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‘There will be time to decide’: Rep. Nancy Mace on whether she will run for Sen. Graham’s seat

5:04 PM EDT, Sun July 12, 2026 / CNN

By Fredricka Whitfield, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/12/politics/video/lindsey-graham-death-seat-nancy-mace-intv-nrtf

‘There will be time to decide’: Rep. Nancy Mace on whether she will run for Sen. Graham’s seat

Newsroom

After Sen. Lindsey Graham’s unexpected death, Congresswoman Nancy Mace addresses speculation about her potential bid to fill the vacant seat. She tells CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield “there will be time to decide,” and South Carolina’s focus needs to be “on Senator Graham and honoring his legacy.”

2:28 • Source: CNN

伊媒：美军袭击格什姆岛致一死两伤

2026年7月13日 07:43 / 联合早报

格什姆岛位于伊朗南部霍尔木兹海峡北侧，具有极高的战略价值。 （路透社示意图）

伊朗南部霍尔木兹甘省格什姆县县长说，自星期天（7月12日）下午以来，敌方约11枚“投射物”击中格什姆岛，造成一人死亡、两人受伤。

新华社引述伊朗迈赫尔通讯社报道，霍尔木兹甘省政府发布消息称，当地电信部门负责人马赫达维在美国当天发动的袭击中死亡，两名同行人员受伤。伤者正在接受治疗。

此前，格什姆岛（Qeshm Island）受袭，马赫达维被派往当地保障通信运行。

另据伊朗法尔斯通讯社报道，伊朗南部阿巴斯港、格什姆岛南部及附近海域12日晚上7时20分左右传出数次爆炸声。

格什姆岛位于伊朗南部霍尔木兹海峡北侧，是波斯湾第一大岛，也是伊朗最大的岛，具有极高的战略价值。

40 million under alerts as heat dome peaks across western U.S.

2026-07-12 12:29 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and climate. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

Read Full Bio

Severe weather alerts were in place for roughly 40 million people across the western United States on Sunday, as a heat dome scorching the region finally reached its peak.

Forecasters warned of the dangers associated with the unusually prolonged bout of warmth, which they’ve called “exceptionally rare” for some locations, even in mid-July. The harshest effects of the heat dome — an atmospheric phenomenon that essentially traps hot air over a particular location — were being felt in the northern Plains, Rockies and sections of the desert Southwest. But the National Weather Service said hazardous heat would spread eastward at times, while lingering in that central region through next weekend.

The heat dome built in the West after a strong heat wave, the first of the summer to be so large and intense, began to bake the area last week. Now, forecasters said people should brace for widespread temperature highs between 105 and 115 degrees, breaking numerous local temperature records and increasing wildfire risks. They also warned about the heightened chance of heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke.

“Extremely hot daytime highs combined with potentially record-warn lows will result in increasing heat stress over the next several days due to limited relief,” the weather service said in an advisory.

The weather service office in Billings, Montana, said temperatures in the region could reach all-time highs on Sunday, climbing well into the triple digits and, potentially, up to 112 degrees. Extreme heat warnings were in place across much of the state, which, the weather service said, could strain “health systems, industries, and infrastructure” and harm anyone without access to adequate cooling and hydration.

Salt Lake City could also challenge its all-time high temperature on Sunday, as forecasters predicted it could reach 107 degrees. Most of Utah was under an extreme heat warning, which was scheduled to remain in place through Tuesday morning.

Heat has also spread across the Dakotas, with forecasters also issuing extreme heat warnings for vast sections of both states. In Bismarck, North Dakota, they said conditions would be “dangerously hot,” with heat indices ticking upward to 100 or 110 degrees through Monday, and low temperatures in the 70s offering little reprieve.

Similar weather was forecast for much of South Dakota, where the weather service advised people to “stay out of the sun” and “check up on relatives and neighbors,” among other recommendations to reduce the likelihood of developing heat-related illnesses.

Andrew Kozak contributed to this report.

Archaeologists uncover 3,000-year-old tomb near Egypt’s Luxor

July 12, 2026 / 2:46 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Archaeologists uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, authorities said on Sunday, the latest in a series of discoveries that officials hope will boost tourism.

