This Week in the World Affairs Brief

IRAN PLAYS HARD BALL WITH TRUMP

All of the press coverage about the shortage of US missile interceptors and long-range attack weapons has clearly hampered president Trump’s negotiating position with Iran. Iran, rather than take advantage of Trump’s unilateral ceasefire in order to gain some room to rebuild and recoup their losses, has decided to take full advantage of Trump’s military limitations and demand yet more concessions. To some extent, I can see Iran’s point of view. In prior negotiations, Trump has demanded “unconditional surrender” and that the Strait of Hormuz return to open shipping like before the war, without giving Iran anything, after having suffered the vast majority of damage and loss of life from the joint Israeli/American attack. According to “The Hormuz Letter on X,” “Trump has privately admitted defeat and told senior aides he is willing to end the Iran war without a nuclear deal if Iran fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a [partial] retreat from his initial ‘unconditional surrender’ demand, per WSJ... “Trump has been laying the groundwork to declare victory based solely on Hormuz reopening, walking away from his initial promises to ‘decimate’ Iran's nuclear program.” However, Iran has raised its price for reopening the Strait in the form of new demands, effectively turning what Trump hoped would be his exit into a full US surrender document.” Trump, of course, has rejected all of Iran’s demands so the stalemate continues, and economic hardship continues to loom. To receive a free, one-time sample of the Brief, along with option on how to subscribe, click on Request a sample on the left.

Also:
  • Colonel Macgregor’s Suspicious Claims
  • Trump’s Political Fallout
  • WNBA’s Hatred Toward “White Privilege”

Daily News

Anatomy Of A Con: Trump and Witholding Patriot Missiles from Ukraine

Phillips O'Brian

Dozens of Patriot interceptors, (as well as thousands of 155mm rounds, 100+ Hellfires, 250+ GMLRS, plus Stingers, AIMs and grenade launchers) were halted on their way to Ukraine. Note the timing just before Trump goes to great lengths to say how much he knows Ukraine needs Patriots. This kind of cat and mouse game with the administration tormenting Ukraine over Patriots continues for the entire year. And then Trump’s War with Iran breaks out and Patriot deliveries practically stop. For all of 2026, according to Zelensky, deliveries of Patriots to Ukraine were running at a paltry one-third level of the reduced flow of 2025.

Indiana Lt. Governor Calls for Firing of Fever Coach Stephanie White After She Defends DiJonai Carrington

Breitbart

Indiana Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith called for the firing of Fever coach Stephanie White after she defended DiJonai Carrington despite her Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham. While WNBA journalists and reporters circled the wagons in support of Carrington after she clotheslined Cunningham during a layup, it was Fever coach Stephanie White who provided the most puzzling defense during the post-game press conference.

Breaking Up MMR Vaccine Will Benefit Kids — But It Could Be Years Before Single Shots Are Available

President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for separating the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single-disease vaccines administered at separate medical visits is a long-overdue step in the right direction, according to doctors, scientists and medical freedom advocates who spoke with The Defender. However, it could be years before separate vaccines become available.

Trump: US Controls Hormuz Strait, 'I Think We Will Keep It' - Confirms Economic Siege Strategy

ZeroHedge

Trump claims "total control" of Hormuz, signals strategy of continued economic pressure. Iran declares "victory" & says it can sustain the conflict & outlast. Iran shifts to a "survival economy" to withstand sanctions, Washington's economic warfare, naval blockade. Peace talks basically not happening, with Pakistan reporting "absolutely no progress." Tehran: Hormuz remains closed until Washington accepts all conditions.

Iran's Military Command Reshuffle Digs In For 'Hardline' Confrontation: US Must Meet All Demands For Hormuz Opening

ZeroHedge

Iran rejects peace push narrative: Tehran says Hormuz stays closed until the US accepts all its conditions. Hardliners take control: Iran reshuffles top military leadership, signaling a tougher stance. Pakistan pushes talks: Interior Minister arrives in Tehran for mediation efforts. US enforces blockade: American forces reportedly fired on a ship trying to breach the Iran blockade. Shipping attacks escalate in region: A Houthi attack reportedly killed three crew members, while another vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman.

