Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Osha Vaccination

Investigations Committee Releases COVID Vaccine Adverse Effects Report, Research Debated across Party Lines

Silver sign of Department of Justice on a classical concrete wall with plants as foreground.

The Ku Klux Klan Returns to Power

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

Medicare Health Insurance Card. Social Security Card with Stethoscope and pen

Saving Medicare Republicans Are Privatizing Medicare

Iran Warns ‘The Battle Begins’—What Role Will Trump Have the U.S. Play?

News

Iran Warns ‘The Battle Begins’—What Role Will Trump Have the U.S. Play?

artistic animated picture of Donald Trump

Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaJun 18, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

The sixth day of escalating tensions between Iran and Israel saw a stark warning from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who declared on social media: “The battle begins.” This came shortly after President Donald Trump referred to Khamenei as an “easy target” and stated that America’s “patience is wearing thin,” demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

The president cut short his trip at the Group of Seven summit in Canada, citing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Trump appears increasingly inclined to utilize US military assets against Iranian nuclear sites, moving away from diplomatic solutions to the conflict, according to two officials speaking with CNN. This aggressive stance marks a notable shift in Trump’s strategy, although he remains open to diplomacy, contingent on Iranian concessions.

Analysts note that Trump’s next steps could redefine the conflict and expose divisions within his Republican base.

One faction aligns with his “America First” doctrine, prioritizing domestic concerns over foreign intervention. Another supports a more aggressive neoconservative approach, including military action to influence regime change.

These opposing views are reflected among Trump’s advisers, with confidants like Vice President JD Vance advocating for restraint in U.S. involvement.

Public opinion in the United States leans heavily against direct military action in Iran, with a preference for diplomatic solutions.

According to The Economist/YouGov poll:

  • A significant majority, 60%, oppose US military involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
  • Only 16% support US military involvement.
  • Even among Republicans, 53% oppose US military intervention.
  • Majorities across political parties (Democrats, Independents, and Republicans) favor negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, with 56% of all Americans supporting these talks.

President Donald Trump campaigned for re-election, vowing to bring a swift end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. However, he is now facing the reality of another major escalation.

Despite publicly urging Israel to refrain from striking Iran, in favor of focusing instead on securing a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program -Trump's efforts fell short.

Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and the publisher of the Latino News Network.


Latest news

A billboard that reads, "We've got your six," and "Confidential abortion support for service members, veterans, and their families. You make the appointment, we handle the rest."
Health

All Women Left Behind

Highschoolers in a classroom, sitting down at their desks and raising their hands.
Media & Technology

My School’s So Worried I Will Cheat With AI It Isn’t Teaching

Read More

From Colombia to Connecticut: The urgent need to end FGM in the Americas

Journalists gather in front of the Connecticut State Capitol Building during a press conference on SB259 and an anti-FGM art installation

Bryna Subherwal, Equality Now

From Colombia to Connecticut: The urgent need to end FGM in the Americas

Across the Americas, hundreds of thousands of women and girls are living with or have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). These affected populations are citizens and residents of countries where protections are incomplete, entirely focused on criminalisation, inconsistently enforced, or entirely absent.

FGM is not a “foreign” issue. It is a human rights violation unfolding within national borders, one that all governments in the Americas have the legal and moral responsibility to address.

Keep ReadingShow less
Senate Committee advances bill banning AI companions for children

Sen. Josh Hawley addresses the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary during a debate over the AI chatbot regulation bill he introduced in October, known as the GUARD Act. April 30, 2026.

Wisdom Howell // Medill News Service.

Senate Committee advances bill banning AI companions for children

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan bill that would ban minors from using AI companions, require all chatbots to verify a user’s age, and allow AI companies to be prosecuted for harming children was unanimously advanced to the Senate floor Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. introduced “the Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act,” (GUARD Act) in October as the Senate’s response to the rise in cases of children being groomed and driven to commit suicide by chatbots designed to replicate human interactions known as AI companions.

Keep ReadingShow less
House Democrats and Republicans Clash over Free Speech in Higher Education

Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, addresses the chamber in front of a portrait of George Miller.

(Matthew Junkroski / MEDILL)

House Democrats and Republicans Clash over Free Speech in Higher Education

WASHINGTON — Witnesses and representatives sat in silence as Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, spoke about how universities should strive for intellectual diversity and introduce controversial ideas. Rep. Alma S. Adams, D-N.C., agreed with his rhetoric, but went on to criticize her Republican colleagues for standing in the way of free expression.

“Unfortunately, what we often see, especially in hearings like this, is not a good faith effort to strike that balance, but a selective narrative,” Adams said. “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle frequently claim that there’s a free speech crisis on college campuses, arguing that universities lack viewpoint diversity and silence certain perspectives.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Republican Attacks on Citizen Ballot Measures Undermine Democracy

Election workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters one week after Election Day on November 12, 2024 in Santa Ana, California.

Getty Images, Mario Tama

Republican Attacks on Citizen Ballot Measures Undermine Democracy

In October 2020, Utah’s Republican Senator Mike Lee delivered a startling but revealing civics lesson in the aftermath of that year’s vice-presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. He tweeted, The United States is “not a democracy.”

“The word ‘democracy,’’’ Lee wrote, “appears nowhere in the Constitution, perhaps because our form of government is not a democracy. It’s a constitutional republic….Democracy isn’t the objective….” The senator said that the object of the Constitution was to promote “liberty, peace, and prospefity (sic).”

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026