Shownotes Transcript
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All of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect.
which means especially in Fordow, which was the primary target here, we believe we achieved destruction of capabilities there. The operation was really extraordinary. These guys flew from Missouri. They didn't land a single time. They dropped 30,000-pound bombs on a target the size of a washing machine and then got back home safely without ever landing in the Middle East or ever stopping other than to briefly refuel. And, of course, they did that in the air.
That immense operation causing total obliteration as U.S. forces laid down the hammer yesterday on Iran's uranium enrichment program. Fourteen bunker buster bombs abolishing three key nuclear facilities. Hello, I'm Dana Perino, and hello to you, Trace.
Dana, good to see you. Good to be with you today. I'm Trace Gallagher. Welcome to our breaking news coverage of the U.S. strikes on Iran. Defense officials detailing the highly complex coordination required to carry out Operation Midnight Hammer, emphasizing the secrecy and deception used to throw off Iranian defenses. And the Trump administration is now calling for a return to diplomatic talks. But the question remains, how will Iran respond?
Yeah, we have Team Fox coverage at the ready. Lucas Tomlinson is standing by at the Pentagon. But first, the senior White House correspondent Jackie Heinrich live on the North Lawn. Hey, Trace, the vice president said today that the U.S. received some indirect messages from the Iranians. He didn't elaborate on what they were, but said we'll learn a lot within the next 24 hours.
about how Iran wants to move forward. Since the strikes, officials from the president on down have called on Iran to make peace and come to the negotiating table for potentially a deal that would still allow them to have a civilian nuclear program just within Richmond outside the country and certainly no nuclear weapons.
What we want now is to ensure that Iran never has nuclear weapons. If what they want is a civil nuclear program where they have power plants like every other country, a lot of other countries in the world have, they can do that. That's the deal that's been offered to them. They rejected it. They played us. They tried to play us, I should say. They wouldn't respond to our offers. They disappeared for 10 days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that deal is still on the table and the U.S. is prepared to start talks again today. But the vice president also said to date the Iranians have not been interested in good faith deal making. And the president ultimately chose military action because of this.
I think that he decided probably by mid-May that this process was not going anywhere. And so he decided to issue some private ultimatums to the Iranians. The Iranians stopped negotiating in good faith. That was the real catalyst, I think, to what the president ultimately decided to do. If we were having a productive negotiation, I think that this could have gone in a much different pathway.
The president warned last night there are many targets left, and if peace does not come quickly, the U.S. will go after those targets with precision, speed, and skill. And remember, last Tuesday, he posted, we know where the so-called supreme leader is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there. We are not going to take him out, kill, or kill him.
at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. So the White House is really now waiting on signs from Iran to determine what happens next. So far, the president is still scheduled to depart the country for the NATO summit next week. But
We could see that plan changing if Iran chooses to retaliate. And The New York Times also has reported that the Supreme Leader has chosen three people from a list of successors to potentially replace him if he is assassinated. So we are watching those developments. Trace. Jackie Heidrich, live for us in the White House. Jackie, thank you.
And the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites mark the biggest attack ever by B-2 stealth bombers. And they're also the first time the U.S. has used those massive bunker buster bombs in warfare. Lucas Tomlinson has this story. He is live at the Pentagon with more. Hi, Lucas. Good morning. Afternoon. Afternoon. Normally it's morning, Dana. Good afternoon. Last night's mission was based on deception, and the U.S. military's top officer says Iran never saw it coming.
And it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise.
Under the cover of darkness, Operation Midnight Hammer launched just after midnight early Saturday morning. A pair of B-2s from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri headed west over the Pacific for a scheduling refueling in the skies near Hawaii with a follow-on flight to Guam. But Dana, those were decoys. Seven B-2 stealth bombers quietly left Whiteman as well and headed east. Their destination? Iran's underground nuclear facilities.
Shortly after President Trump returned from New Jersey and walked into the White House at around 6, those B-2s entered Iranian airspace at 6.40 Eastern time, about 2 a.m. local, just after. Fourteen massive 15-ton bunker-busting bombs were released, guided by satellites in the stars. Twelve hit the underground uranium enrichment site in Fordow, two hours south of Tehran. Two more hit the Natanz nuclear site. Before the bombers arrived over the target, four...
