President Trump said he believed Iran was going to attack first as the White House continued to defend its reasoning for launching major combat operations against Iran.

The military continued strikes Tuesday with an objective the administration has described as eliminating Irans ballistic missile capabilities, navy and its ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.

They were going to attack if we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. And we have great negotiators, great people, people that do this very successfully and have done it all their lives, very successful. And based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first, and I didn't want that to happen, Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with Germanys chancellor.

If anything I might have forced Israel's hand, but Israel was ready and we were ready. And we've had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now, Trump added.

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While military build up in the region and diplomatic efforts with Iran were pursued over the preceding weeks, Friday Trump declared they were not exactly happy with the way they negotiated. Hours later, major American and Israeli combat operations commenced, striking Iranian military targets and taking out its supreme leader and dozens of officials, as Iran has fired ballistic missiles and drones across the Middle East region.

Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world, Trump declared in a recorded video Saturday.

In the following days, administration officials pointed to Irans ballistic missile program and nuclear ambitions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the operation to eliminate the threat of Irans short-range ballistic missiles and the threat posed by their navy. He explained the timing as a belief Iran would respond against an attack by anyone against the United States and there would be higher casualties if the United States waited for Iran to attack first.

We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didnt preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties and perhaps even higher those killed, and then we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didnt act, Rubio told reporters Monday.

When pressed further, Rubio further explained Tuesday, The President made a decision, and the decision he made was that Iran was not going to be allowed to hide behind its ballistic missile program, that Iran was not going to be allowed behind its ability to conduct these attacks. That decision had been made. The President systemically, made a decision to systematically destroy this terroristic capability that they had, and we carried that out. I was very clear in that answer. This was a question of timing, of why this had to happen as a joint operation, not the question of the intent. Once the President made a decision that negotiations were not going to work, that they were playing us on the negotiations, and that this was a threat that was untenable, the decision was made to strike them.

Trump decided to strike at this time to precipitate an attack on American forces and because the administration believes this is the weakest Iran has ever been, according to an administration official, who noted Trumps explanation that it was the last, best time to destroy Irans capabilities to produce nuclear weapons, launch ballistic missiles or arm terrorist proxies, explaining all can be true at once.

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Inside negotiations with Iran

Senior Trump administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, further revealed more details about negotiations with Iran, which ultimately led them to believe that Iran was trying to buy time to preserve whatever they could to get past the term of President Trump in order to get to a nuclear weapon.

The USs objectives were prohibiting the acquisition of a nuclear weapon, including retrieving material from the Iranians and permanently shuttering the facilities hit in Operation Midnight Hammer, while the region could discuss Irans ballistic missile program and support for proxy groups like the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, according to the officials.

The officials took note of provocative statements, the offerings the Iranians did not take the US up on and concerns over an Iranian proposal, they believed was all a subterfuge and compared to Swiss cheese.

The officials also noted the United States offered Iran free nuclear fuel at no cost for a civil program, the lifting of some sanctions and the US as an investor on some projects if there was a new framework, according to the officials, but the Iranians declined the offer of free fuel and wouldnt move facilities above ground.

The sense after receiving Irans proposal was dismay, as officials said it would allow Iran to enrich at 5 times the level allowed under the JCPOA, though the United States redline was no enrichment.

The Iranian proposal included a build out schedule with an amount of enrichment needed for new projects starting at 20 percent enrichment, according to officials, who suggested a research facility purported to be used for civil purposes was a false pretense to hide stockpiling. Iran had 460 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium and 1000 kg at 20 percent, according to the officials, who noted it could take as little as a week to get 60 percent to 90 percent weapons grade enrichment.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who was involved in the US-Iranian negotiations, told CNN, We never had information indicating that there was a structured, systematic program to build to construct a nuclear weapon, so we have to balance the two things. Yes, many reasons for concern, but there wasn't to be a bomb tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

I have been very clear and consistent in my reports on Irans nuclear programme: while there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb, its large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium and refusal to grant my inspectors full access are cause for serious concern. For these reasons, my previous reports indicate that unless and until Iran assists the (IAEA) in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Irans nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, he later stated online.

Amidst the progression of statements from the Trump administration, some believe the administration is correct.

