John Bolton:

Trump is always looking for an off-ramp.

He may cause a lot of destruction in Iran but leave before the regime is changed.

If he wasn’t willing to pursue regime change to the end, he never should have started this war.

John Bolton:

Trump could declare total victory and pull everyone out, he’s perfectly capable of it.

I wish we had a different president doing this.

Hegseth on Iran:

The United States is decimating the radical Iranian regime's military in a way the world has never seen before.

Never before has a modern, capable military which Iran used to have been so quickly destroyed and made combat ineffective.

Hegseth on Iran:

Looking up, the IRGC and the Iranian regime see only two things on the side of aircraft: the Stars and Stripes and the Star of David.

The evil regime's worst nightmare.

Hegseth on Iran:

They are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz.

We are dealing with it, dont need to worry about it.

Hegseth on Iran:

Soon — very soon — all of Iran’s defense companies will be destroyed. For example, as of two days ago, Iran’s entire ballistic missile production capacity has been eliminated.

Every company that builds components for those missiles has been functionally defeated and destroyed.

Buildings, complexes, and factory lines across Iran have been destroyed.

Hegseth on Mojtaba Khamenei:

We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday, but there was no voice and no video. It was only a written statement.

Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders — so why only a written statement? I think you know why.

He’s scared. He’s injured. He’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them.

Who’s in charge? Iran may not even know.

Hegseth on Iran:

Reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz are ridiculous.

For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do — try to hold the strait hostage.

Does CNN think we didn’t consider that? It’s a fundamentally unserious report.

The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.

Pete Hegseth is now talking about “patriotic press.”

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Eswatini said it received 4 more third-country deportees from the U.S. bringing the total to at least 19 under a Trump administration ICE immigration crackdown that includes overseas deportation deals & large-scale visa revocations.

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Hegseth on Iran:

Today will be yet again the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran and Tehran.

Hegseth on Iran:

We know who the good guys are here.

The American people do too.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

We have made it a priority to target Iran’s mine-laying capabilities, including their mine layers, naval bases, and depots, in addition to the missiles that could threaten traffic through the straits.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

This is the third time today I’ll mention that today will be our busiest day.

The Turkish National Defense Ministry said a ballistic munition fired from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was intercepted and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense systems in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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Hegseth on the Minab school strike:

We don't target civilians. Iran does.

We will investigate, and we will get to the truth, and we will share it when we have it.

Hegseth on Iran:

Based on the report I read this morning at 0600, only 1 percent of the munitions we are using today are standoff munitions.

The rest are over-the-top.

Reporter: Is Iran placing new mines?

Hegseth: We’ve heard them talk about it, just as you’ve reported on it recklessly and wildly. But we have no clear evidence of that.

Hegseth on Iran:

There’s this whole idea that the war is widening. That’s what the press wants to make it look like—like it’s widening and chaotic.

But no. We’re actually closing in on, taking hold of, and controlling what objectives we want to achieve and how we want to achieve them.

Macron:

Erbil attack was unacceptable and France’s position in the Middle East region is defensive.

Macron:

Russia is wrong to think the Iran war will give it respite in Ukraine.