development and sign of the seriousness of the issue amid a regional rift between the two major powers.
The UAE has taken the brunt of much of Iran’s malign activity — its Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the country had been targeted by 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 drones from Iran. Three civilians were killed and 58 injured in the barrage.
Shortly after, Abu Dhabi announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran and the withdrawal of its entire diplomatic mission, citing Iran’s “hostile attacks against civilian sites … in a serious and irresponsible escalation [that] constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty.” The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the Iranian ambassador to the UAE and “delivered a strongly worded note of protest” about Iran’s “terrorist attacks and assault.”
Also on Sunday, the ministerial council of the GCC held a meeting over video conference and issued a statement strongly condemning Iran’s attacks and affirming the countries’ “legal right to respond.”
“The Council also expressed full solidarity among the GCC countries and their unified stance in confronting these attacks, stressing that the security of GCC member states is indivisible, and that any attack against any member state constitutes a direct attack against all GCC countries,” the statement went on. The countries “will take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and to protect their territories, citizens, and residents, including the option of responding to the aggression,” they pledged.
The U.S. also joined the GCC in another statement Sunday, saying that Iran’s “targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilizing behavior.”
The resolutions are unlikely to pass; if they do, they will need two-thirds support to override an inevitable presidential veto
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The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at sunset on May 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.
As the U.S.-Israel air war against Iran continues, the Senate and House are set to vote this week on war powers resolutions that would aim to cut the U.S. operations short.
The resolutions, led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), respectively, were originally introduced before the war began, in an effort to block military action and signal dissatisfaction with the then-looming war.
Now, the resolutions, if passed, would force the administration to end the nascent war, withdraw forces and cease operations against the Iranian regime.
It’s almost certain that the resolution will not pass the Senate; the House vote may be closer but it is also not likely to pass. And even if the resolutions were to pass, they would not have the two-thirds support necessary to overcome an inevitable presidential veto.
But the resolution will be an opportunity for Democrats — and a small number of Republicans — to go on record demonstrating their opposition to the war and dissatisfaction with the administration’s approach.
Democrats, even lawmakers like Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) who are relatively hawkish on Iran and have offered some positive feedback about the ongoing operations, are expected to mostly vote for the war powers resolution.
They have cited concerns about the administration’s failure to brief Congress at large about its plans before launching the war, its decision not to seek congressional authorization for the operations and what they say is the administration’s failure to make the case for war to the American public.
Lawmakers are reportedly set to receive classified briefings on the war on Tuesday from Cabinet and other senior administration officials.
A small number of Democrats will likely vote against the resolutions, such as Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), an outspoken supporter of the war against Iran, and Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), who backed limited operations against Iran and said yesterday he would oppose the resolution.
Two other Democrats, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), had said before the war started that they would oppose the war powers resolutions, but haven’t specified their plans now that active combat operations are underway.
The key difference between the text of the Senate and House resolutions is language in the Senate version specifically permitting the U.S. to continue intelligence sharing with and providing military aid for Israel and other allies. The House bill does not contain any such language, a potential issue for some supporters of Israel.
Most Republicans, with the exception of some isolationist-leaning lawmakers like Paul, Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), have been offering full-throated support for the Trump administration’s actions and are likely to vote against the war powers resolutions.
Kaine said he expects the Senate vote will happen on Tuesday or Wednesday. The House isn’t set to reconvene until Wednesday, with a vote likely set for Wednesday or Thursday.
The president predicted a four to five week timeline for the military campaign against Iran in several interviews over the weekend
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President Donald Trump oversees "Operation Epic Fury" at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.
President Donald Trump said over the weekend that Iran’s new leadership has made overtures to restart diplomatic negotiations with the U.S. — which he plans to accept — after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed during Israeli and U.S. strikes in the country.
Still, the president warned that strikes would continue until their objectives had been achieved.
Trump made the comments while speaking to The Atlantic on Sunday morning, one of a series of interviews he gave after launching a joint military operation against Iran alongside Israel on Saturday. The president has been touting Operation Epic Fury to journalists as an immediate success, arguing that the removal of Khamenei and 47 others in senior Iranian leadership has provided a window for diplomacy as the U.S. military operation swiftly advances.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump told The Atlantic. “They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.”
The commander-in-chief declined to say when he plans to begin engaging with the Iranians, instead noting that most of the Iranians involved in past negotiations with the U.S. are now deceased.
“Most of those people are gone. Some of the people we were dealing with are gone, because that was a big — that was a big hit,” Trump said. “They should have done it sooner. They could have made a deal. They should’ve done it sooner. They played too cute.”
Asked if he was willing to extend the bombing campaign in order to support a popular uprising in Iran, should it unfold, the president was similarly coy, telling the outlet: “I have to look at the situation at the time it happens … You can’t give an answer to that question.”
In a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday afternoon, however, Trump spoke directly to the protesters, calling upon “all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”
Further illuminating his thinking, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday shortly after the killing of Khamenei, “We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us … Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting.”
“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective” of world peace, he wrote.
In an interview on Saturday evening with CBS News’ Robert Costa, Trump said he believes that the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed Khamenei made diplomacy “much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly.”
As for the military operation itself, Trump suggested in subsequent conversations on Sunday with The Daily Mail and The New York Times that the U.S. could be involved for another four to five weeks.
“It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so,” Trump told the U.K. tabloid. “It’s always been about a four week process so — as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks or less.”
He repeated the four to five week timeline in interviews with Axios’ Barak Ravid on Saturday and The New York Times on Sunday.
“I can go long and take over the whole thing,” Trump told Ravid by phone, “or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs].’”
Trump later predicted to Ravid that, “In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) echoed the president’s predictions, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Trump has “no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside Iran.”
“The president has been clear that what we should expect to see is an extended air and naval campaign that’s designed not only to continue to set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but most importantly, to destroy its vast missile arsenal, many more missiles than the United States and Israel have air defenses combined, as well as the missile launchers and its missile manufacturing capability,” said Cotton, one of the president’s more hawkish GOP allies on Capitol Hill.
“Now obviously one risk of that kind of campaign is that an aircraft could be shot down, and the president would never leave a pilot behind,” he continued. “So no doubt we have combat search and rescue assets in the region that are prepared to go in and extract any downed pilot. But barring that kind of unusual circumstance, the president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran.”
URJ’s Rabbi Rick Jacobs: ‘America’s Jewish congregations are diverse, filled with good, moral people who differ on complex issues’
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J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami speak at the 2022 J Street National Conference held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
When more than 1,500 people gathered in Washington this weekend for J Street’s national conference, the progressive Israel advocacy group’s first major convening in four years, the gathering was billed as an opportunity to reflect on building regional peace in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Gaza war.
Instead, a major U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran that began Saturday undercut the group’s pledge to focus on peace between Israelis and Palestinians and came to dominate the discussion. J Street quickly came out against the attacks.
The first speaker on the conference’s main stage on Sunday took an unusual departure from J Street’s dogma on diplomacy by noting that the organization’s positions are not the only ones that should be taken seriously in the Jewish community.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, kicked off the conference program by noting that J Street’s position, one of stark opposition to the attacks, sits alongside the views of others in the Jewish community who have cheered U.S. and Israeli military strikes seeking to bring about regime change in Iran.
“I’m certain that many in this gathering agree, as a matter of principle and foreign policy, with the J Street statement,” Jacobs said. “Many in our congregations might also agree. But America’s Jewish congregations are diverse, filled with good, moral people who differ on complex issues, as those raised by the Iran attacks.”
J Street’s leaders often make the case that greater nuance and complexity is required within the U.S. Jewish community, particularly making space for left-wing views on Israel within mainstream Jewish groups. Jacobs was making the argument in reverse: that people could also support the attacks in good conscience, and that neither view is superior.
“There are many in our congregations, in the Jewish community at large and in the broader American public who want to seek regime change for the sake of the people of Iran, for eliminating threats to America’s and Israel’s security, and to enhance stability in the region, who may well recognize that war is surely not the remedy for every global conflict, but feel there are times when military force is justified and believe a case can be made,” Jacobs continued.
Later, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami clarified where the group stands but said there is room in the organization for people who disagree.
“I made very clear J Street’s adamant and clear opposition to this war. It is a war of choice. It is a war without clear objectives. It is a war without a plan to achieve those unclear objectives. It is a war without constitutionally required congressional approval, and it is a war without public consent,” Ben-Ami said. “It is clear that in this room there is a mix of opinions. Not everyone in J Street would agree with the clear, articulated opposition to the war that I laid out.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) called the war “dangerous” and said it would make Americans less safe. British human rights lawyer Phillippe Sands compared the attack on Iran to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Iran “needs to be punished.” In a video message recorded before the attacks began, Yair Golan, the leader of Israel’s liberal Democrats party, said that if war with Iran starts, “let us defeat those who seek our destruction.” Both Olmert and Golan are fierce opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But while the convention main stage offered some room for nuance on Iran, most speakers were otherwise aligned on J Street’s messaging — that Israel’s government, led by Netanyahu, is not doing enough to make peace with Palestinians or to rein in violent settlers in the West Bank, and that the U.S., meanwhile, is not doing enough to safeguard Palestinians or provide oversight of Israel’s use of its military aid.
“There can’t be a continuing blank check when the Netanyahu government is operating in violation of American law, which they have repeatedly, or in violation of international law,” Van Hollen said.
Later in his speech, Jacobs, the URJ president, said the U.S. Jewish community must also learn to accept diverging opinions on Israel.
“It does not make one love Israel any less to be pained by the loss of life and suffering among innocents, and we must learn how to work amidst difference. Our Jewish community will not be safe only with more cameras and security protocols. Does anti-Zionism spill over into antisemitism? Yes. But not always,” Jacobs said.
J Street also plans to use the conference to spotlight its growing political influence in the Democratic Party, with a fundraiser on Sunday evening for North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper, the former governor. Attendees will also be able to join a phone bank for Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss, who is running for Congress in a contentious Democratic primary in Illinois where Israel has become a key issue.
Other congressional speakers slated to address the conference on Monday include Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA). The executive director of the House Majority PAC, a Super PAC that supports Democratic congressional candidates, will be at the conference meeting with top J Street donors.
Canada and Australia immediately offered support; European leaders signaled changing views amid Iran’s indiscriminate attacks in the region
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French President Emmanuel Macron (l-r), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of Great Britain, meet in The Hague at the delegation hotel on the sidelines of the NATO summit for trilateral talks in the E3 format.
President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military campaign against Iran has earned unexpected support from Western leaders who have otherwise sparred with Trump, particularly on trade policy. Canada and Australia, both of which are led by liberal parties, robustly backed the strikes that began on Saturday morning.
“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Saturday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking to reporters during a trip to India, also threw his support behind the U.S.: “Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” he said.
Meanwhile, three powerful European allies known as the E3 — France, Germany and the United Kingdom — were more circumspect after the military campaign began, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling on Saturday for nuclear negotiations to resume.
But by late Sunday, as Iran doubled down on its campaign of retaliation against American and Western assets across the Middle East, the E3 nations inched toward support for Washington with a statement strongly calling on Iran to cease its “indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks.”
“We call on Iran to stop these reckless attacks immediately. We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the E3 leaders said. “We have agreed to work together with the U.S. and allies in the region on this matter.”
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of over 80 student groups, is ‘illegally using the Columbia name’ on X, the university said
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Students protest against the war in Gaza on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel at Columbia University in New York, New York, on Monday, October 7, 2024.
Columbia University distanced itself from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of over 80 university student groups, after it posted “death to America” in Farsi in response to U.S. strikes on Iran, denying that current students are behind the account.
“Marg bar Amrika,” CUAD posted on X on Saturday after U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader — using a phrase that was frequently invoked by Khamenei. The post was deleted, but CUAD doubled down, writing in a new post, “X forced us to delete our ‘marg bar amrika’ tweet in order to gain back access to our account but the sentiment still stands.”
Columbia responded that “the group that calls itself ‘CUAD’ is not a recognized student group, or affiliated in any way with the University.”
“There is no evidence that anyone currently in control of their account is a current Columbia student, staff, or faculty member. They are illegally using the Columbia name,” the university said in a statement.
But a source familiar with the university’s actions told Jewish Insider that Columbia does not know who controls the account.
Last year, Columbia served the email associated with CUAD’s social media accounts with a cease and desist letter and sent takedown requests to the social media platforms carrying them, the source said.
CUAD then changed its account name from Columbia University Apartheid Divest to CU Apartheid Divest, stopped using an alma mater logo, changed its status on X to be a “commentary account” and added a statement to its bio about being “proudly unrecognized” by Columbia.
The source said the university is continuing to pursue all available legal action on the matter.
CUAD was formed in 2016 and gained renewed support since Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. It consists of groups run by current Columbia students, including Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Student Workers of Columbia and Columbia Social Workers for Palestine. In an updated statement on Sunday evening, Columbia said that currently recognized student groups cannot affiliate with CUAD.
Columbia announced last July — about a week before it reached a settlement with the Trump administration to restore federal funding — that it would no longer recognize CUAD, which organized the 2024 campus anti-Israel encampment and several other demonstrations against the war in Gaza, some of which turned violent. At the time, Khamenei praised such protests, telling students they were “on the right side of history.”
CUAD’s Instagram page was disabled last year for promoting violence.
Three servicemembers have been killed and five seriously injured, CENTCOM said
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Smoke rises after Iran launched a missile attack targeting the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, on February 28, 2026.
Three U.S. servicemembers have been killed since the start of hostilities with Iran on Saturday, CENTCOM announced on Sunday morning, with five more seriously wounded.
In addition, several others “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” the statement read, without details of where the injured troops were located or when the fatal strikes occurred.
They are the first U.S. casualties in the war, which the U.S. has named Operation Epic Fury and Israel, which is jointly conducting strikes with the Americans, has named Operation Roaring Lion. Eleven people — all civilians — have been killed in Israel.
Three people have also been killed and 58 injured in the United Arab Emirates, its defense ministry said Sunday, amid Iran’s strikes around the Gulf.
