Israel Expands Offensive & Abrego-Garcia Abandoned? | 6.17.25

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Host (Georgia Howe): Israel strikes Tehran as the deadly clash moves into its fifth day, leaving Iran scrambling. I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley.

Host (John Bickley): It's Tuesday, June 17, and this is Morning Wire.

Host (Georgia Howe): President Trump doubles down on deportations amid the spread of anti-ICE protests and riots. All blue cities, all Democrat-run cities, and they think they're going to use them to vote. It's not going to happen.

Host (John Bickley): And did Democrats abandon the so-called Maryland father they once championed? We have the latest on Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Host (Georgia Howe): There is absolutely, from my understanding, zero prospect of Kilmar Abrego Garcia being released onto the streets of Tennessee, to the streets of Maryland, or anywhere in between.

Host (John Bickley): Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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Host (Brandon): The war between Israel and Iran continued to escalate Monday as the Jewish state looks to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with the latest on the conflict.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): So Cabot, quite an eventful past 24 hours. Where do things stand now?

Guest (Cabot Phillips): Yeah, Monday saw the most intense fighting since this war began, as the two sides began targeting not just military sites, but also energy facilities. Iran, for example, successfully struck an Israeli oil refinery in Haifa, while the Israelis targeted multiple natural gas and oil refineries throughout Iran. One of those strikes caused major damage to Tehran's largest fuel depot. Another strike Monday targeted Iran's state-sponsored TV network. In stunning live footage, a newscaster can be seen running from her desk as debris falls around her.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): For their part, Iran has so far launched nearly 400 missiles and drones, though only a few dozen have made it past Israeli air defenses. Those strikes, most of which have targeted civilian areas, have reportedly killed 24 people and injured more than 600. But there's no doubt that Israel is so far having much more success, mainly because they've achieved near total control of Iran's airspace. They were able to quickly knock out the country's air defenses, including a third of their missile launchers so far, and dozens of surface-to-air missile facilities.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): That air superiority has allowed Israel to rely more on warplanes for their strikes instead of those expensive long missiles. And it's important to note they do not plan on stopping anytime soon. Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear that this operation will continue until Iran's nuclear facilities have been totally destroyed. And that could take some time.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): Now, what's the response from the White House been? Well, on Monday night, President Trump rocked Washington and Iran with a Truth Social post that read, quote, Iran should have signed the deal I told them to sign. What a shame and waste of human life. Simply stated, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Everyone should immediately evacuate Iran.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): Almost immediately, roads out of the city were sent into gridlock with endless lines of cars trying to flee in the middle of the night. President Trump also convened a late night meeting of the National Security Council, prompting speculation that he was planning an attack. But a White House spokesman said Monday night that, quote, American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): President Trump has continued to stand by Israel, saying his administration would support their efforts. As a sign of that support during a meeting with G7 leaders in Canada on Monday, Trump refused to sign a joint statement that called for de-escalation in this conflict.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): But while he has stopped short of committing American forces to the war, there is reportedly growing pressure from Israel for U.S. backing. Now, in particular, Israel reportedly wants America's help in knocking out Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment site, which is buried deep underground under a mountain, actually. Remember, the U.S. is considered the only country on Earth with the bunker buster bombs and large bomber aircraft necessary for taking out such a facility.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): And Israel has been clear that this operation will not be considered a success unless Fordow is destroyed. For more on that, I spoke with Dr. Paul Ray, professor of history at Hillsdale College.

Host (Brandon): You can imagine, given our capacity to deliver those bombs, that it would be very useful to the Israelis if we were to bomb Fordow, which is the mountain. So they probably want that to happen. I don't expect it to happen. It seems to me that Donald Trump is inclined to restraint.

Guest (Dr. Paul Ray): So is the goal here regime change? Well, Israel has repeatedly said during this conflict that that's not their goal. But there is a very real chance this operation could result in the toppling of Ayatollah Khamenei's theocratic regime.

