Iran Targets US Bases & Celebration of America 250 Outperforms | 6.29.26

Morning Wire

Tensions escalate between the U.S. and Iran amid ceasefire violations and retaliatory strikes, while Venezuela faces a humanitarian crisis after deadly earthquakes. Meanwhile, America celebrates its 250th anniversary with a nationwide State Fair event, sparking political debate over participation.

Key takeaways

• Iranian strikes prompt U.S. retaliation despite ceasefire
• Earthquakes in Venezuela have killed over 1,400; aid is arriving
• 10 states skip 250th anniversary fair over political concerns

Transcript preview

The Iran's ceasefire remains on the brink after both sides exchanged fire over the weekend, but talks are still on for Tuesday. While the administration hoped that the Iranians would take the economic incentives, they never took additional military strikes off the table, and so I think what we're seeing right now is the Iranians, they're pushing their luck. I'm Georgia Howe. John is on vacation this week. It's Monday, June 29, and this is Morning Wire. Rescowers race to pull survivors from the rubble in Venezuela as the disaster reaches its fifth day. It's a really dire situation. We have a very critical window of time where we're able to have survivors pulled from the rubble. And America celebrates her first quarter century this week with a blowout celebration of the 50 states on the national mall. but some states are leaving their booths empty. These states are showing up maybe not through their governor's office but we're gonna make sure every state is represented on the mall. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. If somebody Googled you right now, what would they find? Not just your LinkedIn profile or social media or that type place you love to review for, your actual information, home address, phone number, relatives, places you've lived, and in the age of AI, that information, that information has become even more valuable even more valuable spammers and bad actors looking for easy targets. Delete Me removes your personal information that's being sold online. The reality is that most people don't have the time or patients to track down hundreds of data broker websites and request removal one by one. Delete Me does the hard work for you. Delete Me was named Wirecutter's top picks for data removal services and it's never been more affordable. Individual plans start at a little over $8 a month with even bigger discounts for families and longer term plans. Take control of your data and keep your private life private private by signing up for Deletete me. Now with a, now with a special, now with a special, now with our Delitme plan and you go to W. W. W. W. And use promo code wire at check out. The only way to get 20% off is to go to W. W. W. W. W. and join. delete me.com. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. W. Wire. The US and Iran exchanged missiles, exchange missiles, and new threats, what happened over the weekend. Yeah this time last week the vibes were high. J.D. Vance was wrapping up successful negotiations in Switzerland and it looked like the two sides had finally reached an agreement they could both swallow. But on Thursday things started to take a turn for the worst. That's when Iranian drones targeted several commercial cargo vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and at least one ship headed for Singapore suffered extensive damage. In response the US executed a 90 minute operation with airstrikes hammering Iranian radar and drone coast. As VP Vans put it, quote, Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence. But instead of backing down, the Iranians accused the US of quote, treaty breaking under various pretexts. And then they launched attacks on more vessels in the Strait. They also sent a barrage of missiles and drones into Kuwait and Bahrain, though most thankfully were shot down. That prompted yet another retaliatory attack by the US, which the US, which, which, which, which, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, which again, IRGC installations across the coast Saturday night. And then hours later, the Iranians targeted U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, though again no service members or civilians were harmed. And hours after that, you guessed that the U.S. responded with even more strikes. Here's UN Ambassador Mike Waltz in response on Sunday. If the Iranian regime thinks for a second that President Trump is going to sit-by, stand by while Iran continues to attack international shipping without a response, or are basing. without a response. They're sadly mistaken and they saw that loud and clear over the last few nights. Now for their part the Iranians have declared that American bases in the Middle East would quote soon experience hell. So the ceasefire is still technically in place but there is a lot of firing going on. Now what are they trying to get out of this? Why would the Iranians do this? Yeah, I've posed this question to numerous Pentagon officials both current and former and they're always quick to say some variation of look. tyrannical regimes run by radical Islamists do not act