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State of the Union Could Be Trump’s Best Chance to Sell Voters on Iran Plans
US President Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves at the end of an event to honor “Angel Families” who have lost family members to crimes committed by people in the country illegally, at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 23, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The State of the Union address on Tuesday provides President Donald Trump with a nationally televised opportunity to persuade skeptical American voters to rally behind his threatened strikes against Iran over its nuclear program.
Advisers have urged Trump to focus on the economy, immigration, and other domestic policy issues when he takes the US House of Representatives podium for the speech at 9 pm ET (0200 GMT on Wednesday).
That has not been his focus to date.
Instead, the run-up to the event has been overshadowed by a huge buildup of US military forces in the Middle East and preparations for a conflict with Iran that could last for weeks if Tehran does not reach a deal to solve a longstanding dispute over its nuclear program.
Trump has not laid out in detail to the American public why he might be leading the US into its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
On Monday, he dismissed talk that some members of his administration have doubts about going to war with Iran.
“I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people,” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump rose to the top of US politics with the passionate support of a political base that embraces his “America First” policies and his vow to end an era of “forever wars” like the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump’s fellow Republicans also took control of both the House of Representatives and Senate as his “Make America Great Again” message resonated with many Americans, but opinion polls show the party will struggle to keep control of Congress.
Polls also show Americans wary of foreign conflicts. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from January showed 69% of Americans agreed with a statement the US should only use its military when facing a direct and imminent threat, while 18% disagreed and the rest weren’t sure or didn’t answer the question.
The risks from an Iran conflict are not merely political.
Trump and his aides have touted his successful capture last month of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but Iran, a nation of 93 million people with a large supply of missiles, is a more formidable foe.
Trump asserted in July that US strikes on Iran the previous month had been so successful that they “obliterated” the country’s nuclear facilities, saying, “It would take years to bring them back into service.”
However, as US ships and other military equipment amassed near Iran, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads nuclear negotiations on the US side, said on Sunday on Fox News that Iran was “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material.”
Trump’s audience on Tuesday includes Democrats in Congress who criticized him for scrapping a 2015 agreement that limited Iran‘s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief only to later threaten military action while seeking a new pact.
Critics, including Trump, argued the deal’s limits on the Iranian nuclear program were insufficient and temporary, while giving the regime large sums of money through sanctions relief to continue supporting terrorism.
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Pope Leo Says Those Who Wage War Are Thieves Stealing Away Our Peaceful Future
Pope Leo XIV looks on as he meets with Catholic religious education teachers attending a national meeting organised by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, April 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo on Sunday described those who wage wars and appropriate the earth’s resources as thieves who rob the world of a peaceful future, issuing a warning about the use of nuclear power on the anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor accident.
Ukraine is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster on Sunday amid lingering fears that Russia’s four-year-old war could spark a repeat of the tragedy.
In his weekly address after the Angelus prayer, the Pontiff said the Chernobyl accident had left a mark on humankind’s collective conscience.
“It remains a warning over the use of ever more powerful technologies,” the Pope, who has just returned from a 10-day tour across four African nations, said.
“I hope that at all decision-making levels, wisdom and responsibility always prevail, so that atomic power can always be used to support life and peace,” he added.
Commenting on the Gospel of the day, which contained the metaphor of a sheep thief, Pope Leo said thieves came under many appearances, listing as examples “superficial lifestyles driven by consumerism,” prejudices and wrong ideas.
“And let’s not forget also those thieves who, by plundering the earth’s resources, by fighting bloody wars or feeding evil in whichever form, are simply taking away from all of us the chance of a future of peace and serenity,” he added.
Leo, the first US pontiff, has attracted the ire of President Donald Trump after becoming more outspoken against war and despotism.
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UK’s Starmer and Trump Discuss ‘Urgent Need’ to Restore Shipping in Strait of Hormuz
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump (not pictured) hold a bilateral meeting at Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz during a call on Sunday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally,” the spokesperson for Starmer’s office said in a statement.
“The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with President (Emmanuel) Macron to restore freedom of navigation,” the spokesperson added.
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Palestinian Leader’s Loyalists Win Local Elections, Including Some Seats in Gaza
A Palestinian man votes during the municipal election at a polling station in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip April 25, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Loyalists of President Mahmoud Abbas won most races in Palestinian municipal elections, election officials said on Sunday, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the Gaza Strip run by rival Hamas.
Saturday’s ballot marked the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006 and the first Palestinian polls since the Gaza war began more than two years ago with Hamas’ cross‑border attack on southern Israel.
Abbas’ West Bank–based Palestinian Authority (PA) said the inclusion of the Gaza city Deir al‑Balah, which suffered less damage than other areas of the coastal territory during the war, was intended to show that Gaza was an inseparable part of a future Palestinian state.
The elections, in which voter turnout was low, had been held “at a highly sensitive moment amid complex challenges and exceptional circumstances,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said as results were announced on Sunday.
But they represented “an important first step in a broader national process aimed at strengthening democratic life … and ultimately achieving the unity of the homeland,” he said.
POSSIBLE INDICATOR OF HAMAS SUPPORT
Hamas, which ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007, did not formally nominate candidates in Gaza and boycotted the race in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Fatah’s victory was widely expected.
But some candidates on one of the Deir al-Balah lists were widely seen by residents and analysts as aligned with the movement, making the vote a potential indicator of support for the Islamist group.
Preliminary results showed that the list, known as Deir al‑Balah Brings Us Together, won only two of the 15 seats contested in Gaza.
The Nahdat Deir al‑Balah list, backed by Abbas’ Fatah party and the Western-backed PA, secured six seats. The remaining seats were won by two other Gaza-based groups, Future of Deir al‑Balah and Peace and Building, not affiliated with either faction.
Abbas loyalists swept the election in the West Bank, running unchallenged in many seats.
Fatah spokesperson Abdul Fattah Dawla noted that turnout was close to that for the last municipal elections in the West Bank, in 2022, praising voters for participating despite ongoing violence by Israel.
“By electing figures linked to Fatah, voters appear to be seeking unrestricted international support for municipal governance and a gradual political shift that could extend beyond the local level,” said Palestinian political analyst Reham Ouda.
The recent war has left much of Gaza reduced to rubble, with many residents displaced and focused on survival. Israel has continued conducting strikes despite an October ceasefire.
In Gaza, voter turnout reached just 23 percent, while in the West Bank it was 56 percent, according to Chairman of the Central Elections Commission Rami al‑Hamdallah.
Al‑Hamdallah said some of the ballot boxes and voting equipment did not make it into the enclave because of Israeli security restrictions, though those challenges were overcome.
Hamas’ Gaza spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, downplayed the significance of the election results, saying that they had no impact on wider national issues.