Guest (Dr. Paul Ray): They're not in a position to implement regime change. That has to be done on the ground. They can't send thousands and thousands of Israelis in, take the place over, kill off the mullahs, and then put somebody in power. But there is a strong opposition within Iran to the regime. There's a lot of discontent there. And there's a resentment of spending Iranian money to support Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas.

Guest (Dr. Paul Ray): And as the damage in Iran mounts, the regime has reportedly told Middle Eastern intermediaries that they are willing to de-escalate and seek an end to hostilities. But Israel is not buying it. They say that any ceasefire would only be an opportunity for them to regroup, work on finishing a nuclear weapon. So Israel is pushing forward.

Host (Brandon): Well, and a lot of eyes on how President Trump's going to balance this. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

Guest (Cabot Phillips): Absolutely.

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Host (Brandon): President Trump is ramping up deportation raids in the wake of anti-ICE riots in Democrat-run cities across the nation. Here with the details is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Press.

Host (Amanda Press): This is Giacomo. Hey, Amanda. So Trump doubling down on deportations in blue cities, but also pausing operations in certain sectors or industries. First, as it relates to arrests in cities, what exactly are Trump's orders here?

Host (Amanda Press): Yeah, Trump has made clear here that his administration will be ramping up efforts to deport illegals specifically in blue cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. I know all of these cities have policies to effectively shield illegals from federal immigration officials.

Host (Amanda Press): Trump said there will be a focus on crime-ridden and deadly inner cities and those places where sanctuary cities play a big role. He added that he's directed his entire administration to put every resource possible behind this effort and reverse the tide of, quote, mass destruction migration.

Host (Amanda Press): Here's Trump on Monday. Biden allowed 21 million people to come into our country. Of that vast numbers of those people were murderers, killers, people from gangs, people from jails. They emptied their jails out into the U.S. Most of those people are in the cities, all blue cities, all Democrat-run cities.

Host (Amanda Press): Trump said that ICE, the FBI, the DEA, ATF, and officials at the Pentagon and State Department will carry out this agenda. And he added that illegals will be brought back to their home countries.

Host (Amanda Press): Now, we've been tracking the anti-ICE riots very closely and the targeting of ICE agents for doxing and even some violence. Has Trump addressed that trend?

Host (Amanda Press): Right. Unsurprisingly, Trump has given his full support to these ICE agents. He applauded them for their strength and their courage, and he condemned violence and harassment directed their way.

Host (Amanda Press): As you mentioned, John, a number of officers have been injured during these anti-ICE riots, and at least dozens of demonstrators have been arrested for their antics. Trump also criticized Democrats for heated rhetoric they've used about ICE.

Host (Amanda Press): Just last week, there was a hearing on sanctuary policies in blue states, and one Democrat compared ICE agents to Nazis. Here's Representative Stephen Lynch.

Host (Amanda Press): You know, my dad served in the Second World War. He fought the Nazis in Northern Africa. He fought the Nazis on the Italian Peninsula. And I think he's looking down right now and he's happy that I'm fighting today's Nazis.

Host (Amanda Press): Last month, Democrat Governor Tim Walz compared ICE agents to the Gestapo. And, you know, there's been a lot of this radical language used about immigration from Democrats.

Host (Amanda Press): For example, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she called detention facilities at the border concentration camps.

Host (Amanda Press): Now, as we said, while Trump is ramping up deportations in these sanctuary cities, he's signaled a different approach for certain industries. What's happening there?

Host (Amanda Press): Yeah, Trump recently said that there's going to be a policy change when it comes to deportations on farms, hotels and leisure businesses. He said he wants the administration to use common sense here and not focus on deporting workers who've been here for decades.

Host (Amanda Press): Here's Trump in his own words. Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers. They've worked for them for 20 years. They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be great. And we're going to have to do something about that. And you know what's going to happen and what is happening? They get rid of some of the people. They end up hiring the people, the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons.

Host (Amanda Press): According to sources, the administration officially instructed ICE agents to stop immigration raids and investigations at farms, hotels and restaurants this past Thursday.

Host (Amanda Press): Now, this follows a warning from the Department of Agriculture that aggressive deportations in rural areas could destabilize the food supply. This is a controversial move, no doubt, for some on the right, correct?

Host (Amanda Press): Yeah, definitely. While some are advocating for this slowdown in certain industries there's been some backlash from conservatives and Trump supporters. They calling this de facto amnesty and they saying it just not what they voted for.

Host (Amanda Press): Now those defending Trump they say that he's taking a pragmatic approach here to this massive problem, and he's focusing on the priority deportations first.

Host (Amanda Press): Amanda, thanks so much for reporting.

Host (Amanda Press): You're welcome.

Host (Georgia Howe): Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, the illegal immigrant who was embraced by Democrats when he was deported to El Salvador, appeared in court here in Nashville on Friday on smuggling charges. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Alordi is here with the details.

Host (Maraid Alordi): So Maraid, what is the status of Abrego Garcia's case?

Host (Maraid Alordi): Hi, Georgia. So Abrego Garcia pled not guilty on Friday in a Nashville federal court. As a reminder, this is the guy who is dubbed a Maryland man by the legacy media, even though he is an illegal migrant from El Salvador.

Host (Maraid Alordi): This is the DOJ's criminal case against Abrego Garcia, not his immigration case. And it centers on a traffic stop in Tennessee from November 2022, when Abrego Garcia was pulled over while driving a car with nine people inside, including a 15-year-old boy, most of whom have been identified as illegal aliens.

Host (Maraid Alordi): If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison for each illegal alien he smuggled and a $250,000 fine. He was brought back to the U.S. last week after being deported to El Salvador due to suspected MS-13 ties.

Host (Maraid Alordi): We spoke with the Tennessee Star's lead reporter, Tom Papert, who was at the courthouse on Friday. He noted that there are signs the left is washing their hands of Abrego Garcia.

Host (Maraid Alordi): I've been closely monitoring this case, waiting to see if some dark money group would put up the millions of dollars necessary to get him a really good criminal defense attorney or a number of criminal defense attorneys. But so far, after more than a week, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is represented by a number of public defenders with the federal office of Middle Tennessee.

Host (Maraid Alordi): It seems like the Democrats are cutting and running. They've realized that this is a losing battle for them.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Pepper made a point of noting that the Democrat lawmakers who flew all the way to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia, that's Maryland Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen and a dozen or so House Democrats, they did not show up to his hearing on Friday.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Notably absent were Senator Van Hollen, were the dozen or so House Democrats that flew to El Salvador to go try to visit with Kilmar Abrego Garcia when he was in foreign custody. It's interesting to me that they were willing to travel to El Salvador when this was probably getting them a lot of donations, but they weren't willing to take the two and a half hour flight to Nashville, Tennessee to be there for his arraignment.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Some notable absences for sure.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Now, did we learn anything new about Abrego Garcia during the hearing?

Host (Maraid Alordi): Yes. During the six-hour arraignment, we did hear some new allegations. A Homeland Security agent testified that multiple alleged accomplices claimed Abrego Garcia asked a 15-year-old girl for nude photos on Snapchat. His lawyers called this a flirtatious event and that he would use his own children as basically human shields against the police.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Another new allegation was that Abrego Garcia transported a 15-year-old boy. The Homeland Security agent said they don't know where that boy is or if he is okay.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Interestingly, his own lawyers did not deny the child was in the car. They simply said it would be impossible to figure out whether he was a minor since illegal immigrants often lie about their age.

Host (Maraid Alordi): As a reminder, Abrego Garcia also has an alleged history of violence toward his wife.

Host (Maraid Alordi): So what's next for his case?

Host (Maraid Alordi): So according to Pappert, next we're looking at whether Abrego Garcia will remain in federal custody or whether he will be transferred to ICE custody. Either way, it looks like he will be remaining in custody and will not be released onto the streets.

Host (Maraid Alordi): After that, we'll want to watch Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who has been assigned to this case. He doesn't have a reputation for being political, but he is an Obama appointee. So it'll be interesting to see how he approaches this case.

Host (Georgia Howe): Well, we will certainly be watching very closely. Maureen, thanks for reporting.

Host (Maraid Alordi): Thanks, Georgia. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know. Thank you.