Weeks after the end of a historic term, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett will make a rare appearance before Congress on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. The justices could face wide-ranging questions as the high court seeks millions of dollars to beef up security amid a rise in threats to the judiciary.
Down the street, U.S. President Donald Trump will welcome new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to the White House after strongly backing
the political novice’s bid for office. Iraq has been under pressure to disarm Iran-backed militias that attacked U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel instigated the Iran war.
The U.S. launched more strikes on Iran early Tuesday, hours after Trump vowed to reinstate an American blockade of Iranian ports and charge ships 20% of their cargo for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with more attacks on Middle East allies, leaving the ceasefire deal in tatters and under the threat of all-out war. The U.S. military said it will resume its naval blockade on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
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The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting “coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged the strikes, but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.
Moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called it “another major attack” and said the U.S. was “putting the blockade back.”
Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and three tankers that traveled through the strait.
U.S. Central Command said on social media that it “will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas” beginning Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT., and will “support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade.”
A notice to mariners released Monday by the U.S. military warned of using force if ships don’t comply. It also said the military will let through humanitarian shipments.
The statement follows Trump declaring that the U.S. would be reinstating the naval blockade and charging a 20% toll on eligible cargo.
“We’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” Trump said. “We’re spending money. And so, what we’ve done is, we are going to be reimbursed for protection.”
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, would not say whether the military would be collecting tolls, and referred questions to the White House.
The president posted on social media that he would be “making a Speech to the Nation” at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
Trump appeared to refer to himself in the third person in the post.
He did not disclose the details of his planned speech, but the announcement comes after Trump said he would block Iran-related ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. would charge a 20% fee on all cargo going through the waterway.
Asked in an interview with Hugh Hewitt what his Thursday address will be about, Trump made it sound like nothing out of the ordinary.
“It’s just going to be a speech like a lot of my speeches,” he said, without offering any more detail.
