\u201cAll I can say, is that we\u2019re investigating,\u201d Hegseth said, while providing no information clarifying whose munition was responsible for the strike.<\/p>\n
My colleagues Tessa McClure and Deepa Parent have reported <\/a>that the missile directly hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, in Minab, southern Iran, demolishing its concrete building and killing dozens of seven to 12-year-old girls.<\/p>\n Hegseth, however, said that US forces \u201cnever target civilian targets\u201d at his press conference today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Hegseth said there is ‘no sense’ that Iran’s targeting of Turkey could trigger Article 5<\/p>\n Following reports that a missile launched from Iran<\/a>, and heading towards Turkish airspace, was shot down by Nato air defence systems, Hegseth said there was \u201cno sense\u201d that this would trigger Article 5 of the Nato treaty.<\/p>\n This is the core tenet of the organization that an attack on one member of Nato is an attack against all member countries. Article 5 has been invoked only once \u2013 in response to the 9\/11 terrorist attacks in 2001<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n During today\u2019s Pentagon briefing, Hegseth claimed that US forces \u201cquietly ensured that our defensive posture and power was in place\u201d before building up \u201coffensive combat power\u201d.<\/p>\n He said that the US moved \u201cover 90%\u201d of troops on American bases \u201cout of the range of Iranian fire\u201d.<\/p>\n However, his claims come a day after his defense department identified four of the six US service members killed during a drone strike on an American base in Kuwait.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Pentagon says Trump assassination\u2011attempt suspect killed in strikes<\/p>\n Joseph Gedeon<\/p>\n Killed in the strikes on Iran is the person who led a plot to assassinate Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth<\/a> confirmed on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,\u201d Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing.<\/p>\n The plot dates back to 2024, when federal prosecutors under the Biden administration charged 51-year-old Iranian national Farhad Shakeri and two New York men with running a murder-for-hire operation on behalf of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The aim, the department of justice said at the time<\/a>, was revenge for Trump\u2019s killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in 2020.<\/p>\n Shakeri had been personally directed by an IRGC official to assassinate Trump during the presidential campaign, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hegseth says US ‘investigating’ strike on Iranian girls school that killed more that 160 people<\/p>\n The defense secretary was evasive when asked about the bombing of an Iranian girls\u2019 elementary school<\/a> four days ago, which killed up to 168 people according to Iran\u2019s state media.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can say, is that we\u2019re investigating,\u201d Hegseth said, while providing no information clarifying whose munition was responsible for the strike.<\/p>\n My colleagues Tessa McClure and Deepa Parent have reported <\/a>that the missile directly hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, in Minab, southern Iran, demolishing its concrete building and killing dozens of seven to 12-year-old girls.<\/p>\n Hegseth, however, said that US forces \u201cnever target civilian targets\u201d at his press conference today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Gen Caine said today that the US will \u201cnow begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory\u201d, after forces were able to establish air superiority.<\/p>\n \u201cThe throttle is coming up,\u201d Caine said, \u201cas opposed to ramping down\u201d.<\/p>\n Caine also confirmed that the US has hit more than 2,000 Iranian targets, and more than 20 Iranian naval vessels.<\/p>\n The chairman also said that Iran\u2019s military command and control is \u201cin a bad way\u201d but did not go into details.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hegseth confirms sinking of Iranian warship<\/p>\n Vivian Ho<\/p>\n Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian ocean as he declared that the Iranian navy \u201crests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf\u201d and that it was \u201cineffective, decimated, destroyed\u2026pick your adjective, it is no more.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that on Tuesday, an American submarine in the Indian ocean \u201csunk an Iranian war ship that thought it was safe in international waters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death \u2013 the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we are fighting to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This press conference comes just a day after the Department of Defense (DoD) identified four of the six American soldiers killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait.<\/p>\n The soldiers were named as Captain Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant Nicole Amor, 39; Sergeant Declan Coady, 20; and Sergeant Noah Tietjens, 42.<\/p>\n Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, listed their names, and expressed condolences to their families while speaking at the Pentagon today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hegseth says Iran can no longer shoot volume of missiles as before<\/p>\n Hegseth noted that the US is able to continue the military action against Iran<\/a> for as long as it needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did \u2013\u00a0not even close,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.39 EST<\/p>\n Hegseth holds press conference on Operation Epic Fury<\/p>\n Kicking off today\u2019s Pentagon press conference, Pete Hegseth said \u201cAmerica is winning\u201d the war on Iran. \u201cDecisively, devastatingly and without mercy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Hegseth noted that in under a week the US and Israel will have \u201ccomplete control of Iranian skies\u201d.<\/p>\n He repeatedly touted that the US\u2019s success, and the road ahead: \u201cOur rules of engagement are bold, precise and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.39 EST<\/p>\n Senate to vote on war powers resolution to prevent Trump from continuing Iran conflict Senate Republicans are on Wednesday expected to vote down a Democratic-backed war powers resolution that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran<\/a>, with majority leader John Thune arguing the president is \u201cacting in the best interest of the nation\u201d.<\/p>\n Democrats have condemned Trump for ordering an air campaign against Iran without first seeking permission from Congress, while offering shifting explanations<\/a> of its objectives. The war powers resolution introduced by Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and minority leader Chuck Schumer would force an end to US participation in the current hostilities and require the president to go to Congress before re-entering the war.