The tomb, identified as belonging to a man named Paser, was found by a Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University in the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor’s West Bank, according to Egypt’s tourism and antiquities ministry. The team of archeologists will work to identify people buried there and learn more about them.

Specialists believe the tomb dates to the Ramesside period, which spans Egypt’s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style of its inscriptions.

Located east of a previously known burial site, the tomb follows the traditional layout of private Theban tombs from the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BC), they added.

It consists of an open courtyard leading to a rock-cut chapel shaped like an inverted “T”, with burial chambers carved beneath ground level.

Archaeologists found several well-preserved architectural elements in the courtyard, including a mudbrick bench designed to hold a funerary stela and a staircase flanked by sloping ramps leading to the entrance.

Inside, inscriptions bearing Paser’s name depict him worshipping various deities inside shrines, as well as seated with his wife before an offering table.

The excavation team said further documentation and study will continue in order to determine who was buried in the tomb and to better understand its historical and archaeological context.

The discovery comes as Egypt seeks to promote new archaeological finds to support tourism, a key source of foreign currency for the country.

Luxor is home to some of the world’s most significant ancient monuments and archaeological sites. The recent discovery is part of a research project that’s been ongoing since 2018, according to the tourism and antiquities ministry.

Last year, also near Luxor, a large tomb belonging to a pharaoh was reopened to visitors after more than 20 years of renovation. That tomb features paintings of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., along with a group of ancient Egyptian gods.

Also this year in Egypt, in the northern Beheira province, near the Mediterranean coast, archaeologists said they’d found artifacts in part of a Greco-Roman cemetery that dates back more than 2,300 years. The artifacts show the evolution of funerary practices over some six centuries.

Ukraine’s prime minister resigns, as Zelenskyy says country “is changing its political strategy”

July 12, 2026 / 1:46 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Yulia Svyrydenko resigned from her position as Ukraine’s prime minister on Sunday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that she would take on a new position within the country’s government. Svyrydenko is among several Ukrainian leaders whose roles will shift, according to Zelenskyy, who said the nation is “changing its political strategy.”

Zelenskyy, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to his administration.

Svyrydenko, who has served as Ukraine’s economy minister, was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States, seen as an important way of tying U.S. interests to Ukraine’s security.

In a statement on social media, Svyrydenko said she was “proud to have had the honor of leading the government during one of the most difficult periods in Ukraine’s modern history.” She also said she had discussed “next steps” with Zelenskyy, but did not provide further details.

“I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer,” she said.

In his post announcing her resignation, Zelenskyy said he had offered Svyrydenko the opportunity to lead “a new, important area” in Ukraine’s relations with a key international partner.

“Each priority area of foreign policy will be assigned to a specific person with substantial experience who is capable of implementing what we agree on at the leaders’ level and what the Ukrainian people expect,” Zelenskyy said, describing the impending reshuffle.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko arrives for a meeting with Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda at the Presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, June 1, 2026. AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File

The Ukrainian leader also said there would be changes among the top ranks of Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies.

Zelenskyy met with a series of senior officials following the announcement, including Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

The overhaul, which Zelenskyy has yet to explain in detail, would be the fourth major reorganization of his government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack in southwest Russia killed one person and wounded three more, local officials said Sunday, as Kyiv’s forces continued to bombard Russia’s oil facilities.

The head of Russia’s Samara region, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said that a child was among the injured. He also said that residential homes and apartment buildings were damaged in the strike, as well as an unspecified “industrial site.”

Russian media outlets reported that the attack’s target was the region’s Syzran Oil Refinery, with many sharing images that appeared to show plumes of black smoke rising over the site. The refinery, which is owned by oil and gas giant Rosneft and sits some 500 miles east of the border, has been a repeated target for Kyiv’s forces.

Meanwhile the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said that a tanker had been damaged in a drone attack in the Azov-Black Sea maritime canal. The tanker was empty and there is no threat of an oil spill, Slyusar said.

Ukraine’s drone strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions and motorists waiting for hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying its bombardment on Kyiv and other cities, exposing Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.

Zelenskyy has described the strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure as part of Kyiv’s campaign of “long-range sanctions” carried out in response to Moscow’s refusal to halt its four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had attacked the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s Odesa region. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the claims.

