NationalWatch

Russia’s former president said that multiple countries are poised to provide Iran with nuclear warheads after the U.S. launched strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities.

“The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue,” Dmitry Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said in a Sunday X post. 

“A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,” Medvedev said. 

Medvedev did not list specific countries that might pitch in and support Iran. However, Russia historically has backed Iran’s nuclear program. Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered to mediate peace talks between Iran and Israel on Wednesday. 

Moscow also has offered to intervene and help negotiate a nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran. 

Moscow was involved in the 2015 Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The agreement lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. 

IRAN ATTACKS ISRAEL DESPITE US STRIKES ON NUCLEAR SITES, TRUMP CALLS FOR ‘PEACE’

Medvedev’s comments came after the U.S. launched strikes late Saturday targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The mission involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. 

President Donald Trump had said for days that he was deliberating whether he would conduct strikes against those sites. 

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding Medvedev’s statements. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed the strikes violated international law and called for an “end to aggression.” 

TRUMP ATTACKS IRAN NUCLEAR SITES: ARE OUR TROOPS IN DANGER FROM RETALIATORY STRIKES?

“The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb attacks, whatever the arguments it may be presented with, flagrantly violates international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday. 

Prior to the strikes, Iran cautioned that the U.S. will suffer if it chooses to become involved in the conflict, and previously issued retaliatory strikes against bases where U.S. troops were housed after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general in 2020. 

IRAN THREATENS TO HIT US BASES IN THE MIDDLE EAST: WHAT IS THE THREAT LEVEL?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Sunday that the U.S. would work with allies in the region to aid in force protection in the aftermath of the strikes. 

“We certainly understand the challenges of allies in the region,” Hegseth said. “And, we have been respectful and in working in collaboration with them as it pertains to basing and sensitivities there.” 

“Ultimately, they’ve got a lot of assets and people in those locations also where American troops are co-located. So, that’s a consideration of ours.” 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa, backed President Donald Trump’s decision to have the United States attack three of Iran’s most fortified underground nuclear sites amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East and intensifying Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iranian targets. 

Fetterman called the move “correct” in a post on X just minutes after Trump shared the news on Truth Social. 

“As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,” Fetterman said. “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.” 

TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON ‘SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS’ OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

Trump declared the operation a “very successful attack” targeting Iran’s key nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, incluidng Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote in the announcement. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this.”

ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES

FAR LEFT, ANTI-ISRAEL VOICES DECRY TRUMP IRAN STRIKE, DISMISS IDEA HE’S ‘ANTIWAR PRESIDENT’

He concluded his statement with a call for de-escalation: “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The overnight strike against Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility involved six bunker buster bombs, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Saturday night. Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. submarines in the attacks on Natanz and Isfahan facilities. 

The strike, marking a major escalation in an already volatile landscape, comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel to eradicate Iran’s offensive missile capabilities. 

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The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure so far remains unclear. 

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a handful of other Democrats quickly floated the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump for launching a military strike on Iran without Congressional authorization.

“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” the four-term congresswoman from New York wrote on social media Saturday night, soon after the president announced the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Ocasio-Cortez charged that Trump “has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE U.S. MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN

Democrat Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois also argued that the president’s order to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites without seeking Congressional approval could be considered an “unambiguous impeachable offense.”

Casten, a four-term representative whose district covers southwestern Chicago and surrounding suburbs, wrote Saturday night on social media that “this is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program….to be clear, I do not dispute that Iran is a nuclear threat.” 

WATCH PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FULL ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON THE IRAN STRIKE

But he highlighted that “no president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.”

“I’m not saying we have the votes to impeach,” Casten added. “I’m saying that you DO NOT do this without Congressional approval.”

The calls for impeachment are the most visible, and furthest reaching, representation of the party’s anger with Trump for taking unilateral action against Iran.

PENTAGON GIVES DETAILS ON HOW THE U.S. MILITARY CARRIED OUT THE STRIKE ON IRAN

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the chamber, wrote that the president had “failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”

“Donald Trump shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action,” Jeffries added in a statement.

While the executive branch technically doesn’t have the legal authority to order a foreign military attack without the approval of Congress, previous presidents, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Trump during his first term, launched comparable military actions in Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iran.

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Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, in an interview Sunday morning on “Fox and Friends,” criticized impeachment calls by Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats.

“For my colleagues that are now demanding impeachment, it is absolutely absurd,” Lawler argued. “Barack Obama attacked Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen during his tenure and never once did they call for impeachment. So, these folks are truly reaching new levels of Trump derangement in the aftermath of yesterday’s decision.”

Congress has not actually declared war since 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, and legal scholars have long been divided on whether the president has the authority to unilaterally launch a military strike.

A top expert on the Iran nuclear program believes the regime’s atomic program has been obliterated by Saturday night’s strikes by the United States.

“The nuclear program is no longer,” Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a “national security and foreign policy” think tank, told Fox News Digital.

“Sources in Israel report with high confidence that this chapter is over. Responsible parties must still remove nuclear materials from the facility in Isfahan. But that appears to be the final page to turn,” he continued. 

President Donald Trump said during his address on Saturday night that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” 

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

Fox News reported earlier on that Isfahan was “the hardest target,” according to a senior U.S. official.

“Everyone was talking about and focused on Fordow, but Isfahan was actually the hardest target,” the official said on background. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to carry out the mission.

A senior U.S. official also told Fox News that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu communicated after the strikes and that Israel had been informed ahead of time.

ISRAEL’S ACTIONS AGAINST IRAN CREATE STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN NUCLEAR TALKS, EXPERTS SAY

Lisa Daftari, Iran expert and Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital, “Both Israeli and U.S. officials understand that anything less than total destruction of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will only result in a temporary pause, not a permanent end. But to truly end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. and its allies must commit to a campaign—beyond these targeted strikes—backed by sustained pressure, intelligence, and the credible threat of further action if Iran attempts to rebuild.