Fourth and fifth generation American fighter jets screamed overhead, flying high and fast to draw any potential Iranian fire, like those Wild Weasel missions from the Vietnam War, to draw fire from those surface-to-air missile batteries, which never fired. The U.S. jets destroyed some anyway just to be safe, according to General Raisin Kane. At the same time, those massive ordnance penetrators hit their targets simultaneously.
30 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a guided missile submarine lurking 400 miles offshore slammed into Isfahan, where centrifuges are buried even deeper than at Fordow. The missiles have been fired earlier, Dana, to set waypoints. Time to coincide with the B-2 strike.
The strike package then bugged out of Iranian airspace to return to their base in Missouri. The B-2s were fueled at least three times in midair each way, all in secret with minimal communication. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says this operation is not open-ended. This mission was not and has not been about regime change. The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests.
And Hegseth says the U.S. military is ready to strike again if Iran chooses to retaliate. Dana. All right, Lucas Tomlinson. Thank you.
Well, the National Terrorism Advisory System issued a new warning today about potential cyber attacks from Iran, saying, quoting here, the ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber attacks against U.S. networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against U.S. networks. Now, authorities in major cities like New York City, D.C., and Los Angeles say that they are also aware
on high alert is Israel seeking regime change now in the wake of this it's not and any of the official goals of this a air if this war not at all on the country we leave it to the Iranian people but it would be a very blessed side major side effect if you can call it or outcome at after all this regime is a very oppressive regime
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the goal of last night's U.S. strikes in Iran. I want to bring in Matty Freeman. He is a correspondent with the Free Press Jerusalem. And I listen to you often on the Honestly podcast and the Call Me Back podcast. And it's great to have you here with us. Could you give us a sense of your take on the scope and scale of the operation last night?
It's certainly true that Americans are very popular in Israel right now, and the American president is very popular. I think that we've felt quite lonely here in the Middle East over the past 20 months of war, and of course, even before October 7th. And I think that people of many different political stripes in Israel, supporters of Netanyahu's government, critics of Netanyahu's government, most Israelis are united in their support for Netanyahu.
the war against Iran, the attempt to take out what is the most potent threat to Israel. And people are very, very happy to see such
very potent and decisive American action taken against what is, I think, the most dangerous threat to Israel and to, you know, generally Western interests in the Middle East. So we have a feeling today that something big has changed and that this might be a turning point. It's not the end of the war. It's not the dawn of peace, but it's a turning point in the Middle East. Only time will tell. But I think something big just happened. Yeah.
Hi, Maddie. It's Trace Gallagher in Los Angeles. I wanted to play a sound. Thank you for joining us. I wanted to play some sound here from General Jack Keane because he said something that I think is kind of it pertains to what you want to talk about. And it was it was kind of fascinating. Watch this.
We are on the cusp of actually ending Iran's malign and aggressive behavior in the region. You have outlined the killing of Americans from 1983 all the way up to the 350 attacks that Iran delivered on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria during the four years of the Biden administration. So the implications here are very serious in terms of the opportunities for peace and stability.
I mean, the overriding point here, Maddie, you look at this and certainly we were in late coverage last night and they still had, you know, they had missiles coming into Israel and some getting through. And and Trey Inks was kind of kind of detailing those for us. But even with that, the Israeli people have got to feel more confident. They have got to feel safer today, Maddie, than they did yesterday.
I think that's certainly true. Very early this morning here in Jerusalem, I rushed my kids into the safe room. We had incoming missile sirens. Before the siren went off, we could see from our roof in Jerusalem this barrage of incoming Iranian missiles. And we can see the interceptors being fired to take out the missiles coming in. And we didn't take them all out. About 10 of them impacted in Israeli cities. So we're very much in the thick of it. And it isn't over but soon.
the fact that the United States decided to take this kind of decisive action and send some of the most powerful weapons in its arsenal in order to change the direction of this war, which of course didn't start a week ago. It started on October 7th and in some ways started 30 years ago when Iran started pursuing Israelis and pursuing Americans in the Middle East. When I was a low-ranking infantry soldier in South Lebanon in the late 90s, the Iranian proxy in Lebanon, which is Hezbollah,
Almost killed me a few times. So for many of us, this is personal. And we perceive the Iranian proxy threat on multiple borders as one of our biggest problems. And what we feel, and I think I can speak for many Israelis, again, not just supporters of the government, but also critics of this government like me, we feel like something...
significant has changed. It doesn't mean the war is over, but the direction of events has changed. And even if this doesn't end this week with the toppling of the Iranian regime, if the Iranian regime goes on the defensive, if they have to spend a certain period of time just defending themselves and worrying about themselves, and they do not have the free time and free resources to attack Israel and attack their other enemies across the Middle East, then we will all have benefited greatly from this decision by the American president.
