Trump claimed victory against the Houthis in the fight over Red Sea shipping. Now they are sinking tankers again.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have begun attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea again , just two months after Donald Trump claimed victory in an air campaign against the militant group to stop them.

The Iran-backed group captured and sank a Greek-owned bulk carrier named 'Magic Seas' on Tuesday using drones, missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, forcing its 22 crew members to abandon ship.

The Houthis sank another Greek-operated vessel called 'Eternity C' on Wednesday, leaving at least four dead and 15 missing.

The attacks come after months of relative calm in the crucial global shipping route, which followed a fierce bombing campaign by the Trump administration against the Houthis.

Trump launched the bombings in April to stop a wave of attacks by the militant group against Red Sea ships in response to Israel's war in Gaza.

The United States carried out more than 1,100 strikes, killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and spent more than $1 billion over the 52-day campaign, U.S. officials told the New York Times.

But the U.S. military was not able to gain air superiority over the durable rebel group, and the Houthis were still shooting down American drones and firing at naval ships in the Red Sea 30 days into the war.

Trump announced a truce on May 6, claiming the Houthis had "capitulated," but, more importantly, "we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that's what the purpose of what we were doing."

"We hit them very hard and they had a great ability to withstand punishment," he said.

He added that "they gave us their word that they wouldn't be shooting at ships anymore, and we honor that."

That did not prove to be the case.

Even at the time, that result seemed unlikely. The Houthis stopped short of declaring a full ceasefire, said that they would continue to fight against Israel , and claimed victory for themselves.

The group has continued to fire missiles towards Israel, and Israel has carried out extensive strikes against the Houthis, including attacks on three Yemeni ports and a power plant earlier this week .

The Houthis released a slick propaganda video Tuesday showed the attack on Magic Seas. The footage showed masked men taking control of the ship, then chanting the Houthis' slogan: "God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam." The video ends with explosives planted on the ship being detonated, before it sinks beneath the surface.

The renewed attacks raised the possibility that the U.S. may once again be drawn into a fight against the Houthis, who have proven remarkably resilient to airstrikes over the years.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the attacks "demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security."

"The United States has been clear: We will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks," she added.

The Houthis' fight with Israel is part of a much wider regional war that was sparked by a surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. When Israel bombarded Gaza in response, the Houthis joined the fight on the side of Hamas, firing drones and missiles towards Israel.

The group then widened its attacks to target shipping in the Red Sea, attacking more than 100 ships from November 2023 to December 2024, and promising to end only when Israel ends its war in Gaza, which has now killed more than 55,000 people, mostly civilians.

Former president Joe Biden, Trump's predecessor, launched airstrikes against Yemen on January 10, 2024, "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea."

Those strikes failed to deter the Houthis, and the attacks only stopped when a ceasefire was brokered between Israel and Hamas in January.

The Houthis resumed their attacks when Israel imposed a blockade on food and aid entering Gaza in March , which prompted Trump to launch his own campaign to stop the group.

Announcing the strikes on March 15, Trump said the Houthis had "waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones."

"We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective," he wrote on Truth Social, later adding that the campaign was aimed at targeting Houthi leaders and officials.

Trump's involvement in Yemen drew criticism from his own supporters , who argue it contradicts his promises to end "endless wars" and his "America First" campaign slogan.

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"The Old Guard 2": Netflix sequel has more lore, more laws, less fun

Whoever said that death is easy, life is hard, has not met Andromache the Scythian.

For millennia, this immortal warrior has protected humanity, even when humanity doesn't seem to deserve it. Living is, quite literally, her superpower. (I'll spare you the blasé, millennial-core joke here.)

Now Andy (Charlize Theron) is back in "The Old Guard 2," still leading her team of fellow immortal fighters: Nicky and Joe (Luca Marinelli and Marwan Kenzari), two warring Crusaders who fell in love; Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who fought for Napoleon; and Nile (KiKi Layne), the cohort's newest addition, a U.S. Marine plucked from service in Afghanistan.

Victoria Mahoney directs this sequel, now streaming on Netflix, a follow-up to the 2020 fun and complex superhero film "The Old Guard," directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

After all these centuries, what keeps these heroes in the fight?