Underlying all of the confusing and contradictory statements that the administration has done, and I've seldom seen a worse rollout of a major military campaign, their underlying point is correct, said Ambassador James Jeffrey, a distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute who has held a number of diplomatic posts including with focuses on Iran. Strategically, Iran showed, if they hadn't showed it in the 20 years before 2023 with a million people killed in Iraq, Yemen and Syria, they showed from 2023 to 2025 that they are a volatile, aggressive threat to the entire region. And as Kissinger said, they have to decide whether they are a cause, which is where they really are, rather are a nation which they pretend to be only to get diplomatic treatment. And despite their defeat in 2025, it was obvious to everybody that they were trying to crawl back out of their hole, out of their rubble, figure out how, despite being more or less obliterated, they could restart in nuclear program.

The potential for regime change

Meanwhile, while the administration has not listed regime change as an objective in its operations, Trump has called for Iranians to seize this moment.

President Trump said the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over whos as bad as the previous person

Wed like to see somebody in there that's going to bring it back for the people. And we'll see what happens with the people. You know, they have their chance and we've said don't do it yet. If you're going to go out and protest don't do it yet. It's very dangerous out there. A lot of bombs are being dropped, Trump said.

The president acknowledged that most of the people we had in mind are dead.

When asked if exile crown prince Reza Pahlaviis was an option, Trump said I guess he is. But added, Some people like him and we haven't been thinking about, too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within might, maybe would be more appropriate, I've said that. He looks like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that somebody that's there that's currently popular, if there's such a person.

However, the administration is working on what a sanctions relief package could be if a framework is agreed to with a new government that meets the standards the US has laid out, officials explained.

Previously, Trump said new potential leadership in Iran has indicated they want to talk and eventually he will talk. For now, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated, according to a senior White House official.

Ali Larijani, the head of Irans supreme national security council, proclaimed on X that Iran wont negotiate with the US.

Notably, Steve Witkoff has not had conversations with Ali Larijani, the head of Irans supreme national security council, nor Irans foreign minister since operations started, according to senior Trump administration officials, and there has not been the use of an interlocutor.

It's clear that at least conceptually, the administration is okay with the concept of regime change, but not regime change of the George W Bush era variety, right? We're not talking about Iraq. We're not talking about Afghanistan, said Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council.

People watching the region point to a lack of unification though.

Berman pointed to unsatisfactory results in Trumps first term in efforts to get Iranian opposition groups in the diaspora to work together.

They couldn't get these guys to sit at a table, they couldn't get these guys to form a durable coalition. So I think both, both of those factors are being sort of, you know, are part of the mix or part of the administration's consideration. And so they're not thinking about Iraq, they're not thinking about Afghanistan, but they're thinking, I think, much more along the lines of Venezuela, Berman said.

The protest movement and regime opponents are notoriously not unified, according to a former defense official, who said a best case scenario would be to see leadership that is pro American, with no interest in militarizing Iran, but cautioned it was too early.

To my knowledge, there is currently no fully developed strategy for the future civilian leadership of Iran, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters after his meeting with Trump.

Administration works to help stranded Americans escape escalating conflict

As the Trump administration worked to justify the Iran war campaign to the American people, officials soon faced a new problem: how to evacuate the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens already in the region as the conflict was escalating.

The U.S. State Department had issued travel advisories urging Americans to reschedule or avoid travel altogether to nations including Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Further advisories urged Americans elsewhere in the region including in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to exercise increased caution due to greater security risks from possible retaliation by Iran and its proxies.

But for those Americans already present in those countries, returning to the U.S. on their own was near-impossible; most commercial flights from the region have been canceled or suspended in light of the conflict, and commercial airspace remains closed altogether in some jurisdictions.

Early Tuesday morning, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee noted there are VERY LIMITED options for Americans in Israel seeking to return to the U.S. He advised citizens utilize shuttle buses organized by Israels Ministry of Tourism to travel Cairo, Egypt, and then try to return to the U.S. on commercial flights.

Not sure when Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv will reopen, Huckabee wrote. Hopefully soon, but even when it does, there will be VERY limited flights with priorities to those who already were ticketed.

Yet as public scrutiny of the situation intensified, the State Department ramped up efforts.

