C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Open Phones dives into Iran’s drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Trump’s Operation Epic Fury claims (10 Iranian ships sunk, nuclear program halted), and escalating Gulf tensions with Hezbollah’s missile barrages. Zelensky offers Ukraine’s drone-defense tech to UAE allies while UK’s Starmer coordinates regional air defenses. Callers clash—Rick (R-OH) praises Trump’s retaliation; Carol (D-WI) fears for her stepson in Jordan, citing his $4M plane and son’s $2B inheritance. Pentagon confirms six U.S. deaths, framing Iran’s aggression as a 47-year "war," but critics like Vincent (I-CT) slam Trump’s tone as reckless, exposing deep divides over military strategy and leadership credibility amid widening conflict. [Automatically generated summary]
Times of James A. Baker III and the divider, Trump in the White House 2017 to 2021.
They join our host, renowned author and civic leader David Rubenstein.
I don't want to cause any marital promise, but let's suppose you're working on a book and you get a scoop.
Who gets the scoop to go something that's current and you want to take to the New York Times or the New Yorker?
Who gets the chance to give it first to somebody?
Oh, you're a troublemaker.
You must have thought of that this time.
I'd like to hear Peter's answer to that question.
Well, she brought the Iran scoop to our reporting and then she reported it in the New Yorker.
Watch America's Book Club with Peter Baker and Susan Glasser Sunday at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
Only on C-SPAM.
Welcome to today's Washington Journal.
Let's start with an update on the latest news from the Associated Press.
It says that Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia's capital with a drone early Tuesday as it continued to target areas around the region across Iran's capital, Tehran.
Explosions ran out overnight as the U.S. and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes.
Iran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world's oil and natural gas production.
The conflict has also spread to Lebanon, where the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
The Israeli military said it has sent additional troops into southern Lebanon and took new positions on several strategic points close to the border, while Lebanon's state-run national news agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.
Well, it was at the start of a Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday at the White House, President Trump made his first live remarks about Operation Epic Fury.
Here's a portion.
Our objectives are clear.
First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis, and their capacity to produce brand new ones, and pretty good ones they make.
Second, we're annihilating their Navy.
We've knocked out already 10 ships.
They're at the bottom of the sea.
Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon, never going to have a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Vows Never00:09:17
I said that from the beginning.
They're never going to have a nuclear weapon.
They were on the road to getting one legitimately through a deal that was signed foolishly by our country.
And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.
And we thought we had a deal, but then they backed out and they came back and we thought we had a deal and they backed out.
I said, you can't deal with these people.
You've got to do it the right way.
Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action and send our love and support to their families.
In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people, and a threat indeed it is.
We have the strongest and most powerful by far military in the world, and we will easily prevail.
We're already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it's okay.
Whatever it takes, we will always And we have right from the get beginning, we projected four to five weeks.
But we have capability to go far longer than that.
We'll do it.
Whatever somebody said today, they said, oh, well, if the president wants to do it really quickly after that, he'll get bored.
I don't get bored.
There's nothing boring about this.
Do you agree with that, Pete?
I don't think there's anything, Mr. General.
I think there's nothing boring about it.
Somebody actually said from the media, I think he'll get bored after about a week or two.
No, we don't get bored.
I never get bored.
If I got bored, I wouldn't be standing here right now, I guarantee you that, to go through what I had to go through.
We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership.
And as you know, that was done in about an hour.
So we're ahead of schedule there by a lot.
And another quick update for you before we get to your calls from the Associated Press.
Ukrainian President Zelensky says he has offered to help the United Arab Emirates protect itself against Iranian aerial attacks.
Ukraine has built significant expertise in counting Iranian-designed Shahid drones that Russia has launched almost daily at Ukrainian targets since Moscow's invasion more than four years ago.
Zelensky said on X that he spoke by phone with the UAE president and, quote, discussed how we can help protect lives in the UAE.
On Sunday, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said that Ukrainian and British experts will work together to help Middle East countries shoot down Iranian drones.
Let's go to the calls now to Rick Columbus, Ohio.
Republican, you're on the air, Rick.
Yep.
USA, get her done.
Okay.
Is that all you wanted to say, Rick?
No.
Hey.
How come the last five presidents never did nothing about this?
And I was just listening to the hillary about lowering prices on AIDS medication 20 years ago, which he never done either.
So this is the only thing I've got to say.
USA, get her done and take your country back.
And here's Carol, Line for Democrats, Appleton, Wisconsin.
You're on the air, Carol.
Yes, I have a stepson that is in Jordan now.
He's the nicest guy, and of course, we're very worried about him.
Trump never went into the service.
He got six medical deferments besides the fact that he was playing football at the time.
When he went with generals, he didn't want to go visit cemeteries.
He said people that die in the military are suckers and losers.
If he thinks this is so great, maybe Barron should go over there.
So Carol, what's your stepson doing in Jordan?
Is he deployed or is he there on business?
Oh, no, he's deployed.
He's due to come home in May, and we're just praying that Trump isn't going to goof things up and he's going to make it back in lie.
He was guiding and guarding an embassy in Iraq, but now he is, I'm not sure what he's doing in Jordan, but he is in, they have moved him to Jordan, and we haven't heard anything from him since then.
But please, Trump doesn't care about the people.
He's got a $4 million plane that we're putting another couple million in to get for him.
His son has gotten $2 billion and he's got it.
This is all money for his billion-dollar friends that are making money out of it.
This isn't anything about the people of Iran, or it isn't anything about the people.
It is just for trillionaires to make more trillionaires.
Well, thank you for letting me in.
Like I said, I'm very worried.
I know.
All right, Carol.
And this is the front page of the Washington Post.
U.S. could send ground troops.
It says Pentagon braces for more casualties.
Hegseth doesn't rule out putting boots on the ground.
Again, six confirmed deaths by American service members from that strike in Kuwait.
It was at four yesterday earlier when the president spoke.
When you heard him speak, he had mentioned four, but since then it has been confirmed to six.
Here is Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, speaking yesterday about the strikes in Iran.
For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America.
They didn't always declare it openly, except for their constant chance of death to America.
They did it through the blood of our people.
Car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, funded and armed by Iranian Quds force and IRGC killers.
My generation of veterans carry the names of brothers who never came home.
Brothers butchered by Iranian-backed roadside bombs and well-armed militias, thousands of our own.
We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.
Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult.
It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.
He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable.
If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you.
President Trump has also been very consistent.
Crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons.
It's common sense.
Many have said it, but it takes guts to actually enforce it, and our president has guts.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaking yesterday, we're taking your calls on the widening conflict in the Middle East, getting your thoughts on that.
If you have called us within the last 30 days, please don't call.
Please hold off and wait for the 30 days so that we can get other callers in on the lines.
Vincent, Middletown, Connecticut, Independent Line, good morning to you.
Hello, Mimi.
How are you?
Good.
Well, thank you for having me follow a raging alcoholic.
I guess it's hard.
I'm going to try.
It's hard not to be caught to not be in a rage right now.
Trump's comments a couple days ago should just spell it out for everybody.
That's the way it is.
As callous as you can get.
We're all just throwaway people to him, to this administration, to this government.
That's the way it is.
Anyone who supports this should have this thrown in their face.
Well, that's the way it is, huh?
And see what kind of reaction.
We'll leave this here to take you to the U.S. House for legislative business.
Live coverage here on C-SPAN.
I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the House.