Israel Tests Upgraded Laser-Guided Iron Dome System After Harsh 'Lessons' Of Iran War
Israel's famed Iron Dome air defense system has undergone a significant upgrade, and the country's defense ministry is hailing new successful advanced tests, touting that it is now immensely better at countering aerial threats such as cruise missiles and drones.
Israeli officials are tacitly admitting that a major overhaul was needed based on lessons learned both in the June 2025 aerial war with Iran and the Iranian retaliatory attacks in the opening month of Operation Epic Fury.
By pretty much all accounts both within and outside Israel, Iran's missiles - some of them reportedly hypersonic - inflicted severe damage on Israeli cities, bases, and infrastructure. A key Tel Aviv military-intelligence headquarters in the heart of Tel Aviv was also struck, possibly on several occasions.
Israel's censorship regimen worked in overdrive both during the June war and Operation Epic Fury, with critics charging that the true extent of Iranian projectiles evading Israel's anti-missile defenses will never ultimately be known.
But open-source videos and live-action info alone confirmed the failures on many levels of the country's multi-layered defense, including of the Iron Dome.
This is why Israel has a deep political incentive to signal both its domestic population and the world that "all is well" and that the Iron Dome has been "upgraded". According to Israeli media:
The trials were led by the Ministry of Defense's "Wall" Directorate, part of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), in partnership with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The testing incorporated operational lessons learned during the ongoing war and recent operations against Iran.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the upgraded Iron Dome demonstrated enhanced capabilities against complex attack scenarios while introducing technological improvements aimed at handling higher volumes of incoming fire and longer-range threats.
This included the testing of the new high-power Or Eitan laser weapon system into system's command-and-control network. The laser is meant to assist as an additional layer of defense in pinpointing inbound threats.
WATCH: Israel touts successful tests of the upgraded Iron Dome, which integrates high-power laser in advanced air defense trials:
🔴 WATCH: Israel successfully tests upgraded Iron Dome, integrates high-power laser in advanced air defense trials pic.twitter.com/8d3AvFHRS4
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2026
Moshe Fattal, head of the Ministry of Defense's "Wall" Directorate, stated "The Iron Dome remains a central pillar of Israel's multi-layered defense concept. During the test, we also practiced integrating the laser system into Iron Dome's command-and-control network, taking the system's defensive capabilities to new heights."
So far Iran's ballistic missile and drone arsenal has proven quite capable at evading Israeli defenses, but perhaps in a future round of fighting Israel's upgrade will prove its worth. In the meantime Iran has already reconstituted much of its missile production capability. The Trump administration seems to have dropped its demand that Iran drop its missile program, which was obviously a non-starter in negotiations, given no country would just willingly give up its main method of defense from external attack.
Trump Admin Puts Signature Trade Pact On Ice
PoliticsTrump Admin Puts Signature Trade Pact On Ice
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Rebeka Zeljko National Correspondent July 01, 2026 2:16 PM ET July 01, 2026 2:16 PM ET Rebeka Zeljko National Correspondent Font Size:President Donald Trump’s administration opted against renewing the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Wednesday, leaving the fate of the signature $2 trillion trade deal open-ended.
The agreement was first put in place in July 2020, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Although the administration initially championed the deal for renegotiating trade policy in favor of American manufacturing and consumers, Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer announced they would not renew the agreement in its “current form.” (RELATED: How US Leaders’ Attempts To Dominate The World Are Weakening One Of Our Greatest Advantages)
“In accordance with the Agreement, the United States, Mexico, and Canada met virtually today to discuss the operation of the USMCA,” Greer said in a statement. “The United States did not agree to renew the USMCA in its current form. As a result, the USMCA is not renewed.”
“The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries,” Greer added. “However, the Agreement remains in force pending resolution of these issues or until the Agreement’s termination.”
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 08: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. Greer testified on President Trump’s 2025 trade policy agenda. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The USMCA requires the deal to be reviewed every six years, making July 1 the renewal deadline. Although the deadline to renew the agreement for an additional 10 years has lapsed, the deal will tentatively remain in place until July 2036. (RELATED: Paul Krugman Suddenly Admits Tariffs May Be ‘Necessary’ After Years Of Globalist Dogma)
The United States is set to meet with Mexico’s trade delegation the week of July 20 for their third round of bilateral negotiations.