“To ensure the eradication of the regime’s nuclear weapons capability, the U.S. must maintain persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to detect any attempts by Iran’s regime to disperse, hide or rebuild its nuclear infrastructure. This would be coupled with continued diplomatic isolation and strict multilateral sanctions blocking the regime’s access to nuclear technology, materials and financing,” she said.

Trump announced that the U.S. had struck nuclear sites in Iran – a major development amid rising tensions in the region, as Israel and Iran continued to launch airstrikes against each other.

ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday night.

“All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he continued.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity said on Saturday night that President Donald Trump had given him details on the U.S. strikes in Iran. According to the “Hannity” host, the U.S. used six bunker-buster bombs — each of which weighs 15 tons — in its strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The bombs were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers.

During a press conference on Sunday morning, the number of bunker busters used was updated to 14 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

ISRAEL SAYS IT KILLED IRANIAN COMMANDER WHO HELPED FUND, ARM HAMAS

“President Trump took decisive leadership and action to eliminate the last vestiges of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, after Israel’s sustained strikes, which seriously damaged the atomic weapons supply chain from uranium conversion to enrichment, and all the way to weaponization,” Andrea Stricker, FDD’s Director of Nonproliferation and Biological Weapons told Fox News Digital. 

“While Tehran’s program is likely set back by years, the United States and Israel need to ensure the regime’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles and all secret advanced centrifuges are fully recovered and destroyed — which means more work ahead,” she added.

Fordow had two entrances and one ventilation shaft, which likely served as the entrance points for the Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs).

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Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities. There is speculation that the missiles were shot from an Ohio Class Submarine, but there has been no confirmation.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is weathering headwinds in his own conference over outstanding concerns in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that threaten to derail the legislation, but he’s taking it in stride and standing firm that the megabill will make it to the president’s desk by July 4.

“We have to hit it, and you know whether that means it’s the end of next week, or whether we roll into that Fourth of July week,” the South Dakota Republican told Fox News Digital during an interview from his leadership suite.

“But if we have to go into that week, we will,” he continued. “I think it’s that important. And you know what I’ve seen around here, at least in the past, my experience, if there’s no deadline, things tend to drag on endlessly.”

TOP TRUMP ALLY PREDICTS SENATE WILL BLOW PAST ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ DEADLINE

Senate Republicans have been working on their version of Trump’s mammoth bill, which includes priorities to make his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, sweeping changes to healthcare, Biden-era energy credits and deep spending cuts, among others, since the beginning of June.

Now that each portion of the bill has been released, Thune is eyeing having the bill on the floor by the middle of next week. But, he still has to wrangle disparate factions within the Senate GOP to get on board with the bill.

“It is a work in progress,” Thune said. “It’s, you know, sometimes it’s kind of incremental baby steps.”

A cohort of fiscal hawks, led by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are unhappy with the level of spending cuts in the bill. Some Senate Republicans want to achieve at least $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, but Johnson has remained firm in his belief that the bill should go deeper and return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic spending levels.

Others, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are upset with tweaks to Medicaid, and the impact those changes could have on rural hospitals and working people on the healthcare program’s benefit rolls.

‘IT JUST BAFFLES ME’: SENATE REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER MEDICAID CHANGES, SPENDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL

Thune has to strike a precarious balancing act to sate the concerns of his conference, given that he can only afford to lose three votes. It’s a reality he acknowledged and described as trying to find “the sweet spot” where he can advance the bill back to the House.

He’s been meeting with the factions individually, communicating with the White House and working to “make sure everybody’s rolling in the same direction.”

“Everybody has different views about how to do that, but in the end, it’s cobbling together the necessary 51 votes, so we’re working with anybody who is offering feedback,” he said.

Collins and others are working on the side to create a provider relief fund that could offer a salve to the lingering issues about the crackdown on the Medicaid provider rate tax in the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee went further than the House’s freeze of the provider tax rate, or the amount that state Medicaid programs pay to healthcare providers on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries, for non-Affordable Care Act expansion states, and included a provision that lowers the rate in expansion states annually until it hits 3.5%.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that, for example, rural hospitals have some additional assistance to sort of smooth that transition,” Thune said.

BLUE STATE REPUBLICANS THREATEN REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IF SENATE CHANGES KEY TAX RULE

Thune, who is a member of the Finance panel, noted that “we all agree that the provider tax has been gamed” and “abused” by blue states like New York and California, and argued that the changes were done to help “right the ship” in the program.

“I think that’s why the sort of off-ramp, soft-landing approach [from] the Finance committee makes sense, but these are substantial changes,” he said. “But on the other hand, if we don’t start doing some things to reform and strengthen these programs, these programs aren’t going to be around forever, because we’re not going to be able to afford them.”

The Senate’s product won’t be the end of the reconciliation process, however. The changes in the bill will have to be green-lit by the House, and one change in particular to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap already has a cohort of blue state House Republicans furious and threatening to kill the bill.

The Senate’s bill, for now, left the cap unchanged at $10,000 from the policy ushered in by Trump’s first-term tax cuts, a figure that Senate Republicans view as a placeholder while negotiations continue.

Indeed, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is working with members of the SALT caucus in the House to find a compromise on the cap. But the appetite to keep the House-passed $40,000 cap isn’t strong in the Senate.  

“The passion in the Senate is as strong as it is in the House against changing the current policy and law in a way that… favors high-tax states to the detriment and disadvantage of low tax states,” he said. “And so it’s the emotion that you see in the House side on that particular issue is matched in the Senate in a different direction.”

Meanwhile, as negotiations continue behind the scenes on ways to address issues among Senate Republicans, the Senate Parliamentarian is currently chunking through each section of the greater “big, beautiful bill.” 

The parliamentarian’s role is to determine whether policies within each section of the bill comport with the Byrd Rule, which is the arcane set of parameters that govern the budget reconciliation process.

Thune has made clear that he would not overrule that parliamentarian on Trump’s megabill, and re-upped that position once more. The reconciliation process gives either party in power the opportunity to pass legislation on party lines and skirt the Senate filibuster, but it has to adhere to the Byrd Rule’s requirements that policy deals with spending and revenue.

