President-elect Trump will take office just as Iran has the potential to become the world’s 10th nuclear-armed state, and it’s unclear if either side knows how it will approach the other. 

Judging by Trump’s last time in office, it would suggest he would come out the gate with a combative tone — having instituted a ‘maximum pressure’ campaign to ‘bankrupt’ the regime. His secretary of state pick, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been an unyielding Iran hawk in the Senate. 

After the regime fired 200 missiles toward Tel Aviv last month, Rubio said: ‘Only threatening the survival of the regime through maximum pressure and direct and disproportionate measures has a chance to influence and alter their criminal activities.’

That could reinstate — and eliminate — any waivers for oil sanctions. It could mean threatening not to conduct business with countries that buy Iranian fuel products. 

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for national security adviser, is of a similar mind. 

Last month, when the Biden administration urged Israel to keep its counterstrikes ‘proportional,’ Waltz slammed President Biden for pressuring Israel ‘once again to do less than it should.’ 

He suggested Israel strike oil facilities on Kharg Island and Iran’s nuclear plants in Natanz, a move the Biden team feared Iran would deem escalatory. 

Last month, Trump appeared to rule out the U.S. getting involved in any effort to take out Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini and his government. ‘We can’t get totally involved in all that. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,’ he said.

‘I would like to see Iran be very successful. The only thing is, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.’

Trump has said he does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but has not laid out how he would stop it from doing so. 

‘I’m not looking to be bad to Iran, we’re going to be friendly, I hope, with Iran, maybe, but maybe not. But we’re going to be friendly, I hope, we’re going to be friendly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon,’ he said at a New Jersey press conference in August. 

Last month, Trump suggested Israel strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

Following the Iranian missile attacks, he suggested Israel should ‘hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later.’ 

On Thursday, Iran said it was activating ‘advanced’ centrifuges after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors censured it for failing to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Without cooperation, the world is in the dark about how quickly Iran is advancing its technological capabilities to use its uranium fuel for a bomb. 

‘We will significantly increase enrichment capacity,’ Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran’s atomic energy organization spokesman, said after the censure. 

What’s standing between Iran and a fully formed nuclear weapon is both a political and a technological question. 

While the nation has enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon, the process of turning that into a warhead could take anywhere from six to 12 months, according to Nicole Grajewski, nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

‘That’s when Iran would be most vulnerable to attack,’ she said. ‘Iran could probably make a dirty bomb from its current stockpile.’ 

Over the years, Iran’s nuclear progress has been set back by international sanctions, COVID-19, high-profile assassinations of its nuclear scientists and attacks and sabotage on its nuclear facilities led by Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. 

And announcing they have a nuclear weapon could threaten Iran’s longtime goal of regional hegemony. 

‘Iran is less isolated than it was four years ago, but it’s still pretty isolated. Announcing they are nuclear would trigger an arms race in the Middle East,’ predicted Simone Leeden, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. 

‘Saudi Arabia and the UAE would decide they will pursue nuclear weapons the minute Iran declares it has its own. Another action they could and would take is deepening ties with Israel.’ 

Iran also understands that producing a nuclear bomb would likely evoke a military response from Israel and the U.S. under Trump. 

After years of trying to assassinate Trump, the Iranians don’t seem to have figured out whether to approach the U.S. relationship under Trump with a combative or diplomatic tone. Just last month, they told President Biden they would not make any efforts to kill the president-elect going forward. 

‘I think that there’s been a lot of mixed signaling from the kind of Trump transition team is, you know, you see Brian Hook being appointed, who was behind this maximum pressure and sanctions,’ said Grajewski. But then, on the other hand, Trump envoy Elon Musk reportedly met with Iranian officials to discuss how the two nations could dial back tensions. 

‘I think that he is being opaque on purpose,’ said Leeden. ‘I don’t think he wants to show his cards as a negotiator.’ 

‘In all likelihood, maximum pressure is going to be restored,’ said Behnam Taleblu, Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. ‘U.S. partners are asking now, to what end? Is it towards regime collapse? Is it towards a deal? What if the Iranians don’t negotiate in good faith?’

Former Israeli officials have suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be emboldened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities with the go-ahead from the Trump administration. But a lot of Iran’s centrifuge and enrichment facilities are deep underground, complicating a bombing campaign against them.

To get to them, Israel would need the U.S.’ Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP), or ‘bunkbuster bombs.’ 

‘It would require U.S. involvement — either the direct transfer of this, which is currently not really discussed — that would be pretty escalatory — or Israel getting the United States to also conduct this mission,’ said Grajewski. 

The Trump team will also place a high priority on bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords, solidifying the Sunni Muslim alliance against Iran. But the Saudis have insisted the U.S. and Israel must recognize a Palestinian state for such a deal to get done. 

