{"id":4178,"date":"2026-07-14T14:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/?p=4178"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:46:12","slug":"trump-back-at-day-1-as-iran-war-rages-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/?p=4178","title":{"rendered":"Trump back at Day 1 as Iran war rages again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>President Trump\u00a0<\/strong>has formally reset the clock on his war against Iran, resuming daily strikes and a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz less than a month after signing a deal meant to bring an end to hostilities. U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said the U.S. military carried out its \u201cthird consecutive night of strikes against Iran\u201d Monday afternoon, just hours after Trump announced the U.S. would take control of the Strait of Hormuz and\u00a0impose a 20 percent tax on cargo passing through. Trump also\u00a0notified Congress on Friday that U.S. military has resumed strikes against Iran, giving the Pentagon another 60 days from that point to conduct its operations in the region without obtaining congressional approval \u2014 effectively restarting the clock on the military activity. <em style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u201cUnited States ground forces are not involved in these strikes. These strikes are limited, measured, planned and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties,\u201d<\/em><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u00a0the president wrote in the letter, which was obtained Monday by The Hill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t39.99422-6\/747669776_1040137128734799_2881374445065403934_n.png?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&amp;cstp=mx1080x1350&amp;ctp=s640x640&amp;_nc_cat=108&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=127cfc&amp;_nc_ohc=hBMleA7WkpAQ7kNvwHyIIeO&amp;_nc_oc=AdqHORDTIqBoyt-b9V2gyEzUrJw6en42sevdm8BZcc10JStv1OwsqPdzPCLqPwYtcZs&amp;_nc_zt=14&amp;_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&amp;_nc_gid=_mXcY7tY8vWt1ZNtK5r0ug&amp;_nc_ss=792a8&amp;oh=00_AQDS9qZA-BBcZy7l2ddA--uvgDaiFXWMJl3kCzDdmU8MPw&amp;oe=6A5C2A57\" alt=\"May be an image of text that says 'Trump back at Day 1 as Iran war rages again THE HILL'\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Trump put it differently on \u201cThe\u00a0<strong>Hugh Hewitt\u00a0<\/strong>Show\u201d shortly before Centcom announced the latest round of strikes. <em>\u201cWe\u2019re going to hit them very hard tonight and going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there\u2019s not a damn thing they can do about it,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Trump said Monday <span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Centcom said the blockade would resume at 4 p.m. EDT today. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">The moves end the ceasefire put into place less than a month ago by Trump\u2019s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran, which established a 60-day truce to allow for peace negotiations. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Trump told Hewitt he never viewed the MOU as much more than a test, when asked whether the truce was \u201cbuilt to fall apart.\u201d <\/span><em style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u201cIt was a test. We didn\u2019t know. Look, memorandum of understanding, when you\u2019re dealing with sleazebags, don\u2019t mean much. And they don\u2019t mean much when you\u2019re dealing with honorable people, too, because it\u2019s a memorandum of understanding. It doesn\u2019t mean much,\u201d <\/em><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Trump told Hewitt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThey didn\u2019t honor the test,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Trump added.\u00a0<em>\u201cWe had this deal settled numerous times. I said, \u2018Watch. I guarantee. Watch.\u2019 And they never, they never followed it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The shift in U.S. posture comes after escalating attacks between the countries in recent days. Last week, the U.S. carried out four separate rounds of strikes, accusing Iran of targeting commercial vessels in the strait.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr5_ab-mr5_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr5_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:false,&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;refresh_on_resize&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:[300,250],&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;amp_multi_size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:false,&quot;wx_targeting&quot;:[],&quot;module_refreshable&quot;:false}\" data-unit=\"{&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;mr-ab&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;tag_id&quot;:&quot;mr5_ab&quot;,&quot;publisher_id&quot;:&quot;\\\/5678\\\/nx.thehill&quot;,&quot;position&quot;:&quot;mr5_ab&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_lazy_load&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_ad_refresh&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;use_max_height&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;ad_disabled&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr5_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;aa&quot;:&quot;f&quot;,&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;5967020-donald-trump-day-one-iran-war-graham-death-daylight-savings&quot;,&quot;hlmeta&quot;:&quot;5967020 donald trump day one iran war graham death daylight savings&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;morning_report&quot;,&quot;pagetype&quot;:&quot;story&quot;,&quot;pers_cid&quot;:&quot;thehill-2-article-5967020&quot;,&quot;pgid&quot;:&quot;5967020&quot;,&quot;tags&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-path=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/newsletters\/morning_report\" data-ad-element=\"true\" data-register-event=\"nsDfpSlotRendered\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Iran\u2019s military said it launched attacks on U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Jordan. Those countries said Tuesday morning the strikes were intercepted. The United Arab Emirates\u2019 defense ministry said Monday two of its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz had been targeted by Iranian missiles, killing an Indian sailor aboard.