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Trump triumphs in Iowa, vowing to end Israel conflict ‘very fast’ and dimming hopes for pro-Israel favorite Nikki Haley

(JTA) — Former President Donald Trump won a historic margin of the caucus vote in Iowa, the first presidential nominating state, advancing his campaign for a third White House bid and narrowing the path for Nikki Haley, a favorite among pro-Israel Republicans who do not want to see Trump returned to office.
Trump won 51% of the vote in the caucuses on Monday, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis coming in a distant second at 21% and Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations, coming in third at 19%. Trump’s win was expected, but his 30% margin was the largest ever in an Iowa race that had more than two candidates.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur who stood out for embracing extreme right ideas and for calling for cutting defense assistance to Israel, got less than 8% of the vote and announced he was dropping out, effectively narrowing the race to three.
In his victory speech at his Des Moines headquarters, Trump lamented “the Israeli situation,” referring to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, and said he would “get it solved very fast.” He also repeated claims he made in the past that Hamas would not have attacked Israel were he president right now.
And he sounded a rare gracious note in victory after lacerating his opponents — DeSantis especially — for months.
“I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good a good time together. We’re all having a good time together. And I think they both actually did very well. I really do. I think they both did very well,” Trump said. “I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did a hell of a job. … They are very smart, very smart people, very capable people.”
Trump’s magnanimity comes amid the growing likelihood that he will ultimately be the Republican presidential candidate to take on Joe Biden in November. DeSantis and Haley both vowed to take the fight to New Hampshire, but with each trailing Trump, their chances to prevail appeared to narrow.
Monday’s result is bound to be a disappointment for the establishment Jewish donors who were seeking an alternative to Trump and who in recent weeks flocked to Haley as her polling numbers rose and DeSantis’s dropped.
These Jewish donors appreciate Trump for his shifts during his presidency toward right-wing Israel positions but are wary now of the legal proceedings and political residue attached to his embrace of false claims that he won the 2020 election.
Haley in her concession speech said she remained the best choice for Republicans who believe Trump has lost the plot.
“I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” she said, noting that her polling far outpaces DeSantis in the next two primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
DeSantis, while he came in second, appears to have an even narrower path than Haley. He had invested significantly in the Iowa contest.
Democrats suggested that they relished the prospect of a 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden. Biden has made Trump’s associations with extremists and antisemites front and center in his campaigning.
“Donald Trump is the leader of an extreme MAGA movement that has fully taken over the Republican Party – yet notably in a clear sign of weakness, even as the leader of the GOP and a former president, nearly half of Iowa Republicans voted for someone else,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.
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The post Trump triumphs in Iowa, vowing to end Israel conflict ‘very fast’ and dimming hopes for pro-Israel favorite Nikki Haley appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.