RPT: Iran assassination plot targets Trump

Good morning everyone and welcome in here on Live Now from Fox.The time is 755 if you are joining us over on the East Coast and 455 on the West Coast.My name is Josh Breslow and I'll be here with you for the next several hours as we continue to cover all of your top stories and live events from across the country and the world.A big thank you to my colleague Bowen Kudrowicz.He has been here with you doing the same for the past several hours.Right now on the right hand side of your screen, taking a live look over the Strait of Hormuz.

Not as much activity as we saw just a few weeks ago, but things appear to be moving ever so slowly through the Strait here.As we get to the latest on the U .S.-Iran conflict, I want to pop this up on your screen right here, coming in from U .S.Central Command, as they say that they are disputing claims by the Iranian state media that Iran is in control of the Strait.

CENTCOM posting this on social media.says claim Iranian state transit through the strait permitted through routes de Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.Since early May, U .S.forces have helped facilitate the successful transit of more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil through the vital international trade corridor.Now, there's also other developments that are coming into the newsroom here as we follow those.

Take a look right here from the Wall Street Journal, as they say Israel has shared new intelligence with the U .S.said indicated a fresh Iranian plan to kill President Trump.People familiar with that matter telling the Wall Street Journal about that, and that would of course mark an escalation in the war between the U .S.and Iran.

Again, there is always a lot to discuss here, so I do want to bring in our buddy Mark Chandler.He is of course with Coastal Characteristics.University, joining us live to break down all of the developments there out of the Middle East.Mark, thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us.You're welcome, Josh, and thanks for having me today.Of course.

And first off, I want to start by talking to you about this Israeli intelligence, as again, we are hearing from The Wall Street Journal, other sources reporting this as well, but essentially saying that Israel, had this intelligence that Iran had a new plot to assassinate President Trump.Breakdown for me, really the situation that's kind of been developing since the death there, the killing of Soleimani.That's when pretty much all of this really began.

No, and that's an excellent point that you bring up there, Josh.This dates back to 2020 when the U .S.killed Qasem Soleimani, who was the head of the IRGC and the Quds Force.So he basically exported terrorism for Iran across the entire Middle East, and the U .S.

took him out.So what we've seen is Iran vowed to kill the president.President Trump since that time.And there have been renewed plots.But I think what you're seeing develop now is is a continuation but a re -emphasis based on the war with Iran currently.Now, Israel, what we would do in intelligence is look at the sources and try to validate this.

Israel has excellent access inside Iran, even to this date.So the Mossad's working there, they're getting information.They found it credible enough to report to the United States, and the United States is working through this and also finds it credible.So those are key points that we need to bring out in evaluating this threat to the president.president as a continuation, but as a renewed emphasis to take out the president.If we recall, he was at the NATO summit in Turkey and Turkey doesn't have the best border security.

So a small team could easilyinfiltrate through Turkey, bring some shoulder -fired SAMs—that's easy to smuggle through the mountain passes out there—and attempt to go after Air Force One.And I believe that's why you saw the president take out the original Air Force—fly out on the original Air Force One earlier this week.It's got better defensive mechanisms I don't really want to go into here.Suffice to say, more secure to get him out there.Just because he's back here in America, Josh, doesn't mean he's completely safe and the threat can be taken off the table.

Iran will work through proxies or assets it has here in the United States to continue this threat.

And as you said, here on U .S.soil, you know that we have all of that security around him, Secret Service, other agencies that are watching him constantly.But again, there have been several assassination attempts against him, not necessarily saying that Iran was behind those, but also important to note.Now, I want to pop this up on your screen as well.This is coming in from The New York Post, and it says Israel ready for more war on Iran should Trump ask for backup.

there telling the New York Post.So essentially what I'm gathering from this is that Israel, Netanyahu, they have said that if the U .S.requests any kind of backup here, they're ready to go right back to war.

No, they are.And Israel always maintains a war footing, especially with the threats from Iran.You know, Iran is an existential threat to Israel.So they have the plans, they have the professional military capability to be able to conduct those plans on very short notice.And I'm sure that in last night's conversation between Netanyahu and President Trump, that this was part of that conversation.But if I go a little bit deeper, we have to realize that Israel and United States have a close military and intelligence intelligence partnership.

