Stephen Kruiser
The Morning Briefing
June 12, 2026
U.S. forces launched strikes against Iranian military targets Tuesday after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for downing a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions despite ongoing negotiations aimed at securing a broader agreement between Washington and Tehran.In Other News
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces began carrying out “self-defense strikes” at President Trump’s direction at approximately 5 p.m. Eastern time in response to Monday’s downing of the helicopter, describing the operation as “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”
U.S. officials said the strikes targeted Iranian radar, air-defense, and command-and-control infrastructure around the Strait of Hormuz as the administration sought to respond to the incident while signaling that it does not intend to abandon ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran.
CBS News fired Scott Pelley on Tuesday, jettisoning one of the network’s best-known journalists in a clash over the future of “60 Minutes,” the country’s top-rated news program.In Other News
Mr. Pelley, 68, a “60 Minutes” correspondent and a former anchor of “CBS Evening News,” joined the network in 1989. At a staff meeting on Monday, he accused the network’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, of “murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” citing the ouster last week of the program’s leadership team and two on-air correspondents.
“We have parted ways with Scott Pelley,” Nick Bilton, the tech journalist who was hired last week as the new “60 Minutes” executive producer, wrote in a memo to the show’s staff on Tuesday night.