Maddie, critically, one of the things that Israel has been able to do is to grade the capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah, the proxies that were helping Iran. And you also have a broader Middle East, of course. And can you just give us your overall take on the feeling in the region outside of Israel and outside of Iran, what the rest of the Middle East might be thinking at this moment? Do they also think it's a turning point?
I think so. It's hard for me to interpret exactly what everyone else is saying. Israelis are very vocal about their feelings. Some of our other regional allies, and I'm talking about the Saudis and other countries in the Gulf, are much more circumspect in their public statements. You know, some of them have condemned the American attack. Some of them have been kind of mealy-mouthed about what they think. And, of course, they're concerned about the Iranian threat that is a threat to them.
almost as potent as it is to us. But I think we can assume that many of the Sunni countries in the Middle East, the ones traditionally in the American orbit, and I'm thinking about the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Emiratis and others, these countries have seen their main regional rival, their main regional opponent, gravely weakened by the Israeli war of the past 20 months.
and critically by the American move yesterday in sending the B-2 to take out the nuclear program. So I think you're going to see a lot of public caution and private celebration. Manny Friedman, we can see much more of you on the free press. So check that out, everybody. And thank you for joining us today. Please stay safe.
Maddie, thank you. In the meantime, the U.S. strikes on Iran. Nuclear sites have Americans looking to leave the region before Iran's potential retaliation. Meantime, the Trump administration says it is not pushing for regime change. Details on that and more as we continue breaking news coverage on Fox News Channel.
It is time to take the quiz. It's five questions in less than five minutes. We ask people on the streets of New York City to play along. Let's see how you do. Take the quiz every day at the quiz dot box. Then come back here to see how you did. Thank you for taking the quiz. I think we have to be prepared for Iran to retaliate. And I joined the president in his warning to the supreme leader of Iran that if he targets Americans, the military force he will see will make last night look like child's play.
Senator Cotton there warning of potential retaliation as a growing number of Americans are looking to flee the Middle East. So the State Department, they're stepping in. And foreign policy correspondent Jillian Turner is live there with the latest. I imagine that is a busy building today, Jillian.
It's actually not, Dana, because the AC is broken and a lot of staff have been ordered to stay home. But we are surviving so far. This is not great timing for the events in the Middle East today. But the State Department is providing a lot of information to Americans today that are still stranded on the ground inside Israel. As of yet, though, they have not managed to evacuate a whole lot of them. The State Department told us two flights took off from Tel Aviv yesterday with only about 70 Americans and some of their family members missing.
on board. Part of the problem is that the State Department only started evacuating people a couple of hours before President Trump announced the nuclear strikes publicly last night. The threat level to Americans, meanwhile, inside Iran, inside Israel, and really across the entire Middle East are now elevated.
And more U.S. embassies are being emptied today. This includes in Lebanon, where all family members and non-emergency personnel were just ordered to leave after Iran's state TV warned Americans in the region are now legitimate targets.
Here's Secretary Rubio. Why did Hezbollah exist? Because of Iran. Why does Hamas exist? Because of Iran. How do the Houthis exist? Because of Iran. Who built the IEDs that maimed and killed American soldiers in Iraq? Iran. They're behind every problem in this region. They are the sole source of instability in the entire Middle East.
Americans stranded in Israel today are trying to flee by any means necessary, some crossing the border into Jordan by foot, others hoping that charter flights organized by religious groups and Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis will resume sometime soon. So this morning, Secretary Rubio on our air essentially ordered Iran back to the negotiating table. He said, this is a quote, Dana.
He said, no more passing messages and notes like we're in third grade, those notes between Iran and the United States diplomats. All right, Jillian Turner, thank you. And stay cool as much as you can. Thank you.
