Trump claims Iran was planning to attack first, adding he ‘might have forced Israel’s hand’ as he meets German chancellor – live

From 29m ago

Trump insists Israel did not force US hand on Iran attack

The president insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend.

“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,” Donald Trump said while speaking to reporters. “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [Iran] were going to attack first.”

The president noted that the strikes have had a “very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out”, but expressed his surprise that the Iranian regime was launching strikes against many of its neighbours in the Middle East. “Now those countries are all fighting against them and fighting strongly against them,” Trump added.

His comments appear to contradict Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, who said on Monday that the US attacked Iran after Israel was planning to strike first.

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The president insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend.

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His comments appear to contradict Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, who said on Monday that the US attacked Iran after Israel was planning to strike first.

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In his first in-person meeting with an ally since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Donald Trump welcomed German chancellor Freidrich Merz to the White House.

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“We’ll obviously be talking a little bit about Iran today, and he’s been helping us out,” Trump said, while touting the military success of the operation so far.

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“They have no navy it’s been knocked out. They have no air force has been knocked out. They have no air detection that’s been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out, and just about everything’s been knocked out,” Trump said of the Iranian regime. “We’re doing very well.”

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Ahead of a classified briefing later today for all members of the Senate and House of Representatives about the US war with Iran, a group of top Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding specific answers about Washington’s strategy in the conflict.

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“The decision to initiate or expand armed conflict is among the gravest responsibilities entrusted to our government. When US forces are placed in harm’s way, Congress and the American people are owed clear objectives, legal justification, and a defined strategy. Unfortunately, to date, you have failed to articulate this information,” reads the letter addressed to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine, all of whom are set to address lawmakers this afternoon.

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The letter, which was signed by the top Democrats on the House committees on foreign affairs, armed services, appropriations, intelligence and the defense appropriations subcommittee, continues by outlining specific areas the lawmakers want the briefing to address.

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These include the legal justification for the war, the specific US objectives in the conflict, details of its costs and impact on the military’s overall readiness and Washington’s assessment of who is leading Iran after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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The same administration officials yesterday briefed a smaller group of congressional lawmakers, and two Democrats who attended found their answers lacking. You can read more about that below.

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The press pool covering Donald Trump’s meeting with German chancellor Merz note that he has arrived. He entered the White House campus via the executive office building – which houses the vice-president’s office.

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In a line of questioning by Democratic senator Chris Coons, Noem is being grilled about her department’s relationship with Trump’s top adviser Stephen Miller. Coons noted Miller’s public comments to reporters about a 3000 arrests per day quota.

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“When there’s pressure on you to hit high numbers,” Coons said. “It’s easier to simply round-up people here, breaking no laws and contributing to our communities.”

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For her part, Noem was resolute that there are “no quotas” and insisted that DHS conducts “targeted law enforcement”.

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Kristi Noem said that she believes there are about 650 federal immigration agents still stationed in Minnesota, while answering questions from one of the state’s Democratic senators – Amy Klobuchar.

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This comes after Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan announced there would be a substantial drawdown of immigration enforcement in the state last month. Throughout Operation Metro Surge there were about 3,000 agents in Minnesota.

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“What I want to know is, when are you going to get down to the original footprint as promised to us?” Klobuchar asked Noem today. Prior to the crackdown in the North Star state, there were about 150 federal immigration officers present.

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When asked by ranking member Dick Durbin if Noem would retract her statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti – the two US citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis – “domestic terrorists”, Noem evaded the question.

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“When we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well,” the homeland security secretary said.

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Durbin noted that the leaders of ICE and CBP – both of whom testified before the House judiciary committee last month – said they did not provide information to Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.

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“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem insisted.

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“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin pushed back.

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Kristi Noem said that her department will continue to investigate “any threats to the homeland here within our borders” after chairman Grassley asked her about possible “Iranian sleeper cells” in the US, amid the war in the region.

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“We work with the FBI often, and homeland security investigation specializes in this kind of work each and every day,” Noem added, while denigrating the Biden administration’s immigration policy. “We don’t necessarily know who all came into our country. 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.”