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However, he countered that Senate Republicans planned to take a page from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., when Democrats rammed former President Joe Biden’s agenda through Congress.

“The Democrats with the [Inflation Reduction Act] and [American Rescue Plan Act], for that matter, they dramatically expanded the scope of reconciliation and what’s eligible for consideration,” he said.

“So, we’ve used that template, and we’re pushing as hard as we can to make sure that it allows us to accomplish our agenda, or at least as much of our agenda as possible, and fit within the parameters of what’s allowed,” he continued. 

A 50-year fight to put abortion back in the hands of states ended three years ago with the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, but the pro-life movement is now grappling with a new reality — abortion remains prevalent.

Since securing the legal victory, abortion opponents’ concentration has become more fragmented as they contend with evidence that abortions have not decreased and could even be on the rise.

Their next big challenges, they say, include neutering the nation’s largest abortion vendor, Planned Parenthood, by targeting its funding. Restricting access to pills that terminate pregnancies is another top priority, as is investing in their preferred political candidates and ballot measures. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told Fox News Digital in an interview that Dobbs prompted a “revolution,” but she acknowledged that “there is a lot of work to do.” She noted the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that abortions increased in the year after Dobbs and that at least 1.1 million occurred from July 2023 to June 2024.

MICHELLE OBAMA FACING BACKLASH OVER CLAIM ABOUT WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

“People can sort of assume or just forget how big a moment [Dobbs] is. . . . It is shaking up and realigning public opinion based on where they really stand, so building consensus,” Dannenfelser said. “It would be false to think that it could happen overnight, and we’re still right in the middle of it.”

She said she feels the prospect of defunding Planned Parenthood through a broader reconciliation bill in Congress is “strong.” The measure would prohibit Medicaid funds for entities that perform abortions outside of rape, incest, and a threat to a mother’s life.

Planned Parenthood said in a statement in May, after the bill passed the Republican-led House, that the provision would eliminate other services besides abortion and could cause about 200 of its roughly 600 locations to shutter.

“If this bill passes, people will lose access to essential, often lifesaving care — cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and yes, abortion,” the organization said in a statement at the time.

In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eliminated a requirement that a customer must appear in person to receive mifepristone, the pill used to end a pregnancy. The pills became available by mail, and they are now being shipped all over the country from various organizations, including to most of the states that have abortion bans in place.

“The abortion drugs that are being proliferated by big abortion and Planned Parenthood is a direct assault on the sovereignty of states,” Dannenfelser said, noting that “the people of half the states have said this is the pro-life law that we want, so in order to undermine that and press their agenda, the abortion lobby is promoting abortion tourism across state lines.”

SENATOR INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO REIN IN WIDELY USED, CONTROVERSIAL ABORTION PILL

Dannenfelser also said her group, which, alongside its campaign fundraising arm, poured $92 million into the 2024 election cycle, is focused on next year’s midterm races. She noted she wants to maintain a “trifecta of pro-life administration, House and Senate.” 

But some of those hoping to eliminate abortion say the current administration could do more to help their bottom line.

President Donald Trump granted clemency when he took office to nearly two dozen activists who were convicted of blocking abortion clinic entrances, and the president often touts that he appointed three justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

But in terms of the abortion pill, the Trump administration recently moved to dismiss a case in court aiming to tighten FDA restrictions on mifepristone. Trump has vowed to have Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is openly supportive of abortion access, conduct a study of the pill.

Katie Xavios, the national director of the American Life League, told Fox News Digital that she believes Trump “really hasn’t been the staunchest pro-life advocate.”

TRUMP ADMIN CONTINUES BIDEN DEFENSE OF ABORTION DRUG MIFEPRISTONE, ASKS COURT TO DISMISS LAWSUIT

She said mifepristone distribution has “no guardrails.” Dozens of organizations now offer easy access to the pill. Xavios said abortions-by-mail have become the “wild west,” and that the government would have to work aggressively to contain it at this point.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see anybody take that away unless we can really get a very truly pro-life person in office,” Xavios said.

American Life League is a Catholic grassroots organization, and Xavios said one of her group’s efforts is to instill values in children that would lead them to opt against abortion if they were faced with the decision in adulthood.

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Dobbs was not the win for her side that people have framed it to be, she said.

“I think we’re still kind of seeing the reverberations of that a little bit in the movement, where a lot of people are struggling to find a new legal fight,” Xavios said. “But I think the real issue that we’re left with is it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not if people don’t really respect and value the dignity of the pre-born.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was delivering remarks at a “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Tusla, Okla., on Saturday night when President Donald Trump announced the United States had successfully attacked three nuclear sites in Iran. 

An aide interrupted Sanders’ remarks to deliver the message Trump had just blasted off on Truth Social. 

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in the post. 

Sanders read the piece of paper with Trump’s Truth Social post to his supporters, shaking his head as the socialist senator processed what the president had just announced. “No more wars!” the crowd chanted. 

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS ISRAELI PM ‘WRONG’ BOTH IN THE PAST AND NOW: ‘WE MUST NOT GET INVOLVED IN NETANYAHU’S WAR’

Trump added in the post: “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS LARGEST ‘FIGHTING OLIGARCHY’ RALLY WITH AOC IS MAKING TRUMP, MUSK ‘VERY NERVOUS’

Sanders nodded along as the crowd continued to chant, “No more wars!” before responding to the news in real time. 

He said the news was not only “alarming,” but “so grossly unconstitutional.”

“All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress. The president does not have the right,” Sanders shouted. 

Sanders joins the bipartisan coalition in Congress who have called out the “unconstitutionality” of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. 

A bipartisan War Powers Resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives this week as strikes between Israel and Iran raged on, and the world stood by to see if Trump would strike. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. 

The War Powers Resolution seeks to “remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran” and directs Trump to “terminate” the deployment of American troops against Iran without an “authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.”

“The American people do not want more war, more death!” Sanders said. “It might be a good idea if we concentrated on the problems that exist in Oklahoma and Vermont rather than getting involved in another war that the American people do not want.”