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s announcement of a 20 percent fee for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz contradicts statements from his top advisors, including Secretary of State\u00a0<strong>Marco Rubio<\/strong>, that no country has the right to charge for use of the waterway.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Trump specifically called out Gulf countries as being on the hook for U.S. \u201cprotection,\u201d including those now coming under fire during renewed hostilities.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\">\n<div id=\"acm-ad-tag-mr6_ab-mr6_ab\" data-slot=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr6_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:false,&quot;is_oop&quot;:false,&quot;refresh_on_resize&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:[300,250],&quot;sizes&quot;:[[[1024,0],[[300,250],[620,366]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[325,204],[325,508]]]],&quot;amp_multi_size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:false,&quot;wx_targeting&quot;:[],&quot;module_refreshable&quot;:false}\" data-unit=\"{&quot;tag&quot;:&quot;mr-ab&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;tag_id&quot;:&quot;mr6_ab&quot;,&quot;publisher_id&quot;:&quot;\\\/5678\\\/nx.thehill&quot;,&quot;position&quot;:&quot;mr6_ab&quot;,&quot;is_companion&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_lazy_load&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;is_ad_refresh&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;use_max_height&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;ad_disabled&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-targeting=\"{&quot;pos&quot;:&quot;mr6_ab&quot;,&quot;fold&quot;:&quot;atf&quot;,&quot;aa&quot;:&quot;f&quot;,&quot;kw&quot;:&quot;5967020-donald-trump-day-one-iran-war-graham-death-daylight-savings&quot;,&quot;hlmeta&quot;:&quot;5967020 donald trump day one iran war graham death daylight savings&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;morning_report&quot;,&quot;pagetype&quot;:&quot;story&quot;,&quot;pers_cid&quot;:&quot;thehill-2-article-5967020&quot;,&quot;pgid&quot;:&quot;5967020&quot;,&quot;tags&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-path=\"\/5678\/nx.thehill\/newsletters\/morning_report\" data-ad-element=\"true\" data-register-event=\"nsDfpSlotRendered\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>\u201cWe\u2019re going to keep the strait, and we\u2019ll probably run it,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Trump\u00a0said Monday\u00a0during a phone interview with \u201cFox &amp; Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe\u2019ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we\u2019ll become the guardian angel of the strait, and we should be reimbursed for that,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he said.\u00a0<em>\u201cWhen we do that, we\u2019re going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy, they\u2019re on our side, and we can\u2019t be expected to do that for nothing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to the blockade announcement, saying,\u00a0<em>\u201cThe Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Leading-Nordone_071326_AP_Sean-Rayford.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>SISTER ACT<\/strong>: South Carolina Gov.\u00a0<strong>Henry McMaster<\/strong>\u00a0(R) has selected\u00a0<strong>Darline Graham Nordone<\/strong>, the sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as the interim replacement to\u00a0serve the remainder\u00a0of his term.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr8_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The decision continues a historical occurrence of a spouse or family member of a deceased member of Congress being named to serve in their place for the rest of the term. Nordone will be South Carolina\u2019s first female senator.<\/p>\n<p>She will be sworn in to office this afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Trump had\u00a0declared his support\u00a0for Nordone being named to the seat earlier Monday, saying it would be a \u201cfabulous tribute\u201d to her brother. Nordone and Graham had a close relationship throughout his life, including when he took care of her after both of their parents died.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr9_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>With an interim replacement named, attention now shifts to who will take the seat in the next term, which starts in January, The Hill\u2019s\u00a0Caroline Vakil and Helen Huiskes report. Graham was in the process of running for reelection when he died, and a special primary will be held next month for Republicans to choose a replacement nominee.<\/p>\n<p>South Carolina Lt. Gov.\u00a0<strong>Pamela Evette<\/strong>\u00a0(R), who lost a runoff in the GOP gubernatorial primary last month, has been among the top names discussed for the role. Other prominent individuals who have expressed interest in running include GOP Reps.\u00a0<strong>Ralph Norman<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Nancy Mace<\/strong>, who both also lost the governor\u2019s primary. Republican Rep.\u00a0<strong>Russell Fry<\/strong>\u2019s name has also been floated.<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0The Hill:\u00a0<em>Who is Darline Graham Nordone?<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr10_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0The Hill:\u00a0<em>Trump loses go-to Senate power broker.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018FULL AND IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION\u2019<\/strong>: Maine\u2019s senators are\u00a0demanding an investigation\u00a0after another shooting involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer resulted in the death of a man.<\/p>\n<p>The shooting took place early Monday morning in Biddeford, a town about 15 miles south of Portland. Immigrants\u2019 rights organizations identified the man as a 26-year-old Colombian citizen who was authorized to work in the U.S.