Keystone Pipeline operator agrees to pay $26.9 million over 2022 oil spill

2026-07-12 15:11 EDT / CBS/AP

The federal government has announced a settlement proposal that would require the owner and operator of the Keystone Pipeline to pay $26.9 million in civil penalties, linked to a major oil spill that dumped nearly half a million gallons of crude oil into a Kansas creek in December 2022.

The agreement would also require the company to spend an estimated $40 million to prevent future accidents, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Alongside the Department of Justice and the state of Kansas, the EPA accused pipeline’s operator, Canada-based South Bow, of violating U.S. and state clean water laws. The proposed settlement would resolve those allegations.

The 2022 rupture dumped nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.

The accident was the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years and surpassed all 22 previous ones on the same pipeline system combined, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The total amount of oil spilled would have nearly filled an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

South Bow also would pay Kansas more than $3 million for environmental restoration projects under a proposed decree filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas. A judge would have to approve the proposal after a 30-day public comment period.

“The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation,” Jeffrey Hall, the EPA’s assistant administrator for its enforcement office, said in a statement. “The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm.”

South Bow officials did not respond immediately Sunday to a phone message and email seeking comment, but the company told The Canadian Press that it “proactively” began cleaning up the area before receiving directives from U.S. officials. The cleanup was completed early in 2024.

The company that built the pipeline, TC Energy, spun off South Bow as a separate firm in 2024, after the Kansas cleanup was done.

No pipeline workers or area residents were injured, and officials said public water supplies weren’t affected by the spill. However, a complaint filed Friday by the U.S. government along with the proposed settlement said more than 2,700 animals were harmed or killed. The area is home to an endangered species, the long-eared bat.

In a May 2023 report for the U.S. government, an engineering consulting firm said that a bend in the Keystone system where the spill occurred had been “overstressed” since its installation in December 2010 — likely because construction activity itself altered the land around the pipe. The complaint filed Friday in court said soil under the pipe had been “improperly compacted” and that while the company re-excavated the site in 2013, it did not replace that section of pipe.

The 2,689-mile Keystone system carries thick, Canadian tar sands oil to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.

In April, President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead for South Bow and another company to build a second pipeline from Canada to Wyoming, a smaller version of a massive $8 billion pipeline project known as Keystone XL blocked by former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021 over environmental concerns.

Margaret Brennan: I spoke with Lindsey Graham a day before he died. He was in Kyiv, working on one of his top priorities.

July 12, 2026 / 12:14 PM EDT / CBS News

Fierce Ukraine supporter Lindsey Graham passed away Saturday on the heels of his tenth trip to the warzone, and at a key moment for one of the South Carolina Republican senator’s proudest accomplishments.

I spoke twice by phone on Friday with Graham while he was in Kyiv. He told me it was a big day, and he was excited to share the news that the Trump White House had finally given him the green light for Congress to move his long-sought bill to put significant financial penalties on Russia by punishing buyers of Russian oil.

I asked what had changed to make this possible, and he said Vladimir Putin’s constant attacks made it very clear that the Russian president was “saying one thing and doing another.” He had just met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and said that he thinks President Trump sees the Ukrainian leader as “more of a winner now.”

Graham told me that he didn’t want to get ahead of Mr. Trump but he believed that this package of punishing financial measures would create leverage on China and India, the two biggest purchasers of Russian fuel. He believed this would get overwhelming support among his Republican colleagues, and bragged that past versions had gotten 85 signatories.

In an increasingly rare act of bipartisanship in these hyperpartisan times, Graham wanted me to know that Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, his Democratic colleague, deserves a lot of credit. Twice, he urged me to call Blumenthal and make sure we got him on record too. The gesture had shades of the type of across-the-aisle work Graham and Republican Sen. John McCain used to broker with another Connecticut lawmaker, Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Sen. Lindsey Graham on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

It was almost exactly one year ago to the day that Graham and Blumenthal had joined us on “Face to Nation” to talk about their bipartisan effort to pressure Russia through sanctions and tariffs on buyers of their oil. Graham told us in that July 13, 2025, interview that he wanted to hand Mr. Trump “a sledgehammer to go after Putin’s economy, and all those countries who prop up the Putin war machine.”