CENTCOM also announced Sunday that U.S. forces struck an Iranian warship at the beginning of the operation, which is “currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman.”
A missile hit in Beit Shemesh killed at least nine people on Sunday; two died in Tel Aviv late Saturday
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Israeli emergency and rescue personnel recover casualties from an Iranian missile site on March 1, 2026 in Beit Shemesh, Israel.
At least nine people were killed in an Iranian missile strike on a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, about 35 miles west of Jerusalem, the Israeli emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reported on Sunday, bringing the Israeli death toll from the war with Iran launched a day earlier to 12.
Another 28 people, including young children, were injured, with two in serious condition.
The missile barrage on the mostly Orthodox Jerusalem suburb directly struck a public bomb shelter under a synagogue, among other sites.
Yehuda Shlomo, an MDA EMT, said that when he arrived on the scene, he saw “heavy structural damage, smoke in the air and a great deal of chaos with dozens of frightened casualties emerging from the damaged buildings.”
Another EMT, Tzvi David, said that he rescued a woman in her 60s trapped under a slab of concrete and that firefighters extricated three children from a locked room.
Photos and videos taken by MDA show buildings destroyed to their foundations, others heavily damaged, and burned-out cars.
IDF International Media Spokesperson Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani posted on X that “since the beginning of Operation ‘Roaring Lion’ the Iranian regime has been targeting civilians, we know that this is their strategy. In their recent attack they killed many civilians in the community of Beit Shemesh. The Iranian regime is a terror regime.”
“I send my deepest condolences to the families. We will continue to do everything we can to remove these capabilities from this bloodthirsty terror regime,” Shoshani stated.
Late Saturday night, a missile strike in the Tel Aviv area killed two women, one a Filipina caregiver aged 32 and the other aged 68 who died of respiratory issues while moving to a shelter, and injured 121 people.
A 102-year-old man in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, also died after falling down the stairs on his way to a protected space during an incoming missile siren, Ichilov Hospital announced Sunday.
About 40 buildings in Tel Aviv sustained damage from the missile strikes, with one deemed uninhabitable, the municipality stated. Over 200 residents were evacuated to hotels in the city.
The most heavily damaged building did not have its own safe room and most residents had evacuated to a public bomb shelter, Israel’s Home Front Command said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the impact site in Tel Aviv and called on the people of Israel and the region to “stay strong.”
“This is a historic effort to change the trajectory in the Middle East to a different future — a future of peace,” Herzog said. “We’ve been confronted by an empire of evil for a generation.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom Israel killed on Saturday, “spent a whole generation taking his people’s resources and directing them towards terror, bloodshed, pain and horror. And what we are doing here, together, all the allies, the United States, leading this effort … towards a vision of peace in the region,” Herzog said.
Meanwhile, security tightens in NYC as NYPD and Gov. Hochul boost presence around Jewish and Iranian institutions
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slammed joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in a statement Saturday — without placing fault with Tehran in his reaction.
Mamdani released a statement that reiterated his police department’s earlier pledge to boost local security, and also attacked Israel and the United States for “an illegal war of aggression.” But unlike other Democrats who have spoken out against the air campaign, he mentioned neither the atrocities committed by the Iranian regime against its own citizens, nor President Donald Trump, with whom he met just days ago.
“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war,” he wrote. “Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.”
The NYPD declared Saturday morning it was “closely monitoring” the situation in the Middle East and working with federal and international law enforcement. It further promised pre-emptive steps to increase security at potential targets, though it did not indicate whether it was aware of any specific threat.
“As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious, and other relevant sites,” the department tweeted.
The NYPD did not respond to queries about specific actions, but videos on social media showed members of the department’s Counter-Terrorism Task Force at Manhattan’s iconic Temple Emanu-El as well as outside the Iranian consulate.
Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly vowed that she would deploy state troopers to guard vulnerable sites, even as she said “there were no specific, credible threats to New York.” She noted the impending start of Purim Monday night as cause to coordinate with the leaders of the Jewish community.
“State Police are increasing their presence at religious, diplomatic, and cultural sites statewide in coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners,” the Democrat wrote in a statement. “Additionally, in advance of the Jewish holiday of Purim, State Police remain alert and have already begun outreach to religious organizations to offer support.”
Meanwhile, organizations affiliated with China-based left-wing tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham — known for promoting geopolitical narratives favorable to Beijing and its allies in Moscow and Tehran — including the People’s Forum and CODE PINK kicked off a protest against the strikes in Times Square on Saturday afternoon.
Joining them, according to promotional materials, are the Democratic Socialists of America, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the National Iranian American Council, known as the country’s de facto lobbying group in the United States.
Netanyahu: Attacks were Israeli Air Force’s largest flyover in history
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A plume of smoke rises over Tehran after a reported explosion on February 28, 2026.
The U.S. and Israeli militaries planned attacks on Iran for months, marking “unprecedented cooperation,” Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, said on Saturday, hours after the launch of what Israel has called Operation Roaring Lion and the U.S. has called Operation Epic Fury.
“In recent months, under the direction of the political leadership, I have led — in coordination with my counterparts, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of CENTCOM — a deep and comprehensive joint operational planning process. This reflects unprecedented cooperation between the IDF and the United States military,” Zamir said.
An IDF official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the two militaries “worked for thousands of hours” to increase its target bank “by hundreds of percent.”
The plan centered on “an intelligence effort … to identify an operational opportunity at the moment when senior regime officials would convene,” the official said. The IDF struck three such gatherings simultaneously and killed “several senior figures.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a video statement that one of those targets was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, saying that the IDF likely killed him.
“Today, in a surprise attack, we destroyed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound in the heart of Tehran,” he said. “For three and a half decades, this tyrant sent terror throughout the world, immiserated his nation and worked all the time on his plan to destroy Israel.”
“That plan is gone and there are many signs that the tyrant is gone,” Netanyahu said. President Donald Trump later confirmed the news.
Netanyahu said that Israel plans to hit “1,000 terror sites” in the coming days.
Directing his remarks at the people of Iran, Netanyahu said, “Soon your moment will come in which you must go out on the streets … Help has arrived and now the time has come for you to unite for a historic mission … to bring down the regime and ensure your future.”
The strikes on Iran’s missile array and air-defense systems by 200 fighter jets were the Israeli Air Force’s largest-ever flyover, the IDF Spokesperson’s office said.
The IAF fighter jets struck 500 targets throughout western and central Iran, such as one in Tabriz, which was used for Iran’s surface-to-surface missiles. Another strike targeted an advanced SA-65 aerial-defense system near Kermanshah in western Iran, the IDF said.
The IDF sent warnings via social media to Iranian civilians living near weapons production and military infrastructure facilities: “Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we urge you to immediately evacuate these areas and remain outside of them until further notice. Your presence in these locations puts your lives at risk.”
Iran launched missiles and attack drones at Israeli population centers throughout the day, including ones that include cluster munitions, the IDF said.
“Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximize the chances of a harmful strike. Iran goes to great lengths in trying to maximize harm to Israeli civilians,” Nadav Shoshani, the IDF international media spokesperson, stated.
Zamir said that Operation Roaring Lion is “a significant, decisive, and unprecedented operation, to dismantle the capabilities of the Iranian terrorist regime — capabilities that constitute an ongoing existential threat to the security of the State of Israel. This is an operation to secure our existence and our future here, in the land of our forefathers, for generations to come.”
Since last year’s Operation Rising Lion, as the IDF called the 12-day war with Iran, “the radical Iranian terrorist regime has not abandoned its vision or its hostile intentions to advance its plan to destroy Israel. It has continued to promote its nuclear project, restore and accelerate ballistic missile production, and destabilize the region through the funding and arming of terrorist proxies,” Zamir said.
The IDF chief of staff also tied the operation to the holiday of Purim, which begins on Monday night, and celebrates the Jews of the Persian empire overcoming an attempted genocide.
“The Book of Esther teaches us that responsibility for our destiny rests first and foremost in our own hands — in courage, initiative, unity and the willingness to fight for our right to live here in freedom and in peace,” Zamir said. “Soldiers and commanders of the IDF… carry with you the vision of our forefathers.”
Shoshani wrote in a blog post that the timing of the operation was due to “a dangerous acceleration in [Iran’s] capabilities,” including long-range missile production and continued proxy funding.
“Israel reached a point where the threat was no longer ‘developing,’” Shoshani wrote. “The threat was direct and imminent.”
The objective of the strike, Shoshani said, was to “fundamentally reduce and degrade Iranian terrorist regime capabilities, eliminating long-term existential threats to the state of Israel.”
The IDF also called up 70,000 reservists to serve on Israel’s borders, the West Bank and Gaza to stop any infiltration attempts, as well as search and rescue forces prepared to go to the site of any Iranian missile strikes.
Israelis throughout the country spent the day going in and out of safe rooms and bomb shelters at the sound of air raid sirens, which blared more frequently in Israel’s densely populated center, reflecting the area Iran targeted.
IDF Home Front Commander Maj.-Gen. Shay Kleper said that “past experiences prove that the public’s strict following of protocol has saved many lives. The grit and responsibility of everyone is a key element in countering the threat.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke about Israel’s decision to strike Iran and the operation’s objectives with 17 of his counterparts, in phone calls to Argentina, Austria, Germany, India, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Latvia, the European Union, France, Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Greece, Ethiopia, Singapore and North Macedonia.
President Donald Trump confirmed the news, calling Khamenei ‘one of the most evil people in history’
Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes remarks in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran and the country’s highest political and religious authority, was killed during Israeli and U.S. strikes in the country.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote.
Israeli media reported he was killed in an Israeli strike on his compound in Tehran. He was 86.
Khamenei had led Iran since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who took over the country as part of his Islamic Revolution in 1979. Over more than three decades in power, he oversaw major shifts in Iran’s domestic politics, military posture and regional strategy, moves that resulted in the Islamic Republic becoming the world’s leading exporter of terrorism through proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
As supreme leader, Khamenei exercised ultimate authority over the armed forces, judiciary, state broadcasting and key political appointments. He maintained final say over defense and foreign policy, including Iran’s nuclear program, and appointed top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC became the primary instrument of Khamenei’s rule. He cultivated and empowered it for decades, and the IRGC in turn underwrote his domestic authority and Iran’s regional ambitions across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza through what he called the “Axis of Resistance.”
His foreign policy was defined by two poles of opposition: the United States, which he called Iran’s “No. 1 enemy,” and Israel, whose destruction he repeatedly called for in rhetoric that mixed geopolitical calculation with antisemitic tropes. Under his leadership, Iran became what the U.S. State Department designated the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
No successor has been publicly named, and with much of the IRGC’s senior leadership also reported killed in Saturday’s strikes, the question of who fills the vacuum left by Khamenei will mark a pivotal moment in Iran’s history.
Most Democrats are pushing for a war powers resolution next week, amid ongoing military operations
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The American flag flies in front of the U.S. Capitol on February 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S.
A number of Republican lawmakers rallied behind President Donald Trump’s military strikes against Iran on Saturday, while leading Democrats expressed quick and strident opposition to the administration’s decision to attack Iran.
Democrats are also demanding Congress reconvene promptly next week to vote on war powers resolutions to block further military operations in Iran without congressional approval. The resolutions were already expected to come up for votes in the coming week.
A few Democratic lawmakers sounded more open-minded about the attack against Tehran. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), one of the few foreign policy hawks in his party, said the president “was absolutely” correct to attack Iran in an appearance on Fox News. “God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” Fetterman said.
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), who told Jewish Insider earlier this week that limited strikes on Iran could be necessary and productive, echoed that stance on Saturday. He said that he would oppose the war powers resolution.
“I hope these targeted strikes on the Iranian regime’s military assets end the regime’s mayhem and bloodshed and makes way for this lasting peace in the region,” Landsman said. “Thank you to our brave service members who are leading this effort, and I pray their work will finally free the people of Iran and those in the region from more violence or war. May peace emerge from all of this.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who had been planning to oppose the war powers resolution, praised the attack while highlighting the administration’s obligations under the War Powers Act, which limits the duration for which the president can unilaterally commit forces to armed conflict without congressional approval.
“Today, the United States, with our key democratic ally Israel, took decisive action to defend our national security, fight terror, protect our allies and stand with the Iranian people who have been massacred in the streets for demanding freedom from the murderous Iranian regime,” Gottheimer said. “I applaud the extraordinary bravery and professionalism of our servicemembers and pray for their safety as Iran and its terrorist proxies retaliate against American bases and our partners in the region.”
“Confronting the Iranian threat is essential to America’s national security and to global stability. The world is safer because of the courage and skill of our service members. I am praying for their safety and the safety of all of our allies who have been targeted by Iranian retaliation,” he continued.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) offered more muted support for the operation, praising U.S. servicemembers while saying she “stand[s] with the Iranian people in their hope for a better future and will continue to work in a bipartisan way in Congress to provide them the support they need.” She called for an immediate and detailed briefing on the administration’s plans, and highlighted Iran’s long record of malign activity and attacks on its own citizens.
But Rosen also warned against a protracted conflict and criticized the lack of congressional authorization.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), among the most moderate Democrats in the House and a potential swing vote on the war powers resolution, said Trump needs to seek congressional authorization for the operation, while offering support for the administration’s goals.
“I agree with the President’s objectives that Iran can never be allowed to obtain nuclear capabilities. The President must now clearly define the national security objective and articulate his plan to avoid another costly, prolonged war in the Middle East,” Suozzi said. “Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the region and must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Preventing that outcome is vital to our national security, the safety of our allies, and the stability of the Middle East.”
Most of the leading voices in the Democratic Party, however, are rallying against the Iran attack.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who is leading a war powers resolution in the Senate that he planned to call up for a vote next week, said in a statement, “Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” calling the strikes a “colossal mistake,” accusing the president of having “learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East” and of being “mentally incapacitated.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who is leading similar legislation in the House, said that “the American people are tired of regime change wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives. We don’t want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the few GOP isolationists in Congress and Khanna’s cosponsor on that resolution, also said he opposes the operation.