Trump Finally Responds To Iran's Demands, Counters US Is Owed "Compensation," Stops Short Of New Threats

ZeroHedge

Trump demands Iran compensate the US and families of fallen soldiers, but issues no new military threats. US again pivots to economic warfare: Trump says Washington is "low-keying it" and betting Iran's economic weakness will force concessions. Iran digs in on Hormuz: Tehran says the Strait will not return to pre-war conditions without major concessions. Hardliners gain influence: Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei is set to take Iran's top security post. Deal remains elusive: Tehran appears intent on prolonging talks and extracting maximum concessions from Washington.

Study Finds 93% Of Avocado Oil Chips Contain Other Oils.

ZeroHedge

UC Davis researchers tested 54 avocado oil-labeled products purchased from California supermarkets and online retailers in 2025 and 2026 and found that 48, or 89%, contained cheaper oils despite being labeled as containing premium avocado oil. The failure rate included 93% of chips, and beyond the snack aisle, 71% of mayonnaise products and 100% of salad dressings tested also failed.

If They Were Human, They’d Be Arrested. Experts Respond to Rogue AI Breach.

ZeroHedge

... an OpenAI model broke out of a testing sandbox and used zero-day exploits to hack into Hugging Face, an open-source community for AI and machine learning, to crack a problem it was instructed to solve. “This is some of the clearest evidence yet that an AI model can run a complete cyberattack from start to finish without a human steering it,” Andrew Jones, cofounder and chief product officer at cybersecurity firm Adaptive Security, told The Epoch Times.

Joint Chiefs Chair Pushing For Iran War Off-Ramp, Warning Escalation Will Backfire

ZeroHedge

Last weekend, the US military seemed poised to carry out Trump's threat to unleash “the biggest attack since World War II," but he called it off, at least in part because of profound concerns raised by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Iran had promised to wreak havoc up and down the Gulf. “The only ones in favor of the operation were elements of CENTCOM,” said one source, referring to the Pentagon's Central Command, which is responsible for action in the Middle East. The source also pointed out that Israel also wants escalation of the war.

Ukraine Faces Growing Air Defense Crisis As Patriot Supplies Dwindle

ZeroHedge

Ukraine failed to intercept any of the 24 ballistic missiles and four Zircon cruise missiles Russia fired in the August 5 attack, underscoring the strain on its missile defenses. U.S. Patriot availability has become a significant constraint after extensive interceptor use during the Iran conflict. Kyiv is increasingly seeking European inventories, expanded production, and eventually licensed or joint Patriot manufacturing to secure its air defenses ahead of winter.

How the UAE Has Kept Its Oil Flowing Through Hormuz

Oil Price.com

The UAE, which left OPEC on May 1, has found workarounds to the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz. It has been shuttling crude through the chokepoint to load it on larger vessels outside the Strait, maximizing the use of its onshore pipeline to ship crude from the west to the east of the country, bypassing Hormuz, and shipping tankers through the Strait in dark mode.

Judge Denies Southern Poverty Law Center’s Bid to Dismiss DOJ Indictment

ZeroHedge

The department indicted the SPLC in April on 11 counts of wire fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The organization was accused of defrauding donors by funneling millions of dollars to informants who infiltrated white supremacist and hate groups that it publicly opposed.

Iran's Economy Is In Shambles As War Takes Its Toll

ZeroHedge

Despite the bluster from Iranian officials on social media, it should come as no surprise that the country is not doing well economically. From the beginning of the conflict to current day, Iran has been dealt an estimated $270 billion to $300 billion in total damage due to a steady barrage of strikes, including numerous infrastructure targets from bridges, highways, railways, airports, etc.

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