Trump tells Iran to 'get smart soon' as Hegseth testifies to House Armed Services on $1.5T budget

For 55 days and counting, Iran has kept 92 million people effectively offline, in what has become the longest nationwide internet shutdown ever recorded, according to reports.

The blackout began on February 28, coinciding with the onset of Operation Epic Fury, and has now stretched beyond 1,296 hours of near-total digital silence.

What started as a government-imposed restriction has evolved into a sweeping disruption affecting nearly every aspect of daily life in Iran.

Tehran’s own communications minister acknowledged the severity of the situation, estimating losses at roughly $35 million per day.

Independent monitoring group NetBlocks places the total damage closer to $2 billion.

For ordinary Iranians, around 80 percent of online sales have disappeared, cutting off a vital lifeline for businesses that depend on digital platforms, the California Post reported.

Small businesses are collapsing at an alarming pace, with many unable to operate or reach customers, the outlet said.

The Israeli navy intercepted a flotilla sailing to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday near the Greek island of Crete.

The flotilla was made up of 58 vessels and with the navy also saying it found drugs and condoms on board.

“This is the ‘medical aid’ found aboard the PR stunt flotilla: condoms and drugs,” the navy said in a post shared on X.

Meanwhile, flotilla organizers shared footage of an Israeli navy officer calling on the activists to change course.

“If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, you may do so through established and recognized channels. Please change course and return to the port of origin. If you are carrying humanitarian aid, you are invited to proceed to the port of Ashdod,” the officer can be heard saying.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is set to return to the United States within days after 10 months at sea, according to reports.

Citing officials, The Washington Post reported the departure of the aircraft carrier, one of three in the Middle East region, will mark a decrease in U.S. firepower in the region.

This comes amid a fragile ceasefire with Iran, and as the U.S. maintains its blockade of Iranian ports.

The aircraft carrier is likely to arrive in Virginia around mid-May, an official told the outlet.

Iran’s Mohammad Ghalibaf slammed U.S. policymakers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on Wednesday over the impact of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

The parliamentary speaker cited “junk advice” and blamed the Treasury for pushing up oil prices.

“Three days in, no well exploded,” Ghalibaf said in a post shared on X.

“We could extend to 30 days and livestream the well here. That was the kind of junk advice the U.S. administration gets from people like Bessent who also push the blockade theory and crank oil up to $120-plus,” he added.

“Next stop: 140. The issue isn’t the theory, it’s the mindset,” Ghalibaf said.

Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., argued Wednesday that Americans need to know the U.S. has air superiority over Iran, as War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine appeared before the House Armed Services Committee.

“America has air superiority over Iran,” Hamadeh said in a post shared on X.

“The people on the ground need to know they have our full support to stand up to the regime, and they need to hear it directly from our commander in chief,” he said.

“That’s why I told @SecWar we should drop leaflets with @POTUS @realDonaldTrump Truth Social posts from the skies,” Hamadeh added.

Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused the United States of misrepresenting the country’s enriched uranium as a threat.

The remarks came as President Donald Trump issued a warning for Iran to “get smart soon” and “sign a nonnuclear deal,” amid ongoing concerns over Iran’s enrichment program.

“While all of Iran’s enriched uranium has always been under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and there is no report of even one gram of Iran’s nuclear material being diverted, the U.S. exploited the NPT Review Conference and portrayed Iran’s enriched uranium as a danger in order to divert attention from its own violations and those of its allies in the field of nuclear disarmament,” the Iran Mission to the U.N., New York, said in a post shared on X.

“The UN Security Council, the IAEA Director-General and the Board of Governors not only failed to condemn these illegal attacks, but most regrettably, took actions that reversed the roles of the victim and the aggressor," it said.

Iranian state institutions are united behind the Supreme National Security Council on decisions made over the war and any US negotiations, Iran’s Justice Minister Amin Rahimi said Wednesday, according to reports.

“In matters such as war or negotiation, it is the Supreme National Security Council that makes decisions based on the interests of the country,” Rahimi said in comments carried by Tasnim News Agency and reported by Iran International.

He also said that decisions are implemented after the approval of the Supreme Leader and said all branches of the state share the same goal of protecting the rights of the Iranian people.

Vice President JD Vance pushed back on a report from The Atlantic April 27 suggesting he is concerned about U.S. weapons shortages and a potentially depleted missile stockpile.

The outlet cited two senior administration officials who said Vance has questioned the accuracy of Pentagon information about the war with Iran.

In an interview on "The Will Cain Show", Vance downplayed the report and urged skepticism.

“Of course, I'm concerned about, you know, our readiness, because that's my job to be concerned,” he said.

“But I think that Pete Hegseth, our Department of War secretary, I think General Kane, our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they’re doing an amazing job.

“But it's, of course, my job to ask these questions. It's, of course, my job to make sure that we're on top of every issue," he added.

