The U.S. launched airstrikes Wednesday against Iran, and President Donald Trump said more are coming, as Tehran fired back at countries in the region. The U.S. military said it had fired on a tanker trying to transport oil from Iran in violation of its blockage on Iranian ports, the eighth merchant vessel disabled in the waters off Iran. Trump wouldn’t say if he planned to follow through on threats he made earlier in the war to attack bridges and utility
plants in Iran. He urged Iran to sign a deal with the U.S.
The president signed a $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement aimed at ensuring uninterrupted funding for the administration’s deportation agenda through the end of his term.
Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota hosted primary elections Tuesday, but much of the political world was focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest. In South Carolina and Nevada, where Trump endorsed his favored candidates, his clout within his party was tested. Democrats hoped to build momentum in Nevada as part of a broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.
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The State Department says the secretary of state will travel to Los Angeles for Friday’s U.S. opening ceremony of the World Cup 2026 soccer tournament and Team USA’s first match against Paraguay that night.
The department said in a statement that Rubio would lead the U.S. delegation to the opening and be accompanied by Secretaries of Transportation and Homeland Security Sean Duffy and Markwayne Mullin.
In addition to attending the World Cup events, Rubio will also meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña in Los Angeles.
The State Department says that the Trump administration has contributed another $20 million toward efforts to counter the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, bringing the total U.S. contribution to more than $220 million since the outbreak began last month.
The department said the new funds would go to assist the most affected countries – Congo and Uganda – as well as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan, to help them prepare for an outbreak and prevent its spread. That will cover support for national emergency operations centers, surveillance, testing and border screening, and infection prevention and control, as well as assistance in managing potential victims of the virus.
The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Europe needed to step up its response to Ebola.
Speaking to American troops in Cuba on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is “defending the homeland. And we are taking back our hemisphere.”
Hegseth cited the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which is often invoked to justify U.S. intervention in the Western Hemisphere. He also mentioned the “Donroe Doctrine” to reference Trump’s aggressive focus on Latin America and drug cartels.
Trump has been trying to bring about regime change in Cuba with a punishing oil blockade on the island nation and federal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro. Trump has also threatened military intervention while pointing to the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the ceasefire in the Gulf region “is more like a lesser fire,” as the world has witnessed in the last 48 hours, with the downing of a U.S. helicopter, U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iranian targets, and the Iranians firing at U.S. bases and facilities in the Gulf.
“The world needs to see a complete ceasefire, with navigational rights and freedoms restored … and serious negotiations on the nuclear issues – ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful,” he said.
Guterres also called for full implementation of the ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza and an end to settler violence in the West Bank, now averaging six attacks a day.
He said, “It’s time to get serious about the only credible way forward” – moving toward a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, condemned Iranian air attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Wednesday, saying the “new heinous Iranian aggression” doesn’t create stability or build relations.
“The Council affirms that these hostile acts do not serve any understanding or rapprochement, but rather distance people from one another, undermine the foundations of trust, sow discord, and close the doors of dialogue to which the GCC states have always called,” the GCC said in a statement on the sidelines of a meeting it held in Bahrain’s capital of Manama.
The GCC blamed Iran for destabilizing the region and impacting international navigation and energy supplies through these “hostile acts.”
The ministerial council said GCC states remain committed to diplomacy and good-neighborly relations, but questioned how future ties could be built while the attacks continue.
The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on nine people and firms allegedly associated with supporting Iran’s weapons procurement program.
Among those hit with sanctions is Hong Kong‑based firm Mustad and its leadership, who are accused of acting as an intermediary to facilitate transactions that would help Iran procure weapons.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that his agency is “disrupting the foreign procurement networks that support the Iranian military’s efforts to acquire weapons.”
The Republican leader spent another morning with Trump at the White House and said the president is “working very hard” to name a more permanent pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence – perhaps even by the time Pulte takes over June 19.
Johnson called it a “good faith gesture” from Trump that Democrats should accept as part of an agreement for a short-term extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA. The spy tool expires on Friday if Congress fails to act, but lawmakers object to Pulte in the role, saying he is unqualified.
Trump made it very clear, Johnson said, that Pulte will serve a “very short term – a sort of renovation role” to help the office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”
The U.S. military disabled an eighth merchant vessel in the waters off Iran on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command announced in a social media post on Wednesday.