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security secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the US Capitol, 3 March 2026.","caption":"Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the US Capitol, 3 March 2026.","credit":"Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1772548607000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"14.36 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1772548963000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"14.42 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1772548963000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"14.42 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"14.42","title":"Noem says DHS will continue to investigate possible ‘Iranian sleeper cells’ in wake of ongoing war","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 3 Mar 2026 17.24 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 3 Mar 2026 11.27 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In a late night post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that the US munition stockpiles “at the medium and upper medium grade” have “never been higher or better”.

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He added that the US has a “virtually unlimited supply of these weapons”, meaning that “wars can be fought ‘forever’”.

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This comes after Trump said that the US-Israel war on Iran could go beyond the four to five weeks that the administration initially predicted. The president also did not rule out the possibility of US boots on the ground in Iran during an interview with the New York Post on Monday.

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“I rebuilt the military in my first term, and continue to do so. The United States is stocked, and ready to WIN, BIG!!!” he wrote.

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The embattled homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, will answer questions from lawmakers on the Senate judiciary committee today.

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This will be the first time she’s addressed members of Congress since federal immigration officers fatally shot two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – during a surge of law enforcement in Minneapolis.

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The actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) throughout the crackdown drew condemnation from both parties. Now, a funding bill to keep Noem’s department open remains stalled on Capitol Hill. Democrats have pushed for stronger guardrails on immigration enforcement agents, while Republicans have called many of their demands (like the need for officers to appear visible and no longer wear masks while patrolling and making arrests) non-starters.

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Several Democrats have also called for Noem to resign or risk impeachment.

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We’ll bring you the latest lines as things get underway.

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Donald Trump has criticised Keir Starmer again over the UK’s refusal to aid the offensive strikes on Iran, saying the “relationship is obviously not what it was”.

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Starmer had issued his strongest rebuke yet of Trump’s action in Iran, saying the UK did not believe in “regime change from the skies” and defended his decision not to allow the use of British bases to conduct the strikes.

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But the prime minister said the UK would allow the use of its bases for defensive action to protect allied forces and nations in the Gulf and Middle East who have been hit by a wave of retaliatory strikes after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

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Speaking to the Sun, Trump compared Starmer’s actions unfavourably with France’s support for the strikes and with the backing of the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte. “He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK,” he said.

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“It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before. It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.”

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The marquee matchup for the open US Senate seat in North Carolina will begin to resolve into focus Tuesday, with a well-known former Democratic governor and a Donald Trump-endorsed but untested Republican appearing to lead the field.

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In the Democratic primary, former two-term governor Roy Cooper is ahead in recent polling against the slate of other candidates who have never held elected office. Cooper is widely seen among North Carolina’s Democrats as their best chance at flipping a Republican-controlled seat, now held by retiring US senator Thom Tillis, a conservative who has turned hard against the Trump administration on its handling of healthcare, defense and the Epstein file disclosures.

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For Republicans, Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, leads the field in polling, with his closest competitor, representative Don Brown, in the single digits.

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Polling in both primaries has been relatively scant and may have masked softness in conservative support for Whatley. About half of the Republican electorate remains undecided heading to voting booths Tuesday.

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Whatley has Trump’s endorsement, but that hasn’t stopped the grumbling on the right.

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“The president made a horrible mistake forcing Whatley on us,” said Brant Clifton, who publishes the Daily Haymaker, a conservative news site in North Carolina. Whatley has been closely connected to Tillis over the years, which sullies him among voters for whom Tillis has become unpopular, Clifton said.

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“Trump spends a lot of time talking about how bad Tillis sucks and expressing his anger at Tillis, but here he is. He’s got the RNC working to shove Mike Whatley down our throats, but Tom Tillis and his wife are responsible for elevating Whatley out of obscurity to the state Republican party chairmanship.”

