Graham backs Trump ultimatum to Iran, warns of 'massive military action'

President Donald Trump decided to use military force to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon after diplomacy failed, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote in an opinion piece, arguing Washington’s experience with North Korea suggests the alternatives were even riskier.

“Diplomacy failed to stop Pyongyang from getting the bomb. Trump didn’t make the same mistake,” the editorial said.

It said negotiations, sanctions and agreements failed to prevent North Korea from becoming a nuclear power.

The editorial said similar diplomatic efforts were pursued with Iran, arguing they left nuclear infrastructure intact while Tehran continued its program.

“Donald Trump is the only President who had the courage to attack Iran’s nuclear program and allow Israel to do so,” it said.

The niece and grandniece of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents in the United States on Friday, the State Department said.

“Last night, the niece and grand niece of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident status,” the State Department said.

Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, the statement said.

“As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran,” it added.

In addition to revoking their residency, Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the United States, the statement said.

“While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East,” the statement said.

The administration “will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” it added.

Earlier this month, Rubio also terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, the statement said.

Both Ardeshir-Larijani and Motamedi are no longer in the United States and are barred from future entry, it added.

India confirmed it has purchased Iranian crude after the United States paused sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers at sea.

“Indian refiners have secured their crude oil requirements, including from Iran; and there is no payment hurdle for Iranian crude imports,” India’s foreign ministry said.

Iran’s air defense systems have not been eliminated, said a military adviser to the Supreme Leader, adding that reports suggesting so are false.

“Perhaps, rather than dismissing military commanders, it is [US President Donald] Trump himself who should be ousted,” Mohsen Rezaei added in his post on X.

The former IRGC commander also said that Iran had spent years preparing for confrontation and that “the surprises are far from over.”

Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom evacuated a further 198 staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.

Rosatom has been withdrawing personnel from the plant since the Iran war began at the end of February.

Developments around the plant are unfolding in line with the worst-case scenario, TASS cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying, and added that Rosatom has informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation around the plant.