THE WAR IS OVER?: In the last 24 hours, the U.S. military fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of an empty oil tanker to stop it from reaching Iran’s main oil terminal on Kharg Island. In a release, U.S. Central Command said, “the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times.”
In response, Iran launched a series of drone and missile attacks, targeting the headquarters of the U.S Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and Kuwait’s main civilian airport. The U.S. claimed all of the attacks “were successfully defeated” and that “all failed to hit their intended targets.”
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Kuwait, however, was forced to suspend commercial flights after an Iranian drone hit its main terminal in what appeared to be a follow-up attack a few hours later. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the dawn attack targeted “civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport, resulting in the death of one individual, injuries to others, and damage to vital facilities, including diplomatic missions.”
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before incredulous senators that, “Well, the war’s over now.”
The comment came in an exchange with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who immediately clapped back, “The war is not over … The American people see how we’re losing at the pump and with their costs, and yet this thing still hasn’t been resolved.”
“That was maybe the most surprising thing that the secretary tried to get the committee to buy today, that the war was over. Nobody believes that,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said after the hearing. “There’s still firing going on between Iran and the United States, and military positions in neighboring nations and commercial shipping. So there is still an ongoing war. The ceasefire has brought the temperature down, but it hasn’t stopped the war, not by a long shot.”
WHO’S BEGGING WHOM? Even as Iran continues to claim that negotiations with the U.S. have been suspended over demands Israel end its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, President Donald Trump keeps insisting that’s fake news, calling the reports “false and erroneous.”
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer.’”
During his Senate testimony, Rubio said the negotiations are being hamstrung by the fractured Iranian government, which is divided between the political leaders and the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is behind the military escalation.
“If it was up to the political class there … if it was up to the people that actually like go to elections and wear the suits and you see on TV, they’d probably make a deal tomorrow,” Rubio said. “The issue they’re facing is that the supreme leader and the IRGC corps are a little bit more immune from those pressures.”
And Rubio pushed back at the suggestion that Trump is getting desperate for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize the world oil market. “No one’s begging for anything here. The Iranians might be begging because their economy’s losing hundreds of millions of dollars a day.”
RUBIO: IRAN HAS ‘AGREED TO NEGOTIATE ASPECTS OF THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM’
REOPENING THE STRAIT ‘CONDITION NO.1’: Rubio said the current talks are focused on reopening the Strait, a problem that was created by the war.
“Condition number one is they have to reopen the Straits,” Rubio said. “They have to announce very clearly, the Straits are now open. We’re not charging a toll. We will help remove the mines that they’ve put in there, and they will not fire on ships.”
“If they refuse to do so, then we have other options available to us, but we would prefer to negotiate,” he added.
“Phase two is they have to commit to very specific negotiations on highly enriched — the disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere,” Rubio testified. “For example, they have to commit to say, ‘We will dispose of the enriched uranium,’ and the question now is, what are the mechanisms by which we do so? That can be negotiated.”
So what is the current status of negotiations? “Talks with Iran are not like talks with Switzerland. OK? They’re very different. They require the use of intermediaries, unfortunately. But there is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week.”
OPINION: WHY NEITHER TRUMP NOR IRAN WANTS A RETURN TO WAR
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com.
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HAPPENING TODAY: UKRAINE BOMBS ST. PETERBURG: A day after Russia launched one of its most punishing attacks of the war against major Ukrainian cities — killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 135 — Ukraine used its long-range drone capability to strike a Russian oil terminal in St. Petersburg, just as the city is hosting an international economic forum that Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend later this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video showing the oil terminal in flames, and touted Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russia, as other videos showed black smoke in the skies over the city. “The distance from Ukraine’s state border to this facility of Russia’s oil industry, which serves the war, is about 1,100 kilometers. Purely military targets at the Kronstadt base were also hit.”
At the same time, Russia fired 198 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight, and according to Ukraine’s air force, its drone interceptors neutralized 189.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is desperate to buy more Patriot missile interceptors from the United States, because it has no other system that is effective in downing Russian ballistic missiles. “We have an agreement at the highest political level on the purchase of Patriot systems, and this agreement is awaiting implementation at the financial, legal, and technical levels. The wait has taken too long,” Zelensky posted on X this morning.