The two senators had just traveled through Europe together, urging European countries to cut off their own purchases of Russian fuel and building support among European countries to try to mirror the sanctions.

Blumenthal told me Friday that he and Graham would get the votes to make sure this passed. Following Graham’s passing, it falls to Republican leaders in the Senate and House to make the decision on whether to take it up.

When Graham and I spoke Friday, he said he wanted to come back on “Face the Nation” with Blumenthal once again. He’d just appeared with us three weeks ago to push another big goal: Turning the morass of the Iran war into an opportunity for normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He had worked with then-President Joe Biden to try to get that done, but the work was stymied by the horrific attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

That unfinished business also now lays waiting.

Transcript: Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” July 12, 2026

2026-07-12T12:36:45-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of an interview with retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command and president of The Citadel, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 12, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to the former commander of the U.S. Central Command, retired General Frank McKenzie. General, welcome back. You know, I was just looking back at my last conversation on Face the Nation with Lindsey Graham, and the senator said, “If this deal fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force. The U.S. will control the Strait of Hormuz.” That was three weeks ago. How does the United States end up controlling the Strait of Hormuz?

GENERAL FRANK MCKENZIE: Well, Margaret, we certainly have the capability to control the Strait of Hormuz if the president chooses to follow that course of action. Look, what he’s been trying to do is get to a diplomatic and a political solution here, which I applaud, and I think we should all want to see as the final end state. Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is the Iranians generally only respond to military force and to extreme pressure. Look, we’re not talking about regime change here. What we’re talking about is modifying the- the views and actions of an extreme hardli- hardline regime, that is possible. We have the capability to do that. That capability is resident in the U.S. military should the president elect to employ it. That would include opening the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining the Strait of Hormuz open, and in fact, seizing Kharg Island, should we elect to do that. And I would just say, as an aside, that’s something we should think about doing because possession of Iranian soil would be a significant factor in future negotiations with Iran. So all those options are on the table. I’m not sure where we’re going to go with this, but I do know we have these capabilities.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We have those capabilities, but the president has made clear he- he kind of just wants a- he wants a deal here. How do you explain to the layperson when the president says we control the Strait of Hormuz, but then CENTCOM says military forces are positioned to ensure freedom of navigation, which makes it sound it isn’t exactly free-flowing traffic here?

GEN. MCKENZIE: No, it’s not right now because we have not deployed all the capabilities that we have to open the Strait. We certainly can do that. It would require putting warships up into narrow waters. Look, the U.S. Navy doesn’t love to do that, but they’re very good at it, and if necessary, they can do it, and they can do it well. You got to go back to the basic principle of Iranian statecraft, which is regime preservation. If you want to gain concessions from Iran, you have to directly pressure the regime, and you have to do so in a way that perhaps is existential to them. We have those capabilities should the president choose to go that way.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do those capabilities in- need to involve ground troops? And have you been at all surprised by the amount of pain that it appears the Iranian leadership is willing to take on here, while turning down all the financial incentives the Trump administration is offering them?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Margaret, given the history of Iran- Iran and their negotiation posture- negotiating posture over many years, I’m not surprised at all by- by the current Iranian posture. A former CENTCOM commander once said, “You know, Iran has never met a war they could win or a negotiation they could lose.” And that’s very true. What Iran wants to do is extend negotiations in time, arguing about the size of the table, who’s in the room, the font on the document, everything about- except the core issues. We need to recognize that, and we need to be prepared to pressure Iran to negotiate on the real germane issues. And by that, I mean opening the Strait of Hormuz, some movement on ballistic missiles, some movement on support for proxies. All those things are capable- we are capable of getting some form of movement on all those things. We just have to be willing to put pressure on Iran in order to achieve those goals.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I mean, Jordan said overnight three missiles fell into their territory, and there were no casualties, according to CENTCOM. But they’re- they’re firing off at Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman. They continue to be able to target American partners and places where American troops are. Does that surprise you?