But Sanders told the crowd not to give up on their vision for America’s future. 

“In this moment in American history, what we have got to do in Vermont and Oklahoma, in Texas, all over this country, is stand up and fight back, and tell them this is our country!” Sanders said. 

Sanders has been a vocal opponent of the United States joining Israel in its war against Iran as Trump weighed striking its nuclear facilities. 

“Netanyahu is not the President of the United States,” Sanders said on social media earlier this week. 

“He should not be determining U.S. foreign and military policy. If the people of Israel support his decision to start a war with Iran, that is their business and their war. The United States must not be a part of it,” he added. 

The democratic socialist has been a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Gaza since Israel retaliated following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. 

After Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities last week, Sanders said it was “just his latest violation of international law,” likening Netanyahu to a “war criminal.”

The Vermont senator was speaking at his second rally of the day, part of his southern swing of the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that Sanders started in response to Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda. 

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Tx., and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tx., are slated to join the Vermont senator at his rallies in Texas on Sunday. 

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined Sanders on his Western swing of the tour earlier this year. 

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The tour targets deep red districts currently held by Republicans, a strategy picked up by Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who hosted town halls in Republican congressional districts, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) through their “People’s Town Halls” across the United States. 

Sanders also held a rally in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s hometown of Shreveport, La., on Saturday. 

Republican senators told Fox News Digital that they are fed up with liberal sanctuary cities like Los Angeles attempting to impede federal immigration authorities from enforcing the law, some suggesting that it is time the legislative branch intervened to pull their funding.

“We have to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. “I don’t understand why we would continue to give federal dollars to someone who doesn’t abide by federal law. I mean, think about that. That is very simple.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital in the Senate office building halls, Britt said, “There’s been no more-litigated issue over the last four years than the millions and millions of illegal migrants coming across our border.”

“What a sanctuary city says is, ‘You can commit a crime, we will allow for lawlessness, and we will not turn you over to the federal authorities.’ I mean, think about that. That is absolute insanity, and we’re not going to stand for it anymore,” she said.

NASHVILLE MAYOR STANDS BEHIND DOXING ICE AGENTS EVEN AFTER OFFICIALS SAID HIS ACTIONS PUT THEM IN DANGER

“We have enabled that kind of bad behavior for too long,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. “Look, the reality is, to use the term for my colleagues, ‘Nobody is above the law.’ So, if you have a mayor or county executive or a governor, whoever you want to say, that’s not following federal law, that’s completely unacceptable. And the tool that we have here is federal funding.”

“I’ve called for that in my campaign, and I think all Republicans, we should stick firm on that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., simply told Fox News Digital that sanctuary cities blocking immigration “shouldn’t” receive federal funding.

“I mean, first off, if you’re a sanctuary city, you’re not doing the right thing for your citizens. You’re not keeping them safe,” said Scott. “I think all of us are really frustrated because we don’t have an immigration system that works. There’s people who want to come to our country legally and work in our country and go home. That’s what we ought to be focused on, how do we improve that, but make sure that if you’re not vetted, you shouldn’t be able to come into this country.”

MASSIVE IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME LED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNCOVERED AFTER RAID AT MEATPACKING PLANT

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that sanctuary city officials not cooperating with ICE and federal authorities “is not an issue in Virginia, because . . . I’m not aware of a sanctuary city in Virginia.”

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, responded to Fox News Digital by saying, “I don’t have any comment on that, I’m focused right now on what’s going on in the Middle East.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said, “I think that everybody should follow the law” or “accept the consequences.”

“I can’t tell you that I know legally what are the consequences that a community deliberately disobeying something from the federal government. But whatever those consequences are, if a community makes that decision, then it has to bear the consequences,” Cassidy added.

US ATTORNEY NARROWLY ESCAPES KNIFE ATTACK BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, BLAMES NEW YORK’S SANCTUARY POLICIES

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Tenn., said that sanctuary policies “led in many ways to these LA riots, that the L.A. police weren’t willing to help when our ICE agents were in trouble.”

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“What we cannot tolerate is local officials impeding ICE officers from doing their job, and that’s exactly what’s happening in some of these sanctuary cities,” said Marshall. “So, if that means the power of the purse, then so be it. But whatever we do, President Trump took an oath, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution to make all of us safe.”

Most Republicans are willing to give great deference to President Donald Trump to strike Iran without Congressional authorization to hit sovereign territory inside another country.

There are some concerns the President’s aggressive action could peel off some pro-MAGA supporters simply because Trump campaigned against getting involved in overseas conflicts.

There are also divisions among Democrats. Pro-Israel Democrats have been calling for the U.S. to strike Iran because of the threat it poses to Israel.

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

Regardless, lawmakers from both sides are concerned about retaliation from Iran and its proxie and even possible strikes in the U.S. from sleeper cells.

Members of Congress will want to understand what risks lie ahead for the U.S. as it infuses itself in this conflict and what battle plans lie ahead.

Expect a Senate-wide briefing on Iran to come Tuesday.

ISRAEL SAYS IT KILLED IRANIAN COMMANDER WHO HELPED FUND, ARM HAMAS

Now the question is what else the U.S. may need to do.

Will Congress feel it needs to authorize further action against Iran under the “war powers” provision in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution? 

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Representatives Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., have a resolution to ban the U.S. from getting involved in Iran.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., will force a vote Thursday or Friday in the Senate on whether the U.S. should be involved overseas at all.

President Donald Trump addressed the nation just after 10 p.m. Eastern Time following the U.S. military’s successful strikes on a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities. 

“A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan,” he said. “Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.” 

“For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs,” Trump continued. “That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular.”

Trump reported that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “obliterated” and that the country has been backed into a corner and “must now make peace.”

“Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said. “And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not. future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.” 

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

Trump’s address followed him announcing just Thursday, via his Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, that he would make a decision on whether to strike Iran within a two-week period. 

“I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, ‘Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,'” Leavitt said at a White House briefing quoting Trump.

