Vice-president JD Vance said on Friday that the United States wins “either way” in negotiations with Iran, pointing to what he described as the destruction of its nuclear program and the country's diminished status. Speaking to HBO's Bill Maher, Vance stated, “If we make the final deal, then great. If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.”
Ceasefire under strain
The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran is increasingly being tested, with fresh military strikes exchanged in the Strait of Hormuz just hours after Vance's comments. President Donald Trump also asserted US dominance, posting on Truth Social: “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.”
US launches further strikes
The US military conducted additional strikes on multiple targets in Iran on Saturday, as confirmed by US Central Command (Centcom). These strikes were described as a “direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.” Centcom stated that the strikes targeted “Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”
Other key US politics stories
In other developments, a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bid to abandon a Biden-era rule setting tough standards for deadly soot pollution. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the administration's deregulatory agenda and its efforts to boost coal as an energy source.
President Trump also announced on Saturday his intention to nominate Lance Schroyer as the next director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Schroyer, a former Oklahoma State Trooper and US Marine, has over 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma, a state where Trump won all 77 counties in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections.
Additional headlines
Other notable events from Saturday include: the White House unveiling new images of US “patriot passports” for America’s 250th anniversary; Trump’s Board of Peace planning to grant itself sweeping immunity, according to documents; and Trump threatening a 100% tariff on European countries that impose a digital tax.