It's Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an ex-CIA agent who betrays the immortals in "The Old Guard" only to become an ally in the sequel, who discovers the team's ripple effect. A life saved in one generation can result in a Nobel Peace Prize four generations later (though this logic escapes me — surely evil can ripple out as easily as goodness? Surely a henchman killed is as likely to have saintly offspring as anyone else?). But no matter; this realization keeps the world-weary Andy going.

Because there's always evil to fight. The "Old Guard" villain was a Martin Shkreli-style pharma bro who wanted to mine the immortals for science. This time, the call is coming from inside the house.

"The Old Guard 2" introduces not one but three new ancient immortals: Quynh (Veronica Ngo), Andy's longtime companion and moral compass, who was drowned in an iron cage for witchcraft 500 years ago; Tuah (Henry Golding), a dedicated archivist who seems to exist just to explain immortal lore; and finally, an immortal so old she doesn't even have a name, known instead as an abstract concept, Discord (Uma Thurman).

After eons of secrecy, Discord reveals herself for reasons her fellow immortals will soon find out.

The first "Old Guard" threads an impressive blockbuster needle, blending the action and body count of a "Mission: Impossible" with the warm appeal of historical fiction and the ineffable thrills of legends and magic.

Despite excellent performances all around, that balance is off in this follow-up, which has more characters but is less character-driven. Prince-Bythewood's tenderness with these immortals — still fragile and human, bonded by love and isolation — felt intimate and special, highlighting the time-worn charm of centuries-old friendships, as well as Nicky and Joe's 1,000-year love story.

This sequel manages to capture some of that historical appeal in one small, lovely scene, as Andy walks through a street in Rome and through her own memories of that place, which flash before our eyes.

But the action feels less successful, as the incredible combination of fighting styles — aided by some fun weapons, new and ancient — gets swallowed in a flurry of quick cuts. (This sequel significantly increases the gross factor in its action to show us these characters' healing abilities — watching Nicky's foot get ripped off as he's dragged from a speeding car wasn't my favorite visual.)

Greg Rucka, who adapted "The Old Guard" from the comic he created with Leandro Fernandez, also co-wrote this screenplay with Sarah L. Walker. Unfortunately, the sequel lacks the emotional finesse and logical complexity of its predecessor, and keeps characters unnecessarily withholding information from each other for no discernible reason other than that their ignorance is necessary for the plot to continue.

Thanks to resident librarian Tuah, "Old Guard 2" adds layers of lore explaining how and when an immortal can lose their immortality — but adding new rules to a universe can create logical inconsistencies that didn't exist before, and that's never a good distraction.

It's also too obviously one piece in a franchise. We lose one immortal for good, but we lose others as they're vacuum-sealed and shipped off to who-knows-where at Discord's instruction, teeing us up for another adventure. Hopefully, that one will be a bit more fun.

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'The Old Guard 2': Netflix sequel has more lore, more laws, less fun

Whoever said death is easy, living is hard hasn't met Andromache the Scythian.

For millennia, this immortal warrior has protected humanity, even when humanity doesn't seem to deserve it. Living is, quite literally, her superpower. (I'll spare you the blasé, millennial-core joke here.)

Now Andy (Charlize Theron) is back in "The Old Guard 2," still leading her team of fellow immortal fighters: Nicky and Joe (Luca Marinelli and Marwan Kenzari), two warring Crusaders who fell in love; Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who fought for Napoleon; and Nile (KiKi Layne), the cohort's newest addition, a U.S. Marine plucked from service in Afghanistan.

Victoria Mahoney directs this sequel, now streaming on Netflix, a follow-up to 2020's fun and complex superhero film "The Old Guard," directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

After all these centuries, what keeps these heroes in the fight?

It's Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an ex-CIA agent who betrays the immortals in "The Old Guard" only to become an ally in the sequel, who discovers the team's ripple effect. A life saved in one generation can result in a Nobel Peace Prize four generations later (though this logic escapes me—surely evil can ripple out as easily as goodness? Surely a henchman killed is as likely to have saintly offspring as anyone else?). But no matter; this realization keeps the world-weary Andy going.

