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Clark, Collier named WNBA All-Star captains, to pick playground-style

Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier are set to go head to head when the Indiana Fever take on the Minnesota Lynx in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final on Tuesday, July 1. The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will mark Round 2.

On Sunday, June 29, the WNBA announced that Clark and Collier will serve as captains of this year’s All-Star Game after picking up their second and fifth career All-Star nods, respectively. Clark, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, earned the honor by receiving the most fan votes.

With the title of captain comes responsibilities. Clark and Collier will be tasked with drafting their All-Star teams playground-style from a pool of eight starters and 12 reserves. The remaining eight starters — selected by fan votes (50%), current WNBA players (25%) and media members (25%) — will be announced on Monday, June 30, while the 12 All-Star reserves will be selected by the league’s head coaches on July 6.

The WNBA All-Star Game draft will be broadcast on ‘WNBA Countdown Presented by Google” on July 8.

The Fever shared a social media video of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the news to Clark and the Fever. ‘Caitlin, I just want to personally congratulate you on being named captain for the 2025 WNBA All-Star team,’ Engelbert said over the phone, which was held by Fever head coach Stephanie White. Clark’s teammates cheered and applauded. When Engelbert sent her best wishes for the upcoming 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final, Clark candidly replied, ‘We about to get that dub Cathy.’

Clark’s availability for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will be something to monitor. Clark has missed a career-high seven games this season due to injury, including the Fever’s last two games due to a left groin injury. Her status for the Fever’s Commissioner’s Cup championship game vs. the Lynx remains unclear.

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will be held on July 19 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Fever, and could feature more Indiana stars. In the first returns of fan voting earlier this month, Fever center Aliyah Boston was ranked third, trailing Clark and Collier. Will Clark and Boston team up again? We’ll have to wait and see.

Clark is averaging 18.2 points and 8.9 assists per game, which marks a career-high.

Collier learned she was an 2025 All-Star captain by way of her three-year-old daughter Mila, who wore a shirt that read, ‘Mama, you’re a All-Star.’ Collier’s husband Alex Bazzell was also involved in the unveiling, saying he’s ‘incredibly proud. She’s earned it. We’re excited about it and hopefully more and more to come.’

Collier has led the Lynx to a league-best 13-2 record while averaging a league-high 24.5 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game, the fourth-highest in the league. She’s a frontrunner for the 2025 WNBA MVP award.

Clark and Collier faced off against each other in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, where Clark and Team WNBA handed the U.S. women’s national team a loss before they went to the 2024 Paris Olympics and won another gold medal. Collier was held scoreless in three minutes of work off the bench for Team USA, while Clark had four points (2-of-9 FG, 0-of-7 3PT) and 10 assists in 26 minutes of work.

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Iran acknowledges death toll from Israel’s strike on notorious Evin prison

Iran acknowledged on Sunday that an Israeli strike on Tehran’s notorious Evin prison last week killed dozens of people.

Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir posted on the office’s official Mizan news agency website that the strike killed at least 71 people, including staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families. Officials did not provide a breakdown of casualty figures.

The Washington-based Human Rights Activists in Iran said at least 35 of those killed were staff members and two were inmates. Others killed included a person walking in the prison vicinity and a woman who went to meet a judge about her imprisoned husband’s case, the organization said.

Jahangir said some of the injured were treated on site, while others were taken to hospitals. Iran has not said how many were injured.

Iran had also confirmed on Saturday that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar had been killed in the attack. Ghanaatkar’s prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, had led to widespread criticism by human rights groups.

Israel carried out the strike on June 23 as its Defense Ministry said it was attacking ‘regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.’ The facility was known to hold many of Iran’s political prisoners and dissidents.

The prison attack came near the end of 12 days of Israeli strikes, which Israel claimed killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.

The status of Iran’s nuclear program remains unclear, even after President Donald Trump said American strikes on June 22 ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ in an interview Sunday that Iran’s capacities remain, but it is impossible to assess the full damage to the nuclear program unless inspectors are allowed in, which Iranian officials have not authorized.

