The Morning: Tomorrow’s military parade


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2025-06-13 13:01


Plus, Israel attacks Iran.
The Morning
June 13, 2025

Good morning. Israel attacked Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and wiping out Tehran’s top military chain of command. We have the latest on those strikes.

Then, we explain what to look for during Trump’s military parade tomorrow — plus, we have news about the immigration protests and the Air India crash.

A major attack

In Tehran. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Israel launched a major attack on Iran. The strikes killed Iran’s top three generals, according to Iranian state media, and targeted military bases and nuclear sites across the country. Tehran launched drones at Israel in response. Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks on Iran would last “as many days as it takes.” Here’s what we know:

Targets: Israel described the strikes as a last resort to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Its military said it struck Natanz, Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility. Israel also killed top Iranian generals and scientists, including Mohammad Bagheri, the second-highest commander after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s response: The Israeli Air Force began intercepting drones fired by Iran. Khamenei said Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment. The strong hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.”

U.S. response: The Trump administration had been in nuclear talks with Iran. “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump said on social media. He warned Tehran to make a deal “before there is nothing left.”

Scale: The Israeli military says 200 warplanes participated in the attack, dropping hundreds of bombs across the country and striking over 100 targets.

Follow our live blog for updates.

Showcase of force

Four images of military parades from around the world.
Clockwise from top left: England, Thailand, North Korea and China. Pool photo by Wpa; Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse—Getty Images; Ng Han Guan/Associated Press; Xinhua/EPA
Author Headshot

By Marco Hernandez

I report on visually driven stories.

Authoritarian regimes use them to intimidate. Democracies use them to commemorate. Military parades are both grand spectacles and potent messages. They are rare in the United States.

But tomorrow, Washington will host one of its own. The occasion, at least officially, is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. It also just so happens to be Trump’s 79th birthday.

The motives of countries that stage such parades may vary, but the events all tend to share a common visual vocabulary. Here is what to look for.

Iconic settings

Military parades often take place against the backdrop of a country’s most recognizable landmarks, such as Tiananmen Square or the Arc de Triomphe. It signals that military power is intertwined with the fabric of the nation. Tomorrow’s event begins after soldiers march from the Pentagon. They head to the National Mall, passing Trump’s viewing stand on Constitution Avenue, according to Army officials.

Strategic seating charts

A huge video screen shows President Trump talking with President Emmanuel Macron of France. The screen is above a crowd of spectators.
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron on Bastille Day in Paris in 2017. Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

Military parades offer a perfect photo op for leaders who want to show the world who their allies are. For Russia’s Victory Day parade, Vladimir Putin hosts the heads of nations who stuck with him after his invasion of Ukraine.

French presidents frequently invite leaders of nations they wish to court. At different Bastille Day parades, they’ve sat next to Narendra Modi of India, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Trump. In fact, that seems to be where Trump got the idea for his own parade.

Displays of might

These events are displays of power. For Kim Jong-un of North Korea, they’re a chance to showcase aspects of a closed-off country and to advertise its most advanced weapons. Pyongyang’s parade often features nuclear weapons. Some experts believe these are actually props, not functional equipment.

But in the world of propaganda, that doesn’t really matter. “You can have obsolete tanks, undertrained soldiers and failing logistics, but the image is what matters. In fear societies, perception is power,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute.

China makes an impression through sheer volume. In 2019, its National Day parade stretched for miles and featured more than 500 pieces of military equipment, including tanks, intercontinental missiles and hypersonic drones. It is an unmistakable message for Taiwan, upon which Beijing has designs, and the United States, experts say.

Intimidating choreography

Soldiers holding weapons hang off the side of a moving motorcycle in formation during a parade.
Indian soldiers on motorbikes in 2024. Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Formations of soldiers marching in perfect sync are a hallmark of every military parade. The message is not subtle: These are disciplined troops, well trained and ready to defend their homeland. For citizens at home, it stirs up pride; for potential adversaries abroad, it may give pause.

Some countries incorporate acrobatic performances by soldiers or showy aircraft flyovers. Tomorrow’s event will feature 50 helicopters and parachutists who deliver a flag to Trump.

Click here to see more details and photos of military parades around the world.

For more: Opponents of Trump have organized “No Kings” protests nationwide to coincide with his parade in Washington tomorrow. Trump has bristled: “I don’t feel like a king, I have to go through hell to get stuff approved,” he said.

THE LATEST NEWS

Immigration Protests

More than a dozen California National Guard troops stand with clear shields in a line outside a government building.
The California National Guard in downtown Los Angeles.  Philip Cheung for The New York Times

More on Immigration

  • The Trump administration sued New York over a state law that largely blocks ICE agents from arresting people in state or local courthouses.
  • A Harvard-based Russian scientist who spent four months in federal detention has been set free on bail. She still faces charges for failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying into the U.S.
  • Trump acknowledged that his immigration policies were hurting the farming and hotel industries. He said that there would be an “order” soon on the matter.
  • In the video below, Hamed Aleaziz, who covers immigration, embeds with ICE to see how agents are carrying out Trump’s deportation push. Click to watch.
The New York Times

More on Politics

  • Senate Republicans plan to restore some of the food stamp money slashed in the House version of Trump’s domestic policy bill. They also want to roll back cuts to Medicaid.
  • Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani, the front-runners in the New York City mayor’s race, traded barbs in the final debate before the primary. Read takeaways.
  • The House voted to claw back $9.4 billion that lawmakers had already approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The proposal’s fate in the Senate is unclear.
  • Washing machines, refrigerators and other common household appliances made with steel parts will soon be subject to expanded tariffs.