As of Tuesday evening, more than 9,000 U.S. citizens have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East, a State Department official told Scripps News, including more than 300 from Israel. The Department is directly facilitating charter flights for U.S. citizens stranded in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and working to facilitate travel for those trapped in places lacking commercial aviation availability to third countries where outbound flights are still possible.

Americans currently in the region and needing assistance are urged to call the State Departments 24/7 hotline, (202) 501-4444, staffed by more than 120 officials. U.S. officials have already been in touch with more than 3,000 citizens in the region, officials said.

Moreover, the U.S. would waive the statutory requirement requiring Americans to reimburse the government for any travel federal officials arrange.

"They do not need to pay," Tommy Pigott, deputy spokesperson for the State Department told Scripps News. "We are actively helping Americans, proactively reaching out to Americans."

On the domestic front, the State Department was working to brief congressional staff providing consular support for Americans abroad, as well as U.S. governors with citizens trapped overseas. On Tuesday, staff began making proactive calls directly to Americans whod requested support returning to the U.S.

But asked Tuesday afternoon about the plight of Americans unable to return home and why the U.S. appeared to lack a more fulsome evacuation plan, President Trump brushed aside such concerns, suggesting the speed of the operation prohibited implementing such measures.

It happened all very quickly, Trump told reporters. I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked.

President Trump says he is not happy with negotiations but has not made a decision as he weighs his options with Iran.

Id rather do it the peaceful way but theyre very difficult people, Trump said during a visit to Corpus Christi Friday.

Trump told reporters the Iranians don't want to quite go far enough, and it's too bad, after indirect talks between the US and Iran, hosted by Oman, ended in Geneva Thursday without an apparent deal, as the US has amassed military assets in the region.

Trump has suggested diplomacy is his preference, but also issued warnings of potential military action without a deal reached over the past months.

We haven't made a final decision. We're not exactly happy with the way they negotiated. Again, they cannot have nuclear weapons. We're not thrilled with the way they're negotiating, Trump said. So we'll see how it all works."

The comments reflect a different tone from the more positive picture other Middle Eastern nations have sought to cast.

Oman foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said he talks ended significant progress, while Irans foreign minister called the round of talks the most intense so far with an understanding to engage in a more detailed manner on matter that are essential to any deal- including sanctions termination and nuclear-related steps.

Vice President JD Vance met with Oman foreign minister Badr Albusaidi Friday, according to a source familiar.

The officials discussed the negotiations, according to Albusaidi and according to the foreign ministry, the diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a just and sustainable agreement on the nuclear file and ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear energy generation program, where His Excellency the Minister clarified that the negotiations have so far achieved major, significant, and unprecedented progress that could form the basic pillar of the desired agreement.

Iran has denied seeking to create a nuclear weapon, but sought to maintain enrichment for civil purposes. However, President Trump Friday maintained a call for no nuclear weapons, and no nuclear material enrichment from Iran.

They don't want to say the key words, 'we're not going to have a nuclear weapon.' They have to say, 'we're not going to have a nuclear weapon.' And they just can't quite get there, Trump said. They want to enrich a little bit. You don't have to enrich when you have that much oil. So I'm not happy with the negotiation. I say no enrichment, not 20%, 30%, they always want 20%, 30%, they wanted for civilian, you know, for civil, civil, I think it's uncivil, so I'm not happy with it.

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The U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites last spring after the IAEA reported Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60%. Officials have suggested Iran is seeking to rebuild.

First and foremost, after their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it, and here they are. You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. Theyre not enriching right now, but theyre trying to get to the point where they ultimately can, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday, adding that Iran refuses, refuses, to talk about ballistic missiles to us or to anyone, and thats a big problem.

The Iranians are intent to proceed in the direction of rebuilding if they have the opportunity, according to Dr. Jacob Olidort, Chief Research Officer & Director for American Security at the America First Policy Institute.

But the question is diplomatically and military How do you know, again, respond to that, but while also in one action or series of actions, also address the most of other threats that it presents. And so that, I think, is where, kind of, again, the overall objective, which, again, is still opaque to the public. I think it's clear to the President and his team, that's, I think, where that comes to head here, Olidort said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi stated of diplomacy that success on this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side, as well as avoiding any miscalculation and excessive demands, during a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart according to Irans foreign ministry. Egypt foreign minister Badr Abdelatty also spoke with Trumps special envoy and negotiator Steve Witkoff.