You know, I used to travel theseveral times and we work closely together on plans.But what the president probably said last night is we've got this under control right now.We don't want you to attack and create an unnecessary escalation.When we're ready to go bigger, we will bring you in.And I think that's that's part of working together and allowing Israel to further develop their plans but see what the United States is doing along while we're sharing that intelligence and some other plans out there.

So Israel's ready to go should the United States take this up an escalation ladder.

And I'm going to pop this up once again, coming in from U .S.Central Command, because I want to get your take on it.I read this off the top at the claim.crude oil through the vital international trade corridor.So who really does at this point control the Strait of Hormuz?

Does anyone control it?

That's a great question, Josh.And what I've got to say is control is in the eye of the beholder.So when I start to look at this, Iran has militarized the Strait of Hormuz and they created for them a strategic weapon to use against the United States and the West.So when we look at this, the fact that we're seeing traffic and from your graphic, you can see very little traffic is actually moving through.We went from you know, a high of about 40 vessels a day in the last few weeks, down to just a trickle that are working their way through.Iran's demanding that you have to use the northern Iranian routes, and the United States

is trying to protect shipping going through the southern routes that are located along the Gulf of Oman, or excuse me, along the coast of Oman.So when you look at that, you can really see that while I don't like the use of the word control because it kind of seeds the fact that we're allowing Iran to have control or saying that they can control it.But the fact is the threats from Iran are stopping the commercial shipping or slowing it drastically because one, their insurance companies don't want to pay those prices to the shipping companies don't want to put their ships in peril.So we we're really seeing a de facto slowdown and control by Iran of shipping going through the straits.I know what CENTCOM is saying, but the fact is we're just not seeing the traffic go through there.

And right now you're looking at a poll because we always want to hear from you at home, work, wherever you're watching us from.And the question we're asking about this is, what should be the top priority for the U .S.amid the Iran conflict there?If you want to sound off, just scan that QR code top right hand side of your screen or go to LiveNowFox .com slash connect.

And your options here are protect U .S.forces, pursue diplomacy, work with allies, or protect global energy.Of course, there are other possibilities as well, but those are maybe the top four here.So if you do wanna sound off, scan that QR code, top right -hand side of your screen, or go to livenowfox .com slash connect and hit the vote now tab.

Mark, what do you think is gonna be the answer?I have to imagine that many people are gonna wanna make sure that the U .S.

forces are protected out there.Absolutely, Josh.And that's that's you lay out some some good points in your poll there.So what I would say is, yes, we have to protect U .S.forces.

That's that's critical.But but we need to protect them also, not just from deepthrough defensive operations, but through strong offensive operations, take out the threats that Iran poses there.to be in honest and sincere negotiations.And we don't have that with Iran.So we can continue that.

But it's really going to fall on deaf ears as we work our way through that.Our allies we do need some allied support.I hope that and hopes not a plan.But our NATO allies, especially when we look at UK, we look at France, they have some shipping capabilities that can come out and help in the Strait of Hormuz.They need to come because they are benefiting from what we're doing in the Strait.by getting the shipping going through there, getting the oil flowing, but also by taking out the Iranian threat that's been a major problem for 47 years.

So we are looking at that.And the side effect goes into the global energy, because what we're doing, and through 20 percent of the traffic and the globe's oil capability going through there, we can look at that that has a significant effect on that.So, you know, the United States is interconnected through the globe, and we have to realize that there is some benefit through that global energy, but we need some allies to come in and help with that.But I would definitely put Protect U .S.Forces at the top, but protect them through strong offensive operations.

And these are some interesting results, because I would have thought that protect U .S.forces would be number one, but fairly close by would be pursue diplomacy.talking about a potential deal here as those talks are apparently getting back underway. AndAnd the strikes appear at least to have been paused for now, but that is actually in last place right now with 4 percent.Work with allies 6 % and protect global energy 15%.

