Politics and views in the United States

Hegseth and Trump say war with Iran will stretch on for several weeks and they refuse to rule out sending ground troops. Law enforcement agents are discouraging the assumption that the air strikes were the motive in a Texas mass shooting and energy prices react to the conflict.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2026 Talks War, following our democracy in historic times.

We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.

Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is shifting course to say clearly the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran that started Saturday are intended for regime change.

The White House is now refusing to rule out sending ground troops.

President Donald Trump says the war will continue for another four to five weeks and accuses the Islamic Republic of killing thousands of Americans, probably referring to terrorist attacks and Iranian-designed roadside bombs that hit soldiers in Iraq.

Six U.S. service members have died so far.

Trump and the Pentagon say they expect more.

The attacks came just after a mediator from Oman said "a deal was at hand between the U.S. and Iran on the nation's nuclear program."

During a series of airstrikes last year, Trump said that nuclear program had been obliterated, reports then and now contradict that.

For his part, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists the objective is not regime change, but to prevent Iran from inflicting global terror with nuclear weapons.

Iran in about a year or a year and a half would cross the line of immunity, meaning they would have so many short-range missiles, so many drones, that no one could do anything about it, because they could hold the whole world hostage.

Look at the damage they're doing now.

And this is a weakened Iran.

Imagine a year from now.

Khamenei Donan is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.

He says Iran's region-wide counterattacks against almost a dozen countries show why the joint U.S.-Israeli operation was necessary.

"Ballistic missiles fired in desperation, a regime striking wildly as it brought to its knees.

Now imagine that same regime with a nuclear capability.

That is not a risk we tolerate.

That is a reality we will not allow."

Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes, and subsequent Other targets have included offices and barracks used by the hated agencies in charge of internal repression.

They gunned down an estimated 20,000 protesters and ordinary civilians last month.

However, the administration's top choices to lead a post-Khamenei Iran were also killed in the airstrikes.

It's not clear who could fill a power vacuum there.

Meanwhile, 53-year-old Ndiaga Dianye opened fire on a series of bars in Austin, Texas, killing two and injuring 14 others before being shot dead by police.

De Anya was wearing a sweatshirt saying, quote, "property of Allah" and a shirt underneath with the Iranian flag.

But Alex Duran, with the FBI's San Antonio office, discouraged people from leaping to conclusions about the motive.

We want to make sure that we have our facts 100 percent correct.

At least we've tracked down every possible lead that we can because that's what we owe to the victims.

That's what you guys want answers for.

More importantly, we owe that to the victims and their families to be right.

Global energy prices are up in response to the war.

Crude oil rose more than 10 percent immediately after the attacks before settling.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.