Explosions were heard in Tehran throughout the day Wednesday as Israel said its warplanes pounded Iran in three waves of strikes. Less than a week into the conflict , Israel now says its aircraft have free rein over the Iranian capital’s skies. Iran launched small barrages of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties, and Israel has eased some restrictions for its civilians. Meanwhile, fear grips the Iranian capital as the streets are empty, businesses closed and communications patchy at best. Thousands have fled.

U.S. President Donald Trump would not say Wednesday whether he has decided to order a U.S. strike on Iran . “I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

High-ranking European diplomats will hold nuclear talks with Iran in Switzerland on Friday, according to a European official familiar with the plans.

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Here’s the latest:

Israel warns people to evacuate the area around Arak heavy water reactor

Israel’s military on Thursday warned people to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor.

The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that proceeded strikes.

The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon.

Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns.

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639, rights group says

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,329 others, a human rights group said Thursday.

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The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists offered the figures, which covers the entirety of Iran. It said of those dead, it identified 263 civilians and 154 security force personnel being killed.

Human Rights Activists, which also provided detailed casualty figures during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.

Iran has not been offering regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the death toll at 224 people being killed and 1,277 others being wounded.

No US plans to be part of EU-Iran talks — for now

A U.S. official said Wednesday there no plans for U.S. involvement in nuclear talks set between senior European diplomats and Iran in Geneva, although that could change.

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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications, also noted that the Europeans have been wanting to play a role in the negotiations for months but have been held back by the U.S.

That position, the official said, may be changing as the hostilities intensify

— By Matthew Lee in Washington

Putin says ‘a solution could be found’ to end Israel-Iran conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

Speaking at a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin said he had shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States.

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“We are not imposing anything on anyone, we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” the Russian leader added.

British official hints at UK and US force deployments

A British official said the U.S. is sending resources including the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and putting refueling tankers in Spain and Greece, adding that the U.S. has fighter jets and B-52 bombers at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter freely.

They said there could be a U.S. request to station jets at RAF base Akrotiri, the British base in Cyprus, but that the U.K. has not received one yet. The U.S. would normally have to inform the U.K. if it wanted to conduct offensive operations from either the U.K. base in Cyprus or Diego Garcia, which is a joint U.S.-U.K. base.

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— By Emma Burrows in London.

British official says UK isn’t fully clear on US plans for Iran

A British official with knowledge of the situation in the Middle East said there “isn’t complete clarity” about the American plan in the region. The official said they understand the U.S. is still debating what to do but believe that “all options” are on the table.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely on the matter, said Trump wants to put pressure on Iran to do a deal and suggested he does not want to go to war.

The British official said the U.S. is mounting a “very strong defensive response,” which allows a lot of choice “whichever way this goes,” but emphasized that the U.S. is framing the current operation as “primarily defensive.” That includes protecting U.S. bases and personnel in the Middle East.

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— By Emma Burrows in London.

Senior European diplomats to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday, official says

The high-ranking officials from Germany, France and the United Kingdom as well as the European Union’s top diplomat will gather for the meeting in Switzerland.

That’s according to a European official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

It comes as Trump is weighing approval of U.S. military to join Israel in carrying out strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.

— By Aamer Madhani in Washington.

US starts evacuating some diplomats from its embassy in Israel

Two U.S. officials said a government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave Israel on Wednesday. There’s no indication of how many diplomats and family members departed on the flight.

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The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements.

This took place shortly before U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuation flights and ships for private American citizens.

The evacuation comes amid the possibility that the United States could become directly involved in the conflict.

— By Matthew V. Lee in Washington.

Iran’s state TV reports it’s under a cyberattack by Israel

Social media users reported that regular broadcasts on state TV were briefly interrupted and replaced with an anti-government video urging people to take to streets.

After the normal broadcast was resumed, a message displayed on screen read: “If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime.”