GEN. MCKENZIE: It does not surprise me at all. What surprises me actually is- not surprises me, but what gratifies me is that Iranian attacks have been- not been larger or more capable. Many years ago, when we war-gamed scenarios like this, we assumed the Iranian response would be more robust. The fact that it is not more robust is a testimony to Admiral Cooper and Central Command’s ability to- to go after these targets and make it hard for Iran to fashion, you know, cohesive large strikes against our forces. Now look, these strikes are going to continue. This is not a- this is not a bloodless endeavor we’re embarked upon–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

GEN. MCKENZIE: –and bases are going to be hit, and buildings are going to be destroyed, and tragically, people are going to die. And if we’re going to stay in this game and continue to confront Iran, which I believe is in our interest to do, we’ve got to be prepared for this.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Quickly, your thoughts on Senator Graham?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Senator Graham was a great representative of the state of South Carolina. In our nation, a great voice in the national security space, and a particular friend to the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Over many years, he’s done a lot of great things for our school. In fact, he embodies the concept of the citizen soldier. The person who isn’t a professional military officer pursues a broad, deep, public professional career, and yet dons the uniform and serves his nation. That’s what we seek to produce at the Citadel. No better person to emulate than Lindsey Graham–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.

GEN. MCKENZIE: –and we will miss him dearly.

MARGARET BRENNAN: General, thank you for your time. We’ll be right back.

Rep. Mike Turner says he hopes Senate will pass Russia sanctions as “one of the legacies” of Lindsey Graham

2026-07-12T12:55:00-0400 / CBS News

Washington — GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio said Sunday that he’s hopeful the Senate will soon pass a Russia sanctions bill as “one of the legacies” of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch backer of stricter Russia sanctions who died suddenly Saturday.

“This bill would be an important symbolism to say, ‘We’re going to be with Ukraine.’ And I certainly hope the Senate moves it this week,” Turner said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

On Friday, Graham announced alongside Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, that they had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with an updated Russia sanctions package.

Designed to heap economic pressure on Moscow in an effort to bring the four-year war on Ukraine to a close, the package would impose sanctions and tariffs on countries doing business with Russia, including those that buy Russian oil.

Graham, who died after a “brief and sudden illness” Saturday, had been pushing for the sanctions for more than a year, after first introducing the bill last April. Last July, Graham said on “Face the Nation” that a “turning point” was coming in Russia’s war with Ukraine, saying tighter sanctions would give Trump a “sledgehammer” against Russia’s economy. But Senate Republicans waited for months for the go-ahead from the administration, despite support from the bulk of the chamber.

The South Carolina Republican met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just days ago in Kyiv. Zelenskyy remembered Graham Sunday as a “staunch advocate for bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine.”

Turner, who was at last week’s annual NATO Summit alongside Graham and other lawmakers, said as they met with Zelenskyy, “Lindsey Graham was making the point of the need for this sanctions bill.”

Turner said “what’s so sad about losing Lindsey” is, in debates about whether to pursue a restrained “America First” foreign policy, “you can be America First and still understand that it doesn’t have to be America alone.”

“Allies want America’s voice. America’s voice is important. America needs to stand for freedom and democracy and liberty,” Turner said. “And that’s what they saw in the voice of Lindsey Graham.”

The Ohio Republican said “what they saw in Lindsey was someone who was willing to stand up and say, ‘You’re not alone. America is with you.’”

“He was that voice with Ukraine,” Turner added.

Turner said while he doesn’t know whether GOP leaders have considered moving the sanctions bill, the House has passed a version of the legislation.

“So I know there’s broad support,” he said. “There were more than a veto-proof number of senators who co-sponsored it. With the White House’s support, this bill could be on the president’s desk this week.”

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said in a post on X Sunday that he would introduce a House version of Graham’s Russia sanctions legislation this week, urging that “Congress should pass it in his honor.”

Shaheen said in a statement to mark Graham’s passing that “there can be no more fitting memorial to Lindsey, his legacy, or the causes he fought for” than to pass the Russian sanctions legislation that the senators had announced White House support for days earlier. She cited Graham’s “long-held dream of an independent and secure Ukraine.”

Blumenthal likewise urged Senate leaders to move ahead on the sanctions bill in a statement honoring Graham. The Connecticut Democrats said he will “forever remember our last lengthy conversation this weekend, when he exulted at reaching an agreement on our Russian sanctions bill and said, ‘this is a big effing deal – we all did good.’”

“When we last spoke, he was as enthusiastic and exuberant as I’ve ever seen him,” Blumenthal said. “Passing the sanctions bill right away would be a fitting tribute.”