DNI PICK SPARKS OUTRAGE, DISBELIEF: Many of President Trump’s Cabinet members and agency heads have come under attack by critics for being underqualified for their jobs. But typically it boils down to a matter of opinion. In the case of Trump’s appointment of William Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, it’s a matter of statute.
Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no experience in national intelligence, which, under the law that established the Office of National Intelligence after the September 11 attacks in 2001, is a legal requirement to serve as the nation’s top spymaster.
Section 102 of the law states, “Any individual nominated for appointment as Director of National Intelligence shall have extensive national security expertise.” Shall, in this context, means “must,” not “should.”
In announcing Pulte’s selection on Truth Social, Trump cited his “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac.”
Critics were quick to pounce. “He is wildly unqualified. He has no previous experience,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said on CNN. “The only thing that might qualify him in the eyes of Donald Trump is his enthusiasm for going after his perceived political enemies, something he has done in his role as the head of the mortgage financing agency.”
“This is an important role that is supposed to synthesize all the different intelligence streams and make sure that policymakers are prepared to defend our nation,” Coons said. “It is, I think, a huge mistake to put a partisan person into that role, and it will put our nation at risk.”
“I see no evidence of any qualification for the job,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
“He’s not qualified for the job,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, one of the spy agency’s first employees. “We’re not even sure he’s ever had a security clearance, certainly never handled classified information, been in any national security role.”
“He has used his access to every American’s mortgage information to launch bogus claims and lawsuits against many, many people,” Slotkin said on CNN. “So if we do that and look up people’s mortgage information and create fake claims and accusations in a housing department, what could he do at the top of the intelligence community and all the access to information and tools that he has there.”
In his current position, one Trump says he will retain as he heads ODNI on an acting basis, Pulte accused several of Trump’s political adversaries of mortgage fraud, including Sen. Adam Schiff, Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
“I’m puzzled by this appointment because of all the people involved in our intelligence agencies, and of all the people who work within our national security apparatus protecting Americans across the country and around the world, the President has chosen someone with no experience whatsoever in this complex and critically important field,” said Sen. Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Intelligence Committee. “By any objective assessment – in terms of experience, expertise, background – this appointment makes no sense.”
Pulte will not face Senate confirmation unless Trump nominates him to serve as the agency’s permanent head.
It should be noted that two previous Trump directors of national intelligence, current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and former Rep.Tulsi Gabbard, also failed to meet the legal requirement for the job when they were nominated.
CONGRESS BLINDSIDED BY TRUMP’S PULTE PICK AND QUESTIONS QUALIFICATIONS FOR INTELLIGENCE CHIEF
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Rubio: Iran has ‘agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program’
Washington Examiner: Rubio takes issue with Rosen saying it’s ‘embarrassing’ he wasn’t involved in Iran peace negotiations
Washington Examiner: Rubio and Booker spar at committee hearing over whether Iran is in stronger position: ‘No one is begging’
Washington Examiner: Rubio says Iranian Navy is just ‘a bunch of Boston Whalers with machine guns’
Washington Examiner: US conducts ‘self-defense’ strikes against Iranian targets on Qeshm Island
Washington Examiner: Israeli security minister tells Netanyahu ‘time to say no’ to Trump on Lebanon
Washington Examiner: Congress blindsided by Trump’s Pulte pick and questions qualifications for intelligence chief
Washington Examiner: Hegseth blocks one-star promotions as Pentagon claims evidence of meritocracy
Washington Examiner: Pentagon hires ‘qualified, patriotic’ Jan. 6 rioter for counterterrorism role
Washington Examiner: Head of US Special Operations Command wary of AI use in military
Washington Examiner: British diplomats were driven insane trying to find very specific gift for Trump, tranche of emails reveals
Washington Examiner: F-15 pilot shot down over Iran was downed in Kuwait month prior: Report
Washington Examiner: China tightens its grip as Greenland blocks a critical rare earth project
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Russia’s growing desperation reflected in Ukraine onslaught
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Rick Crawford should be Trump’s next director of national intelligence
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Why neither Trump nor Iran wants a return to war
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Trump delivered a military victory over Iran. Now he’s negotiating it away