We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program. We don't want a regime change. We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it's already been built out. We want to end their nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here.
There you have Vice President Vance insisting the U.S. is not seeking regime change in Iran and Iran or urging Iran to join peace talks with serious intentions. With us now, Ophir Falk, foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ophir, great to have you on the show. I want to play some sound of the Israeli Prime Minister talking about President Trump and this strike. Watch. History will record it.
that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons. His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace.
I mean, he's right, Ofer. This is a new Middle East. You've got Hezbollah. You've got Hamas and the Houthis seem to be rather neutralized at the point. Iran significantly weaker. And as Netanyahu says, a pivot of history. And it happened in 25 minutes. Right. Absolutely. It was a big, big win yesterday for civilization. We've been hitting the Iranian regime for the past 10 days. And yesterday was a huge, huge strike on their three key areas.
nuclear facilities. And America did a great thing for civilization. And we thank them for that and President Trump for that. Yeah, I want to play some more sound. This is from Oklahoma Senator James Lankford talking about alliances, specifically the alliance between Russia and Iran here.
Putin is slaughtering the Ukrainians next door using Iranian weapons, as they have done for a very long time now through this war. And so it is not surprising that the two of them continue to be able to ally together. The challenge that we have right now is we cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran. We cannot have an Iran that is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, that continues to be able to develop new technologies to be able to attack their neighbors.
And I wonder, Ofer, as the foreign policy advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu, what do you think about the relationships between Iran and Russia, Iran and China, Iran and North Korea? Are you concerned about that at all, sir?
Well, yes, we are concerned, but in essence Iran is the core of all evil in the Middle East. And as the Prime Minister said, our objective in this operation, the Rise of the Alliance operation, is to remove the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat that has been threatening our country. We've been doing that for the past 10 days, and yesterday was a huge, huge strike that the Americans did on Iran.
Three key nuclear facilities, and it was a big win for civilization. As the prime minister and the president have said constantly, peace is achieved in this region, peace is achieved through strength. And yesterday, America showed a lot of strength, and we thank them for that. Yeah, and I wonder if something happens if this regime, if the leadership in Iran falls, who do you think, is there a concern about who fills that vacuum?
Well, again, the Prime Minister defined the goal in this operation to remove the nuclear and ballistic missile threat. If as a byproduct the regime falls, then so be it. But that's a decision that the Iranian people need to make. The
The Iranian people need to make the decision that after 46 years of oppression, are they better off today than they were 46 years ago? They have to see what they want to do. And at the end of the day, it's the Iranian decision. The Iranian people have to decide what they want to do with their future. Yeah. Well, Fairfax, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you. But our initial assessment, as the chairman said, is that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect.
A truly remarkable mission accomplished by the U.S. military over Iran last night. And the congressman who represents the district where those bombers took off from joins us next.
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A strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber mission since 2001 and the first operational employment of the MOP, a Massive Ordnance Penetrator. In just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution. This operation underscores the unmatched capabilities and global reach of the United States military.
Well, that unmatched military might on stunning display last night. A fleet of B-2 bombers flew from Missouri all the way to Iran and back after President Trump gave the green light for an unprecedented strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. With us now, Missouri Congressman Mark Alpert. His district includes the base where the B-2 stealth bomber fleet departed. Congressman, it's great to have you on the show. I want to play one more soundbite, if I can, from General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Raisin-Kane, and he said this about the mission watch. Mm-hmm.
Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications.
I mean, it reads like a novel, Congressman, right? They left your territory. They went for, you know, for 36 hours and never touched the ground. The refueling missions, the precision of the attack, and they got back. And it was really one of those things that you think that was an amazing thing to be learning about. What did you think about the mission?
Well, Trace, I think this is a testament to the will and the power and the capability of the United States of America. The B-2 stealth bomber was first flown in 1989. There were 21 built. The 19 are still at Whiteman Air Force Base. They are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
and conventional weapons. They carried out that conventional attack on Iran to decapitate the nuclear capabilities. We're just getting word in some video in from Whiteman Air Force Base now that those seven stealth bombers have landed back safely at Whiteman Air Force Base. I am going out there tomorrow. The 509th bomb wing needs to be saluted. This is a logistics
miracle to pull this off without any ID from any of the enemies, without one single shot fired at our stealth bombers.