Amidst the ongoing military build up in the region, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, briefed President Trump on Iran and the regional situation Thursday, according to a source familiar.

Its not clear what potential military option President Trump would pursue. However, Trump said theres always a risk that strikes could turn into a longer conflict in the Middle East when pressed by reporters.

You know, when there's war, there's a risk in anything, both good and bad. We've had tremendous luck with myself. Soleimani Al Baghdadi, everything's worked out, and then we do the midnight hammer and so many others, everything's worked out, and we want to keep it that way, but we're going to see, Trump said.

Trump said his team has not told there would be regime change right away if the military was used now, but said nobody knows.

There might be and there might not be. It'd be nice if we could do it without but sometimes you have to do it with we. When you looked at what look we have the greatest military anywhere in the world. There's nothing close. I'd love not to use it. But sometimes you have to be clear, Trump said.

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Meanwhile, the administration continued to pressure Iran. The State Department designated Iran as a state s sponsor of wrongful detention and issued sanctions against those involved Iranians weapons development and shadow fleet vessels.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Israel next week to discuss Iran among other issues, according to the State Department, despite the departments authorization of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members to leave Israel Friday.

President Donald Trump will visit Texas on Friday to tout the administrations energy policies on the heels of his State of the Union address.

Trumps trip to Corpus Christi, including remarks and an energy briefing, comes as the administration highlights efforts to cut costs and boost energy production. The president is trying to convince Americans that the economy is booming as he starts the second year of his second term in office.

His huge focus on energy, everything we can do to increase energy production and drive down prices, to me, thats a pro-American dream agenda, said Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The agenda has included a new focus on Venezuelan oil following the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro.

And we just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil. American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill baby drill, President Trump said during his State of the Union address.

Wright estimates, in the near term, the U.S. could potentially see two-thirds of a million barrels per day sent to the United States.

So, a steady stream of oil, and a lot of American oil refineries were built in the 60s and 70s, and at that time, Venezuela was the largest exporter of oil in the world. So our refineries are built to handle a range of crudes, but they were specially tuned for this sort of viscous, heavy crude from Venezuela, Wright said.

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Wright recently returned from Venezuela, where he confirms he received a commitment from Delcy Rodriguez, Maduros former second-in-command, now leading the country, to continue cooperation.

I think Venezuelan authorities know they run the government locally in Venezuela, but they are entirely dependent on the United States government for their cash flow. That is a way to enforce very positive behavior. Now it's a long way to go. This is a country that sunk low for 20 years. We're not going to fix it in two months, but the progress has been immense already, and they're motivated to continue to do that, Wright said.

The administration has urged companies to invest in repairing Venezuelas oil infrastructure. Trump convened more than a dozen oil and gas executives at the White House shortly after Maduros capture.

Chevron, who's been incumbent there for 100 years, has committed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars this year and ultimately several billion over the next few years, to massively grow their production, Wright said, adding other companies are also considering "significant new investments."

"We've got all sorts of mid-sized American companies that haven't been in Venezuela, that are dying to go, he added.

The U.S. government does not intend to provide security guarantees, though, according to Wright.

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I think the improvement in the security situation has already happened significantly. It'll continue to improve. But look, the U.S. government, we're not going to spend taxpayer money, we're not going to have boots on the ground, so we're not going to provide guarantees. But what we are doing is using our enormous power and our enormous leverage to drive improved behavior in Venezuela, and the results are quite evident, Wright said.

Secretary Burgum speaks with Scripps News

A number of general licenses have been issued, according to Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

That first wave is oil and gas and getting them the equipment, often US-made equipment that we need to help them increase their production. So, both the technology, the equipment, and the people to help raise that up. And then the next wave is going to be on critical minerals, because there's a huge mining opportunity in Venezuela," he said. "Many American companies had mining operations down there 20 or 25 years ago. They all got nationalized. Those industries collapsed. Their production is way down, and we've got a lineup of companies in that industry that are teed up and want to head back. Some of them may be going back as soon as next week."

