The other piece of this that I found really disturbing in the messaging around the war recently is some of the language in the description of their opponent. Sort of the way they seem to create this image of the Iranians and all of their sort of proxies or allies, the sort of imagery that they conjure up. And I think that it takes a certain amount of arrogance and I'm also going to say it, a bit of racism, to constantly talk about people like they are savages.
Evidence is building that the strike may be the result of US forces relying on outdated intelligence, according to two US officials familiar with the matter, though they cautioned that the assessment remains preliminary. The officials, who spoke to RFE/RL on March 11 on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said they could not confirm or deny reports -- which have appeared in The New York Times and Reuters, among other media outlets -- on the faulty intelligence, but they added that early findings point in a similar direction.
We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.
I'm hearing they want to talk badly. It's possible. Depends on what terms, possible, only possible. You know, we sort of don't have to speak anymore, you know, if you really think about it, but it's possible.
Rigid in his anti-western views, Mojtaba Khamenei is not the candidate Donald Trump would have wanted. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said on Tuesday that Iran was run by religious fanatic lunatics and Khamenei's appointment is hardly likely to dispel that opinion.
For more than 40 years, the relationship between the United States and Iran has been defined by hostility, sanctions, proxy wars and the ever-present fear of nuclear escalation. But it was not always that way. In fact, America once backed the Shah of Iran, helped develop the country's nuclear programme under its Atoms for Peace initiative and counted Tehran as one of its key Middle Eastern allies.
My goal is to actually be of service, not just to hold onto a position. The youngest woman ever elected to a state legislature, Gabbard chose to forgo reelection to the Hawaii House of Representatives so she could participate in a deployment to Iraq as a member of the Hawaii National Guard at age 23, demonstrating her commitment to principle over political advancement.
In 1953 Iran's elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, nationalizes the country's oil sector. That move prompts Great Britain to appeal to the U.S. for help, and what results is a CIA-led campaign to topple Mosaddegh's government. The coup allows Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah (or king) of Iran, to consolidate power around himself.
Donald Trump has renewed his threats against Iran, suggesting that Tehran has about 10 days to reach a deal with Washington or face further military strikes. Speaking at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday, the United States president reiterated his argument that the joint Israeli-US strikes against Iran in June of last year paved the way to the ceasefire in Gaza.
The Justice Department released more than 3 million files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, exposing a sprawling web of powerful figures who vied for his counsel. The DOJ's internal notes revealed the extent of allegations made against Epstein and others who have not faced criminal charges for sex trafficking. NPR has reviewed the documents. Here are four takeaways from the latest release of the Epstein files.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the "necessity of establishing diplomatic processes" following renewed military threats from US President Donald Trump. State news agency IRNA cited Pezeshkian as telling Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in a phone call that Iran had never sought war and was not seeking one now. According to the report, Iran "deeply believes that war will not benefit Iran, the United States, or the region."
Between the lines: Larijani, a close confidant of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, visited Moscow earlier this week and met Russian President Putin. The Russians are one of several channels used by Iran and the U.S. to pass messages in recent days. The other side: President Trump told Fox News on Saturday that Iran is negotiating."The last time they negotiated, we had to take out their nuclear, didn't work, you know. Then we took it out a different way, and we'll see what happens"
Fast forward to the present day, and Trump is threatening an even bigger attack, and backing up the threat with a large-scale movement of US military assets, including an aircraft carrier, towards Iranian waters. Trump says that these threats are his way of convincing the Iranians to agree to a deal reported to include demands to effectively end Iran's nuclear programme, limit its ballistic missile programme, and stop support for allies across the Middle East.
President Donald Trump has revived the threat that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran as he demanded that Tehran make a deal over its nuclear programme. A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose, he said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, it emerged that some personnel have been advised to leave the United States military's al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening, heightening fears of a US strike and potential Iranian retaliation. Protests in Iran began in late December 2025 over Iran's worsening economic conditions. Since then, however, they have escalated into a broader challenge to the country's clerical leadership, which has been in power since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Pointing to last year's US strikes on Iran's three major nuclear sites which subsequent satellite imagery suggested caused more limited damage than Trump had claimed Leavitt said of Trump's potential use of US military force: Nobody knows that better than Iran. Leavitt also said that Iran's private and public messaging to the US had been quite different, adding: I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages. She did not elaborate on the nature of the messages.