According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces disabled Palau-flagged M/T Settebello, which they say was trying to transport oil from Iran, after their crew failed to comply with their directions. “A U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room,” the statement said.
In a black-and-white video accompanying the statement, a small object can be seen slamming into the back of the ship before a large explosion erupts. Afterwards, the video zooms out, and the ship is seen floating, but with smoke billowing from the back.
The U.S. president seemed to say that “millions of barrels of oil” have been secreted past Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz, helping to ease energy price pressures.
“Do you know, we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil?” Trump said. “Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran. Until right now. We took out the other night, 22 ships late at night with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it.”
The president said that U.S. forces have been removing millions of barrels of oil on a nightly basis, and he had previously “wanted to say it so badly.”
As affordability concerns hurt his popularity, the U.S. president declared that he loves the figures in the latest consumer price index report, which showed inflation hitting 4.2%, the highest level since April 2023.
“I love it,” Trump said without irony. “The numbers were great.”
The president said that he thought the numbers were good because he believes that they’ve been driven by higher energy costs tied to the Iran war, suggesting that inflation would ease “as soon as this war is over.”
Inflation has worsened under Trump’s watch, initially because of last year’s tariffs and now because of a conflict that has blocked oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
The president continued his sharp criticism of Platner in subsequent comments, saying, “He’s like a pig.”
“I watched him a couple of times,” the president said. “He’s like a pig. That’s what he reminds me of.”
Trump added, “You know, I come up with good names for people. I don’t want to stick him with that one, although I think pigs would be very upset,” drawing laughter from Republican lawmakers in the Oval Office with him.
Trump has used “pig” or variations of it as insults before against reporters and political opponents.
Trump has signed a bill into law that gives his immigration and deportation agenda a nearly $70 billion boost for the rest of his time in the White House.
The bill provides $38 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for the Border Patrol. An additional $5 billion would cover unforeseen costs, according to the White House.
Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office on Wednesday, a day after House Republicans pushed the measure through by a 214-212 vote over the objections of Democrats. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over Department of Homeland Security funding that began with the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
The U.S. president told reporters that he’s “not looking to renew” the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that, without a commitment by July 1, would face annual reviews of its status and possibly expire in 2036.
“I’m not looking to renew it,” Trump said, even though he originally negotiated the pact to replace an earlier trade deal for North America.
Trump said that the earlier agreement was worse than the USMCA. Still, he was displeased with the results.
“You know, with Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits,” Trump said. “We should have surpluses with them. We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything that they have.”
Trump said that Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has his backing in her reelection campaign this year, even though she voted in 2021 to convict him of impeachment for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
After repeatedly insulting Collins’ Democratic opponent, Graham Platner, Trump said he was backing Collins “because she’s a sane woman.”
“She’s not my best friend at all,” the president added.
Trump said that Collins has “maybe a little different ideology than me,” but she’s “a respected person” and a better choice than Platner.
Water supply to thousands of residents have been cut off on Wednesday after two reservoirs in the city of Sirik were damaged by a U.S. strike, according to Hashem Amini, the head of the state-owned National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, and the head of the local water company.
Iran’s state media published a video of what it said was a damaged water reservoir in southern Iran. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage or the claims.
U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. Central Command said earlier Wednesday that it had “struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.” Sirik is at the eastern end of the strait.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. would be striking Iran again on Wednesday after a helicopter collision with an Iranian drone.
“We’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said. He wouldn’t say if he planned to follow through on threats he made earlier in the war to attack bridges and utility plants in Iran.
He urged Iran to sign a deal with the U.S., saying “we were really close to a deal but they keep tapping us along.”
The president spoke at length about Democrat Graham Platner, who clinched Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination on Tuesday.
Trump said Platner “is a thug. He’s a cheap, no-good person.” He also called him “fake” and “phony.”
The president mentioned the numerous accusations against Platner and wondered what would happen if Republicans had a candidate like that.
Trump himself has faced numerous accusations about his past treatment of women, including being found liable for sexual abuse. The president also has endorsed Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, a Texas Republican with a checkered public past.
Trump also, unprompted, mentioned Jeffrey Epstein, faulting Democrats for fixating on Epstein while still backing Platner.