“This is not ‘America First,’” Massie said. “When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), another isolationist-minded Republican who indicated this week that he was leaning toward voting for the war powers resolution, sent similar signals on Saturday.
“We need a government small enough to fit within the Constitution. We need a government effective enough to solve problems and serve its own people. Or, we need a new Constitution,” Davidson said.
The House is not scheduled to reconvene until Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who was one of the handful of congressional leaders briefed on the administration’s plans earlier this week, said that “everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame.”
He said he expressed his concerns to Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the briefing this week.
Republicans are largely lining up behind the administration, with the exception of Massie.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who had urged Trump to take action, praised the administration, saying Trump had “met the moment.”
“My mind is racing with the thought that the murderous ayatollah’s regime in Iran will soon be no more. The biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years is upon us,” Graham said. “The likelihood of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel getting back on track is exceedingly high – a subject I brought up last week to the key players in the region who concurred if the ayatollah goes down, historic peace advances.”
Graham met with leaders in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this month and said on Fox News on Saturday morning that he plans to return soon. Following retaliatory strikes by Iran on U.S. military facilities in several Arab states, Saudi Arabia issued a statement condemning Iran and offering its support for measures the Arab states may take in response.
“This operation has been well-planned,” Graham continued. “It will be violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful. Again the demise of the ayatollah’s regime with American blood on its hands is necessary and more than justified.”
He later urged Arab and other allies to “get behind President Trump and go all in to ensure the ayatollah’s Iran, which has become the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world is no more.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who was also briefed, said, “The butcher’s bill has finally come due for the ayatollahs. May God bless and protect our troops on this vital mission of vengeance, and justice, and safety,” highlighting the regime’s long record of attacks against Americans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Iran is “facing the severe consequences of its evil actions,” and said Trump had “made every effort” at diplomacy. “For decades, Iran has defiantly maintained its nuclear program while arming and funding Hamas, Hezbollah, and other internationally recognized terrorist organizations. Iran and its proxies have menaced America and American lives, undermined our core national interests, systematically destabilized the Middle East, and threatened the security of the entire West.”
“The Gang of 8 was briefed in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran. I received updates from Secretary Rubio thereafter, and I will remain in close contact with the President and the Department of War as this operation proceeds,” Johnson continued.
Other rank-and-file Democrats, including some moderates, drew parallels with the Bush administration’s war against Iraq in their criticism.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the strikes raise “serious legal and constitutional concerns.”
“The American people have seen this playbook before — claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building,” Warner continued. “We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past. The president owes the country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), an Iraq war veteran representing a GOP-leaning state, expressed concern for U.S. forces, who Trump acknowledged could be lost in the ensuing war.
“I lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war. Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn’t been explained or justified to the American people,” Gallego said. “We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die.”
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the House Jewish caucus and a key pro-Israel leader, criticized the administration’s move and said he would support the war powers resolution. “The President of the United States is not allowed to take our nation to war without authorization from Congress.”
“This is a moment of peril and opportunity,” Schneider said. “Congress must step up to meet the moment, fulfill its constitutional duties, and ensure American action — with our allies in the region and around the world — leads to a more stable and peaceful Middle East, not another generational entanglement ending in failure.”
Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), among the House’s most vocal Democratic Iran hawks while she was in office and who is now running to reclaim her former seat, also said Congress should “immediately return to Washington” to vote on Kaine’s war powers resolution.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said that Trump has “no credibility on either the strategy or law guiding foreign policy” — pointing to the president’s delayed promise to Iranian protesters earlier this year that help would be coming — and said he plans to support the war powers resolution.
“I am ready to work across the aisle to craft congressionally directed strategy on Iran, especially for securing American air supremacy in the region and supporting the Iranian people’s right to self determination,” Auchincloss said. “But first congressional Republicans must call the question on this fundamental issue of war powers by voting against a reckless commander-in-chief and for the Constitution.”
President Donald Trump called on Iranians to ‘take over your government’ when ‘we are finished’
Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 27, 2026.
The U.S. and Israel launched a joint military operation targeting Iran on Saturday morning, the culmination of months of tensions and, more recently, negotiations aimed at reaching a diplomatic resolution to concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.
In an address on Saturday shortly after the first strikes were reported, President Donald Trump announced that “the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.”
Trump said that the goal of the operation “is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.”
“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America’ and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” Trump said, noting that “it was Iran’s proxy Hamas that launched the monstrous October 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage.”
The strikes came a day after Omani Foreign Minister Bdar Al Busaidi traveled to Washington to meet with Vice President JD Vance after mediating a round of talks in Geneva between senior Iranian officials and a U.S. delegation led by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The military confrontation came eight months after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, which the U.S. joined, which significantly degraded Iran’s aerial defenses and nuclear program.
The White House had faced questions in recent weeks about the scale of a potential operation in Iran as it amassed the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in more than two decades.
In his most direct remarks targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump addressed “the great proud people of Iran,” saying, “The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government.”
Trump slammed the efforts by Iran and its proxies to disrupt commercial waterways and target U.S. interests and positions across the region. “It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to put up with it any longer. From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime is armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts,” Trump said.
Two hours after the start of the strikes, Iran launched its first barrages of ballistic missiles at Israeli population centers. No injuries were reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short while ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran. I thank our great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership.”
“For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has called for ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ It has spilled our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people. This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” Netanyahu continued.
“Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands” Netanyahu said. “The time has come for all segments of the people in Iran – the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Balochis, and the Ahwazis – to rid themselves of the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran.”
“The coming days of Operation Roaring Lion will demand patience and fortitude from all of us. We shall stand together, fight together, and ensure the eternity of Israel together,” he concluded.
Jewish Insider’s Israel Editor Tamara Zieve contributed reporting.
Plus, Mamdani makes surprise WH visit
Umman Foreign Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (C) advisor Jared Kushner (L) meet with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi (R), who is mediating between the parties in the third round of Iran-U.S. negotiations held in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 26, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
U.S.-Iran negotiations wrapped up for the day in Geneva without a decisive result: Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the sides had made “significant progress” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media they negotiated “very seriously,” but no agreement was reached.
Araghchi said technical experts will meet on Monday in Vienna at the International Atomic Energy Agency and fourth round negotiations will take place later next week, after consultations in both capitals…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters yesterday that Iran “poses a very grave threat to the United States” and is trying to reconstitute its nuclear program. “After their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it, and here they are. You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They’re not enriching right now, but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
Beyond the nuclear issue, Rubio said, Iran also has “conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans. … These things have to be addressed.” While the current talks are focused solely on Tehran’s nuclear program, “it’s also important to remember that Iran refuses to talk about ballistic missiles to us or to anyone, and that’s a big problem”…
House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement today that they plan to force a vote “as soon as Congress reconvenes next week” on a resolution blocking military action against Iran without congressional authorization, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Three Democrats have already indicated they will oppose the resolution, with other defections likely to follow…
U.S. forces raided a ship last month and seized cargo heading from China to Iran, officials told The Wall Street Journal, part of a broader effort to head off Iran’s covert arms purchases after the 12-day war last June. The cargo was reportedly intended for Iranian companies that procure weapons for the regime’s missile program…
The Journal interviews fighter pilots involved in the U.S. bombing campaign against the Houthis last spring, as military assets are once again amassing in the Middle East for a potential operation against Iran…
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner amplified a social media post today from a far-right conspiracy theorist well-known for viciously antisemitic commentary — before quickly deleting the statement, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. In a comment on X, Platner approvingly boosted a remark opposing war with Iran from Stew Peters, who has said Judaism is “satanic” and a “death cult,” promoted blood libels and called for a “final solution” to mass-deport American Jews…
The issue is particularly sensitive for Platner, who earlier in his campaign faced scrutiny over a Nazi tattoo on his chest, which he has since had covered. He was pressed today on a YouTube call-in show about his knowledge of the tattoo’s symbolism because of his self-identification as a WWII history enthusiast.
“I was well aware that they [Nazis] used a similar-looking thing,” Platner said. “You have to admit it’s not a ‘similar-looking thing,’ it’s the same thing. … Anyone who’s remotely a WWII buff knows what that is,” the caller replied. Platner answered, “I’m not going to apologize for something that I didn’t know about or do”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made an unannounced visit to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump today. Among other issues, the two discussed housing and immigration activities…
The family of Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Israel and the Palestinian territories, sued Trump and other administration officials yesterday in district court, alleging that the sanctions imposed on Albanese by the U.S. violate her First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar attended an iftar meal to break the Ramadan fast hosted by UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja in Tel Aviv, where Herzog said that the “members of the Abraham Accords should be treated in an upgraded manner as they pursue the noble cause of peace.”
“And this I say especially,” Herzog continued, “when there are nations who are spreading hate, spreading blasphemy against nations who seek peace — against the Emiratis, against the Israelis,” ostensibly referring to Saudi Arabia…
As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his trip to Israel today, the two countries signed 16 memorandums of understanding to expand cooperation in fields including agriculture and AI. Modi also met with the cast of “Fauda”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Sam Bregman, the Jewish cowboy-hat wearing former district attorney running for governor of New Mexico.
ADL’s Desert Region will hold its annual conference at Arizona State University, with speakers including ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and state Rep. Alma Hernandez.
J Street’s annual conference will kick off Saturday in Washington. Speakers will include former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA). J Street’s PAC will hold an event with Roy Cooper, the former governor of North Carolina now running for Senate, and phone banking sessions for Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss, running for the House.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
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Three Democrats have indicated they will oppose the resolution, with some other defections likely
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) (C) speaks alongside Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) (R) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) (L) during a news conference after a vote on healthcare subsidies at the U.S. Capitol on January 8, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement on Thursday that they plan to force a vote “as soon as Congress reconvenes next week” on a resolution blocking military action against Iran without congressional authorization.
The statement, signed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA), as well as Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Jim Himes (D-CT), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), all of whom hold committee leadership roles, argues that military action against Iran without authorization would be unconstitutional. The statement also serves as an apparent repudiation of claims by some progressives that Democratic leaders were privately maneuvering to block a vote on the resolution, fearing a significant number of party defections.
“The Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing, seen most recently in the killing of thousands of protestors,” the Democratic officials said. “However, undertaking a war of choice in the Middle East, without a full understanding of all the attendant risks to our servicemembers and to escalation, is reckless.”
“We maintain that any such action would be unconstitutional without consultation with and authorization from Congress,” they continued.
At least one Republican, other than the resolution’s cosponsor Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), appears likely to support the war powers resolution. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), a Republican with isolationist foreign policy leanings, said he would vote in favor of the resolution unless he receives a classified briefing on the “mission” in Iran next week that provides “new information.”
“War requires congressional authorization. There are actions short of war, but no case has been made,” Davidson said.
Three Democrats — Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Greg Landsman (D-OH) — have indicated they will oppose the resolution. Some other defections are likely.
One issue that could drive particular concern for pro-Israel Democrats is that the legislation does not include specific language allowing for continued intelligence-sharing and defensive operations and aid to protect Israel from Iranian attack, which is included in similar Senate legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a Senate floor speech on Thursday, two days after receiving a classified briefing from Cabinet officials — that the administration still has yet to lay out its goals and plans for Iran.
“The issues we discussed in our classified briefing were very serious and the American people deserve to hear it directly from the president and his administration,” Schumer said.
Schumer has signed on as a cosponsor of the Senate war powers legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who was also briefed, said Thursday that any action against Iran should be decisive enough to bring down the regime.
“In my view, if you’re going to do something there, you better well make it about getting new leadership and regime change,” Thune said.
‘The president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure’ Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, the VP said on Fox News
Jim Watson - Pool/Getty Images
U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives remarks following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in the area, at Royalston Square on January 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A day before U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, Vice President JD Vance urged the Iranian regime on Wednesday to take President Donald Trump’s diplomatic overtures “seriously,” cautioning that the president has “a number of tools at his disposal” to keep the “craziest and worst regime in the world” from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Vance made the comments while appearing on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” after being asked about Trump’s comments at the State of the Union on Tuesday night, during which the president underscored his willingness to use force while acknowledging his preference for a diplomatic solution.
“The president has been as crystal clear as he could be: Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. That would be the ultimate military objective if that’s the route that he chose,” Vance said. “That is what we’re trying to accomplish, as the president said, through the preferred route of diplomacy, but it’s very simple: We have to get to a position where Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, cannot threaten the world with nuclear terrorism.”
“I think most Americans understand that you can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons. That’s what the president is accomplishing, that’s what the president has set as our goal,” he continued. “He’s going to try to accomplish it diplomatically, but as we all know, the president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen. He’s shown a willingness to use them, and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in their negotiations tomorrow because that’s certainly what the president prefers.”
Asked if that meant the president’s position is that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must be removed, Vance reiterated that the administration is “hopeful that we’re able to come to a good resolution without the military, but if we have to use the military, the president, of course, has that right as well.”
“I think the president ultimately will make the decision about how to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, but we’re sitting down having another round of diplomatic talks with the Iranians, trying to reach a reasonable settlement, but a reasonable settlement towards what end?” Vance asked. “Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. I think the supreme leader and everybody in their system should understand it. We’ve been crystal clear.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), meanwhile, warned on Wednesday that he would not support a Trump administration-brokered deal with Iran that would allow the regime to continue enriching some uranium as part of its nuclear program.
“If media reports are true that there is a consideration of allowing Iran to have very small enrichment of uranium for face-saving purposes: screw that,” Graham wrote on X. “This regime is made up of religious Nazis that are the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The regime has American blood on its hands and they have killed over 30,000 of their citizens simply because they demand the end to their oppression.”
Graham added that he “could care less about efforts to save face for this regime. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime – it’s long overdue. I hope help is on the way.”
The Virginia senator said Trump has failed to make a ‘real case … as to why we should be in a war with Iran’
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks to reporters on his way to a classified all-Senate briefing
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told reporters on Wednesday that a Senate resolution blocking the use of military force against Iran without congressional authorization is likely to come up for a vote next week, though it could come as early as Thursday.
“The president made no real case last night as to why we should be in a war with Iran,” Kaine said, referring to Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, where some Democrats hoped he would lay out a clear approach and strategy to his engagement with Tehran.
