Stat: “The war with Iran has focused the world’s attention on nuclear weapons and oil. Those risks are real. But there is a third category of danger that the conflict has brought into sharp relief — one that the United States is far less prepared to handle than most people realize.”

“Iran likely has a biological weapons capability. This has been the view of the U.S. government for several years now, predating the second Trump administration…”

“War makes an already serious problem harder. When command structures fracture, when facilities are struck and personnel scatter, the custody of dangerous materials unravels. Dangerous materials don’t secure themselves.”

A senior Iranian source told Reuters: “If the situation gets out of control, Iran’s allies will also close the Bab El-Mandeb Strait.”

Even before Iran cut off direct diplomacy with the U.S., it was sticking to a hard-line position in negotiations and showed no signs of backing down, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Tehran told Pakistan, which is mediating talks, that it believed it was winning and that it retained 15,000 missiles and 45,000 drones in its arsenal.

The House Democratic leadership called for lawmakers to return to Washington immediately to hold a vote to end the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The statement, signed by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other top House Democratic lawmakers, said President Trump is “completely unhinged” and that a vote is necessary to stop the president before he “plunges the country into World War III.”

Washington Post: “President Donald Trump has continued to describe the war against Iran as an unqualified success, saying as recently as Monday that the United States was doing ‘unbelievably well,’ while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tehran had been ’embarrassed and humiliated’ by U.S. forces.”

“But Iran’s downing of an F-15E fighter jet and the high-risk rescue operation that ensued showed that Tehran retains the ability to threaten the United States’ military personnel and cast doubt on the statistics Hegseth has promoted in recent weeks, boasting about ‘complete control of Iranian skies’ and ‘uncontested airspace.'”

New York Times: “Coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran continued methodically on Tuesday, even as President Trump raised his rhetoric threatening the country to apocalyptic levels.”

“The United States launched a series of more than 90 strikes on Kharg Island, Iran’s oil export hub, early Tuesday. A U.S. military official characterized the Kharg strikes as ‘restrikes’ — hitting targets that have been struck before to ensure more damage. He said that the United States was not yet striking Iranian infrastructure on the island, which lies in the Persian Gulf off the country’s southern coast.”

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump revisited his grievances with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over Greenland as he expressed fresh frustration with the security alliance’s stance on the Iran war.”

Said Trump: “It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland. We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.’””