Because there's always evil to fight. "The Old Guard" villain was a Martin Shkreli-style pharma bro who wanted to exploit the immortals for science. This time, the threat is coming from within the house itself.

“The Old Guard 2” introduces not one but three new ancient immortals: Quynh (Veronica Ngô), Andy’s longtime companion and moral compass, who was drowned in an iron cage for witchcraft 500 years ago; Tuah (Henry Golding), a dedicated archivist who seems to exist just to explain immortal lore; and finally, an immortal so old she doesn’t even have a name, known instead as an abstract concept, Discord (Uma Thurman).

After eons of secrecy, Discord reveals herself for reasons her fellow immortals will soon discover.

The first “Old Guard” threads an impressive blockbuster needle, blending the action and body count of a “Mission: Impossible” with the warm appeal of historical fiction and the ineffable thrills of legends and magic.

Despite excellent performances all around, that balance is off in this follow-up, which has more characters but is less character-driven. Prince-Bythewood's tenderness with these immortals — still fragile and human, bonded by love and isolation — felt intimate and special, highlighting the timeworn charm of centuries-old friendships, as well as Nicky and Joe's 1,000-year love story.

This sequel manages to capture some of that historical appeal in one small, lovely scene, as Andy walks through a street in Rome and through her own memories of that place, which flash before our eyes.

But the action feels less successful, as the incredible combination of fighting styles — aided by some fun weapons, new and ancient — gets swallowed in a flurry of quick cuts. (This sequel does up the gross factor in its action significantly, to show us these characters' healing abilities — watching Nicky's foot get ripped off as he's dragged from a speeding car wasn't my favorite visual.)

Greg Rucka, who adapted "The Old Guard" from the comic he created with Leandro Fernandez, also co-wrote this screenplay with Sarah L. Walker. Unfortunately, the sequel lacks the emotional deftness and logical density of its predecessor, and keeps characters pointlessly withholding information from one another for no discernible reason other than that their ignorance is necessary for the plot to continue.

Thanks to resident librarian Tuah, “Old Guard 2” adds layers of lore explaining how and when an immortal can lose their immortality—but introducing new rules to a universe can create logical inconsistencies that didn’t exist before, and that’s never a good distraction.

It's also too obviously one piece in a franchise. We lose one immortal for good, but we lose others as they're vacuum-sealed and shipped off to who-knows-where at Discord's instruction, teeing us up for another adventure. Hopefully, that one will be a bit more fun.

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The US military's attempt to retain strategic land for training encounters opposition from Native Hawaiians.

HONOLULU (AP) — A high-altitude plateau on the Big Island is the only place in Hawaii where thousands of ground forces can practice firing live munitions. It's also a place many Native Hawaiians consider the spiritual heart of the island.

The U.S. military wants to continue training at this location, called Pohakuloa, so it remains prepared to rapidly deploy troops to Asia and the Pacific. Its significance to the U.S. is only increasing as China becomes more assertive, especially concerning Taiwan.

But the Army's lease for state lands beneath a key part of the training range expires in 2029. Native Hawaiians upset with the U.S. military's history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks want the Army out.

“They have bombed and contaminated not just our land but our waters,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a community organizer with the Hawaiian sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawaii. “When does this end?”

A problematic history

The military controls about 5% of Hawaii's land, including bases for all branches. It has programs and staff to protect endangered and threatened species, prevent fires, and plant native plants.

But past incidents have made many Native Hawaiians skeptical.

The Navy turned the island of Kahoolawe, off Maui, into a bombing range after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Navy returned it in 1994 after years of protests. But subsequent cleanup efforts have been incomplete. Live grenades and bombs remain scattered across a quarter of the island.

Memories are still fresh from when the Navy spilled jet fuel into Pearl Harbor's drinking water from a network of underground fuel storage tanks and pipes in 2021. The leak prompted 6,000 people to seek medical care for rashes, nausea, and other ailments and contaminated a Honolulu aquifer. The disaster occurred after admirals spent years dismissing community calls to move the tanks. On Tuesday, Honolulu's Water utility sues Navy seeking to recover an estimated $1.2 billion that it has had to spend as a result of the spill.

