The American flag has long flown from a pole on the White House roof, but that’s always been too small for President Donald Trump, who wants everything to be bigger and more beautiful. On Wednesday, massive new flagpoles were erected on the North and South Lawns of the White House. “It’s such a beautiful pole,” Trump said as workers used a crane to install the latest addition to the South Lawn. He returned to the same spot later in the day, saluting as the stars and stripes were hoisted for the first time. The second pole, on the North Lawn, is close to Pennsylvania Avenue. The two poles are the most notable exterior modification to the White House since Trump returned to the presidency with grand ideas for remaking the building.

The State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the U.S. embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify and President Donald Trump warns of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict. A government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave the country Wednesday, two U.S. officials said. That came shortly before U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuation flights and ships for private American citizens. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements.

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A senior official in Iran’s Foreign Ministry tells The New York Times that Tehran is willing to hold negotiations with the US.

New information emerged Wednesday night regarding the targeted killing of Maj.-Gen. Ali Shademani, who served as Iran’s wartime chief of staff. He was eliminated by an Israeli Air Force strike on Monday, just days after his predecessor was also taken out in a similar operation last Friday.
Shademani was killed along with numerous other high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at a covert base hidden in the mountains near Tehran. These commanders had evacuated their primary command post in the capital, assuming that the secluded site would provide protection.

Steve Bannon said that if President Donald Trump opts to support Israeli military action targeting Iran’s nuclear program, the core of the MAGA movement will largely rally behind him, according to The Hill. Speaking at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Bannon emphasized Trump’s long-standing opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran. “If President Trump decides there’s not a diplomatic alternative … because he’s been consistent, no nuclear weapon,” he said.

BREAKING WSJ REPORT: President Trump informed top advisers late Tuesday that he authorized plans for an attack on Iran, but was hesitant to proceed, preferring to wait and see if Tehran would give up its nuclear ambitions. One potential target for the U.S. is Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow enrichment site, which remains unscathed so far. Located deep beneath a mountain, the facility is widely regarded by military experts as virtually impossible to destroy with anything but the most advanced and powerful weaponry.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will sail from the East Coast for Europe on a regularly scheduled deployment — but its presence also gives President Trump a third aircraft carrier option as he weighs what sort of military response the US should provide amid escalating strikes between Israel and Iran. The Ford was previously deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean as a show of strength and to provide options to Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas. The US Navy already has the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, and is sending the USS Nimitz to sail toward U.S. Central Command from the Indo-Pacific.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered remarks to the nation on the sixth day of Operation Rising Lion, outlining the mission’s objectives and the current progress. He stated that Israel is targeting two critical dangers to its security: Iran’s nuclear capabilities and its arsenal of ballistic missiles.