Trump insists Israel did not force US hand on Iran attack as he meets German chancellor

Trump insists Israel did not force US hand on Iran attack as he meets German chancellor – live

US president appears to contradict Marco Rubio remarks that Israel planned to strike Iran first, claiming ‘If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand’

In a short while, Donald Trump will welcome German chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House.

Since Merz will be the first foreign leader to visit Trump since strikes on Iran, there is no escaping this issue – even if the German chancellor would rather focus on other matters.

Merz is likely to publicly back Trump on Iran as he previously said that Berlin shared the Iranian people’s “relief” that “the mullah regime is coming to an end,” and declined to “lecture” the US and Israel on legality of the strikes.

But that doesn’t mean their chat will be easyat all, despite clever diplomatic tricks – which last time round saw Merz give Trump his grandfather’s German birth certificate.

Donald Trump meets German chancellor Freiderich Merz at the White House, 5 June 2025. Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

Merz historicially was, and is probably still a generally committed pro-US politician – but has markedly changed his positions since assuming power last year and in response to somewhat erratic decisions of the US president, Donald Trump.

He repeatedly criticised Trump’s decisions on transatlantic trade and the US president’s ambitions to control Greenland, which is part of a Nato ally, Denmark.

Trump’s tariffs are particularly tricky for Germany, and it’s already ailing economy, so Merz is likely to make representations on that point as he hopes to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries.

Merz also repeatedly sought the US administration’s support for Ukraine and against the increasingly dangerous Russia, which he sees as critical for the future of the continent – sometimes putting him at odds with Trump.

He will probably see it as his task to do whatever it takes to bring Trump closer to Europe on Ukraine and Russia.

In his speech at the Munich Security Conference last month, Merz pointedly warned Trump that “in the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.”

Noem says there are 'no quotas' for DHS arrests during Senate hearing

In a line of questioning by Democratic senator Chris Coons, Noem is being grilled about her department’s relationship with Trump’s top adviser Stephen Miller. Coons noted Miller’s public comments to reporters about a 3000 arrests per day quota.

“When there’s pressure on you to hit high numbers,” Coons said. “It’s easier to simply round-up people here, breaking no laws and contributing to our communities.”

For her part, Noem was resolute that there are “no quotas” and insisted that DHS conducts “targeted law enforcement”.

Noem says that there are still 650 federal immigration agents in Minnesota

Kristi Noem said that she believes there are about 650 federal immigration agents still stationed in Minnesota, while answering questions from one of the state’s Democratic senators – Amy Klobuchar.

This comes after Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan announced there would be a substantial drawdown of immigration enforcement in the state last month. Throughout Operation Metro Surge there were about 3,000 agents in Minnesota.

“What I want to know is, when are you going to get down to the original footprint as promised to us?” Klobuchar asked Noem today. Prior to the crackdown in the North Star state, there were about 150 federal immigration officers present.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham asked Noem about the mass shooting in Austin over the weekend during his questions today.

A reminder, officials in Texas are continuing to investigate at a bar in the state capital by a man wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie as an act of potential terrorism, as fears rise over the possibility of further attacks following US airstrikes on Iran. The shooting killed two people, and wounded 14 others.

Police shot and killed Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese national and naturalized US citizen, after he reportedly opened fire at the downtown bar. The Associated Press, citing an unidentified law enforcement official, said the gunman wore a T-shirt under his hoodie with an Iranian flag design.

During today’s hearing, Graham said he wondered “how many people are like that here, waiting to pounce”. GOP Texas lawmakers and officials have already issued statements that the shooting was in response to the coordinated US-Israel military action in Iran.

“Radical Islam has no place in Texas and our country,” said Republican senator John Cornyn, who is up for re-election this year. His opponent in Tuesday’s primary, attorney general Ken Paxton, said that it is “a legitimate concern” that the suspect “might have been part of a sleeper cell”.

Noem does not retract statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti 'domestic terrorists'

When asked by ranking member Dick Durbin if Noem would retract her statements calling Renee Good and Alex Pretti – the two US citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis – “domestic terrorists”, Noem evaded the question.

“When we have these situations happen, we always offer our condolences to those families, and I offer mine as well,” the homeland security secretary said.

Durbin noted that the leaders of ICE and CBP – both of whom testified before the House judiciary committee last month – said they did not provide information to Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.

“I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene,” Noem insisted.

“Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin pushed back.

Noem says DHS will continue to investigate possible 'Iranian sleeper cells' in wake of ongoing war

Kristi Noem said that her department will continue to investigate “any threats to the homeland here within our borders” after chairman Grassley asked her about possible “Iranian sleeper cells” in the US, amid the war in the region.

“We work with the FBI often, and homeland security investigation specializes in this kind of work each and every day,” Noem added, while denigrating the Biden administration’s immigration policy. “We don’t necessarily know who all came into our country. We know that we have many dangerous individuals that came in, unvetted, and we are working every single day to find them and to make sure that we’re preventing the next attack.”

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the US Capitol, 3 March 2026. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

One note, Grassley did acknowledge the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “Mistakes have been made,” the Iowa lawmaker said. “Let’s make it clear, one death is too many.”

Ahead of Noem giving her opening statement she was interrupted by a protester in the hearing room, who identified themself as a former FEMA employee, and said that the homeland security secretary should be “ashamed” of herself. As they were escorted out of the room they issued a call to “abolish ICE”.

The top Democrat on the judiciary committee, senator Dick Durbin issued a sharp rebuke of DHS under Noem’s leadership. He said that the department is “devoid of any moral compass or respect for the rule of law” and noted that “without hesitation or remorse” federal immigration agents have “wreaked havoc in our cities”.

During his opening remarks, Senate judiciary committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, blamed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but highlighted four agencies: the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Coast Guard.

Democrats are demanding tighter guardrails for federal immigration enforcement, but a sweeping tax bill signed into law last year conferred $75bn for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means the agency is still functional amid the wider department shuttering.