<\/p>\n \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be at war without a debate and vote. That was what the framers intended,\u201d Kaine told reporters Tuesday. \u201cWe protect our troops when we do it the right way. We put them at risk when we do it the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n The resolution will require 50 votes to advance. Democrats control 47 seats, but the Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman said he will oppose the resolution, meaning they\u2019ll need at least five Republicans to join with them for it to succeed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine to brief media on Iran<\/p>\n Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are set to begin speaking momentarily at a news conference at the Pentagon about Iran.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be covering their comments as part of our live coverage on the Middle East. To follow along, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.04 EST<\/p>\n What a Republican runoff could mean for the US senate seat in Texas<\/p>\n Neither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton were able to secure 50% of the vote on Tuesday, meaning that the two Republicans<\/a> must face again in a runoff election on 26 May.<\/p>\n The four-term Republican US senator Cornyn has maintained throughout his campaign that a victory for attorney general Paxton \u2013 a scandal-scarred Maga darling and conservative culture warrior \u2013 could \u201crisk everything we\u2019ve worked so hard to build over these many years\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a sentiment that national Republicans also appear to hold, with some warning that Paxton would force the party to divert resources away from other key Senate contests to protect a seat long viewed as safely red. \u201cHonestly, if you look at the polling in a general election setting, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s outside the realm of possibility that the seat [flips], depending on who the Democrats nominate,\u201d the Senate majority leader John Thune told Politico<\/a> in a recent interview.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>What does a Talarico primary win mean for the future of the Democratic Party?<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s Lauren Gambino reported from Austin, Texas last night that the Democratic contest between James Talarico and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was an early test of competing political playbooks for challenging Donald Trump and the Republican dominance that has gripped the state for three decades.<\/p>\n Throughout his campaign, Talarico, a 36-year-old former middle school teacher and seminary student, pushed for a \u201cpolitics of love\u201d that roots progressive policy in the teachings of his Christian faith. He argued that the central divide in American politics is \u201cnot left v right\u201d but \u201ctop v bottom\u201d and contended that Democrats<\/a> can rebuild trust in rural and suburban communities without abandoning their core values.<\/p>\n Crockett, on the other hand, has built a reputation as a rhetorical brawler with her unsparing attacks on Trump and Republicans<\/a>. The 44-year-old former public defender and progressive firebrand leaned into \u201cproven fighter\u201d image during the campaign but also contended that high turnout among young voters and voters of color \u2013 not ideological moderation \u2013 is the key to winning statewide.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Midterm primary season begins with Talarico winning the Democratic race in Texas<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.<\/p>\n As the war in the Middle East rages on half a world away, the midterm primary season kicked off with James Talarico winning<\/a> the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Texas \u2013 and a Republican runoff.<\/p>\n The contest between Talarico and firebrand Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was an early test of competing political playbooks for challenging Republican dominance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not just trying to win an election,\u201d Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called. \u201cWe are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the messy Republican primary between the four-term Republican US senator John Cornyn and the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, ended in a runoff<\/a>. A runoff is declared in Texas if neither candidate are able to capture 50% of the vote with just over two-thirds of the ballots counted, Cornyn led Paxton by less than two percentage points, with a third candidate, the rightwing congressman Wesley Hunt capturing about 13% of the vote.<\/p>\n Paxton and Cornyn will now face that election on 26 May. National Republicans have been openly fretting that a win by Paxton \u2013 a scandal-plagued conservative culture warrior and darling of the Maga movement \u2013 would provide Democrats with the opening they need to finally win over the staunchly red state that they have not carried in more than three decades.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in North Carolina, former Democratic governor Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley won their respective primaries<\/a>. In deep red Arkansas, where Republican incumbents like US senator Tom Cotton and governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders are expected to hold onto their seats, results came back as expected<\/a>, with Cotton winning his primary and Sanders, who is running uncontested, always moving forward in the race.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Senate Republicans are expected today to vote down <\/a>a Democratic-backed war powers resolution that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing the conflict in Iran. \u201cThe president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently under way there,\u201d majority leader John Thune said Tuesday.<\/p>\n The vote comes one day after Trump attempted to counter a simmering anti-Israel backlash in Congress and among his own Maga supporters by denying suggestions <\/a>that he had ordered the attack on Iran because Israel had already decided to do so \u2013 a claim that appears to counter comments made<\/a> by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in a classified briefing for all members of Congress.<\/p>\n In more Iran news, Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, and Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are scheduled to hold a news conference at the Pentagon this morning to discuss the conflict.<\/p>\n Minnesota is set to be front and center on the Hill with governor Tim Walz and attorney general Keith Ellison scheduled to go before the House oversight committee this morning over their state\u2019s fraud scandal.<\/p>\n Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem is then set to go before the House judiciary committee, one day after she was grilled before the Senate judiciary committee and refused to retract her statements<\/a> calling the two US citizens who were killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis earlier this year \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d.<\/p>\n In more Minnesota news: The Department of Homeland Security has opened an internal investigation <\/a>into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official who became the face of the state\u2019s highly scrutinized federal immigration crackdown, the New York Times reported<\/a>. Bovino is being investigated for allegedly making disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota\u2019s top federal prosecutor.<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chris_Stein.png\")
Chris Stein<\/p>\n