The Iran War entered its sixteenth day on Sunday as the U.S. government continued to say it was decisively winning the war.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, President Donald Trump said, “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way.”
Trump had declared in a post on Truth Social late on Friday that Iran is “totally defeated” and “wants a deal” with the U.S. Trump had also declared victory days earlier, telling the audience at a Kentucky rally on Wednesday that “we’ve won.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected a claim by Trump that Iran asked for a deal to end the war, telling CBS on Sunday that Tehran “never asked for a ceasefire, we have never even asked for negotiation.”
Aragchi added, “We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us.”
Semafor, citing unnamed American officials, reported on Saturday that Israel had informed the U.S. earlier this week that it is “running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors.” The Israeli government denies the report.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, threatened on Saturday to not renew broadcasters’ licenses. “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr said in a post on X. “Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Carr’s tweet included a screenshot of a post by Trump complaining about the media’s coverage of the war. Trump had earlier in the day criticized both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal for their reporting, writing on Truth Social that those papers “actually want us to lose the War.”
Criticizing CNN, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at a press conference on Friday that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” Ellison is the CEO of Paramount Skydance, which is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN.
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Amid online rumors that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was missing or dead, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement declaring their intention to “continue to pursue and kill him with full force.” Netanyahu posted a proof of life video to X on Sunday morning.
Israel continued its ground invasion of Southern Lebanon and bombing of Beirut, while Hezbollah responded with rockets. Footage showed Hezbollah targeting fortified Israeli positions in Jabal Balat, Lebanon. Israel has killed at least 826 people and displaced 831,882 in Lebanon since the start of its campaign earlier this month, according to data compiled by the Lebanese government.
Gas prices continued to rise on Sunday, with AAA reporting the national average gas price at $3.70.