Also on Oahu, environmental advocates say Army live-fire training in Makua Valley que provocó incendios forestales y destruyó tierras boscosas nativas y sitios culturales sagrados. Un acuerdo legal detuvo dichos entrenamientos en 2004.

The cultural significance of Pohakuloa

Pohakuloa consists of rocky plains, hills, and brush about 6,200 feet (1,900 meters) above sea level between the Big Island's tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It hosts endangered species including the Hawaiian catchfly shrub.

Early Hawaiians traveled across the plateau to access a Mauna Kea quarry that provided high-quality basalt for making stone tools and to move between coastal settlements.

In 2022, Army staff discovered ancient wooden "kii," or figures, in a lava tube, an underground passageway created by molten rock. Consultants said the figures are from human burials, and state preservationists say they're among Hawaii's most significant archaeological finds.

Pohakuloa Training Area spans more than 200 square miles (518 square kilometers). The section in question is only 17% of that total, but it's critically located in between two larger federal parcels. Troops fire munitions from the state-owned parcel onto federal lands.

The land's importance for training and deterrence

Other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades.

Commanders say it would take too long to send troops, trucks, and helicopters to the U.S. mainland for drills.

“What we anticipate in a future fight is that we will not have the time to recover that equipment and to position ourselves back into the region,” said Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, U.S. Army Pacific chief of staff.

Pohakuloa training, he said, allows troops to "move from Hawaii into the Indo-Pacific, into key terrain, to be prepared to meet our adversaries, or more importantly, to deter them."

The Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force conduct exercises there, as do allied and partner militaries. The Hawaii National Guard accounts for one-quarter of Pohakuloa's training. County fire and police departments also use the area.

Negotiations to exchange land

The Army prepared an environmental impact statement, including public feedback, that analyzed how the military's continued use of the land would affect plants, animals, and cultural heritage.

On May 9, the state land board rejected it after hearing hours of often emotional testimony in opposition. Among other issues, the board cited inadequate inventory of unexploded ordnance and insufficient inventory of ancient burials and associated artifacts.

The Army is considering whether to appeal. It could also negotiate a land exchange with the state instead.

Such talks cannot begin until the Army finalizes its environmental study with a decision regarding its plans. The defense secretary's office must then approve the acquisition of land.

Alice Roberts, U.S. Army Pacific's program manager for training land retention, said the service has had some informal conversations, including trying to understand the state's swap criteria.

Buying the land would be "a big hurdle" for the Army, she said, because two-thirds of the state House and Senate would need to approve such a transaction.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat, said the Army must double down on being good stewards and make up for the military's past mistakes.

Tokuda wants the military to help increase Hawaii's housing supply, noting that service members occupy 14% of Oahu's housing stock and that high housing costs are driving residents out She said it could bolster Hawaii's water and sewer infrastructure.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green suggested in an interview with Hawaii News Now that the military could take the land through eminent domain, but Tokuda said she hasn't heard anyone in the military or President Donald Trump's administration mention that.

A call for a cleanup

Kaiali'i Kahele, the chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which advocates for Native Hawaiians, wants to see what federal lands the Army would offer. He wants to know whether it would be willing to reduce the impact of its training, and what sort of clean up and community benefits it would provide.

“We have to get to a point where you do training and then you clean up your mess,” said Kahele, a former congressman who served more than 20 years in the Hawaii Air National Guard and is now in the Air Force Reserve.

"That should be the model of training that respects 'aina, respects this place and its culture and its people," he said, using the Hawaiian word for land.

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Winners and losers of the "12-day war" following Iran and Israel's agreement on a ceasefire

A tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran had gone into effect in what should go down in history as the "12 Day War," according to President Donald Trump who emerges as one of the winners from the conflict while other political figures appear diminished.

The agreement remains fragile, with Trump accusing both nations of violating the ceasefire just a few hours after it came into effect. If the ceasefire does hold, then experts tell newsrealtime that Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu is a big winner from the conflict, while Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a big loser.

Emmanuel Navan , a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told newsrealtime Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make the most of the political capital from Operation Rising Lion.

"I have been very critical of Netanyahu in the past, but what he's pulled off is absolutely fantastic," he said Tuesday.

