JD Vance:

Trump saw that the Iranian regime was weakened, he knew that they were committed to getting on the brink of a nuclear weapon, and he decided to take action because he felt that was necessary in order to protect the nation’s security.

JD Vance on Iran:

There's just no way that Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.

What is different about Trump is that he's not going to let his country go to war unless there's a clearly defined objective.

He's defined that objective as Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and has to commit long-term to never trying to rebuild their nuclear capability.

It's pretty clear. It's pretty simple.

JD Vance on Iran:

So long as we achieve Trump's objective to make it clear that Iran can't build the bomb, I think Trump will be happy with the outcome.

JD Vance on Iran:

Even some international organizations that usually don’t agree with the United States were very clear that Iran’s only purpose in building these underground highly enriched facilities was to build a nuclear weapon.

JD Vance on Iran:

Whatever happens with the regime in one form or another, it's incidental to Trump's primary objective here — which is to make sure the Iranian terrorist regime does not build a nuclear bomb.

China is pressuring Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and avoid attacking oil and LNG shipments, as Beijing relies heavily on Gulf energy supplies — especially Qatari gas.

After regional attacks disrupted tanker traffic and Qatar briefly halted LNG production, Chinese officials urged Tehran not to target energy routes critical to global and Chinese markets.

Source: Bloomberg

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

Regardless of whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, or even if you don’t pay attention to politics, there is one thing almost everyone agrees on: we are sick and tired of endless wars in the Middle East.

NEW: The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait announces its closure until further notice due to “regional tensions.”

The U.S. has ordered non-emergency personnel and their families to leave Bahrain, Jordan, and Iraq.

Macron orders more nuclear warheads, stops sharing numbers.

Speech at Brest’s Ile Longue base signals “advanced deterrence.”

France, Germany, UK to develop long-range missiles together.

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the Strait of Hormuz is closed to transit, warning that any ship attempting to cross will be attacked, including oil tankers and pipelines.

READ MORE

Belgium: US-Israel Strikes on Iran Breach International Law

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Monday the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran does not meet international law standards, urged de-escalation and diplomacy, and warned the UN is struggling to prevent or resolve conflicts.

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NEW: The Israeli Army says its troops have been deployed at “several locations” in southern Lebanon.

Amazon’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), said drone strikes damaged some of its data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, disrupting cloud services.

The strikes caused structural, power and water damage, and AWS warned recovery will likely be prolonged.

Indian energy companies have cut natural gas supplies to industrial customers by 10% to 30% after Qatar halted LNG production.

India, a major LNG importer reliant on the region, is seeking spot cargoes to offset the shortfall, though rising prices and shipping costs are complicating efforts.

Source: Reuters

Israeli Defense Minister Katz:

We approved the IDF to advance in Lebanon to prevent fire on border communities.

Al Arabiya claims Israel operated inside Iran last night through Mossad and special forces.

Smoke rises over Pardis, east of Tehran, with explosions heard as U.S. and Israeli strikes continue.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Iran:

France stands ready to defend its partners at their request.

A drone struck a fuel tank at Oman’s Duqm commercial port, causing limited damage that was contained, with no casualties reported.

Source: Reuters

French Rafale jets carried out “airspace security operations over our bases,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said.