If you do want to vote, just scan that QR code top right -hand side of your screen or go to livenowfox .com slash connect and hit that vote now tab.The question again, what should be the top priority for the US amid the Iran conflict?We will continue, of course, to check on those results here on Live Now from Fox over the next hour or so.Mark, I want to talk a little bit more about and we'll go back to the U .S.

and Iran.But when we talk about Israel and Hezbollah, that has been a big situation that's been unfolding.It's not getting the same level of attention, of course, because we have the U .S.and Iran.So where do things stand as you look at Israel and Hezbollah and the connection there over in Lebanon?

Well, first and foremost, let's let's remember that Hezbollah is the number one proxy for Iran.Hezbollah does 90 % of Iran's bidding against Israel and also against the United States.And there's been a bloody history of Hezbollah dating back to the 1980s with attacks on US personnel, the Marine barracks bombing.So you can go back to all of what Hezbollah has done, responsible for killing hundreds, Hezbollah alone, hundreds of US military and civilian personnel.So you can look at that aspect of that.What they're doing, Hezbollah has continued to attack northern Israel.

Actually, they have rockets and missiles that can range further into Israel.And Israel has set up this buffer zone because there is no one who has had the ability to go into southern Lebanon and clear Hezbollah out of there.And Israel's acting, they're using the offense.for defensive purposes out there to create this buffer zone and remove Hezbollah out of the south and protect Israeli citizens in the northern part of Israel.So that's been working throughout the background.Hezbollah has said they're not part of this ceasefire, they don't agree to a ceasefire against Israel, and they're gonna continue to attack.

And they've been having small attacks against Israel.So you have to look at Hezbollah's intent.Iran's trying to link them in.and trying to take away the offensive advantage of Israel or the defensive advantage of Israel to protect its own citizens against Hezbollah strikes.I think we've kind of pushed back on that a little bit now.The Trump administration has changed its tone by one, trying to work with Lebanon to get Hezbollah to stop, but also to say, Israel, yes, you have a right to defend yourself.

And they're de -linking what happens with Hezbollah in Israel from the main Iran agreement.Iran's going to try to loop that back in there.They're going to try to say they're ceasefire violations.But that's just not true because Hezbollah is not agreeing to it in the first place.So that's going to stay foremost for Israel for their self -defense purposes.

We also know that now that President Trump has been over to Turkey there, we know that he's back home.And it sounds as though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to be traveling to the U .S.to meet with President Trump so they can come face to face and have talks.And of course, this is one of several trips that Netanyahu has made to D .C.

, to the White House specifically, since really the start of President Trump's second term.So what I wanted to ask, what do you expect to come from that?Does that signal anything when you look at the fact that Netanyahu is traveling here yet again?

Well, I think that just reinforcesthe partnership between the United States and Israel and the personal relationship that President Trump Trump has with Prime Minister Netanyahu.So that kind of reinforces that.You know that there's been reporting a couple of times during the fighting starting back on February 28, a couple of times where the United States has stopped fighting.There's been a lot of reports of tension between the President and the Prime Minister.I think this is just kind of reengaging.

There are going to be spats between leaders all the time.People have different opinions, different priorities as they work their way through.This is a positive development.But I think what we we need to look at in the immediate term is the conversation, the cordial conversation and sharing of information in the phone call last night between Netanyahu and Trump.That kind of laid the groundwork.So if Netanyahu's trip has to be delayed, They're on a positive trend right now.

They're seeing things, I'm not going to say 100 percent eye to eye, but truly aligning in what we need to do strategically against Iran to stop Iranian control of the straits and Iranian persistent threat throughout the Middle East.So that's that I think is we're on a positive path right now, and the trip will just reinforce that.

All right, so we have that poll up once again.What should be the top priority for the U .S.amid the Iran conflict?Scan that QR code top right -hand side of your screen, or go to livenowfox .com slash connect and hit that vote now tab to cast your vote.

You just gotta click the one button there.Now, this updates in real time, and right now, three quarters of you out there, 75%, say the answer is protect U .S.forces, 5 % for pursue diplomacy, 8 % for work with allies, and 11 % for protect global energy.Again, you can vote and we'll continue to show you these results as they come in here live, raw, and unfiltered after the break.need to Who else is targeting the Islamic Republic, whether it was the U .

S.that did it, exactly who was involved?So do we have an understanding at this point of who else could potentially be launching those strikes against Iran?Because again, Iran has not only been striking U .S.kind of locations there, but also they are targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and other places that do house those U .

