In the early hours of a Saturday, while the American president watched from his Florida residence, the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, ending months of rising tension that had already seen earlier American action against Iranian nuclear sites. Trump announced the operation to the Iranian people himself, urging them to seize their own government and to stay indoors, framing the moment as a rare opening that no earlier president had been willing to offer. Congressional leaders were informed only at the last moment, and some of them have already called the undertaking a w
Trump Speaks With Netanyahu as Joint U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran Unfold From Mar-a-Lago
No strategic endgame, a Democrat said of strikes launched while Congress slept
Mark
Start with the basics. What actually happened here?
Mimi
Joint U.S. and Israeli strikes hit Iran overnight. Trump announced them in a video at 2:30 a.m. Eastern, and the White House says he watched from Mar-a-Lago with his national security team and later spoke with Netanyahu.
Mark
The video seems unusual. He speaks to Iranians, not just Americans.
Mimi
Yes. He told them to shelter at home, then to take over their government once the strikes were finished. That's an open invitation to regime change, at least in tone.
Luke
Careful, though. That's his message, not a stated policy objective. The reporting doesn't say what the administration's actual aims are beyond the nuclear demands.
Mark
And Congress? Was it consulted?
Mimi
Notified, at least. Rubio called all eight members of the Gang of Eight before the attacks and reached seven.
Luke
Notified isn't consulted. And we only have Leavitt's account of the calls. We don't know who the one missing member was or what the briefing covered beyond what Himes says.
Mark
Himes called it a war of choice.
Mimi
He did, and he warned about escalation. Massie, a Republican, is also opposed, so it's not purely partisan.
Luke
Worth noting that this piece doesn't confirm damage, casualties, or Iran's response in detail. Those remain unknown here.
El Pulso
- The president watched the strikes unfold overnight from Mar-a-Lago, then phoned Netanyahu as the operation spread.
- A 2:30 a.m. video on Truth Social told Iranians to take control of their government and warned them to stay inside as bombs fell.
- Most of the Gang of Eight was reached by Secretary Rubio only shortly before the attacks, and Democrats are calling the move a war of choice.
- Rep. Jim Himes says the strikes lack any strategic endgame, while Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has also opposed them.
- Iran has reportedly fired missiles at U.S. bases across the region, and the next moves depend on Tehran's answer and on whether Congress acts.
In the early hours of a Saturday, while the American president watched from his Florida residence, the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, ending months of rising tension that had already seen earlier American action against Iranian nuclear sites. Trump announced the operation to the Iranian people himself, urging them to seize their own government and to stay indoors, framing the moment as a rare opening that no earlier president had been willing to offer. Congressional leaders were informed only at the last moment, and some of them have already called the undertaking a war without a clear endpoint, leaving unresolved how the Iranian state will answer and whether Washington's legislators will try to set limits on what has begun.
President Donald Trump spent the night of the strikes at Mar-a-Lago, watching joint American and Israeli operations against Iran with his national security team. By Saturday morning, the White House confirmed he had also spoken by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump announced the attacks himself in an early-morning video posted to Truth Social. He told the Iranian people to seize control of their destiny, warned them to stay sheltered, and promised that when the operation was finished, the government would be theirs to take. He cast it as a chance Iranians might not see again for generations.
The strikes followed months of escalating tension, including earlier American action against Iran's nuclear program in June and Trump's demand that Tehran fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure. Fox News also reported that Iran responded by firing missiles at U.S. bases across the Middle East, though details were not available.
Congress received only last-minute notice. Secretary of State Rubio reached seven of the eight Gang of Eight members before the attacks. Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, condemned the operation as a war of choice with no strategic endgame and warned Rubio that conflict with Iran could spiral in unpredictable ways. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has also opposed the strikes.
What happens next depends on how Iran responds and on whether Congress moves to constrain an operation most of its intelligence leaders learned about only hours in advance.
President Donald Trump spent the overnight hours at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, watching joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran unfold alongside members of his national security team. By Saturday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on X that he had also spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone.
Trump himself announced the strikes in a video message posted to Truth Social at 2:30 a.m. Eastern. He addressed the Iranian people directly and told them to "seize control of" their destiny. He said the hour of their freedom was at hand. He also warned them to stay sheltered and not leave their homes, saying it was very dangerous outside and that bombs would be dropping everywhere.
The message went further than a warning. "When we are finished, take over your government," Trump said, adding that it would be theirs to take. He described the moment as probably the only chance Iranians would have for generations. In his telling, they had asked for American help for many years and never received it, and no previous president had been willing to do what he was doing that night.
The operation did not come out of nowhere. Tensions with Iran had been rising for months. The United States struck Iran's nuclear program in June, then returned to the negotiating table over that program. In the run-up to Saturday, Trump had said the Iranian government needed to fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure or face consequences. Fox News also reported, in a related headline, that Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases across the Middle East after American strikes on nuclear and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites. The article itself gives no further detail on that response.
Congress was brought in only at the last moment. Leavitt said Secretary of State Marco Rubio called all eight members of the so-called Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of top congressional leaders on intelligence matters, before the attacks. He reached and briefed seven of them. Leavitt said the president and his team would keep monitoring the situation throughout the day.
Several Democrats in that group have rebuked the operation. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, put out a statement calling it a war of choice with no strategic endgame. He said everything he had heard from the administration, before and after the strikes, confirmed that. He told Rubio during the briefing that military action in the region almost never ends well for the United States, and that conflict with Iran can spiral and escalate in ways no one can anticipate. In his words, it does not appear Trump has learned the lessons of history.
Opposition is not limited to Democrats. Fox News noted in a related headline that Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has joined Democrats in opposing the strikes.
What comes next turns on two questions: how Iran answers, and whether Congress tries to constrain an operation that most of its intelligence leadership learned about only hours beforehand.
Citas Notables
Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame.— Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee
When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.— President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social video message
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