A Washington Post report by John Hudson and Warren P. Strobel reveals that intercepted Iranian communications indicate senior Iranian officials believed recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities caused less damage than expected. They were reportedly puzzled by the restrained nature of the attacks.

Separately, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo highlighted a startling comment made by Trmp during a press conference in the Netherlands. Trmp claimed he gave Iran permission to retaliate by bombing a U.S. air base in Qatar, specifying a time for the attack and ensuring the base was evacuated except for gunners. Marshall expressed shock that this statement has received little media attention, arguing that if true, it could represent a serious dereliction of duty by a commander-in-chief. He also questioned how Republicans would have reacted if a Democratic president had made such a decision.