Trump had repeatedly urged Iran to make a deal on its nuclear program before striking its nuclear facilities, but the country pulled out of ongoing talks with the U.S. scheduled for June 15 in Oman and refused to return to the table in the days following. Israel preemptively ordered strikes on Iran June 12 as Israeli intelligence indicated Iran’s nuclear program was rapidly progressing. 

Trump went on to congratulate the U.S. military for carrying out the successful attack, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for working with the U.S. during the operation. 

“I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team, like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades,” he said. 

Trump warned Iran that “there will be either peace or there will be tragedy” for the country following the strikes. 

“Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There’s never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago,” Trump said. 

The president previewed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine will hold a press conference on the strikes at 8 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday. 

“I want to just thank everybody. And in particular, God, I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America,” he said before ending his address. 

Trump announced Saturday evening via a Truth Social post, which was not preceded by media leaks, that the U.S. had carried out three successful attacks. 

Fox News’ Sean Hannity reported Saturday that the U.S. used six bunker-buster bombs — each of which weighed 15 tons — in its strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The bombs were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers. 

Additionally, 30 tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities, he reported. 

TRUMP PROMISES TO RESPOND WITH ‘FULL STRENGTH AND MIGHT’ OF US MILITARY IF IRAN ATTACKS AMERICA

Ahead of the Saturday evening strikes, six B-2 stealth bombers from an Air Force base in Missouri appeared to be en route to a U.S. Air Force base in Guam, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News Saturday. 

Reports of the bombers were likely part of the “misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had had put off the decision,” Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said during an appearance Saturday evening as news broke of the strikes. 

“Those six B-2 bombers that were heading west toward Guam, they would not have made it to Iran in time to take part in this strike,” she said while speaking with Fox News’ Bret Baier Saturday evening. “So, that suggests to me that there was an additional B-1 package that perhaps flew eastward from Whiteman Air Force Base. Again, this was all part of the deception. There was a great deal of sort of misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had put off the decision and that this would happen two weeks from now.”

ISRAEL’S ACTIONS AGAINST IRAN CREATE STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN NUCLEAR TALKS, EXPERTS SAY

Israel launched pre-emptive strikes on Iran June 12 after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations and subsequent heightened concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear program. Netanyahu declared soon afterward that the strikes were necessary to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”

He added that if Israel had not acted, “Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.” 

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Dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” the strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure and killed a handful of senior Iranian military leaders.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report. 

Exuberant Republicans, and at least one prominent Democrat, lauded President Donald Trump‘s leadership on Saturday after the U.S. completed an attack on three Iranian nuclear sites. 

“Good. This was the right call. The regime deserves it. Well done, President @realDonaldTrump,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote on X. 

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., also said Trump made the right call. 

“As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,” he said on X. “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.” 

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL ATTACK’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS US FORCES STRIKE 3 KEY SITES

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote: “’Peace through strength’ means ensuring our existential enemies don’t acquire the most lethal and catastrophic weapons known to man.” 

And former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz called Trump a “peacemaker.”

“President Trump basically wants this to be like the Solimani strike – one and done. No regime change war. Trump the Peacemaker!” he wrote on X. 

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that the president “made the correct decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites. Iran made the choice to continue its pursuit of a nuclear weapon and would only be stopped by force. It would be a grave mistake to retaliate against our forces.” 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on X, “Iran has waged a war of terror against the United States for 46 years. We could never allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. God bless our brave troops. President Trump made the right call and the ayatollahs should recall his warning not to target Americans.” 

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, said Trump’s decision was the “right one. The greatest threat to the safety of the United States and the world is Iran with a nuclear weapon. God Bless our troops.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on X that the U.S. “military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says.”

‘INSTINCTS FOR RESTRAINT’: SENATE DIVIDED OVER WHO GETS TO DECLARE WAR

Johnson said that the president gave Iran “every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement. President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.”

He added that Trump’s “decisive action prevents the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, which chants ‘Death to America,’ from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet.” 

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However, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who authored a war powers resolution to prevent the U.S. from getting involved in Iran said the attacks were “not constitutional.” 

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, echoed Massie’s sentiments. 

“Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war,” he wrote on X. 

Co-sponsors of the War Powers Resolution, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., were quick to criticize President Donald Trump for greenlighting attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran Saturday night. 

“This is not constitutional,” Massie said, responding to Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran. 

The bipartisan War Powers Resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives this week as strikes between Israel and Iran raged on, and the world stood by to see if Trump would strike. 

Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that both House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., were briefed on the strikes ahead of time. 

‘INSTINCTS FOR RESTRAINT’: SENATE DIVIDED OVER WHO GETS TO DECLARE WAR

“Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war,” Khanna said. 

‘SQUAD’ MEMBERS, GOP LAWMAKER JOIN FORCES TO REJECT US INVOLVEMENT IN ISRAEL-IRAN WAR

This week, lawmakers sounded off on the unconstitutionality of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. 

The War Powers Resolution seeks to “remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran” and directs Trump to “terminate” the deployment of American troops against Iran without an “authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.”

As Trump announced his strikes against Iran – without congressional approval – Khanna said representatives should return to Capitol Hill to prevent further escalation.

And in the upper chamber, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced his own war powers resolution ahead of the bipartisan duo in the House. While the resolution had been gaining steam with his colleagues, momentum could be stalled due to the strikes. His resolution is privileged, meaning that lawmakers will have to consider it. The earliest it could be voted on is Friday.

Kaine argued in a statement that “the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. waging war on Iran.”

“And the Israeli Foreign Minister admitted yesterday that Israeli bombing had set the Iranian nuclear program back ‘at least 2 or 3 years,'” he said. “So, what made Trump recklessly decide to rush and bomb today? Horrible judgment. I will push for all senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.”

This week on Capitol Hill, Massie, the conservative fiscal hawk who refused to sign onto Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” built an unlikely bipartisan coalition of lawmakers resisting the U.S.’ involvement in the Middle East conflict. 

“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie said. 