USS Ford to sail for European deployment, giving the US a 3rd carrier option if Iran-Israel conflict widens

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will sail from the East Coast for Europe on a regularly scheduled deployment. But its presence also gives Trump a third aircraft carrier option as he weighs what sort of military response the U.S. should provide as tensions between Israel and Iran escalate.

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The Ford was previously deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean as a show of strength and to provide options to Israel following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas. The U.S. Navy already has the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, and is sending the USS Nimitz to sail toward the Mideast from the Indo-Pacific.

Israel says a drone was intercepted in the Golan Heights

Sirens sounded in Israeli communities in the annexed Golan Heights after a drone infiltrated the area late Wednesday, the military said, but it was intercepted by the air force.

The internet in most of Gaza has been cut for 2 days

For the second day in a row, communications and internet service has been cut off in south and central Gaza because of an outage caused by Israeli attacks on a key piece of infrastructure, according to the Ramallah-based Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

Meanwhile up north in Gaza City, Al-Quds Hospital was able to report that it received the bodies of four people and treated more than 54 wounded Wednesday morning following Israeli shelling across neighborhoods in the city, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Since the war began in October 2023, a total of 55,637 people have been killed and nearly 130,000 others were injured, Gaza’s Health Ministry says. That count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but it says women and children make up more than half the dead.

The toll includes 5,334 people killed and more than 17,000 wounded since Israel ended a ceasefire three months ago.

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza, including parents trying to feed their kids

Israeli strikes across the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed 22 people, including two children, and injured 90 others since dawn Wednesday, according to records from Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken.

Eight were killed sheltering in tents and five others killed while trying to get aid, according to hospital records obtained by an AP contributor.

Dozens gathered at Nasser Hospital to mourn their loved ones placed in body bags, including Ahmed Abu Rizk, a boy who cried and screamed in disbelief at losing his father, who was fatally shot when they were getting aid at the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution center in Rafah.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said hospitals across the territory took in 144 bodies and treated 560 wounded people within a 24-hour period.

Arms control experts say US involvement in Israel-Iran conflict worsens risk of nuclear proliferation

Three top officials at the Washington-based Arms Control Association are strongly urging Trump and members of Congress “to choose nuclear nonproliferation diplomacy over war.”

They warned in a statement Wednesday that military strikes can’t destroy Iran’s extensive nuclear knowledge, and while they can set back its nuclear program, attacks can also spur Tehran to pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and possibly pursue nuclear weapons.

Israel, which is believed to have an undeclared nuclear arsenal, is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.

According to U.S. intelligence, the experts said, there was no imminent threat that Iran was moving toward producing nuclear weapons before Israel’s attack.

Hypersonic missiles could shift the dynamic of the conflict, experts say

The mix of speed and agility gives defenders less time to react, making the missiles hard to stop.

“It comes over the horizon, you suddenly see it, and then it’s over,” said Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

The missile Iran has launched, the Fattah 1, has had minimal success. Israel says Iran has fired over 400 missiles, with over 40 causing damage or casualties.

That’s because “speed is not crucial,” said Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Israeli think tank INSS.

“What is important is the maneuverability of the incoming missiles, and so far the maneuverability of these missiles is limited,” said Kalisky.

He said Iran has two fast and maneuverable missiles, the Khorramshahr and Fattah 2, that would be “more difficult” to intercept. But neither have been deployed.

Iran says it has fired hypersonic missiles at Israel, but experts are skeptical

Simply put, hypersonic weapons are any missile that travels beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. Ballistic missiles, fired high up or outside the earth’s atmosphere, routinely reach this speed.

However, they must also be able to maneuver midflight to qualify as true hypersonic weapons. That’s a capability Iran isn’t believed to possess, as the missiles must have advanced navigation systems and withstand the temperature and momentum stresses.

Experts say the U.S. and China are the only countries that have developed new-generation hypersonic missiles, but neither have used them in battle. Other nations such as Russia, North Korea and Pakistan have tested or used missiles with similar but less sophisticated technology.