NBC News: Major Russian Attack Kills at Least 22 and Leaves Ukraine Pleading for Help from Trump
Wall Street Journal: Hegseth Blocked Nine Air Force Senior Officer Promotions, Delayed Dozens More
Defense One: New Bill Aims to Regulate Military Uses of AI
Breaking Defense: Trump Executive Order on AI Gives Central Role to NSA
Wall Street Journal: Taiwan’s Opposition Leader Comes to U.S. With a Message Straight Out of Beijing
Bloomberg: General Dynamics Will Spend $200 Million to Reboot Ammo Plant
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Iran Fires Missiles, Drones After US Strikes Blockade-Busting Ship in Latest Flare-Up
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Reveals Designation for Next-Gen Bunker Buster, Seeks Sources
Air & Space Forces Magazine: As Fighter Fleet Shrinks Below Legal Minimum, Pfluger Sounds Alarm
Military.com: Air Force’s New Basic Military Training for 35,000 Recruits a Year Includes F-16 and C-130s
AP: GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan draws an unusual opponent in Alaska’s primary — and he’s not happy about it
Breaking Defense: DOD CIO Implores Industry to Put a Greater Focus on ‘Foundational Cybersecurity’
The War Zone: Any Plans for Direct U-28 Draco Special Ops Surveillance Plane Replacement Abandoned
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Blue Origin Rocket Explosion the Largest Ever at Cape Canaveral: Commander
Wall Street Journal: Opinion: South Korea Takes a Hard Left Turn Against America
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3
8 a.m. 300 First St. SE — National Institute for Deterrence Studies seminar with Lt. Gen. Michael Lutton, deputy commander, Global Strike Command. https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/lt-gen-michael-lutton
9 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Israeli Security Doctrine: Challenges for the Region,” with Mairav Zonszein, senior Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group; Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University; Amr Hamzawy, director, CEIP Middle East Program; Marwan Muasher, CEIP vice president for studies; and Sarah Yerkes, senior fellow at the CEIP Middle East Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2026/05/israeli-security-doctrine
10 a.m. 2360 Rayburn — House Small Business Committee hearing: “Restoring America’s Industrial Base: The Role of Small Businesses in National Security” http://smallbusiness.house.gov
3 p.m. 138 Dirksen — Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing: “A Review of the President’s FY2027 Budget Request for the http://appropriations.senate.gov
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Building America’s Cyber Force: Findings from the Commission on Cyber Force Generation,” with Lauryn Williams, deputy director and senior fellow of the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program https://www.csis.org/events/building-americas-cyber-force-findings
THURSDAY | JUNE 4
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee markup of H.R.8800, the “National Defense Authorization Act for FY2027.” http://www.armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense meeting on “Pandora’s Prompt: AI and the Biological Threat,” with former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala; and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/from-the-ground-up-federated-biodefense/
10:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Data Centers, AI, and the Future of U.S. Strategic Competitiveness,” with Matt Pearl, director, CSIS Strategic Technologies Program; Aalok Mehta, director, CSIS Wadhwani AI Center; Joseph Majkut, director, CSIS Energy Security and Climate Program; and Philip Luck, director, CSIS economics program and CSIS chair in international business https://www.csis.org/events/data-centers-ai-and-future-us-strategic-competitiveness
2:30 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Air Force priorities,” with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Lamontagne https://afa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/
FRIDAY | JUNE 5
8 a.m. H-140, U.S. Capitol — House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee markup of the FY2027 Homeland Security bill http://appropriations.house.gov
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “Missile Defense: Assessing the Effectiveness and Looking to the Future,” with former National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator Frank Rose, president of Chevalier Strategic Advisers https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/missile-defense-assessing-the-effectiveness
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Russia and Ukraine: Societies transformed by war,” with Anna Colin Lebedev, senior lecturer and researcher for Paris Nanterre University’s Institute of Social Sciences of Politics10 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Russia’s Illicit Exploitation of Foreign Nationals for its War Against Ukraine,” with Ilya Nuzov, head of the International Federation for Human Rights’ Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk; Rosemary Tollo, co-founder and program director of Journalists for Justice; Maria Tomak, associate researcher at Truth Hounds; and Brig. Gen. Dmytro Usov, secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/russias-illicit-exploitation-of-foreign-nationals
