Netanyahu says Israeli strikes have killed top Iranian nuclear scientists
STATE LINES, ALL IN GOOD SHAPE. OKAY, TONIGHT IT’S TIME TO GET THE FACTS ON THE U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN IRAN AND WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS COULD BE AN OPERATION THAT LASTS WEEKS. LUKE JACOBSON WITH POLITIFACT JOINING US TONIGHT LIVE. SO, LOU, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS ATTEMPTED TO REACH A DEAL REGARDING IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES. WE’VE SEEN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS GO ON FOR A WHILE. THEY EVEN BOMBED PREVIOUSLY THE NUCLEAR SITES LAST YEAR. BUT IN A RECENT VIDEO POSTED TO TRUTH SOCIAL, THE PRESIDENT SAID, IRAN, I WANT TO PULL THIS UP FOR FOLKS SAID THIS REJECTING A DEAL, QUOTE, THEY ATTEMPTED TO REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM AND TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING LONG RANGE MISSILES THAT CAN NOW THREATEN OUR VERY GOOD FRIENDS AND ALLIES IN EUROPE. OUR TROOPS STATIONED OVERSEAS AND COULD SOON REACH THE AMERICAN HOMELAND. SO WHAT WAS POLITIFACT ABLE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE CLAIMS THAT IRANIAN MISSILES COULD ACTUALLY NOW REACH THE U.S., OR AT LEAST SOON? YEAH. SO THIS CLASHES WITH THE 2025 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REPORT THAT SAYS THAT REACHING THE U.S. HOMELAND IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD TAKE YEARS FOR FOR THEM TO ACHIEVE THE DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, THE U.S. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT SAID THAT IRAN COULD DEVELOP A LONG RANGE MISSILE BY 2035 IF IT CHOOSES TO PURSUE IT. THAT CONCLUSION IS SIMILAR TO THOSE THAT THE US GOVERNMENT HAS MADE SINCE THE MID 1990S. NOW THESE SORTS OF MISSILES COULD ALREADY REACH PARTS OF EASTERN EUROPE TODAY, GIVEN THEIR CURRENT CAPABILITIES, THEY HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON BUILDING MISSILES WITH TOP DISTANCES OF ABOUT 2000KM. BY CONTRAST, THE DISTANCE FROM TEHRAN TO WASHINGTON, D.C. IS ABOUT 10,000KM, WHICH IS FIVE TIMES LONGER THAN THAT. AND LOU, IN THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN LAST YEAR THAT WAS FOCUSED ON THE NUCLEAR SITE. SO THE PRESIDENT SAID THAT THE U.S. HAD OBLITERATED THE FACILITIES AND CONTINUES TO MAKE THIS CLAIM EVEN TODAY, AS HE’S TALKING ABOUT THESE MORE RECENT STRIKES TARGETING MORE MILITARY FACILITIES. WHAT HAVE WE FOUND OUT ABOUT THOSE INITIAL STRIKES FROM LAST YEAR? DID THEY OBLITERATE THE FACILITIES? YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, NO ONE REALLY KNOWS FOR SURE, AT LEAST PUBLICLY. BUT TRUMP’S CONTINUED WORSE OF THAT WORD. USE OF THAT WORD CONTRAST WITH OTHER PARTS OF WHAT HIS OWN GOVERNMENT IS SAYING. FOR INSTANCE, IN NOVEMBER 2025, WHITE HOUSE DOCUMENTS SAID THE STRIKES, QUOTE, SIGNIFICANTLY DEGRADED THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM. AND THAT IS A MUCH MORE CAUTIOUS PHRASING THAN TOTALLY OBLITERATED. AND RIGHT NOW, WE’RE SEEING THIS EFFORT TAKE PLACE IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK, TRYING TO FORCE A VOTE ON THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. ACTUALLY, CONGRESSMAN RO KHANNA HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS WEEK TALKING ABOUT THIS VERY THING. HE’S ONE OF THE TWO PEOPLE WITH CONGRESSMAN MASSIE TRYING TO PUSH THIS FORWARD IN AN ATTEMPT TO LIMIT THE PRESIDENT’S ABILITY TO WAGE WAR IN IRAN. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT WHAT THIS WOULD DO AND ITS CHANCES OF ACTUALLY HAPPENING? YEAH, SO BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE COULD VOTE ON THIS SOMETIME LATER THIS WEEK. MOST DEMOCRATS WOULD VOTE FOR IT, AND MOST REPUBLICANS WOULD VOTE AGAINST IT. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE A SMALL HANDFUL OF MEMBERS WHO COULD VOTE CONTRARY TO WHAT THEY’RE PARTY STANDS FOR. SO FAR, SIMILAR VOTES OCCURRED. THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS HAVE FAILED DURING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM. EVEN IF THIS PASSED, IT WOULD BASICALLY BE A RHETORICAL VICTORY BECAUSE EVEN IF BOTH CHAMBERS DID SUCCESSFULLY PASS IT, IT WOULDN’T BE BY A VERY LARGE MARGIN. AND PRESIDENT TRUMP COULD STILL VETO IT. NEITHER CHAMBER IS REALLY LIKELY TO HAVE SUFFICIENT VOTES, WHICH IS TWO THIRDS TO OVERTURN HIS VETO. ONE OTHER THING WORTH NOTING IS THE THE VOTE WOULD PUT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON THE RECORD ABOUT THIS US ATTACK AGAINST IRAN. AND, YOU KNOW, AS AS THE WAR MOVES FORWARD, IT COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME A CAMPAIGN ISSUE FOR FOR CANDIDATES ON BOTH SIDES. ALL RIGHT. WE WILL WATCH THAT PLAY OUT. I’M SURE WE’LL
Netanyahu says Israeli strikes have killed top Iranian nuclear scientists
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli attacks have killed top Iranian nuclear scientists.Speaking Thursday night at a news conference, Netanyahu denounced Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guards” who cannot appear in public. And he addressed the Iranian people, saying the moment for a “new path of freedom” was approaching and that Israel stands with them.“But at the end of the day, it depends on you. It is in your hands,” he said.This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli attacks have killed top Iranian nuclear scientists.
Speaking Thursday night at a news conference, Netanyahu denounced Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guards” who cannot appear in public. And he addressed the Iranian people, saying the moment for a “new path of freedom” was approaching and that Israel stands with them.
“But at the end of the day, it depends on you. It is in your hands,” he said.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