‘It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it’s not total damage, first of all. And secondly, Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again,’ Grossi said.

Grossi said Iran could have centrifuges spinning enriched uranium ‘in a matter of months.’

‘Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there,’ he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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No Messi moment as PSG ousts Inter Miami from Club World Cup

ATLANTA — What we thought would happen between Inter Miami and Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup did happen.

The upstart Major League Soccer club looked every bit the part against the reigning European champions.

Not even Lionel Messi, the greatest to ever play, could help David in this matchup against Goliath.

Once upon a time, Messi was bigger than Goliath. He may still be on his best day. Just not on this day, in his first match as a 38-year-old, when Paris Saint-Germain blanked Inter Miami 4-0 on Sunday, June 29, in front of 65,574 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

PSG’s João Neves scored twice (6′ and 39′), Inter Miami’s Tomás Avilés was credited with an own goal (44′) and Achraf Hakimi put the game away before the halftime whistle (45’+3′) to eliminate Inter Miami from the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup.

“Well, the difference between the two teams was clear to see, but I’m very, very proud of my players, of all the work they’ve done during the competition,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano told DAZN after the match.

Messi is still the biggest star in the world, even in the twilight of his career. The fans packed the stadium with excitement to see him. They wore Inter Miami jerseys, Argentina jerseys and Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain jerseys.

The fans cheered every moment he touched the ball, patiently waiting for him to deliver the majestic Messi moment he has countless times in his legendary career.

Messi nearly did several times, including a free-kick opportunity in the 88th minute with all eyes and cell phone cameras on him. Sadly, he kicked it into a wall of PSG players.

Messi kept his emotions in check, but you could see his helplessness every time he looked down after looking up at the scoreboard in the first half.

Still, he didn’t stop pushing the envelope in the second half.

Chants of ‘Messi, Messi’ rang loudly in the 63rd minute, and he nearly answered the call – sprinting his way toward a shot from his left boot that skid right into the PSG goalkeeper’s hands.

He nearly delivered a header inside the box in the 80th minute, into the goalkeeper’s hands again.

The Messi moment never came.

‘PSG is a great team, the winners of the last Champions League, and the truth is they’re doing very very well. It was what we expected,’ Messi told DSports after the loss. ‘It was the match we anticipated, we tried to do our best, and well, we left a good impression in terms of the Club World Cup.’

PSG is clearly the European champion for a reason, while Inter Miami is a club whose youth is too inexperienced, and its aging stars on the other side of their careers.

PSG players showed a mastery of being able to get the ball from midfield into the goal area with ease, while Inter Miami players were often turned around trying to catch up. They also lifted their feet off the gas in the second half, and cruised to the quarterfinals.

“We started the match almost perfect,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique, who coached Messi and Inter Miami’s former Barcelona stars to a Champions League title in 2015. “We were great in the first half. In the second half, it was less energy. They couldn’t score at all. But I’m happy.”

The crowd nearly exploded when Messi lofted a pass right at the feet of Luis Suarez early in the second half. The 38-year-old Uruguayan legend whiffed on his opportunity to strike and bowed his head in disappointment.

Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets is one of the best midfielders to ever play the sport. His dribbling is one of his best skills. But he was mugged by PSG’s Fabián Ruiz just outside the goal area midway in the first half.

PSG started a three-man weave that would make Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich proud: Bradley Barcola pounced on the steal, dropped it off to Ruiz, and he found Neves with their third pass in the goal area, and PSG’s second goal of the match in the 39th minute.

Even Messi was a step slow on a give-and-go with Marcelo Weigandt early in the second half.

“The truth is that the game was over very early in the first half. But anyway, the team kept going,” Busquets told DAZN. “What we did in the second half was perhaps what we wanted to do in the first half and throughout the game.”

Added Jordi Alba: “I’ve been lucky enough to experience it from the other side. Now (it’s) from another perspective.”

Inter Miami earned at least $21 million for participating, winning a match with two draws in the group stage, and advancing to the Round of 16 in the Club World Cup.

They carried the torch for the three MLS teams in the tournament.