▶ Read more about hypersonic missiles

Israel strikes the main Iranian police headquarters

Iran’s police says a number of its forces have been injured during a strike by Israel on its central command buildings in Tehran. An official statement by police public relations called the attack “cowardly and blind.”

Republican Sen. Cruz says ‘zero possibility of American boots on the ground in Iran’

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he’s spoken to Trump and believes the president could “quite reasonably” intervene in the conflict by striking an Iranian nuclear facility that’s deep underground.

Cruz did not respond to a question about whether such actions risked drawing the U.S. into a wider regional war.

“In terms of U.S. involvement in military action, there is zero possibility of American boots on the ground in Iran,” he said.

Cruz also said he believes Iran was working to build a nuclear bomb intended to threaten America. Experts and the U.S. intelligence community have assessed that Iran was not actively working on such a weapon before Israel’s strikes.

Macron calls for Israel to halt strikes on Iran

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concerns about “Israeli strikes increasingly targeting sites unrelated to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programs, and a growing number of civilian casualties in Iran and Israel.”

“We urgently need to put an end to these military operations,” a statement by Macron’s office said Wednesday, following a special security meeting at the presidential palace in Paris.

Macron asked France’s foreign minister to work with European partners to propose a negotiated settlement of the conflict in the coming days.

He also asked the government to take measures to facilitate the departure of French nationals who want to leave Israel and Iran.

UN chief urges immediate de-escalation

Saying he is “profoundly alarmed” at the military escalation between Iran and Israel, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly appealed to all parties “to avoid any further internationalization of the conflict.”

And in an indirect warning to Trump, who is debating whether to intervene to support Israel, Guterres said: “Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large.”

In a statement Wednesday, he stressed that “Diplomacy remains the best and only way to address concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues.”

The secretary-general also condemned “the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives and injuries to civilians and damage to homes and critical civilian infrastructure.”

Wall Street rises as oil prices fall with hopes that Israel-Iran fighting could cool

Some of the strongest moves on Wall Street are again in the oil market, where crude prices dropped after Trump said it’s not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Oil prices have been yo-yoing for days because of rising and ebbing fears that Israel’s fighting with Iran could disrupt the global flow of crude.

Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters are skeptical about deepening US involvement in the Mideast

During his 2024 run for the White House, Trump promised voters he would quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and keep the U.S. out of costly conflicts.

Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first administration, on Wednesday said the administration should tread carefully.

“This is not something you play around with,” Bannon told reporters. “You have to think this through. And the American people have to be on board. You can’t just dump it on them.”

Trump has pushed back at that notion, saying: “My supporters are more in love with me today, and I’m in love with them more than they were even at election time when we had a total landslide.”

Iran says its leaders would never ‘grovel at the gates of the White House’

Trump says Iranian officials continue to reach out. “They’ve suggested that they come to the White House — that’s, you know, courageous.”

Iran’s mission to the United Nations refuted Trump’s claim in a statement on social media: “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader.”

Russia urges the US not to strike Iran, official says

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday that Moscow has cautioned Washington against offering direct military assistance to Israel.

“We are warning Washington against even speculative, hypothetical considerations of the sort,” Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency. “That would be a step drastically destabilizing the situation as a whole.”

Trump said earlier this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to serve a mediator with. But the U.S. president said he told Putin to keep focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine.

Several powerful explosions rock central Tehran

Witnesses say there have been more than 10 powerful explosions in central Tehran as Israel continues its campaign, with white smoke rising into the air. Iranian officials did not immediately acknowledge the strikes.

Air raid sirens in Israel as fresh Iranian missile barrage approaches

The Israeli military urged people to head to shelters after it said it identified missile launches in Iran on Wednesday evening.

Israel had eased some restrictions for civilians earlier in the day, as Iranian missile attacks have been waning.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, according to Israel’s emergency rescue service.

