The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, overshadowing diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed. President Donald Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer of four more service members who were killed in action.
Republicans are pushing a $95 billion package to fund the military, pay farmers and restrict voting after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests over his management of the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated which has cost $37.
5 billion so far. Democrats and Republicans alike questioned whether Hegseth has an exit strategy. The Latest: Rubio warns that Iranâs missiles and drones could shield nukes in the future Rubio said Iranâs missiles and drones being used in strikes are âexactly the conventional shield that they were going to hide behind to pursue a nuclear program.
â He said that capacity is âgreatly diminishedâ but that a year from how, Iran would have so many missiles and drones serving as a shield âthat Rubio said the U.S. remains open to a negotiation âbut right now they donât seem to be serious about that,â so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.
âWe think other countries should join us in that endeavor. We donât need them to, but they should because theyâre more impacted by it than we are.â Rubio is asked whether China and Russia are helping Iran find targets Rubio, who doubles as Trumpâs national security advisor, was asked Wednesday whether China and Russia are giving targeting information to Iran.
âAll I would say is that, you know, anytime youâre in a combat zone like that, thereâs danger associated with it,â Rubio said. âAt the end, this actually proves the point that this is what Iran has been investing its money in.â When pressed again by a reporter, Rubio said, âIâm not going to discuss that, other than to say that nothing thatâs happened, nothing that China has done has in any way changed the trajectory of the outcome, of what youâre seeing in terms of the conflict that weâre having with Iran.
â Rubio said China has been quite cooperative in some ways, such as publicly opposing what Iran is trying to do in the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio says Iran controlling Strait of Hormuz would set dangerous precedent Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iranâs demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the worldâs economy.
âIf we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you donât pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,â the U.
S. Secretary of State said. Rubioâs counterparts at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have expressed alarm over the resurgent Iran war that has battered their economies. Despite Washingtonâs preoccupation with the war, Rubio said âweâre with ASEAN 100%.
â Trump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, two AP sources say The deal approved by Trump could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly ahead of a formal announcement expected to be made as early as Wednesday.
The deal, expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms, would be reviewed by Congress, where it could face headwinds among lawmakers who fear that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium would open new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.
Saudi Arabia is a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which promotes peaceful nuclear work and inspects nations to ensure they donât have clandestine atomic weapons programs. But the agreement is not expected to include the IAEAâs Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people.
â By Aamer Madhani, Michelle L. Price, Jon Gambrell ⶠRead more Trump says US will destroy a bridge or power plant for each Iranian attack in the Strait of Hormuz The presidentâs warning about targeting civilian infrastructure came after the U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, including its capital, Tehran.
Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israelâs doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. âFrom this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,â Trump wrote on social media.
The 11th night of American airstrikes on Iran came as diplomatic efforts have shown little public sign of progress. Officials on both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.
As the president touts Trump Accounts, some families are still waiting for their babyâs $1,000 Trump says Trump Accounts could hoist children out of poverty and give more Americans the chance to benefit from investments in the stock market. But some parents say theyâre still waiting for the money to arrive.
Trump on Wednesday plans to speak at a Georgia high school to promote the investment accounts, which offer $1,000 in seed money to every child born during his second term. The accounts went live July 4, two days before Trump rang the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ from the Oval Office.
The tax-advantaged accounts, created last year through Trumpâs signature One Big Beautiful Bill, can be opened for any child under the age of 18. The Treasury Department boasts 6.5 million sign-ups for Trump Accounts, with 1.5 million of those eligible for the $1,000 seed funding for babies born from 2025 through 2028.
ⶠRead more Iranâs demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio warns Asian leaders U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iranâs demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the worldâs economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world.
Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washingtonâs preoccupation with the war, Rubio said âweâre with ASEAN 100%.
â Washingtonâs top diplomat also renewed allegations that Iran has reneged on commitments under a failed peace deal. Rubio said Iran âhas been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences,â but gave no indication that the U.
S. was considering returning to peace talks with Iran. ⶠRead more US and Iran attacks rage as officials question whether diplomacy can stop march toward war resuming The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, as officials in both nations called into question diplomatic efforts to stop the war as it threatens to again spin out of control.
The U.S. launched an 11th night of airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, hitting targets across the nation as air defense systems opened fire over the capital, Tehran. It wasnât immediately clear what specific targets the Americans went after in these nighttime strikes.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Jordanâs port city of Aqaba, once again attacking just on the doorstep of Israel. The U.S. has been using Israelâs main Ben-Gurion International Airport to host its refueler aircraft and has put fighter jets at bases in the country, but Iran has been hesitant to strike for fear of bringing the Israeli military back into the conflict.
ⶠRead more Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion as he defends funding request at fiery hearing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests Tuesday over the U.S. war with Iran, which he estimated has cost $37.5 billion so far, as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.
Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during a combative Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.
Several times protesters interrupted his opening remarks. Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an âurgent, necessaryâ injection of money, and called Trumpâs proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military. âWithout these funds, we face critical shortfalls,â Hegseth testified.
ⶠRead more Trump will attend the dignified transfer of 4 US service members killed in the Middle East Trump on Wednesday plans to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East. Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their families, the White House said.
The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander-in-chief. It will be the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February. Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer, according to an administration official who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.