Congressman, the B-2 hasn't been without controversy over the years. And people who supported it had to really fight for the funding and the modernizing of the military that is happening as we speak with the drones and cyber and everything. But it's still important to have this type of capabilities. And so going into the budget negotiations and discussions, what is your position at this point after last night? Does it change at all in terms of giving you even more leverage?
Dana, thanks for that question. I think it strengthens our resolve to plus up our military. We did that last week with the defense authorization, the defense appropriations bill, over a trillion dollars now in funding. You might remember back in the 80s when the B-2 first came about.
It was a much higher cost. We were going to build 100 of those. We ended up building only 21 because the Cold War ended. We thought we might not need them as badly. They ended up costing about $2.1 billion. We're now working on the B-21 being built in Palmdale, California. I've been out there. I've seen it. I've touched it.
They're well underway to replace the B-2 stealth bomber. They're much stealthier, in fact, than the B-2. And it's just a testament to what we're able to do. We've got to make sure that those are built. There are some generals, STRATCOM Commander General Cotton wants to build up to 147. There are some in the Senate who want to build 200. But imagine right now if we had 100 B-2 stealth bombers positioned around the world to take on any bad actor.
Yeah, it's amazing to me, Congressman, that when you we keep getting on my on my phone emails from other networks and you have some of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle and some Republicans bemoaning this mission, you know, complaining, saying that President Trump should be impeached, that it was illegal. You would think at least at the very least that they would be proud of what their military accomplished, because this was something that we I mean, you look at the you look at Afghanistan. That's the last big world war.
site that they got on our military and it wasn't very pretty. And now you look at this and you think, wow, that is amazing stuff that Israel, IDF, Mossad and the U.S. military pulled off.
It really is, Trace, and we need to all be proud of the job, not just the president of the United States did in making this decision. I think one of the biggest decisions of his life. But the men and women of the 509th, the maintenance crews, the refueling operation that it took to pull this off, seven B-2 bombers flying a total of 36 hours each there and back without one incident.
You know, I think more than anything, though, Dana and Trace, this is a time for choosing for the Ayatollahs. I remember you've probably seen the speech in 1964, Reagan's speech in Barry Goldwater's campaign, A Time for Choosing. But now the Ayatollahs have a choice to make. Do they want to live in peace or chaos?
normal relations or isolation from the Arab world? Do they want to have prosperity or poverty? It is a time for choosing. This is a defining moment in world history, and we have a front row seat to it. Yeah. Congressman Mark Alford, your state should also be very proud. Thank you, sir, for coming on. We appreciate it. Thank you. God bless you.
In Iran launching attacks on Israel after the U.S. wiped out its nuclear sites, what Tehran is saying about U.S. involvement and what it could mean for future relations. Next.
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Well, the United Nations Security Council about to hold an emergency session after the U.S. military struck those nuclear sites in Iran. The U.N. Secretary General condemning the operation. C.B. Cotton live outside the United Nations with more on this. C.B.?
Hey, Trace. Yeah, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the U.S. airstrikes a, quote, dangerous escalation. And the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. requested a Security Council meeting happening here today in about 20 minutes. The Iranian ambassador is reportedly calling on the Security Council to hold the U.S. accountable under international law and the U.N. and U.N. Charter.
But Israel's ambassador to the U.N. is expected to offer a strong rebuke ahead of the Security Council meeting. So we'll be monitoring for those remarks while we wait to see what comes. There are other global leaders who are supporting the U.S. military and hoping it brings Iran back to the negotiation table. One of those is U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
We've long had concerns about the Iranian nuclear programme and been very clear that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The US has now taken action to alleviate that threat. It is important that we now de-escalate the situation.