They pulled off North America’s first win against a club from Europe when they beat FC Porto from Portugal behind an epic free kick goal from Messi just 10 days ago.

They were outclassed and outmatched 10 days later.

By a club that won the same trophy Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba and Mascherano raised together in Barcelona under Enrique’s leadership 10 years ago.

This was expected.

The result shouldn’t make Inter Miami less proud about what they achieved.

“I think it was positive for the club and for the team to get this far,” Inter Miami defender Maxi Falcon said. “Obviously, we faced a great opponent, and we have to be gracious in defeat.”

Added Alba: “I think we’ve competed very well. It has to help us gain confidence that if we’re doing well and we know how we play, we can compete against anyone. And from there, if we stay focused and keep this desire in the MLS, we’ll have a lot of chances to win.”

This story has been updated to include a new video.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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LeBron James makes his free agent decision with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is exercising his player option for the 2025-26 season and will not become a free agent this summer, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN on Sunday, June 29.

James is due to earn $52.6 million next season and has a no-trade clause in his contract.

‘LeBron wants to compete for a championship,’ Paul told ESPN. ‘He knows the Lakers are building for the future.’

In his 22nd season and at 40 years old in 2024-25, James averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds and shot 51.3% from the field, 37.6% on 3-pointers and 78.2% on free throws. He made the All-NBA team for a league-record 21st consecutive time.

James could have opted out of the final year of his two-year, $101.3 million contract, entered free agency and signed a three-year, $175.3 million deal or a two-year deal with the Lakers.

He is nearing retirement and has not indicated how many more seasons he has left. He recently said, ‘I can’t play that much further.’

The Lakers acquired star Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks at the 2025 trade deadline and want to make a push for a title with James and Doncic on the roster for an entire season.

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Candace Parker honored in LA as Sparks retire two-time WNBA MVP’s jersey

Former two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker was honored by the Los Angeles Sparks, who retired her jersey during a ceremony at halftime of their game against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, June 29.

Parker spent 13 seasons with the Sparks before joining the Sky as a free agent for the 2021 season. She spent two seasons playing at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, just 34 miles from where she went to Naperville Central High School.

The three-time WNBA champion will continue to receive recognition when the Sky retire her jersey at a ceremony later this summer.

“Having her jersey retired in both Los Angeles and Chicago – two WNBA cities where she shaped the culture and identity of their teams – is a powerful and fitting tribute to all Candace has accomplished,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “… Her legacy will live on – in the rafters and in the hearts of fans everywhere.”

The Sky will not play the Sparks again this season but hosts the Las Vegas Aces in Chicago on Monday, Aug. 25. Parker spent the 2023 season with the Aces.

Sparks retire Candace Parker’s jersey

The Sparks retired Parker’s No. 3 jersey to celebrate all she’s done for and with the franchise. During her tenure, she served as the face of the WNBA and made an immediate impact from the outset.

Parker played college ball for the Tennessee Lady Vols under legendary coach Pat Summitt before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. She finished her first professional season as both the league’s MVP and Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-WNBA First-Team.

‘It’s super important to see this jersey in the rafters before any others because my 13 years here were super special,’ Parker said during a press conference on Sunday. “It was ups, downs, wins, losses, heartaches and rewards, but it’s super special to share that with my teammates and coaches with an organization that bet on me with the first pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. That was a long time ago.”

She spent two seasons alongside Hall of Famer and WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, who also spoke at the ceremony on Sunday. Leslie (No. 9) and Penny Toler (No. 11) are the only other two players to have their jerseys retired by the Sparks.

“No. 3 will hang in the rafters because nobody else can do what Candace Parker has done for the LA Sparks,” Leslie said during the ceremony.

Parker is the franchise’s leader in assists (1,331) and second in points (5,684) and rebounds (2,902).

Candace Parker’s career accomplishments

Parker won a WNBA championship with each of the three teams she played for during her 16-year career. She won her first championship in 2016 with the Sparks and brought the Sky their first and only title in 2021. She finished her career with the Las Vegas Aces, who won the championship in 2023.