","elementId":"dac2ae34-9c14-433a-8966-a83f44e2e762"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"North Carolina kicks off some of first midterm primaries for key Senate and House races","elementId":"7866f2da-9248-4df7-a5d2-545570b7243f","role":"thumbnail","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/03/north-carolina-democratic-republican-primaries-senate"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1772537225000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"11.27 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1772539283000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"12.01 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1772539283000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"12.01 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"12.01","title":"North Carolina kicks off some of first midterm primaries for key Senate and House races","contributors":[{"name":"George Chidi","imageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/9/9/1410298545138/George-Chidi.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c01643cb3d3919e9c3b292ea62ad9ab2"}],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 3 Mar 2026 17.24 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 3 Mar 2026 11.27 GMT"},{"id":"69a6bd068f08ebedb8d9ea32","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee later today, with funding for her department still stalled due to Democratic objections to its aggressive tactics.

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It will be the first time Noem has appeared before the committee since two people were killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January.

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Noem, appointed by Trump last year, also may field questions on other matters including possible threats to the United States after the US attacks on Iran and reports of disorder within her department.

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The former South Dakota governor has overseen Trump’s immigration agenda, including the deployment of thousands of masked federal agents to US cities, where they have swept through neighborhoods in search of possible immigration offenders and clashed with residents.

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Noem is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

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Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem holds press conference on border security and drug seizures, in Otay Mesa.","caption":"U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem holds press conference on border security and drug seizures, in Otay Mesa.","credit":"Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1772537225000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"11.27 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1772538696000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.51 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1772538696000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"11.51 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"11.51","title":"Noem to face questions over immigration enforcement and DHS shutdown","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 3 Mar 2026 17.24 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 3 Mar 2026 11.27 GMT"},{"id":"69a6bc1d8f08619ce36bf075","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

President Trump hosts Germany’s Friedrich Merz later today for his first visit with a foreign leader since joining Israel in strikes on Iran.

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The long-scheduled White House meeting was supposed to focus on the war in Ukraine and rocky EU-US trade relations, part of a wider effort to salvage frayed transatlantic ties.

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But Trump’s signal that airstrikes against Iran could go on for weeks has upended the global agenda, with Tehran striking back against US bases and allies in the region, AFP reported.

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Merz, a harsh critic of the Islamic republic’s leadership, said Berlin shared the Iranian people’s “relief” that the “mullah regime is coming to an end”.

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Yet he declined to “lecture” the United States and Israel on the legality of the Iran strikes aimed at ending Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs.

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Chancellor Friedrich Merz walks to an Air Force Airbus A350 at the military section of Berlin-Brandenburg airport in Schoenefeld, Germany, Monday, March 2, 2026, for the flight to Washington D.C. in the USA.","caption":"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz walks to an Air Force Airbus A350 at the military section of Berlin-Brandenburg airport in Schoenefeld, Germany, Monday, March 2, 2026, for the flight to Washington D.C. in the USA. ","credit":"Photograph: Kay Nietfeld/AP"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1772537225000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"11.27 GMT","blockLastUpdated":1772537765000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.36 GMT","blockFirstPublished":1772537765000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"11.36 GMT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"11.36","title":"Trump hosts Germany’s Merz for talks eclipsed by Middle East war","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 3 Mar 2026 17.24 GMT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 3 Mar 2026 11.27 GMT"},{"id":"69a6b3748f08a424efea6f87","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

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With all members of Congress across both houses due to be briefed today on the Iran strikes, the Trump administration has presented a shifting new justification for its war.

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Secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth and general Dan Caine will brief the full membership of the Senate at 3:30pm ET and the House at 5pm ET on Tuesday – with a possible vote on parallel war powers measures to follow.

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It comes after House speaker Mike Johnson suggested on Monday that the White House believed Israel was determined to act on its own, leaving the president with a “very difficult decision”.

","elementId":"3340e6a2-c726-49ab-8b41-1a59bc66e2a2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The Republican was speaking following a classified briefing at the Capitol, the first for congressional leaders since the start of the conflict, a joint US-Israel military campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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The strikes have quickly spiraled into a wider Middle East conflict, leaving hundreds of people dead, including at least six US military service personnel.

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Johnson said the attack on Iran was a “defensive operation” because Israel was ready to act against Iran, “with or without American support”.

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“The commander in chief has said this is going to be an operation that is short in duration,” Johnson said. “We certainly hope that’s true.”