Kaine said that the timing of the vote may be affected by both the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva on Thursday, as well as some Senate absences this week.
“We want [the diplomacy] to work. Would the vote help it, would it hurt it?” Kaine said. “[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer knows I’m full-speed ahead.”
Asked whether he thinks Democrats will unite behind the resolution, Kaine noted that only Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) opposed a separate resolution after the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last summer.
“We should not send our sons and daughters into another war in the Middle East. [Trump] declared the nuclear program was obliterated just a few months ago. So, what — now we’re going to go to war to stop a nuclear program?” Kaine said, accusing Trump of “stumbl[ing] us toward” a potential war by leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, in his first term.
Kaine emphasized that the current deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford to the Middle East is significantly longer than normal, with the extended mission pushing the ship and its sailors beyond normal limits.
The Virginia senator pointed out the carrier — already at sea for about eight months — is now facing maintenance issues. Normally, such issues would be addressed during scheduled repairs following a six-month deployment. Instead, those repairs are being deferred because of the ship’s extended time away.
A vote on similar legislation in the House was originally expected this week, but has now been pushed until at least next week. A handful of House Democrats have voiced opposition to that resolution, and some others have declined to say how they plan to vote.
The Democratic lawmaker’s comments suggest he’s leaning towards voting against a war powers resolution on Iran
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images in his Longworth Building office on Friday, November 3, 2023.
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said that the U.S. and its allies “may very well need to take defensive action, targeting military assets in Iran,” in a statement shared with Jewish Insider on Wednesday.
While Landsman didn’t explicitly say in the statement that he intends to oppose the war powers resolution on Iran that may come to a vote before the House next week, his position suggests that he’s skeptical of that effort. Two House Democrats — Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) — have already expressed outright opposition to the war powers resolution.
“Targeted strikes on known ballistic missiles and rocket infrastructure and other weapons depots, including nuclear assets, may very well save lives,” Landsman said. “The region and world would be a much safer place if the regime’s military capacity was leveled. These targeted strikes could prevent war, which should be the goal of any effort.”
“If targeted, defensive strikes are necessary, and these strikes are successful, the prospect of war and further violence is diminished. That’s what we should all want: an end to decades of bloodshed and mayhem by this regime. We should continue to work to weaken the regime’s ability to do harm,” Landsman added.
Emphasizing Iran’s long-standing pattern of terror throughout the region, including killing more than 30,000 demonstrators in two days last month, in addition to hundreds of Americans and fueling violence throughout the region, Landsman said that the U.S. has an opportunity to “end the bloodshed and mayhem.”
“For most of my life, the regime in Iran has caused bloodshed and mayhem. At some point, we have to say enough is enough, and begin to destroy its ability to kill innocent people, including its own citizens,” Landsman said. “If it weren’t for the regime, Yemenis, Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and Persians might all be free.”
Though the administration continues efforts to negotiate with Iran, Landsman said that the regime has “yet to show any interest in disarming or pulling back from funding violence and terror in the region. Instead, the regime is threatening further attacks on Americans and our allies.”
Landsman said that, in the case of any military action, the administration has an obligation to remain in close touch with senior congressional leaders and make its case to the American public. “This is true for targeted strikes on military assets, even if the purpose is to prevent war and further violence,” Landsman said.
“Going to war, which would be boots on the ground and an extended or ongoing military engagement, does require congressional approval,” he continued.
Plus, Witkoff calls for indefinite Iran nuclear deal
Mario Tama/Getty Images
An attendee wears a jacket at an Iowa caucus watch party organized by Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America, on February 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Good Wednesday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Ahead of the third round of U.S.-Iran negotiations taking place in Geneva tomorrow, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that President Donald Trump “has a number of other tools at his disposal” besides diplomacy to ensure “the craziest and worst regime in the world” does not obtain nuclear weapons, following on the president’s remarks during last night’s State of the Union calling Iran “the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror”…
In response to Trump’s comments, where he also said Iran was developing advanced ballistic missiles and had killed 32,000 protesters, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei tied Trump to the “law of propaganda coined by Nazi [chief propagandist] Joseph Goebbels.”
“This is now systematically used by the U.S. administration and the war profiteers encircling it, particularly the genocidal Israeli regime … Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest is simply the repetition of ‘big lies,’” Baghaei wrote on X…
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading Iran negotiations alongside Jared Kushner, reportedly told AIPAC members at the group’s summit in Washington yesterday that any deal reached with Iran should not have a “sunset clause,” as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was criticized for.
“We start with the Iranians with the premise that there is no sunset provision. Whether we get a deal or not, our premise is: you have to behave for the rest of your lives,” Witkoff told the group, according to Axios. He said talks are currently focused only on the nuclear issue, but if they are successful, the administration would look to hold additional talks on Tehran’s missile program and support for terror proxies…
Satellite photos analyzed by the Associated Press appear to show U.S. ships that typically dock in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet have moved out to sea. The 5th Fleet similarly scattered its ships during the U.S. strikes in Iran last June…
Dutch airline KLM announced a suspension of flights between its hub in Amsterdam and Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport starting March 1 until further notice, saying in a statement that it is currently “not commercially or operationally feasible for KLM to operate flights to Tel Aviv.” It’s the first airline to pause flights amid the current unrest with Iran…
On the campaign trail, Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George vowed to reject the “Zionist lobby” in a questionnaire seeking the endorsement of the Metro D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports, a category that the DSA said includes AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, Christians United for Israel and J Street.
Referencing her appearance at an event with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in December, Lewis George assured the DSA she “disagree[s] with the JCRC on a number of issues,” including its opposition to describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide and its “definition of antisemitism that criminalizes dissent, and their attacks on activists.”
Ron Halber, CEO of the JCRC, told JI, “As far as I’m concerned, [the DSA’s questionnaire] is an antisemitic manifesto. They are making the price of their endorsement the social exclusion of Jews”…
Illinois state Sen. Laura Fine, a Democrat running for an open Illinois House seat, unapologetically championed her backing for Israel in a position paper obtained by JI’s Marc Rod, amid attacks from anti-Israel activists and groups over her support for the Jewish state and backing from pro-Israel supporters.
Fine described Israel in the paper as “more than just a strategic ally, it is a beacon of democracy in one of the world’s most volatile regions,” as she and some of her primary opponents, including Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and far-left activist Kat Abughazaleh, are set to participate in a televised debate tonight…
The U.S.-led Board of Peace released a video today laying out its vision for Gaza. The board’s goal by Year 3 is to fully rebuild the southern Gazan city of Rafah and have Gaza “connected to the world through an Abrahamic gateway, linking it with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and extending to India and Europe.” By the board’s 10th year, it said, Gaza will be “self-governed,” without specifying who will oversee the enclave and how Hamas will be removed from power…
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana awarded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the newly established Medal of the Knesset, the highest honor of the body, after Modi’s address there today. His remarks were warmly received by members of Knesset and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was also in the chamber…
Following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland’s independence in December, Jerusalem accepted the appointment of Mohamed Hagi as the first Somaliland ambassador to the Jewish state (and its first fully accredited ambassador anywhere in the world). Hagi “was a member of the inner circle of officials who promoted the establishment of relations between Israel and Somaliland,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said, and vowed that a reciprocal Israeli ambassador “will soon be appointed”…
Former Harvard President Larry Summers will remain on leave from his teaching position at the Ivy League school for the duration of the academic year, at which point he will retire, Harvard announced today, after files released by the Department of Justice showed Summers maintained a relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after the financier had been convicted of prostitution involving a minor…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of Fox Nation’s new docudrama on King David, offering a dramatic reenactment of the biblical coming-of-age story of the Jewish leader.
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.
California Jewish groups including the JCRC Bay Area, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and Jewish California, which rebranded today from its previous name of JPAC, are hosting a forum for candidates running for governor, as Gov. Gavin Newsom reaches his term limit. Participating candidates include former presidential contender Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, all of whom are Democrats, as well as Republican commentator Steve Hilton.
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PUSHING BACK
Moderate Democrats mock notion that Kamala Harris lost because she wasn’t tougher on Israel
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, representing a swing district: ‘The idea that the vice president lost every swing state because she wasn’t more extreme on this issue is laughable’
CAPPELLO’S CAMPAIGN
Democrat John Cappello brings military experience in Israel to race against Mike Lawler
The Air Force veteran, who served for six years at the U.S. Embassy in Israel, said Israel should continue to make efforts toward peace
"They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said about Iran
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump, with Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) looking on, delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC.
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump maintained his tough talk against Iran, reiterating that he will use force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, even though he’s willing to explore diplomatic options to resolve the standoff.
Trump did not — as some online had predicted — make a grand televised announcement of United States strikes on Iran during the speech. Nor did he elaborate further on his plans for the growing U.S. military might in the region, or what specifically would trigger the U.S. to utilize that military power.
”They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump said about Iran. “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror — which they are by far — to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
A number of moderate House Democrats — around a third of the Democrats in the chamber — as well as the majority of Republicans stood to applaud those comments from the president. Democrats remained largely passive through much of the rest of Trump’s speech.
Negotiations are set to resume between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva later this week.
Trump also insisted again that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in its strikes last June, and had warned the regime in Tehran not to attempt to rebuild its weapons programs, including its nuclear program, but it has continued those efforts anyway.
“As president, I will make peace wherever I can, but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must,” Trump said. “And no nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth. … It’s really called ‘peace through strength’ and it’s been very, very effective.”
In addition to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Trump highlighted the Islamic Republic’s manufacture of ballistic missiles, threatening U.S. allies, troops and potentially the U.S. homeland, and its sponsorship of terrorism.
“Since they seized control of that proud nation 47 years ago, the regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate,” Trump said. “They’ve killed and maimed thousands of American service members and hundreds of thousands and even millions of people.”
And he again said the regime had killed 32,000 protesters during a recent wave of demonstrations, though he asserted that the U.S. had prevented the regime, through threats of retaliation, from executing “a lot of” dissidents.
Trump boasted of having ended the war between Iran and Israel last year, as well as the war in Gaza, which he said “is proceeding at a very low level — it’s just about there.” Trump offered praise to White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their involvement in those negotiations, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who wore a scarf in the pattern of a keffiyeh with a Palestinian flag at its ends, shouted, “It’s a genocide” during those remarks.
Trump also highlighted the successful return of the Israeli hostages: “Believe it or not, Hamas worked along with Israel and they dug and they dug and they dug. It’s tough — it’s a tough thing to do, going through bodies all over, passing up 100 bodies sometimes for each one they found,” the president said.
Trump added that “nobody thought that was possible” to find the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, but Witkoff and Kushner were able to accomplish it.
“I remember the family of the 28th [hostage of the final group that had remained in Gaza]. They were so — grieved, but they were so happy, as happy as it’s possible to be. They had their boy back,” Trump said. He emphasized that the hostage families all wanted to see the remains of deceased hostages come home “as much as though [they] were living.”
Earlier in the day, top congressional leaders received a classified briefing from the administration on Iran, and Democrats emerged urging the administration to explain its position and plans to the American people.
“It’s very serious and the president has an obligation to make his goals public,” Schumer told Jewish Insider after the briefing.
The minority leader said after receiving the classified briefing that ‘the president has an obligation to make his goals public’
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks at a press conference following recent elections as the government shutdown continues in Washington, DC on November 5, 2025.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to explain to the public his goals in the accelerating pressure campaign and military buildup targeting Iran, following a classified briefing earlier in the day for senior congressional leaders by Cabinet officials on the developing situation in Iran.
Several other lawmakers offered similarly sober responses to the briefing.
“It’s very serious and the president has an obligation to make his goals public,” Schumer told Jewish Insider after the briefing.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, similarly called on the administration to lay out “what our country’s goals are, what our country’s interests are and how we’re going to protect American interests in the region.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “very concerned” and warned that “wars in the Middle East don’t go well for presidents, for the country, and we have not heard articulated a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the administration is “giving a lot of thought to the situation. And I appreciate where they’re coming from.”
Plus, Trump says Iran won't rule out nuclear weapons
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Protestors gather after police cleared a new encampment on the UCLA campus on May 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Good Tuesday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Previewing his State of the Union address tonight, where it remains to be seen if he will make any announcements on Iran, President Donald Trump told reporters, “Iran wants to make a deal more than I do, but they just won’t say the sacred phrase: ‘We won’t build nuclear weapons,’” signaling that the two sides are still at an impasse ahead of the third round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the congressional Gang of Eight, the bipartisan set of leaders advised on classified matters by the executive branch, this afternoon to provide an update on Iran, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly joining the discussion. The White House did not brief the group before striking Iran last June, drawing ire from Democrats…
Ahead of the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told C-SPAN about potential Iran strikes, “Closed-door briefings are fine, but the administration has to make its case to the American people on something as important as this”…
Around a dozen U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets departed from the U.K. today to be deployed at an Israeli Air Force base in the south of the country, as over 150 aircraft are being moved to the region. Military experts told The Washington Post that the “assets being assembled are indicative of a multiday campaign without a ground invasion”…
The Coast Guard is investigating a swastika drawn at its primary recruit training center in New Jersey, where Coast Guard commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday quickly flew to address recruits and staff about the incident. Lunday recently came under fire from Congress, and had his confirmation delayed, over a change in Coast Guard policy that downgraded the swastika from a prohibited hate symbol to “potentially divisive,” which was eventually walked back.
Regarding the recent incident, Lunday said in a statement to The Washington Post, “Anyone who adheres to or advances hate or extremist ideology — get out. Leave. You don’t belong in the United States Coast Guard and we reject you”…
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) is pushing for legislation to require an affirmative congressional vote prior to the U.S. reaching any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, following a notification from the administration to Congress indicating that it is moving toward a deal that could allow Riyadh to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
The notification procedures, which do not include specific terms of a potential deal, suggest that Saudi Arabia will not be required to agree to more intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency inspections or “gold standard” safeguards — which would require Saudi Arabia to agree not to enrich or reprocess nuclear material — used for the U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates…
The Justice Department sued the University of California today under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination, alleging that the UCLA campus created a “hostile work environment against Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff.”
