"Saturday Night Live" aired a cold open mocking President Trump's decision to launch military strikes on Iran, less than 24 hours after the attack was announced. Actor James Austin Johnson portrayed Trump offering comedic justifications for the strikes, including being "bored of peace," while Colin Jost played Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The sketch also referenced the timing of the strikes occurring on a Saturday and made jokes about the Epstein files and stock market closures.
On the third day of US-Israeli military strikes against Iran, fighting has spread across the Gulf region, with explosions reported in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, and Bahrain as Iran continues launching retaliatory missile and drone attacks on US military assets. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed killed in the strikes, and US President Trump stated the joint operation had killed 48 Iranian leaders, while three American service members have died — the first US casualties of the conflict. Iran also struck targets in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and a Shahed drone hit a UK Royal Air Force base in Cyprus after Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized the use of British military bases for defensive operations. Trump vowed to continue combat operations until "all objectives are achieved."
The article argues that the Trump administration has developed a distinct military doctrine that fundamentally inverts the Powell Doctrine, favoring ambiguity, surprise, limited airpower, and flexible objectives over the traditional principles of public support, congressional authorization, clear goals, and overwhelming force. Trump's interventions — including strikes on Iran, the operation in Venezuela, and the Houthi campaign — have proceeded without public ultimatums, congressional votes, or defined exit strategies, with shifting justifications that allow the administration to claim success without clear victory. The author acknowledges that this approach has produced some pragmatic outcomes, such as the Houthi ceasefire and the destruction of Iranian nuclear sites, while warning that its application to Iran's regime change represents an especially high-risk gamble given the country's size, entrenched security apparatus, and lack of a ground component. The piece concludes that Trump's doctrine may allow him to exit conflicts by retroactively redefining objectives, but risks postponing rather than resolving underlying conflicts.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that U.S. military strikes had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels and partially destroyed Iran's naval headquarters, with CENTCOM confirming the sinking of an Iranian Jamaran-class corvette in the Gulf of Oman. The strikes came on the second day of a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation that reportedly killed several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Gulf countries, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that state institutions remained intact and that a new supreme leader could be chosen soon. Iran had not yet confirmed the naval losses at the time of reporting.
President Trump returned to the White House from Mar-a-Lago, where he had authorized strikes on Iran, and declined to answer reporters' questions about the ongoing conflict, instead commenting on new statues in the Rose Garden. At least three U.S. service members have been killed and five seriously wounded as part of the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran, according to U.S. Central Command. Iranian retaliatory strikes have caused casualties in multiple locations, including at least nine deaths from a missile strike on a residential area near Jerusalem and incidents in Dubai's Jebel Ali commercial area. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister stated that Trump crossed a "very dangerous red line" following the strikes, which also killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his 36-year rule.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz appeared to undercut one of President Trump's key justifications for attacking Iran when he acknowledged on CBS's *Face the Nation* that Iran's nuclear capabilities had already been eliminated by U.S. and Israeli strikes during the 2025 Twelve-Day War. Cruz stated that the bombing "took out" Iran's nuclear weapons program, while noting Iran retained a desire to rebuild — contradicting claims of an imminent nuclear threat. Trump had previously celebrated the complete destruction of Iran's nuclear assets following those strikes.
President Trump's decision to partner with Israel in military strikes against Iran has sparked significant pushback from prominent MAGA supporters and "America First" advocates, who argue the action contradicts his campaign promises to avoid new Middle Eastern military engagements. High-profile critics including Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Erik Prince have voiced opposition, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll found only about a quarter of Americans approve of the strikes, with 42% of Republican voters saying they would be less supportive if U.S. troops are killed or injured. Three American service members have already been killed and five wounded in the operation, with retaliatory Iranian missile strikes hitting Israel and Gulf nations, and oil prices spiking 10% since the conflict began. Trump has signaled some openness to early diplomatic off-ramps by agreeing to talks with Iranian leadership, while White House aides believe MAGA anger will subside if the conflict remains brief, though they acknowledge the campaign poses a political risk heading into midterm elections.
Following U.S. strikes on Iran ordered by President Trump, Congressional Democrats and a small number of Republicans are demanding Congress reconvene immediately to hold a formal vote on the military action, arguing Trump acted illegally without congressional authorization. Votes already scheduled for midweek would require congressional approval for military action against Iran, with Republicans Thomas Massie, Rand Paul, and Warren Davidson joining Democrats in opposing the strikes as unconstitutional. Even if such a measure passes, it would face a likely presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority to override — making it more of a symbolic rebuke than a practical constraint on Trump's actions. The majority of Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have publicly praised the strikes.
On Day 2 of a joint U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran, three American service members were killed and five seriously wounded, becoming the first U.S. casualties of the conflict, with casualties occurring among personnel based in Kuwait. President Trump stated the operation is proceeding "ahead of schedule" and is expected to take "four weeks or less," while acknowledging that more casualties are likely. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes based on CIA intelligence, along with approximately 48 senior Iranian officials, prompting Iran to launch retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Middle East targeting U.S. bases and regional allies. Iran has established an interim leadership council, while the conflict has expanded to include strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure, Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon, and Iranian attacks on countries including Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, and Oman.
Congress is divided over the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran, with Republican senators defending the strikes while Democrats criticized them as a "war of choice" conducted without congressional approval or public justification. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed killed, and three U.S. service members have died in the operation so far. President Trump indicated openness to talks with Iran's remaining leadership, even as a second day of strikes and Iranian missile counterattacks escalated the conflict. Trump also appeared to connect his decision to launch the attack to his disputed 2020 election loss claims, citing alleged Iranian interference in that election.
The United States, alongside Israel, has carried out sustained military strikes against Iran, including the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in what legal analysts argue lacks justification under international law. The attacks do not meet the established criteria for lawful self-defense — which requires an imminent, unavoidable armed attack — particularly given that Iran's intercontinental ballistic missile capability was still years away and diplomatic negotiations had reportedly yielded concessions on Iran's nuclear program. At an emergency UN Security Council session, international condemnation was limited, with most states stopping short of explicitly labeling the strikes a violation of the prohibition on the use of force. Legal scholars warn that the attacks, combined with prior U.S. actions in Venezuela and threats toward Greenland, set dangerous precedents that could erode the rules-based international order and undermine efforts to oppose future aggression by other powers.
Donald Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" platform and pledged to avoid new wars, has shifted notably in the second year of his second term by ordering major military strikes on Iran and overseeing operations that toppled Venezuela's president. Despite repeatedly branding himself a "President of Peace" and boasting of his dealmaking abilities, Trump has embraced military action in ways that contrast sharply with his prior rhetoric against foreign interventions and regime change. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only one in four Americans approved of the Iran strikes, and the military engagements carry potential political consequences, including impact on midterm elections and his core voter base. Former allies like Marjorie Taylor Greene have already criticized the Iran attack, while analysts have described the administration's shift toward military action as a "major surprise."
