Transcript of Trump Declares Early Victory, Lebanon Asks Israel To Talk, New York Protest Attack

President Trump says the US and Israeli war with Iran is a success, but that the US will go even further.

He compares the end game to Venezuela, where the leader changed while the regime stayed. How does this war end?

I'm Leila Fadel. That's Stephen Scheepe, and this is Up First from NPR News. Lebanon's government is asking Israel to talk. The country's President says Hasbala dragged Lebanon into a war it did not choose. Will Israel come to the table.

Also, New York mayor Zultran Mamdani speaks of an alleged act of terrorism. New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counter protests. People were protesting the Muslim mayor. Then police say two teenagers, allegedly inspired by ISIS, tried to deploy improvised explosive devices. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple tabs. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the WISE app today or visit wise. Com. T's and C's apply.

President Trump took questions from reporters at a press conference on Monday for the first time since the US and Israeli war against Iran. The administration took several days to explain what its objectives were in this war, and Trump has given conflicting reasons for why he launched the strikes. On Monday, he said this.

We're achieving major strides toward completing our military objective. Some people could say they're pretty well complete. We've wiped Every single force in Iran out.

That was one of several contradictory statements by the President throughout the day, suggesting the war's end was near or not near. Npr National Political Correspondent, Mara Elias, has been listening to it all. Mara, good morning. Good morning. What do you make of the President's many words?

I think that the dominant message was declaring victory. After you declare victory, you tend to look for an off-ramp. He said, This was just an excursion. We're close to finishing very soon. He said, We've already won. But then in the next breath, he said, But we haven't won enough, and we're determined to achieve total victory. Here's a little sample of that.

We could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave I could call it, or we could go further, and we're going to go further.

But he didn't say what going further means. President Trump model, at least in past military excursions, have been one and done. Venezuela, very quick, got out. Same with the Iran bombing in June. It sounds like that's what he wants to do now.

Mara, I just want to note that the President's remarks have been moving markets. Before this press conference, in the afternoon, while the financial markets were still open, Trump told CBS the war was, quote, very complete. Stocks immediately soared. Somebody made billions of dollars. Then he comes to the press conference. He declares victory, but also hedges. I guess we could blame us, the media, in a sense, because Trump always says many, many words, and people grab a few and try to interpret them. But are you able to get a through line from all of these different statements?

Well, yes, there were some things that were different about yesterday. He wasn't talking about unconditional surrender or regime change. He was asked, What does victory mean for you? Here's what he said.

Where they're not going to be starting the following day to develop a nuclear weapon.

And that shouldn't be hard to claim. He also talked about, Instead of regime change, having an eternal candidate that he would approve to be Iran's new leader. He compared it to Venezuela. He said the Venezuela model has worked really well. In other words, leave the regime in place, but the leader changes. Now, Venezuela is a small, weak country in the United States's backyard. Iran is very different, a big country with regional ambitions. He was also pressed on why he had promised the Iranian people he would come to their aid. He was asked, Aren't you betraying them if you don't push all the way for regime change? But he didn't answer that question.

I guess this is a good point to remember that a war has two parties, has two people with a vote, as military people will say. How does this look to Iran?

Well, I think their objective is to survive and to make the cost of continuing the war as high as possible for the US and Israel. That means keeping the gas prices high, keeping the Straits of Hormous strangled, if not closed. The President did talk about that yesterday. He said he wants to keep the Straits of Hormous open, and he might have military escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf. But right now, the price of oil in the United It states the price of gas at the pump is going up. If it keeps going up, that could make continuing the war politically difficult for the President.

Mara, the President also talked about an Iranian girls' school that was hit very early in the war. What is he saying about that?

He seemed to suggest that Iran did this himself. That's something no one else in his administration, including his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegzeth, has claimed. He said it's easy to get a Tomahawk missile, although we know Iran does not have Tomahawk missiles, but he seemed to suggest that Iran got a Tomahawk and used it against its own civilians. But he also said that the US was investigating and that he would support the conclusion of that investigation.

Okay, so statements that have yet to be supported by evidence. Mara, thanks so much. You're welcome. That's NPR's Mara Eliison. Now, we do not know how this war ends, but we do have some idea of the scale of its destruction so far. Iranian health officials contend the United States's Israeli campaign has killed 1,200 people in Iran. Lebanese authorities report 500 deaths in an Israeli offensive there. We go next to Lebanon, where NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has been sometimes underneath the bombs and covering this from Beirut. Hi there, Hadil. Good morning. Okay, so we heard from President Trump, what do you hear from the other side in this war?

Well, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that President Trump is trying to put, quote, psychological pressure on Iran, and they vow to continue standing up to the US and Israeli aggression with, quote, courage and strong oil. It also said that the Iranian armed forces are waiting for the US Navy at the Strait of Hormuz. Their reaction elsewhere in the region has been pretty muted, but we know that the Gulf is calling for an end to the war and a return to negotiations. The price of oil, as you just heard from Mara, soared yesterday as Iran targeted oil installations in the Gulf.

Now, where you are in Beirut, we know there have been Israeli airstrikes, there's been an Israeli ground force that has moved into Southern Lebanon, and the President of Lebanon wants direct negotiations with Israel. What does that mean?

