Transcript of US Hits Iran Amid Talks, Russia-Ukraine War Intensifies, Texas Primary Runoff New

The United States launched new strikes on Iran.

This as the U.S. is also trying to negotiate an end to the war. We hear from Israel, where the prime minister insists that his military campaign in Lebanon will continue.

I'm Steve Inskeep, with Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News. Ukraine keeps hitting Russia's oil infrastructure. Russia responded over the weekend with heavy attacks on Kyiv. Ukraine says it needs more air defense systems, which are in short supply because of the war with Iran.

And voters in Texas choose their Republican candidate for Senate today. Incumbent Senator John Cornyn says if President Trump's candidate, Ken Paxton, wins, it could benefit Democrats in the midterms.

This would be the first chance they've had in 30 or 40 years to pick up a statewide office.

Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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The United States launched new attacks on Iran in the midst of a ceasefire.

The U.S. Central Command says it targeted missile launch sites and boats trying to lay mines. The U.S. describes this strike as self-defense while the U.S. tries to negotiate an end to the war with Iran. President Trump raised expectations for peace with a claim over the weekend that an agreement was largely negotiated. Trump and other officials have since said they need more negotiation.

Israeli officials have insisted they will continue attacking in one of the fronts of the war in Lebanon, where there is also supposed to be a ceasefire. NPR's Daniel Estrin is following all of this from Tel Aviv and joins me now. Good morning, Daniel.

Good morning, Leila.

So what were these U.S. attacks on Iran trying to achieve?

U.S. Central Command says it attacked targets, including Iranian boats trying to place mines, and Iran named at least 4 Navy officers killed. Iranian state TV also reported big explosions around a city on the the Strait of Hormuz. We know that Iran laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the war, blocking oil and gas ships from passing through, and that's the main issue in these talks, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That's where a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports passed through before the war. So these new US attacks may be an attempt to pressure Iran on that. Iran says it shot down a US drone overnight, so we don't know how all of this will impact the talks, But we do know that trust between the US and Iran is very low.

Yeah, where do the negotiations stand right now?

The deal is being negotiated in Qatar. Iran's semi-official state media says that this would be a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 1 month, and then within 2 months to try to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. One main sticking point here is about US sanctions. Iran wants a deal to unfreeze Iranian money that's being held abroad. And also President Trump says Iran's enriched uranium uranium should be destroyed. In Israel, Israeli officials think this is a bad deal. They say it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it would not guarantee any progress on preventing Iran from creating a nuclear weapon. I want you to hear what the Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday to reporters.

The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region.

This deal means two things. First, that this will not be the last round of war.

Second, that Netanyahu has failed to achieve every single one of the war's objectives as he himself defined them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the war would eliminate the Iranian threat against Israel, but Iran still has missiles. It still has proxy militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and many people in Israel say they think it's just a matter of time before there's another round of war with Iran.

You mentioned Lebanon. Iran wants that to be part of any deal. What is the latest there?

Yeah, there's a ceasefire there, but fire has not ceased. It actually has increased. Netanyahu said yesterday Israel would increase its attacks against Hezbollah because Hezbollah has been firing attack drones that have killed several Israeli soldiers in recent days and weeks. And so Israel last night attacked scores of targets throughout Lebanon. Lebanese state TV says one strike killed at least 12 people. Israel is expected to increase its strikes despite this declared ceasefire, and the U.S. is fully backing Israel. So the question is, will the U.S. restrain Israel so it doesn't spark a new war and jeopardize the Iran deal?

NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Daniel.

You're welcome.

Russia is warning that it will continue mass strikes on Ukraine after weekend attacks hit every district of the Ukrainian capital.

The renewed Russian targeting of Kyiv is seen as a response to Ukrainian strikes. Ukraine has been striking deep into Russia. Recent attacks hit Russian military targets and also Russian oil facilities.

Joining us now is NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kyiv. Hi, Joanna.

Hey, Leila.

So the strikes this weekend targeted all over the capital where you live. How bad is the damage?

Well, Leila, the strikes sounded really bad even while they were happening. We heard hours of very, very loud explosions like these. And, you know, by dawn, the air smelled burned and fires were all over the city. Ukraine's emergency services said at least 4 people were killed and dozens wounded. One of Kyiv's oldest markets was incinerated and a subway station where people actually seek shelter from these attacks was hit and damaged.

And did Moscow use more weapons in these strikes?

Well, this was one of the biggest attacks of the war. Ukraine's military says Russia launched 600 drones and 90 missiles. Ukraine has developed weapons to shoot down drones, but ballistic missiles, uh, remain a challenge. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs air defense systems to target these missiles, like the US-made Patriot, and this is now in short supply due to the US-Israel war on Iran. Here's Zelensky. So he's saying Ukraine is looking for options like accelerating the production of advanced air defense systems in Europe. Even so, this weekend Russia launched a very powerful hypersonic missile called the Oreshnik.