3-time WNBA Champion
2-time MVP
WNBA Finals MVP (2016)
10-time All-WNBA
Rookie of the Year (2008)
All-Rookie Team (2008)
Defensive Player of the Year (2020)
7-time All-Star
2013 All-Star Game MVP

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Report: Harden opts out of contract, will sign new deal with Clippers

James Harden will decline the player option on the final season of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers but intends to re-sign with the team on a new two-year contract, ESPN is reporting.

ESPN reports that Harden’s new contract with the Clippers will be worth $81.5 million. Harden had until Sunday, June 29 to make a decision on his previous contract with the Clippers.

Had Harden exercised his player option, he would have played out the final year of his contract in Los Angeles and would’ve become a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season.

A new Harden deal also aligns with the contract that his co-star in Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard, has. Leonard is signed for two more seasons, through 2026-27, keeping the two star players together.

Harden was a reliable presence for the Clippers this year, especially with the prolonged absences of Leonard, who dealt with knee inflammation to start the season. Harden played 35.3 minutes per game and started 79 games. He averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Although the Clippers played in just seven postseason games – all in a thrilling first-round series against the Denver Nuggets – Harden’s 9.1 assists per game was the highest individual total for all players who participated in the postseason.

The Clippers were one of the better teams in the NBA down the stretch, winning 18 of their final 21 games in the regular season, including the final eight.

Harden, an 11-time All-Star and the 2017-18 Most Valuable Player, will enter his 17th season in the NBA. He has scored 27,687 career points, which ranks 11th all-time.

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Report: Jabari Smith Jr. expected to sign big extension with Rockets

Power forward Jabari Smith Jr. is expected to sign a five-year, $122 million rookie contract extension with the Houston Rockets, according to a report from ESPN.

The deal, expected to be a fully guaranteed, would last through the 2030-31 season.

Smith averaged 12.2 points and seven rebounds, while starting 39 of the 57 games he played this season.

The Rockets finished with a 52-30 overall record during the 2024-25 season and entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference before losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round in seven games.

The Rockets were in the news earlier this week when Houston traded Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant.

Jabari Smith Jr.’s career stats

The former Auburn Tiger has spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Rockets after being drafted as the third overall pick in the 2022 draft.

*Averages per game

Points: 13.0
FG%: .432
3PTs%: .340
FT%: .805
Rebounds: 7.5
Assists: 1.3
Blocks: 0.8
Steals: 0.6
Turnovers: 1.2
Fouls: 2.6
Minutes played: 31.1

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Wimbledon opening day: Who’s playing as third Grand Slam begins?

It’s officially opening day at Wimbledon, as a fortnight of action begins on the legendary grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Opening-round matches in both men’s and women’s singles get things started on Monday, June 30, with the first round continuing Tuesday.

Two-time defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off his epic French Open championship, and women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka headline Monday’s schedule, while men’s top seed Jannik Sinner and reigning French Open women’s champion Coco Gauff will get an extra day of rest before they begin their quest for a championship.

Here’s a look at some of the top matches on Monday’s schedule at Wimbledon:

How to watch Wimbledon 2025

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and Tennis Channel. Fans wanting to stream the action can watch matches on ESPN+ or Fubo.

Monday, June 30

Main coverage: ESPN, Fubo, 6 a.m. ET
Court 1: ESPN+, 8 a.m. ET
Courts 2-18: ESPN+, 6 a.m. ET
Match replays: Tennis Channel, 8 p.m.-11 p.m. ET

Wimbledon 2025 men’s singles

First-round feature matchups

Centre Court

No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz vs. Fabio Fognini (Italy)
No. 3 Alexander Zverev (Germany) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (France)

No. 2 court

No. 9 Daniil Medvedev (Russia) vs. Benjamin Bonzi (France)
No. 5 Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France)

No. 3 court

No. 8 Holger Rune (Denmark) vs. Nicolas Jarry (Chile)

Court 12

No. 12 Francis Tiafoe (USA) vs. Elmer Moller (Denmark)
No. 24 Stefano Tsitsipas (Greece) vs. Valentin Royer (France)

