| TRUMP: THEY WANT TO MAKE A DEAL SO BADLY': Like the American eagle on the Great Seal of the United States, clutching arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, President Donald Trump is pursuing a peace agreement with Iran, while ordering thousands of more troops to the region to prepare for escalation. Trump insists that backchannel talks with a new generation of Iranian leaders are bearing fruit, and that he and his envoys have found "the right people" to deal with. "The leaders are all gone. Nobody knows who to talk to, but we're actually talking to the right people." "Now we have a new group," Trump said. "This is a change in the regime, because the leaders are all very different than the ones that we started off with." Trump's 15-point peace plan, which he claimed Monday included "major points of agreement," has been transmitted to Iran by way of Pakistan, and Trump remains adamant that, despite the bellicose rhetoric coming out of Tehran, Iran is anxious to make a deal. "They want to make a deal so badly. You have no idea how badly they want to make a deal," Trump claimed. "And we'll see what happens." Trump referred to a mysterious "very big present worth a tremendous amount of money" that he claimed the unidentified Iranians delivered yesterday. "I'm not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize," Trump said. "It was oil and gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did. But what it showed me is that we're dealing with the right people." No one knows what Trump is talking about, but the speculation is that he was referring to Iran's announcement that "non-hostile" ships not aligned with the U.S. or Israel will be allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz as long as Iran approves and they pay a hefty toll. The Strait of Hormuz is not closed. It is controlled by Iran, which continues to ship its own oil through the waterway for sale on the world market at premium prices. IRAN HOLDS STRAIT OF HORMUZ HOSTAGE WITH $2 MILLION TOLL IRAN: "YOU ARE NEGOTIATING WITH YOURSELVES': Whatever is happening behind the scenes, Iran continues to say there have been no talks between the U.S. and Iran, and Iran's military spokesman continues to mock Trump in televised statements. "You have reached a stage where you are negotiating with yourselves," said Ebrahim Zolfaqari. "Do not call your defeat an agreement." The U.S. list of demands is said to closely mirror the original 15-point plan presented to Iran, before Trump called a halt to negotiations and ordered the full-scale attack. "It calls on Iran to dismantle its three main nuclear sites and end any enrichment on Iranian soil, suspend its ballistic-missile work, curb support for proxies and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz," according to the Wall Street Journal. In response, Iran has hardened its demands to include a guarantee that the U.S. won't attack Iran again, and that Israel will halt strikes against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. It also wants all sanctions lifted, and no limits on its ballistic missile programs. And it wants to make permanent its toll collection on the Strait of Hormuz. All would seem to be nonstarters. Taking control of the Strait of Hormuz or Iran's Kharg Island are two of the possible missions that could be undertaken by the thousands of Marine and Army Paratroops that are heading to the region to provide Trump with more military options. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, and reportedly one of the Iranians Trump is counting on, posted on X, "We are closely monitoring all U.S. movements in the region, especially troop deployments. Do not test our resolve to defend our land." TRUMP TO DEPLOY AT LEAST 1,000 AIRBORNE TROOPS TO MIDDLE EAST AMID IRAN PEACE TALKS ADOPTING PUTIN'S TACTICS AND LANGUAGE: Trump has threatened — both on social media and public statements — to take out Iran's biggest power station, a civilian target that legal experts argue would constitute a war crime because it would primarily punish the long-suffering Iranian populace that Trump promised to help. Trump said Monday the strike was set for Tuesday morning, before he called it off. "We were expected to blow up their largest electric-generating plants that cost over $10 billion to build," he told reporters. "And one shot, it's gone, it collapses." It's a page right out of the playbook of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ruthlessly attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure to inflict misery on average Ukrainians. Trump insisted Tuesday he wants to end the war without more lives being lost and without disabling brand-new "apple of their eye" electric plants, but he did not rule of hitting if Iran doesn't make a deal. Now Trump is adopting another Putin public relations ploy, suggesting the war in Iran is not a war at all "They call it a war. I call it a military operation," Trump said yesterday. "A very successful one. Like, successful like nobody's ever seen before." Putin called his invasion of Ukraine in 2022 a special military operation, and banned the use of "war" by the Russian media. Trump has often referred to Operation Epic Fury as an "excursion," defined by the dictionary as "a short journey or trip, especially one engaged in as a leisure activity." TRUMP JOKES HEGSETH DOESN'T WANT IRAN WAR TO END 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. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE HAPPENING TODAY: THE TIMES FIGHTS BACK: The New York Times is back in court fighting what it calls the Pentagon's "end run" around last week's ruling by a federal judge that its restrictions on reporters covering the building are unconstitutional. In response to losing the court case, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a memo that essentially kicked out all reporters working from inside the building and ordered the closure of the decades-old Pentagon Correspondents Corridor. In the legal filing, the Times attorneys argued the revised policy was "nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to flout this court's ruling and prevent journalists and news organizations whose editorial viewpoints defendants dislike from engaging in independent, protected news gathering and reporting at the Pentagon." "Rather than comply with the Court's Order and accompanying Opinion, Defendants are contemptuously defying it — both in letter and spirit in a newly released 'interim' policy," the Times said in its motion filed with the court. "Among other things, for the first time in history, the Interim Policy bars reporters with press passes from entering the building without an escort, sets up unprecedented rules governing when a reporter can offer anonymity to a source, and leaves in place provisions that this Court's Order struck." TSA FUNDING: 'THE TIME TO END THIS IS NOW': Just when it seemed Democrats and Republicans had come up with a face-saving deal to fund most of Homeland Security, including airport workers, things fell apart, with each side blaming the other, and lines at the nation's airports getting longer by the day. "The time to end this is now," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). "The Democrats have in front of them a proposal with legislative text that would allow us to get DHS back and opened up again. And it is essentially what the Democrats have been asking for." But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rejected the latest Republican offer. "Over the weekend, progress was getting made. Then Donald Trump threw a temper tantrum. He demanded Republicans tie the SAVE Act, voter suppression, to TSA paychecks. It was outrageous from the start. Democrats knew it, and Republicans knew it, too. And because of Donald Trump, negotiations started falling apart." Democrats are demanding reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection, including requiring federal immigration officers to obtain judicial warrants and prohibiting federal agents from wearing masks. "ICE should leave the airports, TSA workers should be paid, and Republicans should stop playing games," Schumer said. "No intimidation. No more chaos. Enough." "I don't want to comment until I see the deal. But as you know, they're negotiating a deal. I guess they're getting fairly close," President Trump said at the White House swearing-in of his new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "But I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it." PORT AUTHORITY SENDS CIVILIAN SECURITY EMPLOYEES TO SUPPORT TSA AT AIRPORTS THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Trump to deploy at least 1,000 airborne troops to Middle East amid Iran peace talks Washington Examiner: Trump jokes Hegseth doesn't want Iran war to end Washington Examiner: Iran holds Strait of Hormuz hostage with $2 million toll Washington Examiner: German president says US justification for Iran war 'does not hold water' Washington Examiner: Opinion: Congress should approve Iran war supplemental funds Washington Examiner: Harakat Ashab al Yamin al Islamia: The emerging terrorist group claiming attacks across Europe Washington Examiner: Taliban releases American held captive for over a year to ease tensions with US Washington Examiner: DHS: 100,000 employees unpaid amid shutdown Washington Examiner: Obama TSA leader says ICE at airports 'could be a good thing' Washington Examiner: Aid ships dock in Cuba as country faces economic and energy crisis Washington Examiner: NASA announces $20 billion moon base, canceling orbiting lunar station Washington Examiner: Judge suggests Pentagon's 'supply-chain risk' label is 'punishing' Anthropic New York Times: U.S. Is Said to Have Sent Iran a Peace Plan AP: Trump administration offers 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran Wall Street Journal: Mediators Aim for U.S.-Iran Meeting by Thursday The Telegraph: Iran refuses peace talks with Trump's 'backstabbing' negotiators Washington Post: Trump declares Iran war 'won' as Tehran denies claims of peace talk progress The Telegraph: German president compares Trump to Putin in scathing criticism of Iran war The War Zone: Land-Based Marine Corps F-35Cs Are Now Moving Towards the Middle East Reuters: Trump approved Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei Kyiv Independent: Russia launches nearly 1,000 drones in one of war's largest assaults, killing 7 and injuring at least 50 Wall Street Journal: Israel Hits Russian-Iranian Weapons Smuggling Route in the Caspian Sea Reuters: China maps ocean floor as it prepares for submarine warfare with US New York Times: Judge Orders Records Search After Trump Ties Cole Attack to Iran Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Going Fast to Develop 'New Class' of Low-Cost Munitions Breaking Defense: Air Force Seeks Industry Feedback to 'Benchmark' Progress of Northrop Missile Stars and Stripes: Key Pentagon Report Says KC-46A Pegasus Tanker Not Rated for Full Operations Air & Space Forces Magazine: Image of B-52 with Test Versions of New Nuclear Missile Shows Progress: Expert DefenseScoop: 'The Fight Is On' as Top Cyber Officials Try to Revamp the Military's Digital Workforce Breaking Defense: Kratos Scores $447M Space Force Award for Missile Tracking Ground System Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Rules for Religious Shaving Waivers: More Hurdles, Less 'Gaming the System'? Air & Space Forces Magazine: Mysterious Drone Sighting in Greece Leads to RQ-180 Speculation Forbes: China Is Building Fighters at Scale—Time to Step Up F-35 Procurement THE CALENDAR: WEDNESDAY | MARCH 25 8 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group Zoom discussion with Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member, Senate Armed Services Committee [email protected] 8:30 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW — Henry L. Stimson Center discussion: "Next Steps for U.S.