For The Second Time In Two Days, Trump Downplays Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stockpile
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that one of his main objectives in going to war with Iran was to stop it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Now it seems he’s not so sure.
The president told Reuters Wednesday he’s no longer concerned about securing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
"That's so far underground, I don't care about that,” he told the news agency, adding he thought Iran was now “incapable” of developing a weapon.
As of last June, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated Iran had around 440kg of 60% enriched uranium, enough for 10 nuclear weapons were it to be enriched further.
Trump’s assertion echoes comments he made Tuesday to CBS News, where he again lowered his own threshold for declaring victory. Turns out he’s a-OK with Iran maintaining its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“I don’t … even think about it,” Trump said of Iran’s enriched uranium. “I just know that, you know, that’s so deeply buried it’s gonna be very hard for anybody ... It’s down there deep ... So it’s pretty – it’s pretty – it’s pretty safe.”
Latest Live Updates
U.S., Iran And Mediators Make Push For 45-Day Ceasefire, Axios Reports
The U.S., Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, Axios reported on Sunday, citing four U.S., Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks.
Read more from Axios:
Trump's Giant Budget Ask: More Money For Military Than Ever Before
$1.5 Trillion
—That’s how much President Donald Trump is seeking in defense spending for the 2027 fiscal year. The Wall Street Journal called the request "by far the largest dollar amount in modern history."
Stephen Miller Is Still Advocating For Extreme Immigration Restrictions: NYT
In a deep dive on Stephen Miller’s ongoing role in the White House, The New York Times reported that the longtime Trump aide was continuing to advocate for hardline immigration restrictions.
“He is pushing for new ways to squeeze the lives of undocumented immigrants and those with legal protections, such as making it harder to get public housing or other benefits, officials said. He has targeted those with refugee status, particularly Somalis, a group he has long derided,” The Times reported.
Although Miller reduced his public appearances after federal agents killed two American citizens during protests in Minneapolis, Minn., he’s continued to actively oversee calls with immigration officials and appears to have maintained his standing with the president.
“Stephen is a trusted and deeply loyal adviser to President Trump and has been critical to the realization of the president’s historic first year in office,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Times in a statement. “Stephen has demonstrated great effectiveness and exceptional capability in every one of the president’s policy initiatives.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
Read more from The New York Times:
Photo Of The Day: A Celebration Of Easter
Participants pose in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on Sunday during the annual Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival. (Photo by Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images)
The pageant is a New York City tradition dating back to the 1870s.
ICE Detains Wife Of Army Staff Sergeant Days After Their Wedding: NYT
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained the wife of an Army staff sergeant after the couple tried to file paperwork at the Louisiana base where he's stationed, The New York Times reported.
Agents took Annie Ramos, 22, into federal custody just days after she and Matthew Blank, 23, celebrated their marriage with family and friends. Ramos, an undocumented Honduran immigrant, was brought to the U.S. as a toddler and is a college student with no criminal history. Blank is set to start training for deployment in the coming weeks.
Experts told The Times that this type of enforcement has been uncommon in the past.
“When U.S. citizens marry undocumented immigrants, their spouses become eligible for legal permanent residency through marriage, and they can apply for citizenship three years after receiving their green card,” The Times reported. “Even those with a prior deportation order, often issued when they were children, are not typically detained and are able to adjust their immigration status, experts said.”
“She has no legal status to be in this country and was issued a final order of removal by a judge,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Times. “This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”
Read more from The New York Times:
Trump To Hold News Conference In White House Briefing Room On Monday Afternoon
President Donald Trump will hold a press conference in the White House briefing room on Monday afternoon after issuing a new set of threats toward Iran this weekend.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that the conference would take place at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Oil Markets Open After Trump Threatens Iran's Infrastructure
The oil markets opened higher on Sunday, at about $114 per barrel, after President Donald Trump threatened to strike civilian infrastructure in Iran.
Crude oil peaked at $113.54 per barrel on Friday.
On Easter Sunday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, insulted Iran and demanded that it open the Strait of Hormuz this week or the U.S. will attack.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump wrote. “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!”
According to The Associated Press, Iran’s joint military command has vowed to step up attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel attack such targets there, per state television.
Savannah Guthrie Wonders If Jesus Ever Experienced Her Kind Of Pain
"Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie spoke during Good Shepherd New York's digital service on Sunday, saying she wonders if Jesus understands the pain she's in.
"Standing here today, I have to tell you, there are moments in which that promise seems irretrievably far away, when life itself seems far harder than death," Guthrie said during the church's Easter service. "These moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment. For most of us, there will come a time in our life when these feelings hold sway."
"Recently, though, in my own season of trial, I have wondered. I have questioned whether Jesus really ever experienced this particular wound that I feel, this grievous and uniquely cruel injury of not knowing, of uncertainty and confusion and answers withheld," she added.
Her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared at the beginning of February and has yet to be found. Savannah Guthrie is set to return to her hosting duties at "Today" on Monday.
Republican Election Official Predicts Courts Will Block Trump’s Mail-In Voting Order
Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Republican election official, said Sunday that he was confident the courts would block President Donald Trump’s executive order about mail-in voting.
“I am confident of an outcome in our favor,” Schmidt said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” Pennsylvania is one of the 23 states with officials challenging Trump's order.
Last month, Trump signed the order, which seeks to limit mail-in voting and restrict who the U.S. Postal Service can send absentee ballots to. Since then, multiple lawsuits have been filed to challenge it, including one from a group of Democratic lawmakers who’ve argued that Trump’s order interferes with states’ constitutional right to conduct elections.
Stephen Richer, a fellow Republican and former recorder for Maricopa County, Ariz., agreed with Schmidt and noted that legal challenges against the order were poised to succeed.
“I agree with Secretary Schmidt that this is probably going to be enjoined very quickly,” Richer said while speaking on “This Week.” “I think someone on the Internet said this will be enjoined faster than a cheetah on speed, or something like that.”