Massie, whom Trump threatened to primary during the House GOP megabill negotiations, invited “all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.” By Tuesday night, the bipartisan bill had picked up 27 cosponsors, including progressive “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Across the political aisle, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., signaled her support, writing that Americans want an affordable cost of living, safe communities and quality education “not going into another foreign war.”

“This is not our fight,” Greene doubled down on Saturday night, before Trump’s Truth Social announcement. 

The bill’s original co-sponsors also include progressive Democrat Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who called it unconstitutional for “Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump would make his decision about whether to bomb Iran within two weeks. 

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said Saturday night. 

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Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders last week, which the Islamic Republic considered a “declaration of war.” Strikes between Israel and Iran have raged on since, as Trump said he was considering whether to sign off on U.S. strikes against Iran. 

The Jewish State targeted Iran’s nuclear capabilities after months of failed negotiations in the region and heightened concern over Iran developing nuclear weapons. 

But Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to Geneva, said Iran “will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes,” as Israel, and now the U.S., have issued strikes against Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

Potential misdirection likely served a key role in the Trump administration’s successful strikes on a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday evening, which were abruptly announced by President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post just days after he said his decision on Iran would unfold within the next two weeks. 

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday evening. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”

Trump’s surprise announcement came with no media leaks ahead of time, and followed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announcing on Thursday during a press briefing that Trump would make a decision on potentially striking Iran within a two-week time period as opposed to an imminent decision. 

“I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, ‘based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,'” Leavitt said at a White House press briefing on Thursday, quoting Trump.

​​TRUMP SAYS ISRAEL’S NEXT IRAN ATTACK WILL BE EVEN MORE BRUTAL: ‘MAKE A DEAL’

Ahead of the strikes on Saturday evening, six B-2 stealth bombers from an Air Force base in Missouri appeared to be en route to a U.S. Air Force base in Guam, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Saturday. 

Fox New’s Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said during an appearance Saturday evening as news broke of the strikes that reports of the bombers were likely part of the “misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had had put off the decision.”

TRUMP FACES CRITICAL DECISION AS MIDDLE EAST TEETERS ON BRINK OF WAR

“Those six B-2 bombers that were heading west towards Guam, they would not have made it to Iran in time to take part in this strike. So, that suggests to me that there was an additional B-1 package that perhaps flew eastward from Whiteman Air Force Base. Again, this was all part of the deception. There was a great deal of sort of misleading tidbits put out there to suggest that maybe President Trump had put off the decision and that this would happen two weeks from now.” She said this while speaking with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Saturday evening. 

“But as we knew, there were other indications, and we did not report earlier this week, even though we knew that Whiteman Air Force Base had put out a notice suggesting that the base was closed for so-called repairs until Monday, June 23. Now, if you look at the timeframe of where we are right now, those B-2s would be home at Whiteman by the time that notice and that would be lifted on Monday, June 23. So, that was put out a week ago, and so we should have had some clue that this might have been some indication of the time frame,” Griffin added. 

TRUMP WEIGHS STRIKING IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES: ‘I MAY DO IT, I MAY NOT DO IT’

Trump said in his Truth Social post he will address the nation at 10 p.m. ET to provide details on the strikes. 

“I will be giving an Address to the Nation at 10:00 P.M., at the White House, regarding our very successful military operation in Iran. This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!”

Israel launched pre-emptive strikes on Iran on June 12 after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations and subsequent heightened concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared soon afterward that the strikes were necessary to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”

He added that if Israel had not acted, “Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.” 

Dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” the strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure and killed a handful of senior Iranian military leaders.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES SWEEPING STRIKE ON IRAN WHILE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEKS DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION

Trump has repeatedly urged Iran to make a deal on its nuclear program before striking its nuclear facilities, but the country pulled out of ongoing talks with the U.S. scheduled for June 15 in Oman and refused to return to the table in the days following. 

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“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” Trump posted to Truth Social Monday evening, when he abruptly left an ongoing G-7 summit in Canada to better focus on the Israel–Iran conflict. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” 

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Saturday that U.S. forces have successfully launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote in the post. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space.”

The president said a “full payload of BOMBS” was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.

Fordow, Iran’s main underground enrichment site, was difficult for the Israeli Army to destroy due to its location, leading to requests for U.S. to use its B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

All planes are safely on their way home, according to Trump. 

It is unclear which planes were used in the attacks.

“Congratulations to our great American Warriors,” he wrote. “There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

President Donald Trump has called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the 2020 presidential election, which he has long maintained was rigged against him and in favor of Joe Biden. 

In a fiery Truth Social post Friday, Trump praised his administration for cutting border crossings to zero in May compared to the Biden administration, which oversaw the release of 62,000 migrants into the country during the same time last year.

Trump said it was incomprehensible a president could oversee such an influx of illegal immigration and then took aim at the 2020 election. 

“Zero Border crossings for the month for TRUMP, verses 60,000 for Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden, a man who lost the 2020 Presidential Election by a “LANDSLIDE!” Trump wrote. 

“Biden was grossly incompetent and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed.”

Trump has argued for years that a series of alleged misdeeds led to Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. In the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of the Electoral College results, several pro-Trump marches were held, culminating in a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol.

TWO MEN CONVICTED IN PENNSYLVANIA MAYORAL RACE ELECTION FRAUD CASE HIT WITH HARSHER SENTENCES THAN EXPECTED

Trump and his supporters failed to convince Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification by sending the results back to key battleground states’ legislatures to allow for further investigation or the consideration of alternate slates of electors. 

Pence rejected the demands, arguing that the Constitution did not give the vice president authority to decide which electoral votes to count.

Trump and his allies filed dozens of lawsuits challenging the results in various states. Most lawsuits failed due to what judges determined was a lack of standing or insufficient evidence. Biden secured 306 electoral votes with 81.2 million votes compared to Trump’s 232 electoral votes and 74.2 million votes. 

RED STATE AG INVESTIGATING MORE THAN 30 POTENTIAL NONCITIZENS WHO VOTED IN 2024 ELECTION

The president has made a variety of claims to support his assertion that the 2020 election was “stolen.”