‘Nobody knows’: Trump won’t say whether he will move forward with US strikes on Iran

President Donald Trump speaks as a flagpole is installed on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House . “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Iran’s supreme leader issued a fresh warning Wednesday that U.S. direct involvement in Israel’s military operations be greeted with stiff retaliation.

The “bunker-buster” bombs believed necessary to significantly damage Iran’s underground nuclear sites would have to be dropped from an American aircraft.

Iran denies sending mediators to Oman

The denial by Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei comes after three planes flew to Muscat, Oman, from Iran on Wednesday, despite Iranian airspace being closed.

Flights and cruise ships will evacuate Americans from Israel

The U.S. State Department is making plans to evacuate American citizens from Israel by flights and cruise ships, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday.

In a post on X, he said Americans interested in leaving Israel should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for updates. The link is: https://t.co/rXymPRTQJJ

Huckabee’s post comes just a day after the State Department said it had stood up a special task force to assist Americans wanting to leave Israel and other Mideast countries.

There are some 700,000 Americans, many of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, now in Israel and thousands more in other Mideast countries, including Iran.

US lawmaker visiting Mideast calls for diplomacy and deterrence on Iran

Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, whose district covers Iowa’s capital and suburbs, said the U.S. would back up nuclear negotiations with firm consequences.

“This is something that needs to be on the negotiating table to make the Iranians aware: that there’s a real threat here if they refuse to negotiate a peaceful end to their nuclear program, the U.S. has the ability to eliminate it for them,” Nunn told the AP in Dubai on Wednesday.

He’s one of four U.S. representatives — two Democrats and two Republicans — visiting wealthy Persian Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia.

Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider said they’re working to get a sense of the challenges facing the so-called Abraham Accords, in which four Arab countries normalized relations with Israel in 2020.

US congressmen say America is ‘prepared to act’ if Iran doesn’t end its nuclear program

The members of the U.S. House of Representatives are visiting the United Arab Emirates, a key ally in the Gulf, as the conflict between Israel and Iran has frozen nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat,” Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider told the AP in Dubai.

Schneider represents Illinois’ 10th District, which includes wealthy and working-class communities along Lake Michigan and is a classic swing district with a large number of Jewish voters.

Highlighting deterrence, Republican Rep. Donald Bacon of Nebraska said: “If Iran attacks our forces, I will guarantee you that there will be a very hard response, and that’s why I think the president is moving forces in place to be prepared.”

Pope Leo warns high-tech weapons can bring unprecedented ‘barbarity’

Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for a general audience, Pope Leo XIV urged: “We must not get used to war. On the contrary, we must reject as a temptation the allure of powerful and sophisticated weapons.”

The pope said Tuesday that “the heart of the church is torn by the cries rising from places of war, especially Ukraine, Iran, Israel and Gaza,” and appealed for peace “in the name of human dignity and international law.”

In the year and a half before his death, Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis became increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli military’s harsh tactics in Gaza. Francis also advocated freeing the hostages held by Hamas, meeting with their families.

Iranian media denies ‘rumors’ Israel struck home of supreme leader

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian semiofficial news agency has denied “rumors” that an Israeli airstrike targeted the home of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It’s the first time the media in Iran has explicitly acknowledged the Islamic Republic’s paramount leader was a target.

The report came from the Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Fars described the rumors as showing “the U.S. and the Zionist regime’s anger and confusion in the face of the supreme leader’s firm statements made today.”

3 aircraft from Iran fly to Oman, a key mediator in previous US talks

Three aircraft took off from Iran for Muscat, Oman’s capital, on Wednesday. The flights come as Iranian airspace has been closed for days. Their flight trackers all turned on in southeastern Iran, meaning it wasn’t immediately clear from where the aircraft took off.

Iran offered no explanation for the flights and Oman did not immediately acknowledge any arrival of Iranian officials to the sultanate.

Oman has been a key mediator between Iran and the United States during their five rounds of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump responds to Iran supreme leader’s refusal heed to his call for unconditional surrender

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that the United States that strikes targeting Iran will “result in irreparable damage for them” and that his country would not heed to Trump’s call for surrender.

