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Welcome to The Logoff: The US is at battle with Iran.
Hello readers, by now I’m certain you’ve seen the information: Early on Saturday morning, the Trump administration, after weeks-long naval buildup within the Center East, launched a significant assault on Iran.
As all the time with battle reporting, there’s a lot we nonetheless don’t find out about what has occurred, a lot much less what is going to come subsequent. Making an attempt to comply with all of it in actual time can really feel like ingesting from a firehose, and that is prone to be a narrative of weeks and months, not days or hours.
With that in thoughts, right here’s what you want to know proper now:
What occurred? The primary wave of assaults by the US and Israel, which started round 1 am Jap time on Saturday morning, focused a number of Iranian cities, together with the capital, Tehran. Tons of are reportedly lifeless and lots of extra injured.
Iran has responded by putting at targets all through the area, together with Israel and a variety of international locations within the Persian Gulf which are residence to US bases: Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Up to now, there have been no US casualties reported. There are additionally reviews that Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, by means of which roughly 20 p.c of the world’s oil passes because it makes its manner into the worldwide market.
Why is the Trump administration doing this? As my colleague Zack Beauchamp reported this morning, Trump’s justifications for battle have been bewilderingly incoherent.
For a lot of the week, it has appeared like the potential of battle turned on the result of US-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program (and its ballistic missile arsenal and help for proxy forces like Hezbollah).
On Saturday, although, Trump solid the battle in grander phrases: “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted demise to America and waged an never-ending marketing campaign of bloodshed and mass homicide,” he mentioned in a video posted to social media. “We’re not gonna put up with it any longer.”
Trump can also be promising regime change in Iran, on the heels of his risk earlier this yr to intervene on behalf of anti-regime protesters; “the hour of your freedom is at hand,” he mentioned on Saturday.
What’s the massive image? Saturday’s strikes are Trump’s second norms-shattering use of army drive overseas in simply the primary two months of 2026. However not like Venezuela, this seems to be a full-scale battle, not a short operation already over by the point many People are tuning in.
Iran’s retaliatory strikes towards Gulf states on Saturday additionally increase the chance that this might additional escalate right into a broader regional battle.
Trump on Saturday described the US marketing campaign as a “large and ongoing operation,” and with one plane provider group already within the area and one other on the best way, the US seems to be positioned for a possible multi-week battle.
What that can seem like because it performs out, not even Trump might know: As Reuters reported Saturday, briefers instructed the president forward of the assault that it might be a high-risk, high-reward operation.
And with that, it’s time to log out…
We love to present you a hyperlink to click on right here, however that may be arduous to do on days like at this time. So as a substitute, I’ll simply encourage you to log out in no matter manner you favor, whether or not that’s going for a stroll, watching a film, or one thing else.
As all the time, thanks for studying. We’ll be again on Monday with extra.