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Politico is reporting that he Senate could vote as early as Tuesday on senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul’s measure to limit Trump’s strikes, followed by a separate House vote on a resolution from Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna.

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The Democrats’ strategy of forcing votes on war power resolutions has been portrayed as a way for Congress to reclaim its constitutional powers to declare war but have, so far, all failed.

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In other developments:

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\n
In his first conference since the joint US-Israel operation against Iran, Donald Trump laid out his administration’s objectives moving forward. This includes destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilating their navy, preventing Iran from ever having nuclear weapons, and ensuring the country “cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside their borders”.

\n
In a heated Pentagon press conference, Pete Hegseth initially said that US troops wouldn’t be in Iran, but later said he wouldn’t get into details. “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” he said. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless … Our generation knows better, and so does this president.”

\n
US Central Command (Centcom) said that six service members have been killed in action, and eighteen have been seriously wounded in the US-Israel war on Iran.

\n
The US state department is urging Americans to “depart now” from more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, following the US-Israel strikes on Iran. Hundreds of thousands of travelers are currently stranded in the Gulf states, as the airspace over some of the world’s busiest airports, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, closed over the weekend.

\n
Kuwait air defences mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets flying in Iran-related operations, the US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday. All six crew members ejected safely, were safely recovered and in stable condition.

\n
In an appearance on Fox News, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s “ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program” would have been “immune within months” if the United States and Israel had not struck the country this weekend.

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Donald Trump said that the “worst possible outcome” of the US-Israel war on Iran would be if a new leader takes over who is “as bad” as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a large-scale air attack on the country over the weekend.

Trump advised Iranians to not protest against the regime just yet. “It’s very dangerous out there, a lot of bombs are being dropped,” he said.

When it comes to the possible change of leadership, the president compared it to the US’s operation in capturing the now-deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.

“We kept government totally intact,” Trump said. “We have Delcy [Rodriuez] who’s been very good … the relationship has been great.”

Trump said that the US and Israel are hitting Iran “where it is much more appropriate”. However, this comes after the worst mass casualty of the strikes so far was on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran. The attack killed at least 168 people.

“We’re hitting them very hard,” Trump said today. “They no longer have air protection. They no longer have any detection facilities at all left. And so they’re going to they’re going to be in for a lot of hurt. These are bad people.”

Trump insists Israel did not force US hand on Iran attack

The president insisted that Israel did not pressure the US to launch the initial strikes against Iran over the weekend.

His comments appear to contradict Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, who said on Monday that the US attacked Iran after Israel was planning to strike first.

Merz also noted the importance of discussing ongoing negotiations in another conflict – the war in Ukraine.

“There are too many bad guys in this world, actually. And, this is an issue we have to talk about, because we all want to see this, war coming to an end as soon as possible,” Merz said in the Oval Office. “But Ukraine has to preserve its territory and their security interests.”

Trump and Merz meet at the White House, touts success of strikes against Iran

In his first in-person meeting with an ally since the US-Israel war on Iran began, Donald Trump welcomed German chancellor Freidrich Merz to the White House.

“We’ll obviously be talking a little bit about Iran today, and he’s been helping us out,” Trump said, while touting the military success of the operation so far.

In one of the few exchanges with a Republican that appeared to be somewhat critical of Noem’s leadership, senator John Kennedy questioned the homeland security secretary about reports that DHS spent $220m on TV advertisements, where Noem was featured prominently.

The Louisiana lawmaker also noted that the contract to make the ads was awarded to a strategy group run by Noem’s former spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

“They went out to a competitive bid, and career officials at the Department chose who would do those advertising commercials,” Noem said. “I did not have anything to do with picking those contractors.”

Friedrich Merz arrives at White House for Trump meeting

Jakub Krupa

In a short while, Donald Trump will welcome German chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House.

Since Merz will be the first foreign leader to visit Trump since strikes on Iran, there is no escaping this issue – even if the German chancellor would rather focus on other matters.