Trump has argued that ballot harvesting “mules” deposited ballots at late-night ballot drops after deadlines in key swing states.

He made the claims central to his 2024 re-election bid, often using the slogan “too big to rig” to urge supporters to turn out in force and overcome what he described as a rigged or unfair system.

“This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America!” Trump said in the post Friday.

“Let the work begin! What this Crooked man, and his CORRUPT CRONIES, have done to our Country in 4 years, is grossly indescribable! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump’s attorney general in 2020, Bill Barr, said there no was evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome, and the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity arm pronounced the election “the most secure in American history.”

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It was unclear who Trump had in mind for a special prosecutor, but in the event Attorney General Pam Bondi heeds his call, she may face pressure to appoint someone who has already been confirmed by the Senate.

The Justice Department in recent years has appointed a succession of special counsels — sometimes, though not always, plucked from outside the agency — to lead investigations into politically sensitive matters, including conduct by Biden and by Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged Vice President JD Vance to face off in a debate.

“Hey @JDVance — nice of you to finally make it out to California. Since you’re so eager to talk about me, how about saying it to my face? Let’s debate. Time and place?” the Democratic governor said in a Friday post on his @GavinNewsom X account.

So far, the vice president has not replied on the social media platform to Newsom’s challenge.

JD VANCE RAILS AGAINST NEWSOM, LA MAYOR FOR DECLARING ‘OPEN SEASON ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT’

Fox News Digital reached out to Vance’s press team on Saturday, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

The vice president lambasted the Golden State governor and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass while delivering remarks in Los Angeles on Friday.

Vance said that the governor “is endangering law enforcement,” adding, “The law enforcement officials themselves tell me as much.” 

Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon pushed back, calling Vance “a liar” in an email to Fox News Digital on Saturday.

“Jose Vance is a liar. The Vice President’s claim is categorically false. There is no evidence to support his made-up claim — and we challenge him to produce any. The Governor has consistently condemned violence, including against law enforcement officers, and has made his stance clear over and over again. Here are at least a dozen examples,” Gardon wrote, providing a list of more than a dozen links to posts on the @CAgovernor X account.

One of the posts reads, “Los Angeles: don’t take Trump’s bait. Trump wants chaos and he’s instigated violence. Those who assault law enforcement or cause property damage will risk arrest. Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don’t give him the excuse he’s looking for.” 

Gardon’s reference to “Jose Vance” seems to be a play on Vance’s comment about “Jose Padilla” on Friday when apparently referring to U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

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“He knows my name,” Padilla said during remarks Saturday on MSNBC, calling Vance’s jab an “indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is.”

President Donald Trump spent his 22nd week back in the Oval Office participating in the G-7 Summit, while handling the conflict in the Middle East, after Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations amid renewed concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear program.

The country and the world waited during Trump’s 22nd week back as commander-in-chief to see how the president planned to respond to the crisis in the Middle East.

The week began after the president celebrated his 79th birthday and participated in the massive parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army on Saturday. 

VANCE TO MEET WITH FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, MARINES IN LA AMID ANTI-ICE RIOTS

He then traveled Sunday night to Alberta, Canada, for the G-7 Summit, where he participated in multiple sessions of meetings with allies. The president met with leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

But the situation in the Middle East sent the president back to the White House a day early.

Israel’s initial strikes on Iran June 12 were part of its “Operation Rising Lion,” which targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure. The strikes have killed top Iranian military leaders and beyond.

FLASHBACK: TRUMP LAUNCHED HIS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TEN YEARS AGO

Iran said the strikes were a “declaration of war,” and launched its own strikes on Israel — with a barrage of missiles hitting the Jewish state throughout the week, with some breaking through the Israeli Iron Dome defense system and causing destruction.

On his way back to Washington, D.C., the president stressed that Iran is “very close” to developing a nuclear weapon.

Earlier in June, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s estimation said that Iranian stockpiles included 60% enriched uranium that could become 90%. And last week, Gen. Erik Kurilla, the U.S. Central Command chief, ahead of Israel’s preemptive strikes, said that Iran has the materials to build a nuclear weapon within one week.

The Trump administration had been engaged in talks with Iran to make a deal on its nuclear program, and the president has urged the Islamic state to make a deal. But the country pulled out of ongoing talks with the United States. The most recent round of talks were scheduled for June 15. 

The president, Monday night, before leaving the G7, again said Iran “should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign.”

“What a shame, and a waste of human life,” Trump said. “Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.”

The president added, in his Truth Social post, that he has “said it over and over again!”

“Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump posted.

TRUMP WEIGHS STRIKING IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES: ‘I MAY DO IT, I MAY NOT DO IT’ 

By Tuesday, the president announced that the United States has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” He also said that the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei’s location had been determined.

The president said that Khamenei is “an easy target,” but is “safe” in his hiding spot.

“We are not going to take him out (kill), at least for now,” the president said. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”

As for whether the United States will strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the president said: “I may do it, I may not do it.”

“Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “And I said, why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you go? I said to people, why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country. It’s very sad to watch this.”

Trump, dating back to his first administration, has said that he refuses to broadcast his military plans ahead of time. The White House said the president would make his decision on how to handle Iran in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots that broke out in Los Angeles earlier in June slowed as the president awaited a federal court ruling in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit against the Trump administration for sending in the National Guard without his authority. 

Trump, earlier in June, ordered the National Guard to L.A. to aid law enforcement amid the violent protests.

On Thursday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously in Trump’s favor, saying that the president is allowed to keep control of the National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles. The ruling stayed a lower court order that ordered command of the troops back to Newsom.

A president hasn’t made a decision about the deployment of a National Guard without the permission of the state’s governor since 1965.

Trump, in a post to his Truth Social, praised the Court of Appeals for their decision, touting it as a “WIN.”

“BIG WIN in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the President’s core power to call in the National Guard!” Trump posted. “The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared, but this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done.”

The president added: “This is a Great Decision for our Country, and we will continue to protect and defend Law abiding Americans. Congratulations to the Ninth Circuit, America is proud of you tonight!”