‘The incoming administration wants to quiet down this kinetic energy in the Middle East quickly, because we have bigger fish to fry as a country,’ said Leeden.

The U.S. has long looked to pivot its military focus away from the Middle East and toward the Indo-Pacific. The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas after Oct. 7 tore that focus back to the Arab world. 

President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday to head up the U.S. Department of Justice in his second term—a swift decision but one met with little surprise among many in Trump’s orbit.

That’s because Bondi, 59, has emerged as a close ally of the president-elect in recent years—including defending him in his impeachment proceedings, and more recently, in the run-up to Election Day, where she serves as the co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) a think tank set up by former Trump staffers.

Like former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general Thursday afternoon, Bondi is from Florida and is considered by many to be a staunch loyalist of the president-elect, dedicated to rooting out what the president-elect has described as the ‘weaponization’ of the Justice Department. 

Beyond that, however, the two appear to have little in common. 

A Florida native, Bondi has spent years as a prosecutor in the Sunshine State—spending 18 as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office before being elected in 2010 to serve as Florida’s first female attorney general. 

More recently, Bondi has used her perch at AFPI to voice concerns about election security—a major issue that Republicans sought to emphasize as they filed a flurry of re-election lawsuits, mainly in major swing states.

If confirmed, it is likely that Bondi will use her post to implement many of Trump’s tough-on-crime policy proposals, including cracking down on cartels, fentanyl, trafficking and more. 

A website for Trump’s Agenda47 called for policies such as extending the death penalty for human traffickers, ending welfare for migrants living in the U.S. illegally, and cracking down on violent crime in major cities, which Trump has described as having declined into ‘cesspools of bloodshed and crime.’

In the hours after her nomination, however, it remained unclear how—or whether—she planned to implement some of these proposals. 

One member of the Trump transition team pointed Fox News Digital to a widely circulated clip of CNN legal analyst Elie Honig highlighting Bondi’s qualifications for the role.

‘Pam Bondi is, without a question, qualified to be attorney general,’ Honig said in the clip, calling her experience ‘on par with, or better than, most United States attorneys general that we’ve seen over the past 50 years or so.’

‘Even CNN is fawning over her qualifications,’ a source familiar, who declined to be identified, told Fox News Digital.

Those close to Bondi have praised her long record as a prosecutor, and her staunch loyalty to the president-elect, alongside whom she has worked since 2020—first, helping to represent him in his first impeachment trial, and currently in her post at AFPI.

Bondi is ‘all about integrity and the proper application of justice and fairness,’ said Gianno Caldwell, the head of the Caldwell Institute of Public Safety, an organization designed to fight violent crime. Bondi serves on the advisory board of that group.

‘I think she’s going to be able to root out a lot of the bad apples,’ Caldwell added. ‘And return the Justice Department to its traditional focus, which is law and order, and fighting crime.’

Like other top contenders for the role. Bondi has not been shy in going after Trump critics, including special counsel Jack Smith, who was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate both an alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. 

Smith appears to be winding down his investigation—a welcome relief for the president-elect, who had vowed as a candidate to fire him ‘within two seconds’ after taking office. 

Still, Bondi has shared in Trump’s criticisms, using a recent radio interview to describe Smith and his team of prosecutors as ‘horrible’ people trying to make a name for themselves by ‘going after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.’

‘Attorney General nominee Bondi is looking forward to the confirmation process and answering any questions senators might have,’ said Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for the Trump transition team.

Bondi’s life ‘has been dedicated to keeping Americans safe,’ he added. ‘She looks forward to continuing that work at the Department of Justice.’ 

President-elect Trump has nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general.

In a statement on Friday evening, Trump said that Dr. Nesheiwat is a ‘fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.’

‘I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,’ he said.

Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor.  

‘Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health,’ he said. ‘She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.’

President-elect Trump on Friday announced he is nominating Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Dr. Marty Makary for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. 

‘I am very pleased to nominate Marty Makary MD, MPH, FACS, for FDA Commissioner,’ Trump said in a statement. ‘FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator. The Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a Highly Respected Johns Hopkins Surgical Oncologist and Health Policy Expert, to course-correct and refocus the Agency.’ 

Makary’s nomination comes after Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ‘Make America healthy again.’

Trump said Makary will ‘work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic.’ 

Trump in his statement added that Makary, who was a Fox News medical contributor, is also a ‘member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine’ and ‘has devoted his career to improving Medical Quality and lowering Hospital and Drug Costs for all Americans. In addition, Dr. Makary is an accomplished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and a leading advocate for Healthcare Transparency. He has authored more than 300 scientific articles and three New York Times bestselling books on Healthcare.

Trump called Makary a ‘pioneer in the fields of Public Health, Cancer Care, and Surgery, and a tireless voice for vulnerable populations. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and numerous teaching awards. Dr. Makary currently leads the Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Policy Research Group at Johns Hopkins.’