Okay, so would a more advanced air defense system be able to shoot this missile down, the one you just mentioned?

Well, in 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Oreshnik can bypass any air defense and that the missile is, quote, as fast as a meteorite. Russia has launched the Arashnik 3 times at Ukraine. This weekend it hit a city about 50 miles south of Kyiv. The missile has not caused the level of damage that many feared it would. However, the idea of the Arashnik does scare Ukraine's Western partners because Putin says it can carry a nuclear warhead.

Why, Joanna, is Russia escalating its attacks right now?

Well, Putin says Russia is retaliating for a drone strike the Russians say killed more than 20 people, many of them teenagers, at a college in Russian-occupied occupied eastern Ukraine. Ukraine denies targeting the school and says it hit a Russian elite drone unit nearby. But the Kremlin is also really agitated by Ukraine's use of long-range drones to target the lifeblood of the Russian economy, which is oil. Ukraine has struck Russian oil refineries and depots as well as ports.

Are these long-range drone strikes turning things around for Ukraine?

Well, it certainly seems that way. Zelensky said that the strikes have reduced Russia's oil refining capacity by 10%, and Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C., says these strikes have slowed Russian battlefield gains to almost zero. We recently joined a Ukrainian military team as they launched these long-range drones. And at the request of Ukraine's military, which cites security reasons, we are identifying soldiers using their military call signs. A soldier called Yuki watched the drone fly into the night sky. "Na klodat' samet' potribni san." And he said, "These are Ukraine's versions of sanctions on Russia, our way of forcing the Kremlin into a peace that is fair to Ukraine." That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis.

Thank you, Joanna.

You're welcome.

Texas Republicans are voting today in the most expensive Senate primary in history.

Wait, wait a minute. The most expensive anywhere ever?

Yep, more than $100 million.

Okay, everything is bigger in Texas. State Attorney General Ken Paxton drew President Trump's endorsement for the U.S. Senate nomination. Senator John Cornyn is in danger of losing that nomination, which would be for his fifth term. He says his defeat would help Democrats. If a Paxton were the nominee, this would be the first chance they've had in 30 or 40 years or longer to pick up a statewide office, NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales traveled to Texas, and she joins me now.

Good morning, Claudia.

Good morning, Leila.

So Texas has long been a reliable and influential state for Republicans. How did the Senate primary become such a high-stakes race?

Well, this race exposed a crack in the red wall of Texas. It pitted the party's populist movement against its establishment wing. Senator John Cornyn, a fixture of the establishment, was already facing a tough reelection fight. Now, with President Trump Trump's endorsement of controversial MAGA loyalist Ken Paxton, the Cornyn campaign is on life support. Here's Paxton at a rally in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, the day after that endorsement. We could overwhelmingly send a message: we're not doing this anymore.

We're going to change this country, and we're going to go help Donald Trump get it done.

How's this playing with Paxton supporters?

Well, they see Paxton as a fighter like Trump, so voters were really energized at this rally. That includes Ricardo Vidalre, who explained his dislike for Cornyn in Spanish. Vidaura says there that voting for Cornyn is like voting for a Democrat. Paxton supporters say Cornyn should not have worked on bipartisan gun legislation, for example.

What does this race tell us about the Republican Party writ large?

Well, I put that question to Brandon Brodinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. He says this is part of a bigger national struggle.

The Republican Party is pulling itself apart ideologically.

This has been a long time coming.

The MAGA movement grew the party more than a decade ago. Now the question is, is the party's tent shrinking over Trump administration policies and his falling poll numbers?

You also attended several Cornyn events. What did you hear from supporters there?

Well, many feel betrayed by Trump's endorsement, and they worry the MAGA wing is cannibalizing the party's establishment wing. I talked to supporter Vicki Fullerton at a Cornyn event in Houston, and she said a Paxton nomination could cost the party dearly.

We're going to have to pour so much more money in to protect the seat and to have a less viable candidate.

Now, Democrats are laying low during this race. Why is that, and what's at stake for them?

Well, I talked to Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha about this. He noted that Republicans spending more than $100 million attacking each other has put them on center stage.

One thing you don't do in politics is if your enemy is digging a hole, you don't run over and take the shovel out of their hand.

So he said Democrats avoided a runoff with their party Senate nominee, James Talarico, and that means the primaries gave them a playbook for the general election. In addition, the electorate is angry over rising prices, and Latino voters are coming back to Democrats. He and others argue a win in Texas could help Democrats win the Senate in November.

That's NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you, Claudia.

Thank you.

And that's Up First for Tuesday, May 26th. I'm Leila Faldin.

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Today's Up First was edited by Miguel Macías, Tina Krya, Anna Yukhaninov, Mohamed Elbardisi, and John Stollness. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas, who is trying to be patient with me today. And we get engineering support from Zoe Vangenhoven. Our technical director is Carly Strange, even more patient than Christopher. Our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us tomorrow.

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