During campus anti-Israel protests in 2024, the DOJ said, “the University allowed antisemitic harassment to continue unabated for days” and “has ignored, and continues to ignore, gross and repeated violations” of time, place and manner restrictions on student protest. The department further claimed Jewish and Israeli faculty at the school have been physically threatened, ostracized, harassed, forced to take leave and assaulted…
The New York Times details efforts by New York’s business community and Democratic establishment to organize and promote the moderate wing of the party in response to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rise to power. Some of the individuals involved, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo allies Phil Singer and Steven Cohen, are considering forming PACs, watchdog groups, lobbying campaigns and more…
New York’s Working Families Party endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) yesterday over Mamdani’s objections. The mayor has been backing Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who, like Mamdani, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a vocal critic of Israel, and he had lobbied the WFP to endorse her or to stay out of the race. WFP’s director, Jasmine Gripper, told the Times, “At the end of the day, Zohran is an individual who gets to weigh in as an individual”…
A new poll from the University of New Hampshire found oyster farmer Graham Platner with a commanding lead among likely Senate Democratic primary voters, outdistancing Gov. Janet Mills by 34 points, with the primary less than four months away. In a general election matchup with incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Platner leads Collins by 11 points, while Mills and Collins are neck-and-neck…
Khalid Turaani, executive director of the Ohio branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), testified at the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee last week against a bill to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, where he claimed that Israel operates the world’s largest human skin bank and harvests the skin from deceased Palestinians. “And if I call them Nazis,” Turaani continued, “your law is going to punish me.”
The Anti-Defamation League’s Ohio River Valley office condemned Turaani’s speech, saying that the “antisemitic organ harvesting myth plays on the blood libel trope, which has spurred the torture, murder, and expulsion of Jews for centuries”…
The U.S. Embassy in Israel announced that, as part of the government’s “efforts to reach all Americans,” the embassy will be providing consular services for one day only at several locations across Israel and the West Bank, including Ramallah and the Jewish settlement of Efrat…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the highlights from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, taking place at 9 p.m. ET tonight, as all eyes are on possible U.S. military action against Iran.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel tomorrow, where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before addressing the Knesset. In the evening, the two leaders will have dinner at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. Read JI’s interview on Modi’s visit with Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar.
The New York City Council will hold its first hearing on Council Speaker Julie Menin’s bill aiming to create “buffer zones” around houses of worship to protect from disruptive protests. The bill’s language was updated last night to remove the original 100-foot figure, which had reportedly emerged as a point of concern for the NYPD.
Congressional candidates from Illinois’ 9th District, where pro-Israel spending is boosting state Sen. Laura Fine and attacking Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, will hold a debate on local news.
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SHIFTING STANCE
Sue Altman pivoting on Israel as she runs in safely Democratic N.J. district
The progressive activist ran as a pro-Israel candidate in a neighboring swing district, but is now walking back her support as she runs to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
PRAIRIE STATE OF PLAY
Raja Krishnamoorthi emerging as the strongest ally of Jewish voters in Illinois Senate race
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton seems to be running to the congressman’s left on Israel, even as Rep. Robin Kelly is the most outspoken critic of Israel in the race
Plus, major Dem donor calls out 'Jew hate' in party
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Good Monday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
As rumors abound about the possibility and timing of U.S. strikes on Iran, the State Department ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel and their families from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. “Based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint,” a State official told Fox News…
Nearby, amid the buildup of U.S. military assets in the region, American refueling and cargo planes were spotted at Ben Gurion Airport…
President Donald Trump denied reports that Pentagon officials, namely Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, are raising concerns about striking Iran, writing on Truth Social this afternoon, “General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won.”
“He has not spoken of not doing Iran, or even the fake limited strikes that I have been reading about, he only knows one thing, how to WIN and, if he is told to do so, he will be leading the pack,” Trump said of Caine, while alluding to the potential breadth of military action against Iran…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back his visit to Israel, originally scheduled for this weekend, to March 2, The Jerusalem Post reports, days after the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Geneva on Thursday…
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a leader on foreign policy among Democrats in Congress, told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs that he heard “pretty stark early warning signs of some challenges where core allies do not share our priorities” on a potential Iran strike during his recent trip t0 Europe, which included stops at the Munich Security Conference, along with meetings in Ukraine and Moldova with top European diplomats.
Coons laid out what he hopes to see from the president: “A) Consult Congress. B) Make a case to the American people about why this is in our national security interest. C) Clarify what on earth he’s planning with this Board of Peace … And D) If he’s going to work with close allies to ramp up pressure to try and achieve something at the negotiating table, he should work with close allies”…
Anthony Driver Jr., a union organizer and candidate in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, doubled down on his recent repudiation of AIPAC, despite previously having little public record on Israel policy issues. Following a press conference last week where Driver, who is running against AIPAC-backed Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, denounced the pro-Israel group, he returned donations from major Democratic Party donor Michael Sacks over the finance executive’s ties to AIPAC.
Sacks, who was a major backer of former President Barack Obama and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said in his reply, “It is truly sad there is so much anti Israel sentiment and outright Jew hate that Anthony found himself in this position. I can only hope that the electorate rejects hate in all forms”…
As more details emerge about Rep. Tony Gonzales’ (R-TX) alleged affair with a staffer who later committed suicide, a poll commissioned by the campaign of Brandon Herrera, Gonzales’ opponent, shows the congressman trailing Herrera by a whopping 24 points among likely GOP primary voters. The story, which entered the news cycle right as early voting kicked off, could catapult Herrera, a social media influencer with a history of antisemitism, to the Republican nomination and on to Congress…
Investigators at the cryptocurrency giant Binance found last year that about $1.7 billion had been sent from two accounts to Iranian entities with links to terror groups, The New York Times reports, even after Binance pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws in 2023 and vowed to prevent sanctioned actors from accessing its platform. Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who was jailed for his role in the saga, in October 2025…
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival backtracked in its defense of a juror selected for a judging panel who had posted antisemitic and anti-Israel content online, whom it had stood behind even after the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta announced it was withdrawing its funding and support of the event over the pick.
The festival changed its tune yesterday, saying it is “first and foremost, a Jewish institution” and has “a responsibility, particularly at this fraught time, to stand firmly against antisemitism and to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.” It said it would review its “organizational processes and policies, including those related to antisemitism, BDS, and cultural boycotts”…
The French Foreign Ministry has moved to block U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner’s access to government officials after he declined to appear for a summons by Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot today, which was issued after the U.S. Embassy reposted comments by Trump about a far-right French activist who was killed in a clash with far-left protesters. It was Kushner’s second summons, after his first last year when he accused the French government of not adequately combating antisemitism…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at Sue Altman’s shifting views on Israel as the formerly pro-Israel congressional candidate is now running in New Jersey’s more heavily Democratic 12th Congressional District.
We’ll be watching for mention of President Donald Trump’s thinking on Iran as he delivers the annual State of the Union address tomorrow night. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “advancing national security through commercial diplomacy” with Jacob Helberg, under secretary of state for economic affairs, who recently told JI that he hopes the Pax Silica initiative, which he leads, “will pave the way for peace and economic integration” in the Middle East.
Australia’s royal commission on antisemitism, formed after the Hanukkah terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, will hold its first public hearing, though no testimony or evidence will be heard.
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OVERTON WINDOW
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Former Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning: ‘There is no doubt that we are living through very difficult times for American Jews’
BIG TENT SHABBAT
State Dept. Shabbat dinner draws UAE, Saudi ambassadors and senior Trump officials
The dinner was hosted by Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. antisemitism special envoy
The Delaware senator holds a unique place in the Democratic Party, rising to leadership roles while continuing to champion Biden-era foreign policy
Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), one of the leading foreign policy voices in the Democratic Party’s moderate wing, expressed concern over the weekend that any White House decision to move ahead with military action against Iran would deeply alienate leading European allies of the United States.
“There are pretty stark early warning signs of some challenges where core allies do not share our priorities,” Coons told Jewish Insider following a weeklong trip to Europe, which included stops at the Munich Security Conference, along with meetings in Ukraine and Moldova with top European diplomats.
“It leaves me genuinely concerned that if Trump goes ahead with a strike against Iran, it is not going to enjoy support from any of our core allies,” he continued. “That will make it harder, and it may deepen this growing challenge for us.”
Asked how he would like to see the Trump administration address the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on protesters and its nuclear program, Coons urged the president to work with close allies to “ramp up pressure” on Tehran and explain his approach to the public. The Delaware senator also encouraged Trump to include Congress in his deliberations.
“A) Consult Congress. B) Make a case to the American people about why this is in our national security interest,” Coons said. “C) Clarify what on earth he’s planning with this Board of Peace, which just launched with a massive pledge from the United States that none of us had heard of before he announced it,” he said, ostensibly referring to the $10 billion financial commitment Trump made to Gaza’s reconstruction. “And D) If he’s going to work with close allies to ramp up pressure to try and achieve something at the negotiating table, he should work with close allies.”
“He shouldn’t just fire off a bunch of missiles and assume that that’s going to be enough to achieve the result he wants,” he added.
Coons also highlighted growing transatlantic tensions over potential U.S. military action against Iran during discussions with European officials, who expressed worries about a brewing U.S.-U.K. dispute tied to the Chagos Islands.
The remote British Indian Ocean Territory is at the center of a 2025 agreement in which the U.K. agreed to transfer sovereignty of the island chain to Mauritius while securing a 99- or 100-year lease for the strategic Diego Garcia military base, a joint U.S.-U.K. facility long used by American forces.
The Trump administration initially signaled support for the deal, with the State Department affirming it last Tuesday. But one day later, President Donald Trump publicly urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to scrap the arrangement and retain full control of the “strategically located” base, warning it could be needed if diplomacy with Iran fails.
The Times of London reported Thursday that the British government had informed Washington that week it would not permit U.S. strikes on Iran from Diego Garcia or the Royal Air Force’s Fairford station, which houses U.S. Air Force troops, in England.
Coons called the U.K.’s stance “striking.”
Coons plays a unique role in today’s Democratic Party. He sits in the Senate seat held by former President Joe Biden for 36 years, and the two Delaware Democrats have a relationship that dates back four decades.
In addition to being the ranking member on Defense Appropriations, the panel responsible for Pentagon funding, Coons is next in line to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a role Biden held in the early 2000s. The Delaware senator remains Biden’s most ardent defender in politics following his exit from public life, and continues to advocate in his role as a senior Democrat in Congress for the traditional foreign policy views the two men have long shared.
He does so against the backdrop of the ongoing debate among Democrats about the future direction of the party, on foreign policy and otherwise, in the post-Biden era.
Alongside Coons in Munich were a handful of prominent Democrats believed to be considering presidential runs in 2028, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Among the possible presidential hopefuls, Ocasio-Cortez and Whitmer were criticized for being unprepared for the conference after struggling to answer questions on U.S. policy toward China and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Murphy and Ocasio-Cortez separately accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — appealing to a left-wing base that has made criticism of the Jewish state central to its foreign policy.
Ocasio-Cortez later griped to The New York Times that her gaffes and perceived presidential ambitions overshadowed the message she was attempting to deliver on a major foreign policy stage.
Asked about the large presence of potential Democratic presidential candidates in Munich, Coons joked that he was “announcing my 2028 candidacy” before crediting his fellow Democrats for engaging closely on foreign policy issues.
“The reality is that over the last several cycles, I’ve been very encouraged to see governors, senators, former cabinet officials who are likely future presidential candidates invest the time in coming to Munich, coming to Davos, going to Halifax, going to Australia, because the threat environment for all of our countries has become more serious and more real,” Coons said.
Coons also expressed concern about the hefty $850 billion budget for the Pentagon in the upcoming fiscal year, noting the significantly increased funding is “a breathtaking amount of money, and there is a lot of skepticism on the part of Americans that it’s being well spent.”
“The average American needs to see good jobs and innovation coming out of this massive defense investment. If we focus only on buying American and only on American jobs, we will lose tactically, we will lose strategically, we will lose politically. To the extent we align together, there is a strong future for all of our countries as democracies to meet this moment and to deliver the innovation that this threat environment absolutely demands,” Coons said.
‘They should just rename it the Ayatollah Protection Act because that’s what it does,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz said
U.S. House of Representatives
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) told Jewish Insider on Friday afternoon that he’ll vote against a resolution blocking military action against Iran, expected to come to a vote on the House floor next week.
Moskowitz joins Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who issued a joint statement with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) earlier in the day, as the only Democrats who are thus far publicly opposing the war powers resolution, which Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) plan to introduce.
Gottheimer and Moskowitz are among the strongest Democratic Iran hawks in the House, but others could join the two.
“I am a no [vote]. I am not willing to preemptively tell the supreme leader that he has nothing to worry about, no reason to negotiate because you are totally safe, and that the people of Iran can’t depend on us. They should just rename it the Ayatollah Protection Act because that’s what it does,” Moskowitz told JI.
In their joint statement, Gottheimer and Lawler emphasized that Iran poses a threat to the United States and to global stability through its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, efforts to “aggressively” reconstitute its ballistic missile arsenal and sponsorship of global terrorism, and said the regime is “waging war on its own people.”
“This record represents only a fraction of Iran’s long pattern of aggression, and it makes clear why we must preserve the ability to defend our troops and our homeland,” Gottheimer and Lawler said. “We stand with the Iranian people who are demanding basic rights and dignity, and we are committed to protecting them from the regime’s savagery.”
“That is why we oppose the Massie-Khanna War Powers Resolution to prohibit the use of force against Iran,” They continued. “We respect and defend Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war. Oversight and debate are absolutely vital. However, this resolution would restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks signaling weakness at a dangerous moment.”
The lawmakers called for the administration to brief Congress on any planned military action in compliance with the law, but said that “Congress must not limit our ability to protect Americans and our allies.”
Most House Democrats have been vigorously urging the Trump administration against military action against Iran, and are expected to support the resolution. It’s unclear whether any other House Republicans will support the resolution.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who broke with most Republicans to support a similar resolution blocking further military action in Venezuela, signaled last week he is likely to oppose the Iran war powers resolution and expressed outright support for military action.
