Trump news at a glance: president equivocates on Iran as US split over intervention
The possibility of US intervention in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran is exposing sharp divisions in president Donald Trump's base, with some of his supporters urging the president against involvement in a new Middle East war.
Trump says he remains undecided about the US getting directly involved, which if sanctioned would be a sharp departure from his usual caution about foreign entanglements.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday the president said that some of his supporters 'are a little bit unhappy now' but that others agree with him that Iran cannot become a nuclear power.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Donald Trump said he had not decided whether or not to take his country into Israel's new war, as Iran's supreme leader said the US would face 'irreparable damage' if it deployed its military to attack.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had made a 'huge mistake' by launching the war, in his first comments since Friday. 'The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' he said in a statement read out by a presenter on state TV.
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The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggested on Wednesday that he would not obey a federal court ruling against the deployments of national guard troops and US marines to Los Angeles, the latest example of the Trump administration's willingness to ignore judges it disagrees with.
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A Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand, the US supreme court has ruled, a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for dozens of other lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children.
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Foreign students will be required to unlock their social media profiles to allow US diplomats to review their online activity before receiving educational and exchange visas, the state department has announced. Those who fail to do so will be suspected of hiding that activity from US officials.
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Ted Cruz, the US senator from Texas, and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson have clashed over US military involvement in the Middle East, with the latter shouting: 'You don't know anything about Iran!' in a heated interview that exposes a sharp division within Donald Trump's coalition as the president considers joining Israel in attacking Iran.
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Nippon Steel's $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel closed on Wednesday, the companies said, confirming an unusual degree of power for the Trump administration after the Japanese company's 18-month struggle to close the purchase.
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Senate Democrats staged a near-total boycott of a Republican-led Senate hearing on Joe Biden's mental decline and its alleged cover-up during his presidency.
Women across the political spectrum are more concerned than men about the US economy and inflation under Trump, according to an exclusive poll for the Guardian.
A federal judge held Florida's attorney general in contempt of court for enforcing an immigration law she blocked and bragging about it in media interviews afterwards.
Catching up? Here's what happened on 17 June 2025.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Iranian state media use Lego to demonstrate attacks on Israel
Iranian state media has published a video featuring Lego characters launching destructive missile strikes on Israel. The clip, released by a news agency controlled by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, shows Lego figures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to the Devil before a barrage of missiles rains down on Israeli buildings and citizens. A Lego US president is also shown eating a burger while arguing with the Israeli prime minister. The video is the latest attempt at anti-Western propaganda from Tehran and depicts an Israeli flag burning while Lego figures in other Arabic countries celebrate. 'We're the ones who control the game,' a message at the end of the video says, which was published on social media by Fars, Iran's state-backed news agency. The clip has been published as part of an ongoing propaganda battle between Israel and Iran, as both countries attempt to win support from audiences on social media. Just days ago, an official Israeli government account shared a video on X showing Lego Mossad agents, missiles and warplanes blowing up Iran's nuclear facilities. An Israeli government X account said the video was 'presented by artificial intelligence ... clearly showcasing the precise planning and technological capabilities on the Israeli side'. خططوا لطوفان الأقصى وحصدوا طوفان #إيران. شاهد هذا الفيديو عملية #الأسد_الصاعد يقدمها الذكاء الإصطناعي بلا سردية مسموعة لكن بشكل واضح يستعرض فيها التخطيط الدقيق والقدرات التكنولوجية في الجانب الإسرائيلي والاستخبارات الممتازة التي فاجأت نظام الملالي ودمرت بسرعة هائلة اهداف عسكرية… — إسرائيل بالعربية (@IsraelArabic) June 15, 2025 Both Lego-themed videos were set to the theme song of 'Tehran', a popular Israeli television show about Mossad agents trying to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. It is not clear whether AI tools were used to create the videos. Lego has a long-standing anti-war stance. The company's 'product ideas' page, which encourages Lego fans to submit proposals for new sets, bans products related to 'warfare or war vehicles in any modern or present-day situation'. While some of its products feature potentially violent themes, such as the Star Wars universe or fantasy knights, it has steered clear of modern weapons. Opposed to 'glorifying conflicts' The Danish toy company has previously said that its products should 'not be associated with issues that glorify conflicts'. The Lego-inspired videos follow a flood of fake AI images and videos on social media since Israel's first strikes on Iran on June 12. This includes Iranian influencers widely sharing a fake image of a downed Israeli fighter jet, as well as hoax videos depicting bombed-out buildings with the caption 'Doomsday in Tel Aviv'. The Telegraph reported earlier this week that Israel has been targeting Western audiences with adverts on YouTube warning that Europe could be targeted by Iranian nuclear weapons.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Mahmoud Khalil: US student detained by immigration officials over pro-Palestinian protests released
Why you can trust Sky News Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released after 104 days in immigration detention in the US. A judge ruled the Columbia University graduate student should be released on Friday. He has become a symbol of Donald Trump's crackdown on protests on university campuses after being arrested by the US immigration agency ICE on 8 March. "Whether you are a US citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land doesn't mean that you are less of a human," he said after being released from detention in Louisiana. Mr Khalil is a legal US resident and isn't accused of breaking any laws during pro-Palestine protests, where he served as a spokesperson for student activists. He is expected to head to New York to reunite with his wife, who is a US citizen, and his baby son, who was born while Mr Khalil was in detention. 0:49 "Justice prevailed, but it's very long overdue," he said. "This shouldn't have taken three months." The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in the protests. However, Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be "highly, highly unusual" for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. During an hour-long hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had "clearly not met" the standards for detention. 0:47 The government is appealing Mr Khalil's release, and an immigration judge, Judge Jamee Comans, has ordered the student to be "removed". "An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr Khalil should be released or detained," wrote the Department of Homeland Security in a post on X. The US secretary of state Marco Rubio is pushing for Mr Khalil to be expelled from America because he says his continued presence could harm foreign policy. The Trump administration argues that noncitizens who take part in pro-Palestinian protests should be deported, as it considers the protests to be antisemitic. 0:54 Civil rights groups, such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is suing the administration, argue this conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to silence dissent. Judge Farbiarz ruled the government can't deport Mr Khalil on the basis that his presence could undermine foreign policy, but it can continue deportation over allegations that he lied on his green card application. Mr Khalil disputes these allegations. He had to surrender his passport but will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the country, including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress. Judge Farbiarz's decision comes after several other students targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Billy Porter says Trump would be in jail if he was a black man
Broadway and Pose star Billy Porter has said that if Donald Trump was a black man he would have been in jail by now. Speaking to Matt Chorley for BBC Newsnight, Porter discussed the re-election of Donald Trump and the challenges faced by Democrats and activism in the United States. Porter said, 'We need to be focused on the fact he's not in jail… If he was a black man, he would be in jail.' He also speculated that the re-election of President Trump was a "backlash" to the election of President Obama because 'America is a racist country."