Transcript: Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” July 12, 2026

2026-07-12T12:56:00-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of an interview with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 12, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Dr. Michael Leiter. Good to have you back here.

ISRAELI AMBASSADOR MICHAEL LEITER: Good morning. Your Prime Minister this morning has been honoring Senator Lindsey Graham. I know he was a fierce advocate for Israel, and he also was really pushing for normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Just three weeks ago, on this program, he made that pitch. I wonder if you think there is a way to carry on his legacy through continuing that kind of diplomatic work.

AMB. LEITER: Absolutely, Lindsey was a dear friend. My first day in Washington, January 27 2025, the first phone call I got once I landed on my seat in the embassy was from Lindsey Graham. He said, “can we have dinner tonight?” And we’ve been talking about normalization in the Middle East for the past year and a half. And he was not only a fierce advocate of defeating this Iranian regime, he was also a fierce advocate of what would happen afterwards. And he saw, he had a vision for peace in the Middle East. And absolutely, we have to work toward that end, but it really is going to happen if his first part of that vision is fulfilled, and that’s that Iran is no longer a regional hegemon menacing its neighbors.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, three weeks ago, Lindsey Graham said on this program, 2026. That was his vow that normalization would happen. So we’ll have to follow that.

AMB. LEITER: We still have some time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We still have some time. Let me ask you about the other significant development overnight with Iran. The attempt to revive this truce between the United States and Iran clearly has just collapsed. This was just an attempt to have a pause to reopen the- the Strait of Hormuz. Frankly, it was pretty limited in scope. But then the IRGC fired on a commercial vessel. The United States has resumed bombing. For the moment, Iran has not fired on Israel. Israel has not fired on Iran. Does Israel intend to stay on the sidelines? How do we see this conflict at this point?

AMB. LEITER: President Trump has been consistent, I think, throughout this confrontation. If talks will work, if diplomacy can work, then he’s in favor of the diplomatic route. But when it doesn’t work, you have to go back to military and kinetic activity. When the United States signed the MOU with Iran just a few weeks ago, there was one item, just one thing, that the Iranians had to fulfill, and that was keeping the straits open. And that they’ve completely ignored. So they forced the U.S. to go back into kinetic activity. We’re a partner, we’re an ally. If the United States calls on us to rejoin kinetic activity against Iran, we’re going to be there for the United States.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But at the moment, the U.S. is asking you to wait.

AMB. LEITER: I- I didn’t say that. I said the United States has not asked us to join the effort. But if that request will come in, we’re going to be there.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that MOU, when it was signed by the president in Versailles and then by the vice president, your government was opposed to this. You made no mistake that Prime Minister Netanyahu saw big flaws in this deal. When you saw what happened, was there a moment of “I told you so” here?

AMB. LEITER: No, that’s not the nature of our relationship. We express our opinion. We saw flaws, but we also expressed hope that it would work. If, at the end of the day, 60 days after the MOU, we’ve got a denuclearized Iran, we’ve got Iran not producing ballistic missiles–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –That is the most aggressive timeline in history–

AMB. LEITER: –And not supporting their proxies. Well, if it would be 90 days or 120 days, if we have Iran that’s denuclearized, not building ballistic missiles, not supporting proxies around the region, just not being a menacing, mayhem-spreading regime, then we will have accomplished it without kinetic activity. We have doubts about the possibility of that actually working, but all we do is express our opinion.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, very clear about the very first few lines of the MOU that mentioned Lebanon, and that’s where I want to go next, because the U.S. has been trying to broker these talks between the Israeli government and the Lebanese government to essentially work together against Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Under the framework that was reached last month, Israel pledged to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon. Do you still intend to do that? What does that timeline look like?

AMB. LEITER: Well, I’m actually leading the negotiations on Israel’s behalf with Lebanon, so I know a thing or two about the trilateral agreement. And what the agreement with Lebanon does is completely remove Iran from the paradigm. Iran is not to be involved in Lebanon. They have no business in Lebanon. Hezbollah has no business in Lebanon. As a matter of fact, Israel and Lebanon are on the same page. We want Hezbollah out for our security and for their sovereignty. We can withdraw the moment that Hezbollah is dismantled. If Hezbollah is not dismantled, then we have to stay in our security zone because we’re not going to go back to a situation where our citizens are going to be threatened by an Iranian proxy firing missiles and building tunnels so they can attack, like Hamas did October 7.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that’s different from what the U.S. State Department has lined up here, which is specifically two pilot zones that Israel is supposed to withdraw from, and CENTCOM would oversee. Is that–

AMB. LEITER: –They’re pilot zones.

