Kathleen Hicks, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Biden administration and senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, says the path out of the Iran conflict requires experienced negotiators and professional diplomatic teams. She also weighs in on the future of autonomous-weapons spending at the Pentagon. She speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Iran has severed all diplomatic talks with the United States, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire by bombing its proxy militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.
President Trump said he would be 'okay' if the Iranian regime refused to return to talks. The administration also appeared to abandon its $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. NBC News' Garrett Haake reports.
On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz discuss the latest from the Middle East. On today's show, Georgia Tech Professor Adam Stulberg, Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, Bluestack Strategies Founder Maura Gillespie and Decision Tree Research Founder and CEO Gregory Allen. (Source: Bloomberg)
Democratic Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, criticizes President Trump's handling of the conflict with Iran, arguing Congress must use its war-powers and spending authority to demand clearer answers from the Pentagon. She also calls for legislation to explicitly prohibit the $1.8 billion so-called "weaponization" fund, saying the DOJ's court-ordered pause does not go far enough. She speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board delivered a scathing verdict on Donald Trump's handling of Iran, accusing the regime of manipulating the president into rescuing Hezbollah, even as it openly violates ceasefires and fires at American forces.In an editorial published Monday evening, the editorial board wrote that Iran is "throwing a wrench into negotiations with the U.S., and President Trump spent the rest of the day scrambling to satisfy Iran’s demand." That resulted in a fresh Lebanon ceasefire that handed Hezbollah a reprieve it didn't earn, the editors railed."Iran is winning its proxy a refuge," the board wrote, noting that Hezbollah had been firing an average of 125 rockets and 49 drones at Israel each day last week, yet Iran still halted U.S.-Israeli action by threatening to walk away from negotiations.The editorial accused Iran of simultaneously testing Trump on multiple fronts — downing a U.S. drone over international waters, firing ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Kuwait, and attacking Gulf states — while Trump consistently chooses de-escalation over confrontation."The shamelessness is always striking," the board wrote, pointing out that Iran has repeatedly violated the April 7 ceasefire while Trump continues insisting it still holds.The board's harsh assessment lands as far-right Israeli officials openly defy Trump on the Lebanon front, creating pressure on both sides of the conflict."If he won’t send a different message, it will be difficult to get the regime to comply with a deal, no matter what it promises now," the WSJ board concluded.
The optimism that President Trump projected last week toward securing a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has quickly faded, with Tehran on Monday suspending talks in protest of Israel’s punishing strikes on Lebanon. Trump sent varying messages as he scrambled Monday to secure a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-linked…
