PODCAST:
June 11, 2026 ~ Former Congressman Peter Meijer breaks down the latest developments in Iran and what it could mean for U.S. strategy moving forward.
IRAN ~ After sending another wave of attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, President Donald Trump pulled back on a threat made towards Iran on Thursday evening, claiming the Iranian leadership is close to making a deal.
Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday afternoon, claiming that “discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved,” and that he “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening.” Earlier in the day, he posted that the U.S. will strike Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” and that the U.S. will, “At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island.”
He also claimed regional countries approved a U.S.-Iran peace deal, listing multiple U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East. Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that the nation has not agreed to any deal yet, telling Al Jazeera, “the main part of the text was almost finalised but the Americans were being greedy and raising new requests.”
Tensions were already high between the U.S. and Iran before Thursday’s threat, with the U.S. launching strikes Tuesday and Wednesday. U.S. Central Command posted on X Wednesday afternoon that “forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded on X, saying that, “Iran, relying on the knowledge and capabilities of its specialists, national unity, and solidarity, will stand firm against any pressure or threat.” Iran’s foreign ministry also added that the attacks by the U.S. made the ceasefire “practically meaningless.”
The U.S. claimed its attacks were “retaliatory” ones in response to Iran reportedly bringing down the Apache helicopter with a drone on Monday. It is not clear if it was brought down intentionally, though Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister told Al Jazeera that no U.S. helicopter was targeted deliberately at the time.
Still, Trump was adamant that the U.S. must respond, writing on Truth Social earlier in the week that Iran has “taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” The U.S. has reportedly targeted military sites in Iran, such as air defense and radar systems. However, reports indicate that the U.S. also struck two water reservoirs, knocking out access to drinking water to over 20,000 Iranians.
Iran has responded by launching retaliatory strikes against U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that, “Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
Amid ceasefire negotiations after Iran and Israel traded missile strikes over the weekend of June 6. Despite the recent airstrikes, Trump told reporters Monday that the U.S. was in the “final throes” of negotiations with Iran. However, Israel continues to launch military assaults on Lebanon, with Iran consistently stating that any ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and Israel must include Israel halting its bombardment of Lebanon.
Trump urged both sides to restrain themselves from further military actions in a pair of Truth Social posts made on Monday morning, saying that “and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” and that both sides “are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” Trump also reportedly communicated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before, asking him to withhold missile fire amid ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
On Sunday, the Iranian military launched missiles towards Northern Israel in retaliation for the Israeli military striking the suburbs of Beirut. Israel later launched its own barrage of missiles to intercept Iranian ballistics and strike multiple areas within the nation’s borders, breaking a tentative truce that stood between the nations since April.
The war has dragged on since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel began joint military strikes on Iran, prompting the latter to strike Israel and U.S. military sites across the region. Iran and Lebanon have seen the heaviest casualties in the war, with the U.S. and Israeli militaries killing over 3,000 people in each country.