French President Emmanuel Macron, with a similar stance, wrote in part, quote, following the overnight strikes, I called for de-escalation and for Iran to exercise the greatest restraint in this dangerous context to allow a return to diplomatic channels. Dialogue, a clear commitment from Iran to renounce its nuclear weapons or the risk
of the worst for the entire region. This is the only path that leads to peace and security for all. And the German chancellor called on Iran to start nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and Israel. He wrote on X, quote, I spoke with a Turkish president on the phone regarding the conflict between Israel and Iran. We agree Iran must not have nuclear weapons and there must be no escalation of the conflict.
we will closely coordinate our diplomatic efforts. So as you can see, Trey, several Western and regional powers have recognized the security concerns that prompted the strikes. As to be expected, our foreign adversaries, China and Russia, have condemned them. Again, we will be waiting to hear those remarks from Israel's ambassador to the U.N. happening, slated to happen right now, where we're expecting a strong rebuke of what Iran is requesting.
Back to you. CB Cotton outside the United Nations. CB, we'll get back to you as the news warrants. Thank you. Dana? And relations between the U.S. and Iran, of course they are in flux, to put it mildly, after the strikes. And Iran's foreign minister with this warning. The U.S. administration holds sole and full responsibility for the consequences of its actions, including the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to self-defense under the principles of the United Charter.
Let's bring in Cliff May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. It's great to talk to you, an old friend, and great to have you here on Sunday. Can I get your just reflections overall right now as to where we are, you know, not quite 24 hours since this operation took place?
Well, a regime that has been reciting death to America, death to Israel since at least 1979. I was there as a reporter actually hearing it. I can recite some of the few words I can recite in Farsi. This regime has been essentially defanged, not entirely by any means. They may have tricks up their sleeve. But overall, I would say that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, if you'll excuse the pun, he's between Iraq and a hard place.
What I think is interesting is to look at this. I know that there is always a temptation to obviously we study history, but you don't always fight the last war because wars change. And one of the things that's so different now is what Israel was able to do inside Iran, taking care of the capabilities of Hezbollah and of Hamas. General Jack Keane was on earlier. He talked about Iran being more isolated than ever. Listen here.
Iran is isolated in a way that we've never seen in the 45 years. The proxies have not supported them at all. Think of that. Iran is on its heels. Their very survival is in question as a regime and as a military organization, as the IRGC controlling the proxies and supporting the region. All of that is on the table.
Yeah. General Keen is right. So, Cliff, can you talk about that, and especially when it comes to Russia or China and their possible or non-involvement?
OK, so General Keen's right. He's almost always right as I followed him. The reason the proxies that surround Israel, the Ring of Fire, haven't been able to do much is because the Israelis have also defanged them. Hezbollah has been well-diminished. Hamas, you know what has happened there. The Houthis are somewhat scared. They get their weapons anyhow and their funding from Tehran, so they can't do much. Now, Moscow and Beijing, they are in a kind of axis with Tehran, but...
But they see Tehran now as being weak. They see Tehran as not having been able to do what it should do. Think of a James Bond movie when the bad guy, the villain, has somebody into his office and he says, you failed, and the floor opens up and the deputy ends up among the sharks underneath.
They will say nice things. They will do nice things. I don't think they'll go much further than that. Before this started, the Chinese were sending precursor chemicals for ballistic missiles. I'm not sure they'll do that. The Chinese want the oil to continue to flow, so they may say step back. The thing is, if you're the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
You're 86 years old. You've been in power since 89. You're seeing your dream go up in smoke, quite literally. Do you now bend a knee to the infidels? Are you ready to do that? Or would you just rather die a martyr? But maybe you want your regime to continue to exist. And so what the wonky expression is...
He drinks from the poisoned chalice. And that's because his predecessor, Ruwala Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader, he said that's what he had to do to end the war with Iran so that the revolution, the regime, would continue.
One last question. Of course, I know that you never do. And I would just remind everyone, we have to keep in mind that there are still hostages being held in Gaza. And I'm wondering if you know about any discussions about trying to get them out at this point after last night.
I haven't heard anything about that from any of my sources or my contacts. It would not be a bad thing to do. It would be a very good thing to do if the president were to say in any negotiations going forward, we want this regime to tell Hamas, which is a proxy of them, whoever is left in Hamas, you let the hostages go. And by the way, if the hostages are allowed to leave and if Hamas puts down his weapons, then you could have peace.
cessation of hostilities in Gaza. That's the way to do it. And it's something I hope the president will consider if negotiations are, if there are negotiations going forward. Yeah, well, we keep them top of mind, as I know you do. Thank you, Cliff May. Great to have you. Thanks, Dan.
