Trump issues new threat against Iran as reports say new Supreme Leader is 'misfunctioning'

The U.S. and its regional allies have deployed 64 Apache helicopters in a mission to take down Iran's fleet of one-way attack drones, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

“US has deployed A-10 Warthogs, Apache helicopters as 'stand-in' weapons take point against Iran The U”

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Join Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine made the announcement during a press conference alongside War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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The pair said U.S. forces have begun using "stand-in" style weapons as opposed to the long-range "standoff" weapons seen earlier in the operation.

Hegseth said this is a sign of the progress the U.S. is making in the conflict, though he declined to place a timeline on the operation.

"We are over the top," he told reporters.

Senate Republicans blocked yet another bid by Senate Democrats to handcuff President Donald Trump's war authority in Iran in what could be an avalanche of similar moves to break through the GOP’s floor takeover.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., triggered one of several war powers resolutions Senate Democrats have tucked away in their bid to compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to testify publicly about Trump's war in Iran.

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Booker told Fox News Digital before the vote he was not thinking "about this in politics" or breaking through the GOP’s floor tactics, but instead to refocus on issues that Trump promised to deal with on the campaign trail.

"We need to focus on what the issues of the people are and put before them a president who promised to bring your prices down and keep us out of wars, who is now bringing us into more wars and driving up our prices as a result," Booker said.

"The question is, what should Congress do as a result?"

But, as with Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s attempt earlier this month, Republicans rallied behind the president to block the bill.

Still, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and nearly every Senate Democrat tried to curtail Trump’s use of the military in the Middle East.

Only Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke from Democrats to kill the resolution.

Stephen Miller vows no refugee spillover into US from Iran conflict.

“US has deployed A-10 Warthogs, Apache helicopters as 'stand-in' weapons take point against Iran The U”

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The Trump administration will not allow a refugee spillover into the United States as the Iran conflict escalates, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller vowed Wednesday.

"There’s not going to be a refugee problem for the United States – that is a promise and a guarantee…" Miller told "The Ingraham Angle," contrasting the situation with the Biden administration’s handling of Afghan refugees.

The Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome relied on "unvetted referrals" to allow nearly 190,000 Afghan nationals into the country from 2021 to 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The agency said those admitted into the U.S. included terrorists, sexual predators, pedophiles, domestic abusers and kidnappers.

"They didn't just magically end up in the United States," Miller continued. "We flew them here. Refugees come to the United States because they are flown to the U.S."

"You also have illegal immigrants too, and those come to [the] United States across the southern border, which has been shut down. So no one is getting across the border illegally, and no refugees are going to be flown to United States, so, therefore, no one can get in."

Miller also addressed reports that Russia has been feeding intelligence to Iran that could help the Islamic regime identify U.S. military assets in the Middle East, telling "The Ingraham Angle" that the Trump administration anticipated the involvement.

"We anticipated that, of course, Iran would try to reach out to anybody they thought that could help them," he said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Taylor Penley.

Top US intel officials testify before Congress on worldwide threats Top U.S. intelligence officials began testimony at a Congressional hearing on worldwide threats facing America on Thursday. Lawmakers will hear testimony from FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tusli Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The officials are expected to clarify threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, with a special focus on potential conflict over Taiwan, as well as the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran. Gabbard told lawmakers that Iran's regime remains "intact, but significantly degraded." Pentagon is asking Congress to boost Iran war funding by $200 billion, Hegseth says The Pentagon is asking Congress to boost the funding for the war in Iran, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday. Hegseth revealed the request while taking questions from reporters at the Pentagon, saying the department is requesting roughly $200 billion in additional funding. He said that number could be flexible, however. "As far as $200 billion I think that number could move. Obviously, it takes, it takes money to kill bad guys. So we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition and everything's refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond," Hegseth said. A senior House Republican source told Fox News Digital that the request is "north of $200 billion," adding that the price tag "will be whatever it will be." Today will see 'largest strike package yet' in Iran, 7,000 targets hit already, Hegseth says War Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has carried out strikes on 7,000 targets in Iran since Operation Epic Fury began. Hegseth said Thursday will see the largest strike package of the war so far as the U.S. continues to ramp up its attacks and Iran's capabilities "degrade." He said the U.S. has also sunk over 120 Iranian naval vessels, saying that their surface fleet is "no longer a factor," and their 11 submarines have been eliminated as well. War Secretary Hegseth to make announcement on Operation Epic Fury War Secretary Pete Hegseth will soon deliver an update on the war with Iran on Thursday. The Pentagon announced early Thursday morning that Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, will make an announcement from the Pentagon regarding Operation Epic Fury. IDF says it killed more than 20 terrorists in Lebanon in past 24 hours The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday it killed more than 20 terrorists in Lebanon in the past 24 hours. Additionally, dozens of Hezbollah military structures were struck, the IDF said. In one incident Wednesday, the IDF said it eliminated five terrorists after Hezbollah attempted to fire an anti-tank missile toward Israeli troops. In a separate incident, the Israeli Air Force killed two terrorists in a missile strike. The IDF said it also confiscated numerous weapons, including RPGs, anti-tank rockets, ammunition, a hunting rifle and other military equipment. “The IDF will continue to operate with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which chose to join the war and operate under the sponsorship of the Iranian terror regime,” the military said in a statement. Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report. US strikes Iranian naval targets, video shows CENTCOM released footage of strikes against Iranian naval targets on Thursday, saying the vessels threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. "U.S. forces are destroying Iranian naval targets that threaten international shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM wrote on X. Shipments through the critical strait have slowed to a crawl amid the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. Trump warns US would ‘blow up’ Iran gas field if Qatar facility hit again President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. “knew nothing” about Israel’s strike on a major Iranian gas field, but warned the U.S. would “blow up the entirety” of the site if Iran struck Qatar’s LNG gas facility again. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Israel had “violently lashed out” against the South Pars gas field in Iran. “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen,” Trump said. “Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.” Trump said that Israel would not launch any more attacks at the gas field unless Iran struck Qatar again. “In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” Trump said. “I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so,” he added. Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report. Live Coverage begins here