Wednesday morning news: March 25, 2026

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Iran latest » President Trump said again on Tuesday that things are looking up … with regard to possibly ending the war in Iran soon.

TRUMP:  We're in negotiations right now. Uh, they're doing it along with Marco, JD. We have a number of people, uh, doing it. And the other side, I can tell you they'd like to make a deal.

The president referring there to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

He pointed to a goodwill gesture of some kind from Iran, which he said was “oil and gas related”... as evidence that his administration is now dealing with the right people.

TRUMP: The gift they made to us was very significant and they said they were gonna do it and it happened. And they're the only ones that could have done it.

Trump backed off a threat to order strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure because of what he said was Iran's willingness to make a deal that would end the country's nuclear program.

Iran initially denied that it's holding talks with the US but Iran's foreign minister has held separate calls with his counterparts in Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, and Turkey. Those are the same countries reportedly trying to mediate with the US to end the war.

That comes as the U.S. military is reportedly set to deploy around 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days.

Iranian attacks in Israel » Meanwhile in Israel, a familiar sound:

SOUND: [Sirens in Israel]

Sirens blared over Tel Aviv yesterdayas an Iranian missile was spotted over central Israel.

SOUND: [Aftermath in Bnei Brak]

Crews picked through debris after a missile hit several residential buildings, injuring at least a dozen people.

But Israel's military says Iran is firing fewer and fewer missiles.

DEFRIN:[Speaking Hebrew]

Brigadier General Effie Defrin says Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles the first day of the conflict, half that the second day, and is now firing an average of about 10 per day.

Meanwhile, Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon issuing a challenge to other world leaders to tighten the screws on Iran.

DANON: Where are you? Where is the moral clarity? Where are the urgency? Where is your leadership? Israel is already in the arena. This is your moment to step up, to recognize the common enemy, to act now, before it's too late for your people to act with unity, with resolve and clarity.

Danon told reporters that Iran's recent missile launch toward the joint US – UK, military base on Diego Garcia, Island, and the Indian Ocean could demonstrate a greater strike range than previously acknowledged. And that, he said, makes Iran a global threat.

Possible DHS deal » At the White House:

BONDI: Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I do solemnly swear.

MULLIN: I do solemnly swear.

BONDI: Markwayne Mullin.

MULLIN: Markwayne Mullin…

Attorney General Pam Bondi administering the oath of office to newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters has more from Washington.

HARRISON WATTERS: The Former Oklahoma GOP Senator takes over the Department of Homeland Security 40 days into a partial government shutdown.

Senate Republicans are optimistic about landing a deal to pass DHS funding later this week after meeting with President Trump on Monday,

Republicans are also talking about passing additional funding for ICE operations and some elements of the SAVE America Act through a process known as budget reconciliation. Mullin explains:

MULLIN: There's a framework that we can do through reconciliation, paying for it, put some of the policies that cost money in, because there's nothing more important than the SAVE America Act.

WATTERS: That legislation aims to require voter verification, including photo ID, in national elections.

Trump over the weekend said he would not support breaking up the DHS appropriations bill to handle ICE separately, but when asked about it on Tuesday, he told reporters the process is up to Congress.

Lawmakers are planning to fly home on Friday for a two week recess for Easter and Passover, so the incentive is strong to land a deal soon.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters in Washington.

Alan Armstrong replaces Sen. Mullin » And Oklahoma’s governor has chosen a temporary replacement for Markwayne Mullin in the Senate.

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has appointed energy executive Alan Armstrong to fill a newly vacant U.S. Senate seat through the end of the year.

STITT:  A few people have done more to Champion America. First agenda to keep Oklahoma at the center of domestic production, uh, so that we can deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy to American citizens than Alan Armstrong.

Armstrong is the chairman and former CEO of Williams Companies, a major pipeline operator based in Tulsa.

ARMSTRONG:  I'll admit to you, I'm a, a little bit, like, I feel like I'm stepping off into the abyss with not exactly sure what I'm getting into, but, uh, but I'm confident, got great team around me, great support around me, and I look really do look forward to making a difference for the short time that, that I'm in the Senate.

Under Oklahoma law, Armstrong must agree not to run for a full term in November’s general election.

Moon base » America is not only aiming to go back to the moon, it’s planning to set up shop on the lunar surface.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman just announced a $20-billion-dollar plan to build a permanent base on the moon within seven years.

To free up resources, the agency is canceling its planned Lunar Gateway space station — which was designed to orbit the moon. And it will redirect those already-constructed components toward a surface base instead.

ISAACMAN:  America will never again give up the moon. That brings us to the next step. Building the moon base. It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on, uh, infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface.

The first crewed moon landing is now targeted for Artemis IV in 2028, with annual lunar missions to follow. The urgency is driven in part by China, which is targeting its own crewed moon landing by 2030.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead on Washington Wednesday: the political importance of two major Supreme Court cases. Hunter Baker is standing by. Plus, fighting wildfires becomes a family affair for Nebraska ranchers.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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