Give them a little breaking news here. Potential mass shooting thwarted in Michigan today after a security guard shot and killed an active shooter outside a church. That is coming from police and churchgoers telling us about 150 congregants were inside the church at the time. Christina Coleman is live here with more information on the breaking news. Christina, what are we learning?
Hi, Trace. Yes, local, state and federal authorities are investigating this shooting. And we want to warn some of you might find this video disturbing. Live stream video shows church members running for their lives, running for cover after hearing gunshots around 11 a.m. local time this morning. The gunman allegedly opened fire outside of Cross
Point Community Church, injuring one person before a security guard shot and killed him. The senior pastor said the suspect did not enter the church. He said a member of the church ran over the gunman with a truck, giving a security guard time to shoot him, according to Detroit News. They also say the suspect shot a security guard in the leg. No one else was injured during this incident. Again, this happened at Cross Point Community Church.
It's located in Wayne, Michigan, a city about 26 miles east of Detroit. The senior pastor says about 150 people were at the church service at the time. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said, quote,
at the scene in Wayne, Michigan, providing assistance and investigative support. And the Wayne Police Department released a statement on this incident saying, quote, they responded to an active shooter at Crosspoint Church in Wayne this morning. Upon arrival, officers determined that a security guard for the church shot and killed the suspect. One victim was shot in the leg. Please avoid the area. Officers are
are still actively investigating, and we will continue to monitor this investigation as new information is released. Trace? Christina Coleman live with the information. Christina, thank you. And Trace, many U.S. cities on high alert following the attack on Iran nuclear sites. How major urban centers across the country are tackling the responsibility of protecting Americans from a possible attack. We'll have that next. Perfect.
While New York is among the U.S. cities stepping up patrols after last night's nuclear program, the Department of Homeland Security is warning of a nationwide heightened threat environment. The chief Washington correspondent, Mike Emanuel, is live for us in D.C. with the very latest on this. Mike, good afternoon.
Trace, good afternoon. That new Homeland Security Bulletin warns the likelihood of violent extremists here in the U.S. mobilizing would likely go up if Iranian leadership were to issue a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence. It could increase the likelihood that a supporter of the Iranian regime is inspired to commit an act of violence in the homeland. Today, the Senate Intelligence Chairman said it's important to be alert.
For all we know, they may have gotten sleeper cells into the country during Joe Biden's wide open border. So the threats are serious.
Meanwhile, the New York Police Department says, quote, out of an abundance of caution, we're deploying additional resources to religious, cultural and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners. Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department is also making adjustments. Quote, at this time, there are no known threats to the district. However, MPD has maintained an increased presence at religious institutions across the city.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the FBI and local law enforcement are facing challenges. We know that at least a couple of hundred folks who were already on the American terror designated watch list who came across the border during the Biden administration. So that risk is not zero.
The Homeland Security Bulletin notes multiple recent domestic terror attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, which could contribute to people in this country plotting additional attacks. Trace? Mike, are we getting any specifics at all about what facilities, what types of areas might be targeted?
It sounds like there are great concerns about religious institutions, whether it be churches, synagogues, you name it. Some extremists in this country who may have slipped through the cracks during our open borders time over the Biden years. There are concerns that some of those folks who may have been dangerous could be targeting those kinds of places, what would be considered in most cases, soft targets. Yeah.
Yeah, a lot of people in this country that we have no idea what they're doing in this country. Mike Emanuel live for us in D.C. Mike, thank you. You bet. President Trump gave Iran 60 days to negotiate a deal. They chose not to negotiate in good faith. And ultimately, Israel took action on day 61 and America finished the job.
An unprecedented operation by the U.S. military to take out Iran's nuclear program. An in-depth look at the mission as our breaking news coverage continues. Last night on President Trump's orders, U.S. Central Command conducted a precision strike in the middle of the night.
against three nuclear facilities in Iran. What we did is we destroyed the Iranian nuclear program. I think we set that program back substantially and we did it without. This is Jimmy Fallon inviting you to join me for Fox Across America, where we'll discuss every single one of the Democrats' dumb ideas. Just kidding. It's only a three-hour show. Listen live at noon Eastern or get the podcast at foxacrossamerica.com.
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