Yeah. So Lebanon and Israel have been at war for decades. The first ever direct talks were just three months ago, actually. And then yesterday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for more direct negotiations with Israel and for an end to the bombing. He asked once again for help from the international community to provide the Albanese armed forces with equipment and what he called logistical support to help in the Albanese government's campaign to try and disarm and distance itself from the Iranian a backed militant group Hezbollah, which operates mainly out of Southern Lebanon. Now, just last week, security authorities in Lebanon actually issued arrest warrants. It's unprecedented for those who they believed launched the rockets into Israel, which dragged Lebanon into this war. The justice minister even proposed to the Lebanese cabinet to issue an arrest warrant for the leader of Hezbollah, Na'im Qasim. Now, these are some of the strongest rebukes ever by the Lebanese state towards Hezbollah. But again, whether they're able to follow through remains to be seen. The Lebanese army says it's outgunned by Hezbollah, and there are actually questions about political will within the army to go through with the disarmament.

How has Israel responded to this Lebanese effort at peace?

An official briefed on the matter are speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic affairs, told NPR that Israel sees positive signs from the Lebanese government in its approach to Hezbollah, but that the war is continuing and will continue. Hezbollah is still showing it has capabilities as the official said, with rocket fire toward Tel Aviv yesterday. They also said that Israel has no patience to enter a war with Hezbollah every few months. But let's remember that Israel has been striking Southern Lebanon for 15 months now, even though a ceasefire was brokered last year. The Israeli military is also pushing further into Lebanon's land, and there are fears for a wider ground invasion into Lebanon.

Now, let's talk about Iran itself. Of course, the Israeli campaign continues there. The US campaign continues there. They have a new Supreme Leader. President Trump has talked about assassinating him, too. What are the Israelis saying?

The Israelis are being a little bit coy about that particular point. In a post on social media yesterday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a photo of the Ayatollah Ali Hamanei carrying a gun with his son, who is the new Supreme Leader, also carrying a gun. And the caption was like father, like son. But when asked whether Moshtaba Hamanei should be worried, the Israeli military spokesperson said that they don't comment on specific targets, and they, quote, leave some room for surprise. What we do know is that the war continues. Boms fell on Tehran just this morning.

Npsd, El Al-Shalchi. Thanks so much.

You're welcome.

Two Pennsylvania men have been charged with terrorism-related crimes following an attempted attack using explosive devices over the weekend in New York City.

Okay, there were no injuries. The device didn't go off. But federal investigators assert that the suspects, both of them teenagers, were motivated by ISIS. That group has worked to radicalize young Muslim men around the world. Npr's Brian Mann is covering this story. Brian, good morning. Good morning, Steve. What do you know about the suspects?

So Amir Balat, who's 18, and Ibrahim Qayyumi 19, or both from Pennsylvania, neither have criminal records. Investigators said they arrived in New York City Saturday, apparently drawn by an anti-Muslim protest organized by a far-right group. It had been widely publicized. Authorities said yesterday the men were caught on camera throwing improvised explosive devices at the anti-Muslim protesters. Jay Clayton is US attorney for the Southern district of New York at a press conference yesterday in Manhattan. He said the two suspects planned for this to be a deadly attack.

These were Isis-inspired actions. It is chilling that they wanted to do something more than the Boston Marathon, more than three deaths.

Rebecca Wiener heads the NYPD's Anti-Terror Organization. She said at least one of these devices was a jar, Steve, that was packed with nuts and bolts and screws, and also a chemical called TATP, widely used in IEDs around the world. Wiener said it's very lucky this device didn't detonate when thrown into the crowd.

They could have caused death, destruction, extremely dangerous compound, an extremely dangerous place deployed.

Balad and Kayumi were charged yesterday with crimes that include aiding a foreign terror organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.

Disturbing to hear the composition of that weapon, but why do authorities say the men were motivated specifically by ISIS?

Officials say Balad and Kayumi started talking after their arrest. According to court documents filed yesterday, they allegedly waived their Miranda rights and told police they watched ISIS materials on their phone. Investigators say Balat allegedly wrote on a piece of paper that he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Balat also allegedly told authorities he hoped to carry out an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Important to say, Steve, these are only allegations at this point. The two men were arrained yesterday. They have not yet entered a plea. They're being held without bail.

How is Mayor Mamdani responding to all of this?

Zoran Mamdani is New York City's first Muslim mayor. Speaking yesterday, he endemmed that anti-Muslim rally as bigotry, but said, The far-right activists who gathered had a right to free speech.

I will defend that right every day that I am mayor, even when those protesting say things that I abhor.

New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counter protests.

And Mamdani praised NYPD officers who responded quickly to this alleged attack.

Okay, so let's talk this through. Where does the investigation go next with the suspects in custody, and at least, according to the police, saying some things?

Yeah, the FBI probe is continuing in New York City, also in Pennsylvania, where these men lived. Agents searched a storage unit in Pennsylvania last night. Officials have declined to say whether they think these men had actual contact with ISIS or self look radicalized after looking at that material online. Nypd officials say they do think these alleged actions are part of a pattern where the Islamic State is attempting to mobilize young Muslim men using social media.

Brian, is there any evidence that this incident was in some way linked to the war in Iran?

Nypd Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about this a couple of times yesterday. She said there's no sign Kiyumi and Balat were motivated by US and Israeli airstrikes in Iran. But she said the war does have the city's anti-terror units on high alert. She says drone and heavy weapons teams are forward deployed throughout New York City. Officials say they also want residents to be vigilant.

And here's Brian Mann. Thanks so much. Thanks, Steve. And that's Up First for this Tuesday, March 10th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

And I'm Leila Fouden. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Hannah Block, Alfredo Carbajal, Mohamed Al-Bredisi, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziyad Batch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us again tomorrow.

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