On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that his country had struck the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime. “The tornado continues to hit Tehran,” Katz declared on X. “Air Force jets have now destroyed the Iranian regime’s Internal Security Headquarters – the Iranian dictator’s central repressive arm. As we promised – we will continue to harm symbols of government and strike at the ayatollah regime everywhere.” סופת הטורנדו ממשיכה להכות בטהרן. מטוסי חיל האוויר השמידו עכשיו את מפקדת ביטחון הפנים של המשטר האיראני – זרוע הדיכוי המרכזית של הדיקטטור האיראני. כפי שהבטחנו – נמשיך לפגוע בסמלי שלטון ונכה במשטר האייתולות בכל מקום. — ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 18, 2025 “Initial reports that #Israel just struck the headquarters of #Iran’s regime’s police. Israel has moved systematically to degrade military command-and-control, infrastructure, energy and economic facilities, government targets, and now internal security,” Jason Brodsky, policy director for United Against Nuclear Iran, reported. “If you were aiming to destabilize the regime, this is what you would do. The police by the way is an extension of the #IRGCterrorists, with the chief of police always an IRGC commander.” Initial reports that #Israel just struck the headquarters of #Iran’s regime’s police. Israel has moved systematically to degrade military command-and-control, infrastructure, energy and economic facilities, government targets, and now internal security. If you were aiming to… pic.twitter.com/SWfUhKjxjt — Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) June 18, 2025 “The Iranian people are largely pro-Western but are brutally subjugated by an anti-Western religious theocracy,” the U.S. State Department has noted for years. The Iranian theocratic regime has brutally repressed the Iranian people for decades. Even leftist Amnesty International admitted in September 2022 — after the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked protests across the nation — that it had obtained documents “which revealed the authorities’ plan to systematically crush the protests at any cost. The crackdown has left at least 52 identified victims dead and hundreds injured to date. In a detailed analysis…Amnesty International divulges evidence of the Iranian authorities’ plot to brutally crush the demonstrations by deploying the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij paramilitary force, the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, riot police, and plainclothes security agents.” “Based on eyewitness accounts and audio-visual evidence reviewed by Amnesty International, none of the 52 identified victims posed any imminent threat of death or serious injury that could warrant the use of firearms against them,” the organization added. “They show up at the first signs of protest in Iran — men in black, riding motorcycles, often wielding guns or batons,” The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) noted of the Basij in 2022. “They are members of what’s known as the Basij, paramilitary volunteers who are fiercely loyal to the Islamic Republic. They have taken on a leading role in quashing dissent for more than two decades.” “Female protesters on the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran are living in fear of being singled out for attack by members of the country’s Basij militia, the ABC has been told,” the ABC reported as far back as 2009. “The Basij have been blamed for the deaths of a number of protesters in the recent riots, including a young woman known as Neda who was filmed dying in the street after being shot in the chest.”

Pressed by a reporter to publicly reveal his plans regarding a possible American strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump cracked up people around him on Wednesday morning with a response lacerating the media’s self-absorbed attitude toward matters of national security. “You haven’t answered questions about whether you are moving closer or you believe the U.S. is moving closer to striking Iranian nuclear facilities. Where is your mindset on that?” a reporter asked. “I can’t say that, right? You don’t seriously think I’m going to answer that question,” Trump fired back. He turned to the men behind him who were at the White House to install new flagpoles, asking rhetorically, “Will you strike the Iranian nuclear component and what time exactly, sir? Sir, when you strike it, will you please inform us so we can be there and watch?” Trump’s sarcastic response evoked laughter. He turned back to the reporter. “I mean, you don’t know that I’m even gonna do it,” he declared. “You don’t know; I may do it; I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.” Then he adopted. more serious tone, saying, “I can tell you this: Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate. And I said, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me before?’ All this death and destruction. I said to people, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You could have had a country.’” “It’s very sad to watch this; I’ve never seen anything like it,” he remarked. “You know, everyone thought it was going to be the reverse. I didn’t think so. And I was telling them, you gotta do something; you gotta negotiate. And at the end, last minute, they said, ‘No, we’re not gonna do that.’ And then they got hit.” “Remember 60 days?” he recalled of his ultimatum that Iran had 60 days to negotiate a deal with the U.S. “And then came — 61’s going to become a very famous number. That was one hell of a hit, that first hit. That was one hell of a hit.” He spoke of the Iranian regime’s intransigence, saying, “Not sustainable, to be honest,” adding, “It ended on the first night.” Q: Is the US moving closer to striking Iranian nuclear facilities? TRUMP: I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I'm going to do. Iran's got a lot of trouble. pic.twitter.com/33jiLd3eSf — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2025

