First Thing: Trump officials cite ‘new intelligence’ to back president’s claims of successful Iran strikes

Tulsi Gabbard and the CIA director have said Iran’s nuclear sites were ‘destroyed’, citing new evidence that appears to contradict a leaked report. Plus, nearly a third of Tuvaluans attempt to get Australian climate visa

Good morning.

The Trump administration has ramped up its defense of the US strikes on Iran at the weekend, saying new intelligence supports its initial claim of total success – despite a leaked intelligence report that found the development of Tehran’s nuclear program had been delayed by only a few months.

Donald Trump appeared to back away from his previous admission of doubts over the scale and severity of the damage inflicted by the US strikes, having called the intelligence “inconclusive”. Within hours, he was depicting the attack very differently, saying: “This was a devastating attack and it knocked them for a loop.”

The director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said on social media that “new intelligence confirms” what Trump had stated, and claimed it would “likely take years” for Iran to rebuild its nuclear program.

The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will brief senators on the strikes shortly. Head to our liveblog for the latest.

Where has this information come from? All we know is that Ratcliffe said it came from a “historically reliable” source.

How has the White House reacted to the leak of the classified assessment? It is reportedly trying to restrict the sharing of classified documents with Congress – and the administration is claiming the media are using it to politically damage Trump.

Pam Bondi denies knowing Ice agents wore masks during raids despite video evidence

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, has denied knowing that immigration officials have been concealing their faces while rounding up undocumented people, despite widespread video evidence.

Challenged on the issue at a Capitol Hill subcommittee hearing Wednesday by Gary Peters, a Democratic senator for Michigan, Bondi at first appeared to profess ignorance of the tactic, before suggesting it may be for self-protection. “I do know they are being doxed … they’re being threatened,” she said. “Their families are being threatened.”

Peters acknowledged the point but said it could increase the risk to officers who may be attacked if people believe they are being kidnapped by an unknown assailant. The public is also at increased risk of being attacked by individuals pretending to be immigration enforcement, he said, adding that this “has already happened”.

What other issues were raised? Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator for Alaska who has been critical of Donald Trump in the past, said immigration enforcement was being prioritized over fighting violent crime.

Plan to open California’s largest immigration jail sparks outrage

Plans to open a sprawling federal immigration detention center in a California desert community has been met with anger from advocacy groups.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is contracting CoreCivic, a private company that runs several prisons in California, to convert a former 2,500-bed prison in California City into the state’s largest immigrant detention center. The site was built by the company in 1999 as a federal prison and operated as a state prison from 2013 to March 2024.

How was the news received locally? There was concern voiced by some southern California residents and advocacy groups, with people packing a city council meeting this week to share their views. While most opposed the detention center, at least one local resident backed it in the name of job creation.

In other news …

At least 16 people were killed and 400 injured in Kenya on Wednesday in a nationwide demonstration held to commemorate those killed during last year’s anti-government protests.

Hundreds of people in the UK who use weight loss injections have reported pancreatic problems, leading health officials to investigate.

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians after dozens of Israeli settlers attacked a West Bank town on Wednesday, setting fire to property.

Chile will target fast fashion waste in a plan to regulate the importation of used clothing that has created a scourge of textile dumps in the Atacama desert.

Stat of the day: Nearly a third of Tuvalu citizens enter ballot for climate-linked visa to move to Australia

Nearly one in three citizens of the Pacific nation of Tuvalu have entered a ballot for Australian visas being offered as rising sea levels threaten the island nation. The climate visa program, under which 280 visas will be offered to Tuvaluans annually, is the first of its kind globally – but has exacerbated fears that Tuvalu could be drained of young, talented people.

Don’t miss this: Are we seeing the death of international law?

Growing numbers of scholars and lawyers fear that the system of international law and the institutions that are meant to uphold it hang in the balance. “International law has always depended on the good faith of nation states,” an international lawyer and former justice minister in Pakistan said. “And that good faith has eroded.” With institutions such as the UN human rights council damaged by the US’s withdrawal from them, Linda Kinstler examines why experts are losing faith in the system, and whether it’s the fault of the states that are meant to support it.

Climate check: EU rollback on environmental policy ‘gaining momentum’

The European Union is increasingly backtracking on its environment policy, campaigners have warned, as a push for deregulation that began in 2023 picks up speed. This trend, which has included the protection status of the wolf being downgraded and a blunting of pollution targets for carmakers, appeared particularly clear this week after an anti-greenwashing law was apparently killed in the final stages of talks.

Last Thing: Could a sex sabbatical improve your life?

A quarter of American adults want to take a sex sabbatical – a kind of break from sex that supposedly enhances your appreciation of “emotional closeness”. You might want to take these findings and any related claims with a pinch of salt, though, as the poll was commissioned by a “sexual wellness” brand that mainly sells vibrators …

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