Nazenin Ansari, managing editor of Kayhan London, a Persian-language digital newspaper, and Kayhan Life, an English-language digital publication, told newsrealtime Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "has been effectively de-fanged."

While the region is on tenterhooks over whether any peace can hold, newsrealtime Examines some of the early winners and losers of the conflict.

Donald Trump - Winner

Trump had history in mind when he said the ceasefire plan his administration proposed to Israel and Iran had ended the "12 Day War." This was a nod to the 1967 conflict also known as the "Six Day War," in which Israel fought a group of Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

Trump's announcement came after concerns about how Iran might respond to American bunker-busting bombs that the U.S. president said had destroyed the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites on Saturday.

Trump had previously said he would wait two weeks, and the surprise strikes showed that at least initially, he was able to order an attack without immediate escalation, giving him bragging rights for a ceasefire.

Trump went out of his way to signal that Saturday's U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were a targeted, one-off campaign, not the beginning of a broader effort to topple the regime, Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program at the think tank Defense Priorities, told NewsRealTime.

"Iran seems to have taken that off-ramp and responded with an expected and telegraphed counterattack," she said, referring to Monday's strikes by Iran on a U.S. military Qatar site.

Kelanic said that Tehran's decision to limit its retaliation and de-escalate the crisis was rational given the overwhelming U.S. strength and Iranian weakness. "It is also welcome news that President Trump refocused his efforts on peace, not only between the U.S. and Iran, but also between Israel and Iran," she added.

Benjamin Netanyahu - Winner

The launch of Operation Rising Lion on June 13 was a gamble for Netanyahu, but by persuading Trump to join the fight to destroy targets that Israeli warplanes could not reach, Iran's nuclear ambitions remain thwarted—at least for the short term.

The ceasefire that Israel has agreed to could cement the Israeli prime minister's reputation 20 months on from the intelligence failures that preceded the October 7 2023 attack. <Hamas> attacks which dealt a blow to his security credentials.

"The fact that he finally undertook this military operation against Iran and that it was very successful is an amazing achievement for him personally and for the country," said Navan, who praised his coordination with the U.S.

"I have been critical of him but I lift my hat to him, I think it's absolutely extraordinary," said Navan, predicting that Netanyahu is not going to waste the rise in his political stock.

If early elections were held after the summer, he had an excellent chance of being elected again "because what he has achieved is simply phenomenal," said Navan, "I used to roll my eyes when people compared him to Churchill, but I think that now the comparison actually is deserved."

Boeing - Winner

The U.S. strikes on nuclear sites on Saturday were the first combat use of the GBU-57 MOP bunker-busting bombs developed by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force.

The delivery Of the 14 bombs, 12 of which were on the Fordow Nuclear Facility and two on the Natanz Nuclear Facility, caused severe damage to both sites, according to General Dan Caine, Chairman of the U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Trump went further, saying they were "completely and totally obliterated," although current and former Pentagon officials said that the full extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear capabilities was not immediately clear.

Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, told NewsRealTime, "My guess is that Iran's nuclear program was not obliterated; it is hard to say how much damage was done to the actual nuclear enrichment site."

However, she added, "at the very least the U.S. and Israeli strikes have set the Iranian nuclear program back further, so there is no imminent threat."

The messaging from the U.S. and Israel about the bomb's effectiveness will give a boost to Boeing after a string of bad news—most recently the tragedy of its 787 passenger jet in India crashing minutes after takeoff this month, killing all but one onboard.

It followed previous crashes in 2018 and 2019 of its 737 airplane while in 2024, it posted a loss of $11.8 billion in 2024, bringing total losses since 2019 to over $35 billion.

Ayatollah Ali Khameini - Loser

The future of the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following the conflict is uncertain, especially after the loss of the Islamic Republic's military and scientific leaders due to Israeli and U.S. operations.

Reza Pahlavi derides , the exiled son of Iran's last monarch for going into hiding "like a frightened rat" during Israel's attacks, Khamenei now commands a smaller power group of commanders, scientists, and regional proxies.

"The Islamic Republic stands as a shadow of its former self, a diminished entity grappling with the consequences of its overreach," said Ansari.

She said the question is whether his "armed thugs and supporters" will unleash their fury on civil society, leading to an increase in arrests and executions. The related question is how quickly and extensively defections will spread through the regime, particularly within the ranks of the internal security forces, army, and intelligence services.

Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told newsreal that there is a mix of disbelief, frustration, and anger among regime supporters who for years were promised that any attack by Israel—or any misstep by Israel or the U.S.—would mark the end of the Israeli state.

"Now, they see themselves and their country humiliated by repeated Israeli strikes, by Israeli fighter jets operating with near total freedom in Iranian airspace, and by the lack of a decisive response capable of restoring balance between the two sides," he said.

Vladimir Putin - Loser

Vladimir Putin met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi at the Kremlin on Monday, during which the Russian president condemned "the unprovoked aggression against Iran" by Israel and the U.S.

However, Iran has not been impressed with its ally's support, according to Reuters citing Iranian sources, and despite Putin touting a partnership deal in January, Moscow has offered little other than its condemnation over the last two weeks.

That 20-year-old Russian-Iranian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership The signed agreement had no mutual defense clause, but Iran's backing for Russia's war in Ukraine with Shahed drones appears not to have been reciprocated.

Half a year on from the collapse of Putin's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Moscow now faces a regional partner whose regime has diminished .

Tulsi Gabbard - Loser

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced a rejection ff from Trump over her testimony on Capitol Hill In March, it was stated that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei had not authorized the nuclear weapons program.

When asked about the intelligence assessment, Trump said "she's wrong," later making a similar statement aboard Air Force One.

Gabbard responded that her testimony was taken out of context and that U.S. intelligence showed Iran can produce a nuclear weapon "within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly." She added that Trump "has been clear that can't happen, and I agree."

Tucker Carlson - Loser

Meanwhile, conservative TV host Tucker Carlson became the most high-profile anti-intervention figure, accusing Senator Ted Cruz about Iran, "whose government he seeks to 'topple,'" in an interview clip that went viral.

Despite being a long-time supporter, Carlson's rhetoric toward Trump has been increasingly critical. But his condemnation of intervention in Iran was at odds with the Trump administration whose role in the conflict has splintered the MAGA coalition a wing of which opposes American involvement in foreign wars.

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Anti-war protesters rally in Chicago following U.S.-Iran conflict

The Brief

• Iran strikes back: Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar on Monday following American bombings of its nuclear sites; no injuries reported.
• Chicago protests U.S. action: Hundreds rallied downtown, calling the strikes war crimes and demanding an end to U.S. involvement.
• Mixed reactions: Palestinian groups condemned the escalation, while pro-Israel voices defended the strikes as necessary.

CHICAGO - Iran fired missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar on Monday, but officials say no deaths or injuries have been reported.

Iranian officials said the strike mirrored the number of bombs dropped by the United States on three of its key nuclear sites over the weekend. The Trump administration said it had anticipated some form of retaliation.

Reactions to the U.S. response are mixed in Chicago.

What we know

In collaboration with the Anti-War Committee (AWC) of Chicago, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)-Chicago hosted a rally on Monday at Federal Plaza.

"This campaign of aggression must end now," said Noura Ebrahim, with USPCN-Chicago. "These are war crimes, plain and simple."

Organizers accuse the Trump administration of committing war crimes and escalating conflict in the Middle East by bombing three nuclear sites over the weekend.

We are repeating the same mishaps that happened in 2003. This is very reminiscent of what happened during the Iraq war," said Nesreen Hasan, with USPCN-Chicago. "A lot of people are outraged – not only our community, but many communities across the board. Why are we involved in this? We shouldn't be involved in this.

After rallying at Federal Plaza, hundreds of people marched to Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue, ending their protest near Trump Tower and calling for an end to U.S. involvement in the region.

They also express skepticism about the agreed-upon ceasefire deal.

"We don't trust them one bit," said Husam Murajda, co-chair of USPCN-Chicago. "Iran has long adhered to nuclear agreements and was in negotiations with the U.S. until the very day that Israel bombed it on June 19th. Iran chose diplomacy, the U.S. and Israel chose war and devastation."

What they're saying

On the other side of the aisle, supporters of Israel, including a spokesman for the Jewish United Fund (JUF), feel that the actions taken by the United States military were necessary.

