1. Trump Monitors Iran Situation Overnight
—White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt stated that Trump monitored the situation overnight at Mar-a-Lago with his national security team. Trump has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Levitt also stated that before the attack, Secretary of State Rubio called all members of the bipartisan intelligence leadership group to brief Congress, and briefed seven of them.
2. Trump Claims to Have Provided Multiple Escape Routes for Iran
—In an interview, Trump stated that he has prepared multiple escape routes in the “epic firestorm” against Iran. “The Iranians always seem close to an agreement and then back down—it happens repeatedly. I see from this that they don’t really want a deal.” He also indicated that he could intervene and control the situation for a long time, or end it all in two or three days.
3. Trump Officially Announces Killing of Khamenei
—US President Trump posted on social media that Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, one of the most evil men in history, is dead. Security sources say that U.S. air defense systems intercepted a drone over a U.S. military base near Erbil airport. Precision bombing will continue uninterrupted until our goal of peace in the Middle East and the world is achieved!
4. Strikes against Iran under pressure from Israel and Saudi Arabia
—According to four sources familiar with the matter, U.S. President Trump launched a large-scale airstrike against Iran on Saturday, driven by weeks of lobbying from two Middle Eastern allies (Israel and Saudi Arabia). The Saudi Crown Prince had repeatedly called Trump privately over the past month, urging the U.S. to launch the airstrike. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu continued to publicly lobby the U.S. to strike Iran, considering Iran Israel's "mortal enemy."
5. Claims to know who he wants to lead Iran
—After announcing the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, Trump stated that Iran has "some excellent candidates" who could lead the country. In a telephone interview with CBS News, when asked who he thought was responsible, Trump said, "I know very well who it is, but I can't tell you."
6. Claims Diplomatic Solution to Iran is Much Easier
—Trump stated that he believes the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei was effective and could create opportunities for a diplomatic solution. "Obviously, it's much easier now than it was a day ago," Trump said when asked about the possibility of resolving the crisis diplomatically, "because they were badly beaten." Trump expressed confidence in the current progress.
7. Use of Anthropic AI Tools in Airstrikes Against Iran
—Hours after announcing that the federal government would stop using AI tools developed by the technology company Anthropic, President Trump used these tools to launch a large-scale airstrike against Iran. Sources confirmed that command centers around the world, including U.S. Central Command, were using Anthropic's Claude AI tool.
8. Trump warns Iran of "unprecedented retaliation"
— Trump: "Iran just claimed they will launch a massive attack today, more powerful than ever before. However, they had better not do it, because if they do, we will retaliate with unprecedented force!"
