Good morning, friends!
IT. IS. HOT. If you’re under the heat dome, solidarity! Hang in there, stay indoors, and grab a Diet Coke. Let’s jump into the June 24th installment of the Dawn Dispatch.
U.S. STRIKES IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES
In a decisive military action late Saturday night, President Trump ordered U.S. forces to strike three key Iranian nuclear facilities, marking America's direct entry into the Israel-Iran conflict. B-2 stealth bombers targeted the heavily fortified sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. President Trump claimed the Fordow facility was "totally obliterated" in a social media post, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the strikes an "incredible and overwhelming success" at Sunday's Pentagon briefing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that any Iranian retaliation would be "the worst mistake they've ever made."
Iran's response came swiftly on Monday afternoon, launching 14-19 missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, housing 10,000 American troops. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called it a "devastating and powerful missile attack," though Qatar's air defenses successfully intercepted the missiles with zero casualties reported. President Trump dismissed it as a "very weak response" and thanked Iran for giving "early notice," which allowed the base to be evacuated. Remarkably, three hours after the attack, Trump pivoted to seeking peace, with a White House official telling Axios: "We want a deal and don't want any more war."
The initial Iranian diplomatic response was fierce, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the U.S. crossed "a very big red line" by attacking nuclear facilities. Mass protests erupted in Tehran on Sunday with demonstrators supporting Supreme Leader Khamenei, who later posted an image of a burning American flag on social media. China remains by far Iran's largest energy buyer, raising concerns about potential economic retaliation, though Beijing has remained notably silent on the strikes.
Politically, the strikes revealed divisions within Trump's own coalition. While Congressional Republicans praised the President's decisive action, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke ranks, criticizing the strikes and saying "Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer." although this morning she posted on social media that she wants people to stop making it look like there’s a rift between her and the President and that she loves him. Sen. Bernie Sanders went further, comparing the action to the 2003 Iraq invasion. Oil markets initially spiked on news of the U.S. strikes but surprisingly plunged over 4% Monday as investors viewed Iran's limited retaliation as unlikely to disrupt Middle East energy supplies, with Brent Crude settling at $73.66/barrel.
(More information about this is coming in - it’s a fluid situation that keeps moving, so stay up to date by checking in on my IG account, AND we will release a podcast episode this afternoon outlining everything that went on and answering questions. Keep an eye on your podcast feed.)
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