Monday morning news: June 23, 2025

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Iran: Deterring escalation » The Pentagon has positioned a massive show of force in the Middle East to send a strong message to Iran: Do not retaliate for weekend airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies:

MONTGOMERY:  There's a carrier strike group, just, uh, uh, south of the, uh, strait of Hormuz. There's a second carrier strike group coming through from the Pacific, uh, the Nimitz Strike Group to join them. And then through the Red Sea, we have several destroyers.

He says the Red Sea Destroyers are designed to guard against attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

And he adds that another five Destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean are tasked with helping to shoot down ballistic missiles fired into Israel. More on that momentarily.

President Trump made clear in remarks after those airstrikes:

TRUMP:  Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.

But the president stresses that the strikes were limited strictly to Iran’s nuclear facilities and that the U.S. does not want to have to fire on any other Iranian targets.

Iran: retaliation » Iran did quickly retaliate against Israel, launching dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at Tel Aviv, Haifa, and other cities.

Air defenses, including those U.S. destroyers took out most of the incoming threats, though more than 20 people were wounded.

But Iran is also threatening a response against the United States. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi:

ARAQCHI:  The US administration holds sole and full responsibility for the consequences of its actions, including the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to self-defense under the principles of the United Charter.

He said Iran reserves “all options” in responding to the U.S. strikes.

American troops and bases in the Middle East are on high alert. And the State Department has taken precautions to better safeguard personnel abroad.

Iran: Assessing damage » With smoke still rising from several key nuclear sites in Iran, the US military is working to determine exactly how much damage it achieved.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said Sunday:

CAINE:  Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.

Seven B-2 stealth bombers dropped a total of 14 so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs. They’re also known as MOPs, short for Massive Ordnance Penetrators.

They each weigh 30,000 pounds, and they are the only conventional weapons in the world, capable of threatening facilities buried under hundreds of feet of rock and concrete.

CAINE:  This was the largest B2 operational strike in US history and the second longest B2 mission ever flown.

The bombers departed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Only the US Air Force B-2s can be equipped with those particular bombs.

Iran: Reaction & debate (Washington) » On Capitol Hill, opinions are sharply divided on President Trump’s decision to order those strikes.

Democrats immediately criticized the move. Congressman Ro Khanna:

KHANNA:  Now you are gonna force Iran, uh, to go covertly in developing this nuclear, uh, material. Now you've put American troops at risk. Now you're wasting billions of our dollars because we're sending more troops to the Middle East.

Many Democrats also say the president was constitutionally obligated to seek authority from Congress. And at least two Republicans have said the same.

But most GOP lawmakers say the War Powers Act gave the president all the authority he needed. Congressman Greg Steube:

STEUBE:   He has the authority to protect our service members to be able to take military action when he deems, uh, authorized under the US Constitution.

Iran: Debate over strike (global) » Reactions have also been mixed around the world.

Iran’s two largest allies, Russia and China, strongly condemned the airstrikes. But notably, they’ve signaled no interest whatsoever in coming to Iran’s defense militarily.

And UN Secretary-General António Guterres also criticized the strikes as a—quote—“dangerous escalation” and a “perilous turn.”

GUTERRES: We now risk descending into a rat hole of retaliation after retaliation.

A number of European leaders have stopped short of criticizing the move outright … but called for restraint and de-escalation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as acting national security adviser responded. He said even countries that are publicly critical of the strikes:

RUBIO: Privately, they all agree with us that this needed to be done. They gotta do what they gotta do for, you know, their own, uh, public relations purposes. But the only people in the world that are unhappy about what happened in Iran last night is the regime in Iran.

But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seemingly voiced support, affirming after those strikes that Iran—his words “can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.” Though, he too is now calling for de-escalation.

And Israel, of course, is expressing gratitude. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he asked President Trump for help in destroying those key Iranian nuclear facilities.

NETANYAHU:  I told him of our need to act. He understood it very well, and I knew that when push comes to shove, he would do the right thing. He would do the right thing for America. He would do the right thing for the free world. He would do the right thing for civilization.

Israel assessed that Iran could have been merely weeks away from a nuclear weapon a fear supported by recent reports from the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency.

Church gunman » In Michigan police say a security guard at a church in suburban Detroit stopped a gunman who had rammed his pickup truck into the church and then opened fire.

The Wayne Police Department says officers responded to an active shooter Sunday morning at CrossPointe Community Church. Arriving officers discovered that the security guard sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. but had shot and killed the suspect. No one else was hurt.

Police are still investigating the incident.

NBA Finals » The Thunder made history last night in game-7 of the NBA Finals.

The last time the franchise captured the Lary O’Brien trophy was 1979, but the team was then the Seattle Supersonics.

The Oklahoma City Thunder got it done in front of the home crowd last night, beating the Indiana Pacers 103 to 91.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the Supreme Court releases more opinions. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

This is The World and Everything in It. 

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