“I’ll study the bill before committing on how I’ll vote. But I do think the President must take military action. He promised the Iranians that we would support them if they stood up against the regime,” Bacon said in a statement. “The Iranians did and now an estimated 50,000 people have been executed. There cannot be empty promises.”
Several other House Democrats who have records of breaking with their party on Middle East issues or who supported last summer’s U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not preview how they plan to vote when asked by JI on Friday.
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), a hawkish moderate Democrat from Long Island, didn’t offer a definitive stance on the vote.
“The Iranian regime is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, brutally oppresses its own people, and can never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons to threaten the U.S. and our ally Israel,” Gillen told JI. “Only Congress has the responsibility to decide whether to declare war, and given the risks to American troops in the region, the Administration should immediately brief Congress on its strategy on Iran.”
Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees issued a joint statement Friday “strongly oppos[ing] preemptive military action against Iran, which endangers U.S. personnel and risks drawing Israel and Gulf partners into a wider conflict.”
They called for continued diplomacy and said that the U.S. should not walk away from the talks for “a short-term, unauthorized show of military force that leaves Americans less secure,” adding that any decision to take military action must be approved by Congress.
Plus, Trump's kind words for Qatari PM
Alex Wong/Getty Images
A visitor holds an AIPAC folder in an elevator in Rayburn House Office Building on March 12, 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump used the occasion of the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington today to announce significant monetary and troop commitments from the U.S. and other countries to stabilize Gaza, as well as lay out a timeline for military action against Iran, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
The pledges included $10 billion from the U.S. and $7 billion from several Middle Eastern countries for Gaza’s reconstruction, as well as commitments to provide troops and police to the U.S.-led International Stabilization Force. (The Guardian reports the White House is currently exploring plans to build a 5,000-person military base to house the ISF in southern Gaza.)
On Iran negotiations, Trump said in his remarks, “Now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we are going to make a deal [with Iran]. You are going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”
He later told reporters on Air Force One, “Ten, 15 days, pretty much maximum.” Remember: Last June, Trump said he would decide whether to take action against Iran within two weeks, and carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities two days later…
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly not given approval to Washington to use the joint U.S.-U.K. base on Diego Garcia island for a strike on Iran, as Trump said yesterday he is considering. London is concerned that a U.S. strike from the shared base, which the U.K. must grant permission to use, could implicate it in violating international law…
Trump also offered praise for Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, during his Board of Peace remarks, despite widespread criticism of Doha’s backing of Hamas and platforming of anti-Israel actors.
“His excellency, Prime Minister Al Thani of Qatar, just a great and highly respected man,” Trump said. “I always say he needs a public relations agency because you do so much good, and they have you down as evil, and you’re not evil. You help us so much and you’re such a good ally”…
Meanwhile, Hamas is entrenching itself further in Gaza, repositioning its loyalists in government and paying salaries across the enclave, according to Reuters. Hamas has said it is willing to hand power over to the Palestinian technocratic committee established by the U.S. and led by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Shaath, but as one Palestinian source told the outlet, “Shaath may have the key to the car, and he may even be allowed to drive, but it is a Hamas car”…
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who recently lost the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, called AIPAC’s attacks against him in the race “bizarre in several ways,” writing in an op-ed today that he has “no problem identifying as a Zionist” and calling on Democratic leaders to collectively “refuse [AIPAC’s] support, instead of letting it pick off candidates one by one”…
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) withdrew her endorsement of Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, the front-runner in Illinois’ 2nd District Democratic primary, over Miller’s backing by groups that are reported to be affiliated with AIPAC, though the pro-Israel group hasn’t endorsed her and neither AIPAC nor its super PAC are publicly spending any money in the district.
“Illinois deserves leaders who put voters first, not AIPAC or out-of-state Trump donors,” Schakowsky told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I cannot support any candidate running for Congress who is funded by these outside interests”…
Ahead of a hearing next week on New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin’s proposed 100-foot ban on protests around houses of worship, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said today that he had the NYPD review the legality of the measure, “and I can tell you, my police commissioner has expressed concerns about that proposal”…
Three officials appointed by Mamdani to administration posts are co-founders of a group that blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks two days after they took place, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
The group, the Muslim Democratic Club of New York (MDCNY), was founded by Faiza Ali, now commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Aliya Latif, now executive director of the mayor’s Office of Faith-Based Partnerships; Ali Najmi, tapped as chair of the mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary; and anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour.
On Oct. 9, 2023, the MDCNY posted on X, “Many NYers are feeling pain, fear, and anger after the horrific events in the Holy Land this weekend. Especially as the Israeli apartheid regime have forced millions of Palestinians in Gaza to live under occupation for decades and an open air prison since 2007.” The group went on to condemn “elected officials offering support for Israeli occupation’s rampant violence as it openly declares & enacts its intent to engage in mass violence and genocide against Palestinians,” well before Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza had begun…
The Forward profiles Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman as she runs for mayor with a unique ideology: Raman is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but has also been vocally supportive of Israel. She called DSA’s statement blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 attacks “unacceptably devoid of sympathy” and rejects the BDS movement, but was also condemned by the local Jewish community for introducing a ceasefire resolution in June 2023…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of the AIPAC Congressional Summit, which is kicking off Sunday amid the group’s increasing involvement in midterm election races.
President Donald Trump is expected to meet with governors at the White House tomorrow, though the meeting will no longer be held under the auspices of the National Governors Association, as is done annually, after the White House declined to invite Democratic Govs. Jared Polis of Colorado and Wes Moore of Maryland to a black-tie dinner on Saturday.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
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At the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, the president also announced monetary and troop commitments from several foreign nations
Murat Gok/Anadolu via Getty Images
President Donald Trump makes a speech during the inaugural meeting of the 'Board of Peace' at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, United States on February 19, 2026.
President Donald Trump used the occasion of the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday to announce significant monetary and troop commitments from the U.S. and other countries to stabilize Gaza, as well as lay out a timeline for military action against Iran.
“I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace,” Trump said at the United States Institute of Peace, where several foreign leaders gathered for the meeting.
The president also named, for the first time, which countries have agreed to make additional financial contributions to the reconstruction of Gaza: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait “have all contributed more than $7 billion toward the relief package,” Trump said.
The meeting comes as the administration works to address several issues in the Middle East, including rising tensions with Iran. The U.S. has amassed a large collection of military assets in the region in preparation for a potential strike, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a nuclear deal.
Trump said in his remarks, “Now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we are going to make a deal [with Iran]. You are going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One later in the day, Trump said, “I would think that would be enough time — 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.” Last June, Trump said he would decide whether to take action against Iran within two weeks, and carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities two days later.
During the meeting, Trump also called on Iran to “join” the board “on a path that will complete what we’re doing.”
“If they [Iran] join us, that will be great. If they don’t join us, that will be great too, but it will be a very different path,” the president said. “They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal. Or if that doesn’t happen, I maybe can understand if it doesn’t happen, but bad things will happen.”
Trump also announced that several countries would contribute personnel to an International Stabilization Force tasked broadly with securing Gaza and upholding the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Morocco, Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan “have all committed troops and police to stabilize Gaza,” he said. Indonesia vowed prior to the meeting to also contribute personnel to the body’s mission.
The president added that “Egypt and Jordan are likewise providing very, very substantial help, troops, training and support for a very trustworthy Palestinian police force. We think we’re getting some very good people on that police force.”
However, despite the announcements, questions remain over how effective the pledges will be. Hamas continues to maintain a presence in Gaza and has thus far refused to disarm or relinquish governing authority — a dynamic that could complicate reconstruction and stability efforts. Trump has not clearly defined the operational scope of the International Stabilization Force, including whether its members would be expected to confront Hamas directly or focus on traditional peacekeeping functions.
Despite those uncertainties, Trump still expressed confidence that Hamas would comply with disarmament commitments.
“[Hamas] made a promise, and they promised me they would get rid of their weapons. Looks like they’re going to be doing that,” Trump said, adding that if they do not, “they’ll be very harshly met.” Since announcing the Board of Peace, Trump has made similar threats to Hamas numerous times.
He also said there are “two countries that want to go in and do a number on Hamas,” without specifying which countries, but added, “I really don’t think that’s going to be necessary, because [Hamas] they made a promise.” The ISF is not expected to play a role in countering Hamas.
During his address, the president also took a moment to acknowledge the foreign leaders of member countries that had shown up to back the announcement, including offering praise for Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister. Despite widespread criticism of Doha’s ties to Hamas officials and support for the terrorist organization, Trump strongly defended the leader against accusations that he and his country are “evil.”
“His excellency, Prime Minister Al Thani of Qatar, just a great and highly respected man,” said Trump. “I always say he needs a public relations agency because you do so much good, and they have you down as evil, and you’re not evil. You help us so much and you’re such a good ally.”
Meanwhile, Trump signaled that he hopes to broaden the Board of Peace’s membership, though several leaders of major U.S. allies — including the United Kingdom, Germany and France — have indicated they do not plan to take part.
Trump also withdrew an invitation previously extended to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney after the leader delivered remarks critical of the initiative at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
“So many of our friends in Europe are attending today, and we’re eager to have them become full members,” said Trump. “And we’ve had a great response from Europe. I’m excited to announce that Norway has agreed to host an event bringing together the board of peace.”
Trump also addressed the board’s relationship with the United Nations, amid questions about whether the new body is intended to complement or rival existing international institutions. He positioned the board as senior to the U.N., and that the two bodies would work “very closely.”
“We’re going to bring them back. I think the United Nations has great potential, really great potential. It has not lived up to potential,” said Trump. “The United Nations will be much stronger, and the Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly. But we’re going to strengthen the United Nations. We’re going to make sure its facilities are good. They need help, and they need help money wise. We’re going to help them money wise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable.”
Experts tell JI that despite the constant flow of reports that Trump favors a military response as talks with Iran falter, an American strike and Iranian retaliation against Israel are likely not imminent
Tomer Neuberg/AP
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from Iran, in central Israel, Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Tensions in Israel continued to rise over possible missile strikes from Iran, as signals increased that President Donald Trump is ready to order a strike on the Islamic Republic, possibly within days.
Yet experts told Jewish Insider on Thursday that, despite the constant flow of reports that Trump favors a military response as negotiations with Iran falter, an American strike and Iranian retaliation against Israel are likely not imminent.
Nearly every major Israeli news website and broadcast led with Iran news on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, referencing reports in CBS News that the U.S. military could be prepared to strike in the coming days and and the Wall Street Journal headline that the U.S. has amassed the greatest air power in the Middle East since the Iraq war in 2003.
In a moment that went viral in Israel and sparked hundreds of phone calls to the IDF Home Front Command, former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told Israel’s Channel 12 on Wednesday that while he went to the Munich Security Conference last week, “I would think twice about flying [abroad] on the coming weekend.”
Every Israeli “asks himself several times a day when there will be a campaign against Iran,” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth (Likud) said on Wednesday. “The entire population and homefront are preparing.”
However, IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin said that “there is no change in the situational assessment, and if there will be, we will update [the public]. There is no need to panic.”
Defrin also noted that “there are negotiations, and the IDF has long been prepared for maximum defense. If we are attacked, we will respond forcefully.”
However, while Israel’s leadership and the IDF’s assessment is that the U.S. will warn them before a strike, they plan to prepare quietly and not alert the public in advance, in order to increase the chances of success, Israel’s Kann News reported on Wednesday.
Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran Program at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, quipped to JI in reference to Yadlin’s remarks: “Don’t change your weekend plans.”
Zimmt noted that the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is still on the way to the region, and argued that “the Americans will want to be maximally prepared when they make their decision” whether to strike Iran.
“I think it’s a matter of days, not weeks, but it could also be 14 days,” he said.
Oded Ailam, former head of the Mossad Counterterrorism Division and a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said that he “doesn’t see a scenario of an immediate strike in the coming days or the coming week, despite the fearmongering in the media.”
Ailam argued that Trump will try to exhaust the current negotiations to be certain if Iran will accept a deal.
“He won’t attack until it is totally clear that this is a dead end, but he will gather forces” in the region, Ailam said. “It won’t happen for the next week or two, and after that, it depends mostly on the Iranians and the extent of their concessions.”
In Zimmt’s assessment, an Iranian surprise attack, rather than a retaliation following an American strike, is unlikely.
“Iran understands the chance of an American attack is higher than the chance of an agreement, but why should they drag themselves into a war that they have a chance of avoiding?” he said.
In addition, he said, the Iranian leadership “knows very well that Israel is ready and won’t be surprised, so it’s not worth it.”
Still, Zimmt said, Iran’s likely first reaction to an American strike will likely be to attack U.S. bases in the Gulf and Israeli targets: “For them, the U.S. and Israel are the same thing.”
Ailam said that Israel has greatly improved its air defenses since the 12-day war with Iran last June. At the time, Israel intercepted 85% of the missiles coming from Iran, and Ailam said the interception rate would likely be higher next time. Israel’s Iron Beam laser-defense system has also become operative in the interim, adding a new element of defense against drones.
In addition, he noted that the amassing of American naval vessels in the region means that the U.S. will likely contribute more to Israel’s defense than during the last war.
At the same time, Ailam said, “the Iranians have not managed to rebuild their ballistic missile systems. They only have 240 launchers, which is not much. When you strike launchers, you neutralize their ability to shoot many missiles simultaneously and disrupt Israel’s defense systems.”
As such, Ailam’s assessment was that “Iran is on the defensive and Israel has a clear advantage.”
“If two ballistic missiles penetrate Israel’s defensive envelope, it can cause great damage — as it did at Soroka [Medical Center in Beersheba] and Weizmann [Institute of Science] last year — but it is not a threat that Israel can’t handle. I don’t see it as an existential or very significant threat,” he said.
‘Congress must do its job and stop this march to war,’ Khanna said
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Reps. Thomas Massie, (R-KY), left, and Ro Khanna, (D-CA), conduct a news conference outside a Department of Justice office in NoMa on Monday, February 9, 2026.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) plan to introduce and attempt to force a vote on a war powers resolution blocking military action against Iran without congressional authorization, as the Trump administration appears to be moving closer to military action against the Islamic Republic.