The U.S. has sought to expand critical mineral access. It has signed 11 new critical minerals frameworks or memorandums of understanding with countries this year, and is creating a reserve.

We're going to have strategic critical mineral reserves, United States critical mineral reserves, across the 60 different critical minerals," Burgum said. Zero taxpayer dollars. Don't have to fight to get it through Congress. It's going to be a combination of $10 billion from the EXIM Bank, $2 billion approximately, of private capital. That's going to be the initial capital, which will allow the United States to start storing and having, again, a vault or a secure reserve of these critical minerals, so that you can't have a country, specifically China, threaten to cut off, cut off the shipment of these minerals, Burgum said.

Burgum says it will be across the 60 different critical minerals in the most economically and strategically important locations.

But as artificial intelligence continues to grow, and amid questions about the cost of data centers, President Trump said he negotiated a ratepayer protection pledge.

When pressed on deals made with companies, Burgum said, Its been a series of conversations with the five biggest tech companies.

We have had very slow growth in demand for electricity because we got more efficient in how we used it in this country, everything, you know, refrigerators, you know, home heating appliances. Everybody just got better and better at using less electricity. I mean, conservation was actually working, so we had very slow growth, Burgum said.

Now comes along for the first time in human history, you can take a kilowatt of electricity and convert it into intelligence. Now, the demand for that is huge, and so if we call it BYOP for power, bring your own power, so that these companies can, will build a power, new power generation off-grid. Use that power to power their intelligence manufacturing. It's not really a data center in the way that you traditionally would think of one. These are manufacturing plants where you're manufacturing intelligence. So they turn power into intelligence, and then they shift their final product out on a fiber optic cable, and they never touch the grid, he added.

Meanwhile, the administration is seeking to boost energy production, including nuclear. The Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion invested toward domestic enrichment earlier in the year.

Were going to have enriched uranium. We're ramping up fuel production in the United States, fuel fabrication. We're going to deal with the waste disposal problem that's been around for 70 plus years, Wright said.

At the same time, the president also seeks to restart nuclear weapons testing.

When asked about the type of testing, timing of a restart and location, Wright said its being looked at.

We can test our weapons without any nuclear yield in the explosions. The president has asked us to look at how to go even further, how to look at it. There's some novel technologies, I think, that will achieve exactly what we want. Likely don't involve nuclear yield, but that's an ongoing dialogue. The President's just dead set on America must be in the lead. We must be in the lead. Lead. Do everything we can to advance our weapons security and reliability, Wright said.

President Donald Trump plans to expand retirement savings, as the administration focuses on the economy.

The administration will match 401(k) contributions up to $1,000 a year for some workers without access to matching employment contributions, Trump suggested during his State of the Union address.

To remedy this gross disparity, I am announcing that next year, my administration will give these often forgotten American workers, great people, the people that built our country, access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker, Trump said.

The Savers Match Program, enacted under a law passed in the Biden administration, provides an annual match for low-income workers.

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It's something that can be stood up right away, and so, but in the end, the Savers Match Program, which was passed in 2022 and begins in 2027, needed to be completely revamped so that it would actually work," said Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council. "And that's something that our team has been working on closely with Treasury. I think that all of us intend, in the fullness of time, to expand that program so that it affects everybody the President talked about."

Trumps plan would provide an account vehicle for workers to receive the match, according to a White House official, who contends it will help build wealth for Americans saving for retirement. The administration is working to launch a new structure to make sure workers can take advantage of accounts, including through job changes, according to the official.

More than 55 million workers would be eligible, the official estimates.

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The goal is to make sure that when people earn their own money, that they're able to keep more of it. And we've seen that real wages have gone up, said Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration has touted what it views as positive economic signals, including highlighting inflation, wages and jobs.

I think it's been clear the president has delivered on the promises that he said he would make to the American people who elected him," Chavez-DeRemer said. "We've done some tremendous amount of work, and now, we're going to continue to double down and answer the call."

January saw the addition of 130,000 jobs and an unemployment rate that fell to 4.2%, according to the Labor Department. It included more healthcare jobs and an uptick in factory jobs after months of job losses.

