Israel Carries out “Rising Lion” against Iran
Thursday night, Israel unilaterally launched unprecedented strikes across Iran, targeting its nuclear program and military sites and hitting the key Natanz enrichment facility. The attacks killed Iran's top three military generals, including Mohammad Bagheri, the second-highest commander after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nuclear scientists were also reportedly among the casualties. Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, told the Security Council that Israel’s strike on Iran's primary uranium enrichment site at Natanz had destroyed the surface-level enrichment facility, causing chemical and radiological contamination.
According to Israeli officials:
- The Mossad built a secret explosive drone base in Iran for the operation. The drones were used to strike ballistic missile launchers at a base near Tehran, preventing Iran from firing projectiles at Israel as this morning's strikes began.
- Vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran. These systems took out Iran's air defenses and gave Israeli planes air supremacy and freedom of action over Iran.
- A third covert effort involved Mossad commandos deploying precision missiles near anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.
The attack comes as the Trump administration has been pursuing diplomatic means to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S. and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since April 1980, but talks have been hosted by Oman, with the sixth that was scheduled for this weekend now cancelled. Last Monday, the mullahs in Iran formallyrejected the U.S. nuclear deal proposal. President Trump had given Iran 60 days to make a deal, and Israel attacked on day 61. Reports are that those with whom the U.S. was negotiating were killed in the Israeli airstrike. President Trump publicly pressured Israel to not preemptively strike Iran, saying that an Israeli strike would “blow up” U.S./Iran negotiations, but Israel struck anyway.
But since the strikes, President Trump has not broken with Israel and has praised the strikes, although U.S officials have reiterated that at this point the U.S. will not involve itself in the conflict. "I think it's been excellent," Trump told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl. "We gave them a chance, and they didn't take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come, a lot more.”
Iran has vowed revenge, saying that the “end of this story will be written by Iran’s hand.” As of Saturday night, Iran has launched six blistering ballistic missile attacks against Tel Aviv, killing at least six and wounding dozens more.
And Israel has counterattacked Iran, reportedly leaving 78 people dead and hundreds injured, striking the Iranian Defense Ministry, another site related to nuclear development, and Tehran’s main gas depot and its central oil refinery in separate parts of the capital.
Israel says the worst is yet to come for Iran, and the conflict seems prone to only escalate. This is a developing story.
A deeper dive…
The Iranians’ resentment against the U.S. has a complicated history going back to the British-American 1953 coup against the Iranian government to protect British oil interests in Iran. At that time, the elected Iranian prime minister was deposed, and the shah was installed as the pro-Western, sole leader of Iran. His brutality, corruption, and incompetence paved the way for the Islamic Revolution that deposed him in 1979.
In 1976, with Iran still under the rule of the U.S.- and British-backed shah, President Gerald Ford signed a deal selling Iran eight power reactors. Under the agreement, they would have to buy enriched uranium from a nuclear non-proliferation country like the U.S., and could not reprocess spent U.S.-provided materials into plutonium.
But after the fall of the shah in 1979, Iran has pursued their own enrichment program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first told the Israeli Knesset in 1992 that Iran was within three to five years of building a nuclear bomb. Twenty years after that first assessment, he told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran was within one year of developing a bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that Iran is now officially in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Anti-ICE Riots Rock LA
President Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles County after violent riots erupted to protest federal immigration sweeps. Demonstrators clashed with ICE agents in riot gear, hurling rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Over 400 people have been arrested since protests began last Friday. Protesters blocked freeways, set self-driving cars ablaze, and vandalized government buildings in downtown LA.
President Trump used Title 10 authority to maintain direct federal control over the troops, bypassing California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. More than 700 Marines joined the guardsmen to protect federal agents and property. The chaos forced Waymo to suspend self-driving car service in downtown LA, while Mayor Bass finally imposed a curfew after days of escalating violence. The unrest has spread to other cities including New York, Atlanta, and Chicago as immigration enforcement operations continue nationwide. And protests have continued through this weekend.
Since Trump took office in January, ICE has arrested more than 100,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally. During the previous administration, in one month alone, half a million illegal aliens reportedly came into the U.S.
Other News
🇨🇳 Trade Deal Reached with China
The United States and China have reached a new trade agreement following two days of talks in London, with both countries reportedly signing off on the agreement Thursday. Under the agreement, the U.S. will maintain a 55% tariff rate on Chinese goods while China keeps tariffs at 10%, and China will accelerate exports of rare earth minerals essential for electric vehicles and military equipment. But China has made rare earth export licenses valid for no more than six months, indicating that they reserve the ability to cut off rare earths again, if they do not see what they believe to be appropriate actions from the U.S. China’s withholding of rare earth exports is partially what brought the U.S. down from maximalist demands and to the negotiating table. The deal also reinstates access for Chinese students to study at American universities, which had been threatened by national security concerns.
In an unrelated development, two different Chinese nationals have been arrested over the last two weeks for attempting to smuggle potentially dangerous biological materials into the U.S. under suspicious circumstances.
✈️ Fatal Air Crash in India
A London-bound Boeing 787 jet with 242 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived. This comes as the first accident involving the Dreamliner.
💉 CDC Vax Panel Out
On Monday, citing an attempt to reboot public confidence in vaccines, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted all 17 members of the expert panel that makes vaccine policy recommendations to the CDC. Thirteen of the panelists were appointed by the Biden administration in 2024 with terms that end in 2028.
⛪️ Southern Baptist Convention Votes Against Same-Sex Marriage
The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to call for overturning the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, marking the first time the denomination has formally voted to work toward legally ending gay marriage. Motivated by the successful effort to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, Southern Baptist strategists are using the anti-abortion movement as a blueprint for challenging Obergefell v. Hodges. The nonbinding resolution was part of a broader measure that also called for defunding Planned Parenthood and addressing transgender athletes in women's sports.
🏛️ House Narrowly Passes First DOGE Cuts
The House passed the first batch of Department of Government Efficiency cuts on Thursday by a 214-212 margin. The rescissions package claws back $9.4 billion in funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid, among other cuts.
❤️🩹 Musk Makes Up
👮♂️ U.S. Senator Handcuffed and Removed from DHS Briefing
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) aggressively interrupted DHS Kristi Noem’s press conference. He was aggressively removed.
🤑 Good Grift
Three years after Warner Bros. and Discovery merged, they're splitting back into two companies.
- In 2022, McKinsey was paid $55M to advise Warner Brothers to combine with Discovery.
- From 2022-2025, McKinsey charged Warner Brothers Discovery $37M for advising the company to change HBO to HBO Max, then to Max, then back to HBO Max.
- In 2025, McKinsey billed Warner Brothers Discovery an additional $63M to determine that Warner Brothers and Discovery should be separate brands again.
It’s the grift that keeps on giving.
🦓 Loose Zebra Recaptured
Tennessee authorities lassoed a rogue zebra last weekend, then helicoptered the fugitive to a waiting trailer and hauled him back to his paddock. The rebel striped stallion, dubbed Ed, became a viral celebrity after he escaped last month and engaged in Bonnie-and-Clyde-like adventures, such as galloping down Interstate 24 and forcing cops to shut down the highway.