“[Massie] & I have a War Powers Resolution to debate & vote on war before putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. I will make a motion to discharge to force a vote on it next week,” Khanna wrote on X on Wednesday.
He framed the legislation as an attempt to block a “disastrous war” with Iran that “would be catastrophic.”
“Like the votes before the Iraq war, this could be one of the most consequential votes in the history of Congress,” Khanna said. “Are we going to stop another endless dumb foreign war? Or will the neoconservatives mislead us once again?”
He said that lawmakers must go on the record about where they stand on a potential conflict.
“A war with Iran would be catastrophic. Iran is a complex society of 90 million people with significant air defenses and military capabilities. We also have 30-40k U.S. troops in the region who could be at risk of retaliation. Congress must do its job and stop this march to war,” Khanna said.
Once introduced, there will be a waiting period of 15 House session days before the lawmakers can force a vote on the resolution.
Similar legislation is pending in the Senate, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), but the two have not yet called it up for a vote. Kaine said last week he was waiting to see the trajectory of the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Several similar resolutions were introduced by House lawmakers after the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes last June, but never came to votes.
Plus, Sen. Graham reports MBZ is alive and well
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amber Smalley/U.S. Navy via Getty Images
Flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) May 10, 2019 in the Red Sea.
Good Wednesday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump warned U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to relinquish control over Diego Garcia — an island in the Indian Ocean that hosts a joint U.S.-U.K. base, as the U.K. plans to transfer sovereignty of the larger island chain to Mauritius, while maintaining a 99-year lease on the base — because it may act as the launching pad for a U.S. strike on Iran.
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries,” Trump wrote on Truth Social…
Iran is also signaling its readiness for military conflict, The Wall Street Journal reports, including deploying Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval units to the Strait of Hormuz, launching cruise missiles along the coast, conducting a military exercise with a Russian warship near the USS Abraham Lincoln, testing air defense systems, hardening nuclear sites and cracking down once more on dissidents…
Israel, meanwhile, is preparing for its civilian infrastructure to be “a central arena” in a potential U.S.-Iran conflict, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports, as Home Front Command chief Maj.-Gen. Shay Klapper told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today. Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth said, “There is not one [Israeli] who doesn’t ask himself several times a day when there will be a campaign against Iran. The entire population and home front are preparing”…
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) dispelled rumors, seemingly spread by Saudi media, that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was ill or even dying after meeting with him in Abu Dhabi today: “Not only is he alive, but he is also well and as sharp as I’ve ever seen him. To those powers that feel the need to attack MbZ and the UAE for doing the right thing — you do so at your own peril,” Graham said on X.
He also called MBZ’s decision to join the Abraham Accords and “to try to integrate the region with the whole world … one of the most consequential decisions any Middle Eastern leader has made.” Graham is now headed to Saudi Arabia where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he recently told publicly to “knock it off” regarding the kingdom’s destabilizing activities in the region…
Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico raised $2.5 million in donations for his Senate campaign in the 24 hours after his interview on Stephen Colbert’s late-night show was reportedly quashed by CBS, Politico reports, as early voting in Texas kicked off yesterday ahead of the March 3 primary.
CBS denied it had banned the interview, saying Colbert’s show “was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” which Colbert derided as a statement “written by — and I’m guessing for — lawyers”…
On the GOP side of the Texas Senate ballot, Attorney General Ken Paxton looks like the front-runner in his hotly contested primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX), despite the GOP establishment spending more than $60 million in attack ads against Paxton, Punchbowl News reports. (And the infighting goes further: Hunt said yesterday he filed criminal charges against a senior member of Cornyn’s campaign team for allegedly doxxing a member of his family.)
Trump told reporters last night that he still hadn’t decided which of the GOP candidates, if any, to endorse, saying, “I like all three of them actually. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three”…
Democratic Virginia state Del. Dan Helmer, a key architect of the state’s current redistricting effort, plans to enter the race for the 7th Congressional District that will be created if state voters approve a constitutional amendment to allow redistricting to proceed.
Helmer, who is Jewish and the son of an Israeli immigrant, ran for the state’s 10th District in 2024 on a staunchly pro-Israel platform, telling JI at the time that calls for conditions on U.S. aid to Israel are “incredibly frustrating.” He became the target of late-stage ad campaigns, which their backers insisted to JI were unrelated to his support for Israel, and ultimately came in second in the Democratic primary…
Humain, Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored AI company, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI, the company announced today. The investment came just before Musk combined xAI with his SpaceX aerospace company, giving the Saudi firm a significant stake in the major U.S. government contractor…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how the emerging scandal involving Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) — whom the San Antonio Express News confirmed yesterday was engaged in an extramarital affair with a staffer who committed suicide — could catapult an anti-Israel Republican, who has posted videos featuring Nazi imagery, to Congress.
Our focus tomorrow will be the first meeting of the Board of Peace, which will bring several heads of state and senior ministers, including Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, to Washington. Read JI’s preview of the meeting.
Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut will deliver what JFNA is calling the first “State of the Jewish Union Address,” ahead of the president’s State of the Union next week, from the organization’s Washington headquarters.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a daylong hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, featuring legal experts, former administration officials, students and Jewish communal leaders, which include Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Kenneth Marcus, founder and CEO of the Louis D. Brandeis Center; Erin Beiner, J Street U director; and Kevin Rachlin, Washington director of The Nexus Project.
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The U.S. is moving additional military assets to the region while Israeli Home Front Command is preparing civilian infrastructure
IDF
The site of an Iranian ballistic missile strike in Beersheba, Israel, June 20th, 2025.
Amid signals and reports that the U.S. is preparing for military action against Iran in the coming days, the IDF has been preparing Israeli civilian infrastructure to be a central target of the Islamic Republic’s retaliation.
Home Front Command chief Maj.-Gen. Shay Klapper told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday that “the Home Front Command will be a central arena in relevant operational scenarios and is a significant component of Israeli society’s resilience and ability to save lives.”
Klapper said that the Home Front Command has been working to improve preparedness since Operation Rising Lion, the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June, adding that “the IDF is prepared for every scenario.”
Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth (Likud) said that in Israel, “the homefront is the front, and the front is the homefront. Wars are won on the homefront, too.”
“These are challenging days,” Bismuth added. “There is not one [Israeli] who doesn’t ask himself several times a day when there will be a campaign against Iran. The entire population and homefront are preparing.”
The Knesset committee meeting was scheduled in advance of Tuesday’s meeting in Geneva between Iranian and American negotiators. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV after the meeting that the sides agreed to exchange draft agreements at the next round of talks. American officials told Axios that Iran must submit its detailed draft in two weeks; in 2025, amid the war between Israel and Iran, Trump gave Tehran two weeks to enter talks, and when rebuffed, launched strikes targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities three days later.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel appear to be preparing to launch a campaign against Iran, with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and a strike group in the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford, another aircraft carrier, on the way. The USS Pinckney, a guided-missile destroyer, was also sent to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility, bringing the number of U.S. Navy vessels in the region to 12. In recent days, 50 American fighter jets have flown toward the Middle East, and over 150 military cargo flights have moved ammunition to the region. Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the U.S. is “on the verge of eliminating” the Iranian regime, within “weeks, not months.”
Homefront Preparedness Subcommittee Chairman Michel Buskila said that homefront preparedness “is the line of defense for Israeli civilians.”
“In a multi-front scenario, civilian resilience is an essential part of national resilience. Our responsibility is to ensure that the systems are prepared, that the alerts are precise, that local government are part of the coordination and the citizens of Israel know they have someone to count on.”
The committee meeting was closed to the media, but the committee released selected quotes and information from Klapper’s briefing.
A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to talk of building protective rooms for Israelis who do not have them, such as those who live in homes built over 30 years ago, and much of Israel’s Bedouin population. Klapper said the goal is for there to be protective spaces for 100% of the population within a decade.
Klapper also reviewed the different kinds of alerts the Home Front Command uses, including outdoor sirens and an app.
Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: ‘We remain headed toward the president enforcing his red line’
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Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior advisor Richard Goldberg on the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy’s Mideast Horizons podcast, Sept. 2025
Readouts from Iran on progress made in the latest round of negotiations with the U.S. are evidence of the regime “simply buying for time” and evidence that Tehran isn’t willing to make the concessions demanded by the Trump administration, Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official and senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider in an interview Tuesday.
Following the second round of nuclear negotiations, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called “serious, constructive and positive,” Goldberg made the case for why he thinks there’s a high likelihood of future U.S. military action against Iran, and why he sees the negotiations as diplomatic theater.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Jewish Insider: What is your initial takeaway from the second round of discussions and the Iranian foreign minister’s comments that the parties reached agreements on “guiding principles” for a potential deal?
Richard Goldberg: If this was operating in a vacuum, and I saw that readout from the Iranian foreign minister, I would tell you that I thought this was a readout of one of the many rounds the regime held with [Special Envoy for Iran under President Joe Biden] Rob Malley or other diplomats from past administrations, Obama or Biden, with the sort of silliness of the readout of “We’ve agreed to terms in principle of what we might talk about.”
It is one of the clearest signs of a regime that’s not willing to make the tough concessions that the president has demanded, and instead is simply buying for time. I think that in their mind, so long as they appear to be the party that wants to talk, that is willing to keep talking, it somehow boxes in the president, politically, from being able to use force. Obviously it does not, but from their perspective, it also is a lifeline to talk like that, because it’s probably the only thing that separates them from financial collapse at this point.
Remember, at the beginning of the year, we saw a bank collapse in Iran, with reports that five other banks were to shortly follow. One of the narrative economic strategies of the regime when they see economic peril is to hold diplomatic talks and to speak positively about those talks and to create a pathway for those talks to extend themselves, because it creates confusion in the market and puts a bottom on the deterioration of the financial system for those who believe that there might be a deal at the end of the rainbow.
If you were to remove that false optimism, then the bottom drops out. There is no pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow. So politically, they think that they’re boxing in the president and delaying military action. Economically, they think they’re staving off financial collapse, but there’s nothing to demonstrate any credible willingness to dismantle all of their threats to the United States and the rest of the world, be that their nuclear program, their missile program, their sponsorship of terrorism and the repression apparatus that we just saw demonstrated at maximum violence.
In fact, we have seen just [yesterday], while they were talking, reports coming out of a round of more protesters being gunned down the streets at the end of the mourning period for the first slaughter. So I think the president is pretty clear-eyed on all of this. I think he can tell the difference between rope-a-dope and credible concessions. I think he knows when a red line has been obliterated and we should be focused on the fact that force posture continues to build up in the region, and the president has indicated his continued willingness to use force. So all things being equal, it would appear that we remain headed towards the president enforcing his red line.
JI: If these negotiations should fail, what would the military option look like?
RG: Well, no one knows. Obviously, there’s a range of targets that you would be thinking about in Iran. You would start with the greatest threats to the United States, those being nuclear and missile threats, and then you would move into the potential to degrade the regime’s command-and-control communications, the repression apparatus and, of course, the potential for a decapitation strike at the highest level of of the escalation ladder.
We could also see a quarantine of Iranian oil exports the way that the president had conducted against Venezuela. Again, the regime is trying to project threats right now to deter that specific plan of action. I think that’s why you see [yesterday’s] news of them conducting some sort of military drills around the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to sink U.S. naval vessels, showcasing their missile threat, not just to the United States, but to energy infrastructure in the region. I think they are saber rattling for the oil market and to deter the president from taking action to strangle their financial lifeline.
So where do you go back to at the beginning? You go back to their missile threat, their drone threat, their naval threat and, if they’re able to already, attempt to blackmail the international community with those threats. Those are threats that are long term and systemic, and we do the United States, our national security, our economic security, a great service by degrading those threats.
Many of the target sets come back to the same top-tier ones. That which poses the greatest threat to the United States needs to be at the top of the target list. But if you can mitigate those threats and degrade them, then you open up more options to strangle the regime economically by cutting off the oil flow, and you also open up more opportunity to degrade the regime’s control and power via precision strikes, not just by the United States, but potentially by Israel as well.
JI: If the U.S. takes military action, do you think there’s any concern from the American side about the potential fallout in the region?
RG: The United States has defensive measures to slow an attack and mitigate an attack, and it has a range of offensive capabilities to remove the threat once it has attacked. We have seen the Iranians, both from their territory and via proxies, most specifically the Houthis, launch many of the capabilities that they’re threatening today. We saw a short-range ballistic missile attack against our base in Qatar at the end of the 12-day war [in June]. We have seen other ballistic missile strikes in the past against Iraq after killing [Iranian Gen. Qassem] Soleimani. We have seen the Houthis using anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drones to attack the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea over many months — notably, our defenses destroyed all those threats. In the case of the ballistic missile attack on Qatar, I think the public reporting is that we were able to destroy most of the missiles, and those that got through did minor damage – and that’s on the defensive measure side.
Then comes the offense. If the regime wants to open up that can of worms, attack the United States in that respect, and the attack is mitigated, the next strike will not be one that they come back from. Their goal right now in Tehran is to scare the president, scare the American people, and scare the oil market.
The objective from military planners inside the Pentagon, for the chair of the Joint Chiefs [of Staff] and for the president should be to stick to reality — What can they do? What do we need to defend against it? What are we going to do to remove those threats from any second or third third wave? What are the clear objectives that we want to have with the outcomes of our strikes that we want to achieve? How are we going to reassure the oil market that energy continues to flow, even if the regime attempts to disrupt flows through the Strait of Hormuz or attacks energy infrastructure? What are the relief valves we have at our disposal throughout the world? – and move in in the best interest of the United States, and I think that’s what the president has shown he’s willing to do.
JI: Iran has indicated that they would retaliate against U.S. military bases in the region in the event of any military intervention. Many Arab allies host American troops and have expressed concern about tensions turning into a wider conflict. What is your read on how Arab countries might be feeling?
