Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
Trump foresees an extended war as the U.S. sends more troopsAs American and Israeli forces pounded Iran for the third straight day, President Trump said that the U.S. would continue its attacks there until Iran was incapable of posing a threat. “Whatever it takes,” Trump said today, in his first public comments on the war since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Saturday. “Right from the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that,” Trump added. Follow here for the latest updates, and check out these maps of the strikes. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, suggested today that the U.S. attacks in Iran were still ramping up. “The hardest hits are yet to come,” Rubio said. His comments echoed Trump, who said, “We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” and declined to rule out sending in ground troops. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced at a news conference that the U.S. would send more troops and fighter jets to the Middle East, adding that “this work is just beginning.” However, standing next to Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that the fighting would not spiral into another protracted war. “This is not Iraq,” Hegseth said. “This is not endless.” Six American service members have been killed, and Caine said he expected “to take additional losses.” Separately, three U.S. fighter jets were shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, in what U.S. officials described as a friendly fire incident. All six crew members “ejected safely,” officials said. See video of one of the jets being downed. The war’s effects are rippling across the world:
Iran’s leaders remain defiantThe U.S.-Israeli airstrikes have dealt a serious blow to Iran’s government. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed, and so were several military leaders and senior officials. Many military and government sites have been damaged or destroyed, and at least four of Iran’s military ships were photographed burning. Still, Iran’s leaders are not backing down. The country’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said that Iran was not seeking to negotiate and that Iran was prepared “for a long war.” Experts say that Iran’s clerical rulers may be too deeply entrenched for Iranians to topple them with the help of an air assault alone. Our bureau chief in the region contemplated what’s next.
How the U.S. decided to go to warIn public, Trump occasionally voiced optimism for a diplomatic outcome with Iran and did little to convince Americans of the need for a conflict. In private, the president’s embrace of military action was fueled by Israel’s push to land a decisive blow, and by his own confidence after toppling Venezuela’s leader. My colleagues detailed the internal discussions. Few of the president’s advisers voiced opposition. Even Vice President JD Vance, a longtime skeptic of American military interventions, said the U.S. should “go big and go fast” if it was going to hit Iran. What does Trump want? The administration has offered mixed messages. Today, Trump described four objectives: destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, “annihilating” its navy, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and ensuring it cannot continue to fund regional proxies. There was no mention of regime change, which he had called for over the weekend.
Back in the U.S., midterm elections are getting underwayTexas, North Carolina and Arkansas will hold the first primaries of the year tomorrow. The most attention will be on Texas. There, the most expensive Senate primary race on record has featured bitter attacks and high early turnout. On the Republican side, Senator John Cornyn faces a tough primary challenge, while Democrats are weighing whether to court swing voters or energize their base with fiery appeals. More top news
Scandinavian cinema is resonating with global audiencesEvery few years, a new region seems to become the arbiter of art house cinema: the French New Wave in the 1960s, the American mumblecore of the aughts, the recent critiques of economic inequality from South Korea. Scandinavian films, known for their intimate and darkly comic morality tales, may be next, my colleague Nick Haramis writes. “Sentimental Value,” a film about grief and redemption from a Danish-Norwegian director, has received widespread acclaim and Oscar nods for its stars. Watch that director, Joachim Trier, narrate a scene.
Set your alarm early to witness a lunar spectacleIf you wake up tomorrow before sunrise, look up at the sky. For those in an area that’s sufficiently dark and cloudless, the moon will appear to become scarlet, a phenomenon often referred to as a blood moon, around 6 a.m. Eastern. The reason: There will be a total lunar eclipse tomorrow, the last one until 2028. It occurs when the moon falls into the Earth’s shadow, blocking most of the sunlight. But some spills over the edges of Earth and through our atmosphere, scattering blue light as red light passes through.
Dinner table topics
Cook: These Ritzy Cheddar chicken breasts taste as good as they look. Listen: Look back at essential songs by Neil Sedaka, who died last week at 86. Clear out: We have tips for repurposing your old clothes. Focus: Spend 10 minutes with this Klimt portrait and tell us what it makes you think of. Test yourself: Take the latest Flashback history quiz. |
