Trump declares US won war in Iran, 18 Americans killed
President’s victory claim contrasts with ongoing tensions and a $20 million bounty on Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump declares US won war in Iran, 18 Americans killed — US President Donald Trump stated this evening (Wednesday) that the United States has won the war in Iran, but has not yet decided when to end the campaign.[^1] Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump revealed that 18 Americans were killed in the conflict. According to him, it will take Iran 25 years to rebuild the damage inflicted.[^1] The declaration came as the US announced a bounty of up to $20 million for information on Iran’s nuclear program.[^1] Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, confirmed there are no current negotiations between Tehran and Washington.[^2] Tensions continue between the two capitals as Iran insists on its conditions to end the war, facing American rejection of its demands and ongoing economic and military pressure.[^2] Former Mossad chief Dedi Barnea, speaking at the 'Israel Hayom' conference in New York, warned that any agreement with Tehran would be 'a prize for terror' and presented two alternatives to a nuclear deal: another war, or continued economic sanctions along with a complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.[^3] US envoy Jared Kushner announced he would travel to Moscow and Dublin to continue negotiations, suggesting the administration is pursuing multiple tracks even as Trump claims victory.[^4] The juxtaposition of a declared win, a $20 million bounty, and the absence of talks underscores the unsettled nature of the conflict’s endgame. Radical Haredim block Jerusalem light rail; settlers torch vehicles near Nablus — This evening, protesters from the 'Edah HaChareidis' sat on the tracks at the intersection of Shari Israel and Jaffa streets in Jerusalem, blocking the light rail and Route 38 near Beit Shemesh. Police said they were preparing to remove the disruptors and restore order. The scene — a deliberate shutdown of a major transit artery — is a familiar tactic for this fringe Haredi group, but the timing, on a Wednesday evening, suggests a low-boil confrontation with secular state authority rather than a mass mobilization. Hours earlier, at dawn on Wednesday, settlers in two villages south of Nablus