RG: If you are a neighboring state that is an ally or partner of the United States, and your neighbor has a large missile and drone force like Iran, and you have critical infrastructure that could be hit by those missiles and drones, you would likely, whether true or untrue, distance yourself from any plans to attack. You’d want to be able to say to your diplomatic counterparts: “We were against this. We cautioned against it. We urged dialogue. We didn’t want to see this happen. Don’t attack us.”
At a very basic level, that seems obviously what is happening and understandably so, and then there’s also the potential that, in fact, some of these Arab dictatorships don’t mind a weak dictatorship in Tehran that they know rather than having that dictatorship actually fall.
JI: Which path do you think the administration is ultimately going to take?
RG: My suspicion is that the president has already made up his mind. He’s moving in a very specific direction. Everything we see is quite calculated and with specific reason. The regime will not give him a deal that would be viewed as credible and history achieving, and the president, someone who has achieved history in his own action, multiple times by use of limited, but precise military action, will be called to repeat history and create even greater chapters for the history books.
Plus, Belgium's mohel madness
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U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives remarks following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in the area, at Royalston Square on January 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Good Tuesday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
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📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
As the second round of U.S.-Iran negotiations wrapped up in Geneva this morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that the parties reached a “general understanding on a set of guiding principles” and will “begin working on the text of a potential agreement.”
A U.S. official sounded a more reserved note, telling Axios the talks “made progress” but “there are still a lot of details to discuss.” Iranian officials are expected to present proposals in the next two weeks “to address some of the open gaps in our positions,” the official said.
Vice President JD Vance said on Fox News this afternoon that “the United States has certain red lines. Our primary interest here is we don’t want Iran to get a nuclear weapon. We don’t want nuclear proliferation.”
On today’s negotiations, Vance explained, “in some ways it went well — they agreed to meet afterwards — but in some ways it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, demonstrated that unwillingness, posting on X as talks were underway that if the U.S. insists on prohibiting Iran from enriching uranium “there is no room for negotiation.” As the U.S. sends more military assets to the region, he also threatened to “send that [U.S.] warship to the bottom of the sea”…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani tapped Faiza Ali as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs today, elevating the longtime activist with ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour. Ali previously served as the community affairs director for CAIR’s New York chapter, and she and Sarsour have co-led Muslim advocacy efforts, including being arrested together in 2017…
Several Chicago-era endorsees of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC — Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, union organizer Anthony Driver Jr., state Sen. Robert Peters and activist Junaid Ahmed — held a joint press conference today slamming AIPAC as a “pro-Trump, right-wing aligned organization” that “is rooted and based in lobbying for this right-wing Israeli government.”
Driver, a candidate in the 7th District who was just endorsed by the CPC PAC today and has not previously spoken at length about his position on Israel, said, “AIPAC is not your friend. … They are in the business of buying elections”…
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White was summoned to a meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot today after White accused the country in a series of heated social media posts of a “RIDICULOUS AND ANTI SEMITIC ‘PROSECUTION’” of three mohels who are being charged with practicing medicine without a license.
Prévot said White’s posts “and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms” and denied accusations of antisemitism, while Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department’s antisemitism envoy, concurred with White…
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told BBC “Newsnight” yesterday that he will “seriously consider” a presidential run in 2028 “because we’re in some seriously challenging times.” The former astronaut, who has recently been the target of the White House’s ire over a video in which he and fellow veterans urged servicemembers to refuse illegal orders, touted his military experience and engineering certifications as part of his pitch…
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, running in a competitive primary for U.S. Senate against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), shared an interview he conducted with late-night host Stephen Colbert that CBS declined to run.
Colbert said in his show’s opening remarks last night that the clip would not be broadcast because “we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have [Talarico] on the broadcast,” claiming the network was threatened by the Federal Communications Commission…
Eric Trump has invested in Israeli drone maker Xtend as part of a $1.5 billion deal in which the company, which already has a multimillion-dollar contract with the Pentagon, is merging with a Florida construction firm. Xtend was also selected this month by the Department of Defense as one of 25 companies participating in its “Drone Dominance Program”…
Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spokesperson, is leaving her post next week, Politico reports, after becoming one of the most vocal defenders of the Trump administration’s deportation efforts…
Warner Bros. Discovery announced today it will restart talks with Paramount after initially rejecting the company’s hostile takeover bid in favor of its current agreement with Netflix. Paramount has since increased its nearly $78 billion all-cash offer, including paying the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner will owe Netflix if their deal falls through…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Steven Fulop, the former Jersey City mayor who is making a priority of countering antisemitism in his new role as the head of New York City’s business advocacy group.
The International Federation of Social Workers will hold a vote on a contentious effort to expel the Israeli Union of Social Workers, after some European members complained that Israeli social workers had served in combat roles during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza — a move that the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers unexpectedly said today it resoundingly opposes.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will sit down with Tucker Carlson in Jerusalem for an episode of the commentator’s podcast, as the two have been at loggerheads over Carlson’s repeated criticisms of Israel.
The Kigali Forum, a conference bringing together policy leaders and think tanks from the United States, Africa and Israel to discuss “the new Middle East,” will take place in Kigali, Rwanda.
The trial of the man accused of killing Paul Kessler, a Jewish man who was beaten and died during rival pro- and anti-Israel protests in the Los Angeles area in November 2023, is set to begin in Ventura County Superior Court.
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SENATOR SAYS
Lindsey Graham calls on Saudi Arabia to ‘knock it off’
The senator addressed Saudi and Emirati leadership directly about escalating tensions in the region in his remarks at the Munich Security Conference
The parties concluded a second round of talks with the Iranians expected to produce 'detailed proposals' in the next two weeks
EVELYN HOCKSTEINAMER HILABI/POOL/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff after a meeting with Russian officials at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 18, 2025 (L)/ Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to AFP during an interview at the Iranian consulate in Jeddah on March 7, 2025.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated that the second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington produced agreements on several “guiding principles” for a potential deal on Tuesday, though U.S. officials took a more muted position, with one describing the talks as proceeding “as expected.”
Araghchi told Iranian state media that talks with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which took place in Geneva and was mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, were more “serious, constructive and positive” than previous discussions, but he acknowledged that major gaps remain and that an agreement will not be reached quickly.
“Progress was made in the talks with Iran, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” the U.S. official told Axios. “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”
Albusaidi said that the parties “left with clear next steps before the next meeting,” though no date had been set for a third round of talks. Araghchi said both sides agreed to work on draft language, exchange texts and then determine the timing of a date for the next round of negotiations.
“Today’s negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Geneva have concluded with good progress towards identifying common goals and relevant technical issues,” Albusaidi said in a post on X on Tuesday. “The spirit of our meetings was constructive. Together we made serious efforts to define a number of guiding principles for a final deal.”
Those principles and the parameters of a potential deal remain unclear — as the talks were underway, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X, “The Americans say, ‘Let’s negotiate over your nuclear energy, and the result of the negotiation is supposed to be that you do not have this energy!’ If that’s the case, there is no room for negotiation; but if negotiations are truly to take place, determining the outcome of the negotiations in advance is a wrong and foolish act.”
Parallel to the diplomatic track, both sides are indicating that military options remain on the table: The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region in recent days as well as additional F-35, F-22 and F-16 fighter jets.
“The Americans constantly say that they’ve sent a warship toward Iran,” Khamenei said on Tuesday in response to the deployment. “Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.”
At the start of discussions Tuesday, Iran said it would close the Strait of Hormuz to conduct live-fire military exercises, and had previously threatened to retaliate against U.S. bases in the region should Washington carry out an attack.
The senator addressed Saudi and Emirati leadership directly about escalating tensions in the region in his remarks at the Munich Security Conference
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned Saudi Arabia that the escalating tensions with the United Arab Emirates risk benefiting Iran at a critical moment in the Middle East, addressing the nations’ leaders directly in remarks at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
“As to MBS [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] and MBZ [UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan] — knock it off, Saudi Arabia, knock it off,” Graham said from the stage. “I’m tired of this crap.”
Graham also urged “anybody who will listen in the Middle East — don’t let this moment pass,” and warned that the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia is “emboldening Iran.” He added that “MBZ is not a Zionist,” pushing back against criticism in Saudi Arabia of the Emirati leader’s ties to Israel. Among other escalatory rhetoric out of the kingdom, a prominent Saudi academic publicly accused Abu Dhabi last month of aligning itself too closely with Jerusalem and acting as “Israel’s Trojan horse in the Arab world.”
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have increasingly been at odds in recent months as the two U.S. allies have backed different sides in several regional conflicts and Riyadh continues to pivot away from its role as a moderating force in the region.
“Be smart, but don’t be locked down with fear,” said Graham. “I know they [the UAE and Saudi Arabia] got differences in Yemen and they got differences in Sudan, but we got to think big picture,” he said. “To any leader in the region that doesn’t understand you’re on the verge of history, history would judge you poorly.”
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia conducted an airstrike in late December 2025 against what Riyadh said was an Emirati arms shipment linked to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). Hours after the strike, the Emirati government announced it would withdraw its remaining troops from the country.
The two countries have also diverged in Sudan, where Riyadh has embraced Islamist-aligned factions while the UAE has aligned with rival forces. The Gulf states have also taken opposite sides in Somalia, with the UAE quietly supportive of Somaliland, while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for recognizing the region’s independence.
Graham’s remarks in Munich come as the South Carolina senator remains an outspoken advocate of expanded cooperation between Israel and Arab states and has repeatedly emphasized countering Iran as a central U.S. objective in the region. On Monday, Graham met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Jerusalem office during a trip to Israel.
Graham said Trump told him there’s ‘no light’ between Trump and Netanyahu
Maayan Toaff/GPO
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
The Iranian regime may fall within weeks, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.
“We’re on the verge of eliminating the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the region,” Graham said. “We’re in for weeks, not months.”
“President Trump is very good at making sure people don’t play him by giving them deadlines. I think you may see that now with Iran,” he added.
Graham said that President Donald Trump is pursuing diplomacy “to find a way to end this regime diplomatically that will advance our national security interests,” while leaving the military option open.
“I think President Trump is looking to see which line will catch the biggest fish,” he added.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in total agreement about how to proceed to weaken the Iranian regime, Graham said.
“There is no light between President Trump and Bibi about what to do and how to do it,” Graham said, later adding: “That’s what the president told me.”
After their meeting at the White House last week, Netanyahu characterized Trump’s assessment of Iran negotiations as overly optimistic of the regime’s intentions, saying, “The president thinks the Iranians understand who they’re dealing with. He thinks the conditions he is setting, combined with their understanding that they made a mistake last time not reaching a deal, could bring them to agree to conditions that will allow a good deal to be reached.”
But Netanyahu’s own view was more reserved: “I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of any deal with Iran.”
Graham called on the U.S. to “meet the moment” to topple the regime in Tehran.
The senator said both that he is “hopeful that diplomacy may prevail yet,” but when asked if he thinks a diplomatic solution is possible, he noted that Iran is “prone to cheat,” and that “based on the past, no,” but he is willing to give it a chance.
He pointed out that the military option is still on the table and that “the [USS] Gerald Ford [aircraft carrier] is steaming this way. I don’t think they’re just going for better weather.”
“In the coming weeks, if we can’t find a diplomatic solution, we will engage in the great endeavor of supporting the Iranian people, demanding their freedom and the end of their oppression,” he stated.
To reach that goal, Graham said, “we have military capability second to none. There’s no more clever nation than Israel and no more powerful nation than the United States.”
Asked if he thinks a military solution could actually bring about the end of the regime, Graham said that the Iranian regime is “weak” and “will collapse with sustained pressure,” and noted that their Air Force flies planes “from the 80s.”
“To anybody who believes the ayatollah can withstand all of this — you’re wrong,” he said.
Graham said the way to topple the regime militarily is to “kill the people who do the killing and see if the next guy wants to volunteer. … To those who want to appease: It never works. How many times could we have stopped Hitler? A bunch … The ayatollah represents evil incarnate to me.”
Graham acknowledged that military action in Iran could endanger American troops and result in the regime shooting ballistic missiles at Israel, but said “the risk associated with that is far less than the risk associated with blinking and pulling the plug and not helping the [Iranian] people as we promised. … We have to be good to our word.”
Should the mullahs’ regime fall, Graham said, it will be the result of Israel’s “determination to … go on the offensive” in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, sponsored in part by Iran, and the “bravery of the people of Iran, who said ‘we’ve had it; we want change.’”
“I look forward to the day that Israel no longer has to fear a nuclear weapon developed by the Iranian regime,” he said.
Graham also recalled attending a demonstration against the Iranian regime in Munich over the weekend, and displayed a “Make Iran Great Again” hat, the idea for which, he said, came from diplomat Morgan Ortagus.
“The best way to make Iran great again is through the people, not the ayatollah,” Graham said.
In Gaza, Graham said that Hamas is “playing a game,” and Trump should set a time limit for disarmament.
“I think it’s either going to take pressure from the region to get a monster to disarm, or Israel is going to have to go back in and wipe them out. The sooner we get an answer to those questions the better,” he said.
Graham also expressed doubts that Gaza can be rebuilt “if right down the road there’s a neighborhood controlled by Hamas.”
Graham’s remarks came following meetings with Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and he plans to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
The senator said one recurring theme in his meetings in Israel was expressions of appreciation for UAE leadership, specifically President Mohammed bin Zayed, as “a stalwart, reliable partner under difficult circumstances.”
As for concerns about antisemitic and anti-Israel messages coming out of Saudi Arabia, Graham said that he knows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman well, and that he “believe[s] he still has the same vision for the region as he did before Oct. 7, but Oct. 7 took its toll.”
Graham expressed support for Netanyahu’s plan to taper off U.S. military aid over the next decade, saying that “rather than writing a check, he wants to create a partnership. … I like that idea. The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel, because if you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer. … We’re looking at Israel advancing down the road of new weaponry far beyond us. It would be nice to be part of that process.”
As to Trump calling Israeli President Isaac Herzog a “disgrace” for not yet deciding whether to pardon Netanyahu of his various corruption charges, Graham said: “I’ll leave that to President Herzog.”
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