MARGARET BRENNAN: When does that happen? [inaud] withdrawal.

AMB. LEITER: Well, we’re preparing it right now, but the whole idea of the pilot has said the pilot zone–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because Lebanon has said that’s delayed.

AMB. LEITER: No, it’s not delayed. We’re working together with CENTCOM and the Lebanese Armed Forces to create the conditions so that we can actually move into a situation where the pilot zones are receptive to Lebanese Armed Forces. If they’re not going to be receptive, if Hezbollah is going to stay there, we haven’t accomplished anything, and that’s why they’re called pilot zones. If it works, then we continue the withdrawal. If it doesn’t work, then we stay where we are.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you still going to Rome to conduct these talks, and will those pilot zone withdrawals happen anytime soon?

AMB. LEITER: I certainly hope they’re planned for the next few weeks. We’re working on that together with CENTCOM. Am I still going to Rome? That’s going to be a question regarding the the Senator Graham funeral. But certainly the talks will continue in Rome.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, before I let you go, there were two high-profile incidents I want to quickly touch on here. One, a CNN crew attacked in the West Bank by what they say were four settlers. There was also an incident with Ro Khanna, the congressman from California, who said he was his vehicles he was in were stopped by Israeli settlers, and then when the IDF showed up, they were on the side of the settlers, not him. He said “it’s not a good idea to detain longshot presidential candidates”. It was a warning to your government. Do you think your government needs to apologize to both him and those CNN journalists?

AMB. LEITER: Any violence is to be condemned. No excuses, no explanations. Okay. So if CNN crew was attacked, that needs to be condemned, and I’m doing so right now. And we need to do a better job.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You are condemning it [inaud]–

AMB. LEITER: –If if if it was actually took place as they’ve reported it, absolutely condemning it. We need to rein in violence on all sides. Now, in terms of Ro Khanna, we reached out to him when we heard he was going to Israel, the Israeli embassy here in Washington. As all congressmen do, they coordinate their trip with the Israeli government. We suggested he visit with- with survivors of the October 7 massacre. That he visit the borders, so he understands the, the issues that we have in our borders and so on. He ignored that and he decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street, which is a anti-government, anti-Israeli government advocacy group here in Washington. So you know he coordinated–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –It’s a Jewish lobby group–

AMB. LEITER: –Well, it’s–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –That is supportive of a different path for Israel.

AMB. LEITER: Yeah, yeah. I- I play tennis once a year. That doesn’t make me a tennis player. The fact that they call themselves a Jewish organization is- is irrelevant. They’re- they’re- an advocacy group against the government of Israel. That has to be clear.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The current government, Netanyahu government.

AMB. LEITER: Yes. Yes–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –That’s what you mean, the government you work for.

AMB. LEITER: And Congressman Khanna, there hasn’t been no secret about his antipathy towards the government of Israel as well. So perhaps if he would have coordinated the trip and then you know to have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it on Saturday, maybe this had more something to do with his support of- of Graham Platner beforehand and the difficulties he had with that, and trying to shift the focus to something else. Perhaps I’m asking a question.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we did hear from Congressman Khanna, who said that there was an alert to the embassy on his behalf, and that they asked for the news–

AMB. LEITER: –There was not, there was not–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –to be held until he had left the country.–

AMB. LEITER: There was a question. There was not an alert. There was a question about visas. That’s all. But when we requested that he coordinate the trip with us, he rejected that by basically staying silent. So that’s unfortunate. This whole incident is unfortunate. And if- if somebody, it’s kind of interesting that somebody wants to declare a presidential run by running off to Israel? Not strange?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’re going to have to leave it there, sir. There’s so much more to talk about with you, but I’m out of time. Thank you for coming.

AMB. LEITER: Thank you Margaret for [inaud].

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’ll be right back with a lot more. Face the Nation. Stay with us.