The one major concern for opponents of the bill – and why it’s a ‘terrible message’

This bill passed the Commons, but only just – with a majority of just 23.

And that shows the more people think about this issue, the “more they have had doubts”.

That’s according to Dr Gordon MacDonald, the chief executive of Care not Killing, who singled out his main concern with the bill.

“Our biggest concern is for people who are vulnerable, who will feel under pressure to end their lives,” he told our presenter Samantha Washington.

“That pressure might come from external forces, either family members or people in the care system or the NHS.

“But it’s more likely to just be internalised pressure that people feel that they are a burden on their family or their friends.”

They’re “conscious of the costs of care”, he said, and think they should do the “decent thing as they would see it”.

“Which is, of course, a terrible message for society to send out to people,” he continued.

But he hasn’t given up hope of defeating the bill.

“We will see what happens when it gets to the House of Lords,” he pointed out.

“The Lords, as I’ve said, will hopefully give it more rigorous scrutiny than happened in the Commons.”

That all the more important as public opinion remains “quite fluid”, he said, when told the majority of people support the bill.

“That [opinion] tends to change when presented with the practicalities of it,” he said.

Donald Trump doubled down Friday on his claim that Tulsi Gabbard is wrong about Iran’s supposed nuclear capabilities.

After disembarking Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, the president played dumb when confronted with a major discrepancy between his claims about Iran and what U.S. intelligence had to say.

“So you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon,” one reporter said. “Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point.”

“Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?” Trump asked.

“Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard,” the reporter replied.

“She’s wrong,” Trump said.

Q: Your intelligence community says they have no evidence that Iran is building a nuke

TRUMP: Then my intelligence community is wrong. Who said that?

Q: You director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

TRUMP: She’s wrong pic.twitter.com/RI9Jzouagh — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 20, 2025

Earlier this year, Gabbard testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that according to the Annual Threat Assessment, Iran was years away from acquiring nuclear weapons of their own.

When asked about this discrepancy earlier this week, Trump replied, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having it.”

In an effort to back Israel’s sweeping military operation in Iran, Trump has continually ignored intel provided by his own government. And Gabbard has made desperate attempts to rewrite her previous statements to get in line with the president’s newfound beliefs about Iran.

Trump has continued to play dumb (or maybe just be dumb) when asked any question about Iran. He repeatedly claimed that he would give Iran two weeks to weigh U.S. involvement—a timestamp he often uses to push things off until people forget about them—and said that he “might” support a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump offered his clearest indication yet that he will leave the White House at the end of his second term without trying to extend his stay, acknowledging the constraints preventing him from seeking a third term in an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Trump also highlighted several other rising stars in the Republican Party he said are capable of carrying the MAGA mantle after he’s finished as the GOP’s elected leader, mentioning not only Vice President JD Vance but also Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has become a central player in his second administration.

“I’ll be an eight-year president; I’ll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important,” Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an interview that aired Sunday.

Trump told Welker in March that he was “not joking” about his consideration of a third run, and he said again in his latest interview that he’s received strong requests from allies to run again. Despite those entreaties, Trump told Welker, he’s aware of the realities standing in the way.

“It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do. I don’t know if that’s constitutional that they’re not allowing you to do it or anything else,” Trump said.

The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment says, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Amending the Constitution to abolish that limit would be extremely difficult, requiring the support of either two-thirds of both the House and Senate or two-thirds of state legislatures. Both routes would then require ratification from three-quarters of the states.Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced a House joint resolution in January seeking to amend the Constitution to allow the president to be elected for up to three terms, a legislative effort that so far has seen little movement. Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, who served as lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, introduced a resolution in response urging his colleagues to reaffirm the 22nd Amendment’s prohibition on a third term.

Trump told Welker he has had no official meetings specifically about establishing a pathway for a third term, but he’s heard “different concepts” about potential options — including a legally dubious strategy in which Vance would seek the presidency and then pass the role on to Trump.

