In The Spotlight
President Donald Trump and Polish President Karol Nawrocki head to the Oval Office on Sept. 3, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
An F/A-18F Super Hornet flies over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Mediterranean Sea on March 6, 2026. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 28, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, Israel, on March 19, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool/Reuters)
President Donald Trump and Polish President Karol Nawrocki head to the Oval Office on Sept. 3, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump calls the potential establishment of a permanent U.S. Army base in the NATO ally a “historic step,” as Polish and U.S. officials signal continued efforts to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation
An F/A-18F Super Hornet flies over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Mediterranean Sea on March 6, 2026. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
Washington Signals More Military Action While Rejecting Iranian Battlefield Claims and Expanding Pressure Through Fresh Sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 28, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)
President Donald Trump Says He Is Still Reviewing Ukraine’s Request to Manufacture Patriot Missile Systems While Kyiv Intensifies Military, Diplomatic and Economic Pressure on Moscow
President Says Washington Is Prepared to Target Iran’s Suspected Underground Nuclear Facility, Insisting Tehran Must Never Be Allowed to Acquire a Nuclear Weapon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, Israel, on March 19, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool/Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Set to Meet President Donald Trump in Washington Amid Regional Conflict, ICC Controversy, and Heightened Diplomatic Pressure
President Donald Trump at New York–New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
President Says He Is Weighing a Larger Military Operation Than "Operation Epic Fury" While Conflict Intensifies Across the Middle East
A satellite view shows an overview of the Natanz nuclear facility and Pickaxe Mountain, near Natanz, Iran, on June 30, 2026. Vantor/Handout via Reuters
President Trump Signals Imminent Heavy Strikes on Pickaxe Mountain as U.S. Expands Military Operations Against Iranian Targets Across the Region
President Donald Trump Says American Woman Detained in Iran Since December 2024 Has Been Freed, Calls Her Release a Goodwill Gesture by Tehran
President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference during the 2026 NATO Leaders Summit at the Beştepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey on July 8, 2026. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump Says U.S. Forces Are Prepared to Strike Iran if the Regime Attempts to Kill Him as Regional Tensions Escalate Following Ayatollah Khamenei’s Death
President Donald Trump said on July 11 that the U.S. military would launch attacks on Iran if the regime attempted to assassinate him. His remarks came after calls for his death emerged during the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that 1,000 missiles were “locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow” if the Iranian regime were to kill him.
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” he wrote.
The warning followed Khamenei’s burial on July 10, concluding a week of funeral processions that drew massive crowds to the country’s holiest shrine. Some mourners carried banners reading, “We Will Kill Trump.”
Khamenei was killed in a U.S.–Israeli airstrike targeting Iran’s nuclear weapons program on Feb. 28, triggering a months-long conflict that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as Iran launched retaliatory actions. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was later named his successor by the Iranian Assembly.
Mojtaba vowed to avenge his father’s death, writing in a July 10 post: “This vengeance is what our nation is demanding, and this must definitely be done.”
Trump had previously warned that he remained a top target for Iran and said he had already issued instructions to the U.S. military in the event he became the target of an Iranian assassination attempt.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” the president told The New York Post on July 10. “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions—if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”
The United States and Iran have exchanged missile strikes in recent days after Washington accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire by attacking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on July 7. On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury revoked Iran’s authorization to sell oil.
The U.S. Central Command said on July 9 that it had struck 90 Iranian military targets to reduce Iran’s capability to attack commercial shipping and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has also carried out a series of retaliatory attacks across the Middle East. According to Iran’s semi-official Fars News agency, the Iranian military said it fired 10 missiles at a U.S. command center in Jordan on July 9.
In another Truth Social post on July 10, Trump said Iran had requested that the United States continue negotiations following the exchange of military strikes. He said Washington had agreed to keep talking but had informed Tehran “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER.”
On July 11, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of violating the interim agreement after revoking Iran’s authorization to sell oil, writing in a post on X that “Iran has so far kept its word.”
Escalating Military Exchanges Between Washington and Tehran Raise Fresh Questions Over the Durability of Last Week’s Peace Framework and Regional Stability
President Donald Trump speaks during a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on June 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Signals Flexibility on Cuba Strategy, Cites Similarities to Successful Maduro Capture While Pressure on Havana Continues to Intensify
President Trump orders “proportional response” following alleged Iranian attack on U.S. military aircraft as tensions threaten ongoing diplomatic negotiations
President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on March 26, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Signals Confidence in Iran Talks While Warning Military Action Could Resume if Nuclear Deal Fails
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 24: South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump and Lt Governor Pamela Evette during an election night watch party at the State Fairgrounds on February 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina held its Republican primary today. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
U.S. President confirms vital shipping lane is operational during Israel–Lebanon truce while enforcing continued blockade on Iranian ports pending final agreement
President Signals Final Review of Agreement While Reiterating Demands on Nuclear Program, Strait of Hormuz, and Uranium Removal
President Donald Trump listens while First Lady Melania Trump speaks during the annual Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 19, 2026. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)
President suggests he may take unprecedented steps against Cuba’s communist regime as Washington intensifies sanctions, military presence, and legal action tied to national security concerns
U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House on May 15, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President says military action against Iran was moments away before negotiations delayed planned assault, while regional tensions and oil prices continue to surge
U.S. President dismisses Tehran’s response as “totally unacceptable” while fragile ceasefire tensions persist across the Gulf and Middle East