India Air Crash

A group of women in colorful saris mourn a victim of the Air India crash.
Mourners near a hospital in Ahmedabad. Atul Loke for The New York Times
  • Emergency crews recovered more than 260 bodies from the wreckage of a London-bound Air India flight that crashed just moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad, India.
  • Only one passenger, a 38-year-old man, is known to have survived. “I don’t know how I am alive,” he told his family after the crash.
  • The dead included at least four students from a medical college, which the plane struck. Students who witnessed the crash described their shock.

Other Big Stories

ONE FAMILY’S GROUP CHAT

Texts sent by Carlos Enrique Itriago Arevalo’s relatives, urging each other to stay positive and have faith.

In February, immigration agents detained Carlos Enrique Itriago Arevalo as he was on his way to an early morning softball game. Over the next three months, Arevalo was moved between detention facilities in three states and eventually deported to Venezuela. All the while, his family members kept one another updated through texts and audio messages on WhatsApp.

His relatives shared the messages with The Times; you can read their conversations here. They offer a glimpse into the challenge families face as they try to keep track of loved ones moving through the deportation process.

OPINIONS

Phone videos of police brutality helped bring awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement. Videos of ICE arrests could do the same for immigration activism, Jean Guerrero argues.

Here is a column by Tressie McMillan Cottom on Barack Obama’s undeserved popularity.

The Games Sale. Our best offer won’t last.

Let the fun begin. Subscribe to New York Times Games for up to 75% off your first year. As a subscriber you can strengthen your strategy with Wordle Bot, reach Genius on Spelling Bee, play the Crossword and more.

A.I. FOR EVERYTHING

The three founders of the A.I. start-up Mechanize sit on leather couches.
The founders of the A.I. start-up Mechanize.  Manuel Orbegozo for The New York Times

Most artificial intelligence companies say their aim is to make our lives easier — maybe by offering assistance at the tasks we’re bad at, or automating mundane parts of our day. Mechanize, a new A.I. start-up, has a different goal: It wants to take our jobs, and it isn’t shy about saying so, writes Kevin Roose, a Times tech columnist.

“We want to get to a fully automated economy, and make that happen as fast as possible,” Tamay Besiroglu, a co-founder of Mechanize, told Kevin.

That’s not something today’s A.I. systems are capable of. And “fast” is relative: One of the company’s three founders says he expects the project to take 10 to 20 years; the other two believe it may take up to 30 years.

But, eventually, the company dreams of creating an A.I. system that can do the work of doctors and lawyers, engineers and architects, teachers and journalists.

Like many other A.I. companies, though, Mechanize has “no brilliant ideas about expanding the social safety net or retraining workers for new jobs — only a goal of making the current jobs obsolete as quickly as possible,” Kevin writes.

MORNING READS

In a black-and-white photo, an older man with a piano behind him, holds forth. Children, their backs to the camera, watch him.
Auditioning.  Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

Pint-size singers: The Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus is an elite training ground for young singers. Getting in requires grit, personality and a soaring voice.

Learning to flirt: Inside the real-life autism dating boot camp that inspired “Love on the Spectrum.”

Surprise side effects: In some Ozempic households, the weight loss is contagious.

Your pick: The most clicked article in The Morning yesterday was about the first sighting of an elusive Antarctic squid.

“Lady Mindbender”: Amanda Feilding was ridiculed for drilling a hole in her skull to increase blood flow. But her foundation’s research into the therapeutic use of counterculture drugs proved visionary. She has died at 82.

SPORTS

N.H.L.: The Edmonton Oilers rallied to defeat the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

N.C.A.A.: The College World Series starts today and L.S.U. is chasing its eighth title. Read what to know.

ARTS AND IDEAS

A black-and-white photo of Sly Stone, smiling at a microphone, wearing a studded cowboy hat and matching shirt, unbuttoned, as he plays a guitar.
Sly Stone  ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content, via Getty Images

Sly Stone and Brian Wilson were California pop stars and world-building visionaries. Their deaths this week — just two days apart — highlight just how much the two had in common: their age, their joy-filled music and their haunted personal lives. Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic at The Times, writes about the musicians and what they shared.

More on culture

  • To promote its new film, “Materialists,” A24 worked with the New York Stock Exchange to display the “romantic value” of the city’s single men.
  • Trump attended the opening night of “Les Misérables” at the Kennedy Center. “It’s a musical largely about a revolution,” Jimmy Kimmel said. “After Act 1 last night, Trump called in the National Guard and squashed the whole thing.”

THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …

Yellow biscuits in a pan. One in the corner is slightly askew.
Christopher Testani for The New York Times

Bake these easy biscuits that “swim” in melted butter.

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GAMES

Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were clodding, coddling, colliding and condoling.

And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.

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