“Other people say, ‘You can have a write-in vote,'” Trump added, despite the constitutional limitation.

Talk of a potential third Trump term reached a fever pitch last month after the Trump Organization, led in part by the president’s two adult sons, began selling Trump 2028-branded red hats. The hats were listed for $50 with the description: “The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat.”

Despite that description — and its pointed reference to “rewrite the rules” — Trump said his aim is to ultimately pass the torch ahead of the next presidential election.

“There are many people selling the 2028 hat,” Trump said. “But this is not something I’m looking to do. I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.”

Among the GOP stars Trump said can take charge of the MAGA brand — which he described as the greatest political movement in history — is Vance, who Trump suggested would likely have an advantage over other competitors in a Republican primary for the top job. Welker asked if Vance would be “at the top of the list” as his successor, and Trump praised his vice president without making any commitments.

“It could very well be,” Trump said, before adding, “I don’t want to get involved in that. I think he’s a fantastic, brilliant guy. Marco is great. There’s a lot of them that are great.”

He also emphasized that such discussions are “far too early.”

“But certainly you would say that somebody’s the VP, if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage,” Trump said.

Trump has declined to be drawn into endorsing or labeling Vance as his anointed successor, while still showering him with praise over his work. In February, Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier that Vance is “very capable” but that he did not necessarily view Vance as his successor.

Trump also named Rubio as a “great” potential GOP leader. Trump’s confidence in the former Florida senator is reflected in Rubio’s wide portfolio in the administration: He’s been tapped by the president to serve as the acting head of the National Archives, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and, most recently, national security adviser — replacing Michael Waltz, whom Trump instead said he would nominate to be ambassador to the United Nations.

“Marco’s doing an outstanding job,” Trump said when the interview turned to Waltz. He added that while he does not expect Rubio to remain in his newest role in the “long term,” he’s in no rush to replace him.

“Now, Marco won’t keep — Marco’s very busy doing other things, so he’s not going to keep it long term. We’re going to put somebody else in,” Trump said, though he later noted that Henry Kissinger served as both secretary of state and national security adviser, adding: “Henry Kissinger did both. There’s a theory that you don’t need two people. But I think I have some really great people that could do a good job.”

Asked by Welker if Rubio could continue in both jobs “indefinitely,” Trump said: “He could, yeah. He could. But I think he even would like to probably see — because it is a little bit different. But in the meantime, he’ll handle it.”

The field of “tremendous” Republicans Trump said could emerge as 2028 front-runners, a group that he said includes as many as 20 people, does not appear to be a chief concern for the president months into his second term. He suggested to Welker that he’s much more focused on a more immediate election, the 2026 midterms, in which Republicans will have to fight historical odds to maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Backlash against Trump’s swift use of executive authority to reshape the federal government — from targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to imposing new tariffs on dozens of countries — have weighed on the GOP politically, with Trump’s approval ratings steadily declining through his first 100 days.

The economic consequences of the tariffs in particular appear to be politically damaging, with Trump’s handling of tariffs earning him especially low marks compared to other issues in recent public surveys, including CNBC and NBC News Stay Tuned polls.

Trump told Welker he plans to play a “very active” role in the midterm cycle, especially through his fundraising prowess. He downplayed concerns that his agenda may cost Republicans one or both chambers of Congress.

“If you look, it’s pretty consistent that whoever wins the presidency ends up losing the House, losing the Senate. I think we’re going to turn that around. I think we’re going to turn it around easy,” Trump said.

Abdul-Rahman Edward Koroma was supposed to be in New York last week.

For months, the disability rights activist from Sierra Leone had been looking forward to his trip to the United Nations session. He had a busy schedule of meetings and official events talking about the challenges of living with a disability in his country, including showcasing a documentary about how the disability community is especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides associated with climate change.

But on June 5, he learned he couldn’t come. Sierra Leone was one of 19 countries where President Trump had banned or restricted the ability to travel to the U.S.