"We were very pleased with the U.S. decision. President Trump, we think, made the right decision and then U.S. soldiers executed it perfectly. The idea was to make sure that the most fanatical regime in the world did not have the most ultimate weapon in the world," said Daniel Goldwin, chief public affairs officer for the JUF. "If you look back over the entire course of the Islamic Republic of Iran's history with Israel, almost every time there's a terror attack against Israelis, in Israel, against Americans, the return address is Tehran. Hopefully that can end now."

What's next

There are currently no planned rallies or protests in Chicago in the coming days, but that could change at any moment.

A spokesman for USPCN shares that the group will likely proceed with its weekly demonstration this Saturday, June 28.

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"In wars, everyone loses": Louisville rabbis fear extended conflict as U.S. and Iran exchange blows

There is concern within Louisville's synagogues about a prolonged war involving the U.S., should America's bombing of Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend lead to further conflict.

On Monday, Iran announced it had retaliated with its own missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar, though no casualties have been reported.

Louisville Rabbi Ben Freed of Keneseth Israel Congregation has loved ones in Israel and is worried for what could come next.

"I think really it's a combination of the potential for prolonged conflict, and the potential for many many more lives lost," Freed told WHAS11 on Monday. "The fear of retaliation is not just about me personally, it's about my friends, my family, my co-religionists -- my other Jews that I care for deeply. I hope that across the world, cooler heads will prevail."

Rabbi Matt Derrenbacher of The Temple hopes that Iran's latest strike on American targets was more symbolic rather than intended to inflict pain, suggesting they want to de-escalate.

My deepest hope is that's the end of the fighting and the warfare, and we can actually move on to some peace talks and de-escalation," Derrenbacher told WHAS11 over Zoom. "In wars, everyone loses, right, people on both sides die. It breaks communities apart.

Dr. Robert Farley, a senior lecturer at the University of Kentucky and an expert on diplomacy and national security, tells WHAS11 that Iran's response could indicate they want an exit strategy rather than a broader conflict, but it is not yet clear whether the attacks will continue in the long term.

They also have options involving terrorism. They have militias. They have many different ways of attacking the U.S. and U.S. interests, both in the region and around the world," Farley said. "But just because they have those capabilities doesn't mean that they're going to use them.

Farley said that Iran's response to the U.S. may just be a way to demonstrate to the Iranian people that the government "cares about what happened, and that it's willing to strike back."

"So we haven't really seen everything that the Iranians could throw at the United States yet," Farley said. "There are lots of other targets that the United States has in the region, all of which are reachable by ballistic missiles like the ones the Iranians just fired."

WHAS11 asked Farley if this means there's a chance for parties to get back to the negotiating table and reach a peace deal.

"There's probably some space between what Jerusalem wants and what Washington wants at this point, I don't think that the Israelis want any kind of deal. I think they want the war to continue for as long as possible in order to inflict damage on Iran," Farley said. "The Trump administration... Trump likes deals, right? And so he wants to be able to walk away from this with a deal with the Iranians. But it's not obvious what the Iranians really have left in order to deal with, and so sort of the basis for what that deal would be is not really readily apparent at this time."

Meanwhile, debate still swirls over whether President Donald Trump had the authority to carry out the weekend bombing without congressional approval.

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican but also a frequent thorn in Trump's side, told CNN, "The base of the MAGA party that got Trump elected, most of us were tired of the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. And we were promised that we wouldn't be engaging in another one, yet here we see this happening."

On Truth Social, Trump called Massie a "pathetic loser," and his team even launched a super PAC solely with the mission of unseating Massie in the May 2026 primary.

At Jefferson Square Park in Louisville on Monday, people protesting against Raytheon, a major U.S. military contractor, again voiced their concerns about the fighting in the Middle East.

"The protests will continue because the genocide continues, the bombing continues," one protester said.

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville) condemned the Iranian attack against the U.S. air base in Qatar, saying, "I am praying for the safety of our brave troops, diplomats, and all Americans in the region and beyond. On behalf of all Louisvillians, I am fighting to ensure American safety and security and that our top priority is peace and not another endless war."

► Contact senior reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez at IKimMartin@whas11.com or on Facebook or X .

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