Merz is likely to publicly back Trump on Iran as he previously said that Berlin shared the Iranian people’s “relief” that “the mullah regime is coming to an end,” and declined to “lecture” the US and Israel on legality of the strikes.

But that doesn’t mean their chat will be easy at all, despite clever diplomatic tricks – which last time round saw Merz give Trump his grandfather’s German birth certificate.

Donald Trump meets German chancellor Freiderich Merz at the White House, 5 June 2025. Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

Merz historicially was, and is probably still a generally committed pro-US politician – but has markedly changed his positions since assuming power last year and in response to somewhat erratic decisions of the US president, Donald Trump.

He repeatedly criticised Trump’s decisions on transatlantic trade and the US president’s ambitions to control Greenland, which is part of a Nato ally, Denmark.

Trump’s tariffs are particularly tricky for Germany, and it’s already ailing economy, so Merz is likely to make representations on that point as he hopes to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries.

Merz also repeatedly sought the US administration’s support for Ukraine and against the increasingly dangerous Russia, which he sees as critical for the future of the continent – sometimes putting him at odds with Trump.

He will probably see it as his task to do whatever it takes to bring Trump closer to Europe on Ukraine and Russia.

In his speech at the Munich Security Conference last month, Merz pointedly warned Trump that “in the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.”

Noem says there are ‘no quotas’ for DHS arrests during Senate hearing

“When there’s pressure on you to hit high numbers,” Coons said. “It’s easier to simply round-up people here, breaking no laws and contributing to our communities.”

For her part, Noem was resolute that there are “no quotas” and insisted that DHS conducts “targeted law enforcement”.

Noem says that there are still 650 federal immigration agents in Minnesota

Republican senator Lindsey Graham asked Noem about the mass shooting in Austin over the weekend during his questions today.

A reminder, officials in Texas are continuing to investigate at a bar in the state capital by a man wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie as an act of potential terrorism, as fears rise over the possibility of further attacks following US airstrikes on Iran. The shooting killed two people, and wounded 14 others.

Police shot and killed Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese national and naturalized US citizen, after he reportedly opened fire at the downtown bar. The Associated Press, citing an unidentified law enforcement official, said the gunman wore a T-shirt under his hoodie with an Iranian flag design.

During today’s hearing, Graham said he wondered “how many people are like that here, waiting to pounce”. GOP Texas lawmakers and officials have already issued statements that the shooting was in response to the coordinated US-Israel military action in Iran.

“Radical Islam has no place in Texas and our country,” said Republican senator John Cornyn, who is up for re-election this year. His opponent in Tuesday’s primary, attorney general Ken Paxton, said that it is “a legitimate concern” that the suspect “might have been part of a sleeper cell”.

Noem does not retract statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti ‘domestic terrorists’

When asked by ranking member Dick Durbin if Noem would retract her statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti – the two US citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis – “domestic terrorists”, Noem evaded the question.

“When we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well,” the homeland security secretary said.

Durbin noted that the leaders of ICE and CBP – both of whom testified before the House judiciary committee last month – said they did not provide information to Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.

“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem insisted.

“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin pushed back.

Noem says DHS will continue to investigate possible ‘Iranian sleeper cells’ in wake of ongoing war

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the US Capitol, 3 March 2026. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

One note, Grassley did acknowledge the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “Mistakes have been made,” the Iowa lawmaker said. “Let’s make it clear, one death is too many.”

Ahead of Noem giving her opening statement she was interrupted by a protester in the hearing room, who identified themself as a former FEMA employee, and said that the homeland security secretary should be “ashamed” of herself. As they were escorted out of the room they issued a call to “abolish ICE”.

The top Democrat on the judiciary committee, senator Dick Durbin issued a sharp rebuke of DHS under Noem’s leadership. He said that the department is “devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law” and noted that “without hesitation or remorse” federal immigration agents have “wreaked havoc in our cities”.

During his opening remarks, Senate judiciary committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, blamed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but highlighted four agencies: the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Coast Guard.

Democrats are demanding tighter guardrails for federal immigration enforcement, but a sweeping tax bill signed into law last year conferred $75bn for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means the agency is still functional amid the wider department shuttering.

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