-Japan Military Shipbuilding, Repair, and Maintenance," with Yuki Sekiguchi, vice president of Cognitive Research Labs Inc.; Brent Sadler, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow; Monica Dus, associate professor, University of Michigan; Kelly Greico, Stimson senior fellow; and Andrew Oros, director, Stimson Japan Program https://www.stimson.org/event/next-steps-for-u-s-japan-military-shipbuilding-repair-and-maintenance 8:45 a.m. 1735 New York Ave. NW — Defense Strategies Institute FutureG For Defense and Warfare Summit: "Empowering the Warfighter with Next Generation Network Capabilities," with Thomas Rondeau, principal director for FutureG at the Office of the Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering https://futureg.dsigroup.org/ 10 a.m. 2362-A Rayburn — House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: Quality of Life in the Military," with testimony from Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer; Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman; Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz; Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe; and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John F. Bentivenga http://appropriations.house.gov 1 p.m. SVC-217, U.S. Capitol — Senate Armed Services Committee CLOSED briefing on Operation Epic Fury. http://www.armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. SVC-217, U.S. Capitol — Senate Foreign Relations Committee CLOSED briefing on "Update on the Russia-Ukraine War," with testimony from Brendan Hanrahan, senior bureau official at the State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; Christopher W. Smith, deputy assistant secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; and Eugene Fishel, deputy director of the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Europe Office http://foreign.senate.gov 1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual book discussion: Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare, with author Katrina Manson, Bloomberg reporter; and Paul Scharre, CNAS executive vice president https://www.cnas.org/events/project-mave 2 p.m. — Defense One virtual discussion: "State of the Air Force and Space Force," with Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, commander, U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense-2026 2 p.m. 2255 Rayburn — Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing: "Ukraine: Abducted Children and Mechanisms for Accountability," with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), co-chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission; Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) co-chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission; Katya Pavlevych, policy advisor for Razom for Ukraine, American Coalition for Ukraine; David Crane, founding chief prosecutor for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone and founder, Global Accountability Network; David Scheffer, former U.S. war crimes ambassador in the State Department; and Inna Liniova, director, Ukraine Bar Association Human Rights Center https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/ 3 p.m. — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: "National Security Space Programs and Activities," with testimony from William B. Adkins, principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office; Thomas W. Ainsworth, performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration; Marc Berkowitz, assistant Defense secretary for space policy; Brett Markham, deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and Space Force Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess, deputy chief of space operations for operations http://www.armedservices.house.gov 3:30 p.m. — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing: "The Military Health System Restructure: Changes at Military Treatment Facilities and the Effects on Military Readiness and Beneficiary Access," with testimony from Keith Bass, assistant Defense secretary for health affairs; and Vice Adm. Darin Via, director of the Defense Health Agency http://www.armedservices.house.gov THURSDAY | MARCH 26 8:45 a.m. 1735 New York Ave. NW — Defense Strategies Institute FutureG For Defense and Warfare Summit: "Empowering the Warfighter with Next Generation Network Capabilities," with Joshua Weaver, director, spectrum initiatives and analysis in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering https://futureg.dsigroup.org/ 2 p.m. — Defense One virtual discussion: "State of the Army," with Maj. Gen. John Cogbill, commanding general, 11th Airborne https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense-2026 3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: "The Future of U.S.-Europe Relations," with Lawrence Freedman, professor, war studies at King's College London; Eliot Cohen, CSIS chair in strategy; and Heather Williams, director, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues https://www.csis.org/events/future-us-europe-relations 3:30 p.m. 37th and O Sts.. NW — Georgetown University Center for Security Studies, GU Center for German and European Studies, and the GU Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies discussion: "NATO's Northern Flank and Baltic Security," with Swedish Armed Forces Supreme Commander Gen. Michael Claesson https://events.georgetown.edu/event/39038-natos-northern-flank FRIDAY | MARCH 27 8:30 a.m. 11493 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, Va. — Government Executive Media Group forum: "Securing the Supply Chain and Managing Modern Cyber Threats," with Defense CIO Kirsten Davies https://events.washingtontechnology.com/cmmc-supply-chain/register | | | | "What we're seeing is a situation where targetry never makes up for a lack of strategy. And by that I mean 15,000 targets have been hit. There have been significant military successes, but they are not matched by strategic outcomes. Now, some of the strategic outcomes early on, unconditional surrender, regime change, we're going to dictate who the next supreme leader is — those were clearly nonsense. Those were delusional and you don't hear those bandied about anymore." | | Former Trump Defense Secretary, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, speaking to MS NOW's Katy Tur Monday |
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