President Donald Trump said Friday that: "My big preference is that we work it out with Iran, but if we don't work it out, bad, bad things are gonna happen to Iran."
Trump sent a letter to the Iranian regime several weeks ago proposing renewed negotiations on their nuclear program, and threatening military action if they failed to come to the table.
According to reports, Iran rejected the president's offer.
Iran is continuing to dramatically advance its nuclear program, expanding its production of near-weapons-grade uranium that could be further enriched to quickly build a nuclear bomb.
As Iran accelerates its nuclear program and funds terrorism throughout the region, the U.S. military has moved at least four long-range B-2 stealth bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean, where they are within striking distance of Iran and its Yemen-based proxy, the Houthis.
B-2s are capable of delivering 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, needed for penetrating facilities buried deep underground.
Meanwhile, earlier today the Iranian regime seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and detained their 25 crew members.
And while Iran sows chaos and disrupts shipping in the Gulf, the United States is working to prevent the Houthis from continuing to hijack one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
"The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks... Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation. The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran."
Senator Bernie Sanders is forcing a vote this week on resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. Sanders' effort undermines Israel's security, emboldens Iran, and makes it harder to free the remaining hostages.
TAKE 30 SECONDS: Email your senators and urge them to reject Sanders' dangerous resolutions.
Israel proposes new deal to secure release of hostages
According to reports, Israel has put forward a new proposal to secure the release of additional hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza.
Under the Israeli proposal, Hamas would release 11 living hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in return for a 40-day ceasefire.
To pressure Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal, Israel plans to continue to expand its ground operation in Gaza to establish control over 25% of the enclave over the next two to three weeks.
The United States must continue to increase the pressure on Hamas and its sponsors in Qatar, Turkey and Iran to release the 59 hostages, including 5 American citizens, still held captive in Gaza.
Freed Israeli hostage wins State Department award
Freed Israeli hostage Amit Soussana, who was held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 55 days, was selected to receive the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award.
"This award honors women who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership. Amit's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit," the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem said.
IDF carries out counterterror operations in West Bank
Israel continues to conduct major counterterror operations in the West Bank in order to prevent Iran and its proxies from turning the area into another Gaza, a base for terrorism even closer to Israel's major population centers.
Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian terrorist cell from Nablus in the West Bank on Monday. The cell had been operating under direction and funding from Hamas' headquarters in Turkey, and aimed to carry out shooting and bombing attacks.
And in Jenin, like in Gaza, Palestinian terrorists have taken control and constructed extensive terror infrastructure, including tunnels, rocket-manufacturing sites, and established positions in mosques, hospitals and U.N. facilities.
Israeli forces are applying new tactics, learning lessons from October 7 and the war in Gaza, and are now clearing and holding key areas, enabling them to combat terror groups and prevent terrorists from reestablishing themselves after Israeli troops leave.
The United States must continue to stand with Israel and ensure our ally has the resources needed to keep its people safe.
New op-ed from Gaza resident
In an op-ed in The Washington Post, a Gaza resident writes, "many of us Gazans in the past week have taken what little power we have to protest in the streets against the group that has dictated every aspect of our lives for 18 years."
"The message of our movement is clear: The people of Gaza want to live, so Hamas must go, the hostages taken from Israel must be released, and this war must then finally come to an end...
"Take it from someone who has lived under Hamas since age 11: To support Hamas is to be for Palestinian death, not Palestinian freedom. Hamas is killing us — through war, poverty and extortion — not liberating us.
"On top of its oft-employed strategy of using civilians to shield its fighters and launching rockets next to our shelters, Hamas has, throughout this war, systematically stolen and resold humanitarian aid, profiting from our hunger. Networks run by people like me have had to find ways around Hamas, distributing supplies to those most in need of them.
"But Hamas’s cruelty over the past 18 months is merely the culmination of 18 years of its brutal regime: There is no freedom of thought in Gaza, let alone freedom of speech or belief. Torture and murder are credible threats, and there is literally nowhere to run if you are on a Hamas list."
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