I think this is a testament to the president, promises made, promises kept. I'm going to go negotiate those contracts," said Chavez-DeRemer. "I'm going to go negotiate the investment into the country. Now we're going to go ahead and do the construction jobs we've seen gone up. Yes, we see it in healthcare. Yes, we see it in other places. But now you're going to start to see the manufacturing jobs come online."

Still, polling has shown many Americans remain concerned about the economy. About 70% of respondents said inflation and the cost of living have either not changed or gotten worse, according to a Scripps News/Talker Research Poll conducted ahead of the State of the Union address.

President Trump continues to walk a line between diplomatic and military solutions for Iran, reiterating on Monday evening that he preferred to strike a deal to curtail its nuclear program.

At the same time he warned if that doesn't happen, it will be a "very bad day" for the country.

"Everything that has been written about a potential War with Iran has been written incorrectly, and purposefully so," the president wrote on social media. "I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we dont make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them."

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Americans and Iranians are set to hold another round of talks in Geneva on Thursday, according to officials. But in the meantime, U.S. force buildup and precautionary measures near Iran continue.

Early on Monday the State Department ordered nonessential U.S. diplomats out of Lebanon. Similar orders came last summer right before President Trump ordered strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

White House special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to Fox News over the weekend, suggesting that Iran was a week away from what he called "industrial-grade bomb-making material."

And for weeks, U.S. military assets, including dozens of cargo and tanker flights and at least two aircraft carrier strike groups, have continued to congregate in the Middle East region.

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Both the U.S. and Iran indicated war would be a possibility if nuclear talks don't reach a satisfactory stage.

We are prepared for diplomacy, and we are prepared for negotiation as much as we are prepared for war, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said last week.

President Trump is moving forward with an alternative tariff plan after the Supreme Court ruled against the presidents authority to impose global tariffs enacted under an emergency powers law.

Trump announced on Truth Social he signed a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries Friday evening after calling the courts decision deeply disappointing but contending the decision made a presidents ability to both regulate trade and impose tariffs more powerful and more crystal clear rather than less.

Then, on Saturday, the president posted to Truth Social that he was raising the global tariffs to 15% after a "thorough, detailed, and complete review" of the Supreme Court decision.

Trump terminated reciprocal and fentanyl related tariffs utilizing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the Supreme Court ruled against his authority to use 6-3, and signed a proclamation imposing a temporary 10 percent import duty taking effect Tuesday for a period of 150 days under Section 122 of the Trace Act of 1974.

Certain critical minerals, metals, natural resources, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, electronics, vehicles, aerospace products, textiles from specific countries and informational materials would not be subject to the surcharge according to the White House.

We're going straight ahead with 10% straight across the board, which was the absolute right to do, and that's taking place. That's a lot of money coming into our country. And then during that period of about five months, we are doing the various investigations necessary to put fair tariffs or tariffs period on other countries. So we're doing that period, but we're immediately instituting the 10% provision, which we're allowed to do, and in the end, I think we'll take in more money than we've taken in before, Trump told Scripps News earlier in the day.

The authority has a cap of 15 percent and requires congressional action to extend it beyond 150 days.

Section 122 allows the president to put tariffs in place for balance of payments purposes. These can be worldwide. It has limitation. It could potentially be imposed quickly. Again, we haven't ever seen it used, but that's what it appears from the statute, said Greta Peisch, partner at Wiley Rein and former general counsel at USTR under the Biden administration.

Officials said national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs would remain in place. The administration also plans to initiate further Section 301 investigations in the coming days, according to United States Trade Representative Amb. Jamieson Greer.

We expect these investigations to cover most major trading partners and to address areas of concern such as industrial excess capacity, forced labor, pharmaceutical pricing practices, discrimination against U.S. technology companies and digital goods and services, digital services taxes, ocean pollution, and practices related to the trade in seafood, rice, and other products, Greer stated.

Trump enacted the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last year on what he called liberation day in an effort to balance what the administration viewed as unfair trade with other nations. His tariff agenda underpinned his economic policy as he leaned on tariffs in negotiations with other nations to resolve conflicts and reach trade deals.

Greer rejected that the ruling undermines the presidents negotiating ability.