He added, ‘I am confident that Dr. Makary, having dedicated his career to High-Quality, Lower-Cost Care, will restore FDA to the Gold Standard of Scientific Research, and cut the bureaucratic red tape at the Agency to make sure Americans get the Medical Cures and Treatments they deserve.’

Trump made several other announcements Friday evening as he continues his transition, including Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general, and Dr. Dave Weldon to head the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

A clearer picture emerged of who will serve in the Cabinet of America’s 47th President, with President-elect Trump assembling more of his top cabinet picks on Friday evening.

All of Trump’s Cabinet choices must be confirmed by the Senate, with the process set to begin in January. The confirmation process will be made easier by a 53-seat Republican majority, after GOP candidates flipped four seats in this election.

The president-elect chose a slew of key Trump supporters who assisted in his election.

Scott Bessent – Treasury Secretary 

Scott Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, was chosen for the coveted post of Treasury secretary. Bessent was a key economic policy adviser and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.

‘Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists. Scott’s story is that of the American Dream,’ Trump said on Friday.

He has been an advocate for economic policies like lower taxes, spending restraint and deregulation that have long made up the core of the Republican Party’s platform, and has also been supportive of Trump’s use of tariffs in trade negotiations.

Russ Vought – Office of Management and Budget

On Friday, Trump tapped Russ Vought to lead the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Vought served OMB director during Trump’s first term. He also served as deputy OMB director and acting director.

‘He did an excellent job serving in this role in my First Term – We cut four Regulations for every new Regulation, and it was a Great Success!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Vought is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and a close Trump ally. 

Scott Turner – Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Trump nominated Scott Turner as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Turner, who is chair of the Center for Education Opportunity and is a former professional football player, previously served as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC).

‘Scott is an NFL Veteran, who, during my First Term, served as the First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC), helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities,’ Trump said in a Friday statement. ‘Those efforts, working together with former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott’s guidance in overseeing 16 Federal Agencies which implemented more than 200 policy actions furthering Economic Development. Under Scott’s leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 Billion Dollars in Private Investment!’

Turner, a former Texas state lawmaker, played nine seasons in the NFL as a member of the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos.

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Labor Secretary

Trump nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., on Friday for secretary of labor. 

‘I am proud to hereby nominate Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, from the Great State of Oregon, as United States Secretary of Labor,’ Trump wrote in an official statement. ‘Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America. I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs. Together, we will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families.’

Chavez-DeRemer was first elected to Congress in 2022, and lost re-election in a close race against Democrat Janelle Bynum earlier this month. Her candidacy was backed by the Teamsters union.

Dr. Dave Weldon – Director of CDC

President-elect Trump announced that former Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., is his pick as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

‘In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting,’ Trump said in the Friday evening announcement. 

Trump said that Dr. Wedlon would restore trust in the agency and transparency.

Dr. Marty Makary – FDA commissioner

Trump on Friday nominated Dr. Marty Makary, a pancreatic surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins, according to the university’s website, and was a Fox News medical contributor. 

‘FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator. The Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a Highly Respected Johns Hopkins Surgical Oncologist and Health Policy Expert, to course-correct and refocus the Agency,’ Trump said on Truth Social.

‘He will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic,’ Trump said.

Janette Nesheiwat – Surgeon General

Trump also nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general, saying that she would be a ‘fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.’

‘I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,’ he said.

Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor.  

Sebastian Gorka – Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism

Trump announced Friday that his former White House adviser, Sebastian Gorka, will serve in his incoming administration. Gorka will serve as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism. 

Gorka, a former Trump aide, previously served as deputy assistant to the president during Trump’s first term. He’s also a former Fox News contributor.

‘Since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement, serving previously as Strategist to the President in the first Trump Administration,’ Trump said. 

Alex Wong – Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor

Similarly to Gorka, Alex Wong served under Trump during his first term. 

Wong served in the State Department as deputy special representative for North Korea, and the deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and pacific affairs. 

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Louis Casiano Jr. contributed to this report.

President-elect Trump announced that former Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., is his pick as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

‘In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting,’ Trump said in the Friday evening announcement. 

‘Dave also served in a leading role in Government Oversight and Reform Committee Hearings, addressing issues within HHS and CDC. Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos,’ Trump said.

Trump said that Dr. Weldon will play a key part in ‘Making America Healthy Again,’ saying that he will work on correcting ‘past errors.’

‘Americans have lost trust in the CDC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have engaged in censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation,’ he said. 

‘Given the current Chronic Health Crisis in our Country, the CDC must step up and correct past errors to focus on the Prevention of Disease. The current Health of Americans is critical, and CDC will play a big role in helping to ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of diseases, and the solutions to cure these diseases,’ Trump added.

Trump said that Dr. Weldon ‘understands American Family Values.’

‘As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance,’ he said. ‘Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!’