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr11_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>\u201cThe shooting in Biddeford requires a full and impartial investigation of what happened,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Sen.\u00a0<strong>Susan Collins<\/strong>\u00a0(R-Maine) said.<\/p>\n<p>Sen.\u00a0<strong>Angus King<\/strong>\u00a0(I-Maine) said he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary\u00a0<strong>Markwayne Mullin<\/strong>\u00a0about the incident. He said he was told the man was\u00a0not the target\u00a0of the operation being carried out ahead of the shooting.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe question is, what did he do with his vehicle?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0King said.\u00a0<em>\u201cWere officers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justified deadly force?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr12_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The shooting is the second such incident in the past week, following the\u00a0killing of a Mexican national\u00a0in Houston by federal immigration officers in another apparent case of mistaken identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0The Hill:\u00a0<em>Immigration officer was \u2018fearing for public safety.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0CNN:\u00a0<em>ICE faces familiar credibility test.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr13_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>NO DEAL<\/strong>: A federal judge declared a settlement between the president and the IRS void Monday after finding the deal\u00a0amounted to collusion\u00a0between the parties.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge\u00a0<strong>Kathleen Williams<\/strong>\u00a0found a $10 billion lawsuit that Trump filed in January against the IRS over the leaking of his tax returns during his first term was \u201cbrought for an improper purpose\u201d \u2014 granting legitimacy to a \u201c\u2018settlement\u2019 that had no viable basis in fact or law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump and the IRS had agreed in May to settle the case, creating an \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund to provide payouts to people who claim to have been victims of political prosecutions by the federal government, as the president has asserted. The deal also included an agreement to bar the IRS from conducting future audits of Trump\u2019s tax returns, along with those for his businesses and family members.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr14_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Following backlash, the Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to drop the anti-weaponization fund, but the IRS agreement remained in place.<\/p>\n<p>Williams referred Trump\u2019s attorney,\u00a0<strong>Alejandro Brito<\/strong>, to the Florida bar for possible disciplinary action after finding sanctions were warranted.<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0CNN:\u00a0<em>DOJ reaches another settlement with\u00a0<strong>Michael Flynn<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr15_ab\">\n<div class=\"ad-unit__content\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>NOT SO FAST<\/strong>: A dozen state attorneys general have filed a joint\u00a0lawsuit seeking to block\u00a0Paramount\u2019s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing it would harm competition and the media and entertainment business.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit alleges the acquisition would violate antitrust law and create \u201ca massive company with unprecedented power and influence over news and entertainment across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The more-than-$100 billion deal announced in February would bring control of Warner Bros. Discovery under the media empire led by\u00a0<strong>David Ellison<\/strong>, the son of Oracle co-founder\u00a0<strong>Larry Ellison<\/strong>, a close Trump ally.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement was reached after Ellison won a bidding war with Netflix for the entertainment and media giant. Trump has voiced support for the deal and signaled he wants CNN, currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, to operate under new ownership.<\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0Semafor:\u00a0<em>Paramount considers leaving California over rift.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u25aa\u00a0Politico:\u00a0<em>Outgoing antitrust chief defends administration\u2019s agenda.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>CRACKING DOWN<\/strong>: The Pentagon and DOJ have\u00a0created a joint task force\u00a0to identify and prosecute individuals who leak information, Defense Secretary\u00a0<strong>Pete Hegseth<\/strong>\u00a0announced Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth said the Pentagon\u2019s Office of the General Counsel will be permitted to request and receive all information and records across the Defense Department for media leak investigations, with personnel putting a priority on the requests.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement comes days after the DOJ\u00a0issued subpoenas\u00a0to four New York Times reporters trying to force their testimony before a grand jury in Manhattan. It followed the Times\u2019s reporting on security concerns about Trump\u2019s Qatari-donated airplane that he flew to Turkey for the NATO summit last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump\u00a0has formally reset the clock on his war against Iran, resuming daily strikes and a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz less than a month after signing a &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21,22,1,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-daily-article","category-reddit-stories","category-story","category-story-daily","category-viral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4179,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4178\/revisions\/4179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}