The administration notably imposed 25 percent tariffs on both Canada and Mexico last year as Trump sought to further improve America’s position in the trade deal.
Angel Mom Torches Dems For Protecting Illegals: 'There's No 'But' When Your Child Is In A Coffin'
USAngel Mom Of Sheridan Gormon Torches Dems For Protecting Illegals With Sanctuary Policies
(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Lucy Spence Contributor July 01, 2026 2:34 PM ET July 01, 2026 2:34 PM ET Lucy Spence Contributor Font Size:An angel mom torched Democrat members of Congress on Tuesday by arguing that Democrat sanctuary policies prioritized illegal immigrants over her daughter’s life.
Jessica Gormon, the mother of murdered 18-year-old Sheridan Gormon, tearfully condemned the sanctuary policies imposed by Democrat politicians during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing. The event examined sanctuary policies in Illinois and California that have put “the interests of criminal aliens ahead of the interests of Americans.” Prosecutors charged Jose Medina-Medina with the murder of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, CBS News reported. The Homeland Security Department (DHS) said Medina-Medina is a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had previously been arrested for shoplifting and released in Chicago, Illinois.
Gorman recalled the night her daughter was killed. “The man accused of murdering my daughter […] is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who should not have even been in this country,” she said. “And even after committing a crime and having an outstanding warrant, he was left on the streets of Chicago to murder my innocent American child.” (RELATED: Markwayne Mullin Tells Sanctuary Cities What They Might Lose If They Refuse To Cooperate With DHS)
“Failed border policies and sanctuary city laws and twisted leaders refused to cooperate with ICE,” Gormon said. “They sent her to her grave.”
“[This story is about] a government and politicians that forgot their first priority,” Gormon added. “And the question before this committee is painfully simple: When did protecting our American citizens stop being your first priority? And even more important: Why did protecting our American citizens stop being your first priority?”
“I want an explanation, and I need one, and I deserve one,” the mother said. “In what world did the girl who saw everyone become invisible to the people in power responsible for protecting her? This cannot be explained away and it cannot be buried beneath a list of unrelated issues that you all paraded before us,” Gormon told the lawmakers.
“Explain why sanctuary policies matter more than my Sheridan’s life. Explain why cooperation with ICE was too much to ask for, but asking our American parents to bury our children is somehow acceptable,” Gormon said. “I don’t understand why it’s only the Republican side that cares about our American children.”
“I know that you’re a mother, I know that you’re a father — I deeply value that — but basically what you just did, what you said was, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. […] I feel your pain.'”
“You don’t!” Gormon fired back. “You don’t feel my pain, because the next words out of your mouth were, ‘But.'”
“There’s no ‘but’ when your child is in a coffin,” Gormon said. “There’s no ‘but.'”
The angel mother challenged the members of Congress to “sit and hold my hand and look me in the eye and explain to me why illegal immigrants are more important than my daughter.”
“Explain why sanctuary policies matter more than my Sheridan’s life,” Gormon demanded.
Democrat Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and Democrat Washington Rep. Priya Jayapal attended the hearing, according to footage. Committee chairman Republican California Rep. Tom McClintock, Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, and Republican New York Rep. Mike Lawler were also present.
Reps. Lawler and Raskin got into a heated shouting match at the beginning of the hearing as the New York Congressman tried to introduce Jennifer Gorman to the committee.
U.S. Border Patrol took Medina-Medina into custody at the border and released him into the interior in May 2023 during former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to DHS. He was later freed in June that year after allegedly shoplifiting in Chicago. (RELATED: Supreme Court Rules Illegals Outside The US Have Not Arrived In The US)
Sanctuary cities limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities, often preventing local or state law enforcement from pressing for individuals’ immigration status or assisting federal officers in enforcing civil violations of federal immigration law, according to a Library of Congress overview. Chicago is led by Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson, and is listed as a sanctuary city by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Ten of the 12 listed by the DOJ are led by Democrat politicians, as is Washington, D.C.