S.locations.Well, the likely candidates for those unclaimed airstrikes obviously would be Israel.They have some precise capabilities that they can use against it.But what a lot of reporting didn't go into until well after it happened was what Saudi Arabia and UAE did against Iran.Because those states, they don't want to be too public about their attacks on Iran for fear of retribution, which is kind of odd when you look at the fact that Iran attacked them first.

So you could see some localized attacks attacks from Kuwait or excuse me, from UAE or Saudi Arabia.They have the capability.They go across the strait, I mean, across the Gulf and hit the coastal targets.So you could see some of those targets being taken out by them or at least allowing them to get a little payback on Iran for the attacks they're doing.They're going to keep that in the background.They don't want that to come out, as I said, because they don't want more Iranian retaliation.

And that's just the way the Arabs are trying to work with Iran, or they've worked with Iran since the Islamic regime came to power in 1979.So I think you're not going to see a lot of claim of those strikes for some time to come.

And of course, once again, taking a live look over the Strait of Hormuz.As you mentioned, there's a little bit of activity, but not a whole lot that's coming in from marine traffic.We have been checking that over the course of the conflict there between the U .S.and Iran since Operation Epic Fury began several months back.Of course, that joint effort between the U .

S.and Israel.All right, Mark, the big question here, what are you going to be watching for over the next several hours, days, weeks?I always ask you and I mean, we're watching watching all of this very closely.

Well, that sums it up, Josh.We have to watch all of it.But what I would tell you is we had two days of U .S.strikes, and we increased that pressure.The strikes were broader.

And one important thing to note is we went deep into Iran this time and struck a key rail line.That rail line is what Iran was using throughout all the sanctions, throughout the blockade, to conduct trade and get resupplied from Russia and China.And that was sending a message.Not only was it a strategic line.rail line that spans across Asia.It was also in between Tehran and where they were bearing the Supreme Leader.

So that was messaging and it was a strategic strike.So I think we can look at how the U .S.has the ability to go up what I would call an escalation ladder.In other words, we're doing a tit for tat, a retaliation against strikes against ships in the Hormuz, Strait of Hormuz.But we're going up a level And that that was that strategic strike against the rail line.

We can go higher up that level and start striking into Tehran and go after the leadership, which until we reinitiate those type of offensive operations, Iran's not going to truly negotiate.You will see Iran come out because they're going to say, OK, we want to talk and they're going to try to prolong this.So that's just another Iranian stalling tactic.But I would look for Iran to do that and create some momentum in those technical talks that are taking place.But that's not going to be sincere.They're just trying to delay the next round of strikes.

So look for Iran to continue to try to control the Strait of Hormuz and limit shipping.and then look for the United States to escalate, to get serious and apply and regain that full military leverage against Iran with climbing up that escalation ladder.

And of course, we'll see how it all plays out here.We're watching it all very closely.Mark Chandler, thank you so much for being here with us and breaking down the developments there in the Middle East.Anything we missed that's worth kind of highlighting here before I let you go.

Josh, I just want to say that while I'm talking about the United States escalating and coming up there, that is not without risk.And so your poll points out, protect the U .S.service members.Yes, we need to.And I say we protect.

A good defense is a strong offense in this case.So we need to have that.But Iran has a full measure of retaliation.You look at that threat to the president, but they're going to go after more ships in the Strait of Hormuz.They're going to use drones against those U .S.

military bases there.That's what they've been doing for the last couple of weeks in Bahrain, in Kuwait and in Jordan.So we start to look at how they're going to attack.They're going to use the Houthis.I would be very careful with Iran expanding, using the Houthis to go after the Bab al -Mandab straight.If we recall during the Israel -Hamas war, the Houthis hit that and they threatened 16 percent of the world's shipping.

So you've got to look at how Iran still has its own way to retaliate and something we need to be prepared for and take defensive action against.

Mark Chandler there at Coastal Carolina University.As always, thank you so much for being here with us and I'm sure we'll have you back soon.to break down all the developments that happen between now and when we talk to you next.Thank you again.

Thank you, Josh.I appreciate it.