Wimbledon 2025 women’s singles

First-round feature matchups

Centre Court

No. 9 Paula Badosa (Spain) vs. Katie Boulter (United Kingdom)

No. 1 court

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) vs. Carston Branstine (Canada)
Emma Raducanu (United Kingdom) vs. Mingge Xu (United Kingdom)

No. 2 court

No. 6 Madison Keys vs. Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Romania)
No. 4 Jasmine Paolini (Italy) vs. Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia)

No. 3 court

No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) vs. Sonay Kartal (United Kingdom)
No. 5 Qinwen Zheng (China) vs. Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)

Court 15

No. 22 Donna Vekic (Croatia) vs. Kimberly Birrell (Australia)
No. 13 Amanda Anisimova (USA) vs. Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan)

Court 16

No. 12 Diana Shnaider (Russia) vs. Moyuka Uchijima (Japan)
No. 24 Elise Mertens (Belgium) vs. Linda Fruhvirtova (Czech Republic)

Court 17

No. 31 Ashlyn Krueger (USA) vs. Mika Stojsavljevic (United Kingdom)

Court 18

No. 14 Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) vs. Anna Bondar (Hungary)
Naomi Osaka (Japan) vs. Talia Gibson (Australia)

Watch Wimbledon with Fubo

2025 Wimbledon schedule

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships are slated to begin on Monday, June 30, and run through Sunday, July 13. Men’s and women’s singles begin on June 30, while the men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles brackets begin play on Wednesday, July 2. Here’s a breakdown of the complete schedule for this year’s fortnight at Wimbledon.

Monday, June 30: Men’s and women’s singles first round
Tuesday, July 1: Men’s and women’s singles first round
Wednesday, July 2: Men’s and women’s singles second round; men’s and women’s doubles first round
Thursday, July 3: Men’s and women’s singles second round; men’s and women’s doubles first round
Friday, July 4: Men’s and women’s singles third round; men’s and women’s doubles second round; mixed doubles first round
Saturday, July 5: Men’s and women’s singles third round; men’s and women’s doubles second round; mixed doubles first round
Sunday, July 6: Men’s and women’s singles fourth round; men’s and women’s doubles third round; mixed doubles second round
Monday, July 7: Men’s and women’s singles fourth round; men’s and women’s doubles third round; mixed doubles quarterfinals
Tuesday, July 8: Men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals; men’s and women’s doubles quarterfinals; mixed doubles semifinals
Wednesday, July 9: Men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals; men’s and women’s doubles quarterfinals
Thursday, July 10: Women’s singles semifinals; men’s doubles semifinals; mixed doubles final
Friday, July 11: Men’s singles semifinals; women’s doubles semifinals;
Saturday: July 12: Women’s singles final; Men’s doubles final
Sunday, July 13: Men’s singles final; women’s doubles final

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Iran’s nuclear capabilities crushed, but regime’s desire for the bomb may persist

President Donald Trump declared last week that Iran’s underground nuclear facilities bombed by the U.S. were ‘obliterated,’ while adding the U.S. and Israeli strikes delivered ‘monumental damage to all nuclear sites in Iran.’ 

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that message in a briefing, saying the ‘CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program has been severely damaged by recent targeted strikes.’

Israeli intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that strikes on Natanz, Fordow and Esfahan caused severe and possibly irreversible damage to Iran’s known enrichment infrastructure. ‘We hit the heart of their capabilities,’ one official said. 

But despite the overwhelming success of the mission, questions remain about what survived – and what might come next. Analysts warn that while Iran’s declared facilities have been largely destroyed, covert elements of the program may still exist, and enriched uranium stockpiles could resurface.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi said in an interview with CBS on Saturday that although ‘it’s clear that what happened in particular in Fordow, Natanz, [and] Isfahan—where Iran used to have, and still has to some degree, capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion, and enrichment of uranium—has been destroyed to an important degree,’ the threat remains. 

Nuclear experts say that while Iran’s nuclear progress has been dealt a historic blow, the regime may still retain the technical know-how and residual capabilities to reconstitute its program over time – especially if it chooses to go dark.