By Friday, Vice President JD Vance traveled to Los Angeles to tour a multiagency Federal Joint Operations Center and a Federal Mobile Command Center.

The vice president also met with leaders of federal law enforcement deployed in Los Angeles, as well as U.S. Marines deployed to the city.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed a Democratic candidate for New York City comptroller who, as a former punk rock musician, has a history of making racist, sexist and homophobic statements online, according to a review by Fox News Digital.

Sanders endorsed Justin Brannan, a Democratic New York City councilman who is now running for comptroller, saying he would fight corruption and stand for the working class. Brannan’s campaign website says that, in the music scene he comes from, “people look out for one another and pick each other up when they fall down.” 

Brannan says he has carried these values into his work as a New York City councilmember and that he will do so as a city comptroller. 

OUSTED DEM ‘SUPER MAYOR’ CHARGES WHOPPING PRICE TAG FOR TELL-ALL BOOK WHILE DODGING LEGAL TROUBLES

However, a review of statements Brannan made on several music listservs during his years as a punk rocker in the ’90s puts a very different set of values on display, including statements mocking Puerto Ricans, Asians, homosexual individuals and others.

On two different occasions in 1999, Brannan used the N-word, writing, “Yo n—- be representing Dead Kennedys and Social D in ‘Stir of Echoes'” and “Yo, this swizz n—- is deep.”

In a 1998 post, Brannan also recounted an interview with a now-defunct music publication in which he said he preferred to shave his head bald, explaining, “I like to keep it nice and trim like the Nazis.” 

He then added, “I find myself more intimidating with the shaved head too when I smack up my b——.”

Brannan also mocked Asians, writing in one 1999 post that “Chinese people can not drive” and in another, “one thing you’ll never see” is a “Chinese driving instructor.” That same year, he mocked “Homicide: Life on the Street” actor and New York City native Yaphet Kotto, writing “Yaphet Koto ? Yum. I like it with brown rice.”

The Democratic candidate also repeatedly sparred with a disabled listserv member, writing posts such as, “If you are really crippled, thats pretty funny. Guess what I did today? I walked up and down stairs, all around the town. What did you do? Drool into a spitoon?,” “I think it would be funny to beat up a handicapped person” and “I just had a vision of you like Stephen Hawking. I made myself laugh. HAHAHAHAAHA! You parapalegic f—.”

Brannan, along with other city employees, was also accused of bullying an autistic colleague during his time as a New York City government staffer. According to reporting by the New York Post, the staffer received an $850,000 court settlement paid for by the city in 2021.

DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: KEN MARTIN’S TENURE SO FAR AT DNC RIPPED

In 1999, shortly after returning from shows in Puerto Rico, Brannan said, “Everyone in Puerto Rico has a gun and doesn’t wear underwear.”

Brannan also constantly used an anti-gay slur to insult others or make jokes, such as writing, “you f—— loser f–.” “He said he was gonna see some f—– punk show at Coney Island” and “Email me you f–.”

The New York City primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24. Brannan is running to replace the current city comptroller, Brad Lander, who is running for New York City mayor and was recently arrested by federal authorities for allegedly impeding an immigration enforcement arrest. 

DEMOCRATS MUST FIND A MESSAGE BEYOND CONSTANT ATTACKS ON TRUMP AND ICE, SAYS FORMER DEM ADVISOR

Sanders has also endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 

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Neither Brannan’s office nor Sanders’ office responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment ahead of the publication deadline.

Amid a week of daily attacks between Middle Eastern juggernauts Israel and Iran, President Donald Trump has repeatedly drilled home a key point.

“IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” the president wrote on social media.

And speaking with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump highlighted, “I’ve been saying for 20 years, maybe longer, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

It’s a stance U.S. presidents have taken for a couple of decades. And it appears most Americans agree with Trump and his presidential predecessors when it comes to the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS THINK IRAN POSES REAL THREAT TO U.S. SECURITY

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of registered voters questioned in a new Fox News national survey said they think Iran poses a real security threat to the U.S. That’s a 13-point boost since Fox News last asked the question six years ago.

And the poll, conducted June 13-16, indicates wide support across the partisan spectrum. Majorities of Republicans (82%), Democrats (69%) and Independents (62%) agreed that Iran poses a threat.

The survey also showed that 78% of those questioned said they were very or extremely concerned about Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb. And eight in 10 said what happens in the Middle East does matter in the U.S.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST POLLING FROM FOX NEWS 

Daron Shaw, a veteran GOP pollster and the Republican partner on the Fox News poll, said that “the increased sense that Iran constitutes a threat is real, but it also reflects the unique timing and circumstances surrounding this poll.”

“The poll was in the field as images of Iranian missiles falling on Tel Aviv dominated television and the internet — the immediacy and clarity of the conflict undoubtedly contributes to how voters gauge what is at risk,” noted Shaw, who is also a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas.

There was a similar response regarding the threat from Iran in a Ronald Reagan Institute national survey conducted earlier this month, before Israel’s initial attack last week sparked the daily bombardments by both nations.

Eighty-four percent of those questioned in the poll, which was shared first with Fox News, said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons matters to U.S. security and prosperity. 

FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-IRAN ATTACKS

Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should join Israel in striking Iran to cripple its nuclear program and prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“President Trump doesn’t often get a political softball sent his way. His decision to support Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran and the prospective decision to deal a limited but decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions by striking the Fordow facility can prove to be political mana from heaven,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance said. 

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Lesperance, president of New England College, noted that “If the President makes the case clearly and firmly to the American people, polling data suggests he would enjoy support from his own party, Democrats and Independents. What’s more, Trump’s decision and subsequent action would crowd out any of the issues or coverage like immigration, the budget, or tariffs in the near term. Politically, a decision to act against Iran is smart politics.”

But Lesperance cautioned that “this all assumes that the attacks are successful. It also assumes Americans are tolerant of the repercussions of backlash over the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Fox News’ Dana Blanton and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.