“Honestly, for me, it’s quite painful, and it’s quite disappointing,” says Koroma. “I hope the U.S. government will reconsider. The world is a global village, we all need each other, one way or the other.”

Abdul-Rahman Edward Koroma / Abdul-Rahman Edward Koroma at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin this past April. The disability rights advocate from Sierra Leone could not attend a United Nations conference in New York because of the Trump administration’s travel restrictions. He uses a wheelchair because of injuries in a traffic accident.

Why is Sierra Leone on the list? The Trump administration cites high levels of visitors to the U.S. who’ve overstayed their visa as the reason. Other countries were selected for national security reasons.

“We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country that was upheld by the Supreme Court,” President Trump said in a statement .

The administration banned travelers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela also face some restrictions.

More bans may be coming. A State Department memo first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by NPR suggests the administration may add 36 more countries, largely in Africa, to the banned or restricted list.

Consequences of the ban

Stories like Koroma’s will likely accumulate over the coming weeks and months, as global health researchers, workers and advocates from these countries are barred from coming to the U.S. to learn — and to share their expertise. Some global health specialists say the restrictions will ultimately harm U.S. interests by reducing our engagement with the world.

“We are closing ourselves off from the active participation of potential allies,” says Judd Walson , an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University. “That will only lead to negative consequences in the long term.”

Closing the U.S. off could ultimately open it up more to global health threats, says Walson.

The ban follows the administration’s cancellation of foreign aid and withdrawal of U.S. membership from the World Health Organization. Walson says these decisions are upending many of the institutions designed to detect and respond to disease threats worldwide.

“As we think about the new architecture of global health and how it can respond to the many crises that emerge around the world, participation from all these countries is critical,” says Walson, and ultimately benefits Americans.

He notes that new infectious disease threats could emerge from any of the banned countries.

“Our inability to engage with partners from those places, who can serve as eyes and ears on the ground to identify threats. just hampers our ability to have a coordinated response,”

Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University, is concerned future bans could hamper his team’s research on Marburg, a hemorrhagic fever virus. It’s normally found in bats, but can spillover into humans, sparking deadly outbreaks.

Karan and his team are trying to understand those spillover dynamics, in part by studying antibodies in people who live near past outbreaks along the Uganda-Kenya border.

“Part of the testing we’d do involves a test where there’s expertise in Uganda, at the Ugandan Viral Research Institute,” says Karan.

Uganda is among the 36 countries under consideration for future restrictions. If that happens, Karan worries his team may have restricted access to that expertise. While such restrictions wouldn’t preclude collaboration via Zoom, Karan says it’s just not the same as in-person.

“Many of the best conversations and ideas that we had happened during our drives, during meals or unplanned moments,” he says of interactions with foreign researchers in person. “Implementing these kinds of bans has a huge effect on research studies and really impedes progress.”

Scientific conferences often serve as the nexus for that kind of collaboration, where researchers gather to share research and connect with colleagues. Trump’s travel restrictions are already preventing some scientists from being able to travel to the U.S. for conferences.

“We need to have such participation and contact, but it’s now very difficult,” said a biomedical scientist from Yemen who requested anonymity because speaking out could draw negative attention that would cause her university to retaliate. The scientist was planning to travel to California this fall for a conference on cancer management but cannot because of the ban, noting:. “Such an absolute restriction for all people is not wise.”

The U.S. could also lose its global role as a key location for trainings and scientific conferences. The travel bans, coupled with broader tensions around immigration in the U.S., have already led organizers of these events to look elsewhere.

“Our research team decided to host a planning meeting in London as opposed to the U.S. due to concerns with visas and the overall climate,” says Walson. There are economic consequences if U.S. conferences are canceled, he says. And with a likely reduced U.S. presence at conferences held elsewhere, there could be more intangible impacts too.

“Diseases don’t respect borders, and infections travel faster than diplomacy,” says Walson. “Whether we want to or not, we have to understand the reality of the global community as it is today. If we don’t engage, we will suffer the consequences.”

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