A detailed assessment released Tuesday by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) found that Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, followed by U.S. bunker-busting strikes, ‘effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program.’ But authors David Albright and Spencer Faragasso cautioned that ‘residuals such as stocks of 60%, 20%, and 3-5% enriched uranium and centrifuges manufactured but not yet installed… pose a threat as they can be used in the future to produce weapon-grade uranium’.

Jonathan Ruhe, director of foreign policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), echoed that concern in an interview with Fox News Digital.

‘The threat now is certainly much reduced,’ Ruhe said. ‘But the threat from here on out is going to be much more difficult to detect because Iran could try to rebuild covertly. They don’t need much space or time to enrich 60% to 90%. And the IAEA has said for years that Iran likely retains some secret capability.’

Ruhe added that while Israeli intelligence was likely aware of attempts to move uranium before the strikes, ‘any planning assumption going forward must consider Iran’s residual capacity – even if it’s diminished.’

John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, said critics who argue the program wasn’t completely destroyed are missing the bigger picture.

‘Can everything be rebuilt eventually? Sure. But there’s no question the program was rolled back – years, if not more,’ Spencer told Fox News Digital. ‘People fixate on how many pounds of uranium are missing. But building a bomb requires much more than material. You need the conversion, the metallurgy, the delivery system – all of which were hit.’

Dr. Or Rabinowitz, a nuclear proliferation scholar at Hebrew University and visiting associate professor at Stanford, noted that many unknowns remain.

‘There’s no verified answer yet to what happened to the 60% enriched uranium – or to the other feedstocks at 20% or 3.5%,’ Rabinowitz said. ‘If Iran has access to advanced centrifuges, they could in theory enrich back to weapons-grade – but we don’t know how many centrifuges survived or in what condition they are.’

She also explained that even if Iran retains the material, converting uranium gas into metal for a bomb requires a specialized facility. ‘From what we know, that conversion facility in Isfahan was bombed. Without it, Iran faces a significant bottleneck,’ she said. But she warned that nuclear weapons technology is not insurmountable: ‘This is 1940s science. If North Korea could do it, Iran could too – eventually.’

According to the ISIS report, ‘extensive damage’ was confirmed at nearly all major Iranian nuclear and missile facilities, including the destruction of uranium metal conversion plants, fuel fabrication centers, and the IR-40 Arak heavy water reactor. The report noted that the Israeli and U.S. strikes ‘rendered the Fordow site inoperable,’ citing high-resolution satellite imagery of deep bunker penetrations.

Rabinowitz also emphasized that the intelligence picture is still developing in real time. ‘The Israelis and the Americans are now hard at work to generate the most accurate intelligence picture they can,’ she said. ‘Without having my own sources in the Mossad, I can guarantee the Israelis are monitoring internal Iranian communications, trying to figure out what the Iranians have figured out. As they learn more, so will Israel and the U.S.’

As debate continues over whether the strikes were enough to permanently disable Iran’s nuclear ambitions, analysts agree on one point: Iran’s assumption that it could push forward without consequence is gone.

During a press conference on Friday. Trump was asked if he would bomb Iran’s nuclear program again if it was restarted. He told reporters, ‘Sure without question.’

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Trump’s 24th week set to focus on ‘big, beautiful bill’ passage ahead of Independence Day deadline

President Donald Trump’s 24th week back in the Oval Office is set to focus on Republican lawmakers sprinting to meet a July 4 deadline to pass a massive piece of legislation that will advance the president’s agenda, while the White House simultaneously juggles ongoing talks related to conflict and tensions in the Middle East.

Trump’s 23rd week in office was one of his most consequential on the books after he ordered U.S. military strikes on a trio of nuclear facilities in Iran last Saturday evening that critics said threatened to pull the U.S. into another war. Instead, the strikes appear to have wiped out Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program that had the Middle East and nations worldwide on edge. It ended in a ceasefire between Iran and Israel as Trump took a victory lap for ending the ’12 Day War.’