"It doesn't really matter what tool we use, Greer said. Obviously, we have to have them be legally sufficient, and that is why, over the past year, countries in good faith have negotiated with us. They've concluded deals. We signed one last night with Indonesia. We have more to come in the coming weeks and months. So they know, they understand even better, I think, than a lot of people in the United States, exactly how serious the President is about implementing his policy. And that's why they've signed the deals. They've told us they're going to state, stick to it, and we're going to hold ours as well."

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The court's opinion came down as President Trump met with governors at the White House Friday morning. The president was handed a note from an aide, and called the ruling a disgrace, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Another source familiar with the meeting said it was a productive meeting, but that the president ended it early after the tariff news broke.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the ruling completely overshadowed what he believed was getting ready to be a very productive meeting with the President, noting the president talked about the economy and public safety.

The administration was devastated by the ruling, according to a source familiar with the administrations thinking, who noted the administration had tried to do as much as they could to prepare for it. The day was about how Trump could save face and show strength, according to the source.

Greer said there was confidence behind the scenes.

"There was, I would say extreme confidence, right? These are plans. Listen, we've been planning tariff policies for five years. The President left office first term, and there are lots of options. That's why it is relatively easy for us on the same day that the tariff would shut down, because we implement them, Greer said.

The president has frequently underscored the importance of his tariff policy in public remarks ahead of the Supreme Court decision. Several hours after it, the President took the press briefing room podium to address the case directly.

The process takes a little more time, but the end result is going to get us more money, and I think it's going to be great, Trump said.

The ruling comes as the president has sought to press a positive economic message in a mid-term election year, amidst Americans concerns with the economy.

I do think it's a strong economy, and I think Trump shares that view, said economist Stephen Moore.

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The same day as the administration grappled with the Supreme Courts ruling, it also dealt with new data that showed the countrys gross domestic product growth cooled, increasing at a 1.4 percent annual rate the fourth qarter, down from 4.4 percent previously.

Moore called Fridays GDP report number disappointing, but pointed to last years government shutdown and added the government sector of the economy shrank and the private sector grew, which is exactly what conservatives like me want to see.

Trump said there was still much to do during remarks in Rome, GA the evening prior to the ruling but touted what he views as economic success with inflation, tax cuts, regulations cuts and trade policies.

We've achieved more in one year than most administrations achieve in eight years, and we're just getting started. We're just getting started. We got things that are happening that are as good as what you've heard, Trump told the crowd.

Looking forward in light of the courts ruling, still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariff revenue would remain unchanged this year.

Treasurys estimates show that the use of Section 122 authority, combined with potentially enhanced Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs will result in virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026, Bessent said during remarks at the Economic Club of Dallas.

The court did not weigh in whether tariffs would need repaid, though, as officials suggested they would see how it plays out in litigation.

"I mean, there's a legal process for all of these things. And so if they're claimants, and they these are things they've raised at the lower courts already, and so they'll go through the legal process. The courts have decided that these tariffs, you know, the President, have the power to do these tariffs, and now the courts have to figure out how to unwind all that, Greer said.

The ruling comes days ahead the presidents State of the Union address, in which a senior administration official previously said the president would review the last year and lay the groundwork for the year ahead and beyond.

President Trump is ramping up pressure on Iran this week, telling leaders there that time is running out to make a deal regarding its nuclear program.

On Thursday evening, the president said his continued message to Iran was to stop killing protesters, as well as "no nuclear," in reference to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The president on Friday warned Iran to make a deal.

The administration is moving forward with sanctions against Iranian officials it says are responsible for protest crackdowns.

And U.S. military assets, including cargo and tanker flights and at least one aircraft carrier strike group, continue to congregate in the Middle East region.

"We have a large armada, flotilla, or whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now. Even larger than what we had in Venezuela," President Trump said. "We're now sending actually a larger number of ships to Iran. And hopefully we'll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that's good. If we don't make a deal, we'll see what happens."

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Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the administration believes the Iranian regime is weaker than it's been in the past.

A White House spokesperson told Scripps News "President Trump has many options at his disposal with regard to Iran. The president has stated he hopes that no action will be necessary. But the Iranian regime should make a deal before it is too late. He has also been clear about the consequences for the Iranian regime if it murders protesters."

Iran's foreign minister on Friday indicated Iran was open for negotiations with the U.S., but at the same time said the country was "ready for war."