If you assert the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan were taken exclusively to remove the capacity of Iran to create a nuclear weapon, you are likely missing a key point. However, if you recognize the strikes were not only about eliminating Iran’s nuclear capacity but also about taking Israel’s “Iran has nukes!” card off the table, then you begin to understand the after action message from the Trump administration.
Essentially, by removing the Iran nuclear threat, the overall influence from Israel on President Trump’s foreign policy objective is also lessened. Within that dynamic you will see why President Trump, Secretary/NSA Rubio and the inner national security circle are so strongly emphasizing the “totally destroyed” message. WATCH:
The inverse of the successful Iran strike narrative is also true. If the strikes against Iran are defined as not eliminating the nuclear threat, then a continuance of national security influence on behalf of Israel is maintained.
Unfortunately, for the deepest part of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, maintaining the usefulness of the Iran nuclear threat is aligned with their interests. Hence, we begin to see why the intelligence apparatus immediately began trying to diminish the effectiveness of the strikes with leaks to CNN [SEE HERE].
The NATO summit begins officially tonight in the Hague, Netherlands. However, most of the NATO members arrived early so their collective assembly could strategize a defense against the arrival of Godzilla Trump.
Unfortunately, Godzilla Trump began his journey to the EU today by using a very emphatic F-bomb directed at Iran and Israel. Netanyahu promptly apologized, reversed his antagonistic enterprise and ducked for cover. A grouchy Godzilla is not what the EU leaders want to be facing. Grimaces abound.
To appease the painfully, brutally and uncomfortably honest President Trump the EU have agreed among themselves to increase their defense spending quickly, to the very Trumpian 5% of GDP with 3.5% spent on direct military arms.
GERMANY– […] “We will decide to invest significantly more in our security,” Merz told the Bundestag ahead of the NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague. “Not to do the United States a favor — but because Russia actively threatens the freedom of the entire Euro-Atlantic area.”
A day before the speech, Berlin confirmed it would raise military spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2029 — Germany’s most ambitious rearmament effort since the end of the Cold War. (more)
President Donald Trump gives brief remarks to the media aboard Air Force One (audio only for first minute). The first segment of the questions and answers deals with President Trump talking to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel agreeing not to strike, to turn around and return their planes home.
President Trump reaffirmed that he does not want to see regime change in Iran and that things can be settled without conflict if all parties engage with honesty and integrity. The conversation then moves to the NATO summit which begins later tonight. WATCH (Video starts at 1:40)
It’s all right there for those who have eyes to see and do not pretend.
Chopper Pressers are the best pressers. Departing the White House President Trump leads off his initial remarks by saying. … “And I’m talking directly to Israel right now”… “I’m not happy with Israel, I’m not happy at all.” President Trump repeats.
President Trump is speaking about the increased fire the Israeli government conducted, as soon as the ceasefire was announced, and again talking about the ongoing retaliation fire that Israel is taking right now to a single Iran rocket that missed any Israeli target. “Israel needs to calm down,” he continued.
Then, to drive home the point and express his frustration, President Trump says, “we basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard, that they don’t know WHAT THE FUCK THEY’RE DOING! Do you understand that?” He then turns his back in disgust and walks away. WATCH:
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This week wasn’t just about stopping Iran. It was also about taking Israel’s “Iran has nukes!” card off the table.
“Israel has eliminated an immediate dual existential threat, both in the nuclear domain and in the field of ballistic missiles. Additionally, the IDF achieved full air superiority over Tehran, dealt a severe blow to the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of key government targets in Iran,” the statement says. “Even in the past day, the IDF dealt major blows to regime targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminated hundreds of Basij operatives, the regime’s oppression apparatus, and assassinated another senior nuclear scientist,” it continues. “Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and for their role in removing the Iranian nuclear threat.”
Jonathan Karl is not known for his pragmatic pontification, however in the framework of what comes next following the U.S. bombing of Iran, he’s correct. The next move is entirely up to Iran, and for the moment that puts the decision to escalate outside the control of President Trump.
As Karl outlines, President Trump was adamant the strikes against the Iranian nuclear sites were “one and done.” However, the underlying consideration in the background was the contingency planning for what comes next. As Karl accurately notes, this puts the power of escalation in the hands of Iran. If Iran strikes U.S. military facilities, President Trump will be pulled into a larger military response, and so – the potential for the escalation spiral begins.
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl spoke to President Donald Trump about what he hopes these attacks on Iran will accomplish. WATCH:
I think most agree that we do not want to see Iran gaining nuclear weapons power. However, most Americans also do not want to get pulled into a protracted conflict in the middle east again. It is a tenuous moment.
I am not promoting the group, I am promoting the message within this video. As you watch Susan Kokinda discuss the events from the recent G7, and put the remarks by President Trump into context, you might find what she’s saying sounds incredibly familiar.
This recap may sound familiar because it is almost identical to what CTH has outlined {SEE HERE} and {SEE HERE}. So familiar in fact, it might sound as though myself and Susan Kokinda have discussed these issues; we have not. This video is the first time I have heard of her and her group, Promethean Action.