Reporters were allowed into the Oval Office shortly before 11:20 a.m. to accompany Trump for his signing of a bill to fund immigration agencies through the end of his presidency.
Several Republican lawmakers are in attendance, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. A frequent Trump nemesis, he chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is one of the panels with jurisdiction over immigration.
“Boy oh boy, it’s nice to have Rand,” Trump remarked Wednesday as he kicked off the event.
As reauthorization of a critical national security law remains snarled in Congress, the president is asking lawmakers to send him a short-term extension to avoid a lapse in surveillance authorities.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires this Friday. Democrats are now balking at an extension because of the president’s surprise appointment of Bill Pulte as his director of national intelligence.
Pulte has no apparent background in national security and is seen primarily as a Trump loyalist. Yet Trump has not backed down from temporarily appointing Pulte.
“FISA 702 is very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations,” Trump wrote on social media on Wednesday. A short-term extension will “provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency,” he wrote.
Speaking to sailors at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American forces will be prepared to do whatever the president decides regarding the island nation that Trump has repeatedly threatened with military intervention.
Hegseth said the Pentagon will be “postured for any possible contingency” as the Trump administration pressures Cuba’s leadership to stand down with an oil blockade, charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro and repeated threats of force.
The U.S. has maintained a Navy base on the island despite diminished relations with Cuba following its revolution in the 1950s. Cuban leaders recently told The Associated Press that the Trump administration’s pressure campaign is “pretext” for trying to persuade the American people to support a military intervention.
Prices have now risen faster than wages for several months, pressuring many Americans’ finances and causing consumers to take a decidedly dim view of the economy. Families are dipping into savings and falling behind on their credit card bills. Large retailers have noticed changes in customer behavior, like buying smaller amounts of gas at the pump.
Inflation is now well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and economists note that child care and many other services are still rising much more quickly.
New Fed chair Kevin Warsh will preside over his first policy meeting next week. The central bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged but will likely remove a suggestion that its next move could be to lower rates. With inflation proving stubborn, financial markets expect it could instead raise rates by the end of the year. That could make mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing even more expensive.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. David Flippo has won the Republican primary in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District after securing Trump’s endorsement in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Democrats had hoped for a Flippo victory, thinking it would make it easier for former majority floor leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson to win over less-partisan voters in November.
Tuesday’s primary also set the general election contest for governor, with state Attorney General Aaron Ford defeating a progressive candidate and moving on to face Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo. Ford would be Nevada’s first Black governor if elected.
Issues around “racial profiling, surveillance and immigration enforcement” were cited by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk even before the 48-nation, 39-day tournament starts Thursday.
Iran’s team was moved to a training camp in Mexico, some Iranian officials were denied U.S. entry visas, Africa’s top referee from Somalia was refused entry in Miami and images circulated of a Senegal player being frisked on an airport tarmac. Fans who spent thousands of dollars on flights, hotels and tickets for the most expensive World Cup ever have had their travel documents denied or revoked.
“I really hope that there is a massive rethink of how immigration enforcement is respecting human rights and human dignity,” Türk told reporters. He called for a “dignified and safe environment, for the teams that compete but also for the supporters, for the whole society and frankly for the world.”
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The U.S., Britain and 20 other nations said Iranian security groups must stop plotting to kill, kidnap and harass people in Europe, North America and Australia.
Britain’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said Wednesday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Intelligence Organization, Quds Force and Ministry of Intelligence and Security have targeted Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests. The countries also condemned attacks claimed by a group named Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya.
“We stand united in our determination to protect our countries and our people against these threats,’’ the statement said. “The Islamic Republic of Iran must halt these actions now.’’
The statement was backed by Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.
The Trump administration asked national park visitors last year to report any displays or exhibits saying “negative” things about Americans. Instead, most people who responded criticize the effort itself.
The Associated Press analyzed 35,000 comments that were recently made public through a Sierra Club lawsuit. One visitor called the administration’s efforts “un-American.” Another derided the idea of “having Americans call in and snitch on each other.”
“Hey Donald Trump!” wrote another — “Trying to erase history doesn’t mean it didn’t still happen!”
But considering that the National Park Service logged some 323 million visits last year, the initial public comments were a tepid response. And a watchdog group calling itself Save Our Signs has documented at least 59 historical references being removed or modified as a result of Trump’s order.
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