‘This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!’ Trump posted to Truth Social last week.

‘One big, beautiful bill’ 

Republicans in Washington, D.C., are hyper-focused on passing the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ this week, ahead of lawmakers’ July 4 deadline to land the legislation on Trump’s desk for his signature. The budget reconciliation bill, if passed, will advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. The legislation is currently before the Senate. 

Senate Republicans successfully carried the legislation over a procedural hurdle late on Saturday in a 51-49 party-line vote after hours of negotiations. All Republicans voted in support of advancing the bill except for Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Tillis announced on Sunday, after bucking Republican colleagues and the president, that he would not seek reelection in 2026.

Following the procedural vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., required clerks on the Senate floor to read the entire 940-page Senate GOP’s version of Trump’s megabill as a delay tactic that stalled debate on the package by about 16 hours.

Senate lawmakers will hold 20 hours of debate that is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans as the bill moves along ahead of the Friday deadline. Senate Democrats are expected to use all of their allotted time, while Senate Republicans will likely only use a portion of their hours.

‘Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the ‘GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ but, it wouldn’t have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis,’ Trump posted to Truth Social overnight Saturday. 

‘They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country! As President of the USA, I am proud of them all, and look forward to working with them to GROW OUR ECONOMY, REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING, SECURE OUR BORDER, FIGHT FOR OUR MILITARY/VETS, ENSURE THAT OUR MEDICAID SYSTEM HELPS THOSE WHO TRULY NEED IT, PROTECT OUR SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SO MUCH MORE.’ 

Ongoing discussions with Iran 

The White House is expected to hold ongoing talks with Iran this week after the U.S. successfully carried out military strikes on three nuclear facilities in the country last Saturday. 

‘So Iran wants to meet. As you know, their sites were obliterated. Their very evil nuclear sites,’ Trump told the media last week.

Details related to the reported discussions are vague, with Iran denying it is participating in ongoing talks, while the White House said the U.S. remains in close communication with Iranians and intermediaries.  

‘I spoke to our special envoy Witkoff at length this morning and I can assure all of you we continue to be in close communication with the Iranians and through our intermediaries as well, namely the Qataris, who have been an incredible ally and partner throughout this entire effort,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing on Thursday. ‘And as I said, this administration is always focused on diplomacy and peace, and we want to ensure we can get to a place where Iran agrees to a non-enrichment civil nuclear program.

‘The president wants peace. He always has, and right now we’re on a diplomatic path with Iran. The president and his team, namely special envoy Witkoff, continue to be in communication with the Iranians and especially our Gulf and Arab partners in the region to come to an agreement with Iran,’ she added.

Trump announced on June 21 that the U.S. successfully carried out strikes on Iran in a Truth Social post that was not preceded by media leaks or speculation that an attack was imminent. The unexpected social media post was followed just hours later by a brief Trump address to the nation while flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. 

‘A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,’ Trump said from the White House late on Saturday in an address to the nation regarding the strikes. ‘Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.’

The operation included the longest B-2 spirit bomber mission since 2001, the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown and the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, Hegseth said. 

Operation Midnight Hammer followed Israel launching preemptive strikes on Iran on June 12 after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations and subsequent heightened concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear program.

Trump floats ceasefire in Gaza 

While celebrating the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, as well as a separate U.S.-brokered peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, Trump predicted a potential ceasefire in Gaza as the war between Hamas and Israel continues since 2023. 

Trump called the situation in Gaza ‘terrible’ while speaking to the media from the Oval Office on Friday, but expressed optimism there could soon be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

‘I think it’s close. I just spoke with some of the people involved,’ said the president, adding, ‘We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.’ 

Trump also addressed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying, ‘We’re supplying, as you know, a lot of money and a lot of food to that area because we have to. I mean, you have to. In theory, we’re not involved in it, but we’re involved because people are dying.’

‘MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! DJT,’ Trump posted to Truth Social early on Sunday as he posted other messages related to the Big Beautiful Bill. 

Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with U.S. counterparts to discuss a ceasefire deal, The Associated Press reported. 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

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