“And of course, it's the president's job, too, and I think that both of us are very focused on that.

“But we've got a great military, a military that can do a lot well, so don't believe everything you read, especially in papers like The Atlantic,” Vance warned.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday he discussed the need for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz with U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

“Met with U.K. Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP on the occasion of the @RoyalFamily’s visit to the United States,” Rubio said in a post shared on X.

“We discussed the need for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

Responding to questions from Rep. Jeff Crank on Wednesday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted the professionalism of the joint U.S.-Israeli operation that began Feb. 28 with Operation Epic Fury.

He also referenced the rescue in which U.S. special operations forces recovered two crew members of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle and said the U.S. was prepared to take further military action.

“We've never seen an air campaign like what we did alongside the Israeli Air Force, not to mention the rescue of those two pilots and the professionalism of that joint force that went downtown twice, once in the day and once in the night to leave no man behind,” Hegseth said at the House Armed Services Committee hearing.

“That is a call the commander in chief makes, and he had the guts to make it,” Hegseth added, saying the ceasefire is in a “strong place” alongside the blockade.

Hegseth said the blockade “will ensure that when this is done, when a deal is said, it's a deal on the president's terms to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”

“If they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it. This president has unleashed his military to do something about it.”

“We've had historic successes, and if we need to go at it again to ensure that success, we are prepared to. But we're hopeful over time that a deal will be compelled and compelled quickly,” Hegseth added.

U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason is in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday.

This came as President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran after discussing measures that could be taken to continue the blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday.

“Guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) sails regional waters within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” the command said in a post shared on X.

“Mason, alongside other destroyers, is part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, one of three carrier strike groups currently operating in the Middle East,” CENTCOM said.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked about the anticipated risks of going to war with Iran on Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.

“The president did understand the risks and had the courage to undertake the endeavor nonetheless, which the American people voted for, that kind of courage and taking on that Iranian nuclear threat,” he stated.

Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) also pushed on what it will require of U.S. service members to eradicate any Iranian nuclear threat.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine responded that there is a wide range of options under consideration, many of which are "classified."

“There's such a wide range, ma'am, of options in there, all of which are classified. It would be out of my swim lane, but we always deliver the full range of options, the associated risks, and the advice to go do the things that we would be asked to do. There's many,” Caine said.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he held a call with President Vladimir Putin which touched on Iran.

Shedding some light on the conversation, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the two leaders covered multiple topics but centered primarily on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“I talked about Ukraine, and I talked a little bit about Iran,” Trump said.

“I talked about a few different subjects, mostly about Ukraine. And we had a very good conversation. I think we’re going to come up with a solution relatively quickly, I hope.

“I think you’d like to see a solution, I can tell you. And that’s good,” he said.

Trump also addressed Putin’s interest in Iran.

Asked what involvement Putin wants to have in the Iran war, Trump confirmed it would include the nuclear enrichment topic.

“He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment,” Trump said.

“If he can help us get it. I said I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war in Ukraine. To me, that would be more important,” Trump added.

President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump discussed Iran in a phone call that lasted more than 90 minutes, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, Ushakov said Putin shared ideas on Iran’s nuclear program and voiced support for Trump’s decision to extend the Iran ceasefire.

He also described the call as friendly and businesslike.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked Wednesday by Rep. Chris Deluzio whether more could have done more to protect troops who were wounded, six of whom are dead, to which Hesgeth said “every conceivable thing” was done at his level.

“As a department, we did every conceivable thing at my level and every echelon down to ensure the maximum force protection for our troops,” Hesgeth said.

“We live in a dangerous world and a dangerous place against a determined enemy that cannot have a nuclear weapon, and that requires sacrifice and risk,” he added.

“And it tragically, in this case, meant six Americans lost their lives and others were wounded. And we all know that. And that’s part of the cost. But it does not mean we didn’t care,” Hesgeth said.

Deluzio went on to raise the issue of overhead protection in drone strikes.

“There was no overhead protection, given the known threat in that environment,” he responded.

“And I think we all here understand it is an overhead drone strike. There was no protection for overhead drone strikes. So I’m struggling to understand how your answer and your spokesman’s answer is that every possible measure was taken,” he said

War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are set to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday as the war with Iran reaches its 60-day mark and pressure builds on the administration to defend both its strategy and its costs.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET on Capitol Hill and is officially focused on the Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 budget request.

But the backdrop is the latest with Iran, which has become a central political and military test for President Donald Trump’s national security team.

Lawmakers are expected to press Hegseth on the administration’s war aims, the legal basis for the operation, military readiness, and the broader economic fallout from conflict.

The hearing will also mark Hegseth’s first appearance before Congress since the war began, giving both parties a high-profile chance to question the Pentagon’s handling of the fight and the administration’s case for a proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget.

Caine’s testimony is expected to offer lawmakers a battlefield and readiness assessment as scrutiny intensifies over how long the conflict could continue.