President Donald Trump has been weighing a range of options against Iran amid the country’s crackdown on protesters that human rights groups say has killed more than 500 people.
Trump has said publicly that he may take action if Iranian leaders killed protesters challenging Iran’s theocracy, as demonstrations entered their second week despite an increasingly aggressive crackdown.
The president has been presented with preliminary plans, according to three U.S. officials, ranging from possible strikes to other options that would not entail military action. No final decision has been made, the officials said.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Sunday that at least 538 people have been killed. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights also cited unverified reports that several hundred people may have been killed.
Iran warned Trump that Israeli and U.S. military bases in the region could be considered “legitimate targets” if a strike goes ahead.
How ICE raids in Minnesota connect to a years-old fraud scandal
The Trump administration has surged immigration agents into Minnesota in what it has called the largest DHS operation ever. While the administration often frames its deportation operations as efforts to keep Americans safe, it has added another angle to its campaign in the North Star State: eradicating fraud.
Under the Biden administration, federal prosecutors uncovered an enormous scheme to defraud a pandemic meals program in Minnesota’s Somali community, leading to multiple convictions.
In recent weeks, however, conservative commentators elevated the years-old scandal, suggesting that fraud was a reason to target immigrants in the Minneapolis area. As the story took hold, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted that agents were “on the ground” in response, with more than 2,000 agents and officers descending on the Twin Cities.
The ensuing tensions resulted in an ICE officer fatally shooting Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mom.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the federal government should allow state agencies to help investigate the shooting.
Frey told moderator Kristen Welker he didn’t have preconceived notions about what conclusion an investigation would reach, but said “there is deep mistrust” of federal agencies in Minnesota because “so many of the things that we are hearing are not true.”
One such narrative Frey is disputing was discussed by border czar Tom Homan earlier in the program.
When asked about Noem’s allegation that Good was engaged in “domestic terrorism,” Homan said “if you look up this definition of terrorism, it certainly could fall within that definition.”
Frey pointed to multiple publicly available videos of the shooting, including a cellphone video taken by the officer who shot Good.
“You don’t need to take my word for it. You don’t need to take their word for it. Watch the video,” Frey said.
Notable quote
There are parents that stand at four points around the schools with ICE whistles.