That said, what Mrs Kokinda outlines is precisely what is visible in the details of President Trump’s activity. While I might take exception to some of the lingo used, the substance of her explanation is spot on; particularly accurate is her overlay of how President Trump is approaching Russian President Vladimir Putin when contrast with Trump’s economic vision. This is well worth watching.
What Susan Kokinda says about the Senate opposition to President Trump, vis-a-vis the Big Beautiful Bill, is also accurate. It is within the BBB policy legislation that we see the springboard for the American economic revival. However, the larger program for cooperative nationalism is also why the same opponents to the BBB agenda are aligned to keep President Trump and President Putin apart.
If the USA (Technology, innovation, consumer market) forms a strategic alliance with Russia (resources, capacity, consumer market), and then negotiates a reciprocal trade and manufacturing arrangement with China (transformation to a USA manufacturing return), the geopolitical world order is economically changed. Here at home, the USA is no longer a service driven economy; a natural balance is restored. The multinationals will fight this hard. There are trillions at stake.
Russian markets open to USA goods, technology and innovation services. USA markets open to Russian raw materials and strategic partnerships. With expanded alternatives, China then has to compete for manufacturing etc. Controlled markets become free markets. The focus is on expanded economics, not war and friction.
The frustration with the Rand Paul and Thomas Massie political opposition is understandable. However, this approach by President Trump comes with the possibility of a backfire.
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is. Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him. He is a negative force who almost always Votes “NO,” no matter how good something may be. He’s a simple minded “grandstander” who thinks it’s good politics for Iran to have the highest level Nuclear weapon, while at the same time yelling “DEATH TO AMERICA” at every chance they get.
Iran has killed and maimed thousands of Americans, and even took over the American Embassy in Tehran under the Carter Administration. We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the “bomb” right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!) but, as usual, and despite all of the praise and accolades received, this “lightweight” Congressman is against what was so brilliantly achieved last night in Iran.
Massie is weak, ineffective, and votes “NO” on virtually everything put before him (Rand Paul, Jr.), no matter how good something may be. He is disrespectful to our great military, and all that they stand for, not even acknowledging their brilliance and bravery in yesterday’s attack, which was a total and complete WIN. Massie should drop his fake act and start putting America First, but he doesn’t know how to get there — he doesn’t have a clue!
He’ll undoubtedly vote against the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, even though non-passage means a 68% Tax Increase for everybody, and many things far worse than that. MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard. MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one. Thank you to our incredible military for the AMAZING job they did last night. It was really SPECIAL!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” (LINK)
In this interview, the insufferable Margaret Brennan attempts to match intellect with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ms. Brennan fails miserably. The outcome is an epic broadcast of media bias, dramatic acting by Brennan and a very visible smackdown from a highly competent Rubio.
Margaret Brennan attempts to tell Marco Rubio what intelligence assessments are and how they are used. Now keep in mind as a U.S. Senator Marco Rubio was the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Gang of Eight conducting intelligence oversight for years. Brennan thought she could match wits with Rubio, she failed miserably; embarrassingly so. WATCH:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Secretary of State and acting White House National Security Adviser Marco Rubio now joins us. Mr. Secretary, I know it has been an intense few hours, but so far, it does not appear that Iran has yet retaliated against the United States. What intelligence do you have at this point about their capabilities to respond, the intent of their proxies? Is there any kind of command and control structure left to activate them?
SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: Yeah, well, we’ll see what Iran decides to do. I think they should choose the route of peace. We have been- we’ve done everything. We have bent over backwards, okay, to create a deal with these people. Steve- Steve Witkoff has traveled the world extensively, met with them- well not even met with them, met through the Omanis with them, and discussed back and forth. We even put an offer to them that they wanted elements of it in writing, and we offered it to them- very generous offer by the way. We’ve done- and we’re prepared right now.
If they call right now and say, we want to meet, let’s talk about this. We’re prepared to do that. The President’s made that clear from the very beginning. His preference is to deal with is to deal with this issue diplomatically, but he also told them we had 60 days to make progress or something else was going to happen. And I think they thought they were dealing with a different kind of leader, like the kinds of leaders they’ve been playing games with for the last 30 or 40 years. And they found out that’s not the case.
So this mission was a very precise mission. It had three objectives, three nuclear sites. It was not attack on Iran. It was not an attack on the Iranian people. This wasn’t a regime change move. This was designed to degrade and, or destroy three nuclear sites related to their nuclear weaponization ambitions, and that was delivered on yesterday. What happens next will now depend on what Iran chooses to do next. If they choose the path of diplomacy, we’re ready. We can do a deal that’s good for them, the Iranian people and good for the world. If they choose another route, then there will be consequences for that.
There are many critical interviews today that will be highlighted. We are at an important geopolitical inflection point with multiple consequences amid each chosen path.
The bombing of Iran has united the neocon pro-war groups within the Senate and legislative branch (pro-Ukraine, Pro-Israel) which may assist President Trump’s primary objective to get the Big Beautiful Bill over the finish line. That can be a big short-term strategic benefit, if the operational strikes on Iran do not escalate into a regional conflict.
That said, Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio is the principal person to watch as President Trump’s geopolitical agenda is carried out. Here he is talking to CFR Maria Bartiromo in his first comments after the strike took place. “No regime change” but the era of “playing games” is over. WATCH:
