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Get the latest news from the Trump administration Friday as Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed again.

The announcement comes after peace negotiations between and Iran and the US fell apart after Israel’s refusal to leave Lebanon and US forces’ ongoing presence in the region.

Trump posted on Truth Social Friday saying, “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did.”

“They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days,” he continued.

“They get no money, not ten cents!” he concluded.

Follow The Post’s live updates on national politics for the latest news:

Trump unveils new $400M Air Force One gifted by Qatar

By Thomas Gamba-Ellis

President Donald Trump showed off the newest rendition of Air Force One on Friday, and thanked Qatar for gifting the $400 million jet.

The new plane sports a navy blue and red exterior, compared to the current Air Force One's baby blue color scheme.

President Donald Trump speaks after touring the newly designated Air Force One presidential aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Trump showed off the newest Air Force One rendition Friday. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
President Donald Trump exits the newly designated Air Force One presidential aircraft following a tour at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Trump thanked Qatar for gifting the $400 million jet. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The new Air Force One - https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2068046905456673180
Trump also noted how the new plane is significantly larger than the current fleet. White House
Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump, upon landing at Geneva Airport for France's G7 summit in Evian (France), in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, June 15, 2026. MARTIAL TREZZINI/Pool via REUTERS
The current fleet has been in use since the George H.W. Bush administration. via REUTERS

The current fleet has been in use for over 35 years, with the first aircraft entering service on Sep. 6, 1990 under the George H.W. Bush administration.

Trump also noted how the new jet is noticeably larger than the previous planes.

Trump shows off new Air Force One: 'World's most luxurious plane'

By Steven Nelson

President Trump showed off the newest version of Air Force One Friday — thanking energy-rich Qatar for donating for his use "the world's most luxurious plane," which he said would allow the United States to be "represented properly."

"It was built at a level that will probably never be seen again," Trump told reporters as he stood in front of the plane, which he said was much larger than the "ridiculous" smaller-sized jets previously used.

"This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody's ever seen before, probably even almost outside of an airplane," said Trump, who accepted the jet over the protest of some of his Republican allies.

"The workmanship of this plane is — when you see it, you won't believe it, actually. The quality of woods, the quality of the materials, the quality of the engines. These engines are the finest, they're the best in the world, nothing like it.

"So it's really an honor, and I want to thank the Emir of Qatar, he's a fantastic guy."

Israel, Lebanon agree to cease-fire after US-Iran talks in Switzerland get scrapped

By Ryan King

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a renewed cease-fire Friday after fighting between them threatened to foil peace talks involving the US and Iran. 

Ongoing attacks between Israel and the US-designated terror group in Lebanon had led to the first round of talks getting postponed, with Tehran claiming it wouldn't participate until the Israeli strikes stopped. 

But Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin announced Friday that again, "We are in a cease-fire."

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Trump says US has to keep Netanyahu ‘a little bit sane’ in jab at Israeli leader

By Ryan King

WASHINGTON — President Trump claimed in a new interview released Friday that he has to keep Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a little bit sane” while insisting he still has a “good” relationship with the leader of the Jewish state.

“If it weren’t for Donald Trump — and Bibi Netanyahu worked well with me, but he will tell you, we’re the ones with the guns, we’re the ones with the whole deal, we’re the ones with the B-2 bombers, etc.,” the president told Axios reporter Mark Caputo.

“If it weren’t for Donald Trump, Israel would have been eviscerated.”

U.S. President Trump points at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as they shake hands.
Trump and Netanyahu shake hands during a meeting on Dec. 29, 2025. REUTERS

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Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz closed again after US lifts blockade

By Caitlin Doornbos

WASHINGTON — Iran re-closed the Strait of Hormuz Friday instead of heading to Switzerland for nuclear negotiations, citing Israel’s refusal to pull forces out of southern Lebanon and US forces’ ongoing presence in the region.

In a statement read over maritime radio channels, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US was in violation of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, which President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed Wednesday.

“Since Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, the complete lifting of the naval blockade, and the withdrawal of American terrorist forces from the Persian Gulf and the region are among the main conditions of the agreement between Iran and the United States, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until these conditions are met,” it said. “All ships are requested, for the sake of their security and safety, not to approach the Strait of Hormuz. Any vessel that defies this directive will be targeted.”

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Trump fires back at Mojtaba Khamenei's claim he settled war out of 'desperation'

By Steven Nelson

President Trump responded Friday to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's claim that the US sought a peace deal out of "desperation" — insisting the opposite was true.

"We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In an earlier post, the president had claimed: "The War has diminished Iran! It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago. Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???"

Mojtaba Khamenei walking down a street in Tehran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in an undated photo. ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

Reflecting Pool begins to peel as Trump admin struggles with algae after $14M renovations

By Ryan King

Drain the swamp!

A small slice of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's sealant appears to have peeled off as the Trump administration has scrambled to combat a massive algae bloom following completion of the $14.2 million in renovations.

Yes there is a small section of the reflecting pool sealant that has ripped up. pic.twitter.com/mtP7PowUYh

— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) June 18, 2026

For days, the Department of the Interior has insisted that the algae bloom in the Reflecting Pool was expected and that its state-of-the-art advanced nanobubbler technology would tame the problem.

Manned crews began vacuuming the gargantuan pool and pouring in hydrogen peroxide, which is used in some paint removers.

The advanced nanobubbler technology very effectively killed the algae that has plagued every Lincoln Reflecting Pool reopening—most infamously Obama's reopening—since 1922.

The Reflecting Pool water is crystal clear, and our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the… pic.twitter.com/ZuCs0pmnxD

— U.S. Interior Press (@interiorpress47) June 18, 2026

So far, the Department of the Interior has been quiet about the sealant peeling off the Reflecting Pool.

Obama jabs at US foreign policy decisions that 'bully and squeeze every advantage'

By Josh Christenson

Former President Barack Obama Thursday criticized past US foreign policy "mistakes."

"Our actions have not always matched our rhetoric. We've learned that we can't solve every conflict, or solve or stop every atrocity around the globe," Obama said in remarks at a dedication ceremony for his presidential center in Chicago.

Former US President Barack Obama delivers his speech at the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026.  REUTERS

"When American foreign policy lives up to our highest ideals, when we champion human rights and democracy and the sound stewardship of our planet, when we take the lead in eradicating disease and feeding the hungry and educating children, when we encourage cooperation between nations instead of trying to dominate and bully and squeeze every advantage just because we can, and most of all, when we show through our example here at home that even a country is big and diverse, is ours, can make democracy work, it turns out all nations, including ours, become more prosperous and secure, and the world gets a little bit brighter," he added.

The comments come as President Trump's deal to end the US war with Iran has been compared to Obama's nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2015.

Obamas, Bidens, Bushes, and Clintons reunite at Obama Presidential Center opening

By Carly Ortiz-Lytle

President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama reunited with some of the other former occupants of the White House at the Obama Presidential Center's opening in Chicago Thursday. They were joined by Bill and Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, and Joe and Jill Biden.

The opening marked a rare occasion where the four could reunite. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

'No kings': Obama takes shot at Trump in speech at presidential center dedication

By Josh Christenson

Former President Barack Obama appeared to take a shot at President Trump in a speech Thursday, in which he appropriated the slogan of "No Kings" protests that have opposed the 47th commander in chief.

Obama said in his remarks at a dedication ceremony for his new presidential center in Chicago that on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution it was important to remember how "radical the whole idea of self-government really was back in 1776."

Former US President Barack Obama delivers his speech at the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026.  REUTERS

"To that point, human history was a tale of conquest and caste and rigid hierarchies. A world where the strong dominated the weak, where power and wealth and status flowed through lineage, and the many were ruled by the few," the 44th president said.

"But out of the fire and steel of a revolution, a different story took flight on this continent a declaration that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that in the newly independent United States there will be no kings or lower, no serfs or subjects, but only citizens."

"No Kings" demonstrations have swept through major cities like New York and Washington, DC, since Trump was inaugurated for a second time in January 2025, opposing the president's immigration agenda and other policies.

Obama thanks Bidens for 'steadfast partnership for eight years'

By Josh Christenson

Former President Barack Obama thanked the Biden family for their "steadfast partnership" at a ceremony dedicating his presidential center in Chicago Thursday.

“Thank you for your steadfast partnership for eight years,” the 44th president said. “Joe, we started as running mates and ended as family, and we would not be here without you. And we are grateful.”

Former US President Barack Obama speaks during the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026. REUTERS

Obama had expressed doubts about his former VP Joe Biden having the juice to win the 2020 election against Donald Trump.

He also told the 46th president that a flailing debate performance had "greatly diminished" his chances of beating Trump in 2024.

Three days later, Biden dropped out and was succeeded as the Democratic nominee by his vice president, Kamala Harris.

Iran's ayatollah claims Trump made deal 'out of desperation'

By mconnellynyp

Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had a word of warning for the United States about future negotiations as he blasted President Trump for being desperate to make a deal.

In a rare statement posted on social media, Khamenei noted he’d signed the memorandum of understanding and that “it was the American president who, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about.”

A billboard features portraits of Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (R) and his father, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 18, 2026. WAEL HAMZEH/EPA/Shutterstock

He didn’t explain what leverage Trump used but the president repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it didn’t comply.

Khamenei also warned that “if the American side seeks to make excessive demands, [we] will not submit to them.”

The US wants Iran to join Vice President JD Vance at nuclear talks in Switzerland this weekend, the next step in the peace negotiations.

Iran still has not committed to sending a delegation, but Khamenei warned: “It’s self-evident that the in-person negotiations in the future will not mean acceptance of the enemy's position.”

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