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wenesday blasted conservative commentator Tucker Carlson over his foreign policy stance, saying that the former Fox News host has gone “bat crap crazy” in adopting “hardcore isolationist” views. On his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” the Texas senator previewed an interview he had with Carlson slated to drop on Carlson’s podcast on Wednesday. During the discussion, Cruz and Carlson get into a heated debate over Iran and President Donald Trump’s position on the Middle East conflict. “I agree with Tucker on 80% of the issues … during the idiotic COVID lockdowns, Tucker’s monologue every night on Fox was the single best thing on television, which I told him at the time, and I agree with him,” Cruz said after recording the interview with Carlson. “I will say on foreign policy, Tucker has gone bat crap crazy. He’s gone off the rails. He is suddenly a hardcore isolationist.” Cruz added that he knew going into the interview with Carlson that it would be a “rough and tumble fight” over foreign policy, especially after Israel launched an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders last week. “Tucker has spent the last several days attacking Donald Trump,” Cruz said. “He’s blasted Trump as ‘complicit’ in this horrible attack, and he keeps saying World War III is going to happen. He’s just been over the top.” The senator said the two-hour interview with Carlson immediately became “combative,” with Carlson “throwing haymakers.” A short clip of the interview posted by Carlson on X shows the conservative commentator asking Cruz about the population of Iran, a question that Cruz couldn’t answer. “How could you not know that?” Carlson asked. “I don’t sit around memorizing population tables,” Cruz replied. “Well, it’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government,” Carlson said. Cruz shot back, “Why is it relevant whether it’s 90 million or 80 million or 100 million? Why is that relevant?” Cruz added on Wednesday morning that Carlson criticized Trump throughout the interview and “spends 20 minutes” talking about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and “how he thinks the AIPAC lobby is dominating American foreign policy.” “It was just unhinged, and I get there are conspiracy sections of the internet that are worried that AIPAC is running the world. It’s just not reality,” he said. “And [Carlson] didn’t like it when I called him out on it, and I did.” The senator also accused Carlson of denying that Iran has attempted to assassinate President Trump, despite the Department of Justice charging an Iranian in November who it accuses of being “tasked by the Iranian Regime with surveilling and plotting to assassinate President-Elect Donald J. Trump.” “He just said, ‘That’s not true. I’ve never heard anything about it. I don’t know anything about it,” Cruz added. “Well, it happens to be a fact. It happens to be that the DOJ has indicted Iranian hitmen for attempting to murder Donald Trump.” Earlier this week, Trump called out Carlson over his views on the Middle East conflict, writing on Truth Social, “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!’” Later in his podcast, Cruz said that isolationism and interventionism are “both wrong” approaches to foreign policy. “I’m a non-interventionist hawk. I am very reluctant to engage in military conflict, just like Trump is,” Cruz added. “But I also believe in peace through strength. The best way you avoid war is being strong enough that your enemies don’t want to stand up to you.”

On December 4, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case for Tennessee Senate Bill 1. Today, the highest court in the land has spoken — and it got it right. In a decision that will now set precedent throughout the entire country, the Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s right to protect our children from irreversible and unproven medical procedures under the guise of “gender-affirming care.” This is not just a victory for Tennessee, but for every state in the country seeking to preserve its duty to protect minors. In today’s political climate, it’s more clear than ever that the Left has resisted so much that they now champion the mutilation of children. In their America, biology and truth are optional and children are subject to permanent, life-changing procedures. Back in 2023 after Matt Walsh and the team at the Daily Wire uncovered disturbing details about so-called “gender affirming” care in our state, we said enough is enough. Now, two years later, that law was just affirmed by the United States Supreme Court. To allow children – who cannot vote, get a tattoo, or enlist in the military – to permanently alter their bodies in the name of “affirming them” is not compassion, it’s exploitation. As a State Senator, I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect Tennesseans – that’s why my colleagues and I passed this legislation. With this historic ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States – with Tennessee right by their side – took a stand and made a bold statement: our country will not stand by while children are preyed upon for profit. Tennessee has become a haven for families fleeing the Left-wing chaos in blue states. Families are moving here seeking common sense and stability that frankly does not exist anymore in areas of our country. With this Supreme Court ruling, Tennessee continues leading the nation and solidifying itself as a state with a backbone and the interest of children in mind. This ruling is more than a legal win; it’s the start of a cultural shift in our country. The Supreme Court has decided that states can make decisions for the people through their duly elected representatives – especially on matters as serious as the health of our children. A day like today wouldn’t be possible without the remarkable dedication and fight from our outstanding Attorney General, Jonathan Skrmetti. His conviction and commitment to the rule of law are why we are celebrating this milestone. While some Attorneys General chase headlines, General Skrmetti chases justice. President Trump’s recent executive orders — protecting women’s sports and restoring a biologically based definition of sex across federal agencies — are major victories for conservatives and for common sense. Today’s Supreme Court decision is another powerful affirmation of truth and actual leadership. I’m deeply encouraged by President Trump’s bold stand on this issue and pray his administration continues to lead with courage and conviction. This historic decision gives new found hope and strength to every state bold enough to push back on these policies that prioritize money over children’s safety. The Supreme Court has only affirmed what we know all along: Senate Bill 1 is lawful, necessary, and is now the law of the land. This is only the beginning, Tennessee. *** Jack Johnson represents Senate District 27 which consists of Williamson County. Jack Johnson serves as the Tennessee Senate Majority Leader. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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