Speaker Johnson defends Operation Epic Fury as defensive action against Iran

US President Trump spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabaniin in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the US -Israel war with Iran and what might come next, Axios reported on Monday.

Asked specifically about Trump's calls with the Kurds, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to discuss specifics.

"President Trump has been in contact with many allies and partners in the region throughout the past several days," she told Axios.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board said on Monday Iran’s attacks on Arab states, regional partners and European targets are further isolating Tehran and strengthening the coalition against its regime.

“Iran’s retaliation since the US-Israeli bombing began is so far helping to build the coalition against the ruling regime. By attacking Arab states and partners, Tehran makes a broader case against its own survival,” the editorial said.

“The Gulf states are angry. ‘They want to fight,’ Mr. Trump said Monday. ... Iran has even involved Europe by striking a French naval base in the UAE and a Kuwaiti air base used by Italy. ... Iran’s regime still has useful idiots on whom it can rely, but its retaliation has increased the need and grown the constituency for regime change,” the editorial added.

The Israeli army targeted the Islamic Republic of Iran’s state broadcasting complex on Monday, calling it the “beating heart” of the IRGC’s propaganda and repression machinery.

"The network had long portrayed regime opponents as instigators of unrest while glorifying security forces as national heroes. This institution has reached the end of its path," Kamal Panahasi, the IDF’s Farsi spokesperson said in a video.

"The state broadcasting complex acts as an inseparable part of a vast system of repression in Iran, where state media has been used to legitimize the use of force and to instill fear among the people. For years, through programs presented under the cover of maintaining regime stability, it has labeled protesters and opposition figures, serving the regime’s control," he added.

The State Department on Monday issued an urgent security alert advising American citizens to depart immediately from a number of Middle Eastern countries amid escalating regional tensions and serious safety risks.

The advisory applies to Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel - including the West Bank and Gaza - Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

President Donald Trump said on Monday his decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon “three years ago,” calling the agreement “the most dangerous transaction” ever made.

"If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrendous Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Iran would have had a Nuclear Weapon three years ago. That was the most dangerous transaction we have ever entered into, and had it been allowed to stand, the World would be an entirely different place right now. You can blame Barack Hussein Obama, and Sleepy Joe Biden," Trump said.

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